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sots-re/campaign/backlog.md

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Backlog (prioritized)

Object model + control flow are mapped concurrently. Priority favors targets that unblock the most other work. Groomed by re-quartermaster.

Now

  1. Data readers first (reimpl lever) — implement the Mars brace-block parser + flat-KV + CSV readers. Unlocks tech tree, weapons (207), ship sections (875), races, AI tables, scenarios, tuning — nearly free. Also becomes the first verify/parsers/. See findings/subsystems/data-model.md.
  2. RTTI class inventory — pull the full class/vftable list from ReVa; this seeds the real object-model target names (currently placeholders on the board).
  3. empire/player object — the root of the game state; cross-ref the save-editor structs.
  4. entry → main loop — establish the control-flow spine in parallel with the object model.

Next

  1. star system / fleet / ship / tech-tree objects (fan-out once class names are known).
  2. D3D9 device init → present loop (renderer anchor).
  3. save load/write path (ties object model to on-disk format; feeds verify/ parsers).

Later

  1. battle-load path (primary bug) — needs the object model + main loop mapped first.
  2. .gob/DDS/model asset parsers (interop tools).

Breadth queue (next rounds, one Ghidra user at a time; non-Ghidra items can run in parallel)

  • Combat sim: GameCombatSim/Mars::CombatSim tick, CombatCommand* dispatch (31 types), weapon flight per weaponclass (Ghidra)
  • Renderer: D3D9 init → Mars::DrawDevice/Camera → present loop; .fx shader usage (Ghidra)
  • Networking: SNM*/FNM* protocol from the 82 NetMsgReg_* factories; lockstep sync + host migration (Ghidra)
  • AI: AIPlayer, fuzzy IAIRule, TacAISquad*; how the AI CSV tables are consumed (Ghidra)
  • Mars::Buffer::gobio VFS + NativeFileSystem override order (Ghidra, small)
  • Ship design rules: section sockets/banks → ShipDesignDef validation (data + small Ghidra)
  • Reader/verify: fold strategic-internals formulas into harness checks against the 3 real saves (Python)

Parked (not on the critical path — resume only with a clear reason)

  • Battle-load bug — one cheap Ghidra question when convenient: does the combat loader use the job API (0x8fc160/0x8fa5b0) whose completion poll is TryEnterCriticalSection → Sleep(1000) @0x0071ea60? Dynamic resume: add HDA audio (qm set 140 -audio0 device=ich9-intel-hda,driver=none), build Tankers + Extended-Range DEs, move to Markab/Junction, then verify/harness/profiling/battle-run.sh.

From the RE how-to (guides/re-windows-2000s-howto.md) — adopt

  • Replay + per-turn state-checksum regression harness (OpenRCT2 model): record multi-turn input scripts, checksum sim state each turn, run in CI; decide the float-parity policy now (x87 vs SSE: i686 shim vs future x64 standalone) — -mfpmath/strict or tolerant compare. Extends our single-step End-Turn hash oracle. (verify lane)
  • Automated class recovery: run Ghidra RecoverClassesFromRTTIScript (with Decompiler Parameter ID) and/or CMU OOAnalyzer on the 1,924 RTTI classes to build class structs + method-to-class assignment; import VS2010 FID databases for CRT/STL triage. (Ghidra lane, after tech-effects)
  • apitrace whole-run D3D9 capture of the original as the golden trace for the eventual Mars::DrawDevice reimpl (RenderDoc can't capture D3D9); WinDbg TTD (x86 supported) for data-flow questions like 'who writes ServerPlayer+0x164'. (VM lane)
  • Pin game/sim low-confidence formulas from findings/subsystems/formula-gaps.md (bankruptcy limits/stamping, linear hazard curve, money tail, pbon, slider request, [6] net, no speed clamp, decay incl. current) and wire the code-defined tech effects (findings/subsystems/tech-effects.md) into game/sim + game/data. (engine lane, next slot)

Behavioral slice (the pivot from data to logic — user directive 2026-09-08)

Data loaders are done/underway; game/sim has never been compared against the original. Verify behavior function-by-function on the End-Turn workload (ref-turn2.sav, deterministic, 8 players x 28 systems):

  1. B1 ComputeBudget (pure, no RNG) — the cleanest first brick.
  2. B2 OnTechResearched (tech effects) — needs sim-pin's effects layer.
  3. B3 ProcessResearch (RNG) — snapshot MT19937 pre-call, run ours from a copy; validates RNG+odds+Zuul at once.
  4. Then, once signatures are verified: ServerSystem::ProcessTurn (colony growth), MoveFleet, and finally StrategyServer::ProcessTurn as a whole-turn compare. Gate: RNG_* and StrategyServer::ProcessTurn signatures are unverified — Ghidra pass first.