Q1 2022 Progress Report

February 6, 2023 · 55 min read

"Ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your controllers and prepare for an exciting journey as we unveil our first progress report of the year for last year!? After a seemingly endless delay, we're back and ready to take you through the crossroads of progress. We've said goodbye to the creaky and outdated WX-widgets GUI toolkit and hello to the sleek and shiny Qt GUI. It's like upgrading from a horse-drawn carriage to a sports car, or a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

Please note that at this time it wasn't available as a build on the site until the next quarter of 2022. But the more hardcore users of PCSX2 could get the artifacts on GitHub if logged in.

And that's not all, we've also revved up the engine with the addition of the Vulkan renderer, allowing for smoother and more efficient gameplay. Plus, with the new texture replacement feature, you'll be able to customize your gaming experience like never before.

But don't worry, we haven't forgotten the technical side of things. Our team of experts has been working tirelessly to optimize and improve the CDVD, VU, and SPU systems, ensuring that our emulator runs at its best.

None of this would be possible without the support and contributions of our dedicated community. From the Core Team, to the Contributors, Discord users, Wiki users, Forum users, Testers and all the others who aren't mentioned, you keep PCSX2 fresh and better each day.

So, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride as we dive into the nitty-gritty details below. Happy reading!"

Core Improvements

CDVD

CDVD: Implement speed register, fix up SpindleCtrl

5230

In this update, we've implemented the functionality of the speed register (0x2013) in the CDVD system. This improves how the emulator handles data from CDs and DVDs, ensuring a more accurate and smooth experience. We've also properly handled the SpindleCtrl value set by reads, which is a rare but important feature. Additionally, we've made sure that when the drive is ejected, it's also set as not spinning. This ensures that the emulator is in the correct state and prevents any potential errors. Overall, this update improves the overall performance and accuracy of the emulator when reading data from CDs and DVDs.

CDVD: Adjust error timing and modify error used for high sector.

5283

In this update, we've made adjustments to the error timing in the CDVD system to better handle the reading of data from CDs and DVDs. Specifically, we've modified the error used for high sector reads to better mimic the behavior of the PlayStation 2. This addresses an issue (#5280) where the emulator would crash when reading the second trailer in the "Silent Hill 2 Black Ribbon" demo disc. We've added timing to error calls to improve the overall performance and stability of the emulator when handling errors. This update improves the overall performance and accuracy of the emulator when reading data from CDs and DVDs, especially for games that do unusual things like Silent Hill 2 Black Ribbon demo disc, which previously caused the emulator to crash.

CDVD: If you abort, actually abort.

c5ae4a

CDVD: Don't delay abort commands on DVDs, at least for now..Fixes #5301

fb5e5c

In this update, we've addressed an issue (#5301) where the emulator would hang when changing BGM tracks in Arcade mode in the game Auto Modellista (SLUS-20642). The music would stop and then after a couple of seconds, a "Read Time Out 15000(msec)" message would appear in the Program Log, especially when scrolling through tracks fast. We've made changes to the CDVD controller to prevent this issue by not delaying the abort commands on DVDs. This fix improves the overall performance and stability of the emulator when handling BGM tracks in Arcade mode for Auto Modellista.

CDVD: Centralise cdvd.Ready updates + add MECHA_INIT bit

419455

This pull request centralizes the updates to the cdvd.Ready variable and adds the MECHA_INIT bit. The MECHA_INIT bit is a flag that indicates that the 'mecha' or mechanical part of the emulated CD/DVD drive has been initialized. This is used to make sure that certain games, such as Cold Fear, will run properly in the emulator.

VU

VU: Adjust path for conditional evil blocks

5374

Branch, Branch, Branch! is a warning message that appears in PCSX2 when a game is making too many branches in a short amount of time. This can cause the emulator to run slower and can lead to graphical artifacts. A conditional evil branch is a branch that is performed in a VU (Vector Unit) that is not properly handled and is treated like a jump instead. This can cause the emulator to not handle the operation properly and can lead to graphical artifacts such as Pac-man World Rally. The bug caused shadows and other elements to appear incorrectly on the screen during transitions.

mVU: Rework multiple branch chaining

5391

EE/MicroVU: Elide COP2 flag updates where safe-ish

5571

Meanwhile stenzek has been working hard to make the VU0/COP2 heavy games run more smoothly and came up with a new "optimization" option that skips some steps in the process to speed things up. It's like taking the shortcuts on a race track! This new option isn't 100% safe, but it's been tested and it works great for most games. It's like taking a risk to finish the race faster! There also made some other changes that will give you a boost in performance, anywhere from 3-10%, depending on the game. So buckle up and get ready for a smoother ride in your favorite VU0/COP2 heavy games!

VU: Run sync ahead on small blocks & Rework VU Kickstart

5572

This PR aims to improve the performance of PCSX2 by running the VU (VU0 mainly) ahead when it's only running a small block. This reduces the overhead and makes the overall process more efficient. Additionally, the VU Kickstart option is now always on and replaced with a VU Sync option as less games require the sync.

By running blocks of at least 3 cycles, this PR ensures that the program runs smoothly and avoids any inefficiencies that come from entering and exiting a recompiler. When combined with Pull Request 5571, this PR can give a boost of 10-20% in a number of games

SPU2

SPU2: Don't cap pitch setting on register write.

5533

Qt: Reduce max SPU - Change Speed Preset

5768

As part of our ongoing effort to improve the performance and usability of PCSX2, we have made a change to the maximum SPU latency. The previous maximum of 3000 ms has been reduced to 200 ms, which will provide a more responsive experience for users on modern computers. Additionally, we have also changed the emulation speed preset from 1% to 2% to address some issues that have been reported like the gs dump speed.

PAD

Switch to SDL_GameControllerRumble for rumble

5086

PAD: Clean up the remains of the old logging code from when this was Onepad.

5335

USB

Fix some gcc warnings.

5232

USB: CaptureEye/OV511p webcam emulation

5382

This Pull Request adds support for the CaptureEye/OV511p webcam, which is needed for games like Police 24/7 but other games still need specific Webcam device emulation. This again lowers the number of non-emulated devices by 1 from the list of missing USB/PAD devices.

DEV9

DEV9: Add a socket based backend for DEV9 networking

4944

This pull request adds a new socket-based backend for DEV9 networking, similar to the existing Winsock backend provided by CLR_DEV9. This new backend allows for easier configuration and joining of online/resurrected games however some will need specific DNS or DNAS patches.

It's important to note that while this backend is able to join online games with minimal configuration, hosting online games with Sockets is not currently supported. Additionally, for LAN games, it allows joining a game hosted by actual hardware or hosted by an instance of PCSX2 using TAP/Pcap.

For Mac and Linux users, the auto adapter selection feature will not be able to select an adapter, and you currently must specify an adapter manually. To support this, PR #4930 is reliant on it.

Handling of ICMP Echo packets (performed by the Network Access Disc) also required platform-specific code, and it's not guaranteed that it works correctly on all platforms.

DEV9: Check for null ifa_addr in PCAPGetIfAdapter

5336

This pull request includes a fix to prevent crashes on Linux systems with multiple adapters. It specifically addresses the issue of null ifa_addr, which is a field in some interface adapters that may not be set. This can cause the program to crash when trying to match the specified adapter to the list of adapters returned by the getifaddrs() function. This change adds a null check for ifa_addr in the PCAPGetIfAdapter() function to prevent this crash from occurring.

DEV9: Merge settings file into Pcsx2Config

5501

DEV9: Qt Settings Panel

5649

The new Qt UI for configuring DEV9 settings makes it more user-friendly and easy to navigate. The host list has also been merged into the main settings file in Qt/Core. Additionally, there's now an option to configure DNS1 or DNS2 to use the internal server, which is only available in the Qt UI.

Note that validation of Ethernet and HDD settings are no longer performed by the UI, and that the Ethernet Api/Type dropdown doesn't actually set the corresponding settings field. This was done to keep these two values in sync, such as when switching API & device mid-emulation. HDD creation is done on emulation start, with progress logged to the console. However, users will need to manually click on the "Create Image" button as the HDD will not auto-create an image. Modifying settings during emulation may behave unexpectedly, such as when enabling Ethernet before specifying an adapter, or adjusting HDD settings.

IPU

IPU: Fix software renderer FMV hack without AR change

5270

IPU DMA: If no underflow occurs on QWC = 0, end DMA.

5380

Refraction, the author of this pull request, has identified a problem with the IPU_FROM DMA (the component that handles e.g. MPEG2 cutscenes). The issue arises when the QWC value is set to 0 at the start of the DMA and there is nothing waiting in the FIFO. In this scenario, the DMA will not underflow and will not end as intended. To address this problem, refraction has added a check for this specific scenario and implemented a solution to end the DMA when it occurs. This change is crucial for ensuring the proper functioning of Hudson games and their videos. In addition, refraction has also provided further explanation in the code to assist other developers in understanding the reasoning behind this change.

Debugger

Debugger: add register name patterns

5466

Debugger & Core: Lighten IOP breakpoints and fix the memory search

5365

Miscellanous Core

VTLB: Fix ppmap allocation in 64-bit

5248

Core: Export recompiler offsets

5531

Misc: Cleanup leftover 32bit code

5725

GS Improvements

GS

GS-hw, TC: improve tex in rt.

3895

As a writer for PCSX2, I am excited to announce that we have made significant improvements to the tex in rt code. The logic is now encapsulated in the GSTextureCache::ComputeSurfaceOffset method, which considers two surfaces A and B and computes the offset from B to A in terms of B coordinates. This improved logic is able to fix and improve a number of issues in games such as Burnout 3, Xenosaga 3, The Getaway, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, and Wild Arms 4.

One of the major benefits of this change is that it allows us to handle higher blending loads with less performance impact. Additionally, the GSTextureCache::ComputeSurfaceOffset method is intended as future-proof, potentially useful for detecting overlaps between EE writes and cached Targets, or between cached Targets alone.

We've also made a number of bonus improvements to the texture cache, such as inverting the order in which Target and Source are searched in the cache, reading back Targets from LRU to MRU, and partially dirty targets are now searched for valid data.

This improved logic is enabled via the .ini file (UserHacks_TextureInsideRt = 1) for non Jak games, or from the GS HW hacks settings GUI. However, due to the nature of GS-hw TC, the logic cannot be always enabled without causing regressions. There is more context on the Pull Request with tons of images so I only outlined some of improvements, most already said by iMineLink and others there.

GS: Various GSDumpGUI Improvements

4922

GS: Add dedicated functions for choosing renderers and adapters

5076

GS: fix loopPagesWithBreak last iteration logic.

5245

GS-d3d11: Enable amd broken point sampler hack only for amd.

5229

GS-hw: Improve DATE selection

5109

The author, lightningterror, has made improvements to the DATE selection process in the PCSX2 emulator. Specifically, for the OpenGL renderer, a check for fbmask is now implemented and an accurate path for DATE_GL45 is used when present. Additionally, a check for FBA is added and the fast path DATE_one is used when all pixels are 128 or more.

For the Direct3D renderer, a similar check for fbmask is added, however, the accurate path is not supported so only the DATE path is used. A check for FBA is also implemented and the fast path DATE_one is used when all pixels are 128 or more.

This change is aimed at optimizing the performance of the emulator, specifically in regards to the handling of shadows and transparency in the games.

GS: Add a Vulkan renderer

5224

Introducing Vulkanic, our new Vulkan renderer for PCSX2! (Just kidding, it's just called Vulkan.) We've been working hard to bring PCSX2 users a new renderer option, and it's finally here! The Vulkan renderer is a powerful new addition to our emulator that promises to take your gaming experience to the next level.

The advantages of using the Vulkan renderer are numerous:

Speed: It can handle high blending loads with ease, even outperforming the NVIDIA GL driver in certain cases. Future-proofing: With the rise of Vulkan, it's important to keep up with the latest technology. More efficient: In theory, Vulkan is more efficient than Direct3D and OpenGL.

For users with AMD graphics cards, the Vulkan renderer has the added benefit of being less punishing on performance when using higher blending modes, compared to the OpenGL renderer. And for Linux users, we're happy to report that the Vulkan renderer is fully supported and runs exceptionally well on this platform.

On Windows, the Vulkan renderer may have some performance advantage over OpenGL, but on Mac and Linux, the performance impact may vary and it depends on various factors.

We're excited to see how the Vulkan renderer performs on a wide range of devices, so we encourage users to give it a try and let us know your thoughts. Whether you're running on an AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel graphics card, we want to hear from you!

* Plugins are gone already, don't worry about this image.

Above is an alternative reality when plugins were still a thing and would've used the logo for Vulkan. Even PCSX2 plans can change on the spot, short-term or long-term.

GS/DX11: Implement merge feedback write

5292

GS-hw: Rename DATE_GL42 DATE_GL45.

5278

GS: More mipmapping fixes

5290

GS-hw: Move PABE shader bit to the top of sw blending.

5284

GS-wx: Fix d3d11 blend option, update tooltips

5313

GS-hw: Don't enable blending when only alpha is written.

5277

GS:SW: Fix crash when scanline count wasn't divisible by thread count

5249

GS: Don't apply offset when using SLBG

5302

GS: Support wrapping off-the-end offsets in new GSOffset

5304

GS/DX11: Add a shader cache

5293

Introducing our shiny new DX11 shader cache! It's like putting a turbocharger on your graphics card, you'll be flying through games with lightning speed.

Gone are the days of waiting for shaders to recompile every time you switch between hardware and software renderers. With the new cache, we're saving the program binaries in a disk cache, so the next time you need that shader, it's ready to go, no waiting around.

Now, some of you may be thinking, "But my driver already has a built-in hash-based cache!" And you'd be right! But, not all drivers have this feature and even if they do, our cache is an added layer of optimization. Plus, who doesn't love a little redundancy?

One thing to note, due to the use of a single program object, there may be more variants than before, but don't worry, they're all cached and shared between games. This means less stalls caused by shader compiling and more opportunities for inter-stage optimization from the driver. Last year OpenGL already had something similar for disk cache but it's now being expanded to D3D11.

GS: use xxHash to hash palettes.

5281

GS: improve targets clearing

5282

GS: Faster texture preloading

5291

Are you tired of waiting for textures to load in your favorite PS2 games? Say goodbye to those pesky delays with the new and improved texture preloading feature in PCSX2!

This latest update, brought to you by the talented stenzek, speeds up the preloading process by hashing the GS blocks that make up the texture rather than expanding the entire RGBA8 texture. This means less work for the CPU and faster loading times for you!

And don't worry about a few false positives here and there - at worst, it'll just result in an extra upload. But when you consider the CPU savings from not expanding the texture, it's a small price to pay.

GS: optimize xxHash usage in palette hashing.

5346

GS/Vulkan: Fix combining DATE/barriers with HDR

5360

GS-hw: Implement BLEND CD.

5353

GS-hw: More blend work

5189

GS: Fix alpha blend factor clamping

5373

GS: Force Blend TFF when scanmsk is used on the frame

5371

GS: Misc fixes from refactoring/Vulkan renderer

5359

GS: fully support target rescaling in TC.

5285

GS-hw: Implement alternative hw blending for CdAs, CdF.

5389

GS: Only autoflush on move/self blend (Perf test)

5377

GS: Adjust auto interlace mode with scanmask(frame)

5395

GS: Prefer one-frame-old textures

5400

GS-hw: Implement alternative hw blending for CsAd, CsAd + Cd, Cd - Cs*Ad

5411

The changes in this PR improve the performance and accuracy of the graphics synthesizer (GS) hardware side in the emulator when it comes to blending colors. The change implements an alternative method for blending colors in certain situations where the previous method was not accurate. This leads to more accurate and visually pleasing graphics in the games being emulated. Additionally, this change also improves the performance of the GS hardware by reducing the workload of the software blending and shifting more of it to the hardware. This results in a faster and smoother gaming experience for the user.

Before

After

GS-wx: Add extra check for shader options when VK is selected

5412

GS-hw: Properly disable skipdraw when userhacks are disabled.

5417

GS: Get rid of extra binding for channel shuffle

5422

GS: fix overlap check in hw tc.

5433

Revert GS-hw: Exclude triangles from no prim overlap fb read on dx11.

5436

GS: Enable small framebuffers at 1x

5387

We've made some exciting updates to the texture cache in our latest release. Our goal with these changes is to improve the speed and image quality of games on integrated GPUs with low memory bandwidth.

Specifically, we've stopped the texture cache from downscaling targets when used as a source, enabled smaller framebuffers even when rendering at 1x, and added optimizations to move sampling to hardware when possible. This has had a noticeable impact on the performance of Burnout at 1x on integrated GPUs. Additionally, these changes have improved the image quality of Burnout when upscaled to a multiplier of your choice.

We've made these updates by editing the vertex and fragment shaders to support rescaling normalized coordinates, though we did consider an alternative approach of allocating full scale textures.

Before

After

As you see in this example that even if you barely touch the upscaling multiplier and run at 2x PS2 resolution it will still benefit and look less compressed/blurry , but it benefits a ton of potential hardware configurations.

GS: Fix region repeat bounds checking for zero crossings

5446

GS/HW: Don't disable depth testing for channel shuffle

5447

GS: target rescaling take 2.

5419

#5285 take 2. iMineLink refined the process yet again:

Added full support for target rescaling in GS TC, respecting the texture aspect ratio.
Avoid redundant clears when the target is going to be completely drawn when rescaling/converting.
Merge the two ways to lookup render targets (for draw and frame) into a single slightly more complex method, to recycle the rescaling logic and other code.
Avoid using upscaled size for targets requested at native resolution when upscaling.
Correctly set texture scale for targets created in a frame lookup.
Update targets from GS memory before converting color to depth.
Update targets validity region when uploading dirty data from GS memory (especially useful in combination with preload frame data, which makes the initial validity region of the target non empty).

GS/Vulkan: Buffer flag changes, HostDisplay cleanup

5448

Various GSBlock shuffle improvements

4683

GS: Reset/restore API state when changing OSD scale

5454

GS/Vulkan: Use fence counter for upload cmdbuffer selection

5453

GS/DX11: Fix binding depth as tex + fbmask

5455

GS-hw: Implement hw, hw/sw, sw blending on Ad when alpha write is masked, and more optimizations

5452

GS: Add depth copy convert shader

5462

GS/Vulkan: Fix HDR resolve to cleared target

5468

GS-hw: Optimize fbmask on 16bit format.

5469

GS-hw: Properly enable/disable each channel based on fbmask, adjust fbmask detection when to do blending for 16bit/24bit.

5471

Gran Turismo 4 [PlayStation 2 Racing Pack]

5474

Disallow CLUT load condition processing on invalid format

5475

GS:HW: Fix scale of color → 8 bit converted textures

5483

GS-hw-tc: Remove JackieChanAdv crc hack.

5487

GS-hw: Cleanup crc stuff.

5489

GS: update target pitch on frame lookup.

5493

GS: update target pitch on write.

5495

GS-hw: Prefer sw blend when one barrier is already enabled and prims don't overlap.

5515

GS-hw: Don't wrap on 16bit destination format for blend mix.

5540

GS-hw: Prefer sw blend for clr_blend1_2 on ultra blending.

5523

GS-hw: Partially revert #5540

5543

GS-ogl: Remove GL_ARB_get_texture_sub_image.

5546

GS-hw: Disable dithering if blend mix is enabled.

5550

GS: Add hash based texture cache

5545

This pull request introduces a new feature to the texture cache of the Graphics Synthesizer (GS) which is a hardware component of the PlayStation 2. The new feature is a hash-based cache that is added to the existing TEX0-key-based-cache.

The hash-based cache works by creating a unique identifier for each texture based on its data, rather than its location in VRAM. This eliminates the need for texture uploads in games that frequently move textures to different locations in VRAM across frames. This can result in a significant performance boost in games that have a lot of texture uploads, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas or Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

Another benefit of the hash-based cache is that it can be used for texture replacements. A proof-of-concept for this feature has been implemented and it has been shown to work well.

In terms of implementation, the hash-based cache can be turned on or off in the configuration settings, and users can choose to use the default TEX0-key-based-cache, partial preloading with the hash-based cache or full preloading using the hash-based cache. It also has a maximum texture size that it can cache, to avoid caching too many large textures which would consume too much memory.

Overall, this pull request offers a significant performance boost for games that heavily stream textures and provides a new feature for texture replacements, making it a valuable addition to the GS's texture cache.

Though keep in mind that some games will abuse the texture cache in different ways and might have the opposite effect but that can be disabled or done by the team in automatic settings so that most don't need to worry. Please report if you see any Hash Cache stopping OSD message.

* Example of hash cache abuse bringing down performance.

GS/TextureCache: Fix target not getting invalidated in some cases

5562

GS: Add option to disable status indicators

5563

GS-hw: Don't trigger no overlap check for DATE_BARRIER on d3d11.

5557

PCSX2-GUI: Rename Interlacing to Deinterlacing

5565

We've got a little mix-up on our hands, folks! We've been calling our "Interlacing" option something that it's not. So, we're giving it a new name that better reflects what it actually does.

"Interlacing" is now officially known as "De-interlacing"!

You might be wondering, "But wait, what does de-interlacing even mean?" Well, picture a checkerboard pattern on your screen. That's interlacing for you. It's a way for older TVs to display a higher resolution image, but it can look pretty janky on modern displays. Back then it was a way that analog television systems used to reduced bandwith to transmit the video signal. It works by transmitting only the even or odd lines of the image in each frame (called fields like bottom field and top field), rather than transmitting all the lines in each frame. This reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted, allowing the video signal to be transmitted using less bandwidth. The downside is that it can make the image appear less smooth and can cause flicker or other artifacts.

De-interlacing smooths out that checkerboard pattern and makes the image look more like a progressive image. We've got a few different methods to choose from.

Weave is like a saw-tooth pattern, Bob is the sharpest but can make things look like they're bouncing a bit, and Blending is a bit blurrier but the most consistent and has no bouncing. If you are still confused, just let it be automatic and it should switch to None De-interlacing automatically if it sees a progressive signal as to not make it ugly, however for interlaced signals it needs other deinterlacing methods. An exception is No-Interlacing patches which will also now switch to none De-interlacing but the game will think it's still interlaced.

So there you have it, folks! A little change that goes a long way in making things less confusing for everyone.

GS: Remove upscaling dependency on PCTRC enabling.

5477

GS: Add texture dumping and replacement system

5547

This pull request aims to add a feature that many have requested, the ability to dump and replace textures in-game. This allows users to customize the game's graphics to their liking, whether it be for improving the visuals or changing them entirely (see the image if you want a sample of cursed).

The pull request includes:

Basic texture dumping feature, allowing users to save the game's textures to their computer for editing or replacement. Basic texture replacement feature, allowing users to load their own textures back into the game. Asynchronous texture dumping and loading for improved performance. Support for preloading textures to memory for faster texture loading during game-play. Support for dumping mip-maps, which are smaller versions of a texture used for objects that are farther away from the camera. Support for loading DDS files and compressed textures, which is an image file format that uses lossy compression to reduce the file size.

Please note that while the developer is not planning on changing the texture filenames or hashes unless it's about refining the current implementation to be cleaner and better for users.

* We do a little bit of trolling.

Before

After

Okay, fine here is a nice example of what you can do if you were serious in expanding experience.

GS: Ignore 24bit on DATE and Handle Reversed Color and Z

5569

GS: Texture replacement fixes

5574

GS/TextureCache: Don't let hash cache memusage go negative

5582

GS:OGL: Don't memset C++ objects

5551

GS-hw: Fix some warnings.

5541

GS: Handle Auto Flush across pages + improve performance

5580

GS-hw: Optimize blending when ALPHA.A is equal to ALPHA.B.

5600

GS-hw: Improve how we handle blending when output is Cd.

5610

GS/WX: Fix default adapter causing unnecessary GS restarts

5623

GS-hw: Move the Ad to As equation swap when alpha is masked to Basic blend level and higher on gl/vk.

5613

GS: Add Auto Flush for Z buffer draws

5617

GS/Vulkan: Elide render pass restarts on depth buffer toggle

5608

GS: Support local to local transfers that overwrite themselves

5601

GS-hw: Attempt to improve half screen detection

5628

GameDatabase: Automatic GS hardware fixes

5593

When most automatic fixes like VU/EE Rounding and clamping were added, there are now new variables like rendering and upscaling that can be given on the GameDB. A long manual process that will severely lessen the need of user's need of tinkering per-game. This will also inflate the GameIndex/GameDatabase Pull Requests and lines but that's just a small sacrifice to make.

GS: Improvements to MTBA Mip Mapping

5612

GS-Build: Fix Dump Verticles for linux

5638

GS/VertexTrace: Fix min/max when last provoking vertex unsupported

5646

Qt: Implement GS dump playback

5634

GS: Loosen requirement for half bottom

5653

GS: Adjust Auto Flush to catch edge cases

5654

GS-hw: Optimize blending equations based on alpha value.

5554

GS: Fix Wunused-variable warnings.

5679

GS: Add SW CPU usage and host GPU usage stats

5675

GUI: Rename Fast Texture Invalidation

5684

GS:SW: Fix LOD on x64

5687

GS/DX11: Fix incorrect format check for compressed textures

5700

PCSX2-GUI: Rename skipdraw and IDC for Partial Invalidation

5697

Misc: Fix incorrect printf of std::string_view

5711

GS: Properly detect 16bit format on Texture Shuffle + Convert

5625

GS: Use pixel format mask for FBMSK checks

5718

GS: Utilize framebuffer fetch for blending/fbmask where available

5630

GS: Fix inverted dsb check

5723

GS/Vulkan: Fix crash is vertex/index buffer causes exec

5728

GS: Fix some edge cases with fbfetch

5727

GS/HW: Fix fbmask not inserting barriers

5764

GS/Vulkan: Implement FXAA and Shadeboost

5766

GS: Fix GetRecommendedCRCHackLevel for Vulkan.Issue #5312

35d516

Misc Improvements

GUI

ProgramLog: Comment out deleted keymapping

5147

Merge the Qt branch: Part 2

5221

* Image from Qt is coming closer and closer to official release.

GSDump: Fix renderer override

5268

GUI: Make aspect ratio/frame limiter OSD messages keyed

5310

This pull request aims to improve the user interface of the on-screen display (OSD) messages. The OSD is the in-game display that shows information such as frame rate and other settings.

Specifically, this pull request addresses an issue where spamming the turbo or frame limiter keys would generate multiple messages, making it difficult for the user to understand the current settings. The changes made in this pull request prevent these messages from piling up, so that only the most recent message is displayed at a time.

x69 gif

GUI: Convert Power plan name to UTF-8

5327

Qt Part 4

5363

This pull request brings the power of the Qt framework to PCSX2. Qt is a modern, cross-platform framework that offers a lot of features and functionality out of the box. Compared to the existing WX Widgets, Winapi/winforms, and GTK for Linux, using Qt will make the codebase cleaner and easier to maintain, and will allow for much more flexibility and potential for improvements.

For code enthusiasts, this pull request represents a huge step forward in terms of code quality and maintainability. The introduction of Qt will allow developers to take advantage of its powerful widgets and modules, which will make the code look much more polished and professional. Furthermore, the framework provides a lot of pre-built functionality that would have been extremely difficult to implement otherwise.

For those who don't understand code, this change means that the emulator will be more stable, faster, and have a more polished user interface. The use of Qt will allow the development team to focus on improving the core functionality of the emulator, rather than spending a lot of time on making the user interface work correctly.

Overall, this pull request is a significant step forward in the development of PCSX2, and will greatly benefit both code enthusiasts and regular users alike.

Qt: Enable SDL2 input source for Qt

5439

This pull request enables the use of SDL2 for input source in the Qt version of PCSX2, the popular Playstation 2 emulator. This means that users will now be able to use their DualShock 4 controllers natively on both Windows and Linux.

Previously, the Windows version of PCSX2 1.6 used a plugin called Lilypad, which only supported Xinput and preconfigured keybindings, making it difficult for users to customize their controller settings or to even see they have correct bindings. On the other hand, the Linux version of PCSX2 1.6 used a plugin called OnePad-legacy, which only allowed for keyboard hotkeys and had no automatic default mapping for controllers.

With the implementation of SDL2 in the Qt version, users will now have a more intuitive and visually clear way to customize their controller settings, without any platform specific differences. This will make it easier for users to use their controllers and improve their overall experience with the emulator.

Qt: Add save state loading/loaded/saved events

5441

GS: Better support of dpi scaling

5289

Resource file cleanup

5151

Qt: Fix type table sizing + spaces

5461

The main window's type table did not have enough width to display all text, especially when the filter button was used. This caused some text to be cut off and not fully visible to the user. Additionally, some strings within the table were not properly spaced, making it difficult to read and understand the information being displayed.

To address these issues, this pull request increases the width of the type table and adds spaces to the strings within the table to make the information more legible and easy to understand. The filter button's width is also adjusted, so it will not push the string away anymore.

Qt: More sizing + improve hotkeys code

5464

This pull request addresses several issues with the layout and design of the main window in PCSX2. Specifically, it addresses issues with the width of the "Type" table and the "Region" and "CRC" columns, which were not wide enough to display the full text. The pull request also improves the hotkeys code by adding missing hotkeys and organizing them in a more intuitive way on the GUI level.

The new changes make the layout of the main window look better and more polished than before. Additionally, more hotkeys have been added, making the feature more complete. The developer has also provided images to show the new hotkeys that have been added. However, it is important to note that there are still some hotkeys missing and some old ones are not included in this update.

For reference users should take a look at the PCSX2 hotkeys wiki page (https://wiki.pcsx2.net/Hotkeys) for more information about the new and missing hotkeys as there are some breaking changes like using only one - instead of -- in the old WX version.

Qt: Misc graphics settings fixes

5478

Qt: Resize Windows + Change Framerate Presets + Lower OSD time

5473

This pull request addresses issues with the sizing and layout of the main window, Interface Settings and the OSD message display. The main window will now correctly display the full Toolbar, Interface Settings will not go out of bounds, and the OSD message display timing has been shortened from 10 seconds to something like 5 or 8 depending on severity. Additionally, the speed percentage presets have been changed for better user experience.

The changes made in this pull request are meant to improve the overall user experience by addressing minor layout and display issues, and providing more customization options for speed percentage presets.

Fix some vsync related issues, implement Vulkan adaptive vsync

5485

Add icon for Cn BIOS

5508

QT: Add icon for Hk BIOS.

5535

Qt: Add per game settings UI

5532

Qt: Fix type on graphics panel

5553

Qt: Resize default headersize BIOS + Adding 4 new themes

5537

This pull request brings some much needed eye candy to PCSX2 with the addition of four new custom themes! Say goodbye to boring, bland interfaces and hello to some retina-burning, soul-incinerating visuals.

Introducing "Untouched Lagoon" - a light theme with a refreshing blue and green color scheme, perfect for those hot summer gaming sessions. "Baby Pastel" - a light theme with a soft and dreamy color palette, ideal for those who prefer a more delicate aesthetic. "PCSX2" - a light theme with the iconic PCSX2 blue color, perfect for those who want to represent their love for the emulator. And last but not least, "Scarlet Devil" - a dark theme with a bold and striking red color scheme, perfect for those who want to add a touch of edginess to their gaming experience.

So go ahead, give your eyes the treat they deserve and switch up your theme. Just make sure to have your sunglasses handy, because these custom themes are not for the faint of heart!

Qt: Fix qt compilation on linux.

5560

cli: Extended argument support

4445

Pad: Fix connection of macOS GameController framework controllers

5140

WX: Make texture dump location configurable

5587

Qt: Assorted cleanups/add debug log options

5598

Qt: Fix live changing game settings not applying

5607

GUI: Log graphics driver info on startup

5605

Qt: Partial Invalidation

5696

Qt: Fix bugs relating to per-game settings

5692

Qt: Misc fixes

5736

GUI/Docs: update compatibility URLs

5735

Qt: GS Settings Fixes

5752

Qt: Implement BIOS check and shutdown hotkey

5757

Qt: Add missing null terminator in audio settings

5762

Qt: Few fixes for Linux

5763

GameDB

Keep in mind there are hundreds of games improved in the GameDB and you only see a small snippet of screenshots as examples.

GameDB: Add VU Kickstart Hack to Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle

5266

GameDB: GameDB: Removal of some patches and adding some fixes

5236

GameDB: add patches to Koukaku Kidoutai and fixes for other games

5276

GameDB: add some missing serials

5294

GameDB: fix some entries

5295

Gamedb: add gamefix to Cocoto Funfair

5297

GameDB: add patch to MX Unleashed Migrated and missing serials

5321

GameDB: add EETiming to 'Kya: Dark Lineage'

5332

GameDB: Add eeRoundMode to Teen Titans & Scaler and fixes to other games

5338

GameDB: add VUKickstartHack to Ghosthunter

5341

GameDB: add 'SkipMPEGHack' to \

5358

GameDB: add fixes for Simple Series vol.7 and other games

5378

GameDB: remove EETimingHack from 'Paris-Dakar 2'

5393

GameDB: add 'EETimingHack' to 'Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb'

5428

GameDB: add eerounding to 'Neopets - The Darkest Faerie'

5450

GameDB: Urban Reign

5443

GameDB: Beatmania entries

5460

GameDB: Add missing PAL games to GameIndex Correct AFL Football serial

5490

GameDB: Add missing NTSC-J games

5491

GameDB: Fix Bemani game titles

5463

GameDB: disable mVUFlagHack for Maken Shao

5506

GameDB: Add missing Gran Turismo demos

5498

GameDB: add EETimingHack to 'Obscure 2' and patch to 'Snoopy Vs Red Baron'

5520

GameDB: add 'VUKickstartHack' to 'Jet Li - Rise to Honor'

5527

GameDB: add 'VUSyncHack' to 'Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002' and update documentation

5585

GameDB: add patch for Cars

5590

GameDB: Katamari games

5621

GameDB: add VU clamping to 'DT Racer' and update MGS2 hack

5616

GameDB: Added a whole host of auto GS HW renderer fixes

5635

Added automatic GS HW mode fixes for the following games:

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. (Offset post processing)
Beyond Good and Evil. (Helps with water rendering)
Black. (Offset post processing)
Chaos Legion. (Glitched boss shadows) Fixes #2409
Colin McRae Rally 2005. (Shadows, colours still broken)
Dog's Life. (Jake turning black) Fixes #1004
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat. (Fixes heat effects) mentioned in #5507
Driv3r. (Offset post processing)
DT Racer. (Corrupt textures)
Some Harry Potter games. (Screen corruption)
Jak 2. (Various heat/shadow effects)
Jak 3. (Various heat/shadow effects)
Legion - The Legend of Excalibur. (Missing floor textures) Fixes #4031
MLB 2005. (Cut off loading screen)
Monster Lab. (Apparently fixes black screen)
Power Drome. (Lights through objects)
Prince of Persia - Warrior Within + Sands of Time. (Offset post processing)
Ratchet Gladiator/Deadlocked. (Missing textures in some levels)
Ratchet & Clank Going Commando/Locked & Loaded. (Fixes shadows)
Ridge Racer V. (Fixes most of the intro corruption, not car textures)
Rogue Galaxy. (Lighting effects)
Sniper Elite. (Offset post processing) Fixes #3005
Syphon Filter - Dark Mirror. (lights through walls and sprites) Fixes #2249
Syphon Filter - Logan's Shadow. (lights through walls and sprites)
XenoSaga Episode 1-3: (Shadows)

GameDB: Transformers Armada: Prelude to Energon

5636

GameDB: Metal Arms - Glitch in the System (PAL)

5640

Before

After

GameDB: Auto GS HW renderer fixes for some NAMCO games

5643

Align sprite to eliminate vertical black lines for:

Tekken 4
Tekken 5
Tekken Tag Tournament

GameDB: Documentation

5650

Relevant to Pull Request 5593 where renderer and upscaling settings were added. Now if OSD complains about a specific option you know what it corresponds to the GUI and it also can be used as a guide for checking GameDB and adding new fixes.

GameDB: correct and update serials

5655

GameDB: Upscaling GS Batch 1

5657

Fixes the lint and adds a bunch of upscaling fixes.

Align Sprite for:

Colin McRae Rally 3/4
Enthusia Professional Racing
Finding Nemo
Lifeline (Also known as Operator's side)
Taiko Drum Masters
Toca Race Driver 1/2/3
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3

Merge Sprite for:

Drakengard 2
God Hand
Medal of Honor - Vanguard
Naruto - Uzumaki Chronicles

Half-pixel offsets for;

1 Normal (Vertex):

Drakengard 2
Forgotten Realms - Demon Stone
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Kingdom Hearts 1/2
True Crime - New York City
WRC II

2 Special (Texture):

Burnout Revenge/Dominator/Takedown
Commandos - Strike Force
Crash Twinsanity
Dark Cloud
Devil May Cry 3
Fatal Frame
Kuon
Legaia 2 - Duel Saga
Legend of Spyro, The - A New Beginning
Legend of Spyro, The - Dawn of the Dragon
Legend of Spyro, The - The Eternal Night
Medal of Honor - Vanguard
Project Zero

3 Special (Texture-Aggressive):

Bratz - The Movie

Software Renderer gamefix:

Final Fantasy X-2

GameDB: Rogue Galaxy

5658

GameDB: Add gsHWFixes for Shutokou Battle 01.

5659

GameDB: GS HW renderer fixes for Tales of the Abyss

5652

GameDB: Add Software FMV to Grandia 2 and Xtreme

5667

GameDB: Add Upscaling Fixes to Onimusha 3

5665

GameDB: Upscaling GS Batch 2

5664

Preload Frame Data:

Growlanser - Heritage of War

Half-pixel offsets for;

1 Normal (Vertex):

Baroque
Dragon Quest VIII
Mercenaries - Playground of Destruction
Radiata Stories
Shadow Hearts Covenant
Sims Bustin' Out
Star Wars Battlefront II
Star Wars - Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Suikoden IV
Valkyrie Profile 2 - Silmeria

2 Special (Texture):

Speed Racer
SSX 3

3 Special (Texture-Aggressive):

TimeSplitters - Future Perfect

Roundsprite;

Half:

Ar Tonelico 1
Ar Tonelico 2
Atlantis III
Dragon Quest VIII
Final Fantasy X-2
Tribes - Aerial Assault
Wild ARMs 4/5

Full:

Star Ocean 3
Final Fantasy X
Shadow Hearts - From the New World

Wild Arms:

Global Defence Force

Half Screen:

Mercenaries - Playground of Destruction

SoftwareRendererFMV:

Monster Rancher 4
Megaman X8
Onimusha Dawn of Dreams
Robot Alchemic Drive
Rygar - The Legendary Adventure
Taz Wanted

Texture in RT:

Japanese entries for Wild ARMs 4

GameDB: Add gsHWFixes for GTA LCS/VCS

5662

Before

After

GameDB: Dog Island and COD Final Fronts

5671

Before

After

Before

After

GameDB: Ace Combat + Soul Calibur + Metal Gear Solid Series

5673

Align Sprite:

Soul Calibur II / III
Ace Combat Zero / 4 / 5

Mipmap

Europese Ace Combat Variants

Half-pixel offsets for;

2 Special (Texture):

Metal Gear Solid 2 (Substance) / 3 (Subsistence)

Roundsprite;

Full:

Ace Combat Zero / 4 / 5

GameDB: Add a bunch of hw fixes and upscaling fixes

5678

Brave - The Search for Spirit Dancer
Chronicals of Narnia, The - The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Die Hard - Vendetta
Ghost Rider
God of War 2 (Added round sprite to get rid of chromatic effect)
Kya - Dark Lineage
Matrix, The - Path of Neo
Psychonauts
Scarface - The World is Yours (Still not perfect, but much better)
Silent Hill - Shattered Memories
Simpsons The - The Game
Sly 2
Sly 3
Snoopy Vs the Red Baron
Stolen (Upscaling and performance)
Thrillville
Thrillville - Off the Rails

GameDB: More GS HW Fixes

5680

Alter Echo
Beyond Good and Evil
Dragon Ball Z - Budokai Tenkaichi 2
Fatal Frame 1 / 3
Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex
Global Defence Force
Xenosaga 1 / 2 / 3

GameDB: Add gsHWFixes for Tales of Symphonia

5681

GameDB: Add DMABusy fix to Shining Wind

5683

GameDB: Haunting Ground + 50 Cent and Level 5

5685

50cent - Bulletproof
Dark Cloud 1 / 2
Haunting Ground
Rogue Galaxy
Tomb Raider - Legend

GameDB: HW fixes for Rockman X8

5689

GameDB: Rename fastTextureInvalidation

5691

GameDB: HW fixes for Mega Man/Rockman X7 + Clamping mode fix

5694

GameDB: remove no longer needed comments

5701

GameDB: Add fixes for Tak Games

5705

GameDB: Add GS HW fixes for Wild Arms Alter Code F

5702

GameDB: Even more GS HW Fixes

5712

Ape Escape 3
Armored Core Last Raven
Berserk
Forever Kingdom
Front Mission 4 / 5
Need For Speed Underground 1 / 2
Kings Field 4 - The Ancient City
Test Drive Unlimited
Jak 2 / 3 / X

GameDB: Remove VU rounding form 'Hitman - Contracts'

5719

GameDB: adds 'VUSyncHack' to Panzer Elite Action - Fields of Glory

5720

GameDB: add missing serials

5722

GameDB: GS HW Batch X

5724

Bully
Colosseum - Road to Freedom
Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2)
Killzone
God of War
Gun
Midnight Club 3
Mortal Kombat - Deadly Alliance
Need for Speed Carbon / Most Wanted / Undercover
Prince of Persia - Sand of Time / The Two Thrones / Warrior Within
Resident Evil 4 (BioHazard 4)
Thrillville / Off the Rails

GameDB: Fixes to TeamICO games.

5732

GameDB: Fix Midnightclub 3 + Add Evangelion Jo

5731

GameDB: Fix 'SLES-54453' title

5737

GameDB: add 'VUSyncHack' to Totally Spies! Totally Party

5738

GameDB: Remove outdated comments

5742

GameDB: Megaman + Nicktoons

5744

GameDB: GS HW Fix XI

5745

Atelier Iris 3 - Grand Phantasm
Baldur's Gate - Dark Alliance 1 / 2
Call of Duty 2 - Big Red One
Dark Cloud 1 / 2
Mana Khemia 1 / 2
Sims 2 - Castaway
Valkyrie 2 - Silmeria

GameDB : various game improvements

5747

GameDB: ':' to '-' + GS and other fixes

5785

GameDB serials with ':' replaced with ' - '

GS HW Fixes and other fixes for:

Adventures of Cookie & Cream, The
Brothers in Arms - Earned in Blood / Road to Hill 30
Black
Chaos Legion
God Hand
Knockout Kings 2001
Kuon
Outrun 2006 / 2 SP
Project Eden
Psi-Ops - The Mindgate
Punisher, The
Ratchet Deadlocked (USA) / Gladiator (Europe) / 3 Up Your Arsenal
Silent Hills Origins / Shattered Memories / 3 / 4
SoulCalibur II / III

GameDB: Corrected GSHW Fixes for Radiata Stories

5787

GameDB : Atelier Marie + Elie: Salburg no Renkinjutsushi 1&2

5784

GameDB: Silent Hill Origins

5790

GameDB: Add Zwei AutoFix

5794

GameDB: Fixes for Tomb Raider Games

5793

GameDB: Caspian

5795

GameDB: Patch for Midnight Club 2 T-Bit

f1576e

GameDB: Add Ratchet & Clank demo and Spider-Man 3 Fixes + ...

91ac03

This pull request updates the PCSX2 GameDB, adding new entries for the Ratchet & Clank demo and Spider-Man 3. It also includes several fixes for these games, such as rounding fixes for Ratchet 1 titles to improve Hydrodisplacer behavior. Additionally, the pull request removes an unnecessary fix for the Virtual On ontario program and corrects an oversight made for Spiderman 3 in the past. Overall, these changes will improve the overall performance and accuracy of these games in the emulator.

GameDB: Add mipmapping/trilinear for Hot Shots/Everybody's Golf games

76e25c

GameDB: Add partial preloading to Stolen

3535ed

GameDB: Add alignSprite to GOW 2.Fixes water vertical lines.

8e42fc

GameDB: Correct Kessen 2 Korean patch

6a8cff

GameDB: Give slightly clearer message for GS Fix override

3e7d32

Maintenance

3rdparty: Remove freetype

5256

gitignore: update gs debug gl filename.

5255

3rdparty: Add Vulkan Memory Allocator

5264

3rdparty: Add xxhash.h

5265

CMake: Pass -fsanitize=address as a link option when USE_ASAN is used

5271

vcxproj: Add vulkan shaders and group shaders in renderer category.

5279

Build: Use git tag for file version on windows, attempt 2

5370

Bump node-fetch from 2.6.5 to 2.6.7 in /.github/workflows/scripts/releases/generate-release-notes

5423

Bump node-fetch from 2.6.5 to 2.6.7 in /.github/workflows/scripts/releases/upload-release-artifacts

5424

Bump node-fetch from 2.6.5 to 2.6.7 in /.github/workflows/scripts/releases/announce-release

5425

CMake: Prevent people from doing in-tree builds

5385

CI: Build Qt binaries on Windows

5440

Readme: add note about Vulkan drivers

5449

CI: Automatically label Qt

5456

cmake: copy resources in build folder.

5457

CI: Label Qt into GUI/Qt

5509

CMake: add back HarfBuzz to fix build

5510

actions: Add windows category for SDL

5521

Bump actions/setup-node from 2 to 3

5573

Disable warnings on several third party libraries.

5519

Bump actions/checkout from 2 to 3

5603

Docs : Add GS hardware fixes and MTVUSpeedHack

5642

CI - Remove 32bit Builds

5130

PCSX2 is proud to announce that we have officially removed 32-bit builds from our continuous integration (CI) process. This marks an important step in the future of the PCSX2 project, as we shift our focus to 64-bit builds.

As technology continues to evolve, the PCSX2 team has made the decision to no longer support 32-bit builds. While the current builds of PCSX2 do not typically use more than 4 GB of RAM, the use of 64-bit builds allows for improvements in register usage and overall performance.

In the interest of maintaining a smooth transition, we have made the smallest possible change to remove 32-bit builds from our CI process. There is still 32-bit scaffolding and code throughout the repository, but we will continue to work towards removing all traces of 32-bit support in the future.

We have also added a link to our new build page and updated our scripts to no longer consider 32-bit artifacts. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause for users still utilizing 32-bit systems, but we believe that this move towards 64-bit builds is necessary for the continued development and improvement of PCSX2.

deps: update rapid-yaml to v0.4.1

5699

CI: Update labeler to expand WX

5704

Build: Remove cross compiling from build.sh.

5713

Bump actions/cache from 2.1.7 to 3

5774

Bump peter-evans/create-pull-request from 3 to 4

5773