emulator: REminiscence
type: libretro
core_classification: community_fork
source: "https://github.com/libretro/REminiscence"
upstream: "https://github.com/cyxx/REminiscence"
profiled_date: "2026-03-25"
core_version: "0.3.6"
display_name: "Flashback (REminiscence)"
cores:
  - reminiscence
systems:
  - flashback

notes: |
  Game engine re-implementation of Flashback (Delphine Software, 1992) by Gregory Montoir,
  ported to libretro by Stuart Carnie. Version 0.3.6 (upstream is at 0.5.5).

  The core sets need_fullpath = true and valid_extensions = "map" (libretro.cpp:66).
  Content loading (retro_load_game) extracts the parent directory from the provided .MAP
  file path and uses it as the data root via FileSystem (libretro.cpp:194-196).

  Version detection (libretro.cpp:125-148) probes for these files in order:
    DEMO_UK.ABA -> DOS Demo
    INTRO.SEQ   -> DOS CD
    LEVEL1.MAP  -> DOS
    LEVEL1.LEV  -> Amiga
    DEMO.LEV    -> Amiga Demo
  Only kResourceTypeDOS is accepted (line 199); Amiga data is rejected.

  Language detection (libretro.cpp:150-174) probes for:
    ENGCINE.TXT -> English
    FR_CINE.TXT -> French
    GERCINE.TXT -> German
    SPACINE.TXT -> Spanish
    ITACINE.TXT -> Italian
    FRCINE.TXT  -> French (Amiga)
  Falls back to English if none found.

  All game data files are loaded from the content directory via FileSystem (fs.cpp),
  which scans the directory and matches filenames case-insensitively (strcasecmp at
  fs.cpp:52). The resource system (resource.cpp) loads files by constructing names
  like "LEVEL1.MAP", "GLOBAL.ICN", "PERSO.SPR", "FB_TXT.FNT", etc.

  The core never calls RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_GET_SYSTEM_DIRECTORY. All data files must live
  alongside the loaded .MAP content file. No BIOS or firmware files; the required files
  are the original Flashback DOS game data.

  Music loaded from .mod files (mod_player.cpp, staticres.cpp:3198-3225). Optional;
  the core has a built-in SFX player for in-game action music (sfx_player.cpp with
  embedded music data in staticres.cpp).

  VOICE.VCE from the SegaCD version can be placed in the data directory for in-game
  voice playback (resource.cpp:900-941). Optional.

  SEQ cutscene playback is disabled in the libretro build: g_options is zero-initialized
  (game.cpp:30) and rs.cfg is never parsed, so use_seq_cutscenes defaults to false.
  The core always uses polygon-based cutscenes (cutscene.cpp).

  Upstream (0.5.5) additionally supports Amiga, Macintosh, PC98 data, MIDI music,
  OGG playback, SEQ cutscenes, and widescreen modes. None of these are in the
  libretro port.

files: []

exclusion_note: >
  Game engine core. All data files (game data, music, voice) are loaded from the content
  directory alongside the .MAP file via FileSystem. The core never accesses the system
  directory (RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_GET_SYSTEM_DIRECTORY is never called). The .info declares
  firmware_count=0, consistent with the code.

analysis:
  content_type: game_data
  content_extensions: ["map"]
  system_directory_used: false
  filesystem_access: true
  data_files_location: "same directory as loaded content"
  game_data_files:
    dos_floppy:
      required:
        - "LEVEL1.MAP through LEVEL7.MAP (level map data)"
        - "LEVEL1.* (MBK, PGE, PAL, CT, SPC, RP, ANI, OBJ, TBN, SGD, BNQ, LEV)"
        - "GLOBAL.ICN, GLOBAL.SPC, GLOBAL.FIB"
        - "PERSO.SPR, PERSO.OFF"
        - "FB_TXT.FNT"
        - "ENGCINE.TXT or equivalent language file"
        - "ENGCINE.BIN or equivalent"
      optional:
        - "intro, options, journal, etc. (.mod files for cutscene music)"
        - "VOICE.VCE (SegaCD voice data)"
    dos_cd:
      additional:
        - "INTRO.SEQ, CREDITS.SEQ, and other .SEQ cutscene videos (SEQ playback disabled in libretro build)"
    demo:
      archive: "DEMO_UK.ABA (contains all demo data in a single archive)"
  detection_order:
    - { file: "DEMO_UK.ABA", type: "DOS Demo" }
    - { file: "INTRO.SEQ", type: "DOS CD" }
    - { file: "LEVEL1.MAP", type: "DOS Floppy" }
    - { file: "LEVEL1.LEV", type: "Amiga (rejected by libretro port)" }
    - { file: "DEMO.LEV", type: "Amiga Demo (rejected by libretro port)" }