RetroArch

RetroArch is a simple frontend for the libretro API. An API that attempts to generalize a retro gaming system, such as SNES, NES, GameBoy, Arcade machines, etc.

libretro

libretro is an API that exposes the core of a retro gaming system. A frontend for libretro handles video output, audio output and input. A libretro core written in portable C or C++ can run seamlessly on many platforms.

Binaries

Latest Windows binaries are currently hosted on my homepage.

Philosophy

RetroArch attempts to be very small and lean, while still having all the useful core features expected from an emulator. It is used through command-line.

Platforms

RetroArch has been ported to the following platforms :

• PlayStation3
• Xbox 360 (Libxenon/XeXDK)
• Wii (Libogc)

Dependencies (PC)

RetroArch requires these libraries to build:

• SDL

RetroArch can utilize these libraries if enabled:

• nvidia-cg-toolkit
• libxml2 (bSNES XML shaders)
• libfreetype2 (TTF font rendering on screen)
• libsamplerate

RetroArch needs at least one of these audio driver libraries:

• ALSA
• OSS
• RoarAudio
• RSound
• OpenAL
• JACK
• SDL
• XAudio2 (Win32)
• PulseAudio

To run properly, RetroArch requires a libretro implementation present, however, as it's typically loaded dynamically, it's not required at build time.

Dependencies (Console ports)

Console ports have their own dependencies, but generally do not require anything other than what the respective SDKs provide.

Configuring

The default configuration is defined in config.def.h. These can later be tweaked by using a config file. A sample configuration file is installed to /etc/ssnes.cfg. This is the system-wide config file. Each user should create a config file in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ssnes/ssnes.cfg. The users only need to configure a certain option if the desired value deviates from the value defined in config.def.h.

To configure joypads, start up jstest /dev/input/js0 to determine which joypad buttons (and axis) to use. It is also possible to use the ssnes-joyconfig tool as well for simple configuration.

Compiling and installing

Linux/Unix
As most packages, RetroArch is built using the standard ./configure && make && make install Do note that the build system is not autotools based, but resembles it.

Notable options for ./configure: --with-libretro=: Normally libretro is located with -lsnes, however, this can be overridden. --enable-dynamic: Do not link to libretro at compile time, but load libretro dynamically at runtime. libretro_path in config file defines which library to load. Useful for development.

Do note that these two options are mutually exclusive.

Win32
It is possible with MinGW to compile for Windows in either msys or Linux/Unix based systems. Do note that Windows build uses a static Makefile since configuration scripts create more harm than good on this platform. Libraries, headers, etc, needed to compile and run RetroArch can be fetched with a Makefile target.

In Linux/Unix:
make -f Makefile.win libs
make -f Makefile.win CC=i486-mingw32-gcc CXX=i486-mingw32-g++

In MSYS: mingw32-make -f Makefile.win libs. # You will need to have wget in your patch for this command! MSYS should provide this.
mingw32-make -f Makefile.win

Win32 (MSVC)
In addition to Mingw, it is also possible to compile a Win32 version of RetroArch with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.

You will need Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 intalled (or higher) in order to compile RetroArch with the MSVC compiler.

The solution file can be found at the following location:

msvc/RetroArch/RetroArch.sln

PlayStation3

make -f Makefile.ps3

A PKG file will be built which you will be able to install on a jailbroken PS3.

NOTE: A pre-existing libretro library needs to be present in the root directory in order to link RetroArch PS3. This file needs to be called 'libretro.a'.

Xbox 360 (XeXDK)

You will need Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 installed (or higher) in order to compile RetroArch 360.

The solution file can be found at the following location:

msvc-360/RetroArch-360/RetroArch-360.sln

NOTE: A pre-existing libretro library needs to be present in the root directory in order to link RetroArch 360.

Xbox 360 (Libxenon)

You will need to have the libxenon libraries and a working Devkit Xenon toolchain installed in order to compile RetroArch 360 Libxenon.

make -f Makefile.xenon

NOTE: A pre-existing libretro library needs to be present in the root directory in order to link RetroArch 360 Libxenon. This file needs to be called 'libretro.a'.

Wii

You will need to have the libogc libraries and a working Devkit PPC toolchain installed in order to compile RetroArch Wii.

make -f Makefile.wii

NOTE: A pre-existing libretro library needs to be present in the root directory in order to link RetroArch Wii. This file needs to be called 'libretro.a'.

Filters, bSNES XML shaders and Cg shader support

This is not strictly not necessary for an emulator, but it can be enabled if desired. For best performance, Cg shaders or bSNES XML shaders are recommended as they do not eat up valuable CPU time (assuming your GPU can handle the shaders). Cg shaders and XML shaders (GLSL) are compiled at run-time. All shaders share a common interface to pass some essential arguments such as texture size and viewport size. (Common for pixel art scalers) Some Cg shaders are included in hqflt/cg/ and could be used as an example. bSNES XML shaders can be found on various places on the net. Best place to start looking are the bSNES forums.

The Cg shaders closely resemble the GLSL shaders found in bSNES shader pack, so porting them is trivial if desired.