METAL GEAR SOLID: Peace Walker - Master Collection Version (PPSA18216)

[mrfelek]

Existing thread

• I searched this category for the title ID and no thread exists for this title on any platform.

Title

METAL GEAR SOLID: Peace Walker - Master Collection Version (PPSA18216)

Content version tested

01.301.000

AnyPS5 commit

main 146f171, plus local changes (listed under Current blocker).

System tested

Ubuntu 26.10, GCC 15.3.0, RTX 3080 Ti (NVIDIA 615.71.09), Linux native

Furthest point

Stops before the first frame

What is shown

The title ships two executables: a Unity launcher (eboot.bin) and the game (mgspw/mgspw.elf, 25 MB), which the launcher starts with sceSystemServiceLoadExec.

• Launcher: converts and runs, about 52 FPS in the window title. It needs the original .prx files kept next to the relinked *.guest.prx files in app0/Media/Modules and app0/Media/Plugins; without them it faults on a null call about 5 s in (same as the Silksong case).
• Launcher hand-over: the launcher then aborts with sceSystemServiceLoadExec: /app0/mgspw/mgspw.elf without its converted executable; relink with --executable mgspw/mgspw.elf not implemented.
• Game executable relinked on its own as the main program: black window, 0.00 FPS (one frame in 4 minutes), no crash. All about 40 threads wait on futexes, the main thread sleeps in a timer loop, one core at about 19 % CPU after 40 s. The log ends after [Shaders/ShaderRegistry.cpp:454 DrawRectangle] Rect-list draw of shader ... has no rectangle for fragment shader ...; preparing it at draw. Audio and input were not reached.

Current blocker

1. relinker --executable mgspw/mgspw.elf (with --module-dir Media/Modules --module-dir Media/Plugins) fails: Guest modules convert differently for mgspw/mgspw.elf, so it cannot share them with the input executable. I have not established why the modules differ; my guess is that the set of modules each executable needs at start-up differs (the launcher needs the Unity ones).
2. Relinking mgspw.elf alone needs these exports, which main does not have (found with tools/import_audit.py); I implemented them locally, one branch each, rebased on 146f171, not submitted:
   • sceAudioOut2DisableChat: https://github.com/mrfelek/AnyPS5/tree/fix/audioout2-disable-chat
   • sce::Json::String find, rfind, substr, append (two overloads), clear, reserve and npos (it failed at load on npos first): https://github.com/mrfelek/AnyPS5/tree/fix/json-string-npos
   • sceUltMutexDestroy, sceUltWaitingQueueResourcePoolDestroy: https://github.com/mrfelek/AnyPS5/tree/feat/ult-mutex-pool-destroy
   • sceNetCtlRegisterCallbackV6, sceNetCtlUnregisterCallbackV6: https://github.com/mrfelek/AnyPS5/tree/feat/netctl-v6-callbacks
   • sceLibcMspaceAlignedAlloc: https://github.com/mrfelek/AnyPS5/tree/feat/mspace-aligned-alloc
3. After 2., the game runs but never presents a frame. Unknown what it waits for. A guess I could not test: the launcher passes start arguments (which title to run) that the game needs. The arguments passed to sceSystemServiceLoadExec are not logged. I could not attach a debugger here (ptrace is blocked), and the game has no symbols.

Questions: is there a way to relink a launcher and the game it starts when their guest modules differ, and does anyone know what start arguments the Master Collection launcher passes to mgspw.elf?

How it was run

• Unwrapped eboot.bin, mgspw/mgspw.elf, sce_module/*.prx, Media/Modules/*.prx and Media/Plugins/*.prx from their SELF containers (the dump is already decrypted).
• Launcher: relinker --registry --module-dir Media/Modules --module-dir Media/Plugins src/eboot.elf app.elf, plus the original .prx files symlinked next to the *.guest.prx files.
• Game: relinker --registry src/eboot.elf app.elf with mgspw.elf as the input and only sce_module/ beside it, then APS5_HOST_IMPORT_MIB=16384 SDL_AUDIODRIVER=pipewire ./app.elf.
• The dump has no args.txt.

Written with AI assistance (Claude Code).