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[ArtHands]

A couple of folks have claimed that you can improve load time for Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart on PC. And depending on your ssd speed I guess, could potentially make it load faster than PS5 as shown in the videos below

I guess this require more testing from more people to see what we missed. There has to be a catch somewhere. All you need to do is just delete (or rename) 1 file? Maybe it only work on gen 4 m.2 ssd?

I have already completed the game on PC since its a terribly short game, so I don’t think I’ll go back and reinstall it to test myself. For folks who are playing it right now, you can try this trick to see if load time improves

It turns out that the reason for the slower portal sequences completion on PC compared to the PS5 was due to the presence of a file in the game folder. If you remove the cache.pso file, the loading times improve. Without this file, PC takes the lead.Keep in mind that first you have to run the game with cache.pso file in the game folder, and then you will have compiled shaders in AppData\Local\NVIDIA\DXCache. After doing so, you can delete the cache.pso file, and you should not be seeing any shader compilation stutter.

On a 980 Pro pcie gen 4 ssd

 

[Dirk Benedict]

A couple of folks have claimed that you can improve load time for Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart on PC. And depending on your ssd speed I gueds, could potentially make it load faster than PS5 as shown in the videos below

I guess this require more testing from more people to see what we missed. There has to be a catch somewhere. All you need to do is just delete (or rename) 1 file? Maybe it only work on gen 4 m.2 ssd?

I have already completed the game on PC since its a terribly short game, so I don’t think I’ll go back and reinstall it to test myself. For folks who are playing it right now, you can try this trick to see if load time improves





On a 980 Pro pcie gen 4 ssd

Interesting. Now.. what are the consequences of deleting or altering this file? if nothing? Well..

 

[IFireflyl]

How do people discover things like this? Who is out there just deleting files one by one until something positive happens?

 

[killatopak]

How do people discover things like this? Who is out there just deleting files one by one until something positive happens?

Never got curious to delete system32?

 

[Bulletbrain]

These kind of weird workarounds always existed on PC. I remember one of the recent xcom games had long load times on mission loads, but if one pressed the caps lock key the loading would instantly finish.

 

[Buggy Loop]

How do people discover things like this? Who is out there just deleting files one by one until something positive happens?

PC nerds

Thank god for them.

 

[crazepharmacist]

Tin foil hat mode

the file was intentionally planted to slow load times down on PC to make PS5 look better.

 

[GHG]

Tin foil hat mode

the file was intentionally planted to slow load times down on PC to make PS5 look better.

It's a direct storage file:






Fantastic work as always by Microsoft to make the PS5 look better.

And if anyone is curious as to what the files purpose is then you can read about it here:

Direct3D 12 pipeline state cache sample - Code Samples

This sample demonstrates the use of binary occlusion queries and predication in Direct3D 12.

learn.microsoft.com

Optimizing Rendering With PSO Caches in Unreal Engine | Unreal Engine 4.27 Documentation

 

[hlm666]

It's a direct storage file:

Pretty sure it's not a direct storage file, the name suggests is a shader cache file/index, which indecently the ps5 wouldn't need or have.

 

[AutumnLeaves]

Never got curious to delete system32?

I did this, not going to lie. I was young and naïve and thought I could save space. I screwed up my Grandfather's PC.

 

[GHG]

Pretty sure it's not a direct storage file, the name suggests is a shader cache file/index, which indecently the ps5 wouldn't need or have.

Well more to the point it's a shader cache file generated by directx. Considering the issues with shader compilation stutter deleting it might well result in unintended performance consequences elsewhere.

 

[//DEVIL//]

Never got curious to delete system32?

I fucking laughed hard. Thought I am the only one

 

[BlackTron]

How do people discover things like this? Who is out there just deleting files one by one until something positive happens?

Well, it is called "cache", not the most randomly named file.

Never got curious to delete system32?

I had a few friends back in the AIM days that needed help after deleting critical files from the Windows folder trying to free space. But I'm guilty of taking advice in an AIM chat room to solve an issue by pasting deltree C into Run. I had just enough computing sense to realize I made a big mistake and pulled the power cord in seconds but had to figure out reinstalling Windows 98 anyway. I just followed the advice hardly even paying attention with a copy/paste because I trusted the guy-private chat for a gaming site staff. At least I learned a lot about PCs over the next few days. Thing is, back then, that PC was my only internet so you're on your own to fix it.

 

[hlm666]

Well more to the point it's a shader cache file generated by directx. Considering the issues with shader compilation stutter deleting it might well result in unintended performance consequences elsewhere.

Not sure you can blame microsoft or the api for the files a program generates that they didn't write, Sony seem to be bungling the shader situation and it's not just this game, most of their pc ports have had shader comp issues even when they don't use ue4. Maybe the way the original ps5 program works and uses their own api make it a tough problem to solve but that doesn't mean it's an api or ms inflicted issue. I also agree we don't know what this file actually does and could have undesired consequences, but nixxes/sony are going to have to explain what this was supposed to achieve other than make sure the ps5 wins.

 

[ArtHands]

Well more to the point it's a shader cache file generated by directx. Considering the issues with shader compilation stutter deleting it might well result in unintended performance consequences elsewhere.

Yah so far it seems nobody know the consequences of removing the file at the moment

 

[GHG]

Not sure you can blame microsoft or the api for the files a program generates that they didn't write, Sony seem to be bungling the shader situation and it's not just this game, most of their pc ports have had shader comp issues even when they don't use ue4. Maybe the way the original ps5 program works and uses their own api make it a tough problem to solve but that doesn't mean it's an api or ms inflicted issue. I also agree we don't know what this file actually does and could have undesired consequences, but nixxes/sony are going to have to explain what this was supposed to achieve other than make sure the ps5 wins.

That was sarcasm. I thought it would be clear enough.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

64gb of ram helps the load times as well.

 

[hlm666]

That was sarcasm. I thought it would be clear enough.

Sorry, some of the hot takes about dx12 and ms lately make it hard to guess when someone is joking I guess.

 

[yamaci17]

dx12 is a colossal failure

 

[Bojji]

dx12 is a colossal failure

It forces developers to optimize on their own instead on relying on Nvidia/AMD driver teams. So yeah, many times it looks like a failure.

 

[GHG]

Yah so far it seems nobody know the consequences of removing the file at the moment

Yeh I'll be interested to see if DF or similar manage to do a thorough analysis of this indicating whether or not it is beneficial overall to delete it.

Because let me put it this way, a ~0.5 second delay is more than worth it if the alternative introduces shader compilation stutter.

 

[Success]

It's a direct storage file:






Fantastic work as always by Microsoft to make the PS5 look better.

And if anyone is curious as to what the files purpose is then you can read about it here:

Direct3D 12 pipeline state cache sample - Code Samples

This sample demonstrates the use of binary occlusion queries and predication in Direct3D 12.

learn.microsoft.com

Optimizing Rendering With PSO Caches in Unreal Engine | Unreal Engine 4.27 Documentation

This needs to be in OP.

It is critical information.

 

[Zathalus]

Game still has quite a number of bugs on PC so it wouldn't surprise me if this was another issue.

This needs to be in OP.

It is critical information.

It's not a Direct Storage file. It's the game own PSO cache. DirectX PSO cache is stored in another location.

So what appears to be happening is that by deleting this cache the game is forced to use the DX cache which for some reason is causing this small decrease in loading. Not sure if this causes any other stuttering or performance implications.

 

[Success]

Game still has quite a number of bugs on PC so it wouldn't surprise me if this was another issue.


It's not a Direct Storage file. It's the game own PSO cache. DirectX PSO cache is stored in another location.

So what appears to be happening is that by deleting this cache the game is forced to use the DX cache which for some reason is causing this small decrease in loading. Not sure if this causes any other stuttering or performance implications.

If you play the game on a hard drive instead of an SSD then deleting this file will increase loading times.

This is critical information which needs to be in the OP.

 

[Zathalus]

If you play the game on a hard drive instead of an SSD then deleting this file will increase loading times.

This is critical information which needs to be in the OP.

Fair enough. But my recommendation would be to leave the file alone and buy a SSD.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Never got curious to delete system32?

I fucking laughed hard. Thought I am the only one

Well, it is called "cache", not the most randomly named file.

I had a few friends back in the AIM days that needed help after deleting critical files from the Windows folder trying to free space. But I'm guilty of taking advice in an AIM chat room to solve an issue by pasting deltree C into Run. I had just enough computing sense to realize I made a big mistake and pulled the power cord in seconds but had to figure out reinstalling Windows 98 anyway. I just followed the advice hardly even paying attention with a copy/paste because I trusted the guy-private chat for a gaming site staff. At least I learned a lot about PCs over the next few days. Thing is, back then, that PC was my only internet so you're on your own to fix it.

I did this, not going to lie. I was young and naïve and thought I could save space. I screwed up my Grandfather's PC.

You guys are all suffering from a very common PC disease called clickyfingeritis.

 

[RoboFu]

If you think about All this is over one sequence really. And the start of one boss fight. Lol

 

[ArtHands]

It's a direct storage file:






Fantastic work as always by Microsoft to make the PS5 look better.

And if anyone is curious as to what the files purpose is then you can read about it here:

Direct3D 12 pipeline state cache sample - Code Samples

This sample demonstrates the use of binary occlusion queries and predication in Direct3D 12.

learn.microsoft.com

Optimizing Rendering With PSO Caches in Unreal Engine | Unreal Engine 4.27 Documentation

Its just his assumption for now

 

[GHG]

Its just his assumption for now

Well we know what it's for based on the articles I posted above. It's there for shader cache purposes.

Now if direct storage removes the need for said shader cache without introducing stutter then I'm all for it.

 

[Stuart360]

Havnt tried deleting this file but the PS5 def ran the portals better than on my PC with a SATA SSD. The little portals in game always ran perfect for me, but that big sequence ealry in the game that is more of a cutscene where Ratchet is jumping through multiple big portals to different worlds one after another, i did have 2 or 3 times where the game paused for 1-2 secs, which didnt happen on PS5.
Like i said though, the portals in actual gameplay worked fine, so it wasnt too much of a problem.

 

[MadchesterManc]

Loads fine enough on my gen.3, not as quick as PS5 but fast enough considering improvements in other areas. The more interesting Rift Apart news for me is the latest Nvidia driver fixing a bug between Directstorage & Reflex so now I can actually use Reflex without dropping frames like there's no tomorrow

 

[LiquidMetal14]

It forces developers to optimize on their own instead on relying on Nvidia/AMD driver teams. So yeah, many times it looks like a failure.

Exactly.

If you listen to developer talks, you will they've been saying this but are going through what, what we can say, are growing pains.

I think the future is bright but we have this paradigm shift and, frankly, awesome advancements happening. Things are still shaking out though.

It feels like the SW is ahead of the HW and the HW is behind but we lack optimization plus maturity in the tools to make things right.

DX12 put it more on the devs to give them lower level access and some are having trouble getting there on top of the newer tech/SW out there on PC.

I suspect this is in the process of balancing out but we are in the middle of that right now.

Oh, and there's still new changes coming to CPU's and other components in the coming years but I'm glad we are here witnessing it to see for ourselves and have a rational mind about it. At least I do.

 

[Mahavastu]

Yeh I'll be interested to see if DF or similar manage to do a thorough analysis of this indicating whether or not it is beneficial overall to delete it.

Because let me put it this way, a ~0.5 second delay is more than worth it if the alternative introduces shader compilation stutter.

Just for the fun I would like them to try this on Richard PC with his low end build and original PS4 hard drive

Timestamped:

 

[ArtHands]

Alexander Battaglia (Digital Foundry) has picked up on this and has notified NixxesSoftware

 

[Pharaoh 117]

And the name of the file is "maketheps5lookgood.jimbo".

 

[Fabieter]

People are on a mission for a gotcha moment for the ps5 ssd and this game its insane.

 

[kevm3]

This is why I just like gaming on consoles now. You just cut on the machine and get the experience everyone else is getting. No need to fiddle wit files or tweak this or that

 

[Buggy Loop]

dx12 is a colossal failure

It's only been released since... *checks notes*, 2015.

Give it a chance, Microsoft is a new player in that industry.

No seriously, wtf. If microsoft doesn't care to support the API correctly, they can just fuck off already and we'll use Vulkan everywhere.

Ex-Nvidia engineers said it was a mess previously to hotpatch these games, per his words, nearly every games ships broken. But at least, with a lot of work (and probably why a certain GPU vendor didn't like this system, too much weight on driver team.. ), they could reorder commands, replace kernels, hotpatch the game renderer, they could just about hijack anything in the game and fix it for devs.

The difference now is that APIs do not put pressure on GPU vendors, but they still ship broken.

If i understand the findings correctly... by removing the file that does DirectStorage... we actually get faster speeds on NVME drives?

Fucking bravo

 

[Jinzo Prime]

This is wild

 

[KingT731]

From Insomniac's discord.

 

[yamaci17]

From Insomniac's discord.

they have a point. but I would like someone DIRECTLY ask and hold them accountable for the spec sheets they released. THEY CLAIM that 3070 is enough for 1440p 60 fps + ps5 levels of ray tracing, WHICH is acceptable. but the game is SO VRAM bound that even at 1080p 8 GB GPUs tank massively.

they should either fix their game or fix the spec sheet list and do not try to lie next time

btw you can set shader cache size to unlimited. I'd suggest everyone to do it

 

[BlackTron]

If you think about All this is over one sequence really. And the start of one boss fight. Lol

Rift aparts portal loading is the most important question of our time

 

[Zathalus]

From Insomniac's discord.

So there we have it, it's the games own PSO file and the developers themselves have stated it can be improved.

 

[yamaci17]

So there we have it, it's the games own PSO file and the developers themselves have stated it can be improved.

they should have an option to precompile shaders
that would be the best improvement

 

[Xyphie]

Wow, an entire second faster. You'll waste more time deleting the file because there's only like 10 of these scripted on-rails sequences with portals in the entire game.

 

[Bernardougf]

This is why I just like gaming on consoles now. You just cut on the machine and get the experience everyone else is getting. No need to fiddle wit files or tweak this or that

Dont go there... the master race dont like it when you say that playing on pc is more complicated than playing on consoles... the pitch forks can go up fast

 

[Black_Stride]

Dont go there... the master race dont like it when you say that playing on pc is more complicated than playing on consoles... the pitch forks can go up fast

 

[staticshock]

But i was told by PaintTinJr and others that these sequences are strictly only possible at these speeds because of PS5's god tier IO.
I just can't believe after all the games literally proving everyone otherwise, there are people still pushing the io drivel.
PC with direct storage has literally won every load/speed comparison against the PS5.

Which is going to be the resource check-in time that many tried roasting Sweeny's comments over in the past saying it was class-leading IIRC, and the other issue will be PCIE bandwidth on PC - tied to memory bandwidth and CPU core clockspeed - to stream data; versus nothing because a unified memory architecture just dereferences with a memory pointer instantaneously.

It completely overburdens the PC's ability to check-in data and stream it to the GPU to be ready to render JIT., unlike PS5 IO complex which will get stressed and optimised further, and the PC version has had more work and not to a strict timeline for launch, so has no excuses other than the hardware and OS solutions like directstorage currently failing to measure up.

 

[Clear]

they should have an option to precompile shaders
that would be the best improvement

It being a cache file, means this is a pre-compiled or partially pre-compiled shader file that's getting deleted!

Not being funny, but what kind of lunatic starts randomly deleting cache files in an attempt to speed up loading? I mean, being named "cache" is a clue as to what its function is!

Mind you, the big laugh for me is idiots trying to have a "gotcha" moment against PS5 several years after the initial claims about its speed were made and when the very API that gives the PC the capability to reach better speeds literally did not exist!

 

[staticshock]

If i understand the findings correctly... by removing the file that does DirectStorage... we actually get faster speeds on NVME drives?

Fucking bravo

No this file has nothing to do with DirectStorage. Its a file that instruct the game to compile shaders and I'm guessing this file getting ran constantly is what gave PS5 the speed win during these sequences. Remember that Console games come with shaders already precompiled. PC gamers have to compile the shaders themselves. So either the dev gives an option to precompile all shaders when you load up the game kinda like call of duty or you end up with the UE4 situation where the shaders are compiled while you play and you end up with shader compilation stutters.

Either way, this file was getting in the way of DirectStorage and the devs said its something that they can improve.
Either way, PC wins this cleanly.