PCSX2-CE for OS X (Wineskin port)

speedofmac

http://i.imgur.com/x52pgV0.png

PCSX2-CE is the easiest way to play PlayStation 2 games on your Mac, using the latest versions of PCSX2.

It's a pretty big download so it's currently hosted at GameFront: you can download it here (updated Jan 28, 2014).

For detailed instructions on how to get it set up and working, check out How to Install PCSX2 1.0 on Mac OS X

For advanced users:

Download the latest version of PCSX2-CE
Download XQuartz for OS X
Download the Nvidia Cg Toolkit and install it into the PCSX2-CE bundle
Use Winetricks to install Windows dependencies into the bundle:

winetricks msxml3 vcrun2010 d3dx9_36

Install the PCSX2 bios

If you have time to give it a try, I'd like to know if it works for you and if you have any suggestions on how I could make it easier to use! Right now, downloading and installing the Windows dependencies is a pain. I'm looking into how to include them in the bundle without violating any distribution rules.

Squishy Tia

Heh. 171 MB isn't huge, but given FileFactory's abysmal 80k/sec download speed, it's gonna be a while before it downloads. No worries. Methinks my Hackwell Pro can handle this new PCSX2 from you. I would think an i7-4770k, GTX 780 SC/ACX, and 32 GB RAM is up to the task. At least as long as you aren't making OpenCL calls (it's a GK110 Rev. B issue with nVidia 780 cards).

I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe I can enjoy Wild Arms 3 again without wearing out my real PS2's laser (which stays active even when running my games from the internal HD bay).

speedofmac

I sure hope it downloaded by now. Your new machine is a beast! You'll be able to play games at full speed comfortably. My MBP is showing its age for sure.

I should let you know that only the ZeroGS graphics plugin is working at the moment. If you select "Import Settings" or whatever in the setup dialog, it will select that plugin for you to use. I'm working on getting other plugins to work.

If you can think of anything to make this easier to run or run better, let me know!

Squishy Tia

SpeedofMac wrote:
I sure hope it downloaded by now. Your new machine is a beast! You'll be able to play games at full speed comfortably. My MBP is showing its age for sure.

I should let you know that only the ZeroGS graphics plugin is working at the moment. If you select "Import Settings" or whatever in the setup dialog, it will select that plugin for you to use. I'm working on getting other plugins to work.

If you can think of anything to make this easier to run or run better, let me know!

Yeah, I read the Readme.txt before doing anything. I forgot to hook up my controller from my old Mac Pro so I'll need to configure that before I can get past the langauge selection screen you get when you turn on the PS2 for the first time. Took me a while to get a real USA BIOS (Japanese ones are easy to find). But since I own a legit PS2 still, that's perfectly legal on my part. :)

Here is my system build, if you are interested. There was just no way I was going to shell out that much more money for the TrashCan Pro with inferior GPUs for gaming, no internal expandability, and the cost of getting Thunderbolt enclosures for my many SSDs and data HD, and at a speed loss as well (limited to PCIe 2.0 x4 for TB/TB2).

Thundar

Well I'll be damned. I was just snooping around ConsoleEmu, got bummed that pcsx2 hasn't been updated since '12...so I came here & ya put a smile on my face, TY! :) Hopefully it's easy to use.

Thundar

Trying to install the bios scph10000.bin, says the variable pcsx2ce is not defined after I click ok to install it..thats the right bios?

Squishy Tia

Thundar wrote:
Trying to install the bios scph10000.bin, says the variable pcsx2ce is not defined after I click ok to install it..thats the right bios?

You can just drag the BIOS image over the folder that is labeled Drop PS2 bios files here and just drop it there. It will install properly. Do not use the installer you see in the directory.

If you need to manually install the BIOS, perform the following steps:

1) Right click the PCSX2-CE application icon in the Finder and select Show Package Contents.

2) Navigate to the following folder from the newly open folder window: /Contents/Resources/drive_c/Program Files//pcsc2/bios/

3) Drag your BIOS image (SCPHXXXXX.bin) to the open window for the /bios folder

You're done.

NOTE: You are using SCPH10000.bin, which is the Japanese BIOS. You need a USA version of the BIOS (ex: SCPH39001.bin) or else you will not be able to play US NTSC games.

speedofmac

Oh! I didn't realise that the installer was broken. I'll get that fixed up.

Thundar

I went through installing the bios through using the app itself. No problem, all installed...cept the game won't run, I imagine the compatibility isn't perfect, so I'll just choose another game. :)

Squishy Tia

Thundar wrote:
I went through installing the bios through using the app itself. No problem, all installed...cept the game won't run, I imagine the compatibility isn't perfect, so I'll just choose another game. :)

Which BIOS are you using, and what game? As I noted, the BIOS you listed is the Japanese BIOS. It will not run US games.

Thundar

scph-70012_bios_v12_USA_200.bin theres another one with scph-70012.bin theres a few in the folder...10000, 70004 bios v12 pal 200, (I have no idea which is what), 3004R, 1001, 10000, 30004, (all these have scph before the number btw), & 390001
those are all bin files, then there's NVM, & MEC files that have the file names I gave.

Thundar

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns & WWE All-Stars (both playable according to pcsx2 compatibility lists

Squishy Tia

OK, so as long as you're using a US BIOS, you should be able to run the games fine. Did you follow the instructions in the readme file that was included in the package? You may need to set your plugins to the correct ones:

2. Set-up/Configuration



There are only a couple things you have to do to get PCSX2-CE ready.



    1. Install the PlayStation 2 bios. If you don't know what it is,

    Google/DDG it. To install the bios, just drag the bios files onto the

    shortcut in the PCSX2-CE folder called "Drop PS2 bios files here"



    2. Configure plugins. Not all PCSX2 plugins work with PCSX2-CE. When

    you open PCSX2-CE, a set up dialog will appear. Choose your language

    (or keep it as the system default), then click "Next >"



    3. A window will pop up saying that plugin settings have been found.

    Click "Import". I've already selected the correct plugins for you ;)

        - If this doesn't happen, make sure you select "ZeroGS" for the 

        GS plugin (first one) and "ZeroSPU2-Dev" for the SPU2 plugin

        (the third one)



    4. In the next window, select your bios you installed in step 1.



    5. That's it!

Thundar

got it working, I didn't chose RUN to run the game...might help huh? lol

Squishy Tia

Thundar wrote:
got it working, I didn't chose RUN to run the game...might help huh? lol

Heh. I've had brainfarts like that myself. You'd be amazed at how often people think "well, I've done the easy stuff so quit asking me!" and then they realize they missed something ultra simple. I'm quite guilty of that myself. That's why when something doesn't work and I'm trying to get it going, I usually second and triple guess my actions so that I don't accidentally forget something. Doesn't always work though. ;D

Squishy Tia

And PCSX2-CE has an odd peculiarity: If I use the keyboard to open it (CMD-Down Arrow), the Wineskin Windery configuration/installation menu comes up and PCSX2 doesn't load. If I use CMD-O or right click and select "Open" to launch it, it works. This is an annoyance I have to deal with when using any Wineskin created app. It holds true even for the Solitaire app I made a wrapper for from Windows XP (and the deck of cards doesn't even have the options it should despite cards.dll being where it's supposed to be).

Unfortunately it isn't going fullscreen properly, and Wild Arms 3 is unplayably slow with dialogues onscreen. What happens is that the game engine seems to just drop to like 20% of normal speed (including sound) and controller input is locked out until the dialogue's code (instructions) has all been run and it's ready to go to the next dialogue window or be dismissed. And being an RPG, those come up constantly, so, not playable.

I'll have to tinker with some options and see what I can do to fix it. But it really doesn't look good right now.

Edit: Aaaaaaaaaand it's interlaced. And enabling the toggle and trying F5 has no effect. :(

Unless I can find a way around this, it's Windows 7 or Bust if I want to run PS2 games decently.

Thundar

I gave up on it. Gamecube has some of the same games as PS2 has & Dolphin works better for me. I enjoy playing DS, & GBA & all the newer stuff on the iMac, but I usually mainly play the old stuff more still. 80s consoles, arcade, computer games.
My 9 year-old son is catching on that dad can play DS & Gamecube games on the iMac & he asked me last week..."Dad, those are free right? It's just so awesome seeing Mario Kart Double Dash on the computer. How do you do all that?" Without going into where & how & all that..I looked at him & simply said...There are computer magicians out there that can make all these things you see. That answer was enough for him. lol

speedofmac

Don't lose hope yet! I've been playing around with various builds of PCSX2, and I came up with something pretty good. Using XQuartz instead of Wineskin's built-in X11 makes the better graphics plugin usable in both software and hardware rendering modes. This should solve a lot of headaches people had with the last bundle.

I put together a new bundle today, which you can download here. I'll update the original post, too.

Squishy Tia

I got the video working. The build I already had (the most recent one you posted before the build you put up on GameFront) now has working G5dx (all of them). Hardware is slow (like 2 FPS slow) while software seems to be working well. I had to open the Wineskin.app inside of the wrapper and enable "Use Mac Driver" instead of the X11 driver to get anywhere near full speed. Wild Arms 3 now has proper graphics at reasonable speed. Unfortunately, the G5dx plugin does not seem to have any options for multi-core use so I'm stuck with my single core having to turbo and hope it does well.

Interlacing is still a problem even when set to the proper mode and vSync is a speed killer. FMVs unfortunately do not play well at all in any setup. They're slow with crackly sound and nothing I change seems to affect that. Oh well. It's progress. :)

Too bad even though I'm using a real Dual Shock 2 controller the adapter I am using is not fully compatible with the analog portion of the controller. Using it in analog mode sets the controller into "digital via analog" mode as far as the app is concerned. I wonder if a PS3 controller will work, especially since I have no bluetooth in this rig.

Nothing's ever easy, is it? :D

Squishy Tia

I'll give it a try...once it's done downloading (how come you aren't using a site like filefront? Do they not allow such files? They're much faster to get files from at least).

Does the new build also solve the issues with interlacing? It's really bad in the build we already downloaded before.

BTW, I know consoleemu.com is relatively new, but the only way to get to the latest builds (or any downloads at all) on the site is to use the dropdown menus at the top. The big links on the respective pages for each emulator do not yet work. Easy workaround - I just figure it's maybe a WIP?

Now if I could just figure out a way to get rid of Wineskin's annoying habit of launching its wrapper creation app instead of the app you opened with the keyboard or double clicked. It does that for ALL Wineskin wrappered apps and it's very frustrating.