Using Amiberry with RetroPie

Using Amiberry with RetroPie

This guide explains how to set up Amiberry on RetroPie to use the WHDLoad Booter. This method allows you to play Amiga games from .lha files directly from the EmulationStation menu, similar to console games.

Prerequisites

• RetroPie installed on your Raspberry Pi.
• Internet connection (for installation and updates).
• Kickstart ROMs (Amiga BIOS files).
• Game files in .lha format (e.g., "RetroPlay" packs).

Step 1: Install Amiberry

1. Open the RetroPie Setup script from the RetroPie menu in EmulationStation.
2. Navigate to Manage Packages -> Manage Optional Packages.
3. Select amiberry.
4. Choose Install from source.
   • Note: This may take 10-15 minutes on a Raspberry Pi 3/4.
5. Once compiled, reboot your system.

Step 2: Install Kickstart ROMs

For WHDLoad games to work, you need specific Kickstart ROMs. Copy these files to /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/amiga/.

Required ROMs

Amiberry will automatically symlink these if they match the known CRC32 checksums.

• Kickstart 1.3 (A500): kick34005.A500
• Kickstart 2.05 (A600): kick37350.A600
• Kickstart 3.1 (A1200): kick40068.A1200

Tip

Symlinks: Amiberry creates symlinks in /opt/retropie/configs/amiga/amiberry/whdboot/save-data/Kickstarts/ pointing to your BIOS files. You don't need to manually populate this folder.

Step 3: Install Games

1. Place your .lha game files into /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/amiga/.
2. Restart EmulationStation.
3. The games should now appear in the Amiga list.

Troubleshooting Game Lists

If you see a WHDLoad: Unknown Command error:

1. Launch any Amiga game/emulator.
2. Open the Amiberry GUI (F12 or Hotkey + Triangle).
3. Go to the Paths panel.
4. Click Update WHDLoad Database/XML.
5. Quit and retry.

Step 4: Configuration & Tips

Per-Game Settings

Amiberry automatically selects the best settings (Chipset, CPU) for each game using its internal database.

• To override: Open the GUI (F12), change settings (e.g., Controls), and go to Configurations -> Save. This creates a .uae file that overrides defaults.

Host Preferences

You can set global defaults (like which controller to use) by editing: /opt/retropie/configs/amiga/amiberry/whdboot/hostprefs.conf

Common options:

• default_controller1=joy0 (First Joystick)
• default_mouse1=mouse (Real Mouse)

Feedback

If you find a game with incorrect default settings (e.g., wrong screen size), you can contribute to the database: Amiberry XML Builder