Difference between revisions of "RetroArch"

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{{Infobox software
 
{{Infobox software
 
|logo          = Retroarch.png
 
|logo          = Retroarch.png
 +
|logowidth = 250
 
|developer    = Squarepusher, themaister, others
 
|developer    = Squarepusher, themaister, others
 
|version      = {{RetroArchVer}}
 
|version      = {{RetroArchVer}}
 
|active        = Yes
 
|active        = Yes
|platform      = Multi-platform
+
|platform      = [[Emulators on PC|Windows]]<br/>[[Emulators on macOS|macOS]]<br/>Linux<br/>[[Emulators on Android|Android]]<br/>[[Emulators on iOS|iOS]] (jailbroken)<br/>Raspberry Pi<br/>[[Emulators on Pandora|Pandora]]<br/>[[Emulators on DragonBox Pyra|Pyra]]<br/>[[Emulators on PS2|PlayStation 2]]<br/>[[Emulators on PS3|PlayStation 3]]<br/>[[Emulators on PS4|PlayStation 4]] (Unofficial)<br/>[[Emulators on PSP|PlayStation Portable]]<br/>[[Emulators on Vita|PlayStation Vita/TV]]<br/>[[Emulators on Xbox|Xbox]]<br/>[[Emulators on Xbox 360|Xbox 360]]<br/>[[Emulators on Xbox One|Xbox One]]<br/>[[Emulators on GameCube|GameCube]]<br/>[[Emulators on Wii|Wii]]<br/>[[Emulators on Wii U|Wii U]]<br/>[[Emulators on Switch|Nintendo Switch]]<br/>[[Emulators on 3DS|Nintendo 3DS]]<br/>GCW Zero (Unofficial)<br/>OpenDingux<br/>BlackBerry<br/>Steam Link
 
|type          = [[libretro]] frontend
 
|type          = [[libretro]] frontend
 +
|prog-lang = C, C++
 
|website      = [http://www.libretro.com/ libretro.com]
 
|website      = [http://www.libretro.com/ libretro.com]
 +
|support = [https://www.patreon.com/libretro Patreon], [https://www.retroarch.com/index.php?page=donate Donate]
 
|source        = [https://github.com/libretro GitHub]
 
|source        = [https://github.com/libretro GitHub]
 +
|license      = GNU GPLv3
 
}}
 
}}
'''RetroArch''' (formerly '''SSNES''') is an open-source, multi-platform frontend for the [[libretro]] API. It is designed to be fast, lightweight, and portable.
 
  
RetroArch is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, [[Android emulators|Android]], [[IOS emulators|iOS]] (jailbroken), BlackBerry 10, Raspberry Pi, OpenPandora, [[PlayStation 3 emulators|PlayStation 3]], [[PlayStation Portable emulators|PlayStation Portable]], [[PlayStation Vita emulators|PlayStation Vita/TV]], [[Xbox emulators|Xbox]], [[Xbox 360 emulators|Xbox 360]], [[GameCube emulators|GameCube]], [[Wii emulators|Wii]], [[Nintendo 3DS emulators|Nintendo 3DS]], [[Wii U emulators|Wii U]], and [[Nintendo Switch emulators|Switch]].
+
'''[[wikipedia:RetroArch|RetroArch]]''' (formerly '''SSNES''') is an open-source, multi-platform [[libretro]] [[Frontends|frontend]] written in C or C++. It is designed to be fast, lightweight, and portable.
  
 
==Downloads==
 
==Downloads==
*[http://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/ RetroArch Stable Builds]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/ RetroArch Stable Builds]
*[http://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ RetroArch Nightlies]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ RetroArch Nightly Builds]
*[http://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/windows/ Windows RetroArch-Nightly-Installer]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/windows/ Windows RetroArch-Nightly-Installer]
 
*Ubuntu PPAs: [https://launchpad.net/~libretro/+archive/ubuntu/stable Stable], [https://launchpad.net/~libretro/+archive/ubuntu/testing Nightly/Testing]
 
*Ubuntu PPAs: [https://launchpad.net/~libretro/+archive/ubuntu/stable Stable], [https://launchpad.net/~libretro/+archive/ubuntu/testing Nightly/Testing]
 
*Arch Linux User Repositories: [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/retroarch/ Stable], [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/retroarch-git/ Testing], [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?O=0&K=libretro&do_Search=Go All], [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/libretro-super-git/ libretro-super]
 
*Arch Linux User Repositories: [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/retroarch/ Stable], [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/retroarch-git/ Testing], [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?O=0&K=libretro&do_Search=Go All], [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/libretro-super-git/ libretro-super]
  
 
===Mobile/Console Versions===
 
===Mobile/Console Versions===
*[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.retroarch&hl=en RetroArch for Android on Play Store]
+
*[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.retroarch RetroArch for Android on Play Store], 32-bit & 64-bit ARM (also [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.retroarch.aarch64 Plus version])
*[http://buildbot.libretro.com/repo/fdroid/repo RetroArch for Android - F-Droid nightly build repository]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/apple/ios/RetroArch.ipa RetroArch for iOS] ({{RetroArchVer}})
*[http://buildbot.libretro.com/repo/cydia RetroArch for iOS - Cydia nightly build repository]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/playstation/psp/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for Playstation Portable] ({{RetroArchVer}})
*[https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/retroarch-1-7-2.81254/ RetroArch for Pandora on OpenPandora's repo] and [http://repo.openpandora.org/?page=detail&app=retroarch.lifning.001 old 2013 variant]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/playstation/vita/RetroArch.vpk RetroArch for PlayStation Vita/TV] ({{RetroArchVer}})
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.7.5/playstation/vita/RetroArch.vpk Retroarch for PlayStation Vita/TV]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/playstation/ps2/RetroArch_elf.7z RetroArch for Playstation 2] ({{RetroArchVer}})
*[https://anonfiles.com/file/d53ed28c60439a8479fe8ad6a614f5bb RetroArch for PS3 (CFW)] and [https://anonfiles.com/file/29b5e70f7245bba9fc207a5e3038dbfc PS3 (DEX)] v.1.0.0.2
+
*[https://xbins.org/libretro/stable/1.9.0/playstation/ps3 RetroArch for PlayStation 3 (DEX)] (1.9.0)
*[https://anonfiles.com/file/85cde880d0fd5b6677ca421b55bfa06f RetroArch for Xbox] and [https://anonfiles.com/file/3456af4be7bfd697b6f239d947960cfa Xbox 360] v.1.0.0.2
+
*[https://bintray.com/osirizx/libretro/ps4/latest#files RetroArch for PlayStation 4] (1.8.8) {Unofficial port}
*[http://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/blackberry/ RetroArch for BlackBerry 10]
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*[https://xbins.org/libretro/stable/1.7.7/xbox/xbox/RetroArch.zip RetroArch for Xbox] (1.7.7)
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.7.5/nintendo/ngc/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for GameCube]
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*[https://digiex.net/threads/retroarch-360-0-9-8-3-download-sega-sens-gameboy-finalburn-emulator-for-xbox-360.12395/ RetroArch for Xbox 360] (0.9.8.3)
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.7.5/nintendo/wii/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for Wii]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/windows-msvc2017-uwp/x64/RetroArch-msvc2017-UWP_x64.appxbundle RetroArch for Xbox One / Universal Windows Platform] ({{RetroArchVer}})
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.7.5/nintendo/wiiu/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for Wii U]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/nintendo/ngc/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for GameCube] ({{RetroArchVer}})
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.7.5/nintendo/switch/libnx/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for Nintendo Switch]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/nintendo/wii/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for Wii] ({{RetroArchVer}})
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.7.5/nintendo/3ds/RetroArch_cia.7z RetroArch for Nintendo 3DS (.cia)]
+
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/nintendo/wiiu/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for Wii U] ({{RetroArchVer}})
 +
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/nintendo/3ds/RetroArch_cia.7z RetroArch for Nintendo 3DS (.cia)] ({{RetroArchVer}})
 +
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/{{RetroArchVer}}/nintendo/switch/libnx/RetroArch.7z RetroArch for Nintendo Switch] ({{RetroArchVer}})
 +
*[https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/retroarch-1-7-2.81254/ RetroArch for Pandora on OpenPandora's repo] (1.7.3) and [http://repo.openpandora.org/?page=detail&app=retroarch.lifning.001 old 2013 variant] (0.9.9.1)
 +
*[https://pyra-handheld.com/repo/apps/53 RetroArch for Pyra] (1.9.6)
 +
*[https://boards.dingoonity.org/gcw-development/(test-release)-retroarch-for-gcw0/ RetroArch for GCW Zero (.opk)] (0.1b) {Unofficial test build}
 +
*[https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.7.7/steam/steamlink/RetroArch.zip RetroArch for Steam Link] (1.7.7)
 +
 
 
==Supported Systems==
 
==Supported Systems==
 
{{Main|libretro#Cores}}
 
{{Main|libretro#Cores}}
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*Custom overlay support.
 
*Custom overlay support.
 
*FFmpeg recording and playback support. It can record either the native resolution output of the core or the post-processed output of the frontend. Playback is handled through an internal FFmpeg libretro core.
 
*FFmpeg recording and playback support. It can record either the native resolution output of the core or the post-processed output of the frontend. Playback is handled through an internal FFmpeg libretro core.
*[[GGPO]]-like netplay (latency hiding rollback). It should be lag-free if everyone involved emulates at full speed, doesn'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, and the core must support serialization.
+
*Streaming support. By adding your twitch account to RetroArch and making some small [https://www.retroarch.com/index.php?page=recording setup], it is possible to stream on Twitch the content of the game played.
 +
*[[GGPO]]-like netplay (latency hiding rollback). It should be lag-free if everyone involved emulates at full speed, doesn'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, and only works with cores that support serialization.
 
*Options for decreasing input latency related to vsync by eliminating buffering by the video driver, as well as using frame delay to delay polling of inputs until right before a vsync occurs on the display.
 
*Options for decreasing input latency related to vsync by eliminating buffering by the video driver, as well as using frame delay to delay polling of inputs until right before a vsync occurs on the display.
 
*Run-ahead to reduce latency. This setting allows cycle-accuracy emulators to run ahead of mandatory 1 or 2 frames of input lag. It allows emulators to [https://www.libretro.com/index.php/retroarch-1-7-2%E2%80%8A-%E2%80%8Aachieving-better-latency-than-original-hardware-through-new-runahead-method/ achieve better latency than original hardware] (Official debut in version 1.7.2).
 
*Run-ahead to reduce latency. This setting allows cycle-accuracy emulators to run ahead of mandatory 1 or 2 frames of input lag. It allows emulators to [https://www.libretro.com/index.php/retroarch-1-7-2%E2%80%8A-%E2%80%8Aachieving-better-latency-than-original-hardware-through-new-runahead-method/ achieve better latency than original hardware] (Official debut in version 1.7.2).
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==Alternative Launchers and Frontends==  
 
==Alternative Launchers and Frontends==  
===skeletonKey===
+
There are plenty of other frontends that can either work as a launcher for RetroArch or you can replace it entirely with another [[Frontends#Libretro|libretro frontend]].
[https://romjacket.github.io/index.html skeletonKey] is the successor to retroInvader.  In addition to a simple netplay interface, nearly every aspect of retroarch can be set using this GUI.
 
 
 
===[[retroInvader]]===
 
[http://github.com/romjacket/retroInvader retroInvader] is designed to allow users to quickly install & configure the latest version of RetroArch, cores, and shaders.
 
In addition to the GUI-driven configuration & installation, retroInvader supports drag and drop for quickly launching ROMs, hosting netplay sessions as well as installing BIOS files.  retroInvader is for Windows only.
 
 
 
===RAEM===
 
RAEM (formerly RA-Player) is another launcher for RetroArch, for those that want to try something that looks more like a native Windows program. It hasn't been updated in a while, though.
 
 
 
===Phoenix===
 
[https://github.com/team-phoenix/Phoenix Phoenix] is an alternative frontend for libretro that is independent of RetroArch, not to be confused with the discontinued RetroArch-Phoenix launcher. It is intended to mimic the style of [[OpenEmu]], except using libretro and being available on Windows and Linux. It is still in early development and requires that you build it yourself through Qt, though the main developer says an alpha release with prebuilt binaries is on the way.
 
  
===Minir===
+
{{Main|Frontends}}
[https://github.com/Alcaro/minir Minir] is another alternative libretro frontend that is independent of RetroArch and inspired by bsnes-Qt. It is stated to be a complement to RetroArch, focusing on things that RetroArch does not focus on, such as a system native GUI, cheat search, debugging, etc. This frontend is still in early development and no binary builds are provided yet, but you can build it yourself from the source code on Github.
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
*[http://wiki.libretro.com/ Libretro Wiki]
+
*[https://docs.libretro.com/ Libretro Documentation] (Contains extensive documentation on the usage of Libretro, Retroarch, and its cores.)
*[http://libretro.com/forums/index.php? Forums]
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*[https://forums.libretro.com/ Official forums]
 +
*[https://discordapp.com/invite/27Xxm2h Official Discord server]
 +
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/Libretro/ Official Youtube channel]
  
 +
[[Category:RetroArch|*]]
 +
[[Category:Frontends]]
 
[[Category:Netplay]]
 
[[Category:Netplay]]
 
[[Category:Windows emulation software‏‎]]
 
[[Category:Windows emulation software‏‎]]
 
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
 
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
 
[[Category:macOS emulation software]]
 
[[Category:macOS emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Raspberry Pi emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Pandora emulation software]]
 
[[Category:Android emulation software]]
 
[[Category:Android emulation software]]
[[Category:RetroArch]]
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[[Category:iOS emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:PlayStation Portable emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:PlayStation Vita emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:PlayStation 2 emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:PlayStation 3 emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:PlayStation 4 emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:GameCube emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Wii emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Wii U emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:3DS emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Switch emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Xbox emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Xbox 360 emulation software]]
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[[Category:Xbox One emulation software]]
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[[Category:Web emulation software]]

Revision as of 10:53, 6 September 2021

RetroArch
Retroarch.png
Developer(s) Squarepusher, themaister, others
Latest version 1.18.0
Active Yes
Platform(s) Windows
macOS
Linux
Android
iOS (jailbroken)
Raspberry Pi
Pandora
Pyra
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4 (Unofficial)
PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Vita/TV
Xbox
Xbox 360
Xbox One
GameCube
Wii
Wii U
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo 3DS
GCW Zero (Unofficial)
OpenDingux
BlackBerry
Steam Link
Type libretro frontend
Programmed in C, C++
Website libretro.com
Support ($) Patreon, Donate
License GNU GPLv3
Source code GitHub

RetroArch (formerly SSNES) is an open-source, multi-platform libretro frontend written in C or C++. It is designed to be fast, lightweight, and portable.

Downloads

Mobile/Console Versions

Supported Systems

Main article: libretro#Cores

Features

  • Consistency across multiple platforms, using the same UI structure and a fully featured command line interface.
  • Gamepad controlled menu system with multiple styles available, such as XMB or Material UI. (There's also a QT-based 'WIMP' desktop-style interface for PC platforms that was announced before and released in version 1.7.3.)
  • Gamepad auto-configuration profiles, so that gamepads are mapped automatically when connected. XInput controller autoconfig is built into the application, with other controller types available as external profiles.
  • Per-core and per-game configuration overrides
  • Custom resolution and refresh rate for video output, with exclusive fullscreen mode and monitor index for multi-monitor setups.
  • Dynamic rate control for smooth audio and video, even when the game's output rate is different from your system. Especially obvious with systems like GBA that do not run 60Hz.
  • Basic fast forward, SRAM saving, savestate, etc. It supports serialization of the emulation state which is used to provide real-time rewind and netplay.
  • Pixel shaders, primarily using Cg and GLSL, with HLSL on Xbox 360. The shader format it uses is flexible and fairly easy to use, allowing for complex multi-pass effects with adjustable runtime parameters. Also supports traditional video filter plugins that are run in software.
  • Supports audio DSP filter plugins through .dsp configuration files.
  • Custom overlay support.
  • FFmpeg recording and playback support. It can record either the native resolution output of the core or the post-processed output of the frontend. Playback is handled through an internal FFmpeg libretro core.
  • Streaming support. By adding your twitch account to RetroArch and making some small setup, it is possible to stream on Twitch the content of the game played.
  • GGPO-like netplay (latency hiding rollback). It should be lag-free if everyone involved emulates at full speed, doesn'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, and only works with cores that support serialization.
  • Options for decreasing input latency related to vsync by eliminating buffering by the video driver, as well as using frame delay to delay polling of inputs until right before a vsync occurs on the display.
  • Run-ahead to reduce latency. This setting allows cycle-accuracy emulators to run ahead of mandatory 1 or 2 frames of input lag. It allows emulators to achieve better latency than original hardware (Official debut in version 1.7.2).

Building RetroArch

Main article: Building RetroArch

Using RetroArch

Main article: Using RetroArch

RetroArch for Dummies

Main article: Dummies Guide: RetroArch

Netplay

Netplay is now usable from the menu in current builds, under Settings>Netplay Options. You can get it to work with the command line or the long-deprecated RetroArch-Phoenix Launcher as well in older builds.

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 denote the maximum number of frames RetroArch's libretro cores 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 the libretro cores 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).

Alternative Launchers and Frontends

There are plenty of other frontends that can either work as a launcher for RetroArch or you can replace it entirely with another libretro frontend.

Main article: Frontends

External links