The Knulli team has announced its latest release, this time christened Gladiator, causing no end of Retro Gamers to stand to their feet as one and cry, “Are you not entertained?”

Knulli is a fork of Barocera. However, while Batocera is designed to only support devices that have open-source drivers available, Knulli chooses not to be hampered by this restriction, and so can bring support to devices like the Anbernic “XX” family and TrimUI devices.

Batocera has historically been my favorite Retro Gaming OS, due to its regular update schedule, continued support for legacy devices (like my RGB10), and ongoing no-drama approach. But now, looking at some of the user-friendly improvements introduced in this release, I’m starting to wonder if Knulli might be my new preferred choice.

The improvements introduced into this release can be categorized by affected devices. The most significant changes will affect devices with only one SD card slot – essentially the TrimUI devices. There are also general updates that will affect all devices, and new information suggesting support for other devices is on its way.

Improvements for the TrimUI family

The ROMs Partition now defaults to ExFAT

Out of all the introduced features, this is the one that the most significant to me.

By default, most current EmulationStation-based Linux Operating Systems – like Rocknix and indeed Batocera – create a data partition using EXT4 format. While EXT4 is believed to be faster to access and more reliable than some alternatives, it is a format that cannot be accessed on a standard Windows or Mac device, only on Linux.

And while there are workarounds, this has meant that transferring ROMs to a device using a single SD card, like a TrimUI Smart Pro or TrimUI Brick, has been a slow and painful process prior to this release. Moving to exFAT as a format means that the SD card will be fully readable on any Windows or Mac device. Installations that use 2 microSD cards are unaffected.

Complete Support for the TriumUI Brick

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While support for the Brick was introduced in Firefly, the previous release of Knulli, this was an Alpha build only. While it worked much better than any Alpha build could be expected to, functions like Bluetooth did not work.

Now that full support has been introduced, everything should work as expected. However, since your author does not have access to a TrimUI Brick (the pictures in the article were kindly provided by my Editor), this is not something I’ve personally been able to confirm.

TrimUI-Specific Buttons Are Now Usable

Knulli will now allow you to assign functions to the buttons that appear on the TrimUI devices, like the toggle switch or the Brick’s transparent buttons. The ability to switch the d-pad between acting like a traditional S-pad and acting like an analogue stick has also been introduced.

Improvements for All Devices

Knulli is often used on devices like the RG40XXV

Support for the RG34XX

Gladiator introduces full support for the RG34XX and its 3:2 screen. My RH colleague Zu has confirmed that this support extends to the new RG34XXSP, other than for the analog sticks and lid closure.

Introduction of a Quick Resume Mode

This will operate in a similar manner to the functionality in OnionOS. When the device is switched off during gameplay, it will save the current state and then reboot straight back into the game when switched back on.

There’s a New Media Player

MPV is present in all builds for those who like using their handhelds for tasks other than gaming.

File Transfer via USB

This is using the same MTP protocol used by Android devices when they are connected to computers by a USB cable.

In Menu Controls for RGB

Devices that have RGB lighting, on the sticks or buttons like the RG40XXV, can also now have their RGB options controlled from the main EmulationStation Menu

Even More Changes

There are a number of other changes, such as improved power management (which should improve battery life), along with better support for PortMaster. You’ll also enjoy better DS emulation due to a change in the fork of DraStic used. Plus, we have the introduction of audio-over-USB and improved audio handoff between internal speakers and Bluetooth.

New Devices

While not present in this version of Knulli, a number of devices have been added to the Knulli Discord, showing that early alpha versions are in potential development. These builds are not anywhere near approaching the stage where they can be released to the community. However, a small number of devices have also been added to the Knulli Wiki page, which may suggest that these are close to release in an upcoming version of Knull.

Here’s the list of devices that were added to the Wiki:

• Retroid Pocket 5
• Retroid Pocket Mini
• Anbernic RG-ARC S

Support for the RG-ARC especially excites me since it’s one of my favorite Retro Handhelds (I wrote a love letter to it here), having my favorite Retro CFW on it would be something I’ve truly appreciated. Releases for the Snapdragon 865 devices also interest me, since Batocera (which Knulli is based on) has never included ARM versions of emulators for high-end systems like the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube.

Whether Knulli chooses to remain aligned with Batocera or deviate more towards the decisions ROCKNIX (which include ARM versions of these emulators) should become clear when the first releases for these devices are shared.

Knulli CFW Main Menu

While the official list of supported devices only lists the RG-ARC S and not the RG-ARC D, it should be easy to get any build running on the ARC-D by removing the Android partition, which is likely to prevent it from booting. Look for an upcoming guide on how to do this on the RH website.

While I like to think the choice to add these to the wiki page is a deliberate indication, it might amount to nothing. The same device list page has shown upcoming support for the Powkiddy RGB30 and X55 since last year, without a release being finished yet.

Installation

Unfortunately, due to the significant difference between Gladiator and the previous Knulli release, Firefly, it is not possible to do an over-the-air update. Updating to Gladiator will require the SD card containing the operating system to be re-flashed.

Users using devices with a single SD card set up, like the Trium UI devices, or people who just prefer it, will need to back up their ROMs, BIOSs, and Saves. Those using a second SD won’t have this affected, so their game files are safe.

1. Download the Knulli build from the GitHub page.
   • KNULLI GitHub
2. Plug your microSD card into your PC.
3. Extract the Knulli Build.
4. Open your USB formatting utility of choice. Here are a few recommendations:
   • Rufus
   • Win32 Disk Imager
   • BalenaEtcher
5. Flash your microSD card by selecting the Knulli Disc Image that you just extracted.
6. After the card is finished being flashed, remove it from your PC.
7. Insert the card into your handheld.
8. Turn on your handheld and wait for it to finish booting.

Once that’s all done, you’ll be able to go through and set things up like your networking, controls, themes, and of course, add your games.

Conclusion

Ever since KNULLI landed on the scene, we’ve been big fans of what the team has been doing. With Gladiator, it goes to show that just because there aren’t weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly updates, it doesn’t mean that the improvements aren’t around the corner. That being said, take KNULLI for a spin and let us know what you think about Gladiator!

What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!

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