Our good pal Russ from Retro Game Corps just made getting into ES-DE on Android a lot less annoying.
If you have ever tried to prep a fresh microSD before your new handheld shows up, you know it can be irritating to set up your media without being able to pre-install ES-DE, let it generate its whole ROMs directory tree, then start scraping your stuff. Russ’ new “Pre-Builder” zips right past that step, as he announced in his most recent newsletter.
“I created an ES-DE ‘Pre-Builder’ for Android handhelds. It contains all the blank folders that the ES-DE frontend creates as part of the installation/setup process, without having to install ES-DE first. If you want to set up a microSD card before your Android handheld arrives, or you want to use the ES-DE directory structure with other frontends, this will be handy.”
In his r/SBCGaming post, Russ outlines three use cases. First, if you have a new RP5, Flip, Slide, or other Android handheld on the way, you can prep the card in advance, so ES-DE sees a fully organized library the first time you point it at your ROMs directory. Second, if you are flirting with other launchers like Daijishō or Reset Collection but want to eventually land on ES-DE, you can still use this layout, since most Android frontends do not require a specific structure and are happy with “one folder per system”. Third, you can treat it as a generic, portable library layout on a hard drive or NAS, then sync pieces of it to different handhelds later without reinventing your folder tree each time.
Russ’s channel is always full of useful information, but this simple little tool goes a long way to remove friction from the initial steps. If you are already deep into ES-DE on Android, this is not going to change your life, but if you are the kind of person who likes to have a library ready before the mailman even knocks, this little zip file is going to save you time, clicks, and mistakes. It is very on-brand Retro Game Corps: a labor of love with attention to detail that makes using an ES-DE powered handheld a bit less like work and a bit more like play.
Source: Retro Game Corps GitHub
