Difference between revisions of "Installation Guide"

Latest revision as of 21:50, 20 February 2024

This guide will teach you how to download, install, and add your own games to EmuVR.

After this, the next pages will teach you how to play it, how to customize it and more.

IMPORTANT: The orange underlined words are links. You'll need to click the links you see through the whole wiki to read more and fully understand the instructions. (Yes, we actually had to add this to the wiki)

Quick Steps

This may look complicated, but in the end you'll just be doing these basic steps below:

1. Download and extract
2. Copy your games
3. Scan games and download cores
4. Play

Please do read everything below. Every single bit of information here is important to make EmuVR work correctly.

Downloads

In order to setup and start playing EmuVR, you will need to download two files:

Extracting

• Extract the contents of "EmuVR_1.0.11.zip" somewhere convenient. For this example, we'll use "C:\EmuVR".
  (Some systems might have denied file access issues if you extract into "C:\Program Files\", so avoid installing it there)
• Extract the contents of "RetroArch_1.7.5.zip" into "C:\EmuVR\RetroArch".

When extracting "RetroArch_1.7.5.zip" make sure not to create another RetroArch folder inside the target, or you'll have two "RetroArch" folders inside each other.

RetroArch's exe file needs to end up like this: "C:\ EmuVR \ RetroArch \ retroarch.exe"

And NOT like this: "C:\ EmuVR \ RetroArch \ RetroArch \ retroarch.exe"

Important: If this is your first EmuVR installation, do not copy anything from any previous RetroArch installation in your computer. Extract "RetroArch_1.7.5.zip" to an empty "C:\EmuVR\RetroArch" folder.

EmuVR's RetroArch installation will not mess with any other RetroArch installation in your computer. They're all portable and unaware of each other.

Also, do not download cores using RetroArch, always use Game Scanner for that (keep reading to understand this).

Copying Your Games

EmuVR does not come with any games. You must provide your own.
DO NOT ASK HOW OR WHERE TO DOWNLOAD ROMS.

There's no hard limit, but it's not recommended to add thousands of games, for stability reasons.
Try to curate your games and pick your favorites.

First, go to your "C:\EmuVR\Games" folder and create a new folder there for each console you want.

You can name them anything you like, but using recognizable names will make the automatic folder detection easier later.

Examples:

• C:\EmuVR\Games\SNES
• C:\EmuVR\Games\Super Nintendo
• C:\EmuVR\Games\PS1
• C:\EmuVR\Games\PSX
• C:\EmuVR\Games\PlayStation
• C:\EmuVR\Games\PlayStation (Light Gun)
• C:\EmuVR\Games\N64
• C:\EmuVR\Games\Sega Genesis
• C:\EmuVR\Games\Videos

(Notice there are multiple examples above for how you could name a same console in any way you like.)

Now, copy your games (or videos, music) into the respective folders you've just created. Your games will also work in subfolders inside these folders, if you need more organization.

(You can delete the default "ExampleSystemFolderX/Y/Z" folders, they're just empty examples.)

Here's the list of available systems.

Supported Files

To know which file formats each core supports, click the Core Options ☰ button to the right in Game Scanner, then click [List Supported Files]. (You'll learn about Game Scanner and how to use it in the following sections, just keep reading this page and it will make sense soon.)

To be able to actually see all your file extensions (for example: .iso .bin .txt) usually you'll need to enable this setting.

• If your games are in ZIP or 7z files, you do not need to extract them if you don't want to (unless they're disc-based games). They'll work compressed or extracted the same way, with one exception:

• Disc games always need to be extracted. If they're ISO, CUE + BIN files, or other ripped disc formats, you need to extract them, do not keep them as .zip or .7z files. Examples: PS1, PS2, GameCube, Dreamcast.

• RAR files are not supported at all, so they always must be extracted.

Recap: ZIP and 7z work, unless it's a disc game. RAR never works.

If your PLAYSTATION games are not working, please read this special section CAREFULLY and you'll fix it: PlayStation Games Troubleshooting

For PLAYSTATION 2 issues, we have this section: PlayStation 2 Games Troubleshooting

Adding DOSBox Games

DOSBox Games are a special case for Game Scanner. Read DOSBox Games to learn how to properly add them.

Game Scanner

For EmuVR to recognize your games, you need to scan them.

First, run Game Scanner, located at "C:\EmuVR\Game Scanner\Game Scanner.exe". Doing this will also automatically patch RetroArch to work with EmuVR.

If this is your first install, or if you're updating EmuVR, click the [Update Core Data *] button. If you ever see this button with an asterisk, you'll need to click it. This will update your core information, needed to scan your games and to download your selected cores.

Autofill

Next, click the [Attempt Autofill] button. Autofill will search for known names in your folders, and will try to assign the most probable console and emulator core for each one.

If you name your folders with known names like "PS1", "PSX", "PlayStation", "Sony PlayStation", "PlayStation 1", or "SNES", "Super Nintendo", "Super Famicom", they should be automatically detected.

Sometimes a folder name might not be recognized. If you notice a folder was not added by Autofill, or if the detected system was not assigned correctly, read below to know how to manually add folders or assign their systems.

Adding Folders Manually

After trying Autofill, if you still need to add any folders manually, click the [Add folder...] button down below and choose your folder.

You might need to select a Media type and an emulator Core for that system, if it was not correctly detected at this point.

Media and Core

Each system folder needs to be assigned a Media type and an emulator Core.

In simple terms, a Core is an emulator that runs inside RetroArch, which in turn runs inside EmuVR. Most systems (consoles) have several alternative Cores (emulators) to choose from.

When you use Autofill or manually select a Media type, the (arguably) most popular/faster core for this system will be automatically selected for you (it's always the first item in the dropdown). You can change it to any other core you like. If you have any problems with them, please try other core alternatives too.

After you choose your options, click [Save Changes].

Next, click [Download Missing Cores], and it will download and extract each chosen emulator. If your selected core has a little down arrow icon ↓ before its name, it means it still needs to be downloaded using this button.

(If you want to update an already downloaded core to its latest version later, you can do so by clicking the [Update Core] button on its Core Options window. Notice this is not the [Update Core Data] button.)

Important: never download cores using RetroArch, always use Game Scanner.

Note: For now, you'll see placeholder 3D models for every console that isn't modeled yet, represented by the fantastic Knock-Off Generic EVR-9000 video game console. This allows you to play your games for every supported system before we get to model them all or support UGC (custom models). Currently, there are models for PS1, N64, SNES (USA, PAL and Japan), NES, GameCube and PS2 systems, and a VCR. More to come later.

BIOS Files

Some emulator cores will need some extra files called BIOS to work.

For example: PS1, PS2, Sega Saturn, Sega CD, Sega 32X.

• You'll need to find these files by yourself, just like your games. Just try googling for something like "retroarch bios" to learn more. Do not ask for BIOS files in the Discord server.

After you get your BIOS files, you just need to extract them into "C:\EmuVR\RetroArch\system\" (with a few exceptions).

They need to be named correctly. Check this example for PS1 BIOS correct file names.

The following page will teach everything you need to know about your BIOS and which cores needs which files: https://docs.libretro.com/library/bios/

• If you're having issues with PS1 BIOS, go to this section for detailed troubleshooting.

• If you need help with PS2 BIOS, go to this section (hint, this one goes into a different folder).

• GameCube and Dreamcast games don't really need BIOS.

Core Options (Advanced)

By clicking the ☰ buttons to the right of each Core dropdown in Game Scanner, you'll see a new window where you can change some options for that specific core and folder.

There are available options for Light Gun, Keyboard and Mouse input modes.

In Game Scanner some cores already have default values for these options. This means that if you choose the DOSBox core, for example, mouse and keyboard will already be enabled by default for you. If you need to override the assigned default value for a folder, just click the ☰ button to see this window and change your options at will.

Examples for when you would need to change the options yourself:

• Dreamcast games usually don't need a keyboard, but you'll need to enable it to play The Typing of the Dead.
• SNES games usually don't need a mouse, but you'll need to enable it to play Mario Paint.
• Usually you'll need to enable Light Gun mode for games that need it manually.

Changing a core option will affect all games under that folder, so you might want to separate your special games into another folder, e.g.: a "PS1" folder with default options, and a "PS1 (Light Gun)" folder with light gun input enabled for all games inside this folder. Your games from both folders will seamlessly show up together in the same "PlayStation" category in your inventory menu, and when inserted into any PlayStation console they'll work accordingly (with or without light gun support enabled). Another example: an "SNES" folder and a "SNES (Mouse)" folder.

• When adding new folders (manually or through Autofill), Game Scanner will attempt to detect and automatically set input modes from folder names like the following examples: "PS1 GunCon", "PSX (Light Guns)", "Arcade Lightgun", "Arcade (Guns)", "NES Zapper", "SNES (Mouse)", "Dreamcast (Keyboard)". These aren't exact names, but just examples of possibilities. Make sure to still check if the setting was actually detected and enabled for you, don't rely on this.

Read the Light Guns and Keyboard and Mouse Input For Games pages to learn how to make them work with your games.

In this window you can also click [List Supported Files] to know which file formats the core supports, and [Update Core] to redownload the latest version of your core.

Scanning Your Games

This is the last step.

Click [Scan Games for EmuVR]. A new window will display your scanning progress.

This might take several minutes depending on your games.
(Remember, there's no hard limit but it's not recommended to add thousands of games, for stability reasons.)

After it's done, it will show how many games were detected.

When do you need to Scan again?

• You need to click [Scan Games] again after:
  • Adding a new system folder.
  • Renaming a system folder.
  • Adding new game files.
  • Renaming game files.
  • Changing Media types.
  • Changing Cores.

• You do NOT need to click [Scan Games] again if you're just:
  • Removing a system folder.
  • Deleting games.
  • Adding, removing or changing custom labels.

If you're renaming a system folder or creating a new one, you'll need to add them before scanning. Try Autofill again before adding them manually.

Updating EmuVR

Game Scanner will show a notification if there's a newer EmuVR version available in the server (it will not auto-download or install it, it's just a notification).

Here's how to update it:

1. Download the latest version again from this Installation Guide.
2. Extract it over your current installation folder, for example "C:\EmuVR"
   • It should ask you about overwriting files. Otherwise you're extracting it to the wrong place.
   • No, this will not remove any of your current games, customization or settings. Only the needed files will be updated and you won't need to redo your setup again.
3. Open Game Scanner once, to complete the patching process. (No need to scan again, just open then close it.)

TL;DR: Download, extract the update and overwrite your current installation, then open Game Scanner once to finish the patch.

ALWAYS MAKE BACKUPS!

If something doesn't work after an update, try doing a clean installation with the latest version in a new clean folder.

Next Steps

Customizing EmuVR

If you want to customize your bedroom with your own custom wallpapers, wall posters, bed sheets and game labels, check out the Customization Guide.

Playing EmuVR

You're now ready to learn How To Play and finally enjoy EmuVR!

Netplay

Invite your friends to your room and play together with Netplay!

Save and Load Your Bedroom State

Learn more at the Room Saving page.

Settings Menu

Learn how and why to change your Settings.

There you'll be able to change the time of day, seasons, many graphics settings to balance quality and performance, many control options for comfort and ease of use, light gun settings, and many more.

Troubleshooting

If you're having any issues, crashes, or games aren't working, please check out the Troubleshooting page for known solutions.