[jb1311]

Hi folks. I'm running several RPGs on pSX at the moment, but have been trying to play with ePSXe to get better graphics for some of them. I haven't had too much success, though.

The games I have are FF7, FF8, FF9, FF Chronicles, FF Anthology, FF Origins, Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon and Legend of Legaia. I own all of them, ripped them to MDF/MDS format with Alcohol 52%, and am mounting them with Alcohol 52% to play.

The computer I'm using is a Lenovo T60p laptop with an Intel Core 2 T5500 (1.66 GHz), 3 GB of RAM, and an ATI Mobility FireGL V5250 with 256 MB of video RAM running at 1400x1050. For software, I'm running Windows 7 Professional (64-bit), and my video driver is version 8.383.1.1000.

I've poked through the forums here and found lots of confusing information. I'm hoping some of you might be able to clear things up a bit for me. I've got a few different questions.

1. Which of the games I listed will show significantly better graphics in ePSXe? My understanding is that 2-D graphics won't be any better than in pSX. That would mean that FF Chronicles, FF Anthology and FF Origins wouldn't see much benefit, LoL would see a significant benefit, and all the others would be somewhere in between, right?

2. Is there any particular game on my list that is easier to setup than the others? I'm hoping that I can use one to get a base configuration for my computer and then modify that configuration as needed for other games.

3. Finally, which graphics plugin would you recommend for my machine? I've played around with several and gotten mixed results with each.

Thanks in advance for your help!

-Joe

 

[Princess Garnet]

For 2-D games, yes, use pSX. You would be able to use P.E.Op.S software plug-in in ePSXe and get the same results, save for the fact that Windows Vista/Windows 7 break it making it look pixelated beyond what it should.

For 3-D games, generally, hardware plug-ins are better.

For 2-D/3-D mix (like the three main Playstation Final Fantasy games), it's gets more of a mix on what's better. Go too crazy with the resolution, and the 2-D looks like garbage. Go to smoothed and filtered, and it may look too blurry. It's good you have 4:3 ratio LCD (and with a resolution I often use too), since those people who use 16:10 (or worse, 16:9) fullscreen for a Playstation emulator are just crazy. Not only is it blown up ten times, but it's fattened/stretched.

I've never emulated Final Fantasy VII, but I have emulated the two after it. Final Fantasy IX isn't too hard to get working (I've heard Final Fantasy VII is the same), but Final Fantasy VIII is in it's own league.

For plug-ins, it's hard to recommend, since I don't know which Radeon equivalent that is. If it can handle it, use OpenGL2. If not, then just use regular OpenGL(1). If you have to fall back to software rendering, use pSX instead for reasons I've already listed.

 

[Squall-Leonhart]

Zedeck, you should check out latest gsdx on epsxe

 

[jb1311]

For plug-ins, it's hard to recommend, since I don't know which Radeon equivalent that is. If it can handle it, use OpenGL2. If not, then just use regular OpenGL(1). If you have to fall back to software rendering, use pSX instead for reasons I've already listed.

FWIW, Wikipedia lists it as "based on" the Mobility Radeon X1700.

 

[Princess Garnet]

Zedeck, you should check out latest gsdx on epsxe

gsDX from PCSX2 works in ePSXe? Yes, I will most definitely have to try that.

FWIW, Wikipedia lists it as "based on" the Mobility Radeon X1700.

It should handle OpenGL 2 then.