Copy byte-aligned NVN streams into aligned submission-owned storage.
Use CPU snapshots only when host visibility is proven safe; otherwise
encode ordered GPU copies before regular, feedback and geometry draws.
Invalidate copies after overlapping writes and pool remaps while keeping
them reusable across unrelated uniform updates. Restore the encoder after
deferred replay when a stream copy split the pass.
Extend t_vbuf to cover all nonzero address residues, copy reuse, queued
copies, deferred updates, fills, shader writes, previous submissions and
pool replacement. Record the general mechanism and Arkham Knight finding.
The per-stream copy limit remains 64 MiB.
Validated on Apple M4 Pro: 84 GPU checks in each of normal, cache-disabled
and encoder-thread modes with Metal validation; full graphics and host
suites; 70 graphics Python tests; 298 tool tests; documentation tests;
iOS compile check (178 files). Full cross-game validation is incomplete:
the harness reported unsupported OpenGL chain checking and its first NVN
shader rebuild did not finish alongside other active builds. No local
Arkham Knight gameplay run.
Co-authored-by: v0lumehi <aljic.zijad@gmail.com>
Add Monolith archive and shader extraction, a build-gated compact memory layout, vertex storage writes under rasterizer discard, primitive ordering and interleaved geometry feedback. Correct native decoder/audio wait accounting and the oe calls used after movies.
Validated opening combat and movement on Mac with real audio, the full Mac/iOS shader build, GPU regressions, and the unsigned IPA archive. iOS runtime, later areas and DLC gameplay remain untested.
Back compatible GPU-only image families at one NVN pool offset with exact-sized placement heaps. Keep descriptor dimensions, initialize fresh storage, register parent-heap residency and retire backing with its textures. Preserve ordinary allocations for single-description storage and exclude unsupported storage classes.
Add synthetic allocation, pixel, indirect-read, depth/stencil and lifetime regressions. Record the LM3 live-allocation census, measured Mac memory reduction and remaining validation limits. Refs #257 and #100.
Register GL and GLB entries in the shared HLE import table so direct imports and eglGetProcAddress reach the same implementations, retaining big-stack wrappers. Add regression and CI coverage for all 156 GL entries and document issue #228.
DM_FRAME_STEP was removed in 79d82f7b, but frame-rate.md and Breath of the
Wild's note still said DM_FRAME_STEP=legacy ran the old interval-controller
method. Both now say it was removed and that the controller cuts stay, for
the interval the framework keeps while the game's VFR override holds.
rendering.md names c76f6798, which removed DM_NVN_ALPHA_RED.
Every doc mention of a name no code reads now says it was removed.
Validation: test_docs and test_env_switches pass.
Co-authored-by: v0lumehi <34629096+v0lumehi@users.noreply.github.com>
Two general causes of FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE's missing fires, smoke and muzzle
flashes, found and first fixed by b1tdr3amer24 (GitHub issue #168).
- Translator (vendored BindlessElimination.cs, TryTableHandle): a texture read
whose handle phi mixes c2 handle words with values that are not handles
(undefined, or float values the compiler kept in the register on paths where
the predicated read does not run) was removed and its result set to 0:
58,122 reads in FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE, mostly Niagara particle vertex
factories, whose meshes collapsed to a point. The read now takes the c2
handle among the inputs, or reads each candidate and picks by the phi's run-
time value; candidates read elsewhere as another texture shape are left out
(a second sweep, ResourceManager.GetTextureTypes). Only phis that
GenerateBindlessAccess refuses come here, so tex_dyn_slots arrays keep their
path: the other 69,449 shaders' SPIR-V is unchanged. Several candidates are
never used for an image store or atomic. dmsh_xlate's Log now reaches the
notes as "translator: ..." and the build summary counts those apart.
- Host (nvn_mtl.m, tbuf_shadow): a texture buffer view at an offset that is
not 16-byte aligned reads from the boundary below on an M4 Pro (t_tbuf_align:
56 of 56 views wrong; the M6 measurement in the old comment does not hold).
Such views are read through a per-submission aligned copy; aligned views are
untouched. A workaround for the Metal limit, its gaps (GPU writes in the same
submission, CPU_NO_ACCESS pools, image writes) recorded as open.
Translator rebuilt; lock and chain header updated. Checked: all FFR shaders
translated before and after; FFR on the Mac (fires and smoke column render,
steady; with the copy off they flicker); gfx, chain and docs tests.
Co-authored-by: b1tdr3amer24 <240231594+b1tdr3amer24@users.noreply.github.com>
Profile 0100C1F0051B6000 (SDK 4.4.0, Retro Studios' engine, NVN): plays on the Mac from boot
through the menus and the intro cinematic into the first level at 60 fps. General changes:
- svc SetHeapSize: a request beyond the heap region returns ResultOutOfMemory, as Horizon
(the game binary-searches its heap size between 3 and 6 GB)
- shader_split.py: SNVN program records in Retro's RFRM forms (MaterialArchive.arc, the packs'
MTRL resources) and the LZSS-compressed startup material archive in main
- nvn_mtl.m: a texture in a CPU_UNCACHED pool starts with its storage at first use (title logo,
menu panels); transform feedback captures draws that rasterize too
- dmsh_build.py: transform feedback buffers holding several outputs (DK's fur simulation);
chain header regenerated
- hle_audren.c: the renderer event is the kernel event the audio service gives, not the SDK's
local one (the main thread was starved at the first level's load)
- hle_oe.c: oe::GetUserInactivityDetectionTimeExtensionMode
- sead::ControllerBase::updateDerivativeParams_ added a constant 1.0 per frame to held counts, so menus
repeated twice as fast at 60 (0.3 s went 5 entries, 2 at 30). A FRAME_STEP stub at main+0xeb0f88
takes the VFR's ratio (+0x3c); checked in game: 0.2 / 0.3 / 0.4 s move 1 / 2 / 3 entries at 60
(MacNativeGames 866beb9).
- ga_capture: a recapture through lookup archives makes no folder at its compile, so it no longer
lists the folder (it could take another program's folder made meanwhile).
- tex_desc: a multisample texture of a sample count the GPU lacks is not made instead of being made
with fewer samples (shaders could read sample indices past it).
Profile 010057D006492000 (no virtual address memory: the 4 GB heap layout; tex_flush_upload and tex_dirty_upload for the textures Unreal writes from the CPU into uncached pools after creating them) and its note. Brought up on the Mac through the boot, the language notice, the title, the traveler selection and Ophilia's and H'aanit's openings (free play in the cathedral and in S'warkii) at 30 fps; battles, sound and the iPhone not yet tested.
General changes found on it:
- patch_nso.py: a jump table whose index is bounds-checked with a 64-bit cmp (main+0x1676f58), accepted only in the last pass so earlier rewrites are byte-identical.
- profile_guess.py: Unreal's 64 GB alias layout only with virtual address memory (this game sets a 3.08 GB heap instead).
- NVN: nvnTextureBuilderGetSparseTileLayout / nvnTextureGetSparseTileLayout (Unreal sizes a sparse texture's mip tail with it; unimplemented, it asked for 1.75 GB twice); sparse 2D textures without a packaged layout take the block height of their 64 KB tile (the world map's tiles were shuffled); every virtual pool gets an address range of its own until its first mapping decides between the alias (a whole-pool mapping, Mario's pool) and the sparse page table (Unreal's one-texture pools, mapped piece by piece: streamed textures were black and later mappings refused).
- Audio renderer: SdkMutexType is looked up only when the SDK uses it (SDK 3.5.1 takes LockMutex at +0x1f8).
README: the gallery entry (Mac screenshot of S'warkii, IPA ~3.6 GB, all 5,434 shaders built for iOS); AGENTS.md: seventy-one games.
Checked on the rebased tree: the tool tests (15 skipped), the docs tests, a Mac boot into the traveler selection; before the rebase the graphics tests (make run, exit 0).
- Pipeline archive: the Metal 4 serializer leaves a com.apple.gpuarchiver/gpuarchiver-* folder per flush
(456 folders, 2.5 GB on this Mac). The first capture after a flush takes the one folder it made, the
flush removes it (and the one a recapture-only flush makes), exit removes an unflushed one; iOS clears
earlier runs' folders at start (MacNativeGames 1eff989, 110e6c6).
- tex_desc: levels past what the size holds, arrays of no or more than 2048 layers, sample counts the GPU
lacks no longer abort the process; copies and ReadTexels at a missing level are skipped (f864eb0).
- nvn_hm_get compares 8-byte keys as one word: 5.9 -> 1.5 ns a lookup (7431eb7).
- frame-rate.md: segment size cannot change BotW's 60 fps frame on the Mac (fence wait 0.02 ms).
Integrate fast shared-event wakeups, per-segment publication, array-slice
pass merging, and independent compute dispatch hoisting from the PRs.
Serialize CPU completion effects before publishing completed fences and
validate recycled post records. Preserve submission order for early waits.
Guard scheduling against attachment aliases, first-draw and bindless
reads, indirect ranges, stencil writes, and explicit barriers. Add direct
Metal regression coverage and a gated CPU completion race test with TSAN.
Record final BotW and Metroid Dread gameplay validation with optimizations
on and off. BotW retains fewer render passes, but the measured 60 Hz M4
Pro runs do not establish a timing speedup. Keep the original higher-load
and iOS performance claims explicitly unverified.
Co-authored-by: v0lumehi <aljic.zijad@gmail.com>
Add periodic encoder profiles with attachment traffic and formats, alternating A/B measurement phases, bounded Metal trace capture, and gpuprof.py log summaries. Preserve main's offline pipeline-archive integration while adding the capture build setting.
Close periodic samples at frame boundaries through the last committed shared-event fence, so every:1 reports without mixing frames or reusing an unresolved heap. Add 28 CPU checks of production profiling code and include them in CI; document the mechanism and update the symptom index.
Validated with all 31 CI-style Python test files, the profiling regression, a Mac host build, and all 133 iOS source compiles. Profiling completion and heap ownership were checked with synthetic counter/event objects; no new real-GPU or gameplay validation.
Co-authored-by: v0lumehi <aljic.zijad@gmail.com>
Compile eligible shader-pair bases on the Mac with metal-tt, package one
archive per selected iPhone GPU, and use a matching bundle before falling
back to on-device preparation. Carry the profile depth mode through packing
and include the pulling libraries required by the bundled bases.
Integrate PR #226 with four confirmed fixes: validate archive container
bounds before invoking Metal; require at least one actual successful bundle
probe; hash consumed library bytes into offline cache keys; and emit device
remainder lists for constant-only plans instead of aborting packaging.
Keep game measurements in the game note and document the general findings.
Validation on current main: 52 real Metal bundle checks, 57 archive checks,
79 prewarm checks on each pipeline path, 73 Python regressions covering
offline tools, packaging, documentation and chain checks, and compilation
of all 133 iOS source files. No new iPhone gameplay validation. The archive guard validates
container structure, not private Metal payloads.
Co-authored-by: v0lumehi <aljic.zijad@gmail.com>
Scale the valid presented image with MetalFX's spatial scaler on the shared
Metal 4 path, preserving crop, letterboxing, origin and gamma-encoded colours.
Keep Standard as the default and fall back when scaling is unsupported.
Use the same path for asynchronous whole-window captures and diagnostic
screenshots, retaining resources until GPU completion. Bound scaler recreation
during resizing and report presentation GPU time separately by scaling mode.
Put all launcher settings on one screen with Game, Controls and Performance
sections, inline menus and sliders, and a reset to tested defaults. Extract the
settings model for native persistence tests, validate saved ranges, share HUD
setup, and document the measured costs without claiming an iPhone baseline.
Validated with Metal presentation, NVN and snapshot regressions; tool and iOS
tests; the Mac host; and an unsigned iOS smoke build. No new device gameplay run.
Co-authored-by: v0lumehi <aljic.zijad@gmail.com>
Include pulling vertex libraries when the compiled game profile enables the
Metal 4 path, preserving explicit IOS_PULL overrides. Keep the pack options
array nonempty so inclusion also works with macOS Bash 3.2 and set -u.
Exercise the actual archive step with tiny shader fixtures for Breath of
the Wild and Wonder, checking both defaults and explicit overrides. Record
the packaging failures and fixes in the rendering reference and game note.
Co-authored-by: v0lumehi <aljic.zijad@gmail.com>
A side library of every vertex shader with stage inputs, as <key>_bv is, whose main0 / main0_z have no [[stage_in]] and read their inputs from a per-draw layout block at buffer 16: per stream the base address, stride and divisor, per NVN attribute its state word, the base instance from [[base_instance]] (so indirect draws are right too). dm_fetch decodes the NVN format at run time into the register words Maxwell's fetch gives the shader, and the input takes them with as_type, so the body runs unchanged. A pipeline built with it has no vertex descriptor and serves every vertex layout the pair is drawn with; the hybrid pipelines (next change) draw with it while a draw's own pipeline is built.
The words are bit-identical to Metal's vertex-descriptor fetch for every format nvn_mtl.m vfmt knows and to the host's CPU conversion for the integer-read-as-float formats: unorm / snorm through the unpack builtins (a plain division under fast math is a unit in the last place off for up to half the values), R11G11B10F NaNs canonical as from Metal, divisors with Metal's rule base + (instance - base) / divisor. Positions are [[invariant]] and built with preserved invariance, so a pulling pipeline and the vertex-descriptor one compute the same positions. Transform feedback, geometry capture and layer entries get no variant; shaders without stage inputs need none. The run-time decode costs GPU time: +65 % of a vertex-bound draw with 8 attributes on an M2 Max, about 1 ms per million vertices, so it is meant only to bridge the frames until the draw's own pipeline is built.
The iOS app does not use the variants yet (the Metal 4 path is off on iOS by default), so build_ipa.sh leaves the _bp libraries out of the IPA unless IOS_PULL=1 (pack_ipa.py --skip-suffix).
Chain version 8393d85a4eae (on main's 20fe3d62b9f6). Breath of the Wild's full Mac build on chain 97e2f301eb73 (25 min, a full retranslation since the code fingerprint changed): 19,592 shaders ok, 8,888 pulling libraries generated (275 MB), none failed, 43 vertex shaders without stage inputs; every existing library is byte-identical to the previous build (19,592 _b.metallib and _b.metal, 6,254 _bf, 1,070 _bv). Other profiles' shaders were not rebuilt.
Tests: t_pull.m (304 checks: the 76 formats vfmt knows, 73 comparisons with Metal's fetch at aligned, 2-byte and stride-1 placements, 24 with the CPU conversion, stride 0 and divisors 1-3 with a base instance), t_pull_inv.m (2,000 random triangles: a depth prepass with one pipeline and depth-equal with the other passes every covered pixel, both ways round) and test_dmsh_pull.py (the generator: entries, ids it adds or keeps, entries left out, shaders declined; compiles for macOS and iOS); pack_ipa.py's --skip-suffix checked by hand. The other graphics tests and the host unit tests give the results they give on main. docs/reference/rendering.md ("Pulling vertex inputs") describes the variant and its cost; AGENTS.md lists the new chain files.
Carry ResourceAlias visibility on copy encoders containing buffer copies,
inline updates or fills, using the contribution from PR #200. Operations
through sparse virtual mappings also need ordering against surrounding
operations: disjoint guest addresses can name the same physical bytes,
so guest-range dependency detection alone misses their hazards.
Add a regression using distinct no-copy Metal buffers and real sparse
mappings. The original host failed 37 of 101 checks on an M4 Pro and
PR #200 alone left 24 failures; the complete fix passes all 101 checks
with both direct and deferred encoding under Metal validation. Ordinary
independent buffer operations retain range-based batching.
Validation: t_nvn passes 154 checks; the Mac host builds; all 133 iOS
source compile checks and the documentation checks pass. Monster Hunter
Rise gameplay, iPhone execution and sparse-barrier performance were not
retested.
Co-authored-by: Aleksandr Svidchenkov <a.svidchenkov@gmail.com>
Apple GPUs truncate Depth16Unorm load-clears while rounding fragment depth,
so clearing to 0.5 stores 32767 instead of the fragment's 32768 and fails
an EQUAL comparison. Apply the format-specific correction to both
attachment and whole-texture clears, preserving other depth formats.
Exercise both production command paths against independent GPU fragment
writes for 1,042 float depths, including half-bin boundaries and adjacent
floats. Removing either correction produces 518 mismatches on M4 Pro;
with both corrections enabled, neither path differs. Record the mechanism
and the pending TOTK highlight and iPhone validation in the documentation.
Validated on M4 Pro with Metal validation: t_depth16_clear, t_clear_ds
(43 checks), t_clear_tex (49 checks), and the documentation tests pass.
Co-authored-by: Aleksandr Svidchenkov <a.svidchenkov@gmail.com>
- profile 01007BB017812000 (1.0.3, SDK 13.3.0): plays on the Mac at 60 fps
- provisional profiles add the subsdks the NROs import (profile_guess nro_modules)
- an NRO importing nvnBootstrapLoader makes an NVN game; NROs calling glslcCompile get the run-time GLSLC capture
- shader_split reads zip archive members (Portal's nxcontent/nvsb GLSLC outputs)
- ro::LookupModuleSymbol for a name a loaded module lacks is not red (Horizon fails it too)
- AGENTS.md: a Mac gameplay test is enough to count a game as playable (65)
