nxdk_pgraph_tests

Various tests for nv2a rendering.

Based on code from https://github.com/Ernegien/nxdk/tree/test/texture-formats/samples/texture-formats

Golden test results from XBOX hardware are available here

Usage

Tests will be executed automatically if no gamepad input is given within an initial timeout.

Individual tests may be executed via the menu.

Test configuration

Tests can optionally be determined via a configuration file loaded from the XBOX. The file follows a simple line-based format.

• A test suite and all of the tests within will be enabled if the suite name appears on a single line.
• A single test within an enabled suite may be disabled by prefixing its name with a - after the line containing the test suite containing it.
• Any line starting with # will be ignored.

The names used are the same as the names that appear in the nxdk_praph_tests menu.

If the entire file is empty (or commented out), it will be ignored and all tests will be enabled.

For example:

ThisTestSuiteIsEnabled
-ExceptThisTest

# This is ignored.

In the default release build, the test suite will look for this file in e:/nxdk_pgraph_tests/pgraph_tests.cnf and d:\pgraph_tests.cnf, taking whichever is found first. If neither is found, all tests will be executed.

The default release build will also write a template of this file called config.cnf (see the DUMP_CONFIG_FILE Makefile variable).

Progress logging

If the ENABLE_PROGRESS_LOG Makefile variable is set to y, a progress log named pgraph_progress_log.txt will be saved in the output directory. This may be useful when trying to track down emulator crashes (e.g., due to unimplemented features).

Controls

DPAD:

• Up - Move the menu cursor up. Inside of a test, go to the previous test in the active suite.
• Down - Move the menu cursor down. Inside of a test, go to the previous test in the active suite.
• Left - Move the menu cursor up by half a page.
• Right - Move the menu cursor down by half a page.
• A - Enter a submenu or test. Inside of a test, re-run the test.
• B - Go up one menu or leave a test. If pressed on the root menu, exit the application.
• X - Run all tests for the current suite.
• Y - Toggle saving of results and multi-frame rendering.
• Start - Enter a submenu or test.
• Back - Go up one menu or leave a test. If pressed on the root menu, exit the application.
• Black - Exit the application.

Build prerequisites

This project uses nv2a-vsh to assemble some of the vertex shaders for tests. It can be installed via pip3 install nv2a-vsh --upgrade.

This test suite requires some modifications to the pbkit used by the nxdk in order to operate.

To facilitate this, the nxdk is included as a submodule of this project, referencing the cmake_pgraph_tester branch from https://github.com/abaire/nxdk.

This project should be cloned with the --recursive flag to pull the submodules and their submodules, after the fact this can be achieved via git submodule update --init --recursive.

As of July 2023, the nxdk's CMake implementation requires bootstrapping before it may be used. To facilitate this, run the prewarm-nxdk.sh script from this project's root directory. It will navigate into the nxdk subdir and build all of the sample projects, triggering the creation of the nxdk libraries needed for the toolchain and for this project.

Building with CLion

The CMake target can be configured to use the toolchain from the nxdk:

• CMake options

  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=<absolute_path_to_this_project>/third_party/nxdk/share/toolchain-nxdk.cmake

• Environment

  NXDK_DIR=<absolute_path_to_this_project>/third_party/nxdk

On macOS you may also have to modify PATH in the Environment section such that a homebrew version of LLVM is preferred over Xcode's (to supply dlltool).

Example settings

Assuming that this project has been checked out at /development/pgraph_tester:

• CMake options: -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=/development/pgraph_tester/third_party/nxdk/share/toolchain-nxdk.cmake
• Environment: NXDK_DIR=/development/pgraph_tester/third_party/nxdk

Adding new tests

Using nv2a log events from xemu

1. Enable tracing of nv2a log events as normal (see xemu documentation) and exercise the event of interest within the game.
2. Duplicate an existing test as a skeleton.
3. Add the duplicated test to CMakeLists.txt and main.cpp (please preserve alphabetical ordering if possible).
4. Use nv2a_to_pbkit to get a rough set of pbkit invocations duplicating the behavior from the log. Take the interesting portions of the converted output and put them into the body of the test. You may wish to utilize some of the helper methods from TestHost and similar classes rather than using the raw output to improve readability.

Writing nv2a vertex shaders in assembly

See the README in the nv2a_vsh_asm repository for an overview.

*.vsh files are assembed via the generate_nv2a_vshinc_files function in CMakeLists.txt. Each vsh file produces a corresponding .vshinc file that contains a C-style list of 32-bit integers containing the vertex shader operations. This file is intended to be included from test source files to initialize a constant array which may then be used to populate a VertexShaderProgram via SetShaderOverride.

For example:

// Note that the VertexShaderProgram does not copy this data, so it is important that it remain in scope throughout
// the use of the VertexShaderProgram object.
static const uint32_t kPassthroughVsh[] = {
#include "passthrough.vshinc"
};

// ...

  auto shader = std::make_shared<VertexShaderProgram>();
  shader->SetShaderOverride(kPassthroughVsh, sizeof(kPassthroughVsh));
  host_.SetVertexShaderProgram(shader);

Uniform values may then be set via the VertexShaderProgram::SetUniform* series of functions. By default, the 0th uniform will be available in the shader as c96.

For example, a shader that takes a 4-element vertex might have the code:

#vertex vector 96

which would be populated via

  shader->shader->SetUniformF(0, -1.f, 1.5f, 0.f, 1.f);

Running with CLion

On xemu

Create a build target

1. Create a new Embedded GDB Server target
2. Set the Target to nxdk_pgraph_tests_xiso
3. Set the Executable to nxdk_pgraph_tests
4. Set Download executable to Never
5. Set 'target remote' args to 127.0.0.1:1234
6. Set GDB Server to the path to the xemu binary
7. Set GDB Server args to -s -S -dvd_path "$CMakeCurrentBuildDir$/xiso/nxdk_pgraph_tests.iso" (the -S is optional and will cause xemu to wait for the debugger to connnect)
8. Under Advanced GDB Server Options
   1. Set "Working directory" to $ProjectFileDir$
   2. On macOS, set "Environment variables" to DYLD_FALLBACK_LIBRARY_PATH=/<the full path to your xemu.app bundle>/Contents/Libraries/<the architecture for your platform, e.g., arm64>
   3. Set "Reset command" to Never

To capture DbgPrint, additionally append -device lpc47m157 -serial tcp:127.0.0.1:9091 to GDB Server args and use something like pykdclient.

NOTE: If you see a failure due to "Remote target doesn't support qGetTIBAddr packet", check the GDB output to make sure that the .gdbinit file was successfully loaded.

Deploying with xbdm_gdb_bridge

To create a launch configuration that deploys the devhost to an XBDM-enabled XBOX (devkit) with debugging enabled:

1. Upload the full set of resource files to the XBOX

   This can be done with xbdm_gdb_bridge binary and a CMake Application target.

   1. Create a new CMake Application target
   2. Set Target to nxdk_pgraph_tests_xiso
   3. Set Executable to the full path to the xbdm_gdb_bridge binary binary
   4. Set Program arguments to <YOUR_XBOX_IP> -v3 -- mkdir e:\$CMakeCurrentTargetName$ && putfile $CMakeCurrentBuildDir$/xbe/xbe_file e:\$CMakeCurrentTargetName$ -f
   5. Run the target. You will need to do this any time the resources are changed. The XBE can be uploaded as part of the debug step.

2. Create a new Embedded GDB Server run config.

   1. Set the "Target" to nxdk_pgraph_tests
   2. Set the "Executable binary" to nxdk_pgraph_tests
   3. Set "Download executable" to Never
   4. Set "'target remote' args" to localhost:1999
   5. Set "GDB Server" to the full path to the xbdm_gdb_bridge binary binary
   6. Set "GDB Server args" to <YOUR_XBOX_IP> -s -- gdb :1999 e:\$CMakeCurrentTargetName$
   7. Under "Advanced GDB Server Options"
      1. Set "Reset command" to Never
   8. Add a "Before launch" > "Run External tool" to copy the default.xbe to the XBOX:
      1. Set "Program" to the full path to the xbdm_gdb_bridge binary binary
      2. Set "Arguments" to <YOUR_XBOX_IP> -- mkdir e:\$CMakeCurrentTargetName$ && putfile $CMakeCurrentBuildDir$/xbe/xbe_file/default.xbe e:\$CMakeCurrentTargetName$ -f
      3. Uncheck "Synchronize files after execution"