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    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    RetroArch Config Confusion and Issues

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    • Wolfman100W
      Wolfman100 @meleu
      last edited by

      @meleu I was only joking sir,somehow I have developed a somewhat sadistic joy from configuring RetroPie and having it turn into a full time job :-)

      Also I didn't actually realise that all these responses had been posted as I wasn't notified....as you can see it doesn't take much to confuse me!

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      • Wolfman100W
        Wolfman100 @meleu
        last edited by

        @meleu Also thanks for the in-depth response....just trying to get my head around it all right now,which is proving a little trickier than usual after just having to write a two hour long email!

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        • Wolfman100W
          Wolfman100
          last edited by

          Just to really clarify my process and how I was going about editing the config files.

          At the moment I was concentrating mainly on the PSX emulator.I would open the RetroPie-Setup script via the menu in Emulation Station.This would then take me to the RetroPie Setup interface,in there I would then select:

          • list item 'Edit RetroPie/RetroArch Configurations' >

          • list item 'Configure basic libretro emulator option' >

          • list item 'Configure Additional Options for PSX' >

          • list item I would then make the required changes and exit

          Noooooow......the crazy thing is,as I went through the steps in order to write this....I have now discovered that the settings have actually been saved,and the correct shader,aspect ratio etc is already selected when going through the configuration!!!!

          Ermmmmm,so I guess the only thing to ask is whether this is the best and most robust way to make the configuration changes?

          meleuM dankcushionsD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • meleuM
            meleu @Wolfman100
            last edited by meleu

            @Wolfman100
            don't take my suggestion to recalbox as a reprimand. :-)

            It's a good system for those who just wanna play videogames and don't care about learning/tinkering with Linux. But, as you said, this is not your case.

            I'm enjoying messing around with RetroPie too. It brought me back to programming after some years away... And somehow this is the purpose of Raspberry Pi.

            I guess the only thing to ask is whether this is the best and most robust way to make the configuration changes?

            I think the most robust and organised way is editing the file by hand with the Configuration Editor. But I can't say if it's the best, this is a very personal answer! :-)

            The problem is that editing the file by hand requires that you know the variables name. I don't know a good reference for the meaning of each variable in retroarch.cfg.

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            • dankcushionsD
              dankcushions Global Moderator @Wolfman100
              last edited by

              @Wolfman100 said in RetroArch Config Confusion and Issues:

              Ermmmmm,so I guess the only thing to ask is whether this is the best and most robust way to make the configuration changes?

              yes, i'd say so. the configuration editor explains all the settings, and limits your changes to valid settings.

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              • Wolfman100W
                Wolfman100
                last edited by

                Sooooo....ignore my last post,switching to a different PSX game seems to have actually reset all the config settings to default again!Jeeeeeezzzz....time to investigate!

                meleuM FloobF 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • meleuM
                  meleu @Wolfman100
                  last edited by

                  @Wolfman100 hahahaha this is the very same feeling I had while I kept the "save config on exit" enabled!!!
                  :-D

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                  • FloobF
                    Floob @Wolfman100
                    last edited by

                    @Wolfman100 said in RetroArch Config Confusion and Issues:

                    Sooooo....ignore my last post,switching to a different PSX game seems to have actually reset all the config settings to default again!Jeeeeeezzzz....time to investigate!

                    Watching file changes in /opt/retropie/configs/psx/ can be a useful way to understand whats going on when you make changes in the GUI (either from RGUI or the Configuration editor etc..). Try PuTTY out and check it out.
                    The video above should cover system and per game changes that are possible.

                    Please read the Docs before asking a new question.
                    RetroPie Help Guides: https://goo.gl/3gcNsT

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                    • Wolfman100W
                      Wolfman100 @meleu
                      last edited by

                      @meleu hahaha.....top tip!

                      Wolfman100W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • Wolfman100W
                        Wolfman100 @Wolfman100
                        last edited by Wolfman100

                        @Floob Will look into that.Thanks

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                        • Wolfman100W
                          Wolfman100
                          last edited by

                          @Floob

                          As far as I can tell looking through the config file in the folder you mentioned,there is no options to enable/disable shaders,set aspect ratio etc.The closet thing I can see is setting the destination directory for shaders...

                          dankcushionsD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • dankcushionsD
                            dankcushions Global Moderator @Wolfman100
                            last edited by

                            @Wolfman100 said in RetroArch Config Confusion and Issues:

                            @Floob

                            As far as I can tell looking through the config file in the folder you mentioned,there is no options to enable/disable shaders,set aspect ratio etc.The closet thing I can see is setting the destination directory for shaders...

                            there is. every setting in can be changed in the /corename/retroarch.cfg. the /all/retroarch.cfg overrules it, the same setting is in there and uncommented.

                            in this specific case, you're interested in:

                            # Path to shader. Shader can be either Cg, CGP (Cg preset) or GLSL, GLSLP (GLSL preset)
                            video_shader = "/path/to/shader.{cg,cgp,glsl,glslp}"
                            
                            # Load video_shader on startup.
                            # Other shaders can still be loaded later in runtime.
                            video_shader_enable = true
                            

                            as before, you should change these via the config editor unless you know exactly what you're doing.

                            Wolfman100W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • Wolfman100W
                              Wolfman100 @dankcushions
                              last edited by

                              @dankcushions Hmmmm strange....

                              Unless I'm going blind I definetly can't see that in there...

                              http://pastebin.com/wTkPZks9

                              dankcushionsD BuZzB 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • dankcushionsD
                                dankcushions Global Moderator @Wolfman100
                                last edited by

                                @Wolfman100 said in RetroArch Config Confusion and Issues:

                                @dankcushions Hmmmm strange....

                                Unless I'm going blind I definetly can't see that in there...

                                http://pastebin.com/wTkPZks9

                                perhaps it doesn't appear there unless it's set? this is why you should be using the config editor and not looking at the files :)

                                Wolfman100W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • Wolfman100W
                                  Wolfman100 @dankcushions
                                  last edited by

                                  @dankcushions that would maybe make sense.

                                  This is kind of exact example though of conflicting information regarding this,one school of thought says to just use the config editor and enable save on exit and another completly conflicting one is to edit the files manually...I'm also slightly baffled as to why there is not simply ONE config file for each emulator to edit via either the config editor or manually and any changes made to this ONE file in turn cause the desired changes to happen

                                  dankcushionsD meleuM RiverstormR 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • dankcushionsD
                                    dankcushions Global Moderator @Wolfman100
                                    last edited by

                                    @Wolfman100 said in RetroArch Config Confusion and Issues:

                                    @dankcushions that would maybe make sense.

                                    This is kind of exact example though of conflicting information regarding this,one school of thought says to just use the config editor and enable save on exit

                                    what? why would you enable save on exit if you're editing through the configuration editor? save on exit is only for editing via the retroarch GUI.

                                    and another completly conflicting one is to edit the files manually...I'm also slightly baffled as to why there is not simply ONE config file for each emulator to edit via either the config editor or manually and any changes made to this ONE file in turn cause the desired changes to happen

                                    because certain changes you want to be global, and certain changes you want to be for specific emulators. i think maybe there's an argument that the /all/retroarch.cfg file goes away, and all the various core emulators have only their unique .cfgs, but then you'd have to extend configuration editor to do batch-updates if you wanted to change global settings. i can forsee people quickly getting into messes.

                                    honestly, it's not as hard as you're all making it out, but you've asked for opinions about what's the best, and apparently attempted a mixture of all :P

                                    Wolfman100W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • Wolfman100W
                                      Wolfman100 @dankcushions
                                      last edited by

                                      @dankcushions I hear ya.I think I'm just possibly getting a little flustered because it just doesn't seem to be as straightforward as it could be and I'm being impatient..rather than digesting the information logically.

                                      I did mention earlier though that all the changes I was making WERE being done in the configuration editor,yet were not being saved....

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                                      • meleuM
                                        meleu @Wolfman100
                                        last edited by

                                        @Wolfman100 said in RetroArch Config Confusion and Issues:

                                        @dankcushions that would maybe make sense.

                                        (...)one school of thought says to just use the config editor and enable save on exit and another completly conflicting one is to edit the files manually...

                                        If save config on exit is enabled, the manual configuration is insane!

                                        Please, forgive me. I didn't put it so clear. If you want to edit the retroarch.cfg (the file directly or with Configuration Editor), turn off the config save on exit.

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                                        • Wolfman100W
                                          Wolfman100 @meleu
                                          last edited by

                                          @meleu OK cool....that's clear enough..think I manage that :)

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                                          • RiverstormR
                                            Riverstorm @Wolfman100
                                            last edited by

                                            @Wolfman100 said in RetroArch Config Confusion and Issues:

                                            @dankcushions that would maybe make sense.

                                            This is kind of exact example though of conflicting information regarding this,one school of thought says to just use the config editor and enable save on exit and another completly conflicting one is to edit the files manually...

                                            It probably is multiple schools of thought. I wouldn't call it conflicting information it just different points of view and different ways of doing the same thing! Given the same challenge people will present multiple solutions. Perception is everything. It just depends on your level of experience and knowledge. It's like command line vs. GUI. One way is probably more comfortable and suits your needs better than the other but that's neither right nor wrong. It wouldn't be very flexible if everything was completely linear! ;) Options are good!

                                            It's a hierarchy which makes perfect sense really. Global changes at the top and more granular at the bottom. I agree with Dank you would being doing a lot more work if it was only one config file per emulator! :/

                                            Wolfman100W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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