docs: connection-gate findings + roadmap (strategy pivot)

Stop fighting anadius's offline verdict. Document the clean-room findings
(the gate is an upstream in-process Ebisu connection-state check, not socket
traffic) and a milestone roadmap with two first-class outcomes: full playable
AI FUT (A) and a clean-room spec deliverable (B). Name M3 (first ProtoSSL
plaintext on the real Blaze connection) as the smallest end-to-end proof.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/connection-gate-findings.md

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+# Connection-gate findings (clean-room)
+
+**Status:** observed behaviour only — derived from running the client and reading
+the repack's own files. No EA source used. Unconfirmed values are marked
+`TODO/CONFIRM` rather than guessed.
+
+## Components (observed)
+
+| Component | Role |
+|---|---|
+| `FIFA23.exe` | Game. Statically links EA's **Ebisu SDK** (online) and **DirtySDK/ProtoSSL** (transport). Loads at fixed base `0x140000000` — no ASLR seen across launches. |
+| `_ProtoSSLSendPacket` @ `FIFA23.exe+0xEFA530` | DirtySDK TLS record assembler — plaintext in, encrypts in place. Already located + hooked. |
+| `anadius64.dll` | anadius EA-app/Origin **LSX server** emulator (ASLR'd). Provides offline DRM / entitlements / persona so the game *launches*; deliberately keeps it **offline**. |
+| `FakeEAACLauncher` | Anti-cheat bypass only. Irrelevant to the online gate. |
+
+## Observed online-startup flow
+
+1. Ebisu SDK opens LSX socket(s) to anadius; a **challenge/response handshake**
+   completes — captured XML: `<Challenge>` / `<ChallengeResponse>` /
+   `<ChallengeAccepted>`, `sender="EALS"`, `ContentId 16115019`.
+2. River/PIN telemetry `<session type=boot>` is emitted.
+3. **No further socket traffic.** Clicking Ultimate Team → "connecting to the EA
+   Servers…" → **zero** network attempts (no Blaze DNS, no `connect`, nothing on
+   `send`/`recv`/`WSASend`/`WSARecv`) → falls back to offline.
+
+## Conclusion: the decision is upstream and in-process
+
+- The online/offline verdict is delivered through anadius's **in-process
+  detoured Ebisu calls**, not socket messages. (No `GetAuthCode`/`GoOnline`/
+  entitlement query appears on any socket, sync or async.)
+- The game therefore **never reaches DirtySDK/ProtoSSL for Blaze** — it aborts
+  before any `ProtoSSLConnect(gosredirector…)`. The gate is an **Ebisu-SDK
+  connection-state / online-session check upstream of the transport.**
+- `ONLINE_ACCESS` is a `Blaze::Nucleus::EntitlementType` (enum value `1`).
+  anadius's `GoOnline` LSX handler (`anadius64.dll+0x2BB90`) is a success stub;
+  `anadius64.dll+0xB6B1` is a large entitlement/profile builder that *does*
+  reference `ONLINE_ACCESS`. Reverse-engineering that entitlement-status logic
+  is the **wrong fight** (see strategy).
+
+## Strategy (decided)
+
+Do **not** make anadius report "online." anadius exists to keep the game
+offline, and it can't be removed without breaking launch/DRM. Instead:
+
+> Let the game run its **real** online flow and answer that flow ourselves via
+> the hook + brain. Target the Ebisu connection-state check the FUT-entry path
+> polls; make the game *pass* it so it issues the real `ProtoSSLConnect` to the
+> Blaze redirector → our redirect + ProtoSSL hook capture the real frames.
+
+This deletes the "reverse-engineer anadius's entitlement logic" problem.
+
+## Next RE step (converges with the ProtoSSL hook)
+
+1. Locate and **read-only hook `ProtoSSLConnect`** (same DirtySDK module and
+   technique that found `_ProtoSSLSendPacket`). Confirms the game never
+   initiates the Blaze connection (pins the gate strictly upstream) and gives us
+   the exact symbol that will flip from "never called" to "called" on success.
+2. Locate the Ebisu **connection-state getter** the FUT-entry / "connecting" UI
+   polls. Candidate string anchors (observed): `ONLINE_STATUS_EVENT`,
+   `GoOnline` result handling, the "connecting to the EA Servers" UI trigger.
+3. Determine the minimal intervention to make that getter report **connected**
+   (out-hook it in our `version.dll`, winning over anadius's detour) so the game
+   proceeds to `ProtoSSLConnect`.
+   - `TODO/CONFIRM`: whether out-hooking the getter is sufficient, or secondary
+     checks (auth-token presence) also gate the attempt.