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RetroArch Questions ( Any RetroArch powerusers out there?)


Atari Nut

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I'm just getting into the front-end RetroArch.  I like the Shaders that can be applied to emulators that lack that capability.  I'm having a hard time getting my Atari Paddle setup as a controller.  I was able to set up the Atari Joystick.  I'm using a 2600-daptor II.  Has anyone had success with the paddle?  Is there a way to setup more than one without have to re-configure as you go from joystick to paddle?

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3 hours ago, mr_me said:

The 2600-daptor should emulate analog joystick axes from a pair of atari paddles.  From what I read I thought the issue is not making it work but having to change emulator settings from paddle to joystick. 

Having to change the settings for Port 1 Controller every time you switch is an issue.  I'm hoping you can assign multiple input settings to Port 1.  I'm also having a problem getting the paddle to work.  Each Port config in RetroArch has...

 

Left Analog X+ (Right)

Left Analog X- (Left)

Left Analog Y+ (Down)

Left Analog Y- (Up)

 

Right Analog X+ (Right)

Right Analog X- (Left)

Right Analog Y+ (Down)

Right Analog Y- (Up

 

I configured Left X+ and Left X- with the paddle.  It shows...

 

Left Analog X+ (Right)   +0 (N/A)

Left Analog X- (Left)       -0 (N/A)

 

However, the paddle is still not working in Stella's "Breakout."  Are there more settings I need to configure besides those two?

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/13/2021 at 8:58 AM, youxia said:

You can now use Reshade to inject Retroarch shaders into any emulator using this pack: GitHub - Matsilagi/RSRetroArch: (Curated) Repository of RetroArch and related ports for ReShade

I'm trying ReShade with Altirra but I can't get it to work.  Have you tried it with Altirra?

Edited by Atari Nut
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17 hours ago, Atari Nut said:

I'm trying ReShade with Altirra but I can't get it to work.

ReShade is supplying *.fx files.

Altirra requires cg files (with *.cgp extension) for external display effects to be imported properly. 

File conversion is needed.

Also, Direct3D 9 display driver API needs to be enabled under Altirra, though it should be enabled by default.

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1 hour ago, Trebor said:

ReShade is supplying *.fx files.

Altirra requires cg files (with *.cgp extension) for external display effects to be imported properly. 

File conversion is needed.

Also, Direct3D 9 display driver API needs to be enabled under Altirra, though it should be enabled by default.

Thanks for this info.  How does ReShade inject itself into a program when the program is launched?  I see some files get added to the program directory along with a folder that has the .fx files...  but how does the program know to call ReShade?

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6 hours ago, Atari Nut said:

Thanks for this info.  How does ReShade inject itself into a program when the program is launched?  I see some files get added to the program directory along with a folder that has the .fx files...  but how does the program know to call ReShade?

It wouldn't be called, but rather manually selected and inserted. 

For example, in Altirra:

 

image.png.e42934058f9ab0a1a007de94679ab777.png

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14 hours ago, Trebor said:

It wouldn't be called, but rather manually selected and inserted. 

For example, in Altirra:

 

image.png.e42934058f9ab0a1a007de94679ab777.png

ReShade isn't a package that get manually inserted.  After I asked the question, I found this...

How does reshade work? - ReShade Forum

 

It installs itself into the games program directory and applies shaders that are not normally available for a game.  It works fine with Stella.

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On 2/28/2021 at 9:40 PM, Atari Nut said:

I'm trying ReShade with Altirra but I can't get it to work.  Have you tried it with Altirra?

Sorry, have only just seen this now. When you install Reshade it asks "which rendering API" the program uses. You need to then choose DX9, DX 10-12, OpenGl or Vulkan. Sometimes it's tricky to figure which one to pick, and Reshade won't work if you choose the wrong one. So it can take a few tries (and you need to uninstall previous Reshade first).

 

I had a quick go at Altirra and managed to get it working, but only with OpenGL. So you need to go Tools>Options>Display, untick everything and tick OpenGL. Then install Reshade and choose OpenGL as API.  It does not look great thogh, OpenGL is fuzzy in Altirra. So maybe you could try different combinations of options in the Display + Reshade.

 

There is also ShaderGlass: https://github.com/rohatsu/ShaderGlass

Awesome program, you can apply it to anything on desktop but it struggles in fullscreen abd is a bit more limited than direct Reshade.

 

EDIT: actually, I've just changed OpenGL to DX11 in Altirra options and now it works ;)

Edited by youxia
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2 hours ago, youxia said:

EDIT: actually, I've just changed OpenGL to DX11 in Altirra options and now it works ;)

Thanks youxia.  I got OpenGL to work but it is slow.  Would like to try DX11 but not having luck.  Did you uninstall ReShade OpenGL and re-install it as DirectX 11 before you changed OpenGL to DX11 in Altirra display options?

Edited by Atari Nut
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I don't know about Advancedcrt.fx, there are better shaders, try to use the Retroarch ones from that pack I linked to. You need to of course unpack it to reshade directory afet you have installed it in a given program.

 

I had a quick try again: when I started Altirra the Reshade did not work (it was set from the old one for DX11 only) then I changed to OpenGl and Reshade popped in, then changed back to DX11 and it stayed on. I was then able to choose GeomCRT shader and it all worked perfect (It works both in fullscreen and windowed.)

 

I don't remember  exactly but I think I installed reshade for OpenGL first, then changedt to DX11 without reinstalling it, that's why I was surprised to see it work.

 

Sorry, I'm bit busy with other stuff atm to dig deeper (it's not an ideal solution for sure) but it does work. Might try later with clean reinstall of Altirra, but I need to know if it keeps settings somewhere? I just quickly deleted its directory but when I installed it again the settings were the same.

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I think when you added DX11, Altirra was still in OpenGL mode so it appeared that it was working.  Upon restarting Altirra, it switches to DX11 mode and then ReShade fails.  That "appears" to be what's happening here.  I did try the RetroArch shaders but the display went off-center when I turned on crtgeom.fx.  I'll have a look at that one again.

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19 minutes ago, Atari Nut said:

I think when you added DX11, Altirra was still in OpenGL mode so it appeared that it was working.  Upon restarting Altirra, it switches to DX11 mode and then ReShade fails.  That "appears" to be what's happening here.

Yeah, but when I turn OpenGL on, the reshade comes back on - and stays on when I switch to DX11 again. It's bizarre, but works even after restart. You should be able to reproduce it.

 

The more advanced CRT shaders have many options you can -or even need to -  tweak.  Otherwise it will be messy. First you need to sort out the resolution, here's Geom with 320x192 (I did not touch anything else, pretty sure it can be much improved)

 

sshot-2021-03-02-18-26-01.png

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The problem with the RetroArch shader being off-center is fixable by adjusting the screen size and frame size in the crtgeom.fx settings.  I'll need to play around with it to get the best settings for full screen viewing.  Is that 320x192 set for both screen size and frame size?

 

I like this ReShade.  I have been looking for a front-end like RetroArch that launches the various emulators and has shader support that will look identical from emulator to emulator.  The RetroArch Stella core doesn't support Atari Paddles...so that is out.  It looks like Attract-Mode will be the launcher with the various emulators for the different systems... and ReShade to give me the authentic CRT look.  Thanks for pointing this out!

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26 minutes ago, Atari Nut said:

Is that 320x192 set for both screen size and frame size?

Yeah, but like I said, it's a very quick and dirty setting. I'm not even sure this is the "right" Atari resolution. If you play around with it, I'm sure you can do better.

 

Retroarch is still a good option for shaders, I think you can save per-core shaders configs as well.

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I'm having difficulty with round corners.  I can get them to show in Window mode but when I put Altirra in Full Screen mode, they're not visible on the Atari image.  They are near the monitor's bezel.  Since the Atari image is much smaller and in the center of the monitor... they do not show.

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On 3/5/2021 at 11:15 PM, Atari Nut said:

 Wish there was a way to get ReShade to work under DirectX 9 or above.

Well, it is working with "the swapping" I described earlier. You have to do it only once per emulator start. I also get the rounded corners in fullscreen.

 

Probably better to start dedicated thread in Atari section or ask directly in Altirra  thread if you want more info about this issue.

 

 

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4 hours ago, youxia said:

Well, it is working with "the swapping" I described earlier. You have to do it only once per emulator start. I also get the rounded corners in fullscreen.

 

Probably better to start dedicated thread in Atari section or ask directly in Altirra  thread if you want more info about this issue.

 

 

Sure, I'll start another thread.  I can't get any version of DirectX to work...even with the method you describe.

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  • 1 year later...
On 2/13/2021 at 7:22 AM, Atari Nut said:

I'm just getting into the front-end RetroArch.  I like the Shaders that can be applied to emulators that lack that capability.  I'm having a hard time getting my Atari Paddle setup as a controller.  I was able to set up the Atari Joystick.  I'm using a 2600-daptor II.  Has anyone had success with the paddle?  Is there a way to setup more than one without have to re-configure as you go from joystick to paddle?

Actually Im having trouble doing that, any chance you could share what you did to get it to work?

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