RetroArch

RetroArch

Developer(s)	The Libretro Team
Initial release	May 26, 2010 (2010-05-26)
Stable release	1.7.4 / August 30, 2018 (2018-08-30)
Repository	github.com/libretro/RetroArch
Written in	C, C++
Operating system	GNU/Linux, Android, iOS, FreeBSD, macOS, Windows NT 3.51 and later
Platform	IA-32 (x86), x86-64 (x64), ARMv7, AArch64, PowerPC, MIPS, Cell
Available in	English, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Vietnamese
Type	Video game console emulator
License	GPLv3
Website	www.retroarch.com

RetroArch is the reference implementation of the libretro API.^[1][2] It is free, open source, cross-platform software, licensed under the GNU GPLv3.

It is described as a front-end for emulators, game engines, video games, media players and other applications, designed to be fast, lightweight, portable and without dependencies.^[3]

RetroArch runs programs converted into dynamic libraries called libretro cores, using several user interfaces such as command-line interface, a few graphical user interfaces (GUI) optimized for gamepads (the most famous one being called XMB, a clone of Sony's XMB), several input, audio and video drivers, plus other sophisticated features like dynamic rate control, audio filters, multi-pass shaders, netplay, gameplay rewinding, cheats etc.

RetroArch has been ported to many platforms.^[4][5] It can run on several PC operating systems (Windows, OS X, GNU/Linux), home consoles (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, etc.), handheld consoles (PlayStation Vita,^[6] Nintendo 3DS, etc.), on smartphones (Android, iOS,^[7] etc.), embedded systems (Raspberry Pi, ODROID, etc.) and even on web browsers^[8] by using the Emscripten compiler.

History

Formerly known as SSNES, initially based on pseudonymous programmer byuu's libretro predecessor libsnes,^[9] it began its development in 2010 with Hans-Kristian "themaister" Arntzen committing the first change on GitHub.^[10] It was intended as a replacement to bsnes's Qt-based interface^[11] but it grew to support more emulation "cores". On April 21, 2012, SSNES was officially renamed^[12] to RetroArch to reflect this change in direction.

RetroArch's version 1.0.0.0 was released on January 11, 2014 and at the time was available on 7 distinct platforms.^[13]

On February 16, 2016, RetroArch became one of the first ever applications to implement support for the Vulkan graphics API, having done so on the same day of the API's official release day.^[14]

On November 27, 2016, the Libretro Team announced that, alongside Lakka (LibreELEC-based RetroArch operating system), RetroArch would be on the Patreon crowdfunding platform to allow providing bounties for developers who fix specific software bugs and to cover the costs for matchmaking servers.^[15]

On December, 2016, GoGames – a company contracted by video game developer and publisher Sega – approached the RetroArch developers with the intention of using their software in their SEGA Forever project but ultimately the cooperation did not come to fruition due to licensing disagreements.^[16][17]

In April 2018 Input Lag Compensation was added.^[18]

Features

Its major features include:

• Advanced GPU shader support - A multi-pass post-processing shader pipeline allows efficient use of image scaling algorithms, emulation of complex CRT, NTSC video artifacts and other effects;
• Dynamic Rate Control to synchronize video and audio while smoothing out timing imperfections;
• FFmpeg recording - Built-in support for lossless video recording using FFmpeg's libavcodec;
• Gamepad abstraction layer called Retropad;
• Gamepad auto-configuration - Zero-configuration needed from the user after plugging a gamepad in;
• Peer-to-peer netplay that uses a rollback technique similar to GGPO;^[19]
• Audio DSP plugins like an equalizer, reverb and other effects;
• Advanced savestate features - Automatic savestate loading, disabling SRAM overwritting, etc.;
• Frame-by-frame gameplay rewinding at the press of a button;
• Button overlays for touchscreen devices like smartphones;
• Thumbnails of game boxarts;
• Low input and audio lag options;
• Automatically build categorized playlists by scanning directories for games/ROMs;
• Multiple interfaces including: CLI, XMB (optimized for gamepads), GLUI/MaterialUI (optimized for touch devices) and RGUI (available everywhere);
• Game ROM scanner - Automatically constructs playlists by comparing the hashsums of a directory's files against databases of hashsums of known good game copies.^[20]
• Libretro database of cores, games, cheats, etc.^[21]
• OpenGL and Vulkan API support.

Supported systems

RetroArch can run any libretro core. While RetroArch is available for many platforms, the availability of a specific core varies per platform.

Below is a non-exhaustive table of which systems are available to RetroArch and what project the core is based on:

Reception

RetroArch has been praised for the number of systems and games it can play under a single interface.^{[22][23][24][25]}

It has been criticized for how difficult it is to configure, due to the extensive number of options available to the user,^[23][22] and at the same time has been praised for the more advanced features it possesses.^[26]

On Android, it has been praised for the fact that overlays can be customized, for the expandability of the libretro cores it supports, for its compatibility with several USB and Bluetooth controller peripherals, in addition to the app being free and having no ads.^[25][27]

Tyler Loch, writing for Ars Technica, said that RetroArch's 'Input Lag Compensation' mode is "arguably the biggest improvement to the experience the retro gaming community has yet seen".^[18]

See also

• List of video game emulators

References