New Frontend Concept

RetroArch Android devices
#41

Hello everyone!

It’s been a long time since I posted here the last time. After talking on the IRC channel, RetroArch authors were concerned about possible problems since game boxarts are intellectual property, although I am always using a lo-fi version (the thumb instead of the big image) and this is allowed by the fair use policy.

So I decided to make my app stand-alone, to avoid problems to RetroArch, and give it a totally different look. The app is called Gamesome Frontend and it’s on the play store for free. The other big difference is that the GUI doesn’t support only RetroArch, but even some other main emulators. So that it really is a universal emulation frontend.

Source code for this gui will remain on github for anyone interested in continuing/improving my work. :slight_smile:

Thanks to anyone who gave his/her feedback in this topic!

#42

@vektor, fastastic job!

I’m testing it and I’m really enjoying. Just added some rep in Play store and left some feedback. Soon I’ll order the paid app to support your development.

Best regards

#43

Just tried the latest version of gamesome from the market (unless it’s been updated while I was at work) and I like most of it Selecting games by there covers is great. It makes me more interested in playing a game when I can see the cover. It’s also nice to get the description as well.

Some Suggestions I have -Would like to see a couple more platforms. Sega CD and 32X. -Would like to use Picodrive for GG and SMS games -Would also like to see AnVice include as a C64 emulator rather than relying on c64.emu -Would like to be able to edit emulator settings as it seems pointless having to open Retroarch to set the system paths and controls then closing it just to open gamesome (talking more about 1st time setups) -Would be nice to be able to hide or delete games. I noticed some duplicate games in my collection now that I can see the covers. I also noticed my 32x bios roms were being picked up as games

I do have a few problems -I find it takes too long to list the games. Sometimes I can’t tell if it’s locked up or still doing something. I don’t mind waiting the first time but I need something to let me know I’m not wasting my time while it does nothing.

  • It crashes when I select the playstation option. -I went from Sega Mega Drive to C64 and it was still showing me the Sega Mega Drive covers. -My mian problem though is the use of adverts. This to me doesn’t seem in the spirit of Retroarch. It turns a free app without adverts into an adware app. Now I know it is supposed to be a standalone app, but it was initially developed as a new frontend for Retroarch and links up with all the retroarch cores. So to me personally this seems wrong. Will it stop me using it? Probably not. Will it make me feel cheap and dirty and used? Probably so.
#44

Sorry if it took this long for me to answer, I am not checking this post, since the app is not related to RetroArch. I prefer a mail to the support next time (it’s on the app page) :slight_smile:

Glad to hear you like it :slight_smile:

  • Ok, I can add sega CD and 32X, now I think they’re merged with Mega Drive/Genesis
  • I will add PicoDrive
  • I didn’t know AnVice, I will test and add it if I can do it. Not all emulators can be added, it depends on how they are coded. As you see I try to add new emulators sometimes :slight_smile:
  • Send me a mail to support so we can discuss it :stuck_out_tongue:
  • Duplicates are not shown anymore since 1.03.* versions, for bios roms I can work on this
  • Obviously the bigger your collection is, the more it takes to get game data. It also depends on your connection speed and ping time to the online services (thegamesdb and arcadehits for mame).
  • Even now? There were problems with pbp files and I disabled them.
  • This bug was solved in latest updates
  • Sorry, but I disagree with you: it’s like saying “this mail client shows ads, it connects to my mail provider servers and this doesn’t seem in the spirit of my provider since its web interface is ad free”. Gamesome is not related to RetroArch, it is a universal standalone frontend and it follows the spirit of Gamesome. It also supports RetroArch cores, but I don’t feel like my app is a scam that “adds” advertisements to RetroArch, I feel like my app offers a set of unique features - that can be offered independently from RetroArch - plus the possibility to launch games with RetroArch. I’m not describing Gamesome as if it were “RetroArch 2.0” and I only use RetroArch files from your installed app, I’m not including/adding ads/reselling any RetroArch piece of code inside Gamesome. I also want to point out that when control is passed to RetroArch (game is launched) there are no ads shown, only while using Gamesome you will see ads, there isn’t any kind of interference with emulators (I assure you this could be done without editing app code, but this is wrong, showing ads in your own app isn’t).

Moreover, banners are colored images if you don’t click them… I don’t make any profit

#45

A lot of my issues were fixed in the updates. I’ll send you an email about any issues i still have. The main one is still the loading. It’s because I have a lot of arcade and c64 games and i can’t tell if its doing anything or locked up.

With adverts I just hate them in general. I would much prefer an option to donate to the developer. I think more people who use this kind of software would be more inclined to press donate than a candy crush advert. I do understand why you have them and don’t think it’s a scam. It’s not like you are claiming the emulators are your work like some people do.

Anyway I’ll email you and see if you like any of my suggestions

#46

Hi, I have an android console GPD G5A, and when I load a game my console buttons do not work. However if I load a game in retroarch work properly.

What I can do?

#47

@theflyingdove You’ll probably want to send him an email through the app’s support link, since I don’t think he checks this forum much anymore:

#48

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Ok, what is his email?

Thanks.

#49

I get mail notifications, but not always for some reason. When I get them I check the forum, but I don’t think this is the right place to answer questions related to my app. I will answer any question about the vektorgui and its source :slight_smile:

#50

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