Gameplay/Real time cutscene rendering - why so different?

[Winter]

Hello everybody,

So the last couple of days I tried pcsx2 out of curiosity, I wanted to check how emulation of last gen consoles had been going. I was impressed, after playing a bit with the settings, I got Metal Gear Solid 3 to be playable and graphics were really nice.

However I find something intriguing: during gameplay everything is fine; there are occasional slow downs, but that's it. However real time cutscenes are almost entirely in slowdown - pre-rendered one working fine, as I expected. It's bearable, but I can't understand why is it like that. I have yet to see how other games behave, but I know from experience that many if not most crashes/glitches/etc happen during cutscenes.

What's so demanding about them? Aren't they in real time, that is, using the very same engine as in game? What's happening then which isn't during gameplay?

Is it because of the way the PS2 works?

Or the way pcsx2 works?

The way my PC is handling pcsx2?

Or a combination of those?

If my PC specs/pcsx2 configuration has anything to do with it, here they are:

PC:
Intel Core i5 750 (four cores at 2.67 GHz)
RADEON™ HD 4670 (1 GB)
8GB RAM
Windows 7 64

pcsx2:
GDsx SSE2
DirectX9 Hardware
Pixel shader 3.0
No speed hacks, default CPU settings

Changing those leads either to poorer graphics but same slow cutscenes behaviour or crash during cutscenes.

Now, I'm a realistic person and I think there's no solution other than a faster CPU (pcsx2 doesn't take advantage of quad core, doest it?) or future versions of the emulator, the only way to complete MGS3 on pcsx2 on my PC is bearing the even-longer-than-the-original cutscenes. What I really want to understand is this change of behavior during cutscenes.

Thanks for any useful/interesting info.

[arquliz]

since you support sse4 and dx10 would it be a good idea to change your plugin to the gsdx sse4 and set it to directx10 hardware. not that this will answer your questions, it would just be an improvement.

Edit:

Pcsx2 takes advantage of two cores for the time being.
are you using the pcsx2 r1888 beta and the december 2009 plugins?

[Winter]

I tried SSE41 yesterday and tried it again right now just to make sure, but the graphics get very pixelated. Also, I seem to be stuck with windowed mode. I've noticed the guide recommends it for my specs but somehow visuals are cleaner and sharper on SSE2. Does it require other settings adjustments?

I'm using 0.9.6 and I'm not yet into plugins (one step and a time, this is way crazier than the n00b proof previous gens emulation). Are they available on the main site?

[bmate]

Check this thread
http://forums.pcsx2.net/thread-3716.html

the first link(latest beta+plugins) might not contain the latest plugins, so you should download them, and in GSdx try disabling the "native" option, that'll raise the resolution so you'll get sharper edges, but you'll lose speed. if native is on, than it will render the game at its native resolution

[Winter]

Thanks, I don't know how I forgot to "un-native" the resolution when switching to SSE41... All good now when it comes to graphics (weird lighting - I guess - glitch where I saved the game, but happens on both configurations and otherwise it's all good).

Also, those plugins work with 0.9.6 or should I use them with the r1888 version arquliz mentioned?

[GamerGeek]

r1888 is usually the better choice.

[Winter]

Just tried with 0.9.6 and only got a black screen.

Will try r1888.

EDIT: Worked, but no noticeable change in quality.

But thanks for the heads up so far.