acdream/docs/research/2026-07-11-retail-combat-bar-pseudocode.md

Retail basic combat bar — port pseudocode

Sources

• Named retail decomp:
  • gmCombatUI::RecvNotice_AttackHeightChanged 0x004CC080
  • gmCombatUI::RecvNotice_SetPowerbarLevel 0x004CC0E0
  • gmCombatUI::RecvNotice_DesiredAttackPowerChanged 0x004CC110
  • gmCombatUI::PostInit 0x004CC1A0
  • gmCombatUI::ListenToElementMessage 0x004CC430
  • gmCombatUI::RecvNotice_SetCombatMode 0x004CC620
  • ClientCombatSystem::Begin 0x0056A460
  • ClientCombatSystem::StartPowerBarBuild 0x0056ADB0
  • ClientCombatSystem::GetPowerBarLevel 0x0056ADE0
  • ClientCombatSystem::StartAttackRequest 0x0056C040
  • ClientCombatSystem::EndAttackRequest 0x0056C0E0
  • ClientCombatSystem::UseTime 0x0056C1F0
  • ClientCombatSystem::HandleAttackDoneEvent 0x0056C500
  • ClientCombatSystem::SetRequestedAttackHeight 0x0056C8F0
  • UIOption_Checkbox::UIOption_Checkbox 0x00486A50
  • UIOption_Checkbox::ListenToElementMessage 0x004869A0
  • compute_str_hash 0x00413110
• Matching retail executable disassembly (acclient.exe v11.4186 + PDB): ATTACK_POWERUP_TIME = 1.0 seconds and DUAL_WIELD_POWERUP_TIME = 0.8 seconds. The named pseudo-C's x87 expression had incorrectly collapsed the division operands.
• LayoutDesc 0x21000073 (gmCombatUI), cross-checked against the retail UI layout dump. Root is 610×90; basic page is 0x1000005C, desired-power scrollbar is 0x1000004F, embedded meter is 0x10000050, and the high/medium/low buttons are 0x10000057/58/59.
• Interpretation cross-checks: ACE combat request/power fields and the holtburger DesiredAttackProfile -> attack_request wire path summarized in docs/research/deepdives/r02-combat-system.md.

Initial state

combatMode = NonCombat
buildInProgress = false
attackRequestInProgress = false
attackServerResponsePending = false
requestedAttackPower = 0
requestedAttackHeight = Medium
desiredUiPower = 0.5
repeatAttacking = false

Panel visibility

when combat mode changes:
    if AdvancedCombatUI:
        hide gmCombatUI
    else if mode == Melee:
        set root state Melee (0x10000003)
        show gmCombatUI
    else if mode == Missile:
        set root state Missile (0x10000004)
        show gmCombatUI
    else:
        hide gmCombatUI

The current acdream port binds the basic page because the persisted gameplay default has AdvancedCombatUI = false. The separate advanced-combat surface is still tracked by divergence row AP-110.

Press / charge / release

SetRequestedAttackHeight(height):
    changed = requestedAttackHeight != height
    requestedAttackHeight = height
    if changed OR no attack request is active:
        StartAttackRequest()

StartAttackRequest():
    target = current attack target
    if target is not attackable: report no target and stop
    attackRequestInProgress = true
    requestedAttackPower = 1
    stop jump and movement
    currentBuildIsAutomatic = false
    if player is ready and no build is active:
        StartPowerBarBuild()

StartPowerBarBuild():
    buildInProgress = true
    buildStartTime = currentTime
    displayedPower = 0

GetPowerBarLevel():
    if no build: return 0
    duration = current stance is DualWieldCombat ? 0.8 seconds : 1.0 second
    return clamp((currentTime - buildStartTime) / duration, 0, 1)

EndAttackRequest(height, explicitPower = -1):
    if no attack request: stop
    attackRequestInProgress = false
    current = GetPowerBarLevel()
    requestedAttackPower = explicitPower >= 0
        ? explicitPower
        : min(desiredUiPower, current)
    if a prior attack is awaiting the server:
        queue this power for AttackDone
    else if desiredUiPower <= current OR repeat attack is active:
        ExecuteAttack(height)
    otherwise:
        UseTime commits on its next eligible tick at requestedAttackPower

UseTime():
    if a build is active:
        current = GetPowerBarLevel()
        publish current to meter
        if request was released AND current >= requestedAttackPower:
            publish min(requestedAttackPower, current)
            if build is not automatic: ExecuteAttack(requestedHeight)
            else stop automatic build

UI messages

mouse-down high/medium/low:
    SetRequestedAttackHeight(High/Medium/Low)

mouse-up high/medium/low:
    EndAttackRequest(the height, -1)

desired-power slider changed with integer position 0..1000:
    desiredUiPower = clamp(position * 0.001, 0, 1)

attack power increase/decrease action:
    move desiredUiPower by one sixth, clamped to 0..1

Both keyboard and retained buttons therefore use one transition-based attack controller. A one-shot click/keypress is not sufficient: down begins charging, up ends the request.

Authored labels and option checkboxes

PostInit():
    repeat = child 0x10000053 as UIOption_Checkbox
    repeat.playerOption = AutoRepeatAttack
    repeat.label = StringInfo(hash("ID_CombatPanelOption_AutoRepeatAttack"))

    autoTarget = child 0x10000054 as UIOption_Checkbox
    autoTarget.playerOption = AutoTarget
    autoTarget.label = StringInfo(hash("ID_CombatPanelOption_AutoTarget"))

    keepInView = child 0x10000055 as UIOption_Checkbox
    keepInView.playerOption = ViewCombatTarget
    keepInView.label = StringInfo(hash("ID_CombatPanelOption_ViewCombatTarget"))

The first two labels are deliberately not authored in LayoutDesc. They are assigned by gmCombatUI::PostInit, so a layout-only renderer must perform that controller binding. Ordinary Type-12 captions and High/Medium/Low use StringInfo property 0x17 and resolve through local.dat table 0x23000001.

UIOption_Checkbox is a toggle UIElement_Button. Its visible 13x13 face is the authored child 0x10000328; the label is embedded in the option object and starts after that face. Mouse release toggles attribute 0x0E and immediately applies the associated player option.

Horizontal scrollbar media roles

track = scrollbar DirectState image
thumb = structural child element 1
live power fill = nested meter child 0x10000050 / image child 2

These roles are identified by authored element ids, never by resolved width. The combat thumb is a 12x14 green jewel; inheritance reflow can make its effective child geometry wide enough that a width heuristic incorrectly tiles the jewel as the background. The base track is 0x060074CA, thumb 0x06001923, and live red fill 0x06001200.