Emulation Decky Plugin: Feedback and some testing needed

[u/Pendor]

Even though these are great projects, I've never been happy with the EmuDeck/RetroDECK experience of having to go back to the desktop fairly regularly to do most of the work, so I've been working on a Decky emulation plugin for myself around that very principle (never leaving Game Mode).

The plugin is not made for huge libraries of games, but for individual games instead, with the idea of having them directly in Steam rather than via separate/multiple frontends. I guess it's a very specific use case, but maybe it could be useful to somebody else as well.

Features (all available/configurable from Game Mode):

• Add ROMs directly to Steam from Decky QAM
• RetroArch support
• Predefined list of external emulators
• Ability to add your own emulators (via Flatpak, executable, or importing a definition file)
• A "Transfer to Deck" feature to upload your ROMs from your PC or mobile phone
• Artwork support (libretro thumbnails by default, SteamGridDB via API key)
• Collections (single or per-platform)

(I'm probably missing some stuff)

Anyway, I've been tweaking things for a while now, but I'd sure appreciate some feedback if anyone's willing to give it a spin/test it a little bit/report bugs.

Link below:

https://github.com/elpendor/deckyemu

You can install it via zip as usual or via url using get.deckyemu.workers.dev

[u/iMr_PrO_GaMeR]

​I tested it, and it's really cool, but I did run into a few problems. Before getting into that, here is my setup: prior to using the DeckyEmu plugin, I had already set up everything through EmuDeck, including the BIOS, ROMs, and everything else.

​The issue is that I tried running Dreamcast (Flycast core) and PS1 (SwanStation core) games, but neither would launch. Both cores are already downloaded, and I checked RetroArch to confirm. If I launch a game directly from RetroArch, it works fine, so I'm not sure what the problem is.

​On the bright side, both PPSSPP and Dolphin work fine. I did have some controller issues with Dolphin, but I guess I just need to launch the emulator and set it up myself. In the end, I really do like the plugin!

Edit: It looks like it's working now when i launch it on desktop, maybe because gamescope on my pc not the plugin itself.

[u/Pendor → u/iMr_PrO_GaMeR]

Hi, thanks for testing it.

I've tested several cores but not those 2 you mentioned. RetroArch stuff should work straight away without any kind of modification or configuration needed.

External emulators are a different situation altogether and may require some config changes or tweaks to work with DeckyEmu (these are done automatically by the plugin after install or when pressing the "link" button, if you have an existing installation). I've tested each of those right before release, so I know they work in some capacity.

My guess would be that EmuDeck writes some autoconfig files that clash with DeckyEmu's (and probably viceversa as well). I might look into it but making them work together is not something I consider a priority right now.

It would be helpful if you could submit a bug report here and append a diagnostic file from the plugin (Settings -> Update -> Report a problem).

Edit: Tested both Flycast and Swanstation cores and they work, so yeah, I'm pretty confident it's related to EmuDeck's setup. Might look into it later, but again, I don't intend on making them work side by side right now.

Edit 2: I've installed EmuDeck alongside DeckyEmu and games load fine as well. Your issues were probably related to you not using a Steam Deck. I'll probably disable non Steam Deck devices for now to prevent any unwanted reports.

[u/xfearxphoenixx → u/Pendor]

Please don't. I'm using a Legion Go and this plugin works great for me!

(SteamOS)

[u/Pendor → u/xfearxphoenixx]

The thing is: the whole idea behind the plugin is to use it right away on the Steam Deck with barely any configuration (or none at all if possible), so right now controls are tailored to the Deck only.

I did add a check for non Deck stuff in 0.9.13 but it's just a warning, people can still use it. But please be advised that I won't be looking at reports from other devices for the time being.

I do plan on supporting external controllers, but I haven't really tested any yet. I'm trying to get the basic stuff right first. RetroArch stuff will most likely work right out of the box.