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Nekotaku
29-05-2008, 11:54
For all you emulation fans out there, give us your thoughts on various Playstation emulators and what you like best.
I started off with ePSXe, which is an excellent choice. Unfortunately, it has almost as many problems as qualities. For starters, it uses a plugin-based system for graphics and sound processing as well as disc reading (which is best done from a virtually mounted disk using Daemon Tools). The main problem is that finding a plugin combo which will do everything perfectly is seriously difficult. Strange though it may seem, there's a correlation between sound and graphics, since one needs to be synchronised to the other. As a result, some combinations will play FMV too fast, while others run just the right speed but have stuttering in the sound at points. For reliability a software renderer for graphics is the best choice (although you'll sacrifice such things as texture filtering) and the Eternal SPU sound plugin is a good choice either (using SPUasync mode). Another notable problem is that often you'll find the music running just a tad too slow. Hard to notice when you only use this emulator, but compare it to play on the original hardware or another emulator and you'll find out.

PCSX and PSXeven are two other emulators using plugins (and use the same ones as ePSXe). Of these, I'd say PCSX is slightly superior. With my favourite plugin combos it avoids some issues of ePSXe, playing music at the right speed and not making a mess of smoothing out SPUasync in sound. Unfortunately, it's a discontinued project. While very complete, the only way some issue will be resolved is if you or someone else does it (it is open-source, after all). The development went over to PCSX2, a PS2 emulator. Unfortunately this is the way some PSone emulators go, which is a shame since I value correct PSone emulation much higher than that of the PS2, and the latter will be harder to attain for the moment. Even though current hardware should be able to handle it, waiting an extra generation couldn't hurt. PSXeven is pretty much on the same level as PCSX. Development is inactive at the moment, though. It's another sturdy emulator.

Finally there's PSX, a one-man project and quite a feat. The author strives to emulate the original PSone hardware as accurately as possible. This means a complete lack of plugin system and no graphical superiority, but also a high compatibility rate and overall accuracy in emulation. The downside is that when something's not running quite well there's nothing you can do about it. It's a good choice if you're not uppity about making everything look better, though, and the emulator I'm keeping the closest eye on. Right now some work on PS2 emulation is being done for it. I hope this won't mean like in other cases that the further refinement of PSone emulation will be overlooked. It's indeed a bore working on a single project for years, but having a completely finished and tuned emulator would be wonderful.

So, that's my overview of what I use for PSone emulation. Do you use any other emulators? What is your experience in this field? Are you annoyed by small glitches or do you take them for what they are?

SegaMark
30-05-2008, 01:57
I've only ever messed with ePSXe which I found to be pretty reliable the few times I've dicked about with Crash Bandicoot and Ridge Racer Type 4 on it. I've also had a go with the XBOX version of ePSXe when I had a modded XBOX - wasn't too bad, just ran a bit slow, but that's understandable really as the XBOX isn't exactly a powerhouse.

Reknoc
30-05-2008, 02:08
I use both epsxe and PSXeven, one has a plugin set up which more or less runs nearly all games I've tried it on smoothly and the other set up perfectly for playing Tales of Phantasia, since it has some stupid heat effect that requires an annoying amount of tweaking to show.

ResidentSD
30-05-2008, 02:09
I've only ever messed with ePSXe which I found to be pretty reliable the few times I've dicked about with Crash Bandicoot and Ridge Racer Type 4 on it. I've also had a go with the XBOX version of ePSXe when I had a modded XBOX - wasn't too bad, just ran a bit slow, but that's understandable really as the XBOX isn't exactly a powerhouse.

Wow - I never realised there was a PSone emulator for the original Xbox! I'll have to check it out. In fact, my experience of PSone emulation is a little limited full stop. The only real emulation of the PSone I used was the Gran Turismo 2 version of Bleemcast! for the good old Dreamcast. That was pretty ace though. The Dreamcast upscaled a PSone game better than the PS2 could!

Nekotaku
30-05-2008, 05:49
What plugins do you use, Reknoc? Not asking for settings (yet), that would be a bit much work. I'm always paranoid that it's just my comp giving me annoying sounds buffer issues.

KWthewanderer
30-05-2008, 07:05
Question:
If I want to play Tomb Raider 3 (psx) on my PC,
which emulator should I download and install?

Nekotaku
30-05-2008, 07:11
Any of the above mentioned emulators would be a good choice. Check the first post for an overview of what each one offers. Also check this forum (http://forums.ngemu.com/index.php), in the PS1 section, for compatibility threads regarding specific emulators. pSX would be the best start for simplicity, after that you may want to look to one of the plugin emulators.

Reknoc
30-05-2008, 13:06
What plugins do you use, Reknoc? Not asking for settings (yet), that would be a bit much work. I'm always paranoid that it's just my comp giving me annoying sounds buffer issues.

For which one my Universal or my Tales of Phantasia one?

Well my universal one uses:

Video: Pete's D3D Driver 1.76
Audio: ePSXe SPU core 1.5.2

sonicfanRICH
30-05-2008, 23:37
ePSXe is the best emulator I use. I've tried several games, both real and burnt and they all work okay. I also enjoy using rumble if you connect a PS controller to the computer and using cheat codes easily.

Nekotaku
04-06-2008, 14:11
Doesn't the core SPU mess up all the time? Weird... I'm gonna have to give it another try some time.

Reknoc
04-06-2008, 14:29
Doesn't the core SPU mess up all the time? Weird... I'm gonna have to give it another try some time.

I've had no troubles with it and most stuff I've read online recommend using it.

Nekotaku
06-06-2008, 03:31
Due to being so busy the past months the new release of ePSXe has sort of slipped my by. Unbelievable... 4+ years of inactivity and now there's really a new version. I've been testing it for the past few hours and really like what I see. Especially since this new release has prompted Pete to make updates for his plugins, and I've heard there'll be a new Eternal SPU plugin as well. That said, the ePSXe core SPU plugin has become friggin' good. I won't use it for every game, but it's handling Vagrant Story amazingly well... much better than any other setup I've tried. Words cannot describe just how awesome this feels... I've spent more hours configuring emulators attempting to make them run Vagrant Story without really annoying glitches than playing the game, so seeing it really come together is fantastic. Sure, it's not perfect yet, but it's come to the point where I'll be able to ignore the flaws.
Some problems with the older ePSXe version that drove me to use pcsx or PSXeven seem to have been solved. I'll have to test some more, but it looks like ePSXe will once again become my default emulator. I could kiss the folks who developped this.