Modern open-source C# .NET 10 Asheron's Call client. Faithful port of retail client behaviour to Silk.NET with a plugin API.
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Erik 7230c1590f docs+feat(ui): retail UI deep-dive research + C# port scaffold
Deep investigation of the retail AC client's GUI subsystem, driven by 6
parallel Opus research agents, plus the first cut of a retail-faithful
retained-mode widget toolkit that scaffolds Phase D.

Research (docs/research/retail-ui/):
- 00-master-synthesis.md        — cross-slice synthesis + port plan
- 01-architecture-and-init.md   — WinMain, CreateMainWindow, frame loop,
                                  Keystone bring-up (7 globals mapped)
- 02-class-hierarchy.md         — key finding: UI lives in keystone.dll,
                                  not acclient.exe; CUIManager + CUIListener
                                  MI pattern, CFont + CSurface + CString
- 03-rendering.md               — 24-byte XYZRHW+UV verts, per-font
                                  256x256 atlas baked from RenderSurface,
                                  TEXTUREFACTOR coloring, DrawPrimitiveUP
- 04-input-events.md            — Win32 WndProc → Device (DAT_00837ff4)
                                  → widget OnEvent(+0x128); full event-type
                                  table (0x01 click, 0x07 tooltip ~1000ms,
                                  0x15 drag-begin, 0x21 enter, 0x3E drop)
- 05-panels.md                  — chat, attributes, skills, spells, paperdoll
                                  (25-slot layout), inventory, fellowship,
                                  allegiance — with wire-message bindings
- 06-hud-and-assets.md          — vital orbs (scissor fill), radar
                                  (0x06001388/0x06004CC1, 1.18× shrink),
                                  compass strip, dat asset catalog

Key insight: keystone.dll owns the actual widget toolkit — we cannot
port a class hierarchy from the decompile because it's not there.
Instead we implement our own retained-mode toolkit with retail-faithful
behavior (event codes, focus/modal/capture, drag-drop state machine)
and will consume the same portal.dat fonts + sprites so the visual
identity is preserved.

C# scaffold (src/AcDream.App/UI/):
- UiEvent          — 24-byte event struct + retail event-type constants
                     (0x01 click, 0x15 drag-begin, 0x201 WM_LBUTTONDOWN,
                     etc.) matching retail decompile switches
- UiElement        — base widget: children, ZOrder, focus/capture flags,
                     virtual OnDraw/OnEvent/OnHitTest/OnTick; children-
                     first hit test + back-to-front composite
- UiPanel          — panel, label, button primitives
- UiRenderContext  — 2D draw context with translate stack
- UiRoot           — top-of-tree + Device responsibilities (mouse/
                     keyboard state, focus, modal, capture, drag-drop,
                     tooltip timer); WorldMouseFallThrough/
                     WorldKeyFallThrough preserves existing camera
                     controls when no widget consumes
- UiHost           — packages UiRoot + TextRenderer + input wiring
                     helpers for one-line integration into GameWindow
- README.md        — orientation for future agents

Roadmap (docs/plans/2026-04-11-roadmap.md):
- D.1 marked shipped (debug overlay from 2026-04-17)
- D.2 expanded to include the retail UI framework landed here
- D.3-D.7 added: AcFont, dat sprites, core panels, HUD, CursorManager
- D.8 remains sound

All existing 470 tests pass. 0 warnings, 0 errors.
2026-04-17 19:13:02 +02:00
docs docs+feat(ui): retail UI deep-dive research + C# port scaffold 2026-04-17 19:13:02 +02:00
memory feat(ui): debug overlay + refined input controls 2026-04-17 18:45:38 +02:00
src docs+feat(ui): retail UI deep-dive research + C# port scaffold 2026-04-17 19:13:02 +02:00
tests feat(physics): port full CTransition collision response from pseudocode 2026-04-14 11:17:45 +02:00
tools feat(core): port decompiled AC client physics — CollisionPrimitives + PhysicsBody 2026-04-12 23:54:51 +02:00
.gitignore chore: phase 0 — skeleton + dat asset inventory 2026-04-10 09:02:56 +02:00
AcDream.slnx feat(net): AcDream.Core.Net scaffold + ISAAC keystream (Phase 4.1) 2026-04-11 14:14:28 +02:00
CLAUDE.md docs: comprehensive architecture plan for acdream 2026-04-13 14:23:50 +02:00
README.md chore: phase 0 — skeleton + dat asset inventory 2026-04-10 09:02:56 +02:00

acdream

Experimental modern open-source Asheron's Call client in C# / .NET 10.

Status: pre-alpha, not playable. Phase 0 only — dat file asset inventory.

Stack: .NET 10, Chorizite.DatReaderWriter for dat parsing. Silk.NET + Avalonia planned for rendering/UI (not yet wired up).

Requires: A retail Asheron's Call install (Turbine/Microsoft property — supply your own). Set ACDREAM_DAT_DIR environment variable to the directory containing client_portal.dat, client_cell_1.dat, client_highres.dat, and client_local_English.dat, or pass it as the first CLI argument.

Layout

  • src/AcDream.Cli/ — console app that dumps asset counts from a dat directory
  • references/ — local read-only reference material (ACE, ACViewer, WorldBuilder, DatReaderWriter, holtburger, retail AC install). Gitignored.

Run

dotnet run --project src/AcDream.Cli -- "C:\path\to\Asheron's Call"

Or set ACDREAM_DAT_DIR and run without args.