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PCSX2

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PCSX2
Original author(s)Linuzappz, Shadow
Developer(s)PCSX2 Team
Initial releaseMarch 23, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-03-23)
Stable release
1.4.0 / January 8, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-01-08)
Repositorygithub.com/PCSX2/pcsx2
Written inC++, C
Operating systemWindows, Linux, OS X
PlatformIA-32 (Notably, not AMD64 due to lack of performance-wise benefits[1])
Size
Available in22 languages
List of languages
Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
TypeVideo game console emulator
LicenseGNU General Public License
Websitepcsx2.net

PCSX2 is a free and open-source PlayStation 2 emulator for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.[2]

Background

PCSX2, like its predecessor project PCSX (a PlayStation emulator), is based on a PSEmu Pro spec plug-in architecture, separating several functions from the core emulator. These are the graphics, audio, input controls, CD/DVD drive, and USB and FireWire (i.LINK) ports. Different plug-ins may produce different results in both compatibility and performance. Additionally, PCSX2 requires a copy of the PS2 BIOS, which is not available for download from the developers, due to copyright-related legal issues. At present, PCSX2 is not compatible with PlayStation 1 games. PSX games can be played by using GSdx with a PlayStation emulator such as PCSX or ePSXe.

The main bottleneck in PS2 emulation is emulating the multi-processor PS2 on the PC x86 architecture. Although each processor can be emulated well on its own, accurately synchronizing them is difficult, but not impossible.

Development

Development of PCSX2 was begun in 2001 by programmers who go by the names Linuzappz and Shadow, who were programmers for the PlayStation emulator PCSX-Reloaded. Other programmers later joined the team, and they were eventually able to get some PS2 games to the loading screen. The team then started working on the difficult task of emulating the PlayStation 2's BIOS; they got it to run, although it was slow and graphically distorted. Version 0.9.1 was released in July 2006.

From 2007 to 2011, developers worked on Netplay and speed improvements. PCSX2 0.9.8 was released in May 2011 and featured an overhauled GUI written with wxWidgets that improved compatibility for Linux and newer Windows operating systems, the addition of a new VU recompiler that brought better compatibility, a memory card editor, an overhaul of the SPU2-X audio plug-in, and numerous other improvements.[3]

Compatibility

The current development version is reported to be compatible with 94.9% of 2,590 tested games.[4] Compatibility means only that the game will not crash, lock up, or enter a loop; there can still be bugs, missing post-processing effects,[5] textures, and shadows in many compatible games. This is especially the case in hardware mode; a slower software mode is available for bugs without workarounds.[6][7]

Features

PCSX2 supports save states and dynamic recompilation (JIT).

Graphical improvements (GSdx Plugin)

  • Option to increase internal resolution (only in hardware mode)
  • Antialiasing: FXAA, MSAA (only in the hardware mode and also only with the D3D backend) and Edge-AA (emulated only in software mode)
  • Post-Processing Pixel Shaders
  • Mipmapping (toggle with Insert key, but only in software mode; required for correct functioning of some games, like the Jak series)
  • Bilinear filtering
  • Anisotropic filtering
  • Texture filtering
  • Widescreen hacks

Plug-ins

Several plug-ins are currently being further developed, for performance and compatibility enhancements.

Name Subsystem Notes
GSdx Video The fastest, most accurate graphics plug-in. Requires Direct3D or OpenGL support and optionally uses a GPU. GSdx plugin is compatible with PSX emulators but is limited to software rendering with them. There also exists an unofficial ToCAEDIT[8] version and the GSdx-Cutie version.[9]
GSdx FX Video Post-processing shader pack for GSdx plugin.
ZZogl Video A less optimized graphics plug-in that uses Open GL. Compatible with Linux and Windows. This plugin is fork of ZeroGS KOSMOS plugin.
SPU2-X Audio The most accurate sound plug-in.
SSSPSX Pad Input A simple input plug-in.
LilyPad Input An advanced input plug-in that supports keyboards, mice, and controllers.
Nuvee Input An input plug-in that supports lightguns and USB mice.
TwinPad Input Another keyboard and mouse plug-in.
XPad Input A Xbox 360 controller input plug-in.
CDVD Optical A simple optical media plug-in that runs games from optical discs.
Linuz ISO CDVD Optical A plug-in which has the ability to compress ISO images.
Dev9 Hard drive Handles PS2 hard disk drive and ethernet emulation.
MegaDev9 Hard drive A more advanced version of Dev9. Currently, it only partially emulates the PS2 hard drive.
Netplay Netplay A plug-in which allows certain games to be playable multiplayer over the internet.
System requirements
Minimum Recommended
Microsoft Windows
Operating system Windows XP x86 or higherWindows 8.1 x64
CPU SSE2 support, Pentium 4 and up, Athlon64 and up.Intel i5-2400 or AMD FX-8350 or higher.
Memory 2 GB RAM or more.
Graphics hardware Pixel Shader 3.0DirectX 11 GPU.

Hardware requirements

Hardware requirements are largely game-dependent. The performance bottleneck in most cases is the CPU rather than the GPU. This is especially the case in software mode, in which only the CPU is used for emulation. In hardware mode, the GPU emulates the graphics, but can still be a bottleneck if the internal resolution is set too high. Some games may also run slower due to unoptimized graphics code or weak video cards.

Reception

PCSX2 has been very well received. Matthew Humphries of Geek.com described it as "an impressive piece of work".[10] Alex Garrett of PC World criticized the difficulty of setting up PCSX2 but called it a "masterpiece".[11] Although he also criticized the complexity, David Hayward of Micro Mart called it "technically amazing".[12] Sriram Gurunathan of In.com described PCSX2 as "arguably the most popular emulator around" and named it as one of the site's Top 5 Emulators.[13] Brandon Widder of Digitaltrends.com included PCSX2 in his Best Emulators article.[14] John Corpuz of Tom's Guide mentioned PCSX2 in his Best PlayStation Emulators for PCs article, saying that "when it comes to stable, playable Playstation 2 emulation, PCSX2 is pretty much the best game in town at the moment".[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/wiki/Contributing-(TODO-List)#very-long-term-features
  2. ^ "Getting Started". Pcsx2.net. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  3. ^ Refraction (2010-11-05). "The History of PCSX2". PCSX2. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  4. ^ "PCSX2 compatibility list". Pcsx2.net. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  5. ^ "Post processing Removed When?". Forums.pcsx2.net. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  6. ^ "Mipmapping in GSDx hardware mode". Forums.pcsx2.net. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  7. ^ "GSdx Memory Coherency". Forums.pcsx2.net. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  8. ^ "Custom GSdx Plugin Released". Toca Edit. 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  9. ^ "s90110019/Gsdx-cutie: pcsx2 plugin". GitHub. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  10. ^ Humphries, Matthew (2012-08-06). "PlayStation 2 emulator PCSX2 reaches v1.0, plays games in 1080p". Geek.com. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  11. ^ Garrett, Alex (2011-09-01). "How to Emulate the Sony Playstation 2 (PS2) on Your PC". PC World. IDG. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  12. ^ Hayward, David (2013-07-19). "Retro Console Emulators Group Test: PCSX2 1.0.0 Review". Micro Mart. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  13. ^ Gurunathan, Sriram (2011-02-04). "Top Five Emulators". In.com. Network 18. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  14. ^ Widder, Brandon (2013-04-20). "Best Emulators (NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, and more)". Digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  15. ^ Corpuz, John (2013-01-30). "Best Playstation Emulators for PCs". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
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