PS1 Games

PS1 Games

RiptOPL can list and launch your PlayStation 1 games right alongside your PS2 library, on the same device. It does this through two cores — POPSTARTER for *.VCD images and Ember for game folders containing *.cue, *.bin, or *.exe discs. Ordinary devices merge both into one PS1 list. Neither uses OPL's built-in core or Neutrino, so this is a self-contained path with its own storage layout and settings.

Core	Format	Lives in
POPSTARTER	*.VCD	<device>:/POPS/
Ember	*.cue / *.bin / *.exe	<device>:/EMBER/games/<Game Name>/

The two are interleaved and sorted as one library, so a game you keep for both cores simply appears twice. Which core runs a title is a property of that row, decided when you launch it — there is nothing to configure and no third toggle.

POPSTARTER internals are on the sister site

This page covers the RiptOPL side: where to put your files, how the PS1 view works, and the BDMA exFAT equip. For POPSTARTER itself — the 32-byte per-game config table, cheats, IGR/hotkeys, multi-disc setups, and memory-card storage — see the POPStarter docs: config table · cheats · IGR & hotkeys · multi-disc · storage.

PS2 and PS1 libraries on each device

Every supported game page holds a PS2 list and a PS1 list:

• its PS2 games (ISO / ZSO / UL format), and
• its PS1 games — POPSTARTER *.VCD images and Ember *.cue titles together, in one list.

PS2/PS1 Game Display controls whether these are separate L3-switched views, a combined list with filters, or one locked library. They remain views of the same device page — with the same covers, favorites, and per-game settings — rather than separate device tabs.

POPS UDPFS and Ember network libraries

UDPFS Files now lists uppercase POPS/*.VCD alongside Ember titles and prepares POPSTARTER launches with Okeanos's BDM-UDPFS Assault. POPS UDPFS Network Settings writes matching runtime configs to every connected USB volume; automatic BDMA equip installs the UDPFS driver pair on the memory card. See setup, supplied files and credits. The new VCD handoff awaits console validation. UDPBD and UDPFS IMG remain Ember-only.

PS2/PS1 Game Display

The picker is on Settings → Interface. It is one global setting for every device page:

Value	Behavior
Both (L3) (default)	Each device page has separate PS2 and PS1 views; L3 switches between them and each page retains its own position.
Mixed	Each device starts with PS2 and PS1 rows combined; L3 cycles Mixed → PS2 → PS1 on that page. In the combined list each row's cover is drawn at its own media's size, so PS1 covers stay square beside portrait PS2 covers.
PS2	Applicable device pages show PS2 only; L3 is fully inert, with no hint, sound, notification, or pause.
PS1	Applicable device pages show PS1 only; L3 is fully inert, with no hint, sound, notification, or pause.

APPS and Favorites do not inherit this setting. Favorites always has its independent PS2 → PS1 → ELF → All in One ring, opening on PS2. Applications Display either keeps all ELFs in one inert Mixed list or splits Apps / titles containing [PS1] (case-insensitive) across L3; either side still launches an ordinary ELF. Switching back to an L3-enabled device mode restores each device page's retained position.

Positions survive a reboot

Wherever L3 does something, the view you leave a page on is remembered across sessions — every device page, the Favorites shelf and the APPS split side keep their own. Pressing L3 never writes to storage: a position rides along with a write that already happens — launching a game, or saving settings — so toggling and then powering off without doing either is the one case that is not kept. A remembered view that this picker no longer allows (you moved from Mixed to Both, say) is discarded rather than forced, so the page opens on its default instead of on a view with no rows.

How PS1 games launch

A PS1 row carries its own core. A *.VCD row boots through POPSTARTER.ELF; an Ember row boots through ember.elf. Neither ever uses OPL's built-in core or Neutrino, so on any PS1 game the per-game Loader Core selector is an inert label and changing it has no effect. The same applies to GSM, Cheats, PADEMU and the other PS2-specific per-game options — neither PS1 core reads them.

POPSTARTER only needs the VCD's name to do its job. RiptOPL hands it the selected title and POPSTARTER locates the matching *.VCD file itself. Ember is handed the name of the game folder and finds its own disc image inside it.

For an iLink VCD, RiptOPL uses the same local block-device handoff as USB and MX4SIO: mass:/POPS/XX.<game>.ELF. The normal XX. filename rules therefore apply unchanged.

iLink POPSTARTER is wired, not yet hardware-confirmed

Revision 2692 still returned POPSTARTER to wLaunchELF from iLink on an SCPH-39001 in all four SDK flavours, while Ember passed from the same drive. The selector and external equip documented here are present, but that test result is not a pass. Use the card-file checks below to distinguish a RiptOPL equip failure from a POPSTARTER/BDMA runtime failure after handoff.

POPSTARTER.ELF path

RiptOPL looks for POPSTARTER.ELF in a fixed order:

1. Settings → PS Emulation Settings → POPSTARTER.ELF Path, when it is set. It is a full path on any device, for example mmce0:/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF or usb:/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF; the device aliases are the ones listed for the Neutrino Path. The editor takes the whole path.
2. The VCD's own device: its POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF. For an APA HDD VCD this is hdd0:__common/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF.
3. mc0:/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF, then mc1:/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF.

A path that is set but unavailable falls through to the next two steps. The path may be on a different device from the VCD; RiptOPL keeps both mounted until POPSTARTER has loaded. If you relocate POPSTARTER.ELF, keep the BDMA driver variants in the same folder: RiptOPL looks for them there first. The old POPSTARTER.ELF Device picker is gone; its device choice becomes the matching path when you upgrade.

When none of them has it, the launch says Missing POPSTARTER.ELF and names the path it looked at: your POPSTARTER.ELF Path when it is set, otherwise the device's POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF (on the internal HDD, hdd0:__common/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF).

Ember — the second PS1 core

Ember is created by Gageformer. It is an independent PlayStation 1 emulator written from scratch for the PS2, bundled unmodified under the Ember Public Beta Testing Licence. That licence ships in the release package as EMBER/LICENSE-BETA.txt and governs the build it accompanies; please read it. In short: free to use and to bundle non-commercially, no selling, and no modifying or repackaging the build.

Report Ember problems to us first

The launching is ours and most issues turn out to be on our side. Please raise them on the RiptOPL issue tracker rather than with Gageformer.

Setting Ember up

The release package contains a ready-made EMBER/ folder. Copy it to the root of a device, right beside POPS/. Then add your own PS1 BIOS as EMBER/bios.bin — it must be exactly 512 KB. A BIOS is copyrighted and is never distributed with RiptOPL or with Ember, so the folder ships with a placeholder file whose name reminds you. Give each game its own folder:

<device>:/EMBER/
    ember.elf
    bios.bin                       <- yours, 512 KB, not included
    settings.txt                   <- optional, see below
    games/
        Spyro 2 (Ripto's Rage)/
            whatever.cue
            whatever.bin

The folder name is what you see in the list, and it is also the key for cover art and per-game settings — so ART/Spyro 2 (Ripto's Rage)_COV.png on that device just works, exactly as it does for a *.VCD. Files inside can be named anything; .cue is preferred over .exe over .bin. Ember writes its per-game memory cards (MC1.vmc, MC2.vmc) into that same game folder, so it has to be on writable media.

When a piece is missing

Ember games stay in the list even when ember.elf is missing or misnamed, so you can see them. Launching one then says what is missing and names the exact path RiptOPL looked at, for example mass0:/EMBER/ember.elf or mass0:/EMBER/bios.bin. On the internal HDD it names the partition, such as hdd0:__.EMBER/EMBER/ember.elf.

Ember settings

Ember reads an optional settings.txt. RiptOPL can write it for you from five rows on Settings → PS Emulation Settings, and four more per game:

Row	Values	Written to
Ember Display Mode	Default / 240p / 480i / 480p	<device>:/EMBER/settings.txt (display). 480p needs component or HDMI — composite shows no picture — so choosing it asks first.
Ember Timing	Default / Auto / NTSC / PAL	EMBER/settings.txt (timing). Auto follows the disc region; NTSC forces 60 Hz and PAL 50 Hz.
Ember Dithering	Default / On / Off	EMBER/settings.txt (dither)
Ember Shading	Default / 15-bit / 24-bit (experimental)	EMBER/settings.txt (shading). 24-bit can cause issues.
Ember Controller	Default / Auto / Analog / D2A	EMBER/settings.txt (controller)
Triangle → Ember Game Settings (per game)	Ember Timing, Dithering, Shading and Controller, each with the same values as the global row	EMBER/games/<Folder Name>/settings.txt (timing, dither, shading, controller), overriding the global rows for that game. Written as soon as you press OK, before any launch, and applied again at launch. An untouched Default keeps a value already in the file; changing a row back to Default removes that override. Display Mode stays global. Saved in the game's CFG/<Folder Name>.cfg; on a Favourites entry it edits the same setting as on the device page.

RiptOPL only touches a setting you have changed in RiptOPL. A row left on Default leaves that key alone in every file, so a settings.txt written by hand keeps working exactly as written. Changed per-game rows are saved on OK; global rows are applied when you launch an Ember title on that device, creating the file if needed and updating it in place. Changing a row back to Default removes the key again (and the file, if that key was all it held), so Ember's own default — or, for a game, the global row — applies. Every other line in the file is kept.

Timing, Dithering, Shading and Controller can be overridden per game; Display Mode stays global. 24-bit shading can cause issues in some titles. Earlier builds labelled Ember's 480 as "480p"; it has always been 480i, and the 480i / 480p rows now say so.

Device support

Ember titles are supported on USB, MX4SIO, iLink, exFAT-ATA, MMCE, SMB, APA/PFS HDD, UDPFS and UDPBD. Ordinary device pages merge Ember folders with their POPSTARTER rows. UDPFS Files also lists uppercase POPS/*.VCD; UDPBD and UDPFS IMG remain Ember-only. A device with no EMBER/ library simply contributes no Ember rows, and every ordinary device's POPSTARTER library lists exactly as before.

Where to put your VCD files

Device	Location
USB / MMCE / MX4SIO / iLink / SMB	A POPS/ folder at the device root, containing POPSTARTER.ELF and your *.VCD files.
Internal HDD (APA/PFS)	The dedicated APA partitions __.POPS, __.POPS0 … __.POPS9. Each partition holds its *.VCD files at the partition root.
Internal HDD (exFAT / BDM)	massN:/POPS/ — the same layout as USB, accessed through the BDM mass-device namespace. Requires the BDMA exFAT equip.

Cover art and per-game config by disc ID

If a VCD's filename follows the PS1 disc-ID pattern SXXX_NNN.NN.Title.VCD, RiptOPL keys cover art and per-game config off that PS1 ID — so covers load from your ART/ folder exactly as they do for PS2 games. Any other *.VCD filename is still listed and launched; it just won't auto-match art by ID.

POPS UDPFS with BDM-UDPFS Assault

Okeanos's BDM-UDPFS Assault adds read-only UDPFS fallback to POPSTARTER's USB driver. USB is tried first; when a VCD is absent there, the driver requests the same path from the UDPFS server after POPSTARTER's IOP reset. This is a POPSTARTER driver, separate from Neutrino's PS2 UDPFS loader.

The included POPS/ folder supplies these four files:

Included file	Installation / purpose
usbd.irx.udpfs	Copy to mc?:/POPSTARTER/usbd.irx, removing .udpfs
usbhdfsd.irx.udpfs	Copy to mc?:/POPSTARTER/usbhdfsd.irx, removing .udpfs
IPCONFIG.DAT	USB mass:/POPS/IPCONFIG.DAT: PS2 IP, netmask, optional gateway
UDPFSCONFIG.DAT	USB mass:/POPS/UDPFSCONFIG.DAT: UDPFS server IP; empty file enables discovery

Keep your own POPS_IOX.PAK and other runtime POPS files on USB. The driver pair can be sourced from POPS/ on any supported device, including APA HDD __common/POPS/. On the server, place the VCD at the matching path relative to the shared root, for example POPS/SLUS_011.56.VCD; the driver also accepts POPS0/ through POPS9/. Use uppercase .VCD. Only VCD reads fall back to the network; other files and writes stay on USB. The upstream release reports testing with udpfsd and udpfs_server.py.

Edit the supplied examples for your LAN before use: IPCONFIG.DAT contains 192.168.1.10 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1, and UDPFSCONFIG.DAT contains 192.168.1.11. Without a valid IP config, the driver uses PS2 192.168.1.10/24; without a valid same-subnet server address it uses broadcast discovery. The server must be on the PS2's subnet: the driver does not route through the gateway. These files are read from USB, not from the memory card and not from RiptOPL's saved network settings.

RiptOPL setup: open POPS Network Settings → POPS UDPFS Network Settings and enter your PS2 IP, netmask and server IP. Server 0.0.0.0 selects broadcast discovery. Saving writes both files to every connected USB volume's POPS/ folder, with replacement confirmation for existing files. This editor is separate from the SMB memory-card configuration.

The UDPFS Files PS1/Mixed view now lists uppercase POPS/*.VCD alongside Ember titles. Launching a VCD there, or from Favorites, checks the USB config pair on every connected USB volume and requires matching valid values before proceeding. This explicit check is an interim requirement because the Alpha IRX reads runtime configs from USB mass:/POPS/; upstream itself permits missing files and falls back to defaults. Installing support files on another device does not change that runtime USB requirement.

With VCD BDMA Apply on Launch enabled, RiptOPL equips the .udpfs pair on the memory card and hands POPSTARTER its usual mass:/POPS/XX.<name>.ELF selector. With automatic equip disabled, select BDMA Mode → UDPFS and equip the pair manually. Existing BDMA equip failures remain best-effort warnings, so inspect the installed pair if a launch fails. USB VCDs take precedence over the server when both contain the same path. UDPBD and UDPFS IMG remain Ember-only. The new RiptOPL VCD handoff is implemented and host-tested; physical console validation is still pending, and POPS UDPFS RetroAchievements integration is unavailable.

Credit goes to Okeanos for BDM-UDPFS Assault, israpps for the original BDM Assault, krHACKen for POPSTARTER, rickgaiser for Neutrino/UDPFS/UDPRDMA, pcm720 for udpfsd, and the PS2SDK contributors. The upstream release is Alpha. Its license and third-party notices accompany the drivers in POPS/UDPFS-NOTICES/.

exFAT support — the BDMA equip

POPSTARTER's stock driver handles ordinary USB FAT32. USB exFAT and the MX4SIO, MMCE, ATA and iLink transports need matching external block-device modules (the BDMAssault / "BDMA" drivers). RiptOPL equips them onto your memory card from Settings → PS Emulation Settings — you supply the module files, RiptOPL copies the right pair to mc?:/POPSTARTER/. VCD BDMA Apply on Launch ships On, so by default the matching pair is equipped automatically immediately before each VCD launch and the manual BDMA Source / BDMA Mode pickers stay hidden; turn it Off to equip by hand instead.

You supply the BDMA module files

RiptOPL embeds none of the BDMA modules (no ELF bloat). The module files must be present in a POPS/ folder RiptOPL can read: with VCD BDMA Apply on Launch On (the default) that is the game's own device; with it Off, whichever device you select as the BDMA Source. RiptOPL also pre-checks your boot device's POPS/ folder — and the folder holding a custom POPSTARTER.ELF, if you set one — ahead of either. The release POPS/ folder includes what ships with the build; check the Releases page for details. For iLink the loose source pair is usbd.irx.ilink + usbhdfsd.irx.ilink. RiptOPL removes only the .ilink suffix when it copies them to the card as usbd.irx + usbhdfsd.irx.

Verify an iLink equip after a failed launch

The card should contain mc?:/POPSTARTER/bdma_config.txt with exactly ilink, usbd.irx at 48,500 bytes (SHA-256 5EA4818BA1CF5207F6D7CADB4C13B5AFA88C37C260750C21155B079A8C18F369), and usbhdfsd.irx at 23,452 bytes (SHA-256 145CF1C0AF130EA7AC5CEC6696AA7E60B5C66A2AC46B8DEA94DB17BB3B911BCC). Missing or different files identify RiptOPL's external-equip leg; exact files narrow the remaining failure to the POPSTARTER/BDMA reinitialization leg.

BDMA Mode

Shown only when VCD BDMA Apply on Launch is Off. Selects which driver variant POPSTARTER should use:

BDMA Mode value	Effect
USB (FAT32)	Removes any previously equipped exFAT modules, so POPSTARTER falls back to its built-in FAT32 driver. Use this for standard FAT32 USB drives.
USB (exFAT)	Equips the USB exFAT BDMAssault modules.
MX4SIO (exFAT)	Equips the MX4SIO exFAT BDMAssault modules.
MMCE (exFAT)	Equips the MMCE exFAT BDMAssault modules.
HDD (exFAT)	Equips the internal ATA HDD BDMAssault modules. Requires Internal HDD (exFAT) enabled in Game Sources.
iLink	Equips the iLink / IEEE 1394 BDMAssault modules from the .ilink pair.

BDMA Source

Shown only when VCD BDMA Apply on Launch is Off — with it On the source is the game's own device family instead. Selects which device RiptOPL reads the module files from (the device whose POPS/ folder holds the variant you want to equip): USB, MX4SIO, MMCE, iLink, or Internal HDD. RiptOPL identifies the device by its block-device driver (usb / mx4sio / ata / ilink / mmce) and reads from that specific device, so pick the one your module files actually sit on. For an internally attached exFAT HDD choose Internal HDD — RiptOPL reads it from its mounted massN: root (the exFAT volume mounted through the BDM mass-device namespace, never a typed ata0: filesystem), so its POPS/usbd.irx.ata + POPS/usbhdfsd.irx.ata are found.

SMB is network-only, so the BDMA equip does not apply to it.

The equip step

Place module files

Copy the appropriate BDMA variant's module files into the POPS/ folder of the device you will select as the Source (USB, MX4SIO, MMCE, iLink, or the internal HDD).

Turn VCD BDMA Apply on Launch off

In Settings → PS Emulation Settings, set VCD BDMA Apply on Launch to Off. The BDMA Source and BDMA Mode pickers are hidden while it is On (the default).

Set BDMA Source

In Settings → PS Emulation Settings, set BDMA Source to the device that holds the module files.

Set BDMA Mode

Set BDMA Mode to the variant matching your target drive type (e.g. USB (exFAT) for an exFAT USB stick, HDD (exFAT) for the internal ATA drive, or iLink for IEEE 1394 storage).

Save settings

Save. RiptOPL copies the modules from Source's POPS/ onto mc?:/POPSTARTER/ and records the equipped variant in a marker file there (bdma_config.txt) so the settings UI reflects what's actually installed. POPSTARTER will use the new modules on next launch.

PS1 over SMB

PS1 games on an SMB share need POPSTARTER's own network config (IPCONFIG.DAT + SMBCONFIG.DAT) on the memory card, plus its SMB modules. Edit those files from POPSTARTER Network Settings, on Settings → PS Emulation Settings or Settings → Network. The screen shows what the files on the memory card already contain, can import both from the connected share's POPS folder, and writes back only what you change. On a first setup, with neither file on the card, saving the SMB values writes IPCONFIG.DAT too, as DHCP unless a complete static IP is entered. See POPSTARTER Network Settings.

The SMB modules themselves ship in the release's POPS/ folder — copy them to mc?:/POPSTARTER/. If they are missing, an SMB VCD launch warns you rather than hanging silently.

Internal HDD — APA partitions and exFAT

The internal HDD supports PS1 games through two paths that coexist:

• APA/PFS partitions — the traditional POPS APA volumes (__.POPS, __.POPS0 … __.POPS9). RiptOPL scans all of them and lists their *.VCD files in the HDD device's PS1 view. No BDMA equip is needed here because POPSTARTER reads PFS natively.
• exFAT HDD (BDM) — enable Internal HDD (exFAT) in Game Sources. The exFAT volume mounts as a normal BDM block device (one of the massN: slots) and its POPS/ folder appears in the same PS1 view as USB. Equip the HDD (exFAT) BDMA mode so POPSTARTER can read back off the exFAT volume at launch time.

For the full HDD setup guide, including the APA/exFAT layout and how to enable BDM HDD, see Internal HDD (APA & exFAT).

Notes & limitations

Ember list empty on internal exFAT or another BDM drive? A reproduced scanner defect lets a loose file such as EMBER/games/readme.txt or .DS_Store abort the Ember scan on FAT32 and exFAT. Move loose files out of EMBER/games/, leaving the individual game directories there. PR #999 proposes the fix; this does not require reformatting the disk or changing the PS2 BDM Prefix.

• Ember does not provide IGR. POPSTARTER supplies its own reset behavior; neither uses RiptOPL's PS2 IGR hook.
• The PS1 view reuses the normal device pipeline, so covers, favorites, and the theme all work exactly as they do for disc games.
• POPSTARTER, every loose BDMA pair (including .ilink), and the POPS patch file ship as separate files in the release POPS/ folder — RiptOPL does not embed any of them.
• The per-game Loader Core, GSM, Cheats, PADEMU, and OSD options do not apply to PS1 games; POPSTARTER ignores them and the UI reflects this. Triangle on a PS1 title offers Global PS Emulation Settings instead, which opens the global PS emulation settings page, plus Rename. An Ember title also offers Ember Game Settings (its Ember Timing, Dithering, Shading and Controller; see Ember).
• SMB PS1 requires POPSTARTER's own network modules on the memory card in addition to the network config files.

POPSTARTER internals — sister site

The following topics are fully documented on the POPStarter docs site and are not re-documented here:

• Config table The 32-byte per-game POPSTARTER config

• Cheats PS1 cheat code syntax and application

• IGR & hotkeys In-game reset and controller shortcuts

• Multi-disc Swapping discs mid-game

• Storage Memory card layout for POPS saves and modules

PS1 save icons

Artwork Settings → 3D Save Icons also displays PS1 save artwork, using the card's 2D icon. POPSTARTER cards are SLOT0.VMC/SLOT1.VMC in the VCD's accompanying save folder; Ember cards are MC1.vmc/MC2.vmc inside the listed game folder. Launch the game and create a save first. These emulator cards are separate from the PS2 VMC/<name>.bin assignments.

Detailed reference: PS1/VCD reference.

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Source: ps1-vcd.html @ 00e273e37093. Read on the documentation website.