How to use RetroArch - emulator for Dendy, Sega Mega Drive and other old consoles
Educational Program Technologies / / December 28, 2020
What is RetroArch
RetroArch is a versatile frontend for dozens of different retro console emulators, computers and arcade machines. In contrast to separate emulators for each platform with different settings and interface, RetroArch offers a single library of games with easy navigation and sorting.
This means that you no longer need to switch between applications and think which one is suitable for a particular platform - you just need to select a game and it will start immediately. The collection perfectly coexists with favorite titles Sega mega drive, PlayStation, Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance and many more consoles.
At the same time, RetroArch supports almost any gamepads, displays covers and screenshots of games, and also allows you to create playlists, enhances the picture and can do a lot of other useful things. It's all customizable and works on smartphones, tablets, computers, TV boxes, single board PCs and game consoles.
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How to set up RetroArch
Installation
RetroArch is available for Windows, macOS, Linux - and not only for current versions, but also for those that are no longer supported even by manufacturers. For example, Windows 95 or Mac OS X on PowerPC. The shell works on Android, iOS and a large number of game consoles - from PlayStation 2 to Nintendo Switch.
To install, go to the official website for this link and download the installation file for your device. After downloading, run the installer and follow the wizard's prompts. When finished, launch RetroArch from the Applications menu.
Switch language
The default is the system language, but English is usually enabled. If you wish, you can change it to Russian, but keep in mind that the localization is not perfect, and some points are not translated.
To change the language, go to Settings → User → Language and select the desired item in the list. We recommend using English and we will give the English names of the menu sections. If you still want Russian - complete all the settings, and then switch.
Gamepad setup
Game controllers are automatically detected. It is enough to connect gamepad to the device, and it will work immediately in RetroArch. A wide variety of controllers are supported, including the Dualshock 4 and Xbox One S Controller, as well as third-party wired and wireless controllers.
Configuring the controller comes down to assigning hot keys to invoke the menu. To do this, open Settings → Input → Hotkey Binds → Menu Toggle Gamepad Combo and select a combination of buttons from the list. By default, L3 + R3 is used, but if you have a gamepad without analog sticks, for example from the Super Nintendo, it is more convenient to use L1 + R1 + Select + Start.
Here you can also set combinations for fast saving and loading, as well as rewinding time.
Interface customization
By default, RetroArch uses the XMB graphical interface, familiar to PlayStation 3 owners. It is very easy to navigate with a gamepad. However, besides this, several other options are also available for both desktops and portable devices. To switch go to Settings → Drivers → Menu and select the appropriate one.
You can also change the appearance of icons and font in the menu. This is done in the Settings → User Interface → Appearance → Menu Icon Theme section. Moreover, various menu animations and color schemes are also available - the items Menu Shader Pipeline and Menu Color Theme are responsible for them, respectively.
Loading emulators
Initially, RetroArch doesn't have a single emulator. They are loaded as kernel modules for each console. At the same time, there may be several cores for the same platform (when you start the game, you just need to choose which one to use).
It is advisable to update the databases before installing the emulators in order to download the most current versions. To do this, open Main Menu → Online Updater and select Update Core Info Files and then Update Databases.
Now go to Core Updater and install kernels for the emulators of the consoles you want to play games with. Look for the name of the console in the list, select one of the emulators and press the confirm button. For one system, you can install several emulators at once: if some errors appear, it will be enough to switch to another.
Adding games
To play the game, you will need a ROM-file - a copy of the cartridge, which will run in the emulator. They can be easily found on the Internet at the request “rums console name "
, however, it is considered legal to use rom-files only if you have the original cartridge with the game.
ROMs in RetroArch are added when scanning folders, so it's convenient to immediately specify the initial directory where all rom files are stored. To do this, go to Settings → Directory → File Browser and then find the folder you want and select Use this directory.
Return to the main menu and under Import content select Scan directory. Now open the folders with rums one by one and click Scan This Directory. Depending on the number of games, scanning will take from a few seconds to several minutes or even more. When the process is complete, new icons with sections for each added console will appear in the main menu.
Enabling covers
The styled icons for gamepads and console cartridges look good, but are much nicer when a cover art is displayed for each game. To set this up, go to Main Menu → Online Updater → Playlist Thumbnails Updater and click on the name of each console in the list in turn.
Additionally, you can enable the display of screenshots or home screens to the left of the list of games. To do this, open Settings → User Interface → Appearance → Left Thumbnails and select Screenshots or Title Screen.
Please be aware that artwork will only appear for official game releases as found in the RetroArch databases. The translated versions and all kinds of hacks will remain without pictures.
Adding achievements
Achievements feature never existed in older games, but RetroArch lets you add it. To earn achievements and break records of other users around the world, register on the site retroachievements.organd then enter your username and password in Settings → User → Accounts → RetroAchievements.
Saving settings
By default RetroArch saves all settings on exit. If the application terminates unexpectedly or forcibly, the changes made will be lost. So to save, close and reopen RetroArch or go to Main menu → Configuration file and click Save Current Configuration.
How to use RetroArch
Running games
To play, go to the section of the platform you need, find the game, open it and click Run. The first time, you will also have to specify the kernel to run - then it will be selected automatically.
To exit the game, open the quick menu with the keyboard shortcut you assigned earlier and click Close content. Here you can also restart the game, save or change various settings of the emulator.
Favorites
If there are a lot of games in the library, it will be rather tedious to find the one you need. You can simplify the task by adding your favorite titles to favorites. To do this, open the game and click Add to Favorites. All added ones will appear in the main menu in the section with an asterisk - all games will be collected there, regardless of platform.
History
Another quick launch option is the History menu, which also displays the last open games from all consoles. This option is convenient for titles that are in progress.
Conservation
On the original consoles, save was a real luxury. In emulators, you can save anytime and anywhere. To do this, you need to open the quick menu in the game and select Save State. For loading, respectively, the Load State option is used.
For convenience, you can set up automatic saving and loading when you exit and start the game. To do this, go to Setting → Saving and turn on the Auto Save State and Auto Load State toggle switches.
Improving graphics
On the screens of modern computers and even mobile gadgets, old games look very bad due to the low resolution. However, the situation can be corrected with the help of shaders - effects that smooth out pixels or, conversely, add filters that make the picture look like on a CRT TV screen. The last option looks more authentic and much nicer.
To enable shaders, start the game and open the quick menu. Go to Shaders and turn on the Video Shaders toggle switch. Open Shaders Preset, choose one of the many filters, go back to the menu and hit Resume.
For example, this is how the original picture looks in comparison with the crt_pi shader, which simulates a CRT-TV kinescope (folder shaders_glsl → crt → crt_pi.glslp). On the left the filter is on, on the right it is not.
The selected preset can be used in other games and emulators. To do this, in the Shaders menu, you need to select Save, and then Save Core Preset - for all games of the current console or Save Global Preset - for all emulators in general.
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