Emulator Issues #12111
closed
Vega 56 shader cache for every game resets on every boot
0%
Description
Game Name?
All games, both gamecube and Wii
Game ID? (right click the game in the game list, Properties, Info tab)
All games, both gamecube and Wii
MD5 Hash? (right click the game in the game list, Properties, Verify tab, Verify Integrity button)
N/A
What's the problem? Describe what went wrong.
Basically, I know with these emulators its normal to see stuttering when first playing a game and/or playing through a part of a game as this is shader cache and what not, and once its built you can go to the same area and it won't do that stuttering business because its built up/cached now, I get it, but on my Vega 56 (and by extension Vega 64 I'm sure) this shader cache will ALWAYS reset when I shut down my PC and then when I boot up a game it will shader cache as if the previous cache was deleted. I've never had this problem on my previous RX 580, where a new scene would cache and it didn't matter how many times I rebooted the scene was successfully cached and wouldn't need to cache again and would play smooth. To prove this open any game and let the opening cutscene play and it will stutter throughout and also through some initial gameplay (if it needs to shader cache those points) and then close the game. Now reopen the game without shutting down and those points which were laggy/choppy due to shader caching is now perfectly smooth and it doesn't matter how many times I close and reopen the game (without having shut down yet) these points are working fine/i.e the shader cache is working fine. However the problem with Vega is as soon as I shut down and turn the computer off, Poof, its like the shader cache or whatever it is has completely deleted itself and it rebuilds it again. Because of this I have stuttering indefinitely and again have never had this problem with my RX 580. I have done multiple multiple windows reinstallations, different GPU drivers and completely cleaned them with a fresh DDU install, nothing has worked and I'm 100% sure its how Vega works. Could you perhaps look into this and see if you can fix this? The shaders/cache seems to work fine, its just upon shutting down they seem to delete completely. Also a final small request is my RX 580 wouldn't shader cache cutscenes or openings, whereas Vega does (again playing the same opening or cutscene back without having shut down prior, plays back smooth), could you also look into this as well if possible. I'm sorry for the long post, thank you so much for reading.
What steps will reproduce the problem?
Explained above*
Is the issue present in the latest development version? For future reference, please also write down the version number of the latest development version.
5.0-12053
Is the issue present in the latest stable version?
Yes 5.0-12053
If the issue isn't present in the latest stable version, which is the first broken version? (You can find the first broken version by bisecting. Windows users can use the tool https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-green-notice-development-thread-unofficial-dolphin-bisection-tool-for-finding-broken-builds and anyone who is building Dolphin on their own can use git bisect.)
N/A
If your issue is a graphical issue, please attach screenshots and record a three frame fifolog of the issue if possible. Screenshots showing what it is supposed to look like from either console or older builds of Dolphin will help too. For more information on how to use the fifoplayer, please check here: https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=FifoPlayer
[Attach any fifologs if possible, write a description of fifologs and screenshots here to assist people unfamiliar with the game.]
What are your PC specifications? (CPU, GPU, Operating System, more)
Ryzen 5 2600 4.2ghz
RX Vega 56
16gb DDR4 3200mhz RAM
Is there anything else that can help developers narrow down the issue? (e.g. logs, screenshots,
configuration files, savefiles, savestates)
[Anything else here]
Updated by Techjar over 4 years ago
I'm not sure what this issue is, but why not just use ubershaders?
Updated by JMC4789 over 4 years ago
Turn on "Compile Shaders Before Starting" in graphics settings in the latest builds. This will force Dolphin to compile its cache before starting the game. That way if your driver or whatever is throwing out the shaders after a reboot, Dolphin's own cache will be compiled. It may result in a slight delay before the game boots though.
If this issue still happens, then it may not be related to your GPU or Shader Cache at all.
Updated by iwubcode over 4 years ago
Which backend do you use? Does it happen on every backend or just some?
Updated by Mhtrineedsfixingasap over 4 years ago
JMC4789 wrote:
Turn on "Compile Shaders Before Starting" in graphics settings in the latest builds. This will force Dolphin to compile its cache before starting the game. That way if your driver or whatever is throwing out the shaders after a reboot, Dolphin's own cache will be compiled. It may result in a slight delay before the game boots though.
If this issue still happens, then it may not be related to your GPU or Shader Cache at all.
High, I've already tried every one of those options and even tried just about every shader configuration setting in dolphin and also tried those settings which are not recommended, they all have the exact same issue as described above. Just very quickly you can try playing any game which has an intro cutscene and you will find the cutscene to stutter for whatever reason. my rx 580 never stuttered on cutscenes but shader cached any other game as normal and save it. This Vega though, it will 'cache' cutscenes so cutscenes will lag first time and then closing and reopening the cutscenes will play perfectly. Again, as soon as you reboot all of this 'cache' or whatever it is I'm unsure will delete and the stuttering or shader caching will begin again. Again, never had this problem on my rx 580, it would stutter on a scene, cache it and never stutter or lag on that part again.
iwubcode wrote:
Which backend do you use? Does it happen on every backend or just some?
It happens on every single backend unfortunately, I've tried all of them.
Thank you for helping.
Updated by Mhtrineedsfixingasap over 4 years ago
Techjar wrote:
I'm not sure what this issue is, but why not just use ubershaders?
Oh well unfortunately the games I like to play, with UberShaders has a massive performance hit and I am aware this is normal. I play in 4k so the games that I like to play will usually start lagging real bad, so that's not a solution for me sadly. Sorry for bringing this up again, but my rx 580's worked perfectly like any other card and both Vega models I have had now all have this problem so I am certain its a Vega problem. I'm guessing this has never been reported probably because no one really has bothered and/or Vega users are very small to begin with.
Updated by Techjar over 4 years ago
Asynchronous ubershaders should have fairly minimal performance impact. Don't use synchronous, it's really only there for testing purposes.
Updated by Mhtrineedsfixingasap over 4 years ago
Techjar wrote:
Asynchronous ubershaders should have fairly minimal performance impact. Don't use synchronous, it's really only there for testing purposes.
Oh okay that one, yeah haha exact same problem with that one also. Yeah I've tried literally everything
Updated by Techjar over 4 years ago
Your issue must not be related to shader cache then, because asynchronous ubershaders runs the specialized shader compilation in the background so it can't cause stutters. There's definitely something else weird going on here. Did you change anything else about your setup at the same time as your GPU? Perhaps your stutters are related to very slow disk I/O or JIT cache flushing. What games specifically are you testing? Do the stutters always happen at the same exact spot?
Updated by Mhtrineedsfixingasap over 4 years ago
No I have not changed anything else of my setup when changing my GPU, besides I have a policy of ensuring I fully wipe everything of my computer and back up those things I can't recover like photos and videos and game save data and reinstall everything completely fresh whenever I have a hardware change such as was in this case where I changed to a Vega 56 -twice because the first one had some heating issues and now my current one which runs fine, both of which suffer from the exact issue described above. And no there isn't any slow disk issue as I'm currently running an NVME SSD and the same problem persists even on my old SSD, and even if I play off of my hard drive the result is always the same. Yes the same areas and parts always stutter when having turned it on after a shut down but the same areas will play perfectly so long as I don't shut down the computer, regardless of how many different games I play, how many times I open and close dolphin and however many settings I change in dolphin, the areas that stuttered will play perfectly now. I can even put my computer to sleep and turn it back on and the stutter/shader cache or whatever wont happen, its the second I turn off my computer. In addition to that I don't know why cutscenes have to cache on this Vega, they never had on my rx 580.
In terms of what games am I testing, I have over 20 games which are Wii and GameCube games and the majority of them are flagship games like Wind waker, skyward sword, mario kart, etc etc. Every single one of them have the problem described above.
Edit: The funny thing is the precompile shaders thing before starting a game, when I start a game it shows the yellow bar as normal and shows its compiling shaders but it actually does jack all because the exact same areas with stutter every time regardless if I'm coming after having boot my system lol. I don't know how useful this information this but I do not have this problem with Cemu or RPCS3, those games will shader cache and it will never have to again and the gameplay is silky smooth. Interestingly though PCSX2 has this exact same issue I am describing here in Dolphin. Again, my rx 580 did stutter in the same areas as they do on my Vega, except that stuttering/shader cache was set from the first time and never did again even in PCSX2, its just this bloody Vega lol. Anyways, I really appreciate you guys trying to help, thank you.
Updated by Techjar over 4 years ago
Yeah this is a really bizarre issue, I haven't a clue what's going on. Someone who knows the graphics backends inside and out will have to take a look at this.
Updated by ZephyrSurfer over 3 years ago
Please try to bisect this issue.
Is this occurring in dolphin 5.0 stable.