Retroarch 1.1 coming soon!

[Fromlostdays]

Every time I see this thread in the "New Posts" list on the forum, I get excited thinking it was released.

[SIMPLYAUSTIN]

I must admit I put off using this Emu thinking it was another MESS, good at some, best at none. Then the other day I ran into trouble with my Mupen64plus. After I hit google I found that this actually uses the same plugins for it. As a mess around I installed it thinking nothing of it. Without a shadow of a doubt, the best emu I have used. If you aint got it yet, try it. Numer one suprise was that every system I used, everything already had my xbox controller configured.... easy peasy!

[guyverjay]

Is it worth changing to retroach if I already have my other emus set up

[Rick74]

Is it worth changing to retroach if I already have my other emus set up

If you're into scanlines or emulating a CRT on a modern TV, yes....

If you don't care about that stuff and everything is working good, then probably not

[Styphelus]

Does it have filters like Supereagle and 2xHQ? I'm not into emulating old hardware, just games, so I'm not into scanlines.

[Fromlostdays]

Yes, it has super eagle, 1/4hq, sai, sal and a bunch of other ones.

[bsymon]

Never heard of RetroArch 'till today, but I can't figured out what is it ... Is it a all-in-one emulators ?

[frostmute]

Wow, I was under the impression RA/Libretro was widely known and praised within the emu scene... good to see more people discovering it. It is a fantastic peice of software.

[Styphelus]

Sorry for my complete ignorance, but what systems should I use this for over dedicated emulators? I'm sure this doesn't emulate every system to perfection, does it?

Just wondering...I'm sure this won't be replacing Dolphin any time soon. Older systems perhaps? is there a list of systems where this is preferred?

[brolly]

RetroArch is an engine not emulator and therefore it doesn't emulate anything, simply uses the already existing emulator cores built for their libretro interface.

[Styphelus]

RetroArch is an engine not emulator and therefore it doesn't emulate anything, simply uses the already existing emulator cores built for their libretro interface.

Now I'm even more confused as to this thing is exactly. What do you mean by engine? Are you saying I still need all my emulators? I still have no idea what this retroarch thing is or how it works or even why I should be using it.

[sucramjd]

Now I'm even more confused as to this thing is exactly. What do you mean by engine? Are you saying I still need all my emulators? I still have no idea what this retroarch thing is or how it works or even why I should be using it.

No you dont need seperate emulators just the bios's for certain systems, its strange to use use but its great when you get it working, i'm a noobie myself with it, need help with keybinding

[brolly]

Now I'm even more confused as to this thing is exactly. What do you mean by engine? Are you saying I still need all my emulators? I still have no idea what this retroarch thing is or how it works or even why I should be using it.

No, you just need DLL files which include the core of the emulator you want to use, best way to understand how it works is to try it. IMO you should only be using it if you are a shaders/filters freak otherwise I wouldn't bother, I know I don't. Also because the way the RA developer acts towards some emulator developers.

[guyverjay]

Some people say its worth using for its mupen core?

[brolly]

I don't know, why not simply use... Mupen? Should be the same thing bar filters and such. Either way N64 emulation sucks so I'd rather wait for a good LLE emulator.

[boohiss]

I don't know, why not simply use... Mupen? Should be the same thing bar filters and such. Either way N64 emulation sucks so I'd rather wait for a good LLE emulator.

Well we could be in for a treat regarding N64 emulation, at least in the plugins department: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gliden64-graphics-plugin

[SIMPLYAUSTIN]

There are 4 systems which I would say beat all others hands down using RetroArch.

N64- This uses the backbone of the Mupen64plus emu. But it takes it one stage further. You see it allows you to set your plugins to Auto. As in when you emulate games on systems and you get to choose Glide, Rice, lle, vid, rsp etc etc etc. Well as you know the way emulation for N64 works there is no clear winner. What this does is choose the best for each game it plays. Thus, I am yet to find a game that does not play well using it.

PSP- I was a PPSSPP fan. It emulates games very well and apart from 2 games, I was mostly happy to be using it. Few other games have glitches, but I was happy considering how fresh these emus are. The I tried the PSP core for RA and I was blown away again. 2 games I had problems with... GTA Vice city and Liberty city now play smooth as butter. Straight 60FPS no matter what with 0 glitches. Same with every other gme I have played. 0 glitches, slowdown and great upscaling! Tekkken 6 on this is PS3 looking!

PS1- Perfect emulation. 0 problems. Lots of options. No glitches, slowdown or problems. I was using Xebra and Mednafen... this beats them. ePcsx I wouldnt bother with. Hands down best for system.

JAGUAR- Every other emu I have used.. I have tried them all... ALL have problems running some games. In order to play EVERY game I would need at least 2 dif emus to get them to work so I could play them. I would not say its not got small glitches... but this emu plays every game I have tried. All other problem games, like tempest... 100% playable.

So yes, I would use this. It also emulated all 2D sega, NeoGeo and nintendo games perfect too. Not any better than the normal emus, about the same really as to be honest theres not much you can improve on. But what it does offer for these is the same as every game it plays. Perfect scaling upto x10. Shaders and filters not just to make games look retro, but to make them look as good today as they could have been if new.

Some things I cant get to work or need work on.

DOS, cant get this to run. Little text oon how to set this up, so cant comment.

Saturn, good reports but I have not tried.

Amiga, same as DOS

MSX, not tried yet

PICO, not sure if its the games or the emu but this thing sucks ass

This Emu, program, backbone, core or whatever it is, works and it works well. It sounds far more complicated than it is. To run the 4 emus from above, the only files you have to add is 3 bios files for the PS1, as in Jap Euro and US same as all other versions of PS1. Download the emus from the website or the download link I gave you in the other thread... I even include all the files you need.

Point HLHQ at it, choose the core in the module options and just run it! Simple All controls and everything you need is pre configured. If you do want to change looks or the controls press f1 and you have a Gui in game so you can do it on the fly.

[Trnzaddict]

There are 4 systems which I would say beat all others hands down using RetroArch.

N64- This uses the backbone of the Mupen64plus emu. But it takes it one stage further. You see it allows you to set your plugins to Auto. As in when you emulate games on systems and you get to choose Glide, Rice, lle, vid, rsp etc etc etc. Well as you know the way emulation for N64 works there is no clear winner. What this does is choose the best for each game it plays. Thus, I am yet to find a game that does not play well using it.

PSP- I was a PPSSPP fan. It emulates games very well and apart from 2 games, I was mostly happy to be using it. Few other games have glitches, but I was happy considering how fresh these emus are. The I tried the PSP core for RA and I was blown away again. 2 games I had problems with... GTA Vice city and Liberty city now play smooth as butter. Straight 60FPS no matter what with 0 glitches. Same with every other gme I have played. 0 glitches, slowdown and great upscaling! Tekkken 6 on this is PS3 looking!

PS1- Perfect emulation. 0 problems. Lots of options. No glitches, slowdown or problems. I was using Xebra and Mednafen... this beats them. ePcsx I wouldnt bother with. Hands down best for system.

JAGUAR- Every other emu I have used.. I have tried them all... ALL have problems running some games. In order to play EVERY game I would need at least 2 dif emus to get them to work so I could play them. I would not say its not got small glitches... but this emu plays every game I have tried. All other problem games, like tempest... 100% playable.

So yes, I would use this. It also emulated all 2D sega, NeoGeo and nintendo games perfect too. Not any better than the normal emus, about the same really as to be honest theres not much you can improve on. But what it does offer for these is the same as every game it plays. Perfect scaling upto x10. Shaders and filters not just to make games look retro, but to make them look as good today as they could have been if new.

Some things I cant get to work or need work on.

DOS, cant get this to run. Little text oon how to set this up, so cant comment.

Saturn, good reports but I have not tried.

Amiga, same as DOS

MSX, not tried yet

PICO, not sure if its the games or the emu but this thing sucks ass

This Emu, program, backbone, core or whatever it is, works and it works well. It sounds far more complicated than it is. To run the 4 emus from above, the only files you have to add is 3 bios files for the PS1, as in Jap Euro and US same as all other versions of PS1. Download the emus from the website or the download link I gave you in the other thread... I even include all the files you need.

Point HLHQ at it, choose the core in the module options and just run it! Simple All controls and everything you need is pre configured. If you do want to change looks or the controls press f1 and you have a Gui in game so you can do it on the fly.

Actually from what I heard Retroarch uses the most up-to-date Genesis emulator based on Genplus GX for Wii.

What I wish Retroarch would do, is add core options for light phaser games like the individual emulators have. Like the nestopia core? I doubt it has support for using the mouse as a light gun like the stand alone. The same for Genesis, master system, and SNES. The Genesis GX core boggles me, being that the Wii is so lightgun-friendly and the core is based off the Wii port and last time I checked there was still no light gun options.

Maybe there will be in the new release?

[brolly]

Well we could be in for a treat regarding N64 emulation, at least in the plugins department: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gliden64-graphics-plugin

Still just a graphics plugin, Cen64 was actually looking more promising being a full LLE emulator, but progress seems to be kinda slow lately.

[DamnedRegistrations]

Haha what? An Indiegogo for a.... graphics plugin? I can't wait for Cen64 to be fully playable. All the plugin-based N64 emulators need to be buried by a proper, accurate emu. Just like Mednafen has now done to ePSXe and PCSXR unless you dislike accuracy for some reason.

I see they still can't make a proper RetroArch UI especially for PC users. That new Lukka interface looks even worse than RGUI and ripped straight from Sony, still no mouse support either. Who on earth even likes Sony's menu systems? lol talk about slow to navigate. This is why I stick with old RA and just update emu cores as they come out. I can make changes instantly, navigate properly on a PC with a mouse + keyboard and move/resize menu windows. If anyone wants this version since it can't be found anymore and they're a Windows 64-bit user, check in my FTP folder. You'll only be missing out on a couple features they've added, works perfect for me still.

[damageinc86]

I actually like the PS3 style menus. Call me crazy!

[Runadumb]

I have only recently discovered this emulator too. Though I'm waiting for version 1.1 to drop before I try it.

I thought it was a frontend so just dismissed it!

[SIMPLYAUSTIN]

PS3 Menus? I have not seen these menus, just an 8bit looking menu?

[DamnedRegistrations]

PS3 Menus? I have not seen these menus, just an 8bit looking menu?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUsFAXPsgzbU-6KRKqumtbXA&v=dMyt1hWZTi4

I don't really agree with your recommendations above either.

1. PSP emulation is still buggy and far from complete. There are new PPSSPP builds daily with important fixes coming all the time you can get from here. There's no way RA cores can keep up, same goes for Desmume too. Also it's better to use PPSSPP standalone because of all the hack options in the menu that I'm sure RA doesn't provide, some are needed to workaround graphic glitches in games and sometimes it's even necessary to change rendering modes (buffered, non-buffered, etc).

2. Is the Mednafen libretro updated with save state support yet for Playstation or still lagging behind? Not sure about that one, can't check at the moment but I'm happy using Mednafen standalone.

3. I would NEVER trust Mupen to just automatically provide settings. Believe me, I redid about half of the buggy N64 vids at Emumovies this year and still need to do the other half. A lot of games are really picky about settings. There is no simple, trustworthy, automated approach. If you want to play N64 games minus graphic, shadow and audio glitches, you're going to need multiple emulators and plugins plus different settings. I have all of them uploaded in my ftp folder. You should also bookmark this guideline

4. Unless some wizard magic was performed, the Jaguar core is not going to be any better than the latest Virtual Jaguar standalone. Which has plenty of unplayable games. Again, another system I did some recent vids for at Emumovies. We discussed some of this here and there hasn't been an update to Virtual Jag since.

Personally I'd recommend using RA for the following:

Genesis, Game Gear, Sega CD and Master System - Genesis Plus GX

Super Nintendo and Super Famicom - bsnes accuracy or balanced

Turbografx 16 and CD - Mednafen PCE

Game Boy and Game Boy Color - Gambatte (the shaders for GB are awesome too)

Game Boy Advance - VBA Next

[damageinc86]

I would just be using the new menu system to set up everything once. From then on out I'd let hyperlaunch run RA. I agree that for hundreds of games that would be slow to navigate to find everything, if you were only using RA for your setup.