Welcome to RETRERALE, a dynamic, AI-powered retro game launcher with a classic terminal aesthetic. Built with Python, this launcher automatically detects your games and emulators, supports removable "cartridge" drives, and features an integrated AI assistant with the personality of Flowey from Undertale.

• Dynamic Game Scanning: Automatically scans Games and removable USB drives for your game ROMs. No manual configuration needed!
• Intelligent Emulator Detection: Automatically finds emulators, whether they are placed in the local Emulators folder (portable setup) or installed system-wide (on Linux/macOS).
• AI-Powered Assistant: Chat with "Flowey" for gaming advice, tips, or just some witty banter, powered by the Google Gemini API.
• Classic Terminal UI: A fully-featured, keyboard-driven interface with a retro look and feel, complete with sounds for a nostalgic experience.
• Cross-Platform: Designed to be OS-independent, working on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Highly Configurable: Easily add support for new emulators and game types by editing a single configuration file.

• Python 3.10 or newer.

1. Clone the repository (or download and extract the source code):

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/RETRERALE.git
   cd RETRERALE

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

   • Windows:

     python -m venv venv
     .\venv\Scripts\activate

   • macOS / Linux:

     python3 -m venv venv
     source venv/bin/activate

3. Install the required libraries:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the application:

   python retro_launcher.py

To use RETRERALE, you need to place your files in the correct folders:

/RetroFlow-Launcher/ │ ├── venv/ # Your Python virtual environment │ ├── retro_launcher.py # The main script to run and build ├── requirements.txt # The list of libraries to install │ ├── src/ # The source code package │ ├── init.py │ ├── ai_chat.py │ ├── audio.py │ ├── config.py # <-- Contains the updated EMULATOR_PROFILES │ ├── game_manager.py # <-- Contains the new find_emulator_path logic │ ├── launcher.py │ ├── ui.py │ └── utils.py │ ├── Games/ # (External) Place your game ROMs here ├── Emulators/ # (External) Place portable emulators here in subfolders └── Sounds/ # (External) Place your sound files here```

After you run the PyInstaller command, you will assemble the final release folder like this. The .exe will correctly look for the Games, Emulators, Sounds, config.json, and retroflow.log files alongside itself in this folder.

Simply launch the application and use the text commands to navigate.

• list: Shows all detected games from local and cartridge sources.
• play <number>: Launches the game corresponding to the number in the list. -g - info <number>: Displays detailed information about a specific game.
• ai <prompt>: Ask Flowey a question. (Requires an API key).
• apikey: Set up your free Google Gemini API key to enable the AI.
• help: Displays the full list of available commands.
• exit: Closes the application.

Adding a new emulator is easy:

1. Open src/config.py.

2. Add a new entry to the EMULATOR_PROFILES dictionary. You need to specify the game file extension and the emulator's command name.

   Example: To add support for Sega Dreamcast (.chd files) with the flycast emulator:

   EMULATOR_PROFILES = {
       # ... other entries
       '.chd': {'command': 'flycast', 'system': 'Sega Dreamcast', 'args': []},
   }

3. Provide the emulator:

   • Option A (Recommended): Create a folder named Emulators/flycast/ and put the flycast executable inside it.
   • Option B (Linux/macOS): Install flycast system-wide using your package manager (e.g., sudo apt install flycast).

The launcher will automatically detect and use the new configuration on the next startup.

You can build a single-file executable using PyInstaller.

1. Make sure you have followed the installation steps and have activated your virtual environment.
2. Run the build command:

   pyinstaller --name RETRERALE --onefile retro_launcher.py

3. The final executable will be located in the newly created dist/ folder.

• Developed by #ifndef BROS.
• Built with Python and the excellent prompt-toolkit library.
• AI functionality powered by Google Gemini.
• Flowey character from the game Undertale by Toby Fox.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1b5qs3oqtnv3OsQSycG6dSPSfnZGM6-XS