Resident Evil 4 (CUSA33387) On ShadPS4: A Compatibility Report

This article delves into a compatibility report for Resident Evil 4 (CUSA33387) running on the ShadPS4 emulator. The report, filed under the shadps4-compatibility and shadps4-game-compatibility categories, provides valuable insights into the game's current status on the emulator. The goal is to provide a comprehensive overview, covering the setup, encountered errors, and overall experience.

Checklist Compliance

The reporter diligently followed the prescribed checklist, ensuring a standardized and reliable testing environment. Key aspects of this compliance include:

• Latest Release: Testing was conducted on ShadPS4 version 0.12.5, the latest major release at the time, and not on any nightly builds.
• Official Game: The game is an officially released PlayStation 4 title. This eliminates potential issues arising from unofficial or homebrew content.
• No Duplicate Issues: A thorough search confirmed the absence of existing reports for the same game and operating system combination, preventing redundant efforts.
• Owned Game Copy: The game dump was created from a legally owned copy of Resident Evil 4, respecting intellectual property rights.
• Unmodified Game Dump: The game dump was unmodified, free from any enabled game patches or repackaging into FPKG format. This ensures that the emulation reflects the original game state.
• Firmware Libraries: The PlayStation 4's firmware libraries, as specified in the compatibility list description, were properly dumped and placed in the ShadPS4 'sys_modules' folder. This step is critical for the emulator to function correctly.
• Synchronous Logging: The logging type was set to "sync" instead of "async", ensuring accurate and complete logging information.
• Default Settings: No manual settings were enabled that would alter emulation behavior, preserving a consistent and predictable environment.

These meticulous steps enhance the credibility and usefulness of the compatibility report.

Game Information

• Game Name: Resident Evil 4
• Game Serial: CUSA33387
• Game Version: 1.11
• Emulator Version: 0.12.5

Current Status: Nothing

Unfortunately, the current status is reported as "Nothing", which indicates that the game is not running properly on the specified emulator version and operating system. While disappointing, this information is valuable for developers and users alike, highlighting areas that require further attention.

Operating System: macOS

The operating system used for testing was macOS. This is a crucial detail, as emulation performance and compatibility can vary significantly across different operating systems. The report will help in identifying potential platform-specific issues.

Error Encountered

The primary error encountered during the attempted emulation is:

[Debug] <Critical> memory.cpp:433 operator(): Assertion Failed! Attempted to access invalid address 0x2000000000

This error message points to a memory access violation within the emulator's code. Specifically, the emulator is attempting to access a memory address (0x2000000000) that is considered invalid or out of bounds. This type of error can be triggered by various factors, including:

• Incorrect Memory Mapping: The emulator may not be correctly mapping the game's memory regions, leading to attempts to access non-existent or protected memory.
• Buffer Overflow: A buffer overflow could be overwriting memory locations, causing the emulator to attempt to read or write to an invalid address.
• Pointer Corruption: A corrupted pointer could be pointing to an invalid memory location, resulting in the access violation.
• Emulator Bug: There might be an underlying bug in the emulator's memory management code that causes the error.

Diagnosing the precise cause of this error would require further investigation by the ShadPS4 developers, involving debugging and analysis of the emulator's code.

Description of the Issue

The user reports that the game displays a black window for a fraction of a second before the emulator closes. This suggests that the game is initiating but crashing very early in the process, likely due to the memory access error described above. The brevity of the black window indicates that the crash occurs before the game can even begin rendering any meaningful content.

Screenshots: Not Provided

No screenshots were provided with the report. While visual evidence can sometimes be helpful, the detailed error message and description of the issue provide sufficient information for initial analysis.

Log File Analysis

A log file (shad_log.txt) was provided with the report. Examining the log file is essential for gaining a deeper understanding of the error and the events leading up to it. The log file contains a wealth of information, including:

• Emulator Initialization: The log will show the steps taken by the emulator during its initialization process, including loading libraries, setting up memory regions, and initializing various components.
• Game Loading: The log will record the process of loading the game's executable and data files, including any errors encountered during this process.
• Memory Operations: The log may contain traces of memory read and write operations, providing clues about where the invalid memory access is occurring.
• Error Stack Trace: The log should include a stack trace for the Assertion Failed! error, which will pinpoint the exact location in the emulator's code where the error originated.

Analyzing the log file would be the next step for developers to diagnose and fix the issue. By examining the sequence of events leading up to the error, they can identify the root cause and implement a solution.

Conclusion

The compatibility report for Resident Evil 4 (CUSA33387) on ShadPS4 version 0.12.5 reveals that the game is currently unplayable due to a memory access violation. The error, Attempted to access invalid address 0x2000000000, causes the emulator to crash shortly after launch. While the report provides valuable information about the issue, further investigation by the ShadPS4 developers is necessary to diagnose and fix the underlying cause. The detailed checklist compliance, error message, and provided log file will aid in this process, ultimately contributing to improved compatibility and a better emulation experience.

For more information about the Resident Evil 4 game, check out the Resident Evil Official Website