PSX Slow-motion?

[jpr100c]

I'm playing FFIX and am trying for a perfect in the fight scene of the play and maybe jump-roping. The closest I get on the fight is 95.
Is there some way to slow-down the game or is there some cheat that will allow me to slow it down?

[Ultima]

No reliable way that I know of, no. The ability to slow down has been requested before for pSX, though, IIRC.

[jpr100c]

Thanks. I'd read a few threads about using cheating like Gameshark but was wondering if there was something built in.

[Gamesoul Master]

I know one trick to slow down the emulator (besides turning off frame-skipping, which only works if your computer isn't very new)... use the -ci commandline switch. This turns on the R3000 CPU Mode (Interpreter) switch, which should slow down the emulator to about half speed or slower (depending on your computer). As you can't toggle this while playing, I'd suggest that you have a savestate handy right before the points where you want to have slow motion.

Edit: I might as well note that on my computer, it puts my in-game fps at pretty much exactly 30 fps (it varies by about 0.2 fps at any given time) and using Fast Forward while in this mode puts me up at almost exactly 40 fps... just in case you were wondering about the specifics of what I was talking about. Such exact numbers makes me wonder if the results in this mode are actually system-dependant or not... I'd almost expect that most other people are gonna get a similar result of 30 fps, because of how precisely the emulator seems to stay at that speed.

[Melanogaster]

Yeah... With frame skipping on, it remains at 30 FPS in here, and it also varies by about 0.2 FPS. The only thing different is the fast forward speed -- I only get 36-38 FPS... But that's machine dependant, so different results at this aren't of much surprise.

[jpr100c]

how do I do the -ci command line?

[Melanogaster]

Check it out here...

[jpr100c]

Thanks... found it

[MotM]

That's cheatin!

[patrickp]

One of the reasons some people use emulators...

[MotM]

Already spoiling the tense of games by using save states and what not... but finishing a mini-game in slow-mo woah stop right there.

[patrickp]

Well, whatever, MotM. Not sure if I'd use a slow-down facility or not; I do use save states and I see no point in using Gameshark codes etc.

However, lots of people do and if that's the way they want to play, why not?

The one that really puzzles me is people who get a new game and don't even start playing it without studying 1/2 a dozen walkthrus...

[Gamesoul Master]

That drives me nuts! My friend is like that... when he gets a new game, he's already begging me to download walkthroughs and such for him... and he hasn't even unwrapped the game yet! I understand the point of playing a game (especially games like RPG's) with a walkthrough the first time through... it's completely counter-productive to one of the genre's primary purposes... to make you think! If I want just a storyline, I have many books and movies to satisfy that hunger. Games are meant to be fun, and a game isn't really fun if everything you do in the game is being explained in full detail to you.

I like using Gameshark codes, but usually only to do things impossible in normal gameplay. Like in Final Fantasy Tactics, my last time through I created a fresh line-up of characters using special classes that weren't too powerful. That way, I could freshen up the game without making it too easy. Used correctly, a cheating device can add new life to games you've played through a hundred times. Stuff like "Infinite HP" and "Have all magic spells" do not appeal to me. That takes the fun out of a game as much as using a walkthrough your first time through.

A slowdown feature... not nearly as bad as the above two things mentioned, but still takes the fun out of things. But... this too can be used to add fun to a game. You just have to be creative. The problem is... most people these days don't even know what "creative" is... it really is a horrible thing to see in younger people these days.

[Ultima]

@gamesoul Master: lol at 21 years of age, you're already talking about "younger people these days," almost as if you were elderly xD

Indeed, I dislike walkthroughs as well, but if I stop playing a game for an extended period of time before I complete it, I find that I'm sometimes lost. That's when I "read" (more like "skim through") a walkthrough -- to get myself back up to speed. Gameshark cheats I really don't like using, as it takes a lot of the fun out of the games. Admittedly, it can take the pain-in-the-arse aspect out of a near-impossible game as well, but I personally prefer the challenge

[Deleted]

You kids and your rock and roll! Damn you rascals!

I sometimes use walkthroughs after I've finished the game once. Mostly because I just don't have the time to hunt down all the secrets on my own, but still like to know them and see them.