MiSTer FPGA DE10 NANO! PSX Core Got New Features! Texture Filtering, Turbo Mode and More! SO GOOD!

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The PS1 core for MiSTer FPGA went from Alpha, Beta, Released Core...and now "New and Improved Core" thanks to Robert (FPGAZumspass) adding some amazing new features to the PSX core for MiSTer FPGA...so of course we need to update you all on what has been added and how to use it!
Note: This is a pre-release manual installed core you will find on the MiSTer FPGA Discord server and HAS NOT yet been added to the main Update All branch of MiSTer. Sometimes retrogaming (especially with gaming consoles) requires a little extra leg work!
Patreon Thanks : Seth Peterson, John Thompson, Paul daniel, Porch, Jon Anderson, RayceARoni, Kuranghi, Jason Hixon, Sam Matthews, Alex Tessler, Jonathan Leung, Martin Donlon, Tom Van Deusen, Barabob, Steve Randall, shotgunl, Ahab, K-2, Eric Walklet, J Z, Ivar Wennerholm, Adrien Sebbane, tobemorecrazy, Mike Puelinckx, Tony Escobar, H7, Humanoide70, Ben Parfitt, Holder Schmidt, Tim Lehner, matschmonster, Shad Uttam, Dan L and James Mann!
I asked, you answered...and I try to listen :) Of all the requests for new content on the channel one of the most frequently asked for videos is a series on the Terasic DE-10 Nano MiSTer FPGA hardware...so here it is! It's a retro gaming showdown!
On this episode of our MiSTer series we will be taking a look at the new features added to the PS1 core on MiSTer FPGA; 24 bit color mode (really works magic on the non-dithered rainbow banding on images), a texture filtering mode (smoothing out all those chunky pixels that PlayStation 1 was known for AND a Turbo mode...which will increase the speed of SOME games, giving you a better frame rate! Retro gaming bonuses if you ask me!
Questions? Comments? Just leave them below and I will do my best to answer each and every one of them!
/ videogameesoterica
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MiSTer Discord : / discord
VGE
#retrogaming #misterfpga #retrogamer #ps1 #emulator

[@paulpatrick885]

MiSTer is now a great easy way to play PS1 games on an HD display. The progress made on this core has been stunning.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

The progress has been nothing short of epic

[@jeffregency8464]

@@VideoGameEsoterica looks so much better

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Really does!

[@jeremyzeeky3024]

The PlayStation is the main core I use on mister! I think it's so amazing that we have an FPGA solution to disc based consoles since lasers and CDs are fickle.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

yes it really helps with the whole laser aging issue we will all experience

[@jeffregency8464]

Wow that’s impressive. Especially the Silent Hill portion

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes the no dithering with the color bands removed are legit

[@gunsmithx]

Good run through of the new stuff. Robert is a wizard with how he keeps adding features

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes he keeps just making an already 10/10 core better

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

100%

[@pishbot]

Hi. Tonight, I'm playing Wipeout 3: Special Edition, and it's brilliant!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

always a fun game

[@neocaron87]

50 and 75% filter are the sweet spots for me depending on the game. Combine with filter and shadow masks it's amazing! For the turbo mode, any game from Capcom using the 2d background, should not be play at higher than medium turbo, otherwise the game speeds up (over 30fps (and it's not meant to), even the sounds. Anyway awesome video as usual!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes turbo will affect every game differently. Some not at all, some in beneficial ways and some it breaks. Which is just down to how the game was coded and not anything to do with Robert's implimentation

[@neocaron87]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Great options to have for games going down into the 10s or with a capped framerate though!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes it def helps some games that are more slideshows than smooth

[@alextirrellRI]

This is so nice. Good quality of life improvements. I love the MiSTer Project!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

MiSTer is the gift that keeps on giving

[@alextirrellRI]

@@VideoGameEsoterica It sure is!

[@AndyDo]

N64 - 4KB texture RAM. You could dump the contents by hand over lunch if you wanted to. Such a weird choice when the SGI was such a powerhouse.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Cost effective. I’m sure that’s the only reason

[@qboger]

I wonder how the texture filtering compares to the PS2's PS1 texture filter mode. I would imagine the PS2's texture filter mode probably corresponds most to the MiSTer Core's 25% filtering.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

That’s a good question actually

[@detroitSWAGlions]

Pretty cool that these features are available and I can certainly imagine scenarios where it is ideal. But I won't lie, in most of the footage here I preferred the stock textures, etc.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I usually go stock too myself

[@haughtygarbage5848]

100 percent filter was definitely a bit much w sh1, some of the doors in nowhere felt like they were supposed to be seen pixelated, a lot of fine detail was lot to the filter, love these new features tho; maybe someday we can get per .bin saved settings

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

The filters can feel a bit “too good”

[@miguelcarneiro1192]

Hi, this MISTer series on your channel is great

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@lancecharlson8136]

Those textures look good. 100% maybe a bit too smooth but 75% is solid

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes in most instances 100% is maybe a touch too much...but in some games it looks good

[@lancecharlson8136]

@@VideoGameEsoterica looks nice in Tomb Raider tho

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes that was a good example of where 100% works

[@RazorEdgeBullie]

I'll definitely use 24 bit color combined with dithering off, but I'll stay away from the n64 blur. Cool that it's there for those that want it though!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes its great people have options even if they wont use them all at once

[@devilmikey00]

Hey, I'm just happy Final Fantasy Tactics can finally get past the first loading screen without crashing ;p Has nothing to do with this update but the one problem I had with the PSX core is gone now in recent official updates.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

haha always a good thing

[@haughtygarbage5848]

At this point my number one desire with the psx core, and it doesn't really have much to do with the core at all really, is the ability to have composite blending of some kind, preferably with the mikes breakout board. I've noticed with a consumer crt filter games w heavy dithering are blended far better than on my pvm. It's silly but dirtying up the signal went a long way towards making sh1 and parasite eve's textures look more blended together while keeping dithering intact

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Maybe in the future. I’ll ask about any plans

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

I've been playing a lot of PS1 lately. Mostly Gunbird, Gungage and Internal Section. The results I'm getting with the Retrotink 5x aren't too far off from this. Text in R4 is ledgeable good.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I need to buy a 5X

[@gunsmithx]

@@VideoGameEsoterica mike chi is also a wizard. The 5x is so good with my 6th gen consoles and the n64

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I am still rocking my framemeister

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

It's a very significant leap over the Framemiester. The menu isn't even that far off from the MISTer. It's only flaw is you end up having to center the picture manually a lot. It makes Dreamcast s-video look better than vga.

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

@@gunsmithx Mike Chi Denies he's a wizard. I asked him the other day he just said "a lot of trial and Error"

[@lllKRENDELLLlll]

At the time when I have a PS1, I clearly remember that the games were very clear, i.e. these blurred pixels on 3d models were not visible. The textures were poorly detailed, the 3d models were low-poly, but everything was smooth and neat. What I see now is an image with a huge amount of noise... Why is that?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Because you played in a CRT

[@laumpolumpio]

It would be great if they could also add perspective correction.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I don’t believe that’s in the cards just based on the FPGA chip

[@mirabilis]

I love the new filter. I don't like pixelated polygons.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s a nice option for sure

[@babayaga26]

I wonder if it will be possible to add perspective correction on that core as well, that would remove those wobbeling polygones as well

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I am not 100% on the status of any attempts

[@Marceles45]

At this rate I might start using MiSTer over my PS1Digital

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s a good option for sure

[@silentfanatic]

Does this core provide perspective correction for textures?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

it does not

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I don’t believe it will be possible from what I’ve heard / understood

[@michaelmcneill6516]

So I got onto the Discord and found the test-builds section. Is that where I am supposed to download the PS1 cores with the filtering options? If so they all seem to be labeled PSX_DualSDRAM, I assume these features are currently only available to people with two sticks of SDRAM?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Channel UNDER Test Builds "Unstable Nightlies" hosts the single ram RBF file. Confusing I know!

[@chrisb1236]

Are there any titles that don't play nice with the PSX MiSTer Core or does it have 100% compatibility now?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I haven’t heard of any not working for a while. There could be some random edge case but I haven’t heard of one

[@igotasmaldic7306]

Is the entire PS1 Library compatible now? I want to play intense 3D games. Megaman Legends, Resident Evil, Metal Gear etc.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Any bugs left are in esoteric random rare games

[@DigitalAsshat]

I love my XStation PS1 but the progress of this core kind of makes me feel stupid for having spent 350 bucks for the console just a year ago. Robert Peip is amazing, particularly considering the speed at which he put this out there and the consistency and quality of these updates.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It makes it redundant, but original hardware is always awesome too

[@DigitalAsshat]

@@VideoGameEsoterica sure, as I said before here in the comments, I'm glad to have the console AND the core as a backup solution should the original hardware ever fail. And it surely will fail much sooner than the MiSTer... Waiting for Saturn to mature now 🙂.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Saturn is getting better. Just finished uploading the next text on the newest core that came out like four days ago. Thursday after next it’ll sue

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Sue? Wow autocorrect. Air

[@DigitalAsshat]

@@VideoGameEsoterica :-). I'm following its progress closely (watching all your videos) but I haven't tested it yet because I'm looking forward to the final version so much, I do not want to spoil the experience. Saturn is going to be awesome!

[@MrMassivemanmeat]

Cool it's a PSX pro .

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha kinda

[@zlk718]

I have a question about the psx core. On a crt for me it displays in fullscreen but over hdmi on a 4:3 monitor it's not displaying in fullscreen despite pretty much every other core Ive tested with my ini settings displaying in fullscreen (on a 9.7 inch ipad, video mode = 13 etc.). Is there something about the psx that doesnt translate well to hdmi in 4:3 or is there some setting I am overlooking? There's a setting in the core video option that makes it wide screen but that seems to result in a stretched image.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s displaying what it SHOULD display on a flat panel. On a CRT it fits differently. You’d want to change scaling to fit vertically in INI for HDMI

[@MasterpieceTheatreDM]

How is the MISTer's controller lag compared to original hardware? I find emulation, even most recent duckstation, I get noticable controller lag compared to the psx, it varies on different games for some reason.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

If you are on CRT it’s basically identical to original hardware if the controller is hard wired

[@TobyRieper48]

Mister PSX Core is better than a Ps1 with an ODE and PS1 Digital. I had a PSIO and always had problems with it MiSTer is where its at.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Agreed

[@michaelmcneill6516]

I was about to buy a PSIO the other day and started to see stories of people having issues with it. I decided the Xstation drive emulator was the way to go for me but my PS1 isn't compatible. So now I'm looking for a good deal on a SCPH-5xxx or other compatible PS1.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I mean why not MiSTer? Similar price, so many more consoles (and this is coming from someone who owns a LOT of hardware)

[@RetrOrigin]

Not a fan of the texture filter since it looks more like blurring than actual bilinear/trilinear filtering, but the 24bit color depth alone is so awesome to see on FPGA. I hope an option to cap the framerate when using turbo mode is added for those games like Dino Crisis 2 that have their speed attached to the frame rate. I wonder if it would be possible to implement floating point precision at some point in the future to get rid of polygon wobbling. That's my favorite feature on modern emulators.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’ve heard that texture distortion may not fit within the confines of MiSTer I unfortunately

[@user-te4zh2dz9r]

In the Duck Station emulator, I was able to overclock Need for Speed to 60fps. Will Mister FPGA be able to get faster turbo mode in the future?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yet to be seen. Possibly but I haven’t heard

[@user-te4zh2dz9r]

@@VideoGameEsoterica thanks for the answer

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

👍

[@Jokerwolf666]

I've been doing things in photoshop for like 15 years and believe me I know how much color depths can be a headache.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Same in film. Always something to deal with

[@Jokerwolf666]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Mine was web design, digital sign animated content, and now game design lol.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

All things I know nothing about haha

[@METR0lD]

I love me some crusty pixels, so most these options aren't for me. Was that fix for the dithering in Silent Hill just part of the update, or did that require some of the other features here on top of the dither option to fix?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s a new option. The 24bit color mode. Dithering off was in the previous core revision but that resulted in rainbow color banding. With 24 bit color mode that banding is gone, giving a nice clear image

[@METR0lD]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Ah, thanks for the clarification! I had tried out the dithering option previously and really didn't like how it looked at all with it turned off, so I never used it. I didn't realize that it was the specifically the new 24bit color option that helped to resolve those issues.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes the 24 bit color mode resolve a lot if not all of those banding issues thankfully

[@colophongames]

I respect FPGAzumSpass for their work on these features, but to me it all feels too removed from the PSX experience. Once I have a MiSTer maybe I will use some of these features, but I don't anticipate it. Great stuff though.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Its fun if you want it, not essential if you dont. The best kind of featur

[@seraph4581]

Well, if you're using an HD TV you're already "removed from the PSX experience" as you mentioned. Dithering looks great on a CRT with composite cables like we used back in the day, but absolutely awful on a flat panel display. The ability to turn dithering off, and use a higher color depth, actually makes the games look more like they should. So these two options are a must, IMO. I'll agree with you on the texture filtering and turbo boost mode, but hey, more options.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes. Options are good. There if you need / want them, but not something you have to use

[@axelkusanagi4139]

Damn. Now I need to sell my modded PS1.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I mean thats def an option

[@ar_xiv]

Are settings saved per game?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

A very good question I did not test. Will get back to you on that

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I inquired with the core dev. If you save the settings in the OSD they are persistent. If you don’t…they aren’t

[@ar_xiv]

@@VideoGameEsoterica So that sounds like per core, right? Per-game settings are rare even in emulators so I wouldn't expect it, just would be nice.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes per core. So it’s just something you’d toggle per game if you so want. I get that a per game persistence would be more than I’d probably possible

[@dorfus]

N64 filtering has aged like a fart in an elevator.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Depends on the strength

[@seraph4581]

Eh, it's subjective, as all things aesthetic. I grew up with the N64 and I love the look, but only for N64.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes N64 is supposed to look smeared

[@alfredl3831]

I'll never understand the desire to play retro games in wide-screen. There is always some jank introduced.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I generally don’t use it too often but other people love it and I love options

[@user-cd5yl5td2v]

Why do i care about this bullshit

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I dunno...do you?