RetroArch

Current version:	0.9.9
Active:	Yes
OS:	Multi-platform
Authors:	Squarepusher, themaister, others
Official website:	http://www.libretro.com/
Source code:	Unknown

RetroArch is an open source, multi-system application that can run 'cores' under the libretro API. It is designed to be a fast, lightweight, and portable emulator.

RetroArch is available for Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS (jailbroken), BlackBerry 10, Raspberry Pi, OpenPandora, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, and Nintendo Wii.

Downloads

• RetroArch for Windows
• RetroArch for Linux (Ubuntu PPA repository)
• RetroArch for Android
• RetroArch for OS X
• RetroArch for GameCube/Wii
• RetroArch for PS3 (CFW) and PS3 (DEX) v.0.9.9
• RetroArch for Xbox and Xbox 360 v0.9.9

Cores

Emulation

System	Core	Version
SNES	bsnes	0.92 Performance
SNES	bsnes	0.92 Balanced
SNES	bsnes	0.92 Accuracy
SNES	Snes9x	1.53
SNES	Snes9x-Next	1.52.4
WonderSwan	Mednafen	0.9.28
PlayStation	Mednafen	0.9.28
PlayStation	PCSX-ReARMed	r19
PC Engine	Mednafen	0.9.28
Neo-Geo Pocket	Mednafen	0.9.28
Virtual Boy	Mednafen	0.9.28
Atari 2600	Stella	3.4.1
NES	bnes	0.83
NES	FCEU	98.13mm
NES	QuickNES	1.0
NES	Nestopia	1.44
Game Boy/Color	Gambatte	0.5.0
Game Boy Advance	VBA-Next	1.0.2
Game Boy Advance	Meteor	1.4
Sega Systems (Master, Genesis, Sega CD, Game Gear)	Genesis Plus GX	1.7.4
Sega Systems (Master, Genesis, Sega CD, Game Gear, 32x)	PicoDrive	1.81
Arcade	Final Burn Alpha	0.2.97.28
Arcade	MAME 2003	0.78
Nintendo DS	DeSmuME	SVN

Game Engine

Game	Core	Version
Quake	TyrQuake	0.61
Doom	PrBoom	2.5.0
Cave Story	NXEngine	1.0.0.4

WIP cores

System	Core	Version
DOS	DOSBox	SVN
Nintendo 64	Mupen64Plus	2.0-rc2
LucasArt Game Engines	ScummVM	1.6.0

Overview

• Consistency across multiple systems.

• Custom resolution and refresh rate for output.

• Dynamic rate control for amazing sound even when it's run at a different rate than the video, such as vsync causes sometimes. Especially obvious with GBA.

• Basic fast forward, rewind, savestate, etc
• Shaders: .shader, .cg, .cgp . filter
• GGPO-like netcode (latency hiding rollback). It should be lag-free if everyone involved emulates at full speed, don't live on opposite sides of the world and has decent internet speeds. It uses peer-to-peer UDP and supports two players. Due to rollback it requires a fair amount of CPU power to run.

Using RetroArch

Main article: Using RetroArch

NetPlay

For netplay, you must specify whether you will be hosting (server) or joining (client) the game. If joining, you must also enter the host's IP address in the field below. Make sure your firewall is open on port 55435 (default; you can change it if you like) and that the port is forwarded in your router, if applicable. You can also specify 'spectator mode,' which will allow an arbitrary number of spectators to join and watch you play without being able to play themselves.

Delay frames denotes the maximum number of frames RetroArch will need to emulate at once to maintain synchronization due to actual network latency. You can figure out an appropriate ballpark for this number by pinging the other player and dividing the time (in milliseconds) by 16 (roughly the number of milliseconds in a frame from a game running at 60 fps). If the gameplay is a bit choppy, try increasing the number of delay frames a bit.

Similar to the GGPO platform, RetroArch creates a constant stream of savestates which, along with button presses, are exchanged and compared between the server and client machines. If the savestates start to diverge, the game rolls back in time to a point where they both agree and then emulates the missing frames all at once to get back to the appropriate spot. This gives the illusion of completely lagless inputs, which is invaluable for twitchy, fine controls.

If you try to connect to a server and it immediately says client disconnected, open your log and make sure your ROMs match exactly (it will complain about a hash mismatch otherwise). If it gives you a weird time-out error, just close the window and try to connect again and it should work itself out (sometimes excessive spikes in network latency can cause the states to diverge catastrophically, resulting in this error).

External links

RetroArch Wiki @ Github

Forums

Getting Started

Advanced configuration options

Using RGUI

Source code