Adding games

Where games go, which files work, and the easy ways to get games and artwork onto the cabinet.

Where games go

Each system has a folder: external/retro-launcher/roms/<system>/, for example roms/snes/ or roms/psx/. The Systems guide lists every folder and the file types it takes.

The menu reads the folders when it starts, and again after a Network transfer. File names become the game names, without tags like (USA) or [!].

Cartridge games

• Plain files (.nes, .sfc, .md...) or .zip, one game per zip.
• No-Intro names (Super Mario World (USA).sfc) match their artwork best, but GoodTools names and plain titles work too.

Disc games

PlayStation, Saturn, Dreamcast and PSP games come as disc images. Don't zip them.

• .chd is best: one compressed file per disc.
• .cue + .bin tracks: keep the tracks next to the .cue; only the .cue shows in the list.
• Dreamcast .gdi: keep the track files next to it. A game in a folder of its own works too: roms/dreamcast/Game Name/disc.gdi shows as "Game Name".
• Multi-disc games (PlayStation, Dreamcast): name the discs the usual way (... (Disc 1), (Disc 2)...), all in one folder, a folder per disc, or disc folders inside one game folder, and Retro Launcher lists them as one game with one memory card. (Saturn's emulator can't swap discs, so its discs stay separate.) It writes a playlist, <game>.m3u, next to them; you can also write one yourself, listing the disc files one per line. Swap discs with Change disc in the pause menu. Already played disc by disc? Your newest disc save becomes the game's.
• PSP: .iso, .cso (compressed) or .chd.

Arcade games

Arcade zips go in as they are, never unzipped, together with any BIOS or parent zips they need. Romset versions matter: see the Arcade guide.

Network transfer

Send games to the cabinet from any computer or phone on the same network, without taking the USB stick out.

1. On the cabinet: Settings > Network transfer. It shows an address like http://192.168.1.20:8081 and a 4-digit PIN (the backglass shows them too).
2. Open that address in a browser and enter the PIN.
3. Pick the system, then drop your games on the page or use Choose files / Choose a folder.
4. Press B on the cabinet when you're done. The menu adds the new games.

• Games already on the stick are skipped, and the page only accepts the system's own file types.
• Disc systems and NAOMI / Atomiswave keep a game's folder (a .cue with its tracks); other systems take the files only.
• It runs only while that screen is open, with a new PIN each time.
• Use the port the cabinet shows (8080 is often taken, so it may be 8081).

Artwork

Settings > Download artwork fetches what your games are missing, with the cabinet online:

• box art (on the backglass);
• game logos (on the DMD, like a marquee);
• a bezel for each system (the frame around the picture).

It only downloads what's missing, runs in the background while you browse, and lists games it found no cover for in media/art-not-found.txt. Starting a game pauses it; choose it again to carry on.

Your own artwork

Put a cover named exactly like the game file in media/<system>/boxart/, as .png or .jpg: Sonic the Hedgehog (USA).png for Sonic the Hedgehog (USA).md. A bezel for one game goes in media/<system>/bezels/ with the same naming.