Emulation/Recalbox



Recalbox is a free and open source operating system dedicated to the emulation, preservation, and accessibility of old video games (also known as retrogaming).

Recalbox is a project that aims to lower the emulation scene's entry barrier, with features that promote ease-of-use as well as having a simple out-of-box experience. The OS includes many open-source games on the first installation and is free of copyrighted content (such as licensed ROMs, system BIOSes, etc.). Unless explicitly authorized, Recalbox is forbidden to be resold or used for any commercial purpose, as stated in its own user license agreements. , as well as the license agreements of the RetroArch/libretro project of which Recalbox is based upon.

History
Recalbox was launched in January 2015 by digitalLumberjack after his sister expressed the desire to play old video games from their childhood. At that time, the emulation scene had already been established, but digitalLumberjack believed that the current offerings were too complex and difficult for the general public. With this in mind, digitalLumberjack spent a few weeks during Christmas of 2014 to develop a solution that could easily be used by many people. The goal was to create an interface that never required a keyboard or mouse to interact with. He immediately decided to make the project free and open-source, in order to make the video game community more accessible, as well as to recruit additional people for development support.

As of 2020, Recalbox is composed of a dozen regular developers, a community manager, around 30 beta testers, and about 50 occasional contributors (in charge of translation, graphics, videos, web management), all of whom are volunteers on the project.

Technology
Recalbox is built on the success of the low-cost Raspberry Pi microcomputer. The idea is to offer an all-in-one retro gaming solution with a plug and play user experience.

Unlike other solutions, such as Retropie, Recalbox is not based on a pre-compiled Linux distribution (such as Raspberry Pi OS), but instead starts from a blank slate, using Buildroot. This allows Recalbox's developers to build a custom operating system with full control over its content, only adding what is deemed necessary.

Projects featured in Recalbox
Recalbox is built on an array of many independent components (emulator cores), brought together using a graphical interface, the EmulationStation frontend. The operating system also includes the Kodi media center which can be navigated entirely with a game controller or keyboard. It possible to switch between Kodi and the Recalbox interface directly from the menus, without having to reboot.

External projects
Many external projects are integrated into the Recalbox system, often modified to fit the needs of its ecosystem (standardizing interfaces or controls):

Internal projects
The Recalbox operating system also relies on projects developed in-house, including:


 * recalbox-emulationstation2 (customized EmulationStation)
 * recalbox-configgen
 * recalbox-hardware (automatic hardware detector and configurator)
 * recalbox-manager2 (web manager for modifying Recalbox via a web browser)
 * recalbox-romfs
 * recalbox-themes (theme manager)

Hardware compatibility
As of version 7.1.1 Reloaded, Recalbox is compatible with the Raspberry Pi family (Zero, 1, 2, 3, 4, 400), in addition to the ODROID line of boards (XU4, XU4Q, as well as the GO Advance and GO Super handhelds ). Recalbox also has support for x86 and x86-64 based systems, including the Intel NUC line.

Recalbox is compatible with many accessories and controllers, such as the DualShock 3 and 4, Xbox 360 controller, Xbox One Controller, or 8BitDo controllers. In addition, there is support for the NesPi and GPi Raspberry Pi cases, which the system configures itself for at first installation.

Emulated systems
Recalbox emulates many different systems, ranging from home consoles, handhelds, and computers. Below is a complete list of systems supported by Recalbox 7.1.1. The systems that can be emulated vary depending on the device.

Legend:

✅ : Compatible (or at least a compatible core)

❌ : Incompatible / technologically impossible (due to limitations of the platform)

🔥 : Emulator compatible, but not performant due to hardware limitations

🚫 : Absent / non-existent

? : Need more information

🎮 : Netplay compatible

Arcade romsets and compatibility
For best compatibility, Recalbox recommends the "No-Intro" romsets. These are collections of ROMs that have no defects or modifications. In this way, these ROMs are near identical to the original cartridge. The goal of these romsets is to avoid bad dumps, romhacks, fakes, overdumps, underdumps, or duplicates.

Unlike typical console roms, which are usually compatible as soon as you match the required file format, arcade systems work differently. The version of the arcade romset must match the version of the emulator used, or the games will not launch. The romset differs depending on the core you are using. Legend:

✅ : Compatible (or at least a compatible core)

❌ : Incompatible / technologically impossible (due to platform limitations)

🔥 : Emulator compatible, but not performant

🚫 : Absent / non-existent

? : Need more information

🎮 : Netplay compatible

Homebrew software
Recalbox has distribution rights to around 150 homebrew games, distributed on the system for free. These games span across multiple different consoles.

Accessibility
Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive Controller is fully supported under the Recalbox interface.

Since version 7, Recalbox offers a "Pad to Keyboard" feature, which allows users to play computer games that usually require the use of keyboard on a controller. In addition, pad to keyboard configuration files can be scraped using the ScreenScraper database.

Awards
November 2019: The Recalbox project was awarded the Maker Faire in Paris with a double Blue Ribbon from Makers of Merit, which rewards Makers who make projects that are innovative, creative, and promote the idea of DIY.

September 2020: Recalbox became a partner of the US-based video livestreaming service, Twitch

Events
Recalbox participates in various events related to the video gaming, retrogaming, or DIY world, with events such as assembly workshops, DIY bartop and cabinet displays, or free-to-play retrogaming stations.

Financing
In order to finance increasing development and download costs, Recalbox has partnered with Kubii.fr, in which the team receives a percentage of sales made on their website. They also host a multitude of different merchandising products for the software.