Biofreak dosen't work on PS3

[crystalct]

It works on x86.
Is mame2003-plus-libretro Big/Little endian issues free?

[mahoneyt944]

Plus handles little / big endian accordingly as far as I know. It checks for it anyhow throughout the libretro-common / libretro-deps. Issue free? Hard to say. Emulation is never without it's issues.

When you say it doesn't work. How so? Doesn't load at all? Crashes, freezes, glitches?

[crystalct]

Then only 2 pixel visible...

It's seems classic Big Endian issue.....

[crystalct]

I will test all CHDs games on PS3.
Area51 family works fine.

[mahoneyt944]

It also looks like you're running on an older version of plus. You should update from source before testing further. We fixed some bugs since the commit your using. But probably unrelated to this issue.

[crystalct]

Last official plus SELF file is 15 August 2020 old.... let me compile last commit...

[crystalct]

Meanwhile i tested Blitz on x86 ... it stop here:

RetroArch x86 is updated:

[mahoneyt944]

Typically I wouldnt mention to update unless it was specific to the issue. But one of the updates was to dcs which is used by many midway games such as biofreak. Probably won't fix anything but it's good to test the current build.

[crystalct]

[mahoneyt944]

It's set as big endian

[mahoneyt944]

Looks like you got further in biofreak this time? I wonder if it has anything to do with the CMOS errors.

[crystalct]

Other infos:
Beatmania family works fine.
Biofreak, calspeed and carnevil same issues at start.
cryptklr stop here:

All, except blitz, work fine on x86 (used same files, of course).

[crystalct]

It's set as big endian

Maybe in some drivers was forgotten to consider big endian machines.....
Maybe @vaguerant is able to read this comment.... let's try.
@vaguerant could you try to test this/those games on WiiU?

[mahoneyt944]

Well these are all Seattle driver games so that's where we need to look first I'd say.

[vaguerant]

Hey folks, just checking in thanks to @crystalct, but I'm not going to be much help based on my progress so far.

I tried loading up biofreak.zip (with biofreak.chd) on RetroArch for Wii U, another big-endian PPC platform, but it failed with the following in the log:

[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Opening ROM file: sound102.u95
[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Opening ROM file: biofreak.u32
[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Opening disk image: biofreak.chd
[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Opening differencing image: biofreak.dif
[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Creating differencing image: biofreak.dif
[libretro ERROR] [MAME 2003+] biofreak.dif: CAN'T CREATE DIFF FILE
[INFO] [Environ]: SET_MESSAGE: Required files are missing, the game cannot be run.

I don't really have any experience with these games at all, so I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing wrong. It's possible my problem is related to directory creation--there was previously an issue in the FBNeo core where directory creation was nonworking on Wii U, so I had to create a certain directory manually and then everything worked fine.

If that's the issue, then it might be resolved if I can create the directory that biofreak.dif is expected to be written to. Can anybody advise as to where that would be, or any other issues they see in what I'm doing?

In the meantime, I'll see if I can manage any more success with blitz.

EDIT: Same behavior with blitz:

[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Opening ROM file: sound102.u95
[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Opening ROM file: blitz1_2.u32
[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Opening disk image: blitz.chd
[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Opening differencing image: blitz.dif
[libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] Creating differencing image: blitz.dif
[libretro ERROR] [MAME 2003+] blitz.dif   : CAN'T CREATE DIFF FILE
[INFO] [Environ]: SET_MESSAGE: Required files are missing, the game cannot be run.

[crystalct]

@vaguerant, dont worry, the problem is the right chd. I had same problem.
For right and working CHDs (v3 CHDs) search inside Youtube (not google) "mame2003" and go to "ROMSET COMPLETO - MAME 0.78 (2003)" from Azvarel RetroGamer channel (not mame 2003 plus cause CHDs not working).
Follow link to his site and there are links to google drive for CHDs.
Passowrd is in the youtube page and it is: azvarelmame
Eventually, drivers zips can be downloaded from archive.org (search "MAME 2003-Plus Reference: Full Non-Merged Romsets")

[vaguerant]

OK, I reobtained the biofreak and blitz CHDs from the links you suggested, which took forever since the downloads were provided as a split RAR fullset, but the result was 100% identical to the issues I had with my original files. Are you absolutely sure this was the same issue you had? The errors being reported in the RetroArch log don't say anything about the CHD files, they relate to the creation of DIF files.

[crystalct]

Retroarch must write diff file, of course. So... in my x86 installation it writes here: C:\RetroArch\saves\mame2003-plus\diff

On Ps3:
/dev_hdd0/game/SSNE10000/USRDIR/cores/savefiles/mame2003-plus/diff

From my experience on PS3 about Retroarch, to keep directories configuration to <Default> was always a problem. Check "Savefile" configuration of "Directory" menu.
On PS3 is /dev_hdd0/game/SSNE10000/USRDIR/cores/savefiles and it exists, of course.

[Wilstorm]

It probably won't help much but I tested these two games running RetroPie on a Pi 4. The diff file writes to /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/mame-libretro/mame2003-plus/diff. They both run CHD version 3 from around 0.130 the latest CHD's won't work.

Biofreak runs ok but it's unplayable slow at 17 FPS on a Pi 4.

Blitz crashes on a Pi 4 with the following Libretro errors in the log file:

[libretro ERROR] cpunum_get_localtime() called for invalid cpu num!
[libretro ERROR] cpunum_get_localtime() called for invalid cpu num!

[libretro ERROR] [MAME 2003+] cpu_gettotalcycles() called with no executing cpu!

[Wilstorm]

TO clarify Blitz is more of a lockup at the intro screen rather than a crash at the same screen @crystalct posted above.

[mahoneyt944]

I think the log should report the active cpu. Does it for blitz?

[Wilstorm]

&mahoneyt944 - I can’t check right now but will post a full log tomorrow if it will help. I should have posted the whole thing when I had it! =\

[vaguerant]

Thanks Wilstorm and crystalct for the hints re: diff path! I was able to get those directories created manually; on Wii U it was located at the following path:

sd:/retroarch/cores/savefiles/mame2003-plus/diff

I had to create the mame2003-plus directory as well as the diff directory. I also manually created cfg and nvram directories at the same time since it seems like those are supposed to be generated as well. I will file a separate issue shortly re: broken directory creation, but in the meantime, I was able to launch biofreak and blitz.

My MAME 2003 Plus is 270fb0f, the same commit crystalct was testing, and neither game works on Wii U. On biofreak, I got the same result as crystalct had initially, a black screen with two white pixels. On blitz, just a black screen.

[crystalct]

On x86 and retro Pi they start.. on PS3 and WiiU don't start. First are Little Endian, PS3 and WiiU are Big Endian....
we have a suspect.

[mahoneyt944]

@vaguerant to clarify, you got blitz and biofreak to work successfully by manually creating the correct mame2003-plus/diff directory on the WiiU (big endian system)?

If so we just need to verify why these directories were not created automatically

[vaguerant]

I didn't get the games to work successfully, I was only able to get them to launch by manually creating the mame2003-plus/diff directory. Once they launched, I seem to have the same problems as crystalct did which prevented the games from being usable. I believe there are two unrelated issues here: mkdir failing on Wii U, and some big-endian or other issue that affects PS3 and Wii U in the same way.

Here is the issue for broken mkdir on Wii U. FBNeo has a workaround to allow it to work, so possibly MAME 2003 Plus could adopt the same workaround until the issue gets a proper fix upstream.

[mahoneyt944]

@vaguerant ok. So once you created the directory manually. Did the diff file save there? Theres a fix in place for loading / saving as seen here:

  /*fix trailing slash in path*/
  for(i = 0; options.libretro_content_path[i] != '\0'; ++i);
  if ( options.libretro_content_path[i-1] == '/' || options.libretro_content_path[i-1]  == '\\' )
   options.libretro_content_path[i-1] =0;

But I believe we need to implement this in the creation of the directories too to fix this.

[vaguerant]

Yep, the files seem to be writing out correctly. After testing both biofreak and blitz, I've got two files in mame2003-plus/diff: biofreak.dif (31.39 MB) and blitz.dif (6.31MB).

[mahoneyt944]

Ok. Perfect, I'll look into the directory creation and get this going.

[mahoneyt944]

@vaguerant ok I implemented a fix for the filepath. Delete the directories you made then update from source and see if they are created properly. Let me know how that works then we'll look into the endian issue a bit more.

[arcadez2003]

No that's ok. There doesn't seem to be any chd errors in you log so it's not that as far as I can tell. It's a pretty long log so I may have missed something though. I can't help but think the mips3 big endian issue might be responsible here but that would be a pretty intensive change over. Mame .082 at least is close to our core so a change over is possible but it's hard to say how far that change goes and how many drivers and games would be effected. Maybe @arcadez2003 can peek at mips3 from .082 mame and get his opinion on just how deep the change goes and if he agrees that's our issue.

@mahoneyt944 i've purposely tried to keep out of this due to not wanting to dive down the ole rabbit hole, but i have one
solitary idea as to what might be causing these issues, a while back i added the DCS speedups into the dcs2_init, previously
they were disabled for the dcs2 sound.

They were likely disabled for two reasons either they did not work or might have broke something in the games, since the
games in question here all use dcs2 sound im going to remove the speedups once again, i only added em on spec to see if
the game performance would improve as users were moaning about that although it's the devices they use being unable
to handle those games rather than a core issue per say.

This might be the cause it might not but it's worth a try at least.

[mahoneyt944]

@arcadez2003 if that's the case could he just try turning off the speed up in the core options ?

[vaguerant]

I just tried that (assuming "DCS Speedhack" was the one to disable), restarted RetroArch entirely to be certain it had applied, and launched biofreak again. No change, same black screen and a handful of garbage pixels.

[mahoneyt944]

Yeah. I think the endian problem is what we need to look into. Big endian just isn't handled properly in mips3 or elsewhere. Needs updated.

[arcadez2003]

@vaguerant Yeah i thought it was worth a try at least.

[crystalct]

@mahoneyt944, that was first time i ran make clean.
About Endian issues, dont forget that kinst and kinst2 work correctly on PS3 and them use mips3 driver.

[mahoneyt944]

I'm no expert on running make on different consoles but I type this to compile on my rpi3

git clone https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-plus-libretro.git
cd mame2003-plus-libretro/
make -j8 platform=rpi3

so I assume yours would be similar but with ps3 as the platform. I'm not sure you need to type clean but again I have no experience compiling on other systems.

[crystalct]

^_^
make platform=ps3 works correctly. Clean is the problem. I have to erase *.o manually.

[crystalct]

@vagueran, do you never tried Killer Instinct on WiiU? Yesterday i started it on my real PS3 (not PS3 emulator RPCS3) and its FPS are very low... unplayable.... @mahoneyt944 on rpi3 is it good?

[vaguerant]

@crystalct As a general rule, RetroArch performance on Wii U can be assumed to be miserable unless stated otherwise. The CPU is only about 1.2 GHz (compared to 3.2 GHz on PS3); plus the Wii U's nonstandard GPU needs to be handled; you can't just use OpenGL or something like you can on a "normal" modern console.

Based on some conversations I've had on the FB Neo Discord, the Wii U port may be doing some of that work on the CPU instead of the GPU. Whatever the reason is, the Wii U port runs a lot worse than it "should" across the board, so until now I never bothered trying kinst because I guarantee it runs poorly.

Having just tested, it runs at ~25 FPS during gameplay on Wii U.

[crystalct]

LOL .... better than PS3

[mahoneyt944]

Never tried KI before. But I assume it runs poorly lol

[mahoneyt944]

testing blitz on rpi3b+ I also stop on the blitz screen. chd games in general are too slow on rpi in my limited testing.

[Wilstorm]

Blitz starts ok but freezes. It's not a complete lockup as I can exit the game through RA. Screenshots below:

kinst runs decent and is playable on a Pi 4, overclocked. I'm running the arm_freq @ 2.1GHz and v3d_freq @ 850MHz. Some other minor overclock tweaks but those two are the main ones. From the limited testing the FPS stayed around 50 to 60. One fight stayed at 59.x pretty much the whole fight. Screenshot below.

kinst2 runs slower and has lag. I don't know if it's playable per se but it runs ok. The FPS drop out during the high action fights. Screenshot below.

[mahoneyt944]

I just committed a bootstrap for carnevil if you want to test that. It's too slow on rpi3 but maybe rpi4 with your over clock

[Wilstorm]

Carnevil runs fine but it can be a bit slow at times. There's an intro with a clown face swirling that shows 40 to 50 FPS but it's just slow. Definitely slower than what the FPS are showing somehow.

In game it runs about 30 to 35 FPS. When it pans and zoom to different sections in the carnival it's quick and snappy but when a mob is right up close to the screen or when they are exploding it feels a bit sluggish.

The CHD is 1.5GB so it takes a minute or so for it to load. I would assume the "movie" like background you zoom and pan through is the CHD and that movement is nice and smooth it's the action that feels a bit sluggish but it is playable.

I had a crosshair in the center of the screen the whole time and then the one I was actually using to shoot and reload.

[mahoneyt944]

The cross hairs is just a mame addon. There's a core option to turn them off. Without them you can't tell where you're aiming. Not an issue with a real lightgun but very problematic for a joystick.

[mahoneyt944]

@crystalct I just merged a WIP mips3 endian patch. Not sure if it will work or break mips3 lol. Can you test mips3 titles?

[crystalct]

Sure... Il giorno mar 6 ott 2020 alle ore 12:54 mahoneyt944 < notifications@github.com> ha scritto:

…

@crystalct <https://github.com/crystalct> I just merged a WIP mips3 endian patch. Not sure if it will work or break mips3 lol. Can you test mips3 titles? — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#883 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAMY7LJEDBWSYBKVOKH4523SJLZPZANCNFSM4RLIXQPQ> .

[mahoneyt944]

@crystalct I tested biofreaks on rpi3 and it works. Just a bit too slow to play. Probably just test biofreaks since its known working on little endian.

[crystalct]

Still black screen (or 2 pixels)

[mahoneyt944]

@crystalct does mame2003 also get a black screen on biofreak?

[mahoneyt944]

Can you post a "debug" level log from ps3 with biofreak

[mahoneyt944]

@crystalct @Wilstorm @vaguerant

So it doesn't look like big endian is working yet but blitz is now working on my rpi3. Though it's extremely slow. Not sure how long it sits on the blitz screen (edit: about 5mins) but it eventually got past it and is now running the demo attract screen.

[crystalct]

I Will back at home next week, in going to Florence for a vacation. Il mer 7 ott 2020, 03:53 mahoneyt944 <notifications@github.com> ha scritto:

…

@crystalct <https://github.com/crystalct> @Wilstorm <https://github.com/Wilstorm> @vaguerant <https://github.com/vaguerant> So it doesn't look like the big endian is working but blitz is now working on my rpi3. Though it's extremely slow. Not sure how long it sits on the blitz screen but it eventually got past it and is now running the demo attract screen. — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#883 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAMY7LJWXK6B6DLBSTOQY3LSJPCYXANCNFSM4RLIXQPQ> .

[vaguerant]

In the meantime, here's a debug-level log from biofreak on Wii U if that's any use to you.

Fair warning, I left the core running for long enough to reach the crash screen with the handful of garbage pixels, which was probably a minute or more (it doesn't normally take that long, but debug level logging is a massive performance hog on Wii U), so the log is a massive 145 MB uncompressed.

biofreak145MBdebug.zip

[mahoneyt944]

As of 052aacf we now support blitz again and kinst. Should re-test mips3 games with this commit. These games require a powerful platform so expect big slowdowns on weaker devices.

This commit does not address big endian issues.

[mahoneyt944]

@crystalct @vaguerant can you retest the above mentioned games on our latest commit? Mips3 game were fixed up but unsure about possible endian issues.

[crystalct]

Kinst:

Blitz:
Black screen