Homebrew RetroArch-Hexaeco Emulators

[cokeman118]

Hello,

I wanted to test out the SS Sega PicoDrive core "PicoDrive 1.98-unknown" with MK2 and it is pretty much unplayable. Game loads ok until I get past the "midway presents" screen. Then the screen goes black but I can hear music. If I hit start I get to the title screen but in game it is super slow and is unplayable. I've tried several different roms with with same results.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? I'm running off of the SD card directly from the homebrew channel. I'd like to know what your setup is to get 60fps.

Thanks

 

[RunningSnakes]

What you are experiencing has always been my issue with SS Pico, although i always use forwarder to launch. For some off the wall reason the Pico core is playing full speed for me tonight.

Are you using my SS Mod setup? Just want to confirm we are both using the exact same files and the configuration is being saved to the same path.

 

[cokeman118]

What you are experiencing has always been my issue with SS Pico, although i always use forwarder to launch. For some off the wall reason the Pico core is playing full speed for me tonight.

Are you using my SS Mod setup? Just want to confirm we are both using the exact same files and the configuration is being saved to the same path.

I'm using the SS-sega.zip from the beginning of this thread and just copying it over to the SD card. I haven't changed anything. Do I need to change paths?

 

[RunningSnakes]

Ok. So i installed the Sega.zip package to apps and booting through HBC i get the same slow Pico you are getting and i have always experienced myself. And the Pico cores are identical.

I run all Hexaeco full Mod package as my setup and testing this 2 more times, Pico is still running full speed which is blowing my mind atm.

The full Mod has 40 more core files in the folder but the boot.dol i use is the Neo Pocket (Neo Pop) core.

I will remove the Full install and install from scratch to see results...

I will be back very soon with results.

Post automatically merged: Jun 2, 2023

Ok. After a fresh brand new install of the Full Mod pack with all configurations wiped, Pico core is running everything full speed with default settings. I am thinking the boot.dol is a major player here.

I freshly installed only the Sega pack and swapped the Neo Pocket as the boot.dol, what do you know Pico running full speed. Genesis Plus GX is/was the default boot.dol before.

Last test to confirm. I copied and renamed Pico.dol and used as boot.dol. Pico running at full speed.

This is very very strange that Genesis Plus GX is holding Pico cores performance down while being the default boot.dol.

So in conclusion, either simply download the Complete Hexaeco Mod pack and fresly install or just simply copy/paste the Pico.dol and rename to boot.dol. Then replace the old GX boot.dol with the Pico boot.dol.

My head is still spinning that this is the scenario in getting Pico to run full speed. One for the books.

Post automatically merged: Jun 2, 2023

Last edit:

Upon further testing, Mortal Kombat II Arcade is the real difference in full speed emulation with Pico core.

In testing, it is the only 32X game that will run full speed if it is the first games launched. All other games i tested as 1st boot will run terrible.

However, if you boot any game and see it is running poorly, load the same game (or any other game in the same session) and it will run full speed without any settings changed.

At any rate, SS Picodrive core has it's issues, but can be fully enjoyed at full speed if you use the workaround. Sadly the core cannot be used as a WFL plugin but the RA official and Saul compiled cores are working great.

@AdamCatalyst
What are the differences between the RA 1.15.0 and Sauls compiled 1.15.0 cores, besides the size/weight?

 

[AdamCatalyst]

tldr; If you cannot get current builds of PicoDrive to work without issues as a Wiiflow plugin, download the attached modified Hexaeco package to try an all-in-one solution that might work for you.

---

The long version…

I wanted to play the “Arcade” ROM hack of Mortal Kombat II 32x. I needed to find a decent Picodrive core to use as a Wiiflow plugin.

When it comes to PicoDrive, somewhere around RetroArch version 1.8.2 I started getting crackling audio. This is not the sort of crackling audio that comes from slowdown, it sounds more like a poor same rate conversion causing digital artifacts. Other trusted users have assured me that this does not happen to them, and other than the fact that I am on a vWii, I can’t for the life of me figure out what is different on my system. I can however confirm I am not the only one with this issue, and that this issue is not present in the RA-Hexaeco builds.

I have spent an absurd amount of hours trying to get this to work. Along the way I’ve done some quasi-scientific experiments with a dozen cores. I’m going to summarize my findings with a hope that my obsessiveness will save someone else some time…

---

Picodrive 32x findings


General Findings

1. Backup and then delete all related settings files when setting up a Retroarch / Libretro / Hexaeco core. This is common knowledge, but because it was a mistake I made, I’m including my +1 here. Make sure to check the folder with the .DOL, the /retroarch folder, the /private folder if they exist on your machine. I have seen times where a configuration file was causing poor performance. This can sometimes be a seemingly trivial settings change, or a reference to a setting that only exists on another build.
   
   
2. Manually create all necessary folders. I have seen instances where performance was poor until, literally, an empty folder was created. If you are experiencing inexplicable issues, (a) manually declare every single path/directory in the CONFIG file(s), and (b) ensure that every referenced directory/folder actually exists.
   
   
3. The BOOT.DOL launcher matters. If launching a core using a BOOT.DOL launcher, the BOOT.DOL launcher you choose can make a difference in the core performance. While conventional wisdom would say that it is a good idea to match versions using a launcher and core from the same build, I have seen some cores that lunch better using another, usually older, launchers.
   
   
4. Consider Hexaeco as a fallback. I have found the RA-Hexaeco cores, in general, to be more tempermental, maddeningly oblique, yet sometimes very worthwhile with better performance. I personally found that the Picodrive core provided in the 2021-11-07 distribution works particularly well, and was the best option to solve my crackling audio issue. This is the same core used by the Running Snakes in his RA-Hexaeco mod.
   
   
5. Keep config backups, especially with Hexaeco. Hexaeco can do things behind your back. Even with “Save Configuration on Exit” set to “False,” I have had it overwrite many of my settings with default value, more than once. This seems to correspond with something else going wrong, but I am not sure what. Very infrequent / rare, but better safe than sorry.

Wiiflow Specific Findings

1. Standalone and Wiiflow performance differ. Performance when launchd from a BOOT.DOL is not a reliable predictor of performance when launched as a WiiFlow plugin. I can see that other more experienced users have attested to this on the forums, but again, it was a mistaken assumption I made, and I am going to toss my +1 on this piece of advice.
   
   
2. RA-Hexaeco requires an atypical Wiiflow plugin setup. When I took RA-Hexaeco 2021-11-07 Picodrive core and used it as a Wiiflow plugin, it would only launch sporadically. After WAY too much time, I discovered that the RA-Hexaeco cores requires an additional argument in their WiiFlow plugin setup.
   https://gbatemp.net/threads/the-gre...tm-a-call-for-adventurers.563575/post-9081864
   Including this argument raised my Hexaeco Wiiflow success rate from less than 10%, to nearly 100%.
   
   
3. Reboot your (v)Wii. found that sometimes a PicoDrive core would improperly load a game, only showing the Genesis / Mega Drive rendered assets, or showing no game visuals at all. It seems that in every case, this is because of out of memory issues. Rebooting the Wii / vWii environment freed up the memory to restore expected performance.

Unsolved Mysteries

1. I still don't know what is causing the audio issue with newer builds for some users.
   
   
2. There is more happening. Despite these experiments, I still have intermittent results that I can’t explain, which admittedly undermines my supposed understanding of what’s going on.

---

Notes on some notable PicoDrive Cores running 32X games


Official Builds


RetroArch-v1.8.1_r29-Wii [nightly build]

• Included in one of Tetsuo Shima’s Wiiflow plug-in pack v6.
• Crackling audio as WF plugin.

RetroArch-v1.10.1-Wii

• Crackling audio as standalone or WF plugin.

RetroArch-v1.15.0-Wii

• Crackling audio as standalone or WF plugin.

RA-Sega.zip [RS mod of 1.15.0]

• RunningSnakes’s mod of Retroarch 1.15.0, performs identically.
• Only config paths changed to /private directory.

Hexaeco Builds

RA-Hexaeco 2021 11 05 / 2021 07 11

• SuperSonics ‘Hexaeco’ modified Retroarch build.
• Both releases have an identical core.
• Minor (acceptable) issues as Standalone or WF plugin.

RA-Hexaeco 2022+

• As of 2023 06 14, no publicly available cores will launch as a WF plugin.

SS-Sega.zip

• RunningSnakes’s mod of RA-Hexaeco 2021 11 05 / 2021 07 11.
• Config path changed to better differentiated location(s).
• Performance identical as WF plugin.

Other Builds


picodrive_irixxxx_libretro_wii_11052023

• SaulFabre’s build of Irixxxx’s work on Picodrive
• Crackling audio as WF plugin.

---

Lastly, a random tip. When doing this kind of experiments, you ideally need to do every test off of a clean boot, with a consistent RAM load. Furthermore, if you are doing tests that incurs crashes, you may find yourself needing to pull the plug on your console. While back I was doing hundreds of tests with Wiiflow, that would often freeze my console. To make my life easier, I grabbed a cheap extension cord with a foot switch, and hooked up my console to it. Made testing a bit less tedious. Just thought I’d mention this in case it helps someone.

Hopefully there's something here that helps someone.

cheers,

-Adam

 

[AdamCatalyst]

Hello,

I wanted to test out the SS Sega PicoDrive core "PicoDrive 1.98-unknown" with MK2 and it is pretty much unplayable. Game loads ok until I get past the "midway presents" screen. Then the screen goes black but I can hear music. If I hit start I get to the title screen but in game it is super slow and is unplayable. I've tried several different roms with with same results.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? I'm running off of the SD card directly from the homebrew channel. I'd like to know what your setup is to get 60fps.

Thanks

Try the distribution I attached to this (previous) post: https://gbatemp.net/threads/retroarch-hexaeco-emulators.600834/post-10175069

While you're at it, there might be some tips there that could help.

Post automatically merged: Jun 15, 2023

@AdamCatalyst
What are the differences between the RA 1.15.0 and Sauls compiled 1.15.0 cores, besides the size/weight?

FYI I posted a pretty hefty summary above, but it ended up posting as an edit to my previous post because of the auto-merge.

 

[MeXen]

Try the distribution I attached to this (previous) post: https://gbatemp.net/threads/retroarch-hexaeco-emulators.600834/post-10175069

While you're at it, there might be some tips there that could help.

Post automatically merged: Jun 15, 2023

FYI I posted a pretty hefty summary above, but it ended up posting as an edit to my previous post because of the auto-merge.

It seems that it depends on if you run it from a USB or an SD card, and if your Wii isnt fucking up.

I tried to run a few of the revived PSX emulators on USB and sometimes they run fine, other time i still get the 19 pauses, but on USB, mGBA keep randomly pausing on a single note hurting my ears.

I was using my Wii Mini cause i had hacked both of em, is it true it has something to do with the Wii not freeing memory?

 

[Shoche]

pce cd does not work for me in wiiflow, do you know if you need any bios or any special format.

 

[RunningSnakes]

pce cd does not work for me in wiiflow, do you know if you need any bios or any special format.

For normal HuCard games in .pce format, there should be no issue. For CD games, yes BIOS are required, the games should be in bin/cue OR .chd format.

Keep in mind, bin/cue file information must be correct. Use Notepad+ to open up any cue to make sure it matches up with both bin/cue files.

 

[Shoche]

For normal HuCard games in .pce format, there should be no issue. For CD games, yes BIOS are required, the games should be in bin/cue OR .chd format.

Keep in mind, bin/cue file information must be correct. Use Notepad+ to open up any cue to make sure it matches up with both bin/cue files.

Thanks, a couple more questions.

what is the bios name?
in which folder should it be?

 

[RunningSnakes]

Thanks, a couple more questions.

what is the bios name?
in which folder should it be?

syscard3.pce = BIOS required
device:/private/TGMOD/system/syscard3.pce = BIOS path

 

[Shoche]

syscard3.pce = BIOS requerido
dispositivo:/privado/TGMOD/sistema/syscard3.pce = ruta del BIOS

Thank you, It was very helpful, I already have it working on wiiflow

 

[RunningSnakes]

Added RA Atari 5200, forwarder channel is up as well.

 

[_47iscool]

Not that I use forwarders, as to me they take up unnecessary space, I had a question about them.

When booting, do they take into account AHBPROT, or no_ios_reload?

 

[BastarB]

Big Thank You RunningSnakes for these stand alone releases!!

It works perfectly but I have an issue I would like to share, I'm not sure if this is the right place to share but here we go.
I tried the FCEUmm standalone Retroarch and I just cant use the gamecube controller with it.
Navigating the menus with the controller is fine and works perfectly, however I cant map any buttons for using in game, the only thing that's detected is the analog thumbsticks of the controller, which is pretty strange.
See the picture attached, it says (N/A) on every button. Is this normal? Or have I missed something simple in the RetroArch options?

The Gamecube controller works perfectly in every other homebrew apps I've tried.
I wish this reeally to work because I have a Raphnet Snes adapter that I wish to use in the GC port with a Snes controller.
The issue is the same with both the adapter with snes controller as with the GameCube controller.

Any help greatly appreciated!

EDIT:
I got it working all of a sudden, I'm not sure why it didn't work in the first place

 

[RunningSnakes]

While in RetroArch, find the game you want to play and launch the game with your GameCube controller...Gate Of Thunder in my case.

When the game loads, turn your Wiimote on by touching any button. Now the Wiimote blue light is lit, unplug your GameCube controller.

Wiimote has taken over as main control, press Home button, scroll to and select Controls, now plug GameCube controller back in and it will take over as main control, now select Port 1 Controls.

Scroll to and select...
Auto: -1 (N/A) = D-Pad Up
Auto: +1 (N/A) = D-Pad Down
Auto: -0 (N/A) = D-Pad Left
Auto: +0 (N/A) = D-Pad Right

With GameCube controller still plugged in press (2 Red) GC button to go back 1 page.
Now select Manage Remap Files.
Now select Save Game Remap File.

You can make this the default core input for all games by selecting...

Load Remap File
Select the game you just changed inputs (Gate Of Thunder in my case)
Now select Save Core Remap File

Done. Resume game and Left Analog and D-Pad should be fully working.

Good to hear you have it working.

This was from months back using RetroArch as a WiiFlow Lite plugin but the solution is the same if using these RA cores as stand alone.

This quick setup guide should help if you have this issue again.

 

[BastarB]

Good to hear you have it working.

This was from months back using RetroArch as a WiiFlow Lite plugin but the solution is the same if using these RA cores as stand alone.

This quick setup guide should help if you have this issue again.

Thanks for sharing that info!

I now realised why the controller didnt work correctly.
If I have "Run-Ahead to Reduce Latency" (doesnt matter how many frames) activated in the emulator the gamecube controller input just stops working for some reason, and I dont have any clue why, the other input methods work perfectly with that option activated.
However I found that the other latency option called "Run Preemptive frames" works perfectly without making my gamecube controller mad

 

[Maeson]

Looking at my rom hacking stuff I just remembered that a few months ago I made a version of HexaEco's Gambatte with some of the GBC palettes altered to be better for the eyes, by changing some of the colors to be less straining when playing on backlighted screens, or to change pure white to another tone, I don't know if there'd be any interest in it...

here's a few examples:

Left is original, Right is modded ones.

Spoiler: Green

Spoiler: Orange

Spoiler: Purple

Spoiler: Yellow

A couple others were touched to increase contrast.

Spoiler: DMG - Classic GB

Spoiler: Light GB

The original paletters are fine on a real GBC, but when looked at a much bigger, backlighter screen, I find they can star making your eyes hurt, specially the pure white...

 

[Disorarara]

Looking at my rom hacking stuff I just remembered that a few months ago I made a version of HexaEco's Gambatte with some of the GBC palettes altered to be better for the eyes, by changing some of the colors to be less straining when playing on backlighted screens, or to change pure white to another tone, I don't know if there'd be any interest in it...

here's a few examples:

Left is original, Right is modded ones.

Spoiler: Green

View attachment 396763View attachment 396764

Spoiler: Orange

View attachment 396765View attachment 396766

Spoiler: Purple

View attachment 396767View attachment 396768

Spoiler: Yellow

View attachment 396774View attachment 396775

A couple others were touched to increase contrast.

Spoiler: DMG - Classic GB

View attachment 396770View attachment 396771

Spoiler: Light GB

View attachment 396772View attachment 396773

The original paletters are fine on a real GBC, but when looked at a much bigger, backlighter screen, I find they can star making your eyes hurt, specially the pure white...

Looks incredible, WHAT an improvement

 

[MeXen]

Looking at my rom hacking stuff I just remembered that a few months ago I made a version of HexaEco's Gambatte with some of the GBC palettes altered to be better for the eyes, by changing some of the colors to be less straining when playing on backlighted screens, or to change pure white to another tone, I don't know if there'd be any interest in it...

here's a few examples:

Left is original, Right is modded ones.

Spoiler: Green

View attachment 396763View attachment 396764

Spoiler: Orange

View attachment 396765View attachment 396766

Spoiler: Purple

View attachment 396767View attachment 396768

Spoiler: Yellow

View attachment 396774View attachment 396775

A couple others were touched to increase contrast.

Spoiler: DMG - Classic GB

View attachment 396770View attachment 396771

Spoiler: Light GB

View attachment 396772View attachment 396773

The original paletters are fine on a real GBC, but when looked at a much bigger, backlighter screen, I find they can star making your eyes hurt, specially the pure white...

sweet, please share the core.