Homebrew Official Retroarch WiiU (wip.)

the_randomizer

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Well I used the January 11th cores yesterday and mGBA worked fine with SMA4.
Try with that one, if it works with that one then wait for the January 13th builds in a few mins.

That's the one I tested last night on Snes9x, what's weird is when I ran into a System Memory issue once. But I got that from loading content and letting it decide what core to load for that ROM. However, manually changing the core, then loading Snes ROMs worked fine. I assume the same with GBA applies.
 

ShadowOne333

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That's the one I tested last night on Snes9x, what's weird is when I ran into a System Memory issue once. But I got that from loading content and letting it decide what core to load for that ROM. However, manually changing the core, then loading Snes ROMs worked fine. I assume the same with GBA applies.
I forgot to say I am using the standalone cores, and not the main retroarch app.
Maybe that has something to do as well.
Try the newest January 13th builds, they have been uploaded less than 5 mins ago,
 
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the_randomizer

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I forgot to say I am using the standalone cores, and not the main retroarch app.
Maybe that has something to do as well.
Try the newest January 13th builds, they have been uploaded less than 5 mins ago,

It's been so long, I haven't used the Homebrew launcher in forever :blink:

Can anyone load a ROM and have the core auto-detect do its thing to see if it crashes?
 

NANASHI89

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Official RetroArch Thread


What is RetroArch?

RetroArch is a multi-system frontend which allows you to run many different emulators and other programs ("cores") through a unified interface. There are currently 28 different systems supported on Wii U, along with RetroArch features such as XMB. While far from complete, the Wii U port is constantly growing as features and cores are added.

Quick Links

RetroArch Channel (Download)
RetroArch source
Recent changes (Wii U only)
Latest Wii U builds

Basics
Important: This guide doesn't cover the obsolete .elf method
You'll need:

  • An SD card
  • Homebrew Launcher (HBL). Gamepad-less users may be interested in this mod from @CreeperMario, as it features d-pad support that allows navigation through the apps without using the Gamepad touch screen.
  • Optional: The unofficial RetroArch channel. For this, you'll need:
    • Haxchi, CBHC or another CFW installed. If using CBHC, make sure to read the thread carefully before installing!
    • The RetroArch Channel. Install it using WUP Installer Y MOD or WUP Installer GX2. Copy the unzipped folder 0005000010102172 to sd:/install; the app will install the "channel" in the Wii U menu.
    • You'll need to apply signature patches whenever you start your console. For CBHC users this happens automatically, while users of other methods will have to refer to their method's documentation to make this happen.

Downloading RetroArch
For new users:
Grab the latest nightly here - simply pick the RetroArch_rpx.7z with the most recent date. Unzip it.

If you are using the RetroArch Channel you can delete the "wiiu" folder (the channel has its own .rpx embedded) otherwise if you are launching RetroArch from HBL just keep the "retroarch" folder, you can safely delete all the other folders (they are not needed with the new multicore loading feature).

For veteran users:
You can update your cores from the RetroArch Wii U itself from Online Updater feature. It's worth mentioning that it's kinda slow and is prone to fail depending on your connection.

Setting up XMB (A.K.A. pretty GUI)
If you get a white screen when you start RetroArch, you're missing the assets package. If you can navigate the white menus, go to "Online Updater" and select "Download Assets". Otherwise, download the assets here and extract it to sd:/retroarch/media. The next time you open RetroArch, all should be well.

The default directory for the XMB assets is sd:/retroarch/media, you can change it to any other path you like under Settings > Directory.

Making lists
One of the toughest parts involved in getting the best RetroArch has to offer is setting up the "playlist" files (.lpl) which allow you to make put preset games into an easily-accessible place in the GUI, rather than having to go through the filebrowser and reload cores.

These files are stored in the "playlist" folder. Like most other paths, you can set your own in Retroarch under Settings > Directory.

You can generate your list using Online Updater, though this is prone to fail if you have a large number of games. The PC build of Retroarch can generate lists and the format is compatible with Wii U; or alternatively you can use RetroArch Playlist Buddy to generate your playlists and thumbnails.

Here's how to set up Playlist Buddy:
View attachment 96632

In this example playlists and thumbnails will be stored in sd:/retroarch/cores
To make the process painless always prefer NO-INTRO rom sets as they have a standard naming convention. It helps the program match your roms with the images in Retroarch database.

It's recommended that your "roms" folder has this folder structure:
View attachment 96634

Making lists/thumbnails for MAME/FBA
The process is the same as the other cores BUT you need MAME 078.dat or FB Alpha.dat. The difference is that Arcade/SNK games CAN'T be renamed, so you'll get something like "ashpft" "chopflt"... etc as your game name in the list. To avoid that we use .dat files.

If you are using RetroArch Playlist Buddy just check the "Search XML DAT specified below for titles rather than ROM filenames" box, and type the path to your .dat in the text box.

(this new OP is still a work in progress, current maintainer is @QuarkTheAwesome. Most of this was written by @cucholix)
Can you load roms with a flash drive or an external hard drive with this thing?
 

infidelity

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So I was able to have playlists appear in the xmb for my cores within the XMB. However nothing appears in each of their sections? Also, I went to the libretro site that has all the zipped boxarts for the cores, and obtained and extracted all of them. But no boxarts appear when I scroll through all my roms for whichever core. So my questions are, how do I have games appear in the playlists I now have, and why is my boxart not appearing? I'm using no intro romsets, and I have my rom folders labeled as mentioned on the front page of this thread.
 

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Yes it is.
You need to go to Settings -> Video and then change the Aspect Ratio until you hit "Custom".
Once in custom, you can make use of the X and Y offsets right below the Aspect Ratio option.
Change them to your liking, and once you save simply back off and go back to the game, the new aspect ratio should be applied.

Ok I found the custom option but x and y offset just moves the shown screen left/right and up/ down and doesn't scale it smaller etc.
Any easy way to fit it into the handheld borders?

Edit: I know how to do it now but every other min while trying to set it up for other games i got a wii u memory error...

And how do i set it up to use a different overlay for gb, gbc and gbc? Without having to set it up for each game individually which takes ages. Problem is if i save it for the core it doesn't work because gb and gbc use the same core.
 
Last edited by bixxewoscht,

Osakasan

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I tried to change the aspect ratio and this happened. The menu got completely clean. Jan. 13 nightly

It was while using the Snes9x core with an overlay. The previous aspect ratio was Core Provided
 

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infidelity

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Ok i am about to lose my mind over my boxart not appearing. I have spent all day re-obtaining my no-intro romsets, i am still getting no results.

My directories are as follows on my sd card. Using Atari 2600 as an example.
SD:/roms/Atari - 2600

My directory to the boxart is,
SD:/retroarch/cores/thumbnails/Atari - 2600/ (inside here are 3 folders, Named_Boxarts, Named_Snaps, Named Titles)

As a test, for 1 speific game, I took only the boxart of that one game, and placed it in the folder that has the 3 folders i listed above. And within my consoles rom folder, i have both zipped & unzipped versions of the game, to see if the boxart would appear.

The boxart is an option available in the options in retroarch, i double checked. So when i scroll to the game, i see the zipped & unzipped version of the game, no boxart appears for it. The name of the rom, matches exactly to the name of it's boxart name.

This is beyond frustrating and i cannot find a simple answer to it, or step by step answers.

The other thing that I cannot figure out, is how to have games for specific consoles set as playlists, appear in the playlist for those systems? When i scroll to the right through the XMB, i can see the systems individual icons, and names up top of the screen, but they are all empty. How do I add a game to those playlists?

Please help, I have literally wasted an entire day trying to just get boxarts and playlists to work, and i've come up short. :-(
 

infidelity

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Ok i am about to lose my mind over my boxart not appearing. I have spent all day re-obtaining my no-intro romsets, i am still getting no results.

My directories are as follows on my sd card. Using Atari 2600 as an example.
SD:/roms/Atari - 2600

My directory to the boxart is,
SD:/retroarch/cores/thumbnails/Atari - 2600/ (inside here are 3 folders, Named_Boxarts, Named_Snaps, Named Titles)

As a test, for 1 speific game, I took only the boxart of that one game, and placed it in the folder that has the 3 folders i listed above. And within my consoles rom folder, i have both zipped & unzipped versions of the game, to see if the boxart would appear.

The boxart is an option available in the options in retroarch, i double checked. So when i scroll to the game, i see the zipped & unzipped version of the game, no boxart appears for it. The name of the rom, matches exactly to the name of it's boxart name.

This is beyond frustrating and i cannot find a simple answer to it, or step by step answers.

The other thing that I cannot figure out, is how to have games for specific consoles set as playlists, appear in the playlist for those systems? When i scroll to the right through the XMB, i can see the systems individual icons, and names up top of the screen, but they are all empty. How do I add a game to those playlists?

Please help, I have literally wasted an entire day trying to just get boxarts and playlists to work, and i've come up short. :-(

EDIT - So I was finally able to get the retroarch buddy program to work. It created playlists, and my boxarts now appear.

But im now having another problem, no games will run from the playlists, or from favorites.

And it also seems that boxarts are only visible for whichever game within a playlist only, nowhere else.

What else am I missing here? Thanks!
 

ShadowOne333

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EDIT - So I was finally able to get the retroarch buddy program to work. It created playlists, and my boxarts now appear.

But im now having another problem, no games will run from the playlists, or from favorites.

And it also seems that boxarts are only visible for whichever game within a playlist only, nowhere else.

What else am I missing here? Thanks!
Open the playlists lpl files and check the paths, they should be sd:/ and then the path with / and not \
 

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