Lately, things in the PlayStation Vita homebrew scene have been picking up again and this time, even the PSP got something! In this article, we’ll be looking at a Diablo I port for the Vita and an update to DaedalusX64 which is the only way to play N64 games on the device.
Diablo I ported to the Vita with DevilutionX
As many of us know, the PSVita didn’t get an entry in many major game series and the Diablo series is one of these. Up till now, the only way to play a Diablo game on the console was by emulating the PlayStation 1 port via Adrenaline but that’s just changed thanks to the work of developer ‘gokuhs‘ and his port of DevilutionX
Diablo I can now be played natively on the PSVita provided you can live with kinda awkward controls (Image Source)
DevilutionX is a open-source port of the Diablo I game engine that supports a wide variety of platforms including Windows, Linux, macOS and the Switch while also having some added features of its own such as upscaling and modding support.
The PSVita port is still in beta stage and from user reports on Reddit + its changelog, it’s at the current state:
- Overall, performance is pretty decent with the game hovering around the 40FPS mark in the city and the 20FPS mark in dungeons
- Controlling the game is a tad awkward because it uses the rear touchpad and most buttons are unassigned
- Hopefully, gokuhs can take some cues in the controls department from Diablo NX which is a DevilutionX port for the Switch by MVG
- There are a few minor issues such as tapping on the rear touchpad not working all the time and the mouse in menus being mapped incorrectly
To play some Diablo I natively on your PSVita, check out this link to grab DevilutionX’s VPK; viewing the README is also important to get the game running. You must provide Diablo I’s game files [diabdat.mpq] in ux0:/data/DVLX00001/data so you must own the game to play it legally; it can be bought for a few bucks off GOG (not affiliated).
DaedalusX64 1.1.8 released with performance improvements
Despite the Nintendo 64 being released in 1996, emulating it on lower-powered devices is still pretty difficult and the PSVita has no native emulator for it so DaedalusX64 is the only option to play some N64 games on the device!
Other than the Diablo I port, the PSVita and PSP have received an update to their only Nintendo 64 emulator which is DaedalusX64.
This emulator has been around for a pretty long time and it only exists because the PSP shares the same architecture as the Nintendo 64 (MIPS) and some developers had a tad too much on their hands. Up till mid-2018, the latest release was r1909 and it was thought that it would be the final version of the emulator but then z2442, with the help of others including TheMrIron2, decided to keep on updating and improving the emulator releasing multiple updated versions as a result.
Now, version 1.1.8 has been released and this brings along:
- Updates to the Asynchronous Audio function so that it now uses the PSP’s Media Engine to provide a more stable experience
- Performance improvements through a new speed hack and updates to the PSP’s Media Engine PRX
- Working PSVita detection
- The code now conforms to the C++ 11 standard
- Many other changes accumulated over the last 7 months which can be viewed in the commit history
To get DaedalusX64 1.1.8, check out this link
Conclusion
For more PSVita stuff, you might be interested in the release of mGBA 0.8 beta 1 which brings about many new features and a recent tutorial on how to get RetroArch running and looking nice on the console. This recently initiated bounty for HW context support to the GL1 driver in RetroArch might also be of note for owners of the 3DS, PSP and PSVita who frequently emulate stuff. Finally, somebody on r/vitahacks seems to have dug a post by Exophase (DraStic’s creator) stating that DraStic will become open-source in 2020 so the implications of that will be pretty interesting from a DS emulation on PSVita point of view!
The post PSVita News: Diablo I port making use of DevilutionX released and DaedalusX64 1.1.8 (N64 emulator) is out with performance improvements appeared first on Wololo.net.