Xebra/Arbex compatibility

[Hard core Rikki]

Report on compatibility with games here.
Differentiate between Xebra and Arbex, and state which released version of either was used.

The general guidelines for reporting compatibility apply. Detail your hardware, settings used, mention if games are fully playable from start to end, only go ingame, hang anywhere or display glitches, and share screenshots.

One separate post for every game (same for every separate region, as compatibility can differ between US/EU/JP releases).

[TBx]

Chrono Cross - US Region

Screen goes blank black and freezes (sound repeats in a loop/stutters) when the game has to load a new screen/section (pass through a door in the map, go to the status menu that shows the 3D models of the characters)

Xebra 1-7-11

Video Output:
Stretch with OpenGL +
Stretch +
Whole Frame Buffer -
Nearest +
Progressive +
Cycle(1) = 0
Cycle(2) = 0
Cycle(3) = 0

Sound Output:
N = 0


CPU: q8200 3.33GHz
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L
RAM: 8GB OCZ DDR2 5-6-6-18 @ 478MHz
GPU: PNY 9800GT 1GB
SC: Built in Realtek HD
HDD: 300GB Seagate + 1TB WD Black
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64

(Sorry, I was too lazy to change the multi-color-ness of the specs from my sig)

[hattori]

Chrono Cross : Menu/Run/Misc/Blank

[Ilya-v]

hattori.

Are you DR. Hell?

[hattori]

No.
This information was reported in Japanese anonymous bulletin board

�Å‹*‚̃Gƒ~ƒ…ƒŒ�[ƒ^�[�iPS•Ò�j�šXEBRAŒÀ’è�š (http://hibari.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/software/1288881339/43)

[drhycodan]

So you must goto Run/Misc/Blank everytime the game has to load a new screen?

[Ilya-v]

Aparently from Hattori's explaination from previous posts
the lower the "I Cache Rate" the faster the emulation recieves
commands from the emulated ps1 CPU, making the emulation more accurate.

You can lower the "I Cache Rate" setting to 8 (click 10 then -1, and -1 again).
wich will make Chrono Cross work without needing to press Blank everytime.

I saved a Simulation by the name of XEBRA.INI with this setting so that
Xebra will load this setting by defaul.
You can also edit the XEBRA.INI file with SIM.EXE and change the I Cache Rate
to "E".

I don't see any slow downs with lower settings, on the contrary it is smoother.

Cheers.

[drhycodan]

Wait, first you said it was 8, then E? So which is it?

[Ilya-v]

Its E in the SIM.exe editor.

10 -1 -1 = 8.

but the editor shows E.

[drhycodan]

But there's also an 8 in the editor.

[Ilya-v]

E in the editor (SIM.EXE)

You don't have E in Xebra, the minimum is 10.
Therefor you have to click -1 (its in the same menu), and once more -1.

but in the editor it shows E NOT 8, wich way lower.


Cheers :D

[TBx]

Thanks guys! Using the Menu/Run/Misc/Blank worked, as well as setting "I Cache Rate" to "E" in SIM.EXE.

[drhycodan]

But E in the editor does not equal 8 in the emulator. If you save the I Cache rate at E in the editor, it is also E in the emulator. You can see so by going to simulation/show values.

[TBx]

I guess what Ilya-v was saying was that if you go down to 8 within Xebra.exe it will fix the Chrono Cross issue. However, in the Sim.exe you can lower the I Cache Rate LOWER to E, which is even faster/"more accurate" than 8? In any case, setting it to E did work for me.

[drhycodan]

But setting it to anything below 18 causes a transition error from town to world map in Xenogears, so lowering the I cache rate doesn't necessarily mean higher accuracy.

[TBx]

So lowering it to 8 fixes Chrono Cross but breaks Xenogears?

[Ilya-v]

forget about 8 its to low.
E is two values below 10.

I'll report to Dr. Hell about the need to change the "I Cache Rate" values.

[drhycodan]

Yes, thank you! If he could make Xebra autodetect the Simulation settings for each game, it would make it so much more easier to use, not to mention a lot more convenient too, and one more step towards perfection.

[Ilya-v]

There also seems to be big problems with cheatings cds (gameshark, pro action, etc..)
these don't even go past the PS logo.

I'll let him know about this too.

[Ilya-v]

Dr. Hell about "I Cache Rate":
The frequency of PlayStation CPU is 33868800Hz.
Therefore many people think PlayStation executes 33868800 instructions per second.
However, there are actually a lot of factors to obstruct the execution, and it stops very often.
Not only CPU but also GPU, SPU and any other peripherals stop each other,
because they compete by the access to main storage.
To emulate these factors is very very heavy.
Probably, future Core-i7 10GHz might be power shortage.
Therefore, almost every game emulators cannot help adopting an approximate method "SIMULATION".
(some emulators have the part where even neither the emulation nor the simulation are done.
It is natural that some games never work on them)

"I Cache Rate" is average time to fetch one instruction from I Cache
(it is expanded to 16 times to deal by integer and written in hexadecimal number)

Haven't you ever heard?......
If Pentium and Celeron have same clock frequency, Pentium will be faster.
Because Pentium has bigger I Cache, so average i-fetch time is shorter.

In the same principle, the fetch time of refined program is shorter than that of non-refined.
Even in one game, refined code and non-refined code exist together.
There is no all mighty setting.

-----------------------

I think we'll have to live with changing this setting by hand.


cheers.

[drhycodan]

Yes, I understand that, but is there a way to create a .ini for xebra to use a certain simulation setting for each game listed in the .ini? We can start testing the games and see what SIM setting is best for each game and add that to the .ini for Xebra to use once it detects a game from the .ini is being loaded. Kinda like how PJ64 allows each game to store its own settings in a config file for use in each game.

[javs]

Testing Final Fantasy Tactics, works perfect and looks really good, just like in the ps1.

Used both Xebra & Arbex (Arbex seems better though, not sure) versions 110108 and 110115.

Video Settings: OGL Stretch and Progressive with the three cycles in 0.
All the other settings in their defaults.

No crashes so far and I've even loaded up without trouble an old memory card image I had from epsxe.

The game runs at full speed except in certain scene animations (like some of the summons), but I can barely notice the fps drop.

My machine: Athlon 64 x2 3800, 3gb ram and a 7300gt.

[drhycodan]

Art thou sure thy athlon 64 is dual core? I think the 3200+ is still single core, the X2 series starts at 3800+ I believe.

[xZabuzax]

Yeah Athlon 64 3200+ is single core, that was my processor till i upgraded my rig in my signature.

[javs]

Sorry, yes, its a dual core 3800.

[VerySneaky77]

Valkyrie Profile [USA] will hang or crash in Run 2 or Run 3 modes when navigating around the Camp menu. I've had this happen every time I select and then exit "Divine Item." In order to avoid this, set the I Cache Size (Run > Simulate > I Cache Size) to 0 or run in "Interprete" mod.

[VerySneaky77]

Because I don't want to bloat the subforum with new threads, I'm posting a .sim file here for Valkyrie Profile [NA]. Save the .sim in the same location as and rename it to same name as your Valkyrie Profile game image file and the .sim will load automatically upon the game's selection. Do the same thing for the second disc image as well.

See if this .sim works for you if you have trouble running the game.

[Genius_GZA]

i can confirm that VP issue, game crashed for me when i was creating divine items, and tried to exit the menu, in 1-pass recompiler run

[Black Zero]

XEBRA 110425

Video Output:
Stretch with OpenGL +
Stretch +
Whole Frame Buffer -
Nearest +
Progressive +
Cycle(1) = 0
Cycle(2) = 0
Cycle(3) = 0

Run Pass 1 (Interpreter)

Castlevania Symphony of the Night - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Castlevania Chronicles - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Mega Man X4 - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Mega Man X5 - PAL

Works great with no major problems

Mega Man X6 - PAL

Works great with no major problems

Mega Man 8 - PAL

Works great with no major problems

Crash Bandicoot Collection - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Lunar Silver Star Story Complete - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Resident Evil 2: Dual Shock Edition - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Doom - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Final Doom - NTSC-U

Works great with no major problems

Oddworld Abe's Oddysee - PAL

Works great with no major problems

Oddworld Abe's Exoddus - PAL

Works great with no major problems


Tested all games 10 minutes each and WOW what an emulator.

[kerframil]

I guess what Ilya-v was saying was that if you go down to 8 within Xebra.exe it will fix the Chrono Cross issue. However, in the Sim.exe you can lower the I Cache Rate LOWER to E, which is even faster/"more accurate" than 8? In any case, setting it to E did work for me.They are hexadecimal values. E is 14 in decimal so, in fact, 8 is considerably lower. Here's how you count to 16 in hexadecimal:-

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F, 10 ...

You can perform conversions in the standard Calculator app by switching it to the Programmer view.

EDIT: Ergo, the default value of 18 is actually 24 in decimal.

[SolisX]

Hello Everyone,

Here is a small Arbex US Compatibilty List.

http://forums.megagames.com/threads/arbex-compatibility-list.51264/

[synce]

Noticed a couple small glitches in Dead or Alive NTSC-J, nothing serious

- In the screenshot below you can see Hayabusa's hair going way off screen
- If you stay in one stage too long the music stops and doesn't loop anymore

In another thread someone mentioned that the snow in MGS is purple... Well there's definitely a purple tint but it's supposed to be that way if you look at some old screens. I'm impressed with how accurate the sound is on that game too. MGS sounds like pure crap, just the way I remember it, and it's amplified tenfold when I play with my studio monitors. They must've recorded all the dialogue on a pineapple

[mistamontiel]

Pardon for offtopic..

synce.. is ye serious ?

To each his own.. their recording tech worked wonders

[Damned536]

Noticed a couple small glitches in Dead or Alive NTSC-J, nothing serious

- In the screenshot below you can see Hayabusa's hair going way off screen
- If you stay in one stage too long the music stops and doesn't loop anymore

In another thread someone mentioned that the snow in MGS is purple... Well there's definitely a purple tint but it's supposed to be that way if you look at some old screens. I'm impressed with how accurate the sound is on that game too. MGS sounds like pure crap, just the way I remember it, and it's amplified tenfold when I play with my studio monitors. They must've recorded all the dialogue on a pineapple

I tried MGS and the sound popps in the Konami logo screen and at various points when there is talking going on. Is that what you are referring to when you say crap? I really do not think that is supposed to happen. It also seems to happen in a few other games such as Brave Fencer Musashi. At certain spots where there is talking going on, the game audio popps.

Really what I would like to know is if Monster Rancher 2 can read and get monsters off of CDs if I just use my ripped game image. I really do not want to have to use the actual disk if I do not have to use it.