RP5 and RP Mini: Batocera and ROCKNIX Linux Install Guide

Greetings friends and fellow enthusiasts! This is Mikhailov from Team Retrogue, where we like retro games and the devices that bring them to us.

The Retroid Pocket Mini is here, and the Retroid Pocket 5 is on the horizon. While these Snapdragon devices run Android, they also bring support for both ROCKNIX and BATOCERA.

This guide will show you how to install ROCKNIX and Batocera on the Retroid Pocket Mini and Retroid Pocket 5 and set up your system to be an emulation beast.

What to Expect
ROCKNIX
Batocera

Linux on Retroid Pocket 5 and Pocket Mini: What to Expect

Both ROCKNIX and Batocera are works in progress for these devices. There will potentially be bugs and crashes. You can emulate pretty faithfully up to Dreamcast, but you might encounter issues beyond that.

If you’re ok with tempering your expectations and want to try something other than Android on your Retroid device, here’s how to do it.

ROCKNIX

ROCKNIX Running on a Retroid Pocket 5 (Photo Courtesy of Retro Game Corps).

Installation

Using Balena Etcher to flash ROCKNIX to a MicroSD Card

Head over to the ROCKNIX Install page to download the Retroid Pocket build.

You will need a MicroSD card. You can purchase one from the link below. The suggested SD card comes with a USB adapter to connect to your computer.

Samsung PRO Plus microSD w/ Adapter

Insert the Micro SD card into your computer and use the Balena Etcher program to write the image on the Micro SD card.
Boot the Retroid Pocket device into Android and hold the power button. Press “Restart” from the menu that appears.
Hold the Volume + button as the device restarts, you will be presented with a boot menu. Use the Volume – button to navigate to the second option (the text will be very small). Use the power button to select the option.
Allow the device to boot into ROCKNIX and once done installing, you will be presented with an Emulation Station Frontend.

Network Settings

Network Settings in ROCKNIX

Press the Start button and in the menu that appears, navigate to Network Settings.
Turn on “Enable Network”
Find your Wi-Fi Network under “WiFi SSID”
Enter your Wi-Fi Password under “WiFi KEY”
Scroll down and enable SSH and Samba
Back out to the main menu and wait for the WiFi symbol to appear at the top right of the screen.

Adding Games

The Folder Structure in ROCKNIX Through Network Share

Games needed to be added via Network Transfer since you won’t be able to add this Linux-based SD card to your Windows computer. Use the following steps in order to add your games and BIOS files.

On your Retroid Pocket device, press start and navigate to Network Settings. Make a note of your IP address.
While still on the Retroid Pocket device, navigate to System Settings. Make note of the password (it should be “rocknix” by default).
On your Windows computer, open File Explorer
In the Address Bar, type in \\ (YOUR IP ADDRESS)
You will be prompted for a username and password. Type in “root” for the username and the password you made note of before as the password.
Navigate to “games-roms” to find folders for each system you may want to emulate. Add your rom files to the appropriate folder. BIOS files go in the “bios” folder.
Use this guide from the ROCKNIX Wiki if you want to add Pico-8 Splore support to your ROCKNIX build.

Scraping Box Art

The Scraper Menu in ROCKNIX

On your Windows computer, go to the Screenscraper website and create an account with a username and password.
Press start and navigate to the Scraper menu.
Enter your username and password in the appropriate sections.
Click “Next” and then “Start”. Scraping your box art may take some time depending on how many games you have.

PortMaster

PortMaster in ROCKNIX

ROCKNIX comes equipped with native support for Portmaster, which means there are a great number of PC ports you can run on your Retroid device.

You will need to be connected to WiFi in order to utilize Portmaster. Once connected, access Portmaster by navigating to Tools from the system selection screen.

Wait for Portmaster to update and read the disclaimer. Press A to accept.

After that, it’s as simple as navigating the menus to download whatever ports you want.

Ready-to-run ports require no additional files and can be downloaded and played immediately.
Ports of commercial games will require you to add files from Steam or other downloaded versions of the game. The instructions are in the game information in Portmaster.
A folder will be created in the “ports” folder under “games-roms”. Using the same network transfer setting, access that folder and add the necessary files.