PCSX2
| PCSX2
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|---|---|
 Screenshot |
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| Basic data
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| developer | Linuzappz, Zerofrog, Refraction, Saqib, GiGaHeRz, Gabest |
| Publishing year | March 23, 2002 |
| Current version |
1.6.0 ( May 7, 2020 ) |
| operating system | Windows , Linux , macOS (unofficial) |
| programming language | C ++ |
| category | PlayStation 2 emulator |
| License | GPL ( Free Software ) |
| German speaking | Yes |
| pcsx2.net | |
PCSX2 is a PlayStation 2 - Emulator for Windows and Linux , a port for macOS is also unofficially before. It is possible to play a large number of PlayStation 2 games, although speed limitations may make complete game play impractical. The main problem with emulation of the PlayStation 2 is the synchronous emulation of the individual processors on common PC architectures. Although each individual processor can be perfectly emulated, keeping the synchronization and timing between them accurate is very difficult (Sony also struggled to perfect their own PS2 emulator for the Playstation 3).
Like the previous PCSX project, PCSX2 uses a plug-in system that separates several functions from the core of the emulator. Plugins for graphics, controllers, CD / DVD drives, sound output and the FireWire interface are supported. Different plugins can produce different results in terms of compatibility and performance. An original PlayStation 2 BIOS is required to use the PCSX2 emulator . However, for copyright reasons, this cannot be supplied with the emulator and must therefore be obtained from a real PS2 with a utility program.
The emulator is actively in development and is constantly being improved. Starting with version 0.9.6, the user interface has been greatly changed and designed for user-friendliness. The configuration takes place in a few steps and is easy to understand. The localization was implemented for many languages.
power
In older versions (before 2006) the speed was between 2 and 15 frames per second, depending on the game, the PC hardware used and the plug-in configuration. The PlayStation 2's BIOS was one of the fastest emulated software. Since version 0.9 was released in April 2006, performance has increased significantly. Most 2D games and menus ran at 60 to 120 FPS, and with the latest version combined with a relatively new PC, the performance of 3D games also increased to the level of the native PS2 speed of 60 FPS (for NTSC games) or 50 FPS (for PAL games) and beyond. With version 0.9, PCSX2 also supported dual-core CPUs for the first time, which led to a considerable increase in speed on systems with dual-core processors. Combined with a correspondingly powerful graphics card ( Radeon HD4000 series or higher or GeForce 9 or higher) it is possible to play popular games such as Final Fantasy X almost continuously at native speed. Final Fantasy X is fully playable from version 0.9.2. In addition, there are other games that are fully playable or can be completed with or without restrictions. This also includes well-known titles such as Resident Evil 4 and Kingdom Hearts. For more detailed information, you can see a compatibility list on the developer site, which indicates the status (intro, menu, ingame, playable) of the respective game. The playable status marks a game as completely playable , although this status can vary depending on the plugin configuration and the revision of the emulator used.
Wrong assumptions about speed
A common misconception about PCSX2 is the assumption that a processor with a very high clock speed, such as the Intel Pentium 4 or the AMD Athlon XP (with clock speeds up to 3.8 GHz) should have no problems playing PlayStation 2 games to emulate at full speed. The PS2 has several processors, including a MIPS R5900 ( Emotion Engine ), a MIPS R3000A, two vector units and a graphics chip ( Graphics Synthesizer ). With the exception of the MIPS R5900 (clocked at 294.912 MHz) and the MIPS R3000A (clocked at 36.864 MHz, adjustable to 33.8688 MHz for PlayStation 1 emulation), all other chips run with a bus clock of 147 MHz. However, there are many reasons why it is so difficult to emulate the PS2 on a PC. The differences between the x86 architecture and the PS2 architecture are considerable, and emulating multiple compute units running in parallel on a single processor is quite complex. Taking advantage of the multi-core processors found in modern PCs is even more difficult because of the need to maintain tight synchronization between the PS2 processors.
Multicore processor support
The current version supports up to three threads and thus up to three processor cores.
64-bit extensions
With the increasing spread of 64-bit processors, the developers have started to work to use the possibilities of the 64-bit extensions in order to potentially increase the speed of PCSX2. 64-bit versions for Linux are available from version 0.9.3. This and version 0.9.4 is recommended for use on Linux. For Microsoft Windows, version 0.9.4 PCSX2 is also 64-bit capable. Shortly after the release, however, the official build was withdrawn because it did not bring the expected increase in performance and was even slower than the 32-bit version. The use of the 32-bit variant is therefore still recommended for Windows.
To use the 64-bit version, a 64-bit operating system and compatible hardware are required. These include various Linux distributions and the 64-bit Windows versions.
Developer version
Current developer versions can be downloaded and tested from the Git site.
Netplay
During the development cycle for version 0.9.4, one of the developers began to make PCSX2 internet-enabled so that players can play online games for the PlayStation 2 with other players, even if they are playing on a PlayStation 2 console. For games XIII and Monster Hunter it was confirmed that they can use the netplay function. More compatible games are expected on the 0.9.7 release date. There is also an HDD plug-in (MegaDev9), which is required for some online games that stream content (such as Final Fantasy XI).
Plugins
The programmer Gabest , known for the open source player Media Player Classic , worked on his graphics plug-in GSdx from the end of 2007 to October 2009.
In addition to the support for Multi-Threaded GS (MTGS) mode, he also fixed other gross graphics errors, and the speed of some games is significantly better compared to the old version of GSdx9 or ZeroGS. The plugin also offers the ability to change the internal Direct3D resolution, also known as a render target. This means that the plug-in achieves better speeds with a higher internal resolution compared to ZeroGS with a higher anti-aliasing level and almost identical image quality. The graphics plug-in supports hardware and software rendering. Direct3D 9 and 10 or software (here rendering is done exclusively via the CPU, whereby several threads can be used and defined yourself) can be selected as the interface.
Gabest also developed the plugins CDVDolio (CD / DVD plugin with support for double layer media or images) and Xpad, which guarantees smooth communication and use of an Xbox 360 controller.
Other frequently used plugins are:
- ZeroGS
- USBqemu
- SPU2-X
- MegaDev9
Speed hacks
To improve the performance of individual games, there is the option of using so-called speed hacks. These allow z. B. to “underclock” the ( emotion engine ) (on a software basis), to skip calculations of the vector units occasionally or to outsource a vector unit to a single core. If the ( Emotion Engine ) is underclocked, fewer calculations are required by the processor used for the emulation and thus the speed of the game to be emulated increases. However, there are a few games that need full beat ( Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is an example ). The use of the Emotion Engine Speedhack is counterproductive here. In general, the use of speed hacks is always at the expense of compatibility and can also cause graphics errors or crashes. A high degree of willingness to experiment is required from the user, since the interaction of plugins, revision, game and speedhacks offers almost infinite possible combinations. The performance varies depending on the number and type of speed hacks used.
It is also possible to use one of four presets. Performance increases of up to 50 percent are possible.
See also
- RPCS3 , a PlayStation 3 emulator
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 1.4.0 released! - Year end report . January 8, 2016 (English).
- ↑ Release 1.4.0 . January 5, 2016 (accessed July 22, 2018).
- ↑ Release 1.6.0 . May 7, 2020 (accessed May 8, 2020).
- ↑ The Pcsx2 Open Source Project on Open Hub: Languages Page . In: Open Hub . (accessed on September 5, 2018).
- ↑ ISO with "BIOS Dumper" utility
- ↑ Compatibility list on PCSX2.net
- ↑ Reference to "MTVU speed hack" in an interview on GoodGame.hr (English translation)
- ↑ Git page , on pcsx2.net, accessed October 13, 2018