[Regression] MGS: Peace Walker HD Slows up to about half the normal fps after a couple minutes in (#15714)

[hikagura99]

Quick summary

When playing Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD, european standalone release NPEB00686, after a couple minutes ingame the framerate drops from 30 to 13, and sometimes even to 8.

Details

I tried with both the suggested settings on the wiki page, with manual tinkering and with default options. The only one I tried not to use is the uncapped framerate since my pc can't run it at that speed. I already played for a couple hours before this happened and had no problems whatsoever. It started to appear after I encountered a foggy area, if it could help

Attach a log file

RPCS3.log

Attach capture files for visual issues

No response

System configuration

OS: Arch Linux x86_64 Host: HP 255 G8 Notebook PC Kernel: 6.10.1-zen1-1-zen CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U with Radeon Graphics (12) @ 4.056GHz GPU: AMD ATI 04:00.0 Lucienne with vulkan-radeon Memory: 15295MiB

Other details

No response

[ReLyf47]

finally someone that has this issue posted an issue on github

can you try and do a regression testing people say This build (rpcs3-v0.0.32-16597-461862be) works fine

now what i want you to do is try to find which build causes the slow down issue

[ReLyf47]

i have tried to make a regression post but couldnt manage to reproduce the issue myself

[kd-11]

Enable emulator basic stats and advanced stats (if the slowdown is from GPU emulation). Debug -> "Debug Overlay" enable. This requires enabling the debug menu or modifying configuration file manually. My guess is whatever IGP is in use has very low dedicated "VRAM" and after going through a region with intense effects the memory is spilling a lot. Changing dedicated VRAM to 2GB in BIOS may fix it.

[hikagura99]

Aur Compiled git package in which i first discovered the bug: 0.0.32-16711 Oldest official appimage in which i found the same bug: 0.0.32-16617 Last official appimage in which the bug seems to not appear: 0.0.32-16614 Same workstation stated in the post.

It usually takes between 1 and 2 minutes for the bug to happen, sometimes a bit more. To make it happen I'm listening to the briefing files before starting a mission. If going through a load screen, it stops for a couple seconds, then it happens again. Even with the 60fps setting on, it drops between 8 and 14 fps.

In reply to @kd-11, i don't think that's the reason, since it happens in low stress points of the game as well (i.e. the aforementioned briefing files menu in which there's only audio playing and a moving background of a cassette tape turning).

Log of the last working version

Log of the first bugged version

I think that's all, if there's anything else I could do feel free to ask

[kd-11]

In that case, this is a SPU regression caused by https://github.com/RPCS3/rpcs3/pull/15714

[hikagura99]

will i get a notification when this is gonna be fixed?

[AniLeo]

Can you test #15897?

[hikagura99]

Can you test #15897?

It seems to be working

[Jonathan44062]

The problem is not fixed according some users on Discord, needs to be re-open

[sinisterseed]

Greetings. I was just browsing through the issues opened on the repo myself when I noticed this one.

I encountered the same problem, and was planning on reporting it, but it seems like others noticed it as well. I've only recently started a playthrough of MGS PW HD, but didn't get too far because of this problem which basically makes the game unplayable after a while.

After starting a new session, the game runs perfectly for about ~15mins or so, but after travelling through a couple of areas and maybe even finishing a short mission, the framerate suddenly drops to unplayable levels. In my particular case, even as low as 4fps. Restarting the game or RPCS3 solves the problem, but only temporarily, as after another 15mins of gameplay it comes back. I have also noticed that it's possible just to wait for it to happen, as if I open the map while playing a mission and just stand there, eventually the framerate crumbles.

I've not tinkered with any settings inside the emulator outside of those listed on the wiki to get the game actually running optimally, apart from upscaling to 1080p - and that, by creating a custom configuration from default settings just for the game, not messing with them globally.

My specs are as follows: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, on chipset driver version 6.07.22.037. AMD RX 6700 XT GPU, on driver version 24.7.1. 16gb of RAM. MSI B550-A Pro. Windows 11 version 23H2.

One other thing I did want to mention, however, is that Peace Walker does NOT actually seem to be the only affected title. From my recent experience, I have also played the DmC remake (NPUB30830), but had to drop it because apparently, it suffers from the exact same symptoms as Peace Walker does.

After gaming for a while (again, like ~15mins or so, but in some rare instances I had it occuring almost immediately, particularly in more combat intense sections), the framerate collapses to borderline unplayable levels, and only fixes itself by restarting the game or RPCS3, but after gaming for some more, the problem comes back.

So it looks like whatever is affecting Peace Walker probably affects the DmC remake as well, as the symptoms seem to be basically the same, all default settings this time around (curiously, similar to The Darkness, upscaling does not appear to work in this game, as it only makes the game look worse).

[noisegrrrl]

I'm having the same issue as well, however unlike @sinisterseed just above, I don't need to restart the game or the emulator, I can sort of get around it by unfocusing the game window (pressing the windows key for instance) which brings back the fps to normal (until the next frame drop).

[Falcoman94]

finally someone that has this issue posted an issue on github

can you try and do a regression testing people say This build (rpcs3-v0.0.32-16597-461862be) works fine

now what i want you to do is try to find which build causes the slow down issue

I am testing the game right now after experiencing the same lag that everyone has, in my case it's consistent and it always happens in the tutorial, as soon as I have to lie down on the ground. I have tried several versions and this one in the quote, at least for now, works perfectly, I was able to do the entire tutorial section without a single FPS drop. The emulator settings are default, no patches added as well, the only thing I changed is the resolution.

My configuration if needed:

OS: Windows 10 CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D GPU: AMD XTX 7900 RAM: 32 GB