It's necessary to find an optical drive capable of reading the CDs used as PlayStation games. It's also necessary to get OpenEmu (free) and set it up to play PlayStation games. This may require finding its appropriate BIOS files (check its settings). Otherwise, finding CD images for games which you own online is possible and left as a risk for the reader to take.
- For OpenEmu to read and use a PlayStation game, it must exist as a file on the computer. If you have a set of BIN/CUE files, skip to step two.
- The entirety of the CD's binary data must be ripped to a binary file. Use a command like '
dd if=/dev/disk2 of='~/Downloads/Final Fantasy VII (USA) (Disc 1).bin' bs=2048 conv=sync,notrunc
'.- (Here, '
/dev/disk2
' refers to a specific device on my computer. Open the Disk Utility on yours, find your optical drive, and find out what it's called. If it's 'disk3', use '/dev/disk3
' instead. If you don't have an optical drive, this is a non-starter, of course.)
- (Here, '
- For each binary file, then create a new empty text file with the same name, ending in '.cue' instead of '.bin'—for example, 'Final Fantasy VII (USA) (Disc 1).cue'. This will be a simple text file that describes the binary file as containing all raw binary information. Its contents should refer to the name of the binary file you just made, but otherwise, it should match the example given below exactly. Fill that in. Save and close the file in the same directory as the binary file.
- Repeat as necessary for other discs, remembering to reflect each disc number in the filename.
- The entirety of the CD's binary data must be ripped to a binary file. Use a command like '
- After creating all the BIN/CUE file pairs, create an M3U playlist listing all the cuesheet files (ending in '.cue') in order. This is a simple text file that ends in '.m3u' instead of '.txt'. See the example M3U file below.
- With all files in the same directory, drag the M3U file into OpenEmu and allow it to copy it into its library. It should copy the playlist file, cuesheet, and binary contents.
OpenEmu is now becoming the most definitive reason to stay on Mac. I have a question that some GC games need multiple discs, for example, 'Baten Kaitos', since the core is dif. OpenEmu Version: 2.2 Thank you for adding new system support. OpenEmu is about to change the world of video game emulation. One console at a time. For the first time, the 'It just works' philosophy now extends to open source video game emulation on the Mac. With OpenEmu, it is extremely easy to add, browse, organize and with a compatible gamepad, play those favorite games (ROMs) you already own.
Once the game is added to OpenEmu, it's possible to switch discs from the tool menu from within the game.
Required m3u file missing
This message means you are trying to load a game that requires multiple discs. Follow the Multi-disc Guide to properly import your game. If you had previously saved progress, follow the steps below to transfer your save data.
Transfer your save data
In the app, go to OpenEmu > Preferences > Library, click 'Reset warnings'
Delete all the currently imported single discs for your game. Select your games and right click > Delete Game, at the prompt click 'Delete Game' and then 'Move to Trash' at the next prompt.
- Ensure you have properly imported your game by following the Multi-disc Guide.
Load your game and let it reach the in-game title screen (past the PlayStation startup screens) so that it will generate new save files based on the imported m3u file. Afterwards, close your game.
Navigate to the folder
~/Library/Application Support/OpenEmu/Mednafen/Battery Saves
(~ meaning your Home folder where ~ is your username. See the guide here if you don't know this).In your
Battery Saves
folder, it has the newly generated save files and your original save files.
Download Games For Openemu
Rename your original save files to match the newly generated save files. For example, first delete the newly generated files but take note of the filenames. Then, rename your original save files to match the filenames of the newly generated files that you just deleted.
Original save files:
Metal Gear Solid (USA) (Disc 1) (v1.1).4fe57a0bbcf59082a2d11ef886f8f0bd.0.mcr
Metal Gear Solid (USA) (Disc 1) (v1.1).4fe57a0bbcf59082a2d11ef886f8f0bd.1.mcr
Renamed to match newly generated save filenames:
Metal Gear Solid (USA) (v1.1).2f876f4966ab9a14472349c43b3d64a4.0.mcr
Metal Gear Solid (USA) (v1.1).2f876f4966ab9a14472349c43b3d64a4.1.mcr
Your Battery Saves
folder should now only contain your renamed original save files.
- Finally, open your game and click 'No' when prompted to 'Continue where you left off' to play using your transferred save data.