The PS2 emulator PCSX2 has just been updated to version 2.4.0, bringing with it a ton of exciting new improvements that aim to make the experience of emulating your favourite titles on computers (Window, Linux, and Mac) even better.
The new update carries from last year's update PCSX2 2.0, which the PCSX2 team describes as their "biggest single release to date", and includes the implementation of "render target in render target" (RT in RT) support, which successfully fixes a bunch of issues across a number of games. This applies to two-player split screen games such as Jak X: Combat Racing (which previously showed a mostly black screen in right hand side of the screen), as well as titles like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Drakengard, and Hitman: Contracts.
As the developers of emulator explained in their recent update blog, RT in RT is essentially one of the methods that developers used to render to a subset of an image displayed on the screen, and could previously cause issues with the compatibility of certain games in Hardware Mode on PCSX2. The former lead developer of PCSX2 (refraction), however, has now gone in and worked their one magic, fixing the problem and increasing the emulator's compatibility with a range of titles.
As we hinted at, this isn't the only improvement introduced as part of the latest update either, with other members on the team adding to ability to select a custom real-time-clock starting point (allowing players to unlock Easter Eggs in games like Metal Gear Solid 3), alongside implementing improvements to upscaling, Direct3D 11 optimisations, a new debugger design, signed macOS binaries, and SDL 3.0 support.
You can read more about these improvements in the emulator's official update blog (which also talks about features added in update 2.2.0). The latest stable version is available to download here.