Retroarch addon for Openelec on MK808B+ and MXQ

[scottmu64]

UPDATE ON IARL 7z ISSUE:

After playing around for a while I have now discovered a work around for the issue of decompressing .7z files within IARL that was preventing games from launching. Here's the steps:

1. Go to Settings > Add-ons > Search and search for 'System Tools', you should get a result named 'Script - System Tools.'

2. Install if it isn't already enabled.

3. On a PC navigate to:

/storage/.kodi/addons/virtual.system-tools/bin/

4. Copy the file named '7za' to:

/storage/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.iarl/resources/bin/7za/

5. Make a backup of the file in there named 7za.Nix somewhere and delete the original.

6. Rename the file you copied over from System Tools to 7za.Nix

7. SSH in and run:

chmod a+x /storage/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.iarl/resources/bin/7za/*

Now when you try to launch a PS1 game etc. that uses to .7z extention it should successfully decompress and launch from IARL!

[JoKeRz]

My System works now with 7.9 alpha.

I've copied these libs to ~/.kodi/addons/emulator.tools.retroarch/lib:
libavcodec.so.56, libdcadec.so.0 libswresample.so.1
libavformat.so.56 libogg.so.0 libswscale.so.3
libavutil.so.54 libretro libvorbis.so.0
libcrypto.so.35 libssl.so.35 libvorbisenc.so.2

I've took them from a 7.0.2.7 update tar archive.

~/.kodi/addons/emulator.tools.retroarch/lib was already in LD_LIBRARY_PATH.

You can find all needed libs in a zip file here http://www.filedropper.com/libs_3 .
if you would like to provide a LE8 release of your addon, you just need to put these libs into the lib folder in your addon's zip,

Great job! And thanks for sharing the list of missing libraries from the 7.9 alpha builds.

I have added these libraries to the newer version of the RetroArch addon so folks will not need to manually copy those like you did going forward. It will be on version 7.0.2-j05.

[JoKeRz]

I have made a few updates to my version of the RetroArch addon. Latest version is 7.0.2-j05 and can be downloaded in zip format here and from my LE repository for S805 devices.

What is new:

• Now it also contains some linux libraries that were newer in libreElec 7.9+ so the compiled binary and cores can still run. Thanks to user dharry for identifying the required libs.
• New setting to force it to use all dynamic libraries from addon 32bit Libs for RetroArch (and ignore libraries from OS). Try this if you have a newer version of libreelec and retroarch does not work anymore.

And yes, I created a new addon called 32bit Libs for RetroArch which is meant to allow for retroarch to use all 32 bit dynamic libraries it needs from it (and not from Linux OS). This should "shield" retroarch from newer versions of libraries in future LibreELEC releases. It also should allow S905(X) owners to run Retroach! (more on this here)

Addon 32bit Libs for RetroArch is available here (and on my repo) for those interested (not really required for S805 devices).

[sammaz]

JoKeRz I have a Xbox One wireless controler that came with my Oculus rift : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

I have not been able to get it to work in retroarch...Has anyone else gotten this controller to work?

[JoKeRz]

New versions of addons published to repository and available here:

• Retroarch (emulator.tools.retroarch) v7.0.2-j06
• 32bit Libs for Retroach (emulator.tools.32bitlibs) v7.0.2-j02

What is new:

• bug fixes for the feature introduced previous release to forcefully use libs from 32bit Libs for RetroArch addon. Thanks to mwnn and albundy @ freaktab for testing v7.0.2-j05.
• modified python script responsible to add execution permission via settings to include 2 more files

[scottmu64]

Has anybody had any luck getting N64 games to run adequately?

I think it would be great if something could be done or work done on the core to get them to run better on the MXQ box.

Also Sega Saturn ROMs run horribly for me also.

[JoKeRz]

Has anybody had any luck getting N64 games to run adequately?

I think it would be great if something could be done or work done on the core to get them to run better on the MXQ box.

Also Sega Saturn ROMs run horribly for me also.

It all depends if your box has good cooling so the SoC does not need to reduce its speed due to overheating. In my case, I have an MK808B plus and it does a terrible job dissipating heat. But some folks reported outstanding emulation results after they added heattink and/or cooling fan to their MK808B plus(just look for their posts on this thread, first few pages). So I would recommend you open your MXQ and check its cooling solution and maybe improve that.

Also you have to tweak the core specific settings. I haven't tried any Sega Saturn roms, but for N64 I get best results with mupen64-gfxplugin-accuracy = "medium" (or even "low" value - no noticeable problems with emulation graphics), which can be set via xmb menu or manually by editing file /storage/.kodi/userdata/addon_data/emulator.tools.retroarch/config/retroarch-core-options.cfg

If you find other settings that can help improve emulation experience, please share them here.

[cavero]

Hi.. All
I'm gratefull to find this forum!! Thank u for every one who just create this awesome project..
JoKeRz i have a question about this add on. Can this use on S812 Soc like M8S or just only S805 and S905 SoC?
Libreelec version i used : http://amlinux.ru/image/8xx/7.0.2/Li...0.2-update.zip

[JoKeRz]

Hi.. All
I'm gratefull to find this forum!! Thank u for every one who just create this awesome project..
JoKeRz i have a question about this add on. Can this use on S812 Soc like M8S or just only S805 and S905 SoC?
Libreelec version i used : http://amlinux.ru/image/8xx/7.0.2/Li...0.2-update.zip

Very good question. S808/S812 are ARM cortex A-9 while S805 is ARM cortex A-5. Based on what I heard about ARM specifications, an A-9 should be backwards compatible with A-5 binaries. Also they both have similar Mali GPUs. So bottom line is: it might work!

If you want to try, I would recommend to first try the retroarch addon by itself and if that does not seem to work, install the 32bit Libs for Retroarch addon and chose to forcefully use the libs from that addon in Retroarch Addon settings. I am curious to see yur results (specially because I have an S802 device I have not been brave enough to install libreelec on it yet as it needs to go on nand).

[cavero]

Very good question. S808/S812 are ARM cortex A-9 while S805 is ARM cortex A-5. Based on what I heard about ARM specifications, an A-9 should be backwards compatible with A-5 binaries. Also they both have similar Mali GPUs. So bottom line is: it might work!

If you want to try, I would recommend to first try the retroarch addon by itself and if that does not seem to work, install the 32bit Libs for Retroarch addon and chose to forcefully use the libs from that addon in Retroarch Addon settings. I am curious to see yur results (specially because I have an S802 device I have not been brave enough to install libreelec on it yet as it needs to go on nand).

Thank you for clarifying that. Also many thanks for the quick reply.

U'll be first person to know as soon as i try this addon.

Thanks again for teams who involved create this!!

[2ami]

yup thanks to all the guys behind the scene who work each other making this little cheap chinesse box from zero to hero > we have KODI, PVR, now GAME everything complete now

[scottmu64]

If anybody is interested I have put together a build for s805 devices running LibreELEC containing JoKeRz working Retroarch (thanks as well to kzsaq and sammaz) and ZachMorris' IARL addon, no video add-ons or anything of that kind, this is purely just for a gaming experience.

I went and manually edited all the DAT files containing the game lists for IARL and got them all to download, launch and extract correct;y. I've also included ROM Collection Browser in case anybody prefers that and may add Advanced Launcher at a later date. The build already has some good feedback from people in our MXQ support group.

So if it's something people are interested in then I'll gladly post the instructions. I'd post them now but I'm not sure how people on these forums feel about custom builds etc.

Here's what it looks like:

[2ami]

hey scottmu64 i believe everyone is very interested, what a "baddass display" please make it happen for s905(x) users too (and for people with limited amount of ram too)

i need help, my box can not produce audio, here is my aplay -L

LibreELEC:/ # aplay -L
null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
default:CARD=AMLM8AUDIO
AML-M8AUDIO,
Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=AMLM8AUDIO
AML-M8AUDIO,
Default Audio Device
hdmi:CARD=AMLM8AUDIO,DEV=0
AML-M8AUDIO,
HDMI Audio Output

is it the correct setting in retroarch.cfg ?
audio_device="sysdefault:CARD=AMLM8AUDIO"

thanks in advance for anyone that can shed me some light

[scottmu64]

hey scottmu64 i believe everyone is very interested, what a "baddass display" please make it happen for s905(x) users too (and for people with limited amount of ram too)

i need help, my box can not produce audio, here is my aplay -L

LibreELEC:/ # aplay -L
null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
default:CARD=AMLM8AUDIO
AML-M8AUDIO,
Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=AMLM8AUDIO
AML-M8AUDIO,
Default Audio Device
hdmi:CARD=AMLM8AUDIO,DEV=0
AML-M8AUDIO,
HDMI Audio Output

is it the correct setting in retroarch.cfg ?
audio_device="sysdefault:CARD=AMLM8AUDIO"

thanks in advance for anyone that can shed me some light

I believe this solution from JoKeRz should work on your s905 system:

https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread-2271.html

This should in effect allow you to run this version of RetroArch. As for your audio issue it's a bit beyond my expertise, sorry. Hopefully someone else can help though,

EDIT: Reading further into the post people have said RetroArch is working so might as well give it a go,

[scottmu64]

To install my build:

1) Add 'http://mxqproject.com/files/repo' as source in Kodi.

2) Go to Install from zip, select the source we just made, select repository.themxqproject directory then select the zip file 'repository.mxqproject.zip'

3) Go to Install from repository and select the repo we just installed

4) Select Program add-ons and install the wizard.

5) Open the wizard and make sure you select the gaming build not the regular one (unless you feel like taking a look at that also)

6) Just let it download and extract then it will instruct you to allow it to force reset Kodi.

7) Enjoy!