PCSX2 - Widescreen Game Patches

[Riffy]

Hey, only just round to using the wide screen patches (thanks by the way!) hooked up my hd tv to the computer so thought it would come in handy. anyway, was wondering if you would be able to do a widescreen hack for both suikoden IV and suikoden V (preferably suikoden V). huge fan of the series and would love to play it widescreen through my hd tv!

Thanks in advance for the reply!

This right here, any of the suikoden games would really make my week off.

[Devina]

Would anyone be interested in giving me a hand adding Eyefinity support for additional games? The 16:9 patches really help as a starting point, but games like Shadow of the Colossus don't have 16:9 patches to start from (likely skipped because it has 16:9 support built in). But as you can see, I want to go wider than that.

At the very least, I'm having some small difficulty with my Final Fantasy X patch that I'd like to get resolved. The patch included in the pack in the first post both adjusts the aspect ratio and adjusts the culling boundaries of the game. I've already widened the aspect ratio, but I can't figure out how to further widen then culling boundaries beyond what the patch already does. Any ideas?

I've never really understood the point of Eyefinity.

The fact that there are big black bars separating the image is an instant turn-off for me. It seems better to just use a single big widescreen HDTV rather than 3 widescreen monitors taped together side-by-side.

I don't see it working with PCSX2, especially with stretched 2D graphics and art to the point that they're ruined. For example, look at Roxas's poor face in the KH2 screen... I'd imagine most menus and text are unreadable. At least in 16:9, the 2D graphics are passable. Another reason why extreme widescreen for PS2 games is a bad idea is because the games were never intended to be that wide, so you'll see lots of incomplete environments (which would ruin the artistic integrity, imo). In that FFX screenshot, you can even see the edge of the game world in the bottom corners.

Because of this, I don't see a future for PS2 Eyefinity patches... Sorry.

[pgert]

Maybe the coders can apply a "Strech 2D Yes\No" option in "Emulation Settings".

[Devina]

That would be awesome! I know Dolphin doesn't stretch the 2D graphics when you apply the widescreen hack.

Unless it can be implemented, I wouldn't go any further than 16:9 for now.

[synce]

Those 40:10 screens are insane, me likey... post more lol

@devina For me the main reason to hook up multiple monitors would be productivity, and ultra-widescreen gaming is just icing on the cake

I don't think it's possible to create a universal stretching or widescreen option because from what I understand unlike Dreamcast or Gamecube there's no universal standard on the PS2... or something along those lines

Anyway happy new years people, may 2013 bring more widescreen patches

[Leapo]

I've never really understood the point of Eyefinity.

The fact that there are big black bars separating the image is an instant turn-off for me. It seems better to just use a single big widescreen HDTV rather than 3 widescreen monitors taped together side-by-side.

How is it better to have the image just stop at the 16:9 marker? That's like having an infinite black bar on either side of your screen that prevents you from seeing anything else (like putting blinders on a horse)

I'll take a couple of small black bars over having nothing at all...

And that's kinda the point of running three screens in Eyefinity rather than two. The center screen sees exactly what you'd normally see in games (no more, no less). The side screens add additional field of view. There's nothing lost, only gained.

Edit: Also, using a single massive TV and letter-boxing the image down to 48:10 results in pitifully poor resolution. My current setup runs at 5760x1200, but that same aspect ratio on a 1080p TV would only be 1920x400 (that's worse than PS2 native resolution on the vertical axis).

Also, to get the same physical width out of a single 16:9 screen, it would have to be a 70" panel... and even the brand new 4K screens they're demoing at CES this year only reach 3840×2160, which still falls massively short of the horizontal resolution Eyefinity offers.

Basically... there's simply no way to get an image this wide and this sharp out of a single panel at this time.

I don't see it working with PCSX2, especially with stretched 2D graphics and art to the point that they're ruined. For example, look at Roxas's poor face in the KH2 screen... I'd imagine most menus and text are unreadable. At least in 16:9, the 2D graphics are passable.

Works fine for me, and not all games have that problem. Crash Bandicoot, for instance, has a perfect HUD and menu screen. No stretching at all.

I honestly don't mind the HUD stretch (even some PC games have that problem). The 3D graphics are what's important, and those have been corrected perfectly. Exactly the same thing you're dealing with in 16:9, so I don't see the issue here...

Also, all you have to do is tap the F6 key to instantly bring the image to 4:3 temporarily, which works fine for pause-screen menus and such. hit F6 again to return to full eyefinity-glory.

Another reason why extreme widescreen for PS2 games is a bad idea is because the games were never intended to be that wide, so you'll see lots of incomplete environments (which would ruin the artistic integrity, imo). In that FFX screenshot, you can even see the edge of the game world in the bottom corners.

Actually, that's not as big a problem as you might think. There's absolutely no missing geometry in Crash Bandicoot or Kingdom Hearts 2, and Final Fantasy X is fixable (I managed to partially fix it since my last post. It doesn't cull out as much geometry now. Just need to push it a bit farther).

So far, everything has worked great. I'm seeing a great deal more of the environment, which the developers put hard work into. How is that ruining the art direction any more than enabling 16:9 modes?

Because of this, I don't see a future for PS2 Eyefinity patches... Sorry.

Why not, exactly? I've show it's possible, and I know it works fine. You can't exactly stop me (and others) from patching games

I was just asking for a little help with some problem titles. That's all...

Maybe the coders can apply a "Strech 2D Yes\No" option in "Emulation Settings".

I'd love to see this implemented in PCSX2. But is it a feature for PCSX2 itself to support, or is it a feature that needs to be implemented within the graphics plugin?

That would be awesome! I know Dolphin doesn't stretch the 2D graphics when you apply the widescreen hack.

Unless it can be implemented, I wouldn't go any further than 16:9 for now.

Well, again, not all games have a stretched HUD. Those that do, it might not be a problem for a lot of people (isn't for me, I'm just glad they work).

There's also the matter of just hitting F6 if you need to make 2D elements the correct aspect ratio for a moment. This works fine for in-game menus, weather they're stretched to 16:9 or 48:10.

Those 40:10 screens are insane, me likey... post more lol

Hehe, yup. I'll snap some more shots. I'd really like to patch Shadow of the Colossus, but I have no 16:9 hack to start from

Here are another few shots of Kingdom Hearts 2, from one of the cut-scenes. This entire cut-scene plays perfectly in 48:10, with no missing geometry. There's a huge amount of set that sits outside the normal 4:3 (or 16:9) frame that you normally miss out on. I honestly haven't seen a single flaw with this game at this aspect ratio, aside from the HUD.

   

   

   

   

   

Also, partially-fixed Final Fantasy X. Looking very good here:

   

And Crash Bandicoot, running in all its flawless glory with no missing geometry (and though it isn't pictured here, the HUD is not stretched) :

   

   

   

@devina For me the main reason to hook up multiple monitors would be productivity, and ultra-widescreen gaming is just icing on the cake

yeah, that's exactly why built this setup. I had used two monitors for years, and when Eyefinity came around I upgraded to three in order to take advantage.

It really is massively more immersive, having the game fill up so much of your filed of vision. The monitor bezels really don't matter when you sit down in the middle of one of these display configurations. It also gives you a massive boost in situational awareness, allowing you to actually use your peripheral vision in-game for once.

Basically, what I'm saying is, don't knock it till you've tried it. There's a large community of gamers who have Eyefinity rigs now, I see no reason to snub them.


I've gone ahead and attached my patch files for Kingdom Hearts 2 and Crash Bandicoot if anyone wants to try them out. They're the two best-supported games so far

  48x10 NTSC-U.zip (Size: 1,21 KB / Downloads: 391)

[VIRGIN KLM]

Are you using a patch to get wide screen in SO3? If so, the game supports 16:9 natively so there's no need for that.
I finished the game in that mode and never had missing geometry.

Nope, I'm using the one from the game. Apparently it's the game's programming error, it's not very often but it's there, you encounter like it 20 times in the whooole game. Tried it on a PS2 and it's there too and I'm 100% sure it's not an issue with my disc. Well, just a slight increase of the fov could fix it.

[Devina]

Out of curiosity, I gave it a whirl on KH2. The first thing I noticed was lag caused by all the extra rendering, so I had to switch it to native.

Right after when Pence notices the missing photos ("ALL OUR ____ ARE GONE!"), Roxas enters the frame on the right. His model suddenly popped-in, ruining some of the integrity of the game. I watched the same scene again with 16:9 hacks, and his model never pops-in. This is one con of using widescreen hacks, especially at 48:10 moreso than 16:9. And if I saw pop-in in one of the first few cutscenes, I bet there's going to be much more later on.

All the speech bubbles and subtitles were... well, eye-gauging for me. The extra rendering felt rather disorienting, kind of like looking in a funhouse mirror or something to that effect.

I disagree, I think 2D graphics can be just as important as 3D, especially in games where artists put a lot of time into character portraits and 2D graphics. Having to tap F6 all the time would be pretty tedious. Think about how many times you have to navigate a menu in an RPG. Here's an illustration... which portrait looks better?

(16:9)
[attachment=41650]

(48:10)
[attachment=41651]

The reason why it works with 16:9 is because it's far closer to 4:3 than 48:10 is.

I think Eyefinity is best for racing games where peripheral vision immerses you in more, as well as games specifically designed for it, but with PS2 games, where developers never intended games to be shown in such a manner with super stretched 2D graphics... nah. Just not digging it. If there was a way to keep the 2D intact, I'd be more enthusiastic.

[d123456]

Those 48:10 screens look amazing. I am jealous. All those screenshots are art. We need moar screenshots.
***** the haters.

[Bositman]

Requesting Silent Hill 2 Director's Cut PAL (SLES 51156 - CRC: 6BBD4932) Unfortunately ElHecht's patch for the normal PAL version of SH2 doesn't also work with this one.
Oh and happy new year everyone