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Duckstation (Legacy) - General Guide

Duckstation logo

Duckstation is a Playstation 1 - PSX Emulator.

Note: Legacy Emulator

Starting with RetroDECK 0.9.0b, DuckStation changed its licensing from open source to closed source and is therefore marked as Legacy.

The Legacy version will no longer receive updates and is provided as-is.

Resource Link
Duckstation - Game Compatibility Link
Duckstation - Github Link
Duckstation - Webpage Link
Duckstation - Wiki Link

Where to put the games?

PSX games should be put under the retrodeck/roms/psx/ directory.

What file formats are supported?

File Format Description
.bin + .cue Binary disc image file with cue sheet
.img Disc image file
.iso Standard ISO disc image
.chd Compressed Hunks of Data (Recommended)
.mds Media Descriptor File
.pbp PlayStation Portable Update file
.ecm ECM compressed file

Does Duckstation require BIOS, Game Data or Firmware files?

Yes, there exists several PSX BIOS from different regions and hardware versions.

You need at least one.

PSX BIOS Guide on Github

Here is a few:

Region BIOS File Name Description
Japan (NTSC-J) scph1000.bin First retail PSX BIOS featuring early hardware behavior.
Japan (NTSC-J) scph5500.bin Stable mid-generation Japanese BIOS revision.
Japan (NTSC-J) scph7000.bin Later Japanese BIOS, same revision as SCPH-5500.
USA (NTSC-U) scph1001.bin Most common and highly compatible North American BIOS.
USA (NTSC-U) scph5501.bin Later, more accurate BIOS for NTSC-U systems.
USA (NTSC-U) scph7001.bin Updated revision similar to SCPH-5501.
Europe (PAL-E) scph5502.bin Standard BIOS used for most PAL titles.
Europe (PAL-E) scph7002.bin Later PAL revision with improved compatibility.
PS One (Slim Model) scph101.bin BIOS for the compact PS One hardware revision.

Where to put the PSX BIOS?

Directly into the folder

retrodeck/bios/

Directory structure

Type Directory Comment
BIOS retrodeck/bios/
Config ~/.var/app/net.retrodeck.retrodeck/config/duckstation/ settings.xml, gameProfiles folder, controllerProfiles folder
Dump Audio retrodeck/storage/Duckstation/dump/audio/ duckstation/dump/audio
Dump Textures retrodeck/storage/Duckstation/dump/textures/ duckstation/dump/textures
ROMs retrodeck/roms/psx/
Saves retrodeck/saves/psx/duckstation/
Shaders retrodeck/shaders/Duckstation/ duckstation/shaders
States retrodeck/states/psx/duckstation/
Screenshots retrodeck/screenshots/Duckstation/ duckstation/screenshots
Texture Packs retrodeck/texture_packs/Duckstation/textures duckstation/textures

How-to: Add Texture Packs

The retrodeck/texture_packs/duckstation/textures directory represents the /duckstation/textures/ directory in Duckstation.

Enable Custom Textures

If texture replacements are disabled:

  • Open Duckstation inside RetroDECK Configurator by selecting Open Emulator → Duckstation.
  • Go to Settings → Advanced → Tweaks/Hacks.
  • Set Enable VRAM Write Texture Replacement to On.
  • Set Preload Texture Replacements to On.

Texture Folder

Note: Texture packs may be designed for a specific game version or region. Make sure the texture pack matches your game.

Note: TITLEID is unique to each game. Check a reliable online resource to find the correct ID.

  1. Extract the texture pack from its .zip or other compressed archive.
  2. Open retrodeck/texture_packs/duckstation/textures.
  3. Move the extracted texture folder into the textures directory. The folders are often named by TITLEID.
  4. Rename the folder so that it matches the game's TITLEID exactly and remove additional suffixes such as _LQ, _MQ, or _HQ folder name if there are any.

The resulting directory should follow this structure:

retrodeck/
└── texture_packs/
    └── duckstation/
        └── textures/
            └── TITLEID/
                └── <texture files>