Author Topic: Better PSX emulators? (Read 3386 times)

McKnight · « **on:** January 14, 2021, 04:55:34 pm »

Been playing Suikoden on ePSXe recently, and there are points where the screen flickers, such as when you fly with Black or when you're about to start an army battle. Just looked up a YouTube clip, and that does not happen there.

Anyone know of any emulators that do not cause that to happen?

SleepyFist · « **Reply #1 on:** January 14, 2021, 05:40:12 pm »

Maybe try Duckstation? It's relatively new but runs the few games I've thrown at it perfectly, minimal setup required too.

Gemini · « **Reply #2 on:** January 14, 2021, 08:28:47 pm »

ePSXe is obsolete and not even an accurate option. Try with Beetle HW through Retroarch, PCSX-r, or Duckstation.

Chronosplit · « **Reply #3 on:** January 14, 2021, 11:54:46 pm »

I've been suggesting Duckstation as the best emu for ex-ePSXe users to jump on to. New kid on the block but it seriously updates all the time. Easy to get into, both Vulkan and OpenGL renderers, playlist capability for multi-disc games, plenty of that PGXP and upsclaing to use, if you need the shaders you can get them (also comes in RetroArch core form for even more fancy shaders), you will miss next to nothing.

If you weren't using ePSXe for the fancy graphic stuff, then I suggest Mednafen or RetroArch's Beetle PSX depending on which you prefer. It's better than the PS3's software, you can't beat a claim like that. You may still prefer Duckstation for the UI though.

Oh right, quick note: everything but mednafen is mobile ready too. You may ask why you would want to know that, but ePSXe lasted longer as an Android app as at the time it was better than FPSE and actually got more frequent updates than PC for a time (currently there's been no updates for a year, beta included). Nowadays well, Duckstation's a standalone app (or APK from their github) and higher power devices can work the Beetle cores just fine. Heck, my Galaxy Tab S6 can do it in pure interpreter without threaded video.

Rodimus Primal · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2021, 02:06:28 am »

Recently started using Duckstation and its great. I much prefer an out of the box, stand alone emulator (not a fan of Retroarch on PC), that runs games without the old plug-in system. It even runs games converted to CHD, including ones with multiple music tracks.

Isao Kronos · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2021, 11:19:15 am »

duckstation is great!

csanchez · « **Reply #6 on:** January 15, 2021, 11:28:30 pm »

IMO Avocado is probably the best one, or at least my favorite, this has some problems that still need to be fixed, but you have a good way of emulating the games, I like much how we can have a real or an better image quality from games with Hardware / Software video modes, without need to use special filters like xbr.
although as I said he needs to improvise a few things, I think it has a good compatibility with games.
Also have a clean and good interface.
https://github.com/JaCzekanski/Avocado

MysticLord · « **Reply #7 on:** January 15, 2021, 11:33:55 pm »

I also recommend duckstation.

Chicken Knife · « **Reply #8 on:** January 16, 2021, 08:09:52 am »

I've been so frustrated with PSX emulation for years now, and this thread is the first time I've heard about Duckstation. It's amazing! Very grateful for everyone who mentioned it.

namarang · « **Reply #9 on:** January 16, 2021, 12:07:02 pm »

Best All-in-One PlayStation Emulator: RetroArch
Most User-Friendly PlayStation Emulator: PCSX Reloaded
Best PlayStation Emulator for Speed Runners: BizHawk
Most Compatible PlayStation Emulator: XEBRA
Best PlayStation 2 Emulator: PCSX2
Best PlayStation 3 Emulator: RPCS3
Best PlayStation Portable Emulator: PPSSPP
Best PlayStation Vita Emulator: Vita3k

MysticLord · « **Reply #10 on:** January 17, 2021, 05:48:47 am »

Duckstation has a debugger, but I'm not sure if it's out of experimental yet. I know you can view ram, look at a disassembly, and maybe see registers, but I'm not sure if breakpoints work yet.

See for yourself:
https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation

They have a discord too, the author is very active and will chat with you about technical questions. Helps if you first post pics of ducks.
https://discord.gg/Buktv3t

McKnight · « **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2021, 07:49:07 am »

Just downloaded Duckstation, but I'm not seeing the emulator itself, even after checking all the folders. Here's what I am seeing listed:

Folders:

-database
-inputprofiles
-QtPlugins
-shaders
-translations

Other:

-duckstation-qt-x64-ReleaseLTCG
-duckstation-sdl-x64-ReleaseLTCG
-qt.conf
-Qt5core.dll
-Qt5Gui.dll
-Qt5Network.dll
-Qt5Svg.dll
-Qt5Widgets.dll
-SDL2.dll
-updater

Where am I supposed to get the emulator itself? I tried clicking one of the .exe files, and extracting its files didn't make any difference.

thr · « **Reply #12 on:** January 17, 2021, 08:35:08 am »

Quote from: McKnight on January 17, 2021, 07:49:07 am

-duckstation-qt-x64-ReleaseLTCG
-duckstation-sdl-x64-ReleaseLTCG

Where am I supposed to get the emulator itself? I tried clicking one of the .exe files, and extracting its files didn't make any difference.

these are the binaries. you probably got the files for a wrong system. check the downloads again.

McKnight · « **Reply #13 on:** January 17, 2021, 08:37:32 am »

Okay, just figured everything out, and it's all working now.

Thanks, everyone.

Zandig · « **Reply #14 on:** January 17, 2021, 09:11:21 am »

Duckstation is excellent.
Been using it for a while now. On my HP Omen 27i IPS monitor (165hz - 2560x1440) setting the scaler in Duckstation to 6x (1440p) and enabling Geometry Correction it's like playing the games for the first time.

Dellamorte · « **Reply #15 on:** January 17, 2021, 09:38:58 am »

Played and beated FF7 for the first time using Duckstation and it was a great experience.
Really nice interface with lots of options.

GreenTea · « **Reply #16 on:** January 17, 2021, 12:24:03 pm »

Quote from: namarang on January 16, 2021, 12:07:02 pm

Best All-in-One PlayStation Emulator: RetroArch
Most User-Friendly PlayStation Emulator: PCSX Reloaded
Best PlayStation Emulator for Speed Runners: BizHawk
Most Compatible PlayStation Emulator: XEBRA
Best PlayStation 2 Emulator: PCSX2
Best PlayStation 3 Emulator: RPCS3
Best PlayStation Portable Emulator: PPSSPP
Best PlayStation Vita Emulator: Vita3k

For the PS1 part you have them all wrong.

The DuckStation core for RetroArch is quite good, already like it more than Beetle PSX HW because it seems to handle PGXP texture correction better.

Idkbutlike2 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 17, 2021, 01:15:10 pm »

I mostly use Mednafen these days. It runs PS1 games well and emulates a ton of other consoles.

McKnight · « **Reply #18 on:** January 17, 2021, 01:29:08 pm »

Does Duckstation have an option for controller input instead of keyboard input? That's what I was just using with ePSXe, but I can't seem to find "Input" where it would normally be. All I can find is a list for which keys should correspond to each button.

Idkbutlike2 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 17, 2021, 02:07:54 pm »

Quote from: McKnight on January 17, 2021, 01:29:08 pm

Does Duckstation have an option for controller input instead of keyboard input? That's what I was just using with ePSXe, but I can't seem to find "Input" where it would normally be. All I can find is a list for which keys should correspond to each button.

Yeah, there's a whole section of the options dedicated to that. There's even pre-set configs for controllers like the Xbox controller and the DualShock 4.