Changes

{{Infoboxemulator|image logo = RPCS3-Logo.png|first version = 0{{Version|RPCS3}}<ref group=N name=version>The developers are currently treating version increments as milestones, not as stable builds.0.4 Alpha*</ref>|second active = Yes|third platform = [[Emulators on Windows|Windows]]<br/>[[Emulators on Linux|Linux]]<br/>[[Emulators on BSD|FreeBSD]]<br/>[[Emulators on macOS|macOS]]|target = [[PlayStation 3 emulators|PlayStation 3]], [[PlayStation emulators|PlayStation Classics]] <small>(PSN versions)</small>|architecture = x86_64|orig-developer = [https://github.com/DHrpcs3 DH], LinuxHykem|fourth developer = [https://rpcs3.net/about RPCS3 Team]|prog-lang = C++|fifth website = [https://rpcs3.net/ RPCS3.net]|support = [https://www.patreon.com/Nekotekina Patreon]<br/>[https:// rpcs3.net/alipay Alipay]|sixth source = [https://github.com/rpcs3/rpcs3 GitHub]|license = GNU GPLv2|compatibility = [https://rpcs3.net/compatibility Compatibility list]|bios = [[Emulator_Files#PlayStation_3|Required]]}}

'''RPCS3''' is a an open-source [[PlayStation 3 (PS3) emulators|PlayStation 3]] emulator/debugger written in C++ for Windows, Linux, macOS and PS Vita FreeBSD. It is the only emulator thatcan run commercial games, with over 2,000 considered playable. It also supports the PS3's very promising. Currently usable for a handful of commercial titles (see the internal [[https://rpcs3.net/compatibility compatibility listPlayStation emulators|PlayStation 1 emulator]]). Recent efforts have allowed it to also begin emulating through the PS Vita in a basic manner; do note that no games are currently playable howeverPlayStation Classics digital re-releases.

{| cellpadding="4"|-|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|Mac|BSD}}|'''[https://rpcs3.net/download Latest builds]'''<br/><small>[https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps3/system-software/ Official Firmware] needed.|}

Originally==Overview==RPCS3's end-goal is for its developers to experiment, research, and educate on the topic of PlayStation 3 emulation that can be performed on compatible devices and operating systems.<ref>[https://rpcs3.net/about RPCS3: About Us page]</ref> As it is under active development, it does not have a stable release. ===History===RPCS3 began on May 23, 2011 as an experimental project by DH and Hykem (who beta-tested and coded for [[JPCSP]] in 2008). They initially hosted the project on [https://code.google.com/archive/p/rpcs3/source/default/source Google Code], and eventually moved it to GitHub later in its development, you needed making the repository publicly available in June of 2012. AlexAltea joined in late summer 2013 and worked on several components of the emulator, maintaining the codebase up until early 2015. DH left the project in mid-2016, turning his attention to extract the PlayStation 4 with the similarly named [https://github.com/RPCSX/rpcsx RPCSX] (formerly named RPCS4). Hykem was pushed out of the scene in mid-2016 due to drama behind the scenes.<ref>[http://www.emunewz.net/forum/showthread.php?tid=174735 <nowiki>[IMPORTANT]</nowiki> Hykem says goodbye]. August 18, 2016.</ref> After getting small homebrew apps working, the emulator could load the intros to some games with sound,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOcUcD9y51w Rpcs3 Update Quality Sound - Intro Video - The Guided Fate Paradox] (Mar 26, 2014)</ref> as well as play some portions of Disgaea 3 and The Guided Fate Paradox, but with heavy graphical glitches and no sprites.<ref name="Disgaea3 video">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQEv6B6fIgA RPCS3 WIP - Disgaea 3 - Ingame!] (Mar 22, 2014)</ref> Successive improvements brought with it the ability to play lightweight titles like After Burner Climax with almost no glitches.<ref>John GodGames. (February 1, 2016) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsuKQfsu-zk RPCS3 PS3 Emulator - After Burner Climax Ingame #2! DX12]. YouTube.</ref> After getting Persona 5 working, Atlus infamously sent the developers and Patreon an DMCA takedown notice to help enforce a timed-exclusivity agreement with Sony,<ref>[https://atlus.com/atlus-and-emulation/ Atlus and Emulation].</ref> creating a [[wikipedia:Streisand effect|Streisand effect]] of spotlighting RPCS3 as a viable PS3 emulator. For a long time, it was commonly thought that the original firmware files could only be extracted from a modded PS3, but since these files are also distributed which would have greatly increased the barrier to entry. However, one of the developers discovered all the libraries were actually bundled with updateseach system update, and that the developers added emulator could include the ability to extract them from there insteadthe files. Nekotekina opened [https://www.playstationpatreon.com/enNekotekina a Patreon campaign] in 2017, with kd-us11 joining not long after. In June 2018, after a few improvements and fixes, most PlayStation 1 Classic titles became playable.<ref>[https:/support/systemrpcs3.net/blog/2018/07/15/progress-report-june-updates2018/ps3#major Progress Report: June 2018]. § PlayStation 1 Classics.</ This is where you would get themref> Only the PSN re-releases work; no discs can be loaded into the PS1 emulator yet. In January 2022, RPCS3 announced that the XMB could be ran on firmwares as low as 2.] Then install it by going to Tools -> Install Firmware80.

Fonts can be found Today, RPCS3 is able to play almost two thirds of the PS3's commercial library from start to finish. Emulating most games is demanding on hardware, though work has been done to reduce the [[Emulator Files]] pagerequirements.

On May 5, 2022, RSXAudio was implemented, adding audio to the XMB. Also on that month, RPCS3 uploaded a video on YouTube showing the SPU performance improvements made at the time. ==Overview=Enhancements===RPCS3 was started in May of 2011has (or works with) some [[PlayStation_3_emulators#Enhancements|enhancements]] for gameplay, such as:;[https://rpcs3. Three years into its development, it could load net/blog/2018/08/08/eliminating-stutter-with-asynchronous-shader-implementation/ Asynchronous Shader Recompilation]:Compiles shaders as the intros to some games with soundgame runs,<ref>allowing for [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOcUcD9y51w<eu-HwEEU5K0 virtually stutter free performance] at the cost of objects and textures [https://ref> as well www.youtube.com/watch?v=59q7wbeJLOo popping into existence] as you play some portions . It only gives a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGWk1p7pCVk tiny performance boost] - a powerful computer and further optimizations from the emulator will be needed to get the more demanding titles to run at full speeds like 30 FPS or 60 FPS. Many demanding games may utilize multiple secondary cores plus the primary core of Disgaea 3 and The Guided Fate Paradoxthe PS3's CPU so parallelization techniques will be needed, but with heavy graphical glitches perhaps running on a user's GPU or 8-core and no spritesbetter CPU. ;[https://www.youtube.<ref namecom/watch?v="Disgaea3 video">Sag4SF7dDrw ReShade]:A third-party suite that hooks into the renderer. Makes many games appear [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQEv6B6fIgA</ref>kPcHjnTZC_o more vibrant or saturated], particularly more pronounced in those with dull textures like the Tales of series, Naruto series, and other anime-based titles.

Developer Nekotekina opened ;[https://www.patreonrewasd.com/Nekotekina releases/release-6.3.0 reWASD]:A third-party application which can emulate any controlling device (gamepad/keyboard/mouse) as a Patreon campaignPS3 controller. After installing [https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Controller:DualShock_3#Wired_connection_-_official_drivers Official Sony Drivers] , Virtual DualShock 3 is visible in 2017RPCS3 as native device and allows to map theirs pressure-sensitive buttons with modifiers eg. pressing left back button+× is decreasing pressure-sensitivity of × to 50%, but right back button+× is decreasing pressure-sensitivity of × to 20%. Exclusively software allows to use Official Sony Driver wirelessly. ReWASD works with kdXbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Steam, Nvidia, Logitech controllers and [https://help.rewasd.com/how-to-remap/supported-devices.html others]. Pressure-11 joining not long aftersensitive buttons option is helpful in games like "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" or "Gran Turismo 5". See the [https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/List_of_games_that_support_Pressure-Sensitive_Face_Buttons#PlayStation_3_Emulation list of games that support Pressure-Sensitive Face Buttons on PlayStation 3].

The emulator is capable of running around 450 games at a playable speed with no major glitches<ref name="Compatibility Page">https://rpcs3.net/compatibility</ref> , such as Ice Age 3: Dawn of The Dinosaurs,<ref name="Ice Age 3 Video">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhCVRLi2qdk</ref> Resogun,<ref name="Resogun video">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtU7E9o7F_E</ref>, After Burner Climax <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsuKQfsu-zk</ref>, and Demon's Souls <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3_WiNow_gE</ref>;See [[PlayStation_3_emulators#Enhancements]] section for more information about RPCS3 enhancements capabilities.

Since the emulator started getting funded on Patreon, development has been progressing quickly, so more games are expected to be playable in the near future===System requirements===See [[Computer_specifications#RPCS3]].

===Installing the Firmwarefirmware===RPCS3 does not work without uses the original system firmware. This firmware contains libraries used to interface with the games in different ways, like such as Bluetooth, PlayStation Eye, and so on. For a long time, it was commonly thought that these libraries could only be extracted from a modded PS3, which would have greatly increased the barrier to entry, however one of the developers discovered all the libraries were actually bundled with each system update, and that [https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/system-updates/ps3/ Sony also supplies these updates through their website]. This is the preferred method of installing the firmware; download the latest update from Sony, then in RPCS3 go to File -> Install Firmware, and select the downloaded update file.

[https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps3/system-software/ You can extract them from the official update files that Sony distributes through their website.] Download the file, then in RPCS3 go to File -> Install Firmware, and select the downloaded update file. ===Installing Games games and Updatesupdates===

* May be Maybe dumped from the <code>\dev_hdd0\home\00000001\exdata</code> directory of a CFW-enabled PS3, or included alongside the download you got from someone else. That someone else might not include the .RAP file, and instead give a "fix" with the pre-decrypted files. In that case, you might have to install the PKG file first (or all of them, if there's are multiple ones) and ''then'' copy and overwrite the "fix" files to your game folder.* If your source doesn't include a RAP or crack instructions, either it's replaced beforehand or it's actually useless. A The last resort can be to try searching for a fix for the specific release.

'''Files under the <code>.66600x</code> extensions''' are split files that accommodate for the 4 -gigabyte filesize file size limit on volumes formatted as FAT32; the PS3 does not support other types of filesystems that pass this limit, such as NTFS or the ext family. Use a tool like PS3merge to recombine these files.

Note that RPCS3's official Discord server can also be a good resource for bringing up issues or learning about major breakthroughs or updates, if any further information is required.

Newer versions of RPCS3 is compiled to ZIP files using AppVeyor. To feature an automatic update RPCS3, [[{{PAGENAME}}#Download|download the latest build]], and replace the necessary fileschecker. For most minor The emulator will automatically check for updateswhen loaded, you only need to extract and replace the <code>RPCS3.exe</code> executable for them to take effect, but it's recommended that will prompt you backup old builds so that you can revert to the older ones update if a new problems crop up, or you can extract the whole ZIP file and replace files to their respective foldersversion is detected.

RPCS3 is compiled to AppImages using TravisAzure. To update RPCS3, [[{{PAGENAME}}#Download|download the latest build]], and replace your previous AppImage with the new one. Reenable executable permissions if they were disabled during the update. Most file managers can let you change it from their properties window. ==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 ==Netplay==[https://wiki.rpcs3.net/index.php?title=Help:Netplay RPCS3 process can affect it independently of the other internal settingsuses RPCN for netplay,] which emulates some P2P matchmaking servers for PS3 games. On WindowsOnly a few titles are supported, this is done via the Task Managerbut more are expected. On Linux, CLI and GUI tools exist like System Monitor and Task Manager that can change the prioritySee [https://docs. It varies by distributiongoogle. This can influence audio stutter and performance in general but especially for Ryzen userscom/spreadsheets/d/1Xp-662d12W13CZSzSiaBfB4BHwU2PyOFMdp_W4sA5Bo/edit#gid=0 this compatibility list].

==Notes=Unavailable Setting(s)=<references group==If you can't find a specific setting in RPCS3, you could be using an old build, and should probably update it.N />

*[https://wiki.rpcs3.net/ Official wiki]*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz3-0QxNr4S4gK0xaWy7exQ Official YouTube Channelchannel]*[https://discordapp.com/invite/EWMQZ8 Official Discord server]*[https://forums.rpcs3.net/ Official forums]