20 KiB
RetroDECK v0.8.0b - Bonsai Banana
Welcome to the 0.8.0 Patch Notes that turned into a Patch Essay, that showcases all the new features in the 0.8.0b update - Bonsai Banana.
Release Date: TBA
Notice: Removal of Yuzu & Citra
Both Yuzu and Citra have been removed, the new defaults are Ryujinx and Citra-Core in RetroArch.
Heads-up: RPSC3 changes
- Change: RPCS3 Game shortcuts .desktop files are now standard.
- Fixed: An issue was causing the RPCS3 saves folder not to be mapped in saves/ps3/.
ADD MORE ON HOW TO FIX IT AND WHY
New Engine: GZDOOM
Read the guide here: GZDOOM Guide
The preface of DOOM
We in the RetroDECK team believe that modding, texture replacements and tinkering is a core part of the gaming experience.
Have you ever wanted to try to run GZDOOM with mods? Installing them quite daunting for the average person and then understanding how to get them running.
Sometimes you need to access the hidden folders, have the knowlage of what configs to edit and in some edge cases drag-and-drop files into the GZDOOM application itself.
So we set out on a goal to improve and lower the barrier to running GZDOOM with mods.
Inspired by the previous work done by AmberELEC, we implemented a brand new and re-envisioned .doom file parser. We rebuilt it from the ground up and with the simple goal of making it easier for you to play DOOM in RetroDECK and hopefully offer a unique experience.
Now 30 years of great game content made by the awesome DOOM community awaits you!
What is the RetroDECK .doom file?
For full details on how to get started, read here: The RetroDECK .doom file
The RetroDECK .doom file is just a textfile that allows you create your very own doom mod-pack with ease, where each line represents a file name the mod loading order.
All you need to do is:
- Copy the games and mods somewhere into
/roms/doom/. - Create a text file
- Copy the full filenames in order in per line in the text file.
- Save the file as
something.doominto/roms/doom/ - Launch from ES-DE and enjoy
Example: Project Brutality
Let's say you want create a one mod .doom file with Project Brutality and DOOM2.
Let's call it:
Project Brutality.doom
The contents will look like this (except the text within () )
DOOM2.WAD (<---- The MAP WAD (Or the game)
PB_Staging_9f2561c.pk3 (<---- Project Brutality mod file)
That is it save and run from RetroDECK!
I have bought DOOM (1993) or DOOM 2 on Steam how to get my WADs?
Read more here: Get your WADS
What about controls?
Read more here: RetroDECK GZDOOM Controls
Instead of using the GZDOOM inputs for a controllers that is based on the traditional DOOM inputs, we instead opted to design it after with mods in mind and those normally have more inputs then normal DOOM ever had.
The control scheme is based both on mix of modern FPS games and the game TimeSplitter: Future Perfect for the PlayStation 2.
The main feature is that L1 and L2 is already pre-bound for various mod actions like throwing grenades or activate special abilities for Brutal Doom, Project Brutality based mods and Doom Infinite.
But the buttons L1 and L2 are also free to be used in any other mod you might want to play, all you need to know is that those two buttons are always available for you to bind what ever new actions the mods throw at you.
NOTE: External Controller Issues - GZDOOM
GZDOOM have some kind of conflict with Steam Input in when more then one controller that causes input looping in menus. Make sure that the controller you are using is set as Player 1 else use Reorder Controllers interface in Steam to make it Player 1.
We are still investigation the cause of it.
New Engine: IkemanGO (M.U.G.E.N)
Fighting game engine that is compatible with M.U.G.E.N.
Each game is it's own standalone instance, read more here:
We have also made some tips and guidelines on how to convert old M.U.G.E.N games to IkemanGO
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_engine_guides/ikemengo/ikemengo-guide/ https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_engine_guides/ikemengo/ikemengo-guide/
New Engine: Solarus
Action RPG game engine Solarus.
Each game is it's own standalone instance, read more here:
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_engine_guides/solarus/solarus-guide/
New Engine: OpenBOR
Beat'em up game engine OpenBOR.
Each game is it's own standalone instance, read more here:
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_engine_guides/openbor/openbor-guide/
New Emulator: Ryujinx
Switch Emulator Ryujinx
New Emulator: Vita3k
PSVita Emulator Vita3k
New Emulator: MAME (Standalone)
Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME)
The inclusions of MAME (Standalone) in addition of having more MAME games working, it also enables the following systems in RetroDECK:
Acorn Archimedes
Acorn Computers BBC Micro
Apple II
Apple IIGS
Bit Corporation Gamate
Coleco Adam
Daphne Arcade LaserDisc Emulator
Emerson Arcadia 2001
Fujitsu FM Town
Funtech Super A'Can
Hartung Game Master
LaserDisc Games
Texas Instruments TI-99
VTech CreatiVision
VTech V.Smile
Ponzu (Legacy AppImage Loader)
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_configurator/ponzu/
Q: What is Ponzu?
Ponzu is in part the former Yuzu (Custom) AppImage Loader and tool that we had planned for 0.8.0b with a changed scope.
If the user has personal backups of the last versions of the now dead emulators in AppImage format they can temporarily be used with RetroDECK as-is.
Q: Should this be seen as official support for the removed emulators?
No, the only official runners are Ryujinx and Citra-core in RetroArch.
RetroDECK will not provide any new: configurations, bug fixes, improvements or support towards the AppImages. There is also a risk that future updates can break the compatibility with the AppImages (they are no longer maintained), this is a temporary as-is solution.
We strongly recommenced everyone to just use Ponzu as a way to safely migrate to Ryujinx or the Citra-core (save and move).
Q: Will you be looking in into other forks of Citra & Yuzu later and add into RetroDECK?
First, this type of event makes it ripe for scammers.
We would urge all users to be extra careful and not blindly downloading everything you see on the internet including fan fixes for the dead emulators.
If good and safe forks arises that have been vetted by the FOSS community then we will look into it.
New RetroDECK Steam Input Layout: Steam Deck - Simple
This is a new layout for the Steam Deck with a lighter radial menu on the left touchpad. Some users did not want to have the full radial menu system but would rather just have something more simple.
The layout is called RetroDECK: Steam Deck - Neptune v.1b SIMPLE
LINK HERE TO WIKI
Updated RetroDECK Steam Input Layout: Steam Deck - Full
Several changes have been made to old layout
Change: Renamed layout to RetroDECK: Steam Deck - Neptune v.1b FULL
Change: Version number standardization.
Change: MAME Menu - Changed all the binds to reflect new MAME (Standalone) config.
Added: Wii/GC Menu - Wii Mote Sync 1 to 4 buttons.
Added: Wii/GC Menu - New icons to Wii Mote Standing / Laying buttons.
Added: MAME Menu - Added Tilt 1 to 4 buttons.
Added: GZDoom Menu
Added: ScummVM Menu
Removed: Secrets Menu
New Radial Menu: SCUMMVM Menu
A new SCUMMVM Menu allows quick access to common commands used by a big chunk of the SCUMMVM games.
The design intent is that when you are playing a SCUMMVM game on the Steam Deck. You can have the SCUMMVM menu open on the left touchpad while you use the mouse on the right touchpad to navigate the game.
The following commands are available:
Open - O
Close - C
Fight - F
Use - U
Pick-up - P
Push/Shove - S
Pull/Yank - Y
Look-At - L
Talk To - T
Give - G
Move - M
New Radial Menu: GZDoom Menu
This menu is a tiny showcase on what is possible with radial menus, we also wanted to add other famous cheats like the Konami Code on a button but...
A bug in Steam Input prevents us from add more cheats the two we have added (the RetroDECK Team have reported the bug to Valve).
The following commands are available:
Get All Items
Get All Items + Keys
New RetroDECK Steam Input Layouts: External Controllers
All controller layouts uses the same one layer radial menu with good to have hotkeys in addition to the normal button hotkeys. To access the radial menu press and hold SELECT + Move the Left Joystick and Press L3 to press the radial button.
Might work on more devices
We have also gotten user reports that these layouts work on devices that simulates certain controllers via Steam Input like the Lenovo Legion Go. The devices will pickup one the layout it is mimicing if it is a DualSense or Xbox Wireless and allow hotkeys to be used on that device.
The RetroDECK Team does not own these devices and we can not test them ourself, but if you discover something you can report to the RetroDECK Team on Discord or Matrix.
What does the External Controller layouts allow me to do?
First the Radial menu when holding SELECT and using the Left Joystick allows quick access for various PC commands like ESC, F1, Enter but also Screen Switching on dual screen systems or Change Discs you can activate them by pressing L3 when hovering over the command.
The design intent is to use the button combos as the main input for the important hotkeys like saving and loading and the radial a selection good-to-have extra commands.
One other important feature is press and hold SELECT and move Right Stick and it will turn it into a Mouse and R3 becomes Left Click.
This can be extremely useful:
Navigating emulator GUIs.
Close a weird emulator pop-up windows.
Use the Wii Pointer.
Playing Point & Click games
Play PC mouse based games.
The RetroDECK external controller radial menu
This menu is used on all controllers by pressing by pressing and holding SELCT + Moving the Left Joystick. It features a variety of PC commands and other commands that are good to have. While the most important commands are bound to the normal button combos.
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/radial-menus/controller-standard-radial/
DESCIBE THE INTENT OF BUTTONS
Known Issues: External Controllers - Steam Deck
Sometimes the emulators / engines gets confused on what controller is player 1 and takes the docked Steam Deck as player 1 and not the external contrller.
You can solve this by going into the Reorder Controllers interface in Steam and try switching between Player 1 or Player 2.
Known Issues: External Controllers - Linux Desktop
Linux Desktop via Steam Input is complex. There are a lot of variables and the RetroDECK Team don't have the ability to test for all of them:
- What kind of packages are installed.
- What kind of drivers you have installed.
- What distro you are using.
- What desktop you are using.
- If you are running X11 or Wayland.
- If you have a Steam Deck based Distro with Valves "Game Mode".
We are trying to keep track of all the issues here and have reported several to Valve:
https://github.com/XargonWan/RetroDECK/issues/716
Bug: Destop Profiles take preset over Game Profile
Since the one of the recent Steam Client updates, there is a bug that causes Steam to take the Desktop Profile instead of the Game Profile. Sometimes it even takes both inputs and sends double inputs for every action.
Possible solutions by our users and team members:
- Try and use the RetroDECK Profile as the Desktop Profile and turning off the Game Profile.
- Going into big picture and launching RetroDECK from there.
- Starting big picture, exiting big picture and then launching RetroDECK from the Desktop Client.
Bug: Missing Radials in certain systems
The radial menus on certain Linux Systems are hidden behind the game window or the Steam overlay (they still work and you can navigate them).
We thought about doing a temporary none radial layouts for each controller to get around this bug.
But later changed our minds as we would have even more input configs to maintain, with a risk they become permanent.
Supported Controllers
Generic Controllers - Standard Layout
The Generic - Standard encompasses the vast majority of none official third party controllers that have all the buttons of a modern controller like 8BitDo Pro2 or the Xiaomi Controller.
Layout Name: Hotkeys:
Switch Pro
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/nintendo/switch-pro/
Layout Name: Hotkeys:
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/nintendo/nintendo-hotkeys/
Steam Controller - Gordon
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/steam/steam-controller-gordon/
Layout Name: Hotkeys:
Extra features in the layout:
Features two hotkey buttons use either SELECT or L4.
Features a Mouse Mode / Joystick Mode Switcher on R4. That switches the right touchpad between Permanent Mouse or Right Joystick.
DualShock 3
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/playstation/dualshock-3/ https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/playstation/playstation-hotkeys/
Layout Name: Hotkeys:
Extra features in the layout:
DualShock 4
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/playstation/dualshock-4/ https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/playstation/playstation-hotkeys/
Layout Name: Hotkeys:
Extra features in the layout:
Features mouse input on the touchpad.
Left click on the right side of the touchpad.
Right click on the left side of the touchpad.
DualSense
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/playstation/dualsense/
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/playstation/playstation-hotkeys/
Layout Name: Hotkeys:
Extra features in the layout:
Features mouse input on the touchpad.
Left click on the right side of the touchpad.
Right click on the left side of the touchpad.
Xbox 360 Controller
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/xbox/xbox-360/ https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/xbox/xbox-hotkeys/
Layout Name: Hotkeys:
Xbox Wireless Controller
https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/xbox/xbox-wireless/ https://retrodeck.readthedocs.io/en/latest/wiki_controllers/xbox/xbox-hotkeys/
Layout Name: Hotkeys:
Framework / Configurator
RetroDECK Configurator
Fixed: Quit button after emulators reset should act as an actual full quit button.
Added: New desktop icon.
RetroDECK Framework
Added: support for Steam Flatpak layout injection.
Added: A quit_retrodeck function to ease the quit in the scripts.
Added: Several build pipeline improvements.
Change: The retrodeck/logs folder is no longer hidden by default.
Fixed: Various issues when building RetroDECK locally for development.
Fixed: Some wayland related issues.
Removed: Talk names in the manifest as they're not needed anymore as enabled by default.
Emulators / Engines / System
Updates
ES-DE to 3.0.1
All engines.
All RetroArch cores.
All emulators.
CEMU
Added: Optional gyro support if you have it installed for player 1.
Added: Better binds for Player 2 to 4.
Change: Made graphical tweaks based on user feedback & internal testing.
Dolphin
Added: Better binds for Player 1 to 4 GC & Wii.
Added: Optional gyro support if you have it installed for player 1.
Change: Made graphical tweaks based on user feedback & internal testing.
Change: Improved GC binds.
Change: Improved & Changed Wii Binds.
Change: Improved GBA binds.
Primehack
Added: Better binds for Player 1.
Added: Optional gyro support if you have it installed for player 1.
Added: More custom loadable icons for Primehack.
Change: Made graphical tweaks based on user feedback & internal testing.
MelonDS
Change: Made graphical tweaks based on user feedback.
Duckstation:
Added: Totally reworked binds for Player 1 to 4 via SDL.
Fixed: Memory card folder not being linked to retrodeck/saves/psx/.
PCSX2
Added: Better binds for Player 2 to 4.
Change: Made graphical tweaks based on user feedback & internal testing.
RPCS3
Added: Better binds for Player 2 to 4.
Change: RPCS3 Game shortcuts .desktop files are now standard.
Fixed: An issue was causing the RPCS3 saves folder not to be mapped in saves/ps3/.
Change: Made graphical tweaks based on user feedback & internal testing.
PPSSPP
Added: Extra Binds to Right Joystick (used for some romhacks that enables none existing second joystick in PSP games).
Change: Made graphical tweaks based on user feedback & internal testing.
Change: Is now running games via shortcut by default (allows easier running for more games).
RetroArch
Fixed: SCUMMVM-Core - A bug where the core did not find the Extras folder.
Fixed: Input mappings on controlers 2-16.
Fixed: A bug where in certain scenarios RetroArch would forget the roms folder.
Last Minute Questions
HEY YOU! RetroDECK Team! Where is the add-to-Steam Function?! 👱🏻👱🏿😼
With the added focus of both removing Yuzu and Citra from RetroDECK + implementing ES-DE 3.0 changes it needed to be pushed back a little.
Hopefully we can add it a minor update like 0.8.X. We got a few bugs we need to fix with the togheter with the BoliR developer 😸.
What about the Multiuser Mode?! 👿
That still needed more time in the oven for the complexity of it and we will put it out in another big version.
This update is already quite big! Don't you agree?! 😼
We hope everyone likes the update!
We in the RetroDECK Team hopes everyone in our little community likes the update. If you find any issues please read here on how to report them (no software is free of bugs including RetroDECK):
Thanks for your patience! ❤️