Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Trial Edition

Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Trial Edition
Developer(s)	Sonic Team
Publisher(s)	Sega
Series	Phantasy Star
Platform(s)	GameCube
Release date(s)	JP May 2002
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer (4), Online (4)
Input methods	GameCube Controller
Compatibility	4 Playable
GameIDs	DPOJ8P
See also...	Dolphin Forum thread Open Issues Search Google Search Wikipedia

Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Trial Edition, a combination of the Dreamcast releases Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Online ver2. A demo of the online RPG, its focus is online gameplay with a strong offline storyline, offering diverse online and offline gameplay.

Problems

Modem Required

The game requires a modem to play, even offline, refer issue 6038. Both the 'dummy' and Broadband Adapter will not work since the BBA was not available at the time of the game's release, and Dolphin only emulates the BBA, and not the modem. Since neither setting currently works, the game will get stuck at a screen which reads:

If you want to play PSO Episode 1 & 2 Trial Edition, the modem adapter has to be connected. Restart after switching the power off and connecting the modem adapter.

Phantasy Star Online Modem Error

White Box in D3D

In the D3D backend the camera is somehow too far back, creating a large white box that covers the screen. If you use shift+W to zoom in to the camera's normal position past the white block, the game will be fully playable. Alternatively, just use OpenGL, as it does not suffer from this problem. See issue 6268.

File:Phantasy Star Online White Box.png

D3D and the white box

File:Phantasy Star Online White Box 2.png

Proper emulation

Calender

Syncing the calender causes the game to crash. Despite what the game indicates when first run, one can play the game normally without the calender; so when prompted to sync it at the beginning of the game, simply select "no" to proceed.

Black Video

Scenes that play video appear black unless the External Frame Buffer is enabled and set to Real and Scaled EFB Copy is disabled. Setting the Internal Resolution to 1x reduces image shaking.

Configuration

Only configuration options for the best compatibility where they deviate from defaults are listed.

Graphics

Config	Setting	Notes
Video Backend	OpenGL	Avoids the white box
Texture Cache Accuracy	Position 1 (Safe)	Fixes the missing letters problem on the EU version of the game. Avoids issue 30 on JP version.

Version Compatibility

The graph below charts the compatibility with Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Trial Edition since Dolphin's 2.0 release, listing revisions only where a compatibility change occurred.

r7367

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5.0-21453 (current)

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Δ

Δ

Δ

Δ

2.0 (r5384)

Compatibility can be assumed to align with the indicated revisions. However, compatibility may extend to prior revisions or compatibility gaps may exist within ranges indicated as compatible due to limited testing. Please update as appropriate.

Testing

This title has been tested on the environments listed below:

Test Entries
Revision	OS	CPU	GPU	Result	Tester
r7367	Windows 8 x64	Intel Core i7 @ 2GHz	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460m	Runs well, but cannot pass modem error screen	Redefined