Batocera 40 for PS4 with Mesa 22.1.7: PS4 Distro Release | Detailed Tutorial

It’s been almost 2 years since the launch of the first Batocera port for PS4. So, I thought it was time to update Batocera on PS4. Thus, here we have the latest Batocera 40 for PS4. This time around the port was a bit tougher to compile. The main reason was updated packages. You might have noticed that Batocera 40 for PS4 has Mesa 22.1.7. Now, this is an older version of Mesa. I had to stick with it because of PS4 Pros, which don’t yet support mainstream Mesa versions above 22.1.7. This posed a challenge, as packages had to be downgraded during compilation. For the uninformed, please understand that on PS4 Linux, a newer version of Mesa doesn’t always translate to better performance. Here’s an example showing Cyberpunk running better on an older version of Mesa.

Before we jump any further, let me quickly thank our new supporter, Abdelkader Boudih for single-handedly helping me fulfill the Ko-fi goal for Batocera. It’s due to his donation that this updated port was made possible. Special thanks to our long-time supporter, Reo Au In (check out his PPPwn images for Luckfox Pico boards) as well as new supporters, Otsego Beyond and Luis Riveralopez. Also, an extremely special thanks to the Batocera team for working continuously on this awesome distro and making it open source.

Many people are still unaware of what Batocera is, so, we will begin with a quick introduction.

UPDATE (31st July, 2024) – Vulkan fixed on Batocera 40 for PS4. Download link has been updated to the new package. To update to the fixed package without redoing all the steps, check the instructions below.
UPDATE 2 (11th August, 2024) – Batocera Initram for easy installation and setup released. Instructions given below.

What is Batocera?

Now many of you may be unaware of this awesome emulation OS. So, here is how the official page defines it:-

Batocera.linux is an open-source and completely free retro-gaming distribution that can be copied to a USB stick or an SD card with the aim of turning any computer/nano computer into a gaming console during a game or permanently.

In other words, Batocera will help you use your PS4 as an arcade machine with support for multiple emulators.

What’s new in Batocera 40 for PS4?

Batocera 40 is the latest development version. And, let me quickly remind you that the port launched in 2022 was based on Batocera 34. So, we are 6 versions ahead with this updated Batocera 40 for PS4. You can change the official changelog to get an idea. Not everything on the page is applicable to the Batocera port for PS4. Moreover, please keep in mind that the port uses Mesa 22.1.7 and doesn’t have RPCS3 presently. Everything else should be there.

Screenshots: Batocera 40 for PS4

Now that you know a little about it, let’s see how you can install and set it up on your PS4.

Requirements

Linux Machine

I recommend an Ubuntu-based distro, like Lubuntu or even Pop OS. You can try this on Fedora or Arch based distros, but, Batocera might fail to boot if this process is done on an Arch or Fedora-based distro. Moreover, for the installation, you don’t have to install Linux on your PC permanently, even a LiveCD on a virtual machine will work.

Windows Machine

If you are using the new easier method, you can use your Windows PC. You will need FAT32 Format GUI Application to format the USB drive properly.

USB drive

I recommend having atleast 100GB of storage. The OS in itself takes some space. On top of that, you will also have to factor in the space required for your games and ROMs. And, keeping the speed factor in mind, I recommend having an SSD (external or internal with an adaptor). You may check my equipment page for the best SSDs and equipment for running PS4 Linux. On a sidenote, I did notice that the distro failed to boot at times with an HDD (5400RPM). So, if you face that issue, just switch to an SSD.

Note: Please be warned that the installation process will wipe the USB drive. So, backup important information beforehand.

Files

1. Batocera 40 for PS4 (Check Downloads section)
2. bzImage – 5.4+ kernel is recommended (Download according to your model)
3. initramfs.cpio.gz / Batocera initram (Download here)
4. Gparted
   • On Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based distros, open terminal and type sudo apt-get install gparted and press Enter.
   • On Fedora and Fedora-based distros, open terminal and type sudo dnf install gparted and press Enter.
   • On Arch and Arch-based distros, open terminal and type sudo pacman -S gparted and press Enter.
5. Leafpad
   1. On Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based distros, open terminal and type sudo apt-get install featherpad and press Enter.
   2. On Fedora and Fedora-based distros, open terminal and type sudo dnf install featherpad and press Enter.
   3. On Arch and Arch-based distros, open terminal and type sudo pacman -S featherpad and press Enter.

Those are the basic requirements on top of a jailbreakable PS4 and other accessories like a USB hub, keyboard, mouse, etc.

Once you have all of these setup, you are ready to install Batocera on your PS4. Just follow the below steps.

If you would like a video tutorial, here is a detailed step-by-step video tutorial of installation, setup, BIOS and ROMs tarnsfer, DS4 connection, SSH terminal access, etc.

Install Batocera 40 on PS4: Detailed Tutorial

Method 1 – Easy installation & setup with progress viewer (Batocera initram)

With this new method, you can quickly install and setup Batocera including WiFi, Games partition, etc. using your PS4. This utilises a new Batocera initramfs image that has updated binaries and a progress viewer with ETA. Follow the steps below to quickly setup Batocera 40 on PS4.

Detailed Video Tutorial using Batocera initram

If you prefer the textual tutorials for these methods, keep reading.

Step 1. Basic preparation of USB drive

1. Connect USB drive to your Windows machine.
2. Open FAT32 Format.
3. Select your USB drive properly from the dropdown menu under Drive.
4. Click on Start and then OK.
5. To the newly formatted FAT32 USB drive, copy bzImage, initramfs.cpio.gz and Batocera distro archive, i.e., batocera_ps4linux_40.tar.xz.

This will prepare your USB drive for Batocera 40 on PS4.

Step 2. Install & setup Batocera 40 for PS4 easily

1. Plug the prepared USB drive on your PS4.
2. Load 1GB VRAM Linux payload of your choice. Installation requires 1GB VRAM. Post installation and setup, you can choose higher VRAM payloads.
3. When the installation wizard begins, you will be posed with the first question – “Do you wish to use WiFi? [y/n]” Press y if you plan on using WiFi; n, if you don’t. Then, press Enter. If you pressed y, then you will be asked for WiFi access point name (SSID) and password. Type those in, one-by-one and press Enter. Do note that the password typed will not be visible on the screen.

The installation starts with copying files and extraction of the distro file and ends with Games partition being setup. Once the setup is complete, it will automatically boot Batocera 40 on your PS4!

Method 2 – Manual installation using Linux

This method requires a Linux distro, preferably Ubuntu (VM/Live/full installation). But, this requires manual setup of WiFi and Games partition.

Detailed Video Tutorial for manual installation

Step 1. Basic preparation of USB drive

1. Connect USB drive to your Linux PC or the virtual machine.
2. Open terminal and type sudo gparted and press Enter.
3. On gparted, choose your drive properly by going to the dropdown menu on top right. The storage capacity of the drive is given.
4. Right click on each partition on the drive, for example, /dev/sda1 and /dev/sda2 and click Unmount.
5. On the top pane, click on Device and click on Create Partition Table. Make sure that msdos is selected and then click on Apply.

This prepares you for the partitioning step.

Step 2. Partition USB drive

In this step, we will create 3 different partitions. One will store the kernel and initramfs. Second one will hold the Batocera system files. The third partition will hold all your games, ROMs, BIOS, etc.

1. On Gparted, making sure you have properly selected the device, click on Unallocated and create a new partition by clicking on the new folder icon on top left.
2. Change the File system to fat32 and the New size to 50. Click on Add.
3. Click on Unallocated again and create a new partition by clicking on the new folder icon on top left. Change the File system to ext4, if not already that. The label to be typed in is dependent on the initramfs you used. For example, if it’s multi-boot initramfs, type ps4linux1. Check the instructions on figuring out label name from initramfs. As for the New size, type in 15,000. When done, click on Add.
4. For the third partition, click on Unallocated again and create a new partition. Make sure the File system is set to ext4. But, this time, the label could be GAMES (or anything you desire). As for the New size, allocate whatever is left to this partition. When done, click on Add.
5. Then, click on the green tick on the top pane and click on Apply.
6. Close gparted.

Step 3. Copy kernel and initramfs image to USB drive

1. Go to the File Manager and mount the first partition (FAT32). It should be named 52MB VOLUME or something similar.
2. To this partition, copy the already downloaded bzImage and initramfs.cpio.gz files.

Step 4. Install Batocera for PS4 on the USB drive

1. Go to the File Manager and mount the second partition, in my case, ps4linux1 by just clicking on it, if it isn’t already mounted.
2. Open a terminal and type sudo tar -xvJpf /home/noob404/Desktop/batocera_ps4linux_40.tar.xz -C /media/noob404/ps4linux1 --numeric-owner and press Enter. You will have to change the location of the distro file and also the destination partition if you are using non-multi-boot initramfs.
3. Close the terminal once the process is completed.

Step 5. Setup Games drive and automatic WiFi

This is a step which will make sure that our third partition meant to hold all our ROMs (games), BIOS, themes, etc. is recognised properly by Batocera. And, as an optional step, you can also set up automatic WiFi connection. Automatic WiFi setup is slightly different on Batocera 40, and has been explained in Step 6.

1. Go to the File Manager and in the ps4linux1 partition (in my case), go to boot folder.
2. Open a terminal in the boot folder, type sudo featherpad batocera-boot.conf and press Enter. This will open the text editor application.
3. Open another terminal and type sudo gparted and press Enter.
4. On gparted, choose your drive properly by going to the dropdown menu on top right. The storage capacity of the drive is given.
5. Right click on the third partition, which we named GAMES, and click on Information.
6. Copy the UUID value, for example, 82cab41c-24a1-9450-6a7a-2ae95617f2a1 and go back to the text editor.
7. On the first line, type sharedevice=DEV followed by a space. Then, paste the copied UUID value.
8. Save the conf file and exit.
9. Close gparted.

The batocera-boot.conf will look something like this:-

sharedevice=DEV 82cab41c-24a1-9450-6a7a-2ae95617f2a1

That’s it. Now, you are ready to boot into Batocera for PS4.

Step 6. Boot Batocera 40 on PS4

1. Connect the USB drive to the PS4 and load the Linux payload. I recommend using the 2GB VRAM payload to start with. You may experiment.
2. This will boot Batocera on your PS4.

Step 7. Setup automatic WiFi on Batocera 40 for PS4 (Optional)

If you are on a PS4 which only supports WiFi (no Ethernet), I suggest you set up automatic WiFi connection to avoid troubles later.

To set up, after wifi-ssid=, provide your WiFi access point name, for example, HomeWiFi (case sensitive). And, after wifi.key=, provide your WiFi password. But, if you don’t plan on using WiFi, feel free to delete the 3 lines pertaining to WiFi.

1. After Batocera GUI loads, press on F1 on the keyboard to bring up the File Manager.
2. Make sure you are in the /userdata folder. Open the folder named system.
3. Double click on the file named batocera.conf to open it in text editor.
4. Scroll down to find the Network section, under which you will find WiFi settings.
5. On the line which reads – wifi.enabled=0, replace 0 with 1.
6. On the line which reads – #wifi.ssid=new ssid, remove the # and replace new ssid with your WiFi access point name or SSID, for example, HomeWiFi.
7. On the line which reads – #wifi.key=new key, remove the # and replace new key with the WiFi password.
8. When done, save and exit. The edited lines should look something like this:-

wifi.enabled=1
wifi.ssid=HomeWiFi
wifi.key=password

Once that is done, you can reboot. And, from that point, WiFi will automatically connect on boot. If you still do face any issues, just check the troubleshooting steps below.

Now that completes the installation part of Batocera for PS4. Next, we will look into the setup part, including adding games, ROMs, connecting controllers, etc. We will go through them one by one.

Add games and ROMs to Batocera for PS4

Batocera for PS4 allows you to add ROMs using three different methods (atleast). I will discuss them here.

Wireless Method: Add games and ROMs to Batocera for PS4 using PC

To use this method, you will have to make sure that both Batocera for PS4 and your PC are connected to the same network. Once that is done, follow these steps:-

1. On your PC (Windows preferable), open File Explorer.
2. In the Address Bar, type \\BATOCERA and press Enter.
3. This will display the folders on your Batocera drive. Add games and ROMs into their respective folders.

USB Drive Method: Add games and ROMs to Batocera for PS4 using inbuilt file manager

For convenience of the user, Batocera comes with PCMan FM (file manager) pre-installed. You may use it to move your games and ROMs to the Batocera drive. Follow these steps for the same.

1. Copy games and ROMs to a USB drive and connect it to the PS4 through the USB hub (if on a PS4 Slim) or otherwise.
2. On the keyboard connected to your PS4, press F1. This will open the File Manager.
3. Copy your games and ROMs from the USB drive to the partition named GAMES (Accessible from the left pane on the file manager).

Linux Method: Add games and ROMs to Batocera for PS4 using a Linux PC or Virtual Machine

This will be easiest method for transfer if you have a huge chunk of games and ROMs to move. Before using this method, make sure that you have run Batocera for PS4 atleast once on your PS4. Only then will the necessary folders be populated.

1. Connect the Batocera USB drive to your PC or virtual machine.
2. Copy your games and ROMs from the USB drive to the partition named GAMES.
3. Connect the drive to PS4, load Batocera and enjoy!

These were three different methods for games and ROMs transfer. As I said earlier, these are the easiest methods available while there could be several other methods too.

Connect Wireless Controllers to Batocera 40 for PS4

Batocera, by default, will recognise and setup most controllers (both wireless and wired). The steps for many controllers are the same. Here, I will tell you how you can connect DualShock 4 in wireless mode to Batocera for PS4. If you have any other controller, you might have to add the kernel drivers for it. Check our kernel driver installation guide.

1. On your DualShock 4, press the Options and Playstation button together till the white light starts blinking.
2. On Batocera 40 for PS4, open Menu by pressing on Spacebar.
3. Go to CONTROLLER & BLUETOOTH SETTINGS and press Enter on ENABLE BLUETOOTH. Then, choose PAIR A BLUETOOTH DEVICE MANUALLY.
4. The DualShock 4 will be connected automatically.

That’s it! Your DS4 has been connected to Batocera for PS4. You can then use it to navigate and for gameplay.

Access terminal on Batocera 40 for PS4

While generally you won’t have to access the terminal on Batocera, it is still convenient to have terminal access, especially since this is a Beta port. So, debugging would be easier with a terminal. Unfortunately, the terminal in the current state can only be accessed from another device, not from the PS4 directly. So, you will require another PC or even a mobile phone with SSH capabilities (generally, any smartphone will work). In this tutorial though, we will stick to a Windows PC.

1. Download PuTTY and run on Windows.
2. Under the Host name, type [email protected] or root@batocera and click on Open.
3. Click on Accept on the popup.
4. Type the password – linux and press Enter.

This will open the terminal. For a list of basic SSH commands for Batocera, check this article.

Enable MangoHud on Batocera 40 for PS4

Batocera 40 for PS4 comes with MangoHud, which is an overlay application that gives you details about the performance with an On-screen display, similar to what MSI Afterburner does on Windows. Follow the instructions below to enable it.

1. On Batocera 40 for PS4, open Menu by pressing on Spacebar.
2. Go to GAME SETTINGS.
3. Under DEFAULT GLOBAL SETTINGS, go to DECORATIONS.
4. Scroll to HEADS UP DISPLAY and use right arrow keys to choose PERFORMANCE. Optionally, also setup the location of MangoHud by setting the option HEADS UP DISPLAY CORNER.
5. When done, exit Menu.

Remember that MangoHud might not work with every emulator.

Update to Batocera 40 for PS4 with Vulkan fix

If you have already installed Batocera 40 and need to fix Vulkan, you can follow the steps below to update to the Vulkan fix for Batocera 40 on PS4 without redoing all the installation and setup steps above.

1. Go to the File Manager and click on the GAMES partition (created in Step 2, sub-step 4) to mount it. If yours was named different click on it.
2. Open ps4linux1 partition (in my case) and go to boot folder in it.
3. Open a terminal in the folder, type sudo mv batocera-boot.conf ../../GAMES. Rename GAMES, if your partition was named different.
4. Close the current terminal and open another one. Type sudo gparted and press Enter.
5. Right click on the partition where you installed Batocera (ps4linux1 in my case) and click on Unmount.
6. Right click on the same partition, click on Format to, and then choose ext4.
7. Then, click on the green tick on the top pane and click on Apply.
8. Right click again on the same partition, click on Label File System, and enter your partition name, for eg.- ps4linux1. Once done, click on OK.
9. Click on the green tick on the top pane and click on Apply.
10. Close Gparted.
11. Go to the File Manager and click on the partition named ps4linux1 (or whatever in your case) to mount it.
12. Open a terminal and type sudo tar -xvJpf /home/noob404/Desktop/batocera_ps4linux_40.tar.xz -C /media/noob404/ps4linux1 --numeric-owner and press Enter. You will have to change the location of the distro file and also the destination partition if you are using non-multi-boot initramfs.
13. Next, go to GAMES partition in the File Manager. Open a terminal there, type sudo mv batocera-boot.conf ../ps4linux1/boot and press Enter. Rename ps4linux1 if your partition name is different.

That’s it! Now, you are ready to boot updated Batocera 40 with Vulkan fix on your PS4.

FAQ & Troubleshooting

Please go through these before you post a query.

Many emulators don’t show on the homescreen

Batocera will only show those emulators for which you have provided ROMs. For example, PCSX2 will not show up on the homescreen until or unless the appropriate PS2 ROMs have been placed in the ROMs folder, as talked about in the above section.

But, if you still want to see all the emulators on the main screen, follow these steps:-

1. On Batocera for PS4, open Menu by pressing on Spacebar.
2. Go to GAME COLLECTION SETTINGS.
3. Enable SHOW EMPTY SYSTEMS.

With that, all emulators will be shown on the main screen.

Black Screen after Rescueshell (with or without sound)

This is a known issue on some consoles. Regardless of whether you hear any music or not, follow these instructions:-

1. On initial boot, shortly after the step – “Starting share: Scan completed for wifi,” the screen should go black. As soon as it does, just unplug and replug the HDMI.

Within few seconds, you should be greeted with the Batocera logo. But, this window might be too short for many people. If you do miss this window, just follow follow these instructions:-

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F10. You should see dash on top left.
2. Then, press Ctrl+Alt+F11. Now, you should see a terminal with some running commands.
3. When you see that, press Ctrl+Alt+F2. You should now be dropped into a shell similar to the SSH one.
4. On it, type startx and press Enter.

This will direct you to Batocera 40’s main screen.

Black screen with an underscore (dash) on top left

This indicates an issue with the extraction of the distro. To fix this, use an Ubuntu based distro for the installation, if you haven’t.

WiFi not connecting

Sometimes, even though you have setup automatic WiFi, as explained above, you will still see that it doesn’t connect. You can try to wait for a few minutes to see if it connects. Else, follow these instructions:-

1. On Batocera for PS4, open Menu by pressing on Spacebar.
2. Go to NETWORK SETTINGS.
3. Go to ENABLE WIFI and press Enter to disable it.
4. Wait for a few seconds and press Enter again to enable it.
5. Within a few seconds, your WiFi should connect successfully.

Face any other issue? Just leave a comment on this forum post and I will get back to you ASAP.

Conclusion

Once again, thanks to every one of you for your love and support. Keep it coming! I will be coming to you guys with more awesome projects, hopefully in the near future. If you do face any issues, comment here.