*Still debating whether or not a full install of Ubuntu is worth the effort vs. Lakka which “just” works, for the most part with little or no configuration. RetroArch is more configurable / tweakable outside of Lakka, however there are key differences which are covered below, mostly related to the configuration of Ubuntu.
Emulators are nothing new nor is RetroArch – a ROM emulator based on libretro cores packaged in a clean & intuitive interface. I started tinkering with this application a few days ago and found it to be rather well done. I installed a Linux distro called Lakka which conveniently boots from a USB stick straight into the emulation interface. This actually works quite well – however i wanted to go a little further with it as i already have an extra machine with Ubuntu 16.04 19.04 installed. I used once again, an additional Lenovo M73 – these are great little machines! This guide similar for more recent builds of Ubuntu as well. I’ll be updating this post as I move a long with the customization of my machine. Installation is straight forward:
For simplicity (not security) optionally enable root:
1 2 3 | sudo passwd root sudo passwd -u root sudo ufw disable |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | ##testing sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libretro/testing ##stable sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libretro/stable sudo apt update sudo apt install -y retroarch libretro-* sudo apt install -y alsa-utils sudo apt install -y openssh-server sudo sed -i 's/#PermitRootLogin prohibit-password/PermitRootLogin yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config sudo service ssh restart |
To execute the interface I have been running sudo retroarch -v- To execute the interface….on boot – create a service definition and set it to disabled. Then create a cron job to start the service at boot.
- *Without root or superuser privileges the emulator does not seem to take any type of user input
RetroArch Service Definition – this also restarts RetroArch when it crashes or on user exit; operates like a “kiosk.”
/etc/systemd/system/retroarch.service
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | [Unit] Description=Retroarch After=graphical.target ConditionKernelCommandLine=!retroarch=0 Requires=graphical.target [Service] #ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep 30 Environment=DISPLAY=:0.0 Environment=SDL_MOUSE_RELATIVE=0 Environment=FB_MULTI_BUFFER=2 Environment=HOME=/storage EnvironmentFile=-/run/libreelec/retroarch.conf ExecStartPre=-/usr/lib/retroarch/retroarch-config ExecStart=/usr/bin/retroarch KillMode=process TimeoutStopSec=10 Restart=always #Restart=on-failure RestartSec=0 StartLimitInterval=0 [Install] WantedBy=retroarch.target |
Currently I have this service set to disabled by default. It doesn’t seem to start properly due to the before and after service constraints – haven’t figured those out yet. The workaround is to have RetroArch start via a system start chron job. Need to figure out a way to make this service run last at startup, by manipulating the various service parameters / targets “wanted” – any input welcomed.
Once installed load various modules and metadata via the Online Updater menu item.
The configuration file:
1 | vi /storage/.config/retroarch/retroarch.cfg |
Sound Issues with AlsaMixer:
1 2 3 4 5 | amixer -c 0 set Master playback 0% mute amixer -c 0 set Master playback 100% unmute amixer -c 0 set Master 100 unmute amixer -c 0 set Master 0 amixer -c 0 set Master 100 |
Important Note: Ubuntu will pause / stall the system on boot indefinately or ~5min until a network connection is detected. on Ubuntu 19.04 this behavior can be adjusted. Other versions of Ubuntu have options such as Hotplug and editing the services file – I have tried all combinations of these solutions and none seem to work with 18.04 – so 19.04 is the answer.
Prerequisites and compiling command lines for Centos 7 / RedHat – I haven’t been able to get this working … yet!
1 2 3 4 5 6 | sudo dnf install git make automake gcc gcc-c++ kernel-devel mesa-libEGL-devel libv4l-devel libxkbcommon-devel mesa-libgbm-devel Cg libCg zlib-devel freetype-devel libxml2-devel ffmpeg-devel SDL2-devel SDL-devel perl-X11-Protocol perl-Net-DBus pulseaudio-libs-devel openal-soft-devel libusb-devel git clone https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch cd RetroArch/ ./configure make sudo make install |
Pairing a BlueTooth PS3 / PS4 controller to your newly built emulator box.
Removing Linux Ubuntu Boot Screen
Conclusion – I’ve been able to build a console that functions as it should; combining this unit with a media server would be an interesting possibility. However, for a dedicated system it is just easier to install Lakka, it’s developed by the same team that builds RetroArch, mostly everything just works 🙂
Example Ubuntu retroarch.cfg:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 | ai_service_enable = "false" ai_service_mode = "0" ai_service_source_lang = "0" ai_service_target_lang = "0" ai_service_url = "http://localhost:4404/" all_users_control_menu = "false" apply_cheats_after_load = "false" apply_cheats_after_toggle = "false" aspect_ratio_index = "1" assets_directory = "~/.config/retroarch/assets" audio_block_frames = "0" audio_device = "hdmi:CARD=HDMI,DEV=0" audio_driver = "alsa" audio_dsp_plugin = "" audio_enable = "true" audio_enable_menu = "true" audio_enable_menu_bgm = "true" audio_enable_menu_cancel = "true" audio_enable_menu_notice = "true" audio_enable_menu_ok = "true" audio_filter_dir = "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/retroarch/filters/audio/" audio_latency = "64" audio_max_timing_skew = "0.050000" audio_mixer_mute_enable = "false" audio_mixer_volume = "0.000000" audio_mute_enable = "false" audio_out_rate = "48000" audio_rate_control = "true" audio_rate_control_delta = "0.005000" audio_resampler = "sinc" audio_resampler_quality = "3" audio_sync = "true" audio_volume = "0.000000" auto_overrides_enable = "true" auto_remaps_enable = "true" auto_screenshot_filename = "true" auto_shaders_enable = "true" automatically_add_content_to_playlist = "true" autosave_interval = "10" block_sram_overwrite = "false" builtin_imageviewer_enable = "true" builtin_mediaplayer_enable = "true" bundle_assets_dst_path = "" bundle_assets_dst_path_subdir = "" bundle_assets_extract_enable = "false" bundle_assets_extract_last_version = "0" bundle_assets_extract_version_current = "0" bundle_assets_src_path = "" cache_directory = "/tmp" camera_allow = "false" camera_device = "" camera_driver = "video4linux2" cheat_database_path = "~/.config/retroarch/cheats" check_firmware_before_loading = "true" cheevos_auto_screenshot = "false" cheevos_badges_enable = "false" cheevos_enable = "false" cheevos_hardcore_mode_enable = "false" cheevos_leaderboards_enable = "false" cheevos_password = "" cheevos_test_unofficial = "false" cheevos_token = "" cheevos_username = "" cheevos_verbose_enable = "false" config_save_on_exit = "true" content_database_path = "~/.config/retroarch/database/rdb" content_favorites_path = "~/.config/retroarch/content_favorites.lpl" content_favorites_size = "100" content_history_dir = "" content_history_path = "~/.config/retroarch/content_history.lpl" content_history_size = "100" content_image_history_path = "~/.config/retroarch/content_image_history.lpl" content_music_history_path = "~/.config/retroarch/content_music_history.lpl" content_runtime_log = "true" content_runtime_log_aggregate = "false" content_show_add = "true" content_show_favorites = "true" content_show_history = "true" content_show_images = "false" content_show_music = "false" content_show_netplay = "true" content_show_playlists = "true" content_show_settings = "true" content_show_settings_password = "" content_show_video = "false" content_video_history_path = "~/.config/retroarch/content_video_history.lpl" core_assets_directory = "~/.config/retroarch/downloads" core_options_path = "" core_set_supports_no_game_enable = "true" core_updater_auto_extract_archive = "true" core_updater_buildbot_assets_url = "http://buildbot.libretro.com/assets/" core_updater_buildbot_cores_url = "http://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/linux/x86_64/latest/" crt_switch_center_adjust = "0" crt_switch_resolution = "0" crt_switch_resolution_super = "2560" crt_switch_resolution_use_custom_refresh_rate = "false" crt_video_refresh_rate = "60.000000" current_resolution_id = "0" cursor_directory = "~/.config/retroarch/database/cursors" custom_viewport_height = "2160" custom_viewport_width = "2880" custom_viewport_x = "608" custom_viewport_y = "0" desktop_menu_enable = "true" discord_allow = "false" discord_app_id = "475456035851599874" dpi_override_enable = "false" dpi_override_value = "200" dynamic_wallpapers_directory = "default" enable_device_vibration = "false" fastforward_ratio = "0.000000" filter_by_current_core = "false" flicker_filter_enable = "false" flicker_filter_index = "0" fps_show = "true" fps_update_interval = "256" frame_time_counter_reset_after_fastforwarding = "false" frame_time_counter_reset_after_load_state = "false" frame_time_counter_reset_after_save_state = "false" framecount_show = "false" frontend_log_level = "1" game_specific_options = "true" gamma_correction = "0" global_core_options = "true" history_list_enable = "true" joypad_autoconfig_dir = "~/.config/retroarch/autoconfig" keyboard_gamepad_enable = "true" keyboard_gamepad_mapping_type = "1" kiosk_mode_enable = "false" kiosk_mode_password = "" led_driver = "null" libretro_directory = "~/.config/retroarch/cores" libretro_info_path = "~/.config/retroarch/cores" libretro_log_level = "1" load_dummy_on_core_shutdown = "true" location_allow = "false" location_driver = "null" log_dir = "~/.config/retroarch/logs" log_to_file = "false" log_to_file_timestamp = "false" log_verbosity = "false" materialui_icons_enable = "true" materialui_menu_color_theme = "0" memory_show = "false" menu_battery_level_enable = "true" menu_core_enable = "true" menu_driver = "xmb" menu_dynamic_wallpaper_enable = "false" menu_enable_widgets = "true" menu_font_color_blue = "255" menu_font_color_green = "255" menu_font_color_red = "255" menu_footer_opacity = "1.000000" menu_framebuffer_opacity = "0.900000" menu_header_opacity = "1.000000" menu_horizontal_animation = "true" menu_left_thumbnails = "1" menu_linear_filter = "true" menu_mouse_enable = "true" menu_navigation_browser_filter_supported_extensions_enable = "true" menu_navigation_wraparound_enable = "true" menu_pause_libretro = "true" menu_pointer_enable = "false" menu_rgui_full_width_layout = "true" menu_rgui_shadows = "false" menu_savestate_resume = "true" menu_shader_pipeline = "2" menu_show_advanced_settings = "true" menu_show_configurations = "true" menu_show_core_updater = "true" menu_show_dump_disc = "true" menu_show_help = "true" menu_show_information = "true" menu_show_latency = "true" menu_show_legacy_thumbnail_updater = "false" menu_show_load_content = "true" menu_show_load_core = "true" menu_show_load_disc = "true" menu_show_online_updater = "true" menu_show_overlays = "true" menu_show_quit_retroarch = "true" menu_show_reboot = "true" menu_show_restart_retroarch = "true" menu_show_rewind = "true" menu_show_shutdown = "true" menu_show_sublabels = "true" menu_swap_ok_cancel_buttons = "false" menu_throttle_framerate = "true" menu_thumbnail_upscale_threshold = "0" menu_thumbnails = "3" menu_ticker_smooth = "true" menu_ticker_speed = "1.000000" menu_ticker_type = "0" menu_timedate_enable = "true" menu_timedate_style = "5" menu_unified_controls = "false" menu_use_preferred_system_color_theme = "false" menu_wallpaper = "" menu_wallpaper_opacity = "0.300000" menu_xmb_animation_horizontal_highlight = "0" menu_xmb_animation_move_up_down = "0" menu_xmb_animation_opening_main_menu = "0" menu_xmb_thumbnail_scale_factor = "100" midi_driver = "alsa" midi_input = "Off" midi_output = "Off" midi_volume = "100" netplay_allow_slaves = "true" netplay_check_frames = "600" netplay_input_latency_frames_min = "0" netplay_input_latency_frames_range = "0" netplay_ip_address = "" netplay_ip_port = "55435" netplay_mitm_server = "nyc" netplay_nat_traversal = "true" netplay_nickname = "" netplay_password = "" netplay_public_announce = "true" netplay_request_device_p1 = "false" netplay_request_device_p10 = "false" netplay_request_device_p11 = "false" netplay_request_device_p12 = "false" netplay_request_device_p13 = "false" netplay_request_device_p14 = "false" netplay_request_device_p15 = "false" netplay_request_device_p16 = "false" netplay_request_device_p2 = "false" netplay_request_device_p3 = "false" netplay_request_device_p4 = "false" netplay_request_device_p5 = "false" netplay_request_device_p6 = "false" netplay_request_device_p7 = "false" netplay_request_device_p8 = "false" netplay_request_device_p9 = "false" netplay_require_slaves = "false" netplay_share_analog = "1" netplay_share_digital = "1" netplay_spectate_password = "" netplay_start_as_spectator = "false" netplay_stateless_mode = "false" netplay_use_mitm_server = "false" network_cmd_enable = "false" network_cmd_port = "55355" network_on_demand_thumbnails = "true" network_remote_base_port = "55400" network_remote_enable = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p1 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p10 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p11 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p12 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p13 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p14 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p15 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p16 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p2 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p3 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p4 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p5 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p6 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p7 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p8 = "false" network_remote_enable_user_p9 = "false" overlay_directory = "~/.config/retroarch/overlay" ozone_collapse_sidebar = "false" ozone_menu_color_theme = "1" ozone_truncate_playlist_name = "true" pause_nonactive = "true" perfcnt_enable = "false" playlist_directory = "~/.config/retroarch/playlists" playlist_entry_remove_enable = "1" playlist_entry_rename = "true" playlist_fuzzy_archive_match = "false" playlist_show_inline_core_name = "0" playlist_show_sublabels = "true" playlist_sort_alphabetical = "true" playlist_sublabel_last_played_style = "0" playlist_sublabel_runtime_type = "0" playlist_use_old_format = "false" quick_menu_show_add_to_favorites = "true" quick_menu_show_cheats = "true" quick_menu_show_close_content = "true" quick_menu_show_controls = "true" quick_menu_show_download_thumbnails = "true" quick_menu_show_information = "true" quick_menu_show_options = "true" quick_menu_show_recording = "true" quick_menu_show_reset_core_association = "true" quick_menu_show_restart_content = "true" quick_menu_show_resume_content = "true" quick_menu_show_save_content_dir_overrides = "true" quick_menu_show_save_core_overrides = "true" quick_menu_show_save_game_overrides = "true" quick_menu_show_save_load_state = "true" quick_menu_show_set_core_association = "true" quick_menu_show_shaders = "true" quick_menu_show_start_recording = "true" quick_menu_show_start_streaming = "true" quick_menu_show_streaming = "true" quick_menu_show_take_screenshot = "true" quick_menu_show_undo_save_load_state = "true" quit_press_twice = "true" record_driver = "ffmpeg" recording_config_directory = "" recording_output_directory = "" resampler_directory = "" rewind_buffer_size = "20971520" rewind_buffer_size_step = "10" rewind_enable = "false" rewind_granularity = "1" rgui_aspect_ratio = "0" rgui_aspect_ratio_lock = "0" rgui_background_filler_thickness_enable = "true" rgui_border_filler_enable = "true" rgui_border_filler_thickness_enable = "true" rgui_browser_directory = "~/" rgui_config_directory = "~/.config/retroarch/config" rgui_extended_ascii = "false" rgui_inline_thumbnails = "false" rgui_internal_upscale_level = "0" rgui_menu_color_theme = "4" rgui_menu_theme_preset = "" rgui_particle_effect = "0" rgui_particle_effect_speed = "1.000000" rgui_show_start_screen = "false" rgui_swap_thumbnails = "false" rgui_thumbnail_delay = "0" rgui_thumbnail_downscaler = "0" run_ahead_enabled = "false" run_ahead_frames = "1" run_ahead_hide_warnings = "false" run_ahead_secondary_instance = "false" runtime_log_directory = "default" savefile_directory = "~/savefiles" savefiles_in_content_dir = "false" savestate_auto_index = "false" savestate_auto_load = "false" savestate_auto_save = "false" savestate_directory = "~/savestates" savestate_thumbnail_enable = "false" savestates_in_content_dir = "false" scan_without_core_match = "false" screen_orientation = "0" screenshot_directory = "~/screenshots" screenshots_in_content_dir = "false" settings_show_achievements = "true" settings_show_ai_service = "true" settings_show_audio = "true" settings_show_configuration = "true" settings_show_core = "true" settings_show_directory = "true" settings_show_drivers = "true" settings_show_frame_throttle = "true" settings_show_input = "true" settings_show_latency = "true" settings_show_logging = "true" settings_show_network = "true" settings_show_onscreen_display = "true" settings_show_playlists = "true" settings_show_power_management = "true" settings_show_recording = "true" settings_show_saving = "true" settings_show_user = "true" settings_show_user_interface = "true" settings_show_video = "true" show_hidden_files = "false" slowmotion_ratio = "3.000000" soft_filter_enable = "false" soft_filter_index = "0" sort_savefiles_enable = "false" sort_savestates_enable = "false" state_slot = "-1" statistics_show = "false" stdin_cmd_enable = "false" streaming_mode = "0" suspend_screensaver_enable = "true" sustained_performance_mode = "false" system_directory = "default" systemfiles_in_content_dir = "false" threaded_data_runloop_enable = "true" thumbnails_directory = "~/.config/retroarch/thumbnails" twitch_stream_key = "" ui_companion_enable = "false" ui_companion_start_on_boot = "true" ui_companion_toggle = "false" ui_menubar_enable = "true" user_language = "0" vibrate_on_keypress = "false" video_adaptive_vsync = "false" video_allow_rotate = "true" video_aspect_ratio = "-1.000000" video_aspect_ratio_auto = "true" video_black_frame_insertion = "false" video_context_driver = "" video_crop_overscan = "true" video_disable_composition = "false" video_driver = "gl" video_filter = "" video_filter_dir = "/usr/share/video_filters" video_font_enable = "true" video_font_path = "/usr/share/retroarch-assets/xmb/monochrome/font.ttf" video_font_size = "32.000000" video_force_aspect = "true" video_force_srgb_disable = "false" video_frame_delay = "0" video_fullscreen = "true" video_fullscreen_x = "1280" video_fullscreen_y = "720" video_gpu_record = "false" video_gpu_screenshot = "false" video_hard_sync = "false" video_hard_sync_frames = "0" video_max_swapchain_images = "3" video_message_color = "ffff00" video_message_pos_x = "0.050000" video_message_pos_y = "0.050000" video_monitor_index = "0" video_msg_bgcolor_blue = "0" video_msg_bgcolor_enable = "false" video_msg_bgcolor_green = "0" video_msg_bgcolor_opacity = "1.000000" video_msg_bgcolor_red = "0" video_post_filter_record = "false" video_record_config = "" video_record_quality = "4" video_record_scale_factor = "1" video_record_threads = "2" video_refresh_rate = "60.002399" video_rotation = "0" video_scale = "3.000000" video_scale_integer = "false" video_shader_delay = "0" video_shader_dir = "/tmp/shaders" # tweaked for fzero video_shader_enable = "true" video_shader_watch_files = "false" video_shared_context = "true" video_smooth = "false" video_stream_config = "" video_stream_port = "56400" video_stream_quality = "9" video_stream_scale_factor = "1" video_stream_url = "" video_swap_interval = "1" video_threaded = "true" video_vsync = "true" video_window_opacity = "100" video_window_save_positions = "false" video_window_show_decorations = "true" video_windowed_fullscreen = "false" video_windowed_position_height = "720" video_windowed_position_width = "1280" video_windowed_position_x = "0" video_windowed_position_y = "0" vrr_runloop_enable = "false" vulkan_gpu_index = "0" wifi_driver = "null" xmb_alpha_factor = "75" xmb_font = "" xmb_layout = "0" xmb_menu_color_theme = "4" xmb_scale_factor = "100" xmb_shadows_enable = "true" xmb_theme = "0" xmb_vertical_thumbnails = "true" youtube_stream_key = "" |
How do you start Retroarch without the Ubuntu GUI? I’m running Ubuntu minimal on Odroid C2 (no GUI).
There are notes on this page to create a system service, which you can configure to load on system boot. Alternatively, just type retroarch from the console.