We present our Tutorial for the RetroBat multi emulator where we show you how to install it on any PC and configure it in a very simple way.
RetroBat is a software package based on EmulaStation and designed for use on Window PC. This system offers several emulators with which we can play with many consoles and retro arcade machines. We can even configure it for our current games from services like Steam. Using it is very simple because it is a normal executable and does not require installation in a system partition as if they need BATOCERA, or EmuELEC.
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what is RetroBat?
The RetroBat program has an identical structure to EmuELEC with the advantage that we can use it as a normal Windows executable. It is an alternative to RetroArch for Windows in terms of design and functions. A system that is used in packs of emulators and ROMS as popular as BOBwin. With this program we can make our recreational machine to measure, the power of our hardware will allow us to run more or less demanding games.
RetroBat running on Windows PC
Installation and first steps
To use RetroArch on our PC, mini PC, laptop or Windows tablet we just need to install the software package by downloading it from its official website.
- Download RetroBat Setup.exe from Github.
- Save it in a directory and run it.
- Windows may detect that it is an unsigned executable, it is a false positive.
- Click on“More information” and then on“Run anyway“
- We continue and select an installation directory on a drive with enough space.
Initial configuration and BIOS installation
We already have RetroBat installed in a directory and we have a startup icon on the desktop, if we want we can run it and see how it works. But we recommend to make a previous configuration before.
RetroBat Configuration Program
To simplify the configuration of RetroBat we have a very practical small program located in the same folder where we have the RetroBat executable.
- With the file explorer we go to the installation folder, for example“C:\RetroBat“
- Inside we execute the program“BatGui.exe“
- On the left we have the list of emulators sorted by brand.
- On the right we can see the configuration in “System“ with its directories and its games in“Gamelist“.
- At the top we have the icons of special functions.
- In order: INI Manager, Covers, GamePads, Optical Discs, Collections, BIOS and Wiki.
- We recommend reading RetroBat’s Wikipedia for detailed information about keys and systems.
Boot Options on Startup
In the“RetroBat INI” icon we can see the startup settings of this emulator launcher. We can change different facets of application startup and system resolution.
RetroBat BIOS installation and management
Thanks to the RetroBat manager we can manage the BIOS of the machines to emulate in a simple way and check that they are the correct files.
- Download BIOS files for RetroBat
- Unzip.
- Copy the“bios” folder into the emulator directory, for example“C:\RetroBat“
- Overwrite all files
- Click on the“Bios Checker” icon and click on the“Scan” button to check that everything is OK.
- Now we have the BIOS correctly installed and we can forget about it.
Download games and install them
We can download any game in ROM or ISO format easily following our specific guide about it. We have from the oldest to the most modern games, we just need to download and copy the ROM to the right place.
Install games in RetroBat
The files of the downloaded games have to be copied inside the folder“/roms” in the sub folder that corresponds to the system.
RetroBat, use and management of games
After having copied the BIOS and the Roms that we were interested in RetroBat we are going to review its menus, we see the basic settings to start playing directly.
Control keys in RetroBat
The RetroBat emulator has multiple function keys and they can vary depending on the system we want to play. It is necessary to review its manual for more details, here we show you the most important ones.
- Menu: Enter or Start key on Gamepad
- Options: Delete or Select key on Gamepad
- Functions: ASZX keys or XYAB buttons on Gamepad
- Move: Cursor or Arrow keys on Gamepad
- Menu in games: F1 or Select A key on Xbox Gamepad
- Exit in games: ESC or Start Select key on Gamepad
- Detailed RetroBat Keyboard Manual in PDF
Main menus in RetroBat
If we press the Enter or Start key in Gamepad we arrive to the Main Menu, from here we configure the main options of this emulator.
- Game settings: Important to update game list and reflect changes.
- Controller settings: To assign controllers to a specific player and configure them.
- Audio settings: We can deactivate the background music.
- Scraping: Download covers and info of games, you go details in section of this guide.
If we press the Delete or Select key in Gamepad we arrive at the Options Menu, from here it is possible to change different alternatives to show our catalog.
- Gamelist view style: Important to try to change between styles to see the covers.
Scanning games installed in RetroBat
To be able to have the covers and info of the games that we have installed in the system it is fundamental to make a Scraping, this unloads of Internet the contents additions.
- Scrape from: Select a service, some require registration, THEGAMESDB not for example.
- Click on SCRAPE NOW and the files for the detected games will be downloaded.
- To reflect the changes in the Main Menu > Game Settings > Update Game List
- View cover art and change style in Options Menu > Gamelist view style > Style
- All the games and their cover art can be managed in the BatGui app where we put the BIOS.
