• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

RetroArch |OT| Emulation Heaven

ss_lemonade

ss_lemonade

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,648
Does anyone have any trouble configuring 8bitdo controllers? I have an sf30pro and noticed that the vid/pid numbers do not match the autoconfig profile that's included with retroarch. I also got the bluetooth m30 (great controller btw) yesterday and after setting its inputs up, realized that retroarch seems to be reading the exact same pid/vid values as my sf30pro.
 
Last edited:
BlockABoots

BlockABoots

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,548
So i messed up and got the BBitDo SF30 Wireless Gampad for SNES/SFC Classic Edition, rather than the other 8BitDo SF30 pad with is bluetooth.

Can this SNES Classic version of the pad be pair up to a PC wirelessly at all?
 
Cyclonesweep

Cyclonesweep

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
7,690
georaldc said:
Does anyone have any trouble configuring 8bitdo controllers? I have an sf30pro and noticed that the vid/pid numbers do not match the autoconfig profile that's included with retroarch. I also got the bluetooth m30 (great controller btw) yesterday and after setting its inputs up, realized that retroarch seems to be reading the exact same pid/vid values as my sf30pro.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I have the sf3pro and I find launching it in android mode B+Start allows it to work perfectly with the Pi
 
ss_lemonade

ss_lemonade

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,648
Cyclonesweep said:
I have the sf3pro and I find launching it in android mode B+Start allows it to work perfectly with the Pi
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, I realized that the included autoconfig profiles were for android mode's vid/pid. The m30 is strange though, retroarch can't seem to read it as an m30 but more like a generic wireless bluetooth controller.
 
Awakened

Awakened

Member
Oct 27, 2017
506
Upstream Libretro support was added to BlastEm, the accurate and fast Genesis/Master System emulator. The core only compiles for Linux so far, but hopefully will show up on the downloader for other x86 platforms soon.

Also, there's a new SNES emulator from Mesen's author, simply titled Mesen-S, in development. Sour says there will be a Libretro port when the emulator is more mature. The git repo is here and there is a post about it on NESdev here.
 
mindatlarge

mindatlarge

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,926
PA, USA
Have a quick question. I've noticed that with Beetle PSX and Beetle PSX HW (running in software mode), I get slight screen tearing at the top of the screen. It's slight and is reserved to just the top of the screen, it happens pretty often. Now, I do not get this screen tearing in any other core in RA or other applications on my PC. It also does not happen when I use Beetle PSX HW in hardware mode or other PSX emulators. I use v-sync, I've tried different video drivers, GL and Vulkan both, I've toggled on and off Hard GPU Sync as well. I get this screen tearing in Beetle PSX software mode using any of my monitor's 60hz, 120hz or 144hz modes. Anyways, any ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Awakened

Awakened

Member
Oct 27, 2017
506
mindatlarge said:
Have a quick question. I've noticed that with Beetle PSX and Beetle PSX HW (running in software mode), I get slight screen tearing at the top of the screen. It's slight and is reserved to just the top of the screen, it happens pretty often. Now, I do not get this screen tearing in any other core in RA or other applications on my PC. It also does not happen when I use Beetle PSX HW in hardware mode or other PSX emulators. I use v-sync, I've tried different video drivers, GL and Vulkan both, I've toggled on and off Hard GPU Sync as well. I get this screen tearing in Beetle PSX software mode using any of my monitor's 60hz, 120hz or 144hz modes. Anyways, any ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I've noticed that with the software core running on a my GSync display with Adventure of Little Ralph. In most PS1 games I crop that area off with the initial scanline option since it's black, but Little Ralph is one that actually draws in the full framebuffer. But, Harmful Park also draws there, and I don't see any tearing in that area while the screen is scrolling. So I figured it was just a Little Ralph problem that might happen on real hardware too.
 
mindatlarge

mindatlarge

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,926
PA, USA
Awakened said:
I've noticed that with the software core running on a my GSync display with Adventure of Little Ralph. In most PS1 games I crop that area off with the initial scanline option since it's black, but Little Ralph is one that actually draws in the full framebuffer. But, Harmful Park also draws there, and I don't see any tearing in that area while the screen is scrolling. So I figured it was just a Little Ralph problem that might happen on real hardware too.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Thank you for the info. :) At least I know it's not just me that has noticed this behavior. I see it in both Alundra and Legend of Dragoon, both of those use the full framebuffer as well. I'd play on hardware mode, but I mush prefer software mode. Thanks again!
 
Awakened

Awakened

Member
Oct 27, 2017
506
mindatlarge said:
Thank you for the info. :) At least I know it's not just me that has noticed this behavior. I see it in both Alundra and Legend of Dragoon, both of those use the full framebuffer as well. I'd play on hardware mode, but I mush prefer software mode. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Found a thread on the Libretro forums talking about Beetle software tearing issues: https://forums.libretro.com/t/tearing-in-beetle-psx-software/16433/11

Doesn't look like the same tearing near the top we're experiencing, but someone at least thinks the tearing could be accurate to real hardware.
 
Awakened

Awakened

Member
Oct 27, 2017
506
Full RetroArch option editing support in the QT (F5) menu is in the latest nightlies via View, Options:

qtmenuaejug.png


So you can do everything via the QT interface now.
 
BlockABoots

BlockABoots

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,548
Awesome!! BlastEM is finally in the Core Download list!!!! (for windows + Linux)

This with RA Run ahead feature has to give the Mega SG FPGA system a run for its money......in fact there'd be less latency on RA!!
 
RedSwirl

RedSwirl

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,051
Having some issue after upgrading to the latest version.

Firstly, the menu is stuck on RGUI. I keep switching to another one and saving but it just shows RGUI when I restart.

Secondly, games seem to run sluggishly. I've tried different games in different cores but the problem persists.
 
androvsky

androvsky

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,502
Stuck in rgui sounds like video driver issue, which may be causing sluggishness. Is it set to vulkan, gl, or whatever Windows likes?
 
RedSwirl

RedSwirl

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,051
androvsky said:
Stuck in rgui sounds like video driver issue, which may be causing sluggishness. Is it set to vulkan, gl, or whatever Windows likes?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Okay now for some reason it did switch to XMB. I think I just switched the driver to DirectX 12 actually. I might just go back to openGL or do Vulkan. Games are still sluggish though.

Oh, and I can't get any shaders to work.

Edit: And I'm trying to clear the game directories so I can scan them again.
 
RedSwirl

RedSwirl

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,051
OK I think a clean reinstall and a reboot fixed everything.

Man, when I tried out Last Blade 2 it looked so crisp I had to go back and boot up the Steam version just to compare.

Now I just need to figure out input configurations. Basically I probably need to set up three, one for each platform/style:

One for my old PS3 fight stick (Neo Geo games mostly), one for my fight pad (Genesis games), and one for my Xbox (or PS4) pad (everything else).
 
Awakened

Awakened

Member
Oct 27, 2017
506
There's finally a Libretro port of Mednafen's accuracy focused PC Engine/Turbografx 16 emulation core thanks to trinemark and Tatsuya. It should be showing up on the buildbot soon as simply "Beetle PCE". It's the most accurate emulator for those systems AFAIK. The source branch is here.

The most notable problem I know of that it fixes is crashing in the cutscenes in Popful Mail. The PCE version of that game is quite different than the Sega CD one, so if you're a fan, it's worth checking out. Other than accuracy, the new core has a few more options for audio and high res blending. It also includes Supergrafx support, so you don't need a separate core for that.

A nice option trinemark implemented that I requested is dedicated turbo I and II buttons. Set the "Turbo Hotkey" core option to "always" to enable them on the X and Y Retropad buttons.
 
Last edited:
BlockABoots

BlockABoots

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,548
Does anyone know of an easy way to have just 1 copy of each Megadrive/Genesis game and also including region exclusive only games?.

For instance using the USA release of Genesis games as the main game list and then including PAL exclusives (so not release in any other region) and the same for Japan exclusives??
 
BlockABoots

BlockABoots

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,548
Not sure why they couldnt release Retroarch on retail Xbox OS and just included the homebrew cores and then just have the ability for the end user to add more cores, surely doing that wouldnt break the T&C of the store?. Not sure why anyone would pay for the dev OS just to play RA
 
Last edited:
androvsky

androvsky

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,502
Usually the restriction is you can't let the end user run arbitrary code, which would include games to be emulated and any emulation cores.
 
androvsky

androvsky

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,502
BlockABoots said:
Would that include changing where RA looks for cores?, in this example a USB stick plugged into the XBox?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It wouldn't matter where arbitrary executable code comes from, and I expect a store like Xbox Live, iTunes, PSN, Nintendo eShop, or any other monolithic platform would pull an app when an exploit is found that allows arbitrary code even if it's an accident (like hacked save games) and not let it back in until it's patched. Google Play, Windows, and Linux get their funding in different ways, so they don't care.

Obviously this gets complicated when you realize all those systems have web browsers, but most of them require every app to use the platform holder's tightly controlled sandboxed browser engine, and yet still gives rise to the hacker motto "Where there's a webkit, there's a way". Interpreted languages with strict limits are sometimes okay, which is why the 3DS had a cart that let you run BASIC, iirc.

The only loophole I've been able to come up with is making Retroarch only load ROMs that pass a checksum against a known version of a game with no known exploits and disable any sort of save sharing features. Obviously that prevents or makes very difficult any sort of romhacks or translation patches. It might be doable (with monumental effort) for games that don't have saves, but it'd be an even more incredible undertaking for anything newer. And it'd still probably violate the letter of the store rules since it'd still be outside code not included with the app submission.
 
Mandos

Mandos

Member
Nov 27, 2017
30,884
Looking for help, trying to do Conkers bad fur day using mupen64plus on retroarch but I'm kinda clued on settings and I keep getting random freezes. Playing on my pc laptop
 
mindatlarge

mindatlarge

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,926
PA, USA
Since updating Windows 10 to 1903, RetroArch 1.7.7 boots to a black screen and hangs for about 20-30 seconds before finally loading. This same behavior happens within RetroArch as well when loading a game and core or exiting a core. I've tried different video drivers within RetroArch, deleting the config files and noting seems to fix it.

Any ideas or others having this issue?

Edit: For anyone else experiencing this, I narrowed it down to a firewall issue. Once I added RetroArch as an "Allowed App", this issue went away. I never encounted this issue prior to updating to 1903.
 
Last edited:
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,792
Oman
Does anyone know how to add bsnes hd to Retroarch? I have no idea how to run the windows/binaries whatever ver. the creator put up on github :V
 
exodus

exodus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,944
I'm trying to set up Retroarch in hopes of having a good launcher for emulators. Trying Mesen and I'm noticing that Retroarch seems to introduce lag that native Mesen doesn't. I've tried all combinations of vsync, gpu/cpu sync, and render ahead, and I'm not getting good results. Granted, the lag is small, but it's perceivable. This is on a 144Hz Gsync monitor.

I've also noticed Retroarch doesn't play well with Gsync. If I turn off Vsync and use cpu/gpu lock, it gets really stuttery and teary.
 
exodus

exodus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,944
Looks like the tearing/stuttering only happens in exclusive full screen mode. Windowed full screen is fine. I guess the DWM is the source of the (miniscule) input lag.

Should I be using a video driver other than gl?
 
ApeEscaper

ApeEscaper

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,720
Bangladeshi
exodus said:
I'm trying to set up Retroarch in hopes of having a good launcher for emulators. Trying Mesen and I'm noticing that Retroarch seems to introduce lag that native Mesen doesn't. I've tried all combinations of vsync, gpu/cpu sync, and render ahead, and I'm not getting good results. Granted, the lag is small, but it's perceivable. This is on a 144Hz Gsync monitor.

I've also noticed Retroarch doesn't play well with Gsync. If I turn off Vsync and use cpu/gpu lock, it gets really stuttery and teary.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
exodus said:
Looks like the tearing/stuttering only happens in exclusive full screen mode. Windowed full screen is fine. I guess the DWM is the source of the (miniscule) input lag.

Should I be using a video driver other than gl?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Maybe check the guide out http://docs.libretro.com/guides/optimal-vsync/
Seems similar issue here https://forums.libretro.com/t/weird-framerate-issue-disable-vsync-enable-vsync-solid-60-fps/16596
 
Awakened

Awakened

Member
Oct 27, 2017
506
exodus said:
I'm trying to set up Retroarch in hopes of having a good launcher for emulators. Trying Mesen and I'm noticing that Retroarch seems to introduce lag that native Mesen doesn't. I've tried all combinations of vsync, gpu/cpu sync, and render ahead, and I'm not getting good results. Granted, the lag is small, but it's perceivable. This is on a 144Hz Gsync monitor.

I've also noticed Retroarch doesn't play well with Gsync. If I turn off Vsync and use cpu/gpu lock, it gets really stuttery and teary.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Don't turn off Vsync in RetroArch when using Gsync. Enable "Sync to Exact Content Refresh" under Throttle settings. And Hard Sync with Hard Sync Frames set to 0 if you use the gl or glcore video drivers. But if you use vulkan, you basically get hard sync without any extra CPU overhead. If you enable runahead, you need to also enable second instance or some games in Mesen will have odd sound problems. Most NES games have only one frame of lag you can remove with runahead; Kirby's Adventure is one that I found that has two. The Mesen core itself doesn't have any extra frames of lag compared to any of the other NES cores.
 
exodus

exodus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,944
Fiddled around for an hour.

Only one configuration has given me low input lag and a perfectly smooth output with Mesen/Nestopia:

1) Vulkan
2) Set Retroarch Display refresh to 60Hz
3) V-Sync on
4) Turn off "Sync to Exact Content Refresh"
5) Windows full screen off

I following the RA instructions of setting the display to my native 144Hz, Vsync on, and Sync on, but it results in some kind of brutal framepacing that makes it look sub 30fps, even though it reports 60 fps. Even just setting RA's refresh to 144Hz makes things significantly less smooth. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to even use the Gsync properly. At least with Vulkan, it just doesn't work.

D3D11 also gives a smooth image, but the input lag is brutal.
 
exodus

exodus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,944
I should also point out that I'm testing with Super Mario Bros 3. The curtain opening is a really telltale sign as to how well paced the frames are. Is it possible SMB3 just has really poor frame pacing, essentially requiring some kind of frame buffering / vsync to smooth things out?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.