ReCaster

C++23 rewrite of CCCaster — a rollback netplay client for MBAACC.

Extensively used AI to make this possible.

Current Status

• Online netplay working via relay (room codes) and direct connection (IP:port)
• Rollback with state save/restore, RNG synchronization, desync detection
• GUI SDL2 + ImGui with host/join/spectate, controller mapping, settings
• Controllers keyboard and more controller support via SDL2, with customizable mapping
• Relay server custom server with NAT traversal via hole-punching (no port forwarding)
• Air dash macro optional per-player input macro (9AB/7AB), toggleable in the Controllers tab
• Training while hosting play Training mode while waiting for an opponent; when they connect, the training game is closed and the netplay match starts automatically
• Multi-threaded launcher NetplaySession and GameRunner each run on dedicated worker threads with async command queues and snapshot-based state reads, so the UI never blocks
• Auto disconnect detection when a player closes their game, the peer detects the ENet disconnect within milliseconds and auto-closes the game with a clear "Opponent disconnected" message

CLI mode

All features are also available from the command line — run caster.exe --help for details:

• caster.exe --host — host a netplay session
• caster.exe --join=192.168.1.10:46318 — direct join
• caster.exe --join=#ABCD — relay join via room code
• caster.exe --training — offline training mode
• caster.exe --versus — offline versus mode

Temporarily removed (planned to return)

Spectator, custom palettes, combo trials, in-game overlay, auto-updater.

Air Dash Macro

Optional input macro, enabled per-player in the Controllers tab (off by default). When enabled, pressing 9AB (up-forward + AB) or 7AB (up-back + AB) expands into a jump followed by an air dash in the corresponding direction.

Sequence (with the default jump_frames = 6):

Frame	Output	Description
N..N+5	9 (or 7)	jump direction, 6 frames
N+6	6|AB (or 4|AB)	dash pulse, 1 frame
N+7+	retrigger / passthrough	if 9AB is still held, the sequence restarts immediately; otherwise the raw input passes through

The jump_frames parameter (1..15, default 6) is configurable via a slider in the Controllers tab and persisted to mapping.ini as air_dash_jump_frames. The default of 6 was validated as consistent in MBAACC via Wine; tune per-character if needed.

Both P1 and P2 are supported in offline modes (Training, Versus). In netplay, only the local player's macro runs — the remote peer's inputs arrive unmodified over the wire, so they need to have the macro enabled on their side too if both players want to use it.

Originally ported from zzcaster's src/dll/air_dash_macro.zig, then redesigned with a simpler state machine (no lockout — holding 9AB retriggers the macro continuously).

Training While Hosting

Play Training mode while waiting for a netplay opponent. When a peer connects, the training game is closed and the netplay match starts automatically — no need to stare at a "waiting for opponent" screen.

How to use:

1. Click Host (enter a port or leave empty for random)
2. On the "HOSTING — WAITING FOR OPPONENT" screen, click Launch Training
3. The Training game opens while the host session continues listening
4. When a peer connects, the UI shows "OPPONENT CONNECTED!" with ping stats and a Start Match button
5. Click Start Match — the training game is closed, the netplay game launches, and the match begins
6. When the match ends (either player closes the game), the launcher returns to the main menu

Buttons during Training While Hosting:

• Stop Training — closes the training game, returns to plain host-waiting
• Cancel Host — closes both the training game and the host session

Showing Player Names During Netplay

Your name is now shown when playing online, max 16 characters.

Differences from CCCaster

Area	CCCaster	ReCaster
Language	C++14	C++23
SDL	SDL 1.2	SDL 2.0
Networking	Manual Winsock sockets (TCP/UDP)	ENet (reliable UDP library)
Compression	miniz (zlib) for hash compression	Removed — xxHash128 is fast enough without compression
Hashing	MD5	xxHash128 (XXH3)
Architecture	Multi-threaded (EventManager + Timer + Socket callbacks)	Multi-threaded (jthread workers + BlockingQueue + snapshots)
GUI	AntTweakBar / ImGui (SDL 1.2)	ImGui (SDL 2.0 + OpenGL 3.0)
Build system	Makefile	CMake + MinGW cross-compile
Relay	External Python script	Built-in Go server with room codes
Dependencies	Prebuilt static libs (SDL, AntTweakBar, etc.)	Fetched from source via CMake FetchContent (SDL2, ImGui, ENet)

Requirements

• Compiler: MinGW-w64 i686 (cross-compile from Linux) or native MinGW on Windows
• CMake: 3.20+
• Build deps: All fetched automatically via CMake FetchContent (SDL2, Dear ImGui, ENet, xxHash, MinHook)

Building

# Install MinGW-w64 cross-compiler (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt-get install mingw-w64 cmake zip

# Build (configures + compiles + strips + zips)
./scripts/build.sh

# Rebuild (skip configure, build only)
./scripts/build.sh rebuild

Output:

• build/bin/caster.exe — launcher (SDL2 + ImGui GUI)
• build/bin/hook.dll — payload (rollback netplay engine, injected into MBAA.exe)
• release/caster.zip — both binaries zipped

Place caster.exe and hook.dll in the same folder as MBAA.exe.

Roadmap

Tons of features coming from other projects

Feature	Description
Auto updater	Automatic updates via GitHub releases, with progress bar
Spectator	Spectator mode: late-join an ongoing match, receives BothInputs and replays via rollback
Combo trials	Input sequences with hit/miss detection, displayed via in-game overlay
Discord integration	"Playing MBAACC" status on Discord profile, with Click to Join via invite protocol
Custom palette	Custom palettes but easier to setup
Challonge integration	Automatic check-in for tournaments and result reporting via Challonge API
Extended Training	Reversals, save states, frame data display, hitbox viewer, RNG control, position lock — integration of fangdreth's mod
Replay takeover	Watch a saved replay and take control of a player at any frame to practice punishes
Steamworks provider	Steam P2P networking replacing ENet + relay, with invites, friends list and native rich presence from SkyLeite
2v2 online	4-player online mode with adapted rollback — from Inana (meepster99)

zzcaster

zzcaster is an abandoned attempt on trying to rewrite CCCaster on zig, got stuck in endless issues with rollback and RNG synching, that why this project exists