deploy-and-test-game - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: deploy-and-test-game description: Deploy built dxvk-remix to a game and launch it. Use when the user asks to deploy, test, run, or debug a game with Remix, or when built changes need to be tested in a running game.

Deploy and Test a Game

All commands run in PowerShell from the repo root unless otherwise noted.

Game Targets

gametargets.conf (INI-style, not checked into git) defines the user's local game targets. Each section has:

outputdir — the .trex folder where built DLLs are deployed
workingdir — the game's working directory
commandline — executable and arguments

The file should already be configured by the developer.

To list available targets:

python vsgen/get_game_target_list.py

This outputs GameName,outputdir per line.

Build, Deploy, and Launch

The recommended configuration for development is debugoptimized (_Comp64DebugOptimized).

Step 1: Build (incremental)

cd _Comp64DebugOptimized; meson compile -v

Step 2: Deploy to a Game Target

Deploy built artifacts (d3d9.dll, DLSS, NRD, USD libs, etc.) to a game's .trex folder:

meson install -C _Comp64DebugOptimized --tags <GameTarget> --only-changed

The tag is the section name from gametargets.conf (e.g. Portal, HalfLife2_RTX). The --only-changed flag skips files that haven't changed.

Step 3: Launch the Game

Parse the target's workingdir and commandline from gametargets.conf, then launch:

$env:DXVK_CONFIG_FILE = "<repo_root>\dxvk.conf"
Start-Process -FilePath "<workingdir>\<executable>" -ArgumentList "<args>" -WorkingDirectory "<workingdir>"

Debugging Crashes

The runtime automatically generates .dmp crash dump files. When a crash occurs, analyze the dump to get the call stack and crash context.

The Bridge (32-bit Games)

For 32-bit games, a two-process architecture is used:

The game loads a 32-bit d3d9.dll (bridge client) which intercepts D3D9 calls
The client automatically launches NvRemixBridge.exe (64-bit server) from the .trex folder
The server loads the 64-bit d3d9.dll (the actual Remix runtime) and renders into the game window
Communication between client and server uses shared-memory circular queues

When debugging bridge-based games, both processes may need inspection. The bridge disables IPC timeouts when a debugger is attached, so breakpoints won't cause disconnects. Bridge-specific configuration is in bridge.conf.