RetroArch Update: All-in-one VPK now available
I think we can all agree that the libretro’s team work on getting RetroArch to work as best as possible on the PS Vita as of late as been amazing: it all started with the porting the XMB-like user interface of the better versions of RetroArch to the PS Vita, which was followed up some time later by getting PCSX-R working at near-full speed in many cases thanks to dynarec and more recently, the activation of the same hardware acceleration on both Picodrive and gpSP. However, there has been one thing that I’ve been hearing everyone- including myself – asking an ETA on from the libretro team, which is getting all the RetroArch emulators into one file rather than split into various VPKs like the PC, Android and PS3 versions.
That being said, you can’t imagine my surprise when I see the thread by reddit user rdgcm, noting that the size of the RetroArch builds had doubled overnight with the inclusion of a new file named retroarch.vpk. As you can probably guess, it is indeed the oh-so yearned for all-in-one VPK that many users had been wondering was possible for quite a while. The weirdest part about this report is the radio silence on the part of the libretro team’s Twitter. You’d think an update as major as this one would at least have an announcement of any sorts. Nevertheless, we got this now and I’m pretty happy to be able to report that it’s working quite well! I’ve tested both Gambatte and PCSX-R with success and they seem to be working just as well as their standalone counterparts.
What is RetroArch?
In the eventuality that you haven’t been following the Vita scene, know that RetroArch is a very popular all-in-one emulation platform created and maintained by the Libretro team, which has been growing in popularity over the last few years. All of the emulators contained within the RetroArch platform are forks based on open-source tweaked and updated on a constant basis by the team, whose latest achievements have been getting a web-browser version of RetroArch working and the addition of a Sega Saturn emulator based on the mednafen code. The popularity of this emulation platform has had it ported to almost every modern console, as well as Android and there’s even a Linux-based OS that runs on RetroArch.
Currently the RetroArch PS Vita version can run many of the most popular emulators that you may want: Playstation, Gameboy/Color/Advance, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis and even Arcade machines such as NeoGeo and the Capcom Play Systems (mostly known as CPS1/2/3). You can even enjoy Doom on the Vita thanks to the PrBoom version that the libretro ported over.
Instructions for RetroArch All-in-One
If this is the first time you install RetroArch you should be set. Install the Retroarch.vpk file and you’re set.
However there are many report that a clean transition from the standalones to the the AiO VPK is not currently possible. The transition however should be rather easy if you follow these steps:
- Use VitaShell to move your uxo:data/retroarch/ over to your computer then delete the folder on your PS Vita
- Install the retroarch.vpk file on your Vita
- Open the newly installed AiO RetroArch at least once so it can create the new uxo:data/retroarch/
- Finally, use VitaShell to move over the system, savefiles and savestates folder from your old retroarch folder into the new one and you should be set!
Don’t forget to use the Load Core option prior to loading any ROM. Contrary to the PC and Android versions, RetroArch still doesn’t detect the Core based on roms… yet.
Download RetroArch
To get this latest build of RetroArch, just head over to the libretro Vita buildbot and download any build from the 10th October onwards. After that simply extract the retroarch.vpk file over t your Vita and install it to enjoy the full RetroArch experience.
Enjoy everyone!
First first first.
Damn! Second at least
Third
Got here 4th. Not bad. Not bad.
Nice, but still missing the emulator of the best (home)computer ever made…. The Amiga 🙂
heck Yeah… I wish there was amiga emulator… Last year my Amiga 1200 gave her last breath -_- RIP my best computer of all times…
GEEk
niiice somebody pinch me i am dreaming seems like all my favorite stuff from the xbox soft mod days is now portable all we need now is a port of mugen
First!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!“`
🙁 time to sit in the corner and cry
Make sure you’re facing the corner. 😛
I have the problem that retroarch dont detect my roms anymore. only 4 roms and thats strange. Can someone help me?
I’ve been waiting for this very moment to pick my Vita back up! And as an added bonus, Final Fantasy Origins already runs at full speed on the PSX core!
That’s not a screenshot of an XMB interface. That’s a Nep cosplay.
***, you’re right lol. I posted that on my Facebook with a joke, didn’t notice the link had mistakenly been posted here. Will fix that.
Thanks for pointing it out 🙂
Does regular in-game saving work? I don’t like using save states as my main source for saving.
It does work but you have to make sure you quit retroarch through the menu by default. If you hit the home button and close the app manually, you’ll lose the save data…
However, you can modify the save settings in retroarch options. I haven’t tried it, but I think you can auto save SRAM every 30 seconds or whenever you return to the RA menu.
Hi folks!
Any news about a bugfree update of the ps3 version with the new menus?
The latest release is buggy…
Best regards
PS3 version got a update a few days ago by Ezio.
Click this link: http://libretro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6541&page=12&p=48567&viewfull=1#post48567
Thank you for the info. I will test the new build as soon as possible 🙂
You’d be best to check out that forum often for updates on PS3 builds as it’s been seeing some steady progress lately.
Sweet, I’ll have to find some time to install and tweak this. 🙂
any news? 🙂
“RetroArch still doesn’t detect the Core based on roms… yet.”
Actually yes it does, sort of xD. After you run the rom for the first time, It now gets saved in your history feed. When you choose it from there, it will switch to the core needed.
Not that. That feature works fine.
I mean creating custom “menus” for each emulator. That’s what the “+” option is on the retroarch menu, you make it scan a rom folder and it creates an entry for the specific core.
See this for an example: http://www.lakka.tv/videos/menuwebm.webm
This features crashes Retroarch on the Vita, for now.
Anyone know if this update fixes the ps1 memory card issue
http://www.mediafire.com/?bekt4ypcm2dh686D
Drop that in ux0:/data it’s all setup with cores, cheats and bios files and more ready to roll. Will also give you the XMB interface upon boot.
Link doesn’t work atreyu 🙁
Lol if you press the “XMB-like user interface” link in the article it will show you a picture of some cosplay girl.
It does not detect ROM.
What is the correct way to put air roms?
1 rom this in ux0: data / ROMS.
2 this unzipped.
3 has some zip.
4- loaded the corresponding nucleus.
Help please.
After I loaded the SNES_9X core then loaded a Rom (.smc), it crashes. Getting the c2-12828-1 error.
Also tried with the GBA Core/Rom.
Rebooted vita but still getting the same results. Anyone else have this issue?
same problem here
How does the RetroArch’s PSX compare to TN-V’s PSX emulator? (Or however he achieved it.)
Pretty awesome actually, I swear it looks better than the native ps1 emulator that runs on the vita itself.
How about sound? I recall that being a pretty big issue.
Is anyone keeping vpkmirror updated?
Seems to have gone a little stale with outdated vpk’s, and some that don’t work at all.
I dont see any sense in this? Without detecting the core by rom file, its way to annoying to chose the core you want. The bubbles are the easier option in my opinion, so I’ll stick with that.
i can’t save current configuration,i deleted old retroarch folder and the samw
Still no N64 core :<
Why has there been no port for N64?
yes there is medanefrin
my henkaku hangs each time i want to install a vpk files, anyone with this prob?
Can I play arcade machine game roms like asteroids, stargate, donkey king jr, zaxxon etc etc
I am not having any luck getting either version of Retroarch (3/5/17 or 3/6/17) working with my 3.60 PS Vita. I have Henkaku’s molecular shell working with no problem with ftp and transferring files. Any suggestions? It seems that all communication went silent on this topic back late last year. I’m really excited to get this working and would appreciate any help.
Can someone please help me? I’m having issues with these instructions. After I installed it I didn’t get the fancy XMB interface but rather just a weird looking green menu that looked like it was from the 80s. And nothing really worked. It didn’t even recognize my ROMs. What am I doing wrong?
I have very big problem. In retroArch NES (fce) is not working sounds! In any games not working sounds 🙁 What I must do i will fix it? Please help me …
Question, I have ps vita running 3.67, How would I install Retroarch without using the .vpk as I can’t install via .vpk files anymore?
Question, I have ps vita running 3.67, How would I install Retroarch without using the .vpk as I can’t install via .vpk files anymore??
Hello, how can I configure the retroarch to play zx spectrum games?
sweet I’ve been looking for this!
Sweet I’ve been looking for this!