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[Rich!]

richisawesome, how are you using the PS3 controller? Are you using motion joy and having it emulate a 360 controller? Or is another driver involved?

And is it wireless or wired? Thanks.

Installed motioninjoy drivers, and now I use Better DS3 for connecting a wireless Dualshock. Works as a 360 pad.

Anyway, I just finished setting up everything. Set up three different launchers on Steam BPM:

- Arcade
- Consoles
- Game Boy
- Game Boy Advance

Each one goes to the correct core, fully configured with a unique border, rom folder and filter. fucking sweeeeet.

Just whipped up a border for arcade games - used with the curved CRT filter, it's pretty fun for a while:

 

[Afrikan]

^

Oh my GAWD!!!!!! O_O

Edit- you should have an optional one with a couple of quarters lined up.

Just amazing!

 

[Valtýr]

Where do I setup borders on the PC version?

 

[alr1ght]

Had a crash using bNES. Which cores does everyone recommend? Obviously BSNES for SNES, but the others?

 

[Rich!]

^

Oh my GAWD!!!!!! O_O

Edit- you should have an optional one with a couple of quarters lined up.

Just amazing!

heh thanks

Gave up trying to get the angle right - I was limited on the choice of arcade cabinet images on google. I'll just pretend it's a unit that's been kicked in a bit, misplacing the screen.

gotta tidy the edges too..but can't be fucked right now.

Had a crash using bNES. Which cores does everyone recommend? Obviously BSNES for SNES, but the others?

Nestopia is probably the best bet for NES.

 

[plutoknight]

Threads like this are why I love GAF. It's so amazing. Got this set up just now, need to tinker with it still but playing DKC2 with the CRT filter takes me back to when I was 7 throwing SNES controllers at the floor because Hot Head Hop was so freaking difficult.

I have one question: Trying to load the PSX core with a Bin/Cue. Does it only support ISOs? It'll load but returns a error, Code: 1

 

[Rich!]

Threads like this are why I love GAF. It's so amazing. Got this set up just now, need to tinker with it still but playing DKC2 with the CRT filter takes me back to when I was 7 throwing SNES controllers at the floor because Hot Head Hop was so freaking difficult.

I have one question: Trying to load the PSX core with a Bin/Cue. Does it only support ISOs? It'll load but returns a error, Code: 1

You have to have an ISO and a cue file next to it. The cue file acts as a pointer to the ISO (size limitations rules out Retroarch loading the ISO directly), and you can write them yourself if you haven't got one (like if you're ripping your collection).

FILE "Theme Park World.iso" BINARY
  TRACK 01 MODE2/2352
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

That's the CUE file I wrote for Theme Park World. All you need to do is copy that into notepad, replace Theme Park World with whatever the name your ISO is (it has to be the EXACT filename) and then save it as a *.CUE file in the same folder.

To save as a .CUE file, click on "ALL FILES" when saving in notepad, and save it as whateveryouwant.cue

you can then load that in retroarch and it boots the game. Also, if you're having funky glitches on a select few games, you may need the Playstation BIOS files. I obviously can't link to them, but they go into the retroarch directory if need be.

 

[jbueno]

Installed motioninjoy drivers, and now I use Better DS3 for connecting a wireless Dualshock. Works as a 360 pad.

Anyway, I just finished setting up everything. Set up three different launchers on Steam BPM:

- Arcade
- Consoles
- Game Boy
- Game Boy Advance

Each one goes to the correct core, fully configured with a unique border, rom folder and filter. fucking sweeeeet.

Just whipped up a border for arcade games - used with the curved CRT filter, it's pretty fun for a while:

That would look amazing optimized for play on a 3D TV I figure.

 

[Rich!]

That would look amazing optimized for play on a 3D TV I figure.

No no, lets go further than that:

OCULUS RIFT

Seriously, the Arcades could be brought back with the rift. Well, a virtual arcade anyway.

 

[plutoknight]

You have to have an ISO and a cue file next to it. The cue file acts as a pointer to the ISO (size limitations rules out Retroarch loading the ISO directly), and you can write them yourself if you haven't got one (like if you're ripping your collection).

FILE "Theme Park World.iso" BINARY
  TRACK 01 MODE2/2352
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

That's the CUE file I wrote for Theme Park World. All you need to do is copy that into notepad, replace Theme Park World with whatever the name your ISO is (it has to be the EXACT filename) and then save it as a *.CUE file in the same folder.

To save as a .CUE file, click on "ALL FILES" when saving in notepad, and save it as whateveryouwant.cue

you can then load that in retroarch and it boots the game. Also, if you're having funky glitches on a select few games, you may need the Playstation BIOS files. I obviously can't link to them, but they go into the retroarch directory if need be.

Gotcha! So, if the ISO is .BIN, do I need to convert it, or should it work? (I know this game works well in ePSXe...)

Late EDIT: None of my BIN/CUEs are working..same error. Gonna try redownloading the core.

EDIT 2: Figured it out. BIOS-related. Gotta find my dump...

 

[Ahasverus]

Great,the phoenix exe chrashes at start. u.u

Do you need a JTAgged 360?

 

[jbueno]

No no, lets go further than that:

OCULUS RIFT

Seriously, the Arcades could be brought back with the rift. Well, a virtual arcade anyway.

Oh shit, someone get on that pronto!

Walk into a Virtual Taito Hey and play on all sorts of cabs. That would make me buy an OR intantly.

 

[Rich!]

Gotcha! So, if the ISO is .BIN, do I need to convert it, or should it work? (I know this game works well in ePSXe...)

Late EDIT: None of my BIN/CUEs are working..same error. Gonna try redownloading the core.

EDIT 2: Figured it out. BIOS-related. Gotta find my dump...

ISO and BIN are both supported. Just gotta have the cue file set up.

My copy of CTR wasn't working until I got the BIOS set up, so there's that.

 

[Elements604]

I use hyperspin. I love the video previews and custom graphics and sounds. I have it set up with 2 ds3 controllers and also have another setup with arcade sticks.

You could use retroarch within hyperspin as well.

Here's a preview for those that haven't seen it yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4viDiAqEG4

 

[alr1ght]

I think Hyperspin looks like shit, tbh. It's obviously very powerful, but I hate the GUI.

 

[~Kinggi~]

WHat is this? Doesnt seem to explain itself well. Is it an emulator for all the systems itself, or does it just plug into all the existing emulators?

 

[Cyrano]

WHat is this? Doesnt seem to explain itself well. Is it an emulator for all the systems itself, or does it just plug into all the existing emulators?

It's an emulator front-end. It's useful for organizing multiple emulators, etc. all into one place. It can also apply configurations, which allows you to customize the look and feel of sets of games (Genesis games/SNES games/etc.). Think MAMEUI.

 

[~Kinggi~]

It's an emulator front-end. It's useful for organizing multiple emulators, etc. all into one place. It can also apply configurations, which allows you to customize the look and feel of sets of games (Genesis games/SNES games/etc.). Think MAMEUI.

Ah, ok thats what it seemed like. Thanks.

 

[plutoknight]

ISO and BIN are both supported. Just gotta have the cue file set up.

My copy of CTR wasn't working until I got the BIOS set up, so there's that.

Yeah! I got it working. the PSX core is very, very picky on filenames too.

 

[low-G]

How do I actually download a directory of shaders off of github? I want to acquire the GameBoy filters: https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders/tree/master/handheld/gameboy

 

[Soulstar]

This looks really cool. I'm definitely going to have to tinker with this.

 

[BigWeather]

Does it support Odyssey2, Commodore 64, Atari 2600, or Amiga? Those are the ones I'm most interested in.

 

[polyh3dron]

I have my Big Picture Mode set up like this, no real need for RetroArch I guess, except for the borders:

I guess it'd be nice to be able to use BSNES instead of SNES9X though.

 

[RadarScope1]

Shit, man.

I'm about *this* close to building a gaming HTPC. I have only ever used a PC for email, word processing and the web. Like, ever. And I don't know a driver from a hole in the ground. I would need so much damn help for every little step and I get frustrated by tech so easily.

But threads like this make me realize I just can't keep missing out on this shit. And maybe I can get the help I need from the good folks here on GAF......

 

[Awakened]

I think Hyperspin looks like shit, tbh. It's obviously very powerful, but I hate the GUI.

What's great about it is how flexible it is. I think many of the themes that come with it and what you see in videos are pretty garish, but there's a theme editor that's pretty easy to use, so I made my own themes that focus on clean boxart, logos and system pictures. I went and recorded my own gameplay video previews as well that I think came out pretty nicely.

 

[sixteen-bit]

those game boy filters in the OP looks pretty neat.

 

[jaypah]

Man, those filters and borders are the BUSINESS! Legit as hell, good work dude.

 

[alr1ght]

I have my Big Picture Mode set up like this, no real need for RetroArch I guess, except for the borders:

[IMxG]http://i.minus.com/im2M6rlWAVM8t.JPG[/IMG]

I guess it'd be nice to be able to use BSNES instead of SNES9X though.

all launched via SNES controller.

 

[infinityBCRT]

Retroarch is making my head spin. Could someone put together a guide on how to get this stuff working like it is in the OP with multiple systems?

 

[polyh3dron]

I think Hyperspin looks like shit, tbh. It's obviously very powerful, but I hate the GUI.

this.. the GUI is such shit and whenever I would exit an emulator it would switch back to 1080p from the lower resolutions in-game and the whole GUI would be oversized and misplaced.

I quickly stopped using it and learned how to make batch files to use my Big Picture Mode as a front end even though it was much more of a pain.

 

[alr1ght]

Retroarch is making my head spin. Could someone put together a guide on how to get this stuff working like it is in the OP with multiple systems?

1. Open retroarch-phoenix.exe
2. Select what system you want from the RetroArch>Update RetroArch menu
3. Make any changes under Settings
4. Finished? Go to Settings>Save RA config>systemname.cfg

5. Back in Windows, right click on retroarch.exe>Create Shortcut
6. Right click on Shortcut>Properties>Shortcut>Target>PATH\Retroarch\retroarch.exe --menu -c NAMEOFCONFIGFROMSTEP4.cfg

7. You can then either click on it or add it to Steam

 

[Elements604]

this.. the GUI is such shit and whenever I would exit an emulator it would switch back to 1080p from the lower resolutions in-game and the whole GUI would be oversized and misplaced.

I quickly stopped using it and learned how to make batch files to use my Big Picture Mode as a front end even though it was much more of a pain.

Why not just run the emulators at the same resolution as your gui? I don't have the problems you describe with it.

 

[ss_lemonade]

It's an emulator front-end. It's useful for organizing multiple emulators, etc. all into one place. It can also apply configurations, which allows you to customize the look and feel of sets of games (Genesis games/SNES games/etc.). Think MAMEUI.

Isn't it more than just a front end since it also includes actual emulators/cores? I think its more of like a framework where developers are free to add more cores to it.

Speaking of front ends, anyone try Maximus Arcade? It looks pretty sleek but isn't free

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

I have my Big Picture Mode set up like this, no real need for RetroArch I guess, except for the borders:

I guess it'd be nice to be able to use BSNES instead of SNES9X though.

How exactly did you get this working? I've been googling around and haven't found a good guide.

 

[infinityBCRT]

1. Open retroarch-phoenix.exe
2. Select what system you want from the RetroArch>Update RetroArch menu
3. Make any changes under Settings
4. Finished? Go to Settings>Save RA config>systemname.cfg

5. Back in Windows, right click on retroarch.exe>Create Shortcut
6. Right click on Shortcut>Properties>Shortcut>Target>PATH\Retroarch\retroarch.exe --menu -c NAMEOFCONFIGFROMSTEP4.cfg

7. You can then either click on it or add it to Steam

Muchos Gracias.

Hmm... Retroarch just opens and closes on me. Trying to play Genesis games. Also noticed the drop down for rom type mentions SNES rom types even though I'm trying to use a Genesis core.

edit2: checked the log file, the shader i downloaded from the repository was failing

 

[polyh3dron]

FYI for anyone having issues with setting up the 360 controller, make sure you go to Settings > Controllers > Port 1 and then select "Dual Analog".

 

[teiresias]

Does anyone have an opinion on the best SNES core to use with a good compromise of accuracy and input latency? I haven't had time to play around with it, but the BSNES accurate core runs games fine on my PC but the input latency is horrendous (IMO).

 

[alr1ght]

Balanced? BSNES requires a pretty capable machine, so it may not be its fault if your system is slow.

 

[I am Christina Aguilera]

Woah, is the Wii version of the emulator this complete and good? Having this on my big HDTV would be incredible.

I haven't tried out the Windows version yet, but once I finally got around to trying out RetroArch, it may have been the single greatest addition to my hacked Wii. I don't believe that it's capable of using the filters, but on an actual CRT, it can do wonders with the Wii's various lo-res screen modes and scanlines. Weird screen resolutions from various arcade units like 384x224 are easy and look authentic. It handles arcade games usually significantly better than Mame, often hitting the full framerate (the GUI and handling of resolutions and stretching is much better too), it handles GB and especially GBA games better than VBA GX, it's better than SNES 9X GX itself at playing games with expansion chips without stuttering or glitching. The Final Burn cores are wonderful. Not every last game is compatible, but it's also one of the friendlier Wii emulators when it comes to automatically restarting after a crash, rather than just hanging at the crash screen and making you hold down the power button on the Wii itself.

The negatives with it on Wii are that yes, the GUI can be a little clunky (though it is relatively straightforward), it definitely isn't as intuitive as Eke-Eke's GX emulators themselves, and to my knowledge, none of the cores have an auto-savestate feature, so if you want to pick up from where you left off, you're going to have to do it all manually (if I'm not mistaken, though, I think you might be able to assign save/load state to buttons?). It also doesn't seem like there's a frameskip feature, so if a platform or game runs slowly, it's pretty much just going to be slow.

As far as I recall, it covers Capcom CPS1/2, Neo-Geo, NES (numerous choices of core), SNES, Genesis, Sega CD, SMS, Game Gear, GBA/GBC/GB, TG-16/CD, VB, WonderSwan. Various other arcade systems. No PS1/N64. There are probably others that I'm forgetting.

Edit: Speaking of multiple-console frontends and 3D virtual arcades, did anyone here ever get one of those 3D arcade frontends from years ago working? I'm sure that they all look really dated now, but they always looked cool to me when I first saw screenshots of them 10-ish years ago.

 

[teiresias]

Balanced? BSNES requires a pretty capable machine, so it may not be its fault if your system is slow.

The games themselves aren't running slow at all, just the input latency is more than I'd like (granted it wouldn't be horrendous if one is playing an RPG, but any platformer is kind of iffy).

 

[Harlock]

How exactly did you get this working? I've been googling around and haven't found a good guide.

I am interesting too. I found this link:
http://blog.salas-online.com/2013/06/pc-meets-console.html

Don´t know if works in Mac OS.

 

[Awakened]

The games themselves aren't running slow at all, just the input latency is more than I'd like (granted it wouldn't be horrendous if one is playing an RPG, but any platformer is kind of iffy).

You could try the opengl driver plus the hard sync option to see if it reduces input latency for you. The config options to get it lowest while maintaining vsync for me are:

video_driver = "gl"
video_hard_sync = "true"
video_hard_sync_frames = "0"

It works wonders with my NVidia card. I actually have to use hard sync frames = "1" for BSNES balanced and Mednafen PSX since 0 is too demanding with those two cores on my system and causes sound crackling. 1 is more latency than 0, but it's still low enough to be barely noticeable.

I compared the BSNES cores with SNES9x Next before and didn't notice any difference latency wise. But, since SNES9x Next is a faster core, I can run that with hard sync frames 0 without any crackling. So technically that would be the lowest latency option I can handle without other issues, besides decreased accuracy.

 

[soxinthebox]

Those filters you are using in the OP look spot on! Will have to give it a shot at home and see if it looks as good in motion.

 

[Seik]

I see good reactions...I'll take a look in this thread in two hours when I'll be back from work!

 

[rockmanjoe]

So good:

 

[jbueno]

So good:

I´m usually a proponent of playing on real hardware, but I´ll be damned if I don´t want to try that out. CRT filters look hot as well.

 

[polyh3dron]

been messing around with this and I guess you can just launch games straight from the command line with it! looks like I'm replacing all my SNES9X batch files with RetroArch batch files and then I'm running BSNES and using Big Picture Mode as my frontend for each individual game Starts in fullscreen, no shitty windows menus or mouse cursors, and esc to exit right back to Big Picture Mode. Pure comfy couch console emulation bliss. Also, the Nestopia core in this works way better in this kind of setup than launching the full Nestopia.

 

[IrishNinja]

wow, the gameboy shots look particularly impressive...gonna check this one out, thanks OP!

 

[foxtrot3d]

If I want to use this for my PS3 do I have to jailbreak it? If so, I'll just stick to PC.

 

[ILoveBish]

If I want to use this for my PS3 do I have to jailbreak it? If so, I'll just stick to PC.

Yes, on all platforms other then Android, Windows, Mac and perhaps blackberry (i dont know if you can just sideload on blackberry), they have to be hacked to use retroarch.