Hacking Emulation RetroArch/Libretro Thread: PS Vita Edition! Nightlies Included

[rez78]

Someone have tried fba core in 1.7.7 release?Neo geo roms don't work for me! Any suggestions?

 

[rsn8887]

Personally, I'm wondering what happened to the PSP-inspired interface this emulator used to use. It feels very plain now, with no icons, no wave in the background, and a simple font. What happened, and how can I get that look back?

You can go to settings->drivers and set menu driver to XMB to get that look back.

 

[AkitoUF]

Any tips for improving FBA's performance? When I play games like Street Fighter Alpha 2 or Marvel vs. Capcom I usually drop to 50fps. I'm sure the my Vita used to run these at 60.
Also, games like Captain Commando give me crashes no matter which version I use. Any tips on this?

 

[Imhullu]

Just as a refresher, how can I update Retroarch without losing my saves, settings, and games?

 

[ArugulaZ]

You can go to settings->drivers and set menu driver to XMB to get that look back.

See, I do have it set to XMB, but I only have the blue screen... not the wave or the font or the icons. It's functionally the same, but visually it's incomplete. What am I doing wrong?

 

[rsn8887]

Mine looks like this after updating to latest nightly via VitaHBB:

 

[ArugulaZ]

I'll try grabbing it from there; we'll see what happens. Thanks.

Edit: Deleting the config file in VitaShell and restarting seemed to do the trick. Boy, that was annoying.

 

[FmT]

Just as a refresher, how can I update Retroarch without losing my saves, settings, and games?

To update fast retroarch application and keep everything else untouched (game save settings) you just need to open vpk as a zip. You copy these files in ux0:/app/retrovita folder on your vita overwriting them. No need to delete bubble and install vpk.
For data files it's a different package and need to be put on ux0:/data/retroarch

As for the problem with new install of retroarch, font is not configured by default and need to be set in User Interface -> Appearance -> Menu Font ux0:/data/retroarch/assets/glui/font.ttf wich is in the data package

For FBA in retroarch, core is based on 0.2.97.44 https://github.com/libretro/fbalpha/tree/master/dats
so fix for accuracy may cause performance down (cps3)

 

[WooHyun]

Has anyone been using normal2x filter that was added since 1.7.6? I'm not quite successful with it as some cores seem to hate it. VBA-next refuses to load any content at all with filter enabled and all versions of Snes9x randomly freezes (the whole RA app) during gameplay.

Has anyone been able to play GBA/SNES with normal2x filter enabled for extended period of time?

Edit: I've tried different versions - 1.7.6 stable, 1.7.7 stable and latest nightly - but there was no difference.

 

[FmT]

On the filter side, all those I tried was too ressource angry and make the games unplayable/slower/crash. It depends on the core used, so maybe its better to play with core options. Also disable bilinear filter in video setting if it wasn't. I feel standalone emulators are better for filters (pfba have decent filters)

Edit : removed custom build link because updated

 

[WooHyun]

On the filter side, all those I tried was too ressource angry and make the games unplayable/slower/crash. It depends on the core used, so maybe its better to play with core options. Also disable bilinear filter in video setting if it wasn't. I feel standalone emulators are better for filters (pfba have decent filters)

Yes. I'll stick to playing with no filters and bilinear disabled for now... I wish there was psnes built with older Snes9x version. Pemus' filters work amazing, but psnes is too heavy for vita.

 

[rez78]

On the filter side, all those I tried was too ressource angry and make the games unplayable/slower/crash. It depends on the core used, so maybe its better to play with core options. Also disable bilinear filter in video setting if it wasn't. I feel standalone emulators are better for filters (pfba have decent filters)

Seems 1.7.7 UI stable now so here is my custom build for those who use it (fbalpha 2018 core for 0.2.97.43 and supergrafx)

Retroarch : https://1fichier.com/?axkmhtywsbnwz4eh5n3v
Retroarch data : https://1fichier.com/?81yhxdvmwde65jtr1n1k

Error when try to open link

 

[AkitoUF]

Any tips for improving FBA's performance? When I play games like Street Fighter Alpha 2 or Marvel vs. Capcom I usually drop to 50fps. I'm sure the my Vita used to run these at 60.
Also, games like Captain Commando give me crashes no matter which version I use. Any tips on this?

I think I found the reason FBA ran so bad on my Vita and so well in everyone else's.
The VSH caused slowdown. I deleted it from my config.txt of my Tai folder and now all CPS1 and 2 games run perfectly.

 

[isoboy]

Try the "dot.glsl" shader. Not such a demanding filter and looks alright.

 

[Imhullu]

-snip-

Nice. I appreciate it. Now I have another question. Can I use both analog stick as normal with Retroarch, or is that only possible through Adrenaline?

 

[Carlanga]

Hi guys, I have not touched my emulators cores/etc on my 3.60 vita since mid 2017 nightlies and just updated to the latest stable build, but will probably update it to the latest nightly again.
I want to know where we are standing on the arcade vita emulation as of today and don't know if the first post is up to date on the specifics.
1) lolicon gets you better performance on ra or should i leave it at default?
2) Mame 2000 the best core and best set for full playability for MAME?
3) FBA is better than mame by fps on RA? what is the best fb core to run? best set is V0.2.97.30? should I use PFBA instead?
4) Stuff like arcade TMNT turtles in time and Simpsons has improved in a specific core?

Thanks!

 

[FmT]

1) lolicon will give you better fps when overclocking cpu only. gpu is not needed for any emulator on vita as for now. Depends on glvita is supported on not, only some homebrew games may support it. Don't expect a big performance up as retroarch is already overclocking a little, so depends on games may be usefull to cap some games at 60fps or remove some frameskip.

2) Mame 2000 was the better core, until mame 2003 plus. Romset is not that different from mame 2003 but support more games, performance and bug fix. It's still an active project : https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-plus-libretro

3) FBA is better for some games (cpsX neogeo some shoot'them up ....) as mame is better for classic games (arkanoid rtype ... )
For fba core on RA, you have :
-2012 (0.2.97.30)
-2018 (0.2.97.43)
-fbalpha (0.2.97.44)
-fbneo (0.2.97.44)

2012 and 2018 are the latest version on said romset and not improved anymore.
fbalpha is stopped for fbneo since a few days ago. So fbalpha is now a snapshot of 0.2.97.44 and daily improvements goes to fbneo.
Performance wise, 2012 and 2018 seems to be the best, unless you want an unsupported game or an accuracy fix.
Latest version of pfba support 0.2.97.43, same as fbalpha2018. So you can use same romset for both. Pfba have better filters/user friendly(maybe depends on taste) but frame skipping is buggy on some games (makes your control crazy makes the game unplayable) where fb2018 frame skip is better. So pfba and RA fba2018 core are kind of equal and can have both without worring for space.
Still RA mame core is needed for classic games, prolly because of sound. If you disable sound on fba/pfba or lowering sample rate, it's playing fine)

4) Try mame 2003-plus , TMNT works fine with analog stick by default

Nice. I appreciate it. Now I have another question. Can I use both analog stick as normal with Retroarch, or is that only possible through Adrenaline?

Default mapping is left analog or d-pad for movement, right analog is not used by default so may be mapped for some custom key (load save snap hello)

 

[FmT]

Updated my build since fbalpha became fbneo

Edit : Sorry double post

 

[Carlanga]

....

Thanks a lot FmT! This was the answer I was looking for before adjusting my configs to load them on the vita for individual overlays/playlists/different sets of games etc, I'm revamping my retroarch since I culled a ton of crap from the full sets. I tested the bezel project overlays on my old mame games yesterday and they worked perfectly on the vita so now I'm going to start preparing the new culled files for a full uplift!

 

[SeongGino]

Your bi-annual update here:

• Thread updated to reflect 1.7.7 Stable's release (title, links, etc.).
• Cores list updated to reflect new selection of cores, and remove now-unavailable cores (vicexxx is now simply vice_x64).
• Cores list formatting more clearly distinguishes systems compatible

Seeing how fresh(ly unofficial) FBNeo's inclusion is for this port, I won't add it just yet until the next stable comes around and its included in everyone's install-able file. I also wouldn't recommend using it due to performance concerns considering Vita's hardware and how it already handles the currently available FBAlpha cores.
I'll also be dropping the BIOS list and recommend everyone read up the official documentation for Libretro, as it's updated on its own terms and is more accurate to what's needed and why, for hopefully obvious reasons.

 

[AkitoUF]

Is it possible to assign macros for CPS2 fighting games?
Pressing Square + Triangle and L is kinda imprecise for games like that in a portable, I'd be fine with assigning the three punches to the right analog for example.