A common question is when RetroX will have this feature, or whether RetroX will ever have that one. In the forum we have received several requests for new features that we think RetroX must have, and from time to time we receive requests for features that are already in development.
So, for future reference, come to this page to get up-to-date info about what is happening in RetroX’s development.
Note that this planning is not mandatory; at any moment we may push a feature up or down our priorities, or release an unlisted one. Sometimes there are features that can be done in a matter of days; those are candidates to be released earlier than those that may require weeks or months.
In the following list you will see the features, time frame, status, complexity, and a link to the forum where you can discuss each one.
Of course, if you have new ideas, just let us know in the Features forum.
UPDATE: There is a delay in the original time frames for these planned features. The list has been updated.
UPDATE: To better represent how development happens, I’ve changed the dates for an expected timescale of the planned features. Sometimes priority is changed or new and exciting features are put in the middle, so it’s better not to use fixed dates.
Planned features for the Short Term
Themes
Users will be able to customize the graphical design of the application under certain restrictions. Mostly, this means that the user interaction will be defined by the app, while the use of graphics and colors will be set by user themes.
Also, we will add a new interaction mode inspired by Emulation Station (RetroPie), and adding video support to the themes is being considered.
Status: In development 70%. Complexity: High. Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W1ysPbd3u0
UPDATE: Themes have been released in v2.7.0.
Forum Announcement
Blog post
Forum for future themes
Android-TV-compatible virtual keyboard for computer systems
Computer systems require more than a simple gamepad, except for some cases like the Atari 8-bit computer line and MSX. Existing emulators include a keyboard, but they don’t work in Android TV, which is what most of our users have. So, we disabled those keyboards to avoid confusing and frustrating our users.
Currently, we provide a method for users to map the keys to the gamepad, but that requires editing a text file, and most users are not comfortable with that. We hope that an Android-TV-compatible virtual keyboard will help users press any key when required, as well as easily map any key to any button on their controllers.
Status: In development 30%. Complexity: Medium. Forum discussion.
Commodore 64 emulation
This is a computer emulator that requires a fair amount of work. But this is a system that we wanted to have since the beginning. It is even already working with RetroX in our internal version, but when we reached a point where the keyboard had to be mapped, we decided to first implement a cross-system solution to have an Android-TV-compatible virtual keyboard that we can use in all computer emulators.
Status: In development 80%. Complexity: Medium.
GameCube support
The GameCube emulation is not perfect, but it is improving lately. We will port the GameCube emulator to RetroX and will provide some presets for common devices like the NVIDIA Shield TV.
Complexity: Medium
User-provided overlays
Users will be able to provide their own touchscreen overlays to RetroX. The idea is that the user will point RetroX to a .zip file containing the overlay definition plus the required graphics, and RetroX will offer it as an option for the target system.
Complexity: Low. Forum discussion.
User-provided shaders
Users will be able to provide their own shaders to RetroX. It will follow the same principles described above for overlays.
Complexity: Low. Forum discussion.
Support for live backgrounds in non-RetroArch systems
Live backgrounds are currently only available for RetroArch-based systems; that leaves Atari 8-bit, Amiga, DOS, and other systems without this feature. We will modify these emulators to add live backgrounds, and this should help enable custom shaders for them as well.
Complexity: Medium
Alternative locations for artwork
RetroX will scan for artwork in separate folder structures in addition to the traditional scanning. We will try to pick the folder layout from other systems to help users build their own artwork database with as little effort as possible.
Complexity: Low. Forum discussion.
Planned features for the Mid Term
Community-provided metadata and artwork
Users will be able to upload covers, screenshots, and metadata (year, developer, category, etc.) for games. First, we need to populate this data as much as we can; then we will open the database to let users add the info that they want, hopefully from inside the app.
Complexity: Medium-High. Forum discussion.
Screenshot for most games
We are preparing methods to make it easier to take screenshots and then upload them to our servers. This is something we’ve already started; we’ve just set a milestone to have it solved within this time period.
Complexity: Medium
Several versions of one game under one unique entry
Some games are available in several versions; this is most noticeable in MAME, where there are different versions for different regions (Japan, USA, EU), and there are also different release versions for many games (bootleg, alternate, clones, etc.).
The idea is that the user will see only one entry for each game, and the version will be selectable before the game starts.
Complexity: Medium.
UPDATE: Groups have been released on 2020-12-22.
Subcategories for one system (CD games, homebrews, unreleased)
Some systems like the PC Engine may be considered to have subsystems, like card-based games and CD-based games. The same may happen with DOS and Commodore Amiga games. There are also interesting categories to filter games like homebrews, patched, unreleased, and more. The users will be able to use these subcategories as filters.
Complexity: Medium. Forum discussion.
Community-based Collections
Some examples:
- Mario – click on Mario and it searches for all Mario games
- Zelda – searches for Zelda and/or Link
- Basketball – nba, dribble, Barkley, Jordan, Kobe etc. This would then pull nba jam, double dribble, Barkley shut up and jam, Jordan vs. Bird, Kobe Bryant basketball
- Best fighters – street fighter, mortal kombat, king of fighters, etc.
Complexity: Medium. Forum discussion.
Amiga CD32 support
To include CD32, we will need to port a new emulator. Porting a computer emulator is never easy because they require special treatment for the keyboard devices. Hopefully, the Android TV virtual keyboard will be mature when we reach this point.
Complexity: Medium.
Offline mode
RetroX will be able to work with limited internet connection for some — to be determined — time. While in offline mode, some features will not work for obvious reasons, like artwork download or presets for MAME and computer games. This mode is defined as temporary, and the online mode will always be the standard mode of operation.
Status: FROZEN. Complexity: High. Forum discussion.
UPDATE: Offline mode has been frozen because:
- The code is there, but it requires a lot of testing to be a piracy-safe release for me.
- It’s been in development hell for several months, pushing back other features that add more value to most RetroX users, like Themes or more emulator support.
- Most current users are home users using Android TV boxes with a permanent connection to the Internet. I prefer to focus on users who already have supported RetroX instead of users who will support it “only if…”.
Sega Saturn emulation
This port will include some presets for common devices like the NVIDIA Shield TV. This emulator has improved a lot in 2017, so it will probably be great by the end of this year.
Complexity: Medium.
UPDATE: Sega Saturn has been released in v2.9.12.
Remap buttons per system / per game
Some users have reported that they would prefer to have a different button layout for some games. This is a real problem when the emulator authors have decided to use a button layout that is different from what some users prefer. It happens in 6-button games for Sega Genesis and many MAME games. This will let users tune the controls as they wish.
Complexity: Low
Planned features for the Long Term
ZX Spectrum emulation
See the comments above on Commodore 64: another system that we wanted to have since the beginning.
Complexity: Medium.
UPDATE: ZX Spectrum has been released in v3.1.6.
Atari ST emulation
The Atari line is not complete without the ST. 2018 will be the year for the ST in RetroX.
Complexity: Medium.
UPDATE: Atari ST has been released in v3.1.2.