Active player (410)
Joined: 3/16/2004
Posts: 2623
Location: America, Québec
I am repeating, I think our best hope is PCSX or better, PCSX2. Also, the EPSXE project has revived recently.
Former player
Joined: 2/19/2007
Posts: 424
Location: UK
I also had hopes for this emulator, but the real problem isn't that PSAuthor is so unresponsive, it is the fact that the emulator is closed source. Rerecording usually takes lots of tweaking before it finally works well enough to be used (just look at the snes9x improvement series, for example). Even if PSAuthor had been entusiastic about this, rerecording would probably not be flawless on his first attempt, and then we would have to beg for him to fix every bug we find. So offering to help him is the correct thing to do, but from what I've seen on his forum, he seems to be dead set against that. Perhaps fixing another psx emulator would be easier. Making a plugin-based emulator desync-proof could perhaps be accomplished by writing new tas-friendly plugins that make sure they save their state information correctly. It sounds like a daunting task, but atleast we wouldn't be at PSAuthor's mercy then.
Editor, Active player (296)
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 7469
Location: Arzareth
Though I must still say, I hate the plugin hell that is with most of PSX emulators.
Skilled player (1637)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
amaurea wrote:
I also had hopes for this emulator, but the real problem isn't that PSAuthor is so unresponsive, it is the fact that the emulator is closed source. Rerecording usually takes lots of tweaking before it finally works well enough to be used (just look at the snes9x improvement series, for example). Even if PSAuthor had been entusiastic about this, rerecording would probably not be flawless on his first attempt, and then we would have to beg for him to fix every bug we find. So offering to help him is the correct thing to do, but from what I've seen on his forum, he seems to be dead set against that. Perhaps fixing another psx emulator would be easier. Making a plugin-based emulator desync-proof could perhaps be accomplished by writing new tas-friendly plugins that make sure they save their state information correctly. It sounds like a daunting task, but atleast we wouldn't be at PSAuthor's mercy then.
What makes a TAS emulator good isn't just the ability to record inputs, and rerecord. There are the most basic TAS things like slow-down, memory watching, frame advance, auto-hold, auto-fire. While only really the first is required, the first usually gives way to an emulator that can do the latter. Seeing as PSXauthor is so wonderful to respond to our needs as a community, in the long run, PSX would be abandoned anyway. And dear god, did you read the admins response? His oh so important job, you should bow down to the grand PSXemperor
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Active player (410)
Joined: 3/16/2004
Posts: 2623
Location: America, Québec
Maybe... It's not because he didn't answer or refuse to add requested features that gives you the right to attack him in his back. Even Bisqwit, in his 3rd email, was really offensive. Unlike you, he created a PSX emulator. Not just basic tools or small fixes in other softwares. It's freeware. Lucky for us that we mustn't pay for it like Bleem! for example. It's his rights to share his source or not. And also his rights to implement a feature or not. If you feel that he owes you something and feel deceived because he didn't do something that you have hoped he'll do even though he didn't promise you a single thing, then there's something wrong with you. Also, there are many guys that don't like the idea of TASes. For ex., many of the dev in MAME project dislike the idea. And even Xodnizel, the author of FCEU didn't like the idea that we use it as a TAS tool. It's probably one of the reasons he abandonned that project.
Editor, Active player (296)
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 7469
Location: Arzareth
In my opinion, "I made it, so if you want something, you must bow to me five times while farting to the west. My program, my rules! Don't like it? Them scram!" SUCKS as a mindset for a software author, freeware or not. It is actually very much similar to why people hate Saturn. You possess something and you use it as means of controlling people and acting superior, knowing that they are not likely to redo the huge amount of work you've done that you refuse to share.
Active player (410)
Joined: 3/16/2004
Posts: 2623
Location: America, Québec
Common, do you share all your secrets? I doubt so. Also, there are even better emulators for Playstation. Like I said EPSXE team has revived. And who cares about the plugin system if there is rerecording and people could do movies. It's not because Mupen sucks that epsxe is too. PLus plugins for PS were superior, and probably still today, than those on N64. Especially those made by some Pete. Today, I think they are Peops or something. Off-topic: And I don't feel some people "babycrying" attitude superior than Saturn.
Joined: 10/15/2007
Posts: 685
The plugins are daunting at first, but only at first. And since Pete makes the best GPU plugins by far, and most people go to Eternal for the SPU plugin, it shouldn't be much of a problem to reach a standard among players and viewers alike.
Kirby said so, so it must be true. ( >'.')>
Experienced player (575)
Joined: 1/11/2007
Posts: 103
Unless an emulator is open source it will be useless for rerecording. End of story. Otherwise it's like asking to cook dinner in your neighbor's kitchen every night. pSX author would rather to be praised, depended on, and in control than contribute something for timeless posterity. That's a normal mindset. (The strange ones are us.) Everyone needs to chill out and lay off, unless you want to bribe PA to open the source. I am only surprised that an old hand like Bisqwit got his hopes up over this. Phil is right about looking toward PCSX and PCSX2. They are GPLed and somewhat mature. Plugins are just annoying detours on the road to accuracy, but they don't necessarily interfere with rerecording.
Active player (308)
Joined: 2/28/2006
Posts: 2275
Location: Milky Way -> Earth -> Brazil
Yeah! I hate Saturn! STUPID PLANET! Mars is better.
"Genuine self-esteem, however, consists not of causeless feelings, but of certain knowledge about yourself. It rests on the conviction that you — by your choices, effort and actions — have made yourself into the kind of person able to deal with reality. It is the conviction — based on the evidence of your own volitional functioning — that you are fundamentally able to succeed in life and, therefore, are deserving of that success." - Onkar Ghate
Bisqwit wrote:
Drama, too long, didn't read, lol.
Skilled player (1637)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
Phil wrote:
Common, do you share all your secrets?
He did and does share the source to BisqBot, and other projects. Plus, it's been said numerous times. Open source is the only way any decent TAS emulator will come to light. Now this is coming from a position of complete naivety on plug-ins. Could the 'plug' part be removed, and simply integrated into the code? I.E. a final package, while containing the same plug-ins, is not able to be separated from them? That may reduce headaches, if possible.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Active player (410)
Joined: 3/16/2004
Posts: 2623
Location: America, Québec
DarkKobold wrote:
He did and does share the source to BisqBot, and other projects.
That's one thing. Did he share his Bisqcuit's recipe? I don't remember so.
Emulator Coder, Former player
Joined: 10/2/2005
Posts: 563
Location: Toronto, Ontario
DarkKobold wrote:
Phil wrote:
Common, do you share all your secrets?
He did and does share the source to BisqBot, and other projects. Plus, it's been said numerous times. Open source is the only way any decent TAS emulator will come to light. Now this is coming from a position of complete naivety on plug-ins. Could the 'plug' part be removed, and simply integrated into the code? I.E. a final package, while containing the same plug-ins, is not able to be separated from them? That may reduce headaches, if possible.
Open source is probably the preferred way, not the only way. Open source projects allow for a larger pool of "possible" developers, but there's usually only a handful that will really commit to the project. I agree that an open source solution is a better approach, simply because it allows us to implement and test new features more quickly. In the meantime though, DeHackEd was working on adding re-recording functionality to PCSX ... does anyone see anything wrong with continuing with this emulator for the moment?
Skilled player (1637)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
Last I talked to DeHackEd, the problem was intractable from his perspective. He could and did record inputs, however whenever he would load a state, the controller stopped responding.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Joined: 8/27/2006
Posts: 883
Actually, the development of pSX seems to be very slow if not to an halt. It's been a a while since there was a new version and as I remember correctly, some people don't work on free software all day long. Even if he is able to code a pSX emulator, that doesn't mean he didn't get a life. Seems like I'm with Phil on that one, pSX author doesn't own anything and can do pretty much what he want with his software.
Active player (278)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
That just proves why it should be open source: So other people can pick up the work when the original author gets tired and the project doesn't just die and stay outdated forever. If you're not going to sell it or maintain it, then what's the big deal?
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Banned User, Former player
Joined: 3/10/2004
Posts: 7698
Location: Finland
"It's my pet project. I don't want anyone else messing up with it. I want all the glory and babes to myself, I don't want to share."
Joined: 8/27/2006
Posts: 883
That's pretty much someone right. And I don't think we can blame him. Would you want to share your paycheck with me please ? Or maybe you would want to share your work with me, but we'll just split the paycheck in two.
Experienced player (822)
Joined: 11/18/2006
Posts: 2426
Location: Back where I belong
ZeXr0 wrote:
That's pretty much someone right. And I don't think we can blame him. Would you want to share your paycheck with me please ? Or maybe you would want to share your work with me, but we'll just split the paycheck in two.
Last I checked, pSX was free. So if you're talking about splitting a paycheck of 0, I guess you have some sort of weird point.
Living Well Is The Best Revenge My Personal Page
Editor, Skilled player (1941)
Joined: 6/15/2005
Posts: 3247
Everyone needs to stop being upset and bury this issue now. We do not have what we want. So deal with it. We can't get everything. The more we complain, the more we look like funguy10.
Active player (278)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
You can't always get what you want, but no one will know what you want unless you tell them!
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Joined: 10/15/2007
Posts: 685
mmbossman wrote:
Last I checked, pSX was free. So if you're talking about splitting a paycheck of 0, I guess you have some sort of weird point.
He's obviously trying to say that sharing pSX's source would cause an end to the universe due to dividing by zero.
Kirby said so, so it must be true. ( >'.')>