PCSX2 Game Troubleshooting Guide

[GeominorAI]

PCSX2 Game Troubleshooting Guide

This is an experimental forum community-involvement project to assist with and track PCSX2 game-related problems.
This is complementary to Running PCSX2 Guide for Noobs and PCSX2 Game Statistics Index.

The theory behind this thread is to create a unified troubleshooting procedure in which members will be able to view and submit (if credible) reports similar to the KB articles Microsoft have. The point in this is to have an organized, and thus easy, way for new members to quickly find the information they require without having to resort to posting repeated questions or searching through a 50-page thread page-per-page (like GSdx) in order to find a solution.

The setup and layout are as follows: the first post (this post) will act as the primary indexing page whereas all future KB posts will be linked to in an organized manner. That is, by means of categorizing each game in alphabetical order. If the same title exhibits problems despite the region, then a single KB article will be linked for all. If there is more than one problem per game, a sub-index will be made for that game. This sub-index may also contain a benchmark with specifications and settings to assist with performance expectations.

Due to the indexing, any posts in-between are welcomed as they will be disregarded when browsing through the actual index.

The format is below the index. A sample report is shown below this post.

To avoid double-post auto-merge, attach a file to the consecutive post, then remove it afterwards. Thanks for the hint, rainbow.

Contribution will be much appreciated by anyone who has or will have game-related problems.

Do not ask game questions or report bugs here. This thread is for the access and creation of troubleshooting KB articles. Use the appropriate forums instead.
(Though suggestions for improvement would be appreciated.)

Use the browser search feature (Ctrl+F) to find partial game names.

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INDEX

General

KB Articles

1. Emulator Crash
2. Unable to Load Graphics Plugin
3. Graphics Plugin System Requirements
4. Freezing, Corrupted, or No Video Playback
5. Extensive Graphical Flicker
6. Patch Application Failure
7. Patches No Longer Work
8. Characters going up
9. Texts are smudged
10. Graphical Black Bars
11. Memory Card and Saved States

Game-Specific

A

Another Century's Episode 3

B

Bleach: Blade Battlers 2

D

Devil May Cry 1
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

E

Elvandia Story

F

Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XII

G

God of War
Gran Turismo 4
Guitar Hero II
Gundam Seed Destiny: Rengou vs. ZAFT Plus II

K

Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II

L

Lucky Star: Ryōō Gakuen Ōtōsai

M

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

R

Radiata Stories

S

Shadow of The Colossus
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time: Director's Cut

T

Tales of the Abyss
Tekken 5

V

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

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If you wish to contribute, please follow the format below in order to keep the project organized.

Have the post title be the name of the game.

PHP Code:

[size="3"][b]Summary Title Goes Here[/b][/size]

[size="2"][b]SYMPTOMS[/b][/size]
Symptoms go here

[size="2"][b]CAUSE[/b][/size]
Cause goes here

[size="2"][b]RESOLUTION[/b][/size]
Resolution goes here

[size="2"][b]WORKAROUND[/b][/size]
Workaround goes here

[size="2"][b]STATUS[/b][/size]
Confirmation goes here

[size="2"][b]APPLIES TO[/b][/size]
[list]
[*]PCSX2 #.#.# to #.#.# SVN ###
[*]Affected Plugin Name #.#.#
[*]Game Title [REGION] - SERI.AL
[/list]
[url=http://forums.ngemu.com/pcsx2-official-forum/102445-pcsx2-game-troubleshooting-guide.html][i]Back to Index[/i][/url] 


Clarifications:

• Resolution is the immediate fix that is at best a new and permanent svn fix or release. If no fix is in sight for the near future, then suggest the next best thing.
• Workaround is the method to take if the resolution is not possible. Either the resolution does not exist or requires an impossibility from the user. (Example: DX10 card for GSdx DX10 variant)
• Status is the confirmation of the problem from the developers or members. The state can be unaddressed, confirmed, patched, or fixed.

To take responsibility to handle a sub-index:
Have the post title be the name of the game.

PHP Code:

[size="3"][b]Sub-Index[/b][/size]

[b][i]KB Articles:[/i][/b]

[list=1]
[*][url="http://forums.ngemu.com/#######-post##.html"]Given Summary Title[/url] - [REGION]
[/list]

[url=http://forums.ngemu.com/pcsx2-official-forum/102445-pcsx2-game-troubleshooting-guide.html][i]Back to Index[/i][/url] 


[Phil]

ummm havent this been done before..oh well

[GeominorAI]

Sub-Index

KB Articles:

1. Improper Camera Reposition - [NTSC-J]
2. Extreme Slowness - [NTSC-J]
3. Particle Effects Lag - [NTSC-J]
4. Freezing Video Playback - [NTSC-J]
5. Slow Distorted Sound - [NTSC-J]
6. A/V Out of Synchronization - [NTSC-J]

Back to Index

[Fadingz]

Sounds interesting, and might save the forum from some of the noobs who can bother to read a few threads before asking questions.
However, just need a oice or so from the mod group.

[Phil]

they will always post threads. nothing will change that...but good idea

[Fadingz]

and You don't have to indlude links in the index, just have them search for the keyword on the top right corner "search this thread" since a link for each symptom on different pages can be pretty messy.
It can be similar to the screenshot thread or patch thread.

Originally Posted by Phil

they will always post threads. nothing will change that...but good idea

Those are 'the rest of the noobs' I was talking about XD

[Phil]

oh XD

[cottonvibes]

Game hangs in Battles

SYMPTOMS
Game hangs after attacking the enemy in some battles.
Usually happens when there are exactly 2 enemies.
Also happens on the boss of the 7th moon (the metallic dog and the lady shadow), when your team mates attack.

CAUSE
PCSX2 bug.

RESOLUTION
You can usually avoid the game freezing by killing the second enemy, then attacking the enemy that froze the game.

Remember to quick-save before battles so you know if the game will hang or not.

If the game hangs when your allies attack (like on the boss of the 7th moon), set all your allies Tatics to "Stand By."
You must then defeat the enemies with your main character.

WORKAROUND
Quick-save before battles, possibly avoid battles in which game hangs.

STATUS
I have beaten the game using this strategy.

APPLIES TO

• PCSX2 9.4 to 9.5 SVN 333
• Persona 3 [NTSC] - SERIAL: SLUS 215.69
• Persona 3 [PAL] - SERIAL: ???

Back to Index

[GeominorAI]

Improper Camera Reposition

SYMPTOMS

After camera position behind the unit is pushed against a wall, the view will be within the unit and not return to normal after moving away.

CAUSE
This bug is caused by the PCSX2 emulator.

RESOLUTION
There are no resolutions that are currently available.

WORKAROUND
Avoid structures and landscape that will cause the scenario.

STATUS
Reported by three members.
No official confirmation exists.

APPLIES TO

• PCSX2 0.9.2 to 0.9.5 SVN 330
• GSdx, ZeroGS all recent releases
• Gundam Seed Destiny Rengou vs. ZAFT Plus II [NTSC-J] - SLPS_257.18

Back to Index

[cottonvibes]

hope i did it correctly.

btw, what i said applies to the PAL version of the game as well.
but i don't have the PAL so i don't know the serial...

[Fadingz]

Characters going up(Tales of the Abyss and some other games)

SYMPTOMS
A directional key is on auto-fire after load-state

CAUSE
Unfinished game load

RESOLUTION
Load-state AFTER the game is fully loaded, as in main game menu.

WORKAROUND
Don't use the load/save state function

STATUS
Works all the time for me

APPLIES TO

• PCSX2 0.9.3 to 0.9.5 SVN 333
• Tales of the Abyss [NTSC] - SERIAL: SLUS 21386
• Many other games if seem applicable

Back to Index

[Phil]

FFX AURON LOOK CRASH

Symptoms
Game crashes at the beginning of the game after the blitzball gme.

Causes
PS2'S laser changes sectors at this exact point, old versions of pcsx2 can't emulate properly

RESOLUTION
Run game from an iso using 9.4 and latest version of Gsdx


Workaround
Have FFX hack and mgts turned on

Status

Works all the time

Applies To

All versions of Pcsx2 after 9.2 including betas

[GeominorAI]

Sub-Index

KB Articles:

1. Game hangs in Battles - [PAL/NTSC]
2. Robotic Sound in Game - [PAL/NTSC]
3. Videos Cut-off early - [PAL/NTSC]

Back to Index

[Fadingz]

No Sound and Crash

SYMPTOMS
The sound disappears after save-sate, then the game crashes after a while

CAUSE
the lag during savesate function causes the DVD reading to become unsynchronized

RESOLUTION
Don't save state during cut-scenes, scene change, or movies.
Only savestate when the screen is stable

WORKAROUND
Don't use save/load state

STATUS
Works most of the time

APPLIES TO

• All games on all versions

Back to Index

[GeominorAI]

Originally Posted by cottonvibes

hope i did it correctly.

btw, what i said applies to the PAL version of the game as well.
but i don't have the PAL so i don't know the serial...

That was well posted. If it applies to both PAL and NTSC, then it could be included with a (?) for the serial.

For all, screenshots would help.

[Fadingz]

Mine applies for many games and in all PCSX2 versions XD

[cottonvibes]

yeah Fadingz posts will be a bit hard to categorize lol