DICE - RetroBIOS¶
| Type | libretro |
| Source | https://github.com/mittonk/dice-libretro |
| Version | v0.4.2 |
| Profiled | 2026-03-18 |
| Cores | dice |
| Systems | discrete-arcade |
No BIOS or firmware files required. This core is self-contained.
DICE (Discrete Integrated Circuit Emulator) emulates early arcade hardware built entirely from discrete logic components, with no CPU. dice-libretro is a libretro port by Ken Mitton, based on upstream DICE by Adam B.
No BIOS or firmware files required. The .info file declares firmware_count = 0.
Games fall into two categories: - ROM-based: shipped as MAME-style ZIP archives (filename matters). The core loads the ZIP passed by the frontend and matches individual ROM chips by CRC32 (chips/rom.cpp:41-218, RomDesc::get_data). If a chip's CRC does not match, the core walks all entries in the archive looking for a CRC match or alt_crc match. - ROM-less: games like Pong, Breakout, Rebound whose original PCBs had no ROM at all. These use .dmy dummy launcher files (empty placeholders) to tell RetroArch which game to start.
retro_get_system_info (libretro.cpp:122-137) sets need_fullpath = true, block_extract = true, valid_extensions = "zip|dmy|k1|a1|6c|c6|d2|s1|f4|a4| 1da|da1|C4|4c|4d|d7|d4". The unusual extensions are raw ROM chip dumps for individual games (e.g. .k1 for antiaircraft, .a1 for attack).
dice.cpp:42-66 strips any "#inner.rom" suffix from the path (for ROM managers that expose zip contents) and passes the zip path to RomDesc::set_zip_filename.
retro_init (libretro.cpp:50-63) retrieves RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_GET_SYSTEM_DIRECTORY but uses it only for the retro_base_directory variable, not for loading any system files.
Games with ROMs (10 titles): antiaircraft.zip - 1 ROM chip (k1) attack.zip - 6 ROM chips (a1, b1, c1, d1, j6, k6), each with alt_crc cleansweep.zip - 3 ROM chips (6c, d7, k3) crashnscore.zip - 6 ROM chips (d2, e2, f6, f7, p6, p7) indy4.zip - 4 ROM chips (s1, s2, c1, c2) jetfighter.zip - 6 ROM chips (a4, j1, j5, k5, m1, r5) sharkjaws.zip - 2 ROM chips (1da/da1, 1db/db1) steeplechase.zip - 2 ROM chips (C4, D4); bugle ROM c8 dump missing stuntcycle.zip - 2 ROM chips (4d, 1fh) wipeout.zip - 2 ROM chips (d4, g7)
ROM-less games (11 titles, use .dmy dummy files): breakout, crossfire, gotcha, hiway, pinpong, pong, pongdoubles, quadrapong, rebound, spacerace, tvbasketball
Generated on 2026-03-20T19:12:20Z