Editing PS2 Emulation

=2024-present year=

The PlayStation 2 emulation on the PlayStation 4 is handled with little difference to the PlayStation 3. Some issues on PS3's PS2 emulator were left unfixed on the PlayStation 4. Consequently, the PS4 inherited some of PS3's emulation glitches, and even introduced new ones. The new issues came as a result of PS4's weakness with emulation, which likely resulted in the trade of accuracy for performance.

Each PS2onPS4 package file (.pkg) includes the PS2 emulator itself. The PS4 does not have a native built-in emulator in its System Software, but it does have a few PS2 emulator specific features, like the usermode functions sceLncUtilIsPs2Emu, sceShellCoreUtilGetImposeMenuFlagForPs2Emu, sceSystemServiceAddLocalProcessForPs2Emu, and sceSystemServiceShowImposeMenuForPs2Emu.

The PS2 emulators are programmed to be accurate for the games they were designed to emulate. In turn, this makes accurate emulation challenging, as emulators include per-title patches and different default settings. The PlayStation 2 hardware is a complex system to emulate; any small change in configuration can make or break a game. Currently, the most commonly used emulator is "Jakv2" from Jak games, as it is the most compatible one out there. When game crashes are concerned in an emulated PS2 game, then the Resident Evil Code: Veronica X's emulator is typically used, whereas for VU accuracy it is Rogue Galaxy's.

The PS2 BIOS is included in the game's pkg file. It is the same PS2 BIOS as used in the ps2_netemu in PS3 Operating System. The lack of encryption mechanism for PS2 game disc image files is also huge. This time, it is a plain ISO file, but the emulator still supports LIMG sector that allows the usage of non-2048 sector size discs. Moreover, memory cards are also unencrypted, but the emulator checks the CRC of some of the regions to ensure that the memory card was not modified. The PS2 emulator on PS4 also supports LUA scripting by a "Lua Bridge", which is a powerful interface that may prove exceptionally handy in fixing games.

This is first time that Sony has ever cared about floats in its emulators. Compared to the PS3 CPU, x86-64 is doing a worse job in mimicking FPU and VU floats calculation behavior. This is resolved by clamping, accurate math used per memory offset, and/or converting floats to double precision. The emulator uses OpenCL for GS, and likely other components as well.

The rest of the CLI and LUA commands can all be found inside of any emulator's '''Eboot.bin''' file.

| --framelimit-scalar ||  scalar/float || || --framelimit-scalar=3.2

<pre>These commands work in config-emu-ps4.txt, but the official way to use them is through the CLI file (It is also needed for multi-disc packages). Additionally, some commands are still not discovered, and known commands might be missing their values.

All commands are pre-made. Creating new CLI commands is impossible.

Some CLI commands have no effect, as they were added to the eboot.bin without being programmed. Some useful commands were removed or added in or from different emu revisions, or their effects were changed. In some emulators, CLI configurations can be found in the ram at SceLibcHeap[0]-3-881004000.</pre>

<pre>Commands for the emulated Emotion Engine. These commands may improve performance, prevent crashes, or provide better core sync.</pre>

| --ee-cycle-scalar ||Slowest cycles speed: 5.00<br>Normal cycles speed: 1.000<br>Fastest cycles speed: 0.100 ||  Can benefit core sync or performance (lowering the cycle rate may affect FMVS). The default value for most emulators is ~1.0. It is highly sensitive, as any slight change may break or fix the game. (Possibly divides 100 with the entered value and sets the result as EE's clock speed percentage % .) || --ee-cycle-scalar=1.0  

| --ee-context-switch-cycles || Accelerate cycles (360 => 0) <br>Decelerate cycles (361 => ∞ ) || Its effects are mysterious. Possibly configures how many CPU cycles the emulator should run before switching between different tasks or threads. Does not work on Jak emulators. Default value is 360. Seems to be useful for Bee Movie, Metal Gear Solid 3, as well as others with IPU issues.|| --ee-context-switch-cycles=2700?

| [[--ee-hook|--ee-hook]] || AdvanceClock<br>FastForwardClock<br>Mfifodrain || Runs the specified functionality each time a selected EE offset is reached. FastForwardClock and AdvanceClock help fix core sync issues, but can be used as a speedhack. It is believed that AdvanceClock stalls the EE for a specified amount of cycles, while FastForwardClock behaves similarly. They are commonly used on affected COP2 instructions. Mfifodrain is still unknown. [[--ee-hook|For more examples]] ||--ee-hook=0x0025A9F2,AdvanceClock,,500 <br>--ee-hook=0x0019F0AD,FastForwardClock

| --ee-jit-pagefault-threshold || 0-254 || Ignore JIT pagefaults, usually caused by data placed right after code. JIT try to recompile it, and obviously hit some bad opcodes. This command reduces the occurrence of crashes the higher it is. || --ee-jit-pagefault-threshold=40

<pre>The FPU is a fast single-precision unit that typically serves the EE by calculating in-game physics. It mostly controls the accuracy of the movement of in-game objects, or the game's gravity as a whole. In some cases, it is best to use COP2 commands with the FPU's to ensure the accuracy of the game's geometrical calculations.</pre>

| --fpu-no-clamping ||  0, 1 || Changes the clamping behavior of the FPU. It's set to 1 by default. Might fix freezing issues, or misplaced characters/items (Inaccuracies with in-game physics) || --fpu-no-clamping=0

| --fpu-accurate-muldiv  || 0 = Disabled<br>1 = Enabled  || Allows the FPU to accurately Divide/Multiply for all offsets by using software floats rather than hardware floats. (Extremely slow) || --fpu-accurate-muldiv=1

| --fpu-accurate-muldiv-range || start,end offset (0x0 - 0x1FFFFFF) || Allows the FPU to accurately Divide/Multiply in the specified ee memory range by using software floats rather than hardware floats. || --fpu-accurate-muldiv-range=0x1acce0,0x2acce0

| --fpu-rsqrt-fast-estimate || 0, 1 || Decreases RSQRT's accuracy. Enabled by default, disabling it helps with achieving full FPU accuracy. || --fpu-rsqrt-fast-estimate=1

| --fpu-accurate-mul-fast || 0, 1 || Speedhack for CLI FPU muldiv commands.  || --fpu-accurate-mul-fast=1

| --fpu-to-double || 0, 1 || Converts floats to doubles (Accurate). Limited testing shows that infinity is still wrong at 7F7FFFFF, rather than 7FFFFFFF with it enabled. || --fpu-to-double=1

===== COP2 =====

 

<pre>VU0 Macro-mode. These commands assist the FPU.</pre>

 

| --cop2-opt-flags || 0, 1 ,2 || Optimize flags upon recompilation (1 is safe, 2 update sticky, and mac flag on every status flag update) setting it to 0 can in some cases improve FPU accuracy. [https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/blob/58f5a5b915915293b90e7e8f34c33f9c0424d1e8/pcsx2/x86/microVU_Misc.h#L280 More Info] || --cop2-opt-flags=1

| --cop2-di-bits || 0, 1 || 0 to skip setting invalid, and div by Zero flags in status register, and therefore improve performance. Can be used as a speedhack to skip costly calculations. || --cop2-di-bits=0

| --cop2-no-clamping ||  0, 1 || Changes the clamping behavior of the COP2. The default value is set to 1.  || --cop2-no-clamping=0

| --cop2-accurate-mul-range || start,end offset (0x0 - 0x1FFFFFF) || Accurate multiplication instructions for the COP2 in the specified range by using software floats rather than hardware floats (Offset range seems not to directly match EE's) || --cop2-accurate-mul-range=0x123456,0x134567

| --cop2-accurate-addsub-range || start,end offset (0x0 - 0x1FFFFFF) || Allows the COP2 to accurately Add/Sub in the specified ee memory range by using software floats rather than hardware floats. (Offset range seems not to directly match EE's. It is possibly 0x95400~ behind(?) || --cop2-accurate-addsub-range=0x123456,0x134567

| --cop2-regalloc || 0, 1 ? || Optimized Register Allocation(?). PCSX2 seems to have this enabled by default. Seems to slow down COP2 when disabled. ||

| --cop2-inst-q || 0, 1 || instant Q, no stalling on VWAITQ, or instances of Q. Crashes some games when enabled. ||

==== Vector Units (VU) ====

 

===== VU =====

 

<pre>Custom DSPs used to process vertex data, physics calculations, and other related tasks. Settings found here affect VU1, VU0, and COP2. They fix broken or missing geometry, black screens, and crashes.</pre>

 

| --vu-xgkick-delay  || Limit is between (0 => 31)  || Delay xgkick instruction execution. PCSX2 uses 6 cycles, PS3 uses 2-8 cycles depending on the game. A game with missing graphics will require a low value such as 0, while one that crashes might require a high value such as 7.|| --vu-xgkick-delay=8

| --vu-branch-hazard || 0, 1 || This command relates to how the emulator handles branch hazards in the Vector Units (VU). Setting it to 0 is the compatible option, while 1 might improve performance. Seems to be enabled by default. Disabling it managed to prevent "'''Batman - Rise of Sin Tzu'''" from crashing|| --vu-branch-hazard=0

| --vu-inst-mflag  || 0, 1 || Instant macflag? It's enabled by default. When disabled, some texture chunks pop and fade. || --vu-inst-mflag=1

| --vu-inst-cflag || 0, 1 || Instant cflag?  || --vu-inst-cflag=1

===== VU1 =====

 

<pre>VU1 is the Graphics Synthesizer’s alternate processing unit. Commands here typically improve performance, prevent crashes, and fix SPS (graphical glitches).</pre>

| --vu1-mpg-cycles  || Decimals<br>0 - 65535 || Set initial speed for VU1 Micro-programs. 100 is the default value. If VU1 requirements were a bottleneck, increasing it will result in better performance while decreasing it will result in the opposite. Increasing it can be beneficial for MTVU sensitive games.|| --vu1-mpg-cycles=1000<br><pre> Symbols (They change values close to VU1-mpg-cycles' offset):

 

 

 

| --vu1-const-prop || 0, 1|| Enabled by default. 0 will disable it and cause performance issues but with higher compatability.[https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/blob/58f5a5b915915293b90e7e8f34c33f9c0424d1e8/pcsx2/x86/microVU_Misc.h#L312 More info] || --vu1-const-prop=1

| --vu1-jr-cache-policy || newprog, sameprog, auto, new, same || PCSX2 uses newprog as the default setting. Setting it into newprog has been proven to fix some crashes [https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/blob/58f5a5b915915293b90e7e8f34c33f9c0424d1e8/pcsx2/x86/microVU_Misc.h#L319 Info] || --vu1-jr-cache-policy=newprog

| --vu1-jalr-cache-policy || newprog, sameprog, auto, new, same || PCSX2 uses newprog as the default setting. Setting it into newprog has been proven to fix some crashes [https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/blob/58f5a5b915915293b90e7e8f34c33f9c0424d1e8/pcsx2/x86/microVU_Misc.h#L319 Info] || --vu1-jalr-cache-policy=newprog

| --vu1-no-clamping ||  0,1 || Changes the clamping behavior of the VU1. Setting specific to ps4 emulators, unimplemented in pcsx2, with 0 being closest to extra, and 1 to extra + preserve sign. The default emulator's value is 1. || --vu1-no-clamping=0

| --assert-path1-ad || 0, 1 || Path 1 is how the GIF takes data from VU1 via XGKICK instruction. It's unknown what this command does but it's related to VU1, and helps prevent crashes in VU1 sensitive games when enabled. || --assert-path1-ad=1

<pre>VU0 is the Emotion Engine’s alternate processing unit. It is sometimes referred to as "micro-mode". Commands here prevent crashes, and fix SPS (graphical glitches).</pre>

| --vu0-mpg-cycles || Decimals<br>0 - 65535 || Set initial cycle speed for VU0 Micro-programs. 100 is the default value. It is not available in older emulators such as War of the Monsters. Raising the value helps COP2 timing, while lowering does the opposite.|| --vu0-mpg-cycles=1000<br><pre> Symbols (They change values close to VU0-mpg-cycles' offset):

 

 

 

| --vu0-jr-cache-policy || newprog, sameprog, auto, new, same || PCSX2 uses newprog as the default setting [https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/blob/58f5a5b915915293b90e7e8f34c33f9c0424d1e8/pcsx2/x86/microVU_Misc.h#L319 Info] || --vu0-jr-cache-policy=sameprog

| --vu0-jalr-cache-policy || newprog, sameprog, auto, new, same || PCSX2 uses newprog as the default setting [https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/blob/58f5a5b915915293b90e7e8f34c33f9c0424d1e8/pcsx2/x86/microVU_Misc.h#L319 Info] || --vu0-jalr-cache-policy=sameprog

| --vu0-no-clamping || 0,1 || Changes the clamping behavior of the VU0. Setting specific to ps4 emulators, unimplemented in pcsx2. The default emulator's value is 1. || --vu0-no-clamping=0

| --vif-thread-chunk-size || 0, 1024 || Slows down both VIFS the lower it is, and speeds them up the higher it is. 1024 is the limit, with 112 being the default value.  ||  --vif-thread-chunk-size=100  

| --vif1-instant-xfer ||  1 = Instant VIF1<br>0 = Delayed VIF1 || Changes VIF1 timing. 0 slows its timing and is the compatible option for most games, while 1 speeds up its timing, and being more compatible with a small fraction of games. It can be used to fix graphical glitches or potentially prevent games from freezing. || --vif1-instant-xfer=0

| --iop-sif1-cycle-scalar || Accelerate SIF cycles: (0.99 => 0.1)<br>Decelerate SIF cycles: (1.1 => ∞ )|| Controls the speed at which the IOP receives from the EE || --iop-sif1-cycle-scalar=0.1

| --ee-sif1-cycle-scalar ||Accelerate SIF cycles: (0.99 => 0.1)<br>Decelerate SIF cycles: (1.1 => ∞ )|| Controls the speed at which the EE sends to the IOP || --ee-sif1-cycle-scalar=0.1

| --iop-sif0-cycle-scalar || Accelerate SIF cycles: (0.99 => 0.1)<br>Decelerate SIF cycles: (1.1 => ∞ )|| Controls the speed at which the IOP sends to the EE || --iop-sif0-cycle-scalar=0.1

| --ee-sif0-cycle-scalar || Accelerate SIF cycles: (0.99 => 0.1)<br>Decelerate SIF cycles: (1.1 => ∞ )|| Controls the speed at which the EE receives from the IOP || --ee-sif0-cycle-scalar=0.1

| --gs-h2l-list-opt || 0, 1 || Setting it to 1 improves GS performance||--gs-h2l-list-opt=1

|-style="background-color:#cbddfb"

| || GS features || ||

| --gs-use-mipmap || 0, 1 || Enables mipmapping support. Can be used to fix graphics. Needs --gs-kernel-cl="mipmap" for full mipmapping support. If upscaling, however, --gs-kernel-cl-up="mipmap2x2" is also needed. It works best on War of the Monsters emulator, as can be seen in the Ratchet series' mipmapping issues responding only to this emu's mipmapping functionality.|| --gs-use-mipmap=1

| --gs-use-deferred-l2h || 0, 1 || Delay option for L2H (local to host, GS to EE). || --gs-use-deferred-l2h=1

| --gs-use-clut-merge || 0, 1 || Enabling CLUT merging helps improve how the emulator processes textures that use indexed color palettes. It ensures more accurate emulation of the PS2’s color handling. It sometimes restores missing graphical elements, and fix texture flickering (prominently flickering shadows or UI elements).  It prevents Spyro's shadow from flickering in Enter the Dragonfly. Enabling it is the accurate, albeit slow option. || --gs-use-clut-merge=1

| --gs-flush-ad-xyz || always, safe, safeZwrite, off, 0 || Force a primitive flush when a framebuffer is also an input texture. This fixes some processing effects, but it can sometimes be heavy on the GS in terms of performance. GTA: SA, and Jak 3 use this command. || --gs-flush-ad-xyz=safe

| --gs-force-bilinear || 0, 1 || Forces bilinear filtering, can fix ghosting problems in some cases. Not recommended for games that use 2D images, as it could possibly break games that rely on nearest filtering.|| --gs-force-bilinear=1

|-

|-style="background-color:#D7EF54"

| --gs-upscale || none, gpu, edgesmooth, smooth, motion, motionvec, motionvector, point || Upscaling type Selector || --gs-upscale=EdgeSmooth

| --gs-kernel-cl-up || "DarkCloud2" "fantavision" "h2lpool2x2", "OptRightTri", "clutmerge2x2", "mipmap2x2", "up2x2simple", "up2x2skipinterp", "up2x2tc", "up2x2", default || Kernel Variant Color lookup Upscaler (?), mipmap and clutmerge and h2l need to be enabled before their options become usable|| --gs-kernel-cl-up="clutmerge2x2"

| --gs-override-small-tri-area || 0, 1 || This option is designed to modify how the emulator handles or renders small triangles that fall below a certain area threshold. Enabling this option could resolve graphical problems such as missing, flickering, or incorrectly rendered small details, and could potentially restore missing text in some games. || --gs-override-small-tri-area=1

| --gs-ignore-rect-correction || 0, 1 || Setting it to 1 is known to fix flickering textures and graphical glitches in far distances. || --gs-ignore-rect-correction=1

| --gs-opt-frbuff-switch || 0, 1 ||  Unknown. Used by Everybody's Tennis/Hot Shots Tennis || --gs-opt-frbuff-switch=0

| --gs-kernel-cl || h2lpool, clutmerge, mipmap, DarkCloud2, fantavision, Mipmap and clutmerge and h2l need to be enabled before their options become usable ||Kernel Variant Color lookup(?). Options included here can be upscaling if --gs-kernel-cl-up were to be used along with it || --gs-kernel-cl="clutmerge"

| --gs-progressive || 0, 1 || Enables progressive scan. Can fix graphical glitches/double screen issues.  ||

| --gs-vert-precision || 8, 16 || This option allows the user to choose between 8-bit and 16-bit precision for the vertex calculations in 3D graphics rendering. It reduces the likelihood of visual distortions such as jagged edges, improper alignment of polygons, or model "warping." The emu expects the values of 8 or 16, any other values are not permitted. || --gs-vert-precision=8

| --gs-packed15-fmv-opt || 0, 1 || Unknown. This option likely controls whether the emulator optimizes or processes FMVs that use the 15-bit packed color format. Used by Ape Escape 2|| --gs-packed15-fmv-opt=1

| --gs-fieldswap-delay || 0, 254 || Wait longer than usual to change field. In essence, it blurs/sharpens image. ||

| --gs-render-tile-threshold || 0, 3000000 || Unknown. Used by Psychonauts|| --gs-render-tile-threshold=300000

| --gs-frontend-opt-mode || 0, 1, 2 || GS optimization mode? Unknown effect. Used on JakX || --gs-frontend-opt-mode=1

| --gs-motion-factor || 25, 50 ||  Unknown. Used by Wild ARMS 3|| --gs-motion-factor=25

| --gs-check-trans-rejection || 0, 1  || Check transfer rejection? Unknown. Used by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City || --gs-check-trans-rejection=1

| --gs-check-trans-rejection68 || 0, 1 || Unknown. Used by Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter || --gs-check-trans-rejection68=1

|-

<pre>The emulated I/O Processor (IOP) settings. Commands here are rarely useful, as very few games will require them. The IOP controls the emulated DEV9, SPU2, USB, Memory cards, CDVD, Firewire, along with other input/output devices</pre>

| --iop-cycle-scalar ||<br>Accelerate IOP cycles: (0.999 => 0.100)<br>Decelerate IOP cycles: (1.001 => 5.000)|| '''Not a performance speedhack'''. It impacts the speed of loading times and input latency. The default value for most emulators is 0.5|| --iop-cycle-scalar=1.0

| --iop-tight-slice-count || 0, 2000 || Seems to slow down the iop the higher the value. Can be used to fix CDVD timing issues. || --iop-tight-slice-count=12

| --iop-hook || AdvanceClock<br>FastForwardClock<br>Mfifodrain || IOP native hook, Sony uses it on their official release of Red dead revolver. It helps fix timing issues || --iop-hook=0x0086ac,FastForwardClock

| --jitproc-use-aslr || || Disables compiler process ASLR, useful for easier debugging, as the compiler process will be always on fixed address. Theoretically useful for mast1c0re, but to change it you need to be already in... || --jitproc-use-aslr=0

| --detect-idle-intc ||0, 1|| Enabled by default, 0 disables it || --detect-idle-intc=0

| --detect-idle-chcr|| 0, 1|| Enabled by default, 0 disables it || --detect-idle-chcr=0

==== PCSX2's gameindex ====

 

<pre>PCSX2's commands on the PS4 (or the commands which behave similarly)</pre>

! {{cellcolors|#00d6f2|#000000}}PCSX2 !! {{cellcolors|#38ffc3|#000000}}PS4 !! Notes

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}XGKickHack ||{{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--vu-xgkick-delay= ||  Possible equivalent value is 8

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}VuAddSubHack ||{{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--vu-hack-triace=1 || Required for every single game developed by TriAce

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}vuClampMode: 2 ||{{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}<br>--vu1-no-clamping=0<br>--vu0-no-clamping=0<br>--cop2-no-clamping=0  ||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}vuClampMode: 3  || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}<br>--vu1-no-clamping=1<br>--vu0-no-clamping=1<br>--cop2-no-clamping=1<br>--vu-to-double=1 ||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}eeClampMode: 2 || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--fpu-to-double=0<br>--fpu-no-clamping=0<br> ||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}eeClampMode: 3 || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--fpu-to-double=1<br>--fpu-no-clamping=1<br> ||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}eeRoundMode: || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--fpu-accurate-muldiv=1<br>--fpu-accurate-addsub=1 ||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}vu0RoundMode: || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--cop2-accurate-mul=1<br>--cop2-accurate-addsub=1<br>--vu0-accurate-addsub-range=<br>--vu0-mul0fix-range= ||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}vu1RoundMode: || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--vu1-accurate-addsub-range=<br>--vu1-mul0fix-range=||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}eeCycleRate: || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--ee-cycle-scalar= || '''"Potential" equivalent values: PCSX2 - PS4''':<br>300% --> 0.333<br>180% --> 0.555<br>130% -->0.769<br>'''100% --> 1.0'''<br>75% --> 1.333<br>60% --> 1.666<br>50% --> 2

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}FpuNegDivHack<br>FpuMulHack || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--fpu-accurate-muldiv=1 ||  

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}cpuCLUTRender: 1 || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--gs-uv-shift-pointsampling=1 ||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}MTVUSpeedHack: 0 || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--vu1=jit-sync || Some games will also require --vu1-mpg-cycles= to be between "6000 - 19000"

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}mergeSprite<br>alignSprite || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--gs-kernel-cl-up="up2x2simple" || Note: works similarly but not the equivalent

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}cpuSpriteRenderBW: 4 || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--gs-opt-frbuff-switch=1 || Note: works similarly but not the equivalent

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}mipmap || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--gs-use-mipmap=1<br>--gs-kernel-cl="mipmap" || Note: Works best on War of the Monsters emu

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}autoFlush || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--gs-flush-ad-xyz=safe || Possible values include always, safe, off, 0

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}VIF1StallHack || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--vif1-instant-xfer=0 ||  If that doesn't work, the lua command eeObj.SchedulerDelayEvent("vif1.dma", 0x9000) might assist.

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}wildArmsHack || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--gs-kernel-cl-up="DarkCloud2" ||

| {{cellcolors|#0b9fb3|#000000}}deinterlace || {{cellcolors|#03fcb1|#000000}}--force-frame-blend=1 ||

 

Every PS2 emulator is programmed differently. Sometimes choosing the right emulator is the only way to fix a game. Emulators are not provided pre-installed in the PS4 OS, but instead they have to be unpacked from an official PS2 CLASSICS PKG file signed by Sony. This list includes the typical usage of those emulators.

 

| Resident Evil - Code: Veronica || Fixes games like '''Jackie chan Adventures, SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature From the Krust Krab, Pac-man World 3, Yu-Gi-Oh: Capsule monsters, SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis''' freezing at a black/splash screen. Additionally, it fixes many games requiring '''OPL's mode 2'''. Often referred to as "RECVX" || 1.7 || '''Fatal Fury,''' '''Redfaction,''' '''AOFA.'''

| Fatal Fury Battle Archives: Volume 2 || Similarly to RECVX, it is often used to fix frozen games. ||  ||  

| Red Faction || It is prominently used to fix VU1 sensitive games. It was used to fix '''Tony Hawk games''' suddenly crashing, as well as MTVU sensitive games such as '''Star Wars Battlefront II'''.|| 1.6 || '''Max payne'''  

| Forbidden Siren || The only emulator to fix '''Ice age 2''' being stuck at splash screen. It also fixed '''Gran turismo 4''' running abysmally slow. || 0.1 ||

| King of Fighters 2000 || Seemingly one of the most VU-accurate emus, fixing sps in games such as '''Crash Twinsanity''', '''Rayman 3''', '''Crazy Frog Racer'''. It also '''prevents Koei tecmo games from suddenly freezing when battle starts. Moreover, it is likely the only emulator where '''Batman Begins''' does not crash.''' Often referred to as "KOF2000"|| 1.2 || '''Roguev1''', '''KOF98''', '''Okage'''

| Destroy All Humans! || Fixed '''Tenchu: Fatal Shadows'''' crashing. || 0.1 ||  

| Rise of the Kasai || It fixed most of the '''Harry Potter''' games. Often referred to as "rotk". || 0.2 ||

|War of the monsters v1 || Subjectively the best emulator to use. Used as PS2CLASSICSGUI's default emulator, it is the best one around for accurate gs emulation, as some graphical issues on the Ratchet series and Tekken 5 can only be fixed by it. Another interesting case is GTA SA's lack of need for auto flush on it, and being natively performant. Additionally, its VU0 timing is much better than Jakv2's, making it one of the best emulators on the PS4. || 0.1 || '''Rogue v1 and v2, Arc the Lad, Star Wars Jedi Starfighter'''

| GTA III || Fixed the PAL version of '''Genji: Dawn of the Samurai'''. || 0.6 ||

| PaRappa the Rapper 2 || The only emulator to boot '''Spyro: A Hero's Tail'''. || 0.1 ||

| Star Wars Racers Revenge || Seemingly the closest emulator to the PS3's. Useful for debugging games as it also shows useful information such as pagefault. || 0.4 ||  

<br>If needed it can hook registers by using register names from alias files. Alias files (ee-cpr0-alias.lua, ee-gpr-alias.lua, ee-hwaddr.lua) are stored in lua_include folder, and can be included to config by using require ("alias file name").  

 

==== ApiRequest ====

 

<pre>The most important part of the LUA script. The LUA script will crash the game if used without it.</pre>

 

===== (Emulator) EmuObject =====

 

|ShowDiscSwitchInfo || emuObj.ShowDiscSwitchInfo() ||

|LoadConfig || emuObj.LoadConfig( 0 or 1 )|| emuObj.LoadConfig(0)

|SaveConfig || emuObj.LoadConfig( 0 or 1 ) || emuObj.LoadConfig(0)

===== (EE) EEObject =====

 

|AdvanceClock || eeObj.AdvanceClock() || Likely skips an allocated amount of EE cycles.  

eeObj.AddHook(0x002cc350, 0x78a30000, function()

 

<pre>One of the most important LUA commands. It modifies the Graphics Synthesizer's behavior.

 

Part of EmuObject() class, it's frequently used in official configs.</pre>

<br />

'''Commands'''

===== (IOP) IOPObject =====

 

| AdvanceClock || iopObj.AdvanceClock() || Skip an allocated amount of IOP cycles

| GetClock || iopObj.GetClock() || Returns the value of cycles the iop is ahead of (?)

===== (GS) GsObject =====

 

<pre>Commands for the emulated Graphics Synthesizer</pre>

 

===== Does not require Object calling or Unknown =====

 

 

===== Other objects =====

 

==== Registers for hook ====

 

==== Official PS2 configuration examples ====

 

*You can find the rest of the PS2 configurations in [https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps4/Official_Configuration_Files here].

 

==== Custom config.lua examples ====

 

Here is the first custom LUA configuration created by the community:

= Memory Map =

== Registers Map ==

 

=== EE-IOP ===

 

<pre>

This list of registers is yet to be completed. Some registers are incorrectly named or include incorrect offsets. 0x1000000xxx base is not guaranteed in different emu revisions, but layout should be the same regardless. Assuming base is different (Like on kof2000), simply reduce these offsets by 8 hex values (IOP, VU0, and VU1 registers' offsets are static in all emulators).

 

<pre>

List was designed for Jak v2

Eboot md5:c644f6879af225a6e5a70233fc4625a3

</pre>

 

=== Emulator related registers ===

 

! {{cellcolors|#7698FF|#000000}}"Fake" registers !! Address !! Notes   

Updated only on branch/jump tests, unless commands such as --ee-pc-coherency  or --ee-insn-flush-pc are used.<br>

Then updates are instant, right when instructions are executed. <br>

Commonly used by sceners as a way of finding troublesome offsets. Can be found in some emulators here too: 0x8000016830

= Open CL and Floats =

In this part, we describe the PS4 native Floating point support and OpenCL information, for both CPU and GPU. The understanding of floating point conversion is very important for emulating the PS2. The information below came from this [https://gist.github.com/masterzorag/06cadbc5fbe7d3375704fc52518f434e#file-gistfile1-md gist].

 

== GPU ==

= PS3 Configuration support =

 

The PS2 emulator of the PS4 supports configurations in the known format from ps2_netemu/ps2classic that came from the PS3. This feature was officially used in Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits ps2-ps4 classic. To enable PS3 style configuration, add this to config-emu-ps4.txt:

The configuration file needs to be in folder ...'''/patches/{TITLE-ID}/''' and the file need to have name '''{TITLE-ID}_lopnor.cfgbin'''. The Title ID needs to be in XXXX-YYYYY format (ex. SLUS-12345). Example path: /patches/SLUS-12345/SLUS-12345_lopnor.cfgbin. A tester confirmed that configurations work as is without even the need to edit them.

Please keep in mind that not all PS3 commands are recognized, only 0x01 (can depend upon emu revision), 0x09, 0x0A, 0x0B, 0x0F, 0x10, 0x26, 0x27 and 0x42.

For example, the Rayman 3 configuration does not work due to the command being unsupported on PS4.

Command 0x07 is NOT recognized, but can be manually translated to CLI configuration (to "--vu-xgkick-delay=value").

Same goes for command 0x11 (--vu0-accurate-addsub-range can be used).

*More about PS3 style configurations/commands: https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/PS2_Emulation#Game_CONFIG

*A PS4 log from loading that kind of config: https://pastebin.com/ZpUyU8DE

| No support for EE Cache || Ice Age 2, DOA2: Extreme, Nascar 2009, Barnyard, [https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/issues/2248 Others]|| Lua patches to the EE memory and picking the right emulator ||  

| Missing COP2 pipeline emulation. || [https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/issues/4439 other games affected by COP2 timing] || Rearranging code through lua patches. || While COP2 is a part of EE, in terms of emulation it's a separate processor that can run on its own. Consequently, some operations take a long time while EE still minds own its business. Some games abuse this and do their own thing, knowing that COP2 calculation takes an expected number of cycles. On this emu, every COP2 opcode is instant, which break games that expect it to take some time.

| VU0 is not running in sync with EE core || 24 The Game, ATV Quad Power Racing 2, Ghosthunter, Rayman Arena, Rayman 3, Largo winch, Ratchet and clank games. All games using M-bit. || EE hook AdvanceClock or fastforwardclock commands on affected addresses to push VU0 ahead while stalling EE, setting the value of 5 to ee cycle scalar, and patches to rearrange code. Most of the time, it will be CTC2/QMTC2 instructions with interlock that are affected. || Emulator kickstarts VU0 for 256 cycles, while reporting that 512 cycles passed. Yup, we are out of sync right from the start of VU0 mpg because people working for $ony don't know that VU0 run at EE MHz, not at EE bus MHz. Not to mention, that a 256 cycles kickstart is too much even on the correct speed. Later things just got worse. This issue can be partially replicated on Pcsx2 if you overclock the EE by +3

| FPU/VU math inaccuracies. || Koun, Tony hawk games, Devil may cry 3, Gun, TY the Tasmanian Tiger 3, Beyond Good & Evil, MTX Mototrax, Max payne, Bully, Jackie chan adventures, Wild arms 3, Pac-man World 3, Gran turismo 4, Many others  || Lua patches to the EE memory, accurate math commands. || PS2 use really obscure floating point math, only one guard bit is used in calculations. PCSX2 hack it with different rounding modes, emu on ps4 fix it with soft floats, usually applied per offset. Sometime with patches directly to affected code (THPS engine).

<br>It's worth noting that pcsx2 by default applies "accurate add/sub" for every single FPU opcode, and only to fpu opcodes. That's why accurate add/sub is needed on the PS4 while pcsx2 is happy with its default settings.  

| M-Bit support is broken || '''Every game that uses M-Bit'''. Totally Spies! Totally Party, Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing, My Street, Crash Twinsanity, Marvel Nemesis, Panzer Elite Action - Fields of Glory, Super Monkey Ball Adventure, most Eko Software games, and many more. [https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/pull/3593] || Lua patches to the EE memory || While emulator respect m-bit, way that VU0 work on it make it broken most of times (check "VU0 is not running in sync with EE core" issue).

| Multitap doesn't support all games || Urban reign, Digimon Rumble Arena 2, others || Lua patches || Emulator expect PS4 to be able to use 8 controllers (well, who doesn't? Even PS1 can do it...). That cause all kind of mess with controller detection when game expect multitap in second port.

| DMA writes when busy signal is engaged || Ratchet and clank games, Metal gear solid 2, others || None yet || AKA eetiminghack

|VIF1 runs too fast || Urban reign, Avatar, Parappa 2, Eternal Poison, Soul Calibur 2, Soul Calibur 3, Others  || Using LUA's SchedulerDelayEvent command or Using CLI'S vif1-instant-xfer command || Sony wanted to improve the performance, which is the reason VIF1 is instant. The lua's command can be customizable to set the delay period, the cli can't, therefore lua's command is much more compatible

|Reading VU TPC registers returns wrong values || Street Fighter 3 EX(VU0), R: Racing Revolution(VU0), Spiderman 3 (VU0, in T-Bit handler...), Edge of Reality games(VU1) || Patches in lua. || In this emu TPC stores full addresses, which is wrong. Real hardware keep there addr >> 3. Worth noting that EoR games read VU1 TPC in a nasty way, accessing 0x43A0(VU1 TPC) from COP2 code.

|VIF command interrupts handled before VIFn_CODE is updated. || Onimusha Blade Warriors || Fixed by patch in intr handler. || This is very specific case because Onimusha check VIFn_CODE register in interrupt handler and do nothing if code is not 0x80 (NOP with I). But VIFn_CODE seems to be updated after interrupt is handled. This practically makes everything out of sync later as interrupts are happening, but handler does nothing about them.

| CDVD register 0x1F402038 (KeysValid) return wrong result. || Every "SCCS" game || Patches in lua. || Likely specific to NTSC-C releases, because that region uses special SDK. This issue makes cdvdman become stuck on any request because it thinks that the cdvd key is invalid.

| Lack of CDVD error handling || Demon Chaos, Spyro A new Beginning, Silent Hill 2 Black Ribbon, games from pcsx2 #5174 PR. || Patches in lua if needed. || One correctly supported error is SCECdErABRT, rest is just not handled or what's worst trigger emu panic on purpose like SCECdErILI (but not for 0 sector request - Spyro). Some affected games can still work if error is just accidental and not checked by game code.

| Corrupted SIF0 transfer when not full QW is send by IOP || True Crime: LA, PDC DC 2008, Street Racing Syndicate(1.03) || Patches in lua. || IOP is able to send words by SIF0, EE DMAC can only transfer Quadwords. When IOP send not full QW real hardware use whatever was in buffer from previous transfer for missing words (only words that are requested by iop are overwritten in transfer buffer). Emu probably memset 0 that part.

 

This is a list of glitches that the PS4 does not suffer from, as opposed to PCSX2.</pre>

! Issue !! PCSX2's fix !! Games affected !! Description !! PCSX2 issue no.

| Bad FPU math || Disabling EE recompiler / Janky GameDB patch ||Armored Core Nine Breaker || The AI becomes stuck on some levels, working only when EE recompiler's disabled || #8587

| ? || Enabling EETimingHack || Pac-Man World 2 || Hanging in Butane Pain, Ghost Bayou, Pinky's Revenge and Clyde in the Caldera levels. || Unavailable

| ? || Unavailable || Persona 3 || Stuttering noise when saving || #7316

| ? || Unavailable || Mega Man X8 || Flickering subtitles on FMVS || #5192

| ? || Unavailable || Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses || In-game data corruption (?) leading to a hang || #11576

| ? || vu0RoundMode: 2 || Ape Escape 3 || The character's buster malforms when spawning anew || #11386

|--style="background-color:#D7EF54"

| || || Fixed by using certain commands || ||

|-

| Inaccurate COP2 add/sub implementation|| Unavailable || Driv3r || AI cop car drives at the incorrect direction (Fixed on PS4 with accurate COP2 add/sub) || #11714

== Description ==

The PS2 BIOS is the file '''PS20220WD20050620.crack''' included in every PS2 game .pkg. It is the same BIOS used by Sony in PS3's ps2_netemu.self. The lack of many X modules here means that homebrew compatibility is limited, as many of those need to be recompiled to use non X versions of modules, or need to load open source versions of them through MC/CDVD. An important non X module that is missing is LIBSD, therefore, homebrews that require it will likely fail to boot, or cause an error.

 

'''More about the PS2 BIOS'''

The version of the PS2 BIOS seems to be the developement v2.20 from the Japanese region (22/01/2007), and is not limited to booting only NTSC-J games.

The PS2 emulator does not support USB peripherals, but this seems not to be a limitation of the BIOS, as it is used also in CECH C/E PS3 consoles.  

There are signs that different PS2 BIOS versions exist, named PS20190AC20030623_nordram_miniOSD.bin. This PS2 BIOS has included handy extensions for debugging, and can debug print with "debug osd verbosity" from CLI set to "verbose". The most noticeable difference for both BIOS files seems to be the special RDRAM module.

Whilst the PS3 patches its PS2 BIOS to preferred regions, the PS4 uses a so called CallHook which is better known for PCSX2 users as fastboot. For more information about this patch, look at PCSX2's fastboot code. It is the same code except that PS2 emulators for PS4 do not have patches for different BIOS revisions.

 

'''PS2 BIOS file information:'''

== Files inside ROM image ==

<pre>There are 193 titleIDs listed inside XPARAM2.ELF file of PS2 BIOS included in PS20220WD20050620.crack. XPARAM2.ELF is called by OSDSYS, then ID check is performed. If titleID match to one of included in the table, different IOP emulation settings are applied. This include blacklisting for some specific titles.  

The original PS2 BIOS from models with emulated IOP, include a similar list file called XPARAM.ELF. The Title IDs there are not the same, although some of them exist on both lists.</pre>

= LUA include files =

 

 

<pre>

 

 

 

'''ee-cpr0-alias.lua'''

pad.CIRCLE = 0x2000