Christopher Williams
399da98a83
Every cross-reference used to need a hand-written config/symbols.tsv row, which does not scale to a batch. A symbol whose name is an address now resolves to that address with no row: func_XXXXXXXX, D_XXXXXXXX, g_XXXXXXXX, lbl_XXXXXXXX. This is the convention the registry already used, applied without the row. The names come from the object's own undefined-symbol list (nm -u), not from a guess about the source, so a name the source defines but never references is never mistaken for one needing resolution. A registry row still wins, which is how a gp marker or a real name is attached. Anything neither registered nor address-shaped now fails before the link with a message naming the symbol and the fix, instead of a bare ld diagnostic. First match from the worklist: func_800F8F9C (36 bytes, worklist rank 3), a duplicate-group representative with a frame and a call. It matched on the first attempt and is registered twice (0x800F8F9C, 0x80109314) against one source, so two functions were matched for one body. Its callee needed no registry row. Ghidra's independent body agrees with the derived extent. make gate: c_regions=14, 0 differing bytes, SHA-1 e173426c. 168 synthetic tests.
Syphon Filter 3 (USA) — matching decompilation
A matching decompilation of Syphon Filter 3 (PlayStation, USA release, SCUS-94640): C source
that, compiled with the game's own late-1990s toolchain, rebuilds the shipped executable byte for
byte.
"Matching" here has a narrow, machine-checkable meaning: the compiled output must be instruction-identical to the original and the whole rebuilt executable must be SHA-1 identical. Nothing "functionally equivalent" counts, and unmatched C never enters the default build.
Status: early. Phase 5 is closed. The executable rebuilds byte-identically, the original compiler has been identified from byte evidence, and the first C function has been matched and gated. The default build is still almost entirely an assembly/data baseline: one function out of roughly 1,700 is C. Phase 6 is planned and awaiting approval.
Where it stands
| Milestone | State |
|---|---|
| Deterministic disc extraction and manifest | done (Phase 1) — two fresh runs, byte-identical manifests |
| First Ghidra import and static oracle | done (Phase 1) |
| All-assembly byte-identical rebuild of the executable | done (Phase 3–4) |
| Address-ordered code-recovery path (entry as real MIPS) | done (Phase 4) |
| Original compiler identified from byte evidence | done (Phase 5) |
| Matching harness and full-binary gate | done (Phase 5) |
| Code/function segmentation | entry range only |
| Functions matched to C | 1 — func_80017AD4, byte-identical and gated (Ghidra's analyzer reports ~1,721 function candidates) |
The validated target is the USA executable SCUS_946.40;1:
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,886,208 bytes |
| SHA-1 | e173426c157384ebf1b6caf8c6fea18a85a14af9 |
| Declared payload | [0x80010000, 0x801DC000) |
| Entry PC | 0x800FB368 |
The current tracked build is an all-payload assembly representation: it reproduces the executable byte for byte but asserts no code, function, section, or object model. It is a build/comparison baseline, not a recovery of the original program structure.
Toolchain (pinned by byte evidence)
The original compiler was re-identified in Phase 6 by comparing candidate compilers against the SDK's own binaries and the executable:
| Role | Component | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Compiler | GNU C 2.7.2.SN32.3.7.0002 — the CC1PSX.EXE of PsyQ SDK 4.0 |
the real binary executed and compared; the open gcc-2.7.2-psx build is instruction-identical to it across all 21 probe files |
| Assembler | ASPSX 2.56 (Sony) |
SDK 4.0 banner; maspsx is the open emulator |
| Linker / binary tools | GNU mipsel-none-elf binutils |
Phase 3 local build, recorded in docs/SETUP.md |
| Splitter | splat (+ spimdisasm, rabbitizer) |
Phase 3 |
Working compiler invocation (input must be preprocessed; cc1 rejects comments and directives):
gcc-2.7.2-psx/cc1 -quiet -O2 -G0 # then maspsx, then GNU as
The macro address form is this compiler's default. Phase 5 had selected egcs-2.91.66 (PsyQ 4.5),
which matches simple functions but emits a different framed epilogue; the executable's framed code
identifies PsyQ 4.0. The compiler is open: decompals/old-gcc release 0.17 publishes
gcc-2.7.2-psx, and no proprietary SDK is needed for the matching build. The full derivation is in
docs/PHASE6_TOOLCHAIN_CORRECTION.md.
Build it from your own disc
The repository contains no game data: no disc image, no executable, no disassembly, no assets, no
memory dumps — only source, configuration, tooling, hashes and documentation. You need your own
MODE2/2352 dump of the USA disc (SCUS94640; the local input is 691,530,336 bytes over 294,018
sectors, SHA-1 4abe30077c2b449ea68239083df7932d47ae0b69; a CUE is not required for filesystem
extraction).
# 1. extract the disc deterministically and record a manifest
./tools/sf3_extract extract 'disks/Syphon Filter 3 (USA).bin' extracted
# 2. rebuild the executable from assembly and compare
make clean && make all
cmp -s build/scus_946_40.rebuilt 'extracted/SCUS_946.40;1' && echo byte-identical
sha1sum build/scus_946_40.rebuilt 'extracted/SCUS_946.40;1'
The rebuild must print byte-identical and both files must hash to
e173426c157384ebf1b6caf8c6fea18a85a14af9.
Run the project's synthetic test suite with:
PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 python3 -m unittest discover -s tools/tests -v
The build needs the ignored local tooling recorded in docs/SETUP.md: pinned
splat, a GNU MIPS binutils cross toolchain, the vintage cc1 candidates, and — only if you want to
verify against the original SDK compiler — the proprietary PsyQ SDK plus the wibo Win32 loader.
What is in the repository
| Path | What |
|---|---|
tools/ |
The project's own tooling: sf3_extract (disc/extraction), sf3_probe (structural probe), sf3_fingerprint_probe, and the synthetic test suite in tools/tests/ |
docs/ |
The format/address records, per-phase investigation and verification records, setup and toolchain provenance, the Phase 5 toolchain fingerprint, and the matching cookbook and matching conventions |
phase-ends/ |
The project's governance record: the phase digest, one PhaseEnd per closed phase, each phase plan, and the active CURRENT_PHASE.md |
Makefile |
The all-assembly rebuild: validate → split → assemble → link → binary |
AGENTS.md, PROJECT_CONTEXT.md |
The standing rules and the permanent project constitution |
Everything under disks/, extracted/, asm/, build/, ghidra/, dumps/, assets/, and the
local tool directories (tools/splat/, tools/maspsx/, tools/old-gcc/, tools/mipsel-none-elf-binutils/,
tools/psyq/, tools/wibo/) is ignored and never committed.
How it was made
The project runs under a written constitution (PROJECT_CONTEXT.md) and standing
agent rules (AGENTS.md): one task at a time, evidence before assumptions, a byte-level
match or nothing, an explicit ROM firewall, and a hard stop at every phase boundary. Each phase has an
approved plan, a verification gate, a PhaseEnd record, and a digest entry under
phase-ends/.
The static oracle is Ghidra with the locally built PSX loader; the runtime oracle is PCSX-Redux; the
match oracle is a clean rebuild plus cmp and SHA-1 over the whole binary. Compiler conclusions are
reached by differential fingerprinting against the real executable, never from a version label — the
Phase 5 record documents one such conclusion that was found wrong and corrected.
What has been learned about the compiler is written down where it can be reused:
docs/MATCHING_COOKBOOK.md (byte-proven findings, each with its basis
and limit) and docs/MATCHING_CONVENTIONS.md (what counts as a match
and how one is registered).
Standards, and the no-ROM policy
Accuracy. A function is matched only when its compiled instructions are identical to the
original's and the full executable passes cmp and the SHA-1 check. Every match claim must be
reproducible from a clean state, and unmatched content stays behind an explicit fallback.
No game data. Nothing derived from the game may be committed: no disc image, no extracted files,
no disassembly, no assets, no memory dumps, no Ghidra database, and no proprietary SDK files. Review
git status before every commit; git clean -x/-fdx are forbidden because they can destroy ignored
reverse-engineering data.
Third-party components
This project uses, but does not redistribute, other people's work. Third-party components keep their own licenses:
splat,spimdisasm,rabbitizer— the split and the disassemblymaspsx(Mark Street) — Sony ASPSX's assembler quirks, reproducedold-gcc(decompals) — the vintagecc1builds (GPL-licensed builds of GCC)wibo(decompals) — the minimal Win32 loader used to run the SDK compiler- Ghidra and
ghidra_psx_ldr(lab313ru) — the static oracle and its PSX loader - PCSX-Redux — the runtime oracle
- GNU binutils — the MIPS assembler, linker and
objcopy - The Sony PsyQ SDK — proprietary; never distributed, only referenced by checksum. The PsyQ 4.0/4.1/4.4/4.5/4.6
compiler binaries were obtained from
mkst/esa'spsyq-binariesrelease and are used only as a verification reference
The reimplementation of game code that this project will produce carries no license. No license has yet been chosen for the project's own tooling and documentation.
Syphon Filter 3 is © its respective rights holders (Sony Computer Entertainment / 989 Studios). This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.