Adding/creating RA handheld border shader

[flatuswalrus]

I know how to add the handheld border shaders through RetroArch like the GBA one which was included in RetroArch's initial download or shader update here:

I find it much more enjoyable playing like this. Though I want to be able to add ones that I have downloaded like this Atari Lynx one:

Problem is it does not have a .cfg file, it just came with the following:The .ini just has the following information in it:

I know the short answer to this would just be to create a .cfg file, but I have tried and not succeeded. Has anyone done this before and if so would someone be so kind as to walk through it together and then hopefully others may benefit from it too. I have searched but have not found any tutorials or discussion detailing exactly this.

Also, one more question. For systems that one may be using the same core like gambatte_libretro.cfg for the GB and GBC but wish to have different custom configure in order to have a different handheld border shader if you copy your gambatte_libretro.cfg in the RA config folder and name it to something like gambatte2_libretro.cfg will it show up in the RA UI options?

Thank you in advance.

[neil9000]

  On 5/28/2018 at 10:27 PM, Dane said:

I know how to add the handheld border shaders through RetroArch like the GBA one which was included in RetroArch's initial download or shader update here:

I find it much more enjoyable playing like this. Though I want to be able to add ones that I have downloaded like this Atari Lynx one:

Problem is it does not have a .cfg file, it just came with the following:The .ini just has the following information in it:

I know the short answer to this would just be to create a .cfg file, but I have tried and not succeeded. Has anyone done this before and if so would someone be so kind as to walk through it together and then hopefully others may benefit from it too. I have searched but have not found any tutorials or discussion detailing exactly this.

Also, one more question. For systems that one may be using the same core like gambatte_libretro.cfg for the GB and GBC but wish to have different custom configure in order to have a different handheld border shader if you copy your gambatte_libretro.cfg in the RA config folder and name it to something like gambatte2_libretro.cfg will it show up in the RA UI options?

Thank you in advance.

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That is a rocketlauncher bezel you have there not a retroarch one. Ill attach a .cfg, just rename it and inside change the image its looking for to the same name as the image you want to use.

 

Atari2600.cfg

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/28/2018 at 10:38 PM, neil9000 said:

That is a rocketlauncher bezel you have there not a retroarch one. Ill attach a .cfg, just rename it and inside change the image its looking for to the same name as the image you want to use.

Atari2600.cfgFetching info...

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Thank you for that. Though I have tried exactly what you said before but it did not work. I changed the cfg file name to Atari Lynx.cfg and then changed the image name inside the cfg file to match that of the image I wish to use. I then placed them in a folder called Atari Lynx and placed that in my shaders folder in RA. Upon navigating to the folder location in RA it sees the folder but not the .cfg file. I am about to leave for work so can't do it right now, but should or could this be placed in the overlays folder instead being that it is just a border alone and not really a shader? Or does that not matter at all?

[neil9000]

Its not a shader its a overlay, so you go to the quick menu, then onscreen overlay turn overlays on navigate to it then save as a core override as usual. If you want to add a lcd shader or the like as well just go into the shader section as normal and pick the handheld section and there are a ton of different shaders in there.

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/28/2018 at 10:58 PM, neil9000 said:

Its not a shader its a overlay, so you go to the quick menu, then onscreen overlay turn overlays on navigate to it then save as a core override as usual. If you want to add a lcd shader or the like as well just go into the shader section as normal and pick the handheld section and there are a ton of different shaders in there.

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I moved the files to the Overlay folder. My Onscreen Overlay was not in the quick menu, it was in the settings list. It was already turned on. I saved it via core override and here is the .cfg:

The numbers are just randomly set for the moment as I am fine to play around with those (in the video option or via the .cfg directly). I just made them small as to not obstruct the overlay image to see if it was on the screen, but it refuses to show:

[neil9000]

  On 5/29/2018 at 7:47 AM, Dane said:

I moved the files to the Overlay folder. My Onscreen Overlay was not in the quick menu, it was in the settings list. It was already turned on. I saved it via core override and here is the .cfg:

The numbers are just randomly set for the moment as I am fine to play around with those (in the video option or via the .cfg directly). I just made them small as to not obstruct the overlay image to see if it was on the screen, but it refuses to show:

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In the latest version 1.7.3 you can also set the overlays in the quick menu now, but if you are on a older version then yes it will be in settings/onscreen overlay with a core loaded. I think it may be a naming issue, if I remember correctly it shouldn't have any spaces in the name, so just AtariLynx for the .cfg name and possibly for the image its calling inside of the config also.

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/29/2018 at 8:23 AM, neil9000 said:

I think it may be a naming issue, if I remember correctly it shouldn't have any spaces in the name, so just AtariLynx for the .cfg name and possibly for the image its calling inside of the config also.

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BINGO! That is all it was. That is absolutely fantastic. Now I can custom configure all of my handheld units which will make playing them WAY more enjoyable. Thank you very much for your kind assistance, it is very much appreciated indeed.

[neil9000]

Cool glad you got it working. Now for any future overlays you want you can just copy/paste and rename the .cfg you have for the other systems and edit the .png its referencing inside.

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/29/2018 at 9:51 AM, neil9000 said:

Cool glad you got it working. Now for any future overlays you want you can just copy/paste and rename the .cfg you have for the other systems and edit the .png its referencing inside.

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Yes that's great, I am doing so to the SNK Neo Geo Pocket right now. and will now do so for all my handheld systems, thank you.

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/28/2018 at 10:27 PM, Dane said:

Also, one more question. For systems that one may be using the same core like gambatte_libretro.cfg for the GB and GBC but wish to have different custom configure in order to have a different handheld border overlay if you copy your gambatte_libretro.cfg in the RA config folder and name it to something like gambatte2_libretro.cfg will it show up in the RA UI options?

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May I ask your opinion on that too thank you?

[neil9000]

also I notice you have it in a _Default folder also with the overlay in, that's not needed for retroarch that is a rocketlauncher file system. I just have a folder called Bezel in the retroarch folder with all my configs and .png loose inside it.

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/29/2018 at 9:59 AM, neil9000 said:

also I notice you have it in a _Default folder also with the overlay in, that's not needed for retroarch that is a rocketlauncher file system. I just have a folder called Bezel in the retroarch folder with all my configs and .png loose inside it.

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Although it does not hurt having the _default folder I am glad you've mentioned it now before I really did much more as I will move them all into the one folder for ease of use like yourself and then I will only have to change the location for the Atari Lynx.

[neil9000]

  On 5/29/2018 at 9:57 AM, Dane said:

May I ask your opinion on that too thank you?

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There are a couple ow ways to do this, you can duplicate configs as detailed in this post.

Or you can use a core splitter .bat to make alternate versions of the same cores. With this method you don't save as a core override, you save a actual config in the main UI.

 

[DOS76]

I'm not sure about the other handheld but for the Nintendo ones I found the shaders in the handheld folder to be better than the overlays if you wanted to look into that this is an example of the GBA one. The folder contains different sized shaders that show different zoom levels of the handheld also if you aren't set on that one.

[neil9000]

  On 5/29/2018 at 12:57 PM, DOS76 said:

I'm not sure about the other handheld but for the Nintendo ones I found the shaders in the handheld folder to be better than the overlays if you wanted to look into that this is an example of the GBA one. The folder contains different sized shaders that show different zoom levels of the handheld also if you aren't set on that one.

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Yeah agreed, I would use the built in ones if available, but they don't cover all systems, so using normal overlays in conjunction with a lcd shader of some description works well also.

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/29/2018 at 12:57 PM, DOS76 said:

I'm not sure about the other handheld but for the Nintendo ones I found the shaders in the handheld folder to be better than the overlays if you wanted to look into that this is an example of the GBA one. The folder contains different sized shaders that show different zoom levels of the handheld also if you aren't set on that one.

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I like the overlays/borders in the shader section too. I have just been having a weird problem with them. You can't fully see in this screenshot but whenever I chose the overlay/border x3 or larger it cuts off the edges:

The screen on the TV is obviously wider than that above screenshot but it has two black strips down the side like it makes it 4:3 even though no settings have been changed pertaining to the ratio. In order to show the entire GBA I have to make it x2 in size:

x2 isn't too bad but is pretty small on the screen, it looks fine in the above screenshot but is way smaller when it is actually viewed/displayed on my TV. Instead of having just a border I like the entire handheld device showing on the screen as I just like the look of it plus it makes the game display a little smaller still which is more like the real thing.

I also have been having trouble adding the GBA through the overlays section as it stretches the image too high making it the incorrect ration for the games. I deleted ALL my config files and opened RA to start fresh but the problem persists. I run into so many dramas with everything it makes me feel stupid. I am going to give it all another try this afternoon and will report my results.

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/29/2018 at 10:06 AM, neil9000 said:

There are a couple ow ways to do this, you can duplicate configs as detailed in this post.

Or you can use a core splitter .bat to make alternate versions of the same cores. With this method you don't save as a core override, you save a actual config in the main UI.

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This post did it for me, thank you. I still for some reason cannot view a handheld border shader larger than 2x as it chops off the sides of the handheld picture making a 4:3 share. Though, I am happy enough with the 2x size as I said before it is a bit more realistic, especially on a large modern TV. I just added the -c command for a custom config that did not exist, launch a game and let it create a blank config to then edit. Works like a charm, thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction.

[neil9000]

  On 5/30/2018 at 12:13 PM, Dane said:

This post did it for me, thank you. I still for some reason cannot view a handheld border shader larger than 2x as it chops off the sides of the handheld picture making a 4:3 share. Though, I am happy enough with the 2x size as I said before it is a bit more realistic, especially on a large modern TV. I just added the -c command for a custom config that did not exist, launch a game and let it create a blank config to then edit. Works like a charm, thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction.

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with a game loaded into the core open the UI and go to settings/video and change the view to 16:9 from core provided that will then show the full screen.

[flatuswalrus]

  On 5/30/2018 at 12:17 PM, neil9000 said:

with a game loaded into the core open the UI and go to settings/video and change the view to 16:9 from core provided that will then show the full screen.

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Aspect Ratio was set to custom. Kindly give me your address so I may send you one big sloppy man-kiss in an envelope.