# Source Log — Supplemental Pass

Research pass date: 2026-04-16
Pass author: Claude (second research pass, after Codex)

This log covers sources introduced by the supplemental pass. It does not
re-list sources from `../source_log.md`; see that file for the Codex pass.

## Official Sony manuals

- `GS User's Manual v6.0` — Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
  URL: https://usermanual.wiki/Pdf/GSUsersManual.1012076781/html
  Notes: primary register reference for the Graphics Synthesizer. Authoritative
  for `0x12000000` privileged block and GS packet-form registers. Confidential
  in origin.

- `VU User's Manual (Emotion Engine Vector Operation Unit Guide)` — Sony.
  URL: https://studylib.net/doc/25815876/vuusersmanual.158394566
  Notes: primary reference for VU0/VU1 pipeline, register files, memories,
  micro/macro modes, and VIF coupling. Confidential in origin.

## FPGA prior art (adjacent consoles)

- `MiSTer-devel/PSX_MiSTer` — Robert Peip (FPGAzumSpass)
  URL: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/PSX_MiSTer
  Notes: closest real-world methodology template. Methodology = cycle-accurate
  software emulator first, RTL second, with emulator as golden model.

- `PS-FPGA/ps-fpga`
  URL: https://github.com/PS-FPGA/ps-fpga
  Notes: alternate PSX FPGA project. Useful for comparing module decomposition.

- `pgate1/PlayStation_on_FPGA`
  URL: https://github.com/pgate1/PlayStation_on_FPGA
  Notes: smaller-scale PSX FPGA. Reference for minimal scaffold shape.

## Architecture studies

- Rodrigo Copetti — "PlayStation 2 Architecture: A Practical Analysis"
  URL: https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/playstation-2/
  Notes: high-level pedagogical writeup. Onboarding reading, not a spec.

- `psdevwiki` PS2 section
  URL: https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps2/
  Notes: community-maintained counterpart to `ps2tek`. Strong on IOP modules,
  SPU2, peripheral protocols, and hardware revisions.

- VPU Thesis — "A Study on the Feasibility of ... VU [on FPGA]"
  URL: https://gamehacking.org/faqs/VPUThesis.pdf
  Notes: academic FPGA-feasibility study specifically on the VU. Directly
  relevant to Codex workstream 4.

- Wikipedia — PS2 / Emotion Engine
  URLs:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_technical_specifications
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion_Engine
  Notes: orientation only.

## Community consensus threads

- MiSTer Forum — `Advanced cores for MiSTer future FPGA hardware`
  URL: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=4884

- MiSTer Forum — `What Do You Think Will Happen Once MiSTer Reaches Its Limits?`
  URL: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=2512

- Time Extension — `MiSTer Pi and next-generation FPGA gaming`
  URL: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/03/the-next-generation-of-fpga-gaming-could-be-just-around-the-corner-thanks-to-mister-pi

Notes: capture the current community baseline. No public PS2 FPGA core
exists; consensus view places PS2 beyond current MiSTer-class fabric; only
active public effort is a hybrid PCIe-FPGA + host-CPU arrangement.

## Search deltas vs Codex pass

Sources Codex covered and this pass does not re-log:
- `ps2tek`, DobieStation `From Bits to Pixels` wiki, `ps2dev`, `ps2sdk`,
  `gsKit`, `PCSX2`, `DobieStation`, `Play-`, `pcsx2/Memory.cpp`.

Sources this pass added that were absent from the Codex log:
- Sony GS User's Manual.
- Sony VU User's Manual.
- PSX_MiSTer, PS-FPGA, PlayStation_on_FPGA (adjacent-console FPGA prior art).
- Copetti architecture writeup.
- `psdevwiki` PS2 section.
- VPU thesis.
- MiSTer community consensus threads on PS2 feasibility.
