[GUIDE]Metal Gear Solid IV - RPCS3 Emulator

Since the IP is owned by Konami and Kojima has already left Konami , I doubt so they can make a remaster or remake for newer console versions / PC , unless they hire Kojima again or bring another one to do the port , but I doubt so

First of all we start with Firmware 4.88 - https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps3/system-software/ so the patches for the game can work.

There is a custom built RPCS3 that reportedly can run MGS4 good - https://dev.azure.com/illusion9804/rpcs3/_build?definitionId=3&_a=summary

Illusion9804 RPCS3 is reportedly to be able to run MGS4 without getting freezes/crashes that you would get from official build

It took me a while to understand how could I just download from Azure, but it could be done in those steps :

Downloading Illusion9804's RPCS3

1)Click the link provided up for dev.azure

2)You will reach this page

3)Click one of the successful logs , for example the second one

4)Scroll down and then click Windows build

5)Then you would receive something like this :

6)Clicking on 1 artifact will prompt you to download RPCS3

Installation:

1)To install game data properly you would need an older version of RPCS3 for example version 0.14 and you should get a result size of 8.37GB

2)Move data files to the newer RPCS3 that you have obtained from Azure , it can be found in dev_hdd0 folder

3)Adjust the config as below, different hardware might need different adjustments , but it should work as described in this post https://forums.rpcs3.net/thread-158603-page-11.html

Quote

 

Issue #2 Frequent Freezing
# VM: Access violation writing location 0x68 (unmapped memory) [type=u32]

• Set Driver Wake-Up Delay = 350us (Advanced) 
• Apply MGS4 patch (Patch Manager)
  Copy canary patch script from RPCS3 Wiki (MGS4).
  Add/Paste the script manually into “patch.yml” at “patch” folder
  Enable MGS4 patch from Patch Manager

 

https://forums.rpcs3.net/thread-158603-page-11.html

In this post by quick.sliver1 ,  there are explanations more about what works and doesn't work.

Game patch link is here - https://a0.ww.np.dl.playstation.net/tpl/np/BLUS30109/BLUS30109-ver.xml

To find patches for another game , you just have to change the game code in the link "BLUS30109" and replace it with the other game code.

The wiki page of MGS4 in RPCS3 have special notes for the game also :

https://wiki.rpcs3.net/index.php?title=Metal_Gear_Solid_4:_Guns_of_the_Patriots

Special Notes

Although you can use the latest RPCS3 master build to play MGS4 these days, for a lot of people, Illusion's custom build for MGS4 tend to net better results. If you would like to try it, grab it from here.

To download: Click on the latest entry on the page > Click on 3 Published > Hover your mouse over the 3 dotted vertical menu button > click Download artifacts (Screenshot for reference)

To use the build: Simply install it in a new/separate folder, DO NOT merge it with your current RPCS3 folder. In RPCS3 config, set “Accurate PPU 128 Reservations” to “14” in “debug tab” (may help with performance). Rest is default settings. It is also recommended that you update the game to 2.0 for the best results.

Should you still want to use the latest master, use the canary patch below to stop the game from crashing. This patch is a game specific hack so it won't be merged into the patch manager. You will require firmware 4.87/4.88 to be installed, and then copy/paste the patch into a new txt file. Rename it "imported_patch.yml" and place it in the patches folder within your RPCS3 directory.

Canary Patches

PRX-rbYkgZMgx8Prd7WUAA39oYAdWcNo-0:
  "cellSpurs urgent commands hack - 4.87":
    Games:
      "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots":
        BLES00246: [ All ]
        BLUS30109: [ All ]
        BLJM67001: [ All ]
        NPUB31633: [ All ]
        NPEB02182: [ All ]
    Author: elad335
    Notes: "Workaround for freezes in Metal Gear Solid 4.\nThis patch applies to a firmware file for all games!\nUsage outside of Metal Gear Solid 4 is for debug purposes only.\nYou must have firmware version of exactly 4.87 in order to use it.\n\nKnown to affect:\nMetal Gear Solid 4"
    Patch Version: 1.0
    Patch:
      - [ be32, 0x182B8, 0x38000002 ]

PRX-oM7itnHHZPcaVx6KRGhZcv0o4gJj-0:
  "cellSpurs urgent commands hack - 4.88":
    Games:
      "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots":
        BLES00246: [ All ]
        BLUS30109: [ All ]
        BLJM67001: [ All ]
        NPUB31633: [ All ]
        NPEB02182: [ All ]
    Author: elad335
    Notes: "Workaround for freezes in Metal Gear Solid 4.\nThis patch applies to a firmware file for all games!\nUsage outside of Metal Gear Solid 4 is for debug purposes only.\nYou must have firmware version of exactly 4.88 in order to use it.\n\nKnown to affect:\nMetal Gear Solid 4"
    Patch Version: 1.0
    Patch:
      - [ be32, 0x182B8, 0x38000002 ]

Patches

PPU-9712144d93487f0b62e39f55e175af783b58af72:
  "Disable shadows":
    Games:
      "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots":
        BLES00246: [ 01.00 ]
        BLUS30109: [ 01.00 ]
        BLJM67001: [ 01.00 ]
        NPUB31633: [ 01.00 ]
        NPEB02182: [ 01.00 ]
    Author: TriggerHappy
    Notes: "Disabling shadows can give a significant performance boost."
    Patch Version: 1.0
    Patch:
      - [ be32, 0x1358B8, 0x4E800020 ]

PPU-33e09a0bd8fa2a3b28780a3feeb7b0e018bae381:
  "Disable shadows":
    Games:
      "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots":
        BLES00246: [ 02.00 ]
        BLUS30109: [ 02.00 ]
        BLJM67001: [ 02.00 ]
        NPUB31633: [ 02.00 ]
        NPEB02182: [ 02.00 ]
    Author: TriggerHappy
    Notes: "Disabling shadows can give a significant performance boost."
    Patch Version: 1.0
    Patch:
      - [ be32, 0x132354, 0x4E800020 ]

With those current options described in this post, the game should be running fine , with some crashes here and there every a bit of time , memory access violation , for now I haven't found a fix for that , but the game runs fine , I have to save frequently so if it crashed I would have a save game.

* To be edited / NOT COMPLETE