e088555b96997dd68d478ac7e5689b72d09b4dca
94
Commits
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e088555b96 |
Fix content defects found while decompiling V4H packages
Three unrelated source-data bugs surfaced while round-tripping our own Content/Mechs tree against the decompiled V4H packages. All three were found because a decompiler verifier disagreed with the shipped data, not by inspection. Hellspawn / Sunder: unterminated section headers ------------------------------------------------- hellspawn.subsystems:101 [HeatSink10 -> [HeatSink10] sunder.subsystems:120 [HeatSink16 -> [HeatSink16] The notation parser keys a page on the bracketed name. With the closing bracket missing the page name is malformed, so that heat sink's block is not registered as its own page and its Model/ExecutionState/ InternalLocation keys are absorbed by the preceding page. Net effect: one heat sink silently missing from each mech (Hellspawn LeftTorso, Sunder LeftArm), and the preceding sink's location keys overwritten. CauldronBorn: undefined macro in TwistRadius -------------------------------------------- cauldronborn.torso:15 TwistRadius=$(OBSTUSE_TRADIUS) -> 100 OBSTUSE_TRADIUS is a typo and is defined nowhere in the define tables; the intended symbol is OBTUSE_TRADIUS (=140). An undefined macro does not fail loudly - the factory substitutes its own default - so this shipped for years as a silent fallback. Resolved to the literal 100 rather than $(OBTUSE_TRADIUS) because the compiled .torso record in the shipped package holds 100.0f, i.e. the factory default that has always been in effect. Using 140 would change long-standing behaviour; 100 preserves it and makes it explicit. Verified against the packaged record: verify_smallmodel now reports 1280/1280 keys. Lesson recorded: an undefined macro is not a build error here. Check what the compiled package actually holds before "correcting" a symbol name. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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77e19a723c |
mw4print: document known issues and research notes
Captures all findings from the 2026-08-07 debugging session: print flow diagram, DoPrint error codes, which commits changed what, hypotheses explored/ruled out, and next steps once the -debug log is available. Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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3256c103a2 |
mw4print: add -debug flag for step-by-step diagnostic logging
Adds runtime diagnostic logging to track down why printing is broken. Pass -debug (or /debug) on the command line; all output goes to mw4print-debug.txt next to the exe (append mode, timestamped lines). No effect on normal operation when the flag is absent. What is logged: - Startup: AssetsDirectory1 path and full command line - OnCreate: DB config loaded, timer created - DoCopyData / OnFileOpen: each file queued for printing with filename - OnTimer: which file is being processed each second, LoadPR result - DoPrint: nPlayers count, PrintDlg call + result (on failure logs CommDlgExtendedError hex code), DB export call/result, SetupFonts result, StartDoc result, EndDoc vs AbortDoc, final return code The CommDlgExtendedError value on a PrintDlg failure will identify the root cause (e.g. CDERR_NODEFAULTPRN = no default printer configured). Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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10301ee5dd | Document external MFD and radar mapping work | ||
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deafc2b01b |
Make Behemoth II inherit validated display mappings
Copy Behemoth's validated texuv2, offset2, texuv3, and offset3 rows from Mech ID 11 to Behemoth II at Mech ID 12. Both variants intentionally share the same external MFD and Radar geometry. Add an inherited-mapping assertion to the J&J comparison generator so future runs fail if any Behemoth II coordinate row diverges from Behemoth. Record the passing inheritance check in the generated summary. Document the inherited variant relationship and effective mapping count in MFD-RADAR-MAPPINGS.md. Compare hud/behemothii.bmp and radar/hud/behemothii.bmp against the corresponding Behemoth runtime assets. Both 512x512 grayscale images are already pixel-identical, so no hsh art files are copied or replaced. |
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9755803949 |
Fix external MFD and radar damage mappings
Install the validated J&J coordinates for 19 external display sets across 13 chassis. Update all affected texuv2/offset2 and texuv3/offset3 rows while preserving the 65-mech positional layout and coord.cpp CRLF encoding. Add a reusable Pillow comparison generator, 38 red/green review maps, and a generated summary. The final audit reports 19 exact mappings, zero differences, zero input warnings, and seven display sets without complete supplied inputs. Normalize four unambiguous measurement transcription issues: Behemoth MFD LT 1742 to 174, Behemoth Radar CT punctuation and blank S2, and Fafnir MFD LL punctuation. Document the complete authoring and runtime workflow, including legacy tuple normalization, MFD/Radar scaling, odd-coordinate handling, canonical runtime names, pixel-versus-byte BMP comparison, validation checks, rebuild requirements, and the final installed-set inventory. Compare every supplied exploded runtime BMP against Gameleap/mw4/hsh. All 19 are already pixel-identical, so no runtime art files are replaced. |
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13675c8cf4 | move important documentation to main folder. | ||
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8bfaf9b9ad |
Publish V5.1.0b_RC2: rebuilt binaries, repacked props, RC2 documentation
RC2 build, verified to launch on the Windows box and copied back into the deployment at MW4/. Supersedes RC1 ( |
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9bf49a8084 |
Bump console title to V5.1.0b2
Console lobby now reads "BattleTech Console V5.1.0b2", covering the 240-minute time limit work and the default-time fix on this branch. Also corrects the testing checklist, whose section 5 still asserted the V5.1.0b1 title and an 18-entry time list -- both would now fail on the bench. Added a check for the 7-minute default, which was silently landing on 4 before this branch's TIME_LIST_DEFAULT fix. Content only, no MW4.exe rebuild. ConLobby.script lives in props.mw4, so this needs build-env\build-resources.ps1 to appear in game. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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136e2ff05c |
Extend MP mission time limit to 240 min (from LYLT 3514acf6)
Time-limit pick lists go to 23 entries: 1-15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60, 120, 180, 240. Content + console only, no MW4.exe rebuild -- nothing between the dropdown and the mission timer clamps the value, and m_gameLength is 8 bits on the wire (MWApplication.cpp:790), so 255 was always the ceiling. Hand-applied rather than merged. LYLT reverted |
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020dc04612 |
Add HD-AUDIO.md: multi-channel audio investigation notes
Research only, no code changes. Captures why the pods play in stereo and
what it would take to drive a 4-speaker (quad) rig on Win10/11.
Key findings:
- "Channels" is ambiguous in this codebase: 32 mixer voices (Adept splits
them 1 VO / 2 music / 1 Betty / 6 mechanical / 21 spatialized SFX) versus
the speaker output, which is hardcoded stereo at 22050 Hz.
- The blocker is DS3DALG_HRTF_LIGHT, a two-speaker head model, requested
unconditionally because dwFreeHw3DAllBuffers is always 0 on Vista+ where
DirectSound hardware acceleration no longer exists. hardwaremixing=true
is therefore inert, and the EAX reverb path has been dead since XP.
- GameOS has a full gosAudio_SetSpeakerConfig API that nothing ever calls.
GetSpeakerConfig also has no 5.1 case, so it returns 0 on such systems.
- Cheapest route is DSOAL (drop-in dsound.dll over OpenAL Soft) plus
hardwaremixing=true, which re-enables the existing hardware-3D branch
with no code change. Verified in source that Libraries.cpp:376 calls
LoadLibrary("dsound.dll") unqualified, and dsound.dll is not a KnownDLL,
so a local copy next to MW4.exe wins over System32.
- Same deployment rule as dgVoodoo2: per-machine Win10/11 prerequisite,
must NOT be committed, XP pods need the native dsound.dll.
Also documents the reverted fallback design (a third NO_VIRTUALIZATION
branch, a -tspk override and a gos-audio.txt trace) as a re-implementation
recipe, plus a verification plan and caveats.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com>
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b3c5ecfe56 |
CLAUDE.md: note two -tident/clash-check gaps found on a single-monitor VM
Parked, not fixed. Diagnostics-only and impossible on a real pod, but the second one produces a confidently wrong "all clear" on exactly the kind of machine someone would bench-test with, so it is worth recording. Both stem from one physical monitor being exposed as two DirectDraw devices. The NULL-device merge is gated on NumMonitors>=2 - deliberately, it is a multi-monitor fixup - so a single-monitor box keeps the alias in slot 0 alongside the real device. 1. -tident overpaints itself. Device 0 (NULL alias) and device 1 (the real output) resolve to the same screen, so it paints red/"1" and then immediately green/"2" over the top. Observed on a VM as a brief flash before the second number appears. Behaving as written; there simply is not a second screen to paint. Should detect devices sharing an HMONITOR and label them together rather than painting sequentially. 2. The consistency check compares device INDICES, not resolved monitors. On the same VM it reported "No duplicate device assignments" while main -> device 0 (primary alias) and radar -> device 1 (\\.\DISPLAY49) were the same physical monitor - the exact collision the check exists to predict. Fix would be to treat a device with no HMONITOR as the Windows primary and compare resolved HMONITORs. Context for the VM in question: RDP session (Microsoft Remote Display Adapter, 1870x985) with the Microsoft Basic Render Driver and no real GPU, dgVoodoo2 masquerading as its default emulated NVIDIA device. MFD modes cannot work there regardless - only two DirectDraw devices exist and one of them is an alias. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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22495d7245 |
Docs: research notes on making -window work for all display modes
Research only. Nothing implemented, nothing scheduled. Captured now so the
investigation does not have to be repeated when we come back to it.
New file: WINDOWED-MODE.md (repo root), indexed from README.md and the
CLAUDE.md next-steps list.
Goal being assessed
-------------------
Make -window work for every pod configuration, so a full pod (main + radar
+ MFDs, or a cameraship pair) can be tested on a single monitor as a set
of moveable windows. Target order: console (already works), cameraship,
-tmfds 1, -tmfds 4. -tmfds 3 deliberately out of scope.
Headline finding
----------------
-window does NOT fail for the MFD and cameraship modes - it silently
DISABLES them, and the reason is a single line:
MW4Application.cpp:1373
use_shgui = Environment.fullScreen ? 1 : 0;
use_shgui is the master switch for the entire secondary-panel subsystem
and is derived from fullscreen, so with -window it is 0 and
DXRasterizer.cpp:1131 never calls HSH_EnterFullScreen2(). No panel is ever
created. Console mode only appears to work windowed because it has no
panels to lose.
What the document covers
------------------------
* Why it behaves the way it does today, with the exact gating code.
* What already exists in our favour: the main display is a working
windowed reference implementation (primary + clipper + offscreen
backbuffer, presented with Blt); the clipper wrappers are already in
use; and none of the panel DRAWING code would change, because panels
render to an offscreen target and composite - they are indifferent to
whether the present is a Flip or a Blt.
* The six things that must change, with quoted code: decouple use_shgui;
windowed variants of CHSH_Device::InitFirst (DDSCL_NORMAL, no
SetDisplayMode, per-panel HWND) and InitSecond (plain primary + clipper
+ offscreen backbuffer, D3D device on the offscreen); one window per
panel; 8 Flip->Blt sites in WinMain.cpp; and explicit frame pacing.
* Frame pacing is called out as the item that will actually bite: sh_step
advances once per frame and drives MFD channel cycling, so an uncapped
windowed rig would not faithfully represent pod behaviour. Same root
cause as the known mechlab fast-spin bug.
* Reference tables: every panel class with its InitFirst location, device
slot and resolution; the SwapRightState member-swap mechanism that any
windowed work must keep intact; and the full lifecycle/gating map.
* Suggested phasing, with radar-only as the decisive Phase 1 experiment.
The risk that decides it
------------------------
Windowed D3D7 device creation is per-GPU, and this would need four
windowed devices in one process. Precedent runs both ways: the mission
editor hit DDERR_INVALIDOBJECT creating a windowed D3D device on Win11 and
needed DDrawCompat (STEP 8), while the game's own windowed main display
succeeds on the W4100. Nothing has proven four. If it fails, the fallback
means rewriting the panel RENDER path, not just its present - a
substantially bigger job.
Why this may be worth more than a test convenience
--------------------------------------------------
Windowed mode removes exclusive-mode contention entirely, which is the
whole reason dgVoodoo2 is currently mandatory for every multi-display
configuration on Windows 10/11 (STEP 10). If windowed panels work
natively, that is a route to dropping the dgVoodoo2 prerequisite WITHOUT
breaking the XP pods, since it needs no external DLL on either OS. Same
groundwork as the borderless-windowed migration already parked in STEP 10.
Note on citations
-----------------
All 22 file:line references were derived directly and verified to resolve
to the expected symbol. An exploratory pass had produced line numbers that
were substantially wrong (CHSH_Device::InitFirst reported at 717, actually
627; IsMultimonitorAvaliable at 2178, actually 2961), and a claim that the
radar renders at 480x640 rotated - the code passes 640,480 like the
others. Worth knowing before trusting generated citations in a document
intended to outlive the session.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com>
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4e04fd1fb2 |
Displays: -tident identify mode, panel re-entry fix, desktop-order log
Follow-up to the gos-displays.txt enumeration trace. The expanded log arrived from the Intel tester and settled the failure - and disproved the hypothesis it was written to test. What the log showed ------------------- The consistency check printed "No duplicate device assignments", so the suspected -tmon clash was NOT the cause. The actual evidence was that HSH_EnterFullScreen2 runs TWICE: the first entry brings every panel up DD_OK, the second fails on the same device with DDERR_EXCLUSIVEMODEALREADYSET and then DDERR_NOCOOPERATIVELEVELSET. Two independent causes, one operational and one a real defect. Cause 1 - Windows Display Settings numbers are not DirectDraw indices -------------------------------------------------------------------- The operator set -tmon by reading the numbers off the Display Settings arrangement diagram. On that machine all three numbering systems differ: Settings 3 -> \\.\DISPLAY1 -> device 0 (primary, 800x600, main) Settings 4 -> \\.\DISPLAY4 -> device 3 (USB adapter, radar) Settings 2 -> \\.\DISPLAY2 -> device 1 (mfd1) Settings 1 -> \\.\DISPLAY3 -> device 2 (mfd2) A permutation with two accidental fixed points - no derivable rule, and the Settings ordinal is not exposed by any documented API, so it cannot be translated in code. -tmon 1,4,2,3 worked first try (user-confirmed). This is why Windows ships an Identify button rather than publishing the mapping. Cause 2 - panels re-opened without being released (REAL BUG, all machines) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- EnterFullScreenMode() calls HSH_EnterFullScreen2() on every mode change and every lost-front-buffer recovery, but the teardown HSH_DirectDrawRelease2() was only wired to DirectDrawRelease(), i.e. full shutdown. CHSH_Device::InitFirst() therefore overwrote pDD with a fresh IDirectDraw7 while the previous one still held exclusive fullscreen, leaking it and its exclusive claim for the life of the process. It only bites when a panel sits on the Windows primary: secondary outputs grant exclusive mode again, the primary does not. Every working pod happens to have the main display on the primary, so no panel is ever there - which is the whole reason this looked hardware-specific. FIX: HSH_EnterFullScreen2() now releases first when hsh_initialized || hsh_mrdev_initialized. Tagged [panelreinit]. Reuses the existing teardown, which already restores the display mode, drops the coop level and clears the flags for both the MFD/radar and cameraship paths. New: -tident, the game's own Identify ------------------------------------- MW4.exe -tident [3..120, default 20] fills every display with a distinct colour and prints, huge, the number to type into -tmon, plus its device index and the role currently assigned to it. Then exits. Deliberately uses DDSCL_NORMAL and paints via GDI on the primary surface: no exclusive mode, no display mode change. Taking exclusive fullscreen on several devices at once is the very failure being diagnosed, and a diagnostic that trips over that fault is worthless - this works even on a pod where the MFD modes are broken. It opens the real DirectDraw devices rather than positioning GDI windows by HMONITOR, so it proves the device-index -> physical-output association through the same path the panels use. Positioning by DirectDraw's own reported HMONITOR would be circular. Implemented as IdentifyDisplays() in VideoCard.cpp, called at the end of FindVideoCards() followed by ExitProcess(0). Everything it paints is also written to gos-displays.txt, so the mapping survives even if a monitor is dead. Also added: desktop-order block ------------------------------- gos-displays.txt now prints the monitors sorted left-to-right by desktop position with their device indices, which maps directly onto the picture in Display Settings. For the reporting machine it reads out as -tmon 1,4,2,3 with no derivation required. Documentation ------------- * -help: new -tident entry. The -tmon text now states outright that these are NOT Display Settings numbers and points at -tident. Its old "-tmon 1,2,3,4" example was actively inviting the mistake that caused this report, so that section was rewritten rather than appended to. * Release notes (md + html, both hand-maintained): -tident section with sample output and the reason it has to exist; -tmon warning; new sections for the CLASH report and the re-entry fix in operator terms; switch-table row; expanded log description with the copy-before-relaunch warning; upgrade-checklist step to run -tident once after upgrading. * CLAUDE.md: STEP 12 with the full engineering record, including the three-way numbering table and both causes. * OPTIONS-INI.md: videodriverindex note now points at -tident. Cost ---- -tident is opt-in and exits immediately after. The desktop-order block is a handful of extra startup writes. Nothing added is reachable from the frame loop. Testing ------- -tmon 1,4,2,3 confirmed working on the reporting machine, which validates the diagnosis. The -tident and re-entry changes are NOT yet built or run; both need a rebuild of MW4.exe (Release + Profile) as they touch CoreTech GameOS. Worth checking on the W4100 bench first that CreateSurface(PRIMARYSURFACE) under DDSCL_NORMAL succeeds on secondary devices through dgVoodoo2 - if a panel comes up blank the log names the failing call. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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2e85cd2066 |
GameOS: full display enumeration trace in gos-displays.txt
Motivation ---------- A tester's 3-display Intel integrated-graphics box (main + 2 MFDs on the iGPU, radar on a USB adapter) failed MFD bring-up with the second MFD panel returning DDERR_EXCLUSIVEMODEALREADYSET, while the same build works on a W4100 and on a Quadro. The old report showed only the final device list and role numbers, which was not enough to tell whether the cause was device count, capability, index shifting, or a duplicate assignment. The report now traces every stage of display discovery in the order the game performs it, so the cause can be read off the file instead of inferred. What gets logged ---------------- * Header: executable path, full command line, and the requested -tmfds / -tmon values already converted from the 1-based command-line form to the 0-based DirectDraw indices the code uses. That conversion is an easy off-by-one to miss: "-tmon 1,..." means device 0. * Windows desktop topology via EnumDisplayDevicesA + EnumDisplaySettingsA - every \\.\DISPLAYn adapter, its friendly name, attached/primary state and current mode. Stated explicitly so it can be compared against the DirectDraw order, which is NOT the same ordering. * Stage 1, enumeration callbacks: each callback as it fires, with driver description, driver name, GUID, and the HMONITOR resolved through GetMonitorInfoA to \\.\DISPLAYn plus desktop rect and primary flag. Entries with no HMONITOR are named as the primary-display-driver alias, noting that NumMonitors is not incremented for them. * Stage 2, capability check: per device ACCEPTED (with assigned index and whether a HAL was found) or REJECTED. * Device table printed THREE times - before the NULL-device merge, after it, and final. Each entry shows description, driver, DeviceGUID, guidDeviceIdentifier, vendor/device IDs, hardware-rasterizer flag and its monitor. Followed by an adapter grouping listing which device indices belong to the same physical card, since guidDeviceIdentifier identifies the ADAPTER and not the output - which is precisely why a single card and a mixed iGPU + USB adapter setup enumerate differently. * Stage 3, the NULL-device merge: whether the NumMonitors>=2 guard passed, which device matched the primary's adapter GUID, and every index shift printed individually. If nothing matches, it says so loudly - slot 0 then remains the alias and any role pointed at device 0 lands on the Windows primary monitor. * Stages 4-7, role selection: span / main / radar / MFD searches, each printing the device chosen AND the reason every skipped device was skipped. Then the -tmon overrides, each showing what auto-detection had chosen and what the override replaced it with, or why it was rejected. * Final summary: role -> device -> physical monitor, plus a consistency check that reports two roles landing on one device as an explicit CLASH, with the explanation that the second panel will fail with DDERR_EXCLUSIVEMODEALREADYSET. That is the suspected failure on the Intel box and nothing in the old log pointed at it. Fixes ----- * Monitor/device desync: the NULL-device merge shifted DeviceArray but nothing tracked which monitor each slot drove. g_ahDevMonitor[] is now shifted in lockstep; without this every monitor attribution after a merge would be off by one, i.e. confidently wrong rather than absent. * HMONITOR is now retained. The Ex enumeration callback is the only place the device-to-monitor association is available and it was being discarded, so videoDevices gained an hMonitor field and BufferDevice takes it. Behaviour --------- No functional change. Every condition, code path and assignment is unchanged - only logging was added, plus the monitor-array shift above. -tmon still applies each slot independently and still does not reject duplicates; the duplicate is now merely visible. Whether to make it an error is a separate decision, pending test results. Cost ---- Startup only. Nothing added is reachable from the frame loop, so there is no runtime cost of any kind. Roughly 255 writes for a 4-monitor pod, at ~25-130 ms total on a warm cache - inside the noise of FindVideoCards() itself, which creates DirectDraw objects and enumerates every display mode per device. Worst case is antivirus on-access scanning of each CreateFile, which could reach ~1 s; a folder exclusion removes it. Lines remain open-append-close so the report survives a hard crash during panel init, which is exactly when it is most needed. gos-fps.txt is the buffered log; this one deliberately is not. Portability ----------- GetMonitorInfoA and EnumDisplayDevicesA are resolved with GetProcAddress and the MONITORINFOEXA / DISPLAY_DEVICEA layouts are declared locally, so nothing depends on the 1998 SDK headers carrying multimon support. If the APIs are unavailable the report degrades gracefully instead of failing to build. ENUM_CURRENT_SETTINGS is defined defensively. Testing ------- Not yet built. Requires a rebuild of MW4.exe (Release + Profile) as this is CoreTech GameOS. Note the report is truncated on every launch - a failing run's log must be copied before relaunching. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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e912c58843 |
README: rewrite with project background and history
Add Background section covering what FireStorm is, the full VWE / BattleTech Center history from ESP (1988) through Tesla II FireStorm (2002) and community continuation, and a summary of V5.1.x changes since the 5.07D official release. Reorganize build instructions under a dedicated 'Building from source' heading. Demote Outputs / Design / _UNUSED from top-level headings to subsections under the layout section. |
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07750da2fa | Delete daf52e2c-8107-4f40-88df-a2744c8861f6.mr | ||
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24ce46ab6d |
Cameraship Map/Armor diagnostics: -tmr ladder, draw counter, CTCL type log
Investigating a field report that the cameraship secondary armor/score/map screen showed its background BMP but no overlay graphics "on certain video cards". The video card was a red herring: the machine was launched with -ctcltype 2 (game pod) instead of 3 (cameraship), and the overlay block in hudchat.cpp is gated on CTCL_GetType()==_ECTCL_CameraShip, so it never ran. This is hard to spot because the two gates are independent. HSH_EnterFullScreen2 and CMR_Device open the screen and paint its background based purely on whether a spare secondary monitor exists, and never consult the CTCL role. A wrong -ctcltype therefore yields a screen that lights up, shows the correct artwork and renders nothing, which is visually identical to a DirectDraw failure. The same background-only screen also appears on a game pod when an MFD mode finds no dual-head span and falls through to the single-secondary mr_device path. Diagnostics added: - render.cpp: log the CTCL type in gos-displays.txt from HSH_EnterFullScreen2, via the existing g_pfnCTCL_GetType hook so GameOS gains no game-code dependency. Always logged, and states in words whether overlays will be drawn. - render.cpp/.hpp: CHSH_Device::m_nDrawCalls, incremented in DrawQuad, DrawThickFrame and DrawTexture, reset in CMR_Device::BeginScene and reported for the first 5 frames from CMR_Device::EndScene when -tmr is active. Zero draws proves the overlay code never ran; non-zero with a blank screen would mean it ran and drew invisibly. This distinction is what settled the case. - render.cpp: log CMR_Device surface creation plus the overlay texture's dimensions, depth and channel masks. - New -tmr <0-3> switch (MW4Application.cpp, documented in -help): 0 normal, 1 background blit with DDBLTFAST_WAIT|DDBLTFAST_NOCOLORKEY, 2 Clear instead of the background blit, 3 as 2 plus alpha blending off and an untextured magenta DrawQuad. Mode 3 drew magenta and mode 2 was pure black, which cleared the 3D device, the flip and the background blit in two runs; the draw counter then reported 0 and pointed straight at the gate. Documented as STEP 11 in CLAUDE.md, including the field triage rule: read "CTCL type =" in gos-displays.txt before suspecting drivers. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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b40892910b | fix filename for db structure file to match the new naming convention. | ||
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0f901f71d5 |
Release notes: document which -tmon positions apply in each MFD mode
-tmon has four positions (main, radar, MFD1, MFD2) but only the first two do anything in the spanned modes. Positions 3 and 4 write to the mode 4 MFD device slots, which -tmfds 1 and -tmfds 3 never read -- they drive both MFDs from one wide display instead. The switch accepts them either way, so an operator could reasonably assume they had taken effect. Also states what was previously undocumented: the spanned MFD display itself cannot be assigned with -tmon at all. It is chosen automatically as the first display advertising a 1280x480 mode, which is a distinctive enough signature that it normally lands correctly. Noted that it can be added if anyone needs to force it. Adds a per-mode table, a pointer to gos-displays.txt for diagnosing a display that lands in the wrong place, and a qualifier on the -tmon row of the switch summary. No code changes -- documentation only. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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7fc9089aad |
Clarify dgVoodoo2 scope: any second display, cameraship included
The dgVoodoo2 requirement was written as an MFD-mode problem. It is not. The limitation is per SECONDARY DISPLAY, not per feature, so it applies to every mode that lights up a second monitor -- including cameraship mode, which uses two displays and no MFDs at all. Console mode is the only configuration that does not need dgVoodoo2, because it is single-display. This matches the code: IsMultimonitorAvaliable() returns false for _ECTCL_CameraShip, so cameraship falls through to IsSecondaryMonitorAvaliable() and the single-secondary mr_device path -- which is still a second exclusive IDirectDraw7, and therefore still refused by modern Windows for exactly the same reason as the MFD panels. Release notes updated in all three places it appears -- section heading and opening, the known-issues entry, and upgrade checklist step 4 -- so an owner running cameraship pods cannot read the requirement as "only applies to MFD setups" and skip it. CLAUDE.md STEP 10 and repo memory corrected likewise, since both stated the narrower "-tmfds 1/3/4" scope. Both release-notes formats regenerated; still plain ASCII with CRLF. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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7f7f98d992 |
Release notes: soften dgVoodoo2 wording, note -tbaud is hardware-limited
Two wording corrections from the project owner, plus repair of three characters left mangled by the earlier CP949 encoding problem. 1. dgVoodoo2 known-issue entry. "This is a Windows limitation, not a bug we can fix" overstated it -- it reads as permanent. Replaced with a statement of what dgVoodoo2 actually does (works around a limitation on exclusive full-screen use of multiple displays on platforms after Windows XP) and that a future release may address it. The borderless-windowed design assessed in CLAUDE.md STEP 10 is exactly such a route, so leaving the door open is the accurate framing. 2. -tbaud. The notes implied any rate in the 9600-921600 range simply works. The software will set any of them, but the achievable rate is bounded by hardware at both ends: the serial UART in the pod PC and the RIO or replica RIO board. Added that, with the symptoms of an unsupported rate (garbled input, dropped buttons, no response) and the advice to step down. Without it an owner could conclude a high rate is broken in the game when it is the UART or board refusing it. Also repaired three leftovers from the CP949 encoding issue: two em dashes at ends of lines that the earlier pass missed because it only matched dashes surrounded by spaces, and the warning glyph on the MySQL export note, which had become a literal "??" and is now a WARNING: label. It renders as a styled warning callout in the HTML alongside the XP one, so both hazards look like hazards. Both formats regenerated and verified: 0 non-ASCII bytes, 0 remaining artefacts, 2 warning and 5 note callouts in the HTML. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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a0331e78d2 |
Compiled Build 5.1.0b_RC1 Files
Deployed game tree copied back from the Windows build machine, containing the compiled 5.1.0b_RC1 binaries and every asset the deploy produces. 846 files: 21 added, 825 modified. Freshly built binaries: MW4.exe, Launcher.exe, autoconfig.exe, ctcls.dll, MissionLang.dll, ScriptStrings.dll, Language.dll and the rest of the runtime DLL set, carrying everything merged this cycle -- the 16-pilots-plus-cameraship launch fix, the MFD mode 4 split-display support and its stutter fix, -tmon, -tcoop, -fps, -tbaud, the Load File console lobby feature, configurable Rookie Mission, and the English Language.dll build. New in the deployment: - set-appcompat.bat / set-appcompat.ps1 -- the one-click AppCompat shim installer, now shipped by deploy-mw4.ps1 so any copy of an install can repair its own registration (the layer is keyed on the exe's full path). - libmysql.dll -- required by mw4print 2.0's MySQL export, late-bound at runtime. - Four hsh art files restored from 5.0.7D: MFD/assassin2.bmp, Mechs/battlemaster iic.bmp, Mechs/behemoth ii.bmp, Mechs/mad cat mkii.bmp. - banner.txt, dbstruct.txt -- mw4print banner text and the exported DB structure reference. dgVoodoo2 is included as MW4/dgvoodoo2_files/ -- deliberately in a subfolder and NOT alongside the executable. Nothing loads from there, so the files are available for a pod owner to install on Windows 10/11 without being active by default. This keeps XP pods safe: they use native DirectDraw, and having dgVoodoo2 loose in the game folder would break them. Do not move these files up a level in the repo. Runtime leftovers from testing on the build machine are included as well (DDrawCompat logs, DebugLog.txt, mw4-help.txt, two screenshots), consistent with this repo's stated purpose as a full disaster-recovery mirror in which nothing is excluded on purpose. All binaries and art are stored via Git LFS per .gitattributes; verified that MW4.exe, libmysql.dll, the dgVoodoo2 DLLs and the screenshots staged as LFS pointers rather than raw blobs. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com>firestorm |
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1b931d5fb8 |
Correct dgVoodoo2 guidance: never ship it, XP pods must not have it
Two corrections from the project owner.
1. dgVoodoo2 must NEVER be added to the repo or the deploy script.
The pod fleet is mixed. XP pods use native DirectDraw and need nothing extra --
installing dgVoodoo2 on them BREAKS them. Only Windows 10/11 pods need it, and
only for the MFD modes. It is therefore an installed-per-machine, OS-dependent
prerequisite that the pod owner sets up, not a build artifact.
This reverses the recommendation added in the previous commit, which suggested
versioning the working dgVoodoo.conf and having deploy-mw4.ps1 place it. That
advice was wrong: it would have pushed a Win10-only dependency onto every XP
machine. dgVoodoo.conf and dgVoodooCpl.exe were removed in
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10dab8f2d5 |
Add V5.1.0b_RC1 end-user release notes (markdown + HTML)
Release notes covering the 58 commits since
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2f4ed244ea |
Fix -fps logger measuring its own overhead; buffer output, fix percentiles
First real run of -fps (222 seconds, 4-monitor bench, in-mission) showed a
rock-solid 60.0 fps average but a worst frame of ~24ms in 82% of seconds, with a
median of 24.4ms and a minimum of 23.2ms. That regularity was the tell: 60Hz vsync
intervals are 16.7 / 33.3 / 50.0 ms, so 24ms is not a multiple of anything and had
no business recurring once per second with that consistency.
Cause: the logger was measuring itself. The per-second line was written straight to
the file with WriteFile on the render thread, and the frame duration is recorded
BEFORE the line is emitted -- so the write's cost landed in the *next* frame's
measurement, which belongs to the next second's bucket. Result: exactly one
inflated frame per second, indefinitely. Holding the handle open (as the first
version did) was not enough; a single WriteFile is still several milliseconds when
something like antivirus is in the path.
Three fixes:
1. Buffered output. Lines accumulate in a 128 KB static buffer (~2000 rows, about
33 minutes at one row per second) and are flushed only when the buffer fills or
at exit via atexit(). A normal measurement session now performs no file writes
at all while running. Trade-off, deliberately accepted: a hard crash loses the
un-flushed tail. gos-displays.txt remains the crash-survivable log; gos-fps.txt
is a measurement instrument and must not perturb what it measures.
2. Meaningful percentiles. A "1% low" over 60 samples per second computes
nFrames/100 = 0, which was clamped to 1 -- so the column was literally
1000/worst_frame, i.e. the worst-frame column restated in different units.
Verified against the log: worst 24.1ms -> 41.5 fps, exactly the "1% low" printed.
Per-second is now a 5% low (worst 3 of 60), which is a number that actually
differs from the worst frame. True whole-session 1% and 0.1% lows are computed
at exit from a 0.5ms-bucket frame time histogram (2000 buckets, 0-1000ms) and
printed in a new session summary along with total frames, elapsed time, average,
and total hitches. The histogram gives exact-enough percentiles over an entire
session without retaining every frame time.
3. Carry-over. A single frame longer than one second (a level load: the log shows
4338ms and 4799ms frames) left the accumulator above the 1000ms threshold, so
the next few frames each emitted their own bogus one-frame row -- visible in the
log as rows reporting "1 frame, 1339 fps". The excess is now discarded.
Also adds #include <stdlib.h> to WinMain.cpp for atexit(); it was not reachable
through pch.hpp. GOS_FpsAtExit is declared __cdecl: GameOS builds with /Gz, which
makes __stdcall the default calling convention, but atexit() takes a __cdecl
callback -- without it VC6 rejects the call with C2664.
What the run did establish, and still stands: 60 frames per second sustained for
~150 seconds with no rhythmic multi-hitch pattern, so the mode 4 split-MFD stutter
fix (
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9c67dddd83 |
Display diagnostics + -fps/-tcoop; native multi-monitor MFD ruled out
Four-monitor MFD bring-up on the new bench (MR_new: AMD FirePro W4100, 4 outputs,
Win10). Adds permanent display diagnostics, a Release-capable frame pacing logger,
a self-locating AppCompat shim installer, and settles -- empirically -- whether
dgVoodoo2 can be dropped for the multi-monitor MFD modes. It cannot.
WHY THIS WAS HARD
-----------------
CHSH_Device::InitFirst/InitSecond discarded EVERY HRESULT (SetCooperativeLevel,
SetDisplayMode, CreateSurface, GetAttachedSurface, QueryInterface, CreateDevice)
and returned true unconditionally. A panel that failed to open produced no error,
no crash and no log entry -- the monitor just stayed on the desktop. SPEW is
compiled out of shipping builds, so none of it was visible. Restoring that
visibility is what unblocked everything else.
DIAGNOSTICS ADDED (keep these)
------------------------------
* VideoCard.cpp -- LogDisplayDevices() writes gos-displays.txt next to the exe:
NumDevices/NumHWDevices/NumMonitors, every DirectDraw device with its
hw_rasterization flag, the role assignment (FullScreenDevice / g_nNonDualHead /
g_nDualHead / g_nDualHead2 / g_nMFD1 / g_nMFD2), per-slot -tmon APPLIED/REJECTED
(previously silent), and whether mode 4's "BOTH mfd1 and mfd2" requirement is met.
* render.cpp -- HSH_LogInit()/HSH_CheckHR()/HSH_HRName() log every DirectDraw call
in the panel init path with its HRESULT decoded by name (27 DDERR_* codes, all
verified present and collision-free against build-env/dx7asdk/include/ddraw.h).
Each line is opened/appended/closed individually so the log survives a crash.
* WinMain.cpp -- GOS_LogFrameRate() writes gos-fps.txt: per second, frame count,
average fps, 1% low (mean of the worst 1% of frames), worst frame in ms, and a
count of frames exceeding 2x average ("hitches"). Average fps alone cannot
distinguish 60fps from 60fps-with-a-dropped-frame-every-second; the 1% low can.
The engine's own FrameRate readout is #ifdef LAB_ONLY (MWMission.cpp) so it only
exists in MW4pro.exe; this works in Release, which is what runs on the pods.
NEW SWITCHES (both documented in -help)
---------------------------------------
* -fps Enable the frame pacing report. Off by default: the gate is the first
statement in GOS_LogFrameRate, so an unflagged run does no arithmetic
and does not even create the file. The file handle is held open for the
process lifetime -- opening/closing it every second would put a syscall
of unpredictable latency on the render thread, i.e. the measurement tool
perturbing what it measures.
* -tcoop <0-5> Selects the SetCooperativeLevel form used by the radar/MFD panels.
0 = legacy (unchanged shipped behaviour, remains the default).
Exists so every candidate fix could be compared on real hardware without
a rebuild between attempts.
CRASH-SAFETY FIX
----------------
hsh_initialized was set unconditionally after panel init, so a failed panel left
null surfaces and a null IDirect3DDevice7 behind and the per-frame path called
straight through them. Now:
- all four InitSecond overrides (CMR/CRadar/CMFD/CMFDRight) bail on base failure,
- CMFD_Device::InitFirst reports its real result instead of always returning true,
- hsh_initialized is only set when the panels genuinely came up.
A display failure now leaves the game running without MFDs instead of bombing to
desktop. Crash signature for the record: `call [ecx+0x44]` with ECX=0 is
IDirectDrawSurface7::GetDC on a never-created surface (vtable offset confirmed
against the DX7 header), reported as "Attempt to read from address 0x00000044".
APPCOMPAT SHIM INSTALLER (new)
------------------------------
build-env/set-appcompat.ps1 + set-appcompat.bat. Self-locating via $PSScriptRoot:
applies DWM8And16BitMitigation to the MW4 executables sitting next to it, wherever
that install lives. HKCU always, HKLM too when elevated (the HKLM value format
differs -- it carries a leading "$" marker -- so the two must not be interchanged).
Verifies by reading back; detects the HIGHDPIAWARE-only entry that SUPPRESSES the
automatic shim; supports -Remove and -WhatIfOnly. deploy-mw4.ps1 now ships both
files into every deployment.
This matters because the layer is keyed on the executable's FULL PATH -- any copy
of an install to another folder or machine silently loses it, and the resulting
error is actively misleading (see below).
WHAT WE LEARNED
---------------
* The AppCompat shim SYNTHESISES 16-bit display modes. Proved directly: the crash
dump shows "16 bit modes :" EMPTY without it and fully populated with it. MW4
renders at bitdepth=16 and modern GPUs expose no 16-bit modes at all.
* Without the shim, GameOS reports "Another application is preventing use of full
screen mode" (GOS_DXRASTERIZER_NOFULLSCREEN, DXRasterizer.cpp ~1125). That is a
catch-all fired after every SetDisplayMode attempt fails -- it even scans for
NetMeeting -- and it sends you looking for a conflicting program that does not
exist. The real cause is the missing shim.
* Exclusive fullscreen DOES work on Win10 with the system ddraw.dll and dgVoodoo2
physically removed, once the shim is applied to that exe path.
* Windowed mode works natively with no shim at all: the windowed path sets
Environment.bitDepth = DesktopBpp (32), so there is no mode switch. Verified for
the console/shell; a full mission windowed is still untested.
* Native DirectDraw enumerates all four W4100 outputs, so dgVoodoo2 was never
needed for device enumeration.
* The engine is 4:3 ONLY. ImageHlp.cpp ~464 asserts the complete supported set:
640x480, 512x384, 800x600, 960x720, 1024x768, 1280x1024 (5:4), 1600x1200. No
16:9 mode and no aspect correction anywhere in the codebase. On a 16:9 monitor
the scaler must adapt: plain stretch distorts geometry, keep-aspect pillarboxes.
* -2dt is not a recognised switch anywhere in the codebase, despite appearing in
production ctcl.ini launch lines. Completely inert.
* NumHWDevices (5) can exceed NumDevices (4): it counts D3D device-enumeration
callbacks, and an adapter exposing both a HAL and a T&L HAL yields two. Benign.
WHAT WE TRIED AND WHY IT FAILED
-------------------------------
The panel cooperative-level call was genuinely wrong -- a latent 2002 bug. Every
panel asked to be BOTH the process focus window AND its own device window, on the
one shared hWindow, after the main device had already taken exclusive mode on it.
The main device (DXRasterizer.cpp ~1027) already uses the correct two-call idiom
(SETFOCUSWINDOW alone, then EXCLUSIVE|FULLSCREEN) -- tagged //sanghoon, the same
author. The panels never were.
Results on real hardware, no dgVoodoo2, shim applied, -tmfds 4:
-tcoop 0 SETFOCUSWINDOW|CREATEDEVICEWINDOW|ALLOWREBOOT|EXCLUSIVE|FULLSCREEN
-> DDERR_EXCLUSIVEMODEALREADYSET
-tcoop 1 CREATEDEVICEWINDOW|EXCLUSIVE|FULLSCREEN (no focus claim)
-> DDERR_INVALIDPARAMS (CREATEDEVICEWINDOW needs a focus window)
-tcoop 2 SETFOCUSWINDOW, then CREATEDEVICEWINDOW|EXCLUSIVE|FULLSCREEN
-> DDERR_INVALIDPARAMS
-tcoop 3 SETFOCUSWINDOW, then EXCLUSIVE|FULLSCREEN
-> first panel collides, but that collision STEALS exclusive mode from
the main display, after which panels 2 and 3 fully initialise (the
radar reached CreateDevice(HAL) = DD_OK -- a secondary panel running
entirely on native DirectDraw). Side effect: the desktop was left at
1920x1080 16bpp. Not viable.
-tcoop 4 EXCLUSIVE|FULLSCREEN only -> EXCLUSIVEMODEALREADYSET, all panels
-tcoop 5 ALLOWREBOOT|EXCLUSIVE|FULLSCREEN -> EXCLUSIVEMODEALREADYSET, all panels
CONCLUSION: on modern Windows only ONE DirectDraw object per process may hold
exclusive fullscreen. The main display takes it; every secondary panel is refused.
XP allowed multiple. dgVoodoo2 allows it because it is a full reimplementation of
ddraw and is not bound by that rule -- it is not papering over a bug we can fix.
=> dgVoodoo2 CANNOT be removed for -tmfds 1/3/4 by correcting these flags. The
default stays -tcoop 0. The switch is retained because it is how this was settled
and it will re-settle it on different hardware.
The only native path is a borderless windowed panel design (DDSCL_NORMAL + clipper
per monitor, no exclusive mode anywhere). Assessment and staged plan are recorded
in CLAUDE.md STEP 10; not started.
WORKING 4-MONITOR CONFIG (with dgVoodoo2)
-----------------------------------------
dgVoodoo2 Scaling mode MUST be "Stretched, Keep Aspect Ratio". Plain "Stretched"
fails silently: main and radar go fullscreen black, both MFD monitors keep showing
the desktop, and every DirectDraw call still returns DD_OK -- the devices are alive
but dgVoodoo2 never drives those outputs. Diagnosed with a temporary per-panel
colour-flash test (since removed), which also established that device index maps
1:1 to physical monitor on this bench, so -tmon 1,2,3,4 equals auto-detection.
Confirmed working end to end: all three secondary panels present, full mission
played.
KNOWN GAP: the working dgVoodoo.conf is still not versioned in the repo (removed
in
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f402e5becc |
Add OPTIONS-INI.md reference
options.ini had no documentation. This documents every section and key, compiled by reading the actual read sites rather than by describing the shipped file, so that settings which look active but are not are identified as such. Covers [graphics options], [sound options], [special commands], [server], [joystick], [Cameraship Params], [Battle Tech Misc], [RookieMission] and [battle tech print], plus how the file is loaded, which parts the game writes back, and the per-role options-game/cam/mr variants. Notable findings, all verified against source: - The entire [network options] section is DEAD. None of connectiontype, connectionspeed, packetsize, defaultconnection, playericon or teamicon is read by any code; the connection type actually used comes from the multiplayer connection wizard. These are stock MW4 leftovers. - Several [Battle Tech Misc] keys have names that do not describe what they do, and the real meanings are now recorded: RuleBook sets g_nMechVariant, DawnWar sets g_nMechLabOp, BiggieSizeIt sets g_nMechPodNum (the console lobby's larger roster flag), and CanYouHearTheFootSteps sets g_nBlackMech. - The shipped options.ini misspells two keys. It contains secmissionreplay and secmissionreport, but the code reads SecsMissionReplay and SecsMissionReport. The shipped values are therefore ignored and the compiled defaults apply. - Three keys are read and then immediately overridden, so editing them does nothing: videodriverindex (device forced to 0), huddamagemode and hudtargetdamagemode (both forced false). Their GetEntry calls are commented out. - [special commands] killgame is a self-clearing kill switch: if true at startup the game rewrites it to false, saves options.ini and exits immediately. - maxplayers/maxbots are serialised to clients as 5-bit fields, so 31 is the maximum usable value; cross-referenced to RAISING-PLAYER-CAP.md. Also records why a typo produces no diagnostic: GetEntry returns false and the compiled default is kept silently. Page and key lookup were confirmed to be case-insensitive (NotationFile::FindPage lowercases; Page::FindNote uses _stricmp), so the capitalisation differences between the shipped file and the code are harmless -- the misspellings above are not. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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308fe041d4 |
Make -help a complete command line reference
MW4.exe accepts 76 command line switches. Only 27 of them appeared in the old -help output, that output went to the debug log rather than to the user, and it did not stop the game from launching afterwards -- so in practice the switches were undocumented. -help now writes a full, categorised reference to mw4-help.txt next to the executable, opens it in Notepad, and returns from WinMain without starting the game. If Notepad cannot be launched, a message box reports where the file was written. The check runs immediately after the command line is lower-cased at the top of WinMain, before any subsystem is initialised. A file plus a viewer was chosen over a message box because MW4 is a GUI-subsystem application with no console, and 76 switches with real descriptions do not fit legibly in a dialog. The reference documents every switch actually parsed, grouped as: display and video, audio and plasma display, pod hardware and arcade (CTCL), zoom and field of view, multiplayer and network, logging and diagnostics, development and test builds, and other. Each entry records the accepted value range where the parser enforces one -- for example -tbaud 9600-921600, -armorlevel 0-4, -tmfds 0-4, -zmfovb 0.01-0.5, and the -zmtime special case where 0 means instant. Two switches are listed under "recognised but inactive" so their behaviour is not misrepresented: -join, whose consuming line is commented out, and -noabzug, which is only parsed inside a disabled code path. The LAB-only switches are marked as accepted and ignored in Release builds. The old partial SPEWALWAYS list in GetGameOSEnvironment was removed so there is a single maintained reference rather than two that can drift apart. A comment there points at the new one. Also adds an explicit #include <stdio.h>; this translation unit previously had no direct stdio use and relied on transitive inclusion. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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0009f868eb |
RAISING-PLAYER-CAP.md: sharpen the drop-zone wording
The previous correction overstated the case by implying the code reading was wrong outright. It was not. The engine really does place surplus 'Mechs on already-occupied spawn points -- two 'Mechs dropped on the same spot -- exactly as reading the code suggests. The only wrong part was the predicted consequence. The original draft said those players "silently fail to spawn". They do spawn; the collision system then pushes the stacked 'Mechs apart within a second or two, costing some minor contact damage, and play continues normally. Reworded Layer 7 and the known-traps entry to separate the two claims: the spawn-point reuse is real and code-predictable, the failure-to-spawn conclusion was not. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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33c28cf816 |
RAISING-PLAYER-CAP.md: correct the drop-zone analysis
The original draft claimed that players beyond a map's available drop zones "silently fail to spawn", and called per-map drop-zone authoring the true gating task for raising the player cap. That was inferred from reading the code and is wrong. Corrected from real pod testing: when there are more 'Mechs than drop zones, the surplus 'Mechs spawn on top of each other. They clip and collide briefly, take some minor damage, then separate and play normally. It resolves itself within seconds. So a drop-zone shortfall is a quality-of-experience issue, not a functional failure. It does not block raising the cap and should not gate the schedule. Adding start points to busy maps is still worth doing eventually -- overlapping spawns are untidy and hand out free chip damage -- but it can happen at any point and never needs to be complete. Updated accordingly: the TL;DR table, Layer 7, the implementation order (drop zones moved from step 5 to last and marked optional), the verification checklist, and the known-traps list. The biggest remaining non-code task is now the lobby pod-grid and scoreboard layout rework. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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a41dfb4aa8 |
Add RAISING-PLAYER-CAP.md reference
Captures the full audit of every player-count limit in the codebase, done while tracking down the "16 pilots + 1 cameraship" launch failure. Research only -- nothing in it is implemented. Key finding: the practical ceiling without a wire-format change is 31, not 32. m_maxPlayers and m_maxBots are serialized as 5-bit fields in NetMissionParameters, so 32 truncates to 0. This supersedes the "32" figure in the existing CLAUDE.md plan sections. Documents, with file references: - what is NOT a limit (Adept::Maximum_Players is 255, connectionID is a BYTE, DirectPlay imposes nothing, and there is no 32-bit player bitmask) - the 5-bit serialization ceiling and what widening it would cost - the compiled defaults in CTCL_DefaultHostSetup that actually gate connections - the CTCL roster arrays, including that g_aPlayerInfos[20] has NO bounds check in CTCL_AddPlayer and that ctcl.h is duplicated across ~6 directories - MAX_LANCEMATES 16 for bots - the lobby script constants and the pod-grid UI work - scoreboard/radar/review layout work - per-map drop zones, which is the real gating task and produces silent spawn failures when short - the O(n^2) replication cost, reframed as verify-don't-assume on modern hardware Also records the failure signatures to expect, so a future attempt recognises them quickly: silent launch hang from a count mismatch, silent non-spawn from missing drop zones, and 5-bit truncation looking like "max players became zero". Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
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9ba2d594b1 |
Add -tmon switch to hard-assign display devices
Display roles are auto-detected in FindVideoCards(): the main view takes the
first hardware-rasterizing device that is not a 1280x480-capable span, the radar
takes the next, and mode 4's two MFD panels take the two after that. That works
until DirectDraw enumerates the adapters in an unexpected order, at which point
the wrong content appears on the wrong monitor with no way to correct it.
Adds an override that keeps auto-detection as the default:
-tmon <main>,<radar>,<mfd1>,<mfd2>
Values are 1-based, so the normal case is "-tmon 1,2,3,4". A value of 0 leaves
that slot auto-detected, so "-tmon 2,1,0,0" swaps only main and radar. Separators
may be ',' '/' or ':'. mfd1/mfd2 are only meaningful with -tmfds 4. Omitting the
switch entirely preserves existing behaviour exactly.
Implementation:
- Parsed in MW4Application's WinMain alongside -tmfds. That runs before GameOS
calls FindVideoCards(), so the values are in place for device selection.
- Stored in g_naMonitorOverride[4] (VideoCard.cpp), extern'd in MW4Application.cpp.
- ApplyMonitorOverride() validates the index against NumDevices, so a stale -tmon
on a machine with fewer monitors falls back to auto-detection rather than
breaking startup.
- Ordering matters and is deliberate: main and radar are applied BEFORE the mode 4
MFD search so that search still skips whichever devices the operator picked;
mfd1/mfd2 are applied after it. Partial overrides therefore compose correctly.
Role map: main = Environment.FullScreenDevice, radar = g_nNonDualHead,
mfd1 = g_nMFD1, mfd2 = g_nMFD2. The mode 1 span (g_nDualHead) is intentionally
not overridable -- it is detected by 1280x480 mode support, which only the span
card advertises, so that detection is reliable.
Also adds a SPEW line logging the final role -> device map and device count.
Note this is only visible in Profile/LAB builds; SPEW compiles out in Release
(gos2X/Gos.h), so in Release the order is determined by observation.
Verified: compiles clean, console launches. Multi-monitor testing pending.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com>
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0a657b5998 |
Fix constant rhythmic stutter in MFD mode 4 (split dual 640x480)
-tmfds 4 splits the 1280x480 MFD span into two independent 640x480 monitors so
the span hardware is no longer required. It rendered correctly but stuttered
rhythmically and constantly, making the game unplayable. -tmfds 1 on the same
binary was flawless.
Root cause: a cross-DirectDraw-object texture read, twice every 7-frame cycle.
CHSH_Device::InitFirst with no pOtherHSHD peer creates its OWN IDirectDraw7 (via
wDirectDrawCreateEx on that monitor's device GUID) and InitSecond creates its OWN
primary flip chain and IDirect3DDevice7. CMFDRight_Device::InitFirst passes no
peer, so the right MFD is an entirely separate DirectDraw object.
EndChannel then did, for channels 3-4:
target->pD3DDevice->SetTexture(0, pDDSTarget);
where target->pD3DDevice belonged to the RIGHT device but pDDSTarget was the LEFT
device's render-target texture. The old code comment asserted "both devices are
on the same GPU so VRAM textures are mutually accessible" -- that premise is
wrong. In DirectDraw 7 a surface belongs to the IDirectDraw7 that created it, not
to the physical GPU, so it is not a valid texture on another object's D3D device.
The MFDs still displayed, which means the runtime was emulating the access with a
VRAM -> system-memory readback and re-upload of the 1024x512 16-bit render target.
That forces a full GPU pipeline stall, and it happened on channels 3 and 4 (that
is, sh_step 5 and 6) -- twice per 7-frame cycle, on the same GPU drawing the main
view. Hence a fixed-period hitch in the whole game, forever.
This also explains why the earlier stagger work (
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29aee4f71b |
Fix 16 pilots + 1 cameraship failing to launch
A full 16-'Mech roster plus a cameraship silently refused to launch: the console
sat in nLaunchState 3 ("loading") forever with no crash and no error. 15 mechs +
camera worked, and 16 mechs with no camera worked.
Two independent bugs, both counting the cameraship against the 16 'Mech slots.
1. Session capacity (broke all-human rosters)
CTCL_DefaultHostSetup derived the camera reserve from
CTCL_GetTeslaCountAll() - CTCL_GetTeslaCount(). Those counters read the CTCL
tesla table, which is only populated when CTCL_IsConsoleOrCOOP() is true --
i.e. only on the console. But the machine that creates the network session is
the cameraship pod (CTCL_DoMission sets g_nServer = nCameraship, and that pod
runs CTCL_DoCreateGame -> CTCL_DefaultHostSetup(0) -> Mech4CreateGame ->
gos_CreateGame(..., Environment.NetworkMaxPlayers, ...)).
On that pod both counters return 0, so the reserve collapsed to +0 and the
session was created with dwMaxPlayers = 16. The 17th connection was refused,
CTCL_CheckServerReady never saw nCount == g_nTeslas + 1, and the launch hung.
Fixed by reserving with a constant, MW4_CAMERASHIP_RESERVE (4, matching
MAX_CAMERAS), which is valid on every machine regardless of the tesla table.
2. Bot admission (broke any roster containing bots)
MW4Shell::AddBot rejects when (player_count + bot_count) >= m_maxPlayers.
player_count is the DirectPlay player count, which includes the cameraship
connection, so with m_maxPlayers = 16 the last bot was silently refused.
g_nBOTs then never matched the connected lancemates and the same readiness
check spun forever.
Fixed by subtracting cameraship participants from player_count under CTCL,
via a new CTCL_CountCameraShipsInGame() helper (non-bot entries with
m_nMechIndex == 0). Cameraships hold a network slot but pilot no 'Mech, so
they must not consume a 'Mech slot.
Also applies the constant reserve in the PLAYER_LIMIT_PARAMETER path, guarded by
!CTCL_IsNone() so a standalone non-pod host keeps its exact configured limit.
This supersedes commit
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515adc2413 |
mw4print: persist banner text via banner.txt
- Add banner.txt load/save helpers in banner settings dialog - Load banner from banner.txt first, with options.ini BannerText fallback - Fix options.ini path join to include missing path separator |
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ff650f7bec |
Load File: finalize first-click deterministic apply, add NoReturn, and align docs
- Stabilize Load File first-click behavior across mission/map/options/slots. - Fix map sequencing by rebuilding game-type scenario list before mission lookup. - Resolve mission-name miss to map index 0 fallback for selected game type. - Fix decal handling: map INI decal IDs to dropdown indices, clamp invalid indices, display actual decal IDs in UI labels, and avoid redraw-time decal overwrite. - Fix option apply timing and UI visibility issues, including Weapon Jam refresh. - Add NoReturn support end-to-end: parse/store in MW4Shell auto globals, expose script variable, and apply to respawn/no-return mission params and UI checkbox. - Update autoconfig spec to reflect actual parser/default/fallback behavior and add NoReturn examples. |
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e5561181bb |
Fix MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION crash: defer initialize(this) to sender==this self-mail
'gui_objects have no parent' crash at line 907: initialize(this) cannot be called from sender==@conlobby@ context (external mail). Fix: 1. Replace initialize(this)+mail(-9998,parent) in MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION with mail(MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION_DONE=-8888, this) -- a self-mail. 2. Add MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION_DONE handler in sender==this block, which safely calls initialize(this)+mail(-9998,parent) from the correct context. Also repaired a corrupt duplicate MAIL_PREVIOUS_MISSION_PARAMS block that was left orphaned by an earlier edit (the original body of MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION had been inserted there when the handler was moved from sender==this to sender==@conlobby@). No rebuild required (script-only). |
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06de4534da | BTFrstrm: add Load File test ini files (FFA Coliseum + 4-team KotH CentralPark) | ||
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23284b18b0 |
Fix MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION: move handler to sender==@conlobby@ block
Handler was inside 'if (sender == this)' but MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION is sent from ConLobby (sender != this), so it never fired. All game params (FriendlyFire, SplashDamage, UnlimitedAmmo, WeaponJam, AdvanceMode, ArmorMode, etc.) were silently ignored on every Load File click. Fix: move the ~70-line handler to the 'if (sender == @conlobby@)' block, alongside MAIL_SET_ROOKIE_MISSION and MAIL_PREVIOUS_MISSION — where all ConLobby-originated mails are handled. No rebuild required (script only). |
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62dc0952b1 | BTFrstrm: add Load File test configs (FFA Coliseum, Team KoH CentralPark) | ||
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9a9f2d0df2 | autoconfig-file-spec.html: add TeamAllowed/TeamCount to example; fix caveat #3 | ||
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cd2fe73c88 |
Fix Load File: separate Auto globals; fix team/FFA double-press
Issue 1 — double press to fix team/FFA display: cur_team_val is updated by ConLobbyMission's -9998 signal which was async. Fix: call SetNetworkMissionParamater(team_allowed, ...) directly in ConLobby before the slot loop, then re-read cur_team_val via CTCL_GetTeamParams. This is synchronous so the slot display is correct on the first click. New file keys: TeamAllowed=0/1, TeamCount=2 (default 2 teams). Issue 2 — Default button broken after Load File click: CTCL_LoadAutoFile was overwriting g_nRookieGameType/g_szRookieMission etc. so the Default button loaded the last auto-file params instead of defaults. Fix: 14 new dedicated g_nAutoXxx/g_szAutoMission globals. CTCL_LoadAutoFile populates ONLY these. Rookie Mission globals are never touched. New MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION (-6666) sent to ConLobbyMission applies the Auto globals (mirrors MAIL_SET_ROOKIE_MISSION_PARAMS but uses g_nAutoXxx). ConLobby reads game type/mission from Auto globals directly into the ConLobbyMission dropdowns (@ConLobbyMission@o_game_options[N].nselected). Files changed: MW4Shell.cpp: 16 new globals, StartUp/ShutDown registration, CTCL_LoadAutoFile ConLobby.script: MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION define, updated handler ConLobbyMission.script: MAIL_LOAD_AUTO_MISSION define + handler autoconfig-file-spec.html: document TeamAllowed + TeamCount fields Rebuild required: MW4.exe (Release + Profile). |
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3f2d79a038 | BTFrstrm: add weapon location spreadsheets (Special1/2 and rear-facing) | ||
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c3d82d78c9 |
Load File: hide button when automaticmode!=1; fix team/skin double-click
1. Expose g_bAutomaticMode as gosScript variable so ConLobby can check it at init time. o_load_file.state is set to 3 (disabled/hidden) if automaticmode != 1 in options.ini. Button is fully visible and active only when the feature is intentionally enabled. Rebuild required: MW4.exe (Release + Profile). 2. Remove cur_team_val conditional for team/skin slot assignment. Previously, only one of o_team[k] or o_skins[k] was set depending on cur_team_val at click time, but MAIL_SET_ROOKIE_MISSION propagates the new game type asynchronously -- cur_team_val would not reflect the file's GameType until the next frame, requiring a second click. Fix: always set both o_team[k] and o_skins[k] unconditionally. The mission launch code uses whichever is relevant for the active mode; the other is harmlessly ignored. No rebuild (script-only). |
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17ca966473 |
Fix Load File mech lookup: use stock_array to get chassis name
mech[j] in the flat sorted array hits variant entries (e.g. 'Assassin2 A' sorts before 'AssassinII' alphabetically, pushing all subsequent chassis indices off by 1 or more). The script's stock_array[] maps each chassis index -> its actual position in the flat mech[] array, bypassing variant entries. Fix: mech[allowed_mechs[j]] -> mech[stock_array[allowed_mechs[j]]] Only stock (chassis) names are supported in Mech= field. Operators can adjust variants manually after Load File is clicked. No rebuild required (script-only change). |
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7852269dc7 |
Fix Load File crash: VALUEPARM for literal field arg in CTCL_GetAutoSlotInt
Script calls callback(CTCL_GetAutoSlotInt, k, 0/1/2/3) where 0-3 are integer literals. The script engine passes literals as (void*)N directly (not as pointers), so INTPARM(1) = *((int*)data[1]) dereferences NULL when field=0, producing the 'Attempt to read from NULL' STOP. Fix: VALUEPARM(1) = (int)data[1] reads the value without dereferencing. k (data[0]) remains INTPARM because it is a script variable (passed as a pointer to the variable's storage, not a literal). Also add exists(@ConLobbyMission@) guard before MAIL_SET_ROOKIE_MISSION for defensive safety if the sub-script is not running. Rebuild required: MW4.exe (Release + Profile). |
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76121f1c68 | BTFrstrm: add autoconfig-file-spec.html (Load File format reference) | ||
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c33465611f |
Add [automaticmode] Load File button to console lobby
options.ini [automaticmode] section: automaticmode=1 automaticfile=c:\path\to\config.ini Right-click was considered then dropped in favor of a dedicated button at 467,510 (below Pick Cond., left of Reprint). C++ (MW4Shell.cpp): - SAutoFileSlot struct + g_aAutoSlots[16], g_bAutomaticMode, g_szAutomaticFile globals - [automaticmode] ini read at StartUp - CTCL_LoadAutoFile: checks file exists, reads [mission] page into existing g_nRookieXxx globals + [slot0]..[slot15] pages into g_aAutoSlots[]; returns 1 if loaded - CTCL_GetAutoSlotName(out_str, k): pilot name for slot k - CTCL_GetAutoSlotMech(out_str, k): mech display name for slot k - CTCL_GetAutoSlotInt(k, field): Type/Team/Skin/Decal for slot k (fields 0-3) - Register/unregister all 4 callbacks in StartUp/ShutDown Script (ConLobby.script): - o_load_file button at 467, 510 - Handler: CTCL_LoadAutoFile -> if loaded, sends MAIL_SET_ROOKIE_MISSION to ConLobbyMission (game options), clears all slots, then applies per-slot data in a loop (pilot names, mech by display-name lookup in allowed_mechs[], team, skin, decal). USE_ALLOWED_MECHS/non-ALLOWED_MECHS both handled via #if. File not consumed (stays on disk); external app overwrites for next load. Rebuild required: MW4.exe (Release + Profile). |
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fccdc2dee4 |
CLAUDE.md: document 5813aeb6 through 0344418a work (2026-07-23)
- hsh/ BMP canonical renames (MFD + Mechs, commit |