Editing Talk:Frontends

[[Frontends/Archive 1|Archive of old Frontends page]]

==Missing frontends==
These should perhaps be added somewhere: 

* <s>[https://www.retrix.me/ RetriX]</s>
* [http://www.rlauncher.com/ RocketLauncher]
* [https://kodi.tv/ Kodi]
* CoinOPS (PC and Xbox?) [https://coinops.fandom.com/wiki/Coinops_Wiki Wiki], [https://coinops.fandom.com/wiki/Coinops_Wiki Arcade Punks], [https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/coinopsproject/index.php Tapatalk]
* [[RoM-Jacket|skeletonKey]] / RoM-Jacket
* [https://snowflakepowe.red/ Snowflake]
* [https://vintagesimulator.com/ Vintage Simulator (VSIM)] - libretro
* RetroPlayer (XBMC) - libretro
* [[ZSNES#ZMZ|ZMZ]] - libretro (SNES cores only)
* [http://arcan-fe.com/ Arcan] - libretro?
* [https://www.emuvr.net/ EmuVR] - VR / libretro
* [https://digitalcybercherries.com/new-retro-arcade-neon/ New Retro Arcade: Neon] - VR / libretro
* [https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retrovr#/ RetroVR] - VR /libretro? (Occulus Quest)
* [http://www.lakka.tv/ Lakka] - libretro/retroarch linux dist
* LudOS - Ludo libretro linux dist
* [https://photongamemanager.com/ Photon]
* [http://www.gr-lida.org/ GR-lida]
* [https://projectascension.io/ Project Ascension]
* [https://github.com/Mataniko/IV-Play IV/Play] - MAME frontend
* [http://messui.1emulation.com/ MESSUI] - MESS (MAME) frontend
* http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/mamefrontends.htm
* https://www.zophar.net/frontends/mame.html
* MAMEUI / MAMEUI64 are they different or only 32/64 bit?
* [https://github.com/retrograde/retrograde-android Retrograde] - Android TV, libretro frontend or emulators included?
* [https://gameroom.me GameRoom] - discontinued
* [https://www.romstation.fr/ RomStation]
* [http://boxerapp.com/ Boxer]
* [https://dbox.truben.no/ D-Box] - DOSBox
* [http://members.quicknet.nl/blankendaalr/dbgl/ DGBL] - DOSBox
* [http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/index.html?lang=en D-Fend Reloaded] - DOSBox
* [http://www.happychick.hk/ Happy Chick] - Android
* [https://arcbrowser.com/ ARC Browser] - Android
* [http://www.retrox.tv/ RetroX] - Android
* [http://www.advancemame.it/download AdvancedMenu]
* [https://www.pinballx.com/ PinballX] (Pinball frontend?)
* [https://hyperpin.software.informer.com/ Hyperpin] (Pinball frontend?)
* [https://www.nailbuster.com/wikipinup/doku.php Pinup Popper] (Pinball frontend?)

<s>Might be others on the [[Comparison of Emulator Frontends]] page</s>

Old stuff:
* [http://www.atomicfe.com/EN2/ Atomic FE]
* [http://gelide.sourceforge.net/ Gelide] - Linux
* [https://sourceforge.net/projects/auroragm/ Aurora Game Hub]
* [http://www.cabrio-fe.org/ Cabrio]
* [http://emucenter.2.free.fr/website/ENG/ EmuCenter2]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180831150941/http://malafe.net/ MaLa]

==TODO==
* Add all frontends from RetroArch, libretro, MAME, etc pages.
* Change those pages to link here instead
* Add screenshots in comparisons

==Layout==
I'm trying to make the frontends page more easy to navigate. If you have any suggestions on how we should categorize the frontends or what information should be provided, please let me know -[[User:Jpx|Jpx]] ([[User talk:Jpx|talk]])
:I'm thinking about adding a column to show if they are made for mouse or keyboard navigation. Perhaps also a column to show if they are FOSS, freeware or payware. Don't want to make it to cluttered, there's always the [[Comparison of Emulator Frontends]] page for more information. -[[User:Jpx|Jpx]] ([[User talk:Jpx|talk]]) 09:01, 28 January 2020 (UTC)
::So I'm thinking the column should be called Interface. There's about three different types: Windows mouse-GUI (WIMP), Touch GUI for phones and a HTPC/TV/Arcade cabinet type GUI made for gamepads (RetroArch, LaunchBox Big Box). I'm thinking to call the first two: WIMP (or Mouse) and Touch. What about the third, seems to be called a lot of different things like: Bigscreen, HTPC, ten-foot, TV, gamepad gui, etc -[[User:Jpx|Jpx]] ([[User talk:Jpx|talk]]) 07:44, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

==Recommended frontends==
So most people seem to think that LaunchBox / Big Box is the best WIMP and HTPC frontend.
* What's the best multi-platform HTPC frontend? Seems to be one of: Attract-Mode, RetroFE or EmulationStation (RetroPie's fork).
* What's the best multi-platform WIMP frontend? Nostlan seems to be the only option here.
-[[User:Jpx|Jpx]] ([[User talk:Jpx|talk]]) 20:38, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

:Personally I like QuickPlay for it's simplicity, worth checkout out if you don't need that "flash":  http://quickplay.sourceforge.net/
::Looks nice but Windows-only, might perhaps be worth recommending as a FOSS alternative to LaunchBox -[[User:Jpx|Jpx]] ([[User talk:Jpx|talk]]) 08:15, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

== Criteria for Recommended frontends ==

Why Launchbox is recommended and some others FE aren't?

I use Quickplay and QP fills the emulators requisites:
    have high compatibly (though maybe not as high as others)- can be used with all existing emulators.
    are user-friendly, offer useful features - Has a lot of features, like Folder Mirroring and Emulator Find
    can be run on various devices, - Can run on Windows or Linux via Wine
    run fast even on lower end hardware, - Only uses 10-20 MB RAM and in any processor (even two decades old P4)
    can generally be used day-to-day by even the not-so-tech-savvy users, - after initial setup, doesn't requires any maintenance.
    and, preferably, is open-source (not closed source) as that ensures any active programmer can keep the software in shipshape condition and able to run on modern operating systems. - It´s fully FOSS.

The only thing that QP loses to LB is eye candy. But, QP in another way, it´s blazing-fast, and slowdown free compared to LB.

:Let's add it to recommend. I'm trying to keep recommended to the best FE for each common use case. -[[User:Jpx|Jpx]] ([[User talk:Jpx|talk]]) 08:22, 29 February 2020 (UTC)