FB Alpha RL (Retro Loader)
[by @CaptainCPS-X, 2013]
- FB Alpha Retro Loader Core: v1.03
- RetroArch Core: v0.9.9.6
- FB Alpha Core: v0.2.97.30
What is FB Alpha?:
FB Alpha is an arcade emulator supporting the following platforms;
- Capcom CPS-1
- Capcom CPS-2
- Capcom CPS-3
- Cave
- Data East DEC-0, DEC-8 and DECO IC16 based games
- Galaxian based hardware
- Irem M62, M63, M72, M90 and M92 hardware
- Kaneko 16
- Konami
- Neo-Geo
- Pacman based hardware
- PGM
- Psikyo 68EC020 and SH-2 based hardware
- Sega System 1, System 16 (and similar), System 18, X-Board and Y-Board
- Toaplan 1
- Toaplan 2
- Taito F2, X, Z and others
- Miscellaneous drivers for lots of other hardware
FB Alpha also has a WIP console drivers for Sega Megadrive/Genesis and also PC-Engine/TurboGrafx 16/SuperGrafx.
FB Alpha (for Windows), can currently be obtained from http://www.barryharris.me.uk.

What is FB Alpha Retro Loader ?
- FB Alpha RL is a PS3 homebrew application coded from scratch, and not based in any other public source code by other developers. It is a result of many hours of dedication and research.
- It is in no way a dirty hack of RetroArch or something similar. By the contrary, FB Alpha RL serves as a independent frontend to RetroArch and provides features not incorporated in it.
- I did had to make a modified RetroArch core to be included along my application, so it could process the arguments or new commands that FB Alpha RL will be sending to it.
Objective of FB Alpha RL (Retro Loader):
- 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. Please, read the technical info (tab) for more details.
Technical Info:
- Signed for CFW 3.4X / 4.XX (should work for everyone).
- Tested @ 1080p / 720p / 480p resolutions via HDMI.
- FB Alpha RL uses a custom 'burn_drivers.cpp' file that was generated by modifying the official windows version of FB Alpha with a routine to generate such file on launch.
- The file have a big structure with all the information for all supported drivers in FB Alpha v0.2.97.30.
- 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 file 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).
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 (Game List Specific):
- Use / to navigate Game List.
- Use Left Analog / to navigate Game List.
- Press / to toggle game system filter.
- Press / for quick Game List navigation.
- Press to view ZIP information.
- Press to view ROM Information.
- Press to Load the selected Game.
- Press to return to Main Menu.
- Press to Rescan ROM(s).
Main Features:
- Neo-Geo UNI-BIOS support (must be present in neogeo.zip)
- FTP support
- ROMs paths directory browser.
- Input Preset CFG file browser.
- Game List cache feature.
- Missing games listing.
- Alternate key combo to access RetroArch core menu.
- 1080p / 720p / 480p display modes supported.
- Game Preview display feature (hover a game to see its preview).
- Game System Filtering for easier game selection.
- Custom Game System Filtering available in the options menu.
- Auto configure screen Aspect Ratio on game load.
- Quick ROM(s) scanning / re-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).
- ZIP Content Information display.
- Full game name display for easier navigation.
- Game Information (Year, Company, etc...).
- Direct loading of ROM(s).
- Support for Screenshots (press (PS) and look in XMB photo column).
- GUI based on OpenGL / PSGL textures (Thanks to Squarepusher / Twinaphex for the tips).
- more...(read the change logs for more features)
WIP / Coming on future releases:
- Custom Themes
- Display Extended ROM information by pressing (/).
- MAME history DAT parsing support.
- Title / Flyers image display feature.
Changelog:
1.03 (September 22, 2013)
- Signed for CFW 3.4X / 4.XX and tested on
  - Rebug 4.46 REX / CEX
  - MiraLaTijera 4.40 (3.2.0)
- Added version and IP address display on the Main Menu.
- Whole new theme for this release of FB Alpha.
- Added Iris Manager (official) to the Main Menu load options.
- Added proper 'Preview' image aspect ratio calculation.
- Incorporated RetroArch and FBA libretro source code into FB Alpha RL Git, and with just one makefile everything is built.
To build:
To clean (all cores):
- Ported my custom mods to the latest RetroArch Core v0.9.9.6.
- (O) is the new 'Game List' button to return to 'Main Menu'.
- Added shadow effect to all rendered text, in preparation for future 'Custom Theme' feature.
- Fixed a problem with CPS-3 External / Stereo sound on libretro, now it sounds great
- [src] Source code has been greatly re-organized.
- [src] 'miniz.cpp' ZIP library is used the 'proper' way, so now I can use its modules everywhere I need.
- [src] 'burn_drivers.h' was renamed as 'burn_drivers.cpp' and is now compiled, allowing access to its data everywhere I need.
- Added support for Neo-Geo UNI-BIOS (need to be present in neogeo.zip).
FBARL will look from latest (uni-bios_3_0.rom) to oldest BIOS (uni-bios_1_0.rom) in 'neogeo.zip', of course if you don't have any of those the game will be loaded with regular BIOS.
- Added check for file existence on game selection, if the game listed is not found for some reason, like for example, if you disconnected the USB with the games, it will prompt you with a message to re-scan. The system will not lock / freeze anymore.
- Added check for fb_alpha.SELF core existence on game selection, if for some reason you don't have it or can't access, the application will let you know and prompt you to re-install it.
- Fixed libretro core default inputs for Neo-Geo and Capcom fighting games, now they are correctly assigned.
- Fixed the Save Custom Inputs feature on RetroArch core, now it will not include the annoying 'example' text, it will use the currently loaded name, so you can save quickly and continue playing.
- Added FTP support.
- Using latest FB Alpha v0.2.97.30 source, adapted to compile as libretro (romset is synched with MAME v149).
- Doesn't include all 'optimizations' from recent libretro Git, since some of them cause some problems with a few games.
1.02 (September 15, 2013)
- Updated with latest FBA Libretro Core (v0.2.97.28), it should improve compatibility and emulation performance. If you had a game that presented emulation problems, try it now, it might be fixed on this release.
1.01a (February 15, 2013)(UPDATE)
- Added option to Enable / Disable display if missing games.
- Fixed USB Storage Device scanning, now they will be displayed correctly on the Directory / CFG file browser.
- Fixed issue with ROMs rescan, now it will work fine by pressing START button on the Game List.
1.01 (February 15, 2013)
- Added information text display for selected options.
- Added ROMs path directory browser.
- Added Input Preset CFG file browser.
- Added confirmation dialog when exiting FB Alpha RL.
- Added feature to display Missing Games.
- Added Game List Cache feature to avoid having to rescan ROMs every time FB Alpha RL is launched.
- Added option to use alternate key combo to access RetroArch core menu, Main Menu(SELECT + TRIANGLE) and In-Game Menu (SELECT + SQUARE).
- Updated +

Fba 2012 Neo Geo Rom Set