docs/re-notes/frontend-main-navigation-loop.md

Frontend__MainNavigationLoop (0x4E6700)

Ghidra address: 0x004E6700 Calling convention: __fastcall (ECX = CWinApp*) Size: ~3500 lines of decompiled C

This is the main entry point / event loop of WA.exe. It handles:

• Command-line argument parsing
• Crash handling (/handlecrash, /silentcrash, /disablecrashhandler)
• Replay playback (/play, /playat, /getlog, /getmap, /getscheme, /getvideo, /getlogs)
• Sanitize/repair modes (/sanitise, /repair)
• Network hosting (/host, wa: protocol)
• WormKit module loading (/wk, /nowk, /wkargs)
• Frontend screen navigation loop (main menu, multiplayer, campaigns, etc.)
• Renderer selection (DirectDraw, OpenGL, D3D9, etc.)

Crash Handler Mechanism

WA.exe's crash handler works by relaunching itself with /handlecrash:

1. Original WA.exe crashes (C++ exception via __CxxThrowException)
2. The crash handler (likely SEH-based) writes ERRORLOG.TXT and relaunches WA.exe with /handlecrash
3. The new WA.exe instance processes /handlecrash in this function
4. It checks Options__GetCrashReportURL() — if crash reporting is available, shows a dialog offering to send the report
5. It checks DAT_0088e410 (WormKit modules loaded flag) — if set, shows the "Fatal error" dialog with Yes/No asking to disable WormKit modules

Key flags:

• /silentcrash → sets DAT_007a0f10+1 = 1 — suppresses the crash dialog
• /disablecrashhandler → sets DAT_007a0f10+0 = 1 — disables the crash handler entirely
• /crash → intentionally crashes via __CxxThrowException("Goodbye, cruel world!")

Crash dialog code (at ~0x4E6730):

// Check for crash report URL
iVar11 = Options__GetCrashReportURL();
if (iVar11 != 0) {
    // Show "send bug report?" dialog (MB_YESNO | MB_ICONQUESTION = 0x14)
    iVar10 = MessageBoxA(NULL,
        "Worms Armageddon has encountered an error...\nWould you like to send the bug report?",
        "Fatal error", 0x14);
    if (iVar10 == IDYES) FUN_005a6470(); // send crash report
}

// Check if WormKit modules were loaded
if (DAT_0088e410 == 0) {
    // No WormKit — just show error (MB_ICONERROR = 0x10)
    MessageBoxA(NULL, error_msg, "Fatal error", 0x10);
} else {
    // WormKit loaded — ask to disable (MB_YESNO | MB_ICONQUESTION = 0x14)
    FUN_00444d30(); // builds error message mentioning WormKit
    iVar11 = MessageBoxA(NULL, error_msg, "Fatal error", 0x14);
    if (iVar11 == IDYES) {
        DAT_0088e410 = 0;
        FUN_004c8c70(); // disable WormKit in registry
        MessageBoxA(NULL, "WormKit modules have been disabled.", "Worms Armageddon", 0x40);
    }
}

ERRORLOG.TXT

String at 0x00677FE0: "ERRORLOG.TXT" String at 0x00678484: "Can't open ERRORLOG.TXT" Written by the crash handler before relaunching (separate from this function).

/getlog Mode

The /getlog flag sets:

• DAT_0088cd4c = 1 (headless replay mode)
• local_31 = 1 (getlog flag)
• Copies replay path to DAT_0088af58

Later in the function, /getlog mode opens the replay for writing the game log output.

WormKit Module Loading

Around line 1200 of decompilation:

• Searches for wk*.dll files in the game directory
• Loads each via LoadLibraryA
• If loading fails, shows a MessageBox with the error
• Flag at DAT_0088e410 tracks whether WormKit modules are loaded

Key Addresses

Address	Purpose
0x007A0F10+0	/disablecrashhandler flag
0x007A0F10+1	/silentcrash flag
0x0088E410	WormKit modules loaded flag
0x0088AF58	Replay path buffer
0x0088CD4C	Headless replay mode flag
0x0088E17D	Current directory buffer
0x006B1FEC	argc
0x006B1FF0	argv