What exactly is Lakka.TV?

Libretro Lakka
#1

Hi,

I just discover lakka.tv, I read a lot about it, but still I am confused. What exactly is a lakka.tv?

It is a fully featured operating system? I can run any kind of software in it (like firefox or emulators like zsnes, epsxe, etc)? Or it is just a piece of software that runs on top of another operating system?

How it relate to libretro? libretro itself is a little abstract, it reminds me of JVM, as a way to create peace of cross-platform software. Buts it seems a little more (or different) than that.

Anyway, it seems like a awesome project, congratulation, and well sorry for the stupid question.

#2

i want know too

#3

It’s a distro based on OpenElec that is designed to be a console-like experience built around RetroArch. I assume you can run other software in it, but it’s not supported, so you’d be on your own getting that stuff setup.

#4

Hmm, I think i understand. Thank you for the awnser.

There is a terminal or something of sorts so I can handle different kind of stuff? There is some kind of package manager, like deb or rpm?

Beyond that, I am still having some trouble to understand retroarch, how its packages are different from normal packages? For example i read that there no ps2 emulator in lakka.tv, but pcsx2 runs normally on ubuntu, why not on lakka.tv?

#5

OpenElec offers ssh and console access, but it has no package manager. PCSX2 probably doesn’t work because lakka.tv doesn’t have required libraries for it.

#6

So that’s why RetroArch 1.1 hasn’t happened? They’re building a whole front end instead? Looks very cool, but I’d rather they simply fixed the controller inputs in the existing RA. There should be some kind of universal discipline of “fix existing bugs before adding new features”.

#7

The main devs aren’t focusing on Lakka for the most part. Most of it is being done by a pair of volunteers that don’t really do any core work or non-menu-related work on RA. However, I see the fix-existing-bugs-before-adding-new-features thing mentioned frequently and the fact of the matter is that RetroArch and all of the libretro ports are developed and maintained by an extremely small team that works unpaid, so they do/fix/implement whatever they have the information and inclination to deal with at any given time.

Most of us are on Linux, and input is fine there, AFAIK. I haven’t had any issues in Windows when I’ve gone to test it, either, though that hasn’t been extensive, I admit. That said, patches and pull requests are always welcome (and are accepted at a much higher rate than with many/most other open source projects), but beyond that, informative bug reports with meaningful explanations of how to reproduce the issue–generally from the latest nightly with a clean config–are needed before we can address any issues that we don’t directly experience ourselves.

#8

Lakka is a linux distribution, but it’s the exact opposite of a general purpose distribution. You install it on a dedicated computer, or a single board computer like the raspberry pi, and it becomes a game console. We target non technical users, but we also want to create something beautifull in the eye of a developper.

We don’t ship pcsx2 because there is no libretro version of it. Lakka is a libretro only thing, for sanity of the architecture :slight_smile:

We (the developpers of Lakka) started it as a side project. And now we’re getting closer to the libretro team, so this distro is becoming a libretro project. Squarepusher announced on the blog a few month ago his idea of RetroBox, so that’s what Lakka is basically.

#9

I think i get it, but still have to do some exploration about libretro.

I honestly find all this amazing. Good luck to you guys, I plan to build o desktop for lakka (or use raspkerry pi), maybe i return one day with bug report and other things of sorts.

#10

[QUOTE=hunterk;18507]The main devs aren’t focusing on Lakka for the most part. Most of it is being done by a pair of volunteers that don’t really do any core work or non-menu-related work on RA. However, I see the fix-existing-bugs-before-adding-new-features thing mentioned frequently and the fact of the matter is that RetroArch and all of the libretro ports are developed and maintained by an extremely small team that works unpaid, so they do/fix/implement whatever they have the information and inclination to deal with at any given time.

Most of us are on Linux, and input is fine there, AFAIK. I haven’t had any issues in Windows when I’ve gone to test it, either, though that hasn’t been extensive, I admit. That said, patches and pull requests are always welcome (and are accepted at a much higher rate than with many/most other open source projects), but beyond that, informative bug reports with meaningful explanations of how to reproduce the issue–generally from the latest nightly with a clean config–are needed before we can address any issues that we don’t directly experience ourselves.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the reply. I was concerned that my tone sounded too critical, but I’m glad it was taken the right way.

I don’t know what a pull request is… I think that means that I write code and request that it’s added to the program? Sorry but my skills are strictly limited to markup. I’m a graphic designer. The xbox360 controller Mac issue is persistent. Anyone trying to bind keys to an xbox360 controller on a Mac (made possible with the tattiebogle driver) will experience the program hanging after a couple of keys are entered.

Sorry for taking this thread off topic. I’m happy to continue it in the Apple section where I have mentioned this issue several times.