3D Dot Game Heroes random freezing

[ghost]

as of latest release 6649. random crashing when loading new areas or dialog screens with npcs
system spec: windows 10 64bit
xeon 1281 v3
16gb ddr3
gtx 1050 ti
i am new to this so if you need more info or anything let me know.

RPCS3.log.gz

[AniLeo]

The log you uploaded is empty

[ghost]

sorry i am new at this
RPCS3 (1).log.gz

[Krusher97]

Still happens in 0.0.5-7732
The game closes abruptly but the emulator doesn't freeze or crash.

3d dot.gz

[ghost]

Anybody know which version is the last working one?
I'm 99% sure this is a regression.

[digitaldude555]

No its always been like this.

[ghost]

still crashes randomly on 7972 here is a new log. hopefully someone can tell us why its happening other than that runs full speed
RPCS3.log.gz

[AniLeo]

Removed blatant piracy log, thanks for spotting

[ghost]

Has mine or other logs been looked at?
Just wondering after a year why this game freezes

[AniLeo]

There's nothing obvious on the logs posted above that indicates why this is freezing
Pretty sure it has to be debugged to figure out exactly what's happening
These kind of core issues take time to fix as the cause isn't usually easy to find

[ghost]

Who would have to debug it?
I'm willing to add a bounty
Only because this game was only released on PS3 and other wise runs pretty well.
Let me know if I can help

[EmoryM]

@EmoryM
Dude, at least try to hide it. You won't get support here for pirated copies, mostly just because they have more issues, but also because youknowwhat.

Sorry if my log file put this project in jeopardy. FWIW I've owned the game for 10 years but didn't bother putting an optical drive in this PC. No idea how to check if I have a bad copy, CRC32s of the BLES00875 directory are 00857385 (data) and 45B312B1 (data+names.) If I can do anything to help just let me know.

[ghost]

Just checked on latest version still same crashes

[ghost]

it wasnt still crashes

[ghost]

well decided to boot up today on 008-9371 and no crashes after 30min of play when it and out of areas, doors etc which would always cause a crash and couldnt get it to crash. log attached. would love to know what changed if someone could compare this log to an older one. really been waiting for this game to be playable for awhile. will play more and see if crashes develop
RPCS3.log.gz

[ghost]

got a freeze crash after trying to collect the first palace orb. also water in temple was too sparkling like artifacts. log attached.
RPCS3.log.gz

[digitaldude555]

@hammer300 have you tried it with driver wake up delay 200?

[ghost]

didnt help ended with this error

{RSX [0x00b2100]} RSX: Invalid RSX method 0xac80 (arg=0x1e040200, start=0xa400, count=0x254, non-inc=false) x17504

[ghost]

i think this game can use some debugging which is above my pay grade :)

[Peduls]

Tried running the game with Accurate RSX reservation access turned on. Still crashes upon entering a new area after playing for a while.
RPCS3.log.gz

[ghost]

009-10173 no crash after collecting the first palace orb. water effects are fixed too. will play more before getting to excited :)

[elad335]

{RSX [0x00b2100]} RSX: Invalid RSX method 0xac80 (arg=0x1e040200, start=0xa400, count=0x254, non-inc=false) x17504

This was fixed by #7846, makes sense the graphics are fixed as well.

[Peduls]

Not sure if this is the same issue but I just had the game crash when attempting to start game.
RPCS3.log.gz

[ghost]

make sure your setting in config are the default. and are you on the vulkan backend?
what version are you running?

[ghost]

another random crash
E {PPU[0x1000006] Thread (FileSystemClass) [0x00502c58]} SYS: 'sys_timer_usleep' failed with 0x00000000 : 0 [1]

log also
RPCS3.log.gz

[ghost]

E {PPU[0x1000000] Thread (main_thread)} SYS: Stat: 'cellPadSetActDirect' failed with 0x80121107 : CELL_PAD_ERROR_NO_DEVICE [x222]
E {PPU[0x1000000] Thread (main_thread)} SYS: Stat: 'sys_fs_open' failed with 0x80010006 : CELL_ENOENT, “/dev_hdd0/game/BLUS30490/USRDIR/data/UserInterface/Message/Message.ps3.dsb” [x7]

Tried on latest release still a no go

[daninthemix]

I can confirm the issue is not fixed. I tried @ultrabrandon12's suggestion and while I was able to play for 25 minutes, when I warped out of the Flame Temple it crashed.

So the problem remains random, I think.

[ultrabrandon12]

I'll continue working on finding a fix in the meantime then. Thank you for the report.

[Zhnigo]

@ultrabrandon12 Thanks for your advice
I copied the contents of (gamedump)\PS3_GAME\USRDIR\data to RPCS3\dev_hdd0\game\BLUS30490\USRDIR\data and RPCS3\dev_hdd0\game\BLUS30490DATA\USRDIR\data
I reset all settings to default, then set XPU Xfloat Accuracy to Accurate. Additionally I set Resolution Scale to 200% and Vsync to On.
With these conditions, I launched the game and got a crash after changing locations a couple times and reloading a save:
2023-10-23 3ddotgameheroes.gz
I'd be happy to run more tests and assist you with whatever else you need
Cheers!

[ultrabrandon12]

Alright, I think I came up with something further. I had gotten to the desert area, after finishing the desert temple, and found an area with frequent crashes when going in and out of the inn to test further, and I came up with one that had far less crashes than before. Here it is in detail:

1. Make sure you are using version 1.00, not 1.01. For some reason, it worked best in 1.00.
2. Make sure the game has been installed to the HDD from the install button on the main menu. If you can't access the main menu yet, refer to the config options listed in later steps.
3. Once the game has been installed to the dev_hdd0 folder, copy the USRDIR folder from the game's original dump location to the game's location in the dev_hdd0\game\BLUS30490 or dev_hdd0\game\BLUS30490DATA (maybe both just to make sure).
4. After that, copy both the PS3_GAME folder and the PS3_DISC.SFB file from the game's dump and paste them both in dev_bdvd folder.
5. Now for the config stuff:
   In Global config, under system, turn on "clear cache automatically"
   In custom config, use these options:
   under CPU:
   SPU Xfloat Accuracy set to accurate
   turn on "Enable SPU loop detection"

under GPU:
set shader quality to low

under advanced:
set RSX FIFO Accuracy to Atomic
Driver wake-up delay should be default at 1 microsecond
Vulkan Queue scheduler should be default at Safe
Sleep Timers Accuracy should be set to As Host
Maximum number of spurs threads should be default at unlimited
PPU Non-Java Mode Fixup should be on
PPU/SPU LLVM Precompilation should be on

under Emulator:
Max LLVM Compile Threads should be set to the highest number that is available for your computer.

All other config settings should be their default values.

6. Finally, instead of running the game by clicking on it in the game list, click on file, then boot game, then click on the dev_bdvd folder and click run.

Try all of that out and see if there are any more issues

[Zhnigo]

@ultrabrandon12
Just did all of that, instant crash on loading save:
2023-10-23 21-38-00 3ddotgameheroes.gz

I'd like to add that earlier this day, I transferred the disc dump from a hard drive where it was previously to the same SSD where RPCS3 was, and also ran it not by doubleclicking the game in the list but by clicking [Open] then manually selecting the new folder. The config was unchanged from default apart from setting XPU Xfloat Accuracy to Accurate, Resolution Scale to 200% and Vsync to On.
Under these conditions, I started to rapidly go back and forth between locations and with a dozen or so scene transitions I still haven't had a crash. I then proceeded to play normally and did so for about an hour and a half. Afterwards I left the PC unattended for half an hour, then I came back and the very first scene transition after that had crashed the game. Sadly, I don't have the log.

[ultrabrandon12]

yeah, the game will crash on loading save from 1.01 if ur in 1.00, so u gotta start a new save

[ultrabrandon12]

alright, it did finally just crash for me after 2 hours of play, but it has a different error output this time. It says "E {Emulation Join Thread} SIG: Thread [rsx::thread] is too sleepy. Waiting for it 20545.078µs already!"

[Zhnigo]

yeah, the game will crash on loading save from 1.01 if ur in 1.00, so u gotta start a new save

Sorry, it was still on 1.01. Downgrading to 1.00 is one thing I didn't do because that would mean losing 20+ hours of progress. Apologies I didn't mention that directly.

[ultrabrandon12]

by the way @Zhnigo did you remember to change the LLVM threads to the maximum amount available for your computer? I remember in the logs you did send, it said they were set to 0, and when I was helping computer doctor last night, his was also crashing when it was set to 0. Double check that.

[Zhnigo]

@ultrabrandon12 It was set to "All (16)" so I didn't switch it to specifically 16. Setting it now just in case.

[ultrabrandon12]

if it crashes again this time, send me the log so i can compare it to my settings and see if anything was missed

[Zhnigo]

@ultrabrandon12

if it crashes

I appreciate your optimism
Here's the crash log

2023-10-24 00-29-00 3ddotgameheroes.gz

[ultrabrandon12]

good timing. I just got to the fire temple, and after climbing the volcano made the game crash repeatedly, I edited a few things, and one thing finally let me get to the temple.

under the cpu settings, i changed the spu interpreter to the asmjit or whatever its called option, and changed the spu block size to mega

[Zhnigo]

@ultrabrandon12
2023-10-24 00-45 3ddotgameheroes.gz

instead of crashing, now the game froze after a shader compilation message while playing block defense

[ultrabrandon12]

alright, so, change PPU non-java mode fixup to true, change multithreaded rsx to true, change shader compiler threads to auto, change max spurs threads to unlimited, and make sure shader recompiler is set to async (multithreaded)

[Zhnigo]

@ultrabrandon12
2023-10-24 00-51 3ddotgameheroes.gz

[ultrabrandon12]

are you remembering to open it by clicking open game, and selecting the bdvd folder? cuz thats what ive had to do every time

[Zhnigo]

Not for the last couple times, but I'll be doing this from now on.

[ultrabrandon12]

Not for the last couple times, but I'll be doing this from now on.

then try again doing it that way and see if it still crashes wherever its crashing for you

[Zhnigo]

will do
for me it crashes randomly either on game load or on switching scenes, after the loading screen art appears and disappears

[Zhnigo]

2023-10-24 01-01 3ddotgameheroes.gz
with all your settings from the previous posts in our conversation and with opening the game manually, crash on loading save

[ultrabrandon12]

try starting a new save and see if it goes through, even if u dont actually play on the new save, just to see if it works

[Zhnigo]

the old save loaded on the second try, probably one of random scene transition/loading crashes as per usual

[Zhnigo]

2023-10-24 04-57 3ddotgameheroes.gz
loaded a save file, game crashed after several zone transitions

[ultrabrandon12]

Since what I had done wasn't working for everyone, I came up with an idea for a workaround that might work, if anyone wants to try and help me put it together. It would be a script of some sort that would be able to read the game's outputs to determine when the screen transitions, as that's usually when the game crashes, and if the screen transitions successfully, makes an automatic savestate. Then, if the game ends up crashing upon trying to transition, automatically loads up the last savestate, that way, you only have to redo 1 room and not everything since the last save/an entire dungeon, etc.

I don't think it would be too hard to do, especially if we had the help of the RPCS3 dev team.

[saminationdj]

Since there hasn't been much updates on this post, I wanted to give my results (if you can call a 30 minute or so playthrough a proper test).

I played the game on version 0.0.32 from very early in the game (about 10 minutes in) and just walked around killing the poor bunnies and bees. I did that for 20 minutes and decided to spend about 5-10 minutes just walking in and out of caves and transition screens to see if I can cause the game to crash (or as mentioned elsewhere, just a softlock, not an actual crash), but I got nothing. With the exception of a few audio stutters (not lasting more than a third of a second at longest), the game did not crash or the emulator freeze.

::Software Information::
Emulator: RCSP3 0.032-16830 (unmodified) for Windows.
Game: 3D Dot Game Heroes (version 1.00) from Europe/UK. Game files copied straight from the bluray on a PC (sadly not ripped properly because my PS3's drive is dead and I dont exactly have money to buy a new ps3 or drive).
OS: Windows 11 Pro 22H2
Controller: a DS4 emulated as a Xinput with DS4Windows.

Since I installed RCPS3 over a previous, older version, many settings were obsolete or removed, so the emulator was basically set to default. The game uses suggested settings from the wiki. "SPU xfloat accuracy" and "Patch: FPS unlocked".

::Computer::
Intel i5 6500 (technically not supported by Windows 11)
Samsung SSD 750 (install drive as well as game storage drive)
48GB RAM (2x8 and 2x16) @ 1066Mhz
GeForce GTX 1660 6GB

[computerdoctor300]

I think you would have to playthrough the entire game without crashes for it to be considered playable

[saminationdj]

I never expected my single playthrough would be enough to make it listed as playable :P
I'd wager it'll take more than just 1 person, so I mostly posted to see if others have or will give the game a new try.
Will give the game a longer try whenever I get the chance, as I never defeated it on my PS3.

[saminationdj]

Can confirm that the issue is still present. Had just finished first dungeon after updating to build 16834 to make my saves work again (a issues I previously comment on but deleted), and the game window closed down just as the loading screen disappeared.

[Serbagz]

Considering this game use to constantly crash on Multiman when I used a backup on my old hacked Ps3, I should have expected it would still be like this on RPCS3 :/