Emulator + JPN Text
6 years ago
Virginia, USA

Well I guess it is finally time for the discussion of emulator.

So emulator has way faster loading times compared to the PSN or even the PS2 version.

Examples: Train leaving LLT for WDT PSN Version ~11 seconds () Emulator/PCSX2: ~6 seconds ()

Going from the park to LLT: PSN Version ~18 seconds () Emulator/PCSX2 ~12 seconds ()

For people who aren't aware, Chulip does a unique thing for loading screens and plays a cutscene of the transition: i.e. the train or playing dangerously near traffic.

I can go on, but won't. Over the course of a 2.5 hour run, emulator has an unfair advantage against console/original hardware. So because of this I am separating emu from console. I don't want to ban emulator because that would discourage people from picking up the game, despite the game being on PSN for 10 dollars, it is still a rare and obscure game to own.

Japanese text, I haven't looked into yet but will try to soon to see if it is actually quicker then english text.

If anyone has any opinions on the separation of emulator and console, let me know.

Thanks!

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Northern Ireland

I think it can be safely said that JP text saves a good bit of time, as JP + Emu can leave the prologue over a minute ahead of ENG on console. I fully understand and agree with the separation, but what do you think about just JP on console? I'd be willing to try to get a hold of a copy and do console runs in JP, but that then presents the unfair advantage of the faster text for the price of getting a JP copy. I'm really not sure about whether or not that would warrant separation as well.

Edit: On second thought, the issue is about using an official console or not, so like with most games I'd assume it's just tough luck if the fastest version costs a lot, which is fair enough.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Northern Ireland

I just compared emulator load times to Rebcart's PS2 run, and I don't know how, but the PS2 loads are actually faster than emulator! It's by about a few seconds. Don't think this effects the separation, but I thought I'd make the information known. I guess this means the fastest version is JP PS2.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
United States

I should say, my run was on PS2, but the game was on an internal PS2 HDD, which would explain the faster load times

Northern Ireland

Yeah, I asked speedwerd about using PS2 HDD when I realized it just barely inched ahead of emulator loads, and I'm fairly certain that it won't be allowed for future runs. So it's either PS3 store for ENG or pay up for a JP PS2 and JP copy, outside of emulator runs.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Virginia, USA

I had no clue you did your run on HDD lol. I already gave my opinion on HD Loader and how it is not a native first party program and how the PS2, I think outside of FF11, didn't have games that wrote to the HDD for faster loads, unlike the PS4 now. In terms of speedrunning the JPN version, you can use a NTSC PS2, just use swap magic. I see no big deal with swap magic, as it allows you to run the disc on native hardware.

I know you kind of want HDD runs, what do you say Rebcart? I talked to Niko about it and he is happy either way tbh, I just am not a fan of third party programs or modding a console outside of original hardware. Granted I have 2 softmoded PS2s with HDDs in them. I mean if you are for it Rebcart and Otonyshi is, that overrides my single opinion. I just want what is best for the speedrunning community and what not, what very little community there is for this game.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Otonyshi likes this
Northern Ireland

Personally, I don't think there's a right or wrong in regards to the HDD stuff. On one hand, utilizing third party programs is quite questionable, but on the other, you wouldn't have to rely on a physical disc (which has the issues of price and longevity) and you would have the fastest possible loads. So you either accept the vague legitimacy of HDD, or have worse loads and a bigger paywall with the disc. Kind of damned if you do and damned if you don't.

I don't really feel strongly towards one or the other, since either way there's a gripe or two. I'd say HDD is more future-proof, but that doesn't change the issue of legitimacy.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
United States

It's been like 5 years since I made that run, and I was still new to the scene somewhat. speedrun.com didn't even exist back then, and I think I was the only one who ran the game. I wasn't really thinking of the legitimacy of loading times with running the game on the hard drive, even if it was on actual console. I'm not sure how other runners of other PS2 games handle this situation of disc vs. HDD, I assume they choose disc only because it's the only legit way to play the game, but again, 5 years ago there was really no community for this game, so I just chose what I had. If anyone knows any other PS2 game speedrun communities with this same issue, maybe we can see what they did. I don't mind if the rules are changed to future runs being disc only since it is the intended legitimate way to run the game on the PS2 console.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Georgia, USA

How much of a difference is there between JP text and NTSC-U text? I know that speedwerd and otonyshi have about a 5 minute difference, but knowing how inconsistent this run is I’m not sure if that’s a good judge for the difference in text. If it is a big difference, is it worth investing in a JP PS2 and a JP copy of the game?

Edited by the author 5 years ago
Northern Ireland

I made a video a while back comparing all of the major cutscenes in Chulip on both versions. JP text ended up saving 3m48s over ENG for Any% Glitchless, so including all of the more minor text interactions and things like the final quiz, the total time-save is likely between 4m and 4m30s. However, loading times play a factor too. The fastest loads on official hardware are on PS3, which is ENG only (at least for the digital version, and I'd imagine old backwards compatible PS3s have worse loads), and the slowest loads are PS2. ENG PS3 takes a minute or so of that text time-loss off versus JP PS2 thanks to those faster loads. Official hardware aside, PS2 HDD has the fastest loads with emulator being slightly slower.

Personally I wouldn't recommend investing in a JP copy of the game, not just because of the cost, but primarily because of the final quiz being very difficult to memorize and deal with if you have no experience with Japanese. So, assuming you don't, I wouldn't recommend it unless you really want to go for record.

Georgia, USA

I really do, but I don’t have the money for that. I think I’ll just try going for emulator JP or something, because it’s something I really want to get into.

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