The Return Of The PS1P? A.C.'s homebrew PS1 emulation lives!

[zodttd]

We want you!
That's what the psx4all team says when it comes to their PS1P port. PS1P's roots within the psx4all codebase was known by few.

But Anonymous Coder is back onboard, and we're testing the waters to see if there's demand for such a large scale homebrew project on the PSP!

For those unaware, psx4all is a lightweight handheld PS1 emulator targetting ARM CPU based handhelds such as the GP2X. With a focus on performance and a wide host of talent onboard from many different scenes, it's the one to get the job done.

Normally there would be no issue just going ahead with this project. We have been toying with the idea of a redesigned psx4all specifically for MIPS based handhelds, as opposed to current our current ARM Dynarec based emulator. But with Popstation out, will a commercial emulator prevail over homebrew?

The psx4all team member ZodTTD wants readers to give feedback on what truly matters to PSP users. Based on feedback at www.zodttd.com (http://zodttd.com) you can determine whether this project sees the light of day!

Direct Link To Article Here (http://zodttd.com/index.php?/archives/10-PROJECT-PSX4ALL-The-Return-Of-PS1P.html)

Direct Link To Homepage Here (http://zodttd.com)

[Sonicboy 101]

Ah, this is excellent. Finally a homebrew PS1 emulator is back in the scene...
Best of luck with this one! :)

[zodttd]

Thank you. All feedback is welcome. :)

[hack.fool]

Yes that's great!
let's show to sony how homebrew developers rule the scene!

[wraggster]

to be honest popstation is very decent but at the end of the day its not homebrew, when u look at it its basically a naughty way to run sonys full speed psx emu but its more rewarding to have a homebrew coded emulator.

Plus you can have in time more features than sonys

[Cloudhunter]

Well, I don't think you'll get near the performance level of pops, but I wish you luck - will be good to have a legal PS1 emulator.

Cloudy

[DarthPaul]

This is great news. We know that POPStation is nearly perfect at the moment, but some competition or other choice is not bad at all. I know this can be good now, way batter than before, maybe using some of the ideas of the Sony's emulator can help? But at least we know that full speed PSX emulation on PSP is possible, so hope is all we need.

Besides, there is something that I like more from PS1P than POPSLoader, and it is that we don't have to convert the isos/roms to Eboots to play them, so this could be very convenient and cool. Good luck!

[zodttd]

Hi Wraggster.

Agreed. It will be nice to see PSP user's support a legal homebrew project over a patched up commercial emulator from Sony. Whether they will, is to be seen.

There's some ideas in mind to get much better performance out of a homebrew PS1 emulator. Previous attempts were just ports. Hlide and I have been discussing build another ground-up emulator for both ARM and MIPS, specifically for handhelds. With a dynarec, GU support, and VFPU support, we might be able to bring some more true quality. We have the talent to pull this off. Hlide is a master of the VFPU, and has begun writing a PS1 emulator with the PSP in mind from the ground up, including a dynarec. With Anonymous Coder and I we can give this a good go. Unai may be busy but if he's interested, his work is always appreciated. His software rasterizer won't be used in this case, but he may want to contribute elsewhere. He's extremely talented as proven with Chankast.

[zodttd]

Yes, true DarthPaul. No conversion would be required. No strange workarounds of legality either.

[CaptainMorgan4]

I'm happy to hear this, if they can get up to Sony's performance in PSX emulator I'll definatly make the switch. They will of course will have to implement some great features to appeal to me though. I was very excited for this emulator when it was first released, and then Sony released they're emulator and just knocked the legs from under this project. Glad to see it's picked itself backup and plans to stand high once again.


edit: Damn it's been so long since I did the PSX emulation thing, but memory conservation wise is it better to have the eboots or the ISO's, which one could we compress more?

[zodttd]

We use PocketISO's .Z and .ZNX compression. Should be about the same or better from what I've seen. BZ compression support is ready to go if the demand is there.

[wraggster]

buy a bigger memory card, then compression isnt a factor

If possible some type of Wifi network play on a PSX Emulator would be awesome

[zodttd]

It is possible actually. ;)
Wraggster for the win.

[Sonicboy 101]

Can there be an option to change disks on the xmb? Like when Metal Gear Solid asks for disk 2, you can activate a function so you can go to the XMB, load up disk 2 and play on? That would be sweet.

[zodttd]

There's one game that requires that, as you mentioned MGS. Usually you can save beforehand, swap discs, and continue. I'll look into the MGS issue.
When it comes to psx4all, there's an ingame menu for switching to other psx games. :)

[DarthPaul]

Wow, so now this is not a one-man project? Now there is you[zodttd] and Anonymous Coder. Greater!
I guess Anonymous is not anonymous anymore. :p

And Sonicboy that's a good idea, but it would be better if we could change the Disk inside the application itself, not going back to XMB, we already can do that on POPS, right?

Well I don't know, I think we're expecting too much for something like this. I think we should better wait for full speed and then we ask for cool features. :p

[CaptainMorgan4]

My memory stick isn't an issue (check sig), but I'm just sorta anal when it comes to memory, but what is better though? I have my eboots compressed but my question is what can be compressed more ISO's or eboots?

[drock82]

not to be a flamethrower but why code for a emulator when we have almost a 100% ps1 emulator already running on the psp:rolleyes: -why not tackle other emulators that needs improvement such as nes,snes,genesis-but good luck anyway:thumbup:

[Airdevil]

My memory stick isn't an issue (check sig), but I'm just sorta anal when it comes to memory, but what is better though? I have my eboots compressed but my question is what can be compressed more ISO's or eboots?

I imagine the ISO would compress a few KB less than the eboot due to the fact the eboot has images and the like too for the XMB.

Thats the most logical solution as the the iso is practically exactly the same otherwise.

EDIT:
not to be a flamethrower but why code for a emulator when we have almost a 100% ps1 emulator already running on the psp:rolleyes: -why not tackle other emulators that needs improvement such as nes,snes,genesis-but good luck anyway:thumbup:

The reason why there should be a homebrew version is because it actually makes the use of PSX emulation legal on a psp, it also allows more flexibility with options and extras and stuff which is always nice.

[zodttd]

drock82: Well thats what I'd like to know as well. Do people want homebrew or just care about the end result? ;)

[wraggster]

homebrew every time, custom firmwares are ok but will never compare with the enjoyment of real homebrew

[hack.fool]

I want homebrew!!
I remember first time Popstation come out...
I remember why I left my 1.5 back...
303 OE ( or more ) is amazing all the way but a psx emulator on my full 1.5 kernel would be better

[zodttd]

That's what I like to hear! :)

[pibs]

There is some games that aren't compatible with pops i hear so this would be a great alternative. I love the idea of homebrew psx. If all region games could be played without all those conversion that'd be number one in my list oh and wifi too that'd kick ass i would trade in a library for isos over eboots any day.

[Broadus]

Wait, so it's for the PSP? That seems kind of pointless, since Popstation already runs everything full-speed, even when compressed.
I mean, being able to customize my controls would be cool. Multiplayer support would be especially good. Even moreso if the screen could be resized so that a person can't see the other player's screen. Y'know, in a two-player game with a horizontal split, resize the screen so the bottom disappears (or the top for player 2) and the top takes up the entire screen.

[Accordion]

I would like a new emulator very much, POPs is good, but not having to deal with extra conversions, and the limitations of the sony emulator would be very beneficial to a lot of users.

[V3N0M]

Well I fully support this project! Hope to see some new updates soon!

[Shadow_Mourner]

This seems like a bit of a waste of time really.

Pops is great, so it has slight legality issues, what doesn't.

Why can't you guys help strmnrmn or something, full speed n64 emulation is needed a lot more than a ps1 emulator when we already have one that surpassed everyones wildest dreams.

I'm sorry wraggster but i disagree with your homebrew emulator is best theory. These people are making this in there own free time and it will take a lot of effort and indeed time. They should spent it on making something that isnt already there, rather than wasting it trying to match something that is pretty damn perfect (bar a few games) anyway.

[one winged angel]

i waited for this moment finally a homebrew psx emu not that sony bullcrap which doesnt run a lot of games (final fantasy 8, star wars the phantom menace, residetn evil etc) im with you

[Shadow_Mourner]

i waited for this moment finally a homebrew psx emu not that sony bullcrap which doesnt run a lot of games (final fantasy 8, star wars the phantom menace, residetn evil etc) im with you

Final Fantasy 8 and Resident Evil work on Sony's emu.

You just have to change the game ids.

The Star Wars game you mentioned might work with the game id fix too (I haven't personally tried it though so I can't say either way.)

[JKKDARK]

This seems like a bit of a waste of time really.

Pops is great, so it has slight legality issues, what doesn't.

Why can't you guys help strmnrmn or something, full speed n64 emulation is needed a lot more than a ps1 emulator when we already have one that surpassed everyones wildest dreams.

I'm sorry wraggster but i disagree with your homebrew emulator is best theory. These people are making this in there own free time and it will take a lot of effort and indeed time. They should spent it on making something that isnt already there, rather than wasting it trying to match something that is pretty damn perfect (bar a few games) anyway.


Wait, so it's for the PSP? That seems kind of pointless, since Popstation already runs everything full-speed, even when compressed.
I mean, being able to customize my controls would be cool. Multiplayer support would be especially good. Even moreso if the screen could be resized so that a person can't see the other player's screen. Y'know, in a two-player game with a horizontal split, resize the screen so the bottom disappears (or the top for player 2) and the top takes up the entire screen.

Popstation is a program made by Sony, it's not homebrew. DCEmu is a homebrew site, a homebrew emulator will be always great to see.

[Shadow_Mourner]

Popstation is a program made by Sony, it's not homebrew. DCEmu is a homebrew site, a homebrew emulator will be always great to see.

I am aware of that. I didn't say it was a homebrew emulator. (please read my posts more carefully in future to avoid making comments that have no foundation)

Also I have nothing against a homebrew emulator coming out, its just a fruitless waste of time considering we already have a nigh on perfect emulator. Sure its not a "Homebrew" made emulator but does it play PS1 games? Yes.

So you would rather these guys made a PS1 emulator over say N64 (which is a lot more needed than PS1), waste a good year or more on it (thats not insulting them, emulators take time to make), just so you can play a handfull of games that don't work on Pops? (thats if it gets that far that fast)

[JKKDARK]

I am aware of that. I didn't say it was a homebrew emulator. (please read my posts more carefully in future to avoid making comments that have no foundation)

Also I have nothing against a homebrew emulator coming out, its just a fruitless waste of time considering we already have a nigh on perfect emulator. Sure its not a "Homebrew" made emulator but does it play PS1 games? Yes.

So you would rather these guys made a PS1 emulator over say N64 (which is a lot more needed than PS1), waste a good year or more on it (thats not insulting them, emulators take time to make), just so you can play a handfull of games that don't work on Pops? (thats if it gets that far that fast)

Can you tell me perfectly why a Nintendo 64 emulator is more needed?

It's not a waste of time because emulation is a hobby. You don't know if "these guys" know about the Nintendo 64 hardware, or if they have the console, or if they have cartridges and stuff to dump them.
You also don't know if they are PlayStation fans. Maybe they know a lot about the system, and they bought a lot of games.

[zodttd]

StrmnNrmn seems to have things handled pretty well with his work. It's also a fairly private thing he has going. I know little of the N64 hardware. Near nothing.

I know what I'm able to produce, and that's a quality homebrew PS1 emulator for handhelds. It's my goal and I am getting nearer and nearer.

[Shadow_Mourner]

Can you tell me perfectly why a Nintendo 64 emulator is more needed?
It's not a waste of time because emulation is a hobby. You don't know if "these guys" know about about the Nintendo 64 hardware, or if they have the console, or if they have cartridges and stuff to dump them.

Yes i certainly can.

Now I know Strmnrmn is making a N64 emulator but it takes time of course and being a one man team makes the process take longer still.

While with each release it is nearing closer to full speed, there is still the compatibility, further speed increases and sound amongst other things that need to be worked on.

We can already play around 90% (maybe more or less) of PS1 games on our psp's with little to no issues, whilst with N64 we cannot.

N64 emulation is something that many users still crave (myself included) and having these talented devs put there time into that will see a greater reward than making something that is good enough as it is.

+ Sony update popstation usually with each firmware update, so eventually those games that do not currently play in it, will in time.

Don't get me wrong, i love PS1 emulation but we have that already and its pretty damn good. Ok some homebrew coders didn't make it but does that really matter? Even if they did the goal would be the same, to emulate PS1 games at full speed on the PSP. Which Popstation already does.

So really this is a plea to the devs rather than just to give my reasoning to jkkdark.

I am sure Strmnmrnm wouldn't say no to a little help.

[zodttd]

I am sure Strmnmrnm wouldn't say no to a little help.

I don't think he would be accepting of more developers right now. Especially since I never spoken with him before.

There's a bit of a debate here.
Is this a PSP homebrew scene? Do you want homebrew or is supporting a commercial emulator that isn't supposed to be used as it is being now, fine to settle with?

If you want to take what Sony gives you, you get what they deal you with.

I hope more homebrew developers within the PSP scene are finding the support they need.

[Shadow_Mourner]

I don't think he would be accepting of more developers right now. Especially since I never spoken with him before.

There's a bit of a debate here.
Is this a PSP homebrew scene? Do you want homebrew or is supporting a commercial emulator that isn't supposed to be used as it is being now, fine to settle with?

If you want to take what Sony gives you, you get what they deal you with.

I hope more homebrew developers within the PSP scene are finding the support they need.

I hope you didn't take offense to my comment.

I am merely speaking from a end-user perspective.

I won't be complaining if you make a PS1 emu for the PSP, I just am becoming increasingly concerned that the N64 will never be full speed on the PSP. Strmnrmn has been noted for his "disappearing" and you cant blame him really, its a huge project for one man.

But lets say that happened, strmnmrmn left. The possibility of ever seeing full speed N64 on the PSP would practically vanish. No other devs seem interested.

Your a great coder Zottd and i wish you the best of luck with whatever you choose, I just wish more devs would see an interest in N64 emulation on the PSP :(

PS1 fans got there dreams of full speed emulation on the PSP, is it too much to ask that us N64 fans do too?

[zodttd]

No offense taken.

[Tinnus]

I just hope these guys make the graphics more customizable... :rolleyes:

I kinda liked A.C. 's GPU more than Sony's.

*ahem*

[zodttd]

These guys eh! :)

Funny how the PS1P GPU is better than the offiicial emulator. It's also strange how Popstation runs into the same bugs that Pete's GPU plugin had. ;)

[paintball1119]

This is awesome, Sony's doesn't have savestates

[zodttd]

Also true! Good point.

[Napalm-Death]

You've got my support 110%. I just hope you'll think about the Slim owners and make a version for us too (if possible). :D

[SpacemanSpiff]

I've been secretly hoping for a homebrew PSX emulator to come out for a long time now, you could add useful features such as save states that we'll never see with Sony's emu, plus you can focus on getting games to work that don't work well with POPS. Plus, we won't have to convert our games to eboots to play them.

[darkweb]

I too would look forward to new releases of a PSP emulator. Regardless of what others have said, I believe that the homebrew community could produce better software than what sony can do. I wouldn't expect sony to invest too much time and energy into the emulator since they don't seem to bring out any new PS1 games. So, I'm for a homebrew emulator.

[zodttd]

Thanks! If possible, be sure to also post comments at:
http://zodttd.com/index.php?/archives/10-PROJECT-PSX4ALL-The-Return-Of-PS1P.html
That way team members can see the feedback easier.

So far support has been more positive than I expected. Glad to see that!

Thanks again! :)

[aminkr]

best of luck!! yes it is really great to have a ps1 emulator

unlike the POPS, which can only use the sony features n need to convert the game that we already own...

i am really lookin forward for this~

[EvilDooinz]

PSX4ALL would be a welcome addition to my homebrew collection. I like the idea of save states, better GPU and a GUI that loads iso's insted of conversions. The ability to play cso would be needed or else might have to save space with sony's emu.

[b8a]

I'll see Napalm-Death's 110% support and raise him another 110%!

YES! Please do tackle this project. I've got a few PS1 games that I would love to play on the PSP, and it's just not worth the bother of flashing a custom firmware, and that's the only real temptation to use custom firmware. Having a PS1 emulator on my virgin 1.50 would be great. Sure, you guys may not be able to achieve the quality of Popstation, but few emulators for the PSP are perfect and that rarely distracts from their enjoyment factor.

Plus, the idea of having developers who are actually excited by the project and responsive to end-users would be excellent. Besides, since you're approaching this from a low-level, multi-platform standpoint, the idea of (possibly) being able to go head-to-head with a GP2X user on the same game is completely entertaining! (One thing I'd love to see more from homebrew is developers linking up projects on different platforms to achieve something that the original companies will never give us -- one less reason for platform-biased fanboy bickering)

[unstoppable_96]

A Built in Cheat device would be great, something all emulators shud have :)

[b_simpson1999]

i think it good then dark_alex or some1 will make a programme so if you want you can delete pops from the flash so to put other things in maybe

[DarthPaul]

Another great idea!

I guess the POPs consume too much flash space, and with the PSP's limit space it's always adorable to have some space free for something else.

[geise69]

Zodttd! It would be great to see you working on a homebrew psx emu. I love your work with what you and crew have been doing with the GP2X emu port. With you guys working with mips now you can really put out a great psx emu on the psp. It will be nice to have a homebrew version since I play obscure games that don't run well in pops, like Adventures of Lomax (very awesome game). It stutters really bad and what can I do? Wait for Sony to fix a bug that causes it? Homebrew coders usually listen to what people are saying about their projects when things aren't working or need some improvement. Usually it gets fixed. It's like when Notaz is working on his Picodrive port and a game has some glitch or something that's mentioned. He will go in and fix it. It's just so much better having a homebrew psx emu. Also I know it can be so much better than sony's "original" psx emu. Plus it will be ready when the Craiginator somes out.;)

[PSmonkey]

Nothing personal but I think it would be more awsome if you looked into emulating the ps1 based arcade games like the capcom ZN-1/2 boards as well as the namco system 11/12 boards.

It would be awsome to have a portable Soul Calibur.

[Zaitmi]

PS1P brought me hopes from its first release. Now POPs is great and all, but an emulated PSX would be WAY better. Frameskip, savestates, the ability to utilize saves from other computer based PSX emulators, cheats, easier disc swaps, customizable controls(like to play Ape Escape), and of course more compatibility. You have my support, and best of luck to your team.

[mavsman4457]

Plus you can have in time more features than sonys

Yes sir you said it. Ideally, I would like to be able to sort each individual game that I have in the XMB and launch them straight from their, PS1, SNES, and NES, but since I can't sort my games in the XMB launching them from there is pointless. When it's all said and done I just want features for this thing. Multiplayer through wifi and remotejoy would be nice although I know it is already possible through IRShell that seems to complicated to me sometimes.

Edit: Oh yah and just make sure that there is an emulator that works full speed for the cousin of the GP2x, the "Craiginator" since that thing is going to rule the world and be the new homebrew king in a couple of months.

[Apoklepz]

Wow...May the force be with them on this!!!

I can only think of a few things they could upgrade over Pops...but I guess the possibilities are endless!!!

- Multidisk load support feature for games that really need it (Metal Gear, Parasite Eve, Resident Evil 2, Etc...)

- Configure file for PS1 pad to PSP pad remapping (OMG PLEASE!!!!!! Why does SONY limit us to only 4 crummy settings...and NOT a SINGLE Custom Setting)

- Screen stretching ( to forever get rid of those widescreen top and bottom bars in fullscreenmode)

- Better compatibility ( of course, this one will take much more time to acheive seeing as they're not SONY and it's 1,000+ developer employees...lol)

- RemoteJoy Compatibility (this would be SOOOO sweet)

and so many more I can only dream of.

Again, good luck guys!!!

P.S. Open a donation site!

[sgamemu22]

I was thinking about this 2 days ago. The compatibility in pops is ridicules in some cases. We had to have version pops to get some games working, 3.03, 3.10 etc. And I updated custom firmware about 3 or 4 times to see if JC Stuntmaster would work and it never did. Im for this project all the way.

[andwhyisit]

We use PocketISO's .Z and .ZNX compression. Should be about the same or better from what I've seen. BZ compression support is ready to go if the demand is there.
I gotta see the amount of compression for these file formats, I would love to be able to fit everything on my 4gb memory stick, PSX games take up waaaay too much space.

[kharaboudjan]

Why do you want frameskip when POPS runs at full speed?

[b_simpson1999]

Why do you want frameskip when POPS runs at full speed?

well this isn't POPS, and maybe it not full speed yet. even if it was frameskip is just cool for into skipping or just cos it great lol

[acn010]

Nothing personal but I think it would be more awsome if you looked into emulating the ps1 based arcade games like the capcom ZN-1/2 boards as well as the namco system 11/12 boards.

It would be awsome to have a portable Soul Calibur.

hmmm..... now you made me think.... lol:rofl:

[Shadow_Mourner]

hmmm..... now you made me think.... lol:rofl:

what was that supposed to mean :confused: :confused: