Black Screen When Launching Games Through RetroArch

[Afro Pear]

Hey LaunchBox,

I'm hoping you can help me with a weird issue I'm having.  I have RetroArch 64-bit side loaded onto my Nvidia Shield TV and with the latest versions of LaunchBox for Android (0.41 & 0.42) I can't seem to launch any systems through RetroArch.  I keep getting a black screen.  I can see that RetroArch launches but I have to force close it cause it doesn't go passed the black screen.  I'm pretty fluent in tinkering with RetorArch so I'm positive the core configs are correct.  I have LaunchBox pointing to the sideloaded 64-bit RetroArch and then also pointed it to the appropriate core (I've also tried with multiple cores).  I've tried this with a side loaded 32-bit RetroArch as well as both versions on the Play Store but just ain't having any luck with it.  This doesn't seem to be an issue with my standalone emulators (Dolphin, DraStic, Mupen64 FZ, PPSSPP, ReDream, Yaba Sanshiro) as those all launch as intended.  I can also confirm that I can run RetroArch and load all those systems/games through there just fine as well.  Seems to be a an issue with the script or something communicating between LaunchBox and RetroArch.

Thanks in advance and let me know if you need me to provide anything else!

[Jason Carr]

@Afro Pear That is interesting; whatever the issue is, it's somehow specific to your device or configuration, as launching RetroArch works just fine in our testing on our Nvidia Shield. Where are your ROM files located?

[Afro Pear]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the reply and verifying on your end.  There definitely was something up with my setup.  I was getting so frustrated trying to figure out the cause I was just about to factory reset my Shield.  I did finally resolve it though.

For anyone else that may have this issue, I resolved it by clearing the data and caches of RetroArch from within the Android Apps menu.  I thought uninstalling the app would clear everything but I was mistaken as the issue would still be present after the reinstall.  Once I cleared the data and caches of RetroArch my games booted right up.

Android Settings  >  Apps  >  RetroArch  >  Clear Data

Thanks again!

[Neil Aubin]

So just documenting something as this happened to me... same scenario, it was working through Retroarch direct but then getting black screen when launched from LaunchBox. 

I then saw the problem as I deleted and retried an import. I used a Mac to put the ROM files onto a flash drive. In some circumstances Macos stores a hidden file that is formatted as a "._samefilename"

I could then see that the import utility in LaunchBox was finding these files and my settings had the combine ROMs option on. So I turned that combine option off, did import again and then saw that for each ROM I had two entries in the games list. 

The answer for me was to run a Macos shell utility called dot_clean on the flash drive. This removes all the ._ files. I imported again and it worked fine, with games running as expected. 

@Jason Carr - just highlighting in case you have other problems with this. Maybe a feature to ignore ._ files on the import might be a good thing. 

 

[Aesthetic]

So just adding yet another bit of data to the thread, although I'm still stuck in limbo @Jason Carr.

Fresh install of LaunchBox 12.5. Premium License. Windows 10. Copied over my game collection from a former install. The only emulator installed is RetroArch.

• If I manually launch RetroArch and load up my MAME core, I can launch a game without any issue.
• If I attempt to get Launchbox to use RetroArch as the emulator, specifying that same core (mame_librertro) as the associated platform for 'Arcade', it launches RetroArch but then only shows a black screen. Nothing else. I have to ALT+TAB to exit and hard close RetroArch (running in the background) as my usual Exit button doesn't work.

I've read in some threads about changing the display driver (which I've attempted) though not sure why that'd be relevant as it works when manually launching from RetroArch. I've also disabled "Enable Game Startup Screen" to see if that helped but no luck.

No Android data cache to clear (Windows) and no hidden mac files I could find. I'm really growing discouraged after 3+ evenings of troubleshooting.

Edited December 10, 2021 by Aesthetic

[denhope]

I set up my mame settings aswell the last few evenings and I've seen dozens of black screens. 

 

I think maybe you are missing some bios files or you just use the wrong emulator. I cleared 95% of my black screens by switching the emulator. FB Neo works the best for me in 90% of my games. 

When I use the "MAME CURRENT" Core on my PC I was able to play a lot of games. When I chose the Mame_libretro core on Android most of them didn't work and I had to use an other core like FB Neo  or Mame Arcade Core. 

[neil9000]

7 hours ago, Aesthetic said:

So just adding yet another bit of data to the thread, although I'm still stuck in limbo @Jason Carr.

Fresh install of LaunchBox 12.5. Premium License. Windows 10. Copied over my game collection from a former install. The only emulator installed is RetroArch.

• If I manually launch RetroArch and load up my MAME core, I can launch a game without any issue.
• If I attempt to get Launchbox to use RetroArch as the emulator, specifying that same core (mame_librertro) as the associated platform for 'Arcade', it launches RetroArch but then only shows a black screen. Nothing else. I have to ALT+TAB to exit and hard close RetroArch (running in the background) as my usual Exit button doesn't work.

I've read in some threads about changing the display driver (which I've attempted) though not sure why that'd be relevant as it works when manually launching from RetroArch. I've also disabled "Enable Game Startup Screen" to see if that helped but no luck.

No Android data cache to clear (Windows) and no hidden mac files I could find. I'm really growing discouraged after 3+ evenings of troubleshooting.

What romset version are you using? The mame core in retroarch is the current up to date core, so if your roms are not the current set then you are going to run into issues running games.

[Aesthetic]

No an issue of which core or missing BIOS files. I’ve attempting setting “Arcade” to every one of the MAME cores to test with no success. I can launch a test game directly from RetroArch using the MAME_Current one but not from LaunchBox calling upon the same one.

[jhardluck]

I have the same issue on my Nvidia Shield. Launchbox will give a black screen when opening any games with Retroarch. I have reinstalled both apps multiple times with no luck. The games will open fine directly through Retroarch.

[Jason Carr]

RetroArch can be very finicky at times with things like this. For those of you running into an issue on the desktop (not Android), did you use the automated RetroArch installer?

In either situation, this issue is always a configuration issue or some kind of system-specific driver or missing installation package issue, or something of that nature. Unfortunately though it can be many different things, so it can be difficult to figure out. We can rule out the LaunchBox configuration though if you can post screenshots of your emulator configuration in LaunchBox.

[Aesthetic]

Super coincidentally I figured it out yesterday thanks to a response on my Reddit post (from a month ago!).

Tools > Manage > Emulators > RetroArch

Uncheck the “Extract ROM archives before running”.

Apprently LaunchBox automatically unchecks this when adding MAME as an emulator but NOT RetroArch.

[Afro Pear]

On 1/1/2022 at 10:43 PM, jhardluck said:

I have the same issue on my Nvidia Shield. Launchbox will give a black screen when opening any games with Retroarch. I have reinstalled both apps multiple times with no luck. The games will open fine directly through Retroarch.

Hey jhardluck,

Give the solution that worked for me a try.  I had quite a headache with this since the apps worked independently but not together.  I have it below for your convenience.

"For anyone else that may have this issue, I resolved it by clearing the data and caches of RetroArch from within the Android Apps menu. I thought uninstalling the app would clear everything but I was mistaken as the issue would still be present after the reinstall. Once I cleared the data and caches of RetroArch my games booted right up.

Android Settings > Apps > RetroArch > Clear Data"

[jhardluck]

I tried clearing the cache as you did but, still had the issue.

[Thrylax]

I'm having the same issue while trying to run v0.42 on my Chromecast with Google TV. RetroArch works fine standalone and even works fine launching into it from DIG Frontend for Android. But if I try to launch anything from Launch Box into RetroArch it goes to a black screen and I have to force stop Launch Box. I also tried updating Launch Box to the latest beta build but still has the same issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Fullgonzo]

i'm having this same issue with LB for Android on a P30 pro. Cleared more than the caches, reinstalled several times Retroarch or Retroarch Plus or stanalone version from RA website, version stable for detected device, delete old folders etc.

I've also uninstalled, cleaned, and reinstalled cores. Update core info, update databases. etc.

With the initial folder/file setup being a bit different on Android for RA, does LB do any caching of core info/config files on it's own accord?  ie: do i need to make any extra folders in RA to accommodate what LB is expecting?

I just fnished setting up an old Shield Tegra Portable using RA only (launchbox was just too heavy for this old unit), using all the same roms and overlays etc., and all Mame cores work surprisingly well.  I really do like how the playlists break down by required core.  

I've been copying Bezel Project files into RA's config, overlays, wallpapers; after RA is installed on the device - and RA has to run once to build itself in the main directory.

I don't see any .opt files in the core folders in config (bezel cfg that i copied over), is this good or bad?  This would be before ever installing or launching a core in RA. Meaning, if there is already a core folder in RA/config, Will RA generate the opt file whenever it usually does?

Pretty much all other cores work as they should, and look great with the bezels (once your roms are named correctly), but all the mame cores go black screen, and so do fbalpha 2012's for the cps1-3, whether using the individual cores or the generic fbalpha with cps 1-3.

I didn't want to use mame4droid because of the bezel setup, but i guess i could, and change the configs in mame bezel project files to point to the RA overlays/ArcadeBezels folder, this would avoid having 2 large ArcadeBezel folders.

Regardless, the mame go black screen has to be a configuration somewhere that isn't happy.  Thanks for any further input on this issue.  ;8P

 

**Follow-up

1. I used the RA version from RA website, not app store.

2. Some roms i replaced (cps1-2), some i didn't, not sure if it made a difference.

3. Did a full clean up and reinstall of version .5 and .6 with no difference - still black screen of unhappiness.

then i found a file called Files.xml in the metadata folder, and it seemed to have references to files that i did not have installed/loaded after latest cleanup.

i changed it to _Files.xml, then lit incense, recited mantra 13 times, banging the gong each time of course; so that the Files.xml would regenerate on next start up.  It did and the file size was smaller, haven't compared contents.

4. Did not use the Data Platform files from LB Android export, instead loaded images/videos/games folders and imported as usual in LB for Android

I don't know what out of any of this got all the mame cores to start working out of LB again (probably the retro-magic i learned from an old arcade junkie. poor guy woke up one morning and there was a Ms. Pac-Man laying next to him where his wife used to be), but they are all now working, with the usual odd game that's going to probably need replacing/updateing to get it to work, or maybe needs an alternate core but I had high success rate with random game selections in each core i tried fbneo, fbalpha, mame2003+.  Something wrong with MERCS in the cps set, which is obviously unacceptable.

fbalpha cps 1-3 cores are still not working and it might be the rom sets or file names, maybe the answer is in the db. but fbalpha 2012 general core is workign for cps 1-3, at least up to loading the roms without core customizations.  i haven't run any of these roms past a data file in something like romcenter yet to see if there are any obvious issues.

it doesn't make sense to me that the Metadate/Files.xml appeared to regenerate out of a cache from another dimension on reinstalling LB after full cleaning. but i don't have root so can't check any further.

i was almost ready to start blaming the last update, but .5 was also a bust.

and there's no way i could live without the new custom theme addition. Nice job guys!!  I'm almost inspired to make one.

that's all, folks.

Edited October 27, 2022 by Fullgonzo

[Jason Carr]

@Fullgonzo Glad you got it working, but unfortunately I can't really say what actually did it. That Files.xml file is only used for imports and it comes from the LaunchBox Games Database. It shouldn't have anything to do with launching games. So, who knows.

[PimpinDownunder]

Hi, new user, absolute rookie at launchbox / Big box

I was having heaps of issues loading retroarch emu games. Same issue black screen and crash. Same in Big Box. about 33% of the time would boot no worries, rom irrelevant.

I found that going into Retroarch settings, enabling advanced settings.

Then going to core settings. And NOT allowing Retroarch to switch the video driver automatically, then setting the video card seems to have solved this issue so far. Around 20 successful emu boots in a row.  

However from what im reading the symptom can be the same for many different issues... 

FYI my computer is a dedicated EMU machine. AMD GPU / CPU rig, so my video card is well oddball. went this way as emu is mostly CPU etc. 

Anyway hopefully this helps some of you guys. Ill post back if it ends up im wrong.  

[MancVandal]

I'm having the same issue with LB and Mame on my Odin Pro (first gen).

I originally had a 2003+ ROMSET that works on everything I have, including the Odin Pro using Daijishou. When I switched to LB though, I was just getting black screens as others are, no matter what combination of RA / Core I used. So I decided to try the latest MAME ROMSET, 0.261 which I suspect would be the set required by the MAME core in RA now? Am I correct in that assumption? I grabbed the 130+gb un-merged set from the Pleasesuredome Github page and tried that. I'm getting EXACTLY the same issue though, ROMs won't load when launching through LB but will if I launch them directly in RA. 

Things I've tried

• All versions of RA - Retroarch : Retroarch (Sideloaded 64 and 32) 
• Different ROMSETS - 2003+ : 0.261 (merged and un-merged)
• All arcade cores - MAME and FBNeo 

I'm going to put Daijishou back on and see if that will launch them directly or not. If not, then I know it's still a RA issue and I'll try clearing the cache (don't want to do that until I have to in case it knackers up my other systems in LB). 

Will report back when I get that done. 

Edited January 1 by MancVandal

[faeran]

On 1/1/2024 at 9:27 AM, MancVandal said:

I'm having the same issue with LB and Mame on my Odin Pro (first gen).

I originally had a 2003+ ROMSET that works on everything I have, including the Odin Pro using Daijishou. When I switched to LB though, I was just getting black screens as others are, no matter what combination of RA / Core I used. So I decided to try the latest MAME ROMSET, 0.261 which I suspect would be the set required by the MAME core in RA now? Am I correct in that assumption? I grabbed the 130+gb un-merged set from the Pleasesuredome Github page and tried that. I'm getting EXACTLY the same issue though, ROMs won't load when launching through LB but will if I launch them directly in RA. 

Things I've tried

• All versions of RA - Retroarch : Retroarch (Sideloaded 64 and 32) 
• Different ROMSETS - 2003+ : 0.261 (merged and un-merged)
• All arcade cores - MAME and FBNeo 

I'm going to put Daijishou back on and see if that will launch them directly or not. If not, then I know it's still a RA issue and I'll try clearing the cache (don't want to do that until I have to in case it knackers up my other systems in LB). 

Will report back when I get that done. 

This is always related to a core mismatch. The next version of LaunchBox will hopefully try and solve this for users so they aren't trying to guess which core they've installed vs. which one to choose in LaunchBox.

For MAME 0.261 you'll need to make sure you have downloaded the mamearcade.libretro.android.so core into the version of RetroArch that you are pointing LaunchBox to. You'll also want to confirm that you don't have the "extract ROMs on launch" setting enabled, but I'm pretty sure it's disabled by default.