where should I start writing a PS2 emu?

psycho_cyclone · November 13th, 2003

Hi, I'm a visual C++ programmer, and I'm pretty good at DirectX and OpenGL programming, I really love to write a tiny PS2 emulator myself to run some demos, could you tell me where and how I should start? thanx.

**_E_** · November 13th, 2003

Try getting some PS2 technical documentation from the net. Here is a site for homebrew PS2 demos
http://ps2dev.org/

Taking a look on PCSX2 source might also help
http://www.pcsx2.net

BTW: moving to misc PS2 discussion forum

Yours
-Elly

**CpU MasteR** · November 14th, 2003

If you are really good at OpenGL or DirectX, I would recommend you start a GSplugin (Which is a graphics plugin) if you are that interested...

psycho_cyclone · November 14th, 2003

But what good is a new GPU plugin when the emulator has problems? I've bought the FF-X game and I wanna work on it.
would you answer my question please, will i have the chance of getting something from FF-X by writing a great GPU plugin, althought the emulator can't make it work???

scottlc · November 14th, 2003

No. But coding your own would take a long time just like PCSX2 is.

bcrew1375 · November 15th, 2003

Not to mention that the PCSX2 project has many team members working on it. Writing an emulator for a system like the PS2, even just to play demos, would be an incredibly big task for just one person.

Edit: Heh, just to stress my point a little, it's ALREADY an incredibly big task even for the PCSX2 team.

**zenogais** · November 15th, 2003

PS2 is not a good place to start man. Start simple like Nintendo or Super Nintendo. It will make things much easier if you really wanna code an emulator, trust me.

RF · November 15th, 2003

I say best of luck to you

I would have to agree with zenogais though, start with something a bit easier, or do some volunteer work for pcsx2 team and help them along. After if you decide its not for you, by all means go for your own emulator.

psycho_cyclone · November 16th, 2003

thanx Reichfuher, thanx everyone,
if i start manage to write a, say, Nintendo emulator, will it help me in understanding and writing a PS2 one? coz i think i'm not really familiar with emulation concepts yet,
bytheway, where can find info on Nintendo, SNES, or maybe PSX systems? which one gives better information for me to start?
Thanxxx.

Clements · November 16th, 2003

Quote:

Originally Posted by psycho_cyclone

thanx Reichfuher, thanx everyone,
if i start manage to write a, say, Nintendo emulator, will it help me in understanding and writing a PS2 one? coz i think i'm not really familiar with emulation concepts yet,
bytheway, where can find info on Nintendo, SNES, or maybe PSX systems? which one gives better information for me to start?
Thanxxx.

http://www.zophar.net/tech/tech.phtml

..for tech docs on various systems inc. Snes, NES etc.

Phoenix Flame · November 16th, 2003

Yes, it will help you somewhat. If you've never written an emulator before, then programming a PS2 emualtor is NOT the right place to start. A good analogy would be trying to build a bridge from Australia to New Zealand as the first bridge in your career - total insanity.

psycho_cyclone · November 16th, 2003

Anyway, I'm going to work on PS2 and I've already got somethings out of it... I know it wouldn't be easy for me, but it's not impossible, is it? if you really think it's impossible tell me not to waste my time. I'm very optimistic about this, i believe i can do something.

**zenogais** · November 16th, 2003

Quote:

Originally Posted by psycho_cyclone

Anyway, I'm going to work on PS2 and I've already got somethings out of it... I know it wouldn't be easy for me, but it's not impossible, is it? if you really think it's impossible tell me not to waste my time. I'm very optimistic about this, i believe i can do something.

Well since your not even familiar with the concepts of emulation the learning curve would be steaper than you can imagine. The Playstation2 is an extremely complex machine, especially to just be learning emulation with. While its not impossible, chances are you'll be in WAY over your head. You may have experience with DirectX and OpenGL, but those really have no relevance to emulation programming unless you're planning on doing a GPU plugin or helping on one. I would still recommend NES or SNES.

November 17th, 2003

yea i agree try doing a snes or nes im still trying todo a saturn emulator but im still stuck so i stopped for a while.now im doing a chip-8 emulator and sofar i managed to get somthing out of my programming skillz but i did get some huge help becouse some one helped me

Phoenix Flame · November 17th, 2003

I really think you're trying to take on too much. I don't want to sound like a complete bastard but from your other threads you've posted you can't even config the PCSX2 plugins correctly ...

November 17th, 2003

are u saying this to me or psycho_cyclone.

psycho_cyclone · November 18th, 2003

in reply to what Phoenix Flame said:

i don't think being not aware of compatability stuff of an emulator program has anything to do with my programming abilities.
thanx anyway,
soon i'll do something, maybe by writing a GPU plugin.

November 18th, 2003

well i wish u the best of luck

**Chrono Archangel** · November 18th, 2003

Quote:

Originally Posted by psycho_cyclone

in reply to what Phoenix Flame said:

i don't think being not aware of compatability stuff of an emulator program has anything to do with my programming abilities.
thanx anyway,
soon i'll do something, maybe by writing a GPU plugin.

yeah best of luck. its great to see more people getting involved in the ps2 emulation scene

RF · November 18th, 2003

Yep, good luck

November 13th, 2003	#1 (permalink)
psycho_cyclone Ar-digital Intelligence Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: PC heaven Posts: 53	where should I start writing a PS2 emu? Hi, I'm a visual C++ programmer, and I'm pretty good at DirectX and OpenGL programming, I really love to write a tiny PS2 emulator myself to run some demos, could you tell me where and how I should start? thanx. __________________ My system: [Motherboard:] Gigabyte 8IPE1000Pro-G (Intel 865PE chipset) [Processor:] Intel Pentium 4 2.80E (FSB800, 1MB cache, HyperThreading support) [RAM:] 512MB DDR400 [Video card:] nVidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB DDR (ASUS V9950 Ultra) [Hard drive:] 80GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7

November 13th, 2003	#2 (permalink)
_E_ Administrator Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: somewhere Posts: 8,571	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? Try getting some PS2 technical documentation from the net. Here is a site for homebrew PS2 demos http://ps2dev.org/ Taking a look on PCSX2 source might also help http://www.pcsx2.net BTW: moving to misc PS2 discussion forum Yours -Elly __________________ -= Now watching=-

November 14th, 2003	#3 (permalink)
CpU MasteR omfg h4x0r Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Yuma Arizona, USA Posts: 533	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? If you are really good at OpenGL or DirectX, I would recommend you start a GSplugin (Which is a graphics plugin) if you are that interested...

November 14th, 2003	#4 (permalink)
psycho_cyclone Ar-digital Intelligence Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: PC heaven Posts: 53	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? But what good is a new GPU plugin when the emulator has problems? I've bought the FF-X game and I wanna work on it. would you answer my question please, will i have the chance of getting something from FF-X by writing a great GPU plugin, althought the emulator can't make it work??? __________________ My system: [Motherboard:] Gigabyte 8IPE1000Pro-G (Intel 865PE chipset) [Processor:] Intel Pentium 4 2.80E (FSB800, 1MB cache, HyperThreading support) [RAM:] 512MB DDR400 [Video card:] nVidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB DDR (ASUS V9950 Ultra) [Hard drive:] 80GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7

November 14th, 2003	#5 (permalink)
scottlc Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: St Andrews, Scotland Posts: 1,575	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? No. But coding your own would take a long time just like PCSX2 is. __________________ OS: Arch Linux w/ Kernel 2.6.23.8 + GNOME 2.20.1 - CPU: Intel Pentium M 1.5GHz - Memory: 1280MB DDR PC2700 - Browser: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.10

November 15th, 2003	#6 (permalink)
bcrew1375 "Insert witty title here" Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: In a house Posts: 1,046	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? Not to mention that the PCSX2 project has many team members working on it. Writing an emulator for a system like the PS2, even just to play demos, would be an incredibly big task for just one person. Edit: Heh, just to stress my point a little, it's ALREADY an incredibly big task even for the PCSX2 team.

November 15th, 2003	#7 (permalink)
zenogais Emu author Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Victorville(Near Los Angeles or LA for those who are on the DL) Posts: 839	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? PS2 is not a good place to start man. Start simple like Nintendo or Super Nintendo. It will make things much easier if you really wanna code an emulator, trust me. __________________ ----------------- Emu Tinkerer and C++ Programmer

November 15th, 2003	#8 (permalink)
RF Canadian Spaceman Join Date: May 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 8,560	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? I say best of luck to you I would have to agree with zenogais though, start with something a bit easier, or do some volunteer work for pcsx2 team and help them along. After if you decide its not for you, by all means go for your own emulator. __________________

November 16th, 2003	#9 (permalink)
psycho_cyclone Ar-digital Intelligence Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: PC heaven Posts: 53	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? thanx Reichfuher, thanx everyone, if i start manage to write a, say, Nintendo emulator, will it help me in understanding and writing a PS2 one? coz i think i'm not really familiar with emulation concepts yet, bytheway, where can find info on Nintendo, SNES, or maybe PSX systems? which one gives better information for me to start? Thanxxx. __________________ My system: [Motherboard:] Gigabyte 8IPE1000Pro-G (Intel 865PE chipset) [Processor:] Intel Pentium 4 2.80E (FSB800, 1MB cache, HyperThreading support) [RAM:] 512MB DDR400 [Video card:] nVidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB DDR (ASUS V9950 Ultra) [Hard drive:] 80GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7

November 16th, 2003	#11 (permalink)
Phoenix Flame Flood Yourself Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 1,338	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? Yes, it will help you somewhat. If you've never written an emulator before, then programming a PS2 emualtor is NOT the right place to start. A good analogy would be trying to build a bridge from Australia to New Zealand as the first bridge in your career - total insanity.

November 16th, 2003	#12 (permalink)
psycho_cyclone Ar-digital Intelligence Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: PC heaven Posts: 53	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? Anyway, I'm going to work on PS2 and I've already got somethings out of it... I know it wouldn't be easy for me, but it's not impossible, is it? if you really think it's impossible tell me not to waste my time. I'm very optimistic about this, i believe i can do something. __________________ My system: [Motherboard:] Gigabyte 8IPE1000Pro-G (Intel 865PE chipset) [Processor:] Intel Pentium 4 2.80E (FSB800, 1MB cache, HyperThreading support) [RAM:] 512MB DDR400 [Video card:] nVidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB DDR (ASUS V9950 Ultra) [Hard drive:] 80GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7

November 17th, 2003	#14 (permalink)
RIVAL FORCE Guest Posts: n/a	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? yea i agree try doing a snes or nes im still trying todo a saturn emulator but im still stuck so i stopped for a while.now im doing a chip-8 emulator and sofar i managed to get somthing out of my programming skillz but i did get some huge help becouse some one helped me

November 17th, 2003	#15 (permalink)
Phoenix Flame Flood Yourself Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 1,338	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? I really think you're trying to take on too much. I don't want to sound like a complete bastard but from your other threads you've posted you can't even config the PCSX2 plugins correctly ...

November 17th, 2003	#16 (permalink)
RIVAL FORCE Guest Posts: n/a	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? are u saying this to me or psycho_cyclone.

November 18th, 2003	#17 (permalink)
psycho_cyclone Ar-digital Intelligence Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: PC heaven Posts: 53	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? in reply to what Phoenix Flame said: i don't think being not aware of compatability stuff of an emulator program has anything to do with my programming abilities. thanx anyway, soon i'll do something, maybe by writing a GPU plugin. __________________ My system: [Motherboard:] Gigabyte 8IPE1000Pro-G (Intel 865PE chipset) [Processor:] Intel Pentium 4 2.80E (FSB800, 1MB cache, HyperThreading support) [RAM:] 512MB DDR400 [Video card:] nVidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB DDR (ASUS V9950 Ultra) [Hard drive:] 80GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7

November 18th, 2003	#18 (permalink)
RIVAL FORCE Guest Posts: n/a	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? well i wish u the best of luck

November 18th, 2003	#20 (permalink)
RF Canadian Spaceman Join Date: May 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 8,560	Re: where should I start writing a PS2 emu? Yep, good luck __________________

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