How To: Play Non-Arcade systems with FBNeo
This guide describes how to setup your game files to play non-arcade systems using FBNeo. Many (non-arcade) old-school systems work with FBNeo. These sytems currently are:
- ColecoVision
- MSX1
- Sega Game Gear
- Sega Master System
- Sega Mega Drive
- Sega SG-1000
- PC Engine
- SuperGrafx
- ZX Spectrum
You can also play Neo Geo CD games, but that has a slightly different setup. See here on how to play NeoCD games.
Setup
1) Get the latest FBNeo core
Download the latest “Arcade (FinalBurn Neo)” core from the Retroarch Online Updater
2) Get the correct romset and BIOS files
Playing non-arcade games with FB Neo is highly dependant on the romset you are using. The files need to match what FB Neo expects in order for the game to run properly. The current romset is defined in the dat files found here. In general, the FBNeo romset is in sync with the latest MAME romset (but not guaranteed to be exactly the same).
For example, if I want to play Burger Time on ColecoVision, the FBNeo core expects a file name btime.zip with the exact files listed here.
In addition to the game file, FBNeo requires the BIOS file(s) for the associated system to be in the same folder. In the example above, for Burger Time, my game files would include:
...path_to_retroarch_game_directory/ColecoVision (folder)
btime.zip (ZIP file)
coleco.zip (ZIP file)
3) Play from Retroarch
From Retroarch, select Load Core, then select Arcade (FinalBurn Neo). After the core is loaded you will see an updated list of available subsystems that FBNeo can play. Select the subsystem of interest, then browse to the game file you want to play.
4) Play from the Command Line
You can load the game by adding the --subsystem XXX argument. The subsystems are defined as follows:
| Subsystem | Argument |
|---|---|
| ColecoVision | cv |
| MSX 1 | msx |
| Nec PC-Engine | pce |
| Nec SuperGrafX | sgx |
| Nec TurboGrafx-16 | tg |
| Sega GameGear | gg |
| Sega Master System | sms |
| Sega Megadrive | md |
| Sega SG-1000 | sg1k |
| ZX Spectrum | spec |
For example, playing the Sega GameGear game Sonic the Hedgehog from the command line:
(Windows Command)
"...\path_to_program\retroarch.exe" -L "...\path_to_cores\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" --subsystem gg "...\path_to_game_files\gamegear\sonic.zip"
(OSX Command)
/Applications/RetroArch.app/Contents/MacOS/RetroArch -L "/Applications/RetroArch.app/Contents/Resources/cores/fbneo_libretro.dylib" --subsystem gg "...\path_to_game_files\gamegear\sonic.zip"
Alternate Setup
Use subsystem Folder Names
An alternate setup for subsystems is available, allowing you to skip the subsystem command.
With the FBN core option ‘Load Subsystem from Parent Folder’ enabled (which is enabled by default), you can skip the subsystem command. Setup is the same as above, except you need to name the folder all your subsystem roms are in to match the subsystem name. This is particularly helpful for frontends. The possible folder names are as follows (they follow the mame system names):
coleco
gamegear
megadriv
neocd
msx
pce
sg1000
spectrum
sgx
sms
tg16
Example:
...path_to_retroarch_game_directory/coleco (folder)
btime.zip (FBNeo romset game file)
coleco.zip (ZIP file)
Then you can simply load the zip or 7z file in Retroarch using the ‘Load Content’ method, and the subsystem is automatically recognized based on the parent folder name. This should also now work with playlists, and Rocketlauncher, etc.
or you can load the game directly from the command line without the subsystem argument:
(Windows Command)
"...\path_to_program\retroarch.exe" -L "...\path_to_cores\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "...\path_to_retroarch_game_directory\coleco\btime.zip"
This same method should work for all subsystems that FBNeo supports, including Neo Geo CD.
Notes:
There is a specific benefit initially to running from the command line, as the FBNeo core will print out if it cannot find a (bios) file that it expects to run the game. This is particularly helpful when troubleshooting and making sure you’ve downloaded all the correct files. For example, if I’m trying to run the ColecoVision game Burger Time and I happened to forget to place the bios file in the folder, the command line output would show the following:
[libretro INFO] [FBNEO] Using ROM with good CRC and name btime.1 from archive .../coleco/btime
[libretro INFO] [FBNEO] Using ROM with good CRC and name btime.2 from archive .../coleco/btime
[libretro ERROR] [FBNEO] ROM at index 128 with CRC 0x3aa93ef3 is required ...
[libretro ERROR] [FBNEO] Can't launch this game, some files are missing.
This is giving me the hint that FBNeo tried to find a file with crc 3aa93ef3. The FBNeo DAT file confirms that coleco.zip contains that crc.
Additional Examples
Launch the Sega MegaDrive game Aero the Acrobat
-
Launch the game in Retroarch by loading the FBNeo Core, then selecting Load MegaDrive subsystem, then point to the game file
aero.zip -
Launch from the command line with the following:
(Windows Command)
"...\path_to_program\retroarch.exe" -L "...\path_to_cores\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" --subsystem md "...\path_to_game_files\megadrive\aero.zip"
(OSX Command)
/Applications/RetroArch.app/Contents/MacOS/RetroArch -L "/Applications/RetroArch.app/Contents/Resources/cores/fbneo_libretro.dylib" --subsystem md "/path_to_game_files/megarive/aero.zip"
Launch the ZX Spectrum game R-Type
-
Launch the game in Retroarch by loading the FBNeo Core, then selecting Load ZX Spectrum subsystem, then point to the game file
rtype.zip -
Launch from the command line with the following:
(Windows Command)
"...\path_to_program\retroarch.exe" -L "...\path_to_cores\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" --subsystem spec "...\path_to_game_files\zx3\rtype.zip"
(OSX Command)
/Applications/RetroArch.app/Contents/MacOS/RetroArch -L "/Applications/RetroArch.app/Contents/Resources/cores/fbneo_libretro.dylib" --subsystem spec "/path_to_game_files/zx3/rtype.zip"
Happy Old-School Gaming!
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