I can’t tell you which version is the best for you (and your hardware). The first thing I would lookup if the particular version for the emulator is working well (have in mind, the reports are not always up to date): Dolphin for GameCube, PCSX2 for Playstation 2 and Xemu for Xbox.
Xemu is by far the least desirable option. Immense hardware requirements and relatively limited compatibility. It’s a miracle it’s functional at all. I would only use it for games that you cannot play through any other means - so the small number of Xbox exclusives that were never ported to other systems and don’t work through backwards compatibility on newer Xbox consoles. Midtown Madness 3 comes to mind. I’m glad I finally got to experience this forgotten game by the Battlefield developers - but it was barely playable at 640x480 on a Ryzen 5 5600. The experience reminded me of very early PS2 emulation and not in a good way.
PCSX2 is usually decent and has made immense strides in recent months, but it usually runs multiplatform games worse than Dolphin, which is the gold standard for console emulation. However, not all ports of games are better on Gamecube. While the console is more powerful than the PS2, the limited amount of storage on the system’s proprietary discs resulted in quite a few compromised ports (edit: and the PS2 has a few hardware tricks up its sleeve that no other system of the time can replicate, particularly in the effects department). Still, it’s usually the best course of action to try Gamecube/Wii emulation first and resort to PS2 emulation only if you’re noticing downgrades. There’s also the little issue with PS2 games that some rely on the controller’s analog face buttons for certain mechanics (e.g. short jumps, long jumps, throttle/brake, certain attacks), which are not present on newer controllers most people are likely to be using. Sometimes this can be rebound reasonably well, e.g. to a modern controller’s triggers, but not always.
All of the above also applies to AetherSX2/NetherSX2 and the Android port of Dolphin, by the way. On mobile devices in particular, the lower hardware requirements of Dolphin are worth keeping in mind - although lower-end devices are likely to struggle with Gamecube and Wii games anyway. This is not an issue on PC anymore; even basic PCs from over a decade ago will run Dolphin flawlessly, whereas PCSX2 can be punishing even on modern CPUs with certain games at higher resolutions. The original PS2 version of Shadow of the Colossus for example is so demanding that it’s actually a better idea to emulating the slightly enhanced PS3 port through RPCS3 instead.
Nice write up. It depends on you hardware too (if its strong enough). Some games might be best played on Xbox, so it makes sense to try Xemu. I personally prefer Dolphin and PS2, because they are integrated into RetroArch as cores (in Linux). At least he is looking for the best graphics, and that should be the Xbox versions. But I didn’t try the Prince of Persia games yet.
Faster hardware doesn’t always translate to better graphics. The PS2 is the second-slowest system of its generation, just ahead of the Dreamcast, but it’s capable of unique graphical effects that other systems and even the PC cannot easily replicate due to the PS2’s unique ability to quickly process huge numbers of transparent textures; only recent PC hardware can replicate this through shaders; it was impossible at the time. That’s why all ports of GTA San Andreas look dull and lack the complex effects of the PS2 original, even if they are better in some regards (like shadows). Mods can replicate this sometimes, but in case of San Andreas, this was only achieved in recent years - and I’m not aware of any other game having received the same treatment by modders.
This also applies to the Sands of Time trilogy. PS2 versions are better looking than other console versions and the PC ports. The best experience with it is through emulation. You get the high frame rates and resolution of the PC version, but the unique atmospheric effects that are only present on Sony’s system. Higher-res textures alone can not make up for this, let alone the ones you linked to, which just deliver ugly AI upscaling noise instead of actual detail.
Thanks, and no problem! Reception here has been awesome for the project. I also actually developed my own Reddit alternative just for the game, which is the WalkScape Portal
This is super cool! I’m in a position right now where I have to walk my dog a few times a day. I’d love to chip in, but I just don’t have anything to spare right now. I’m gonna sign up for the beta and cross my fingers. Thank you for making this
Thank you! We’re accepting people who’ve applied to the Closed Beta throughout the wave, so there’s a good chance you’ll gain access! The wave ends on October 6th.
We’ve got a lot of pictures of happy doggos on the Discord :D I have cats that I walk sometimes, but they’re not as effective from XP gain perspective.
Edit: and just to clarify here, access gained during any point of Closed Beta stays until Open Beta when everyone can start playing it. Open Beta is planned for next year.
We made it in! I chopped my first wood lol. I am liking the look of everything. This will make walking the dog less of a chore, and more fun. Thank you again
I remember from an interview that the first JRPG, Dragon Quest, was heavily inspired by Wizardry (as with other CRPGs of the time). Most others copied that design, including Final Fantasy, so in many ways we can thank Greenberg for helping lay the groundwork for virtually all RPGs, not just CRPGs.
I never played RuneScape, but I did just delete Pikmin Bloom. What if players cheat their steps? How will you detect the difference between that, and a Pacific Crest Trail thruhiker who legitimately walks 60,000 steps day after day, and over 1,000,000 steps per month?
Anyway your game sounds cool. I had an idea for a one player game while I was hiking the PCT - kinda like the Oregon trail, or dope wars, but it would be a simulation of the Pacific Crest Trail and the steps would be 1:1. So you’d have to walk 7 million steps to beat the game, and obviously make decisions along the way about food and water, weather, resting, hitchhiking, etc. But there will be long stretches of the game where you just look at a new vista, or look at the location, eat food, camp.
Anyway the reason I’m commenting is I wanted to tell you why I quit playing a walking game. I quit after a backpacking trip of 7 days with no service. When I came back, the game had nothing to do for my ~150,000 steps. No confetti or prizes. If I was actually playing it for any achievements it would be a setback to be offline for 7 days.
So yeah, if you have any players of your game who do serious miles in one day, or one week, or whatever, you should pile on the rewards. Because at the end of the day that’s all I want out of a game like that. An automated micro-recognition that I kicked ass. So I can relax my tired legs and use all my hard earned digital loot.
We already have an anti-cheat in the game and it’s being developed further, although not exactly a priority at this point of Closed Beta. But it’s shown great promise of detecting cheating. In can’t disclose how it’s working, as that would make circumventing it easier.
There are already a bunch of activities in game that have been designed for people who hike and gain a lot of steps during it and don’t have service. Also, the offline game mode will not require service at all, so it’s possible to manage it even while hiking. In addition to the current activities, we also have special “Adventures” planned that can take tens of thousands of steps without needing to open the game.
Combat system also will pretty much work as “piling up the rewards” in addition to the core gameplay. You gain combat points for each step you take, and there will be a large cap to those. Then you can play the combat system and spend those points and gain a ton of combat progress fast if you’ve got a lot of points saved up.
Price plays a role too, only 17,55 Euros for Squirrel here and Concord 40 Euros, plus 20 for Deluxe.
I was interested into Concord, not gonna lie. But even if I wanted to buy and play the game, accept their terms of usage and create a Sony account, its not playable on Linux. And to be honest, I’m thankful for not being able to waste my money and time.
That’s what happens when you mix a pile of abusive industry practices with an overall bad and iterative game that doesn’t bring anything new to the genre
The gameplay doesn’t look bad to me, I am interested into it. It has way bigger problems, like the unpopular character styles and looks. But what do you mean by “abusive industry practices”? I like the idea of paying upfront and getting the whole game, way better than a Free to play model to me. But I guess that approach isn’t working in today’s world.
Paying for it is not the problem at all, in fact it’s preferred over a freemium model.
The practices I mostly refer to are:
microtransactions in any context;
requiring additional software (PSN overlay) that doesn’t support all platforms;
PSN account requirement for a game that’s sold on Steam (have they forgotten about the shitshow that was Helldivers II?).
EDIT: history has also told us that paying upfront for a hero shooter doesn’t work out in the long term if the game wants any shot at being popular, just look at Overwatch’s failure to capitalize on it’s momentum by not becoming free-to-play earlier (and everything else wrong with Blizzard and their management).
But those points are not the reason this game flopped. Lot of games have micro transactions and are popular. Other games require additional account (and even launcher in some cases) and are still popular. While these arguments are in fact negative, they are not the reason the game failed. If Sony comes to this conclusion too, then they will not learn anything from it. So I hope they analyze it better.
In example the initial trailer reveal wasn’t good. Then the characters and the universe it is in isn’t very interesting, huge problem for a hero shooter. Sony completely ignored the critics from beta test phase. The marketing in general was terrible. Game is not playable on Linux either, which would have gave them some marketing push too. And the timing of the launch day was badly chosen too lot of people and news was focusing on Wukong and Deadlock.
There are lot of reasons that are well orchestrated together to fail the game. It’s not as simple as the list you gave (in my opinion). Games with worse industry standards get more popular.
This is a an amazing concept! I created an account (same name as here). And tried to sign up for the beta, however the submit application button is not working for me. I’m using Firefox on android.
Huh, interesting. Could you send me the email you signed up with to contact@walkscape.app and at which point the beta application fails? Is it while you try to submit the fully written application, or even before that?
Last time I applied, it took like 6 months for my beta app to be accepted. That’s fine but I had ran a marathon like the week before, and did all my marathon training during that time. Was big sad. Anyways best of luck with the next round!
We’ve been accepting thousands of applications each wave, so it sounds like you’ve been terribly unlucky if it took you that long. Sorry to hear that. We’re also accepting applications during this wave all the way until October 6th, so nee applicants have a good chance on getting accepted!
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