07-13-2010, 10:17 AM
The other day when I was browsing the net, I had an idea for the PCSX2 compatibility list. I've seen quite a lot of threads on this forum and other forums about how hard X game is to run in PCSX2, because they want to buy it in order to emulate it. I have noticed myself that it is not really meeting the recommended requirements for PCSX2 that gets you full speed when emulating, it's more the game itself. For instance, I do not meet the recommended requirements for PCSX2, yet I can get about half of my games to run at a good speed, yet some others will hang at about 20FPS.
I know that a lot of people have began to use PCSX2 as their only medium to play PS2 games. I would prefer doing this as well, as all my games are in one place. However, this raises the problem that even if X game is playable in the emulator, the buyer still does not know if X game will run at a good speed on their hardware.
This is where my idea comes in. I am proposing a "hardware number" to displayed next to each game on the compatibility list. This number will displayed next to each game and serves as a rough readout of the system specs you will need to get full speed on that game.
Here's how the system might work (note that these descriptions would be replaced with system specs that roughly match the descriptions):
0: The game itself won't work.
1: You meet the minimum requirements for PCSX2.... and that's about it.
2: You are a little above the minimum requirements. You can run some select games at half-speed but otherwise PS2 emulation is not your thing.
3: You are inbetween the minimum and recommended requirements. You can run some games like Final Fantasy X at fullspeed. You can't emulate most games though.
4: You nearly meet the recommended requirements. You can run about 4/10 games at full speed that don't have two many advanced effects at once, but only with speedhacks.
5: You just scrape under the recommended requirements. You can run 4/10 games that don't have too many effects at a full speed.
6: You meet the recommended requirements. You emulate a good half of playable games, but games like DBZ BT3 are still way out of your reach.
7: You are just above the recommended requirements and can emulate a good 6/10 of your games. However, you are still not able to emulate some games at full speed.
8: You are well above the recommended requirements. You can emulate 9/10 games at full speed, but you must have speedhacks and no other programs running.
9: Yo are WAY above the recommended requirements. You can emulate virtually any game at full speed unless you are using a recording software like FRAPS.
10: You have the GOD of all computers. You can run emulate any playable game at full speed without speedhacks, while recording the screen.
So for instance, this is how the system might work and would benefit people:
Say if I want to buy Dark Cloud 2 for PCSX2 (for the sake of argument). First I would go to the compatibility list and check that Dark Cloud 2 is playable. Great, it's playable. Then I would check the hardware number for Daek Cloud 2 (let's say it's 5 in this case), I would then navigate to the bottom of the list and compare the specs on my PC to the specs listed as the recommended requirements for games with the "5" hardware number. This listing would then allow me to get a realistic judgment of whether or not I will get full speed in the game.
This would take A LOT of work, but I think it really would be worth it in the long run. If this idea does go ahead, I would be happy to help by providing info myself.
I know that a lot of people have began to use PCSX2 as their only medium to play PS2 games. I would prefer doing this as well, as all my games are in one place. However, this raises the problem that even if X game is playable in the emulator, the buyer still does not know if X game will run at a good speed on their hardware.
This is where my idea comes in. I am proposing a "hardware number" to displayed next to each game on the compatibility list. This number will displayed next to each game and serves as a rough readout of the system specs you will need to get full speed on that game.
Here's how the system might work (note that these descriptions would be replaced with system specs that roughly match the descriptions):
0: The game itself won't work.
1: You meet the minimum requirements for PCSX2.... and that's about it.
2: You are a little above the minimum requirements. You can run some select games at half-speed but otherwise PS2 emulation is not your thing.
3: You are inbetween the minimum and recommended requirements. You can run some games like Final Fantasy X at fullspeed. You can't emulate most games though.
4: You nearly meet the recommended requirements. You can run about 4/10 games at full speed that don't have two many advanced effects at once, but only with speedhacks.
5: You just scrape under the recommended requirements. You can run 4/10 games that don't have too many effects at a full speed.
6: You meet the recommended requirements. You emulate a good half of playable games, but games like DBZ BT3 are still way out of your reach.
7: You are just above the recommended requirements and can emulate a good 6/10 of your games. However, you are still not able to emulate some games at full speed.
8: You are well above the recommended requirements. You can emulate 9/10 games at full speed, but you must have speedhacks and no other programs running.
9: Yo are WAY above the recommended requirements. You can emulate virtually any game at full speed unless you are using a recording software like FRAPS.
10: You have the GOD of all computers. You can run emulate any playable game at full speed without speedhacks, while recording the screen.
So for instance, this is how the system might work and would benefit people:
Say if I want to buy Dark Cloud 2 for PCSX2 (for the sake of argument). First I would go to the compatibility list and check that Dark Cloud 2 is playable. Great, it's playable. Then I would check the hardware number for Daek Cloud 2 (let's say it's 5 in this case), I would then navigate to the bottom of the list and compare the specs on my PC to the specs listed as the recommended requirements for games with the "5" hardware number. This listing would then allow me to get a realistic judgment of whether or not I will get full speed in the game.
This would take A LOT of work, but I think it really would be worth it in the long run. If this idea does go ahead, I would be happy to help by providing info myself.