5.6 KiB
Executable file
Steam ROM Manager (SRM) - General Guide
Steam ROM Manager is a bulk game importer and artwork manager for Steam. It has been built into RetroDECK since version 0.9.0b.
It adds separate games to Steam, incorporates artwork from SteamGridDB , and configures the RetroDECK Steam Input layouts.
RetroDECK uses Steam ROM Manager as part of its backend for the Steam Sync feature.
SRM Links:
Warning - Flatpak Steam not yet supported
We have not yet added support for the Flatpak version of Steam.
Warning - Exotic ROMS filenames can break the scripts
Some games have exotic symbols in their name that could break so the parser and the game won't launch, ( ) [ ] are fine.
The symbols that could cause issues are:
/ \ { } < > ' * `
It might be worth to rename those games if it contains them.
Folder structure
| Type | Folder | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Scripts Folder | retrodeck/roms/.sync/ |
This hidden folder contains the auto generated launch scripts for Steam as .sh files. |
| Config Folder | ~/.var/app/net.retrodeck.retrodeck/config/config/steam-rom-manager/ |
How-to enable Steam Sync?
All the games you have marked as favorites in ES-DE (marked with a ⭐ or another icon depending on theme) will be synced to Steam upon exiting the application, along with their artwork and will show up after Steam is restarted.
Step 1: Mark games as ⭐ favorites in ES-DE
Navigate to a game in ES-DE and press the press the north button to mark a game as favorite in ES-DE (Xbox Y button, Playstation Triangle, Nintendo X).
Step 2: Enable in Configurator
Enable the Steam Sync feature inside the Configurator by pressing Yes.
Step 3: Exit RetroDECK to start the Sync
Note: If you have a massive roms library this can take a while. But you can leave the sync window in the background and play other things while it runs. The speed also depends on the Device you are using.
Just wait until the Sync is finished and the window closes.
Step 4: Restart / Reload Steam
Steam needs to be restarted before the games show up in your library.
For the Steam Deck you can either restart the Steam Deck or from Game Mode enter Desktop Mode and directly go back to Game Mode as this will also relaunch Steam.
If you are on a PC just Exit Steam and relaunch it as normal.
Step 5: Results
If all have gone correctly you should have the game added to Steam.
How do I disable Steam Sync?
Just go into the Configurator and press Steam Sync if you got it enabled it will now ask if you want to disable it. Just press Yes in the prompt.
This will also remove your favorites from Steam.
Adding RetroDECK .doom files to Steam - Grid and Tear Project
SteamGridDB: Grid and Tear is a project for adding art for various doom mods.
The Steam Sync feature can be used to add RetroDECK doom files
To add the .doom files you just do the same as everything else:
Just mark them as ⭐ favorites in ES-DE for the Steam Sync to pick them up.
Search if the mod has art
Go to SteamGridDB: Grid and Tear and search for what mods are supported currently with art.
Give the .doom file a matching name
You need to match the names of the .doom files with how they are called on SteamGridDB for the art to be correctly scraped.
Example - SteamGridDB: Brutal DOOM
The file in this case is called Brutal Doom.doom.
If you are unsure on how to create doom files
Guide: How to create RetroDECK .doom file
Can I do advanced tweaking in SRM?
Yes, you can open the entire SRM interface from the Configurator.
Just like all other components you tweak it to your heart's content.
Configurator -> Open Emulator / Component -> Steam Rom Manager.
If you break things you could always reset it to default via:
Configurator -> Troubleshooting -> Reset -> Component -> Steam Rom Manager.
How does it work?
When the sync function is activated launch scripts are generated in a hidden folder:
retrodeck/.sync/ those scripts are then added to Steam with the ability to launch your games.
Inside the script there are two types of launch commands:
flatpak run net.retrodeck.retrodeck 'retrodeck/roms/<system>/<game>'
This is the regular launch command
flatpak-spawn --host flatpak run net.retrodeck.retrodeck 'retrodeck/roms/<system>/<game>'
This one is for future Steam Flatpak support, as they need the flatpak-spawn permission to launch the games and have to be manually enabled by the user.
Currently the games are not added to Flatpak Steam via Steam Sync.