Feature/new cores/libretrogles

[JoeMatt]

What does this PR do

Attempt to continue the work of @rf2222222 to support GLES/Vulkan cores in native core not needing the whole 'retroarch' code base.

It also is a test bed for other cores that @rf2222222 had previously had working using their own Metal/Vulkan/GLES runloops but have broken for on reason or another.

• Dolphin (runs but no video)
• Play! (Compiling broke)

Core that could work that currently aren't supported in RetroArch

• Flycast (non-jit)
• DuckStation
• VecX (currently building in non-gl mode)

Cores that are in RetroArch but could be included in Lite

• PCSXRearmed (non-JIT)
• BeetlePSX (non-JIT)

Cores that need other 'libretro.h' support

• Desmume2015 (needs touch input, optionally mic/camera/gps/network)
• MelonDS (needs touch input, optionally mic/camera/gps/network)

Cores with other requirements but otherwise build as-is

• fMSX (MSX1/2+) - needs video fixed, wrong pixel size and/or format
• FreeIntV (Intellivision) - loads, video needs fixing
  - Fuse (ZXSpectrum) Fuse compiling is broken, nvm

TODO

Finish the callbacks for 'libretro.h' to support HW acceleration.

I attempted to update libretro to the more modern version but this breaks most of the existing code and is a larger undertaking.

Testing

Build the "Provenance Lite" target, NOT "Provenance Lite (AppStore)".

Before merge!

I edited the build.yml to only build the test app "Provenance Lite" non-app store which contains only the cores listed above.

[github-actions]

Builds for this Pull Request are available at
Provenance-Lite-iOS-v3.0.0(5831).ipa
Have a nice day.

[JoeMatt]

@claude this PR got kind of stale, we've done some work on develop of the last year that already updated some of the libretro native bridge code to support keyboard and house and touch etc can't remember if we did support for 3D acceleration cores. i think i did some work but havne't tested if it works with a 3d core, though maybe we did with PVVecX?

anyway, can you check the status of this PR and see if there's still some relevant code here to save or reuse, especially in some of the github issues where we noted some plans to update some of these cores already, or have already updated and merged in closed issues.

you should update and tag those issues with any relevant new code or information learned from this PR code and / or make new issues documenting anything worth saving, reusing, or implimenting now

[github-actions]

✅ PR #2373 Audit — Complete

Summary

Audited feature/new-cores/libretrogles vs develop. Most work has been absorbed; documented what's unique.

Completed

• 🚀 Agent started
• 📖 Read PR Feature/new cores/libretrogles #2373 and all related issues
• 🔍 Full diff analysis: develop vs PR branch
• 📝 Updated issues: [Core] Flycast Redo 1 #2369, [Core] Beetle PSX #2368, [Core] Desmume2015 [WIP]  #2371, [Core] fMSX fix build [WIP] #2372, [Epic] Core Updates - Fix and update out-of-date native cores #2482, [Agent] DuckStation: Evaluate and update native PSX core #2543
• 🆕 Created new issues: [Spike] libretro RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_SET_HW_RENDER bridge for OpenGL/Vulkan cores #2624 (HW render spike), [Core] Dolphin: Evaluate experimental config from PR #2373 (bMMU, Ubershaders, CPU/GPU thread) #2625 (Dolphin config)
• 💬 Posted summary to PR Feature/new cores/libretrogles #2373

Key Findings

• 3D GLES/keyboard/mouse support already merged to develop
• Flycast + BeetlePSX blocked on retro_hw_render_callback bridge ([Spike] libretro RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_SET_HW_RENDER bridge for OpenGL/Vulkan cores #2624)
• Dolphin experimental configs worth testing ([Core] Dolphin: Evaluate experimental config from PR #2373 (bMMU, Ubershaders, CPU/GPU thread) #2625)
• DuckStation MoltenVK path fix flagged in [Agent] DuckStation: Evaluate and update native PSX core #2543
• BeetlePSX Swift scaffold + Flycast joystick code worth cherry-picking when cores are revived

Completed: 2026-03-07 UTC

[github-actions]

@JoeMatt — PR #2373 Audit Summary

I've done a full diff analysis of this branch vs current develop and documented everything. Here's the TL;DR:

---

What develop has already absorbed (no need to save)

Feature	Status	Key commits
3D GLES core support (RetroArch)	✅ Merged	a20b7c788
VecX hardware rendering	✅ Merged	a20b7c788
Virtual keyboard + mouse overlay	✅ Fully merged	PRs #2587–#2595
Keyboard pipeline for libretro cores	✅ Merged	b8d1456e7
DS dual-screen skin system	✅ Merged	3fdbdd905
Desmume2015 touch + core options	✅ Merged	408589307
Dolphin landscape Vulkan + shaders	✅ Merged	f595ca97c, 61d5e14aa
DuckStation cheats	✅ Merged	d4660a3a7
DosBox GL/video/mouse fixes	✅ Merged	cf684cffb
fMSX MSX call fixes (RetroArch path)	✅ Merged	b6f43d852

---

What's unique in this PR worth preserving

Item	Status	Action
Flycast libretro #ifdef LIBRETRO scaffold	Not merged	Documented in #2369
BeetlePSX Swift core scaffold (CoreOptions.swift, CorePlist.swift, etc.)	Not merged	Documented in #2368
Flycast joystick forwarding (didMoveJoystick in EmuCore.swift)	Not merged	Should be cherry-picked
DuckStation MoltenVK path fix	Not merged	Documented in #2543
Dolphin experimental config (bMMU, Ubershaders, bCPUThread)	Not merged	New issue #2625

---

The core blocker for Flycast + BeetlePSX

Both cores have the same fundamental problem: RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_SET_HW_RENDER isn't fully wired up. The cores request an OpenGL/Vulkan context from the host but don't get a working one, so they produce no video. I've created issue #2624 to track this as a spike — it's the single piece of work that would unblock native hw-render libretro cores.

The good news: via the RetroArch wrapper, Flycast already works (3D GLES enabled in a20b7c788).

---

New issues created

• [Spike] libretro RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_SET_HW_RENDER bridge for OpenGL/Vulkan cores #2624 — [Spike] libretro RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_SET_HW_RENDER bridge for OpenGL/Vulkan cores
• [Core] Dolphin: Evaluate experimental config from PR #2373 (bMMU, Ubershaders, CPU/GPU thread) #2625 — [Core] Dolphin: Evaluate experimental config from PR Feature/new cores/libretrogles #2373

Issues updated with findings

• [Core] Flycast Redo 1 #2369 (Flycast) — current status + what the PR contributed
• [Core] Beetle PSX #2368 (BeetlePSX) — Swift scaffold documented, blocker identified
• [Core] Desmume2015 [WIP]  #2371 (Desmume2015) — major progress on develop noted
• [Core] fMSX fix build [WIP] #2372 (fMSX) — current state + path forward
• [Agent] DuckStation: Evaluate and update native PSX core #2543 (DuckStation eval) — MoltenVK path fix from this PR flagged
• [Epic] Core Updates - Fix and update out-of-date native cores #2482 (Core Updates epic) — comprehensive status table + new sub-issues

---

Recommendation on this PR

This PR is stale and not mergeable as-is (cmake binary files, project.pbxproj churn, the build.yml is reverted to non-AppStore for testing). However the code insights have been documented in the issues above. I'd suggest:

1. Close this PR with a note pointing to the new issues
2. Any code worth saving (especially the BeetlePSX Swift scaffold and Flycast joystick forwarding) should be cherry-picked into fresh PRs when those cores are actively worked on