pyr0ball
763509e4bc
Ghidra decompilation environment stood up on Linux (headless, no sudo): JDK 21 + Ghidra 12.1.2 in ~/tools, reusing the existing analyzed project at tools/ghidra_project/ from the prior Windows session instead of starting fresh. FPS-coupling investigation: traced the main game loop's per-frame path and found the real root cause - compute_frame_delta_ticks_60hz_min1_clamp (0x4092D0) computes correct delta-time from timeGetTime(), but clamps the minimum return value to 1 tick even when zero ticks truly elapsed, causing simulation speed to scale with framerate above 60fps. First patch attempt (NOP the clamp) crashed on level load because the shared delta value has 203 read sites across 40+ functions and only 2 were checked for zero-safety; reverted and archived as a documented lesson. The corrected fix (busy-wait instead of lying) is designed but not yet built. Pause-loop hang fixed: the pause command handler blocks the Windows message queue in a tight GetAsyncKeyState polling loop (found while locating the cheat code handler), which trips modern Windows' "Not Responding" hang detection if left paused too long, permanently disconnecting input. Patched (HAVOC_NOCD_PAUSEFIX_v1.EXE) to pump one message per loop iteration via the game's own existing message-drain function; confirmed fixed by play-testing, including the related "alt-tab while paused resets to menu" symptom. A separate "alt-tab while not paused" reset symptom remains open. New tracking docs: docs/FUNCTIONS.md (function-by-function RE progress), docs/PATCH_VERSIONS.md (binary patch version log), docs/LEVEL_NOTES.md (level/AI design quirks for the Remaster variant). Extended docs/PATCHES.md and docs/METHODOLOGY.md with full discovery narratives including dead ends.
40 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
40 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
# Level / AI Design Notes
|
|
|
|
Running list of level-specific design quirks and idiosyncrasies noticed during play-testing,
|
|
separate from `docs/PATCHES.md` (binary bugs/fixes) and `docs/FUNCTIONS.md` (RE progress).
|
|
These are candidates for the **Remaster** variant's "bug fixes" bucket (see `docs/HANDOFF.md`
|
|
section 1) while staying intact in the **Faithful 1:1** variant. Nothing here has been
|
|
reverse-engineered yet -- these are gameplay observations to revisit once the AI/level-loader
|
|
code (MAP/STUF/LAND, enemy AI) gets decompiled.
|
|
|
|
## World 1 (Badlands), first level
|
|
|
|
**Unreachable stranded drop from a flying enemy.** One of the final flying enemies in this
|
|
level has a patrol/movement pattern that can carry it over a tall piece of terrain. If it
|
|
isn't killed early -- before most other enemies in that area -- it can end up dying while
|
|
positioned over that tall terrain, and its item drop can land somewhere physically
|
|
unreachable (stuck on/above terrain the player can't get to).
|
|
|
|
- Not a crash or technical bug -- a level/AI design issue remembered from the original game,
|
|
confirmed again during a 2026-07-03 playthrough.
|
|
- Workaround (as originally learned): kill this specific enemy early, before it can drift
|
|
into the problem area.
|
|
- **Remaster candidate:** once `STUF<lvl>.DAT` (entity placement) and the AI/pathing code are
|
|
decompiled, this could be fixed by adjusting the enemy's patrol bounds, or by making drops
|
|
from airborne kills fall to the nearest reachable ground instead of wherever the enemy died.
|
|
- Not yet reverse-engineered -- no addresses, no code path identified. Revisit once AI/level
|
|
loading is a priority (see `docs/HANDOFF.md` section 7, items 4-5).
|
|
|
|
## Template for new entries
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
## World <N> (<name>), level <N>
|
|
|
|
**Short description.** Longer explanation of the quirk, when it happens, how to reproduce
|
|
or avoid it.
|
|
|
|
- Bug or design quirk?
|
|
- Reproduction notes / workaround if known.
|
|
- Remaster candidate? What would the fix look like.
|
|
- RE status: not yet investigated / found at VA 0x... / etc.
|
|
```
|