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Updated FAQ (markdown)

Hans-Kristian Arntzen 2013-12-17 04:24:27 -08:00
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FAQ.md

@ -3,26 +3,25 @@ Here's a collection of Frequently Answered Questions.
## General
### What is RetroArch?
RetroArch is a frontend for libretro, an API which exposes the functionality of a game system. libretro started as libsnes with the SNES emulator bSNES, but libretro has since become emulator/game agnostic. RetroArch builds around the emulator/game core to provide a full emulator/game frontend.
RetroArch is suitable as a frontend for retro game emulators, as well as retro-style standalone games.
RetroArch is a frontend for libretro, an API which exposes the functionality of a game, emulator or certain kinds of multimedia applications. libretro started as libsnes with the SNES emulator bSNES, but libretro has since become a far broader API. RetroArch builds around the libretro API to provide a powerful interface.
Some cool features to mention are frame-by-frame rewind (Braid-style), multi-pass GPU shaders, FFmpeg on-the-fly raw video recording and netplay. All these features will work independently of the libretro implementation used.
RetroArch itself is command-line driven, and relies on a graphical frontend to deliver a GUI.
RetroArch has a simple built-in GUI (RGUI). RetroArch-Phoenix can also serve as a RetroArch launcher.
As RetroArch is designed for CLI, it is easy to launch from various dedicated launchers.
RetroArch has a simple built-in GUI (RGUI). As RetroArch is designed for CLI, it is easy to launch from various dedicated launchers.
### Which platforms are RetroArch available for?
RetroArch runs and is supported on GNU/Linux, BSD, Windows, Mac OSX (PPC/Intel), PlayStation 3, XBox 360, XBox 1, Raspberry Pi, Nintendo Wii, Android, and soon iOS and Blackberry as well.
RetroArch runs and is supported on GNU/Linux, BSD, Windows, Mac OSX (PPC/Intel), PlayStation 3, XBox 360, XBox 1, Raspberry Pi, Nintendo Wii, Android, iOS and Blackberry.
### Where can I get help?
If you have questions or issues which cannot be resolved easily, you can pay a visit to:
[RetroArch forum](http://forum.themaister.net/)
[RetroArch forum](http://www.libretro.com/)
### Are there binaries/packages provided?
RetroArch is mostly built from source.
Binaries are provided for Windows (32-bit/64-bit) in the downloads section.
Binaries are provided for Windows (32-bit/64-bit) [here](http://themaister.net/retroarch.html).
Note that these binaries can usually fairly outdated. You can usually find unofficial builds which are far more up-to-date.
OSX binaries might be available on the forums, but you are expected to build it yourself.
Ubuntu users should be able to use builds from [Hunterk's PPA](https://launchpad.net/~hunter-kaller/+archive/ppa).
@ -46,38 +45,4 @@ Do note that RetroArch only supports the older filters from bSNES v082 and older
Using newer filters will most likely crash RetroArch due to the lack of means to verify if a filter is compatible. If you can, prefer using GPU shaders as they are more flexible and much better supported.
### I have a bug to report! Where can I report it?
You can either report issues in the [issues](https://github.com/Themaister/RetroArc/issues) section, or create a thread on the [forum](http://forum.themaister.net/).
---
## Windows specific
### Where do I download latest RetroArch binaries for Windows?
Latest PC releases will be found in the [release thread](http://forum.themaister.net/viewtopic.php?id=12).
### I see 'Slim' and 'Full' builds. What is the difference?
Full builds support every feature that RetroArch has implemented. This means shaders, FFmpeg, Python, etc. Since the *.dll footprint of all this is considerable, there is a redist you have to download (just once).
Slim builds have stripped down dependencies, and do not need a redist. This however, means that only features that do not need external *.dlls will work.
To be more precise, the features you get from full build are as follows:<br/>
* XML shaders and cheat loading<br/>
* FreeType On-screen-display fonts<br/>
* RSound<br/>
* Multi-pass shading<br/>
* Cg shaders<br/>
* Python scripting<br/>
* FFmpeg recording<br/>
If you do not need any of these features, slim build is for you.
### So I downloaded RetroArch Windows binaries, and there are two programs here, what's the deal?
RetroArch and [RetroArch-Phoenix](https://github.com/Themaister/RetroArch-Phoenix) are two separate projects, both found here on GitHub. While RetroArch is a command-line application, Retrorch-Phoenix is a GUI which allows you to configure RetroArch and launch games from a comfortable GUI environment. It is fully possible to use your own launching methods which is very suitable for i.e. HTPC setups.
### I downloaded Windows binaries, and it tells me some *.dll file is missing, what do I do?
If you downloaded the full build, you also need the library redist, similar to a DirectX redist or something.
It only needs to be downloaded once. Extract every *.dll from the respective zip below into the RetroArch directory.
32-bit: [Redist](http://themaister.net/retroarch-dl/RetroArch-win32-libs.zip)<br/>
64-bit: [Redist](http://themaister.net/retroarch-dl/RetroArch-win64-libs.zip)
### I tried launching RetroArch in Windows with a different program but there's an annoying command line window there. Any way to remove it?
You can pass the -D flag to RetroArch which will terminate the console window if you launch it outside cmd.exe (from a shortcut or something like that). If you want to use RGUI to select a core and game you also need to add --menu.
You can either report issues in the [issues](https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/issues) section, or create a thread on the [forum](http://www.libretro.com/).