UPDATE: When I originally made this post I was using RetroArch v1.2.2. Since then I’ve updated to v1.3.2 and all my previous frustrations about RetroArch’s incompatibility with custom generated playlists is no longer an issue.
I’m at my wits’ end. About 4 days ago I decided to give RetroArch another try. I had originally stepped away from it because of how anti user-friendly it felt. And after slamming my head against the wall these last 4 days, it seems that nothing has changed.
I set up RetroArch and everything seemed to be working fine. I was able to individually load rom’s/iso’s, and to my excitement, everything seemed to be running very well. Instantly I began to ask myself… “I wonder if there’s a way to view a list of all my games so I don’t have to keep loading them individually?” – Quickly I learned that there WAS!! You can imagine my excitement. So I start scanning all of my game libraries. “This sure seems slow.” I thought. “But who cares, because soon I’ll be able to access all my games via lists that are conveniently organized by console/handheld.”
That’s about where my happiness stopped. Some of my games were recognized, meaning that obviously I have some No-Intro games in my library. A lot of others weren’t. I’ve tried using scripts to generate custom playlists. The scripts work fine. The games even show up. But nothing starts. I’ve tried modifying everything I can think of. I’ve searched non-stop. If Google were human, it would’ve filed a restraining order against me to cease all contact.
There "has to be’ a BETTER way!
Seriously, why the No-Intro requirement? For the sake of uniformity? Because, in this case, uniformity sucks! I don’t care about pretty looking names, or future plans for box art. I just want to see all my games in one concise list. – Actually, I CAN see them, I just can’t get them to run. And there’s no reason why they shouldn’t run seeing as how they run perfectly in a variety of other emulators. Hell they even work perfectly when loading them individually through RetroArch. Gamers shouldn’t be expected to re-download all their rom libraries simply for the playlist feature to work.
It honestly feels as if the development team went out of their way to make these games NOT work via playlists. Otherwise, why isn’t there at least an option for us to bypass the No-Intro requirement? A simple setting that turns off database functionality and allows us to view and run our games without issue. – I can understand the benefits of the No-Intro requirement for some users, but we’re not all the same, let us have OPTIONS!
It becomes frustrating when you consider that this app has configuration options coming out the whazoo. But then choose to leave out a basic game listing feature that every emulator (and front-end) has had since the mid-90’s. It doesn’t make any sense. And, it makes even less sense when you consider that earlier versions of RetroArch had this feature.
Anyway, sorry for venting, but it’s been 4 days of frustration. I’d vent elsewhere but Google won’t listen, and my girlfriend could care less about this stuff.
Honestly though, I’d really like to try and figure this out. There has to be some kind of work-around. Otherwise why would there be a crap-ton of “playlist generating scripts” out there if there wasn’t a way to get things working?
This is an example of one of my No-Intro Rom lists that works…
L:\GAMING\ROMs\Nintendo\Virtual Boy\3D Tetris (U) [!].vb
3-D Tetris (USA)
L:\GAMING\EMUs\RetroArch_1.2.2\cores\mednafen_vb_libretro.dll
Mednafen/Beetle VB
BB71B522|crc
Nintendo - Virtual Boy.lpl
L:\GAMING\ROMs\Nintendo\Virtual Boy\Galactic Pinball (JU) [!].vb
Galactic Pinball (Japan, USA)
L:\GAMING\EMUs\RetroArch_1.2.2\cores\mednafen_vb_libretro.dll
Mednafen/Beetle VB
C9710A36|crc
Nintendo - Virtual Boy.lpl
This is an example of one of my script generated lists that doesn’t work…
L:\GAMING\ROMs\Nintendo\Snes\AAAHH!!! Real Monsters (U) [!].smc
AAAHH!!! Real Monsters (U) [!]
DETECT
DETECT
DETECT
Nintendo - Super Nintendo Entertainment System.lpl
L:\GAMING\ROMs\Nintendo\Snes\ABC Monday Night Football (U).smc
ABC Monday Night Football (U)
DETECT
DETECT
DETECT
Nintendo - Super Nintendo Entertainment System.lpl
The games are showing up on the list, and when I select them they even give me the option of which Core I want to use. But once I select the Core it just shows me the games list like I pressed nothing. And that’s best case scenario. In other scenarios it actually shows no Core’s and then RetroArch crashes. In either case, no games load. The Start Content menu that pops up after selecting a rom doesn’t show up while using custom playlists, either.
Anyone have any ideas on what I’m doing wrong? I’d appreciate any insight. I’ve tried deleting the Databases so that RetroArch has nothing to check against, and nothing changes.