For the past 48 hours I have been trying to download and fully install retroarch with the neat lil XMB GUI menu. The first problem I had was finding a version of retroarch that actually worked. I downloaded no less than 5 different files and only one was working.
GamersRebirth is my go to source for easy installation but his videos for retroarch are severely outdated and he completely skips over how to install the rest of the cool retroarch XMB stuff.
So I decided I would try to write a quick easy tutorial to help alleviate some of the mystery.
So first let's download a working up to date version of retroarch that works with vita shell on your PS Vita running 3.65 3.67/8 FW. You can find the link here.....
https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/playstation/vita/
Be sure to download both the retroarch.vpk file and the retroarch_data.7z file. The first thing you will notice upon a full download is that the VPK file is in .zip form. This confused me quite a bit since vita shell will not open the file and install it in zip form. We will get to that in a second.
At this point you should have h-encore installed using an FTP program like FileZilla one WinSCP. You should also have installed Henkaku and vita shell from the H-encore app on your vita. If you haven't done this yet you can refer the H-encore tutorial here......
viewtopic.php?f=111&t=1930
Now let's gets started. This is really to simple to do but if you can't find full instructions it can be a pain.
First open up vita shell then press select to open the FTP. Now open up FileZilla or WinSCP. Now you want to drop the retroarch zip file into a file with in the ux0: folder in vita shell. I used the data folder but you can create your own VPK folder if you choose.
Once it is loaded onto your vita, change the .zip file extension to .vpk. I have no explanation as to why it downloads in zip form but it works this way.
Now restart vita shell and navigate to the folder you chose for your vpk's. Scroll to the retroarch.vpk and click on it to install retroarch.
This should put a retroarch folder in the data folder of your ux0: folder in vita shell. For good measure and testing purposes I usually exit out of vita shell and open the retroarch app to make sure it works at this point.
If it works with out giving you an error then open vita shell back up on your vita and press select to open up the FTP I nice more. Now open up your FileZilla or WinSCP and navigate to the retroarch folder in ux0:.
Unzip the contents of the retroarch_data.7z and simply drop the contents of that file into the retroarch folder of the vita shell retroarch folder. This is the magic file that contains the XMB GUI menu. You will get a message asking you if you want to replace the files in retroarch. Choose yes. Exit your FileZilla or WinSCP program. Then exit vita shell and start your retroarch app on n your vita.
Now this time instead of the ugly simple menu you should have a nice looking GUI. Congratulations you have now have retroarch fully installed on your vita.
Now let's add some games.
Open up vita shell and navigate to your ux0: file and press triangle. A side menu will appear. Scroll down to new and choose folder. I called my Games. Now open up that folder and press triangle again. Choose new folder and create a folder named after the emulator you want to install games for. Do this for all the emulators you are using.
Exit out of vita shell and reopen it. Then hit select to open up the FTP then open up your FileZilla or WinSCP and navigate to your games folder. Open up the emu folder of choice and drop your games in.
That's it. Open up retroarch and have fun.
RetroArch's version 1.0.0.0 was released on January 11, 2014 and at the time was available on 7 distinct platforms. On February 16, 2016, RetroArch became one of the first ever applications to implement support for the Vulkan graphics API, having done so on the same day of the API's official release day.
Once that was done I had this non intuitive menu system with in retroarch that was just ugly and used a blue screen as a back ground. I spent all day today trying to get the XMB GUI installed. This because there's not a full tutorial explains how to do this. They expect you to know exactly what do after installing the VPK. GamersRebirth is my go to source for easy installation but his videos for retroarch are severely outdated and he completely skips over how to install the rest of the cool retroarch XMB stuff.
So I decided I would try to write a quick easy tutorial to help alleviate some of the mystery.
So first let's download a working up to date version of retroarch that works with vita shell on your PS Vita running 3.65 3.67/8 FW. You can find the link here.....
https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/playstation/vita/
Be sure to download both the retroarch.vpk file and the retroarch_data.7z file. The first thing you will notice upon a full download is that the VPK file is in .zip form. This confused me quite a bit since vita shell will not open the file and install it in zip form. We will get to that in a second.
At this point you should have h-encore installed using an FTP program like FileZilla one WinSCP. You should also have installed Henkaku and vita shell from the H-encore app on your vita. If you haven't done this yet you can refer the H-encore tutorial here......
viewtopic.php?f=111&t=1930
Now let's gets started. This is really to simple to do but if you can't find full instructions it can be a pain.
First open up vita shell then press select to open the FTP. Now open up FileZilla or WinSCP. Now you want to drop the retroarch zip file into a file with in the ux0: folder in vita shell. I used the data folder but you can create your own VPK folder if you choose.
Once it is loaded onto your vita, change the .zip file extension to .vpk. I have no explanation as to why it downloads in zip form but it works this way.
Now restart vita shell and navigate to the folder you chose for your vpk's. Scroll to the retroarch.vpk and click on it to install retroarch.
This should put a retroarch folder in the data folder of your ux0: folder in vita shell. For good measure and testing purposes I usually exit out of vita shell and open the retroarch app to make sure it works at this point.
If it works with out giving you an error then open vita shell back up on your vita and press select to open up the FTP I nice more. Now open up your FileZilla or WinSCP and navigate to the retroarch folder in ux0:.
Unzip the contents of the retroarch_data.7z and simply drop the contents of that file into the retroarch folder of the vita shell retroarch folder. This is the magic file that contains the XMB GUI menu. You will get a message asking you if you want to replace the files in retroarch. Choose yes. Exit your FileZilla or WinSCP program. Then exit vita shell and start your retroarch app on n your vita.
Now this time instead of the ugly simple menu you should have a nice looking GUI. Congratulations you have now have retroarch fully installed on your vita.
Now let's add some games.
Open up vita shell and navigate to your ux0: file and press triangle. A side menu will appear. Scroll down to new and choose folder. I called my Games. Now open up that folder and press triangle again. Choose new folder and create a folder named after the emulator you want to install games for. Do this for all the emulators you are using.
Exit out of vita shell and reopen it. Then hit select to open up the FTP then open up your FileZilla or WinSCP and navigate to your games folder. Open up the emu folder of choice and drop your games in.
That's it. Open up retroarch and have fun.
Developer(s) | The Libretro Team |
---|---|
Initial release | May 26, 2010; 9 years ago |
Stable release | |
Repository | github.com/libretro/RetroArch |
Written in | C, C++ |
Operating system | Linux, Android, iOS, FreeBSD, macOS, Nintendo Switch, Windows NT 3.51 and later |
Platform | IA-32 (x86), x86-64 (x64), ARMv7, AArch64, PowerPC, MIPS, Cell |
Available in | English, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Vietnamese |
Type | Video game console emulator |
License | GPLv3 |
Website | www.retroarch.com |
RetroArch is a free, open-source and cross-platformfront-end for emulators, game engines, video games, media players and other applications. It is the reference implementation of the libretroAPI,[1][2] designed to be fast, lightweight, portable and without dependencies.[3] It is licensed under the GNU GPLv3.
RetroArch runs programs converted into dynamic libraries called libretro cores, using several user interfaces such as command-line interface, a few graphical user interfaces (GUI) optimized for gamepads (the most famous one being called XMB, a clone of Sony's XMB), several input, audio and video drivers, plus other sophisticated features like dynamic rate control, audio filters, multi-pass shaders, netplay, gameplay rewinding, cheats etc.
RetroArch has been ported to many platforms.[4][5] It can run on several PC operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux), home consoles (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, etc.), handheld consoles (PlayStation Vita,[6]Nintendo 3DS, etc.), on smartphones (Android, iOS,[7] etc.), embedded systems (Raspberry Pi, ODROID, etc.) and even on web browsers[8] by using the Emscripten compiler.
History[edit]
Formerly known as SSNES, initially based on pseudonymous programmer byuu's libretro predecessor libsnes,[9] it began its development in 2010 with Hans-Kristian 'themaister' Arntzen committing the first change on GitHub.[10] It was intended as a replacement to bsnes's Qt-based interface[11] but it grew to support more emulation 'cores'. On April 21, 2012, SSNES was officially renamed[12] to RetroArch to reflect this change in direction.
RetroArch's version 1.0.0.0 was released on January 11, 2014 and at the time was available on 7 distinct platforms.[13]
On February 16, 2016, RetroArch became one of the first ever applications to implement support for the Vulkan graphics API, having done so on the same day of the API's official release day.[14]
On November 27, 2016, the Libretro Team announced that, alongside Lakka (LibreELEC-based RetroArch operating system), RetroArch would be on the Patreon crowdfunding platform to allow providing bounties for developers who fix specific software bugs and to cover the costs for matchmaking servers.[15]
On December, 2016, GoGames – a company contracted by video game developer and publisher Sega – approached the RetroArch developers with the intention of using their software in their SEGA Forever project but ultimately the cooperation did not come to fruition due to licensing disagreements.[16][17]
In April 2018 Input Lag Compensation was added.[18]
Features[edit]
Its major features include:
- Advanced GPU shader support - A multi-pass post-processing shader pipeline allows efficient use of image scaling algorithms, emulation of complex CRT, NTSC video artifacts and other effects;
- Dynamic Rate Control to synchronize video and audio while smoothing out timing imperfections;
- FFmpeg recording - Built-in support for lossless video recording using FFmpeg's libavcodec;
- Gamepad abstraction layer called Retropad;
- Gamepad auto-configuration - Zero-configuration needed from the user after plugging a gamepad in;
- Peer-to-peernetplay that uses a rollback technique similar to GGPO;[19]
- Audio DSP plugins like an equalizer, reverb and other effects;
- Advanced savestate features - Automatic savestate loading, disabling SRAM overwritting, etc.;
- Frame-by-frame gameplay rewinding at the press of a button;
- Button overlays for touchscreen devices like smartphones;
- Thumbnails of game box art;
- Low input and audio lag options;
- Automatically build categorized playlists by scanning directories for games/ROMs;
- Multiple interfaces including: CLI, XMB (optimized for gamepads), GLUI/MaterialUI (optimized for touch devices) and RGUI (available everywhere);
- Game ROM scanner - Automatically constructs playlists by comparing the hashsums of a directory's files against databases of hashsums of known good game copies.[20]
- Libretro database of cores, games, cheats, etc.[21]
- OpenGL and Vulkan API support.
Supported systems[edit]
RetroArch can run any libretro core. While RetroArch is available for many platforms, the availability of a specific core varies per platform.
Below is a non-exhaustive table of which systems are available to RetroArch and what project the core is based on:
System | Based on |
---|---|
3DO | 4DO |
Arcade | MAME |
Amstrad CPC | Caprice32 |
Atari 2600 | Stella |
Atari 5200 | Atari800 |
Atari 7800 | ProSystem |
Atari Jaguar | Virtual Jaguar |
Atari Lynx | Mednafen |
Atari Falcon | Hatari |
Bomberman | Mr. Boom |
Cave Story | NXEngine |
CHIP-8 | Emux |
ColecoVision | blueMSX |
Commodore 64 | VICE |
Doom | PrBoom |
Dreamcast | Redream |
Famicom Disk System | Nestopia |
FFmpeg | FFmpeg |
Game Boy / Color | Emux |
Game Boy Advance | Mednafen |
GameCube | Dolphin |
Game Gear | Genesis Plus GX |
MSX | fMSX |
Neo Geo Pocket / Color | Mednafen |
NEC PC-98 | Neko Project II |
Nintendo 64 | Mupen64Plus |
Nintendo Entertainment System | higan Nestopia UE |
Nintendo DS | DeSmuME |
Nintendo 3DS | Citra |
Odyssey² | O2EM |
PC-FX | Mednafen |
32X | Picodrive |
Mega CD/Sega CD | Genesis Plus GX |
Mega Drive/Genesis | Genesis Plus GX |
Master System | PicoDrive |
PlayStation Portable | PPSSPP |
PlayStation | Mednafen |
Pokémon Mini | PokeMini |
Quake 1 | TyrQuake |
Sega Saturn | uoYabause |
Super NES | Bsnes |
Tomb Raider | OpenLara |
TurboGrafx-16 / SuperGrafx | Mednafen |
TurboGrafx-CD | Mednafen |
Vectrex | VecXGL |
Virtual Boy | Mednafen |
Wii | Dolphin |
WonderSwan | Mednafen |
ZX Spectrum | Fuse |
ZX81 | EightyOne |
Reception[edit]
RetroArch has been praised for the number of systems and games it can play under a single interface.[22][23][24][25]
It has been criticized for how difficult it is to configure, due to the extensive number of options available to the user,[23][22] and at the same time has been praised for the more advanced features it possesses.[26]
On Android, it has been praised for the fact that overlays can be customized, for the expandability of the libretro cores it supports, for its compatibility with several USB and Bluetooth controller peripherals, in addition to the app being free and having no ads.[25][27]
Tyler Loch, writing for Ars Technica, said that RetroArch's 'Input Lag Compensation' mode is 'arguably the biggest improvement to the experience the retro gaming community has yet seen'.[18]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'libretro/RetroArch'. GitHub.
- ^'libretro/libretro-samples'. GitHub.
- ^'Home – Libretro'. www.libretro.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'RetroArch'. www.retroarch.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'Lakka documentation - Hardware support'. www.lakka.tv. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'The retroarch PS Vita port we won't talk about'. Wololo.net. 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'Download RetroArch Emulator IPA On iOS 10 [No Jailbreak Required]'. Redmond Pie. 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2017-08-05.
- ^'RetroArch Web Player'. buildbot.libretro.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'Libsnes - libretro/snes9x2010 Wiki'. GitHub.
- ^'SSNES · libretro/RetroArch@eed8e2b'. GitHub. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'SSNES - The SNES emulator that sucks less. / Community Contributions / Arch Linux Forums'. bbs.archlinux.org. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'SSNES · libretro/RetroArch@9ab51ad2'. GitHub. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
- ^'RetroArch v1.0.0.0 release information – Libretro'. www.libretro.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'Day 1 Vulkan support – Libretro'. www.libretro.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'We are now on Patreon! – Libretro'. www.libretro.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^Matulef, Jeffrey (2017-06-21). 'Sega releases classic games on mobile, for free, but at what cost?'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^Robinson, Martin (2017-06-26). 'Sega defends Sega Forever launch after fan outcry'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ ab'Better than reality: New emulation tech lags less than original consoles'.
- ^'RetroArch'. retroarch.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- ^'ROMs, Playlists, and Thumbnails - Libretro Docs'. docs.libretro.com.
- ^'libretro/libretro-database'. GitHub.
- ^ ab'How to Set Up RetroArch, The Ultimate All-In-One Retro Games Emulator'. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ abKlosowski, Thorin. 'How to Set Up an All-In-One Retro Game Emulator with RetroArch'. Lifehacker. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^'The NES Classic is sold out, but these emulators do the same thing for free'. Digital Trends. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ abDachis, Adam. 'RetroArch Emulates Nearly Every Classic Gaming Console on Android'. Lifehacker. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
- ^'Eight Advanced RetroArch Features that Make Retro Gaming Great Again'. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^'RetroArch Emulates NES, Playstation, Gameboy Color/Advance And A Whole Lot More [Android]'. MakeUseOf. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
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