Shadow of the Colossus: Difference between revisions

Shadow of the Colossus
Region NTSC-U:
Serial numbers:	SCUS-97472
Release date:	October 18, 2005; August 6, 2006 (Greatest Hits)
CRCs:	C19A374E
Windows Status:	Playable
Linux Status:	?
Mac Status:	?
Region PAL:
Serial numbers:	SCES-53326
Release date:	February 16, 2006 (AUS); February 17, 2006(EU)
CRCs:	0F0C4A9C
Windows Status:	Playable
Linux Status:	?
Mac Status:	?
Region NTSC-J/C/K:
Serial numbers:	SCAJ-20146; SCPS-15097; SCKA-20061 (KO); SCPS-19320 (PS2 the Best); SCPS-19335 (PS2 the Best Reprint)
Release date:	October 27, 2005; December 15, 2005 (KO); June 29, 2006 (PS2 the Best); May 1, 2007 (KO, BigHit Series); February 4, 2010 (PS2 the Best Reprint)
CRCs:	877F3436; 877B3D35
Windows Status:	Playable
Linux Status:	?
Mac Status:	?

Revision as of 13:08, 28 May 2015

Developer(s): Team Ico
Publisher(s): Sony
Genre: Action-adventure
Wikipedia: Link
Game review links: Metacritic
Game review score: Metacritic: 91/100
Game description: Players take the role of a young man seeking the truth of an ancient tale of power hidden in a mystical land. Shadow of the Colossus is a majestic journey through ancient lands to seek out and destroy gigantic mythical beasts. With a trusty horse at your side, players explore the spacious lands and unearth each towering Colossus creature. The uneasy task of defeating a Colossus relies on intelligent puzzle solving and action oriented gameplay. Armed with strong wits, a mystical sword and a sturdy bow, players use cunning and strategy to topple each behemoth.

Test configurations on Windows:

Environment			Configurations			Comments	Tester
Region	OS	CPU/GPU	Revision	Graphics	Sound/Pad	Comments	Tester
NTSC-J	Windows	Intel Core2 Duo E8500 @ 3.16Ghz Nvidia GTS 250 512MB	06 09 2013 1.1.0 r5726-	GSdx 5726 SSE41	SPU2-X 2.0.0 5695 LilyPad 0.11.0 5403	Still playable., Some rendering bugs (shadows & blur) with hardware mode... Software is OK.	Parotaku
NTSC-J	Windows	INTEL CORE I5 3570K Nvidia Geforce GTX 680	1.1.0.5649 SVN	GSDX	SPU2-X ?	Europe v02.00(14/06/2004), EE/VU Rounding: None/None, 1 - EE's cyclerate by DEFULT, The game running fine without any problem.	Brock-lessner
NTSC-U	?	2.6ghz dual core ?	0.9.7 (r3113)	GSDX 0.1.16	SPU2-X 1.4 Lilypad 0.10.0		99.230.227.175
NTSC-U/J	?	Pentium Dual-Core E5400 (2.7GHz) Geforce 9600GT	0.9.8	GSDX r4600	SPU2-X r4600 Lilypad r4510	BIOS: USA v2.00, PAL last tested with PCSX2 0.9.4 with complains of broken 3d, probably playable with 0.9.8. Needed VU Cycle Stealing 3, works fine at 2-3x native res.	Machina
?	?	Intel i5-3210M Geforce 660M	1.1.0	GSDX SSE41 r5622	SPU2-X r5559 Lilypad r5403	BIOS: USA v2.20, HACKS: Aggressive-CRC, Half-pixel Offset, DX11, EE Cycles=2, VU Cycles=2, MTVU=DISABLE, Rest as default. Because of not very good CPU & GPU (Notebook), I've had to use some VU & EE improvements.	ZiZU4851
NTSC	Windows 8.1	Intel Core i5-3330 @3.00 GHz Radeon R9 270x 2GB	1.2.1	GSdx 0.1.16 SSE41 Mode: HW DX11	SPU2-X r5830 2.0.0 Lilypad r5878 0.11.0	BIOS USA 2.20, EE=3, VU=0, MTVU OFF, Round Mode to Nearest and Clamping Mode to None on both EE/IOP and VUs. HW Hacks: Alpha, Half-Pixel Offset, Sprite, Aggressive-CRC and Alpha Stencil. Native Resolution 3x, Texture Filtering and Allow 8-bit. Game runs perfectly fine.	LeTeTeuX

Trivia

Shadow of the Colossus is one of PCSX2's most popular games, but it is one of the most complicated to emulate due to the fact that the original Playstation 2 release pushed the limits of the console and often suffered from frame-rate losses. This game is very CPU intensive, even for PCSX2.
This game is extremely CPU and GPU intensive. It was running between 20 and 30 FPS even on the original Playstation 2. IF you do experience slowdowns while playing this on PCSX2, setting VU Cycle Stealing to 2 or even 3 helps the game tremendously.
Also known as Wander to Kyozou (Wander and the Colossus) in Japan and in Korea.

CPU Requirements

The game's performance varies significantly depending on the CPU being used to run it. PCSX2 runs better on Intel CPU's than their AMD equivalents, and so does Shadow of the Colossus. Recomended, Intel maxwell, haswell, or broadwell CPU at 3ghz and higher.

Standards for Maximum Performance

To achieve 60 frames-per-second, your CPU must meet all of the following requirements and have the necessary speedhacks enabled.

The CPU must be an Intel-brand; not AMD
Due to architectural improvements, the CPU should utilize the latest Micro-architecture in the series
The Clock speed must be over 4.0 GHz (The only Intel CPU with a base clock this high is the i7-4790K. Most other CPUs will need an overclock).
VU Cycle Stealing should be set to level 1 or 2

Known Issues

Over-bloom

Status: Active
Type: Serious
Description: An emulation error causes the bloom lighting too be high, making it difficult to see much of the screen when out in bright locations.
Workaround: Enable the "Aggressive CRC" hack in the GSdx plugin settings. This will significantly reduce the amount of bloom.

Alternatively use Software Rendering mode for perfect fix.

Texture Misalignment

Status: Active
Type: Minor
Description: Raising the internal resolution causes certain textures to become misaligned. This largely consists of the bloom on Shadow Creatures, Pigeons, Wander's Sword, and Mono's Dress to be placed to the upper-left of their proper position. (does not occur in software Mode)
Workaround: Enable the "Half-Pixel Offset" hack in the GSdx plugins menu. This will re-align the texture. (No longer working in r5875 USE 4x native for 1080p monitors)

Alternatively use Native Resolution

Flickering Borders

Type: Note (not an issue)
Description: Enabling the "Half-Pixel Offset" hack to realign the textures results in flickering white lines along the top and left borders of the screen.
Workaround: Adjust the Zoom in the main emulation settings to 102.60%, and set the screen display to "Fit to Screen/Window". This will cause the game to take up the full computer screen with just enough zoom to bypass the flickering borders. You can then adjust the display in-game in the options menu to your liking (4:3 or 16:9).

Audio/Video Mis-Synchronization

Type: Note (not an issue)
Description: In this case, scenes within the Shrine of Worship don't emulate at full speed, and as a result, the audio/video during the ending cutscenes (which mostly take place within the Shrine) become unsynchronized by several seconds because the video is unable to keep up with the audio.
Workaround: This problem only occurs if your CPU is not efficient enough at Floating-point operations to run the scenes at full speed, even with the appropriate Speedhacks enabled. This happened to me when I was using an AMD FX-8120 due to it's clock rate and mediocre FPU efficiency. As a result, the solution to this problem is to have either of the recommended CPUs above, or to have a CPU with the sufficient architecture and clock rate for decent emulation.

Ghosting Effect

Type: Note (not an issue)
Description: This is a side effect of VU Cycle Stealing. It basically causes an effect where certain textures become translucent, especially when viewed from a distance.
Workaround: There is unfortunately no solution to this problem right now, as VU Cycle Stealing is necessary for making the game run at full speed.

Fixed Issues

Weird Shadows

Status: Fixed
Type: Minor
Description: All characters in the game, including Agro cast bizarre, outlined shadows.
Workaround: Use the latest version of PCSX2.

Gallery

Shadow of the Colossus (SCPS 15097)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCES 53326)

Offical PCSX2 1.1.0 gameplay video: Link

	Shadow of the Colossus (SCUS 97472) (U) Shadow of the Colossus (SCES 53326) (E) Shadow of the Colossus (SCAJ 20146) (J) Wanda to Kyozou (SCPS 15097) (J)

@@ Line 151: / Line 151: @@
 ==CPU Requirements==
-The game's performance varies significantly depending on the CPU being used to run it. PCSX2 runs better on Intel CPU's than their AMD equivalents, and so does Shadow of the Colossus. However, AMD CPUs are more appropriately designed for gaming PC's and often represent good value for money when it comes to price vs performance in general.
+The game's performance varies significantly depending on the CPU being used to run it. PCSX2 runs better on Intel CPU's than their AMD equivalents, and so does Shadow of the Colossus. Recomended, Intel maxwell, haswell, or broadwell CPU at 3ghz and higher.
 ===Standards for Maximum Performance===
@@ Line 160: / Line 160: @@
 * The Clock speed must be over 4.0 GHz (The only Intel CPU with a base clock this high is the i7-4790K. Most other CPUs will need an overclock).
 * VU Cycle Stealing should be set to level 1 or 2
-===Intel Processors===
-For Intel, I recommend either the '''i7-4790K Quad-Core 4.0 GHz''', or the nearly equally as powerful '''i5-4690K 3.5 GHz'''. The i5 is usually around $100 cheaper than the i7. Even a CPU as old as the i5-2500K still holds up pretty well, easily achieving playable framerates.
-Any overclocking that you can do to these CPUs will be to your benefit, which is why I suggested the unlocked variants of these CPUs. However, you will not be in much of a pickle if you get a locked CPU.
-===AMD Processors===
-AMD processors are generally cheaper than their Intel equivalents, but they don't perform as well with PCSX2 because of their architecture, even with an extremely high clock speed. (In most AMD Processors, the number of Floating-Point-Units is half the number of total CPU cores. This means that each Floating-Point-Unit is shared between two cores.) Thus, AMD processors should only be used if low price is a serious matter for you. Also, since they only have half the number of FPUs to Cores, they should have as many cores as possible to help compensate when the MTVU hack is enabled.
-If money is a problem, I'd recommend the '''FX-8350 Eight-Core 4.0 GHz''', which sells for $195 USD. However, the performance will be inconsistent. Most of the game will run at about 20-30 frames-per-second, but the ending cutscenes and a few colossus battles will drop to 10-20 frames-per-second. On few specific occasions, there will be some serious slowdowns, albeit not unplayable (they can easily be averted by experimenting with different camera angles). To be fair though, most of the game will still run slightly better than it did on the original Playstation 2.
 ==Known Issues==