New User: some questions

RetroArch General
#1

Hi guys

i have just downloaded the last stable version, 1.4.0 but i have some questions, can you help me please?

  1. which is the difference between shaders .glsl and shaders .cgp ? I don’t know which is the shader that it is better to select…

  2. Video Option: now I have default setting, but i don’t know which are the better setting for some parameters. I would like to play with the original aspect ratio of every system so I left Aspect Ratio = core provided, is it correct?

And if I want to play in full screen and in full hd resolution, whcih are the parameters I have to modify? The default setting for Custom Viewport Widht and Height is 3x, is it necessary to modify it in order to play in fullhd? In any case, I would like to emulate in my monitor in the better way a crt resolution/effect, so which are the setting s you suggest?

  1. I want to emulate Neo Geo: is it true that the best emulator is FB Alpha (Arcade) instead of FBA Neo Geo 2012? Why? Probably because FB Alpha Arcade is currently updated with new roms version like MAME?

many thanks

#2

Cg/p shaders are the ones you want to use in most cases. The only reason to use GLSL shaders over them is if Cg is incompatible with something (e.g., Cg shaders are incompatible with DRM/KMS in Linux).

Core-provided is usually 4:3 for anything that was typically displayed on a home television. Aspect ratio is a very contentious topic among enthusiasts, though, and that isn’t sufficient for everyone. For example, some people say 5:4 is closer for NES, and some people prefer to always use 1:1 PAR…

If you want to fill your screen, set your aspect ratio to 16:9 (or 16:10 as the case may be) and make sure ‘integer scale’ is disabled.

FB Alpha is more up-to-date than FBA Neo Geo 2012, which is just the Neo Geo bits isolated from an older version of the Final Burn Alpha core.

#3

thanks! So i will use cgp shaders.

  1. If I set Aspect Ratio 16:9 probably the image is deformed, am I right? Probably it is better Core-Provided.
  2. If I select Core provided, is the resolution 1920x1080 ?
  3. And if I select Core provided, is it better NOT to click in the icon “Enlarge” at the right-corner of the screen?
  4. last question: if I change the aspect ratio, the screen doesn’t change…is it normal? Probably it changes only when I run an emulator?

many thanks!

#4

1.) yes. I think stretching to 16:9 looks awful but some people would rather accept the deformity than suffer having black pillarboxing. 2.) not usually. RetroArch typically stretches the Y-axis to fill the screen and then stretches the X-axis to match the aspect ratio setting. Core-provided is usually 4:3 for consoles, 1:1 PAR for handhelds. 3.) I don’t know which ‘enlarge’ icon you’re referring to. 4.) yes, when you start RetroArch, it loads a “dummy” core that just displays a black screen, so AR changes won’t look like anything. Once you load a core and some content, it will be more apparent.

#5
  1. ok thanks
  2. so, do you think that for a better image quality, consiering that i want the more similar crt effect, is Core-provided even if the resolution isn’t 1920x1080?
  3. I’m talking about this: https://s28.postimg.org/58ra6ct71/Immagine.png
  4. ok. But usually when I start Retroarch, first of all I choose a core…do you think that it is better to select Video options BEFORE to load a core? In this case my Video setting will be applied automatically to every emulator? In order to have different video or shaders filters, I selected Configuration Per-Core = ON

thanks!

#6

2.) Yeah, personally, I use integer scaling with a CRT shader for most things. Another trick you can do is turn on integer scaling and set the aspect ratio to ‘custom’ and then set the custom viewport x/y to 5x scale. This will still leave small black bars on the sides and the game screen will get cut off slightly on the top and bottom, but that area was usually cut off by CRT TV’s overscan, anyway, so games very rarely put important stuff there.

3.) Ah, that button. That won’t affect the aspect ratio. RetroArch will still try to scale up to the window size (or screen size if you’re running fullscreen) and the AR will stretch accordingly.

4.) I wouldn’t rely on configuration per-core because that option was removed between v1.3.6 and v1.4.0. If you turn that option off and use config overrides instead, you’ll be ready for future versions. Any settings you apply before loading any cores/content will go into your main retroarch.cfg. Once you load a core/content, differences between your retroarch.cfg and the current settings will go into a per-core/per-game override when you ‘save core/game override’ from the quick menu. << this stuff isn’t in the 1.3.6 GUI. Go ahead and update to 1.4.0 to see them.

#7

thanks!

  1. So, you suggest 2 different video setting that i can try: A) Aspect Ratio = Core-provided and Integer scale = Off B) Aspect Ratio = Custom and Custom Vieweport Width and Height 5x. But which are the parameters that I have to set manaully to these 2 setting? the default values are 960 (3x) and 720 (3x) but i don’t know the values for 5x…

  2. OK, understood!

  3. I have just seen! this option is removed! So I hope that ow it is easier to configure different video and shaders setting for every core! So now I see Load Content-specific Core Options: the default is off. Do I need to turn on it? And do you think that I can leave turned ON the option “Load Override files automatically”?

4)I haven’t understood how i can configure every core setting… For example, first of all I want to set some general settings, that i can use for every core, (video resolution as discussed at point 1, for example). So, as soon as i start retroarch, BEFORE to load a core, i set these general settings and then when I exit form retorarch, these setting are automatically saved…am I right? Then, if I load for example FBA Arcade core and I want to set Video Filter = 2xSal ONLY for this emulator and shaders = crt-royale- kurozumi.cgp, what I have to do? And for Snes core , I load bsnes_accuracy and I want to set Video Filters = Blargg_NTSC_SNES_RGB (i think that this is the best filter for Snes in order to emulate crt…) and shaders = crt-hyllian.cgp, what I have to do?

I don’t know if it is clear…I’m sorry…my english isn’t good…

many thanks for your help!

#8

1B) With integer scaling on, it will snap to the next integer when you increase the values.

3.) ‘load content-specific core options’ doesn’t need to be on, no. Yes, leave on ‘load override files automatically.’

4.) yes, anything you set with no core will apply to everything when you exit. For your FBA example, load a game, go to settings > video and set your 2xSaI filter, then go over to the quick menu > shaders and set your shader and then ‘save core preset.’ Then go back one menu level (i.e., back to the quick menu) and ‘save core override’. Once that’s all set up, exit RetroArch, relaunch and make sure it all does what you want when you load FBA games. If so, exit once more and then relaunch and go through the same steps for your bsnes options.

Note: once an override is loaded, your settings changes won’t be saved to any configs anymore unless you specifically ‘save core override’ again.

#9

Yeah, many thanks!

  1. Until now I followed this procedure: A) I loaded a Core (foe example FBA), then i went to Video Settings and set Video filter = 2xSal B) then I loaded a game for FBA and then i pushed Command–> Menu Toggle --> Shaders in order to set the shaders for that emulator.

Is it the right way? What do you mean with “go over to the quick menu” ? Do you mean the Menù Toggle section?

After these settings, if I start a new Rertroarch installation (as in this case, I want to reconfigure it again, the 1.3.6 version is old and i think not configured in the right way…), I think that i have to follow these steps:

  1. Online Updater --> Core Updater : I download the list of all the available cores. Then, i push on the core that I want to download and I download it
  2. Online Updater–> Update Core Info Files: after point 1, with this option RetroArch it seems that update the name of the Cores extracted/downloaded at point 1. Am I right?
  3. Online Updater --> Update databases: I have to download here the list of games for the cores that I have, is it correct?
  4. Online Updater --> Update Cg_shaders e GLSL shaders
  5. Online Updater --> Update Assets: Which is its function exactly?
  6. I put in system folder the need bios (neogeo bios need to be in roms foleder)
  7. Settings → Playlists : i select the default core for every system

thank you very much for all your help!

#10

Load the content before you change any options. In RetroArch, the core isn’t fully loaded until a game is playing.

Yes, when I referred to the ‘quick menu,’ I meant the menu that has ‘resume,’ ‘restart,’ ‘close,’ ‘take screenshot,’ ‘shaders’ and so on.

If you download the 100+ MB RetroArch package, you don’t need to update everything, usually. Yes, the info files let RetroArch use “pretty” names for the cores instead of their filenames (e.g., ‘Snes9x’ instead of snes9x_libretro.dll). The assets are the icons and fonts for the menus. If you get black boxes instead of icons or ugly text, you might need to update them but otherwise it shouldn’t be necessary. Likewise, it should come with all of the shaders available at the time of download, so you only need to update if a new one is released and you don’t have it yet.

but yeah, those steps look go to me.

#11

ah ok! So it is better to load a core and its game BEFORE to set any specifict setting for that Core! I dind’t know this! I don’t find Save Core preset and save core override: are they in a specific sub menu? And which is the function of Update Database? I have to update it for the rom list supporter by every core?

And please, can you tell me which is the right procedures/steps in order to add roms to a Core and then to load them?

  1. First of all I load a Core
  2. then Main Menù --> Add Content --> Scan Directory: in this way the icon of that emulator appear in the main menù, and its games list below
  3. And I can load a game directly in this list. But it is also possible to load a game in this way: Load Content --> Select file and detect core, am I right?

I know that if roms don’t appear under the Emulator icons after the step 2 above, i need to run RetroArch Playlist Generator, is it correct?

Well, I’m not really sure which is the right procedure in order to add roms to every Core and how to run them…can you tell me which is the right one? I’m a little confused and I follow some steps but i think that it isn’t completely correct…

thanks!

#12

Save core preset is in the shader menu and save core override is on the quick menu with ‘close,’ ‘restart’, ‘take screenshot’, etc. if you don’t see them, you’re using an old version of RetroArch and should update.

The way I add ROMs to playlists is update your databases (you only need to do this once, not every time; and yes, it’s these databases that RetroArch uses to match ROMs to playlists) navigate to the plus sign tab and then choose a directory to scan. Yes, if it doesn’t find your games, you can use an external utility to build your playlist instead. Once you make a playlist, go to settings > playlists and assign a core to the playlist.

#13

thanks!

so,

  1. first of all I Update database of that core I want to use (only 1 time)
  2. then I navigate on to Plus and I scan a directory where i have the roms of the core I have selected
  3. so I have a play list and then i go to Playists and I assign the core During these 3 steps, Have I to load a core or not?

If I want to add roms to a playlist which is the right method? Main Menù --> Add Content --> Scan Directory ?

I’m becoming mad setting controls of my joypad (general command for navigate to the retroarch interface, i’m not talking about the specific setting for every emulator). I want to set again as in previous version the command but it is not possible:

  1. For example, i can’t have same setting into brakets on the commands in the red square(first picture). Now if I set the joypad command, it is impossible to have into brakets up, down, left, right!!! see my picture here:

Here the setting of 1.3.6, they works correctly: https://postimg.org/image/69obr2ogh/

and here the setting of 1.4.0 and here it is impossibile to use left stick: https://postimg.org/image/uclotmj5j/

I’m not able to set again up, down, left and right into the 4 command into red square, as it was in the sceenshot of 1.3.6 version. It is really strange…I don’t know, probably this is the reason that makes impossible to navigate with left stick…?

thanks!

EDIT: now the left stick analog works! I exit and restart retroach and they it owrks! it is strange and i don’t know how to set correctly the command intro brakets, but it doesn’t matter, the joypad works :slight_smile:

#14

It doesn’t matter if you have a core loaded for the scanning or not.

#15

thanks

well, it works! I still have 2 questions:

  1. I navigated on to Plus and I scan a directory where i have the roms of the core I have selected and then I have a play list and then i went to Playlists and I assigned the core.

Then i added a rom in the rom folder, i went again in Plus --> Scan Directory --> scan the folder where i added the rom and then I went again into the playlist, but the new rom isn’t available…why? Have I to follow a different approach when i need to update the playlist with the added roms?

  1. following your suggestions, i set up one emulator of sns with its video setting and then i wxit. But if i enter again in retroarch, BEFORE to load the core, in Video section i see that there is automatically loaded the video filter i selected for snes emulator…why? Is it normal?
#16

  1. Playlists don’t watch directories. They scan once and that’s it. If you were to scan again, you would have 2 entries for the first game and 1 for the second. If you want to add games piecemeal, just delete the playlist first and re-scan.

  2. It’s not intended but it’s possible. While you’re getting your core-specific overrides set up, you might want to change ‘config save on exit’ to OFF so you don’t save any of those core-specific settings to your main config accidentally. Once an override is loaded, it will automatically stop saving any settings to the main config, but some of them may sneak in before the first override is set up.

#18

ok thanks

  1. ok, so every thime that i add a new roms, i need to delete the playlist and create it again. How can I delete the playlist? I didn’t find the right command…

  2. Well, now even if i run a different core, with a different video setting, every time i enter in retroarch the default video setting is the same filter I have choosed for my first core configured (bsnes, with video = Blargg_NTSC_SNES_RGB ). Is it possible to reset this parameter in order to have ’ null’ value as default? Or the only way is to delete the retroarch.cfg file and configure again everything? It is strange becasue i remember that when i configured the bsnes, i followed the procedure described above so i don’t know why the default value now is that video filter…

  3. If change ‘config save on exit’ to OFF i’m sure that in the main config i don’t save accidentally specific setting of cores. But if i want to save defaul config i have to remember, BEFORE exit, to push Configurations --> Save current configurations. Am I right?

#19

1.) delete it through your filesystem. They’re files ending in *.lpl.

2.) yes, go to settings > video > video filter and where it says Blargg_NTSC_SNES_RGB, press the spacebar (or retropad ‘start’), which is the hotkey for ‘return to default setting’, i.e. no filter.

3.) If you turn that setting to OFF in the menu, it will never actually save to the config unless you specifically use the ‘save current config’ option. That’s be cause it takes effect immediately and doesn’t save itself on exit. So, if your global options are set up the way you want them and you’re ready to work on a core’s settings, you can go turn that setting on, do your stuff, save your override and then exit and everything should revert back to your original settings (including that one) on exit.

#20

  1. OK, it works!

  2. done!

  3. well, understood. Now i want to configure specific settings for every emulator. I started with Nestopia. I loaded its core, i configured Video filter and shaders and I saved as we said above. It works. Then I ran a game, i entered in quick menu --> Controls --> i changed the input parameters --> Save core override --> Resume (or Reset and resume) and the commands works perfectly. But if I exit from retroarch and enter again, when i load nestopia, the joypad setting aren’t saved!
    I tried both with ‘config save on exit’ to OFF (but i think that this option has effect only in default parameters, not in specific parameters of the cores, am i right?) and ON, but nothing changes…In my previous version of Retroarch I saved correctly these settingsa…i don’t know why now it doesn’t work… I’m not able to save Control settings… :frowning:

4)I don’t find the option where I can disable (or select) the thumbnails…In the previous version it was in Settings --> menù --> Thumbnails, but now this option is disappeared…

many thanks!

#21

3.) The core input remaps are saved from that same ‘controls’ menu. They’re not part of the overrides.

4.) it’s in settings > user interface > menu > show thumbnails