/psg/ ~ PlayStation General

[Anonymous No.6043553]

Discuss anything and everything related to the Sony PlayStation. Discover any great games lately? What are you currently playing? also what’s the best method to play imports? Preferably on a fat NTSC-U PS2.

[Anonymous No.6043570]

>>6043553
Best idunno. Cheapest would be Popsloader.

[Anonymous No.6043571]

>>6043553
Playstation sucks.
Go play Sega Saturn.

[Father Electronics Couture No.6043585]

You're absolutely going to need either a slide tool (hacky) or a fliptop case if you want to run backups or out of region discs in your fat PS2. If you use other methods you're just emulating and PC emulation is superior by leaps and bounds.

[Father Electronics Couture No.6043592]

Oh, or a modchip of course.

[Anonymous No.6043606]

>>6043553
>that image

HAHAHA. Is nothing sacred.

[Anonymous No.6043638]

>>6043571
Saturn sucks.
Go play Nintendo 64.

[Anonymous No.6043646]

>>6043553
Why is Einhander's cover art a white power symbol?

[Anonymous No.6043652]

>>6043553
Einhänder
Is
Based

[Anonymous No.6043695]

>>6043553
Fun fact: Einhander is the only E-Rated game where it said "fuck." To be specific: There's a song in one of the levels where it had lyrics... Even though it was sped up, fuck can be heard somewhere (despite the loud noises going on).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOhfKnDlGdk

[Anonymous No.6043707]

>>6043638
N64 sucks.
Go play 3DO.

[Anonymous No.6043710]

>>6043707
Epic reply chain, reddit.

[Anonymous No.6043759]

>>6043553
>also what’s the best method to play imports? Preferably on a fat NTSC-U PS2.
I have a black slim NTSC PS2 sitting next to a silver slim NTSC-J PS2, it's totally unnecessary but feels fun.

The best way is probably to have a hard drive and a modchip so you can run ISOs. Fat PS2 is better for that IIRC.

[Anonymous No.6043876]

>>6043710
put me in le screencap

[Father Electronics Couture No.6043884]

>>6043759
I got into an argument about running isos from hdd on ps2 the other day that lead me to discover OPL has improved compatibility considerably but I don't think anybody is going to show up and claim that POPSloader is a good way to play PS1 games.

The bottom line is that if you want to play PS1 games on PS2 in hard compatibility mode, you have to do it from a disc and slim PS2s are actually much easier to swap discs into - although with a modchip you don't need to swap (PS2s are easy to softmod, no modchip required)

[Anonymous No.6043897]

>>6043585
Popstarter is compatible with all the PS1 games I play on ps2. Keep your barbaric flip tool

[Father Electronics Couture No.6043936]

>>6043897
Just use Mednafen Beetle, Man. It's compatible with everything.

[Anonymous No.6043940]

>>6043936
Meddy's def good.

[Anonymous No.6043971]

>>6043585
So using a psio counts as emulation to you? Consider that using a computer emulates everything about a ps. Using a psio is just emulating the CD ROM coprocessor on a ps. All the actual game rendering and playing is on og hardware. Big difference.

[Anonymous No.6044031]

Did anyone else get the new Playstation Underground Jampack? It has this crazy Japanese game called "Irritating Stick." This shit is bonkers!!

[Anonymous No.6044046]

>>6043884
Oops, I spaced out and forgot he was talking about playing PS1 games. Thanks anon.

[Father Electronics Couture No.6044054]

>>6043971
I like hardware ODEs but PSIO is the most ass backwards way to do an ODE I've ever seen. That has nothing to do with the topic of this thread either so...

[Anonymous No.6044061]

>>6043553
Free mcboot is the best way to play imports and burnt games. It's simply a memory card that's properly set up and installed with the right software that functionally makes your PS2 softmodded so as long as it is in the console. No modchip required. A pre-loaded memory card can be found on Amazon or eBay for 15 bucks. You can set up yourself but you need a slim PS2 that can't be too late a revision to do so so just buying one is really your best bet.

I don't know why you would want to spend money you don't have to unless you're a serious collector, so simply find the disc image files for games you want to play, patch them to be compatible, (with ESR GUI, it is a very simple and fast process and the guide I link below explains it) burn them to a DVD-R and play on your fat PS2 with free mcboot. ALL fat PS2s are compatible with Free Mcboot, just some slim ones are not.

Guide/everything you need to know:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ps2/comments/2ppzy6/attention_everyone_with_questions_about_freemcboot/

Pre-loaded memory card:

https://www.amazon.com/RGEEK-FreeMcBoot-1-953-Memory-Playstation/dp/B07PB2DYTT/

(Also, for PS1: you should be able to bypass import games with free mcboot for PS1, but burnt CD-R PS1 games are tough on a fat PS2. On a slim PS2 you can easily disc swap because the slim is a flip top obviously, but on the fat PS2 the only way to play disc image files (with freemcboot alone and no modchip) of PS1 games is through software on a flash drive or external hard drive which can be unreliable since the games were programmed with the faster speed of CD-R drives in mind.)

[Anonymous No.6044064]

>>6043585
>>6043592
>>6043759
Fake news. Freemcboot exists.

>>6043884
>>6044061
This.

[Anonymous No.6044081]

>>6044061
>Also, for PS1: you should be able to bypass import games with free mcboot for PS1, but burnt CD-R PS1 games are tough on a fat PS2
Does this mean I can play NTSC-J *discs* on a PS2? I should have specified that I meant original discs and not burnt ones

[Anonymous No.6044110]

>>6044054
Ps1 has a CD ROM co processor instead of the drive itself doing all the work. Much more difficult to emulate compared to say Dreamcast. I think they did a great job. Plus it auto switches and you can run legit discs.

[Anonymous No.6044113]

>>6044081
For PS2 games on a ps2 I'm positive that Free mcboot can bypass region locking.

For PS1 games on a ps2 with free mcbootI believe so, Free mcboot should have an application that allows one to bypass region lock entirely for both ps1 and ps2 games. Things are trickier with ps1 for backups but you can play ps2 backups with free mcboot memory card and the right app alone so I'm positive you can easily bypass region locking for all ps2 games..

[Anonymous No.6044129]

>>6043553

I've been messing around with PS2 softmod stuff for the last few months and this is imo, close to the final form of PS2. Pic related

[Anonymous No.6044140]

>>6044129

POPStarter running off the USB port in the front, for /vr/ stuff. A lot of negative reviews of it I think stem from the fact that it doesnt work with a handful of AAA titles, but it's had a lot of work done on it after most people discounted it as garbage. The games that do run, in my experience, generally run perfect. And there are a lot of compatible titles.

The real based upgrade is the travel router sitting on top of it. It basically acts as a tiny server, powered by the USB port on the front, delivering PS2 games, and PS1 if I can get the fucking config sorted out, to the ethernet port at the back, eliminating the bottleneck once and for all when it comes to slim ps2's. The router was about $30 USD, and you can swap in flash drives to your heart's content. Very particular use cases make discs necessary sometimes but this is going to give this thing a lot more legs when it comes to preserving the laser.

[Anonymous No.6044201]

>>6044129
I'm surprised the USB power out can draw enough power to run a mini router with a drive plugged in

[Anonymous No.6044223]

>>6044129
Nice!

I have a fat with an HDD and today it stopped suddenly working when I was playing Unlimited Saga. I was seething and already thinking I would end up playing through the trashy USB or something. Defeated, I just opened the adapter to see what it was like. Put it back up, and for some reason now it's working again.

If it dies another time I will try this setup on my slim.

[Anonymous No.6044379]

Any of you used this controller? The bigger grips make it look more comfortable than a DualShock

[Anonymous No.6044393]

>>6044081
It doesnt

[Anonymous No.6044424]

should i buy racing lagoon

it looks fun as hell and top aesthetic but i don't like the idea of being stuck in an ae86 for the WHOLE game i hear the soundtrack alone is worth it tho

[Father Electronics Couture No.6044504]

>>6044064
Free McBoot still does not bypass the hard disc check when the PS2 detects a disc being inserted. You have to have a way to swap disc's or a modchip

>>6044110
The drive still reads data from the disc and feeds it to the system. It should just be a matter of deciding the protocols. But again this has nothing to do with playing imports a fat ps2.

[Anonymous No.6044583]

>>6044504
You are correct about Freemcboot not bypassing the hard disc check when the PS2 detects a disc being inserted, and incorrect that you can't play backups and still need to swap or use a modchip.

As I said, you simply need to patch the game and then Freemcboot will be able to run it. This is why I mention ESR GUI.

Here is how it works: patching the game makes the PS2 think the backup is a media disc when it first boots because the patch puts an fmv of nothing that's a fraction of the section in the data. So it bypasses the PS2's protection, and you can play the game perfectly from then on. So you have freemcboot, your backup on a DVD-R burnt with the patched file and your PS2, you put in the DVD-R, and I believe you don't even need to load an app with free mcboot and it completely works. The guide I linked explains all of this and links to guides and compatibility lists for ESR GUI as well. Compatibility with this method is near 100%, just about every game works with it just fine. (Backups of CD-R PS2 games like Cho Aniki work with Freemcboot as well.)

[Anonymous No.6044601]

>>6044504
>>6044583

I believe you do need to run an app with free mcboot in fact, this webpage explains ESR GUI.

https://www.psx-place.com/resources/esr-gui.682/

https://www.ps2-home.com/forum/page/esr-game-compatibility-list-a

"The basic principle hasn't changed in 10 years (and actually neither have the tools to be used):

You must start with a clean DVD backup (CD games need conversion to DVD), you patch it to add an UDF filesystem containing the smallest possible movie (so that the console recognizes it as a movie and enables movie read commands - note that doing so also requires a DVD player executable to be loaded into memory, FMCB achieves it via its included "SYS-CONF/dvdplen.irx" or something), then you must run it through the appropriate homebrew, which substitutes drivers that ignore the UDF filesystem and convert data disc read commands to video ones..."

[Father Electronics Couture No.6044928]

>>6044583
>>6044601
OP wants to play Japanese retail PS1 games though

[Anonymous No.6044953]

>>6044601

Has anyone else had spotty results with ESR? I think it's more down to my PS2, but some games I burn with ESR boot effortlessly every time, others require like 5 attempts usually. You can hear it pretty quick when the ps2 "finds" the movie sector, I wonder if it has to do with the particular game size or etc.

Anyways my 2 cents on the discussion happening - FMCB gives you the ability to run homebrew. Under that umbrella, is an arsenal of ways to work /around/ region and copy protection. But FMCB doesn't break or disable region/copy protection. If there is an app that somehow disables the disc drive mechcon or etc, I'd love to know, but until then, OPL, ESR, and PSXLauncher is about as good as it gets without chipping unless I'm mistaken, so OP will need to do that or just grab a JP or chipped ps1

[Anonymous No.6044970]

>>6044953
I'm >>6044601 and >>6044061. Thanks for the info, you are correct about Freemcboot and ESR here. Hopefully the info helps >>6043553 (OP). The bottom line seems to be that if he owns a disc drive that can burn DVD-Rs, it's worth the 15 bucks it would take to buy a memory card with freemcboot and see what he can do.

[Anonymous No.6045145]

>>6044081
You can't play legit imports through Free McBoot last I checked.

[Anonymous No.6046023]

This game is actually pretty fun.

[Anonymous No.6046067]

>>6044129
That's neato, man. I need to get around to getting a cheap $30 PS2 slim with a broken laser to do that.

I'm sure it would work with most travel routers but could you link the eBay or Amazon page to point us in the right direction?

[Anonymous No.6046070]

>>6044129
Oh, and was it a major fuck around to get OPL and the fmcb fs networked to the router or simple?

[Anonymous No.6046071]

>>6044129
So does that mess play PS1 games or not? If not, not retro by the way.

[Anonymous No.6046072]

>>6045145
Good thing you can just download the isos after a five second web search then eh

[Anonymous No.6046073]

>>6046071
If you'd read both his posts you'd have your answer. But yes, not all but most of the good ones:

And it is very /vr/ related. Much like retropi

https://www.ps2-home.com/forum/app.php/page/popstarter-compatibility-list-1

[Anonymous No.6046097]

>>6046067

I basically just totally copied this tutorial, including the hardware, he links to amazon. Other travel routers with similar specs will likely work but I just used the same one out of laziness. The beautiful thing about it is that it's totally self contained, you could take that PS2 anywhere and have all the same stuff, unlike SMB setups that communicate with your computer or a home router.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGi9XnCcOOs

It's not really that complex and once you have it set up, it's done for good, and you can just pop out your USB drive and add/remove games with your computer easily. I did have one USB stick that wasn't compatible with the router, not sure why.

For POPStarter though, you need to add some network config stuff to get it running through SMB and I probably have a setting wrong somewhere but can't figure it out. Doesn't seem like it happens to everyone, but something to look out for. Fortunately, USB 1.1 is fast enough to play PSX titles without lag so until I'm motivated to try to fix it I just have a drive plugged into the front as well.

[Anonymous No.6046102]

>>6046071

Lol.. Never change, 4chan.

[Anonymous No.6046103]

>>6044140
>slim with no internal drive
Into the trash it goes...
Nah, sick stuff man. PS2 modding is comfy.

[Anonymous No.6046798]

>>6043897
but popstarter is also shit.

[Anonymous No.6046805]

What's the best model PS1 to get?

[Anonymous No.6046851]

>>6046805
just want to play ps1-games from discs? psone or 900x, because they're the youngest and the laser's most likely not that (ab)used yet.
... and want to use a psio? 700x/7500x
... and maybe want to install the upcoming ps1hdmi-mod? 550x

[Anonymous No.6046863]

>>6043646
I thought it was Spanish for "It Stinks!"

[Anonymous No.6046917]

>>6046798

When was the last time you used it? I don't mind using discs if I need to but having something that plays the majority of the games I want off a USB stick with no issues is pretty tight

[Anonymous No.6047035]

Does the PSone use the same cables as a regular PS1/2?

[Anonymous No.6047087]

>>6046097
Thanks for the pointers, bud.

[Anonymous No.6047107]

>>6046072
Of course but that wasn't what he was asking now was it?

[Anonymous No.6047160]

>>6047035
Yes

[Anonymous No.6047910]

>>6047035
AV yes, power no

[Anonymous No.6048979]

>>6047035
OEM rgb-scart-cables are different (ps1's has caps in the cable, ps2's doesn't as the caps are in the ps2).
the cables work in either console, but you may have brightness-issues when not using each console's proper cable.

[Anonymous No.6049243]

>>6046023
>the jazz mission