Open PS2 Loader Project Feature Requests

[Hajile]

@jimmikaelkael

you dont' need to attack me, it was just a suggestion. i like OPL a lot, but just wanted to point out some of the issues, so that you and the other devs could look into fixing them.

again, no need to take it personally. it was simply a suggestion, and i never intended to get on the wrong side of anyone here, so please just move on... sorry for coming across in the wrong way, can we please move on.

[jimmikaelkael]

OK, no trouble then.

I just saw the words "urgently needed", so I guessed it was an urgent requirement...
You know I'm already really busied at OPL dev (see the changesets), so I'm simply unable to consider everyone's requirement.

Especially when some report non working games when they work fine using a good rip, I'm actually loosing a lot of time (acquiring the mentionned games, installing then testing them) with this kind of stuff...

[Hajile]

i understand. again, sorry for my wording there.

but i'm really hoping for a reply to my queries above... where are you dlanor (or anyone else, that knows the answers)?

[dlsmd]

i understand. again, sorry for my wording there.

but i'm really hoping for a reply to my queries above... where are you dlanor (or anyone else, that knows the answers)?

actually the hdd spin up-down cycles will protect your drive because with hdl when you shutdown your ps2 it just kill the power without the hdd setting the read wright heads to a safe zone on your hdd

[yoshi314]

p.s.: i'm kind of scared that the OPL is going to kill my HDD due to all of the unecessary HDD spinup-down cycles. even at the OPL menu it does this when you leave it for a while. and even if we overlook the HDD lifespan issue and look at the effects during gameplay, it can be very annoying/"distressing" in games, such in a game where there is a deadly pursuer (survivial horror games mainly), if you have them chasing you, and you just decide to pause the game and leave it for a while, and then unpause it when you come back, the game will lockup due to the HDD shutting off, and when it "decides" to spin back up, you will most likely be caught unprepared by the pursuer, and then be entirely at their mercy...

and other games have problems at level/room transitions, the delay of which can be quite an annoyance... and then others still are affacted when you enter menus/inventory (i think it happened to me in Resident Evil 4 once, and a few RPGS like Final Fantasy XII), creating even more yawn-inducing delays

you know, i've played quite a few ps2 games, and i had hdd spin down problem only once. just how long do you leave your ps2 unattended, with the game paused?

and i never had that in ff12. i suppose it streams some data once in a while.

as far as hdd damage goes, hdl pretty much damaged my hdd - it works with ps2, but my pc no longer recognizes it. it could be due to lack of spin down.

[mist3r]

i would appreciate the option to boot a game in PAL or NTSC like in SwapMagic, that makes the ntsc/pal patching unnecessary due to the new ISO support...

[dlanor]

i would appreciate the option to boot a game in PAL or NTSC like in SwapMagic, that makes the ntsc/pal patching unnecessary due to the new ISO support...

Another homebrew utility is available that allows you to enforce a specific video mode before starting OPL and the games installed for it.

Back out to the main "Homebrew/Dev & Emu" forum and scroll down below the long list of subforums at the top of that listing. Somwhere below those you will find a thread with the title:
"GS Mode Selector: Development & Feedback"

The first post of that thread is the release post for "GS Modeselector" aka: GSM.

This tool allows you to choose between a large number of preset video modes and also add tweaks of your own to them, so as to optimize screen size and centering. Supported modes include many of the special modes used by HDTV sets and VGA monitors in addition to several variants of the normal PAL and NTSC video modes.

Be aware though that the abilities of the program for rescaling are severely limited, as only integer multiplication of size is possible. A lot of people have complained about not getting the precise HDTV scaling they wanted, apparently not realizing that this would demand fractional scale factors, which are not available with the methods used.

Whatever video mode you have active at exit from GSM will remain enforced for the remainder of that boot session, regardless of what other homebrews or games you launch, with the exception of a few cases. One is that you can again relaunch GSM to change the chosen video mode, and the other is that some few games can modify GS chip registers in a way that the GSM code can't 'trap'. So those games may still seem unaffected by GSM.

It is also not uncommon for some games to be 'allergic' to some video modes, causing them to not work well at all. (eg: Some games made for interlaced mode, require this to work properly (a game engine design issue), so they don't work well in progressive HDTV or VGA modes.)

But for the majority of games GSM offers a simple and well working way of switching between PAL and NTSC just as with the SwapMagic tools you mentioned. GSM v0.23v even has support for PAL60, so that those with composite cable can play NTSC games with proper screen size and timing without loss of color. (But RGB or component cable is of course still preferable.)

I myself use GSM with OPL most of the time, even when playing a game whose native video mode is directly supported by my TV. Because with GSM I can play the games perfectly centered on screen, adapted to suit my own TV, and such screen centering is a feature many of these games lack.

Best regards: dlanor

[Hajile]

you know, i've played quite a few ps2 games, and i had hdd spin down problem only once. just how long do you leave your ps2 unattended, with the game paused?

and i never had that in ff12. i suppose it streams some data once in a while.

as far as hdd damage goes, hdl pretty much damaged my hdd - it works with ps2, but my pc no longer recognizes it. it could be due to lack of spin down.

on most occasions and most games, i'm pretty sure that it spins down the HDD within 10 minutes... and on that time that i had it with FFXII i must have been gone for about 50 minutes.

p.s.: i thought that HDL properly handled HDD shutdown when you pressed the reset button quickly, so there wouldn't be any abnormal harm done compared to PC usage. OPL on the other hand doesn't seem to handle it in the same way, and you have to hold the button down for about 2-3 seconds for anything to be done... i always wondered why there was such a delay compared to HDL.

[artman]

OK first to all, thanks for the great Open PS2 Loader, i have a cool sugest, xD

i sugest an OPL patch GUI (Like HDL Patch - GUI - 0.8b r2j)

with options like:

Customization:

- Languaje Translation
- Splash imagen patch, to put custom image direct to the elf file, same to main, buttons and icons, if you like to put icons, or remove the icons, color patch, etc.

Other Options:

-Remove HDD Option
-Remove USB Option
-Remove Network Option
-Remove Settings Option
-Remove Home Option
Example i use HDD, this option is gonna give me the ability to put OPL elf only in HDD or USB or Network mode, the result is only the game list, no other option, icon, or anyting else.

Child Proof Patch:
To disable compatibility fixes for the game, same to settings.
This option is gonna help, the users with kids, like me, to maintein the game settings list, and the game to work perfect xD

In Game Reset:

-Disable or Enable, direct to the elf file

this patch program file is gonna help, users with no knowlage in programing, to have Open PS2 Loader more custom, more cooler, more stronger, more sexier

Those are my ideas, thanks for reading my post , have a great day

[JNABK]

I guess you havent tried OPL out or used it much, as nearly everything you want some PC GUI Patcher to do already is configurable in OPL's own settings, where you can 'patch on the fly' and save them. All these are not in the OPLv0.7 release, but are in the current revisions.

Customization:

- Languaje Translation
- Splash imagen patch, to put custom image direct to the elf file, same to main, buttons and icons, if you like to put icons, or remove the icons, color patch, etc.

Language and Theme support is already available in OPLv0.7

Other Options:

-Remove HDD Option
-Remove USB Option
-Remove Network Option
-Remove Settings Option
-Remove Home Option
Example i use HDD, this option is gonna give me the ability to put OPL elf only in HDD or USB or Network mode, the result is only the game list, no other option, icon, or anyting else.

Already done in current revisions.

Child Proof Patch:
To disable compatibility fixes for the game, same to settings.
This option is gonna help, the users with kids, like me, to maintein the game settings list, and the game to work perfect xD

This is currently on the drawing board......

In Game Reset:

-Disable or Enable, direct to the elf file

This is available in OPLv0.7, but instead of enable/disable for the entire program, each game can be selectively disabled per game.