MyMinUI

MyMinUI is a fork of the latest MinUI, I like MinUI but I also like playing old arcade coin up (thanks to FinUI) and DOOM which were missing so I added them. A missing feature when using MinUI with arcades is that while in the official MinUI's cores usually the name of the rom is enough to identify a game with arcade the rom naming is quit difficult to decode so boxarts are nearly mandatory to properly identifying a game, that's why I spent a lot of time adding boxarts. I'm a player that uses a lot savestates, I really can't understand why almost all firmwares available in the retrogaming do not provide a way to select a specific slot with a graphical preview, when I saw for the first time the in game menu of MinUI I immediately felt that that was the way, then I added the minarch code to minui.

You can find the latest release here: https://github.com/Turro75/MyMinUI/releases

Features from FinUI:

• Add Favorites Collections (Press SELECT to toggle a rom)
• Clear "Recently Played"
• Additional emulators (MAME2003-PLUS)
• Base and Extras are merged into one Full release

New features of MyMinUI (RG35XX and MiyooMiniplus only):

release 27/06/2024

New features:

• minarch: add thread video setting (taken as is from MinUI)
• MiyooMini(+): added lumon.cfg to make screen settings adjustable, values are read at boot.
• Added toggle tool to switch dpad left-right and L2-R2 behavior, if the toggle is active: Dpad Left and Right select saved states while L2-R2 seek pages otherwise Dpad Left and Right seek pages as standard minui, L2-R2 select saved states
• little change of button mapping. SELECT previously were used to toggle a game in the favorite list, now it acts as alternate function for other buttons: START -> toggle currently selected rom Favorite. / SELECT+START -> hide currently selected rom A -> RUN current rom with default libretro frontend / SELECT+A -> RUN2 current rom with alternative libretro frontend X -> RUN selected state of current rom with default libretro frontend / SELECT+X -> RUN2 selected state of current rom with alternative libretro frontend
• Reworked launch.sh under Emus folders. moved most part of the shell script under bin so all launch.sh under Emus can behave the same way and are easier to maintain. launch.sh on each Emus folder now allows selecting RUN and RUN2 libretro frontend so the user can select which libretro frontend is launched when pressing A (RUN) or SELECT+A (RUN2). Thanks to this feature the user can quickly run a game with minarch or retroarch. Not 100% of the cases but many times a saved state created under minarch can be launched in retroarch and viceversa. Not made extensive tests but for instance a save state of a gb game with colorization active does not run in retroarch if the same colorization is not set and so on. At the moment all cores are set as RUN=minarch and RUN2=retroarch, only DOOM has minarch and retroarch swapped. All standalone emulator kept their own launch.sh, both RUN and RUN2 do the same in this case.

For those who want adding cores not supported by MyMinUI can now use the precompiled cores available here: miyoomini(+) https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/dingux/miyoo-arm32/latest/ rg35xx OG https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/linux/armv7-neon-hf/latest/ in case minarch is not able to run the new core they can easily move to retroarch.

Fixes:

• Fix for romfile with ' in the name previously not running
• Fix: rg35xx install/update process by a fixed /misc/dmenu.bin
• Fix: miyoomini rtc not updated at boot
• Fix: overclock max 1.7GHz on MM and 1.8GHz on MM+
• Fix: saved state files now include parenthesys in the name to copy what retroarch does. Special note if previous saved states are now missing: Previously save state removed parts of the filename enclosed by parenthesys, now those part are preserved as retroarch does. i.e. Tekken 3 (USA).zip create save state file named Tekken 3 (USA).stateX and Tekken 3 (USA).stateX.png with previous releases the saved state file were named Tekken 3.stateX and Tekken 3.stateX.png simply rename old states to recover them.

 release 02/06/2024

• RG35XX: not my work but it turned out that the work done by XQuader releasing drastic 1.2.1 (standalone Nintendo DS emulator) for Minui for RG35XX OG is working even on MyMinUI for RG35XX OG. here https://boosty.to/xquader/posts/b9bfd9b4-5a37-48a6-8bc7-3d8aa48a5953?share=post_link You can download the minui file, just unpack it in the Emus directory.
• Miyoomini: here https://github.com/steward-fu/nds/releases/tag/v1.8 You can download the miyoomini version of drastic (made by Steward for OnionOS), unpack it in the Emus/miyoomini/NDS.pak/drastic folder. I created a launch.sh ready to run it. It looks like the Miyoomini version is more effective on controls side, I've not tested very well but it seems the pen is working here while on rg35xx don't. Maybe XQuader will share the source so someone can improve it.
• The Drastic work inspired me to solve the SDL2 compilation/setup in the rg35xx toolchain, as a result I found the way to run native pico8, ok no wifi so splore is half working but it works.
• RG35XX and Miyoomini: thanks to the pico-8 wrapper for onionos I reworked it a bit so I added support for native Pico8, just copy Your licensed copy of pico8_dyn and pico8.dat (get them from raspberry pi download pack) in the folder /mnt/sdcard/Tools/(rg35xx or miyoomini)/Pico-8 Splore.pak/pico8-native For the miyoomini only You need to download the pico8 wrapper for onionos from here https://github.com/XK9274/pico-8-wrapper-miyoo/releases/tag/0.8.1 , just unpack it under /mnt/SDCARD/Tools/miyoomini/Pico-8 Splore.pak/pico8-native, This run pico8 splore (offline) as a tool, it loads the carts available in the Roms/Pico-8 (P8) folder, if the carts are saved in p8.png extension splore is able to show a game preview I created also the Roms/Pico-8 Native (P8N) where You can store carts and launching them individually. Carts stored in Roms/Pico-8 (P8) are still launched with libretro fake-08 core (supports most of the game and is able to handle save states) when navigating in the menu as before. Carts stored in Roms/Pico-8 Native (P8N) are launched with native pico8 launcher

• a lot of rework in the way Minarch/Minui handle saved state, now minarch acts as retroarch so since now minui is able to show and start saved state for cores running on retroarch. This feature should help many users that want to add more cores to their own installation: Many cores available in OnionOS (get them in the file retroarch.7z present in the download release of OnionOS) are working even in rg35xx. Unfortunately most of them aren't working with minarch (Shauninman already said that missing cores are missing for good reasons), now it is easier to create a pak (please read pak.md for details) which run the core with retroarch without loosing the save state preview selection feature. the folder DOOM.pak is a working example just replace prboom with the name of the test core and set the cpu overclock You need at the beginning of the file, that's it. Atari cores are working in this way.

  • For users who want to use old states, they must be moved and renamed, for instance nbajam running on finalburnneo states were previously stored:

  preview) in /mnt/sdcard/.userdata/shared/.minui/FBN/nbajam.zip.X.bmp (where X is the slot number 0 to 7)

  state) in /mnt/sdcard/.userdata/shared/FBN-fbneo/nbajam.zip.stX (where X is the slot number 0 to 7)

  now the files are stored in

  /mnt/sdcard/FBN/states/nbajam.stateX and /mnt/sdcard/FBN/states/nbajam.stateX.png (where X is the slot number 1 to 8)

  please note that the slot 0 should not be used anymore be aware of this on retroarch as You can still select it. Also note that the file extension has been removed from state file, this is to copy what retroarch does so it will be easier updating it in the future myminui releases.

  • added the file _map.txt under arcade and finalburnneo roms folders, rename them as map.txt to get the real name of the arcade name in place of the rom file name, please note that this takes a lot of time every time You enter the folder in case of big collection of roms (> than 4secs for 1000 rom files) because it is not cached so it's your choice, I don't use it but many asked for it. It also breaks the states preview logic, I'll fix this in future releases. it is a plain txt file in case You want to edit it. it is based on the arcade-rom-name.txt available in onionos.

release 01/05/2024

• improved update/install process which allows to copy directly the release file in the sdcard root, be aware that this overwrites all existing files (but it keeps bios, roms, saves, etc..) the original install/update process is still working (just in case You edited some launch.sh file).
• minarch : added the ability to make a boxart using the current screenshot, it overwrites the current boxart if exists.
• added the bmp2png utility for future boxart related tools (not needed for devices wich use SDL2 such as rgb30)
• Added HiddenRoms Collection (Press START to hide/unhide a rom)
• added Retroarch 1.15 as alternative libretro frontend for cores it has the same video filters available on garlicos (WIP).
• added NeoGeo CD core

release 14/04/2024

• added prboom libretro core (Doom), it works only with retroarch as libretro frontend
• added puae2021 libretro core (Amiga), not really tested, expect issues, please report
• added FinalBurnNeo libretro core, it works surprisingly well on some arcade game which are slow on other OS, use an FBNeo romset as many 0.78 roms (mame2003+) don't work well.
• added Overclock Max profile (1.5GHz on rg35xx and 1.8GHz on miyoominiplus)
• replaced dinguxcommander with the garlicos version (source rg35xx.com) which has more features
• the power button now performs a shutdown as garlicos 1.4.9 does instead of standby, to restore the MinUI sleep mode behavior just create the file enable-sleep-mode in the folder /mnt/sdcard/.userdata/shared (action available under Tools->ToggleSleepMode)
• to use retroarch instead of minarch just copy to the ROMS/Extras/Emus/xxxx.pak the launch.sh from ROMS/Extras/Emus/Doom.pak then set the right core name and the cpu speed required.
• added retroarch as Tools
• added the main menu mode selector to version page, press up/down to change the mode then exit the page to get the new mode activated Three modes are implemented: 1) STANDARD -> this is the standard MinUI interface 2) SIMPLE -> same as STANDARD with Tools and Settings items hidden 3) FANCY -> it changes the look of the main menu showing boxarts and save state window selector if present. Boxarts must be png 640x480 (same garlic os format) and saved in the "Imgs" folder on each Roms folder. it is suggested to leave the left side of the image dark for better user experience it is allowed adding boxarts also for systems not only roms, just add the image named as the folder. i.e. if the rom folder is "Doom (DOOM)" then create a png called "Doom (DOOM).png" in the "Doom (DOOM)/Imgs" folder If saves are present in the selected rom the same state selector available in the in game menu (IMHO that is a MinUI awesome feature) is shown, the latest save is automatically selected, press X to load it, if X is pressed while an empty slot is selected the game starts without recalling state. save state selector is available ONLY for cores running Minarch. In fancy mode You can read the current folder in the top left corner of the display, while scrolling the recent or favorite lists it shows the folder of the currently selected game. Under Tools there are 2 toggles to hide saved states and hide the boxart if a savestate is present.

Some changes under the hood:

• reduced footprint of the docker toolchain from 4.5GB down to 1.5GB.
• various improvements on makefiles
• the release files are separated and dedicated for each platform (WIP)
• all cores moved to the same system directory as BASE cores (which should be better for retroarch)
• all core launchers moved to SDCARD/Emus folders as EXTRAS
• enhanced install/update process

Install process on RG35XX: flash an sdcard with the TF1.img (please follow official MinUI instructions) then unzip the rg35xx release file in the root. Don't forget to copy the file dmenu.bin in the misc directory. Starting from release 01/05/2024 it is available an enhanced install script that allows the user to copy directly the release file in the sdcard root, everything is now automated.

Install process on Miyoo Mini Plus: format an sdcard in Fat32 then unzip the content of the miyoo mini release file in the root of the sdcard. Starting from release 01/05/2024 it is available an enhanced install script that allows the user to copy directly the release file in the sdcard root, everything is now automated.

Upgrade process (both devices): Even if theorically updating an existing MinUI or FinUI would be possible it is recommended to install MyMinUI from scratch. To update a previous MyMinUI sdcard just copy the file MinUI.zip file in the root of the sdcard then reboot the device. It is usually not needed unzipping the whole release file as if not made carefully You would lose existing roms/bios/saves, etc... in doubt choose merge instead of replace folders. Starting from release 01/05/2024## it is available an enhanced updatel script that allows the user to copy directly the release file in the sdcard root, everything is now automated.

MinUI

MinUI is a focused, custom launcher and libretro frontend for the RGB30, M17 (early revs), Trimui Smart (and Pro), Miyoo Mini (and Plus), and Anbernic RG35XX (and Plus).

See more screenshots.

Features

• Simple launcher, simple SD card
• No settings or configuration
• No boxart, themes, or distractions
• Automatically hides hidden files and extension and region/version cruft in display names
• Consistent in-emulator menu with quick access to save states, disc changing, and emulator options
• Automatically sleeps after 30 seconds or press POWER to sleep (and wake)
• Automatically powers off while asleep after two minutes or hold POWER for one second
• Automatically resumes right where you left off if powered off while in-game, manually or while asleep
• Resume from manually created, last used save state by pressing X in the launcher instead of A
• Streamlined emulator frontend (minarch + libretro cores)
• Single SD card compatible with multiple devices from different manufacturers

You can grab the latest version here.

Devices with a physical power switch use MENU to sleep and wake instead of POWER. Once asleep the device can safely be powered off manually with the switch.

Supported consoles

Base:

• Game Boy
• Game Boy Color
• Game Boy Advance
• Nintendo Entertainment System
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System
• Sega Genesis
• PlayStation

Extras:

• Neo Geo Pocket (and Color)
• Pico-8
• Pokémon mini
• Sega Game Gear
• Sega Master System
• Super Game Boy
• TurboGrafx-16 (and TurboGrafx-CD)
• Virtual Boy

Legacy versions

The original Trimui Model S version of MinUI has been archived here.

The sequel, MiniUI for the Miyoo Mini, has been archived here.

The return of MinUI for the Anbernic RG35XX has been archived here.