Support us on Patreon to keep GamingOnLinux alive. This ensures all of our main content remains free for everyone. Just good, fresh content! Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal. You can also buy games using our partner links for GOG and Humble Store.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Today is a big day for the emulation scene, as RetroArch have officially announced a big new release. While it's used for other things, RetroArch is most noted for making emulation a bit easier.

Something big that finally made it in is support for real CD-ROM functionality. They say it's far from finished and is very much drive and OS-dependent, with Linux currently being more "fleshed out of the two platforms so far". This feature currently supports these cores: Genesis Plus GX, Mednafen/Beetle PSX, Mednafen/Beetle Saturn, Mednafen/Beetle PCE/Fast and 4DO.

Another of the big new features, is the ability to get dialogue in various games translated into your native language. Offering both text to speech and to actually replace the in-game text with your language. There's some setup required which you can find here, with a demo video below:

YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

There's plenty of other enhancements that made it into this release too!

It might be minor but one of my favourite features is the ESC key no longer making RetroArch instantly close. The amount of times I've done that by accident I've truly lost count on. You now need to do it twice to quit, although this can be tweaked in the settings.

There's also: some improvements to how they handle the resizing of the menu when in windowed mode and you adjust the size, the Quick Menu won't appear until a core is actually running, the Load Core option is hidden when one is already running to help with stability issues, playtime logging is enabled by default, multiple usability changes for shaders, both Libretro and RetroArch have enhanced core options enabling sublabels which can be translated and so on.

You can see their quick feature round-up video below:

YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

Fantastic work by all involved, great to see such amazing progress in so many different and exciting areas.

See the release post here. You can download it here and find the various sources on GitHub.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
16 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
19 comments
Page: 1/2»
  Go to:

Mal Aug 26, 2019
  • Supporter
QuoteIt might be minor but one of my favourite features is the ESC key no longer making RetroArch instantly close.
julkip Aug 26, 2019
QuoteIt might be minor but one of my favourite features is the ESC key no longer making RetroArch instantly close.

So you say it's finally usable? Great news!
TheSHEEEP Aug 26, 2019
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
... you are aware that key can be changed in the settings? First thing I always do...
berarma Aug 26, 2019
Quoting: julkip
QuoteIt might be minor but one of my favourite features is the ESC key no longer making RetroArch instantly close.

So you say it's finally usable? Great news!

There was an option for this already, you just had to enable it. I guess they have simple changed the default setting.
Liam Dawe Aug 26, 2019
Quoting: TheSHEEEP... you are aware that key can be changed in the settings? First thing I always do...
Sure, the point is having a sane default though, this is sane. The original was not.
Gobo Aug 26, 2019
I just hope my input will get recognized again at all! I can start the menu and don't move and select anything. I can start a ROM directly and there is no input either. No gamepad (although Xbox controller is recognized), no keyboard, no mouse. Happened to both the Ubuntu package and the snap version. A year ago everything worked fine...

Any news about them moving to Steam?
Nezchan Aug 26, 2019
Have they finally made it so you can install and configure it without at least a four-year degree on the subject? Every time I've tried Retroarch, that's been the most painful experience of all.

EDIT: Aaaaaaparently not. Still no real explanation of the "cores" thing, and unclear as to how to get them, at least under Linux. The FAQ says to go to the Online Updater and choose "Update Cores". That option, unsurprisingly, doesn't exist. So short of searching all over the internet, there's no clear way for a new user to know what to do.


Last edited by Nezchan on 26 August 2019 at 7:23 pm UTC
tmtvl Aug 26, 2019
Quoting: NezchanHave they finally made it so you can install and configure it without at least a four-year degree on the subject? Every time I've tried Retroarch, that's been the most painful experience of all.

EDIT: Aaaaaaparently not. Still no real explanation of the "cores" thing, and unclear as to how to get them, at least under Linux. The FAQ says to go to the Online Updater and choose "Update Cores". That option, unsurprisingly, doesn't exist. So short of searching all over the internet, there's no clear way for a new user to know what to do.

Yeah, the standard install recommends just using the cores that are in your repositories. It can be changed in the settings:

menu_show_core_updater = "true"


I hope the playlist sanitizer is included, it's a neat feature.
Nezchan Aug 26, 2019
Quoting: tmtvl
Quoting: NezchanHave they finally made it so you can install and configure it without at least a four-year degree on the subject? Every time I've tried Retroarch, that's been the most painful experience of all.

EDIT: Aaaaaaparently not. Still no real explanation of the "cores" thing, and unclear as to how to get them, at least under Linux. The FAQ says to go to the Online Updater and choose "Update Cores". That option, unsurprisingly, doesn't exist. So short of searching all over the internet, there's no clear way for a new user to know what to do.

Yeah, the standard install recommends just using the cores that are in your repositories. It can be changed in the settings:

menu_show_core_updater = "true"


I hope the playlist sanitizer is included, it's a neat feature.

Where are those settings?

EDIT: Found it after some digging. Added the option and now I have a Core Updater. Now it just....doesn't actually work on any games I've tried. Like it literally doesn't recognize the stuff I play under Mednafen as existing at all. The SNES ROMS get treated as empty directories, the PSX stuff is invisible, and the GBA ROMS all come through as still images that I can't exit from unless I shut down the program.

So far, the difficult, frustrating experience I've come to expect from RetroArch.


Last edited by Nezchan on 26 August 2019 at 8:58 pm UTC
bidinou Aug 26, 2019
Yeah, RA is pretty complicated to set up but... BUT ! It enables you, when properly configured, to get an absolutely ZERO input lag experience (even less than the original systems in some cases) when using "runahead" + KMS + wonderful combinations of pixel shaders to mimic CRT screens, improve the picture etc. + have tons of other features (rewinding, achievements...).

This is SO much better than using the real systems on an LCD, or than using a raspberry, or even than using an FPGA machine. When properly set up !
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.