95ac545b2b
Decoded dat/GP_OPTIONS.pak (po_keys_btn* sprites): the OPTIONS key-config screen lists every bindable in-flight action. Two of them change the plan. 'Change Target' exists — so target selection IS an input, and the earlier probe that swept LB/X/B/A/LS/RS found nothing only because it watched the ammo counters, which those actions do not touch. 'Padlock Mode Toggle' is a view/aim lock onto the selected target: the aim-dwell problem solved by a game mechanic rather than by tuning a PD controller, and presumably how a human holds a contact long enough to lock a missile. Confirms our measured bindings (Use Nose Weapon = RB, Use Main Weapon = Y, Accelerate/Decelerate = RT/LT, Radar Map Toggle = d-pad) and adds Special Move, Maneuver, Resupply and Change Main Weapon (which would reach ASMissile, Power 5000). Also records that CONTROL SETTINGS carries a Control Type preset plus yaw/pitch/roll sensitivity, so the mapping is not fixed and any stick calibration is only valid for the save's current profile. Tutorial menu (GP_TUTORIAL.pak) names the six lessons: BASIC CONTROLS, HEADS-UP DISPLAY, RADAR, SUPPLY AND SPECIAL MOVES, RADIO ORDERS, ADVANCED CONTROLS.
87 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
87 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
# In-flight control mapping — measured, not assumed
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**Status:** ✅ for the weapon bindings (ammo counters move), 🟡 for the rest (HUD
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observation only). Probes: `tools/re-capture/fire_probe.sh` (hold each input, photograph
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the ammo counters) and `lock_probe.sh` (tap each, watch the reticle). Stage 02, in flight.
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Evidence: [`captures/fire-probe-ammo-counters.png`](captures/fire-probe-ammo-counters.png).
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| input | effect | confidence |
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|---|---|---|
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| **`RB`** | **Nose gun.** `NOSE BM` 06000 → 05956 in a 4 s hold ≈ **11 rounds/s**; `HEAT` bar rises | ✅ |
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| **`Y`** | **Main mount** (missiles). `MAIN MPM` 00300 → 00299 per tap | ✅ |
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| **`RT` / `LT`** | Throttle up / brake, a *persistent* setting (488 → 1510 → 174 u/s) | ✅ (earlier session) |
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| **d-pad** | **Tactical map** overlay (grid with contact blips) — not target cycling | 🟡 |
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| `LB`, `X`, `B`, `A`, `LS`, `RS` | No change to either ammo counter | ✅ (as "not a weapon") |
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## Targeting appears to be automatic, and that is the lethality problem
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No input was found that cycles a target. The green `TARGET` marker is already present in
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idle frames with nothing pressed, so the game selects for us — most likely whatever sits
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nearest the reticle — and a guided missile's lock is then a **time-on-target** mechanic
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rather than a button.
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That fits the measurements end to end:
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- the guns fire fine (11 rounds/s) but the kill counters read `0000` after five gun-only
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runs → **we shoot and miss**;
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- guided missiles (`Missile_P`, Power 200, `GuidanceType` 5) got the first kills,
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`WARPLANES 0002`, but only **2 per 98 launches**;
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- the pilot's own log shows aim error wandering between ~10° and ~40° for most of a
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pass.
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So the remaining bottleneck is **not** the target choice (escort weighting), **not** the
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ballistics (now taken from the confirmed `Shell` records), and **not** the input mapping
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(measured above). It is that the steering loop never holds the nose on one contact long
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enough to complete a lock. The next thing worth doing is making aim *dwell* — and the
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cheapest oracle for whether a lock ever completes is the reticle itself, or finding the
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lock timer in the player object with the same anchoring trick used for hull.
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## The game's own action list (from the OPTIONS key-config screen)
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Decoded from `dat/GP_OPTIONS.pak` (`po_keys_btn*` sprites) — this is the authoritative
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set of bindable in-flight actions, straight off the disc, no probing required:
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| # | Action | Our mapping |
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|---|---|---|
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| 1 | Aircraft Control | LX/LY ✅ |
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| 2 | View Point Control | RX/RY (unused by the pilot) |
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| 3 / 4 | Left / Right Yaw Control | — (separate from pitch/roll!) |
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| 5 / 6 | Accelerate / Decelerate | `RT` / `LT` ✅ |
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| 7 | **Use Main Weapon** | `Y` ✅ |
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| 8 | **Use Nose Weapon** | `RB` ✅ |
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| 9 | Special Move | ❔ |
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| 10 | Maneuver | ❔ |
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| 11 | Resupply | ❔ |
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| 12 | **Change Target** | ❔ — **this is the target-select the loop needs** |
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| 13 | Change Main Weapon | ❔ (would reach `ASMissile`, Power 5000) |
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| 14 | **Padlock Mode Toggle** | ❔ — **the aim-dwell mechanism** |
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| 15 | Radar Map Toggle | d-pad 🟡 (matches the observed map overlay) |
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Two entries change the plan outright:
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- **`Change Target` exists**, so target selection *is* an input after all. The earlier
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probe swept `LB/X/B/A/LS/RS` and found no ammo change — consistent with those being
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exactly these non-weapon actions. The probe simply watched the wrong indicator.
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- **`Padlock Mode Toggle`** is a view/aim lock onto the selected target. That is the
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aim-dwell problem solved *by a game mechanic* rather than by tuning a PD controller —
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and it is why a human player can hold a contact long enough to lock a missile.
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Also note `CONTROL SETTINGS` carries a **`Control Type`** preset plus **Yaw / Pitch /
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Roll Sensitivity** and a separate **`Throttle`** option: the mapping is not fixed, and
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the craft's response to a given stick deflection is configurable. Any calibration done
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against one profile (e.g. the `ctrl_probe.py` throttle numbers) is only valid for the
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save's current settings.
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**Next:** bind physical buttons to actions 9–14 by watching the *reticle and target
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panel* (not the ammo counters) — and once `Change Target` and `Padlock` are identified,
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re-run the missile test with a locked target.
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## Notes for the reimplementation
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- Two independent weapons with separate ammo pools and separate HUD counters:
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`NOSE BM` (gun, 6000) and `MAIN MPM` (missiles, 300).
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- The gun has a **HEAT** bar that fills while firing — a sustained-fire limit the
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reimplementation needs; its cap and cool-down rate are not measured yet.
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- The tactical map is a full-screen overlay bound to the d-pad and does not pause flight
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(the craft kept taking fire with it open).
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