February 2026: Strange Components from Beyond the Ether
The RetroDECK Team have been hard at work stirring the development cauldron.
Highlights
News
- Discord Evaluation
- Development Update: 0.11.0
- Commander X16
- GameTank
- MVEM
- Visual Pinball X
- Mudlet
- Ironwail
- ECWolf
Discord Evaluation
We are currently evaluating alternatives to Discord, we have already had a Matrix instance since forever. But we are exploring other options as well.
RetroDECK has always maintained the policy that the wiki serves as the single source of truth. Access to important information should not require users to create an account on external platforms. We are therefore evaluating potential platforms with this principle in mind as well.
Development Update: 0.11.0
We have begun development on the upcoming major update, 0.11.0.
This release is currently in active early development, with the team evaluating new features, improvements and several unexpected things.
RetroDECK is a Retro Gaming Platform not an Emulation Platform. Our scope extends beyond emulation as that is just one part of RetroDECK. We are focusing on delivering a broader, more comprehensive retro gaming experience.
What follows are some of our early experiments. As always, we can't guarantee that everything shown here will make it into version 0.11.0, as development is still at a very early stage.
Commander X16
Commander X16 boot menu running in RetroDECK via Commander X16.
Is a modern open source 8-bit computer inspired by classic systems, designed for retro-style development and learning.
It can be described as a “fantasy computer”, a reinterpretation of the Commodore 64.
The project sells physical hardware for purchase and an offers an official emulator that we are testing.
GameTank
A 8-bit RPG running in RetroDECK via GameTank.
GameTank is an open-source 8-bit game console built for homebrew development and education.
It can be described as a “fantasy console", a reinterpretation of the NES / Master System.
The project sells physical hardware for purchase and an offers an official emulator that we are testing.
Déjà vu
MVEM (MicroVision EMulator)
MicroVision fan game Bomber running in RetroDECK via MVEM.
MVEM is a very very very... unknown emulator for the Milton Bradley Microvision, it was the first handheld console with interchangeable cartridges, released in 1979 with a resolution of: 16x16 px.
The Gameboy released 10 years later in 1989 that had a resolution of: 160x144 px.
The emulator was first developed by Paul Robson back in 2014 and later enchanced by Raph Koster in 2017.
Some historical builds were produced for RetroPie Linux ARM by enthusiasts as an none official addon back in 2021.
Neither of the old makefiles did not work in initial attempts of trying to build it, however, we later resolved the issues with some elbow grease and successfully produced a working binary in a VM and got it to run in RetroDECK.
This may be the first time MVEM has been bundled in a setup like ours on a Linux x64 environment? Or? We don't know... anyhow...
We are excited to bring it into RetroDECK, offering you access to this unique piece of hardware history.
Good controller support should not be expected, this little hidden gem emulator was made for a keyboard.
Visual Pinball X
Mr.Bubble fan game running in RetroDECK via Visual Pinball X.
Visual Pinball X (VPX) is a virtual pinball engine designed to accurately simulate real-world pinball tables with advanced physics, lighting, and scripting support.
The RetroDECK team is looking for community contributions and expertise in configuring VPinballX.ini for:
- Steam Deck and other Linux-based handheld devices
- Linux desktop systems
- Linux-powered virtual pinball machines (LVPs)
If you have that experience please contact us and see if we can make a global configuration (if possible).
Mudlet
MUDS menu in ES-DE.
MUME in ES-DE.
MUME running in RetroDECK via Mudlet.
Mudlet will be the first client-type component added to RetroDECK. A client is a system or application that connects to a server or online service to access multiplayer features, streaming, or remote content. Clients rely on an external host to function.
Mudlet is a powerful MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) client that connects players to text-based online multiplayer games, the precursors to modern MMOs.
Enabling server maintainers to add visual elements and custom features and allowing players to script, automate, and fully customize their gameplay experience.
You'll be able to connect using our new .mud files and that are tied to server profiles, with all .mud and server specific files stored in retrodeck/roms/muds/.
Ironwail
Quake running in RetroDECK via Ironwail.
Ironwail is a Quake engine based on QuakeSpasm.
This engine improves performance by offloading substantial processing from the CPU to the GPU, including tasks such as culling and lightmap updates.
It leverages modern OpenGL features such as instancing, compute shaders, persistent buffer mapping, indirect multi-draw, and bindless textures. As a result, it can maintain high frame rates even on highly complex maps.
ECWolf
Wolfenstein 3D boot menu running in RetroDECK via ECWolf.
ECWolf is a Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, and Super 3D Noah's Ark, engine based of Wolf4SDL.
It incorporates substantial code from ZDoom and focuses on extensive modding capabilities without requiring source code modification.
ECWolf allows modular content additions, such as new weapons and without redistributing full game data sets.
That is all for now
There are more things we are working on, but you will see them in future blog updates!
And as always if you want to help with development join the 💙-i-want-to-help channel on Discord or chat us up on Matrix.
A big thank you to everyone for your continued support.
//The RetroDECK Team
RetroDECK: Community Links
| Category | Link | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 🌐 Website | retrodeck.net | Official RetroDECK homepage |
| 💬 Discord | Join Discord | Discord community chat |
| 💬 Matrix | Matrix Room | Open Matrix community space |
| 💬 Lemmy | Lemmy Community | RetroDECK community on Lemmy |
| r/retrodeck | RetroDECK subreddit | |
| 📖 Wiki | RetroDECK Wiki | Official documentation and guides |
| ❤️ Donations | Donations & Licenses | Support the project and view license information |