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Remove references to Phoenix, some rewording here and there. Add more links.
184 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
184 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
# RetroArch
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RetroArch is the reference frontend for the libretro API, an API which attempts to generalize
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a retro gaming system, such as emulators and game engines.
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Popular examples include SNES, NES, GameBoy, Arcade machines, Quake, DOOM, etc.
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Emulator and game cores are instantiated as dynamic libraries.
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## libretro
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[libretro](http://libretro.com) is an API that exposes the core of a retro gaming system.
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A frontend for libretro (such as RetroArch) handles video output, audio output, input and application lifecycle.
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A libretro core written in portable C or C++ can run seamlessly on many platforms with very little/no porting effort.
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While RetroArch is the reference frontend for libretro, several other projects have used the libretro
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interface to include support for emulators and/or game engines. libretro is completely open and free for anyone to use.
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[libretro API header](https://github.com/Themaister/RetroArch/blob/master/libretro.h)
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## Binaries
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Latest Windows binaries are currently hosted on Themaister's [homepage](http://themaister.net/retroarch.html).
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Builds can also be found on the [forum](http://forum.themaister.net/).
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## Support
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To reach developers, either make an issue here on Github, make a thread on the [forum](http://forum.themaister.net/),
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or visit our IRC channel: #retroarch @ irc.freenode.org.
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## Documentation
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See our [wiki](https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/wiki). On Unix, man-pages are provided.
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More developer-centric stuff is found [here](https://github.com/libretro/libretro.github.com/wiki/Documentation-devs).
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## Related projects
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- Cg/HLSL shaders: [common-shaders](https://github.com/twinaphex/common-shaders)
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- More Cg shaders: [Emulator-Shader-Pack](https://github.com/Themaister/Emulator-Shader-Pack)
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- Helper scripts to build libretro implementations: [libretro-super](https://github.com/libretro/libretro-super)
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## Philosophy
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RetroArch attempts to be small and lean,
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while still having all the useful core features expected from an emulator.
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It is designed to be very portable and features a gamepad-centric UI called RGUI.
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It also has a full-featured command-line interface.
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In some areas, RetroArch goes beyond and emphasizes on not-so-common technical features such as multi-pass shader support,
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real-time rewind (Braid-style), FFmpeg video recording, etc.
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RetroArch also emphasizes on being easy to integrate into various launcher frontends.
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## Platforms
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RetroArch has been ported to the following platforms outside PC:
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- PlayStation3
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- Xbox 360 (Libxenon/XeXDK)
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- Xbox 1
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- Wii, Gamecube (Libogc)
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- Raspberry Pi
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- Android
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- iOS
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- Blackberry
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## Dependencies (PC)
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On Windows, RetroArch can run with only Win32 as dependency. On Linux, you need:
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- GL headers
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- X11 headers and libs, or EGL/KMS/GBM
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OSX port of RetroArch requires latest versions of XCode to build.
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RetroArch can utilize these libraries if enabled:
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- nvidia-cg-toolkit
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- libxml2 (GLSL XML shaders)
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- libfreetype2 (TTF font rendering on screen)
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RetroArch needs at least one of these audio driver libraries:
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- ALSA
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- OSS
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- RoarAudio
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- RSound
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- OpenAL
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- JACK
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- SDL
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- PulseAudio
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- XAudio2 (Win32, Xbox 360)
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- DirectSound (Win32, Xbox 1)
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- CoreAudio (OSX, iOS)
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To run properly, RetroArch requires a libretro implementation present, however, as it's typically loaded
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dynamically, it's not required at build time.
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## Dependencies (Console ports, mobile)
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Console ports have their own dependencies, but generally do not require
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anything other than what the respective SDKs provide.
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## Configuring
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The default configuration is defined in config.def.h.
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It is not recommended to change this unless you know what you're doing.
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These can later be tweaked by using a config file.
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A sample configuration file is installed to /etc/retroarch.cfg. This is the system-wide config file.
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RetroArch will on startup create a config file in $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/retroarch/retroarch.cfg if doesn't exist.
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Users only need to configure a certain option if the desired value deviates from the value defined in config.def.h.
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To configure joypads, use RGUI or the <tt>retroarch-joyconfig</tt> command-line tool.
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## Compiling and installing
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<b>PC</b><br/>
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Instructions for compiling on PC can be found in the [wiki](https://github.com/Themaister/RetroArch/wiki).
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<b>PlayStation3</b><br/>
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RetroArch PS3 needs to be compiled in the following order:
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1) Compile RetroArch Salamander
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<tt>make -f Makefile.ps3.salamander</tt>
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2) Compile the RGL video driver
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<tt>make -f Makefile.ps3.rgl</tt>
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3) Compile RetroArch as a library
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<tt>make -f Makefile.ps3.retroarch</tt>
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4) Finally, compile RetroArch packed together with the GUI:
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<tt>make -f Makefile.ps3</tt>
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<b>PlayStation3 - Creating a PKG installable file</b><br />
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You can add `pkg` as a parameter in order to make a PKG file - for example:
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<tt>make -f Makefile.ps3 pkg</tt>
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This creates an NPDRM package. This can be installed on debug PS3s.
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To make a non-NPDRM package that can be installed on a jailbroken/CFW PS3 (such as PSGroove or PS3 CFWs and other 3.55 CFW derivatives), do:
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<tt>make -f Makefile.ps3 pkg-signed</tt>
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If you're using Kmeaw 3.55 firmware, the package needs to be signed:
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<tt>make -f Makefile.ps3 pkg-signed-cfw</tt>
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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 <em><b>`libretro_ps3.a`</b></em>.
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<b> Xbox 360 (XeXDK)</b><br />
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You will need Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 installed (or higher) in order to compile RetroArch 360.
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The solution file can be found at the following location:
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<tt>msvc-360/RetroArch-360.sln</tt>
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NOTE: A pre-existing libretro library needs to be present in the `msvc-360/RetroArch-360/Release` directory in order to link RetroArch 360. This file needs to be
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called <em><b>`libretro_xdk360.lib`</b></em>.
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<b> Xbox 360 (Libxenon)</b><br />
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You will need to have the libxenon libraries and a working Devkit Xenon toolchain installed in order to compile RetroArch 360 Libxenon.
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<tt>make -f Makefile.xenon</tt>
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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 <em><b>`libretro_xenon360.a`</b></em>.
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<b> Wii</b><br >
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You will need to have the libogc libraries and a working Devkit PPC toolchain installed in order to compile RetroArch Wii.
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<tt>make -f Makefile.wii</tt>
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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 <em><b>`libretro_wii.a`</b></em>.
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