Software RSP-audio-ucode mixer (macro-swap aXxx -> Impl functions, PD-port
pattern) makes libaudio output audible on PC. Alongside it, two pointer-width
bugs surfaced by exercising the audio path for the first time:
- D198: alAdpcmPull/_decodeChunk used K0_TO_PHYS (N64 kseg0 mask) on 64-bit
heap pointers; switched to osVirtualToPhysical like every sibling call site.
- D201: bnkf.c bank/inst/sound/wavetable relocation offsets were s32,
truncating the real 64-bit base pointer for ~50% of allocations; widened
to uintptr_t.
- D200 (already committed-pending from a prior session): reverb's ALDelay
u32 negative indices zero-extended into +4GB offsets on 64-bit; (s32)/(s64)
casts match PD ground truth.
- D199: documents the mixer's aSetBuffer persistent-DMEM-context design,
reconstructed from call-site pairs (no RSP disassembly to check against)
since there's no N64 audio ucode source to reference.
- D195/D197 (playtest reports referenced by an earlier HANDOFF note but never
written into findings.md): backfilled as OPEN with next steps.
Verified: ./build-pc.sh ntsc-final links clean; -level_09 runs 600+ frames
crash-free with music + SFX audible.
The D117 findings.md addenda in the prior commit changed D117's status
text without regenerating findings-index.csv, and the new GE_DETERM_TRACE
env var wasn't yet mentioned in GE-ENV-PROBES.md -- both fail their
--check gate in CI's validate job. Caught by a real CI run, not predicted.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01P3WrUHAFQZUuhrHhiJgTUr
The "worker's shell is cmd.exe, no grep/cat" note was wrong -- verified
directly against the delegate-local harness's own _run_bash: grep, sed,
cat, ls, head, pipes, and grep -rn all work (Git-for-Windows/MSYS2 on
PATH). The stale claim, baked into 4 of 5 local agent .md files, caused a
real dispatch to burn its whole turn budget full-read_file-ing files
instead of grepping them, hit the turn limit, and returned nothing.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01P3WrUHAFQZUuhrHhiJgTUr
Adds an env-gated (GE_DETERM=1, default OFF), test-only deterministic-clock
mode to port/src/libultra.c per the design in docs/dev/findings.md section D117:
osGetCount() returns a virtual clock advanced synchronously in osRecvMesg()
when __scMain (the sole consumer of the scheduler's retrace queue) asks for
the next message, instead of tracking real elapsed time. Goal: two runs of
the same build take the same simulation path, for exact frame-diff
regression testing and reproducible crash repro.
Four passes this session, each is a real, verified result, not a guess:
1. Fixed the predicted pre-first-frame deadlock (a poll-driven fallback
caused it in the first cut).
2. Replaced the poll-driven fallback with synchronous per-ask generation
in osRecvMesg -- fixed the deadlock cleanly, but two-run divergence was
still 33-38%.
3. Capped the pre-first-task tick backlog to a fixed constant -- divergence
dropped to 17-20%, still not the ~0% target.
4. Added GE_DETERM_TRACE=1 instrumented tracing and diffed two runs' clock
event logs directly. Proved the tick mechanism is now fully
deterministic (byte-identical clock values through the first real task).
Root-caused the actual remaining divergence: every synthesized retrace
increments the scheduler's frameCount, which gates a half-rate client
(the audio client) by parity -- since the pre-task spin count is still
real-time-scheduling-dependent, that parity isn't guaranteed to match
between runs.
GE_DETERM is NOT achieving its determinism goal yet and is not meant to be
used for anything today -- it ships here purely as a well-documented,
zero-risk-when-off checkpoint (verify.sh bunker1 PASS, worst_cell unchanged,
confirmed after every change this session) so the next attempt starts from
proof instead of re-deriving four sessions of dead ends. Full trace numbers,
exact line citations, and the mechanism: docs/dev/findings.md section D117
(four M-52 addenda).
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01P3WrUHAFQZUuhrHhiJgTUr
CMakeLists.txt already opt-in enables CMAKE_{C,CXX}_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=
ccache when found (b49907de); CI just never installed ccache or persisted
its cache dir across runs. Wires actions/cache + ccache install into both
linux-build and windows-build, keyed on CMakeLists.txt's hash. Game
sources are frozen, so this should give a near-total hit rate after the
first run on each job.
YAML-validated; the actual hit-rate payoff needs a real CI run (cold, then
warm) to confirm -- not verifiable locally.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01P3WrUHAFQZUuhrHhiJgTUr
verify.sh wraps the manual render-verify recipe (build-if-stale, 640x480
ini pin/restore, headless GE_PCDUMP capture, pixcount, framediff, crash
symbolication) into one command with a machine-readable PASS/CRASH/
NO-FRAMES/REGRESSION verdict + --json, for a single level or a sweep
subset. Live-tested on Windows: single-level and subset-sweep runs both
produce correct verdicts and leave the tree clean.
crash_brief.py turns a ge007.crash.log into a symbolicated, dispatch-ready
investigation brief: greps porting-notes.md/findings-index.csv for
sections covering the crashing function/file, and flags known
parked-crash signatures (D188 va_list, D189 stack overrun) so agents stop
re-investigating them. verify.sh calls it automatically on a CRASH
verdict. Live-tested against a synthetic-but-real crash log built from an
actual built symbol; caught and fixed 3 bugs before trusting it (addr2line
unresolvable under native Windows Python's PATH handling, a substring
keyword-match false-positive, a Windows drive-letter path-split bug).
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01P3WrUHAFQZUuhrHhiJgTUr
Static/tooling slice of docs/dev/notes/AGENTIC-SPEEDUPS-PLAN.md — no build or
runtime environment needed to verify any of it.
- Step 6 / N7: add a VERIFY: line to the investigation-brief template
(docs/dev-process.md) and the CLAUDE.md dispatch-preflight checklist — the
brief must now name the exact probe/verify invocation that proves the task
done, or state that runtime verification is impossible here.
- Step 4 / N2: tools_pc/README.md — indexes the ~60 scripts with a
living vs artifact marker so closed-finding artifacts can be archived.
- Step 4 / R8: tools_pc/gen_findings_index.py -> docs/dev/findings-index.csv
(label, bucket, one_liner, status_raw) — grep-before-you-read aid for the
~200 KB finding log. Heuristic parser of the §F/§H tables.
- Step 4 / R9: tools_pc/gen_env_probes.py — re-greps live getenv("GE_*")
sites and reports NEW/GONE drift vs docs/dev/GE-ENV-PROBES.md (keeps the
curated prose, only checks the site map). Doc reconciled: 7 new probes
added, GE_D54 kept as a tombstone.
- CI: validate job now runs both generators with --check.
Step 1 / N1 (HANDOFF preflight) applied in the local-only docs/HANDOFF.md.
Step 2 (verify.sh) and the HANDOFF/HANDOFF-ARCHIVE trim are left for a
session with a build environment.
Update the public-facing docs to the M-49 state (v0.1.0 alpha, first
full-campaign playtest: 19/21 missions completable, D191 crashes Bunker ii
+ Statue, D193 AI pacing is the top flaw).
- README: lead with what it is + status, research angle second; new
Quick start section; Status/Download rewritten for the alpha + dual
platform; "By the numbers" refreshed (~3 weeks, ~320 commits, ~190
findings, ~49 sessions, 69 PORT files).
- .github/release-notes.md: v0.1.0 title + known-issues rewrite.
- .github/social-preview.html: status/stat lines (regen + re-upload the
PNG separately).
- docs/index.md, docs/dev/LEVEL-STATUS.md: M-49 status.
- docs/dev/findings.md, docs/dev/GRAPHICS-BACKLOG.md: D191-D197 +
D148/D170/D173 M-49 escalations.
Hygiene:
- Fix the `&` literal in internals.md H1.
- Repoint two ../README.md links that 404 on the Pages site.
- Standardise British -> American spelling across the public docs
(behaviour->behavior, colour->color, catalogue->catalog,
centre->center, etc.). Deep internal logs left untouched.
- .gitignore: document the local-notes convention (docs/HANDOFF.md,
docs/BACKLOG.md, and a new docs/dev/notes/ drop for roadmaps and
session plans) so it survives a fresh clone.
* fix(linux): survive the decomp's latent stack-buffer overruns (D189)
The decompiled game code has a class of fixed-size stack-buffer over/under-
runs that write a few words into adjacent stack scratch:
* stan.c sub_GAME_7F0B1DDC — `StandTile *tileStack[39]` with a bail check
of `if (cat >= 41)` that only runs once per outer iteration, so `cat`
reaches 40 + pointCount and the append writes several slots past the end.
BUNKER1 (-level_09) prop room-list setup legitimately visits ~40 tiles.
* bondview2.c bondviewCalcIntroSwirlCamera — `f32 pointbuf[10]` indexed
`&pointbuf[i*3]` for i in [-1..2] then written [0..5], i.e. [-3 .. 11].
On the N64 and on the MinGW/Windows build (neither uses a stack protector)
these are harmless in practice — the Windows build is stable over thousands
of frames. Only Ubuntu's gcc default (`-fstack-protector-strong`) turns them
into a fatal `__stack_chk_fail`, at BUNKER1 stage load and again at the intro
swirl camera (~frame 5).
Two-part fix:
* `-fno-stack-protector` globally (CMakeLists) — matches the N64 and MinGW
builds so the same code runs the same way. A hardened Linux build would
need the whole overrun class swept first.
* `StandTile *tileStack[64]` under `#ifdef PORT` (stan.c) — the one case
that is cleanly understood and bounded (`pointCount` is 4-bit, so 40+15
is the true worst case). Pure local scratch, never escapes, no behaviour
change. N64 keeps `[39]` under `#else`.
* stan.c:2225 link-resolve also switched to the D177 PORT_PTRADD macro for
idiom consistency (the blob maps below 4 GiB so the bare cast is
currently lossless; #else is byte-identical).
Stacked on the D188 xprintf fix. Verified: Windows -level_09 framediff 3/3
within golden threshold (all changes are #ifdef PORT or no-op on MinGW);
Linux -O2 -level_09 now runs to frame 2100+ with no crash.
* docs: D189 update (stack-protector / latent overrun class) + porting-notes D8
* docs: D190 — Linux -level_45 objective.c load crash (open); D189 sweep 5/6
* fix(linux): thread a va_list* through _Printf (x86-64 SysV ABI)
On the x86-64 System V ABI `va_list` is an array type, so a by-value
`va_list` parameter decays to a pointer. `_Printf()` was passing `&args`
(the address of that local pointer, not the argument list) to `_Putfld()`,
which does `va_arg(*args, ...)` — so `_Putfld` walked garbage and
segfaulted. Latent at `-Og`, fatal at `-O2` (PR #9), which is why the
Linux release build crashed at boot:
bossInitMainthreadData (boss.c:247, the D121 per-level -m token sprintf)
-> sprintf("-level_%c%c %s", ...) -> _Putfld -> SIGSEGV @ xprintf.c
Same UB class as D187. Windows x64's `va_list` is a scalar (`char*`), so
`&args` happened to work there — the Windows build is unaffected.
Fix: under `#ifdef PORT`, `_Printf` takes `va_list *` and passes it
straight to `_Putfld` (which already expects `va_list *`); `src/sprintf.c`
(the only PC caller — `rmon.c` is excluded from the build) passes `&args`
of a real `va_list` object. N64 build untouched (`#ifdef PORT`, and it
byte-matches the ROM).
Verified:
- Windows: build links, `-level_09` framediff 3/3 within golden threshold.
- Linux -O2: boot crash gone, now advances past bossInitMainthreadData
into stage load (uncovers a separate pre-existing stan.c stack overflow
during BUNKER1 prop setup — tracked separately).
* docs: D188 (xprintf va_list ABI) + D189 (stan.c stack-smash) findings + porting-notes D7
The HUD weapon/ammo-type icon (D187, PR #19) and blank briefing objective
text (D178, cd1ed574) are both fixed and on main. Remove them from the
release-notes and bundled-README known-issues blurbs so a v0.1.0 tag ships
an accurate list. Black sky and the front-end 3D models (Nintendo logo,
MISSION COMPLETE / mode-select) are still open and stay listed.
A stock MSYS2 MINGW64 shell ships neither `zip` nor `unzip`, so
`tools_pc/bundle-win.sh` failed at the packaging step for a local release
build (the M-45 handoff's documented v0.1.0 cut path). CI is unaffected
(it `pacman -S zip unzip`, so the `zip` branch is still taken).
Fallback order: zip -> 7z on PATH -> "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" ->
powershell Compress-Archive. Verified end-to-end: bundle builds, unpacks
to a clean dir, prepare-assets runs, ge007.x86_64.exe boots -level_09 to
frame 2100+ crash-free.
The HUD weapon/ammo-type icon (bottom-right, and bottom-left when
dual-wielding) stopped drawing ~2026-09-02; the ammo *numbers* still
render. Root cause: set_rgba_redirect_generate_microcode (gunfire.c, the
sole icon emitter) is non-void but has no return statement (the decomp
banner flags it). At -Og the tail call's result stayed in $v0 and it
worked; commit 7549570b restored -O2 for playtest builds, where the
undefined return register makes callers resume the DL from the icon's
start offset and overwrite the icon commands with the following
microcode_constructor / gunDrawHudInteger output.
Fix: add the return under AVOID_UB (already -D'd in the PC build;
CMakeLists.txt:207), N64 byte-match path unchanged under #else.
Codegen-correctness only, same class as the existing AVOID_UB edits.
Owed: build (-O2) + -level_09 capture diff vs docs/img/bunker1-2.png.
A/B: Debug build (-Og) shows the icon, -O2 build without this fix does not.
- tools_pc/bundle-linux.sh: package a Linux build (exe + README + licenses +
prepare-assets) as a .tar.gz. Mirrors bundle-win.sh's ROM / size guards and
prepare-assets assembly. No shared libs bundled — the generated README tells
the user to install SDL2 / zlib / libGL from their distro.
- tools_pc/dist/README.md.in: made OS-neutral via @PLATFORM@ / @EXE@ / @DEPS@ /
@LICENSE_EXTRA@ tokens; refreshed the known-issues list (dropped the stale
"ladders don't work" line — D177 fixed M-36; added black sky + missing HUD
weapon icon).
- .github/workflows/ci.yml: linux-build now packages + uploads the Linux
bundle; the release job attaches both platforms to the draft pre-release.
- .github/release-notes.md: rewritten for the two-platform NTSC-U alpha with
the prepare-assets step and current known issues.
Alpha scope: NTSC-U only, one-time prepare-assets step (Part A launcher and
Part B native converter from release-dropin-rom-plan.md remain follow-ups).
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01V4pK3pT83YnPsBp3Ey4RP2
Drop `paths-ignore` from the `pull_request:` trigger. With it, a docs-only
PR never triggered the workflow, so the required `validate` / `windows-build`
checks stayed "expected" forever and the PR could not be merged without an
owner bypass (M-44 hit this on #14/#15).
The workflow now always runs on PRs; the `changes` job diffs the PR against
its base sha (mirroring the existing branch-push logic against
`github.event.before`) and, for a docs-only change, reports the build jobs
as skipped — which branch protection accepts as success.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01V4pK3pT83YnPsBp3Ey4RP2
gbi.h's gDP* DL macros use _SHIFTL/_SHIFTR without defining them; game TUs
pull them in via <ultra64.h>. This is the first port/src TU to build a
display list, and on GCC/ld the missing macro became an undefined symbol
(MinGW's include chain happens to provide it). Define the two pure macros
locally, verbatim from PR/mbi.h -- including mbi.h itself drags in N64 OS
headers that shadow libc.
- Fix invisible text: drawText passed the measured text w/h into textRender's
width/height args, which are the on-screen CLIP rect (not the text size), so
every glyph failed the clip test. Pass the full 2D viewport like bondview2.c's
debug-text path.
- Mouse UI: hover-to-highlight; left-click in the value column toggles/cycles;
drag sliders; red X close box (clicking a row's label only focuses it, so
selecting can't flip a toggle). inputSuspendForOverlay() forces the OS cursor
free + visible while the overlay owns the mouse.
- New rows: Fullscreen (live) and Resolution (windowed presets filtered to the
desktop, live resize + recenter). SDL window ops are posted from the
scheduler thread and drained host-side in videoPumpEvents.
- Layout recomputed for the wide BankGothic font: right-aligned values, wider
row pitch, all 13 rows fit the ~240-unit 2D space; nothing clips.
Port-layer only. Links clean; runtime-verified on a real display (front end +
-level_09): layout, hover/click/drag, live VSync/filter/fullscreen/resolution.
The M-37 scratch note (D176a-sky-rootcause.md) was never committed. Re-derive
the complete format from src/game/sky.c and include/PR/gbi.h:
- skyRenderTri/skyRenderFull emit a verbatim N64 RDP triangle command
(2-word header + 3 edge-slope pairs + 16-word shade block + 16-word
texture block) chopped into gImmp1(G_RDPHALF_1/_CONT) pairs, terminated
by G_RDPHALF_2. GE's RSP ucode DMAs it straight to the RDP.
- sub_GAME_7F097388 already yields complete screen-space verts; the
projection math is endian-clean and is not the defect.
Two implementation paths documented with a recommendation (Path B: an
#ifdef PORT emit swap in sky.c, first; Path A: an RDP-tri decoder in
gfx_pc.cpp, as the long-term answer). Word layout cross-checked against
gbi.h packing conventions.
sync_framerate_with_timer() runs inline on the scheduler thread
(osSpTaskStartGo -> gfx_run -> swap_buffers_begin), so a low frame cap
blocks VI-retrace delivery and drags every game thread down to the cap
rate rather than just dropping presented frames. There is no N64 analogue
(RSP/RDP/VI are separate silicon; the CPU never waits on them).
Clamp 0 < FpsCap < 30 to 0 (uncapped) with a warning, at both:
- videoInit, so a bad ge007.ini value (e.g. dinged to 10 via the F10
options overlay) is normalised and persists sane on next configSave();
- gfx_sdl_set_target_fps, the fast3d chokepoint, which also covers the
overlay's live set path.
Caps >= 30 are unchanged. Default (FpsCap = 0) is byte-identical to
golden (-level_09 framediff 3/3). The real fix — moving frame pacing off
the scheduler thread — is documented as owed in findings.md D186.
- findings.md / GRAPHICS-BACKLOG.md: -level_22 (Statue, night) is a clean
no-input headless repro of the D176(a) black sky — bare boot, frame ~360,
upper half pure black. Best verification target for the RDPHALF sky-tri
decoder. Note -level_36/-43 intro cams face the terrain (not a sky test
without GE_INPUTSCRIPT); -level_29 top-of-frame is dim, not black.
- GRAPHICS-BACKLOG "D74 wrap-block": struck through — the dead-code / OOB
in-vertex-loop wrap block was reworked and hoisted to a per-texunit
pre-wrap window behind Video.WrapFix at M-30 (RC3/D167). No longer latent.
building.md listed only d43 + d69; d88 (per-level Usetup*Z stage setup,
appended to the pccg dir) was omitted, so a source build per these
instructions produced a game that crashed on first level load.
The non-Debug branch unconditionally appended -Og, which (last -O wins)
overrode RelWithDebInfo's -O2 for every TU. -Og is a ~10% frame-time
regression on the software RSP/rasteriser hot path and is not what a
release/playtest build wants. Restrict -Og to explicit Debug builds.
Note: does NOT fix the ~1 fps issue under investigation — the software
renderer is ~950 ms/frame at both -Og and -O2 on this box; this is just
the correct default.
portHeartbeatCheck fired on any >3s frame gap and re-fired every 2s,
spamming ge007.crash.log with thread dumps during gdb pauses, level
loads, and SIGTERM teardown on a slow/software-GL setup. Widen to 8s and
stop after 3 reports. A genuine hang is permanent so it still gets caught.
CMakeLists.txt: CMAKE_{C,CXX}_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache when found (no-op
otherwise); game sources are frozen so branch-switch rebuilds get near-free.
build-pc.sh: BUILD_DIR=${BUILD_DIR:-build-pc} so parallel agents/worktrees
can use separate build dirs.
- gfx_opengl_start_draw_to_framebuffer: fb_id 0 now binds GL framebuffer 0
(the window) instead of framebuffers[0].fbo, a generated attachment-less
FBO. Harmless on Windows (verified: -level_09 renders, mean RGB ~80);
strict GL (Mesa) treats the incomplete FBO as an error and drops draws.
- GE_PCDUMP / F12 screenshots move to a pre-swap hook (gfx_pre_swap_hook,
called from gfx_sdl_swap_buffers_begin before SDL_GL_SwapWindow). Reading
the back buffer AFTER the swap is undefined on buffer-exchange drivers
(Mesa/WSLg) -> black capture. Also: read GL_BACK explicitly, glFinish
first, GL_PACK_ALIGNMENT=1 (639*3 is not 4-aligned -> row shear), and log
any glReadPixels error.
Windows -level_09 verified: renders, no crash, capture non-black.
James Dansereau