DobieStation has a compatibility list!

I am pleased to announce a compatibility list for Dobie that is being maintained by RedDevilus, as well as a few loyal testers. Let's jump right into the numbers first.

As of this writing, 353 games have been tested. This means that 78% of games go ingame! It might seem underwhelming for there to be zero playable games, but that is because of strict criteria for a game to be considered Playable. We strove to develop a rating system that is informative for both users and developers, so we decided to adopt PCSX2's system and make some modifications.

You can find the compatibility list here on Google Docs.

What the Ratings Mean

• Nothing - What it says on the tin. The game displays no graphics, as it either crashes or freezes.
• Boots - The game can display graphics, but it is unable to go in-game. Some emulators, such as PCSX2, have a distinction between different stages of booting, such as Intro and Menus. This distinction does not help users, as it does not matter if a game hangs in the intro or after menus, because the end result is that the game cannot be played.
• Ingame - The player has control over the game, but due to major glitches, softlocks, etc., the game cannot be completed. This rating is also used when the game could potentially be completed, but the tester has not verified this.
• Completable - The game can be played to the end despite major glitches in sound, video, and/or speed. This is mostly equivalent to PCSX2's "Playable" rating. I felt the need to separate Completable and Playable because on PCSX2, a "Playable" game may necessarily not be enjoyable.
• Playable - The game can be enjoyed by most people with only minor glitches at most. This is the baseline for a good user experience.
• Perfect - No flaws whatsoever. All content in the game can be played with no glitches.

While we believe this system does its job, it is impossible for a rating system to be fully objective. Testers who know the game well may spot emulation flaws that most people cannot see. A UI texture being a few pixels off may take the rating down to Playable, but someone might say the game is Perfect anyway because it's a flaw that doesn't matter. Nevertheless, our hope is that this system will be better for everyone involved.

Closing

If you would like to test games and report your findings to the Dobie list, there are two options. The first is to go to our Discord server and ask for compatibility list access. You will be given permissions to edit the list and a special role to signify you have access. The second is to fill out a form on Google Docs that will be reviewed by the maintainers. Please keep in mind that Dobie is a rather slow emulator, so you will need to spend more time than usual compared to testing on PCSX2/Play.

On a different note, I've been working on a super secret project for PS2 emulation. I've been messing around with it in my spare time, and I suspect it will take many months for people to see the end product. I'll let you guess what it is. ;)