CydandClaude Fable 5
3fd637c58a
vPOD impersonates a Tesla game client (rpl4opt.exe / btl4.exe) so the Red Planet and BattleTech operator consoles can be exercised without real cockpit hardware. New net48 WinForms project under Console\vPOD: - MungaPodServer: the server half of the Munga control protocol (TCP 1501). The vendored MungaSocket is client-only, so this reimplements the identical framing ([16-byte header][12-byte base + body], dispatched by ClientID+MessageID) for the listening side, reusing the vendored message classes' WriteTo/BinaryReader serialization. - PodSimulator: the ApplicationState machine driven by the console's messages - answers StateQuery, reassembles the streamed egg and acknowledges it, and walks WaitingForEgg -> LoadingMission -> WaitingForLaunch -> RunningMission and back on Run/Stop/Abort/Suspend/Resume. - VPodForm: live display of listening/connection status, the colour-coded ApplicationState, an egg viewer (fields + summary), and a newest-first protocol log. A Red Planet / BattleTech toggle changes which ApplicationID the pod reports, live, so one vPOD stands in for either game. - PodArguments: parses the real client's launch flags (-net/-app/-lc/-mr/ -host/-res). Deployable from Manage Site -> Install Product: a catalog product in RedPlanet\Apps.xml (Game Client / Live Camera / Mission Review entries) plus pack.ps1, which builds dist\vPOD.zip laying out vPOD\vPOD.exe for the launcher to extract to C:\Games\vPOD. CatalogTests updated to 5 products / 11 entries with the four vPOD entry assertions (88/88 pass). TeslaConsole.csproj excludes vPOD\** from its **/*.cs glob; the project is added to the solution. Verified end-to-end over real TCP: a console-role client using the vendored MungaSocket drives connect -> WaitingForEgg -> stream egg -> (ack) -> WaitingForLaunch -> Run -> RunningMission -> Stop -> WaitingForEgg, with vPOD reporting the correct state at each step. MungaGame (what the console's game windows use) is a thin wrapper over MungaSocket, so this exercises the exact wire behaviour. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
vPOD — virtual pod / game-client stand-in
A test tool that impersonates a Tesla game client (Red Planet's rpl4opt.exe
or BattleTech's btl4.exe) so the operator consoles can be exercised without
real cockpit hardware. It speaks the Munga command/control protocol as a
server on TCP 1501 — the console connects to it exactly as it would a real pod —
emulates the pod ApplicationState machine, reassembles the streamed egg, and
shows everything on a live display.
What it does
- Listens on TCP 1501 (configurable) and answers the console's
StateQuerywith aStateResponse, reporting the game (ApplicationID) and the currentApplicationState. - Walks the mission lifecycle the console drives it through:
WaitingForEgg → LoadingMission → WaitingForLaunch → LaunchingMission → RunningMission → …, reacting to the egg stream and to Run / Stop / Abort / Suspend / Resume messages, and acknowledging the egg. - Reassembles and shows the egg the console streams (the
EggFileMessagechunks), one field per line, with a summary line (adventure / map / scenario / pilot count). - Game toggle — a Red Planet ⇄ BattleTech switch on the window changes which
ApplicationIDthe pod reports, live, so one vPOD can stand in for either game. (-app rp|btsets the initial choice.) - A newest-first protocol log of the traffic.
Running it
vPOD.exe [-net <port>] [-app rp|bt] [-lc|-mr] [-host <id>] [-res W H]
-net <port>Munga control port (default 1501).-app rp|btwhich game to report initially (also switchable in the UI).-lc/-mrlive-camera / mission-review role (cosmetic; the state model is identical to a game machine).-host <id>responding host id reported in state responses (default 1).-res W Haccepted and ignored (real clients take it; kept for drop-in launch compatibility).
Deploying from the console (Manage Site → Install Product)
vPOD is a catalog product (RedPlanet\Apps.xml, id 0041C870-…) with Game
Client / Live Camera / Mission Review entries, so it appears in Manage Site →
Install Product like any game. Build the deployable package first:
pwsh -File pack.ps1 # produces dist\vPOD.zip
The zip lays out vPOD\vPOD.exe (+ Munga Net.dll) so the launcher extracts it
to C:\Games\vPOD and the catalog entry launches C:\Games\vPOD\vPOD.exe.
Testing locally against the console
The default site ships a local pod at 127.0.0.1. Run vPOD on the console
machine, open a game window (e.g. Games → Red Planet: Death Race), and enable
the local pod — the console connects to 127.0.0.1:1501 (vPOD), and you can
drive Load → Run → Stop and watch vPOD's state and egg viewer follow along.