A new RetroArch release is here, and this one primarily focuses on the Steam Deck. Now that some users have gotten their hands on the Steam Deck, the Libretro team is working on improving the Steam port of RetroArch and the overall experience. Steam users, and by extension, Steam Deck users, can now install cores from RetroArch itself, rather than the Steam game DLC page. Additionally, RetroArch will now bring up the Steam onscreen keyboard rather than the RetroArch default one, making it easier to type on should the need arise.

Thanks to Mist, here are some of the big new features for Steam users (and in particular, Steam Deck users):

• You can now install and uninstall cores directly from inside RetroArch by going to ‘Manage Cores’ from inside the menu. No longer do you have to manually browse Steam with your webbrowser and download random core DLCs for RetroArch, you can do it from within the convenience of the app running itself.
• On Steam Deck, the native OSK (Onscreen Keyboard) will appear now instead of the RetroArch default OSK. This should give a more seamless experience. We have decided against enabling the Steam OSK with Big Picture since it seems partially broken and instantly dismisses itself (or at least those were our testing results on a Steam Deck).

As a result of these changes, the Steam port is starting to become its own thing rather than just a straightforward no-frills port of the Windows/Linux versions.

As for general improvements, multiple cores now offer better audio latency, and the ability to lower the latency without distorting the sound. Snes9x, Flycast, Nestopia, and more all benefit from this change. Those that use RetroArch on the Nintendo Wii U will also now have better GamePad video output, thanks to a new dedicated "optimize for Gamepad" option. According to the developers, the scaling has been an issue with display on the GamePad in the past, and now it has been fixed. The explanation as to why is explained below.

The Wii U is a weird case with RetroArch because of the two screens (TV and Wii U GamePad). The Wii U can be configured to output video at 480p, 720p or 1080p (or interlaced equivalents), whereas the GamePad has a native 480-line display. While it is possible to send different images to the TV and GamePad, RetroArch currently sends the same image to both. This creates a bit of a conundrum as 480 does not divide evenly into any of the other available resolutions.

When running 240p content, setting the Wii U to 720p just works, because a 3x integer scale (240*3 = 720) on the TV also happens to be a 2x integer scale (240*2 = 480) on the GamePad. However, when running 480p content, having the Wii U set to 720p will result in a poor image all around, with non-integer scaling from 480->720 on the TV, and then even worse, 480->720->480 on the GamePad.

Running the Wii U at 1080p, you get the worst of all worlds. Absolutely nothing divides evenly into 1080, so no matter what content you’re playing, you’ll need either large borders or a filter/shader to stretch to that non-integer resolution, and putting that 1080p image back on the 480p GamePad makes it even worse again. Many users only use 720p because of the poor results you get from 1080p currently.

By running 1080p with a 960p viewport, you can do things like a 4x integer scale of 240p content which becomes a 2x integer scale on the GamePad, or a 2x scale of 480p content which becomes a 1x native display on the GamePad. Even more exotic resolutions like the Game Boy Advance (160p) are enhanced, with 160 dividing 6x into 960 or 3x into 480. This one change makes 1080p a lot less useless on Wii U.

Source

 

[godreborn]

updated retroarch in dev mode on the series x (don't think retail mode is updated yet as the last message is from the 29th). using this method to backup the config file and keeping all assets on the external hdd, it took a matter of seconds to update:

 

[the_randomizer]

Glad to see this getting updates

 

[ZeroT21]

I'll be patiently waiting for the official ps4 port

 

[Lostbhoy]

Retroarch confuses the shit out of me on wii u as I use the forwarder (maybe channel? I forget!) and when I try to update it fails and reverts to back a 9.something version!

Can i update this manually at all with a nightly build?

 

[godreborn]

Retroarch confuses the shit out of me on wii u as I use the forwarder (maybe channel? I forget!) and when I try to update it fails and reverts to back a 9.something version!

Can i update this manually at all with a nightly build?

probably. whenever I update on the series x, I always uninstall the previous version. I don't update over top of the older one. that's actually what @Laf111 told me I should do when I was testing his ftp server, new versions and such. you can find the title id inside the ticket via hex. should start with 00050000 .

 

[the_randomizer]

probably. whenever I update on the series x, I always uninstall the previous version. I don't update over top of the older one. that's actually what @Laf111 told me I should do when I was testing his ftp server, new versions and such. you can find the title id inside the ticket via hex. should start with 00050000 .

If there was only a way to do that without using an FTP

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Huh. So I guess just about all nintendo consoles have bad video output features. That's just sad. If you was lucky enough to even get component cables for the gamecube back in the day. Have a tv that can use them and what not. This improvement should be good, must try it later.

 

[Moon164]

I'm surprised to see an update for the Wii U, it's great to see that they haven't forgotten about the console.

Even better would be if someone finally made a native N64 and PS1 emulator for the Wii U, it's horrible to have to use the vWii just for that.

 

[the_randomizer]

I'm surprised to see an update for the Wii U, it's great to see that they haven't forgotten about the console.

Even better would be if someone finally made a native N64 and PS1 emulator for the Wii U, it's horrible to have to use the vWii just for that.

Yeah, the whole dynarec fiasco is the reason we don't have good PS1 and N64 emulation. The fact that no devs have shown interest in porting it over, and the fact they've shifted focus on Switch (which is a pain in the ass to mod and there's no true permanent CFW) have made me completely cynical about it. Still pissed about it to this day.

 

[HideoKojima]

Does anyone else find that the UI is very confusing and not user friendly or I'm I too dumb to figure it out?

 

[the_randomizer]

Does anyone else find that the UI is very confusing and not user friendly or I'm I too dumb to figure it out?

I think it's often blown out of proportion

 

[Lostbhoy]

probably. whenever I update on the series x, I always uninstall the previous version. I don't update over top of the older one. that's actually what @Laf111 told me I should do when I was testing his ftp server, new versions and such. you can find the title id inside the ticket via hex. should start with 00050000 .

Thanks Gman! So i can change the rpx in the channel via ftp?

I'm not really getting uninstall it first as if I do, it won't exist to update!! Sorry, its been a long day!

 

[godreborn]

Thanks Gman! So i can change the rpx in the channel via ftp?

I'm not really getting uninstall it first as if I do, it won't exist to update!! Sorry, its been a long day!

I uninstall the old version, then install the new. You can check if it's a base game within the ticket.

 

[EmoFish]

just tested the new retroarch on wiiu and it's a huge improvement! for example, the videopac/oddessey core has a keyboard and second gamepad also works. lynx core seems also to be improved, doesn't crash anymore.

 

[godreborn]

alright, I just looked on gamr13's discord channel. the retail version of retroarch for the series x was updated on the 22nd. I just updated that, and it only took a few seconds again, since I backed up each of my config files from devmode and retail.

 

[orangy57]

still holding out hope that they'll update how the settings work to make them navigable by a human being one day, there's no reason to have conflicting options menus and video settings for the main menu, each core, and each core's specific settings

RetroArch goes from aight to unusable once you have to reconfigure every emulator to display at the resolution, overscan, and refresh rate that RA was already running at. Stuff like Parallel Launcher makes the Retroarch N64 experience seamless and it's only been around for a year or two, it blows my mind that it's even running on the same backend. The official LibRetro team's core updates are great and the stuff with run-ahead is super cool but the UX is still TERRRIBLE

 

[the_randomizer]

still holding out hope that they'll update how the settings work to make them navigable by a human being one day, there's no reason to have conflicting options menus and video settings for the main menu, each core, and each core's specific settings

RetroArch goes from aight to unusable once you have to reconfigure every emulator to display at the resolution, overscan, and refresh rate that RA was already running at. Stuff like Parallel Launcher makes the Retroarch N64 experience seamless and it's only been around for a year or two, it blows my mind that it's even running on the same backend. The official LibRetro team's core updates are great and the stuff with run-ahead is super cool but the UX is still TERRRIBLE

Yes because the other UI style options are nonexistent /s

 

[NinStar]

The user experience could be better, sure. But from my point of view as a designer it works when you consider all the options RetroArch provides, also there is other UI drivers available.

I think there should be a even more simplified version for users that are not interested in messing around with more complicated options, and I know that by default RetroArch hides advanced options, but there is a bunch of other options that I also would consider to be "advanced". Having a wizard for setting up specific things for each core would also help.

 

[godreborn]

Yeah, you can optimize the ui by hiding things you don't use.