Custom GSDx Plug-Ins with 1.7.2 nightly Builds

[Razjin]

Hallo everybody! 

Does someone know if and how I can use a custom GSdx32 Plugin with the new nightly builds? 
I am specifically asking regarding the emulation of Primal. The game doesn't run properly with hardware acceleration utilizing the standard options. Therefore I am using a custom plugin I think made by asesega with the 1.6.0 stable release. But due to all the cool stuff added with the nightly builds lately I really would like to switch to nightly completely.

Thanks a lot! 

[jesalvein]

plugin system has been removed past 1.6 version.
what do you need with this custom gsdx ?

[Razjin]

So basically it's all about the renderer options while emulating Primal. As far as I tested and researched it Primal won't run on any hardware accelerated renderer option available. The game will start, let you in the main menu and play FMVs but as soon as you enter the hospital sequence after the initial FMV the screen output will turn black! You can however run it in software mode if you use the patch by asesega. In addition to the pnach patch there is a custom gsdx which seems to be tweeked somehow. It solves the black screen issue when using DirectX and OpenGL renderer options!

I'll try to find the respective thread here in the forums
EDIT: Found it! Her you go! : https://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-Fixing-u...es?page=44
The Plugin has been provided by Prafull and not asesega. Sorry for that!

[jesalvein]

same with latest dev build ?

[Razjin]

Yeahm, I can't seem to find any plugin folder with the new builds root folder anymore. I think up to 1.7.0 there was a dedicated plugins folder in the root folder of pcsx2 where I stashed Prafulls custom gsdx plugin. I've tried and created such folder within 1.7.2901 root folder but there is still no way to change to that plugin in the configs menu.

[jesalvein]

No, it won't work.
I meant : did you try latest Dev build without that modified gsdx ?

[Razjin]

Oh sorry, I misunderstood you it seems!
Yes, i've just ran the game on 1.7.2916. The issue with the black screen when using anything but the software renderer prevails. The software emulation seems to run quite smoothly though. But still Primal is one of the those games which profit alot from higher scaling. It's really unfortunate that the new builds don't support any plug-ins anymore. It seems I will have to stick to 1.6.0 for this game in particular which is a shame. I really like the implementation of Vulkan and the all new UI with the grid design and cover arts. The game specific config are a bless too!

I don't know but maybe someone will take a look at Prafulls plugin and find a way to implement his solution for Primal into a future build eventually.

[prafull]

Move these files to your cheats folder and enable cheats. The game will now work in HW mode.

[Razjin]

Move these files to your cheats folder and enable cheats. The game will now work in HW mode.

THANK YOU!!!!! It runs like a charm now!

Just one more question. Just like with the plugin solution I've mentioned a strange effect. Like there is a translucent shape of Jen and other objects around. Take a look at the attached screenshots please. This effect is not present in software emulation and I couldn't see it on original hardware. Is there a way to fix it?

Here I marked the effect:
   

And here is a screenshot in software mode:

   

Thanks a lot again!!

[IPlayWithHex]

I'm doing a blind playthrough of Primal atm. (Thx prafull for the HW mode fixes!)

Setting skip draw to 1, 1 will fix that ghosting issue and clears up the rest of the screen(very noticable improvement!). This does cause a minor graphics glitch whenever Jen and Scree are walking in fog, however. But I haven't noticed any other glitches caused by using skipdraw(yet).

Perhaps I should note that since I turned on manual hw hacks, I enabled the automatic fixes listed in the gameindex manually too.
Those are:
EE Round mode - Nearest
VU Round mode - Negative
VU Clamping mode - None

I hope this helps.

Edit: Off topic but, if you like this game Razjin, I highly recommend trying VtM Bloodlines: (it's 50% off right now!)
https://www.gog.com/en/game/vampire_the_...bloodlines

And if you're interested in VtMB, you'll want the unofficial patch for it: (Mandatory! Parts of the game are literally broken without it)
https://www.moddb.com/mods/vtmb-unofficial-patch

Primal and VtMB are completely different games I know, but they have a very similar vibe(to me). I mean seriously, Jen and Scree would fit perfectly into the world of Bloodlines, lol.