-=[ THIS REPO IS ARCHIVED - FIND THE LATEST RELEASE HERE: https://github.com/mrfixit2001/recalbox-rockchip ]=-

ANNOUNCING THE UPDATED BETA - RELEASE 3 OF RECALBOX FOR THE ROCK64

The details on the previous ROCK64 releases can be found here: https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=6351

After many efforts with much teamwork, collaboration, and testing, we are very excited to provide an updated BETA release of RECALBOX for the ROCK64 board!

-- The download is located under this repository's releases -- https://github.com/mrfixit2001/recalbox_rock64/releases

MrFixIt's custom kernel source is available here: https://github.com/mrfixit2001/rockchip-kernel

Recalbox's source is available on their repo: https://gitlab.com/recalbox

Details on the ROCK64 SoC can be found here: https://www.pine64.org/?page_id=7147

For those of you unfamiliar with Recalbox: https://www.recalbox.com/ "Recalbox offers a wide selection of consoles and game systems. From the very first arcade systems to the NES, the MEGADRIVE, 32-bit platforms (such as the Playstation) and even Nintendo64. With Kodi already included, Recalbox also serves as a Media Center. By connecting it to your home network, you will be able to stream videos from any compatible devices (NAS, PC, External HDD, etc.)."

Please do keep in mind that this is still a BETA release, which means you should still EXPECT some things not to work quite right. We have done a LOT of testing on our own to try and resolve as many issues as we can before this release, but now you get to help! (Lucky you!) So if/when you do find things that don't work right, please use the link in GitHub to report the issue.

When reporting issues:

• Provide logs or screenshots of the issue so that we can see the error(s) you are seeing
• Provide detailed steps for us to follow in order to reproduce the issue

Improvements and Changes Since the Last Release: Kernel Updates:

• Updated to version 4.4.171
• Various custom kernel fixes, mainline backports, stability and other enhancements
• 4K Playback @ 60fps is now smooth and Audio/Video are synced
• Default Over-Clock Removed (if you have a heatsink, you really should enable this in the recalbox menu!)
• RTL8812EU USB Wifi adapter working (Buy it in the PINE64 Store)

Emulator and Recalbox Updates:

• Updated version of Recalbox
• Updated versions of many emulators and cores
• Customized default emulator configs to optimize performance
• Buggy button re-mapping issue is resolved
• Reicast runs at 100% speeds in most games
• PPSSPP now capable of performing at 100% speed for most games
• Customizable "max fps" setting in PPSSPP to fine tune your experience - set to 30fps to support playing demanding games (GOW) nice and smooth!
• PSP video scenes now play perfectly
• Custom fix for widescreen stretching (READ BELOW)
• VirtualJaguar is now fixed and playable
• NEOGEO Core Fixed
• Reicast Configuration Can be Edited Now
• Bluetooth Controllers Reconnect After Reboot
• On-Screen-Keyboard issue Resolved
• Custom patches to ES and Emulators to improve overall stability

Important Note about Widescreens: The majority of users will be using widescreen monitors and TVs with 16:9 aspect ratios these days, and most of these will automatically stretch a 4:3 video to 16:9 to make it full screen. This distorts the graphics and makes everything look stretched out and askew. So, I have added custom patches and new configuration settings to Mupen64, Reicast, and Retroarch to correct this so that the emulators will still render at the right scale after being stretched. :) This is ON by default. If you do not have a widescreen monitor, or your monitor does not have this auto-stretch feature, then your games may not be centered or look too thin. In this case, simply make the following one-time changes to the configurations to turn off these customizations:

• Retroarch: use the retroarch menu to change the default - Settings->Video->Aspect Ratio
• Reicast: change the setting "rend.FixAspect" to 0 in /recalbox/share/system/configs/reicast/emu.cfg
• Mupen64: each video plugin (core) has been given it's own setting, allowing you to customize each to your own needs, and GLES2N64 (n64 core) has it's own config file. The settings for these plugins are in /recalbox/share/system/configs/mupen64 in the files mupen64plus.cfg and gles2n64.conf. Just change the listed widths and left offsets to whatever your needs are.

Some things we have added to Recalbox that are Exclusive to Mr.Fix-It releases:

• Upgraded Kodi (and addons) from version 17 (Krypton) to a version 18 (Leia)
• InputStream.Adaptive Kodi Addon
• Multiple cores for different emulators so that you can select which core works best for you on each ROM!
• Custom resolutions and configs for most emulators to optimize performance for the specific platform
• Included Wolfenstein 3D (shareware version) in DosBox

A few things to know about this release: When the image first boots, you can expect a delay as the partition is expanded to the full size of your disk. Please be patient and let this complete. It will not happen on every boot, but you should not interrupt this process or you may need to reimage.

Some controllers will work with KODI right out of the box without the buttons needing to be mapping (like the x360). For others, once you hit a button on the controller it will ask you to map them - you will need a keyboard to interact with KODI until your controller buttons are mapped.

N64 has multiple core options, different ROMS work better with different cores! So if your game isn't running well, try another core! In our testing we have found that MOST games will run very well with at least one available core.

Some emulators / cores are highly dependent on a valid BIOS files being installed (Dreamcast, for example). Be sure to read the documents in the system’s ROM folder for details on what BIOS files are needed. Further documentation is available on the Recalbox wiki.

A single ROM not working is not considered a "bug", it's often an incompatibility with the ROM and the emulator / core. We have provided multiple cores for some emulators to try and help maximize the number of ROMS that work.

If you are suddenly and unexpectedly thrown into KODI, then that means EmulationStation may have crashed. Please provide your /recalbox/es.log file so we can review.

"Where's the source code?" The source is being cleaned up and organized in preparation to be made available for the recalbox team to maintain, instead of having it hosted in this repository. Merging it with the recalbox repo allows them to maintain and update it, which ensures that you will receive their updates as they are made available.

Lastly, please remember this is a community build, and just something I've worked on in my free time. There's no pressure at all, but if you appreciate the work then feel free to send me a buck on Paypal: mrfixit2001 at gmail.

Special thanks go out to the LibreELEC and Recalbox teams, as well as LukasZ at Pine64 for his huge efforts in research, testing, and feedback!

Mr Fix-IT