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Raspberry Pi Gaming thread - Cheap emulation and gaming projects

M

MRORANGE

Member
grendelrt said:
Thats cool, more curious about the horsepower of the PI 2. I posted this on another forum, you guys have any insight into this?

I was thinking of building a small emulation machine using one plus a JPac to use in my Blast City. Mainly to play some older console stuff and one off boards, like In the Hunt. Been doing some research and this is what I have found so far:

Pi 2 has composite and HDMI out stock. You can also buy Gert's VGA add on for like 9 bucks or build your own for VGA out. From what I have seen though the VGA doesnt go down to 240p. I am hoping that someone can confirm it can do 240p, if not I am thinking the following options:

1) Gert's VGA + CRT Shaders + 31khz Dsub on Blast (just need a basic scanline shader since it will be running on a 31khz CRT)
2) Gert's VGA + VGA to RGB stepdown + 15khz dsub on Blast
2a) HDMI out + HDMI to VGA box + VGA to RGB stepdown + 15khz dsub on Blast

Options 1 and 2 seem the best to limit conversions. I am not sure if the PI 2 has enough power for CRT shaders though and would prefer a natural 15khz signal.
Click to expand...


Composite connector was removed on Pi 2 models.

you can however configure the CONFIG.TXT for HDMI resolutions that can be passed onto the VGA adapter in most cases:

Documentation: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/config-txt.md
Code: 
[B]hdmi_mode	resolution	frequency	notes[/B]
1	VGA (640x480)		
2	480p	60Hz	
3	480p	60Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
4	720p	60Hz	
5	1080i	60Hz	
6	480i	60Hz	
7	480i	60Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
8	240p	60Hz	
9	240p	60Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
10	480i	60Hz	pixel quadrupling
11	480i	60Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
12	240p	60Hz	pixel quadrupling
13	240p	60Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
14	480p	60Hz	pixel doubling
15	480p	60Hz	pixel doubling, 16:9 aspect ratio
16	1080p	60Hz	
17	576p	50Hz	
18	576p	50Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
19	720p	50Hz	
20	1080i	50Hz	
21	576i	50Hz	
22	576i	50Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
23	288p	50Hz	
24	288p	50Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
25	576i	50Hz	pixel quadrupling
26	576i	50Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
27	288p	50Hz	pixel quadrupling
28	288p	50Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
29	576p	50Hz	pixel doubling
30	576p	50Hz	pixel doubling, 16:9 aspect ratio
31	1080p	50Hz	
32	1080p	24Hz	
33	1080p	25Hz	
34	1080p	30Hz	
35	480p	60Hz	pixel quadrupling
36	480p	60Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
37	576p	50Hz	pixel quadrupling
38	576p	50Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
39	1080i	50Hz	reduced blanking
40	1080i	100Hz	
41	720p	100Hz	
42	576p	100Hz	
43	576p	100Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
44	576i	100Hz	
45	576i	100Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
46	1080i	120Hz	
47	720p	120Hz	
48	480p	120Hz	
49	480p	120Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
50	480i	120Hz	
51	480i	120Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
52	576p	200Hz	
53	576p	200Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
54	576i	200Hz	
55	576i	200Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
56	480p	240Hz	
57	480p	240Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
58	480i	240Hz	
59	480i	240Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
 
G

grendelrt

Member
MRORANGE said:
Composite connector was removed on Pi 2 models.

you can however configure the CONFIG.TXT for HDMI resolutions that can be passed onto the VGA adapter in most cases:

Documentation: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/config-txt.md
Code: 
[B]hdmi_mode	resolution	frequency	notes[/B]
1	VGA (640x480)		
2	480p	60Hz	
3	480p	60Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
4	720p	60Hz	
5	1080i	60Hz	
6	480i	60Hz	
7	480i	60Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
8	240p	60Hz	
9	240p	60Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
10	480i	60Hz	pixel quadrupling
11	480i	60Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
12	240p	60Hz	pixel quadrupling
13	240p	60Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
14	480p	60Hz	pixel doubling
15	480p	60Hz	pixel doubling, 16:9 aspect ratio
16	1080p	60Hz	
17	576p	50Hz	
18	576p	50Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
19	720p	50Hz	
20	1080i	50Hz	
21	576i	50Hz	
22	576i	50Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
23	288p	50Hz	
24	288p	50Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
25	576i	50Hz	pixel quadrupling
26	576i	50Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
27	288p	50Hz	pixel quadrupling
28	288p	50Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
29	576p	50Hz	pixel doubling
30	576p	50Hz	pixel doubling, 16:9 aspect ratio
31	1080p	50Hz	
32	1080p	24Hz	
33	1080p	25Hz	
34	1080p	30Hz	
35	480p	60Hz	pixel quadrupling
36	480p	60Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
37	576p	50Hz	pixel quadrupling
38	576p	50Hz	pixel quadrupling, 16:9 aspect ratio
39	1080i	50Hz	reduced blanking
40	1080i	100Hz	
41	720p	100Hz	
42	576p	100Hz	
43	576p	100Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
44	576i	100Hz	
45	576i	100Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
46	1080i	120Hz	
47	720p	120Hz	
48	480p	120Hz	
49	480p	120Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
50	480i	120Hz	
51	480i	120Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
52	576p	200Hz	
53	576p	200Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
54	576i	200Hz	
55	576i	200Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
56	480p	240Hz	
57	480p	240Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
58	480i	240Hz	
59	480i	240Hz	16:9 aspect ratio
Click to expand...

Yeah I saw those and number 8 has 240P 60hz, but on Gert's page says 640x480 min, was wondering if anyone had tried 240P. Maybe I will just bite the bullet and try myself :)
 
The_Afroman

The_Afroman

Member
Got my bad ass little raspberry pi.
took all of 20 mins, top .. to get it running.
was able to edit the config to add the scanlines shader looks great.

NibvS3V.jpg
 
L

Lettuce

Member
how you finding those buffalo pads, was looking at getting one but now the 8BITDO SNES30 pads are out im not sure
 
The_Afroman

The_Afroman

Member
Lettuce said:
how you finding those buffalo pads, was looking at getting one but now the 8BITDO SNES30 pads are out im not sure
Click to expand...

I find the Buffalo pads to be the best 3rd party ones. They are made in Japan,and not cheap like the retrobit stuff.

I wouldn't know how to even use a wireless BT one with retro pie
 
N

Nymerio

Member
Ordered a Pi 2 today for my cabinet. Was using a Intel NUC previously but I want to build myself a pinball machine and the Pi seems like it should do well enough for the cab. I just hope I can run at least some basic crt filters.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Nymerio said:
Ordered a Pi 2 today for my cabinet. Was using a Intel NUC previously but I want to build myself a pinball machine and the Pi seems like it should do well enough for the cab. I just hope I can run at least some basic crt filters.
Click to expand...

The only crt filter you get working at 100% speed is the bog standard scanline shader, anything else seems to knock the fps down to around 45fps sadly

Rich! said:
Building a console, by the way.
Click to expand...

A console you say!?...not a cab then?
 
D

Donuts

Member
Stumbled into this thread and now I'm heavily considering getting one just to have for the sake of having it. I may have skimmed over it but how would connecting a 360 dongle to it work? Could I just connect 4 xbox controllers at that point and have it magically work?
I can dream

EDIT: I believe i found my answer using that handy search feature
 
R

Rich!

Member
Lettuce said:
A console you say!?...not a cab then?
Click to expand...

Nope, a console.

Basically, it's going inside a SNES. I will be hooking up the real ports for controllers and the LED, power switch and reset button will function properly too. I also plan on eventually integrating a retrode into the design to give it real cart support.
 
Fredrik

Fredrik

Member
Rich! said:
Nope, a console.

Basically, it's going inside a SNES. I will be hooking up the real ports for controllers and the LED, power switch and reset button will function properly too. I also plan on eventually integrating a retrode into the design to give it real cart support.
Click to expand...
Great idea! Sounds like a fun project :)
 
R

Rich!

Member
Fredrik said:
Great idea! Sounds like a fun project :)
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I've got two broken SNES (PAL) consoles and I've taken the parts from both to get the best. No yellowing or anything.

At the back I have enough room where the sockets normally are to integrate an HDMI port, LAN port, USB Micro port for power and two USB sockets. I'll have a Bluetooth adapter inside plugged into the Pi for keyboard and extra controller support.

I've already ordered all the parts..apart from the controlblock, which seems the easiest way to hook up SNES ports and power switches for a simpleton like me as its designed for retropie.

Gonna be a nice little machine when done! I will post photos of progress when I start.
 
N

Nymerio

Member
Lettuce said:
The only crt filter you get working at 100% speed is the bog standard scanline shader, anything else seems to knock the fps down to around 45fps sadly
Click to expand...

That sucks, but it'll have to do. At least it should be easy to upgrade whenever the next Pi iteration comes along if the Pi2 is any indication.
 
D

Donuts

Member
Welp....I bought the pi 2 and a case for it.Will be getting it in 2 days if all goes well. Just going to use a spare wall adapter and micro usb cable with some 8gb sd card i have lying around. Will update once i get it set up
 
R

Rich!

Member
My Pi, ports, parts, and shit are all on their way.

Just need a controlblock now. And a SNES controller - terrisus ended up with my old one

Its just like...sheeeeiiiitsheeeeiiiit, this project is costing me £70 so far. Fuck me.
 
J

JNT

Member
Rich! said:
My Pi, ports, parts, and shit are all on their way.

Just need a controlblock now. And a SNES controller - terrisus ended up with my old one

Its just like...sheeeeiiiitsheeeeiiiit, this project is costing me £70 so far. Fuck me.
Click to expand...

It's not bad, but the total cost of getting a Pi usually does not limit itself to the cost of the actual device.
 
Green Wiggly

Green Wiggly

Member
Rich! said:
My Pi, ports, parts, and shit are all on their way.

Just need a controlblock now. And a SNES controller - terrisus ended up with my old one

Its just like...sheeeeiiiitsheeeeiiiit, this project is costing me £70 so far. Fuck me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, $35 my ass...mine ended up somewhere around $150, although a bunch of that is one time stuff (keyboard, dual shock 3, cables, etc). Could probably get another one up and running for maybe $75 now.

XrE3x0j.png
 
M

MRORANGE

Member
I should jump on that new plugin,. although I have audio stuttering on my pi with N64 games, might be a power issue.
 
J

JNT

Member
MRORANGE said:
I should jump on that new plugin,. although I have audio stuttering on my pi with N64 games, might be a power issue.
Click to expand...

N64 emulation is really bad on the Raspberry, although I don't think it's the machine's fault. Some games work well, but most games don't; It's the same story that's plagued N64 emulation for 15 years. I have yet to try out the new plugin on my desktop yet, but from what I can see there are no ARM versions of it except for Android. I would attempt compiling it myself, but the source code repository only contains a readme file :|
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Nymerio said:
That sucks, but it'll have to do. At least it should be easy to upgrade whenever the next Pi iteration comes along if the Pi2 is any indication.
Click to expand...

Apparently the 'interlacing' shader found in the 'misc' folder is supposed to look great and has no performance hits, may want to give that a go??
 
N

Nymerio

Member
Lettuce said:
Apparently the 'interlacing' shader found in the 'misc' folder is supposed to look great and has no performance hits, may want to give that a go??
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try that. My Pi arrived today, I'll set it up tomorrow after work. Can't wait!
 
G

grendelrt

Member
Hey guys, need some help. How do you overwrite controls for a single emulator? I have tried editing the Retroarch config that is in the /opt/retropie/configs/pcengine folder, but have not had any success.

Basically my controller is set up fine for most systems, but in Pc Engine emulation it is mapping the 2 button to where Y is on the controller and the 1 button to where the B is on the controller. I want to map 2 to where A is on my controller, like a real PC engine controller.

My current config looks like the below and my install is using the Logitech Rumblepad 2 USB cfg file which is correctly set up.

#include "/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg"
# All settings made here will override the global settings for the current emulator core
input_remapping_directory = /opt/retropie/configs/pcengine/
video_shader = /opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/shader/crt/crt-caligari.glsl
video_shader_enable = true
 
D

Donuts

Member
Sweet, just about finished setting up my pi! Will be a perfect nostalgia machine. Basically cost me 50 bucks (from amazon) without the SD card or power adapter. Thanks for the thread, this will definitely be killing some time
 
S

Seik

Banned
Got my Pi2 today, can't wait to tinkle around with it during this weekend, too bad I didn't received the proper case for it though, but that won't stop me. :p
 
Z

zip stick

Member
Nymerio said:
How is the 3.0 Beta version of RetroPie? Is it stable or should I just stick to 2.6?
Click to expand...

Ive not tried 2.6 as I went straight for 3.0 beta when i got my Pi2, but Its stable for me. The only thing i noticed was emulation station may fail to display after boot. From what ive found out this is due to a memory bug and having far too many games and scraped images (i noticed this when 5000+). I ended up removing some. I dont know if that bug was present in 2.6.

Id say go for it.
 
Z

zip stick

Member
Cthulhu_Steev said:
Has anybody put one of these into a TE Fightstick (with HDMI out) as a Mame/FBA/Hyperspin machine? I'm tempted to give it a shot.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about this, but youd have to think of some way to keep the power lead and hdmi together and tidy. Im not sure youd want two wires trailing across the floor. Or go with portable battery and just have the hdmi lead coming out of the stick.
 
D

dock

Member
My first impressions of the retropie didn't go well.

I had a lot of headaches getting the emulators installed and I still have border issues. I admit I gave up relatively quickly but I wasn't expecting 1-2 hours of setup issues and crashing on plenty of roms.

I might give it another go, but it's hard to imagine getting this set-up to the point when I'd want to use it. Perhaps I underestimated the linux proficiency needed to use this. :|
 
D

deadfolk

Member
Guys, slightly OT here, but I'm setting up a Mac Mini to use as a (among other things) Retro Emulation box.

Does anyone know of (or can point me in the right direction to find) a well-regarded controller-driven front-end that will handle all the major Emulators? Can be Windows or OSX.
 
V

veggiesaurus

Member
deadfolk said:
Guys, slightly OT here, but I'm setting up a Mac Mini to use as a (among other things) Retro Emulation box.

Does anyone know of (or can point me in the right direction to find) a well-regarded controller-driven front-end that will handle all the major Emulators? Can be Windows or OSX.
Click to expand...
emulation station is excellent
 
N

Nymerio

Member
Oh wow, this is by far the easiest frontend I've set up so far. Everything works out of the box, it's almost too good to believe o_O
 
S

Scooter155

Member
Asked for a Pi and SNES controller for father's day, was thinking of building a simple wooden case for it too. Any common mistakes or pitfalls to watch our for when setting a pi up as an emulator? Great thread, btw.
 
gingerbeardman

gingerbeardman

Member
dock said:
My first impressions of the retropie didn't go well.

I had a lot of headaches getting the emulators installed and I still have border issues. I admit I gave up relatively quickly but I wasn't expecting 1-2 hours of setup issues and crashing on plenty of roms.

I might give it another go, but it's hard to imagine getting this set-up to the point when I'd want to use it. Perhaps I underestimated the linux proficiency needed to use this. :|
Click to expand...
I thought you could just download an SD Card image and the emulators are ready to go. Just drop your ROMs in?
 
N

Nymerio

Member
Yeah, not sure what's going on there. The only thing you have to do is go into the pi config utility to expand the image use the whole disk.
 
Z

zip stick

Member
gingerbeardman said:
I thought you could just download an SD Card image and the emulators are ready to go. Just drop your ROMs in?
Click to expand...

Yeah pretty much. I copied the roms over a samba share which was automatically configured with retropie. Each emulator has a shared folder. There is also an option to use a usb stick or hard disk to copy a huge batch at once but ive not tried that.
 
The_Afroman

The_Afroman

Member
Ok so 2 things.

1.) Where do i set the controls up for FBA. I have edited the fba.cfg thing and changed the number of the buttons to what i think it is, but nothing. The controller doesn't respond.

2.) Anyone know a place to see some good N64 tweaks? I just want the games to run like they did on the console, i don;t want visual enhancements. I feel that it slows dow because it's trying to smooth it all out. I just want scanlines and original rendering
 
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