Settings Reference
Every settings screen in RiptOPL, grouped by menu. The tables list each option exactly as it appears in the UI, with its values and a brief description. Options that open a sub-screen are marked [sub-screen]. Options that exist only in per-game context are on the Per-game Settings page.
i Where settings live
All global settings are saved to
settings_riptopl.cfg in the OPL folder on the memory card (or the device the config was
loaded from). RiptOPL uses its own file so it never collides with stock OPL or wOPL on the same card.
Artwork, themes, VMC files and favourites.bin remain shared.General Settings
Reached via Settings → General Settings. Contains launch-path helpers, global Neutrino configuration, housekeeping options, and — below their own splitters — the prefix paths and cache sizes. The PS1/BDMA plumbing now lives on its own VCD Settings page.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Debug Colors | Off / On | Draws colored debug overlays on the screen. For developers; leave off in normal use. |
| PS2 Logo | Off / On | Shows the regional PS2 logo animation before launching a game (only when the disc signature matches the console region). |
| IGR Path | text (path) | Path to a custom ELF that is loaded instead of returning to the browser on an in-game reset (IGR). Leave blank to return to the browser. Hint: Boots custom ELF after an IGR. |
| Default Loader Core | <OPL> / Neutrino | Global default core for games whose per-game Loader Core is set to Default. <OPL> (the default) is the native EE core; Neutrino chains the external neutrino.elf. A per-game choice always overrides this. See Neutrino Core. |
| Neutrino Launch Args | [sub-screen] | Opens the structured global Neutrino Args editor. Flags set here apply to every game that uses the Neutrino core unless overridden per-game. Prefix a flag with $ to disable it without deleting it. |
| Neutrino Device | Auto / Memory Card / USB / MX4SIO / MMCE / HDD (exFAT) / HDD (APA) / Game's Device | Which device type to scan for <root>:/neutrino/neutrino.elf. Auto probes the active game device first, then a legacy custom path, then mc0 and mc1. Game's Device probes the game's own device only — there is no memory-card fallback, so a miss aborts the launch with a "not found" message. Choose a specific type if your ELF is on USB, MMCE, or an HDD. See Neutrino Core. |
| Neutrino Video | Off / 240p / 480p / 1080i x1 / 1080i x2 / 1080i x3 | Global default for Neutrino's -gsm video mode. Games whose per-game Neutrino Video picker is left on Default follow this value. Off by default (no forced mode). See Neutrino Core. |
| Neutrino GSM Compatibility | Off / Type 1 (GSM/OPL) / Type 2 / Type 3 | Field-flipping fix for games that shake or tear under a forced Neutrino video mode — the :c half of -gsm. Only emitted when a video mode is actually set. Off by default. |
| Write Operations | Off / On | Enables write access to storage media. Required for VMC creation and some other write operations. Disable if you want a read-only mode. |
| Remember Last Played Game | Off / On | Remembers and pre-selects the last launched game on the next boot. |
| Auto Start (seconds) | 0–9 | Auto-launches the last played game after the specified number of seconds. Visible only when Remember Last Played Game is on. 0 disables the countdown. |
| Browse Folders in Game List | Off / On | Shows subfolders of CD/ and DVD/ as browsable entries — select to open, cancel to go back. Off by default. |
| Controller Vibration in Menus | Off / On | Short vibration when moving the cursor, confirming, or going back. Needs a DualShock in analog mode. Off by default. |
Setting the Neutrino ELF path longer than 31 characters
The in-UI Neutrino Device picker covers the common locations automatically. If you need a
fully custom path (e.g. mass0:NEUTRINO/neutrino.elf) you can set the
neutrino_path key directly in settings_riptopl.cfg. The auto-detect logic in
sbResolveNeutrinoPath() gives this value priority when the file exists.
Prefix Paths
Prefix paths are prepended to game filenames when scanning a device. Useful when games are stored in a subfolder rather than the device root. They sit below a Prefix Paths splitter on the same General Settings screen.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| BDM Prefix Path | Subfolder path prepended when listing BDM (USB / MX4SIO / iLink / HDD-exFAT) games. Example: PS2/. |
| ETH Prefix Path | Subfolder path prepended when listing SMB share games. |
| MMCE Prefix Path | Subfolder path prepended when listing MMCE games. |
Cache & Storage
Below a Cache & Storage splitter, at the bottom of the same General Settings screen.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic HDD Spin Down | 0–20 (minutes) | Spins down the internal HDD after this many minutes of inactivity. 0 disables spin-down. |
| Cache Game List (HDD) | Off / On | Caches the APA/HDD game list to speed up subsequent launches. |
| BDM Cache | 0–32 | Read-ahead cache size in sectors for BDM devices (USB, MX4SIO, iLink, HDD-exFAT). Default 16. Larger values improve streaming but consume more IOP RAM. |
| HDD Cache | 0–32 | Read-ahead cache size for the APA/PFS HDD path. Default 8. |
| SMB Cache | 0–32 | Read-ahead cache size for the SMB/ETH path. Default 16. |
Device Settings
Reached via Settings → Device Settings. Strictly device selection: which storage devices are enabled, their start modes, and the network transport rows. Prefix paths and cache sizes live on General Settings; the MMCE game-config rows have their own MMCE Settings page.
Device enable & Start Modes
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Default Menu | BDM Games / ETH Games / HDD Games / Apps / MMCE / Favourites | Which tab is shown first on boot. |
| BDM Start Mode | Off / Manual / Auto | Block-Device Manager (USB, MX4SIO, iLink) startup mode. Auto starts immediately; Manual waits for you to press Start; Off disables the whole BDM subsystem. |
| USB | Off / On | Enables the USB mass-storage driver. Disabling frees IOP RAM. See USB / MX4SIO / iLink. |
| iLink | Off / On | Enables the iLink (IEEE 1394) mass-storage driver. |
| MX4SIO | Off / On | Enables the MX4SIO SPI adapter driver. |
| HDD (GPT/MBR) | Off / On | Enables the BDM path for exFAT / GPT / MBR hard-drive access (shows as an HDD Games tab per slot). Coexists with the APA HDD Start Mode below — both rows stay enabled. One shared ata_bd stack serves APA and BDM, and per-drive arbitration happens at mount time (APA is refused on an MBR/GPT/exFAT disk). |
| HDD (APA) Start Mode | Off / Manual / Auto | OPL's native APA/PFS HDD mode. Coexists with HDD (GPT/MBR) above — enabling one no longer greys the other. See Internal HDD. |
| Network Protocol | Off / Manual / Auto | Start mode for the network stack, and the gate for the three rows below. Off (the default) leaves the NIC alone and greys them; Manual waits for you to press Start; Auto starts immediately. See Network Boot. |
| Protocol | SMB / UDPFS / UDPBD | Which transport the single NIC carries — only one per session. Greyed while Network Protocol is Off. SMB is the classic network-share mode; UDPFS and UDPBD stream games over the LAN and require a static PS2 IP (DHCP is not resolved). UDPBD uses the SUDPBDv2 monolithic driver. See Network Boot. |
| SMB Version | SMBv1 / SMB2 | Which SMB dialect to speak. SMBv1 is the default. Live only while Protocol is SMB and greyed otherwise, but the chosen value is preserved rather than reset. It applies to both browsing and in-game reading, and takes effect on the next boot. See SMB (network share). |
| Access | Files / IMG | Files uses the udpfs_ioman filesystem to serve loose ISOs from a folder (-bsd=udpfs); IMG uses the udpfs_bd block device to serve a served disk image (-bsd=udpfsbd). Only UDPFS lets you choose: SMB locks the row to Files and UDPBD locks it to IMG — greyed, not hidden. See Network Boot. |
| Applications Start Mode | Off / Manual / Auto | Startup mode for the Apps tab. |
| Favourites Start Mode | Off / Manual / Auto | Startup mode for the Favourites tab. Set to Off to hide the Favourites tab entirely. See Favourites. |
| MMCE Start Mode | Off / Manual / Auto | Startup mode for MMCE (SD2PSX / MemCard PRO2) game loading. See MMCE. |
VCD Settings
Reached via Settings → VCD Settings. PS1-via-POPSTARTER launch configuration, the BDMA exFAT driver equip, and the VCD list display options. See PS1 Games.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| POPSTARTER Device | Default / Memory Card / USB / MX4SIO / MMCE / HDD (exFAT) / HDD (APA) / Custom / Game's Device | Which device type holds POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF. Default resolves the launch device automatically; Game's Device pins it to the device the PS1 game itself lives on. Selecting Custom reveals the free-text POPSTARTER Path field below. SMB PS1 VCDs additionally use an SB.<name>.ELF selector. See PS1 Games. |
| POPSTARTER Path | text (path) | Custom path to POPSTARTER.ELF (up to 31 characters in the UI; longer paths can be set directly in settings_riptopl.cfg). Shown only when POPSTARTER Device is set to Custom. Blank silently falls back to the device POPS folder. See PS1 Games. |
| VCD BDMA Apply on Launch | Off / On | On by default. When on, launching a PS1 VCD auto-equips its matching exFAT driver to the memory card before boot, and the manual BDMA Source and BDMA Mode pickers below are hidden. Turn it off to manage those pickers yourself. See PS1 Games. |
| BDMA Source | USB / MX4SIO / MMCE / HDD | Which device holds the BDMAssault driver files (usbd.irx.*, usbhdfsd.irx.*). Only relevant when playing PS1 games from an exFAT drive. Shown only when VCD BDMA Apply on Launch is Off. See PS1 Games. |
| BDMA Mode | USB (FAT32) / USB (exFAT) / MX4SIO (exFAT) / MMCE (exFAT) / HDD (exFAT) | Block-device driver POPSTARTER loads for exFAT media. Changing this copies the appropriate modules to the memory card. FAT32 uses the built-in driver (no copy needed). Shown only when VCD BDMA Apply on Launch is Off. See PS1 Games. |
| Hide PS1 Game ID (VCD list) | Off / On | On by default. Cosmetic only — hides a leading game-ID prefix (e.g. SLUS_005.51.) from PS1/VCD list names, for both display and sorting. Names without an ID are shown as-is. Does not change launch, cover art, or favourites. See PS1 Games. |
| First disc only (multi-disc PS1) | Off / On | On by default. Shows only Disc 1 of a multi-disc PS1 game in the device lists (POPSLoader style), hiding files named (Disc 2), (CD 2), etc. All discs stay on the card for in-game swapping, and Favourites are not filtered. See PS1 Games. |
MMCE Settings
Reached via Settings → MMCE Settings — its own main-menu page; only the MMCE Start Mode row remains on Device Settings. Settings for SD2PSX / MemCard PRO2 adapters. See MMCE for full detail.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| MMCE Slot | 0 / 1 / Auto | Which memory-card slot the MMCE adapter is in. |
| IGR Bootcard Slot(s) | NONE / 0 / 1 / BOTH | Slot(s) to which the "switch to bootcard" command is sent on in-game reset (IGR). |
| Send GameID on Launch | Off / On | Sends the Game ID to the MMCE adapter when a game is launched (for adapters that can auto-switch profiles by game ID). |
| Wait cycles after /ACK low | 0–5 | Extra wait cycles inserted after the SPI /ACK signal goes low. Lower values may improve performance at the cost of stability on some adapters. |
| Use timeout alarms | OFF / ON | Enables MMCE timeout alarms. Turning this off may improve performance but a timeout will then cause a freeze rather than a graceful error. |
Display Settings
Reached via Settings → Display Settings. Controls the visual appearance, video mode, and cover-art behavior.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Theme | list of installed themes | Active theme. The default is Coverflow. Themes are scanned from thm/ on each device. See Theme Engine. |
| Language | list of installed languages | UI language. Languages are scanned from lang/ folders. 31 languages ship internally; extra *.lng files extend the list. |
| Automatic Sorting | Off / On | Alphabetically sorts the game list automatically. When off, games appear in the order they are discovered. |
| Automatic Refresh | Off / On | Periodically re-scans for newly plugged-in devices and adds their games without requiring a manual refresh. |
| Cover Art | Off / On | Enables cover-art display. When off, no cover images are loaded even if present. |
| Cover Art .tar Archive | Off / On | Off by default. Opt-in loader that also reads cover art from an ART/art.tar archive alongside the loose image files. |
| Default game view | Both / ISO / VCD | Controls which game list is shown by default on VCD-capable device tabs. Both keeps the per-device L3 toggle active (defaults to ISO). ISO locks every tab to disc games. VCD locks every tab to PS1 games. See PS1 Games. |
| Notifications | Off / On | Shows brief on-screen notifications when a config, theme, or language file is loaded, or when a storage partition is mounted. |
| Coverflow Settings | [sub-screen] | Opens the Coverflow Settings sub-screen. See below. |
| Text Color | color picker | Color of normal UI text. |
| Selected Color | color picker | Color of selected/highlighted UI text. |
| Dialog Color | color picker | Background tint of dialog boxes. |
| Background Color | color picker | Background color of the main UI. |
| Plasma Blend Color | color picker | Low-end blend color of the animated plasma background. |
| Reset Colors | [button] | Resets all five color pickers to RiptOPL's own built-in defaults (the fork's navy <OPL> scheme), not the active theme's colors. |
| Video Mode | Default / PAL / NTSC / VESA / etc. | Forces a specific output video mode for the OPL UI. Default uses the console's region setting. Does not affect game launch video mode (see GSM in per-game settings). |
| H-POS | −300–300 | Horizontal screen offset adjustment. |
| V-POS | −300–300 | Vertical screen offset adjustment. |
| Overscan | 0–100 | Overscan compensation adjustment (shrinks the rendered area inward). |
| Widescreen | Off / On | Scales the UI to a 16:9 aspect ratio. On by default in RiptOPL. |
| Show GameID Barcode (Pixel FX) | Off / On | Renders a visual Game ID barcode overlay compatible with Pixel FX devices. See Per-game Settings for Game ID configuration. |
Coverflow Settings
Sub-screen opened from the Coverflow Settings button in Display Settings. Tunable live while the Coverflow theme is active. See Coverflow for full detail.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cover Count | 3 / 5 | How many covers are shown at once. 3 = one centre plus one each side; 5 = one centre plus two each side. |
| Center Scale | None / Small / Medium / Large | How 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 Speed | Off / Fast / Normal / Slow | Duration 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 Covers | Off / On | Darkens the covers to the left and right of the centered selection. |
Audio Settings
Reached via Settings → Audio Settings.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Effects | Off / On | Enables UI navigation sound effects. On by default in RiptOPL. |
| Boot Sound | Off / On | Plays a boot sound when OPL starts. On by default in RiptOPL. |
| Background Music | Off / On | Enables background music streaming. The music file is set by the active theme or the Default Theme Music path below. |
| Sound Effects Volume | 0–100 | Volume of UI sound effects. |
| Boot Sound Volume | 0–100 | Volume of the boot sound. |
| Background Music Volume | 0–100 | Volume of background music. |
| Default Theme Music | text (path) | Path to a music file to stream when the active theme has no BGM of its own. Leave blank to use the theme's default. Hint: Set path to stream music for internal theme. |
Controller Settings
Reached via Settings → Controller Settings. Controls navigation behavior and optionally opens the PADEMU (DualShock 3/4 USB or Bluetooth) and PADMACRO sub-screens when those features are compiled in.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scrolling Speed | Slow / Medium / Fast | Speed of analog-stick and D-pad list scrolling in the UI. |
| Select Button | Cross / Circle | Which face button confirms a selection. Regional preference; Japanese convention uses Circle. |
| Analog X-Axis Sensitivity | Low / Normal / High | Sensitivity of the left analog stick's horizontal axis for list navigation. |
| Analog Y-Axis Sensitivity | Low / Normal / High | Sensitivity of the left analog stick's vertical axis for list navigation. |
| Configure PADEMU | [sub-screen] | Opens global pad-emulator settings for DualShock 3/4 USB or Bluetooth. Options include enable/disable, mode (USB/BT), Multitap emulation, port assignment, vibration, and device pairing. Compiled into the standard RiptOPL ELF by default. |
| Configure PADMACRO | [sub-screen] | Opens analog slowdown, axis invert, and turbo-button-speed settings. Compiled into the standard RiptOPL ELF by default. |
OSD Settings
Reached from the per-game menu via Game Settings → OSD. Overrides the PS2 console OSD language and video configuration for a specific game. Settings Mode controls whether changes are saved globally or per-game.
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Settings Mode | Global / Per Game | Whether the OSD overrides apply to all games or just this one. |
| Enable | Off / On | Activates the OSD overrides below. When off, the console defaults are used. |
| OSD Language | Japanese / English / French / Spanish / German / Italian / Dutch / Portuguese / Russian / Korean / Traditional Chinese / Simplified Chinese | Forces a custom language in the PS2 system configuration handed to the game. Only active when Enable is on. |
| Screen Size | Full Screen / … | Forces TV aspect ratio in the PS2 system configuration. |
| Video Mode | System Default / … | Forces a video output mode in the PS2 system configuration. |
Parental Lock Settings
Reached via Settings → Parental Lock Settings. Sets a password that must be entered before changing settings. Leave the password blank to disable the parental lock entirely.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Parental Lock Password | Text password. Leave blank to disable. The master override password bypasses any forgotten lock (ask in the community forums). An invalid password (e.g. the master password itself entered as a new password) is rejected. |
Network Settings
Reached via Settings → Network Settings. Configures the PS2 IP address and the SMB server. An Advanced Options toggle reveals Ethernet link-mode controls.
PS2 Network
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Options | Off / On | Shows the Ethernet Link Mode selector when on. |
| Ethernet Link Mode | Auto / 100Mbit Full-duplex / 100Mbit Half-duplex / 10Mbit Full-duplex / 10Mbit Half-duplex | Forces a specific NIC link speed and duplex. Auto auto-negotiates. Visible only when Advanced Options is on. |
| IP Address Type | Static / DHCP | How the PS2 acquires its network address. UDPBD and UDPFS require Static — they do not use the ETH/SMB stack, so DHCP is never resolved when the Protocol row is set to UDPFS or UDPBD. |
| IP Address | four octets | The PS2's static IP address. |
| Mask | four octets | Subnet mask. |
| Gateway | four octets | Default gateway. |
| DNS Server | four octets | DNS server address. |
SMB Server
| Option | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Address Type | IP / NetBIOS | Whether the server is addressed by IP or by NetBIOS name. |
| Address | text or four octets | Server IP or NetBIOS hostname. |
| Port | 0–65535 (default 1111) | SMB port. RiptOPL defaults to 1111 (was 445), but the server and client must match. PS2 Servers currently defaults to 1445; enter the protocol-specific value its launcher displays. Standard Samba/native shares commonly use 445. |
| Share | text (default PS2SMB) | Share name on the server. Leave blank to list available shares. |
| User | text (default GUEST) | SMB username. |
| Password | text | SMB password. Leave blank for guest authentication. |
| Write POPSTARTER Network Config | Off / On | Also saves the IP and SMB share values to POPSTARTER's own IPCONFIG.DAT / SMBCONFIG.DAT on the memory card when settings are saved. Required for PS1 VCD playback over SMB. |
i Reconnect button
After changing network settings you can press the
Reconnect button to apply them immediately without closing the dialog. This re-attempts the SMB
connection from the login stage.Per-game Settings (quick reference)
Per-game settings are opened by pressing Triangle on any game and choosing Game Settings. The sub-screens are documented in full on the Per-game Settings page. Here is a map of every sub-screen:
- Game Settings (main) — Loader Core, OPL compat Modes 1–7, DMA Mode, Game ID, Custom ELF, Neutrino Args (per-game), Neutrino Video. See Per-game Settings and Neutrino Core.
- Configure VMC — VMC Slot 1 and Slot 2 assignment, VMC file creation and deletion. See VMC.
- GSM Settings — GSM Selector (on/off), forced video mode (V-POS, H-POS), Emulate FIELD Flipping. Global or per-game. OPL core only.
- Cheat Settings — PS2RD Cheat Engine on/off, mode (Auto Select / Select Game Cheats), PS2RD Cheat Image on/off. Global or per-game. See Cheats.
- OSD Settings — OSD language, screen size, video mode override. Global or per-game. See OSD Settings above.
- Configure PADEMU — pad emulator, mode, multitap, port, vibration, Bluetooth pairing.
- Configure PADMACRO — analog slowdown, axis invert, turbo speed.
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), DL Defaults, GSM Settings, Cheat Settings, PADEMU / PADMACRO. 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.