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Raspberry Pi Gaming thread - Cheap emulation and gaming projects

B

burn this down

Banned
I've been really wanting to get one of these. It'd certainly reduce the clutter on my desk and make playing retro games a bit easier. I'm just kinda curious about the controller situation. I assume it isn't be compatible with the Gamecube USB adapter (at least, not from what I've seen)? I already have 4 GC controllers, so it'd be a whole lot cheaper than going out and buying 4 360 controllers.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Trufflesguy Law said:
I've been really wanting to get one of these. It'd certainly reduce the clutter on my desk and make playing retro games a bit easier. I'm just kinda curious about the controller situation. I assume it isn't be compatible with the Gamecube USB adapter (at least, not from what I've seen)? I already have 4 GC controllers, so it'd be a whole lot cheaper than going out and buying 4 360 controllers.
Click to expand...

You need to buy this GPIO module the guys on the petRockBlog themselves sell.

wpid-photo-19-10-2012-19551.jpg
Click to expand...

Guide here.

The module consists of 2 drivers, which each support different types of controllers:

gamecon_gpio_rpi:

  • NES gamepads
  • SNES gamepads and mouses
  • PSX/PS2 gamepads, wheels and DDR controllers
  • N64 controllers
  • Gamecube controllers

db9_gpio_rpi:

  • Atari, Commodore, Amiga etc. db9 multisystem joysticks
  • Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) pads
  • Sega Saturn controllers (Note: custom connector instead of db9)
  • Amiga CD32 pads

This is if you want to hook up old school controllers and not USB ones. I have never looked into it much so i can't tell you how easy it is. It's one of the reasons why i made this thread as any information relating to this gets buried in the RetroArch OT.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Nice Thread, i have only been playing around with RetroPie for a bit on my Pi 2, but what on earth is going on with the 2 Megadrive emulators they have included and why havent they included the best MD emulator GenPlus-GX??

Both the Picodrive and DGen emulator have awful audio, one thing that was fixed in Picodrive a few months back so they must be using a really old version??. Just fire up Afterburner 2 and listen to the lack of audio and the stuff that is there isnt great and DGen doesnt seem to want to play Gunstar Heroes or Mega Turrican!

Im starting to think that Lakka is a better solution for the Raspberry Pi!?
 
L

letaint

Banned
Helpful! I need this for OSX. I am curious if the additional grief of using a PS3 controller is worth the wireless. I have a Bluetooth USB dongle to use for that.... Hmmm
 
J

Jockel

Member
So is there any way to get a 240p picture through RGB out of this via some extension board? I'd be all over it, then.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Am i right in think that the colour square that keeps appearing in the top right corner is warning of not enough juice from the PSU???, if so this is strange as i got a USB plug from amazon which is rated 5v and 2.1 amp which though should have been enough??
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Lettuce said:
Im starting to think that Lakka is a better solution for the Raspberry Pi!?
Click to expand...

Lakka is much easier to set up and controllers are literally plug and play but last time i checked it didn't have GBA, N64 or PS1 stuff working on the Pi 1. I'm not sure on the Pi 2. It also had issues running SNES stuff at full speed and doesn't have the range of systems available that RetroPie has. It uses OpenELEC behind the scenes so it has more overhead than Linux. It's always getting Nightly Builds so who knows if the situation has changed for Lakka on the Pi 2. Having said that Lakka works on other boards besides the Pi so you may have more luck on a ODROID or something.

Lettuce said:
Is there any shorcut button for when using the pad to exit a game etc?
Click to expand...

Doesn't the Home Button on the 360 pad or PS3 controller work? On the SNES pad unfortunately there isn't. I had a wireless powerpoint remote i use haha, otherwise you need your keyboard next to the Pi. If someone has a way to exit games on a SNES pad i would like to know! (even if its afew button presses together).

Lettuce said:
Am i right in think that the colour square that keeps appearing in the top right corner is warning of not enough juice from the PSU???, if so this is strange as i got a USB plug from amazon which is rated 5v and 2.1 amp which though should have been enough??
Click to expand...

Correct, it could also be a cheap USB cable that is also causing the issue aswell.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Gez said:
Lakka is much easier to set up and controllers are literally plug and play but last time i checked it didn't have GBA, N64 or PS1 stuff working on the Pi 1. I'm not sure on the Pi 2. It also had issues running SNES stuff at full speed and doesn't have the range of systems available that RetroPie has. It uses OpenELEC behind the scenes so it has more overhead than Linux. It's always getting Nightly Builds so who knows if the situation has changed for Lakka on the Pi 2. Having said that Lakka works on other boards besides the Pi so you may have more luck on a ODROID or something.
Click to expand...

The new version of Lakka supports N64 and GBA but still only used PicoDrive for MD emulation which still had audio issues
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Ourobolus said:
Awesome thread.

So what's the emulation like for N64/PSX? Is it full speed or are there any issues?
Click to expand...

Close to 60fps on the Pi 2 but with ocasional slowdown for N64. Floob has some videos on his channel. PS1 stuff worked even on the Pi 1 not sure about its performance on the Pi 2.

I personally dont run either of those 2 systems. I might give PS1 a shot later on.
 
O

Ourobolus

Banned
Gez said:
Close to 60fps on the Pi 2 but with ocasional slowdown for N64. Floob has some videos on his channel. PS1 stuff worked even on the Pi 1 not sure about its performance on the Pi 2.

I personally dont run either of those 2 systems. I might give PS1 a shot later on.
Click to expand...

Nice. Personally I'm hoping for a new exploit for my PS TV, but this is a neat option should that not come through any time soon. Thanks.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Gez said:
Close to 60fps on the Pi 2 but with ocasional slowdown for N64. Floob has some videos on his channel. PS1 stuff worked even on the Pi 1 not sure about its performance on the Pi 2.

I personally dont run either of those 2 systems. I might give PS1 a shot later on.
Click to expand...

Really???. Have you tried F-Zero X or WaveRace, they ran like 10fps when i tired them

Zombie James said:
How well do CRT filters and the like perform on the Pi 2?
Click to expand...

Using anything but the bog standard scanline filter cause the fps to plummet
 
Crayon

Crayon

Member
I am highly interested. I have 30 years wotryh of old systems and games, but they have to take turns being hooked up or it turns into a clusterfuck.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Lettuce said:
Really???. Have you tried F-Zero X or WaveRace, they ran like 10fps when i tired them
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on the game. I am on going by forum comments i read on Super Smash Brothers and Ocarina of Time for the Pi 2. On the Pi 1 no way in hell it would run at 60fps.
 
B

BubbaMc

Member
If it can't output 240p RGB, what's the point?

All those systems will look horrible on a modern 1080p HDMI display.
 
U

UltimaWeapon

Member
So I've always been interested in the Pi and doing an emulator set up. But my main concern is wires. Is this set up feasible at all:

- RetroPie/emulators installed on Raspberry Pi 2
- ROMs stored on a NAS, wirelessly
- Also use the aforementioned NAS for save states

I'll probably end up taping the Pi on the back of my TV or something.

Wondering if I should just wait out for the Intel Compute Stick.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
UltimaWeapon said:
So I've always been interested in the Pi and doing an emulator set up. But my main concern is wires. Is this set up feasible at all:

- RetroPie/emulators installed on Raspberry Pi 2
- ROMs stored on a NAS, wirelessly
- Also use the aforementioned NAS for save states

I'll probably end up taping the Pi on the back of my TV or something.

Wondering if I should just wait out for the Intel Compute Stick.
Click to expand...

I think all 3 are possible. You basically have to change the path where your roms are stored and your save states are stored.

Maybe these forum posts might help.

http://blog.petrockblock.com/forums/topic/ponting-roms-to-nas-drive-smb/
http://blog.petrockblock.com/forums/topic/accessing-roms-directly-from-smb-share/
https://github.com/petrockblog/RetroPie-Setup/issues/147

Wireless set up is defiantly possible on Raspberry Pi but i have never done it before.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
How do you enable bilinear filtering?, as point filtering seems to be the default filter set for games which results in super sharp and block edges to the games graphics??
 
T

TerryLee81

Member
For someone not familiar with a raspberry system, is this hard to set up?

And as I understand, SNES emulation would work flawlessly on a Pi 2? Could I use a cheap USB SNES controller?
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
TerryLee81 said:
For someone not familiar with a raspberry system, is this hard to set up?

And as I understand, SNES emulation would work flawlessly on a Pi 2? Could I use a cheap USB SNES controller?
Click to expand...

Yes you can use a cheap SNES usb controller , even those cheapo $2-$5 stuff on ebay. Its what i use.

This is easy to setup if you follow tutorials on Floobs youtube channel in the OP or my instructions. A video might be easier to follow so you can see what he is doing.

Yep SNES works flawlessly on the Pi 2. It worked on the Pi 1 too but had sound issues (distorted sound) with alot of games but its fixed for the Pi 2.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Is bsnes performance (retroarch) available for this at all?. How does Mame run and is it based on a really old Rom set?

I also can't see an option to edit button short cuts for stuff like exiting a game, is this possible at all?
 
T

TerryLee81

Member
Gez said:
Yes you can use a cheap SNES usb controller , even those cheapo $2-$5 stuff on ebay. Its what i use.

This is easy to setup if you follow tutorials on Floobs youtube channel in the OP or my instructions. A video might be easier to follow so you can see what he is doing.

Yep SNES works flawlessly on the Pi 2. It worked on the Pi 1 too but had sound issues (distorted sound) with alot of games but its fixed for the Pi 2.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I just ordered one and will give this a try.
 
F

Fularu

Banned
Lettuce said:
Is bsnes performance (retroarch) available for this at all?. How does Mame run and is it based on a really old Rom set?

I also can't see an option to edit button short cuts for stuff like exiting a game, is this possible at all?
Click to expand...
Afaik it's mame 0,37 so insanely old
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Is there a guide anywhere or does anyone know the steps needed to manual add new emulators to RetroPie? I want to add the SNES emulator snes9x-next as the pre-installed snes emulators dont have great aduio
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Lettuce said:
Is there a guide anywhere or does anyone know the steps needed to manual add new emulators to RetroPie? I want to add the SNES emulator snes9x-next as the pre-installed snes emulators dont have great aduio
Click to expand...

You have to compile it yourself i think.

Have a read here.

http://blog.petrockblock.com/forums/topic/can-we-officially-add-snes9x-next-core-to-retropie/

TerryLee81 said:
Thanks, I just ordered one and will give this a try.
Click to expand...

Have a look at these videos to get you started.

Putting RetroPie on Raspberry Pi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T60ZUwmAhb0

Others that may help

Hardware needed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnv14EbP8q0

Controller configuration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBloKEbBRAU
 
T

TerryLee81

Member
Got the device today and started installing. Seems to work, but after the reboot in step 20 it asks me again to configure the controller or press F4.

I did this again (configuring the controller, this time it's in Emustation and not via the retroarch setup menu) and I think it's not right afterwards.

I don't have to have a keyboard plugged in permanently, or do I?


Edit: Seems to work now. Only problem I have now is that I can't exit a game with the controller.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
How do you add bilinear filtering to the retroarch emulators as they all seem to have not filter applied and so are very pixelated
 
Mihos

Mihos

Gold Member
I have an NES chassis (saved from a flood damaged system) and am using retropi and wiring it through the GPIO with an opto-isolators to use the original controllers. The power and reset buttons are all wired to the pi as well It is a neat little tinkering project. Outside of using a blue LED in the front (on purpose), you can't see anything from the outside that makes it look different than the original. I even kept the mono audio and composite out the same. I mounted a powered USB hub inside to handle the pi, but I didn't go as far as using the original NES power adapter.

I will try and get some pictures together later, although it just looks like an NES.

TerryLee81 said:
Edit: Seems to work now. Only problem I have now is that I can't exit a game with the controller.
Click to expand...

I originally had the reset button on the console do that, but someone wrote a script where you could hold all the buttons down at once to get back to the menu... I will see if I can find it
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Mihos said:
I originally had the reset button on the console do that, but someone wrote a script where you could hold all the buttons down at once to get back to the menu... I will see if I can find it
Click to expand...

I would be very intrested in this for a usb snes controller. At the moment i am using a wireless logitech powerpoint remote to exit games lol. Crude but it works.

I am not very knowledgable with RetroPie configs and everything i know i spent researching myself, looking at forum comments or looking up guides.

I think you may be the expert i need Mihos!
 
R

RadarScope1

Member
Mihos said:
I have an NES chassis (saved from a flood damaged system) and am using retropi and wiring it through the GPIO with an opto-isolators to use the original controllers. The power and reset buttons are all wired to the pi as well It is a neat little tinkering project. Outside of using a blue LED in the front (on purpose), you can't see anything from the outside that makes it look different than the original. I even kept the mono audio and composite out the same. I mounted a powered USB hub inside to handle the pi, but I didn't go as far as using the original NES power adapter.

I will try and get some pictures together later, although it just looks like an NES
Click to expand...

Sounds killer.
 
T

TerryLee81

Member
Mihos said:
I have an NES chassis (saved from a flood damaged system) and am using retropi and wiring it through the GPIO with an opto-isolators to use the original controllers. The power and reset buttons are all wired to the pi as well It is a neat little tinkering project. Outside of using a blue LED in the front (on purpose), you can't see anything from the outside that makes it look different than the original. I even kept the mono audio and composite out the same. I mounted a powered USB hub inside to handle the pi, but I didn't go as far as using the original NES power adapter.

I will try and get some pictures together later, although it just looks like an NES.



I originally had the reset button on the console do that, but someone wrote a script where you could hold all the buttons down at once to get back to the menu... I will see if I can find it
Click to expand...

I've read something about pressing start+select, but it doesn't work. If you can get the press all buttons thing running let me know how you did it.

Other question: Since I can't exit a game, is it safe to just pull the power plug to turn the device off?
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
TerryLee81 said:
I've read something about pressing start+select, but it doesn't work. If you can get the press all buttons thing running let me know how you did it.

Other question: Since I can't exit a game, is it safe to just pull the power plug to turn the device off?
Click to expand...

While not ideal the ESC button on a keyboard exits a game, if you got one lying around use that for now while Mihos gets back to us. Reason i use a powerpoint remote is one of the buttons is essentially an ESC button. I am curious about a solution that is just button presses on a pad. I think if you use a 360 pad the home button might exit games?

You can pull the plug out of the Pi aswell.
 
T

TerryLee81

Member
Gez said:
While not ideal the ESC button on a keyboard exits a game, if you got one lying around use that for now while Mihos gets back to us. Reason i use a powerpoint remote is one of the buttons is essentially an ESC button. I am curious about a solution that is just button presses on a pad. I think if you use a 360 pad the home button might exit games?

You can pull the plug out of the Pi aswell.
Click to expand...

Got it working now with one of Floob's turorials. I can now press start+select to exit a game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBloKEbBRAU
 
7

7DollarHagane

Banned
BubbaMc said:
If it can't output 240p RGB, what's the point?

All those systems will look horrible on a modern 1080p HDMI display.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is the biggest problem with emulator boxes like this.

The video output is godawful and full of lag because modern systems can't handle 240p or analog out.
 
gingerbeardman

gingerbeardman

Member
I'd only be interested if there was a unified front end to the emulators.

Like the .emu series on Android & iOS.

RetroAhow'goes some of the way but not all of the way.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
For anyone that knows i got PS1 games working and they are running at full speed but how does disc changing work for games that have them? I dont want to spend hours on a game and have issues changing discs.
 
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