PyroCade 0.6.0

Full Changelog: v0.5.0...v0.6.0

PyroCade 0.5.0

Your library, your way

• Favourites: press F (Select on a controller) or ☆ Favourite to star a game. Starred games get their own Favourites shelf.
• Play time: PyroCade counts how long you play each game and shows "12 h played" and "Last played yesterday". A Recently played shelf lists your last 30 games.
• Sort, filter and random: under the shelf, Sort by title, year, play time or developer, Show only multiplayer, unplayed or one genre, or press ⚄ Random (left stick button on a controller).
• PyroCade opens where you left it, and each system remembers the game you had selected.
• Hide systems you don't use: an empty system has a Hide button, and Settings → Show turns any system on or off.

Playing

• PyroCade no longer minimizes when a game starts. The game opens on top, and PyroCade comes back when it closes.
• Hold Select + Start for 1.5 seconds to close the running game.
• Multi-disc games: "(Disc 1)", "(Disc 2)"… files are now one game. Choose the disc to start with in the case view. PlayStation games get a playlist, so you can still swap discs in the emulator.
• Your screenshots: screenshots you took in the emulator show under the open case.
• One emulator per game: the Emulator button next to Play picks an emulator for just that game, such as a fork made for it.

Physical media

• Solid cartridge and case models, rebuilt in the proportions of the real thing.
• GameCube mini discs, PSP UMDs in their shell (downloaded UMD photos are shown as they are), black PlayStation discs, and small touches for Wii, Wii U and Dreamcast discs.
• Settings → Show cases at their real sizes, and Settings → Used copies for scuffed cases and faded labels.

Fixes

• SteamOS Game Mode (Steam Deck, Legion Go S): PyroCade could open in Desktop Mode but not from Steam in Game Mode. It now adjusts itself when Steam starts it, with no launch options needed. If it still doesn't open for you, please share ~/.config/PyroCade/data/logs/pyrocade.log.
• After clicking something with the mouse, Enter, Space and the arrow keys work on the shelf again.

Full changelog: v0.4.4...v0.5.0

PyroCade 0.4.4

Cartridges in their real colours

Every cartridge can now have its own plastic colour. PyroCade picks it in this order:

• Your own colour: choose one per game in Artwork → Change an image → Cartridge colour. Automatic goes back.
• The real colour: read from a photo of the actual cartridge when one is downloaded.
• Famous coloured cartridges: a built-in list, including gold Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, the gold NES Zelda games, yellow Donkey Kong 64, and the coloured Pokémon cartridges on Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.

A proper N64 cartridge

The N64 cartridge was redrawn from measurements of a retail cartridge. It now has the curved top, the seams beside the label, the side grooves and a tall label with rounded corners.

Switch 2: .nup files

.nup files in Switch 2 folders are now picked up and passed to your emulator. Existing settings get the new file type automatically.

Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux downloads are below.

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Full list of changes: CHANGELOG.md · compare v0.4.3...v0.4.4

PyroCade 0.4.3

Your PC games in PyroCade

• PC Games system: go to Settings, point PC Games at a folder of shortcuts (.lnk, Steam .url) or game programs (.exe), and click Save & rescan.
  • Your PC games show up in the library with real box art from LaunchBox.
  • They start directly, with no emulator needed.
  • PyroCade only looks at the folder itself, so installers and helper programs inside game folders don't show up as games.
• Add game…: adds a single game to any system, for example one .exe from wherever it's installed. A program inside its own folder (like Hollow Knight\hollow_knight.exe) is named after the folder. Added games are listed in Settings under Games you added, where you can remove them again.

Your own systems

• Add system…: create any system you like, with its own name, colour, case style (DVD, CD jewel case, Blu-ray, UMD or a cartridge box), file types, ROM folder and emulator. Your own systems can be removed again from the systems table.
• Run the file itself: this new emulator option works for any system, not just PC.

Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux downloads are below.

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Full list of changes: CHANGELOG.md · compare v0.4.2...v0.4.3

PyroCade 0.4.2

PyroCade on macOS

PyroCade now runs on Macs.

Mac	Download
Apple Silicon (M1 and newer)	PyroCade-0.4.2-arm64.dmg
Intel	PyroCade-0.4.2-x64.dmg

Open the .dmg and drag PyroCade to Applications. PyroCade isn't notarized by Apple yet, so the first time you open it macOS blocks it.

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
2. Click Open Anyway next to PyroCade.

If macOS says the app is damaged, run xattr -cr /Applications/PyroCade.app in Terminal once.

• Emulators: link the emulators you already have (Dolphin, PCSX2, DuckStation, RetroArch…) with Use existing .exe…, which accepts .app bundles. The automatic emulator downloads are Windows and Linux only for now.
• Your data is kept in ~/Library/Application Support/PyroCade/data.

Windows and Linux downloads are unchanged.

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Full list of changes: CHANGELOG.md · compare v0.4.1...v0.4.2

PyroCade 0.4.1

A small polish update.

• PYROCADE → PC: the header spells out the full name when PyroCade opens, then folds it down to a compact PC, which leaves more room for the tabs and systems. Hover over the logo to see the full name again. With reduced motion turned on, it switches straight to PC.

Everything from 0.4.0 is included: Bookshelf and Spinner rack modes, the disc and cartridge start animation, manuals inside PyroCade, and sharper, smaller artwork. See the 0.4.0 notes.

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Full list of changes: CHANGELOG.md · compare v0.4.0...v0.4.1

PyroCade 0.4.0

New ways to browse

• Bookshelf: your cases stand spine-out side by side, and the selected game slides out to show its cover.
• Spinner rack: a rotating store tower with three tiers of cases. Browsing turns the tower.
• Real-looking spines:
  • Generated spines now follow each console's retail design: a red Switch band over a white spine, a green Xbox band, a blue Wii U band, and the PlayStation logo running down a black spine.
  • Real spine scans are downloaded too.

Press Play

• Start animation: the disc spins into a drive slot, or the cartridge is pushed half-way into its slot, and then the game starts. You can turn it off in Settings.

Manuals

• Found automatically: manuals kept next to your ROMs (for example 00 Goodies\Manuals) are matched by title, even when the names differ slightly.
• Find manuals in a folder… matches a whole folder of PDFs, and you can add one by hand.
• Read in PyroCade: manuals open in a full-screen PDF viewer with zoom, pages and search.

Artwork

• Game details: descriptions, years, developers, genres and player counts fill in automatically from the LaunchBox database.
• Logos and backgrounds: clear logos replace the game title, and background art appears behind the selected game.
• Other versions…: pick a different cover, spine, disc or logo when a match is wrong.
• Real cartridge labels for NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, DS and 3DS, on top of the Game Boy family.
• Much smaller files: images are capped and stored as JPEG, about 0.2–0.8 MB instead of 10–15 MB. Oversized images from 0.3.0 are shrunk once, in the background.
• Your own images are never replaced by the "sharper copies" option.

Interface

• One calm style across Library, Emulators, Artwork and Settings.
• Readable dropdown menus.
• A solid instruction booklet in the opened case.

Fixes

• Covers no longer turn blank after being upgraded to a sharper copy.
• An out-of-date LaunchBox database is never re-downloaded in the background. Library scans no longer wait for game details.
• The emulator Source form keeps what you typed during installs.

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Full list of changes: CHANGELOG.md · compare v0.3.0...v0.4.0

PyroCade 0.3.0

Sharper artwork

• Full-size box art from the LaunchBox Games Database. Covers, back covers, screenshots, title screens and disc scans now come from LaunchBox first. You don't need an account. Covers are often 1000–3000 px, where libretro thumbnails stop at 512 px.
  • The first artwork download fetches LaunchBox's game list once (about 100 MB). It is then cached and refreshed monthly.
• Upgrade the covers you already have. In Artwork, turn on Replace low-resolution covers with sharper copies and run a download.
• Cartridge and disc art. PS1, PS2, GameCube and Dreamcast cases show real disc scans. Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges show their real labels.
• Optional ScreenScraper source. If you have a ScreenScraper account and developer credentials, add them under Artwork → Sources.
• Switch 2 games get proper box art.

Emulators: use any fork

• Every emulator has a Source… button. Point it at a fork or any GitHub repository, optionally include dev builds, and check what would be installed before saving. Use official switches back.
• Add your own emulator accepts a GitHub repository, so PyroCade downloads and updates it for you. File patterns are optional: PyroCade picks the right download and program by itself.
• Fixed: RPCS3 couldn't install, because its download is now named differently.

A calmer library

• Brand, tabs, systems and search share one slim top bar, with the selected tab and system clearly marked.
• New backgrounds (View & theme and Settings): XMB ribbon, Orbit, Constellation, Towers & orbs, Loom, animated pixel-art day/night, or off.
• Idle screensaver. After a while the interface fades, a large clock appears and the shelf drifts through your collection. The key or button that wakes it never launches a game.
• Less clutter. Arrows appear on hover, hints fade when idle, descriptions are shorter, and generated case spines take colours from the cover.

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Full list of changes: CHANGELOG.md · compare v0.2.1...v0.3.0

PyroCade 0.2.1

Full Changelog: v0.2.0...v0.2.1

PyroCade 0.2.0

PyroCade now runs on Linux, including SteamOS on the Steam Deck, and keeps itself up to date.

Downloads

System	File
Windows 10/11	PyroCade-Setup-0.2.0.exe
SteamOS (Steam Deck) / any distro	PyroCade-0.2.0-x86_64.AppImage
Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, Pop!_OS	pyrocade_0.2.0_amd64.deb
Fedora, Nobara, openSUSE	pyrocade-0.2.0.x86_64.rpm
Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, CachyOS	pyrocade-0.2.0-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst

Install steps for each are in the README. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet: if SmartScreen appears, click More info → Run anyway. On Ubuntu 24.04+, use the .deb (the AppImage needs --no-sandbox there).

New

• Linux builds: AppImage, .deb, .rpm and Arch package
• The emulator downloader installs the official Linux builds of all 11 emulators
• PyroCade checks for new releases on start and updates itself (Windows installer and Linux AppImage)

Fixes

• Emulators linked with "Use existing .exe…" can be installed/updated again and are no longer forgotten when settings are saved
• Settings never silently assign DuckStation to systems without an emulator
• A failed game launch no longer leaves PyroCade minimized; file names with $ launch correctly
• Settings are saved safely; a damaged settings file is backed up instead of overwritten
• Interrupted downloads clean up after themselves; faster Switch folder-dump scanning