Adding an already existing emulator as default emulator if RocketLauncher doesn’t recognize your system’s name.

When you add a system to RocketLauncher you have to choose the default emulator – but what if RocketLauncher doesn’t list the emulator you want to use? Note: this is not how to add a new emulator/system if the emulator was not previously added. That has been covered on the RocketLauncher page here.

rl_defaultemulator

As you can see above, my System names (left column) don’t all correspond with “traditional” RocketLauncher names. In this case it’s because they were imported from LaunchBox. You can see that rather than being called “MAME”, the name (circled in green in the left side of the screenshot) is “Arcade”. While that is because it was imported from LaunchBox, it’s a more descriptive name for the non-initiated. Not that someone would be messing with RocketLauncher if they didn’t know what MAME was, but anyway.

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Mednafen core for Sega Saturn emulation through RetroArch

  1. Download the two BIOS files you need (they are here in a zip file.)
    1. sega_101.bin (md5 hash is: 85ec9ca47d8f6807718151cbcca8b964)
    2. mpr-17933.bin (md5 hash is: 3240872c70984b6cbfda1586cab68dbe)
  2. Place them in the appropriate folder under RetroArch
    1. Typically this is the RetroArch/system folder
    2. You can place them where ever if you use per-core configs (I use RetroArch/system/mednafen_saturn_bios)
    3. If you just use one config file (i.e. everything is saved to RetroArch.cfg) then place all BIOS files for all emulators in the same folder (again, typically RetroArch/system folder.)
    4. You will have to set the BIOS location in RetroArch
  3. Open RetroArch and enter the Directory location
    1. It is in the second column – “Settings”; the one with the gears for the icon
    2. Near the bottom of that column is the Directory section
  4. The first directory option under the Directory section is System/BIOS Dir
    1. Set the directory to wherever you saved the two BIOS files in step 2.
    2. Save the RetroArch config.
      1. If you are using per-core configs MAKE SURE YOU’VE LOADED THE Mednafen Saturn config file first! Don’t overwrite the default RetroArch config file with a new default BIOS directory location – unless you’re going to put ALL emulator BIOSes in that directory (see 2.C. above.)

Compressed ROMs in LaunchBox (using Demul as example)

Using a zipped/compressed ROM in emulator through LaunchBox.

Allows you to save hard drive space, but does take a little longer to launch each game (about 20 seconds per 500MB depending on CPU and hard drive speed.)

You must have the setting checked to “Extract ROM archives before running” in the emulator setting inside Launchbox.

Example: Tools, Manage emulators, Demul (or whichever emulator) then Edit. Bottom right corner is a checkbox for “Extract ROM archives before running”. In this image it is NOT checked, but you’ll need to check it and click the OK button for it to work.ExtractRomArchive

The audio is a little choppy in the game start…this is due to the slower laptop I was editing on and not indicative of the game play.

RetroArch tips and tricks

Tips and tricks:

1. When RetroArch is launched by RocketLauncher, it still will use per-core settings if you have it enabled in RetroArch. However, rather then naming the config file after the core, you have to name it after the gaming platform. The easiest way to make it work is to make a copy of the per-core config from RetroArch in the same directory/folder, but rename it to the name of the system used by RocketLauncher. Example:

  1. If you are using the Nestopia core and per-core settings in RetroArch, the config file is called nestopia_libretro.cfg.
  2. Make a copy of it in the same folder and rename it Nintendo Entertainment System.cfg
  3. Now when you load RetroArch and play an NES game, that config will load. You can even press F1 and see that config is loaded, and save changes directly to it (i.e. change to shader, controller, etc.)

2. In RetroArch the default exit key is the Esc button. You can set it to use one – or two simultaneous – controller button(s) in the Input Hotkey Binds. See video below:

 

 

 

Retro gaming / Emulation

I’m a big fan of emulation on the PC of old(er) games; arcade, home systems, even older computer games.

This will be organized by topic concerning some of the larger groups that either allow you to play the games (i.e. the hardware emulator) or allow you to play them more easily (i.e. front ends or collections).

Generally speaking, you use a hardware emulator to run the game software for a specific system. If you only want to emulate arcade video games, you could use the hardware emulation built into MAME to run the software for each video game. If you want to run games on the Wii or GameCube you could use the Dolphin hardware emulator.

The hardware emulator is like having the actual console or arcade inner workings on your computer. You still need the actual game to play ON the hardware emulator – a ROM for an arcade game, or one of the CDs/DVDs/cartridges from the home systems. Just like you plug in a cartridge into a Supre Nintendo (SNES), you load the game software into the SNES hardware emulator.

If you want to emulate multiple hardware devices, it is convenient to have a front end. You choose the game you want to play, and it loads the correct hardware emulator and loads the software of the game into that hardware emulator.

Finally, in between the hardware emulator and the front end there are some systems – I call them launchers – that add to the experience either by allowing the front end to be used by you more easily, or adding features such as pausing, passing commands to controllers (i.e. using an Xbox360 controller with your Dolphin emulator to simulate using a Wii controller), etc.

I’ve added a separate page to keep these posts organized, rather than having to search through posts.

Note that I will not attempt to duplicate some of the fantastic training and set-up videos by such stalwarts as Simply Austin or the LaunchBox team. My intent is initially to add tweaks/fixes for these systems and games that I’ve found so I don’t have to remember them each time. I’ve found that some challenges I have are more common than one might think, so I’m collecting them in this page.

Without further ado, you can go to the tab for the retrogaming page at the top of the blog or simply click here: Retrogaming page