TapTo for Windows - How to launch games

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Revision as of 16:37, 18 August 2024 by Phoenix (talk | contribs) (Rewrote it to be more cohesive.)

Launch ROMs with Tapto (Windows)

Requirements:

  1. Ensure that your emulators are already configured on Windows.
  2. Tapto for Windows installed.
  3. ROMs stored in your desired location.
  4. Tapto.life app installed on iOS or Android.

Notes:

  • Currently, ROMs can only be launched through Steam or .bat files.
  • This tutorial will guide you on how to create .bat files to launch your ROMs using Tapto.
  • Each ROM/game requires its own .bat file. To keep things organized, consider creating a separate folder for each system and placing the corresponding .bat files inside.

Important: If you move your ROMs or emulators after creating the .bat files, the files will no longer work. Plan your file locations carefully before proceeding.

Tutorial:

Step 1: Create a .bat File

  1. Open Notepad (or a similar text editor).
  2. Locate Your Emulator:
    • Copy the location of your emulator’s executable file (for example, PCSX2). If you’re using Retroarch, see the additional step at the end of this tutorial.
    • Paste the emulator’s path into Notepad and append the name of the .exe file. It should look something like this: G:\LaunchBox\Emulators\pcsx2-v1.7.4266-windows-64bit-AVX2-Qt\pcsx2-qtx64-avx2.exe
  3. Add Quotes to the Path:
    • Place quotation marks (") at the beginning and end of the path, then add a space afterward. It should now look like this: "G:\LaunchBox\Emulators\pcsx2-v1.7.4266-windows-64bit-AVX2-Qt\pcsx2-qtx64-avx2.exe"
  4. Insert the ROM File Path:
    • Copy the location of your ROM file, including the file name and extension.
    • Place quotation marks (") around the ROM file path. Your .bat file should now look similar to this: "G:\LaunchBox\Emulators\pcsx2-v1.7.4266-windows-64bit-AVX2-Qt\pcsx2-qtx64-avx2.exe" "O:\Retail Roms\Sony - PlayStation 2\Dragon Ball Z - Budokai 3 (USA) (Greatest Hits).chd"

Optional: Add Emulator-Specific Commands

  • Some emulators support additional commands (e.g., starting in fullscreen). These commands are emulator-specific. For example, to start PCSX2 in fullscreen and without the GUI, modify the command like this: "G:\LaunchBox\Emulators\pcsx2-v1.7.4266-windows-64bit-AVX2-Qt\pcsx2-qtx64-avx2.exe" "O:\Retail Roms\Sony - PlayStation 2\Dragon Ball Z - Budokai 3 (USA) (Greatest Hits).chd" -fullscreen -nogui
  1. Save the File:
    • Save the file in Notepad with a .bat extension. For example: Dragon Ball Z - Budokai 3.bat
    • Ensure the file isn’t saved as Dragon Ball Z - Budokai 3.bat.txt, as this won’t work.
  2. Test Your .bat File:
    • Double-click the .bat file to ensure it launches the emulator and ROM correctly.

Step 2: Configure Tapto to Launch the .bat File

  1. Open the Tapto Configuration File:
    • Locate and open the tapto.ini file.
  2. Add the .bat File Path:
    • Under the [launchers] section, add the following line: allow_file = G:\Tapto\Sony - PlayStation 2\Dragon Ball Z - Budokai 3.bat
    • Replace the path with the location of your actual .bat file.

Step 3: Flash the Path to Your NFC Card

  1. Open the Tapto.life App.
  2. Flash the Path:
    • Flash the path to your .bat file as a text string. For example: G:\Tapto\Sony - PlayStation 2\Dragon Ball Z - Budokai 3.bat

Your NFC card is now ready to start your ROM!

Additional Step: Retroarch Configuration

For Retroarch, the .bat file also needs to specify the core required to launch the ROM. For example, if you're using the SNES9x core, you would add the line -L cores\snes9x_libretro.dll between the emulator path and the ROM path. The .bat file should look similar to this:

"G:\LaunchBox\Emulators\RetroArch-MSVC10-Win64\retroarch.exe" -L cores\snes9x_libretro.dll "O:\Rom Hacks\Nintendo - Super Nintendo Entertainment System\Translations\Mega Man X (USA) (Rev 1) [Relocalized Addendum].sfc"

All other steps remain the same as specified above.