bugfix: Remove superfluous CD checks and related code

[githubawn]

• Closes fix(audio): skip CD insert prompt during init #2203

The Pull Request #2203 made by @fbraz3 inspired a deeper audit of the legacy CD requirements in the engine. Beyond merely skipping the startup prompt, it was discovered that large portions of the engine's CD-management infrastructure have become vestigial in modern execution environments.

This commit implements a comprehensive modernization by pruning approximately 2,000 lines of dead code across the Core, Generals, and Zero Hour variants.

Investigations (thanks to tomsons26) revealed that the Music.big handling was primarily a copy protection mechanism (SafeDisc) rather than for streaming audio. The engine attempted to read a specific file (often generalsa.sec) from the archive to verify a hash. Failure to read this file would trigger copy protection. This mechanism has been non-functional from the start and is now removed.

Tested all parts (init, singleplayer, skirmish) where this code was active, didn't find any problems.

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

Removed ~2,000 lines of legacy CD management code that has been non-functional since the original release. The changes eliminate SafeDisc copy protection infrastructure, CD drive scanning, runtime Music.big loading from optical media, and user-facing "Insert CD" prompts.

Major Changes:

• Deleted CD manager subsystem (CDManager, Win32CDManager) across Core, Generals, and GeneralsMD variants
• Removed CD-based music loading loop from AudioManager::init() that previously blocked startup
• Eliminated three FileSystem methods: areMusicFilesOnCD(), loadMusicFilesFromCD(), unloadMusicFilesFromCD()
• Simplified campaign and skirmish game start flows by removing checkCDBeforeCampaign() and CheckForCDAtGameStart()
• Removed device change handler that attempted to unload music when drives were ejected
• Cleaned up includes and build system references across 32 files

Impact:
Music.big is now expected to be present at startup (loaded from local filesystem via standard BIG file mechanism). Games launch directly without CD prompts. The engine no longer monitors optical drives or attempts runtime CD operations.

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge with no identified risks
• The changes are pure deletions of dead code with no behavioral impact on functional systems. The CD management infrastructure was already non-functional (SafeDisc copy protection), and Music.big is now loaded through the existing standard BIG file system. All CD manager references have been cleanly removed with no orphaned calls. The changes are symmetric across Generals and Zero Hour variants, and the author reports successful testing of init, singleplayer, and skirmish modes. No logic errors, security issues, or incomplete cleanup detected.
• No files require special attention

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
Core/GameEngine/Source/Common/Audio/GameAudio.cpp	Removed CD-based music loading loop and m_musicPlayingFromCD flag initialization
Core/GameEngine/Include/Common/GameAudio.h	Removed isMusicPlayingFromCD() method and m_musicPlayingFromCD member variable
Core/GameEngine/Source/Common/System/FileSystem.cpp	Removed implementations of three CD-related methods (79 lines of dead code)
Generals/Code/GameEngine/Source/Common/GameEngine.cpp	Removed TheCDManager initialization and update calls
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/Common/GameEngine.cpp	Removed TheCDManager initialization and update calls, fixed perf comment to reference TheGlobalLanguageData
Generals/Code/GameEngine/Source/Common/System/CDManager.cpp	Deleted entire CD manager implementation (294 lines)
Generals/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/GUICallbacks/Menus/MainMenu.cpp	Removed CD check callbacks and replaced checkCDBeforeCampaign() calls with direct prepareCampaignGame() calls
Generals/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/GUICallbacks/Menus/SkirmishGameOptionsMenu.cpp	Removed IsFirstCDPresent() and CheckForCDAtGameStart() implementations, simplified game start flow
Generals/Code/GameEngineDevice/Source/Win32Device/Common/Win32CDManager.cpp	Deleted Win32-specific CD manager implementation (236 lines)
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/Common/System/CDManager.cpp	Deleted entire CD manager implementation (294 lines)

Flowchart

flowchart TD
    A[Game Initialization] --> B[FileSystem Init]
    A --> C[AudioManager Init]
    
    B -.->|REMOVED| D[CDManager Init]
    D -.->|REMOVED| E[Scan CD Drives]
    
    C --> F{Music Files<br/>Already Loaded?}
    F -->|No - OLD BEHAVIOR| G[Enter CD Check Loop]
    G -.->|REMOVED| H[Load Music from CD]
    H -.->|REMOVED| I{Music Found?}
    I -.->|No - REMOVED| J[Show Insert CD Dialog]
    J -.->|OK - REMOVED| G
    I -->|Yes - REMOVED| K[Create MusicManager]
    
    F -->|Yes - NEW BEHAVIOR| K
    F -->|No - NEW BEHAVIOR| L[setQuitting TRUE]
    
    K --> M[Game Running]
    
    M --> N[Game Update Loop]
    N -.->|REMOVED| O[CDManager UPDATE]
    
    P[Device Change Event] -.->|REMOVED| Q[unloadMusicFilesFromCD]
    
    R[Campaign Start] -.->|REMOVED| S[checkCDBeforeCampaign]
    S -.->|REMOVED| T{CD Present?}
    T -.->|No - REMOVED| U[Show CD Prompt]
    T -->|Yes - REMOVED| V[prepareCampaignGame]
    
    R -->|NEW BEHAVIOR| V
    
    style D fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style E fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style G fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style H fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style I fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style J fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style O fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style Q fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style S fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style T fill:#f99,stroke:#f00
    style U fill:#f99,stroke:#f00

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_{Last reviewed commit: 3b0c6a8}

[greptile-apps]

_{5 files reviewed, 1 comment}

_{Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile}

[fbraz3]

I believe the maintainers should decide whether it’s better for the project to completely remove the CD logic (this PR) or to keep it behind a feature flag (my PR).

IMHO, this PR might be better than mine, since CD is barely used nowadays.

[xezon]

Ok I just realize this is the real pull... copying the texts:

Removing all the CD Check code around Campaign and Skirmish is good and correct.

As for Loading Music from CD, was that actually a supported Install option from CD? I cannot recall that the Music.big would have resided on the CD. It is copied to HDD, but perhaps there are exceptions when it detected very small HDD size?

I think we can split this change in 2.

1 for removing all the piracy CD checks
1 for removing the rest

[xezon]

Please also check MUSIC_BIG macro. I think that can also be removed.

[xezon]

Please advance this Pull

[githubawn]

ignore this commit i pushed the wrong button sorry

[githubawn]

changed the missing line:

sprintf(Buf,"----------------------------------------------------------------------------After TheCDManager = %f seconds",((double)(endTime64-startTime64)/(double)(freq64)));
sprintf(Buf,"----------------------------------------------------------------------------After TheGlobalLanguageData = %f seconds",((double)(endTime64-startTime64)/(double)(freq64)));

Thanks for the suggestion. I looked into MUSIC_BIG and while I agree it should be removed, it touches the audio system and core file closing logic which is outside the scope of my current changes. I'd prefer to handle that cleanup in a separate PR to ensure I can verify it properly without delaying this one.

[Caball009]

Please try to do the changes for Generals last, unless they're meaningfully different. This makes it easier to review, at least for me.

[stephanmeesters]

Looks good to me, one line extra that could be removed

diff --git a/Core/GameEngine/CMakeLists.txt b/Core/GameEngine/CMakeLists.txt
index 9cf234c3a..c41ed211a 100644
--- a/Core/GameEngine/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Core/GameEngine/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -143,7 +143,6 @@ set(GAMEENGINE_SRC
 #    Include/GameClient/Anim2D.h
 #    Include/GameClient/AnimateWindowManager.h
 #    Include/GameClient/CampaignManager.h
-#    Include/GameClient/CDCheck.h
     Include/GameClient/ChallengeGenerals.h
 #    Include/GameClient/ClientInstance.h
     Include/GameClient/ClientRandomValue.h

[githubawn]

added #2261 (comment)

requesting review

[xezon]

Curious why the commit shows xezon as author...

[xezon]

Looks good to me.

[Caball009]

Good effort.

I'm going to nitpick here for a moment and point out a bunch of blank lines that can be removed.

[Caball009]

There's also this one:

GeneralsGameCode/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/GUICallbacks/Menus/MainMenu.cpp

Line 1448 in 9479df5

checkCDBeforeCampaign(DIFFICULTY_NORMAL);

EDIT, and these:
Core\GameEngineDevice\CMakeLists.txt: # Include/Win32Device/Common/Win32CDManager.h
Core\GameEngineDevice\CMakeLists.txt: # Source/Win32Device/Common/Win32CDManager.cpp

[MohmmadQunibi]

why not merge this?

[xezon]

There are outstanding comments.

[githubawn]

resolved outstanding comments