Alex Mitchell

Significant update for PSIO released (Updated)

Posted on by Alex Mitchell

(Update, June 16th, 2020) Cybdyn has since released v2.6.14 in an attempt to fix a few bugs that were discovered in 2.6.13. Unfortunately, both of these updates have introduced several notable issues, so if the games you’re playing work fine with the firmware you currently have installed it would probably be a good idea to hold off on updating for now. I’ll be writing more about this issue as information becomes available.

Cybdyn Systems has just released a new firmware for their Playstation optical drive emulator, PSIO. While the update itself fixes numerous important bugs and introduces some welcome improvements, what piques my interest is that Cybdyn has recently come in to possession of original PSX development boards—something that could account for the substantial re-writes included in this release. Cybdyn is clearly still focussing on tackling lingering compatibility issues, but posts on their forums suggest that they are also laying the groundwork for future firmwares that will enable features like transferring saves to and from Memory Cards, Gameshark-like cheat support, Net Yaroze game support, and support for PSX game development. Even after eight years, it looks like there are some exciting things on the horizon for PSIO users…

Recent Changes from 2.6.12->2.6.13

  • [Improvement] The controller subsystem was recoded from scratch.
  • [Improvement] The loading bar animation on boot-up was changed to a spinning wheel animation.
  • [Improvement] Frame rate doubled (now running at 60 frames per second).
  • [Improvement] Memory optimisations.
  • [Improvement] CPU and GPU code optimisations.
  • [Improvement] The initial program loader no longer cuts off the BIOS audio when booting.
  • [Improvement] The initial program loader now shows a loading animation.
  • [Improvement] The initial program loader now boots in interlaced mode for NTSC (assists with helping keep scan converters synced).
  • [Improvement] The ‘NAMCO NeGcon’ controller “I” and “II” buttons now function correctly.
  • [Improvement] The ‘MENU.SYS’ filesize has been drastically reduced (by 71 MB).
  • [Improvement] The intro video now has each games title, developer and release year displayed.
  • [Bug Fix] Lightguns now work with a Multi-Tap.
  • [Bug Fix] DUAL SHOCK controllers now automatically turn on the red LED and enable Analog mode.
  • [Bug Fix] DUAL SHOCK controllers wouldn’t vibrate when connected to a Multi-Tap.
  • [Bug Fix] If update files were placed in a game directory, it would cause invalid errors to appear when selecting a game.
  • [Bug Fix] SD Card hot-swapping would sometimes freeze the PlayStation.
  • [Bug Fix] Viewing a large MULTIDISC.LST file in the ‘M-Disc’ window, it would result in other ‘M-Disc’ windows having an extra corrupted line.
  • [Bug Fix] Manually defined EXTDSP files will now execute the selected mode when ‘Midboot’ is selected in the options.
  • [Bug Fix] “Resident Evil 2” will no longer freeze when using analog mode on DUAL SHOCK controllers.
  • [Bug Fix] Holding ‘L2’ and ‘Cross’ on the ‘Video Mode’ option would cause it to trigger repeatedly.
  • [Bug Fix] If 29 items in total were on the SD Card, error code 80000005 would be displayed.
  • [Bug Fix] If the SD Card was removed and the ‘Load CD’ option was selected, holding down the ‘Triangle’ button would cause the controller to vibrate indefinitely.
  • Changed the area where the status flag was stored to an area which resets to zero on power on/reboot of the PlayStation.
  • Fixed “Test Drive 6” from freezing after the intro video.
  • Copyrights updated to 2020.
  • “Worms: World Party” XA audio fixed.
  • CDDA left/right channel adjustments.
  • ‘CdlMute’ and ‘CdlDemute’ now work for CDDA and XA.
  • Double-buffering improvements.
  • Synchronisation improvements.
  • Interrupt improvements.
  • Double-buffering logic re-written from scratch.