Ico in native 4k looked absolutely breathtaking when the shots were out far but it starts to look really rough when it gets up close, in which case this game starts to benefit more from a low resolution and CRT scanlines.
If I understood correctly, paralel gs is the gpu implementation of pcsx2 software renderer, meaning accurate upscaling! Good stuff, like the n64 parallel rdp.
Great timing and thanks for reporting on this. I was just wondering about this yesterday. I knew LRPS2 has been in development and would get better, but didn't know when. I didn't expect it would be today. I even stopped mid video to read the two articles on the Libretro site. The part about the frame buffer and frame pacing was fascinating. I'll be playing around with this later and over the weekend. One thing I've been doing is looking to compare some multi-platform games against Gamecube, most of which I had there. As an emulation guy, I'm flexible and will use whatever is best. Since I started with PS2 emulation, that's been PCSX2 on PC. However, I do prefer staying within Retroarch when possible and I'm quite comfortable with the UI. It does some things better than other emulators in my experience, overlays being an example of that. I also appreciate having universal hotkeys and menus. There are some other things I like better within Retroarch, but this isn't meant to be comprehensive. PSP is one where I use both. PPSSPP standalone seems to run a bit better on things that are borderline, but the options in Retroarch are nice to have. I will say, PCSX2 has been one of the best standalone emulators I've used in terms of performance and navigation.
ICO is such an amazing game. I played the HD remaster on RPCS3 in 3D with a VR headset and SteamVR/Desktop+, but it was capped at 30 fps so I used Lossless scaling's framegen to smooth things up. Got the whole game recorded in 3D SBS 4K60. Curious to see if I could make the game run, still at 4k, but natively at 60fps with LRPS2/PCSX2... And also in 3D/VR with Geo-11 Helix mod.
Nice. I have no issue with standalone emulators but having more options within Retroarch is definitely "a good thing". If nothing else, the Retroarch UI is very easy to navigate with a controller whereas most standalones (including PSCX2) are not.
It's nice to have everything under one roof, but I'll use standalone emulators for some cases. It certainly has come a long way from the early ps2 core Retroarch was using.
We are seeing this a little bit with the Ps5 Pro upscaling. Not intended for it but just a side effect of the scaler. What we need is an open community built version that we can optimise for the various consoles that isn't tied to a specific platform. It will come in time just a matter of when.
Because the Japanese developers called Shadow of the Colossus “Nico” during development, we know that Ico is pronounced E-koh, not Eye-koh. “Ni” is Japanese for two, so “Nico” (pronounced Knee-koh) means “the second Ico game.” It’s wordplay that hinges on the original having that “E” sound. :)
The last time I tried the PS2 core on Retroarch (can't remember which one it was), absolutely nothing worked. So if there's a new emulator core for Retroarch that actually works, that's great! Because nothing worked before Btw, I used to pronounce it Retro-Arch too, but everyone on YT, pronounced it Retro-Arc, so I guess that's how it's supposed to be pronounced!
This is neat, but historically RA has struggled with keeping their post-5th gen cores up to date, unless they were managed upstream. PPSSPP, PCSX2, and Dolphin all suffer from this, but maybe that will change? Bigger question mr. esoterica, do you have any recommendations for analog controllers? I wanna play the games with pressure sensitive face buttons but there aren't a lot of options.
The automatic hardware fixes per game are still outdated. They are newer but the emulator is still not up to date with the most recent standalone pcsx2. Stenzeks improvements to the native scaling and align to native HPO that were made shortly after the hacks were released are not up to date. Also the core is still using the old patch system, where each widescreen patch, and no interlacing patches are separated. The standalone is using the updated .pnach format where they are stored in one file.
I’m looking into it. I have a 144hz OLED TV but photographing it for a vid annoys me. “What’s on screen coming through the lens” never looks correct to me and I hate sending content out that’s less than how I want it to be
@VideoGameEsoterica I get that but you could just talk about it and show generalities about it. How to set it up and what it does and so. More people need to know about it. And I just want to hear your take on it. Even though we need a proper high refresh rate like 480hz screen or at least 240hz to really get the most out of it. It is a very interesting development in any case.
@VideoGameEsoterica Don't miss the stop the FOMO angle where that plasma for gaming channel or what his name. Asked the FOMO dude who has a bunch of connections in the industry to talk with his TV brand contacts about this new algo, when he was at CES. And he did and they seemed surprisingly receptive to the idea. Who knows maybe we can get this algo hooked right into the TCON for potential much faster and deeper access.
This is the first ps2 emulator i've been able to get Sands of Time running with upscaled visuals without bloom / ghosting issues, last time I tried pcsx2 couldn't do this, but I mostly use ps2 for lightgun games and from what I can see lrps2 does not have lightgun support, if it does i'd love to know how to get that working.
@@VideoGameEsoterica The game is in an unfortunate state really with the remaster being in development hell at Ubisoft, the ps2 version seems to have extra graphical effects over the pc version but worse audio, the ps3 port was supposed to be terrible, I attempted to run the xbox version a while back but the emulator wasn't quite there, the ps2 version is fine, with upscaling and boosted framerate it comes closer to the pc release, but still has the overly compressed audio so it feels like we don't have that definitive way to play yet, and the game deserves it.
I'm looking forward to using shaders in Ps2 emulation. Lottery crt is great in pcsx2. I think both emulators are awesome. The best generation of gaming was Ps2. Take me back
Any idea if this will run on PCs hooked into a CRT? If i can use crt emudriver with this core on a CRT I will be in heaven! Do savestates work? Yes, I just need to try it myself. ;)
EtherealSX2 is in the works, a successor to AetherSX2 for Android. Not sure if it's open source cause I haven't digged up much info on it but who knows maybe that'll come to Android RetroArch in the future
Perfect now I can play PS2 games with the new CRT BEAM simulation shader for that crisply clean, smooth motion.
Def will be an interesting combo
I am a steam deck emulator user. steam os is my emulator box, no matter where it comes from, they all have a normal shortcut
I may do a Deck tutorial too
Ico in native 4k looked absolutely breathtaking when the shots were out far but it starts to look really rough when it gets up close, in which case this game starts to benefit more from a low resolution and CRT scanlines.
Yes there’s really only so much upscaling can do
If I understood correctly, paralel gs is the gpu implementation of pcsx2 software renderer, meaning accurate upscaling! Good stuff, like the n64 parallel rdp.
That’s how I understand it
Sarah Bryant is the best girl in the Virtual Fighter series! 😍
To me, with everything set right, it puts PS2 games within spitting distance of the PS3. It's kind of crazy. So happy they reworked this core.
It does get very close to PS3 feeling
@@VideoGameEsoterica Yeah emulation is insane sometimes with how it improves graphics.
Great timing and thanks for reporting on this. I was just wondering about this yesterday. I knew LRPS2 has been in development and would get better, but didn't know when. I didn't expect it would be today. I even stopped mid video to read the two articles on the Libretro site. The part about the frame buffer and frame pacing was fascinating. I'll be playing around with this later and over the weekend. One thing I've been doing is looking to compare some multi-platform games against Gamecube, most of which I had there.
As an emulation guy, I'm flexible and will use whatever is best. Since I started with PS2 emulation, that's been PCSX2 on PC. However, I do prefer staying within Retroarch when possible and I'm quite comfortable with the UI. It does some things better than other emulators in my experience, overlays being an example of that. I also appreciate having universal hotkeys and menus. There are some other things I like better within Retroarch, but this isn't meant to be comprehensive. PSP is one where I use both. PPSSPP standalone seems to run a bit better on things that are borderline, but the options in Retroarch are nice to have. I will say, PCSX2 has been one of the best standalone emulators I've used in terms of performance and navigation.
Technically it was three days ago haha. I just had other things to show first :)
I'm looking forward to your setup guide. I prefer to do everything under RetroArch for unified controllers, shaders and overlays.
Next sat am it’ll run :)
ICO is such an amazing game. I played the HD remaster on RPCS3 in 3D with a VR headset and SteamVR/Desktop+, but it was capped at 30 fps so I used Lossless scaling's framegen to smooth things up. Got the whole game recorded in 3D SBS 4K60. Curious to see if I could make the game run, still at 4k, but natively at 60fps with LRPS2/PCSX2... And also in 3D/VR with Geo-11 Helix mod.
Sounds like quite the setup to play but fun
Nice. I have no issue with standalone emulators but having more options within Retroarch is definitely "a good thing". If nothing else, the Retroarch UI is very easy to navigate with a controller whereas most standalones (including PSCX2) are not.
Yes it’s all about the options. The more quality resources the better
Good point. I do tend to use the standalones on my desktop, while using retroarch on my Steam Deck.
It's nice to have everything under one roof, but I'll use standalone emulators for some cases. It certainly has come a long way from the early ps2 core Retroarch was using.
Yes it’s a major improvement on the PS2 side of things
Unrelated, but they released the trailer for the House of the Dead 2 remake, and it looks just as bad if not worse than the first one.
I saw. I have zero expectations for it. The first remake was so bad
yep...seems like those pre made asset unity games.
Seriously. The remake of the first one was so bad, I just rolled my eyes when I saw that a remake of the second was announced.
@@PM-xc8oo i did like the gore on the enemies bodies.
The game plays just fine to me dunno whats the issue
this is huge!!! im just happy i can play ps2 games super crisp and clean
Def a fun new core for RetroArch
shaders make retroarch a must have instead of a standalone emulator. and better save states
And let's hope that when recording the Tekken Tag Tournament it is not slow
Would have to check
I'm guessing it will still be. There is nothing new in terms of improvements, just a recompilation.
I like Retroarch on handhelds like Anbernic, but I prefer standalones on PC
This will be a big benefit for the handheld emulation community too I feel like
For me, the reason to use this is for play Splashdown (the first one). With paraLLEI-GS, works for the first time with upscaled graphics.
Nice. I’ve heard a lot of positive results coming in
i wonder when we will get AI in emulators to upscale 2d hud elements. that would be insane
Oh I’m sure it’ll happen
We are seeing this a little bit with the Ps5 Pro upscaling. Not intended for it but just a side effect of the scaler. What we need is an open community built version that we can optimise for the various consoles that isn't tied to a specific platform. It will come in time just a matter of when.
Because the Japanese developers called Shadow of the Colossus “Nico” during development, we know that Ico is pronounced E-koh, not Eye-koh. “Ni” is Japanese for two, so “Nico” (pronounced Knee-koh) means “the second Ico game.” It’s wordplay that hinges on the original having that “E” sound. :)
Everyone knows my pronunciations are never correct haha
0:23 funny to see camera ties to and bobs with the character 😂
A fun and weird look
ps2 with duimon and megabezel through retroarch, ahh yes please! thanks for the update VGE
Happy to provide the update
The core that uses less resources is the one I always go with, I mean obviously it's got to play the games good as well
Haha that’s fair
Ico one of the few ps2 games to natively output at 240p.
Sports probably my all time favourite videogame water rendering (under the windmill)
It has a graphical style that has just aged super gracefully
Well damn. Interesting. Great video. Is this for Android as well?
No android or iOS as of yet
The last time I tried the PS2 core on Retroarch (can't remember which one it was), absolutely nothing worked. So if there's a new emulator core for Retroarch that actually works, that's great! Because nothing worked before
Btw, I used to pronounce it Retro-Arch too, but everyone on YT, pronounced it Retro-Arc, so I guess that's how it's supposed to be pronounced!
I’ll always be known for mispronouncing names haha
I wonder if it works better with some of the games that have issues before like Ridge Racer V?
I’ll have to check and see
This is neat, but historically RA has struggled with keeping their post-5th gen cores up to date, unless they were managed upstream. PPSSPP, PCSX2, and Dolphin all suffer from this, but maybe that will change?
Bigger question mr. esoterica, do you have any recommendations for analog controllers? I wanna play the games with pressure sensitive face buttons but there aren't a lot of options.
Pressure sensitive is always a pain. I just go Series X for everything
@@VideoGameEsoterica Ah, understandable. Ty
PS2 controllers... That's about it
I use both Retroarch and Other Emulators that both are Standalone and Multi-System ones
It’s wild how many options we have these days
Apparently LRPS2 in conjunction with paraLLEl-GS is more accurate than PCSX2... saludos!
So I’ve heard. I’ll let bigger PS2 fans than I test that haha
XEMU just got Vulkan support too. Phantasy Star Online at 10x is niiicccceee.
Nice. I’ll look into it
The automatic hardware fixes per game are still outdated. They are newer but the emulator is still not up to date with the most recent standalone pcsx2. Stenzeks improvements to the native scaling and align to native HPO that were made shortly after the hacks were released are not up to date. Also the core is still using the old patch system, where each widescreen patch, and no interlacing patches are separated. The standalone is using the updated .pnach format where they are stored in one file.
Yes there’s still plenty of reason to use stand alone but extra options never hurt
I might try this on my old arcade pc. Hopefully it works with groovymister RetroArch
Yeah give it a shot
I'm gonna be interested on how this will perform on my thinkpad t460p if PCXS2 works okay but not optimal.
Probably won’t work much better would be my guess
Fantastic news!
Always fun to get new options
is it known by now the proximate compatibility level of ps2 library for LRPS2? at least the proximate percentage of "playable" games?
It’s such a new core I haven’t seen much data yet at all
Just out of curiosity when you play retroarch do you typically use your PC or do you have some other setup hooked up to your TV?
PC. I really only use RetroArch for capture purposes. On my living room tv it’s generally real hardware / MiSTer
TV is just another monitor
I've tried DOA2 on the LRPS2 core and it did not boot up at all it would just close retroarch.
Sounds like a bad file
I think you are missing the bios files.
That too
If you have a high hz display.
I want to hear your take on the new CRT simulator shader from blurbusters that is in retroarch.
I’m looking into it. I have a 144hz OLED TV but photographing it for a vid annoys me. “What’s on screen coming through the lens” never looks correct to me and I hate sending content out that’s less than how I want it to be
@VideoGameEsoterica I get that but you could just talk about it and show generalities about it. How to set it up and what it does and so.
More people need to know about it.
And I just want to hear your take on it.
Even though we need a proper high refresh rate like 480hz screen or at least 240hz to really get the most out of it. It is a very interesting development in any case.
I’ll probably talk about it soon :)
@VideoGameEsoterica Don't miss the stop the FOMO angle where that plasma for gaming channel or what his name.
Asked the FOMO dude who has a bunch of connections in the industry to talk with his TV brand contacts about this new algo, when he was at CES.
And he did and they seemed surprisingly receptive to the idea. Who knows maybe we can get this algo hooked right into the TCON for potential much faster and deeper access.
This is the first ps2 emulator i've been able to get Sands of Time running with upscaled visuals without bloom / ghosting issues, last time I tried pcsx2 couldn't do this, but I mostly use ps2 for lightgun games and from what I can see lrps2 does not have lightgun support, if it does i'd love to know how to get that working.
I haven’t played sands of time since it came out. I should really visit it
@@VideoGameEsoterica The game is in an unfortunate state really with the remaster being in development hell at Ubisoft, the ps2 version seems to have extra graphical effects over the pc version but worse audio, the ps3 port was supposed to be terrible, I attempted to run the xbox version a while back but the emulator wasn't quite there, the ps2 version is fine, with upscaling and boosted framerate it comes closer to the pc release, but still has the overly compressed audio so it feels like we don't have that definitive way to play yet, and the game deserves it.
I’ll def give it another shot. I remember enjoying it
I'm looking forward to using shaders in Ps2 emulation. Lottery crt is great in pcsx2. I think both emulators are awesome. The best generation of gaming was Ps2. Take me back
My fav generation was late 90s 3D Arcade and and Dreamcast / NAOMI era
@@VideoGameEsoterica My time as well. Sega was the shit once.
Oh based. More accurate PS2 emulation was sorely needed. Also VF4 again excellent!
I like testing VF4. I just know the feel and if there’s latency that affects the game I’ll know
Any idea if this will run on PCs hooked into a CRT? If i can use crt emudriver with this core on a CRT I will be in heaven! Do savestates work? Yes, I just need to try it myself. ;)
I don’t see why emudriver wouldn’t work but I have not tested it
Does anyone know if this core has netplay? Thanks!
It doesn’t show up in RetroArch on iOS, is it only for windows ?
Windows, Mac and Linux
Can you do Widescreen in LRPS2?
You can. I’ll show how in the tutorial next week
I use both standalone and retroarch. Having everything all in one is nice but I wish retroarch would fix their crappy menus.
I would say crappy. I’d just say utilitarian
@VideoGameEsoterica - Oh, it works and works well functionally, but it's a real mess.
It's not a mess though. It's extremely well organized
did they finally update there awful ui in retrorach?
The UI is fine
Will this be for Android and Linux too!? 🤩
Linux yes. iOS and Android no
That's right, no ios or Android. Also not for ARM Linux.
EtherealSX2 is in the works, a successor to AetherSX2 for Android. Not sure if it's open source cause I haven't digged up much info on it but who knows maybe that'll come to Android RetroArch in the future
@@sonkunhyperspinretroarch4867 Thank You, yes I know both EtherealSX2 and Cosmic Station are in the works but more options can only be better for us.
@@ravagingwolverine Thank You, for the extra information.
I like retroarch because I don't need to worry about controller configuration
That is a nice QOL thing where it auto binds
So this should make it to batocera
I’d presume so
Standalone emulators.
So far even votes it seems
I'll reinstall retroarch when the get rid of squarepusher lol
worst person to happen to emulation
Unsure who that is
Nah, you definitely are
I dont like retroarch on PC. The UI is cumbersome and the dev actively fueds with and attempts to control the emulation scene.
I ignore and any all drama here. Can’t be bothered with it
UI is identical across platforms for retroarch and it's straight forward