A new version of RetroArch is here, and as usual, it brings plenty of new features to the table. For this update, the Libretro team has added some visual updates, with the highlight being support for high dynamic range, or HDR. If you're using Direct3D 11 or 12 drivers, you'll be able to enable HDR, as of v1.9.9, at least on Windows. HDR support is planned for modern Xbox systems as well, though it currently is buggy and disabled in this build. In other RetroArch news, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution is now usable with the frontend as well. This allows for cleaner graphics in most games, and can be used with any core.

We have had to update our Direct3D 11 driver to allow for the use of Shader Model 5.0 when your GPU supports it, since this shader requires SM 5.0 features and wouldn’t work on D3D11 without it.
The contributor mentions in his pull request that implementing AMD FSR as a pixel shader seemed to work out just fine despite AMD insisting it is supposed to be implemented as a compute shader.

On top of this straight port of FSR, he also took the time to remake the SMAA shader. It is now supposed to be less of a port and just uses the original library unmodified, while adding a few features and higher quality search textures. The contributor wasn’t too happywith the quality of this AA and wanted to check if it could be improved, mainly because FSR requires good looking AA (Anti-Aliasing) otherwise it wouldn’t make much sense.

In the end, quality gains were marginal, pretty much imperceptible. Despite that, there is also an AMD FSR+SMAA preset that you can use.
You can see some comparison images down below – to the far left is the image without any shaders, in the middle is AMD FSR, and to the right is AMD FSR + SMAA applied.

The last major update new to 1.9.9 is bottom touchscreen support for RetroArch on the Nintendo 3DS. Now you can have a handful of options available to use at all times, including creating and loading restore points, as well as the current framerate. According to the developers, there shouldn't be any negative performance issues as a result of the new touchscreen capabilities, though you can disable it in the settings if you run into any problems.

RetroArch 1.9.9 is currently available for a variety of different systems, so if you want to play around with these new features, be sure to update, or grab the latest version from the official site.

Source

 

[kb7cxWMSrPwL]

What I'm wondering is just why no one has attempted to make another UI you can install for this given the frequent complaints, justified or not.

For Linux, the Gnome project has a program simply titled "Games".

 

[Rahkeesh]

There *are* simple and polished Retroarch frontends for computers and Android. Just not every sundry console. Generally they are external programs that have to launch retroarch with command line arguments.

Retroarch UI is a bit of a pain to learn, the bonus is it is on so many platforms. Learn it once and you'll be set.

 

[shano]

Retroarch is not hard to figure out once you spend some time with it. Retroarch offers a lot of advanced features and options to mess with which is a good thing but if that's too hard for you then you probably shouldn't be messing with them and just stick to Load Content / Load Core.

 

[MadMakuFuuma]

Just use Retroarch for more than 5 minutes and you'll understand where every setting is supposed to be.
I honestly cannot understand how people can consider this UI to be complicated or unorganized.

because it is. i've been using retroarch for so many years now and, when you take your time to configure every single aspect, it is awesome and my way to go for emulation, in general (save one or other system, like GC, WII, psp and ps2) . but the UI never feels organized and intuitive to me. is more like I memorized the order of where things are, rather than find seamlessly what im looking for.

 

[the_randomizer]

People bitching about RA? What a shock

 

[DarthMotzkus]

I really appreciate the Retroarch devs work, amazing system, hope they improve the app suddenly crashes on android 11, i own a Galaxy S10 and it have plenty RAM to play any retro emulator, it shouldn't crash and close because of the hardware. On this new 1.9.9 'till now no crash happens, hope it is fixed.

 

[the_randomizer]

because it is. i've been using retroarch for so many years now and, when you take your time to configure every single aspect, it is awesome and my way to go for emulation, in general (save one or other system, like GC, WII, psp and ps2) . but the UI never feels organized and intuitive to me. is more like I memorized the order of where things are, rather than find seamlessly what im looking for.

That's subjective. People just get off by shitting on it.

 

[mrgone]

anyone tested Choujin Heiki Zeroigar for pc-fx with the new release on switch?
the translated https://www.romhacking.net/translations/2451/ version crashes my switch with the last retroarch versions and i do not have it now on my sd, but are currently not at home to get the rom again

 

[MetoMeto]

I prefer to use separate emulators as I find RetroArch UI so confusing.

its actually really easy. separate emulators can get confusing. RA has all same basic controlls for all cores (amulators) you just click a game and that is it really. you cant get more simple than that.

Its initial figuring out thats challanging.

 

[CoolMe]

Interesting.. Although i prefer using individual emulators, that usually offers better compatibility/less lag, from my experience anyway.

 

[Kioku]

Retroarch UI is, in fact, convoluted and cluttered. A lot of options that the average end users know nothing about. Once you figure it out? Yeah, it's not bad, but it takes a lot of time.

 

[the_randomizer]

Retroarch UI is, in fact, convoluted and cluttered. A lot of options that the average end users know nothing about. Once you figure it out? Yeah, it's not bad, but it takes a lot of time.

I'd love to see someone somehow make it better. Seriously, people are shitting on the devs. Gimme an fucking break.

 

[Bobsy]

its actually really easy. separate emulators can get confusing. RA has all same basic controlls for all cores (amulators) you just click a game and that is it really. you cant get more simple than that.

Its initial figuring out thats challanging.

It is a cool all in one tool that you can spend days configuring. Sometimes that is half the fun.

 

[ciaomao]

its actually really easy. separate emulators can get confusing. RA has all same basic controlls for all cores (amulators) you just click a game and that is it really. you cant get more simple than that.

Its initial figuring out thats challanging.

 

[Chrisssj2]

HDR on switch wut??

 

[Kioku]

I'd love to see someone somehow make it better. Seriously, people are shitting on the devs. Gimme an fucking break.

From what I've heard, they're making the menu more streamlined and easier to maneuver. There's A LOT of options to tinker with and even the descriptions aren't necessarily enough to give users an idea of what the options do for the game or core that's running. Some valid criticisms to be made. As far as shitting on the devs? Who cares? People who attack the devs aren't worth the time.

 

[sloppycrap]

I see people complain a lot about the UI, honestly what's stopping someone from making a custom simple UI for this?

The people who want a simple UI aren't capable of creating it. The people capable of creating a simple UI haven't.

Just use Retroarch for more than 5 minutes and you'll understand where every setting is supposed to be.
I honestly cannot understand how people can consider this UI to be complicated or unorganized.

There's an imperial fuckload of options. The default *is* overwhelming. RA is an *amazing* program, and the default UI has everything turned on by default, and (at least on Vita) it's possible to create settings in the UI that will keep the program from even starting up if you don't know what you're doing. The documentation is good but complicated.

Retroarch is not hard to figure out once you spend some time with it. Retroarch offers a lot of advanced features and options to mess with which is a good thing but if that's too hard for you then you probably shouldn't be messing with them and just stick to Load Content / Load Core.

Most of the people complaining would be happy if there were two buttons: RUN GAME (browse to your ROM and it just does The Right Thing) and SETTINGS (for resolution, frame rate, etc.). That frontend is totally possible, I just don't know of anyone working on something like that. I wouldn't, because the people complaining about how hard it is to use RA wouldn't pay me for the work I put into it, and I already know how to use it (I still fuck up the config sometimes!) and I wouldn't want to use the thing I built.

 

[NelGibs]

Should be mentioned that the 3DS port has support for the bottom screen
^^Ignore that. I'm an idiot and didn't read the article. Ack

Either way, sick update. Really happy they added support for the 3DS touchscreen!

Ah, gotcha! I need to buy a new sd card. My 3ds has been neglected for quite some times because get distracted with PS2 games.

 

[DudderButter]

Happy there's more updates to RA on the 3DS. I remember a while back testing it out and giving up on how clunky everything was. But I might check into it again once I get around. Though I'll admit the PC version's UI is much more comfortable and makes it my all time CD, Saturn, and Dreamcast emulator station.

 

[osaka35]

yay updates!

and it's fine if you have time to get all the consoles setup individually, learn the...quirks each console brings to the menu, and memorize all the hotkeys that do what you need for every platform. and hope your config you spend a few hours on doesn't save improperly/crashes. It's a last resort, but at least it's there.

most standalone emulators have similar menus to each other and are far more...coherent. always wondered why they made the decision to have it not work like most other emulators and be unnecessarily opaque and arduous. sure, you can learn it eventually and then it's fine and is "totes so easy"...but why should you have to?

Retroarch is not hard to figure out once you spend some time with it. Retroarch offers a lot of advanced features and options to mess with which is a good thing but if that's too hard for you then you probably shouldn't be messing with them and just stick to Load Content / Load Core.

you must stick to the simpler consoles