libretro
[Bug]: Game runs with sound, but screen is black (D3D11)
Dolphin version
Git
RetroArch version
1.21.0 79a627a
Platform
Windows
Renderer
D3D11
Game exhibiting the issue
All
Describe the issue
As the title says, games run with sound, but the screen is black when using D3D11. Tried different shader sync options and resetting/deleting the dolphin options file, but the same happens.
It does not happen when using vulkan.
Here's the log: retroarch__2025_11_07__20_56_00.log
Log Output
[INFO] RetroArch 1.21.0 (Git 79a627a)
[INFO] === Build =======================================
[INFO] CPU Model Name: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G with Radeon Vega Graphics
[INFO] Capabilities: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 SSE4 SSE42 AES AVX AVX2
[INFO] Version: 1.21.0
[INFO] Git: 79a627a
[INFO] Built: Oct 27 2025
[INFO] =================================================
[INFO] [Input] Found input driver: "dinput".
[INFO] [Environ] SET_PIXEL_FORMAT: RGB565.
[INFO] [Core] Version of libretro API: 1, Compiled against API: 1
[INFO] [Core] Geometry: 320x240, Aspect: 1.333, FPS: 59.94, Sample rate: 48000.00 Hz.
[INFO] [Video] Set video size to: fullscreen.
[INFO] [XInput] Found XInput v1.4.
[INFO] [Input] Found joypad driver: "dinput".
[INFO] [D3D11] Device created (Feature Level: 11.0)
[INFO] [D3D11] Flip model and tear control supported and enabled.
[INFO] [D3D11] Requesting 1 maximum frame latency, using 1.
[INFO] [D3D11] Found GPU at index 0: "Radeon RX550/550 Series".
[INFO] [D3D11] Found GPU at index 1: "Microsoft Basic Render Driver".
[INFO] [D3D11] Using GPU index 0.
[INFO] [Video] Found display server: "win32".
[INFO] [Audio] Set audio input rate to: 48000.00 Hz.
[INFO] [WASAPI] Client initialized (shared, PCM, 48000Hz, 64.0ms).
[INFO] [Audio] Started synchronous audio driver.
[INFO] [Microphone] Initialized microphone driver.
[INFO] [Display] Found display driver: "d3d11".
[INFO] [MIDI] Output device: "Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading favorites file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_favorites.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_image_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_music_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_video_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Core] Using content: "E:\RetroArch_ROMS\Nintendo - GameCube\F-Zero GX.gcz".
[INFO] [Core] Unloading core...
[INFO] [Core] Unloading core symbols...
[INFO] RetroArch 1.21.0 (Git 79a627a)
[INFO] === Build =======================================
[INFO] CPU Model Name: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G with Radeon Vega Graphics
[INFO] Capabilities: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 SSE4 SSE42 AES AVX AVX2
[INFO] Version: 1.21.0
[INFO] Git: 79a627a
[INFO] Built: Oct 27 2025
[INFO] =================================================
[INFO] [Input] Found input driver: "dinput".
[INFO] [Core] Loading dynamic libretro core from: "E:\RetroArch\cores\dolphin_libretro.dll".
[INFO] [Override] Redirecting save file to "E:\RetroArch\saves\Nintendo - GameCube\F-Zero GX.srm".
[INFO] [Override] Redirecting save state to "E:\RetroArch\states\Nintendo - GameCube\F-Zero GX.state".
[INFO] [Environ] SET_PIXEL_FORMAT: XRGB8888.
[INFO] [Content] Content loading skipped. Implementation will load it on its own.
[INFO] [Environ] GET_SAVE_DIRECTORY: "E:\RetroArch\saves\Nintendo - GameCube".
[INFO] [Environ] GET_SYSTEM_DIRECTORY: "E:\RetroArch\system".
[INFO] [Environ] GET_CORE_ASSETS_DIRECTORY: "E:\RetroArch\downloads".
[INFO] [Environ] SET_DISK_CONTROL_EXT_INTERFACE.
[INFO] [Environ] GET_LOG_INTERFACE.
[libretro INFO] 56:08:227 DolphinLibretro/Boot.cpp:108 I[COMMON]: User Directory set to 'E:\RetroArch\saves\Nintendo - GameCube/User'
[libretro INFO] 56:08:227 DolphinLibretro/Boot.cpp:109 I[COMMON]: System Directory set to 'E:\RetroArch\system/dolphin-emu/Sys'
[INFO] [Environ] GET_CORE_OPTIONS_VERSION.
[INFO] [Environ] SET_CORE_OPTIONS_V2.
[ERROR] [Environ] GET_VARIABLE: dolphin_main_cpu_thread - Invalid value.
[libretro INFO] 56:08:266 DolphinLibretro/Boot.cpp:357 I[BOOT]: CPU Core: JIT64
[libretro INFO] 56:08:266 DolphinLibretro/Boot.cpp:358 I[BOOT]: Fastmem enabled = Yes
[libretro INFO] 56:08:266 DolphinLibretro/Boot.cpp:359 I[BOOT]: JIT debug enabled = No
[INFO] [Environ] GET_PREFERRED_HW_RENDER, video driver: "d3d11"...
[INFO] [Environ] GET_PREFERRED_HW_RENDER: RETRO_HW_CONTEXT_D3D11.
[INFO] [Environ] SET_HW_RENDER, context type: d3d11.
[INFO] [HW] Requesting D3D11 context.
[libretro INFO] 56:08:410 DolphinLibretro/Boot.cpp:366 N[Video]: Using GFX backend: D3D
[INFO] [Environ] GET_RUMBLE_INTERFACE.
[libretro INFO] 56:08:428 Common/FileUtil.cpp:802 I[COMMON]: CreateSysDirectoryPath: Setting to E:\RetroArch\system/dolphin-emu/Sys/
[libretro INFO] 56:08:434 Core/ConfigManager.cpp:240 N[CORE]: Active title: F-Zero GX (GFZE01)
[libretro INFO] 56:08:439 Core/Core.cpp:1015 N[COMMON]: Want determinism <- false
[libretro INFO] 56:08:439 Core/Core.cpp:249 I[BOOT]: Starting core = GameCube mode
[libretro INFO] 56:08:439 Core/Core.cpp:250 I[BOOT]: CPU Thread separate = Yes
[INFO] [Environ] SET_CONTROLLER_INFO.
[INFO] [SRAM] Skipping SRAM load.
[INFO] [Core] Version of libretro API: 1, Compiled against API: 1
[INFO] [Core] Geometry: 640x528, Aspect: 1.333, FPS: 59.94, Sample rate: 32029.00 Hz.
[INFO] [Video] Set video size to: fullscreen.
[INFO] [Video] Using HW render, d3d11 driver forced.
[INFO] [Input] Found joypad driver: "dinput".
[INFO] [D3D11] Device created (Feature Level: 11.0)
[INFO] [D3D11] Flip model and tear control supported and enabled.
[INFO] [D3D11] Requesting 1 maximum frame latency, using 1.
[INFO] [Shaders] Specific shader preset found at "E:\RetroArch\config\dolphin-emu\dolphin-emu.slangp".
[INFO] [Slang] Compiling shader: "E:\RetroArch\shaders\ntsc-colors.slang".
[INFO] [Slang] Compiling shader: "E:\RetroArch\shaders\composite.slang".
[INFO] [Slang] Compiling shader: "E:\RetroArch\shaders\tvout-tweaks.slang".
[INFO] [Slang] Compiling shader: "E:\RetroArch\shaders\fakelottes_dotscan.slang".
[INFO] [D3D11] Found GPU at index 0: "Radeon RX550/550 Series".
[INFO] [D3D11] Found GPU at index 1: "Microsoft Basic Render Driver".
[INFO] [D3D11] Using GPU index 0.
[INFO] [Video] Found display server: "win32".
[libretro WARN] 56:10:543 VideoBackends/D3DCommon/Shader.cpp:279 W[Video]: ps_5_0 compilation succeeded with warnings:
E:\RetroArch\Shader@0x000000000F67A030(72,19-42): warning X3571: pow(f, e) will not work for negative f, use abs(f) or conditionally handle negative values if you expect them
E:\RetroArch\Shader@0x000000000F67A030(148,17-39): warning X3571: pow(f, e) will not work for negative f, use abs(f) or conditionally handle negative values if you expect them
E:\RetroArch\Shader@0x000000000F67A030(152,17-39): warning X3571: pow(f, e) will not work for negative f, use abs(f) or conditionally handle negative values if you expect them
E:\RetroArch\Shader@0x000000000F67A030(156,17-39): warning X3571: pow(f, e) will not work for negative f, use abs(f) or conditionally handle negative values if you expect them
E:\RetroArch\Shader@0x000000000F67A030(160,17-39): warning X3571: pow(f, e) will not work for negative f, use abs(f) or conditionally handle negative values if you expect them
E:\RetroArch\Shader@0x000000000F67A030(16[libretro INFO] 56:10:617 VideoCommon/ShaderCache.cpp:267 I[Video]: Loaded 2 cached shaders from E:/RetroArch/saves//Nintendo - GameCube/User/Cache/Shaders/D3D-uber-vs-2461FF40.cache
[libretro INFO] 56:10:621 VideoCommon/ShaderCache.cpp:267 I[Video]: Loaded 7 cached shaders from E:/RetroArch/saves//Nintendo - GameCube/User/Cache/Shaders/D3D-uber-ps-2461FF40.cache
[libretro INFO] 56:10:622 VideoCommon/ShaderCache.cpp:267 I[Video]: Loaded 2 cached shaders from E:/RetroArch/saves//Nintendo - GameCube/User/Cache/Shaders/D3D-gs-2461FF40.cache
[libretro INFO] 56:10:622 VideoCommon/ShaderCache.cpp:267 I[Video]: Loaded 1 cached shaders from E:/RetroArch/saves//Nintendo - GameCube/User/Cache/Shaders/D3D-specialized-vs-GFZE01-2461FF40.cache
[libretro INFO] 56:10:622 VideoCommon/ShaderCache.cpp:267 I[Video]: Loaded 0 cached shaders from E:/RetroArch/saves//Nintendo - GameCube/User/Cache/Shaders/D3D-specialized-ps-GFZE01-2461FF40.cache
[libretro INFO] 56:10:624 VideoCommon/ShaderCache.cpp:990 I[Video]: Read 1360 pipeline UIDs from E:/RetroArch/saves//Nintendo - GameCube/User/Cache/GFZE01.uidcache
[INFO] [Audio] Set audio input rate to: 32029.00 Hz.
[INFO] [WASAPI] Client initialized (shared, PCM, 48000Hz, 64.0ms).
[INFO] [Audio] Started synchronous audio driver.
[INFO] [Microphone] Initialized microphone driver.
[INFO] [Display] Found display driver: "d3d11".
[INFO] [MIDI] Output device: "Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth".
[INFO] [Environ] SET_INPUT_DESCRIPTORS.
[INFO] [Environ] SET_INPUT_DESCRIPTORS.
[INFO] [Environ] SET_INPUT_DESCRIPTORS.
[INFO] [Environ] SET_INPUT_DESCRIPTORS.
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading favorites file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_favorites.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_image_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_music_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_video_history.lpl".
[libretro INFO] 56:11:157 Core/Boot/Boot.cpp:521 N[BOOT]: Booting from disc: E:/RetroArch/_ROMS/Nintendo - GameCube/F-Zero GX.gcz
[INFO] [Runtime] Content ran for a total of: 00 hours, 00 minutes, 37 seconds.
[INFO] [Runtime] Saving runtime log file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\logs\Dolphin\F-Zero GX.lrtl".
[INFO] [Core] No content, starting dummy core.
[INFO] [Core] Unloading game...
[libretro INFO] 57:00:870 VideoBackends/D3D/D3DBase.cpp:167 N[Video]: Successfully released all device references!
[INFO] [Core] Unloading core...
[INFO] [Core] Unloading core symbols...
[INFO] [Core] Saved core options file to "E:\RetroArch\config\dolphin-emu\dolphin-emu.opt".
[INFO] RetroArch 1.21.0 (Git 79a627a)
[INFO] === Build =======================================
[INFO] CPU Model Name: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G with Radeon Vega Graphics
[INFO] Capabilities: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 SSE4 SSE42 AES AVX AVX2
[INFO] Version: 1.21.0
[INFO] Git: 79a627a
[INFO] Built: Oct 27 2025
[INFO] =================================================
[INFO] [Input] Found input driver: "dinput".
[INFO] [Environ] SET_PIXEL_FORMAT: RGB565.
[INFO] [Core] Version of libretro API: 1, Compiled against API: 1
[INFO] [Core] Geometry: 320x240, Aspect: 1.333, FPS: 59.94, Sample rate: 48000.00 Hz.
[INFO] [Video] Set video size to: fullscreen.
[INFO] [Input] Found joypad driver: "dinput".
[INFO] [D3D11] Device created (Feature Level: 11.0)
[INFO] [D3D11] Flip model and tear control supported and enabled.
[INFO] [D3D11] Requesting 1 maximum frame latency, using 1.
[INFO] [D3D11] Found GPU at index 0: "Radeon RX550/550 Series".
[INFO] [D3D11] Found GPU at index 1: "Microsoft Basic Render Driver".
[INFO] [D3D11] Using GPU index 0.
[INFO] [Video] Found display server: "win32".
[INFO] [Audio] Set audio input rate to: 48000.00 Hz.
[INFO] [WASAPI] Client initialized (shared, PCM, 48000Hz, 64.0ms).
[INFO] [Audio] Started synchronous audio driver.
[INFO] [Microphone] Initialized microphone driver.
[INFO] [Display] Found display driver: "d3d11".
[INFO] [MIDI] Output device: "Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth".
[INFO] [Shaders] Specific shader preset found at "E:\RetroArch\config\dolphin-emu\dolphin-emu.slangp".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading favorites file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_favorites.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_image_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_music_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Playlist] Loading history file: "E:\RetroArch\playlists\builtin\content_video_history.lpl".
[INFO] [Config] Saved config to "E:\RetroArch\retroarch.cfg".
[INFO] [Core] Unloading core...
[INFO] [Core] Unloading core symbols...
