Ember PS1 core
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Rolling prerelease status: merged into dev through PR #600 and available on Rolling Release. Not included in stable 1.2.3 and not yet console-certified.
Ember by Gageformer is a separate PS1 emulator; it is not POPStarter and it does not run POPStarter VCD images through the POPStarter launch path. POPSLoader discovers compatible Ember game folders on the selected storage device, labels their list rows [Ember], and provides Ember's Beta 2 global and per-game settings.
Installation and game layout
<device-root>/EMBER/
ember.elf bundled, unmodified, with LICENSE-BETA.txt
LICENSE-BETA.txt
bios.bin user-supplied 512 KiB PS1 BIOS (NOT bundled)
settings.txt native Ember global options (optional)
games/
YourGame/
disc.cue
track.bin
settings.txt optional per-game options
MC1.vmc created by Ember
MC2.vmc created by Ember
Only immediate child game directories with supported disc/executable files count as library entries; the ExampleGame.bin shipped in the sample is empty and must not be treated as game media. Covers use the exact game-folder name with _COV.png, optional disc icons _ICO.png, in the selected device's ART/ location.
Global settings are in Settings → Ember PS1 Core, and a game's four per-game overrides are edited with L2 on its list row. Native options cover timing, dither, shading and controller; display is global-only. An override set to Default inherits the global value. Consult technical integration for exact allowed values and path handling.
Device policy and limits
Host-tested scanning includes USB/multiple USB, MX4SIO, MMCE, internal exFAT, SMB and UDPFS, plus APA/PFS partition support. This is not a statement of working console launches or safe save persistence. Before making hardware claims, verify controller input through keep-IOP handoff, game launch and VMC writes, device identification and other regression paths on physical PS2 consoles.
i.Link is deliberately deferred until RiptOPL demonstrates stable, tested i.Link support. It is out of scope for Ember PR #600 and does not hold back the other supported-device work. The UI continues to show i.Link as unsupported/hidden.
Licensing and upstream monitoring
The binary must remain unmodified and accompanied by LICENSE-BETA.txt and attribution to Gageformer with a link to their official release page. The licence does not permit commercial redistribution without permission. No BIOS or game image is included.
The weekly Ember Watch workflow compares the published Ember asset's SHA-256 against RiptOPL's verified bundled version, supports same-tag asset changes, and updates only POPSLoader's Ember revision pin on dev; the original POPS support-file revision remains fixed. The workflow is present on the default master branch and scheduled weekly; the first scheduled update has not yet been verified. This does not certify hardware compatibility.