Homebrew Official Retroarch WiiU (wip.)

[depaul]

A reminder for all intents and purposes, to greatly reduce loading times in WiiU Retroarch :

Delete or rename the following folders :

-Info
-Assets
-Media

 

[Badablek]

A reminder for all intents and purposes, to greatly reduce loading times in WiiU Retroarch :

Delete or rename the following folders :

-Info
-Assets
-Media

not enough with the latest builds. Even when doing this, latest revisions take ~20 sec to launch

ps : deleting "Info" folder is not a good idea, It's much better to delete Info files from the cores we don't use/have. Retroarch needs these files to know which core(s) can launch which game(s)

 

[september796]

not enough with the latest builds. Even when doing this, latest revisions take ~20 sec to launch

You mean launching a game or RA itself?
I've updated to the latest stable version 1.9.0 and I get this load times: launching RA/loading a core(genplus/snes)=6s, launching a game=1s.
Try deleting the config files and let RA create a new one by default; this + what depaul said above should do the trick.

 

[depaul]

not enough with the latest builds. Even when doing this, latest revisions take ~20 sec to launch

ps : deleting "Info" folder is not a good idea, It's much better to delete Info files from the cores we don't use/have. Retroarch needs these files to know which core(s) can launch which game(s)

I'm using the latest version (1.9.0) myself. Deleting 'info' folder completely changes RA behavior as it no longer checks which core to choose for which game... This is intentional to eliminate the ~5s it takes every time you load a rom file.

 

[hadi aulia]

I have retroarch pack (1.7.7) by carzymac
Is it safe to update/overwrite to 1.9.0 version?

 

[willianholtz]

I have retroarch pack (1.7.7) by carzymac
Is it safe to update/overwrite to 1.9.0 version?

If you don't want to use the wii u pro control, yes. However, the core of MAME is very, very bad, stay with 1.7.7. I use this version myself. If I didn't use my RA on the SSD, I would continue with that version. But if you want to update, use version 1.8.9

edit:
Remembering that: you must change the playslits to the new version. And another, the playlist will unset the core, but you can fix it if you know how to update. WE RECOMMEND version 1.7.7 in those cases, unless you also wanted to use ozone menu!

 

[Badablek]

Of course I already tried to delete anything not needed, like assets and infos. Even without all these files, it takes (for me at least) 20 seconds to load RA, and 10 sec to launch any game (scummVM games at least). I'm not new to Retroarch, and I already knew these tricks. And, of course, I ALWAYS start with a fresh new config file.

The only trick that really worked great (for me) : using Rgui instead of ozone/xmb


It seems the size of the SD card is directly related to the loading times (RA/Games), because it works much faster on my 32GB card (same files/same config files, same games)...but it's really slow compared to Switch or 3DS (<1sec)


ps : if you remove info files, you can't make playlist anymore, as Retroarch will not let you use ANY core (except DosBox). Reason why I kept active cores info files (~10 files).
But playlists are not that good...will remove all info files



BTW, MIDI rendering is really bad, I never heard such low quality music on Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis
Nobody has any hint for the touchpad ?


EDIT : latest 1.9.0 nightly, only ONE core (scummVM), no assets, no info, no config file. Vanilla as hell !

From the black screen after RPX loading from Homebrew Launcher (so RPX loading time is excluded) to the (partially broken) Retroarch interface (because of missing assets) : 18 seconds and 27 milliseconds
Loading a (not that heavy) game (Day of the tentacle) : 8 seconds and 11 miliseconds

Interface changed to Rgui :
RA loading : 15s
Game loading : Mania Mansion : 2s / DOTT : 7sec

 

[huma_dawii]

Hello, it's been a thousand years, how is the Wii U progress coming along? Still nothing?

 

[depaul]

Ok why should we go so far?

Here is a video showing exactly my WiiU RA 1.9.0 speed I get :

-Minimalist setup : RGUI, no playlists or whatever:



Almost instant load of small roms : Genesis, SNES,
Fair time for big arcade roms : from 2s (SF2) to 13s (SFiii3n)
Cores load in about 10s.

 

[Badablek]

and ? what's the point ? I'm happy it's fast for you (really), but it doesn't mean it works for everybody !

this is not a d!ck competition. I report MY OWN experience with Retroarch (with at least 6 different SDcard, from various manufacturers, from various classes on 3 different Wii U), nothing else, nothing more. Take it as it is

 

[CORE]

@depaul How are you swapping Cores so fast?
I guess I have missed something here in the last few weeks.

 

[Badablek]

@depaul in a more constructive manner to help those who have slow loading (rewind some pages ago, I'm not the only one this is not just my imagination), do you have any WIFI settings on your Wii U ?

by removing an old (and not working anymore) WIFI connexion (SSID was changed), now Retroarch (minimalist, like yours, only Rgui, no notification, no overlays or any fancy option) boots in 6 seconds, and snes roms load almost immediately (1-2 seconds).

The point of my tests was not to prove you were wrong or I was right, but you can't say FOR SURE that everything works for everyone, because you don't know everyone else configuration (not only in Retroarch, but also in the Wii U parameters). Bad WIFI settings seem to be part of the problem (at least FOR ME), probably because the updater needs an internet connexion and uses it at launch


so, back on topic, touchpad in scummVM is still a pain in the a55

 

[depaul]

@Badablek Ok the video was purely informative for members who would want to see Wii U RA demonstration. I was just trying to participate in the discussion and share my tests that's all... Nothing personal to do with you in particular.

@CORE Loading speed was like this for me for a while. Maybe you could check if folder are removed (assets/media/info) ? Maybe try new 1.9.0 version? I have normal class10 SD card Samsung EVO 64 GB.

 

[CORE]

Was HDD WiiU Filesystem Implemented?
I read a couple Posts awhile ago Jacobson and Quark?

Maybe I misread I am thinking off Building Seperate Core Builds NES,SNES etc. just experimenting like the idea of replicating the look off NES Classic / Virtual Console. Playing with Source see how things work.

I like the Eye Candy especially Individual Backgrounds Themes etc.

 

[depaul]

Yes loading from Wii U formatted HDD was implemented by Jacobsson and integrated into recent RA builds.

However HDD speed atm is slower than SD card because of some issue with HDD I/O library (that's what I understood).

We were using FTPiiU to upload roms into Wii U HDD.

 

[CORE]

Cool that sounds promising I have to check that out hopefully others will look into this.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Yes loading from Wii U formatted HDD was implemented by Jacobsson and integrated into recent RA builds.

However HDD speed atm is slower than SD card because of some issue with HDD I/O library (that's what I understood).

We were using FTPiiU to upload roms into Wii U HDD.

If only Retroarch just had ftp enabled just to make it easier to load roms on to HDD without having to use FTPIIU...
Even the emulators on wii like snes9x GX had SMB network rom loading.

Side question, your video shows using the basic gui. I was wondering if it may have anything to do with load times? Since I use the "Ozone" (Nintendo switch looking) graphic, just was a something that made me think. (kinda wish there was more appealing gui like the wii GX emulators.)

 

[FanNintendo]

someone who did the pscx core on Wii U need to update it is outdate still look at 3DS already have pscx rearm core working they need work on Wii U

 

[ploggy]

someone who did the pscx core on Wii U need to update it is outdate still look at 3DS already have pscx rearm core working they need work on Wii U

There has never been a PCSXrearmed Core on WiiU only BeetlePSX Core.

 

[the_randomizer]

There has never been a PCSXrearmed Core on WiiU only BeetlePSX Core.

Yeah and the so called dynarec will never happen either, according to the list of supported platforms on their site, Wii U is nowhere to be found.

This is why I'm cynical regarding the Switch hacking scene, it doesn't even have permanent CFW, so to me, it's not even worth my time.