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  3. FShaderPipelineCache

FShaderPipelineCache

[FShaderPipelineCache](API\Runtime\RenderCore\FShaderPipelineCache): The [FShaderPipelineCache](API\Runtime\RenderCore\FShaderPipelineCache) provides the new Pipeline State Object (PSO) logging, serialisation & precompilation mechanism that replaces FShaderCache.

API > API/Runtime > API/Runtime/RenderCore

FShaderPipelineCache: The FShaderPipelineCache provides the new Pipeline State Object (PSO) logging, serialisation & precompilation mechanism that replaces FShaderCache. Caching Pipeline State Objects and serialising the initialisers to disk allows for precompilation of these states the next time the game is run, which reduces hitching. To achieve this FShaderPipelineCache relies upon FShaderCodeLibrary & "Share Material Shader Code" and the RHI-level backend FPipelineFileCacheManager.

Basic Runtime Usage:

  • Enable the cache with r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled = 1, which allows the pipeline cache to load existing data from disk and precompile it.
  • Set the default batch size with r.ShaderPipelineCache.BatchSize = X, where X is the maximum number of PSOs to compile in a single batch when precompiling in the default Fast BatchMode.
  • Set the background batch size with r.ShaderPipelineCache.BackgroundBatchSize = X, where X is the maximum number of PSOs to compile when in the Background BatchMode.
  • Instrument the game code to call FShaderPipelineCache::SetBatchMode to switch the batch mode between Fast & Background modes.
  • BatchMode::Fast should be used when a loading screen or movie is being displayed to allow more PSOs to be compiled whereas Background should be used behind interactive menus.
  • If required call NumPrecompilesRemaining to determine the total number of outstanding PSOs to compile and keep the loading screen or movie visible until complete.
  • Depending on the game & target platform performance it may also be required to call PauseBatching to suspend precompilation during gameplay and then ResumeBatching when behind a loading screen, menu or movie to restart precompilation.

Other Runtime Options:

  • In the GGameIni (and thus also GGameUserSettingsIni) the Shader Pipeline Cache uses the [ShaderPipelineCache.CacheFile] section to store some settings.
  • The LastOpened setting stores the name of the last opened cache file as specified with Open, which if present will be used within FShaderPipelineCache::Initialize to open the existing cache. If not specified this will default to the AppName.
  • The SortMode settings stores the desired sort mode for the PSOs, which is one of:
  • Default: Loaded in the order specified in the file.
  • FirstToLatestUsed: Start with the PSOs with the lowest first-frame used and work toward those with the highest.
  • MostToLeastUsed: Start with the most often used PSOs working toward the least. Will use "Default" within FShaderPipelineCache::Initialize & OpenPipelineFileCache if nothing is specified.
  • The GameVersionKey is a read-only integer specified in the GGameIni that specifies the game content version to disambiguate incompatible versions of the game content. By default this is taken from the FEngineVersion changlist.

Logging Usage:

  • Enable the cache with r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled = 1 and also turn on runtime logging with r.ShaderPipelineCache.LogPSO = 1.
  • Ensure that you have configured the game to open the appropriate cache on startup (see above) and allow the game to play.
  • PSOs are logged as they are encountered as the Unreal Engine does not provide facility to cook them offline, so this system will only collect PSOs which are actually used to render.
  • As such you must either manually play through the game to collect logs or automate the process which is beyond the scope of this code.
  • The data can be saved at any time by calling FShaderPipelineCache::SavePipelineFileCache and this can happen automatically after a given number of PSOs by setting r.ShaderPipelineCache.SaveAfterPSOsLogged = X where X is the desired number of PSOs to log before saving (0 will disable auto-save).
  • Log files are shader platform specific to reduce overheads.

Notes:

  • The open cache file can be changed by closing the existing file with ClosePipelineFileCache (which implicitly Fast saves) and then opening a new one with OpenPipelineFileCache.
  • Different files can be used to minimise PSO compilation by having a file per-scalability bucket (i.e. one file for Low, one for Med, one for High).
  • When logging if you switch files only new entries from after the switch will be logged, which means you will miss any PSOs that should have been logged prior to switching. This prevents polluting the cache with unexpected entries.
  • The UnrealEd.MergeShaderPipelineCaches command-let can be used to merge cache files with the same file-version, shader platform and game-version.

File Locations & Packaging:

  • The writable cache file is always stored in the User Saved directory.
  • The game can also provide an immutable copy within its Game Content directory which will be used as the initial or seed data.
  • Having generated logs in development and merged them with UnrealEd.MergeShaderPipelineCaches they should be packaged inside the Gane Content directory for the relevant platform.

Requirements:

  • FShaderCodeLibrary must be enabled via Project Settings > Packaging > "Share Material Shader Code".
  • Enabling "Native Shader Libraries" is optional, but strongly preferred for Metal.
   
Name FShaderPipelineCache
Type class
Header File /Engine/Source/Runtime/RenderCore/Public/ShaderPipelineCache.h
Include Path #include "ShaderPipelineCache.h"

Syntax

class FShaderPipelineCache : public FTickableObjectRenderThread

Inheritance Hierarchy

Constructors

Name Remarks Include Path Unreal Specifiers

FShaderPipelineCache ( EShaderPlatform Platform
)

   ShaderPipelineCache.h  

Destructors

Name Remarks Include Path Unreal Specifiers

virtual ~FShaderPipelineCache()

   ShaderPipelineCache.h  

Classes

Name Remarks
FShaderCachePrecompileContext Allows handlers of FShaderCacheOpenedDelegate to send state to begin and complete pre-compilation delegates

Structs

Name Remarks
FPipelineCachePSOContext  

Enums

Public

Name Remarks
BatchMode  
ELibraryState  

Typedefs

Name Type Remarks Include Path
FShaderCacheClosedDelegate TMulticastDelegate_TwoParams< void, FString const &, EShaderPlatform > Delegate signature for being notified when a pipeline cache is closed ShaderPipelineCache.h
FShaderCacheOpenedDelegate TMulticastDelegate_FiveParams< void, FString const &, EShaderPlatform, uint32, const FGuid &, FShaderCachePrecompileContext & > Delegate signature for being notified when a pipeline cache is opened ShaderPipelineCache.h
FShaderCachePreOpenDelegate TMulticastDelegate_ThreeParams< void, FString const &, EShaderPlatform, bool & > Delegate signature for being notified when we are about to open the pipeline cache ShaderPipelineCache.h
FShaderPrecompilationBeginDelegate TMulticastDelegate_TwoParams< void, uint32, const FShaderCachePrecompileContext & > Delegate signature for being notified when currently viable PSOs have started to be precompiled from the cache, and how many will be precompiled ShaderPipelineCache.h
FShaderPrecompilationCompleteDelegate TMulticastDelegate_ThreeParams< void, uint32, double, const FShaderCachePrecompileContext & > Delegate signature for being notified that all currently viable PSOs have been precompiled from the cache, how many that was and how long spent precompiling (in sec.) ShaderPipelineCache.h

Constants

Name Type Remarks Include Path
BatchSize uint32   ShaderPipelineCache.h
BatchTime float   ShaderPipelineCache.h
OnCachedClosed FShaderCacheClosedDelegate   ShaderPipelineCache.h
OnCachedOpened FShaderCacheOpenedDelegate   ShaderPipelineCache.h
OnCachePreOpen FShaderCachePreOpenDelegate   ShaderPipelineCache.h
OnPrecompilationBegin FShaderPrecompilationBeginDelegate   ShaderPipelineCache.h
OnPrecompilationComplete FShaderPrecompilationCompleteDelegate   ShaderPipelineCache.h
ShaderPipelineCache FShaderPipelineCache *   ShaderPipelineCache.h
UserCacheTaskKey FString   ShaderPipelineCache.h

Variables

Protected

Name Type Remarks Include Path Unreal Specifiers
bHasShaderPipelineTask std::atomic_bool Used for threadsafe query of pending pipeline compiles. ShaderPipelineCache.h  
BlendStateCache TMap< FBlendStateInitializerRHI, FRHIBlendState * >   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
bPaused bool   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
CompiledHashes TSet< uint32 >   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
CurrentPrecompilingPSOFCKey FString The name of the current precompiling PSO cache. ShaderPipelineCache.h  
DepthStencilStateCache TMap< FDepthStencilStateInitializerRHI, FRHIDepthStencilState * >   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
LastAutoSaveNum int32   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
LastAutoSaveTime double   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
LastAutoSaveTimeLogBoundPSO double   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
Mutex FCriticalSection   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
NextPrecompileCacheTask FGraphEventRef   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
PausedCount int32   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
PendingPrecompilePSOCacheKeys TArray< FString > The list of pending PSO cache names to precompile. ShaderPipelineCache.h  
RasterizerStateCache TMap< FRasterizerStateInitializerRHI, FRHIRasterizerState * >   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
ShaderCacheTasks TMap< FString, TUniquePtr< class FShaderPipelineCacheTask > >   ShaderPipelineCache.h  
ShaderHashToStableKey UE::ShaderUtils::FShaderStableKeyDebugInfoReader Development tool that can describe PSOs in non-Shipping builds. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

Functions

Public

Name Remarks Include Path Unreal Specifiers

void Tick ( float DeltaTime
)

   ShaderPipelineCache.h  

Overridden from FTickableObjectRenderThread

Name Remarks Include Path Unreal Specifiers

virtual TStatId GetStatId()

 Return the stat id to use for this tickable ShaderPipelineCache.h  

virtual bool IsTickable ()

 Pure virtual that must be overloaded by the inheriting class. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

virtual bool NeedsRenderingResumedForRenderingThreadTick()

 Used to determine if a rendering thread tickable object must have rendering in a non-suspended state during it's Tick function. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

virtual void Tick ( FRHICommandListImmediate& RHICmdList,
float DeltaTime
)

 Pure virtual that must be overloaded by the inheriting class. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

Static

Name Remarks Include Path Unreal Specifiers
Closes the existing pipeline cache, allowing it to be reopened with a different file and/or shader platform. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static FShaderPipelineCache * Get()

   ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static FShaderCacheClosedDelegate & GetCacheClosedDelegate()

 Gets the event delegate to register to to be notified when a pipeline cache is closed. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static FShaderCacheOpenedDelegate & GetCacheOpenedDelegate()

 Gets the event delegate to register to to be notified when a pipeline cache is opened. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static FShaderCachePreOpenDelegate & GetCachePreOpenDelegate()

 Gets the event delegate to register to to be notified when we are about to open the pipeline cache. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static int32 GetGameVersionForPSOFileCache()

   ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static FShaderPrecompilationBeginDelegate & GetPrecompilationBeginDelegate()

 Gets the event delegate to register to to be notified when currently viable PSOs have started to be precompiled from the cache. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static FShaderPrecompilationCompleteDelegate & GetPrecompilationCompleteDelegate()

 Gets the event delegate to register to to be notified when all currently viable PSOs have been precompiled from the cache. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static void Initialize ( EShaderPlatform Platform
)

 Initializes the shader pipeline cache for the desired platform, called by the engine. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static bool IsBatchingPaused()

   ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static bool IsPrecompiling()

 True if pipeline cache(s) are precompiling. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static uint32 NumPrecompilesRemaining ()

 Returns the number of pipelines waiting for precompilation of the current PSOFC task. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static bool OpenPipelineFileCache ( EShaderPlatform Platform
)

 Opens the shader pipeline cache file with either the LastOpened setting if available, or the project name otherwise ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static bool OpenUserPipelineFileCache ( EShaderPlatform Platform
)

 Opens the user pipeline cache file with either the LastOpened setting if available, or the project name otherwise ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static void PauseBatching()

 Pauses precompilation. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static void ResumeBatching()

 Resumes precompilation batching. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static bool SavePipelineFileCache ( FPipelineFileCacheManager::SaveMode Mode
)

 Saves the current shader pipeline cache to disk using one of the defined save modes, Fast uses an incremental approach whereas Slow will consolidate all data into the file. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static void SetBatchMode ( BatchMode Mode
)

 Sets the precompilation batching mode. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static bool SetGameUsageMaskWithComparison ( uint64 Mask,
FPSOMaskComparisonFn InComparisonFnPtr
)

 Set the current PSO Game Usage Mask and comparsion function . ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static void ShaderLibraryStateChanged ( ELibraryState State,
EShaderPlatform Platform,
FString const& Name,
int32 ComponentID
)

 Called by FShaderCodeLibrary to notify us that the shader code library state changed and shader availability will need to be re-evaluated ShaderPipelineCache.h  

static void Shutdown()

 Terminates the shader pipeline cache, called by the engine. ShaderPipelineCache.h  

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