This, or ePSXe?

[blizeh]

As per the title really! :-)

I want the opportunity to play some titles I missed out in due to living in the UK in the absolute best way possible. I've got a PS2 pad converter which I believe is compatible with both emulators, and the games I want to play include Tales of Destiny II, Chrono Cross and a few other RPGs.

Many thanks!

[Ultima]

That depends on what you want. pSX does not modify/enhance the graphics in any way, and attempts to stay true to the original PlayStation's graphics. ePSXe, on the other hand, is an enhancing emulator, and attempts to improve graphics. Naturally, if your hardware can't keep up with the demands of that emulator, you can't use it.

[butz]

PSxemulator runs mostly like the real psx, I love this emu, epsxe hmm, I dont really like the plugins configuration and stuff like that, I recommend you "this" emu ^^

[Gamesoul Master]

Oh damn... you asked just the right question. I'm sure as a few of the regulars here see that I posted, they're already rolling their eyes, knowing what I'm gonna say...

pSX, all the way. At this point, the two games you mentioned perform well with pSX... especially Tales of Eternia, which I've been playing a lot lately. You won't be disappointed.

Anyway... ePSXe is too much of a pain, just to get some decent results. It takes up more resources than pSX to do the same thing (using the same kind of settings is what I mean here). In terms of graphics, ePSXe is superior, but pSX is more accurate. Sound... people will argue with me about this, but none of the plugins for ePSXe produce sound as well as pSX. pSX is just... superior. And while ePSXe is not dead, I'm pretty sure that it'll be a long time before we see any kind of significant update for it. Same goes for its plugins. pSX is being updated all the time. It's getting better at a really fast rate. Nobody here can argue that within a couple months, it will most likely have superior compatibility to ePSXe (as it is already decently close).

Stick with pSX. You won't regret it. And remember... keep ePSXe as a back-up. For those rare times where pSX gets stuck at some point in a game, ePSXe can usually get you through it, so you can get back to pSX and continue playing your game as it should be played.

[blizeh]

Many thanks for the replies, especially you Gamesoul Master! :-)

I've been following pSX for ages now, in fact, I've currently got 1.3 installed but haven't had the chance to use it yet, partly because I've been waiting for the 'right time' to get my teeth sunk into PSX games. But I am mightily impressed with the consistent updates, as well as the great support on the forums!

Think I'll go with pSX then, I've got a fairly decent PC and it would be nice to play with ePSXe's improved graphics (although colour me sceptical as to how you improve graphics without the original code being changed?) but the simplicity of pSX is incredibly appealing.

Thanks again

[Ultima]

You can convert objects into Direct3D or OpenGL objects, whereby you can force a higher resolution, and/or use antialiasing to "improve" the graphics. In all, though, accuracy falls, and I've often seen jittery stuff when playing games in ePSXe. If you're interested in enjoying the game itself, then yeah, just stick to pSX (I fit into this category myself ).

[patrickp]

Yes, I'd say go with pSX, blizeh - go with 1.10, though - it's been through a _lot_ of improvement since 1.3. However, ePSXe is a real alternative, especially if you have a PC with good graphics capabilities - or a Linux box, as yet...

ePSXe still has its good points - I think compatibility is still better, although with some games playing in ePSXe and not in pSX, and some games playing in pSX and not in ePSXe, this is getting increasingly difficult to compare. Despite what GM says, I think sound is still better in ePSXe.

Where pSX really scores is its 'transparency' - that is, if a game plays without issues in pSX, you just won't notice what platform you're playing it on because nothing will intrude to distract you from the game. pSX's graphics are clear and accurate and on any reasonable PC it should play pretty much without the little slowdowns that plague other emulators.

Edit: Chrono Cross was one of the games that really converted me to pSX. Although the graphics look so good in ePSXe, pSX's unenhanced accuracy is what did it; as Ultima points out, the more enhancement you've got, the more garbage you get - even if it's very pretty garbage...

And definitely get 1.10 (that's actually one-point-ten, not one-point-one). Chrono Cross has been suffering a few freezes in recent versions, but this seems to be sorted in 1.10. There's also the ground floor of Fort Dragonia, which had a massive graphic glitch in older versions of pSX, but should be sorted now - although I can't say personally, because I haven't played through that scene in recent versions. The glitch doesn't stop you playing through the room, though; all you have to do is find the exits and the save point, and the glitch clears once you've completed that floor.