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RETROARCH - The all-in-one emulator dreams are made of, son

yatesl

Member
Is there a decent guide/starting point for this? I've spent days and weeks perfecting my XBMC set up in the past, to where I'm happy with it - and I don't mind doing it again if I can get something similar for emulated games.

I've downloaded RetroArch and I looked in to Emulation Station, but it's all on Github, and I'm not 100% sure where to put the files etc. once I've downloaded them.

Windows x64, for reference.


Edit: I just realised Emulation Station is different from RetroArch and not a skin. That's why.
 

SScorpio

Member
Is there a decent guide/starting point for this? I've spent days and weeks perfecting my XBMC set up in the past, to where I'm happy with it - and I don't mind doing it again if I can get something similar for emulated games.

There is an XBMC plugin called Rom Collection Browser. It provides a library for Roms directly in XBMC, it can scrape the Roms and pull art work automatically. You can also configure it to work with Retroarch.

Here's a guide to setting it setup: http://slxprojects.blogspot.be/2014/05/xbmc-with-retroarch.html
 

sörine

Banned
Apparently they have PPSSPP beta core in the one of the nightly builds, not sure that it will be up to much yet though

Have they said when RA 1.1 is going to be released, they said that a new release would be coming start of July but that months been and gone now :(
There's no eta on 1.1, but they said soon. After 1.0.3 missed it's promised date and got rolled into this they're probably hesitant to give another window.

After PPSSPP I wonder if they'll look at including Reicast, PCSX2 and Dolphin? I wish they'd go back and look at the older microcomputers too, I'd like an MSX emulator.
 

ElfArmy177

Member
Apparently Im a moron... but wtf is the difference between a core and a regular .exe file? Im having trouble finding cores over the general files... or are they the same thing? lol
 

yatesl

Member
There is an XBMC plugin called Rom Collection Browser. It provides a library for Roms directly in XBMC, it can scrape the Roms and pull art work automatically. You can also configure it to work with Retroarch.

Here's a guide to setting it setup: http://slxprojects.blogspot.be/2014/05/xbmc-with-retroarch.html

That's great, thank you!

Second question - is there a way to quit RetroArch by using a combination of key buttons? e.g. LT+RT+Start+Select?


Edit: Solved it, using Select then Start:

input_enable_hotkey_btn = "6"
input_exit_emulator_btn = "7"
 

ElfArmy177

Member
Im trying to set up Emulation Station with Retroarch, and in the setup config there is this line..

<command>retroarch -L ~/cores/libretro-fceumm.so %ROM%</command>

I understand that ~ is my main folder so I set it up correctly with a core folder and placed my emulator core in there, however, how does it know where the basic retroarch program is by using this line alone? Thanks :)

Edit: No matter what I put in there, it says its an invalid command
 
Im trying to set up Emulation Station with Retroarch, and in the setup config there is this line..

<command>retroarch -L ~/cores/libretro-fceumm.so %ROM%</command>

I understand that ~ is my main folder so I set it up correctly with a core folder and placed my emulator core in there, however, how does it know where the basic retroarch program is by using this line alone? Thanks :)

Edit: No matter what I put in there, it says its an invalid command

Totally stuck there too. I just tried setting up emulation station this morning. no idea how to use the command part of the cfg and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of tutorials or anything of the sort that is easily found
 

J-Fr

Member
Totally stuck there too. I just tried setting up emulation station this morning. no idea how to use the command part of the cfg and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of tutorials or anything of the sort that is easily found

Either use the PATH variable in Windows variables or set the full path of the retroarch.exe file:
<command>E:\Emulateur\Nintendo_Game_Boy\retroarch.exe -L E:\Emulateur\Nintendo_Game_Boy\cores\gambatte_libretro.dll "%ROM_RAW%"</command>
 

ElfArmy177

Member
Either use the PATH variable in Windows variables or set the full path of the retroarch.exe file:
<command>E:\Emulateur\Nintendo_Game_Boy\retroarch.exe -L E:\Emulateur\Nintendo_Game_Boy\cores\gambatte_libretro.dll "%ROM_RAW%"</command>

Thanks, that got me to the next step :) Now its giving me a sound buffer size... "could not read ROM file" error.. Ill keep working on that

EDIT: Command line currently looks like this <command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\cores\snes9x_libretro.dll %ROM%</command>

Tried a different ROM, and now Im getting a fatal error recieved in "parse_input_
 
Even though it's not the same emulator I was wondering if you guys could help me

Usually when I run games on the "Nearest Neighbor" filter it's lagless. But when I try running them on the NTSC filter ->
DfMKrk1.png


It's always REALLY laggy. Is it the computer? Or should I try another emulator when I want to use those filters?
 
Thanks, that got me to the next step :) Now its giving me a sound buffer size... "could not read ROM file" error.. Ill keep working on that

EDIT: Command line currently looks like this <command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\cores\snes9x_libretro.dll %ROM%</command>

Tried a different ROM, and now Im getting a fatal error recieved in "parse_input_

I'm having issues too.

This is my path.

<command>c:/RetroArch/retroarch.exe -L c:/RetroArch/libretro/bsnes_balanced_libretro.dll %ROM%</command>

I'm having this error: [RetroArch ERROR]: Could not read ROM file.

Tried %ROM_RAW% with same results. It knows where my Roms are. Not sure what the issue is.
 

ElfArmy177

Member
I'm having issues too.

This is my path.

<command>c:/RetroArch/retroarch.exe -L c:/RetroArch/libretro/bsnes_balanced_libretro.dll %ROM%</command>

I'm having this error: [RetroArch ERROR]: Could not read ROM file.

Tried %ROM_RAW% with same results. It knows where my Roms are. Not sure what the issue is.

Yea, Ive been working on several other ways to do it, but Im running out of ideas
 
Try putting %ROM% or %ROM_RAW% in quotes like this "%ROM%" or "%ROM_RAW%".
If there's a space or other character in the path to the ROM or the ROM name then putting quotes around the path usually helps.

Code:
<command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\cores\snes9x_libretro.dll "%ROM%"</command>
or
Code:
<command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\cores\snes9x_libretro.dll "%ROM_RAW%"</command>
 

ElfArmy177

Member
Try putting %ROM% or %ROM_RAW% in quotes like this "%ROM%" or "%ROM_RAW%".
If there's a space or other character in the path to the ROM or the ROM name then putting quotes around the path usually helps.

Code:
<command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\cores\snes9x_libretro.dll "%ROM%"</command>
or
Code:
<command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\cores\snes9x_libretro.dll "%ROM_RAW%"</command>

Thank you! that worked. Now to figure out how to default it to full screen when it loads :)
 

Aku-Audi

Member
Probably a horribly outdated question and answered a thousand times already, but I'll risk taking the hit for asking once more.

What is generally considered the best curved shader out there, especially with the use of PSX and N64? Toying around but not quite getting the results I keep seeing in this thread. Downloaded the newest build with the common shaders included.
 

ElfArmy177

Member
Ok, so hopefully this is my last issue. I cant seem to get Emulation station or Retroarch to load core specific .CFG files on boot. I have to load them manually from the menu. Ive turned on core specific config files, and I have them saved, I just cant get them to autoload. Thanks :D
 
Again, I just want to ask what the easiest way to set this up with a decent GUI. I downloaded the latest "megapack" and all I got was the "green menu". The OP mentioned Phoenix but that's no longer supported.

Emulation Station and other GUIs I've come across require LOTS of text file editing, even more than when I first dabbled with loading emulators through XBMC.

Is there an easy way to get this set up?
 

ElfArmy177

Member
Again, I just want to ask what the easiest way to set this up with a decent GUI. I downloaded the latest "megapack" and all I got was the "green menu". The OP mentioned Phoenix but that's no longer supported.

Emulation Station and other GUIs I've come across require LOTS of text file editing, even more than when I first dabbled with loading emulators through XBMC.

Is there an easy way to get this set up?

This might help.. just change your locations

<systemList>
<system>

<!-- A short name, used internally. Traditionally lower-case. -->
<name>snes</name>

<!-- A "pretty" name, displayed in menus and such. -->
<fullname>Super Nintendo Entertainment System</fullname>

<!-- The path to start searching for ROMs in. '~' will be expanded to $HOME on Linux or %HOMEPATH% on Windows. -->
<path>C:\emulator\Retroarch\ROMS</path>

<!-- A list of extensions to search for, delimited by any of the whitespace characters (", \r\n\t").
You MUST include the period at the start of the extension! It's also case sensitive. -->
<extension>.smc .sfc</extension>

<!-- The shell command executed when a game is selected. A few special tags are replaced if found in a command:
%ROM% is replaced by a bash-special-character-escaped absolute path to the ROM.
%BASENAME% is replaced by the "base" name of the ROM. For example, "/foo/bar.rom" would have a basename of "bar". Useful for MAME.
%ROM_RAW% is the raw, unescaped path to the ROM. -->
<command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\libretro\bsnes_accuracy_libretro.dll "%ROM_RAW%"</command>

<!-- The platform to use when scraping. You can see the full list of accepted platforms in src/PlatformIds.cpp.
It's case sensitive, but everything is lowercase. This tag is optional.
You can use multiple platforms too, delimited with any of the whitespace characters (", \r\n\t"), eg: "genesis, megadrive" -->
<platform>snes</platform>

<!-- The theme to load from the current theme set. See THEMES.md for more information.
This tag is optional. If not set, it will default to the value of <name>. -->
<theme>snes</theme>
</system>

<system>
<name>nes</name>

<!-- A "pretty" name, displayed in menus and such. -->
<fullname>Nintendo Entertainment System</fullname>

<!-- The path to start searching for ROMs in. '~' will be expanded to $HOME on Linux or %HOMEPATH% on Windows. -->
<path>C:\emulator\Retroarch\ROMS</path>

<!-- A list of extensions to search for, delimited by any of the whitespace characters (", \r\n\t").
You MUST include the period at the start of the extension! It's also case sensitive. -->
<extension>.NES</extension>

<!-- The shell command executed when a game is selected. A few special tags are replaced if found in a command:
%ROM% is replaced by a bash-special-character-escaped absolute path to the ROM.
%BASENAME% is replaced by the "base" name of the ROM. For example, "/foo/bar.rom" would have a basename of "bar". Useful for MAME.
%ROM_RAW% is the raw, unescaped path to the ROM. -->
<command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\libretro\nestopia_libretro.dll "%ROM_RAW%"</command>

<!-- The platform to use when scraping. You can see the full list of accepted platforms in src/PlatformIds.cpp.
It's case sensitive, but everything is lowercase. This tag is optional.
You can use multiple platforms too, delimited with any of the whitespace characters (", \r\n\t"), eg: "genesis, megadrive" -->
<platform>nes</platform>

<!-- The theme to load from the current theme set. See THEMES.md for more information.
This tag is optional. If not set, it will default to the value of <name>. -->
<theme>nes</theme>
</system>

</systemList>
 
What's with EmulationStations dependence on not having spaces in names? I had to rename all of my files from, say, Breath of Fire IV to bof4 and the like just to make them launch. Same with the folder paths. What should I input into my config file to get rid of this issue?
 

Nymerio

Member
Again, I just want to ask what the easiest way to set this up with a decent GUI. I downloaded the latest "megapack" and all I got was the "green menu". The OP mentioned Phoenix but that's no longer supported.

Emulation Station and other GUIs I've come across require LOTS of text file editing, even more than when I first dabbled with loading emulators through XBMC.

Is there an easy way to get this set up?

It is pretty easy to set up. The only thing I had to configure was the systems configuration and there's an example right in the config file. It should prompt you for input configuration when you first launch it. Haven't played with themes and stuff so I can't comment on that, but getting the basics up and running should be easy. Here's my nes config for example:

Code:
<system>
	<name>nes</name>
	<fullname>Nintendo Entertainment System</fullname>
	<path>C:\GAMES_SORTED\NES\</path>
	<extension>.zip</extension>
	<command>C:\RetroArch\retroarch.exe -f -L C:\RetroArch\cores\bnes_libretro.dll --appendconfig C:\RetroArch\configs\bnes_libretro.cfg "%ROM_RAW%"</command>
	<platform>nes</platform>
	<theme>nes</theme>
</system>

If you've set up one system you can just copy/paste it and edit the the parameters.
The config should be in C:\Users\XXX\.emulationstation\

What's with EmulationStations dependence on not having spaces in names? I had to rename all of my files from, say, Breath of Fire IV to bof4 and the like just to make them launch. Same with the folder paths. What should I input into my config file to get rid of this issue?

I had to fiddle around with rom path quite a bit to get it working. If you use "%ROM_RAW%" (with the quotes) it should work.
 

ph00p

Banned
VERY nooby question here, I've downloaded RetroArch-master.zip from another post, I dropped the contents keeping the directories intact, now how do I use this in RetroArch? I'd really appreciate the guidance.
 

ph00p

Banned
Try putting %ROM% or %ROM_RAW% in quotes like this "%ROM%" or "%ROM_RAW%".
If there's a space or other character in the path to the ROM or the ROM name then putting quotes around the path usually helps.

Code:
<command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\cores\snes9x_libretro.dll "%ROM%"</command>
or
Code:
<command>C:\emulator\Retroarch/retroarch.exe -L C:\emulator\Retroarch\cores\snes9x_libretro.dll "%ROM_RAW%"</command>

Thank you! These are all the right words!
 

Rich!

Member
VERY nooby question here, I've downloaded RetroArch-master.zip from another post, I dropped the contents keeping the directories intact, now how do I use this in RetroArch? I'd really appreciate the guidance.

Did you download the master zip that was the source? If so, that's not the right one.
 

ph00p

Banned
Did you download the master zip that was the source? If so, that's not the right one.

I'm not sure.


When trying to get this Royale thing working where would you put "user-settings-royale-with-cheese-nvidia.h" ?
How many of these CGP and CG files do I need?

Where do I put them once I've downloaded them?

I think I press F1 and then go to Shader Options to activate them in RetroArch right?
 

Rich!

Member
I'm not sure.


When trying to get this Royale thing working where would you put "user-settings-royale-with-cheese-nvidia.h" ?
How many of these CGP and CG files do I need?

Where do I put them once I've downloaded them?

I think I press F1 and then go to Shader Options to activate them in RetroArch right?

...just download the megapack, extract and run retroarch. Look on shaders and it will be there. If not, you messed up somewhere.
 

ph00p

Banned
...just download the megapack, extract and run retroarch. Look on shaders and it will be there. If not, you messed up somewhere.

Alright, will do, the megapack is not mentioned in the op, but it sounds like the best idea overall. I shall get that pack!
 

ph00p

Banned
...just download the megapack, extract and run retroarch. Look on shaders and it will be there. If not, you messed up somewhere.

I did not see CRT Royale in that megapack of shaders though. Is it supposed to be called CRT Royale? There are a ton of shaders in the shaders CRT folder but none are specifically called that.

If someone would tell me what I need on https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders/tree/master/crt/crt-royale and where to put those files I'd greatly appreciate it.
 

Lettuce

Member
Ive made a basic setup video for RetroArch showing how to load and save system configs etc if anyone is interested....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHXyGK9DNX4&feature=youtu.be



I did not see CRT Royale in that megapack of shaders though. Is it supposed to be called CRT Royale? There are a ton of shaders in the shaders CRT folder but none are specifically called that.

If someone would tell me what I need on https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders/tree/master/crt/crt-royale and where to put those files I'd greatly appreciate it.

Theres a link in the description of my video above that has all the shaders, just unzip that and name the folder shaders, then add it to your retroarch directory
 
What's a good CRT filter to use for slightly low-powered set ups? Have a Gigabyte Brix running an I3-4010u with an HD 4400. CRT Royale works fantastic on my main desktop but absolutely destroys this little box.
 

Dina

Member
I was wondering what resolution everyone is playing at? Also, how do you setup RetroArch to use different resolutions per emulator core?
 

Lettuce

Member
What's a good CRT filter to use for slightly low-powered set ups? Have a Gigabyte Brix running an I3-4010u with an HD 4400. CRT Royale works fantastic on my main desktop but absolutely destroys this little box.

Have you tried the CRT-Royale_fake bloom_Intel config??, also read the readme file as there suggestions for speeding up the sharder
 

Dina

Member
Ignore earlier reply to this thread.

What's a good CRT filter to use for slightly low-powered set ups? Have a Gigabyte Brix running an I3-4010u with an HD 4400. CRT Royale works fantastic on my main desktop but absolutely destroys this little box.

This my problem as well. I've only tried one SNES rom for now, but when I use a shader it just cripples the performance.

Another annoying issue is that the controls are weird. Any jump input is executed after I let go of the button, not when I press it. Anyone found a solution for that?

The third bit is that I use RetroArch with XBMC, but once in a while when I quit the emulator the sound that was playing will get stuck in an annoying loop.
 

sörine

Banned
1.1 update news. ETA is early September if everything goes according to plan, four new cores (PPSSPP, fMSX, BlueMSX, Vecx), soft filters & audio DSPs, Retroarch for PSP & Blackberry, new GUI (Lakka) and more! Looking like it's going to be very worth the wait!
 
sörine;124140677 said:
1.1 update news. ETA is early September if everything goes according to plan, four new cores (PPSSPP, fMSX, BlueMSX, Vecx), soft filters & audio DSPs, Retroarch for PSP & Blackberry, new GUI (Lakka) and more! Looking like it's going to be very worth the wait!

I'm at least as hyped for this as I am for any big AAA game this year!
 

Aeana

Member
I've been messing around with RetroArch for the first time today. I was really enticed by the screens I saw of CRT Royale earlier in the thread, so I had to jump on and see for myself. I wasn't a big fan of the defaults, but I spent a while tweaking stuff and I'm pretty happy with what I've got now.


A bunch more in this album.
I waffled on the curvature a bit, because the defaults are so exaggerated and unlike any CRT I ever had. But after messing with it a bit, and making it more subtle, I'm pretty happy with the results and it's pretty similar to the CRT I used for the longest time. I think once the author of CRT Royale is able to offer a version that works with NTSC shaders (he says it's coming in the readme, anyway), this is gonna be even nicer for me. As it is, I find it to be just a tad bit too sharp, even if it does look quite nice.

Going back in the thread, though, I do see some CRT Royale shots where they are a bit blurrier. Is there a particular setting that can blur or at least soften the image a small amount?
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Cool stuff Aeana. Bit too sharp and textured for my liking but everyone has their jam.

Definitely eager to see the effect of including NTSC into the mix, but worried that'll add another intensive layer to proceedings and start hitting performance. Having said that, emus that have NTSC stuff built in (eg: Gens) is when I'm hitting my "yes this is how its meant to display" point.
 
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