Does anyone here use Retroarch as their main emulation program?

[Calavera]

Retroarch never really looked appealing to me. I had to use it recently and I just don't see the appeal. Personally I would rather have a separate emulator for each system. Maybe it is just because it is what I'm used to and have been doing for he past 20+ years. If I want to play a Dreamcast game then I'll load up a Dreamcast emulator and if I'm feelin' like a PS2 game then I'll load up PCSX2. To me that seems to be the easier simpler way. While Retroarch isn't super complicated to figure out I feel like it is much more complicated then just using stand-alone emulators.

Is this just my old age showing? Which do you prefer Retroarch or stand-alone emulators?

Sort of related but I recently tried out Batocera just for fun and I can actually see a point in using that. You install it to a USB stick then add your roms to it and it boots up to a nice menu where you select the system you want and then the game. I have an old laptop with no HDD in it currently and with the Batocera stick I was able to make it somewhat useful. Aside from that I could see it being useful for a "noob" type person. Someone who knows very little about computers and just wants to plug in a controller and select a game.

[Skynet]

So I use a combination of both. I don't prefer to use it, but when I do use Retroarch I always like to use a frontend. Batocera is good if you're doing a separate/dual boot setup, but if I'm playing on my Windows PC I usually use a standalone. That being said, Retrobat is a decent option if you don't want a separate/dual boot option. I use Retrobat on my lounge PC so I dont have to dual boot it.
https://www.retrobat.org/

[Calavera]

So I use a combination of both. I don't prefer to use it, but when I do use Retroarch I always like to use a frontend. Batocera is good if you're doing a separate/dual boot setup, but if I'm playing on my Windows PC I usually use a standalone. That being said, Retrobat is a decent option if you don't want a separate/dual boot option. I use Retrobat on my lounge PC so I dont have to dual boot it.
https://www.retrobat.org/

I don't actually use Batocera for my main emulation or anything. I just put it on a stick for fun to try out on a few older computers I have. So you use a combination of stand-alone emulators and Retroarch right? Which systems do you use Retroarch for instead of a stand-alone? I bet one of them is Sega Saturn.

[pixel]

I use Retroarch mainly because I use launchers but I like Retroarch itself. The launchers I use (Emudeck, Launchbox) make it a pretty seamless process.

The reasons I use Retroarch over individual emulators are:

• Easy updates to individual cores (emulators)

• Good shader support

• Black frame insertion support

• Unified controller mapping

Retroarch is still a mess and has a messy interface. I still have to wrangle with controller support sometimes. But I've been using it for 7-8 years now and I've gotten used to it. It isn't better than individual emulators per se, it just comes down to personal preference.

Another point to make is that I'm using Retroarch in HTPC, arcade and handheld situations.

[Skynet]

So I use a combination of both. I don't prefer to use it, but when I do use Retroarch I always like to use a frontend. Batocera is good if you're doing a separate/dual boot setup, but if I'm playing on my Windows PC I usually use a standalone. That being said, Retrobat is a decent option if you don't want a separate/dual boot option. I use Retrobat on my lounge PC so I dont have to dual boot it.
https://www.retrobat.org/

I don't actually use Batocera for my main emulation or anything. I just put it on a stick for fun to try out on a few older computers I have. So you use a combination of stand-alone emulators and Retroarch right? Which systems do you use Retroarch for instead of a stand-alone? I bet one of them is Sega Saturn.

Mainly Dreamcast and older. I go standalone for PS2, PS3, GC/Wii/Wii U, etc. Anything older than Dreamcast I just let Retroarch + a frontend deal with it. Like pixel mentioned, I also do have Launchbox/Bigbox as well due to all the ETA Prime hype videos about it I bought a license during a Black Friday deal a couple years back.

[pixel]

So I use a combination of both. I don't prefer to use it, but when I do use Retroarch I always like to use a frontend. Batocera is good if you're doing a separate/dual boot setup, but if I'm playing on my Windows PC I usually use a standalone. That being said, Retrobat is a decent option if you don't want a separate/dual boot option. I use Retrobat on my lounge PC so I dont have to dual boot it.
https://www.retrobat.org/

I don't actually use Batocera for my main emulation or anything. I just put it on a stick for fun to try out on a few older computers I have. So you use a combination of stand-alone emulators and Retroarch right? Which systems do you use Retroarch for instead of a stand-alone? I bet one of them is Sega Saturn.

I go standalone for PS2, PS3, GC/Wii/Wii U, etc. Anything older than Dreamcast I just let Retroarch + a frontend deal with it.

I'm still under the assumption that stuff like Dolphin and PCSX2/LRPS2 don't get the same features and updates as the standalone versions. That was the biggest reason a few years ago.

Anything older than Dreamcast I just let Retroarch + a frontend deal with it.

Same for me. And honestly, I use Retroarch as a launcher on some devices. Sometimes I don't like launcher bloat and prefer Retroarch's simple library structure when importing content.

Like pixel mentioned, I also do have Launchbox/Bigbox as well due to all the ETA Prime hype videos about it I bought a license during a Black Friday deal a couple years back.

Yeah I've used that less over the years. It seems like there are a dozen more launchers now that are worth a look.

[Skynet]

So I use a combination of both. I don't prefer to use it, but when I do use Retroarch I always like to use a frontend. Batocera is good if you're doing a separate/dual boot setup, but if I'm playing on my Windows PC I usually use a standalone. That being said, Retrobat is a decent option if you don't want a separate/dual boot option. I use Retrobat on my lounge PC so I dont have to dual boot it.
https://www.retrobat.org/

I don't actually use Batocera for my main emulation or anything. I just put it on a stick for fun to try out on a few older computers I have. So you use a combination of stand-alone emulators and Retroarch right? Which systems do you use Retroarch for instead of a stand-alone? I bet one of them is Sega Saturn.

I go standalone for PS2, PS3, GC/Wii/Wii U, etc. Anything older than Dreamcast I just let Retroarch + a frontend deal with it.

I'm still under the assumption that stuff like Dolphin and PCSX2/LRPS2 don't get the same features and updates as the standalone versions. That was the biggest reason a few years ago.

The features you mentioned is why I was using standalone. But yeah, unsure if that's different now

Anything older than Dreamcast I just let Retroarch + a frontend deal with it.

Same for me. And honestly, I use Retroarch as a launcher on some devices. Sometimes I don't like launcher bloat and prefer Retroarch's simple library structure when importing content.

I will use it as a launcher but in rare instances, never been a big fan of the UI for retroarch, there's so much going on there haha.

Like pixel mentioned, I also do have Launchbox/Bigbox as well due to all the ETA Prime hype videos about it I bought a license during a Black Friday deal a couple years back.

Yeah I've used that less over the years. It seems like there are a dozen more launchers now that are worth a look.

This too, Launchbox/Bigbox are nice, but you can get away with free launchers/frontends these days without paying for them.

If using through my Steam Deck I add the games to my library so I can launch natively through steam. Using Steam as a frontend isn't a bad idea either, just not my preferred.