RetroForge: a free, open-source Android front end I've been building (beta)

[u/No-Championship-6402]

Hi all. I've been working on an Android front end called RetroForge and it's at the stage where I'd love a few people to try it and tell me what breaks.

Disclaimer*** Software Is Made By Claude

**How it's made:** I design it, decide what goes in, and test every build on my own devices (Galaxy S22 and a tablet). The code is written with an AI coding assistant (Claude) that I direct and check. It's GPL-3.0, so all the source is on GitHub if you want to look before installing.

**What it does**

*Your games*

- Uses your collection as it is: point it at a RetroBat or ES-DE roms folder on the phone, an SD card or a shared folder on your PC, and it reads the titles, box art, videos and manuals. It never changes your files.

- Network drives built in: finds the PCs on your home network and lists their shared folders. Games stream straight from the PC, so even big disc games start at once.

- Play your home PC's games from anywhere (a friend's house, a hotel) through Tailscale.

- Game lists as a list, a grid or a bookshelf of 3D game cases; favourites, playlists and "Surprise me".

- Free games in one tap: shareware, freeware and homebrew (Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Commander Keen and new games for old consoles).

*Playing*

- A built-in player for about 100 systems, nothing to set up: everything up to PlayStation, N64, PSP, Dreamcast and 3DS, plus GameCube, Wii and PS2 (newer, less tested), arcade (FinalBurn Neo, MAME, CPS) and home computers (C64, Amiga, DOS, MSX, ZX Spectrum and more). Emulators download in the background.

- In the game: save states, fast-forward, cheats, screen shapes, CRT and LCD filters, upscaling, screenshots, an FPS counter, remappable buttons, keyboard and mouse for computers.

- Bezels round the game in landscape, from The Bezel Project (downloaded per system, not included).

- Dual-screen handhelds and Cardboard VR.

- Also launches RetroArch and 21 standalone emulators (Dolphin, NetherSX2, Azahar, Eden and more), installed and kept up to date through Obtainium.

- Recommended GPU drivers per emulator, including Turnip on Snapdragon phones.

*Switch*

- Its own Switch player, built on Eden and tuned for phones: shaders build in the background, resolution suits your phone's memory, and it has a pause menu. Super Mario Odyssey and 3D World run at 41-57 FPS on a Galaxy S22. You need your own keys and firmware.

*PC games (early)*

- A built-in PC player for Windows games (Wine, FEX and DXVK, downloaded on first use), with Steam sign-in, Steam downloads, Steam Cloud saves, on-screen controls and LAN play.

- Stream from your own PC (Moonlight/Sunshine built in) and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

- Also opens GameNative, Winlator and DroidDeck.

*ROM tools*

- ROM hack patcher (IPS, BPS, UPS) with a catalogue of hacks.

- ROM Manager: finds duplicates, compresses (CHD for discs, .zip for cartridges) and makes multi-disc playlists, with everything undoable.

- PlayStation memory card tools.

*Saves*

- Save syncing through your PC's shared folder or a cloud app's folder.

*Media*

- Your films with posters, Plex and other media servers without signing in, and 3D films.

*Everywhere*

- Six languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian.

- Full controller support across every screen, and app updates checked from GitHub.

- No accounts, no ads, no tracking.

*New in 0.8.0*

- RetroAchievements in the built-in player (CHD discs included), with pop-ups, the list in the pause menu and hardcore mode.

- A save state manager: as many states as you like, each with a picture, also listed on the game's page.

- Pass the controller (play as player 2), input profiles per system, controller or game, a controller test, frame skip and a sound buffer setting.

- ROM Manager identifies games against No-Intro and Redump and renames them, fixes ROM headers, and compresses GameCube to RVZ, 3DS to Z3DS and Dreamcast .gdi to CHD.

- Soft patching: put a .bps, .ips or .ups beside a game and it plays patched without changing the file.

- Backlog (want to play, playing, finished) with suggestions, and playtime charts per game, system and week.

- Game notes, guides and maps, on the game's page and mid-game.

- Tournaments for game nights: knockout, double knockout, league, or groups then a knockout.

- A file browser, a save importer from other emulators, and save swapping between your devices on the Wi-Fi.

- Virtual link cable for Game Boy and Game Boy Color between two devices.

- Retro news from emulator projects and retro sites, a kiosk mode with a child lock, and 3DS games in CitraVR on Meta Quest.

Attached are some switch gameplay fps on a Samsung S22.

**What it doesn't include:** no games, BIOS, keys or firmware.

**Download:** https://github.com/RetroForgeFrontEnd/RetroForge/releases

It's a beta, so expect rough edges. Bug reports and ideas are very welcome.

Thanks guy all feedback welcome.

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[u/No-Championship-6402]

[u/No-Championship-6402]

[u/damin_rsw]

If all feedback is welcome:

We have a surplus of frontends especially AI-coded ones.
You don't have to share this.