Testing Homebrew on Emulator

brucesinner · Post by **brucesinner** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:00 am

Is it possible to test any homebrew app in PCSX2 emulator ?

or in another emulator ?

i don't have a ps2 but i want to begin coding for it and testing in emulators for now.

thanks for any clue.

J.F. · Post by **J.F.** » Tue May 03, 2005 12:23 pm

Testing in an emulator is a VERY poor substitute for testing in the real thing. Remember that emulators generally only emulate just enough to get games to play. You could totally miss an issue that prevents it from working on a real machine, like the timing.

PCSX2 is also way too preliminary to be useful for real testing.

Thanhda · Post by **Thanhda** » Tue May 03, 2005 12:47 pm

i would agree. its not good for development. i use it myself just to see that the elf file compile proprely, but its really slow, laggy, and has problems with 3d objects. it acts as if there was a light enable but no depth, which causes to see through an object. if your serious about dev then get a ps2(dont get the v12(psTwo slim)). but just to see if the code works, its fine for now. you will need the bios. to boot run the file tho. but your on your own on that one.

rinco · Post by **rinco** » Tue May 03, 2005 1:51 pm

what's wrong with the v12?

If it wasn't for the v12, I'd be in some mini-itx forum right now.

Thanhda · Post by **Thanhda** » Tue May 03, 2005 1:55 pm

rinco:

I was told that the v12 doesnt work well with homebrew

Neil Stevens · Post by **Neil Stevens** » Tue May 03, 2005 2:15 pm

There's nothing non-serious about the new playstations in terms of development. In fact, it comes with the most important thing for development: the network interface.

The only things you can't do with it is install a hard disk or boot your own code without modification. So, if you're big on an unmodified console, go dig up an old playstation 2. If you don't care about that, feel free to get the tiny, pretty new one.

rinco · Post by **rinco** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:26 pm

i run homebrew off an 80 gig hard drive plugged into my unmodified v12
(using the sony linux disc).

and from what I read, the swap technique is easier with the v12.

Neil Stevens · Post by **Neil Stevens** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:52 pm

rinco wrote:i run homebrew off an 80 gig hard drive plugged into my unmodified v12
(using the sony linux disc).

and from what I read, the swap technique is easier with the v12.

Good to know. I've never been aware of the linux-based boot techniques.

606u · Post by **606u** » Wed May 04, 2005 4:38 am

I use pcsx2-0.7-dev for testing purposes and so far I'm happy with it. It saves me a lot of power-offs and power-ons and the waiting for ps2link to boot up. After all, 2D is working pretty well. Right now the speed is not an issue for me, however I found out few things that does work on the emulator, but does not on the real thing, such as unaligned numbers.

Thanhda · Post by **Thanhda** » Wed May 04, 2005 4:53 am

606u wrote:I use pcsx2-0.7-dev for testing purposes and so far I'm happy with it. It saves me a lot of power-offs and power-ons and the waiting for ps2link to boot up. After all, 2D is working pretty well. Right now the speed is not an issue for me, however I found out few things that does work on the emulator, but does not on the real thing, such as unaligned numbers.

why dont you guys just create 2 mains thats runs on both windows/linux and one on the ps2. thats what i do, saves even more time.

rinco · Post by **rinco** » Wed May 04, 2005 9:58 am

thanda, that's the worst advice you've given so far

Thanhda · Post by **Thanhda** » Wed May 04, 2005 3:01 pm

rinco wrote:thanda, that's the worst advice you've given so far

how is that bad advice. it works, you dont of course include this in both your projects. but heh, i guess we all have our own methods.

Post by **pixel** » Wed May 04, 2005 5:39 pm

The purpose of "testing within pcsx2" is to "test the ps2 part of the software". Compiling it for pc straight and test it on pc won't help in any single bit about the ps2 part of it....

Thanhda · Post by **Thanhda** » Wed May 04, 2005 6:44 pm

to: pixel who said anything about compiling on the pc. i compile on linux, if succesfull i compile code on the pc. but come to think about it, its not really saving much more time if your doing the direct connect to the pc. but as this guy mention he doesnt have a ps2. so the output is better my method. but still hasselsome. anyway the best suggest i guess is buy a ps2.

Post by **pixel** » Wed May 04, 2005 7:21 pm

I just hope you mean "compiling on the ps2 linux kit"....

Thanhda · Post by **Thanhda** » Thu May 05, 2005 2:00 am

pixel: ps2 linux kit? no, i dont compile on the ps2 linux. i compile on the ps2sdk from my pc. isnt the ps2linux the official non commercial dev kit from sony. when i said compiling on linux i mean compling on my pc(linux), using the ps2toolchain and ps2sdk from oopo sites.

Post by **pixel** » Thu May 05, 2005 2:08 am

Thanhda wrote:who said anything about compiling on the pc. i compile on linux, if succesfull i compile code on the pc

Thanhda wrote:when i said compiling on linux i mean compling on my pc(linux)

You are not making any sense, and saying contradictory things from one post to another.....

Thanhda · Post by **Thanhda** » Thu May 05, 2005 5:29 am

pixel wrote:
Thanhda wrote:who said anything about compiling on the pc. i compile on linux, if succesfull i compile code on the pc
Thanhda wrote:when i said compiling on linux i mean compling on my pc(linux)
You are not making any sense, and saying contradictory things from one post to another.....

arg, sorry, i meant to say, who says i am compiling on windows. not the pc. my pardons to thats. anyway this isnt getting anywhere.

606u · Post by **606u** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:04 am

I agree on "two mains" point. I try do that most of the time, but it depends whether the project does make sense on anything but PS2. However, to have a debugger is a lifesaver :-)