dx9-ffp-port

name	dx9-ffp-port
description	Use when porting a game for RTX Remix or to the fixed-function pipeline, working on renderer.cpp / ffp_state / remix-comp-proxy.ini / draw routing / VS constants / vertex declarations / matrix mapping / skinning, building or deploying a remix-comp-proxy patch, or diagnosing rendering issues in a patched game (white geometry, missing objects, wrong transforms, ImGui F4, diagnostics.log).

DX9 FFP Proxy -- Game Porting

Port a DX9 shader-based game to fixed-function pipeline (FFP) for RTX Remix compatibility. Remix requires FFP geometry to inject path-traced lighting and replaceable assets.

NEVER MODIFY TEMPLATE CODE. The following directories are read-only templates:

• rtx_remix_tools/dx/remix-comp-proxy/ — remix-comp-proxy framework template

To create a game patch, copy the template to patches/<GameName>/ and edit the copy. If the user asks you to edit remix-comp-proxy code, always confirm whether they mean the template or a game-specific copy under patches/. Only modify the template if the user explicitly says to change the template itself.

SKINNING IS OFF BY DEFAULT. Do NOT enable skinning in remix-comp-proxy.ini, modify skinning code, or discuss skinning infrastructure unless the user explicitly asks for character model / bone / skeletal animation support. When requested, read src/comp/modules/skinning.hpp and src/comp/modules/skinning.cpp for the full implementation.

SKINNING APPROACH: FFP indexed vertex blending, NOT CPU matrix math. When skinning is enabled, the correct approach is:

1. Keep BLENDINDICES and BLENDWEIGHT elements in the vertex declaration and vertex buffer
2. Upload bone matrices via SetTransform(D3DTS_WORLDMATRIX(n), &boneMatrix[n]) for each bone
3. Enable D3DRS_INDEXEDVERTEXBLENDENABLE = TRUE
4. Set D3DRS_VERTEXBLEND to the appropriate weight count (e.g. D3DVBF_3WEIGHTS)
5. Let the FFP hardware pipeline do the blending

CPU-side vertex skinning (manually multiplying vertices by bone matrices) is a last resort only. It is extremely expensive, tanks frame rate, and should only be considered when FFP indexed vertex blending is not feasible. Always prefer the hardware path above.

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What remix-comp-proxy Does

Each game folder under patches/<GameName>/ is a self-contained remix-comp-proxy project (copied from rtx_remix_tools/dx/remix-comp-proxy/). It is a d3d9.dll proxy that:

1. Captures VS constants (View, Projection, World matrices) from SetVertexShaderConstantF via ffp_state::on_set_vs_const_f
2. Parses SetVertexDeclaration via ffp_state::on_set_vertex_declaration to detect BLENDWEIGHT+BLENDINDICES (skinned), POSITIONT (screen-space), NORMAL presence, and per-element byte offsets
3. Routes DrawIndexedPrimitive via renderer::on_draw_indexed_prim:
   • No NORMAL -> HUD/UI pass-through
   • Skinned + skinning module enabled -> skinning::draw_skinned_dip()
   • Rigid 3D (has NORMAL) -> NULLs shaders, applies FFP transforms
4. Routes DrawPrimitive via renderer::on_draw_primitive: world-space (has decl, no POSITIONT, not skinned) -> FFP; otherwise pass-through
5. Applies captured matrices via ffp_state::apply_transforms -> SetTransform
6. Sets up texture stages and lighting for FFP rendering (stages 1-7 disabled to prevent stale auxiliary textures reaching Remix)
7. Loads the real d3d9 chain (RTX Remix d3d9_remix.dll or system d3d9) via d3d9_proxy

Codebase File Map

File	Role
src/comp/modules/renderer.cpp	Draw routing -- on_draw_indexed_prim() and on_draw_primitive()
src/comp/modules/renderer.hpp	drawcall_mod_context for save/restore state around draws
src/shared/common/ffp_state.cpp	Core FFP state tracker -- engage/disengage, transforms, texture stages
src/shared/common/ffp_state.hpp	FFP state class with all accessors
src/shared/common/config.hpp	Config structure parsed from remix-comp-proxy.ini
src/comp/main.cpp	DLL entry, d3d9 proxy init, window finder, config loading
src/comp/comp.cpp	Module init: registers renderer, diagnostics, skinning, imgui
src/comp/d3d9_proxy.cpp	Loads real d3d9 chain, DLL pre/post-load, forwarded exports
src/comp/modules/d3d9ex.cpp	IDirect3DDevice9 / IDirect3D9 wrapper + exported Direct3DCreate9
src/comp/modules/d3d9ex.hpp	D3D9 wrapper class declarations
src/comp/modules/diagnostics.cpp	50-sec delay, 3-frame diagnostic log to rtx_comp/diagnostics.log
src/comp/modules/skinning.cpp	Optional skinning module (vertex expansion + bone upload)
src/comp/modules/skinning.hpp	Skinning class declaration
src/comp/modules/imgui.cpp	ImGui debug overlay (F4) with FFP tab
src/comp/game/game.cpp	Per-game address init (patterns, hooks)
src/comp/game/game.hpp	Per-game variables and function typedefs
remix-comp-proxy.ini (in assets/)	Runtime config: albedo stage, skinning toggle, diagnostics, DLL chain
build.bat	Build script: outputs d3d9.dll proxy. build.bat [release|debug] [--name Name]

rtx_remix_tools/dx/remix-comp-proxy/ is the TEMPLATE. Each game gets a full copy under patches/<GameName>/ — the entire folder is self-contained and can be distributed as a standalone repo. Edit src/comp/ directly in the game's copy.

Before reading remix-comp-proxy source files, read references/remix-comp-context.md for a skip-list of boilerplate files (~7,000 lines) you should never open, with summaries of what they do. It also lists the ~1,200 lines of files that actually matter for per-game work.

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Porting Workflow

Step 1: Static Analysis

Run the analysis scripts to understand the game's D3D9 usage:

# Core discovery
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_d3d_calls.py "<game.exe>"
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_device_calls.py "<game.exe>"
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/classify_draws.py "<game.exe>"

# Shader constants and vertex formats
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_vs_constants.py "<game.exe>"
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_ps_constants.py "<game.exe>"
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/decode_vtx_decls.py "<game.exe>" --scan
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/decode_fvf.py "<game.exe>"

# Skinning analysis (bone palettes, blend weights, suggested INI)
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_skinning.py "<game.exe>"
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_blend_states.py "<game.exe>"

# Render state and texture pipeline
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_render_states.py "<game.exe>"
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_texture_ops.py "<game.exe>"
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_transforms.py "<game.exe>"
python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_surface_formats.py "<game.exe>"

Scripts are fast first-pass scanners -- surface candidate addresses only. Always follow up with retools and livetools for deep analysis.

Alternative: DX9 Tracer capture. Deploy the tracer proxy (graphics/directx/dx9/tracer/) to capture a full frame, then analyze with --matrix-flow, --vtx-formats, --shader-map, and --const-provenance to discover the register layout without reverse engineering the binary.

Key things to find:

• How the game obtains its D3D device (Direct3DCreate9 -> CreateDevice)
• Which functions call SetVertexShaderConstantF and with what register/count patterns
• What vertex declaration formats are used (BLENDWEIGHT/BLENDINDICES = skinning)
• Where the main render loop / draw calls live

Step 2: Discover VS Constant Register Layout

This is the most critical step. Determine which VS constant registers hold View, Projection, and World matrices.

Remix REQUIRES separate World, View, and Projection matrices. A concatenated WorldViewProj (WVP) or ViewProj (VP) matrix will NOT work -- Remix needs individual matrices to apply its own camera and per-object transforms. If the game uploads a pre-multiplied WVP, the proxy must intercept the individual W, V, P matrices before the game concatenates them. This is the #1 source of broken Remix ports.

Start with the matrix register finder:

python rtx_remix_tools/dx/scripts/find_matrix_registers.py "<game.exe>"

This cross-references SVSCF call patterns, shader CTAB names, and frequency analysis to suggest a register layout. Always verify its output with runtime data.

Static approach: Decompile call sites:

python -m retools.decompiler <game.exe> <call_site_addr> --types patches/<project>/kb.h

Dynamic approach: Trace SetVertexShaderConstantF live:

python -m livetools trace <call_addr> --count 50 \
    --read "[esp+8]:4:uint32; [esp+10]:4:uint32; *[esp+c]:64:float32"

Captures: startRegister, Vector4fCount, and the first 4 vec4 constants of actual float data.

DX9 Tracer approach: Capture a frame and analyze:

python -m graphics.directx.dx9.tracer analyze <JSONL> --const-provenance
python -m graphics.directx.dx9.tracer analyze <JSONL> --matrix-flow
python -m graphics.directx.dx9.tracer analyze <JSONL> --shader-map

How to identify matrices:

• View matrix: changes with camera movement; contains camera orientation
• Projection matrix: contains aspect ratio and FOV; rarely changes
• World matrix: changes per object; contains position/rotation/scale
• Look for 4x4 matrices (16 floats = 4 registers). Row 3 often has [0, 0, 0, 1] for affine transforms.
• Watch for concatenated matrices: If the game only uploads one matrix per draw (e.g. WVP at c0-c3), the individual W/V/P are being multiplied before upload. Trace back to find where the multiplication happens -- you need to capture W, V, P separately before that point.

Step 3: Set Up Per-Game Project

IMPORTANT: rtx_remix_tools/dx/remix-comp-proxy/ is the template. NEVER edit it directly. Each game gets a full copy of the framework.

1. Copy the entire rtx_remix_tools/dx/remix-comp-proxy/ folder to patches/<GameName>/ (excluding build/)
2. Edit src/comp/ directly in the game's copy — this is the per-game customization layer
3. Edit register layout defaults in src/shared/common/ffp_state.hpp (see Register Layout section below)
4. Edit src/comp/main.cpp: set WINDOW_CLASS_NAME to the game's window class
5. Customize src/comp/modules/renderer.cpp draw routing if needed (see Decision Trees below)
6. Customize src/comp/game/game.cpp with game-specific address init if hooks are needed
7. Update kb.h with discovered function signatures, structs, and globals

The game folder is now fully self-contained and can be distributed as a standalone git repo.

Step 4: Build and Deploy

From the game folder:

cd patches/<GameName>
build.bat release --name <GameName>

The build produces d3d9.dll in patches/<GameName>/build/bin/release/. Deploy:

• d3d9.dll to the game directory (the game loads this as its d3d9 proxy)
• remix-comp-proxy.ini to the game directory
• d3d9_remix.dll to the game directory if using Remix

Step 5: Diagnose with Log and ImGui

rtx_comp/diagnostics.log: Written to the rtx_comp/ subfolder of the game directory after a configurable delay (default 50 seconds), then logs 3 frames of detailed draw call data:

• VS regs written: which constant registers the game actually fills
• Vertex declarations: what vertex elements each draw uses
• Draw calls: primitive type, vertex count, index count, textures per stage
• Matrices: actual View/Proj/World values being applied
• Raw vertex bytes: hex dump of first vertices for early draw calls

Do not change the logging delay unless the user asks -- it ensures the user gets into the game with real geometry before logging begins.

ImGui overlay (F4): Press F4 to toggle the debug overlay. The FFP tab shows real-time draw call stats, VS constant register write history, and enables a fake camera for testing transforms.

Tell the user when you need them to interact with the game for logging or hooking purposes. They must be in-game with geometry visible for the log to be useful.

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Register Layout (ffp_state.hpp)

The VS constant register layout is defined as member defaults in src/shared/common/ffp_state.hpp. Edit these when porting a new game:

// In ffp_state.hpp — private members with game-specific defaults
int vs_reg_view_start_ = 0;
int vs_reg_view_end_ = 4;
int vs_reg_proj_start_ = 4;
int vs_reg_proj_end_ = 8;
int vs_reg_world_start_ = 16;
int vs_reg_world_end_ = 20;
int vs_reg_bone_threshold_ = 20;  // only matters when [Skinning] Enabled=1
int vs_regs_per_bone_ = 3;        // 3 = 4x3 packed bones (most common), 4 = full 4x4
int vs_bone_min_regs_ = 3;        // minimum register count to qualify as bone upload

Each matrix occupies 4 consecutive vec4 registers (= 16 floats). After changing defaults, rebuild with build.bat.

Bone Configuration for Skinning

Before enabling skinning, run find_skinning.py to determine the bone start register (vs_reg_bone_threshold_) and upload pattern. Some games upload all bones in one call; others upload in groups until hitting a max (e.g., groups of 15, max 75). If the game uses grouped uploads, lower vs_bone_min_regs_ so the proxy doesn't reject the smaller batches. If bone uploads overlap with non-bone constants, raise vs_reg_bone_threshold_.

INI Config (remix-comp-proxy.ini)

Runtime settings that don't require recompile:

[FFP]
Enabled=1
AlbedoStage=0
; Albedo texture stage (0-7). Set to whichever stage the game binds the diffuse texture.

[Skinning]
Enabled=0
; Only set to 1 after rigid FFP works correctly.
; Run find_skinning.py to determine bone register layout before enabling.

[Diagnostics]
Enabled=1
DelayMs=50000
LogFrames=3

[Remix]
Enabled=1
DLLName=d3d9_remix.dll

[Chain]
PreLoad=
PostLoad=
; Semicolon-separated DLLs/ASIs to load before/after the d3d9 chain.
; Example: PreLoad=patch.dll;fix.asi

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Architecture: What to Edit vs What to Leave Alone

Each game folder under patches/<GameName>/ is a self-contained copy of the full remix-comp-proxy framework. Edit files directly in the game's copy.

Component (in patches/<GameName>/)	Edit Per-Game?
ffp_state.hpp register layout defaults	YES — rebuild after changing
remix-comp-proxy.ini albedo stage, diagnostics, chain	YES
src/comp/main.cpp WINDOW_CLASS_NAME	YES
src/comp/modules/renderer.cpp draw routing	YES -- main draw routing
src/comp/game/game.cpp address init and hooks	YES -- per-game hooks
src/comp/game/structs.hpp game structs	YES -- per-game data structures
src/shared/common/ffp_state.cpp engage/disengage/transforms	MAYBE -- only for unusual FFP needs
src/shared/common/config.hpp	MAYBE -- add new INI sections if needed
src/comp/modules/d3d9ex.cpp	NO -- forwards all 119 methods
src/comp/modules/diagnostics.cpp	NO -- generic frame logger
src/comp/modules/imgui.cpp	NO -- debug overlay
src/shared/ everything else	NO -- framework code

DrawIndexedPrimitive Decision Tree

ffp.is_enabled() AND ffp.view_proj_valid()?
+-- NO  -> passthrough with shaders
+-- YES
    +-- ffp.cur_decl_is_skinned()?
    |   +-- YES + skinning module -> skinning::draw_skinned_dip()
    |   +-- YES + no skinning     -> passthrough with shaders
    +-- !ffp.cur_decl_has_normal()?
    |   +-- passthrough (HUD/UI)
    |   GAME-SPECIFIC: remove this filter if world geometry lacks NORMAL
    +-- else (rigid 3D mesh)
        +-- ffp.engage() + draw + restore

Common per-game changes:

• World geometry omits NORMAL -> remove or change !ffp.cur_decl_has_normal() filter
• Special passes (shadow, reflection) -> filter by shader pointer, render target, or vertex count
• UI drawn with DrawIndexedPrimitive + NORMAL -> add a filter (e.g. check stride or texture)

DrawPrimitive Decision Tree

ffp.is_enabled() AND ffp.view_proj_valid() AND ffp.last_decl()
AND !ffp.cur_decl_has_pos_t() AND !ffp.cur_decl_is_skinned()?
+-- YES -> ffp.engage() (world-space particles / non-indexed geometry)
+-- NO  -> passthrough (screen-space UI, POSITIONT, no decl, skinned)

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Common Pitfalls

• Concatenated WVP/VP instead of separate matrices: This is the #1 Remix porting mistake. Remix requires separate World, View, and Projection matrices passed via SetTransform. If the game uploads a pre-multiplied WorldViewProj or ViewProj to a single register range, the proxy gets a combined matrix it can't decompose. Fix: find where the game multiplies WVP (or V*P) and hook that function to capture the individual matrices before concatenation. Use find_matrix_registers.py to detect this -- if CTAB shows "WorldViewProj" or only one matrix register is uploaded per draw, you have this problem.
• Matrices look wrong: D3D9 FFP SetTransform expects row-major. ffp_state::apply_transforms transposes column-major VS constants. If the game stores matrices row-major in VS constants (uncommon), remove the transpose in ffp_state::apply_transforms.
• Everything is white/black: Albedo texture is on stage 1+, not stage 0. Set AlbedoStage in remix-comp-proxy.ini, or trace SetTexture calls to find the correct stage.
• Some objects render, others don't: Check whether missing geometry has NORMAL in its vertex decl. Check ffp.view_proj_valid() is true at draw time. DrawPrimitive routes on decl presence + no POSITIONT + not skinned.
• Skinned meshes invisible: Set [Skinning] Enabled=1 in remix-comp-proxy.ini. Check log for skinning errors. Verify bone_start_reg and num_bones are non-zero in the log.
• Bones mixed up between NPCs: Stale WORLDMATRIX slots from a previous object. The game may need a game-specific reset hook at a per-object boundary -- see Skinning Stability below.
• Game crashes on startup: Set [Remix] Enabled=0 in remix-comp-proxy.ini to test without Remix. Check WINDOW_CLASS_NAME in comp/main.cpp.
• Geometry at origin / piled up: World matrix register mapping wrong. Re-examine VS constant writes via livetools trace or DX9 tracer --const-provenance.
• World geometry shifts after skinned draws: WORLDMATRIX(0) clobbered by bone[0]. The proxy tracks world_dirty_ for re-application. If still broken, check for bone register overlap with world matrix range in ffp_state.hpp.
• ImGui overlay not appearing: Press F4. Check that WINDOW_CLASS_NAME is correct and the window was found (console output). Check for DirectInput hook conflicts.

Skinning Stability: Finding Game-Specific Hook Points

The proxy's generic heuristics handle most games. If bones still leak between objects, the game needs a hook at a per-object boundary function -- one that's called once per skinned object, before its bones are uploaded.

Finding the per-object function:

1. Capture 2+ frames with the D3D9 tracer while multiple skinned NPCs are on screen
2. Hotpaths: --hotpaths --resolve-addrs <game.exe> -- look at callers of bone-range SetVertexShaderConstantF writes
3. Caller histogram: --callers SetVertexShaderConstantF -- the function that appears N times per frame (N = number of skinned objects) is the per-object boundary
4. Live confirm: livetools trace <candidate_addr> --count 50 -- with 3 NPCs, expect ~3 hits/frame
5. Static context: callgraph.py --up + decompiler.py on the caller -- confirm it loops over objects