PSO Autopilot — Test Findings Report

All Systems Operational — Warmup Pipeline Verified

18 issues identified and resolved. 1,000 material assets discovered, batch-loaded, shader-compiled, and texture-streamed across 20 batches with garbage collection — all within a smooth, time-sliced frame budget. Full pipeline validated end-to-end in standalone game mode.

01

Test Environment & Key Metrics

Assets Discovered

1,000

Batch Size

50assets

Total Batches

20

Frame Budget

7.77ms

Registry Cache

67.3MiB

Registry Gather

3.99s

Validation Hold

45.0s

Total Runtime

46.1s

⚙ Engine

Unreal Engine 5.7
D3D12 / SM5
Visual Studio 2026 (14.44)
Windows 11 26200

📦 Plugin

Module: Runtime / PreDefault
Platforms: Win64, Mac, Linux
CanContainContent: false
Dependencies: 8 modules

🎮 Test Config

Map: Demo_PSOTorture
Mode: -game (standalone)
Resolution: 800 × 600 windowed
Flag: -unattended

📊 Test Data

1000 MaterialInstanceConstant
Path: /Game/DemoMaterials
MI_PSO_Demo_0000 … 0999
GC between batches: ON

02

State Machine & Data Flow

Idle

→

Scanning

SearchAllAssets

→

Fingerprinting

Async MD5

→

LoadingBatch

Async Stream

→

ProcessingBatch

Time-Sliced

→

StreamingTextures

VRAM Preheat

→

UnloadingBatch

→

WaitingForGC

ForceGC

↻

DelayValidation

45.0s hold

→

Finished

💡

Batch Loop

States LoadingBatch through WaitingForGC loop 20 times (1000 assets ÷ 50 batch size). The ↻ arrow shows the GC state cycling back to load the next batch. Each cycle: async load → time-sliced shader compile → texture stream → unload → garbage collect.

Asset Processing Heatmap — 1,000 Materials in 20 Batches

Processed & Compiled (1000) Empty Slot

03

Test Run Timeline

Four sequential test iterations were performed, each uncovering progressively deeper issues in the asset discovery pipeline. The final run achieved full end-to-end validation.

Run 1 — Map Path Resolution Crash

Crash

Launched with /Game/Demo/Demo_PSOTorture as the map argument. The engine interpreted this as a filesystem path (G:/1gregorigin/Git/Game/Demo/...), failed to find the map, showed an error dialog, and the -unattended flag auto-dismissed it — leading to an EnhancedInput crash on shutdown.

Run 1 — stderr

LogLoad: Error: Failed to load map: /Game/Demo/Demo_PSOTorture
LogEnhancedInput: Fatal: Null player controller during shutdown

Fix: Use absolute .umap file path instead of content path for -game mode.

Run 2 — Zero Assets Discovered

0 Assets

Map loaded successfully. Plugin initialized, demo manager configured settings, warmup started. But ScanForAssets() returned 0 assets despite 1,000 material instances existing in /Game/DemoMaterials. The warmup ran to completion with nothing to process.

Run 2 — PSOAutopilot.log

[08.21.25:178] LogPSOAutopilot: Starting PSO Autopilot Warmup...
[08.21.25:180] LogPSOAutopilot: Discovered 0 assets for PSO Warmup.
[08.21.25:456] LogAssetRegistry: Asset registry cache read as 67.3 MiB  ← loaded 280ms AFTER scan

Key observation: The asset registry cache loaded 280ms after the scan ran. IsLoadingAssets() returned false because the background gatherer hadn't started yet — not because it was finished.

Run 3 — Registry Loaded, Still Zero

0 Assets

Added SearchAllAssets(true) to force synchronous registry completion before querying. The asset registry cache now loaded before the scan. Added diagnostic logging revealing the true root cause.

Run 3 — Diagnostic Output

[08.26.12:094] LogPSOAutopilot:   Scan path: '/Game/DemoMaterials'
[08.26.12:094] LogPSOAutopilot:   Scan path: ''                       ← EMPTY PATH!
[08.26.12:095] LogPSOAutopilot:   Registry total assets: 8688
[08.26.12:095] LogPSOAutopilot:   Path-only: 0  |  Class filter: /Script/Engine.MaterialInterface
[08.26.12:095] LogPSOAutopilot:     Sample[7]: path=/Game/DemoMaterials class=MaterialInstanceConstant
[08.26.12:095] LogPSOAutopilot:     Sample[8]: path=/Game/DemoMaterials class=MaterialInstanceConstant
[08.26.12:370] LogPSOAutopilot: Discovered 0 assets for PSO Warmup.

Root cause identified: DefaultGame.ini contained +DirectoriesToScan=(Path="") alongside the valid path. The empty FName in FARFilter::PackagePaths caused GetAssets() to return zero results — even with valid paths present.

Run 4 — Full Pipeline Success

1000 Assets

Removed the empty path from DefaultGame.ini and added an empty-path guard in ScanForAssets(). All 1,000 materials discovered, batch-loaded, shader-compiled, texture-streamed, and warmup completed successfully.

Run 4 — PSOAutopilot.log (Final / Successful)

[11.03.23:144] LogPSOAutopilot: PSO Autopilot Module Started.
[11.03.24:338] LogPSOAutopilot: PSO Autopilot Subsystem Initialized.
[11.03.24:922] LogPSOAutopilot: Demo manager applied validation settings (min duration 45.0s)
[11.03.24:923] LogPSOAutopilot: Demo widget NativeConstruct complete.
[11.03.24:923] LogPSOAutopilot: Demo widget initialized and bound to subsystem delegates.
[11.03.24:923] LogPSOAutopilot: Demo HUD add-to-screen (success): BP_PSOAutopilot_HUD_C
[11.03.24:923] LogPSOAutopilot: Starting PSO Autopilot Warmup...
[11.03.25:099] LogPSOAutopilot: Demo widget received first progress update: Scanning for Assets... (0.00)
[11.03.25:360] LogPSOAutopilot: Discovered 1000 assets for PSO Warmup.
[11.03.36:843] LogPSOAutopilot: Holding warmup completion for demo validation: 33.1s remaining.
[11.04.11:065] LogPSOAutopilot: PSO Autopilot Warmup Finished successfully.

04

Root Cause Analysis

Bug 1: Empty Path Poisoning `FARFilter`

An empty string (Path="") in DefaultGame.ini was loaded into the FARFilter::PackagePaths array as NAME_None. UE5's asset registry interprets this as an invalid constraint that causes the entire path filter to return zero results, even when valid paths are present alongside it.

Before — DefaultGame.ini

[/Script/PSOAutopilot.PSOAutopilotSettings]
+DirectoriesToScan=(Path="/Game/DemoMaterials")
+DirectoriesToScan=(Path="")
BatchSize=50

After — DefaultGame.ini

[/Script/PSOAutopilot.PSOAutopilotSettings]
+DirectoriesToScan=(Path="/Game/DemoMaterials")
                    « empty entry removed »
BatchSize=50

Bug 2: Asset Registry Race Condition in `-game` Mode

IsLoadingAssets() returns false when no background work is queued, not when it has completed. In -game mode, BeginPlay() fires before the asset data gatherer is even started, so the guard passed immediately on an empty registry.

Before — ScanForAssets()

IAssetRegistry& Registry = ...Get();

if (Registry.IsLoadingAssets())
{
    return; // Wait for next tick
}

// Immediately query the (empty) registry
FARFilter Filter;
...

After — ScanForAssets()

IAssetRegistry& Registry = ...Get();

if (Registry.IsLoadingAssets())
{
    return; // Wait for next tick
}

// Force synchronous scan completion
Registry.SearchAllAssets(true);

FARFilter Filter;
...

Bug 3: No Defensive Guard Against Empty Paths

Before

for (const FDirectoryPath& Dir
         : Settings->DirectoriesToScan)
{
    Filter.PackagePaths.Add(
        FName(*Dir.Path));
}

After

for (const FDirectoryPath& Dir
         : Settings->DirectoriesToScan)
{
    if (!Dir.Path.IsEmpty())
    {
        Filter.PackagePaths.Add(
            FName(*Dir.Path));
    }
}

⚠️

UE5 FARFilter Gotcha

Adding NAME_None (empty FName) to FARFilter::PackagePaths silently corrupts the entire filter query — it returns zero results without logging any warning. This is an undocumented UE5 behavior that can waste hours of debugging. Always guard against empty paths when building asset registry filters from user-configurable data.

05

Final Run — Pipeline Performance

Timing breakdown of the successful Run 4. All 1,000 assets were processed across 20 batches with GC cycles, followed by a 33-second validation hold before final completion.

Module Init

0.4s

0.44s

Registry Scan

3.99s

Asset Processing

11.5s

~11.5s

Validation Hold

33.1s

Total

46.1s

46.14s

✅

Time-Slicing Validation

Processing 1,000 materials in ~11.5 seconds with a 7.77ms per-frame budget means roughly 1,480 frames were available for processing. At 50 assets per batch, each batch completes quickly enough that the UI remained responsive throughout. The progress delegate fires per-asset, providing smooth loading bar updates.

06

Complete Issue Registry — 18 Resolved

15 issues identified during static code review + 3 additional issues found during runtime testing. All resolved and verified.

#	Severity	Issue	File	Status
#01	Critical	`ForceAssetWarmup` only handled `UMaterialInterface`; non-material assets silently skipped	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.cpp	Fixed
#02	Critical	`APSOAutopilotBootLoader` missing `EndPlay` — delegates not unbound on destruction	PSOAutopilotBootLoader.cpp	Fixed
#03	High	Dead `BuildWarmupFingerprint()` declaration & implementation (~50 lines unreachable code)	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.h/.cpp	Fixed
#04	High	No `StopWarmup()` method — no way to cancel in-progress warmup	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.h/.cpp	Fixed
#05	High	`ForceAssetWarmup` used raw property iteration — fragile, missed indirect refs	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.cpp	Fixed
#06	High	Forced streaming textures not tracked — no way to refresh residency post-warmup	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.h/.cpp	Fixed
#07	Medium	Fingerprint future had no timeout — infinite hang if thread pool stalls	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.cpp	Fixed
#08	Low	Streaming telemetry message missing resource count	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.cpp	Fixed
#09	Medium	CDO settings mutations stacked across runs — missing `ReloadConfig()`	DemoManager + BootLoader	Fixed
#10	Medium	Custom `HUDClass` ignored when `bForceValidationRun` was true	PSOAutopilotDemoManager.cpp	Fixed
#11	Medium	`StartWarmup` guard allowed re-entry from `Finished` state	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.cpp	Fixed
#12	Low	`CanContainContent: true` in `.uplugin` but Content dir was empty	PSOAutopilot.uplugin	Fixed
#13	Low	Virtual Texture `UpdateResource()` not called during preheat	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.cpp	Fixed
#14	Low	Spinner widget used `WhiteSquareTexture` — looked flat and dated	DemoWidget + LoadingWidget	Fixed
#15	Low	Redundant `BuildFallbackWidgetTree()` calls in `NativeConstruct`	DemoWidget + LoadingWidget	Fixed
#16	Critical	Empty `FName` in `FARFilter::PackagePaths` silently zeroed all query results	DefaultGame.ini + Subsystem	Fixed
#17	Critical	Asset registry race: `IsLoadingAssets()` false before gatherer starts in `-game` mode	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.cpp	Fixed
#18	Medium	Deprecated `GetUsedTextures` 5-param API call (UE 5.7 breaking change)	PSOAutopilotSubsystem.cpp	Fixed

📈

Issue Severity Breakdown

4 Critical (would crash or produce completely wrong results) • 4 High (significant functionality gaps) • 5 Medium (correctness or robustness) • 5 Low (polish, cleanup, UX). Issues #16 and #17 were the most impactful — without them, the warmup pipeline appeared to work but processed zero assets, making all other optimizations meaningless.

07

Build Verification Matrix

All three standard UE5 build configurations compiled successfully via RunUAT BuildPlugin. Zero warnings, zero errors.

✓

Editor Development

Succeeded

✓

Game Development

Succeeded

✓

Game Shipping

Succeeded

RunUAT BuildPlugin Output

$ RunUAT.bat BuildPlugin -Plugin="PSOAutopilot.uplugin" -TargetPlatforms=Win64 -Rocket

  [Editor Dev]   UHT processed in 1.76s — 8 actions compiled
  Result: Succeeded  Total: 31.09s

  [Game Dev]     UHT processed in 1.52s — 8 actions compiled
  Result: Succeeded  Total: 28.44s

  [Game Ship]    UHT processed in 1.76s — 8 actions compiled
  Result: Succeeded  Total: 28.01s

  BUILD SUCCESSFUL
  AutomationTool exiting with ExitCode=0 (Success)

PSO AutopilotValidation & Test Report

All Systems Operational — Warmup Pipeline Verified

Test Environment & Key Metrics

State Machine & Data Flow

Batch Loop

Asset Processing Heatmap — 1,000 Materials in 20 Batches

Test Run Timeline

Run 1 — Map Path Resolution Crash

Run 2 — Zero Assets Discovered

Run 3 — Registry Loaded, Still Zero

Run 4 — Full Pipeline Success

Root Cause Analysis

Bug 1: Empty Path Poisoning FARFilter

Bug 2: Asset Registry Race Condition in -game Mode

Bug 3: No Defensive Guard Against Empty Paths

UE5 FARFilter Gotcha

Final Run — Pipeline Performance

Time-Slicing Validation

Complete Issue Registry — 18 Resolved

Issue Severity Breakdown

Build Verification Matrix

PSO Autopilot
Validation & Test Report

Bug 1: Empty Path Poisoning `FARFilter`

Bug 2: Asset Registry Race Condition in `-game` Mode