nekomancer01/DarkSoulsPS2

There are three ways to get a disc image (ISO) of the latest main. All of them read your own copy of the game, and the ISO they make is yours only: never share it.

| Way | What it takes | Notes | |---|---|---| | ./build-iso.sh in the repository root | A Linux shell; the steps below, or Docker / Podman | The recommended way. One command exports the game data, builds the ELF and writes build/proto.iso. Without a ps2dev toolchain it pulls the official ps2dev image (ps2dev/ps2dev) and builds in it with Docker / Podman (tools/build-iso.sh). ./build-iso.sh --help lists the options | | The project page, https://nekomancer01.github.io/DarkSoulsPS2/ | A desktop browser (Chrome, Edge or Firefox) and plenty of memory | Converts your game folder into an ISO inside the browser tab; nothing is uploaded. Very much a work in progress, see below | | The full developer setup (steps 1 to 6 below) | Linux, ps2dev, Python, PCSX2 | For changing the code and running the tests |

[!CAUTION] The in-browser converter is a heavy work in progress. It runs the port's own Python converter (tools/convert.py) in WebAssembly (Pyodide, with its C helpers built by tools/native/build-wasm.sh) and packs the game-free ELF from CI with tools/iso9660.py. It is slow (about 10 to 20 minutes), each worker needs up to about 2.5 GB of memory and can fail on PCs with less, the ISO it makes has no sound yet (the game's MP3 sound banks can't be decoded in the browser), and it may lag behind or break when the native build changes. If it fails or the result misbehaves, use ./build-iso.sh instead and please report what happened.

Tested on Linux. The steps assume a Linux shell; Windows users should use WSL or a Linux VM.

1. What you need

| Need | Notes | |---|---| | Dark Souls Remastered, Steam PC version | Build 10943698 with English data is the one that's checked. python3 tools/verify_game.py lists supported versions. | | ps2dev toolchain with gsKit | Get a ps2dev release from https://github.com/ps2dev/ps2dev. ps2/env.sh looks for it in ~/tools/ps2dev-2.0.0/ps2dev; set PS2DEV=/your/path if it's elsewhere. | | Python 3.10 or newer | The tools need Pillow and numpy (step 3). | | gcc, g++ | Compile a few small native helpers on first use (g++: meshoptimizer's simplifier for the far horizon level). | | libmpg123 | Decodes the game's MP3 sound banks for the sound packs (Debian/Ubuntu libmpg123-0, Fedora/Arch mpg123). | | PCSX2 2.x | The Flatpak net.pcsx2.PCSX2 is what the run scripts use. | | RAM | The first full export needs several GB. |

2. Tell the build where your game is

The game folder is the one that holds DarkSoulsRemastered.exe. Usually you don't need to do anything: tools/gamepath.py searches the usual Steam libraries (native, Flatpak and Snap Steam, and every library in libraryfolders.vdf). If yours is somewhere else, use one of these:

export DSR_GAME="$HOME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/DARK SOULS REMASTERED"

or put DSR_GAME = /path/to/DARK SOULS REMASTERED in config.local.mk at the repo root (git-ignored), or pass make DSR_GAME=....

Then check your copy:

python3 tools/verify_game.py

It hashes the exe and the data files the exporters need. An unknown version stops the build with a message; DSR_ALLOW_UNSUPPORTED=1 builds anyway, for trying a newer patch.

3. Install the Python packages

python3 -m venv .venv && .venv/bin/pip install -r tools/requirements.txt

The build uses .venv automatically. To use a different Python, put PY = /path/to/python in config.local.mk.

4. Turn on HostFs in PCSX2

The game loads its files from your disk through PCSX2's host: device. In PCSX2's PCSX2.ini (Flatpak: ~/.var/app/net.pcsx2.PCSX2/config/PCSX2/inis/PCSX2.ini), set:

[EmuCore]
HostFs = true

You can skip this if you only play the ISO build (step 6).

5. Build

source ps2/env.sh
make -C ps2/proto

The first build converts the game data. It takes several minutes and several GB of RAM. Later builds only redo what changed. make uses every CPU core by default; make -j4 (or JOBS=4) limits it. The result is build/proto.elf, which starts at the Firelink Shrine bonfire.

6. Play

tools/pcsx2-run.sh build/proto.elf

Or build a disc image and open it in PCSX2 like any game (HostFs isn't needed for this):

make -C ps2/proto iso      # writes build/proto.iso

./build-iso.sh in the repository root does steps 5 and 6 in one command: it exports the game data, builds the ELF and writes build/proto.iso. -i DIR picks the game folder, -o FILE also copies the ISO elsewhere, -c N sets how many CPU threads it uses; --help lists every option. In a terminal it shows a progress view (a progress bar, the current step and the latest output line) and writes the full log to build/build-iso.log; --plain (or DSR_TUI=0, or output to a file or pipe) prints the plai

…