Online Multiplayer PS1 On Real Hardware
Hello everyone,
playing the ps1 is a lot of fun but it would be much more fun to play it in online multiplayer
Since the PS1 lacks a modem, the only way to play multiplayer without split-screen was the Link Cable via the Serial I/O port.
My plan is to code a custom homebrew game from scratch (using PSn00bSDK) that sends player data through the serial port. But instead of connecting another PS1, I want to wire the serial port to an ESP32 (since both run at 3.3V).
The ESP32 would act as a bridge, sending the data over Wi-Fi/UDP to a server. In theory, by coding a modern netcode to handle latency, we could even bypass the 2-player limit and have 4 players online, with the ESP32 acting as a hub.
Has anyone tried something like this? What are the biggest hurdles with the PS1's SIO baud rate and Wi-Fi latency? Also, is NO$PSX the best tool to emulate and test this before burning CDs?