RetroArch 1.2.2 dropped frames

RetroArch Nintendo consoles
#1

I had to roll back to 1.0.0.2 (process was quite fast and streamlined, very easy to downgrade), as there is a very peculiar issue with dropped frames that was not in 1.0.0.2. What I mean is think of it like v-sync that doesn’t work perfectly. I noticed this framerate issue in Genesis Plus, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, this issue is very noticeable, esp. in the Sky Sanctuary Zone when you’re beamed up from the ground to the skies, the strobe effects 16-bit games used so much. The flickering should be steady and always 60 fps, flickering perfectly, however, 1.2.2 does not do this, instead, it flickers and then drops a few frames for a couple of seconds then picks back up. I have no way to record it since I’ve no video capturing software, I don’t know if the v-sync was changed at all from 1.0.0.2 to 1.2.2 or not, but I’ve reason to believe something had changed, but I know for a fact this issue doesn’t exist in older versions of RA. The Genesis Plus core hasn’t been updated, just the RA GUI itself, so something was changed to handle v-sync differently.

I know I might sound crazy, I don’t even know if others can reproduce it, but to sum up, for the cores that ran 60 fps all the time, no longer do in 1.2.2, dropped frames never happened on the older versions. I don’t know what else to call it other than a video syncing issue. Thank you for your time.

#2

I’ve seen the same issue with Sonic 3 & Knuckles (& Knuckles) on 1.2.2, which made me think my Wii was wrong, as at first I didn’t think it was RA (Seeing how 1.0.0.2 played it perfectly) but after testing a little by using RA 1.0.0.2 and 1.2.2 back to back with the same game I found out that it was 1.2.2 itself.

Seeing how SNES, Genesis/Megadrive, and GBA suffer this problem, the source of this issue could be the same.

In any case if someone wants to play games from those systems they should use 1.0.0.2 in the meantime. Thankfully having two SD’s for this is very handy, even more in my case as I tend to play this game quite often.

#3

I’ll leave my 1.0.0.2 install for the foreseeable future with all of these issues.

#4

[QUOTE=Maeson;28615]I’ve seen the same issue with Sonic 3 & Knuckles (& Knuckles) on 1.2.2, which made me think my Wii was wrong, as at first I didn’t think it was RA (Seeing how 1.0.0.2 played it perfectly) but after testing a little by using RA 1.0.0.2 and 1.2.2 back to back with the same game I found out that it was 1.2.2 itself. Seeing how SNES, Genesis/Megadrive, and GBA suffer this problem, the source of this issue could be the same. In any case if someone wants to play games from those systems they should use 1.0.0.2 in the meantime. Thankfully having two SD’s for this is very handy, even more in my case as I tend to play this game quite often.[/QUOTE]

Actually I’m happy to report that the RA GUI boot.dol is not to blame, the cores used for it had a regression.

Just to update, it turns out that the RA GUI itself is not at fault; I had a friend compile the newest Genesis Plus builds for both 1.0.0.2 and 1.2.2 and neither of them had dropped frames. The problem was the cores themselves being outdated or had some kind of regression. Retrogamer compiled them and I have the links but I don’t know if I can share them, so I’ll ask.

I tested man games and both had perfect framerates, so I know the fact the cores need to be newer, but in the mean time I personally recommend 1.0.0.2.

#5

Updated cores for 1.0.0.2 sounds fantastic, and I’m happy that the problem was the emulators themselves and not RA, but at the same time it sounds weird that different cores have similar problems at the same time.

#6

Who knows for sure what the real cause was, but yeah, updated cores for 1.0.0.2 and 1.2.2 work fantastic, I’m not a big fan for 1.2.2 and here are my reasons why:

  • The quick menu, I can’t just press “home” and go to “Load content for (X core)” I know have to go through an extra menu to save and load states, but also load a new game or core. I liked the old design better.
  • The onscreen display for “now connected with Wii remote” or “Resolution set to 0 x 0” and despite given instructions to disable it, there’s no way to disable it.
#7

You can’t either access many of the options while running a game because of the quick menu. Kind of hard to make some configurations when you have to go on and off the game multiple times because you can see it like in 1.0.0.2…

Although this is a trend in many programs. I really don’t see how this way of doing things is more “user friendly” or faster, to be honest, but that may be just me.

Where could I get the updated cores for 1.0.0.2? Or where could I get information on how to make them, if it needs to be that way?