FB Alpha RL (Retro Loader) v1.00 for PS3 CFW 3.40 / 4.XX Released

15w ago - Following up on the recent PS3 RetroArch v0.9.8 release, today PlayStation 3 developer CaptainCPS-X has made available a FB Alpha RL (Retro Loader) v1.00 for PS3 CFW 3.40 / 4.XX users with details below.

Download: FB_Alpha_RL_1.00_[20130130].pkg (8.5 MB) / FB_Alpha_RL_1.00_[20130130].pkg (Mirror) / FB_Alpha_RL_1.00_[20130130].pkg (Mirror #2)

To quote: Hiyas everyone, today I come with something that I've been working for the last few days, please read the documentation before using it, I know that some people don't usually like to read, but please take a minute to read and see what FB Alpha RL offers.

Note: I verified the problems with emulation of CPS-1, and it seems it is only happening on libretro port, not on the Windows official release of FB Alpha. I tried to see if I could find the issue, but I couldn't identify it.

Information:

As a dev from the official FB Alpha Team, FB Alpha RL was made with a objective in mind, to keep the original experience from the official FB Alpha (for Windows OS) on the PS3 system.

Even when I don't know how to implement a fancy GUI for the PS3 system with textures and all the complicated stuff, I managed to use my previous application core (gamePKG core) to create this nice frontend for RetroArch's FB Alpha core.

I know that RetroArch is already a frontend, but I like to keep things simple and straight to the point.

Please, read the technical info for more details.

Technical Info:

Signed for CFW 3.40 / 4.XX (should work for everyone). Tested at 1080p resolution via HDMI.

FB Alpha RL uses a custom "burn_drivers.h" header file that was generated by modifying the official windows version of FB Alpha with a routine to generate such file on launch.

The header have a big structure with all the information for all supported drivers in FB Alpha v0.2.97.28. Information such as:

• Romset Name (Ex. kof2002)
  
• Parent ROM (Ex. sf2)
  
• Year
  
• Manufacturer (Ex. Capcom)
  
• System (Ex. Neo Geo)
  
• Max players
  
• Game Screen Resolution
  
• Game Screen Aspect Ratio
  

Future release will have a custom generated header with all the ROM information as well, so the application will be able to verify every romset with precise CRC32 checks (as in the official FB Alpha for Windows).

FB Alpha RL will scan the following directories for ZIP files:

Specific directories:

/dev_hdd0/game/ROMS00000/USRDIR
/dev_hdd0/game/ROMS00000/USRDIR/fba
/dev_hdd0/game/SSNE10000/USRDIR/cores/roms

Generic directories:

/dev_*/roms
/dev_*/roms/fba

Devices scanned are:

dev_hdd0 (PS3 Internal HDD)
dev_usb000 (External USB)
dev_usb001 (External USB)
dev_usb002 (External USB)
dev_usb003 (External USB)
dev_cf (Compact Flash)
dev_sd (SD Card)
dev_ms (Memory Stick)

NOTE: You don't need the official RetroArch installed, this already has my own modified build incorporated into FB Alpha RL installation directory. So you can safely install the official RetroArch and it won't interfere.

Usage:

• Use UP and DOWN to select Games.
  
• Press (X) to Load the selected Game.
  
• Press (O) to Quit and return to XMB.
  
• Press [SELECT] to Load "RetroArch" (FB Alpha Core).
  

Features:

• Auto configure screen Aspect Ratio on game load.
  
• Quick ROM(s) scanning in extensive path locations.
  
• Romset validation against FB Alpha v0.2.97.28 drivers library.
  
• Checking for duplicate ROM(s).
  
• Detailed info about listed ROM(s).
  
• Full game name display for easier navigation.
  
• Direct loading of ROM(s).
  
• Simple GUI & nice application logos(LMAO xD).
  

WIP / Coming on future releases:

• Set System Input preset on Game Load (Ex. NeoGeo.cfg / Shooters.cfg / etc).
  
• Simple Input Mapping feature.
  
• Display Extended ROM information by pressing (/\).
  

Changelog:

• 1.00 (January 30, 2013) Initial Release
  

Thanks to:

• My buddies Treble Winner (Barry) / Kev / IQ_132 from the original FB Alpha Team <3.
  
• PS3 Scene websites (in no order) such as: PS3HAX / PSX-Scene / PS3Crunch / Etc, for you support
  
• TheMaister / Twinaphex / Squarepusher / Company - Libretro/RetroArch is just amazing.
  
• pete_uk - for your unofficial RetroArch builds.
  
• STLcardsWS - for your support
  
• aldostools - your ps3tools for windows are the best
  
• deank - multiMAN helped me research / debug my application
  
• fail0verfl0w, GeoHot, etc - for all you have done for the PS3 scene
  
• Anonymous - for releasing Sony SDKs
  

Thanks to anyone else I forgot that in some way contributed to the PS3 scene and as a result I was able to do this homebrew application.

Source Code:

• FB Alpha RL - github.com/CaptainCPS/FBAlphaRL
  
• RetroArch (Modded for FB Alpha RL) - github.com/CaptainCPS/RetroArch
  
• FB Alpha v0.2.97.28 (Modded to generate "burn_drivers.h")(Windows) - (coming soon, I'm organizing it)
  

SeeYa!

Update: I been working with v1.01 of FB Alpha RL and I'm almost done with the tedious coding. I had to rewrite many things so I could handle data more easily. I personally like to keep the code clean and understandable.

Here is the current WIP (Work In Progress) for the next version (this list is not final, everything listed here has been already implemented, there are a few other things coming up before I release):

Changelog:

1.01 (February 3, 2013)

• Incremented number of displayed games.
  
• Added quick list navigation by pressing L2 / R2.
  
• Added Analog Stick support to navigate lists.
  
• Added Main menu with various useful items.
  
• Added ZIP Info feature (press [ ] to view ZIP info).
  
• Updated FB Alpha (libretro) core.
  
• (FBA core) Fixed graphic problems in CPS-1 driver.
  
• (FBA core) Fixed Diagnostic Menu Lock-up in some games.
  
• Added Screenshot feature (press (PS) and look in Photo XMB column).
  
• Improved application core overall.
  

And here you have some screenshots. Thanks for the feedback and detailed info, I will try to release a properly signed EBOOT next time, hopefully it will work for everyone SeeYa!

Now this is the format of the new FBA_RL.ini (configuration) file that will be created the first time you run the application:
The Game list module has been updated with lot of stuff as well, and now as is mentioned on the change log, you will now be able to Filter games by System (CPS1, CPS2, NEOGEO, etc...) for easier navigation. The file browser is a WIP at this moment, but in a couple of days everything will be all working and ready for a beta release.

I am currently setting up the whole MAME 148 romset in place to make some extensive tests and see how the application handle the monster game list . Of course FB Alpha doesn't support all of them but it will definitely put some stress on the scanning process, so let's see. I'll be in touch soon with more details! thank you for your patience to those waiting for the next release.

I just added Game Preview display feature and made proper adjustments to the rendering code to support all common display modes: 1080p / 720p / 480p, I personally tested all resolution and they all work fine, the only note I would add is that I haven't tested on 4:3 TV / Monitor, but is rare for someone to be using a PS3 on one of those these days LOL.

The preview images will be always included on my releases, so you don't have to worry about looking for them . At this moment the collection is very complete, maybe some of them need to be re-named to match latest romsets, but I will take care of that with time.

For the record, Preview PNGs will be located in: /dev_hdd0/game/FBAL00123/USRDIR/cores/previews/

To give you an estimate time of release, probably in 2 or 3 days I will be ready to make a release with all working features if everything goes fine. SeeYa!