Softpatching applies a patch to a game at launch time, without ever modifying the original rom: you can play with or without the patch, and switch whenever you want. Patches range from small cheats to full translations of Japanese games into English or French.
Recognized patch formats:
.ips,.bpsand.ups(uppercase or lowercase). Only one patch is applied at a time per game.
Two possible locations, which can be combined:
The "default" patch — put it in the same folder as the rom, with exactly the same file name (only the extension differs):
┣ 📁 roms
┃ ┣ 📁 snes
┃ ┃ ┣ 🗒 Secret of Mana (USA).sfc
┃ ┃ ┣ 🗒 Secret of Mana (USA).ips
Several patches for one game — next to the rom, create a folder named after the rom (without its extension) followed by -patches. Inside it, file names are free:
┣ 📁 roms
┃ ┣ 📁 nes
┃ ┃ ┣ 📁 Legend of Zelda, The (USA) (Rev 1)-patches
┃ ┃ ┃ ┣ 🗒 ZeldaC.ips
┃ ┃ ┃ ┣ 🗒 Zelda - The Legend of Link (v3-12-20).ips
┃ ┃ ┃ ┣ 🗒 Another patch.ups
┃ ┃ ┣ 🗒 Legend of Zelda, The (USA) (Rev 1).zip
Press START to open the MAIN MENU, enter IN-GAME SETTINGS, then set SOFTPATCHING:
| Choice | Behavior |
|---|---|
AUTO |
automatically applies the default patch (or, failing that, a patch from the -patches folder) |
LAUNCH LAST |
always relaunches the game with the last patch used (adjustable per game, see below) |
SELECT |
asks at every launch which patch to apply |
DISABLE |
completely ignores patches (default setting) |
📷 Screenshot to come:
softpatching-option-menu.png
With SELECT, when launching a game that has at least one patch, a SOFTPATCHING menu shows up: ORIGINAL GAME → RUN to play unpatched, SELECT PATCH TO APPLY to pick the patch, then PATCHED GAME → RUN.
📷 Screenshot to come:
softpatching-launch-menu.png
The setting also exists in the Web Manager and in recalbox.conf: global.softpatching=auto|select|launchLast|disable (mind the case of launchLast).
SOFTPATCHING option to LAUNCH LAST.EDIT GAME, then in SET PATCH, pick the patch to apply (or original to play unpatched).The game will now always launch with that patch, without any prompt.
This entry is grayed out if the game has no patch or if the emulator selected for the game does not support softpatching.
Softpatching only works with certain Libretro cores (no standalone emulator):
| System | Compatible cores |
|---|---|
| ColecoVision | GearColeco |
| Famicom Disk System | FCEUmm |
| Game Boy / Game Boy Color | Gambatte, TGB Dual, mGBA, Mesen_S, bsnes |
| Game Boy Advance | mGBA, Meteor |
| Game Gear / Master System | Gearsystem |
| Megadrive | GenesisPlus GX, GenesisPlus GX Wide, GenesisPlus GX EX, Picodrive |
| NES | Nestopia, FCEUmm, QuickNES, Mesen |
| Neo-Geo Pocket / Color | Mednafen NGP |
| Nintendo 64 | Mupen64Plus NX |
| PC Engine / SuperGrafx | Geargrafx |
| Satellaview | Snes9x, bsnes |
| SNES | Snes9x (incl. 2002/2005/2010), Mesen_S, bsnes, bsnes HD |
| WonderSwan / Color | Mednafen WSWAN |
Support for the PC Engine and SuperGrafx (Geargrafx), Game Gear and Master System (Gearsystem) arrived with Recalbox 10.
GohanSenior prepared a selection of nearly a thousand French translation patches for 8 and 16-bit games:
roms folder.SOFTPATCHING to SELECT and pick the patch at launch.More patches are available on:
Feel free to drop by the Recalbox Discord to thank GohanSenior or report an issue with the pack.
My patch is not detected? Check its extension (.ips, .bps or .ups) and its name: next to the rom, it must carry exactly the same name as the rom; in a -patches folder, the folder name must exactly match the rom's name (without extension).
Can I apply several patches at once to one game? No — a single patch is applied at a time. To combine patches, patch the rom permanently with a dedicated tool on your computer.
I have several patches and AUTO does not pick the right one? In AUTO mode, the patch named after the rom wins; otherwise Recalbox picks a patch from the -patches folder (.ups first, then .bps, then .ips). To choose precisely, use SELECT or LAUNCH LAST.