Emulators

dArkOSen inherits its emulator stack from dArkOS. Most systems run through RetroArch (libretro cores). A handful of systems run better as standalone emulators instead, and those are built and shipped separately. Advanced DraStic is a dArkOSen addition, not part of stock dArkOS.

More information can be found in the dArkOS Emulator Wiki.

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RetroArch

github.com/libretro/RetroArch · retroarch.com

• Systems: NES, SNES, Game Boy/Color/Advance, Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega CD, Master System, Game Gear, Saturn (32x/some titles), arcade (MAME/FBNeo/CPS1-3/Neo Geo), TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, PS1, and most 8/16-bit era systems
• File formats: varies by core — typically .zip, .7z, .cue/.bin, .chd, .iso, raw ROM dumps
• BIOS required: yes for several cores (PS1, Sega CD, some arcade sets) — drop in /roms/bios/
• Notes: one frontend, many cores. Core selection and per-core BIOS requirements are configured per system, not globally.

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DraStic (Nintendo DS)

• File formats: .nds
• BIOS required: no — uses HLE, no real DS BIOS needed
• Notes: stock DraStic. Closed-source, no public repo — distributed as a prebuilt binary. Menu and display layout options are limited compared to Advanced DraStic below.

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Advanced DraStic (Nintendo DS) — dArkOSen addition

github.com/trngaje/advanced_drastic

• File formats: .nds
• BIOS required: no — same HLE core as stock DraStic
• Notes: drop-in replacement that hooks the stock DraStic binary via LD_PRELOAD (libadvdrastic.so), not a separate emulator binary. Adds a readable menu, multiple dual-screen display layout presets (side-by-side, rotated, picture-in-picture), and internal rumble support. This is what makes PiP layouts and full-speed 3D usable on R36 hardware for games like Mario Kart DS and Pokémon HeartGold.

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DuckStation (PlayStation 1) [currently not working]

github.com/stenzek/duckstation

• File formats: .cue/.bin, .chd, .iso, .pbp
• BIOS required: yes — real PSX BIOS file required, not shippable (Sony copyright), user must supply their own
• Notes: standalone build used over the RetroArch PS1 cores for better performance/accuracy on RK3326.

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PPSSPP (PlayStation Portable)

github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp

• File formats: .iso, .cso, .pbp
• BIOS required: no — has a built-in HLE implementation, no real PSP firmware needed
• Notes: runs as standalone rather than through RetroArch's core for performance.

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Mupen64Plus (Nintendo 64)

github.com/mupen64plus

• File formats: .n64, .z64, .v64
• BIOS required: no — HLE RSP/RDP, no real N64 BIOS needed
• Notes: limited performance on RK3326, expect compromises on demanding titles.

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Flycast (Dreamcast / NAOMI / Atomiswave)

github.com/flyinghead/flycast

• File formats: .cdi, .gdi, .chd, arcade .zip sets for NAOMI/Atomiswave
• BIOS required: yes — Dreamcast BIOS + flash image required for full compatibility; NAOMI/Atomiswave need their own BIOS sets
• Notes: standalone build, better compatibility than the RetroArch reicast/flycast cores on this hardware.

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Yaba Sanshiro (Sega Saturn)

github.com/devmiyax/yabasanshiro

• File formats: .cue/.bin, .chd, .iso
• BIOS required: no — has HLE BIOS, real BIOS optional for better compatibility
• Notes: improved performance over RetroArch Saturn cores on RK3326.

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retrorun (lightweight libretro frontend)

github.com/AmberELEC/retrorun

• Systems: wraps specific libretro cores (Flycast, PS1 cores, others) with a stripped-down frontend
• File formats: same as whichever core it's fronting
• BIOS required: depends on the wrapped core
• Notes: not a standalone emulator in its own right — it's a lighter-weight launcher for libretro cores on lower-spec devices, used where a full RetroArch session is too heavy.

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GZDoom / LZDoom (Doom engine source ports)

• GZDoom: github.com/ZDoom/gzdoom
• LZDoom: github.com/drfrag666/gzdoom
• File formats: .wad, .pk3, .pwad (IWAD required — Doom/Doom II/Heretic/Hexen data, not included)
• BIOS required: no
• Notes: LZDoom is the lighter-weight fork of GZDoom, better suited to weaker RK3326 hardware. GZDoom has more features but higher requirements.

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eCWolf (Wolfenstein 3D engine)

maniacsvault.net/ecwolf

• File formats: original Wolf3D/Spear of Destiny data files (IWAD-equivalent, not included)
• BIOS required: no
• Notes: single binary handles Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, and Super 3D Noah's Ark provided you supply the original game data.

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Hypseus Singe (LaserDisc / Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, etc.)

github.com/DirtBagXon/hypseus-singe

• File formats: .daphne folder structure — video (.m2v/.ogg or per-scene .vob sets) + .txt framefile + .commands/.singe script
• BIOS required: no
• Notes: LaserDisc arcade emulation is picky about video asset format — single continuous video files vs. per-scene clip sets aren't interchangeable depending on the build's seek engine.

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fake08 (PICO-8)

github.com/jtothebell/fake08

• File formats: .p8, .p8.png
• BIOS required: no
• Notes: open-source PICO-8 fantasy console player, not the official (paid) PICO-8 runtime.

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ScummVM (point-and-click adventure engine)

github.com/scummvm/scummvm · scummvm.org

• File formats: original game data folders (LucasArts SCUMM titles, Sierra AGI/SCI, and many others) — no single file extension, ScummVM reads the original install directory
• BIOS required: no
• Notes: covers dozens of adventure game engines under one frontend, not just SCUMM despite the name.

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BIOS files

Shared BIOS directory: /roms/bios/. Required for: PS1 (DuckStation, and RetroArch PS1 cores), Sega CD (RetroArch), Dreamcast/NAOMI/Atomiswave (Flycast), and improves compatibility (optional) for Saturn (Yaba Sanshiro). None of these are shippable with the OS — dArkOSen doesn't include copyrighted BIOS files in any release, you must supply your own.