PS1 Games (VCD)
RiptOPL can list and launch your PlayStation 1 games right alongside your PS2 library, on the same device. PS1 titles boot through POPSTARTER — never OPL's built-in core and never Neutrino — so this is a self-contained path with its own storage layout and settings.
The VCD view (press L3)
Every device page — USB, MMCE, MX4SIO, iLink, SMB, and the internal HDD — holds two lists:
- its disc games (PS2 ISO / ZSO / UL format), and
- its VCD games (PS1
*.VCDimages).
Press L3 on any device page to switch between the two. It is a view toggle, not a separate tab — the same page, the same covers, favourites, and per-game settings, just a different list. An on-screen hint tells you whether you're looking at discs or VCDs.
The UI calls this the VCD view rather than "PS1" or "POPS" so it reads cleanly next to your disc games.
Locking the view — Default game view
If you don't want to press L3 every session, open Settings → Display Settings and set Default game view:
| Value | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Both (default) | Every page starts on its disc list; L3 toggles to the VCD list and back. |
| ISO | Every page is locked to its disc list. L3 does nothing. |
| VCD | Every page is locked to its VCD list. L3 does nothing. |
How PS1 games launch (POPSTARTER only)
VCD titles always boot through POPSTARTER.ELF. They never use OPL's built-in core
or Neutrino. Because of this, the per-game Loader Core selector is shown as an inert label
on a PS1 game — changing it has no effect. The same applies to GSM, Cheats, PADEMU, and other
PS2-specific per-game options; POPSTARTER ignores them entirely.
POPSTARTER only needs the VCD's name to do its job. RiptOPL hands it the selected title
and POPSTARTER locates the matching *.VCD file itself.
POPSTARTER.ELF path
By default RiptOPL looks for POPSTARTER.ELF in each device's POPS
folder. To use one specific copy for all devices, set
Settings → General Settings → POPSTARTER.ELF Path. The on-screen editor caps at 31
characters; for a longer path set popstarter_path in
settings_riptopl.cfg directly.
Where to put your VCD files
| Device | Location |
|---|---|
| USB / MMCE / MX4SIO / iLink / SMB | A POPS/ folder at the device root, containing POPSTARTER.ELF and your *.VCD files. |
| Internal HDD (APA/PFS) | The dedicated APA partitions __.POPS, __.POPS0 … __.POPS9. Each partition holds its *.VCD files at the partition root. |
| Internal HDD (exFAT / BDM) | massN:/POPS/ — the same layout as USB, accessed through the BDM mass-device namespace. Requires the BDMA exFAT equip. |
SXXX_NNN.NN.Title.VCD, RiptOPL
keys cover art and per-game config off that PS1 ID — so covers load from your ART/
folder exactly as they do for PS2 games. Any other *.VCD filename is still listed and
launched; it just won't auto-match art by ID.
exFAT support — the BDMA equip
POPSTARTER's stock FAT driver reads FAT32 only. To boot PS1 games from an exFAT drive,
POPSTARTER needs extra block-device modules (the BDMAssault / "BDMA" drivers). RiptOPL
equips them onto your memory card from General Settings — you supply the module
files, RiptOPL copies the right pair to mc?:/POPSTARTER/ when you change the
setting.
POPS/ folder of whichever device you select as the BDMA Source. The release
POPS/ folder includes what ships with the build; check the
Releases page for details.
BDMA Mode
Selects which driver variant POPSTARTER should use:
| BDMA Mode value | Effect |
|---|---|
| USB (FAT32) | Removes any previously equipped exFAT modules, so POPSTARTER falls back to its built-in FAT32 driver. Use this for standard FAT32 USB drives. |
| USB (exFAT) | Equips the USB exFAT BDMAssault modules. |
| MX4SIO (exFAT) | Equips the MX4SIO exFAT BDMAssault modules. |
| MMCE (exFAT) | Equips the MMCE exFAT BDMAssault modules. |
| HDD (exFAT) | Equips the internal ATA HDD BDMAssault modules. Requires HDD (GPT/MBR) enabled in Device Settings. |
BDMA Source
Selects which device RiptOPL reads the module files from (the device whose POPS/
folder holds the variant you want to equip): USB, MX4SIO, MMCE, or
Internal HDD. RiptOPL identifies the device by its block-device driver
(usb / mx4sio / ata / mmce) and reads from that
specific device, so pick the one your module files actually sit on. For an internally attached exFAT
HDD choose Internal HDD — RiptOPL reads it from its ata0: root (the same volume
wLaunchELF shows), so its POPS/usbd.irx.ata + POPS/usbhdfsd.irx.ata are found.
SMB is network-only, so the BDMA equip does not apply to it.
The equip step
Place module files
Copy the appropriate BDMA variant's module files into the POPS/ folder of the
device you will select as the Source (USB, MX4SIO, MMCE, or the internal HDD).
Set BDMA Source
In Settings → General Settings, set BDMA Source to the device that holds the module files.
Set BDMA Mode
Set BDMA Mode to the variant matching your target drive type (e.g. USB (exFAT) for an exFAT USB stick, HDD (exFAT) for the internal ATA drive).
Save settings
Save. RiptOPL copies the modules from Source's POPS/ onto
mc?:/POPSTARTER/ and records the equipped variant in a marker file there
(bdma_config.txt) so the settings UI reflects what's actually installed.
POPSTARTER will use the new modules on next launch.
PS1 over SMB
PS1 games on an SMB share need POPSTARTER's own network config
(IPCONFIG.DAT + SMBCONFIG.DAT) on the memory card, plus its SMB
modules. RiptOPL can write those config files for you: enable
Settings → Network Settings → Write POPSTARTER Network Config (off by default). On save it
mirrors the same IP and share values OPL already uses into mc?:/POPSTARTER/.
The SMB modules themselves ship in the release's POPSTARTER/ folder — copy them to
mc?:/POPSTARTER/. If they are missing, an SMB VCD launch warns you rather than
hanging silently.
Internal HDD — APA partitions and exFAT
The internal HDD supports PS1 games through two paths that coexist:
- APA/PFS partitions — the traditional POPS APA volumes (
__.POPS,__.POPS0…__.POPS9). RiptOPL scans all of them and lists their*.VCDfiles in the HDD device's VCD view. No BDMA equip is needed here because POPSTARTER reads PFS natively. - exFAT HDD (BDM) — enable HDD (GPT/MBR) in Device Settings. The exFAT volume
mounts as a normal BDM block device (one of the
massN:slots) and itsPOPS/folder appears in the same VCD view as USB. Equip the HDD (exFAT) BDMA mode so POPSTARTER can read back off the exFAT volume at launch time.
For the full HDD setup guide, including the APA/exFAT layout and how to enable BDM HDD, see Internal HDD (APA & exFAT).
Notes & limitations
- The VCD view reuses the normal device pipeline, so covers, favourites, and the theme all work exactly as they do for disc games.
- POPSTARTER, the BDMA module variants, and the POPS patch file are supplied by you (or bundled
in the release
POPS/folder) — RiptOPL does not embed any of them. - The per-game Loader Core, GSM, Cheats, PADEMU, and OSD options do not apply to PS1 games; POPSTARTER ignores them and the UI reflects this.
- SMB PS1 requires POPSTARTER's own network modules on the memory card in addition to the network config files.
POPSTARTER internals — sister site
The following topics are fully documented on the POPStarter docs site and are not re-documented here: