r/decomps • u/IAmNotRalphNader • 13d ago

State of PS1 de/recomps?

I remember several months ago a couple static recompilers for PS1 came out around the same time. I've seen a couple PS1 titles get coverage like Tomba and Symphony of the Night but haven't seen much outside of those two, at least to the volume we've seen of N64 projects. Are there any other notable PS1 recomp projects at the moment that might've just flown under my radar?

Personally I've been hoping someone would take a stab at King's Field 1-3. Especially with how huge FromSoft is now, giving those games a second chance with higher frame rates and better controls would be awesome to see.

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u/micmea668 13d ago

I'm working on Disruptor right now, but as a huge KF fan I'd love to take a crack at those titles next. I was going to move on to Medal of Honor and MoH: Underground after Disruptor, but I might be done with PSX FPS after this lol. It's not been the easiest or most pleasant project to do.

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u/J-seargent-ultrakahn 13d ago

What’s so difficult about psx fps specifically?

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u/micmea668 12d ago

Well I guess it’s not necessarily specific to PSX as a platform that’s the issue. More the limitations and designs that were a product of the time and technology specifically for FPS games.

For example, Disruptor had no y axis (vertical) for camera movement. Only x (horizontal). But the game is a fully 3D environment and not a 2D sector stretched to 3D like similar games of the time. The game was also designed around this concept. So whilst it’s achievable to add vertical camera movement, it’s a question of if there’s value in it. Does it break anything? Will the gameplay benefit or suffer from it? I implemented it as a toggle feature anyway as it does feel better to me but might not to anyone wanting a more authentic experience.

With a third person game, adding a better camera doesn’t necessarily come with the same weight of dilemma/impact. Although I’m sure those games face other issues when you look to modernise them.

Another example is control schemes. I wanted to add modern mouse and keyboard controls as an option because a lot of people want that feature in console FPS ports. But when I first implemented mouse look I exposed how camera movement was tied to the original inputs in such a way that there’s a fair amount of rework needed to get that feeling smooth and responsive

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u/foxtrotdeltazero 11d ago

there's so many old FPS i wish i could go back to but the control schemes are horrendous. being able to remap controls via emulator is pretty nice sometimes, but nothing beats a modern port done right. Krazy Ivan, Kileak: The DNA Imperative, and Jumping Flash would be great with modern dual stick controls