Homebrew Unofficial 3DS RetroArch builds

Hopalongtom

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Pcsx on the 3DS doesn't handle multi trackXX.bin files. The first track is the 'data' track, all other are music tracks.
Latest working nightly loads all tracks, but uses only the first.

Haven't got to converting these games to single bin/cue format yet. But this could get music working.

However, no music means more FPS. Some games have 'in-game' options to turn off music, improving fps in some cases.

Some rooms it seems to load music tracks and not others, ditto with the voice clips are also not used however there is still a big dip in FPS in those scenes regardless!
 

MrHuu

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Some rooms it seems to load music tracks and not others, ditto with the voice clips are also not used however there is still a big dip in FPS in those scenes regardless!

The game still has to load other stuff not audio related, and is still trying to load music.
Some music is included in the game data as a sound effect.

This is an issue all multi track games i've tested so far have.
Only the single image games seem to have fully working audio.
 

MrHuu

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The PCSX_ReARMed core included in the 1.5.0 'stable' release is still not working.
Use the latest working nightly available in this thread, or a pre-1.4.0 release from the libretro buildbot.
 
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MrHuu

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Added some basic instructions on how to set up DosBox with game-specific settings, formatting still needs to be done.

Are there any DosBox users willing to share some optimal game specific settings?
Like what system (svga_s3 for example) is used at how many cycles, or maybe sharing what other options you're using to speed up some of the games?
 

Hi-Dro

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Snes9x 2005

New3DS: Works Great -
Old3DS : Not tested

BIOS: Not required


Core specific info still needs to be added.

retro arch (1.5) snes9x 2005 core (v1.36)


Game Compatibility

New3DS:

(Star Ocean [T+eng1.0_dejap])

doesnt work on 2002 as graphics all mixed up, but works great under retro arch snes9x 2005 core. It runs at about 60fps the only issue i've had so far, when text boxes are on the top half of the screen it sometimes flickers at the very top its very small problem and does not affect game play.


'tales of phantasia' (T+eng1.2lowcase_dejap)

works great under snes9x 2005 in retro arch too, again running at about 60 Fps. same issue with text boxes, could be translation ? haven't tested the vanilla roms

both games were tested by watching full intro and playing 2/3 battles and over world map screen, on the latest build of retro arch (1.5) snes9x 2005 core (v1.36) with respective CIA launchers.

I copy and paste from myself here, from another forum I was helping on so yeah those games work great as tested by me. both games were tested by watching full intro and playing 2/3 battles and over world map screen, on the latest build of retro arch (1.5) snes9x 2005 core (v1.36) with respective CIA launchers.

I've never played this game until yesterday, it's pretty amazing with actual voices, If I had a copy of this as a kid i would have been blown away. lots more to come.
 
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MrHuu

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Thank you, this is useful information.
Have you tried setting 'Frame delay' to 1, under video settings? This could get rid of the flickering.

I'll update the thread, merging the snes9x cores and make separate compatibility lists for the different snes9x cores. Recommending which rom to run on which core. Although Snes9x2005 seams to yield the best results so far.
 
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Hi-Dro

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Thank you, this is useful information.
Have you tried setting 'Frame delay' to 1, under video settings? This could get rid of the flickering.

I'll update the thread, merging the snes9x cores and make separate compatibility lists for the different snes9x cores. Recommending which rom to run on which core. Although Snes9x2005 seams to yield the best results so far.

yes I agree, I have seen some games run better in snes9x_2002 (starfox if my mind serves me correctly runs better under the 2002 core.
Though honestly the best for snes emulation, is the standalone (Snes9x_3ds) Cia, It runs star fox probably too well, a little faster than I remember it being. I seem to remember star fox even on real hardware having around about 30 fps? might be wrong its been awhile.

anyway some useful info that I pretty much just lifted from (retroarch nightly OP) Kudos to Slasher115 who wrote it initially. but useful none the less, also I have used all these methods very very recently, so know they all work as long as you follow the guide and put the right things in the right places. I will be letting you know about compatibility of more titles soon. I will try to play with frame rate see if it fixes it. with those 2 other games.


Just a few ideas take what every you think might be useful below maybe useful:

no links will be provided for Roms and Bios Files, When it comes to those you are on your own.

Game Compatibility Key

++ (Good speeds and good Sound)
+ (Runs ok playable with few graphical errors)
- (unplayable or needs to be tweaked)

Pc Engine/TurboGrafx mednafen_pce_fast_libretro.core

New3DS: Works Great Good speeds Including CD Rom Games
Old3DS : Not tested

BIOS: Only required for PC Engine CD ROM based games.

Name of Bios file needed: syscard3.pce

Bios Required in this Location: retroarch/cores/system

(USE FULL CD images for this emulator [.Bin & .Cue])




Core specific info still needs to be added.

mednafen_pce_fast_libretro.core



New3DS:


Hucards:

Sonson II ++


CD ROMS:

Castlevania X Rondo of Blood ++
Pictodrive Updated Game Compatibility, 22/03/17
Megadrive/Genesis, 32X & Sega/Mega CD picodrive_libretro

New3DS: Best systems emulated as follows, MegaDrive (60Fps) Mega CD (60Fps) and 32X (45-60 Fps game dependant)
No SG-100 emulation and Mastersystem has graphical Issues mainly tearing form what I've witnessed still runs at 60fps.

Old3DS : Not tested

BIOS: Only required for Sega/Mega CD Games


Name of Bios File needed:

bios_CD_E.bin (MegaCD EU BIOS)
bios_CD_U.bin (SegaCD US BIOS)
bios_CD_J.bin (MegaCD JP BIOS)


You may need to rename EU,US and JP bios files respectively.

Bios Required in this Location: retroarch/cores/system

(USE FULL CD images for this emulator [.Bin & .Cue])


Core specific info:
picodrive_libretro.core


Game Compatibility


New3DS:

MegaDrive/Genesis:

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ++


Mega CD:


Adventures Of Batman and Robin ++
Lords of Thunder ++
Night Trap ++
Ninja Warriors ++
Road Avenger ++
Sewer Shark + (Slight Sound Issue on intro)


32x:
MSX Emulator fmsx_libretro

New3DS: Works Great with good speeds
Old3DS : Not tested

Name of Bios files needed:

MSX.ROM (MSX BIOS)
MSX2.ROM (MSX2 BIOS)
MSX2EXT.ROM (MSX2 ExtROM)
MSX2P.ROM (MSX2+ BIOS)
MSX2PEXT.ROM (MSX2+ExtROM)


Bios Required in this Location: retroarch/cores/system


Msx Bios - you can acquire these Bios files yourself, I think they are even included on github. somewhere. but I will not link you.

(USE ROM images MSX1 and MSX2, so far I haven't got disks or cassette files working, So Rom Files Only with this one)

Core specific info:
fmsx_libretro.core

Game Compatibility

New3DS:
 
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Hi-Dro

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Nintendo Entertainment System
Nes/Famicom

New3DS: 60Fps Including, FDS Games
Old3DS : Not tested

BIOS: Only required for FDS games.

Name of Bios file needed: disksys.rom

Bios Required in this Location: retroarch/cores/system

(CAN USE COMPRESSED FDS files for this emulator)




Core specific info still needs to be added.

nestopia_libretro.core


Game Compatibility

++ (Good speeds and good Sound)
+ (playable with few graphical/sound errors or needs to be tweaked)
- (low frame rates unplayable)


New3DS:



Cart Roms: 60fps

Castlevania III - Dracula's Curse (E) [!] ++

Akumajou Densetsu (Castlevania III) (J) VRC6 chip +
Akumajou Densetsu (Castlevania III) (J)[T+Eng100%] VRC6 chip +

Was getting sound issues but, with some tweaks got it sounding great.
In order to get the best sound out of Konami's VRC6 coprocessor chip emulation go to Retroarch/quick menu/options/favored system and change from auto to Famicom.
Also decrease sound latancy in Retroarch/options/audio/audio latency (ms) from 64 to 48. Works great after tweek.

Mouryou Senki Madara (J) [T+Eng1.0GideonZhi] VRC6 chip +
Esper Dream 2 - Aratanaru Tataki (J)[T+Eng__AGTP] VRC6 chip +

as this also includes Konamis VRC6 chip I tested on above settings and works great.



FDS Roms: 60fps

Bomberman ++
Akumajou Dracula v1.02 (Castlevania) ++


For those of you who don't know:

The VRC6 (Virtual Rom Controller) is an advanced MMC chip from Konami, supporting bank switching for both program code and graphics as well as a CPU cycle–based IRQ counter, which can also act as a scanline counter. The chip also contains support for three extra sound channels (two square waves of eight duty cycles each, and one sawtooth wave). It is used in Akumajō Densetsu (the Japanese version of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse), while the Western version uses the MMC5 from Nintendo. Since the Nintendo Entertainment System does not allow cartridges to add additional sound channels, the Famicom version's soundtrack was reworked to follow those specifications; thus, the soundtrack on the Western version is implemented by the five sound channels built into the stock NES.

From Wikipidea
Updated Game Compatibility 22/03/2017
Mastersystem/Gamegear/Megadrive/Genesis/Mega CD
genesis_plus_gx_libretro.core


New3DS: Best systems emulated as follows, SG-100 60fps, MasterSsystem (with FM sound)60fps, and Gamegear 60Fps.

Does also emulate Megadrive 60Fps (MD suffers from vertical tearing issues)and Mega CD at 35-40 FPS (60fps with mute)

Old3DS : Not tested

BIOS: Only required for Sega/Mega CD Games, the below methods is for both MD/Gen cores [Picodrive and Genesis plus gx]


Name of Bios File needed:

bios_CD_E.bin (MegaCD EU BIOS)
bios_CD_U.bin (SegaCD US BIOS)
bios_CD_J.bin (MegaCD JP BIOS)


You may need to rename EU,US and JP bios files respectivly.

Bios Required in this Location: retroarch/cores/system

(USE FULL CD images for this emulator [.Bin & .Cue])


Core specific info:

genesis_plus_gx_libretro.core

The only core to emulate gamegear games, SG-1000 games and includes the awesome FM sound emulation for MasterSystem Games.

To Toggle FM Sound on-off or auto navigate to: Quickmenu/options/Mastersystem Fm


Game Compatibility


New3DS:

SG-1000: (60Fps)

Bank Panic ++
Black Onyx, The ++
Choplifter ++
Congo Bongo ++
Dokidoki Penguin Land ++
Dragon Wang ++
Drol ++
Flicky ++
Girls Garden ++
Ninja Princess ++
Wonder Boy ++
Yamato ++

Mastersytem: (60Fps)

Double Dragon ++
Shinobi ++


GameGear: (60Fps)

Battletoads ++



Helpful info:

Setting Up Left Analogue stick:

If you want to use the Left Analogue stick, as well as D+Pad for control you need to navigate to Retroarch - Options - Input - Input user 1 Binds -
User 1 Device type
set to: Retropad w/ Analog
User 1 Analog to Digital Type
set to: Left Analog

A word of warning:

In Retroarch - Options - Input - Input user 1 Binds - User 1 device Index should always be set to: 3DS Controller (#1).
If you change this by accident then you will lose all control over retroarch until you delete the .Cfg file within the retroarch folder on your SD card.
 
Last edited by Hi-Dro, , Reason: Updated Game Compatibility
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Muxi

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There are several cores for a system to be emulated, such as for NES, the fceumm-, quicknes- and nestopia-core. But do we need for the n3ds so many cores for a system? Is there not a core which is the best? Especially for nes and snes?
What about Picodrive and Genesis-plus-gx ?
Thanks in advance.
 

Hi-Dro

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There are several cores for a system to be emulated, such as for NES, the fceumm-, quicknes- and nestopia-core. But do we need for the n3ds so many cores for a system? Is there not a core which is the best? Especially for nes and snes?
What about Picodrive and Genesis-plus-gx ?
Thanks in advance.


Okay basically this is what I have found out so far, this is from my own personal experience.
I personally use Nestopia It works with no problems or when there is its easy enough to tweak and fix. I have heard FCEumm is good as well. I like Nestopia as I have it on my PC and I think the Nes DS emulator was a Nestopia build. and never had any problems.

Anyway you really only need one core for each system you want to emulate, some emulators only emulate certain games or hardware addons for that system. see below

Best Cores for best systems using latest build of Stable Retroarch (1.5) are as follows.

Pictodrive: Best systems emulated as follows, MegaDrive (60Fps) Mega CD (60Fps) and 32X (45-60 Fps game dependant)
No SG-100 emulation and Mastersystem has graphical Issues mainly vertical tearing form what i've witnessed still runs at 60fps.

Genesis Plus GX: Best systems emulated as follows, SG-100 (60fps), MasterSystem (60fps with FM sound), and Gamegear (60Fps).
Does also emulate Megadrive 60Fps (MD suffers from vertical tearing issues)and Mega CD at 35-40 FPS (60fps with mute)

Nestopia: Nes and Famicom Disk System games (60Fps) (even supports Konami's special VRC6 chip for enhanced sound in Castlevania III)

Snes9x2002: Slower than 2005 but some games have better compatibility.

Snes9x2005: overall best speeds do far but some games not working. Try in 2002 core

Mednafen Neo Geo Pocket: NeoGeo Pocket Colour Good speeds mostly 50-60 fps however some games run quite slow & choppy at around 45 fps.

Side note: 1:1 aspect ratio crashes certain games in retroarch under Mednafen Neo Geo Pocket. Personal Favoured Aspect ratio is 16:15 haven't had any problems as of yet and near enough to 1:1
Edit: 1:1 ratio (maybe fixed since [retroarch 1.5] update) as after testing today seems to work fine without crashing.


Ultimately for the best Snes speeds and emulation including Special Fx chip games Use Snes9x_3ds standalone emulator installed as a Cia

 
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Hi-Dro

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NeoGeo Pocket/Color
mednafen_ngp


New3DS: 45 -60 FPS
Old3DS : Not tested

BIOS: Not required


Core specific info.
mednafen_ngp.core

Game Compatibility

New3DS:

Cotton - Fantastic Night Dreams + 45Fps Default, 50-52 fps when disable Audio Sync.
Darkarms ++
Gals Fighters ++
Sonic the Hedgehog - Pocket Adventure ++

If there is particular games anybody wants testing from these cores please let me know, aslo would DSP dump help with some sound issues ? I dont really understand DSP dump I just know its to do with sound written in code.
 

JLsoft

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Is there -any- way to access the 'TAB'/config menu in MAME2000? I was hoping there was some button combo I was missing (since ZR opens it in MAME2003), but so far the only thing I've found is that L+R+Select+Start exits the emu :P
 

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