Help Needed for Graphics Configuration

[PunkSkunk]

Good day.

I would like to point out straight up that I am completely new to PS emulators and how they work.

I have recently installed PCSX2 0.9.8

I followed the tutorial and eventually got myself running. I am trying out GTA San andreas. I am running it off the old disc that I had floating around. I have been playing for a little while and I have some questions/problems

1. The sound slows down during the first loading screen.
I can live with this, but if someone knows a quick fix then help would be appreciated

2. It looks extremely pixelated on my screen, with exceptionally rough edges.

I tried changing the interlacing settings by pushing F5 in game and it didnt do much.

It did go kinda hazy on one option and looked like there was a heatwave in GTA land wherever I went.

3. It is exceptionally jumpy. As in I have ridden my bicycle 2 blocks and I want to throw my controller out the window. FPS sits around the 40's & 50's then just stops for a second, then carries on.

I really think my machine can handle the emulator so I dont think it is a hardware problem at all, just my rookie setup skills.

My machine specs are

Intel i7 Core
8gb RAM
Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Realtek HD Audio

Any other info you need?

Please help, I'm really psyched to play my old games again.

[Rezard]

Good day.

Good day to you.

I would like to point out straight up that I am completely new to PS emulators and how they work.

Well, isn't that precious. Unfortunately, there will be no mercy here. (Just kidding )

I have recently installed PCSX2 0.9.8

I followed the tutorial and eventually got myself running. I am trying out GTA San andreas. I am running it off the old disc that I had floating around. I have been playing for a little while and I have some questions/problems

Don't run directly off the disc. Make an ISO file of it with Imgburn, then select it with the Iso Selector under the CDVD menu.

This can help with performance.

1. The sound slows down during the first loading screen.
I can live with this, but if someone knows a quick fix then help would be appreciated

Then sound will be relative to the framerate (FPS). Was the game running slow at the time? The sound will follow suit.

2. It looks extremely pixelated on my screen, with exceptionally rough edges.

I tried changing the interlacing settings by pushing F5 in game and it didnt do much.

It did go kinda hazy on one option and looked like there was a heatwave in GTA land wherever I went.

Did you try a higher resolution? Post a picture of your Video (GS) Plugin Settings...

3. It is exceptionally jumpy. As in I have ridden my bicycle 2 blocks and I want to throw my controller out the window. FPS sits around the 40's & 50's then just stops for a second, then carries on.

I really think my machine can handle the emulator so I dont think it is a hardware problem at all, just my rookie setup skills.

Jumpy? Like the screen is bouncing? You must not have found the right Interlacing for this game. Maybe try Blend bff.

The low frame rate may be helped by playing from an ISO, but Speedhacks can help a lot, too. Are you using any? You can find them in the Emulation Settings. Try the Preset options on the bottom if you're new (which you are ).

My machine specs are

Intel i7 Core
8gb RAM
Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Realtek HD Audio

Any other info you need?

Yeah, which Core i7 is that? The 2600?

[PunkSkunk]

Hi there and thanks for the speedy reply.

I attached a pic of my settings.

I tried using my own resolution (1920x1080) but the aspect ratio went out.

I guess I just havent messed around with the settings enough.

By jumpy I mean it looks like the game has frozen for a sec, then carries on for 10 secs, then freezes then carries on.

I'm busy making an ISO image to see if it helps.

I got an i7 3700 MHz

I will also try the speed hacks and let you know.

Ta

[Rezard]

I tried using my own resolution (1920x1080) but the aspect ratio went out.

You could also try Or use Scaling for resolution. This may come out better sometimes.

The aspect ratio can be adjusted in the Emulation Settings, under GS Window.

By jumpy I mean it looks like the game has frozen for a sec, then carries on for 10 secs, then freezes then carries on.

I'm busy making an ISO image to see if it helps.

Oh, ok. The ISO should very well fix that (constant loading from the disc by optical drive can be laggy).

I got an i7 3700 MHz

I will also try the speed hacks and let you know.

Yeah, that's a good CPU. Don't think you will get away with never using Speedhacks sometimes, though.

BTW - Is there a reason you've checked Allow 8-bit textures? It is off by default...

[PunkSkunk]

Groovy. Have done. The ISO & Speedhacks seem to have done the trick. Its running much smoother now.

I'll keep playing with aspect ratio, I'm sure that'll be simple enough.

One last thing though. I seem to be getting an image shadow of everything on the screen whenever I'm playing the actual game.

I Its not there when I'm in the pause menu, so I'm presuming its some sort of 3D thing.

I attached a screen shot so you know what I mean.

btw. I lost Sweet

Thanks once again for the help.

[Amak]

In the video plugin, unticking Native and using scaling is almost the same thing as anti-aliasing. Some games are picky (Dragon Quest 8) and may have minor glitches. Only way to find out is to try it. For the shadow I would try Software rendering and see what happens.

[PunkSkunk]

Hi there once again.

Everything is hunky dory now except for the shadow.

Its pretty bizarre.

I attached a picture to show the shadows again. you can see the telephone lines are shadowed across the car door. Its kinda hard to get a good pic of it, but its mostly at dusk that it is heavily noticeable. It doesnt look to bad in the pic, but when the camera is rotating and you are driving around etc, it becomes really disconcerting.

I tried DX9 & DX11, software and hardware rendering. No difference that I could see.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

In the mean time I will continue to trawl the forums.

Peace