Category: Releases

A few bugs slipped into RetroPie 3.8 – most notably the launch commandline for DOSBox/RPIx86 was wrong, causing it to not work when launching DOS games directly from Emulation Station. There was also a problem building the gamecon gpio driver. These issues have been fixed, along with some other changes.

NOTE: There are currently problems with the XBox/XBox 360 controller driver xboxdrv caused by a Raspbian kernel update. This can be worked around by rolling back the Kernel. More details can be found on the forum.

A RetroPie 3.8.1 image can be downloaded here: https://retropie.org.uk/download/.

Installation Instructions can be found here – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/First-Installation. Users of RetroPie v3.8 can upgrade to the latest version by following the upgrade instructions on the Wiki – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Updating-RetroPie.

The Prebuilt images are also available directly from GitHub – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/releases/tag/3.8.1. You can also install RetroPie on top of an existing Raspbian set up – Instructions can be found at the GitHub project site.

Changes since 3.8:

• Fix escaping in iniSet causing initial backslashes to be incorrect in ini files (Affected some +Start Scripts with spaces such as DOSBox).
• Don’t overwrite existing configs when updating advmame.
• SSelph’s scraper – Add option to set -append and -use_nointro_name=false flags.
• Disable binary install on Wheezy.
• Fix building of gamecondriver.
• Correct Emulation Station autobooting configuration due to changes in raspi-config.
• Added missing zip dependency for Solarus.
• Fix c&p error with mupen64plus that broke the initial config generation.
• Added new EmulationStation theme “material” from user lilbud.
• Lr-nxengine – no error message was shown when required data files are missing.

The 3.8 image includes an important firmware/driver update to fix bluetooth lockups on the Raspberry Pi 3. Also included in the 3.8 update are an improved SDL1 dispmanx backend, updates to many of the included emulators, and enhancements to the splashscreen module.

It can be downloaded here: https://retropie.org.uk/download/.

Installation Instructions can be found here – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/First-Installation. Users of RetroPie-Setup v3.7 can upgrade to the latest version by following the upgrade instructions on the Wiki – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Updating-RetroPie.

If you upgrading an older image and are using the Raspberry Pi 3 onboard Bluetooth, you should go to the Bluetooth configuration from the RetroPie-Setup script, which will make sure you have the raspberrypi-sys-mods package installed which is needed by the Bluetooth driver. If it asks you anything about the /etc/udev/rules.d/99-com.rules configuration file, type Y to overwrite.

The Prebuilt images are also available directly from GitHub – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/releases/tag/3.8. You can also install RetroPie on top of an existing Raspbian set up – Instructions can be found at the GitHub project site.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this release.

Changes since 3.7:

• Raspbian package/firmware rollups that fix the lockups with the Raspberry Pi 3 internal bluetooth.
• New SDL1 dispmanx backend from Vanfanel with triple buffering which should solve some of the performance issues with the previous code. Also some additional changes are included so you can adjust the aspect ratio with env variable SDL_DISPMANX_RATIO (eg 1.33 for 4:3). The aspect ratio will be ignored if SDL_DISPMANX_IGNORE_RATIO is set and SDL1 apps will display full screen. Vice is now set to use 4:3 ratio on the Raspberry Pi.
• Reicast (Dreamcast emulator), now supports multiplayer.
• lr-pcsx-rearmed (PlayStation emulator) now supports 3-8 players.
• Updated Raspberry Pi binaries for lr-fba-next, uae4arm, mupen64plus, Reicast, lr-picodrive, lr-nestopia, lr-pcsx-rearmed, lr-mgba, lr-genesis-plus-gx, lr-mame2003, and lr-fceum.
• Added new videocore mupen64plus video plugin.
• Improvements to Apple2 (supports automount now).
• Added wiki viewer.
• Improvements to the splashscreen module (added previewer, randomiser, and no longer requires a folder to be created in the splashscreen directory).
• Various other bugfixes and minor improvements.

We are pleased to announce the release of RetroPie 3.7!

We are releasing RetroPie 3.7 in celebration of the release of our new website https://retropie.org.uk/ and new forum at https://retropie.org.uk/forum/.

Many experimental modules have been added. An option was added to easily install the LXDE desktop environment onto the pi (which can be launched from the ports menu after install), and thanks to the work of Pipplware we have been able to finally include joypad support with Kodi (controller configurations for kodi still need to be done manually for now) . We also have improvements to the configuration editor, and updates to some emulators.

Please note that configuration locations for ports have moved to /opt/retropie/configs/ports – if upgrading via the RetroPie-Setup script, old configurations will be moved when doing a full binary install.

The default render resolution for libretro emulators is now the video output resolution on the RPI 2/3. This can be lowered via the runcommand launch menu, or set globally via the configuration editor if needed for performance. Default render resolution is 640×480 for the RPI zero/1, but again can be switched globally, or on a per system basis.

The “Direct Launch” functionality was removed from Emulation Station due to stability issues – Kodi will appear in “Ports” if installing from the experimental menu.

It can be downloaded here: https://retropie.org.uk/download/

Installation Instructions can be found here – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/First-Installation.

The Prebuilt images are also available at GitHub – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/releases/tag/3.7. You can also install RetroPie on top of an existing Raspbian set up – Instructions can be found at the GitHub project site.

Changes since 3.6:

• Added new experimental modules:
  • The Ur Quan Masters  (Port of DOS game Star Control 2).
  • Xrick (Port of Rick Dangerous).
  • Tyrquake (Standalone, not libretro).
  • Solarus Engine (Homebrew Zelda Clone).
  • SDLPoP (Prince of Persia Port).
  • Cannonball (Outrun Engine).
  • Stratagus (Warcraft and Starcraft Engine).
  • OpenBOR (Beats of Rage 2d Sidescrolling Game Engine).
  • Commander Genius (Port of Commander Keen).
  • Micropolis (Open source version of Sim City Classic).
  • Aleph One (Open Source port of Marathon Series).
  • Giana’s Return (Fan-Made sequel to the Giana Sisters).
  • Lincity (Sim City Clone).
  • Simcoupe (SAM Coupé Emulator).

• LXDE Desktop (Option in raspi-tools to reinstall the desktop environment).
• Updated Kodi to Kodi 16 (which includes joypad support).
• Updated PS3 Module (timeout fixed).
• SDL2 PS3/Wii U Pro controller fixes.
• UAE4Arm updated.
• lr-mame2003 updated with sample/nvram support and additional core settings.
• Mupen64plus updated with fix for black screen with rice plugin.
• Scummvm Improvements (updated to 1.8 with OpenGL and partial Myst support).
• Updated Config Editor (https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Configuration-Editor).
• Updated Carbon and Pixel Themes and added default images to the RetroPie Menu.
• Added “Other Settings” menu to Emulationstation with “save metadata on exit” and “parse gamelists only”. These options were added to mitigate the long boot and shutdown times with large romsets.
• Various other improvements and fixes.

Thanks to BuZz, Gizmo98, Herb, Rookervik and Zerojay and all others that have contributed to this release.

This version is released a little earlier than originally planned, due to the release of the fantastic Raspberry Pi 3 – which our previous 3.5 will not boot on due to having out of date firmware. Along with Raspberry Pi 3 compatibility this release brings a bunch of interesting experimental emulators such as Daphne for emulation of classic LaserDisc arcade games, a myriad of libretro cores, and a few game engines. We’ve also worked around the pesky insert coin bug that has plagued the arcade emulators.

Installation Instructions can be found here – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/First-Installation.

Prebuilt images are available GitHub – https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/releases/tag/3.6. You can also install RetroPie on top of an existing Raspbian set up – Instructions can be found at the GitHub project site.

To get the Raspberry Pi 3 built-in Bluetooth working please update the RetroPie-Setup Script before using the Bluetooth configuration menu, or alternatively drop to a terminal and do

sudo apt-get install pi-bluetooth

Changes since 3.5:

• Support for the Raspberry Pi 3
• Added new experimental modules:
  • Daphne (Laserdisc Emulator)
  • Libretro-QuickNES
  • Libretro-Beetle PSX (x86 only)
  • Libretro-Beetle Lynx
  • GemRB engine (Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape)
  • ResidualVM (Engine for Grim Fandango and Escape from Monkey Island)
  • Libretro-MESS (based on the most recent version of MAME)
  • Libretro-MAME (based on the most recent version of MAME)
• Added EmulationStation theme Simpler Turtle Pi to the theme installer from Omnija.
• Added version details and uninstall option to the RetroPie Setup Script.
• Fixed insert coin not working on arcade based emulators.
• Various other bugfixes and improvements.