Features | System Requirements | Disclaimers
SwanStation is a hard fork and open-source Libretro core implementation of DuckStation, which is an emulator of the Sony PlayStation(TM) console, focusing on playability, speed, and long-term maintainability. The goal is to be as accurate as possible while maintaining performance suitable for low-end devices. "Hack" options are discouraged, the default configuration should support all playable games with only some of the enhancements having compatibility issues.
A "BIOS" ROM image is required to to start the emulator and to play games. You can use an image from any hardware version or region, although mismatching game regions and BIOS regions may have compatibility issues. A ROM image is not provided with the emulator for legal reasons, you should dump this from your own console using Caetla or other means.
SwanStation features include:
- CPU Recompiler/JIT (x86-64, armv7/AArch32 and AArch64)
- Hardware (D3D11, OpenGL, Vulkan) and software rendering
- Upscaling, texture filtering, and true colour (24-bit) in hardware renderers
- PGXP for geometry precision, texture correction, and depth buffer emulation
- Adaptive downsampling filter
- Post processing shader chains
- "Fast boot" for skipping BIOS splash/intro
- Save state support
- Supports bin/cue images, raw bin/img files, MAME CHD, single-track ECM, MDS/MDF, and unencrypted PBP formats.
- Direct booting of homebrew executables
- Direct loading of Portable Sound Format (psf) files
- Digital and analog controllers for input (rumble is forwarded to host)
- Namco GunCon lightgun support (simulated with mouse)
- NeGcon support
- Emulated CPU overclocking
- Multitap controllers (up to 8 devices)
- RetroAchievements
- Automatic loading/applying of PPF patches
- A CPU faster than a potato. But it needs to be x86_64, AArch32/armv7, or AArch64/ARMv8, otherwise you won't get a recompiler and it'll be slow.
- For the hardware renderers, a GPU capable of OpenGL 3.1/OpenGL ES 3.0/Direct3D 11 Feature Level 10.0 (or Vulkan 1.0) and above. So, basically anything made in the last 10 years or so.
By default, SwanStation will emulate the region check present in the CD-ROM controller of the console. This means that when the region of the console does not match the disc, it will refuse to boot, giving a "Please insert PlayStation CD-ROM" message. SwanStation supports automatic detection disc regions, and if you set the console region to auto-detect as well, this should never be a problem.
The region checking can be disabled in the console options tab. This is the only way to play unlicensed games or homebrew which does not supply a correct region string on the disc, aside from using fastboot which skips the check entirely.
Mismatching the disc and console regions with the check disabled is supported, but may break games if they are patching the BIOS and expecting specific content.
A number of PAL region games use LibCrypt protection, requiring additional CD subchannel information to run properly. libcrypt not functioning usually manifests as hanging or crashing, but can sometimes affect gameplay too, depending on how the game implemented it.
For these games, make sure that the CD image and its corresponding SBI (.sbi) file have the same name and are placed in the same directory. SwanStation will automatically load the SBI file when it is found next to the CD image.
For example, if your disc image was named Spyro3.cue, you would place the SBI file in the same directory, and name it Spyro3.sbi.
- Passes amidog's CPU and GTE tests in both interpreter and recompiler modes, partial passing of CPX tests
"PlayStation" and "PSX" are registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited. This project is not affiliated in any way with Sony Interactive Entertainment.