Looking for the highest quality console emulation for each console

[vgbox]

I'm LBP user. Currently i only have full mame arcade set. I want to start adding all consoles emulation that was ever made, starting from my childhood consoles: sms, nes, megadrive, snes, mega cd, 32x, saturn, n64, dreamcast, gamecube, ps1, and then continue to the rest of emulation available. before, during and after the consoles i mentioned.

1. Which would be the highest quality emulation with the most complete sets for each console that exists? Mame software list, standalone emulators with retroarch, standalone emulators without retroarch? A combination of all three? Anything else i am missing?

2. I'm convinced to at least try retroarch with my LBP. i get the impression its the best choice with LBP for consoles emulation since i read it offers some graphics enhancements and more, is it the best option with LBP? If so, If i use retroarch does it mean that mame software list roms and chd are useless since retroarch only works with standalone emulators and roms? If so, will retroarch choose the best emulators for me? Are there some exception emulators which i should use outside retroarch? 

Arcade related:

3. For mame arcade emulation i use the official emulator outside retroarch, does retroarch bring something new to mame if i use it inside retroarch? I read somewhere that mame is better played outside retroarch, is that so? For mame arcade graphics, I made some changes to mamke ini graphics settings and i'm pretty satisfied with the results, does retroarch offer more graphics enhancements that are not available from the standalone mame emulator?

[Retro808]

There is some good information in a recent post about using standalone emulator vs. Retroarch here.

The individual cores in RA are not always better than the standalone counterparts, but in quite a few they are. The post I linked gave me some great information on the pros and cons of standalone vs. RA so I figured I would link it. 

[vgbox]

1. Ok, so what i get from that thread is that dreamcast should be played from outside retroarch, retroarch also saves game progress, is good for enhancing graphics for consoles especially, and makes all controllers compatible. I guess retroarch chooses the best emulators for each system and i will also follow the lb tutorial videos. There is mention there of retroarch option to play the games in 720p, really? How can i configure it? Can standalone mame played in 720p as well?

2. What about mame software lists vs retroarch vs standalone? No information on that... I tried to load mame software list roms (without the chd's) in my lbp but it just added mame arcade roms which i already have before adding it, strange... Does lbp even work with mame software lists and mame software lists chd? 

Edited July 1, 2017 by vgbox

[mothergoose729]

 

[Lordmonkus]

Every now and again this question comes up and there is no short and simple answer other than it all depends on a system by system basis so I will start with the questions you have asked specifically and from there feel free to ask for any specific case scenario you may have.

On 7/1/2017 at 4:16 AM, vgbox said:

1. Which would be the highest quality emulation with the most complete sets for each console that exists? Mame software list, standalone emulators with retroarch, standalone emulators without retroarch? A combination of all three? Anything else i am missing?

A combination.

On 7/1/2017 at 4:16 AM, vgbox said:

2. I'm convinced to at least try retroarch with my LBP. i get the impression its the best choice with LBP for consoles emulation since i read it offers some graphics enhancements and more, is it the best option with LBP?

Whether or not it's the best for your use we cannot say but it certainly is a very good choice and many of us use it.

On 7/1/2017 at 4:16 AM, vgbox said:

If i use retroarch does it mean that mame software list roms and chd are useless since retroarch only works with standalone emulators and roms?

Retroarch still uses the software lists when using the Mame core for non arcade emulation such as consoles but I honestly found it easier to just use either a stand alone version of Mess or Mame for those cases.

On 7/1/2017 at 4:16 AM, vgbox said:

If so, will retroarch choose the best emulators for me?

No, you will still need to choose yourself which is best for your use.

 

On 7/1/2017 at 4:16 AM, vgbox said:

Are there some exception emulators which i should use outside retroarch? 

Yes, 2 prime examples right now would be PPSSPP and Dolphin. While there are Retroarch cores for these 2 systems their stand alone counterparts are much much better to use.

On 7/1/2017 at 4:16 AM, vgbox said:

I read somewhere that mame is better played outside retroarch, is that so?

This will depend on the rom set you are using and how old or new it is and which core you are using. If you are using a new and up to date rom set and the Mame core with no year in its name then they are both pretty much equal with extremely minor differences. The differences are so minor that it really comes down to personal preference and there is no clear cut right or wrong answer. With older Mame cores (ones with years in their names) you should be using the stand alone that works best with your rom set if your rom set is an older one. The older Mame cores have some issues that make them not worth using.

On 7/1/2017 at 4:16 AM, vgbox said:

e arcade graphics, I made some changes to mamke ini graphics settings and i'm pretty satisfied with the results, does retroarch offer more graphics enhancements that are not available from the standalone mame emulator?

The latest versions of Mame have some great CRT shaders and are very comparable to Retroarchs but Retroacrh does offer much more variety when you get beyond the CRT stuff.

On 7/1/2017 at 10:42 AM, vgbox said:

There is mention there of retroarch option to play the games in 720p, really? How can i configure it? Can standalone mame played in 720p as well?

Retroarch will auto scale to you display and yes the stand alone Mame does as well.

On 7/1/2017 at 10:42 AM, vgbox said:

Does lbp even work with mame software lists and mame software lists chd?

It does work with it simply due to the fact that Launchbox does not read or even look for the software lists. All Launchbox cares about is the roms you imported into it and the emulator being used for those roms, the software itself such as Mame will take care of it from there. Launchbox is simply telling your Mame "hey load this rom" and if your Mame is setup correctly it will load or not load it depending on how you have it set up. Basically if your game is loading through the emulator it will through LB as well unless you have some other setting in LB that is incorrect like an incorrect platform name or check box which is easily (usually) to track down and fix.

[vgbox]

What consoles are better played through mame? Aren't software list roms named differently and will work only through mame?

So standalone emulators are recommended for: Atari 2600 - Stella Atari 5200, kat 5200, Atari 7800, Prosystem Atari Jaguar, PPSSPP, Dolphin.

 

[Lordmonkus]

Atari 2600, 7800 and Jaguar I use and suggest Retroarch and their respective cores for those systems. Though keep in mind no matter which way you emulate the Jaguar it is going to be hit and miss, that's just how things are with it right now.

As for Atari 5200 have a read on my thoughts on it in this thread here:

There is a new Atari800 core in the works and not in the official downloads yet but it supports the 5200 and is quite nice already but does require some setup to get it working.

[bundangdon]

6 hours ago, vgbox said:

What consoles are better played through mame? Aren't software list roms named differently and will work only through mame?

So standalone emulators are recommended for: Atari 2600 - Stella Atari 5200, kat 5200, Atari 7800, Prosystem Atari Jaguar, PPSSPP, Dolphin.

 

If you use the original 'mame' program (not the retroarch core) the software list roms aren't necessary. It will work with other rom sets (goodsets, no-intro, tosec, etc.)

[mothergoose729]

The systems that are best emulated through mame is an interesting topic, and one where you are not likely to find a lot of consensus. This is a good place to start, but their list is neither complete nor comprehensive. 

http://nonmame.retrogames.com

Edited July 3, 2017 by mothergoose729

[Lordmonkus]

I always approach the topic of "best" emulator in terms of the whole package and that is where Retroarch for the 8, 16 and 32 systems as a rule are "best" for me. In some cases the Retroarch cores are in fact the best in every single way while other cases there may be a stand alone emulator is technically better in terms of accuracy but the difference is so minuscule that when combined with the benefits that Retroarch does bring it edges out the stand alone option.

Two examples I will use here is Genesis and SNES. For the Genesis while Fusion was and still is a very good emulator the Genesis Plus GX core surpasses it in every possible way. It is more accurate, plays more games and has all the benefits of Retroarch. For the SNES while Higan is a fantastic emulator and is for all intents and purposes 100% accurate but it is cumbersome for front end use. Meanwhile in Retroarch we have the BSnes Accuracy core which is built off of an older version of Higan (back when Higan was actually called BSnes). While Higan itself has progressed and BSnes is built from an older code base has pretty much all the features required and many of the advancements Higan has made have been backported into the BSnes cores in Retroarch. So while Higan is possibly technically better under the hood the BSnes core is pretty much on par and it brings the benefits of Retroarch with it.

I will generally only use a stand alone emulator over a Retroarch core when the stand alone is obviously superior. PPSSPP and Dolphin are 2 key examples but I also use the NES emulator puNES over Retroarch because puNES has support for Retroarchs shaders and is nearly 100% accurate. puNES gives me a significant accuracy and compatibility gap while also giving me shaders and palette choices, this makes it worth using over the Nestopia and Fceumm cores.