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

bodine1231

Member
I got it to work in Retroarch,but when I try in Emulation station it just crashes. How do I set the default emulator in Retroarch1.2.2?

Edit: Nevermind,figured it out. Had to redo the path in es_systems to point to the new emulator. Dodanpachi here i come!

Edit: Well shit I can only get a couple games to load everything else just crashes. I'm so annoyed with this shit.
 

Radius4

Member
you can get a log adding --verbose --log-file log.txt to your commandline.
Anyway, if it works from RA but not from Emulation Station it's not our fault
 

SOLDIER

Member
I think you may have started wrongly.
Easy way to start with RA is to download this:
http://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/windows/x86_64/RetroArch_full.7z

Then download the cores from core updater, and configure BROWSER DIR, SYSTEM DIR, SAVE DIR, and STATE DIR at least.

All should work fine after that.

We could check your config and do a long diagnostic procedure... but hey it's faster like I said.

Yeah, that was a much better download, thanks.

Is there a way to set up individual controller settings for each emulator, as well as buttons for save states, returning to the Retroarch main menu, etc?
 
Say, can anyone give me a quick breakdown on how to use shaders?

edit: Okay, I pretty much got it now. I even edited one to my liking! I found out I can edit the .cg and .cgp files with notepad++ (or any text editor, probably). Play around with the .cg parameters in a text editor while you have a game open, and reload the shader in the retroarch after you save changes to the file. That's how I tweaked it until I got something solid.

edit 2: lol, you can change the parameters right in the retroarch gui. Oh well, now I know.

edit 3: And here's the result of tweaking the crt-royale shaders for 8 million hours. In the end I'm still not quite satisfied. Here's the thing, these crt shaders are so insanely precise that they do not scale equally on all monitors, video cards or resolutions. You might click on the link and want to vomit, because I had to tweak things a certain way to look acceptable on my subpar Acer laptop screen with an odd resolution. I think the rule is, the higher resolution your monitor is, the more headroom you have to make these shaders really shine and render each pixel with richer effects. Honestly, I can't get good horizontal scanlines on this screen no matter what I do.
 

Radius4

Member
Yeah, that was a much better download, thanks.

Is there a way to set up individual controller settings for each emulator, as well as buttons for save states, returning to the Retroarch main menu, etc?

Not really, the whole idea is that the retropad should be already mapped perfectly to each emulator (but some people prefer YB for BA in NES and stuff like that), that said, there is a core input remapping option that allows you to alter the "wiring" from retropad to the emulator, and it allows you to save that wiring per-core or even per-game. It's available under Quick Menu after you load a game.

For UI inputs, yes, it's under input hotkey binds, and you can assign one button to be a modifier so the UI buttons only work when that particular button is held.
 
I followed the instructions from this video, yet I can't get anything from my GoodNES/SNES/GBX collection to run, which would otherwise perfectly run in a different emulator.
I either get a black screen or Retroarch just crashes. Pretty frustrating.
 

SOLDIER

Member
Not really, the whole idea is that the retropad should be already mapped perfectly to each emulator (but some people prefer YB for BA in NES and stuff like that), that said, there is a core input remapping option that allows you to alter the "wiring" from retropad to the emulator, and it allows you to save that wiring per-core or even per-game. It's available under Quick Menu after you load a game.

For UI inputs, yes, it's under input hotkey binds, and you can assign one button to be a modifier so the UI buttons only work when that particular button is held.

Could you point to where these options are?

What I want to do is have dedicated bindings for each type of game (NES, SNES, etc), as well as the ability to hotkey features like save states and going to the main menu all with a controller.
 

Radius4

Member
Could you point to where these options are?

What I want to do is have dedicated bindings for each type of game (NES, SNES, etc), as well as the ability to hotkey features like save states and going to the main menu all with a controller.

For emulator input remapping, just load a game, then go back to the menu (F1 by default) and you should be under Quick Menu, in there select Core Input Remapping, I did a writeup on this although it may be a little outdated:

http://blog.andressm.org/new-retroarch-features-2/

For hotkeys, it's under settings / Input Hotkey Binds,
I did a writeup on that too: http://blog.andressm.org/retroarch-gamepad-configuration/
 

SOLDIER

Member
I haven't found a Core Remap Button while hitting F1.

Also, how do you make it so that you activate hotkeys by holding down a button? Can you also do it with a combination of buttons? Typically I like to close a game by hitting two buttons instead of one.
 

Radius4

Member
Not all the cores have descriptors implemented but many do, what core are you trying?

Screenshot%202015-08-16%2021.23.56.png


You can't do combinations but you can set ONE button as a modifier (so the other buttons need that to be pressed for it to work. It's the Enable Hotkeys button

Screenshot%202015-08-16%2021.25.31.png
 

SOLDIER

Member
It didn't show up for the NES emulator, but it did show up on the NES one. (Edit: didn't show up on the Genesis either)

Is there a way to add further cores (emulators) to Retroarch?

Also, is there a way to have the Load Cores option point directly to my folder? As it stands I have to cycle through four different folders to get to it.
 

Radius4

Member
If you used my bundle and you downloaded cores with the updater it should always point to the correct location. You can change it just fine under directory settings.

Add more cores? sure, you need to have programming experience. This is not just a launcher like hyperspin or emulation station, the cores are programs that run IN retroarch.

Descriptors are implemented in genesis plus gx, nestopia, snes9x and more, so you'd have to be more specific, there isn't just one NES or SNES or genesis core
 

Bradd12

Member
Ive just started setting up retroarch on my Windows 10 PC'but for some reason the interface runs at 0fps and I cant seem to do anything about it. Sometimes im able to input but its extremely delayed.

I cant seem to google anything, but is this a known issue?
 

Lettuce

Member
Not all the cores have descriptors implemented but many do, what core are you trying?

Screenshot%202015-08-16%2021.23.56.png


You can't do combinations but you can set ONE button as a modifier (so the other buttons need that to be pressed for it to work. It's the Enable Hotkeys button

Screenshot%202015-08-16%2021.25.31.png

So if you set a key/button to be the modifier, then how do you apply this to the button config for the 'activator' button. For instance, say you set button 1 as the modifier key and then edit the button that will be for exit, if for example you press button 2 for exit, thats all that will be added to that line for the button to exit RA. How do you edit this setting so it adds button 1 (modifier) and then button 2 (activator) to the same option??
 

Radius4

Member
Whaaaaaaaat?

Edit: ok I reread that carefully I get the question.
You don't, the config doesn't, it's quite simple when a modifier (Enable Hotkeys) is set, hotkeys will only work if the button is pressed, the mapping doesn't really change.
 

SOLDIER

Member
Okay, figured out that if one emulator doesn't allow for input remapping, I just select another from the Core Updater.

So currently, here's my list of unanswered questions:

1. How do I have Retroarch directly point to my ROMs folder? Right now I select "Load Content and detect Core" or "Load Content", which I then have to cycle to my drive, my folder, my subfolder, etc. Can I bypass it so it just points to my ROM folder?

2. Is there a way to reset/undo a shader after I apply it?

3. When I apply a new shader, does it overwrite the first shader or does it apply the new shader on top of it?

4. Is there a gallery that shows the different shader effects, so I don't have to manually cycle through each one?

5. Shot in the dark, but are there also ways to reduce the slowdown on retro games, like on GBA or NES?
 

Radius4

Member
Okay, figured out that if one emulator doesn't allow for input remapping, I just select another from the Core Updater.

So currently, here's my list of unanswered questions:

1. How do I have Retroarch directly point to my ROMs folder? Right now I select "Load Content and detect Core" or "Load Content", which I then have to cycle to my drive, my folder, my subfolder, etc. Can I bypass it so it just points to my ROM folder?

2. Is there a way to reset/undo a shader after I apply it?

3. When I apply a new shader, does it overwrite the first shader or does it apply the new shader on top of it?

4. Is there a gallery that shows the different shader effects, so I don't have to manually cycle through each one?

5. Shot in the dark, but are there also ways to reduce the slowdown on retro games, like on GBA or NES?

1. Browser dir in directory settings
2. Set shader passes to zero and apply
3. It always writes to retroarch.cfg (or core_name.cfg if you use core specific configs)
4. not really, just this thread
5. snes9x next has SFX overclocking, but the answer is mostly nope
 

Lettuce

Member
Whaaaaaaaat?

Edit: ok I reread that carefully I get the question.
You don't, the config doesn't, it's quite simple when a modifier (Enable Hotkeys) is set, hotkeys will only work if the button is pressed, the mapping doesn't really change.

Yeah its hard to explain.

But you can only add one button or key to each option correct?, so for 'Menu' you can only add one button, so if i wanted my button combo to be button 1 and button 2 to enter the Menu, then how do i do this......as how will RA know that i want to add a 'Modifier' (button 1) for access the menu if you can only add one button or key for that setting?
 

Radius4

Member
No.
There is ONE modifier, and that modifier affects all the keys, think of it as... Ctrl.

A writes A, Ctrl-A selects everything.
You map a button to be THE modifier and then all the hotkeys need that. That's all.
 

SOLDIER

Member
1. Browser dir in directory settings
2. Set shader passes to zero and apply
3. It always writes to retroarch.cfg (or core_name.cfg if you use core specific configs)
4. not really, just this thread
5. snes9x next has SFX overclocking, but the answer is mostly nope

Thanks. Getting closer to building the ideal Retroarch.

What about a gallery of dynamic themes/wallpapers? I'm curious what people have come up with. I recall seeing a really cool one that featured box art and videos, but I also believe that required an extra amount of tinkering to get working.

Also is it possible to have overlays saved between games? I'm wondering what kind of overlays people have created, and if there exist game-specific ones.
 

Iced

Member
Tearing my hair out here. Trying to get per-core settings going for aspect ratio and shader choice for my different cores. I have 4 cores that use "core provided" for the aspect ratio, and are also using the crt_royale shader. I'm trying to get VBA-M configured to run at a different aspect ratio, as well as without any shaders. I've gone through each system setting things up, and config files are being saved in the config folder. As soon as I try to load a GBA game using the config generated, Retroarch gives a "stopped working" error and quits.

I've tried the "Load Override Files Automatically" method of creating a config file for just the VBA-M emulator (adding a "vbam_libretro.dll" folder with "vbam_libretro.dll.cfg" file inside to "config" folder) with just the parameters I wish to change, and it doesn't detect the cfg. I've disabled per-core settings when I am trying this method, as I've read they conflict.

Does anyone have any ideas? Running Retroarch 1.2.2.

Edit: Okay, I've gotten the override to work because it says at the bottom left of the screen that I've overwritten the config. However, I cannot get VBA-M to start without the damn shader on. If I set "video_shader_enable = "false", it will crash. If I change the path of the shader to "", it still loads the shader.

Edit 2: Got it. I made a shader config with shaders = "0" and called it no_shader.cgp. Then in the VBA-M config file, I put these in:

aspect_ratio_index = "20"
video_shader = ":\shaders\no_shader.cgp"

Probably an easier way of doing this, but it finally loads up exactly how I want without crashes, and loads every other core with the default config settings.
 

Eila

Member
Say, can anyone give me a quick breakdown on how to use shaders?

edit: Okay, I pretty much got it now. I even edited one to my liking! I found out I can edit the .cg and .cgp files with notepad++ (or any text editor, probably). Play around with the .cg parameters in a text editor while you have a game open, and reload the shader in the retroarch after you save changes to the file. That's how I tweaked it until I got something solid.

edit 2: lol, you can change the parameters right in the retroarch gui. Oh well, now I know.

edit 3: And here's the result of tweaking the crt-royale shaders for 8 million hours. In the end I'm still not quite satisfied. Here's the thing, these crt shaders are so insanely precise that they do not scale equally on all monitors, video cards or resolutions. You might click on the link and want to vomit, because I had to tweak things a certain way to look acceptable on my subpar Acer laptop screen with an odd resolution. I think the rule is, the higher resolution your monitor is, the more headroom you have to make these shaders really shine and render each pixel with richer effects. Honestly, I can't get good horizontal scanlines on this screen no matter what I do.

It would look better on a 1080p monitor. These shaders need a very high resolution to emulate the CRT properties better. Ideally you should try to run it 4k, though I haven't tried it myself, because like you, I'm on a laptop that doesn't have HDMI 2.0.
 

Iced

Member
New problem! Has anyone had any experiencing mapping to turbo switches on a TG16 controller in Retroarch? I've searched around but haven't been able to find anything. Really all I want to do is toggle between the I and II buttons on to their highest setting, and off.
 

Radius4

Member
There are two options after you pick a rom, Open Archive as Folder or Load Archive with Core.

Select the second one.
 

Lettuce

Member
Im trying to setup RA with Emulation Station and am having issues getting different settings saved across different cores it just seems to be a universal setting across all cores. How do i setup individual settings for each core where emulation station is involved?
 

Awakened

Member
Im trying to setup RA with Emulation Station and am having issues getting different settings saved across different cores it just seems to be a universal setting across all cores. How do i setup individual settings for each core where emulation station is involved?
The override system has been very flexible and reliable for me when launching from different frontends. I pass:
Code:
"path\to\retroarch.exe" -D -L "path\to\corename.dll" "path\to\romname.zip"
...from the frontend to Retroarch and the core and/or game specific override config automatically takes over.

To use overrides you first turn on Load Overrides Automatically in Settings, Configuration and also make sure Per Core Configuration is off. Then create a folder in your config folder named after the core and a text file with a .cfg extension using that same name inside that folder. The core name you need to use is in the bottom left of RetroArch after loading a core (no .dll extension or underscores like Configuration Per Core uses). Then you can copy any config settings you want different for that core from within retroarch.cfg, paste them into corename.cfg and modify them there.

You can also create .cfgs with ROM names (again, no extension besides the .cfg) and add settings to those for per game overrides. Any settings in corename.cfg will still apply unless you add and change them in your romname.cfg.

It's a bit more work since you can't make overrides from the GUI, but being able to do per game settings is super useful. I think there are certain settings that won't work with per core configuration too, but I don't remember what.
 

SOLDIER

Member
There are two options after you pick a rom, Open Archive as Folder or Load Archive with Core.

Select the second one.

The rom doesn't show up period, though, under Load Content. Which makes me think the extension has to be different or something.

Also, is there a way to have a rom load automatically under your emulator of choice? Like, just select the game and have it automatically load up the emulator with your preferred settings?
 

Iced

Member
I tried out crt-hyllian-glow today and I think I like it better than crt-royale. Definitely prefer its scanlines better, but it seems more pixelated than crt-royale, and I greatly prefer how crt-royale handles glow. Hopefully I can figure out a way to mix the two together. If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it!
 

Dizzy-4U

Member
I tried out crt-hyllian-glow today and I think I like it better than crt-royale. Definitely prefer its scanlines better, but it seems more pixelated than crt-royale, and I greatly prefer how crt-royale handles glow. Hopefully I can figure out a way to mix the two together. If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it!
Have you tried messing around with the "Menu shaders parameters" inside the shaders options?

I like crt-hyllian-glow quite a bit but I had to lower the bloom strength to 20 or so because I felt it was too much.

I still prefer easymode above all, I wish it had a little bloom in it.
 

ss_lemonade

Member
Can someone explain how shaders work? I've been trying to find some good shader settings for different cores with the android version and it feels like half the time, nothing I select does anything. I haven't downloaded any shader files yet but it looks like the default install (I've been using nightlies) comes with a bunch of shaders itself. A lot of them though seem to do nothing for some reason.
 

Rich!

Member
Can someone explain how shaders work? I've been trying to find some good shader settings for different cores with the android version and it feels like half the time, nothing I select does anything. I haven't downloaded any shader files yet but it looks like the default install (I've been using nightlies) comes with a bunch of shaders itself. A lot of them though seem to do nothing for some reason.

that's because you're using the android version
 

ss_lemonade

Member
that's because you're using the android version
Yikes, so shaders are a no-go with the android version? I got a couple to work fine after downloading a different set of shader files just now (some run fast, others not so) but a lot still don't do anything.
 

Rich!

Member
Yikes, so shaders are a no-go with the android version? I got a couple to work fine after downloading a different set of shader files just now (some run fast, others not so) but a lot still don't do anything.

afaik only the basic ones work via android
 

Lettuce

Member
Having issues with the Saturn emulator, Yabause. When ever i load a game it just goes to the CD music player screen, have tried 3 different bios files and get the same results. How do i get Yabause to load the actual game?
 

Radius4

Member
afaik only the basic ones work via android

That's not it. Shader capabilities do not vary per platform.

Thing is glsl shaders are converted from cg that's far from perfect so some shaders are broken. One of our members is converting some manually but it'll be some time before we have the same number of shaders in glsl.
 

EasyMode

Member
Easymode did release a beta update to his shader a few pages back that have bloom added

I really should post a newer version soon. That one had overly complicated parameters that I've simplified since then. It's also looking quite different and is much brighter now.

These shaders need a very high resolution to emulate the CRT properties better. Ideally you should try to run it 4k

Agreed. Low resolution is really limiting, especially when it comes to mask emulation. I wouldn't mind having a 4K monitor myself.
 

Iced

Member
I really should post a newer version soon. That one had overly complicated parameters that I've simplified since then. It's also looking quite different and is much brighter now.

Please let us know when you do! I'd love to try it out.

Have you tried messing around with the "Menu shaders parameters" inside the shaders options?

I like crt-hyllian-glow quite a bit but I had to lower the bloom strength to 20 or so because I felt it was too much.

I still prefer easymode above all, I wish it had a little bloom in it.

I didn't even know you could do this! Brought the bloom down to 20 and it's much better. Thank you!
 

Iced

Member
So I made some changes to a shader using menu shader parameters, and I'd like to save them. I clicked "shader preset save as", and it asked for a file name so I put one in, but I have no idea where it went. Any ideas?
 
Having issues with the Saturn emulator, Yabause. When ever i load a game it just goes to the CD music player screen, have tried 3 different bios files and get the same results. How do i get Yabause to load the actual game?

Yabause is pretty picky about its game files. I've seen several rips that would play fine in, say, SSF, but fail to load like this in Yabause. You might need to check the CUE file or get a new rip.
 

Awakened

Member
Having issues with the Saturn emulator, Yabause. When ever i load a game it just goes to the CD music player screen, have tried 3 different bios files and get the same results. How do i get Yabause to load the actual game?
It only supports single BIN dumps, so if your dump has multiple BIN files it won't work.
 

Lettuce

Member
Oh, neat. I missed the post somehow. I'll give it a shot.

Hopefully he'll release a full release soon.

On a side note, is there any emulators in the pipeline that support 32x?, at the moment we only have Picodrive and the audio emulation on that core leaves much to be desired, thank god for GenPlus-GX is all i can say but that doesnt support 32x games :(
 

Platy

Member
Anyone managed to run the Sunset Riders spiritual sequels on a Wii ?

Like Wind West Cow boys of moo mesa and Mystic Warriors
 

Minsc

Gold Member
The Android port of Retroarch is really bad, hardly anything works for me now. I've completely deleted it in favor of lesser emulators because I just can't deal with how horrible it currently is on Android. Took 10 steps back in the newest version imo.

Hopefully in a few years it will get better, but despite loving how it works on Windows, it just does nothing for me on Android.
 

Radius4

Member
The Android port of Retroarch is really bad, hardly anything works for me now. I've completely deleted it in favor of lesser emulators because I just can't deal with how horrible it currently is on Android. Took 10 steps back in the newest version imo.

Hopefully in a few years it will get better, but despite loving how it works on Windows, it just does nothing for me on Android.

Works perfectly fine here, maybe you could explain your issues?

Does SNES MSU-1 emulation not work on the Android port of Retroarch? Gave it a shot today and it doesn't seem to run on the BSNES core.

Not likely, I don't think bsnes perf has special chip support
 
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