Avocado vs HopStation

Avocado is a free, open-source PlayStation 1 emulator for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. It can load files including .cue, .bin, .img, .chd, .ecm, .exe, .psexe, .psf, and .minipsf by drag and drop. Listed save tools include save states, quick save and load, and rewinding by one second. It supports digital controllers, DualShock, and mouse input, with up to two controllers and no multitap. Audio support includes XA-ADPCM and Red Book, and graphics use OpenGL hardware rendering. The project lists support for Anti-Modchip and LibCrypt protected games; PAL LibCrypt games need additional .SBI or .LSD subchannel information. A BIOS from a real console is required and must be placed in the data/bios directory; BIOS selection is prompted on first run. The project is in early development, so games may not start or may crash soon after. It is single-threaded, and audio synchronized to NTSC 60 Hz can stutter in PAL games.

HopStation is a work-in-progress PlayStation emulator written in C++, shared chiefly as a reference for emulator developers rather than as a primary way to play games. It emulates the R3000 CPU, GPU, DMA and interrupt controllers, CDROM, GTE, SPU, MDEC, and memory cards. The project provides a windowed application and a headless command-line mode, with tools including a disassembler, executable sideloading, USB controller input, configurable logging, a VRAM viewer, and ImGui introspection windows. It accepts BIN/CUE disc images, but support is buggy: CUE parsing prevents many games from loading, and inaccurate CDROM emulation also limits compatibility. The SPU lacks features such as volume sweep and dynamic ADSR. A PlayStation BIOS is required; only SCPH1001, the original US launch version, has been tested. HopStation builds for Windows, Linux, and macOS and is free under the MIT License. Some builds need additional shader libraries. The author describes it as an unfinished personal learning project and says feature contributions are unlikely to be accepted.