sd2psXtd is an extended firmware for the popular Multipurpose MemoryCard Emulator sd2psx by developer @xyzz (see here). It combines cutting-edge extended functionality (like game ID switching, file system access, and dynamic mode selection) with the rock-solid performance of the original sd2psx firmware.
It provides the same functionality as the official stable firmware and extends it with the following features:
Like on PS1, sd2psXtd can detect the game ID of a PS2 console and switch to a dedicated card per game. Game ID switching can be turned off in the device settings for PS2.
This is done in two ways:
When starting a game, the PS2 writes its game ID to a history file on the current memory card. sd2psXtd tracks the write to this file and detects which game ID has just been written. After that, a game card for this game is mounted and exposed to the PS2.
MMCEMAN is a custom IOP module to communicate with Multipurpose Memory Card Emulators. This can be integrated with OPL so OPL can directly send the game ID of a launched game to sd2psx.
When launching in PS2 mode, commands sent to sd2psx are monitored. Since PS1 sends controller messages on the same bus as memory card messages, if a controller message is detected, the sd2psx switches to PS1 mode.
While in general this should be safe behavior, if sd2psx is used mainly in PS1, manual mode selection is recommended.
If sd2psx is connected to a PS1 in PS2 mode, there is always a risk of damaging your PS1 console. You have been warned!
Do not use sd2psx in dynamic mode on a PS1 multitap, as this WILL damage your PS1 multitap device.
MMCEMAN is a PS2 module for interacting with Multipurpose Memory Card Emulators. Its main use cases include:
If using 8MB cards, sd2psXtd firmware exposes the card to the PS2 while it is still being transferred to PSRAM. This enables using FMCB/PS2BBL at boot time without additional waiting scripts. Very helpful for PlayStation 2 models with simpler OSDSYS programs, that result on faster boot times (like PSX DESR and Arcade PS2)
Support for card sizes between 1 and 64 MB has been added. Cards larger than 8 MB rely heavily on quick SD card access, so on older or lower-quality SD cards, these larger cards may become corrupt.
While the feature has been extensively tested, it is still recommended to use 8MB cards, as this is the official specification for memory cards.
PS2 memory cards have been used in variations of PS2 like: DevKits, TestKits, Arcades and Prototypes.
sd2psXtd firmware supports these devices by configuring the variant within the PS2 settings.
These PlayStation 2 variations use different magicgate keysets to ensure their memory cards are inaccessible in other devices (eg: Opening developer memory card on normal PS2). that's why SD2PSX has to actively support them
Devkit/testkit owners: as you may notice, SD2PSX has no DEVELOPER mode, this is because sd2psxtd is mimicking the behavior of licensed retail card. to use the device on developer hardware, set the card on RETAIL mode 1
If BootCard functionality is activated, the PS1 starts with BootCards at startup. If BootCard is not activated, the card index and channel from the previous session are restored automatically.
sd2psXtd firmware allows PS1 cards to be served from PSRAM. While this is mainly an under-the-hood change, it provides more flexibility in RAM usage.
sd2psXtd generates a settings file (.sd2psx/settings.ini) that allows you to edit some settings through your computer. This is useful when using one SD card with multiple sd2psx devices or MMCE devices without a display to change settings.
A settings file has the following format:
[General]
Mode=PS2
FlippedScreen=OFF
[PS1]
Autoboot=ON
GameID=ON
[PS2]
Autoboot=ON
GameID=ON
CardSize=16
Variant=RETAIL
Possible values are:
| Setting | Values |
|---|---|
| Mode | PS1, PS2 |
| AutoBoot | OFF, ON |
| GameID | OFF, ON |
| CardSize | 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 |
| Variant | RETAIL, PROTO, ARCADE |
| FlippedScreen | ON, OFF |
Support for different MMCE devices that share the same MCU has been added:
For each device, follow the flashing instructions provided by the creator, using the corresponding sd2psXtd firmware file.
There are some configuration values that can be modified on a per card base within a config file named CardX.ini in a card folder, where X is the card index.
Note 1: The CardSize setting is only used for PS2 cards and can only be either of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64.
Note 2: The BOOT folder should contain a file named BootCard.ini
[ChannelName]
1=Channel 1 Name
2=Channel 2 Name
3=Channel 3 Name
4=Channel 4 Name
5=Channel 5 Name
6=Channel 6 Name
7=Channel 7 Name
8=Channel 8 Name
[Settings]
MaxChannels=8
CardSize=8
There are some games, that share save data for multiple game ids (like the Singstar series etc). For these cases, a custom game to folder mapping can be created.
If a game with a mapped id is loaded, instead of using the game id based folder, the mapped folder is used for storing the card.
The mapping needs to be defined in .sd2psx/Game2Folder.ini in the following way:
[PS1]
SCXS-12345=FolderName1
[PS2]
SCXS-23456=FolderName2
Be aware: Long folder names may not be displayed correctly and may result in stuttering of MMCE games due to scrolling.
Devkits: official retail memory cards use developer magicgate by default until the console actively requests to use retail magicgate with a dedicated command ↩