# RetroDECK v0.9.0b - Captain Comeback

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/rd-logo-box.png" width="600">

**Release Date: 2025-XX-XX**

## Short summary:

```
Thanks for your patience 
Patch Music for 0.9.0b? 
New Lighter Manifest
Launch with RetroDECK (RetroENGINE)
Launch with games via CLI
Steam Rom Manager & Steam Sync
PortMaster
Ruffle
New RetroDECK ES-DE Theme
New Website 
Updated all components
```

---

## Thanks for your patience 

We appreciate the community's patience while waiting for this update


---

## Do we get any banger Patch Music for 0.9.0b? 

How about a Sea Shanty about Captain Comeback meeting his friends the Port Master and the Train Driver (SRM).

[Captain Comeback's Shanty](https://soundcloud.com/lazorne/captain-comebacks-shanty/s-n7hBgem7imz)


---


## New Lighter Manifest & Framework changes

We have spent several months rewriting various aspects of RetroDECK, resulting in about `1300` commits since the last release. During this time, we have:

- Reduced the application size by around `600MB`.
- Decreased the build time from `3.30` hours to about `1` hour.
- Transitioned from a monolithic build approach to a modular one, where each component is built separately and then integrated into RetroDECK.
- Migrated RetroDECK to an organization on GitHub, which now hosts the new modular structure.
- Reworked the `pre_build_automation script`, adding new features.
- Improved logging.
- Implemented changes for the future Godot version of the Configurator.
- Enabled the RetroDECK Framework to pick up logged-in Steam profiles for systems like SRM.

This work will also continue in upcoming major updates, as we want to make the build system more dynamic and easy.

<img src="../scott.jpg" width="300"> 

---


## RetroENGINE - Run with RetroDECK

<img src="../../../wiki_images/systems/retroengine/re-appselect.png" width="500"> 

RetroDECK can be used as a headless engine to run your games. 

On the Linux Desktop (or desktop mode), we have added the option to associate, run, and open various game files directly with RetroDECK. 

This also includes the ability to launch games via the CLI.

This feature has been requested by the wider development community outside of RetroDECK (and maybe a few Linux Wizard Grognards that only want to use CLI for everything).

**Quote from Discord User:**

*"Whoa! That is a lot of text for saying you can now double click on game files and they open"*

**Read more here:**

[RetroENGINE - Guide](../../wiki_system_guides/retroengine/retroengine-guide.md)


---

## Steam Rom Manager & Steam Sync

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/srm-logo.png" width="100">

RetroDECK is now shipping with [Steam Rom Manager](https://steamgriddb.github.io/steam-rom-manager/) and the ability to Sync your games to Steam aka `Steam Sync` built-in. 

**Notice: Flatpak Steam Not Yet Supported**

We have not yet added support for the Flatpak version of Steam.


**What is Steam Rom Manager?**

Steam ROM Manager is a bulk game importer and artwork manager for Steam.

It adds separate games to Steam, incorporates artwork from [SteamGridDB](https://www.steamgriddb.com/) , and configures the RetroDECK Steam Input layouts. 


**Read more here:**

[Steam Rom Manager - Guide](../../wiki_system_guides/srm/srm-guide.md)


---

## New Feature - PortMaster

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/portmaster-logo.png" width="100">

RetroDECK is now shipping with [PortMaster](https://portmaster.games/). 

![type:video](PortMaster.mp4)

### What is PortMaster?


PortMaster is a simple GUI tool designed to facilitate the downloading and installation of game ports for Linux devices and is self contained.

One of the goals of PortMaster is to not install or upgrade any existing OS libraries for any ports. Any of the ports that need a particular non-standard library are maintained within the ports' folder and made available specifically to that port during execution. 

**Read more here:**

[PortMaster - Guide](../../wiki_system_guides/portmaster/portmaster-guide.md)

---

## New Feature - Ruffle

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/ruffle-logo.svg" width="200">

Ruffle is a Flash Player emulator written in Rust.

**Read more here:**

[Ruffle - Guide](../../wiki_emulator_guides/ruffle/ruffle-guide.md)

---

## New RetroDECK ES-DE Theme

We got our the first version of our own RetroDECK ES-DE theme!

The theme is inspired by the themes: Mini Banner made for Launchbox and ES-DE-Mini made for ES-DE. 

The original themes Mini Banner and ES-DE-Mini are made by: `Weestuarty`, `DerSchlachter` and `Dan Patrick`.

It could be seen as a RetroDECK Remix of those themes.

The RetroDECK Theme features:

- Other types of sub-menus and layout.
- Icons for RetroDECK features like PortMaster.
- RetroDECK colors / graphics. 

<img src="../RetroDECKESDE1.webp" width="600">

<img src="../RetroDECKESDE2.webp" width="600"> 

The new theme is made by: `Weestuarty`

---

## New Website

We soft launched it before, but we are considering it a part of this update! Have you found the hidden games yet?

<img src="../website.png" width="600">

--- 

## Framework / Configurator

### RetroDECK Classic (Zenity) Configurator

<img src="../../../wiki_icons/retrodeck/icon-configurator.svg" width="120">


```
Change: BIOS Checkers have been merged into one checker.
Change: Open Emulator to -> Open Emulator / Component to account for SRM.
Added: Backported the Godot BIOS list to the old Checker resulting in several more BIOS in the list.
Added: Various compression improvements commits by Cohee to the compression tool.
```

## Emulators / Engines / Systems

All components have been updated to a later version

- Emulators
- Engines 
- Retroarch & cores 
- Systems

What follows are highlighted changes of note.


### ES-DE

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/es-de-logo.png" width="100">

[ES-DE: Changelog](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md)

```
Update: To 3.1.1 it comes with a ton of features like language support and much more. Check the changelog for more details (above).
Change: Favorites collection is now enabled by default on ES-DE as it is an requirement for Steam Sync.
Change: The ES-DE settings are under a submenu in the ES-DE interface as our tools where making the menu to crowed.
Added: Support for the Panda3DS - RetroArch core in ES-DE.
Added: Support for the LRPS2 - RetroArch core in ES-DE.
Fixed: Scraper was set to Europe and not World.
Note: ES-DE defaults to language to your system locale if the translation is available. If you want to change the language you can do so in ES-DE Configurations -> UI Settings -> Application Language.
Known Issue: RetroDECK's ES-DE submenu don't work with all translations. We hope to implement all translations in the future.

```

### Duckstation:

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/duckstation-logo.png" width="100">

```
Change: Marked as (Legacy) because of licensing changes. 
Bugfix: Fixed an issue where the Hotkeys in some scenarios where not correctly applied. 
Update: Updated to the last version before the licensing change.
```


### Ryujinx:

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/ryujinx-logo.svg" width="100">

```
Change: Marked as (Legacy) as the emulator has stopped it's development. 
```

### RPCS3

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/rpcs3-logo.png" width="100">


```
Added: More hotkeys are now supported like Open In-game Menu. 
```

### RetroArch

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/retroarch-logo.png" width="100">

```
Added: Experimental N3DS core: Panda3DS.
Added: Experimental Playstation 2 core: LRPS2.
```
### Dolphin / Primehack:

<img src="../../../wiki_images/logos/dolphin-logo.svg" width="100">

```
Fixed: Aspect ratio was configured for the Steam Deck and not set to Auto. 
```