ACE COMBAT INFINITY static recompilation

A static recompilation of the PS3 version of ACE COMBAT INFINITY (NPUB31347) to native x86-64 Windows code.

The game's PowerPC and SPU code is translated to C ahead of time and compiled like any other program, so nothing is interpreted or JIT-compiled while you play. The PS3 operating system and the system libraries the game calls are reimplemented by the runtime in gen/. Graphics run through a Vulkan renderer that translates the PS3 GPU's command stream and shaders as the game issues them.

The official servers shut down in 2018. The runtime answers the game's online calls locally and removes the fuel requirement, so the campaign can be played offline.

No game code or data is in this repository. You need your own copy of the game and you generate the recompiled sources yourself.

Status

• The campaign boots, plays and moves between missions.
• Renders at the game's native 1280x720. There is no resolution scaling yet.
• Shaders are converted the first time they are used, so expect small hitches in new scenes.
• Progress is not saved between sessions yet.
• Multiplayer modes don't work.
• Windows only.

Layout

Folder	What's in it
src/	The recompiler (ppu-recompile) and the SPU lifter (spu-lift), plus two small analysis tools
gen/	The runtime: lv2 syscalls, SPU threads and DMA, HLE system libraries, input and audio. Generated code is written here too
rsx/	The Vulkan renderer, frame capture/replay, profiler and state snapshots
game/	Game-specific inputs: imported function names, the offline patches, and the list of SPU jobs to lift
spu/	The SPU opcode table used by the lifter
tools/	generate.py, which drives the whole generation step

What you need

Software:

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, on a CPU with AVX2
• A GPU with Vulkan support
• LLVM (clang). Built and tested with 22.1
• Visual Studio Build Tools with the Windows SDK, for the libraries clang links against
• CMake 3.20 or newer, and Ninja
• The Vulkan SDK. Its installer sets VULKAN_SDK, which the build uses
• SDL3, the MSVC development package. The build looks in C:\SDL3 unless you pass -DRSX_SDL3_ROOT
• Python 3

Game files:

• ACE COMBAT INFINITY, US PSN version NPUB31347, updated to 02.11. You need its USRDIR folder with the DATA*.PAC files and the target folder.
• The game's EBOOT.BIN, decrypted to an ELF. RPCS3 can do this under Utilities > Decrypt PS3 Binaries.
• libsre.sprx and libspurs_jq.sprx from PS3 firmware 4.93, also decrypted. They are in dev_flash/sys/external. If you install the 4.93 firmware in RPCS3 you'll find them there, and the same decrypt option works on them.

The generator checks every piece of code it takes from these files. A different game version or firmware fails with a clear message instead of producing a broken build.

Building

All commands run from the repository root.

1. Build the tools

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++
ninja -C build

2. Generate the recompiled sources

python tools/generate.py --eboot C:\path\to\EBOOT.ELF --libsre C:\path\to\libsre.prx --libspurs-jq C:\path\to\libspurs_jq.prx

This recompiles the PPU code of the game and both firmware modules, applies the offline patches from game/patches.txt, and lifts the SPU jobs listed in game/spu_lifts.csv. It takes under a minute and writes everything into gen/.

The game reads EBOOT.ELF at startup. It looks in a game folder next to game.exe first and then at the path you gave the generator, so either leave the file where it is or copy it to gen\build\game\EBOOT.ELF.

3. Build the game

cmake -S gen -B gen/build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ -DCMAKE_RC_COMPILER=llvm-rc
ninja -C gen/build

This is the long step: around 10 to 15 minutes on a 12-thread CPU. The SPU job files take the longest. When it finishes you have gen\build\game.exe with SDL3.dll next to it.

Running

If you downloaded a release, follow the README.txt that comes with it. You only need your decrypted EBOOT.ELF and the game's USRDIR folder.

For your own build, point PS3_FS_ROOT at the game's USRDIR folder and start the exe:

set PS3_FS_ROOT=C:\path\to\NPUB31347\USRDIR
gen\build\game.exe 2> game.log

Without PS3_FS_ROOT the game uses game\USRDIR next to game.exe. The runtime writes a lot of diagnostics to stderr, so redirect it to a file.

Controllers work through XInput and SDL3, so Xbox pads and a DualShock 4 both work. On the keyboard:

Key	Button
W A S D	Left stick
I J K L	Right stick
Arrow keys	D-pad
X or Space	Cross
C	Circle
V	Square
T	Triangle
Q / E	L1 / R1
1 / 3	L2 / R2
Enter	Start
Backspace	Select

A few environment variables you might want:

Variable	Effect
PS3_FS_ROOT	The game's USRDIR folder
PS3_FUEL	Sortie tickets granted per refill (default 6). 0 turns the offline fuel patch off
PS3_AUDIO_VOL	Master volume, default 1.0
PS3_PRESENT	fifo waits for your monitor's vsync. The default is mailbox when the driver offers it
PS3_PROF=1	Enables the profiler. F7 starts and stops a recording, written to out/

F8 writes a full state snapshot to out/ and F9 starts or stops a gameplay capture that rsxreplay can play back. Both are for debugging.

Legal

This project contains no code or assets from the game. Every recompiled file is produced on your machine from files you supply. ACE COMBAT is a trademark of Bandai Namco Entertainment. This project is not affiliated with Bandai Namco or Sony.