Homebrew RetroArch - A new multi-system emulator

[the_randomizer]

is this better than vba gx? does it have RTC for games like pokemon crystal?

Yes, it's much more optimized.

 

[B.B.Link]

WiiMednafen GBA is better...

 

[ntpsq]

how do you save video options or do you have to change resolution every time you restart retroarch?

 

[mightymuffy]

is this better than vba gx? does it have RTC for games like pokemon crystal?

.....I'm not sure regarding the rtc! (I was assuming vbagx had it actually) As Gambatte is standalone GB/GBC, then yeah I'm presuming the feature is added.

Otherwise, VBAGX has frameskip enabled by default, but in the case of GB/GBC games I'm unsure if you'll notice them running any smoother using Gambatte on Retroarch... if you want to fire up GBA games sometime on the other hand, trust me you want to play them on this rather than vbagx!

Edit: regarding video options, pretty sure it saves them... Perhaps try a custom ratio - I had to shrink the image a fair whack to fit my screen, once I did it the first time it saved.

 

[the_randomizer]

.....I'm not sure regarding the rtc! (I was assuming vbagx had it actually) As Gambatte is standalone GB/GBC, then yeah I'm presuming the feature is added.

Otherwise, VBAGX has frameskip enabled by default, but in the case of GB/GBC games I'm unsure if you'll notice them running any smoother using Gambatte on Retroarch... if you want to fire up GBA games sometime on the other hand, trust me you want to play them on this rather than vbagx!

Edit: regarding video options, pretty sure it saves them... Perhaps try a custom ratio - I had to shrink the image a fair whack to fit my screen, once I did it the first time it saved.

I think you have to exit once you change the resolution, then go load the emulator afterwards. Either that, change the resolution, try a different core, then exit, er, something like that, it's been a while since I've used the Wii port

 

[ntpsq]

i can already tell playing pokemon red for a couple hours that it's miles better than vba gx. i cant believe i didnt know this emu existed until today. ty!

 

[MassiveRican]

WiiMednafen GBA is better...

Umm... No.

 

[B.B.Link]

Umm... No.

I don't see a difference between the two really....

 

[Charco]

I don't see a difference between the two really....

If you don't see a difference between the two then why did you say WiiMenafen was better? I'm confused.

 

[B.B.Link]

Because its better, now. Don't question it. just experience it..............

 

[MassiveRican]

Lol ok sure bud, fortunately for me, I did experience it with several games and I can say that many games run better without frameskipping on the optimized VBA-Next core that RetroArch offers over WiiMednafen GBA, to each his own so I'm not knocking it, I'm also speaking from personal experience and preference

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

OK guys,

we haven't had the best of relationships - but I do feel that I have somehow lost my way as of late and that somehow it is related to the fallout that happened on this board. Ever since I started with the PS3 emu ports I always wanted to champion end-users and take their feedback under consideration. As of late however thanks to some vitriol and workload getting to me (as well as requests/badgering) I have found myself turning the other way and starting to hate end-users - I don't want this nasty trait to develop further since I'm not like that really. So I am accepting some of the blame for what happened earlier this year and I will try smoothing over some of the rough edges I have when it comes to talking in public.

Anyway, I have some good news to report -

VBA Next will be getting a big speedup in the next version thanks to a patch by a developer who recently joined our ranks (bgK). gfxDrawTextScreen has been refactored so that it does rendering tile-based instead of line-per-line. This results in a big speedup for games which use BG Mode 0/1. I did some performance tests:

(~) Some dips here and there in minor scenes - but nothing major

Advance Wars 1 - Fullspeed (~)
Advance Wars 2 - Fullspeed (~)
Castlevania - Circle Of The Moon - Fullspeed
Castlevania - Harmony of Dissonance - Fullspeed
Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow - Fullspeed
F-Zero - Fullspeed
Golden Sun - Fullspeed (~)
Golden Sun - The Lost Age - Fullspeed (~)
Kuru Kuru Kururin - Fullspeed
Legend of Zelda - The Minish Cap - Fullspeed
Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past & Four Swords - Fullspeed
Gunstar Heroes - Fullspeed (~)
Mario Kart Advance / Mario Kart Super Circuit - Fullspeed
Mother 3 - Fullspeed
Metroid Fusion - Fullspeed
Metroid Zero Mission - Fullspeed (~)
Sonic Advance 1 - Fullspeed
Sonic Advance 2 - Fullspeed
Sonic Advance 3 - Fullspeed
Super Mario Advance - Fullspeed
Super Mario Advance 2 (Mario World) - Fullspeed
Super Mario Advance 3 (Yoshi's Island) - Fullspeed (~)
Super Mario Advance 4 (Mario Bros 3) - Fullspeed
Super Street Figher II Turbo Revival - Fullspeed
Tekken Advance - Fullspeed
Wario Land 4 - Fullspeed (~)

I did some pretty extensive playtests (going through some of the intensive scenes where performance dips are known to happen) so when I write that something is fullspeed, it is fullspeed.

There are still plenty of graphics functions left to optimize - so I think full-speed GBA emulation for most games is within our reach at least on the Wii. The next version will already show a drastic improvement vs. how VBA Next performs today (like you can see above).

If you want me to test more games let me know and I'll let you know if they run at fullspeed. You will be able to test it out for yourself later this week though since we are going to release a new version this week (probably end of week).

 

[Etheboss]

Thanx LibretroRetroArc,

I hope with this we can leave all the drama in the past behind and do some constructive discussions here.

 

[Clydefrosch]

cool, gba speedup is always nice.
Hope it'll help the battlenetwork games too. They sometimes slow down somewhat when several npcs are on the screen.

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

cool, gba speedup is always nice.
Hope it'll help the battlenetwork games too. They sometimes slow down somewhat when several npcs are on the screen.

Battle Network 1 or others as well?

I could give them a try later today.

 

[SuperrSonic]

Amazing, I was quite bothered by the fact that only one single level in Sonic Advance 2 slowed down so much (Ice Paradise) oh and some of the bosses also slowed down, this is really amazing.
Oh and Mother 3 fullspeed, I'm sure many will appreciate that.

Could you try the main menu of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones? It uses an effect that is known to not work well on emulators(frame rate drops heavily). The 3DS VC for example removes that effect.

 

[Hielkenator]

http://gbatemp.net/threads/retroarch-a-new-multi-system-emulator.333126/page-146#post-4781996

Very much appriciated.
Also looking forward to the update end of the week!

 

[OriginalHamster]

That's really neat news, Zero Mission at full speed YAY!

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

That's really neat news, LRA can you test Metroid Zero Mission? I know it's one of the games that the system struggle to run.

Already tested, see above.

Runs at fullspeed but it drops to 56fps during the first centipede/worm fight. After that, FPS goes back to 60fps.

I'd say a few more speed improvements and we can get it at 60fps for the centipede/worm fight too.

 

[papermanzero]

Great news! This is really a big step forward.
Awesome work!

Btw. A short question concerning config files.
Is it possible to create different config files for different cores.
Means a snes config, a gba config etc.
I would like to have different controller and resolution/aspect ratio settings for each emulator.