RPCS3

Current version:	0.0.3 Alpha*
Active:	Yes
OS:	Windows, Linux
Authors:	RPCS3 Team
Official website:	rpcs3.net
Source code:	GitHub

RPCS3 is a PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PS Vita emulator that's very promising. Currently usable for a handful of commercial titles (see the compatibility list). Recent efforts have allowed it to also begin emulating the PS Vita in a basic manner; do note that no games are currently playable however.

* The developers are currently treating version increments as milestones, not as stable builds.

Download

Latest builds

Originally, you needed to extract the firmware from a modded PS3, but since these files are also distributed with updates, the developers added the ability to extract them from there instead. This is where you would get them. Then install it by going to Tools -> Install Firmware.

Fonts can be found on the Emulator Files page.

Overview

RPCS3 was started in May of 2011. Three years into its development, it could load the intros to some games with sound, as well as play some portions of Disgaea 3 and The Guided Fate Paradox, but with heavy graphical glitches and no sprites.

Developer Nekotekina opened a Patreon campaign in 2017, with kd-11 joining not long after.

The emulator is capable of running some games at a playable speed with no major glitches, such as Ice Age 3: Dawn of The Dinosaurs, Resogun,, After Burner Climax , and Demon's Souls .

It will still take a while before it can play the more complex games.

Setting up

Distinguishing a game's version

The game's serial should be present in the folder or archive name, the download page, and/or the PARAM.SFO file.

• Serials beginning in BC or BL are retail copies that are distributed by disc. The difference between both of these is that BC is a first-party game, whereas BL is a third-party game. An example of BL is Drakengard 3, where the USA serial is BLUS31197. An example of BC is Demon's Souls, where the Asian serial is BCAS20071.
• Serials beginning in NP are digital versions that are downloaded from the PlayStation Store. An example of a digital game is Okami HD, where the USA code is NPUB30720.

Placement of retail games

Do not put retail game dumps into the \dev_hdd0\game folder; some games write data to that location, which can cause some really bad conflicts. Keep them in a separate folder somewhere else, and load the game from there, or use the \dev_hdd0\disc. If your version of RPCS3 can't load from other locations, update to a newer build; a newer one can log the location of your games even if you run them once. It doesn't matter where they're stored.

PKGs and RAPs

Depending on how you've obtained your digital games and DLCs, you may have downloaded them through the internet in PKG form, or as a folder with all its contents inside. RPCS3 can install digital items with the "Install .pkg" function, but you can also manually copy game folders to the \dev_hdd0\game folder, where they'd be stored anyways like Sony designed with digital games.

However, non-free digital items require a license (with the extension .RAP) in order to decrypt a few important files before they can be booted. This .RAP file is either in the \dev_hdd0\home\00000001\exdata of your PS3 if you're dumping the game yourself, or alongside your download if you're downloading it.

Some scene releases or warez dumps don't include a .RAP file, and instead give you a fix that contains pre-decrypted files that you'd copy to the game's folder. In more rare scenarios, the pre-decrypted files may replace another pkg, so make sure you install all the .pkgs you need to before replacing files.

If your source doesn't include a RAP or crack instructions, either it's replaced beforehand or it's actually useless. A last resort can be to try searching for a fix for the specific release.

.66600X files

These are files that have been split to adhere to the 4 gigabyte filesize limit on FAT32 volumes. This is common, since it provides a way to transfer large files over a modded PS3. Use a tool like PS3merge to recombine those files.

Basic troubleshooting

Issues are to be expected since the emulator is still early (even though the project was started in 2011).

Audio Stutter

Cannot be completely eliminated in most cases, but you can at least try to mitigate it by playing around with the "Preferred SPU Thread" setting as well as the "lower SPU thread priority" and "Bind SPU thread" to secondary core settings.

In addition manually adjusting priority and affinity of the RPCS3 process can affect it independently of the other internal settings. On Windows, this is done via the Task Manager. On Linux, CLI and GUI tools exist like System Monitor and Task Manager that can change the priority. It varies by distribution. This can influence audio stutter and performance in general but especially for Ryzen users.

External links

• Official YouTube Channel
• B1ackDaemon (RPCS3 Developer)