Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (PPSA16018)

[JJenkx]

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Title / content version

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (PPSA16018), 01.000.013, from sce_sys/param.json.

AnyPS5 commit

Main ce991f1ec2eb71a1f30459b4442a0730a0a4861b plus #6476 (bundled validator teardown/build repair), validation head 375d201337e213458fcdeaf0e1b716cb56255721. No other production changes in the baseline.

System tested

Arch Linux 7.2.9-arch1-1, GCC 16.2.1, Ryzen 9 7950X, Radeon RX 6650 XT with RADV Mesa 26.2.4-arch1.1, SDL X11.

Furthest point / current blocker

Stops before the executable's main entry and before a game window. The normal baseline launch exits 139. A debugger locates the null-pointer read in the bundled Media/Plugins/NativePluginPS5Example.prx.guest.prx, its argument/version checker at +0x23a relative to the executable mapping.

Related work tested

Adding exactly #6149 at head 0cd9877c6d3224c6207ed58948bc102330350648 shifts the crash rather than removing it: the default argument block passes the version check, but module startup then reads a vtable through its null context at +0x3a9. Validation head: b2e72caddcb1a48587db0a5e9b95e5a71cac1029. The same converted executable and guest modules were used for both launches.

The real built getter was separately called through ctypes and returns the proposed 16-byte block, version 0x200, context null. The rebuilt guest_module_args CTest passes, so its success alone does not establish that this title can initialize. Detailed comparison on #6149.

The correct context source and module-start lifecycle remain unestablished. No replacement pointer, skipped module initialization or other bypass was added. #6149 is a tested proposal, not a sufficient title-unblock dependency. Picture, audio, input and gameplay remain untested.

How it was run / checks

VK_DRIVER_FILES=/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/radeon_icd.json, SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11, APS5_HOST_IMPORT_MIB=16384, APS5_DRAW_CACHE_ENTRIES=4096, APS5_PIPELINED_DRAWS=1. The udmabuf size limit was temporarily raised for each native run and restored to 64 MiB afterward. Guest modules from Media/Modules, Media/Plugins and sce_module were converted; bundled middleware was used, with no host middleware replacements.

All 129 asset files were extracted privately and checked against the package listing for matching sizes. Runtime-only conversion, static import resolution, ldd -r, full libs and relinker builds passed. Rebuilt RADV graphics/disk-cache and validator-exit preflight checks passed on the baseline, three CTests with no skips. No proprietary assets, raw logs, images or binaries attached. AI-assisted investigation.

[JJenkx]

Startup progress is now available as draft #6586. It separates early code mapping from explicit runtime-module initialization and forwards the title's own arguments. No default plugin header/context or skipped initializer is used.

Two native Double Dragon Gaiden runs on the 4eb91eacd integration reached the title/menu; injected Cross input reached Story Mode setup. The example plugin's lifecycle state was sampled after its original initializer completed. Clear title/menu/setup images were inspected privately; no game media are attached.

Both close checks still needed watchdog termination (exit 137), after ordinary close requests at 110.86 s and 141.04 s. A shutdown debugger snapshot shows the main thread waiting in sceKernelWaitSema; the cause is not isolated. Gameplay and audio quality remain unvalidated.

The draft is refreshed onto main e16b2bcce; all 182 relinker-only tests pass there. Current-main full-runtime validation, exact argument/zero-argument forwarding, one-time initialization and finalization tests are described in the PR. Removing initialization or argument forwarding fails the real-kernel fixture; restoring it passes. Review of the runtime-directory lifecycle semantics is still needed before merge.

[JJenkx]

Update against main 31cbb55d7: #6586 plus only the common #6476 validator repair now reaches the Story Mode introduction and character selection, beyond the earlier setup-only result. Inputs were recorded, and 12 fresh direct GPU captures show changing scenes. Further confirm inputs did not establish entry into gameplay, so this remains a startup/character-selection result, not a playable classification.

Two native runs lasted 233.50 s and 253.41 s. Both completed ordinary close with exit 0 about two seconds after the request; the earlier watchdog shutdown failure did not reproduce in these runs. Temporary host-import settings were restored. No performance benchmark or audible-audio claim.

Exact reproducible source: validation/runtime-lifecycle-31c, head b93e49a510175e2c5af3999c6df310293a0ea8f8. Full runtime/relinker build and four rebuilt lifecycle/graphics/cache/validator preflight tests pass. No game files or raw title captures are attached.