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Raspberry Pi Gaming thread - Cheap emulation and gaming projects

blahness

Member
Doesn't emustation has turn off in the menu?

Yes, you can shut down the pi gracefully from the es quit menu. Alternatively, if you have it connected to your internal network you can ssh into it from your phone or any other computer and run the sudo halt command before you pull the plug.
 
I cannot get emulation station to recognize my SNES30. It is paired through pi config though, but when I try to map the controller in emulation station it doesn't show a gamepad connected. Any ideas?

It works fine via USB.

EDIT--NM looks like it was a different bluetooth connected.
 

GTI Guy

Member
I cannot get emulation station to recognize my SNES30. It is paired through pi config though, but when I try to map the controller in emulation station it doesn't show a gamepad connected. Any ideas?

It works fine via USB.

EDIT--NM looks like it was a different bluetooth connected.

I am having issues with the controller as well. Works fine via USB and can connect via Bluetooth however the controller will work perfectly in the emulation station but goes all haywire when I go to play a game. For example the start button turns into the Arrival button. Frustrating
 

Chris R

Member
Bummed with how poorly n64 performance is :/ guess this is a SNES/GBA and down system.

Bring on the raspberry pi 4 or 5.
 
I setup my Retropie tonight. The test run was playing perfect. I loaded Donkey King Country and the sound was barely noticeable so I went to the options and increased the volume, but now I'm hearing crackled sound in all games. I tried going back to the volume settings and setting everything back but the sounds still sounds horrible. HALP. Have a retropie 3B and using the power from my computer.
 
Hi everyone -- I'm trying to figure out if I should go for this or not and would really appreciate some advice.

I have a Wii U and the emulation on the early systems is pretty much perfect, plus the Gamecube emulation is very strong (N64 is hit or miss, but I gather that's still better than the Raspberry Pi). On the other hand I really only play the early NES, SNES and Mame stuff, so if I could get something to replace having the bulky Wii U around, I'd consider it (that and I have no other use for the Wii U these days).

On the downside I'm home with our soon-to-be 3 year old, so the amount of time I have to devote to putting the Pi together would be low. Is it that easy? Which kit is best recommended for noobs like me in terms of assembly? Does anyone sell/recommend preinstalled units?

I'm also concerned that the emulation isn't going to be strong out of the box and I'm going to have to fiddle around for hours to get it all up and running. (I assume I can extract the Roms off the SD card I have in my Wii U?).

Bottom line -- I don't know if it's going to be worth the hassle or that much better an emulation experience than what I already have.

Again, I appreciate any and all replies.
 
These things are cheap(main reason people use them) and small with decent emulation. If you have something better or don't mind a larger size you can get much better. Doesn't really sound like you need this when you've already got what you need setup, other than minor portability issues.
 
Hi everyone -- I'm trying to figure out if I should go for this or not and would really appreciate some advice.

I have a Wii U and the emulation on the early systems is pretty much perfect, plus the Gamecube emulation is very strong (N64 is hit or miss, but I gather that's still better than the Raspberry Pi). On the other hand I really only play the early NES, SNES and Mame stuff, so if I could get something to replace having the bulky Wii U around, I'd consider it (that and I have no other use for the Wii U these days).

On the downside I'm home with our soon-to-be 3 year old, so the amount of time I have to devote to putting the Pi together would be low. Is it that easy? Which kit is best recommended for noobs like me in terms of assembly? Does anyone sell/recommend preinstalled units?

I'm also concerned that the emulation isn't going to be strong out of the box and I'm going to have to fiddle around for hours to get it all up and running. (I assume I can extract the Roms off the SD card I have in my Wii U?).

Bottom line -- I don't know if it's going to be worth the hassle or that much better an emulation experience than what I already have.

Again, I appreciate any and all replies.

I'm not sure how good the UI is on the WiiU, but it is certainly more powerful. That said, the pi really is fun to do and absolutely beyond easy to get up and running with. If you are looking to go simple and no fuss, I would vote you flash Recalbox as it is a bit cleaner out of the box and just works for the most part. Retropie is more robust, but can take some more fiddling.

NES era though PS1 all work virtually perfectly with zero tweaking. N64 is more finicky, so don't have high expectations there. I have run a few arcade games (Metal Slug and such) that work fantastically, but I have never tried anything more intense, so your mileage may vary.

As for "building" the system, the Canakit for around $50 on Amazon is good enough and will have you ready to go in less than an hour.

Note that for now, you need a bluetooth adapter to use bluetooth controls on Recalbox, but I just use some old USB controls I have sitting around.

Truly an awesome little gadget to tinker with!
 
I set my RetroPie up over the weekend. I'm still having an issue with sound coming out of a cheap TV through the HDMI input, so I'm having to play with headphones until I get some speakers. So far, I love it, and I don't have to worry about the NES Classic anymore.

However, I am running into a problem with my Bluetooth headphones being recognized. Does it only give the MAC addresses of the device you're trying to connect? I can't figure out which one is mine.
 
It seems to me like Z3735F based Atom computers around the $50-60 range appear to be offering a better solution in many applications (specifically as an emulation box) than the Raspberry Pi at the moment. Built in storage solution, power button, and an extra gb of ram. Sure no GPIO pins but you get USB for connectivity.

Isn't the Atom Bay Trail a magnitude more powerful than the ARM Cortex-A53 at the same or similar clocks?
 

ZeroCoin

Member
I set my RetroPie up over the weekend. I'm still having an issue with sound coming out of a cheap TV through the HDMI input, so I'm having to play with headphones until I get some speakers. So far, I love it, and I don't have to worry about the NES Classic anymore.

However, I am running into a problem with my Bluetooth headphones being recognized. Does it only give the MAC addresses of the device you're trying to connect? I can't figure out which one is mine.

If you want to fix the HDMI issue, try checking this out.

I had an issue where a different TV than my primary one wasn't pushing audio through HDMI as well. Just uncommenting the hdmi_drive=2 line in the config fixed it for me.

You may want to try connecting your headphones to a PC or mobile device and then reading the MAC address there.
 
If you want to fix the HDMI issue, try checking this out.

I had an issue where a different TV than my primary one wasn't pushing audio through HDMI as well. Just uncommenting the hdmi_drive=2 line in the config fixed it for me.

You may want to try connecting your headphones to a PC or mobile device and then reading the MAC address there.

Thanks. I'll try that tonight.

I know that I that could just hook up the headphones elsewhere to get the MAC address, I was just wondering if that was a setting in RetroPie. It's the first piece of hardware I've had that's never recognized BT device names, so I found that a little odd.
 

Briarios

Member
Any recommendations on where and what to buy? I see kits on Amazon for the Pi 3 b with a 32gb card and power supply, but is that really the best deal?

And, what's the consensus on when the Pi 4 is releasing?
 
Any recommendations on where and what to buy? I see kits on Amazon for the Pi 3 b with a 32gb card and power supply, but is that really the best deal?

And, what's the consensus on when the Pi 4 is releasing?

Pi 4 is likely a bit out since they have to redesign the whole board versus pi 1-3 which was mostly the same and just switching out a few components.
 
Any recommendations on where and what to buy? I see kits on Amazon for the Pi 3 b with a 32gb card and power supply, but is that really the best deal?

And, what's the consensus on when the Pi 4 is releasing?

I would get this from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D92SSX6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

And then buy a Micro SD card separately. There are other kits that people recommend that come with a memory card and an HDMI cable but, you probably have an HDMI cable laying around.

This is the one I bought:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWVVMUI/?tag=neogaf0e-20

But if I had to do it all over again I would just buy the one from the first link and the same memory card separately. Both of these are a better value than the CanaKits.

I setup my Retropie tonight. The test run with Street Fighter II Turbo was playing perfect. I loaded Donkey King Country and the sound was barely noticeable so I went to the options and increased the volume, but now I'm hearing crackled sound in all games. I tried going back to the volume settings and setting everything back but the sounds still sounds horrible. HALP. Have a retropie 3B and using the power from my computer.

Anyone can help me with this?

Also does the RetroPie image come with multiple SNES emulators? I tried pressing a button during the game booting but I didn't see a menu to change the emulator. How is the emulator changed?
 
I'm not having good luck with the 8bitdo NES controller. I'm not sure if the controller itself isn't charged, or if I'm reading the lights incorrectly or what. When trying to pair it sometimes it'll be asked to enter an arbitrary pin which doesn't seem right. I think I'm on the newest firmware which may not be supported by retropie, so once I have it hooked up to charge overnight I'm going to try and downgrade the controller firmware.

EDIT: I figured it out. I made the common mistake of unplugging the controller the first time I tried updating the firmware since it told me I was already up to date. Re-flashing the firmware did the trick.
 

Dr Thor

Neo Member
So I've got a Pi Model B kicking around from 2013, with a case, but I'm missing the power and HDMI cables and USB keyboard for setting stuff up. Is it worth replacing those and fitting out this thing as an elderly emulation solution, or should I just give it up and get a Pi 3 or something?

Can the B do C64, CPC, NES, GBA, SNES, and PS1 at smooth framerates? If so I might resurrect it.

Come to that, if the Pi Zero can do all those better than the B I could even go for that as a replacement I guess. What can the 3 manage that the B/Zero can't, I guess is the question?
 

ZeroCoin

Member
So I've got a Pi Model B kicking around from 2013, with a case, but I'm missing the power and HDMI cables and USB keyboard for setting stuff up. Is it worth replacing those and fitting out this thing as an elderly emulation solution, or should I just give it up and get a Pi 3 or something?

Can the B do C64, CPC, NES, GBA, SNES, and PS1 at smooth framerates? If so I might resurrect it.

Come to that, if the Pi Zero can do all those better than the B I could even go for that as a replacement I guess. What can the 3 manage that the B/Zero can't, I guess is the question?

I would think the PS1 would be the only hangup for the older model.

The thing to keep in mind with the zero is that unless you have a specific use for the small size, it tends to be more trouble. You'll need to deal with the smaller HDMI and only a single micro USB for input, which tends to mean you buy dongles. I'd tell you to stick with a pi 3 in most cases.
 

Mindman

Member
I found a useful link the other day on Reddit or somewhere, where someone listed RetroArch settings tweaks that reduced input lag on all distros of RetroArch including Pi-specific stuff. I cannot find this same link, does anyone know which one I am referring to?

In that link they also mentioned a way to get the Pi to run at max performance all of the time so it never downclocks. That's what I am really after. Does anyone know how to do that?
 
I found a useful link the other day on Reddit or somewhere, where someone listed RetroArch settings tweaks that reduced input lag on all distros of RetroArch including Pi-specific stuff. I cannot find this same link, does anyone know which one I am referring to?

In that link they also mentioned a way to get the Pi to run at max performance all of the time so it never downclocks. That's what I am really after. Does anyone know how to do that?

I am sure it was a libretro forum post. It's down due to spamhax.

What it comes down to is using dispmanx and editing runcommand to not downclock. Both have instructions elsewhere while the libretro forum is down.
 
has anyone of you has any experience with connecting a controller directly to the GPIOs ?

how does the input lag compare to usb and bluettoth controllers ?
 
has anyone of you has any experience with connecting a controller directly to the GPIOs ?

how does the input lag compare to usb and bluettoth controllers ?

i am trying to build to two arcade controllers (the wiring is complete, but i still have to do the carpentry) that are connected via the ic2-pin and controlled with a MCP23017 expander
 

Vandole

Member
Had anyone had any luck running CPS2 games on a Raspberry Pi 3? I'm running Retropie in it and so far have come up snake eyes with all pre-installed arcade emulators.
 
Are there any recommendation for bluetooth controllers (or which distro works best with them)? I'm using retropie with the 8bitdo NES30 controller and the bluetooth connection is kind of spotty with pairing it. I do like the feel of the controller though.
 

Harlock

Member
This alternative scrapper (Universal XML Scraper) using 3d box and screenshots looks very nice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZexFv5QdM0

3%20-%20sonic%20the%20hedgehog%20(usa,%20europe)-image.png
 
Has anyone created a NES Classic UI for the Pi yet with attract mode?

Not to hate on the idea but a fully set up attract mode looks way better than the NES classic. In fact its the very reason I bought the pi. Finding out you can use Hyperspin themes with attract mode was actually what pushed me over the edge to buy.
 
Are there any recommendation for bluetooth controllers (or which distro works best with them)? I'm using retropie with the 8bitdo NES30 controller and the bluetooth connection is kind of spotty with pairing it. I do like the feel of the controller though.

You've already got one of the best ones. Id recommend changing your Bluetooth settings to Background and making sure the udev rule is turned on for your controller.

Also when charging dont plug them into the pi since it seems to force usb mode and going back and forth means you have to turn off the controls and turn in it back on while its unplugged.
 

Vandole

Member
Can I use a wired Xbox one or PS3 controller?

Yes to the PS3 controller. I don't know about the Xbox One controller though. I tried one, and didn't have much luck with it, but I can't entirely claim to know what I am doing. At least not at the point when I tried an Xbox One controller.
 

vonStirlitz

Unconfirmed Member
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ZeroCoin

Member
I just dug my original game boy out of my mums attic. Thinking of turning it into a retro pie handheld as my first Raspberry Pi project. Has anyone else on GAF done this and would I be taking on too much as a first project (I have zero electronics skills).

You may want to look into the pigrrl project. Those use 3d printed components, but should give you an idea about how easy it would be for you to do. I'm sure there's plenty of diy guides for actually using as much original hardware as possible as well.
 
Can't seem to get my Xbox 360 wireless controller to work with Advmame. Anyone know why? It's working with all the other emulators, and I've hooked up my keyboard to see if that would help put the inputs in manually, but it doesn't recognize it at all.

Beyond that, I love this thing! Thanks to the poster above for the Amazon link, I bought the $50 vilros kit and added my own SD cards for less than one of the larger kit assemblies. So easy and the performance is even better than what I've used before. I'm going to sell my WiiU and keep this -- I will miss the GC emulation but I wasn't using it enough to justify keeping it around.

I wanted to try Advmame for Star Wars in MAME, but can't get the 360 controller to work...seem to be out of options at this point.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Can't seem to get my Xbox 360 wireless controller to work with Advmame. Anyone know why? It's working with all the other emulators, and I've hooked up my keyboard to see if that would help put the inputs in manually, but it doesn't recognize it at all.

Beyond that, I love this thing! Thanks to the poster above for the Amazon link, I bought the $50 kit and added my own SD cards for less than one of the larger kit assemblies. So easy and the performance is really excellent.

I wanted to try Advmame for Star Wars in MAME, but can't get the 360 controller to work...seem to be out of options at this point.

connect a keyboard when in advmame press tab go to settings and adjust it.
 
Does anyone have this? Or have any thoughts on it?


It's called the Varcade Station. And comes loaded with 680 games

Specs are...

Connection: HDMI or VGA
HDMI/VGA Cable: 3 Meters / 9.8 ft
Size: 27.5 x 9.45 x 3 inches / 70 x 24 x 7.8 cm
Weight: 17.6 lbs / 8 kg
CPU: ARM Cortex-A8.1.0GHz
GPU: ARM Mali400
RAM: DDR32GB
Storage: MicroSD(TF)8GB

Included in Package
1 x Varcade Station
1 x HDMI Cable
1 x Adapter
4 x Spare buttons
1 x Instruction Menu

Note: Joystick is red. Buttons are typically yellow or black depending on stock.

For 457.73 CAD ($349.00 USD) I'm highly considering it.

There's another company from here in Canada (http://retroactivearcade.ca/) that sells a similar product called Padora's Box.


645 games for $450.

Thoughts? Opinions?
 
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