Homebrew Retroarch Emulation Thread (Nightly Builds Included)

plug313

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2016
Messages
163
Trophies
0
Age
29
XP
622
Country
I'm on the lesser informed side of this stuff, but I can tell you straight out that your understanding of emulation is massively incorrect. Power doesn't mean a darn thing. Arguable, the O3DS' raw power is greater than that of an original Xbox (Which can run Dreamcast games at a decent speed) and even rivals Wii, but the architecture is what hinders the system. You remember how there was a big stink over the Ice Climbers getting cut from Smash? It is because the architecture put limitations on what the developers could do with the AI, so they scrapped the Ice Climbers because the system couldn't run it properly (Or it just didn't work at all).

Also, for another example, I remember hearing a while back how the most optimized SNES emulator for a smartphone required close to a 3Ghz CPU before you could even hope to play games at full speed, and, even then, how much had to be compromised. Meanwhile, as far back as Win. 98, people have been able to play SNES games at full speed, and then there was that whole big stink that happened when Apple announced that you could play the latest PS1 titles on a Mac (This was before the 2000s).

So, the first thing you need forgot about when it comes to emulation on alternate devices is that raw power means something. It does help, but is second place in comparison to the system's architecture (Which is the whole problem with the 3DS).

the architecture does indeed help a lot and I did know that, you'd know that if you read how I talked about the PSP emulating N64 (different arch) and not PS1 (nearly the same as PSP).
BUT power does indeed mean something more than you acknowledge. the New 3DS is a quad core arm device specifically made for gaming. you mentioned a minimum quantity of GHz are required, now THAT is not true. a lower clocked core can indeed be more powerful and capable than a higher clocked one. and for this kind of emulation the New 3DS is quite capable. ARM phones have been emulating the PS1 for a decade now. and those weren't dedicated gaming devices, you could only use a fraction of their power to actually run the emulator.

the key is optimisation.
I'm not saying for sure it's ever going to be perfect or anything, but it can be done better. remember most other simpler emulators here aren't that great either. not because of power or architecture, right? but because they still need a lot of work. edit: and of course a closer architecture and more power would make it easier but with the correct optimization a lot of things people don't think are possible can be done. it just takes more work.

and my point was, if the PSP could do N64 even if it wasn't very well then the 3DS consoles can do better.
 
Last edited by plug313,
  • Like
Reactions: SLiV3R

SLiV3R

3DS Friend Code: 0473-9069-2206
Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Messages
2,319
Trophies
2
Website
soundcloud.com
XP
1,847
Country
the architecture does indeed help a lot and I did know that, you'd know that if you read how I talked about the PSP emulating N64 (different arch) and not PS1 (nearly the same as PSP).
BUT power does indeed mean something more than you acknowledge. the New 3DS is a quad core arm device specifically made for gaming. you mentioned a minimum quantity of GHz are required, now THAT is not true. a lower clocked core can indeed be more powerful and capable than a higher clocked one. and for this kind of emulation the New 3DS is quite capable. ARM phones have been emulating the PS1 for a decade now. and those weren't dedicated gaming devices, you could only use a fraction of their power to actually run the emulator.

the key is optimisation.
I'm not saying for sure it's ever going to be perfect or anything, but it can be done better. remember most other simpler emulators here aren't that great either. not because of power or architecture, right? but because they still need a lot of work. edit: and of course a closer architecture and more power would make it easier but with the correct optimization a lot of things people don't think are possible can be done. it just takes more work.

and my point was, if the PSP could do N64 even if it wasn't very well then the 3DS consoles can do better.

I fully agree about the n3ds power and potential. But the 3ds scene never really got that intense and active scene compared to the psp scene. Developers, developers, developers.

The retroarch is my favorite hb for the n3ds. After retroarch there are not much (besides some very cool 1990s PC ports) in the 3ds hb scene that interests me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: plug313

Hasslehogg

Well-Known Member
Newcomer
Joined
May 10, 2006
Messages
55
Trophies
0
XP
297
Country
Guys

feel like a right n00b here. i was wondering if anyone can help me please.

I have a new 3ds xl and have installed retroarch via the mame 2003 cia file. Do i still need the xml hack to map into youtube for speed? i cannot find:-

  1. what to call the file if using cia install of retroarch
  2. what folder to put it into

i have the file from earlier in the thread, just cant find any instructions for cia installs only some for 3dsx.

please put an idiot out of his misery :(

thanks in advance
 

Stack3r

Shizuo Heiwajima
OP
Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
980
Trophies
0
Age
31
Location
Ikebukuro
XP
1,472
Gone but never forgotten 3ds pcsx. 2014-2016. Edited OP to reflect this.
ikUiVbj.jpg
 
Last edited by Stack3r,

joenymus

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jan 21, 2017
Messages
2
Trophies
0
Age
53
XP
55
Country
Netherlands
Guys

feel like a right n00b here. i was wondering if anyone can help me please.

I have a new 3ds xl and have installed retroarch via the mame 2003 cia file. Do i still need the xml hack to map into youtube for speed? i cannot find:-

  1. what to call the file if using cia install of retroarch
  2. what folder to put it into

i have the file from earlier in the thread, just cant find any instructions for cia installs only some for 3dsx.

please put an idiot out of his misery :(

thanks in advance
Hi, I did the same, just make a folder is SD root like _mame and place your roms here. simply start the mame2003 app and select load content,, browse to your mame folder and select a rom. easy peasy ;-)
have fun.
 

plug313

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2016
Messages
163
Trophies
0
Age
29
XP
622
Country
Gone but never forgotten 3ds pcsx. 2014-2016. Edited OP to reflect this.
ikUiVbj.jpg

what a shame. I actually bought RE2 and 3 off the Playstation store but never actually played them (for some reason older games feel better on handheld to me) and was hoping I'd get to play it here. sucks.

the 3DS also has the correct resolution for PS1 games by the way. a working emulator would have been incredible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SLiV3R

raphamotta

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
685
Trophies
1
Age
40
XP
2,228
Country
SNES2005 plays Mario RPG better than 2002 version! The only problem is with layers like in Super Mario World. If then correct this SNES2005 will be the best emulator for SNES games for n3DS
 

KalasGiacomo

Active Member
Newcomer
Joined
Nov 4, 2015
Messages
25
Trophies
0
Age
35
XP
138
Country
Chile
SNES2005 plays Mario RPG better than 2002 version! The only problem is with layers like in Super Mario World. If then correct this SNES2005 will be the best emulator for SNES games for n3DS
You should use pocket snes, that´s the best if u wanna play SM RPG, yoshi's island, kirby super star, etc.
 

majoru

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2016
Messages
116
Trophies
0
XP
545
Country
Morocco
Actually, Snes9x for Old3ds added SA-1 support and now it runs those games at full speed on N3DS.
i have just tried mario rpg on both snes9x 2005 plus and snes9x 2010
both are lagging on a new 3ds
---------------------------------------
also gpsp crashes a lot on the new 1.4 stable
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    I just found out that the EU version is better in literally every way, better sound quality, better lighting, and there's even a patch someone made to make the text look nicer
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    Do I restart now using what i've learned on the EU version since it's a better overall experience? or do I continue with the US version since that is what ive been using, and if someone decides to play my hack, it would most likely be that version?
  • Sicklyboy @ Sicklyboy:
    @TwoSpikedHands, I'll preface this with the fact that I know nothing about the game, but, I think it depends on what your goals are. Are you trying to make a definitive version of the game? You may want to refocus your efforts on the EU version then. Or, are you trying to make a better US version? In which case, the only way to make a better US version is to keep on plugging away at that one ;)
  • Sicklyboy @ Sicklyboy:
    I'm not familiar with the technicalities of the differences between the two versions, but I'm wondering if at least some of those differences are things that you could port over to the US version in your patch without having to include copyrighted assets from the EU version
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    @Sicklyboy I am wanting to fully change the game and bend it to my will lol. I would like to eventually have the ability to add more characters, enemies, even have a completely different story if i wanted. I already have the ability to change the tilemaps in the US version, so I can basically make my own map and warp to it in game - so I'm pretty far into it!
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    I really would like to make a hack that I would enjoy playing, and maybe other people would too. swapping to the EU version would also mean my US friends could not legally play it
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    I am definitely considering porting over some of the EU features without using the actual ROM itself, tbh that would probably be the best way to go about it... but i'm sad that the voice acting is so.... not good on the US version. May not be a way around that though
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    I appreciate the insight!
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    @TwoSpikedHands just switch, all the knowledge you learned still applies and most of the code and assets should be the same anyway
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    and realistically they wouldn't

    be able to play it legally anyway since they need a ROM and they probably don't have the means to dump it themselves
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    why the shit does the shitbox randomly insert newlines in my messages
  • Veho @ Veho:
    It does that when I edit a post.
  • Veho @ Veho:
    It inserts a newline in a random spot.
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    never had that i don't think
  • Karma177 @ Karma177:
    do y'all think having an sd card that has a write speed of 700kb/s is a bad idea?
    trying to restore emunand rn but it's taking ages... (also when I finished the first time hekate decided to delete all my fucking files :wacko:)
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    @Karma177 that sd card is 100% faulty so yes, its a bad idea
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    even the slowest non-sdhc sd cards are a few MB/s
  • Karma177 @ Karma177:
    @The Real Jdbye it hasn't given me any error trying to write things on it so I don't really think it's faulty (pasted 40/50gb+ folders and no write errors)
  • DinohScene @ DinohScene:
    run h2testw on it
    +1
  • DinohScene @ DinohScene:
    when SD cards/microSD write speeds drop below a meg a sec, they're usually on the verge of dying
    +1
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Samsung SD format can sometimes fix them too
  • Purple_Heart @ Purple_Heart:
    yes looks like an faulty sd
  • Purple_Heart @ Purple_Heart:
    @Psionic Roshambo i may try that with my dead sd cards
    +1
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    It's always worth a shot
    Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo: It's always worth a shot