It's time to create a core for libretro

[softwaregnu]

Hello everyone,

I think it's time to create a core for the libretro project. Actually the effort to create PCSX2 has been impressive and I think it could reach even more many users through this way. Not only through third-party utilities such as "RetroArch, Lakka, RetroPie or EmulationStation", but also its easy "portability" after new systems such as Xbox One (developer mode, UWP and requires a 64-bit version) and Nintendo Switch (easy portability) since there is a choreo for libretro).

Providing the core of the emulator for libretro opens a world of possibilities that today PCSX2 unfortunately can not reach. It is true that the emulator is available in a multiplicity of systems, but why get stuck here? The future looks to Microsoft's 64-bit and UWP applications that promise to be a temporary capsule that will provide greater compatibility to the future of what Win32 has really been (we all know that at some point it will disappear, and with it everything that is only win32). The future also looks towards technologies that allow a greater ease of portability and migration between systems and technologies, do not let PCSX2 die with Win32 and stop cutting the wings of the possibilities that arise.

We all know that it will not be an easy or quick task, but we have references from other big projects like this one that has decided to take the leap as Dolphin and PPSSPP. In addition, I have read some threads of the forum from previous years in which some of the project developers have participated in which they state that they are focused on tasks of improvement and optimization of the performance of the emulator compared to these other options that I propose in this publication. . Ladies and gentlemen, the emulator works perfectly and with the advance of the CPU and GPU potential that currently exists the priorities must also change. At the beginning of the project it was very important to optimize as much as possible because the existing hardware was not as powerful as now, what I want to tell you is that thanks to all this extra potential performance, in the current state of the emulator, I do not think that should be a priority in the face of its greater "portability to the future".

I hope that my suggestion is answered and received for what it is: a shout of encouragement and thanks for the countless hours that thanks to your effort I have been able to enjoy. A greeting!

[jesalvein]

Great idea. Keep us informed of your progress
Hope you can maintain this since it's a time consuming task. But if you succeed, many congrats to you

[pandubz]

As long as x86 and AMD64 are in use as the instruction sets for PC CPUs, I see no problems with the death of Win32. Especially since multiarch already solved the 32/64 bit compatibility crisis on Unix systems.

[JMC47]

Dolphin already has a ton of work toward supporting multiple arches, PIC, etc, and the Libretro core was a disaster. I can't imagine PCSX2 would go any better from its current state.

[Nobbs66]

Yeah, there's no chance of a libretro core happening any time soon.

[TkSilver]

Whether or not win32 dies tomorrow or decades in the future (or more likely somwhere in between) the source code for PCSX2 will be as available then as it is today for anyone with the time and talent to port it. The simpliest breakdown of what you are asking is for people who donate their effort to do so in a way that you want them to donate it.

If some people want to donate their time to do this I do not think that anyone here would mind a port that was 64bit based, libretro core friendly, had support for X graphic API, or any other change you wished to make. If the changes worked with PCSX2 some might even be ported back to the standalone versions the developers here are working on and any changes\improvements could be ported back to the libretro version. If you follow the open source license that PCSX2 uses then no one would mind you doing any of this.

Just don't expect to ask people who donate their time, talent, and expertise to a project they enjoy to do it a different way, because you asked them to.

[softwaregnu]

Whether or not win32 dies tomorrow or decades in the future (or more likely somwhere in between) the source code for PCSX2 will be as available then as it is today for anyone with the time and talent to port it.  The simpliest breakdown of what you are asking is for people who donate their effort to do so in a way that you want them to donate it.

If some people want to donate their time to do this I do not think that anyone here would mind a port that was 64bit based, libretro core friendly, had support for X graphic API, or any other change you wished to make.  If the changes worked with PCSX2 some might even be ported back to the standalone versions the developers here are working on and any changes\improvements could be ported back to the libretro version.  If you follow the open source license that PCSX2 uses then no one would mind you doing any of this.

Just don't expect to ask people who donate their time, talent, and expertise to a project they enjoy to do it a different way, because you asked them to.

I totally agree. It is simply a suggestion with a view to the future. Because let's not fool ourselves, PCSX2 is the best PS2 emulator and I very much doubt that there is ever another that does not even match it.

I am convinced that many developers after reading my words will have simply thought "no", or they will have sent me (internally) to the crap.

[TkSilver]

Yep, that is why if you want this to happen you will either have to do it yourself, or more likely find a group of people with talent and time who want to do it with you. My guess is none of those people will be the developers of PCSX2. I will say though that as long as you are not asking them to do what you want done for you a lot of them seem perfectly helpful to people who have questions about the emulator or the system. They answer some pretty technical questions that are asked as long as the people asking them don't act like a jerk. And of course the source code for PCSX2 is out there for anyone to see.

Homestly I hope you can find a group\team of people and you give it a shot. Though for PCSX2 to ever be truly "portable" to anything with a processor weaker then a Zen or Haswell CPU and be able to play most of the games you are going to need the developers here concentraiting on improvements and optimizations. Currently no console has the CPU power to be a viable platform for PCSX2 unless you make it a speed hacked mess that kills any chance of really improving the underlying code.

[Shiggitay]

I knows this thread is almost 2 years old, but I'm just posting to follow progress of this project. Having a PCSX2 libretro core would be awesome.

[jesalvein]

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