PS2 to PC converter
#1
This may have been asked before but I was wondering if it would be possible to create an application that would convert PS2 games to native PC code or some sort of IL code so that they would run faster on the PC than they currently do through the emulator.

Perhapes this could be done for PS3 games?

I don't really know anything about how emulators work, it was just a thought.
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#2
I thought that's exactly what the emulator does. Converts the game/machine code into a format that can be read by the PC.

What you're suggesting, "converting" PS2 games into full blown PC games, would be illegal anyways, and would probably require that most of the code is rewritten completely, while only using the original assets like textures and sounds to achieve the same feel. As in, replicating the same gameplay with a different engine.
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#3
The problem is that there isn't an equivalent means to do things 1:1 between a PS2 and a PC... that and the fact that the console is running it's own code that's constantly being recompiled in real time means it's not possible to simply translate the code... The closest thing that would be theorhetically possible would be to "cache" all the code as it runs through an emulator... The problem would be "capturing" every single bit of data and every single situation for every single game. Even if you did, the resulting mess would be far far larger than the original game code (exponentially larger) and wouldn't likely run much faster anyways since it still wouldn't be code optimized for the PC.

As it is, PCSX2 already DOES cache op codes (that was one of the benefits of microVU) but it's slightly slower than the legacy SuperVU (but better compatible) so it evens out.

The only way to make PS2 games run like they are native PC games would be to have the original source code and do all the modifications necessary to compile the code for PC. Since no one I know has all the source code for every PS2 game (or even ANY PS2 game) you're just not going to see the type of performance you want.
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#4
(05-24-2011, 01:24 AM)Koji Wrote: The only way to make PS2 games run like they are native PC games would be to have the original source code and do all the modifications necessary to compile the code for PC.

That says it all pretty much.
Emulators are as close to "converting" the games (althout it's not so much about the games but the hardware) as you can get without the source.
And nope no such thing as a double click "convert to PC" application.

Emulators try to imitate the actual hardware so the games run as they would on the actual PS2 (in case of PCSX2), however there are so many things different between PC and PS2 hardware and the complexity of the hardware to emulate sometimes is not possible to imitate or it requires a lot of work and processing power to make things work at all.
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#5
ok, well thanks for your comments, I just though that it would be good if it could be done, or even partially done.
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#6
From what I understand of the console business and this is one of the reasons why they are so popular is they not just come up with a workcell (the hardware ) when they make the console so it's simple for programmers to code for but then they also come up with a code that works faster and better for that workcell which is why many times consoles can push better graphics in games before PCs alot of the time since everything is simplified and specialised for video games. Alot of publishers also prefer to use consoles over PCs because it reduces alot of the pirating possibilities when you make it for console cause of the hardware and code. So yeah pretty much as everybody else has said if it hasn't been made specifically for the PC then emulators are the only way to go.
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#7
It's not so much that the console hardware is better designed for the task (indeed, the last 2 console cycles are dominated by consoles that use the same hardware as PCs do) but simply that the hardware is much more STATIC for developing on consoles than PCs.

Consoles generally have the same hardware (or scaled down versions of the same hardware in later revisions, IE PS3 slim versus 'phat' PS3) over the course of 4-6 years. The hardware is pretty much guaranteed to be the same so testing only really has to be done on 1 set of hardware. PCs on the other hand have their components "outdated" about every 6 months or so, and the vast majority of people don't update to the latest and greatest as soon as it comes out. On top of that it's not just a single set of components over those 6 months, but many many sets of components over the course of that six months. Entry level, HTPC, mid level, high end, enthusiast, etc etc levels of hardware are released every cycle by hardware companies in an attempt to maximize their profits. This means dozens or even hundreds of hardware configurations that their software has to be able to work on instead of just 1.

Of course, we have standard APIs (like DirectX, OpenGL, etc) that are supposed to make all hardware act identically, but that isn't always the case and indeed look at any game company's forum when they first release a new game and you'll see hundreds of threads about games not working for them on PCs, but on consoles you'll mostly just see people commenting about the latest game.
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#8
right... perhaps I shouldn't have used the term "workcell" on these forums but it's what many of us just used to refer to the 200+ computers we used to maintain and they all had the same CPU, ram, HDD, motherboard and so on which the company did on purpose for many financial reasons. Hell one place I worked out was still using DOS up till 3 years ago.
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