PS2 OPL (Open PS2 Loader) version 1.0 Released !!!

It is here! Open PS2 Loader ("OPL") 1.0.0!
After more than a decade (November 2008) of continuous development and a bit more than 5 years since the last official stable release-build (0.9.3 in December 2015), OPL 1.0.0 has been officially released!

The changelog since OPL 0.9.3 (~ rev 850) to the last release-build OPL 1.0.0 (rev 1589) are enormous!

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    Open PS2 Loader (OPL) is a 100% Open source game and application loader for the PS2 and PS3 units. It supports three categories of devices : USB mass storage devices, SMB shares and the PlayStation 2 HDD unit. USB devices and SMB shares support USBExtreme and *.ISO formats while PS2 HDD supports HDLoader format. It's now the most compatible homebrew loader.​

    OPL is also developed continuously - anyone can contribute improvements to the project due to its open source nature.​

    You can visit the Open PS2 Loader forum at:

    You can report compatibility game problems at:

    For updated compatibility list, you can visit OPL-CL site at:
  • CORE:
    * Cache games list, allows the scanning of devices for games to be speed up, by caching the
    existence of games in a file, (HDD/SMB/USB). In the case of the HDD the cache is always used,
    unless the user manually refreshes the list or renames/deletes a game.
    * APPS new system, now can be stored within their own folder, within the APPS folders on the game
    devices. Each app should have its own title.cfg file. The old apps system is still supported.
    (Example: on a USB disk: APPS/LaunchELF/BOOT.ELF, title.cfg).
    * Merged GSM-CHEAT-VMC-Childproof. These functions are integrated, they are no longer compile separately.
    * PADEMU, new function, added support for DualShock 3/4 (USB & Bluetooth).
    * Lang support from all devices (USB, HDD & SMB), new folder "LNG" created for storing all the language files in each device.
    * Changed how devices are selected for loading/storing config files. When loading: 1. Check memory cards.
    2. If config could be loaded, try the device that OPL was booted from (supported devices only).
    3. If config could not be loaded, try all supported devices. 4. Default to memory card, if no config
    file could be loaded.
    * Updated with newlib v1.14.0.
    * GSM, numerous improvements, changes and fixes.
    * IGR, numerous fixes and updates.
    * SMB updates, numerous patches and changes in SMSTCPIP.
    * IGS new function, support for take in game screenshots, (non functional).
    * Skip videos improved, now not only skips PSS videos, also .BIK and sceMpegIsEnd based ones.
    * PS2 Logo, shows the PS2 logo when launching a game, it will be properly displayed only
    if both disc and console region match. Consumes a few extra IOP RAM bytes.
    * Removed Mode 7, (High Module Storage).
    * Updated HDD and PFS drivers.
    * CDVDFSV: various fixes.
    * USB, improved USB devices detection. Also increased priority of USBD in-game to 2 & 3.
    * Toolchain, fixes for the new toolchain.
    * Settings for display X and Y offset.
    * Textures: Add bmp support (from gsKit).
    * Power button can now be pressed to shut down the PS2 within OPL's GUI, when the network adaptor is in use.
    * Improved I/O performance for USB transfers by lifting restrictions on transfer length and
    allowing the USB callback to continue transfers.
    * (SMAP-ingame) ported workaround for MAL Rx FIFO becoming unresponsive, reduced DMA block size to
    64 for better performance, adjusted code to make less loads from the hardware and adjusted
    code for readability.
    * Fixed partition creation of +OPL: added PFS filesystem setting, changed open flags to
    WRONLY and removed unused mode parameter.
    * Fixed game size computation for HDLoader-format games.
    * Changes to CDVDMAN callback should be binding immediately.
    * Changed EE core starting free memory range from 0x00088000 to 0x00084000, following that Sony
    treats the range after 0x00084000 (from 0x00082000) as the new start point for free memory,
    which is the address used by the HDD browser, which has the alarm patch. This will give us
    more memory. But beware that this is not a well-trodden path.
    * Fixed computation of offslsn, which was not correctly updated when reading across 2 parts.
    A lot of fixes for ingame-SMSTCPIP, fixed event flag creation (when debug is on) in the ingame-ATAD.
    * Updated to support LWIP v2.0, change DNS server only for static mode & use all-zero addresses as
    the default (when DHCP is enabled).
    * Added code to shut down USB devices prior to power-off. Added more standard code for shutting
    down the HDD unit prior to power off.
    * HDPro, fixed HDPro being unable to communicate with the HDPro device.
    * Module update: refactored custom IOP module code to allow OPL to use the PS2SDK's DEV9,
    ATAD, HDPro ATAD and USBHDFSD modules directly. Updated in-game DEV9, SMAP, ATAD and HDPro ATAD.
    * Added workaround for bad GameStar adaptor to in-game ATAD code.
    * PS2LINK: final warning fixed, now ps2link module synced with https://github.com/ps2dev/ps2link.
    * Fixed framerate increase whenever the UI is delayed.
    * HDLDump server, fixed crash that may occur if the game settings network update function is used
    and the HDLDump server is started, and fixed a freeze when the HDLDump server is started and a
    game is booted from either HDD or USB device.
    * Fix for HDD size calculation, new poweroff processing mechanism, fixed PBUF allocation for Ethernet
    ARP request, new option for SMSTCPIP to save more RAM.
    * Fix for renaming on USB disks.
    * Fixed MC icon.
    * Fixes for PS3 BC (Backwards Compatible) (SMB).
    * Fix Per-Game Cheat Engine, all devices.
    * Fix font missing when selecting different language.​

    GUI:
    * New default theme & logo by Berion.
    * New game menu/global game settings.
    Added global settings for the settings of a game (conf_game.cfg).
    This allows the user to choose between loading per game, or global settings in a game
    for each of its functions.
    The global configuration is the default and supports GSM, PS2RD and PADEMU.
    If the per game configuration is chosen, it will have priority over the global one.
    * Moved the games settings inside a submenu - "Game Menu".
    * Moved the functions of delete and rename inside the new Game Menu.
    * Eliminated the information page from general options and mapped it to the square button.
    * Added the information page to default theme.
    * Hi-Resolution video modes.
    * Added video mode confirmation when user changes video mode.
    * Added SFX sounds for the intro and menus.
    * Add new start and select buttons, optimize texture filesize.
    * New fade transition (replaces slide).
    * Fix font, alpha and colours.
    * 4/8 bit png support.
    * Notifications.
    * Updated about page.
    * Updated font to POEVeticaNew.
    * Font fixed scaling for video modes with non square pixels, and for auto video mode.
    * If switching from custom language back to Internal English, reload default internal font.
    * Correctly render interlaced frame mode.
    * Improve alpha blending in 16bit (dithering) mode.
    * Scale button icons.
    * Fix vertical font alignment.
    * Added button in display settings to reset theme to default compiled in colours.
    * Allow the user to auto or manually refresh the apps list. Changed buttons to only
    refresh the active item (instead of all items) when auto refresh is enabled.
    Themes:
    * Increased maximum texture size to 1024x1024.
    * Translate information page attribute text keys.
    * Allow internal theme to use overlays and multiple default textures.
    * (ItemsList) Allow itemsList to be centered.
    * (Hint strings) The information texts have the unified positions in x and y, themes now they
    have the option of "aligned=1" to align the screen texts to the center of the main and info pages.
    * (AttributeText) and (AttributeImage) can be used now in the main menu of themes.
    * Added MiB suffix to #Size AttributeText.
    * (Fixed old bug) Fixed a bug in custom themes that uses the information page, where if the
    elements of the main page go in two digits, e.g. "main10:", the elements of the information
    page that go in one digit, e.g. "info0:", are not loaded.
    * (Fixed bug) Fixed a bug with fonts where they were not loaded with custom themes.
    * (Fix) Fixed loading theme from "manual" device.
    * VMC, Fix for VMC name not displayed when first entering menu if one is already configured.
    * Various bug fixes.
    GAME FIXES & COMPATIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS:
    * Fix for Kingdom Hearts II, fixed transitions in the Gummi missions, from the overworld map to the gummi
    menu, and from the gummi stage back to the gummi menu. Tested using SMB mode and the (SLUS-21005) version.
    * Fix for SOS: The Final Escape/Disaster Report/Zettai Zetsumei Toshi. This also includes new IOP patch functions.
    * Fix for Project Zero/Fatal Frame.
    * Fix for Samurai Warriors 2.
    * Fix for Warriors Orochi series.
    * Fix for GSM on games God of War (SCUS-97399) & Sega Genesis Collection (SLUS-21542).
    * Added patch for Virtua Quest (SLUS-20977) (SLPM-65632). Module storage location can now be
    specified (hardcoded) for each game.
    * Added patch for .hack (all PAL releases).
    * Added patch for Ultimate Pro Pinball (SLES-53508) [HDD & USB]. For HDD the game needs Mode 2, for USB
    not needs the Mode 2, and for SMB the game not works.
    * Added patch for Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli (SLES-55294) and (SLUS-21780). The game freezes after
    the memory card check screen, if IGR was used at least once. This is caused by the game having the main
    thread ID hardcoded for a call to WakeupThread().
    * Added patch for Shadow Man: 2econd Coming (SLUS-20413, SLES-50446 & SLES-50608) [HDD & SMB].
    The game attempts to read 17 sectors into buffers meant for a maximum of 16. This happens because it increments
    the number of sectors to read by 1, when its unpacking function deals with a number of bytes that is not a
    multiple of 2048.
    * Added workaround for Ridge Racer V (SLUS-20002 & SLES-50000), [USB]. The game seems to have
    problems when the media takes too long to completely read data. The data processed by the game appears
    to get offset, causing some loop to never end, which ends with the scratchpad overflowing.
    * Added patch for SRS: Street Racing Syndicate (SLUS-20582 & SLES-53045) [HDD,USB,SMB].
    * Added The Fast and the Furious (SLUS-21449 & SLES-54483) to the patch list for the Eutechnyx Ltd patch.
    * Added patch for Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, (SLPS-25421) (SLPS-25431) (SLPS-73222) (SLUS-21171) (SLES-53480).
    * Updated Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal patch as HDD mode no longer has cdvdman labelled as "dev9".
    * Added patch for Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder (SLUS-20199 & SLES-50400). Should work for (SLES-50401)
    & (SLES-50402) as well, perhaps only the japanese release is at risk of not being compatible due to the
    time between releases.
    * Fix for Twisted Metal: Black Online (SCUS-97196 & SCES-51480) [USB & SMB].
    * Fix for State of Emergency (SLUS-20214) [HDD]. Previously the NTSC-U version needed MDMA 2 to work,
    now it doesn't need it.
    * Fix for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (SLUS-21243).
    * Fix for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (SLES-53826).
    * Fix for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (SLES-51466) [USB]. No more crashes after the first training mission.
    * Fix for Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 (SLES-52188) [USB]. Fix in the level "Firewind Manor I" where the game
    refuse to load cutscene, resulting a bug.
    * Fix for God of War II (SCES-54206 & SCUS-97481) [USBExtreme format & SMB].
    * Fix for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 (SLES-50196) [USBExtreme format]. Fixed crash happening few second before
    intro movie ends, and fixed a second crash was in air forge, when you go for the green crystal.​
  • There are some more important thing to know.
    1. There is a build-bot available, where you can download the newest official OPL-Beta-builds! --> https://github.com/ps2homebrew/Open-PS2-Loader/releases
    2. Switch to using "CFG" folder for every build, instead of "CFG-DEV".
    3. The versioning-scheme is going to be more strictly used from now on, hence you will probably not wait as long as before, to see a new subversion-build (i.e. 1.1.0, etc.) or even patch-level-build (i.e. 1.0.1, etc.)!

    Example how the version(ing)-scheme works/is structured.
    Code:
    VERSION = 0
    SUBVERSION = 9
    PATCHLEVEL = 3+
    ...or in words...
    Code:
    MAJOR version when you make incompatible API changes,
    MINOR version when you add functionality in a backwards compatible manner, and
    PATCH version when you make backwards compatible bug fixes.

    Major and minor versions, will have "release candidates" before their release as a stable build!
  • GUI:
    • Getting ISO\ul game size has been temporary turn off to reduce boot time
    • When a PS1 MC will be inserted into 1st port, OPL still will update game history, causing corrupted data to appear on it (#284)
    • OPL will freeze e.g. on HDD Games page when a power off button will be tap instead of turning off the console.
    • When OPL is doing something in background and I want to reboot it or shut it down it will freeze (#312)

    In game:
    • Few (at least 5) in-game reboots will crash\freeze game (#231)
    • IGS (#336)

    Still problematic games:
    • Test Drive
    • LEGO Racers 2
    • Splashdown

  • https://github.com/ps2homebrew/Open-PS2-Loader/releases/tag/v1.0.0
  • Main Project developers
    by Ifcaro, volca, jimmikaelkael, polo35, izdubar, hominem.te.esse, SP193

    Other developers

    by BatRastard, crazyc, dlanor, doctorxyz, reprep, belek666, Maximus32, misfire, Krah, Tupakaveli, uyjulian

    UI design

    by Berion

    Quality Assurance
    by RandQalan, yoshi314, EP, LocalH, lee4, El_Patas, ShaolinAssassin, algol, gledson999, jolek, zero35

    SMSUTILS, SMSMAP & SMSTCPIP modules

    by Eugene Plotnikov

    DEV9, ATAD modules and derived code used in cdvdman
    by Marcus R. Brown

    USB, Network and PS2HDD modules
    by ps2dev's taken from PS2SDK

    OPL-CL project/network update support
    by icyson55

    SMB code in Open PS2 Loader includes DES algorithm developed
    by Eric Young ([email protected])

    CI/CD Implementation using Dockers and GiHubActions
    by @fjtrujy

 
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His TV zooms in, he supposedly can't do anything against it and he wants it to be "fixed" in GSM, although that is not possible.

He "gets" it all the time and then asks the same questions again.
No I'm fine with the HDTV 576p mode and the normal 480p mode but they don't work on most games that I have

Some games can't work in any other mode aside PAL or NTSC due to some rendering trick they use (I read something about it in GSM documentation but don't remember exactly), so setting progressive/HD resolutions the image will be double sized vertically.

It happened to me with only a couple games: devil may cry 1 and... I think it was the bouncer, maybe also a couple others.

Also Silent Hill 2 has some artifacts in menus and FMVs (I seems to remember gameplay is fine).

About the zoom-in problem, it is present only when outputting in NTSC? When in PAL mode everything is fine?
Only the HDTV 480p mode is zoomed in, the normal stretched 480p and HDTV 576p modes work fine
 
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For one... Stop double-posting.

Second... What the heck should a "stretched" 480p mode (frame) be?
You still don't get it... I already told you, that the frame can not be stretched or altered...

...and if you meant your TV stretching it, you should define/name it clearly!


...and what are you keep referring to as HDTV 480p and 480p? There are not multiple times the same VModes.
If you mean the EDTV modes then write it so!

NAME IT THE WAY IT IS WRITTEN ON THE SCREEN!
 
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No I'm fine with the HDTV 576p mode and the normal 480p mode but they don't work on most games that I have


Only the HDTV 480p mode is zoomed in, the normal stretched 480p and HDTV 576p modes work fine

normal/stretched you mean 480i/normal NTSC?

If I was you I'd simply use this and avoid the stretching by setting the TV aspect ratio on 4:3

AfaIk GSM 480p is more for a matter of Tv/monitor compatibility, you don't get any improvement on the picture (actually it's slightly worse than normal 480i, more pixelated, worse texture detail).
 
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Nah, that is not true either.
Some games look way better and some don't. Those which look worse, sometimes have issues with GSM like only showing one frame buffer.
 
Nah, that is not true either.
Some games look way better and some don't. Those which look worse, sometimes have issues with GSM like only showing one frame buffer.

I seems to remember playing GT3 on the HD-CRT at 1080i and it didn't looked bad (but I can't say if it was actually better than 480i, I'd need to re-check it).

Then, could you tell me a couple games GSM actually improve the picture for sure?
I tested a good amount of games some months ago and found the same behavior on all of them (slightly worse textures, and a little more visible shelling on contourns using either 480p, 720p and 1080i on both a HD-CRT and a full-HD LCD).
 
normal/stretched you mean 480i/normal NTSC?

If I was you I'd simply use this and avoid the stretching by setting the TV aspect ratio on 4:3

AfaIk GSM 480p is more for a matter of Tv/monitor compatibility, you don't get any improvement on the picture (actually it's slightly worse than normal 480i, more pixelated, worse texture detail).
Yes the normal 480p is stretched because I have a HDTV but I like it that way, I can easily adjust the aspect ratio on the TV but only the 576p HDTV GSM option works fine on most games that I have
 
I just updated from a really old version of OPL (circa 2014) which was working fine. After updating to 1.0 it's loading games incredibly slowly, FMVs are skipping/not playing, crashing during load, etc.

PAL SCPH-50003. All games are on internal HDD.

Any idea what the problem might be?
 
Try load "problematic game" without it's config file (because many games can be now used without any special modes sets).
 
I went back to the old version I was using (0.8 VMC so actually circa 2016) and it works fine. Games load near instantly.

As soon as I switch to 1.0 everything slows to a crawl. Takes literally minutes to even load the first splash screen/lang select/FMV/whatever and then it crashes because it's going so slowly.
 
  1. How large +OPL partition is? I heard that there is some bug slowing down GUI related to OPL partition size (but not slowing down games loading, so I doubt that's the reason).
  2. Have You many game covers? Korium theme is VRAM demanding, and in worst scenario, maybe there are JPGs that are unnecessary large (e.g a case when someone who made them, doesn't stick to dev specification; and BTW, now covers should be in 8bit PNG, 256x256 maximum if I'm correct @TnA ).
  3. Are You using OPL or OPL DB? OPL DB have additional POPS icon. I'm asking that because many peoples misleading this fork with official version.
  4. Does Your NA is original? There are issues with GameStart adaptor, but they will not be fix as it is issue on GameStar hardware side.

I'm using v1.0.0 (all in one; packed). Also from internal HDD, and none of such issues You mentioned I spot.
 
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1. Not huge. It's only a 750GB HDD.
2. None.
3. Official OPL.
4. It was sold as a Sony original NA. It's in original packaging with Sony SCPH-10350 label, serial number etc, but I just unscrewed the cover and the board inside looks like a knock-off. Looks like someone replaced the board and sold it as original. :apologetic: I've ordered another one on eBay so fingers crossed that the new one is actually original.

H9QqFo5.jpg

xYmmPKu.jpg

mjOOWNU.jpg


The PCB says "GAUTION" instead of "CAUTION" and "ATTENTJON" instead of "ATTENTION"... lol :dejection:

Weird that it works fine in older OPL version. Oh well, lesson learned.
 
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Is there a way to make the case display black for NTSC games and blue for PAL games? It seems odd to have a blue case for all games, considering ttbomk blue cases were only used on PAL games.
 
@stoo Run uLE, go to MISC, go to HDD Manager, choose "+OPL" and on left You will see size.
Or take disk out, connect to PC and open it by IsoBuster v4.7 or newer.

@PHS There is not. There are more disc cases besides black and blue (like white, grey, grey transparent, orange, red). Besides that, for memory save, it is used only one. PS2 is not Xbox or GC, it is damn limited hardware. ;)
 

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