The reconstructed tree now produces a runnable binary with the authentic 1995 toolchain (BC4.52 / tlink32 / DPMI32): - BTL4.CPP main TU reconstructed from the 4.11 Ghidra decomp (FUN_0040109c) + the 4.10 binary's own string pool + surviving RPL4TOOL.CPP house style; probe_main.cpp scaffold retired (BTL4.NOTES.md documents every decoded call) - L4NET.CPP staged: L4NetworkManager ctor/dtor + 10 vtable-pulled virtuals (standalone-benign ones no-op, network ones Fail loudly) + NetNub client globals (Net_Common_Ptr=NULL routes L4File to its plain-DOS path) - build410.sh: libs now built in the AUTHENTIC makefile member order (MUNGA.MAK / mungal4.mak / BT.MAK / BTL4.MAK). Order is load-bearing: tlink emits static-init records in module pull order, and alphabetical order booted into a null-vptr crash (IcomManager::ClassDerivations constructing before parent NetworkClient::ClassDerivations). Also fixed stage_link to the proven 32-bit lib set (SOSDBXC+SOSMBXC, no WATTCPLG) - BOXTREE.HPP MemoryBlock unify, BTL4GRND notify stubs, remaining engine backfills (audio/gauge/resource/stream TUs) that closed the deep ledger Smoke test (DOSBox-X + 32RTM, copy of the pod BT tree, our exe swapped in): BattleTech v4.10 BTL4Application::BTL4Application l4net.cpp(22): L4NetworkManager -- l4net.cpp not yet reconstructed Static init, main, -egg parse, BTL4.RES load (version 1.0.6 check passes), ApplicationManager and the BTL4Application ctor chain all execute real reconstructed code; boot halts at the first staged Fail() as designed. Next brick: the real l4net.cpp body. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
66 lines
3.7 KiB
Markdown
66 lines
3.7 KiB
Markdown
# BTL4.CPP — reconstruction notes
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**Status: RECONSTRUCTED (normal launch path); review/camera branch staged with Fail().**
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The 4.10 main TU. No original survives anywhere in the archive (OPT.MAK links
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`btl4.obj` as a bare object next to the libs — it was never a lib member).
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## Evidence base
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1. **Ghidra decomp of the 4.11 binary** — `C:\VWE\BT411\reference\decomp\all\part_000.c`,
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`FUN_0040109c` (the 524-byte function the Borland startup calls = `main`).
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The 4.10 and 4.11 binaries share the same string pool layout for this TU.
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2. **String pool of the original 4.10 `BTL4OPT.EXE`** (ALPHA_1/REL410/BT), file
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offset ~917884: `"btl4" "HEAPSIZE" "BattleTech v4.10" "btl4.res" "SPOOLSIZE"
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"Spool size = "` — banner text and resource name byte-exact.
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3. **Surviving 1995 launcher-style TU** `CODE/RP/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL.CPP` — house
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style for `main(int, char*[])` and the `ProgName` global pattern.
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4. **BT411's win32 launcher** `game/btl4main.cpp` (adapted from RP's RPL4.CPP)
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independently reconstructs the same skeleton and pins `version[3] = {1,0,6}`
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against the RESOURCE.cpp version check.
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## Decoded decomp → source mapping
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| decomp | source |
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|---|---|
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| `FUN_004dbb24(&cout, "BattleTech v4.10", 0); FUN_004d9c38(&cout)` | `DEBUG_STREAM << "BattleTech v4.10" << endl` |
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| `FUN_0047b2ec(argc, argv, &LAB_0047af8c)` | `L4Application::ParseCommandLine(argc, argv, L4Application::ParseToken)` |
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| `FUN_00407218(stack84, "btl4.res", &DAT_004e0070, 3)` | `StreamableResourceFile resources("btl4.res", version)` (match_level=3 is the declared default) |
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| `DAT_004e0070` = 3 bytes | `version[3]` = `{MAJOR_DATA_VERSION, RELEASE_VERSION, MINOR_DATA_VERSION}` = {1,0,6} from BTL4VER.HPP |
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| `DAT_004fd550 < 1` | `L4Application::GetMissionReviewMode() < 1` (inline static accessor) |
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| `new(0x28) FUN_0044f29c(this, DAT_0052140c)` | `new ApplicationManager(GetTicksPerSecond())` (inline friend accessor, TIME.HPP:49) — DAT_0052140c is set to 28.0f by `SystemClock::SystemClock()` (L4TIME.CPP:93) when `L4TIMER=FAST` |
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| `new(0xd4) FUN_004d34c4(this, &resources, 0x3EB, &DAT_0051e8d8)` | `new BTL4Application(&resources)` — 0x3EB/`DefaultData` are the declared default args (BTL4APP.HPP:34) |
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| `FUN_0044f318(mgr, app)` | `application_manager->StartApplication(application)` |
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| `FUN_0044f344(mgr)` | `application_manager->RunMissions()` |
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| vcall slot 0 (mgr, 3) | `delete application_manager` |
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| `return DAT_004efc98` | `return Exit_Code` (APP.HPP:542) |
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## Review/camera branch (NOT yet reconstructed — staged Fail)
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Decomp structure for `missionReviewMode >= 1` (mode 1 = camera, 2 = review per
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emulator/CAMERA-REVIEW-NOTES.md):
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```
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spool_size = getenv("SPOOLSIZE") ? atoi(...) : 0x800000; // "Spool size = " printed
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mgr = new(0x38) MissionReviewApplicationManager(ticksPerSecond,
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(mode != 2) ? 2 : 1, spool_size);
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spool_file = <mgr getter, FUN_0044fa14>;
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if (spool_file)
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mgr->StartApplication(new(0xd8) BTL4PlaybackApplication(&resources, spool_file));
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if (mode == 1)
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mgr->StartApplication(new(0xd8) <camera app, FUN_0047c3fc>(&resources, 1));
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```
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Class declarations survive: `BTL4PlaybackApplication` (CODE/BT/BT_L4/BTL4PB.HPP),
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spooler bricks in CODE/RP/MUNGA_L4/L4SPLR.HPP (`MissionReviewApplicationManager`
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referenced there). Their .CPP bodies are not staged, so the branch Fails loudly
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instead of linking half a subsystem.
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## Deliberate differences from the binary
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- `HEAPSIZE` string sits in the pool between ProgName and the banner but is not
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referenced from the decompiled main — it likely belongs to the runtime heap
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init, not this TU. Not reproduced.
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- `Register_Object`/`Start_Registering` debug bookkeeping is absent from the
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optimized binary (DEBUG_LEVEL=0 compiles it out), so it is not written here.
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