RiptOPL DOCS

Settings Reference

Every settings screen in RiptOPL, in the order the loader shows them. Each table lists the rows exactly as they are labelled on screen, with their values and what they do. Rows that open another screen are marked [sub-screen]. Per-game options are on the Per-game Settings page.

Where settings live
RiptOPL's master settings use settings_riptopl.cfg (with migration from conf_riptopl.cfg). That filename is separate from stock OPL's master config, but conf_network.cfg, app lists, per-game configuration and support files can still be shared. Favorites import from uOPL/wOPL is one-way: the next write saves RiptOPL's own OFAV format to favourites.bin, which those loaders cannot read back. Keep an original copy if you use them too. The settings home follows boot-directory discovery or Custom Settings Path; do not assume it is always mc0:/OPL/.
i Page return retention
Opening Start or Settings remembers the game/source page you paused on. Returning keeps that page selected while it is still visible; RiptOPL falls back to the first visible page only when the old page was disabled or removed.

The Settings Index

Settings on the Start menu opens the Settings Index: eight pages, then Save Changes.

PageWhat is on it
Game SourcesWhich devices are enabled and how each one starts; MMCE Settings
General & SystemLast-played, folders, IGR path, settings home, Write Operations, the parental lock, prefix paths, caches
NetworkProtocol, the PS2's address, the SMB and HTTP servers, POPSTARTER's network files
InterfaceGame display, theme, Coverflow, artwork, colours, language, screen position
Game LaunchingPS2 logo, default core, OSD and GSM defaults, Neutrino defaults
PS Emulation SettingsPOPSTARTER and Ember, the PS1 list, BDMA driver equip
Controller SettingsScrolling, confirm button, stick sensitivity, menu vibration, pad emulation
Audio SettingsSound effects, boot sound, background music

Game Sources

Which storage devices are enabled, and when each one starts. Every device ships Off, so a first boot lands on the Start menu with no tabs: enable exactly the devices your console has. The network protocol and addresses are on the Network page; prefix paths and cache sizes are on General & System.

Devices and start modes

OptionValuesDescription
Default MenuBDM Games / ETH Games / HDD Games / Apps / MMCE / FavoritesWhich tab is shown first on boot. Default Apps.
HDD (APA) Start ModeOff / Manual / AutoOPL's native APA/PFS HDD mode. Coexists with Internal HDD (exFAT): one shared ata_bd stack serves both, and each drive is matched by its partition layout at mount time (APA is refused on an MBR/GPT/exFAT disk). See Internal HDD.
MMCE Start ModeOff / Manual / AutoStartup mode for MMCE (SD2PSX / MemCard PRO2) game loading. See MMCE.
MMCE Settings[sub-screen]Slot, IGR bootcard, GameID and timing options for MMCE. See MMCE Settings below.
BDM Devices Start ModeOff / Manual / AutoStartup mode for the Block Device Manager, which serves the four rows below. Auto starts immediately; Manual waits until you open the tab; Off registers no mass-device tab at all.
Internal HDD (exFAT)Off / OnThe internal HDD formatted exFAT (MBR or GPT), mounted through BDM as an HDD Games tab. See Internal HDD.
USBOff / OnThe USB mass-storage driver. See USB / MX4SIO / iLink.
MX4SIOOff / OnThe MX4SIO SD-card adapter driver.
iLinkOff / OnThe iLink (IEEE 1394) mass-storage driver.
Network ConnectivityOff / Manual / AutoWhether and when the network stack starts. Off (the default) leaves the network adapter alone; Manual waits until you open the tab; Auto starts immediately. What it connects to is set on the Network page.
Applications Page Start ModeOff / Manual / AutoStartup mode for the Apps tab. See Apps.
Favorites Page Start ModeOff / Manual / AutoStartup mode for the Favorites tab. Off hides the tab. See Favorites.

MMCE Settings

Opened from MMCE Settings on Game Sources. Settings for SD2PSX / MemCard PRO2 adapters; see MMCE for full detail.

OptionValuesDescription
MMCE Slot0 / 1 / AutoWhich memory-card slot the MMCE adapter is in.
IGR Bootcard Slot(s)NONE / 0 / 1 / BOTHSlot(s) sent the "switch to bootcard" command on an in-game reset. See In-Game Reset.
Send GameID on LaunchOff / OnSends the Game ID to the MMCE adapter when a game launches, for adapters that switch memory-card profiles by game.
Wait cycles after /ACK low0–5Extra wait cycles after the /ACK signal goes low. Lower values may improve performance but can make some adapters unstable.
Use timeout alarmsOFF / ONMMCE timeout alarms. Off may help performance, but a timeout then freezes instead of failing cleanly.
MMCE Prefix Pathtext (path)Subfolder on the MMCE card that holds the OPL folder tree, instead of the card root.

General & System

One page: general behaviour first, then Write Operations and the parental lock, then prefix paths and cache sizes.

OptionValuesDescription
Remember Last Played GameOff / OnPre-selects the last launched game on the next boot. Off by default.
Auto Start0–9 (seconds)Launches the last played game after this many seconds. Shown only when Remember Last Played Game is on; 0 disables the countdown.
Browse Folders in Game ListOff / OnShows subfolders of CD/ and DVD/ as browsable entries. Off by default, and not supported on every device; see Folder browsing.
Languageinstalled languagesUI language. The same setting as on Interface.
IGR Pathtext (path)An ELF to boot after an in-game reset, instead of returning to RiptOPL. Keep it on the memory card (mc0:/mc1:): the post-reset loader cannot reach MMCE, so for MMCE chain through a memory-card loader such as PS2BBL. See In-Game Reset.
Custom Settings Pathtext (path)Saves settings to a folder you choose, for example mass0:/OPL. Blank uses the folder RiptOPL booted from. The device is loaded on demand, so it need not be mounted when you type the path.
GSM Defaults (All Games)[sub-screen]The global GSM video settings every game inherits unless it sets its own. Also on Interface and Game Launching. See GSM Video Modes.
Write OperationsOff / OnAllows RiptOPL to rename and delete titles and create VMC images. On by default. It never allows edits to an APA partition table; see Disk safety.
Parental Lock Passwordtext (password)Blank disables the lock. See Parental lock below.
Debug ColorsOff / OnColoured debug overlays, for developers. Off by default.
BDM Prefix Pathtext (path)Subfolder that holds the OPL folder tree on BDM devices (USB, MX4SIO, iLink, exFAT HDD), instead of the drive root. See BDM Prefix.
ETH Prefix Pathtext (path)The same for an SMB share. See SMB.
HDD Spindown0–20 (minutes)Spins the internal HDD down after this many idle minutes. 0 disables it. Default 20.
Cache Game List (HDD APA)Off / OnCaches the APA HDD game list to speed up later scans. Off by default.
BDM Cache0–32Read-ahead cache size in sectors for BDM devices. Default 16. Larger values can smooth streaming but use more IOP RAM.
HDD Cache0–32Read-ahead cache size for the APA HDD. Default 8.
SMB Cache0–32Read-ahead cache size for SMB. Default 16.

Folder browsing

With Browse Folders in Game List on, subfolders of CD/ and DVD/ appear in the list as browsable entries instead of the loader flattening everything into one long list. It is off by default.

โš  Supported devices only
Folder browsing works on BDM devices (USB, MX4SIO, iLink, exFAT HDD), MMCE, and UDPFS in Files mode. It does not apply to the APA/PFS HDD or the PS1/VCD list, which do not scan a CD/DVD directory tree at all, nor to the UDPFS block device. SMB is not supported yet โ€” its paths use a different separator and it is deliberately deferred. Turning the setting on simply has no effect on those pages.

Parental lock

Set a password in Parental Lock Password and save. Leave the field blank to disable the lock. An invalid password, such as the master override itself, is rejected.

What the lock actually gates

The parental lock guards configuration and destructive actions, not game launching. Anyone can still start any game on the list. What is behind the password:

โš  It is not a content filter
If your aim is to stop a particular game being played, the parental lock will not do it โ€” it stops the library being changed, not played.

Setting, using and clearing it

To set one, enter a password in the field above and save. To remove one, clear the field and save โ€” RiptOPL confirms with "Parental lock disabled."

Entering the correct password unlocks for the rest of the session: RiptOPL stops asking until the next restart, so you are not re-prompted between one settings screen and the next.

โ„น The master override disables the lock, it does not just unlock it
Entering the master override at the prompt does not grant one-time access โ€” it deletes the stored password and writes the config immediately, showing "Parental lock disabled." After that there is no lock at all until you set a new one. The master password also cannot be chosen as your own: trying to set it is rejected with "Error - this password cannot be used."

Network

What the network stack connects to. Whether it starts at all is Network Connectivity on Game Sources. Rows that do not apply to the selected protocol are greyed or hidden.

Protocol and PS2 address

OptionValuesDescription
ProtocolSMB / UDPFS / UDPBD / HTTPOnly one protocol can own the network adapter in a session. First activation can start live; changing an already loaded protocol needs a restart. UDPFS and UDPBD need a static PS2 IP. See Network Boot and HTTP.
AccessFiles / IMGFiles serves loose ISOs from a folder (-bsd=udpfs); IMG serves a disk image as a block device (-bsd=udpfsbd). Only UDPFS lets you choose: SMB and HTTP lock it to Files, UDPBD to IMG.
SMB VersionSMBv1 / SMB2Which SMB dialect to speak. SMBv1 is the default. Greyed unless Protocol is SMB, but the value is kept. Applies to browsing and in-game reading, from the next boot. See SMB.
Advanced OptionsOff / OnMakes Ethernet Link Mode and the SMB Port editable. On by default in RiptOPL.
Ethernet Link ModeAuto / 100Mbit Full-duplex / 100Mbit Half-duplex / 10Mbit Full-duplex / 10Mbit Half-duplexForces a link speed and duplex. Auto negotiates.
IP Address TypeStatic / DHCPHow the PS2 gets its address. UDPBD and UDPFS require Static: they do not use the SMB stack, so DHCP is never resolved for them.
IP Addressfour octetsThe PS2's static IP address.
Maskfour octetsSubnet mask.
Gatewayfour octetsDefault gateway.
DNS Serverfour octetsDNS server address.

SMB Server

OptionValuesDescription
Address TypeIP / NetBIOSWhether the server is addressed by IP or by NetBIOS name.
Addresstext or four octetsServer IP or NetBIOS hostname.
Port0–65535 (default 1111)SMB port. RiptOPL defaults to 1111 (was 445); the server and client must match. PS2 Servers currently defaults to 1111; enter the protocol-specific value its launcher displays. Standard Samba/native shares commonly use 445.
Sharetext (default games)Share name on the server. Leave blank to list available shares.
Usertext (default guest)SMB username.
PasswordtextSMB password. Leave blank for guest authentication.

HTTP server

Shown only when Protocol is HTTP: HTTP server (IP), HTTP port (default 1100), HTTP base path (default /) and Test HTTP server. They are separate from the SMB fields, so pointing HTTP elsewhere never changes SMB. See HTTP.

POPSTARTER Network Settings

The POPSTARTER Network Settings row (also on PS Emulation Settings) opens POPSTARTER's own network files, IPCONFIG.DAT and SMBCONFIG.DAT, which PS1 games over SMB need. They are not RiptOPL's settings.

i Apply and reconnect immediately
Confirming the Network page applies the current values and begins a fresh SMB connection attempt immediately; the explicit Reconnect action does the same without leaving the page. If the network page already shows a failed connection, Select / Refresh retries it there, without reopening settings or saving the whole configuration.

Interface

How the menu looks: game display, theme, artwork, colours, language, and screen position.

OptionValuesDescription
PS2/PS1 Game DisplayBoth (L3) / Mixed / PS2 / PS1Both (L3) keeps separate PS2 and PS1 pages toggled with L3. Mixed combines them and L3 cycles Mixed / PS2 / PS1. PS2 or PS1 shows only that type and fully disables L3. APPS and Favorites use their own rules. The same setting as on PS Emulation Settings. See PS1 Games.
Applications DisplayMixed / Apps / PS1ELF (L3)Mixed shows every ELF in one APPS list with L3 disabled. Apps / PS1ELF (L3) moves titles containing [PS1] to a second L3 page; launch behaviour is unchanged.
Video ModeAuto / PAL / NTSC / …Output mode for the menu. Auto follows the console. The two FLICKER-FREE entries at the end of the list send the same 480i/576i signal but read both fields from the same lines, so thin lines and font edges stop strobing on a CRT — at the cost of half the vertical detail. Games use GSM instead; see GSM Video Modes.
Themeinstalled themesActive theme. The default is Coverflow. Themes are read from THM/ on each device. See Theme Engine.
Coverflow Settings[sub-screen]See Coverflow Settings.
Artwork Settings[sub-screen]See Artwork Settings.
Colors[sub-screen]See Colors.
VCD Games List Settings[sub-screen]How the PS1 list is shown. See VCD Games List Settings.
Languageinstalled languagesUI language. English is built in. The other 33 ship as lang_*.lng files in RIPTOPL-LANGS-*.zip; each one placed in an LNG/ folder is added to the list. See Languages.
NotificationsOff / OnBrief on-screen notices when a config, theme or language file loads, or a partition mounts. On by default.
Sort Games AlphabeticallyOff / OnSorts game lists by title. Off lists games in the order they are found. On by default.
Automatic RefreshOff / OnRe-scans for newly connected devices and adds their games without a manual refresh. Off by default.
WidescreenOff / OnDraws the menu for a 16:9 screen. On by default in RiptOPL.
H-POS−300–300Horizontal screen offset.
V-POS−300–300Vertical screen offset.
Overscan0–100Shrinks the drawn area inward to compensate for overscan.
Show GameID Barcode (Pixel FX)On (All) / On (POPSTARTER only) / On (PS2 only) / OffDraws a game-ID barcode as a game launches, read by Pixel FX / RetroGEM / PS2Digital devices to switch profiles, for PS2 games, PS1 VCDs or both. Its PS1 half is the same setting as RetroGEM Game ID on PS Emulation Settings.
GSM Defaults (All Games)[sub-screen]The global GSM settings. See GSM Video Modes.
i Remembered L3 views
Wherever L3 does something, the view you leave a page on is remembered across reboots: every device page, the Favorites shelf and the APPS split side keep their own position. Pressing L3 never writes to storage: a position rides along with a write that already happens โ€” launching a game, or saving settings โ€” so toggling and then powering off without doing either is the one case that is not kept. A remembered view the display pickers above no longer allow is discarded, not forced.

Coverflow Settings

Tunable live while the Coverflow theme is active. See Coverflow for full detail.

OptionValuesDescription
Cover Count3 / 5How many covers are shown at once. 3 = one centre plus one each side; 5 = one centre plus two each side.
Center ScaleNone / Small / Medium / LargeHow much the center cover is enlarged relative to the side covers (stored as 0 / 15 / 30 / 45). None draws every cover the same size.
Animation SpeedOff / Fast / Normal / SlowDuration of the sliding animation when scrolling through the carousel: Off = instant snap (0 ms), Fast = 100 ms, Normal = 200 ms, Slow = 400 ms.
Dim Side CoversOff / OnDarkens the covers to the left and right of the centered selection.

Artwork Settings

OptionValuesDescription
Cover ArtOff / OnLoads cover art. When off, no art images are loaded even if present. On by default.
Background ArtOff / OnShows a game's background image (<ID>_BG in ART/) when the theme uses one, including behind the game list in both built-in themes. Off by default.
Cover Art .tar ArchiveOff / OnAlso reads art from an ART/art.tar archive alongside the loose image files. Off by default.
Art Delay0 (Instant) / 2 (Fast) / 5 (Medium) / 8 (Standard)How many frames the cursor must rest on a title before its art starts loading. 0, the default, loads straight away; a higher value skips art for titles you scroll past.

Colors

OptionValuesDescription
Text Colorcolour pickerNormal UI text.
Selected Colorcolour pickerSelected/highlighted UI text.
Dialog Colorcolour pickerBackground tint of dialog boxes.
Game Title Colorcolour pickerGame titles in the list.
Background Colorcolour pickerBackground of the main UI.
Plasma Blend Colorcolour pickerLow-end blend colour of the animated plasma background.
Reset Colors[button]Resets the colours to RiptOPL's own built-in defaults (the navy <OPL> scheme), not the active theme's.

Game Launching

What happens as a game starts, and the global defaults per-game settings fall back to.

OptionValuesDescription
PS2 LogoOff / OnShows the PS2 logo before a game, when the disc logo is valid and matches the console's region. On by default.
Default Loader Core<OPL> / NeutrinoCore for games whose per-game Loader Core is Default. <OPL> (the default) is the native core; Neutrino chains the external neutrino.elf. A per-game choice always wins. See Neutrino Core.
OSD Defaults[sub-screen]The global OSD Settings: the console language, screen size and video mode handed to games that do not set their own.
GSM Defaults (All Games)[sub-screen]The global GSM settings. See GSM Video Modes.
Neutrino DeviceAuto / Memory Card / Game's DeviceControls Neutrino ELF discovery. Auto checks a valid custom path, then the active game's prefix/device root, then the mounted APA HDD data home, then mc0:/mc1:. Memory Card tries the two memory-card slots first, then normal fallbacks. Game's Device searches only the active game's own device and has no memory-card fallback. For MMCE + GameID switching, keep Neutrino on mmceN: (or the MMCE Prefix Path), not the same slot's mcN:. See Neutrino Core.
Neutrino VideoOff / 240p / 480p / 1080i x1 / 1080i x2 / 1080i x3Default Neutrino -gsm video mode for games whose per-game picker is Default. Off by default.
Neutrino GSM CompatibilityOff / Type 1 (GSM/OPL) / Type 2 / Type 3Field-flipping fix for games that shake or tear under a forced Neutrino video mode: the :c half of -gsm. Greyed until a Neutrino Video mode is set. Off by default.
Neutrino Advanced Arguments[sub-screen]The structured global Neutrino arguments editor. These apply to every Neutrino game; per-game arguments add on top. Prefix a flag with $ to disable it without deleting it. See Neutrino Core.
Setting the Neutrino ELF path longer than 31 characters

Auto covers the common locations automatically. If you need a fully custom path (e.g. mass0:NEUTRINO/neutrino.elf) you can set neutrino_path directly in settings_riptopl.cfg. In Auto mode, sbResolveNeutrinoPath() checks a valid custom path before the active game device; Game's Device deliberately ignores it.

OSD Settings

The PS2 system configuration a game sees as it boots: its language, screen size and video mode. Open it globally from OSD Defaults above, or for one game from OSD Settings in the Triangle menu. This is an OPL core feature. See Per-game Settings.

OptionValuesDescription
Settings ModeGlobal / Per GameWhether this game uses the global OSD settings or its own. Fixed to global when opened from OSD Defaults.
EnableOff / OnApplies the overrides below. When off, the console's own settings are used.
OSD LanguageJapanese / English / French / Spanish / German / Italian / Dutch / Portuguese / Russian / Korean / Traditional Chinese / Simplified ChineseThe language written into the system configuration handed to the game.
Screen SizeFull Screen / …The TV aspect ratio handed to the game.
Video ModeSystem Default / …The video output mode handed to the game.

PS Emulation Settings

PS1 games: both cores (POPSTARTER and Ember), the PS1 list, and the BDMA driver equip. See PS1 Games.

OptionValuesDescription
PS2/PS1 Game DisplayBoth (L3) / Mixed / PS2 / PS1The same setting as on Interface.
POPSTARTER.ELF DeviceDefault / Memory Card / USB / MX4SIO / MMCE / HDD (exFAT) / HDD (APA) / Custom / Game's Device / iLinkWhich device holds POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF. Default tries the boot device, then the VCD's own device. Game's Device uses only the VCD's device. Custom shows POPSTARTER.ELF Path. SMB PS1 VCDs also use an SB.<name>.ELF selector.
POPSTARTER.ELF Pathtext (path)Shown only with Custom. Falls back to the device's POPS folder when blank or missing. The keyboard stops at 31 characters; longer paths go in settings_riptopl.cfg.
RetroGEM Game IDOff / OnDraws the game-ID barcode read by Pixel FX / RetroGEM / PS2Digital when a PS1 VCD launches. On by default.
Ember Display ModeDefault / 240p / 480pOutput mode Ember uses. 240p or 480p is written to settings.txt in the launching device's EMBER folder; Default removes that setting again, and the file too if it held nothing else.
VCD Games List Settings[sub-screen]See below.
POPSTARTER Network Settings[sub-screen]POPSTARTER's own network files, needed for PS1 over SMB. See POPSTARTER Network Settings.
VCD BDMA Apply on LaunchOff / OnOn by default. Launching a PS1 VCD then equips its matching exFAT driver on the memory card first, and BDMA Source and BDMA Mode are hidden. Turn it off to manage those yourself.
BDMA SourceUSB / MX4SIO / MMCE / HDD / iLinkWhich device's POPS/ folder holds the loose BDMAssault driver files. Shown only when VCD BDMA Apply on Launch is off.
BDMA ModeUSB (FAT32) / USB (exFAT) / MX4SIO (exFAT) / MMCE (exFAT) / HDD (exFAT) / iLinkThe block-device driver POPSTARTER loads. Changing it copies the matching pair from the source device's POPS/ folder to the memory card; FAT32 uses POPSTARTER's built-in driver. Shown only when VCD BDMA Apply on Launch is off.
USB BDMA DriverAsk / exFAT / fat32For PS1 VCDs launched from a USB stick only. The PS2 cannot tell a fat32 stick from an exFAT one, so POPSTARTER's driver has to be chosen: Ask prompts on every USB VCD launch; exFAT or fat32 pins the answer.

VCD Games List Settings

Opened from PS Emulation Settings or Interface.

OptionValuesDescription
Hide PS1 Game ID (VCD list)Off / OnOn by default. Hides a leading game-ID prefix (e.g. SLUS_005.51.) from PS1 names, for display and sorting. Launch, cover art and favorites are unchanged.
First disc only (multi-disc PS1)Off / OnOn by default. Lists only Disc 1 of a multi-disc game (POPSLoader style), hiding (Disc 2), (CD 2) and so on. All discs stay available for in-game swapping, and Favorites are not filtered.
Display PP.<ID>.POPS partition games (HDD)Off / OnAPA HDD only: lists one-game partitions named PP.<ID>.POPS.<name> (e.g. PP.SCES-01492.POPS.MEDIEVIL) as PS1 games. Other PP.* partitions stay hidden.

Controller Settings

OptionValuesDescription
Scrolling SpeedSlow / Medium / FastList scrolling speed. Default Medium.
Select ButtonCircle / CrossWhich face button confirms. The default follows the console: Circle on Japanese consoles, Cross elsewhere.
Analog X-Axis SensitivityOff / Low / Medium / HighHow readily the left stick moves the cursor horizontally. Off stops the stick navigating on that axis. Default Low.
Analog Y-Axis SensitivityOff / Low / Medium / HighThe same for the vertical axis.
Controller Vibration in MenusOff / OnA short vibration when moving the cursor, confirming or going back. Needs a DualShock in analog mode. On by default.
Controller Emulation[sub-screen]The global Pad Emulator Settings: DualShock 3/4 over USB or Bluetooth, multitap emulation, per-port emulation and vibration, pairing, and the Fake DS3 workaround. See PADEMU.
Controller Macros[sub-screen]The global Pad Macro Settings: analog slow-down per stick, axis invert, and turbo button speed.

Audio Settings

OptionValuesDescription
Sound EffectsOff / OnUI navigation sound effects. On by default in RiptOPL.
Boot SoundOff / OnPlays a sound when RiptOPL starts. On by default in RiptOPL.
Background MusicOff / OnStreams background music. On by default, and silent unless a music file is found (see below).
Sound Effects Volume0–100Volume of UI sound effects.
Boot Sound Volume0–100Volume of the boot sound.
Background Music Volume0–100Volume of background music.
Default Theme Musictext (path)Path to a music file to stream when the active theme has no music of its own.

Where the audio comes from

Background music is Ogg Vorbis (.ogg). RiptOPL streams it rather than loading it into memory, so a long track costs no extra RAM. It looks in this order and takes the first that works:

  1. <theme>/sound/bgm.ogg โ€” a disk theme's own music.
  2. The Default Theme Music path set above.
  3. THM/bgm.ogg under the active settings home โ€” built-in themes only (<OPL> and <Coverflow>). A disk theme never falls through to this.

That order is why a disk theme with its own sound/bgm.ogg ignores your Default Theme Music setting: the theme wins. To use your own track everywhere, pick a theme that ships no music of its own.

Sound effects are PS2 ADPCM (.adp, 44.1 kHz), supplied by the theme in its sound/ folder. There are eight:

FilePlayed when
boot.adpRiptOPL starts (the Boot Sound setting)
cursor.adpMoving the cursor
confirm.adpConfirming
cancel.adpGoing back
message.adpA message or dialog appears
transition.adpChanging screen
bd_connect.adpA block device is connected
bd_disconnect.adpA block device is removed

The two built-in themes use effects embedded in the ELF and read nothing from the card. A disk theme supplying only some of the eight falls back to the built-in sound for the rest. See Theme Engine.

Per-game Settings (quick reference)

Press Triangle on a game to open its menu. Each screen is documented in full on the Per-game Settings page.

Which settings are greyed out under the Neutrino core?

OPL-only features are unavailable when a game is set to use the Neutrino core. In the per-game Game Settings screen the following are greyed (shown with a "Not used with Neutrino" hint): Modes 4 and 6 (Skip Videos and Disable IGR), Download Defaults, and the Configure GSM, Cheat Settings and Controller Emulation / Controller Macros screens. Modes 1/2/3/5 stay active because they map directly to Neutrino's -gc= flag. Mode 7 is Neutrino-only and is available (passes -gc=7 to Neutrino). DMA Mode, Game ID, Custom ELF, and VMC settings remain active regardless of core. See Per-game Settings.