feat(cli): Load save and replay files from absolute paths

Core/GameEngine/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@ set(GAMEENGINE_SRC
     Include/GameClient/ProcessAnimateWindow.h
     Include/GameClient/RadiusDecal.h
     Include/GameClient/RayEffect.h
+    Include/GameClient/SaveLoadFeedback.h
     Include/GameClient/SelectionInfo.h
     Include/GameClient/SelectionXlat.h
 #    Include/GameClient/Shadow.h
@@ -795,6 +796,7 @@ set(GAMEENGINE_SRC
 #    Source/GameClient/GUI/GUICallbacks/Menus/WOLWelcomeMenu.cpp
     Source/GameClient/GUI/GUICallbacks/MessageBox.cpp
     Source/GameClient/GUI/GUICallbacks/ReplayControls.cpp
+    Source/GameClient/GUI/GUICallbacks/SaveLoadFeedback.cpp
     Source/GameClient/GUI/HeaderTemplate.cpp
     Source/GameClient/GUI/IMEManager.cpp
     Source/GameClient/GUI/LoadScreen.cpp

Core/GameEngine/Include/Common/FileSystem.h

@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ class FileSystem : public SubsystemInterface
 
 	Bool createDirectory(AsciiString directory); ///< create a directory of the given name.
 
+	static Bool isAbsolutePath(const AsciiString& path); ///< determines if a path is absolute on the current platform.
 	static AsciiString normalizePath(const AsciiString& path);	///< normalizes a file path. The path can refer to a directory. File path must be absolute, but does not need to exist. Returns an empty string on failure.
 	static Bool isPathInDirectory(const AsciiString& testPath, const AsciiString& basePath);	///< determines if a file path is within a base path. Both paths must be absolute, but do not need to exist.
 

Core/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/SaveLoadFeedback.h

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+/*
+**	Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour(tm)
+**	Copyright 2026 TheSuperHackers
+**
+**	This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+**	it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+**	the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+**	(at your option) any later version.
+**
+**	This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+**	but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+**	MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+**	GNU General Public License for more details.
+**
+**	You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+**	along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include "Common/GameState.h"
+
+void presentSaveResult( const SaveResult &result );
+void presentLoadResult( SaveCode result, const AsciiString &filename );

Core/GameEngine/Source/Common/CommandLine.cpp

@@ -719,6 +719,47 @@ Int parseVTune ( char *args[], int num )
 
 #endif // defined(RTS_DEBUG)
 
+// TheSuperHackers @feature bobtista 22/07/2026 Load a save game file from the command line.
+Int parseLoadSave(char *args[], int num)
+{
+	if (num > 1)
+	{
+		AsciiString filename = args[1];
+		if (!filename.endsWithNoCase(".sav"))
+		{
+			printf("Invalid save game name \"%s\"\n", filename.str());
+			exit(1);
+		}
+
+		TheWritableGlobalData->m_loadSaveGame = filename;
+		TheWritableGlobalData->m_playIntro = FALSE;
+		TheWritableGlobalData->m_playSizzle = FALSE;
+		return 2;
+	}
+	return 1;
+}
+
+// TheSuperHackers @feature bobtista 08/08/2026 Load a replay visually from the command line.
+Int parseLoadReplay(char *args[], int num)
+{
+	if (num > 1)
+	{
+		AsciiString filename = args[1];
+		if (!filename.endsWithNoCase(RecorderClass::getReplayExtention()))
+		{
+			printf("Invalid replay name \"%s\"\n", filename.str());
+			exit(1);
+		}
+
+		TheWritableGlobalData->m_loadReplayGame = filename;
+		TheWritableGlobalData->m_playIntro = FALSE;
+		TheWritableGlobalData->m_playSizzle = FALSE;
+		return 2;
+	}
+
+	return 1;
+}
+
 //=============================================================================
 //=============================================================================
 
@@ -1159,6 +1200,10 @@ static CommandLineParam paramsForEngineInit[] =
 	{ "-noshaders", parseNoShaders },
 	{ "-quickstart", parseQuickStart },
 	{ "-useWaveEditor", parseUseWaveEditor },
+	{ "-loadsave", parseLoadSave },
+	{ "-loadreplay", parseLoadReplay },
+	// TheSuperHackers @feature bobtista 08/08/2026 Allow diagnostic replay playback to continue after CRC mismatches.
+	{ "-ignoreReplaySyncErrors", parseSync },
 
 	// TheSuperHackers @feature xezon 03/08/2025 Force full viewport for 'Control Bar Pro' Addons like GenTool did it.
 	{ "-forcefullviewport", parseFullViewport },

Core/GameEngine/Source/Common/System/FileSystem.cpp

@@ -331,6 +331,31 @@ Bool FileSystem::createDirectory(AsciiString directory)
 	return FALSE;
 }
 
+//============================================================================
+// FileSystem::isAbsolutePath
+//============================================================================
+// TheSuperHackers @feature bobtista 08/08/2026 Identify absolute paths so callers can distinguish
+// explicitly selected files from names relative to their managed directories.
+Bool FileSystem::isAbsolutePath(const AsciiString& path)
+{
+	const Char *value = path.str();
+	if (value == nullptr || value[0] == 0)
+	{
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+	const Bool hasDriveLetter = (value[0] >= 'A' && value[0] <= 'Z') ||
+		(value[0] >= 'a' && value[0] <= 'z');
+	const Bool hasDriveRoot = hasDriveLetter && value[1] == ':' &&
+		(value[2] == '\\' || value[2] == '/');
+	const Bool hasCurrentDriveRoot = value[0] == '\\' || value[0] == '/';
+	return hasDriveRoot || hasCurrentDriveRoot;
+#else
+	return value[0] == '/';
+#endif
+}
+
 //============================================================================
 // FileSystem::normalizePath
 //============================================================================

Core/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/GUICallbacks/SaveLoadFeedback.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+/*
+**	Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour(tm)
+**	Copyright 2026 TheSuperHackers
+**
+**	This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+**	it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+**	the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+**	(at your option) any later version.
+**
+**	This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+**	but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+**	MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+**	GNU General Public License for more details.
+**
+**	You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+**	along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+#include "PreRTS.h"
+#include "GameClient/GameText.h"
+#include "GameClient/InGameUI.h"
+#include "GameClient/MessageBox.h"
+#include "GameClient/SaveLoadFeedback.h"
+
+static UnicodeString getUnicodeSavePath( const AsciiString &filename )
+{
+	UnicodeString path;
+	path.translate( TheGameState->getFilePathInSaveDirectory(filename) );
+	return path;
+}
+
+void presentSaveResult( const SaveResult &result )
+{
+	switch( result.saveCode )
+	{
+		case SC_OK:
+		{
+			TheInGameUI->message( TheGameText->fetch("GUI:GameSaveComplete") );
+			break;
+		}
+		case SC_UNABLE_TO_OPEN_FILE:
+		{
+			TheInGameUI->message( "GUI:Error" );
+			break;
+		}
+		case SC_ERROR:
+		{
+			UnicodeString msg;
+			msg.format( TheGameText->fetch("GUI:ErrorSavingGame"), getUnicodeSavePath(result.filename).str() );
+			MessageBoxOk( TheGameText->fetch("GUI:Error"), msg, nullptr );
+			break;
+		}
+		default:
+		{
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+void presentLoadResult( SaveCode result, const AsciiString &filename )
+{
+	if( result == SC_INVALID_DATA )
+	{
+		UnicodeString msg;
+		msg.format( TheGameText->fetch("GUI:ErrorLoadingGame"), getUnicodeSavePath(filename).str() );
+		MessageBoxOk( TheGameText->fetch("GUI:Error"), msg, nullptr );
+	}
+}

Generals/Code/GameEngine/Include/Common/GameState.h

@@ -132,6 +132,15 @@ enum SaveCode CPP_11(: Int)
 	SC_ERROR,
 };
 
+struct SaveResult
+{
+	explicit SaveResult( SaveCode code ) : saveCode(code) { }
+	SaveResult( SaveCode code, const AsciiString &file ) : saveCode(code), filename(file) { }
+
+	SaveCode saveCode;
+	AsciiString filename;	///< the file that was written, empty when no filename could be found
+};
+
 enum SnapshotType CPP_11(: Int) {
 	SNAPSHOT_SAVELOAD,
 	SNAPSHOT_DEEPCRC_LOGICONLY,
@@ -156,11 +165,11 @@ class GameState : public SubsystemInterface,
 	virtual void update() override { }
 
 	// save game methods
-	SaveCode saveGame( AsciiString filename,
+	SaveResult saveGame( AsciiString filename,
 										 UnicodeString desc,
 										 SaveFileType saveType,
-										 SnapshotType which = SNAPSHOT_SAVELOAD  );  ///< save a game
-	SaveCode missionSave();																	 ///< do a in between mission save
+										 SnapshotType which = SNAPSHOT_SAVELOAD );  ///< save a game
+	SaveResult missionSave();																 ///< do a in between mission save
 	SaveCode loadGame( AvailableGameInfo gameInfo );							 ///< load a save file
 	SaveGameInfo *getSaveGameInfo() { return &m_gameInfo; }
 
@@ -170,7 +179,7 @@ class GameState : public SubsystemInterface,
 	// manipulating files
 	Bool doesSaveGameExist( AsciiString filename );							///< does the save file exist
 	void populateSaveGameListbox( GameWindow *listbox, SaveLoadLayoutType layoutType );	///< populate listbox with available save games
-	void getSaveGameInfoFromFile( AsciiString filename, SaveGameInfo *saveGameInfo );		///< get save game info from file
+	void getSaveGameInfoFromFile( AsciiString filename, SaveGameInfo *saveGameInfo );		///< get save game info from a Save-directory name or absolute path
 
 	void friend_xferSaveDataForCRC( Xfer *xfer, SnapshotType which );		///< This should only be called to DeepCRC sanity checking
 
@@ -181,6 +190,7 @@ class GameState : public SubsystemInterface,
 
 	AsciiString getSaveDirectory() const;
 	AsciiString getFilePathInSaveDirectory(const AsciiString& leaf) const;
+	AsciiString getSaveGamePathForRead(const AsciiString& filenameOrPath) const;
 	Bool isInSaveDirectory(const AsciiString& path) const;
 
 	AsciiString realMapPathToPortableMapPath(const AsciiString& in) const;

Generals/Code/GameEngine/Include/Common/GlobalData.h

@@ -350,6 +350,8 @@ class GlobalData : public SubsystemInterface
 	Bool m_buildMapCache;
 	AsciiString m_initialFile;				///< If this is specified, load a specific map from the command-line
 	AsciiString m_pendingFile;				///< If this is specified, use this map at the next game start
+	AsciiString m_loadSaveGame;				///< If this is specified, load a save game file from the command-line
+	AsciiString m_loadReplayGame;			///< If this is specified, load a replay file from the command-line
 
 	std::vector<AsciiString> m_simulateReplays; ///< If not empty, simulate this list of replays and exit.
 	Int m_simulateReplayJobs; ///< Maximum number of processes to use for simulation, or SIMULATE_REPLAYS_SEQUENTIAL for sequential simulation