RetroDECK/wiki-rtd/How-to:-Getting-started.md

Getting started

This is a guide on how to get started with RetroDECK

Step 0: Prerequisites

What do I need?

You need to meet the following prerequisites before you start following this guide:

• You need to have a device to install RetroDECK on (we currently only support the Steam Deck).
• Read up on the FAQs pages:
  Do you include any games, firmware or BIOS?
  Where can I get them?
  What does ~ mean?
• Have related BIOS & Firmware ready
• Have backup rom files of the games you want to play ready

Step 1: Installation & Configuration

Only install RetroDECK from the official channels via flathub!

Steam Deck - Installation

Read and follow the:

• Installation guide for the Steam Deck
  

Linux Desktop - Installation

(more information later)

Other SteamOS devices - Installation

(more information later)

Step 2: BIOS & Firmware

NOTE: On the Steam Deck this step needs to be done in Desktop Mode

Information

Read up on BIOS & Firmware

• The BIOS & Firmware files go into the ~/retrodeck/bios/ directory
  

Example:
You have a BIOS for the PSX called exampleBIOSPSX.bin, you just put that file into the ~/retrodeck/bios/ folder.

Step 3: ROMs

NOTE: On the Steam Deck this step needs to be done in Desktop Mode

On ROMs

Rom files needs to be put in their corresponding system directory inside the roms folder.
Note that the roms folder location can be different depending on where you choose to put it during the installation process. The following options are available during the installation:

Choice: Internal

If during the installation of RetroDECK you choose the Internal option for the roms folder:
The roms folder is:~/retrodeck/roms/

Choice: SDCard

If during the installation of RetroDECK you choose the SDCard option for the roms folder:
The roms folder is: <sdcard>/retrodeck/roms/

(Please note that the <sdcard> is an example and not called so inside your Linux/SteamOS system but rather your unique per SDCard ID number).

Let's get started on ROMs:

Read up on Emulators: Folders & File extensions to see what folder each system has.

• Put the corresponding roms inside the corresponding system folder

Example:
You have an example NES game called ExampleNESGame.nes
You have to put that game into the /retrodeck/roms/nes folder.

Step 4: Playing the ROMs

Steam Deck - Gamemode

Return to gamemode on the Steam Deck and start up RetroDECK. Now the systems you put rom files for should be shown and be able to be played.

Example:
The NES column should now be shown with our ExampleNESGame.nes from Step 3

Step 5: Making the games "pretty" with videos, images and art.

Do the following:

1. Make an account on https://www.screenscraper.fr/
2. Read up on scraping on the ES-DE Guide
3. Login to your screenscraper account inside RetroDECK and start scraping.
4. Look at your nice pretty games.

Also read:

• I got some weird error message about quota after scraping in a foreign language from screenscraper.fr
• My system storage ran out after scraping!

Step 6: Themes

RetroDECK comes with several themes built in for the ES-DE interface.

How to switch between themes?

• On the Steam Deck: you can switch between them by pressing the ☰ button to open the menu and then navigate to UI Settings > Theme Set to select the theme you want to use.

How to add more themes?

More information on themes and how to add more