Which would you choose ScummVM on DS or PSP

WestBullet · Post by **WestBullet** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:46 pm

Hi guys,

i'm looking into getting either a DS or PSP to play some ScummVM games such as Monkey Island. If anybody has used ScummVm on both machines could you let me know which you prefer!

The advantages of the DS is the stylus control and the advantages of the PSP are a larger screen and support for "The Curse of Monkey Island" (at least i believe so)

So please could you let me know your thoughts as i really want to play ScummVm on the move but i obviously want the best machine to do it with!

agentq · Post by **agentq** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:04 am

The DS version!

Although I'm a little biased, as I wrote it. But the touch screen control does make perfect sense for these games, and the long battery life of the DS is also an advantage.

On the other hand, the screen is scaled down on the DS version, which can make text a little harder to read.

WestBullet · Post by **WestBullet** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:25 am

Thanks for the reply,

Great work on the DS port, the videos i have seen look amazing. (Never thought that it would be possible to play Monkey Island on holiday!)

I think im leaning towards the DS version at the moment considering you can pick the machine up for £99 (of course not considering the M3 aswell)

Seriously well done on the port though, I'm sure you've made alot of people who love the ScummVM games happy.

Best of luck with any future ports you may be involved in

Bobbin · Post by **Bobbin** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:24 am

You can get used to the controls on the PSP, at least it has analogue controls. However, it still doesn't come close to the touch screen. Some games like Broken Sword or COMI are only supported here and are not scaled down as much as they would be on the DS. I don't know about speed, on the PSP there is a 333 MHz version which runs even COMI at full speed (all the other games work fine with the standard version).
To sum it up:

- Full speed, all games: PSP
- Best controls: DS

The price is of course another thing, here in Germany the PSP is rather close to the DS. You also need to consider that you have to get a flash device plus the SD card for your DS to play ScummVM.

Well, however you decide, have fun, it's great playing MI sitting in a train

WestBullet · Post by **WestBullet** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:35 pm

hmmmm, so there is a 333mhz version of the PSP? How can you tell which one it is if i were looking in a shop?

MarcLandis · Post by **MarcLandis** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:17 pm

WestBullet wrote:hmmmm, so there is a 333mhz version of the PSP? How can you tell which one it is if i were looking in a shop?

Hi,

Not the PSP is a 333MHz version but the ScummVM Version.

I have a PSP and ScummVM runs very smooth, but sometimes I would like to have a touchscreen.

Marc

kedest83 · Post by **kedest83** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:15 pm

WestBullet wrote:hmmmm, so there is a 333mhz version of the PSP? How can you tell which one it is if i were looking in a shop?

All PSP's are 333mhz. But most games underclock the processor at 222mhz to extend battery life.
I've had a PSP and played SCUMMVM on it. The big screen is defnitely an advantage. But the controls aren't very good.
Now I have a DS with SCUMMVM on it. Controls are ofcourse excellent. You can't play all games on it, but so far I've tested monkey island 1 and 2 and day of the tentacle on it.

thebawp · Post by **thebawp** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 8:40 am

I haven't tried ScummVM on the PSP, but I can vouch for ScummVM DS - the controls are pretty much spot on. Though the screen is scaled down, I haven't had any problems reading text, and so far I've played Simon the Sorceror and Sam and Max talkie versions through to completion on the DS, as well as played with Monkey Island 1 and 2, Fate of Atlantis and Zak McKracken. It's really a joy to play these games on the go, and I think the control scheme provided by the DS is a very big plus in terms of DS vs. PSP.

wololo · Post by **wololo** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:58 pm

Beware of the "hidden costs" though.
For a DS, you need to buy flash card and stuff to be able to play homebrews. (as far as I know)

For the psp you have to buy a memory stick (I recommend 1 or 2 GB).

You may also consider other advantages of these handled when you take your decision: the touch screen and interesting games on the DS, the multimedia player on the psp (I actually enjoy watching series or listening to mp3 in the train). It's not really related to scummvm, but once you've bought it, you should enjoy the console's other possibilities.

agentq · Post by **agentq** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 3:44 pm

Yes, you need to buy a card reader for the DS to be able to use homebrew. Many of them also allow you to play movies and MP3s on your DS too.

The Max Media Dock costs £30 and allows you to play movies, MP3s, and play ScummVM. The only other thing you'd need is a CompactFlash card.

Dan Forever · Post by **Dan Forever** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:09 pm

Also consider other uses for the console. If you take a quick browse of the selection of games available for each platform, think about which you might be interested in playing.

The DS might be more comfortable to use from an ergonomic standpoint as well. On the PSP the analogue stick slides instead of tilting like a standard gamepad controller analogue stick and (in my opinion) the buttons aren't as comfortable to use as those on a DS (lite or chunky).

kedest83 · Post by **kedest83** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:02 am

wololo wrote:Beware of the "hidden costs" though.
For a DS, you need to buy flash card and stuff to be able to play homebrews. (as far as I know)

For the psp you have to buy a memory stick (I recommend 1 or 2 GB).

Good point. Homebrew on the PSP is free yes, but it does have a downside. If you want to play the newest real games (UMD-games), you must keep up with the firmware updates. And homebrew won't run on the new firmwares.

cappuchok · Post by **cappuchok** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 2:14 pm

wololo wrote:Beware of the "hidden costs" though.
For a DS, you need to buy flash card and stuff to be able to play homebrews. (as far as I know)

For the psp you have to buy a memory stick (I recommend 1 or 2 GB).

You may also consider other advantages of these handled when you take your decision: the touch screen and interesting games on the DS, the multimedia player on the psp (I actually enjoy watching series or listening to mp3 in the train). It's not really related to scummvm, but once you've bought it, you should enjoy the console's other possibilities.

In this context, talking of running homebrew programs and enjoying the console's other possibilities, I can't help but mention the GP2X...

DJWillis · Post by **DJWillis** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:04 pm

cappuchok wrote:In this context, talking of running homebrew programs and enjoying the console's other possibilities, I can't help but mention the GP2X...

Thanks

.

That said at the moment I would consider both the DS and PSP to have superior ScummVM ports to the GP2X (gives me something to aspire to

). BS1/2 and COMI all work on the GP2X (scaled like the PSP but a little slow for my liking right now) however the DS port just feels really nice (can’t put my finger on why) and AgentQ makes great use of the unique DS hardware

.

The PSP port is technically great and makes good use of the hardware but the screen is widescreen, not ideal for most of the ScummVM supported games and the controls take getting used to.

It is really Horses for courses, ScummVM is good on all the mentioned platforms, weigh up what else you may what to do when making your choice

.

cappuchok · Post by **cappuchok** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 8:50 pm

DJWillis wrote:
cappuchok wrote:In this context, talking of running homebrew programs and enjoying the console's other possibilities, I can't help but mention the GP2X...
It is really Horses for courses, ScummVM is good on all the mentioned platforms, weigh up what else you may what to do when making your choice .

I'd like to just quickly mention the strong and weak points of the various hardware platforms discussed here, because it's good to know when you already know other things you'd like to use the unit for.

NDS:
+ Dual screen, WiFi connection, 3D GPU, touch screen input, cheapest of the lot.
- Needs extra hardware (SD card reader) to run homebrew programs.

PSP:
+ Powerful hardware, doesn't need extra hardware to run homebrew programs. 3D GPU.
- Needs an unofficial firmware to run homebrew programs - may brick the unit. No touch-screen. Most expensive of the three.

GP2X:
+ Dual CPU cores, runs Linux, made for running homebrew programs. Uses SD cards instead of proprietary cartridges. Medium-priced. Has USB host capabilities which in time will make it possible to extend the unit into a full Linux-based computer with keyboard and mouse input, and more.
- Almost no commercial games. No touch-screen. Not a plug-and-play unit, needs a bit of tweaking by the user to become what the user wants it to be. Second CPU core as of yet not used very much by homebrew programs (that's changing, though).