Today is a big day for the emulation scene, as RetroArch have officially announced a big new release. While it's used for other things, RetroArch is most noted for making emulation a bit easier.
Something big that finally made it in is support for real CD-ROM functionality. They say it's far from finished and is very much drive and OS-dependent, with Linux currently being more "fleshed out of the two platforms so far". This feature currently supports these cores: Genesis Plus GX, Mednafen/Beetle PSX, Mednafen/Beetle Saturn, Mednafen/Beetle PCE/Fast and 4DO.
Another of the big new features, is the ability to get dialogue in various games translated into your native language. Offering both text to speech and to actually replace the in-game text with your language. There's some setup required which you can find here, with a demo video below:
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Direct Link
Direct Link
There's plenty of other enhancements that made it into this release too!
It might be minor but one of my favourite features is the ESC key no longer making RetroArch instantly close. The amount of times I've done that by accident I've truly lost count on. You now need to do it twice to quit, although this can be tweaked in the settings.
There's also: some improvements to how they handle the resizing of the menu when in windowed mode and you adjust the size, the Quick Menu won't appear until a core is actually running, the Load Core option is hidden when one is already running to help with stability issues, playtime logging is enabled by default, multiple usability changes for shaders, both Libretro and RetroArch have enhanced core options enabling sublabels which can be translated and so on.
You can see their quick feature round-up video below:
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Direct Link
Direct Link
Fantastic work by all involved, great to see such amazing progress in so many different and exciting areas.
See the release post here. You can download it here and find the various sources on GitHub.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
19 comments
It might be minor but one of my favourite features is the ESC key no longer making RetroArch instantly close.
5 Likes, Who?
It might be minor but one of my favourite features is the ESC key no longer making RetroArch instantly close.
So you say it's finally usable? Great news!
4 Likes, Who?
... you are aware that key can be changed in the settings? First thing I always do...
2 Likes, Who?
It might be minor but one of my favourite features is the ESC key no longer making RetroArch instantly close.
So you say it's finally usable? Great news!
There was an option for this already, you just had to enable it. I guess they have simple changed the default setting.
1 Likes, Who?
... you are aware that key can be changed in the settings? First thing I always do...Sure, the point is having a sane default though, this is sane. The original was not.
6 Likes, Who?
I just hope my input will get recognized again at all! I can start the menu and don't move and select anything. I can start a ROM directly and there is no input either. No gamepad (although Xbox controller is recognized), no keyboard, no mouse. Happened to both the Ubuntu package and the snap version. A year ago everything worked fine...
Any news about them moving to Steam?
Any news about them moving to Steam?
0 Likes
Have they finally made it so you can install and configure it without at least a four-year degree on the subject? Every time I've tried Retroarch, that's been the most painful experience of all.
EDIT: Aaaaaaparently not. Still no real explanation of the "cores" thing, and unclear as to how to get them, at least under Linux. The FAQ says to go to the Online Updater and choose "Update Cores". That option, unsurprisingly, doesn't exist. So short of searching all over the internet, there's no clear way for a new user to know what to do.
Last edited by Nezchan on 26 August 2019 at 7:23 pm UTC
EDIT: Aaaaaaparently not. Still no real explanation of the "cores" thing, and unclear as to how to get them, at least under Linux. The FAQ says to go to the Online Updater and choose "Update Cores". That option, unsurprisingly, doesn't exist. So short of searching all over the internet, there's no clear way for a new user to know what to do.
Last edited by Nezchan on 26 August 2019 at 7:23 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
Have they finally made it so you can install and configure it without at least a four-year degree on the subject? Every time I've tried Retroarch, that's been the most painful experience of all.
EDIT: Aaaaaaparently not. Still no real explanation of the "cores" thing, and unclear as to how to get them, at least under Linux. The FAQ says to go to the Online Updater and choose "Update Cores". That option, unsurprisingly, doesn't exist. So short of searching all over the internet, there's no clear way for a new user to know what to do.
Yeah, the standard install recommends just using the cores that are in your repositories. It can be changed in the settings:
menu_show_core_updater = "true"I hope the playlist sanitizer is included, it's a neat feature.
0 Likes
Have they finally made it so you can install and configure it without at least a four-year degree on the subject? Every time I've tried Retroarch, that's been the most painful experience of all.
EDIT: Aaaaaaparently not. Still no real explanation of the "cores" thing, and unclear as to how to get them, at least under Linux. The FAQ says to go to the Online Updater and choose "Update Cores". That option, unsurprisingly, doesn't exist. So short of searching all over the internet, there's no clear way for a new user to know what to do.
Yeah, the standard install recommends just using the cores that are in your repositories. It can be changed in the settings:
menu_show_core_updater = "true"
I hope the playlist sanitizer is included, it's a neat feature.
Where are those settings?
EDIT: Found it after some digging. Added the option and now I have a Core Updater. Now it just....doesn't actually work on any games I've tried. Like it literally doesn't recognize the stuff I play under Mednafen as existing at all. The SNES ROMS get treated as empty directories, the PSX stuff is invisible, and the GBA ROMS all come through as still images that I can't exit from unless I shut down the program.
So far, the difficult, frustrating experience I've come to expect from RetroArch.
Last edited by Nezchan on 26 August 2019 at 8:58 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
Yeah, RA is pretty complicated to set up but... BUT ! It enables you, when properly configured, to get an absolutely ZERO input lag experience (even less than the original systems in some cases) when using "runahead" + KMS + wonderful combinations of pixel shaders to mimic CRT screens, improve the picture etc. + have tons of other features (rewinding, achievements...).
This is SO much better than using the real systems on an LCD, or than using a raspberry, or even than using an FPGA machine. When properly set up !
This is SO much better than using the real systems on an LCD, or than using a raspberry, or even than using an FPGA machine. When properly set up !
2 Likes, Who?
1.7.8 has some regressions compared to 1.7.7. For me it just crashes. It should be 1.8.0, not 1.7.8.
Last edited by axredneck on 26 August 2019 at 10:45 pm UTC
Last edited by axredneck on 26 August 2019 at 10:45 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
ElectricPrism Aug 27, 2019
... you are aware that key can be changed in the settings? First thing I always do...Sure, the point is having a sane default though, this is sane. The original was not.
ALL PRAISE BE SANE DEFAULTS. PRAISE!
Edit: Imagine the Nuclear Suitcase had two nearly identical buttons for [ Launch Nuke ] and [ Dont Not Launch Le Nuke ]
Last edited by ElectricPrism on 27 August 2019 at 7:04 am UTC
2 Likes, Who?
FinixFighter Aug 27, 2019
I literally love Retroarch! Amazing project!!
1 Likes, Who?
Hmm, maybe ESC to quit the emu makes sense when RA is invoked directly (through the shell or another frontend). Maybe it is the reason why it was the former default. Anyway it should detect if it's been run with arguments or not.
1 Likes, Who?
their text to speach is much better than eSpeak, what they are using?
1 Likes, Who?
BrazilianGamer Aug 28, 2019
Infinite kudos to all the guys behind Retroarch. A W E S O M E
0 Likes
And the moral of the story is, don't push buttons on the friggin' nuclear suitcase.... you are aware that key can be changed in the settings? First thing I always do...Sure, the point is having a sane default though, this is sane. The original was not.
ALL PRAISE BE SANE DEFAULTS. PRAISE!
Edit: Imagine the Nuclear Suitcase had two nearly identical buttons for [ Launch Nuke ] and [ Dont Not Launch Le Nuke ]
0 Likes
(with all due respect to bidinou - this isn't personal :D )
This is functionally equivalent to saying that it's a piece of unusable crap out of the box. And it is. I've been using it on my PS3 and an old computer I had laying around for quite a while, and it takes a pretty deep dive into filesystems and a truckload of patience to make it usable.
Oh god, the hours I've spent...
I guess my point is that you shouldn't have to celebrate finding your ROMS, or having an Escape key not crash the whole works when pressed, or a dozen other little paper cuts that seem designed to annoy (anybody else got emulator cores that don't work at all? (and yes, I DO have my bios files in the proper directory - the cores are simply non-functional and aren't ready for prime time)).
I understand that getting all this to work under a single framework is a logistical nightmare. Mad props to the team for getting this running at all, frankly. But it's still a bloody mess, full stop. It's every bit as friendly as a rusty hammer, and almost as good at hard-locking your system when things go wrong.
How wrong?
Load a core/game combo Retroarch doesn't like and watch as your controls simply cease to respond. Through trial, error, blood, sweat, and tears, I've managed to prune away the unusable from the good, but things had no business being this obtuse. The thing, at present, gets in its own way far, far too often, and I can't recommend it for someone new to the circus.
That said, when it does something well, it does it very well. But you will be forgiven if you run out of patience before you reach the promised land.
TL;DR Use Mednafen (and other individual emulators) and you'll cry less.
I apologize for nothing, and await your vitriol.
Yeah, RA is pretty complicated to set up but...
This is functionally equivalent to saying that it's a piece of unusable crap out of the box. And it is. I've been using it on my PS3 and an old computer I had laying around for quite a while, and it takes a pretty deep dive into filesystems and a truckload of patience to make it usable.
Oh god, the hours I've spent...
I guess my point is that you shouldn't have to celebrate finding your ROMS, or having an Escape key not crash the whole works when pressed, or a dozen other little paper cuts that seem designed to annoy (anybody else got emulator cores that don't work at all? (and yes, I DO have my bios files in the proper directory - the cores are simply non-functional and aren't ready for prime time)).
I understand that getting all this to work under a single framework is a logistical nightmare. Mad props to the team for getting this running at all, frankly. But it's still a bloody mess, full stop. It's every bit as friendly as a rusty hammer, and almost as good at hard-locking your system when things go wrong.
How wrong?
Load a core/game combo Retroarch doesn't like and watch as your controls simply cease to respond. Through trial, error, blood, sweat, and tears, I've managed to prune away the unusable from the good, but things had no business being this obtuse. The thing, at present, gets in its own way far, far too often, and I can't recommend it for someone new to the circus.
That said, when it does something well, it does it very well. But you will be forgiven if you run out of patience before you reach the promised land.
TL;DR Use Mednafen (and other individual emulators) and you'll cry less.
I apologize for nothing, and await your vitriol.
1 Likes, Who?
So far, the difficult, frustrating experience I've come to expect from RetroArch.
Games probably weren't recognized cuz you didn't download the databases, so the scanner is "blind". About the default hidden core updater, it's really a Linux-specific thing. And if you still get a black screen after that, it's probably cuz missing BIOS (and that's a whole legal issue).
Anyway, for those looking for a simpler and yet powerful alternative, there's Ludo:
https://ludo.libretro.com/
1 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me