Raspberry Pi Gaming thread - Cheap emulation and gaming projects

derFeef said:
Scraping issues and controller settings never consistently sticking is still my biggest issue of why I can't fully enjoy my RetroPie :(
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I had much the same issues, primarily the latter. Can I suggest giving Recalbox a try? I've had a lot less trouble with controllers using that, and for that reason alone it's my go-to.
 
Le Colonel said:
Hi everyone, first post here on Gaf and already a bragging post ;) I've been a long time lurker on this thread and now that I've finally been accepted I can show you my Pi2 bartop :

kV1H1Oe.jpg


Works with Retropie, my friends and kids love it !
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Hello! Was wondering if you could post more information about your cabinet. I love the design, and can't seem to find any plans online that resemble it. Would you be willing to share your design?

Thanks!
 
Had a pi zero lying around and i was having a hard time deciding what to do with it.. until now.
 
I just set up a retropie as follows:

Bought:
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ ($30, on sale at microcenter)
SD Card (Samsung Evo 32 GB) ($10)

Things I had laying around:
HDMI cable
PS3 Controller x 2 + USB A to Mini b 5 pin cable
Cell phone charger (needs over 2.5 mA current)

Installation (15 minutes):
- get retropie image
- burn image to SD card (use etcher, I had problems with an older software)
- put SD in, connect wireless keyboard, connect PS3 controller, connect power

Setup (10 minutes):
- set up controller (wired)
- set up wifi

Wireless (20 minutes + tinkering)
- set up PS3 wireless drivers (Google for info). It should be very straightforward as it is over the internet, just a few presses through menu screens
- then you go to configure input with controller connected, then you disconnect and hold middle button, random things happen, and somehow it works
- expect to tinker quite a bit here, use Google, but eventually I got 2 controllers connected wirelessly

ROMs
- can be transferred directly over the network from another PC, very easy

This thing emulates consoles up to and including PS1 pretty well (supposedly, I've only tested Genesis and SNES). Looks good even on 65 inch TV, make sure to turn on shaders and smoothing.

Hoping the nostalgia doesn't wear off and it just collects dust. Started with TMNT and Streets of Rags 2, can't go wrong.

Very impressed with how easy most of it was, and totally worth the time and money.
 
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Is there any advantage to running emus on Rasberry Pi over just running it from your PC or Mac?

I run OpenEmu on my Mac and have HDMI to my monitor and use PS4 controllers and it's pretty bad ass. Does Rasberry Pi provide a better experience in some way?
 
So, I was looking to get a SNES classic for my brother in law but I think making something that can run more systems would be better.

I'm looking at this bundle sold locally, what else would I need to get other than a gamepad? What sort of cables would connect this to a HDTV?
https://nettop.gr/index.php/raspber...e-starter-kit-for-raspberry-pi-3-model-b.html

And how much of a headache am I in for, is it going to be (almost?) as simple as lego-assembling the basic kit and putting retropie stuff alongside any roms I own on the SD card?

Also this is mostly going to be for up to 16bit system emulation. PlayStation would be welcome as well but maybe this kit will overheat too much and throttle if I stress it that much without a fan?
 
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pramod said:
Is there any advantage to running emus on Rasberry Pi over just running it from your PC or Mac?

I run OpenEmu on my Mac and have HDMI to my monitor and use PS4 controllers and it's pretty bad ass. Does Rasberry Pi provide a better experience in some way?
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I think people like them as a sort of dedicated gaming console. Like boot direct to games rather than opening a program etc.

I dont think there is much it can do that a standard pc cant do.
 
Al3x1s said:
So, I was looking to get a SNES classic for my brother in law but I think making something that can run more systems would be better.

I'm looking at this bundle sold locally, what else would I need to get other than a gamepad? What sort of cables would connect this to a HDTV?
https://nettop.gr/index.php/raspber...e-starter-kit-for-raspberry-pi-3-model-b.html

And how much of a headache am I in for, is it going to be (almost?) as simple as lego-assembling the basic kit and putting retropie stuff alongside any roms I own on the SD card?

Also this is mostly going to be for up to 16bit system emulation. PlayStation would be welcome as well but maybe this kit will overheat too much and throttle if I stress it that much without a fan?
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Any HDMI cable will do, doesn't look like you need anything else if that kit already includes a power supply and you have a gamepad. There are a few things in Retropie that require USB keyboard but none of them are important for casual user and they can be ignored. I haven't dabbled with that particular case but in all likelyhood it's extremely simple to put together. Installing Retropie and messing with its configs is harder if you are not familiar with that kind of stuff, some of the setting pages might look intimidating. 16bit emulation doesn't require any extra cooling, PS1 emulation could use small heat sinks or it might overheat during longer sessions. Thats when playing on original resolution, if you want to use the double resolution setting you need to overclock Raspberry and use active cooling.
 
Al3x1s said:
Thanks. How about neogeo emulation?
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Never tried that one, but I'm going to guess it probably doesn't need any extra cooling. Raspberry will start flashing overheating icon if it starts getting too hot, so you can just get some cheap heat sinks off eBay or something and slap them in, it's not going to explode suddenly or something.
 
I need to ask a question but im a bit of a newbie about it. I got a raspberry pi for myself at xmas off ebay, by a custom builder who put together a megapi case for me and installed retropi etc. When I got it and fired it up, it's really loud...like absurdly loud. The fan whines like nothing Ive ever heard, it's unusable. I opened it up to see what was going on inside, just a tiny fan you cant really do much with, so I put it back together. Now the thing won't even output to the TV any more. I've emailed the seller, but I was just wondering how salvagable the thing is? The case and pads etc are lovely. Can you fit a better fan into the case, something quieter? Any ideas on the fact that it its not displaying anything any more? All I did was open it up, which I presumed was acceptable seeing as it was already put together by someone.

Any help appreciated.
 
angelic said:
I need to ask a question but im a bit of a newbie about it. I got a raspberry pi for myself at xmas off ebay, by a custom builder who put together a megapi case for me and installed retropi etc. When I got it and fired it up, it's really loud...like absurdly loud. The fan whines like nothing Ive ever heard, it's unusable. I opened it up to see what was going on inside, just a tiny fan you cant really do much with, so I put it back together. Now the thing won't even output to the TV any more. I've emailed the seller, but I was just wondering how salvagable the thing is? The case and pads etc are lovely. Can you fit a better fan into the case, something quieter? Any ideas on the fact that it its not displaying anything any more? All I did was open it up, which I presumed was acceptable seeing as it was already put together by someone.

Any help appreciated.
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The latest version of the pi shouldn't need any fans to operate. I tested various arcade games for hours at a time.
Which version is it?
Likely you can access the OS and reset it. Installing retropie is a very straightforward process after that. Wait until the sellers gets back to you, likely they will have troubleshooting instructions.
With these things it's good to get your hands dirty with some DIY experience. The pi goes for under $40 these days, so it's not a huge investment, and it's a worthy platform to learn and tinker on.
 
Hotspurr said:
The latest version of the pi shouldn't need any fans to operate. I tested various arcade games for hours at a time.
Which version is it?
Likely you can access the OS and reset it. Installing retropie is a very straightforward process after that. Wait until the sellers gets back to you, likely they will have troubleshooting instructions.
With these things it's good to get your hands dirty with some DIY experience. The pi goes for under $40 these days, so it's not a huge investment, and it's a worthy platform to learn and tinker on.
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Firstly let me say I appreciate the reply.

Pi is the latest version, I made sure, a 3B +, it's housed in a megapi case..which the guy told me can only work with a standard little fan that he fitted. The case has a reset switch, which is now not working, and something was mentioned about a shutdown mod that's tied to the little on off switch. Again apologies for saying this stuff poorly. I do have a previous history of tinkering, I used to build computers etc, just lately ive not got my hands dirty, and I know nothing about these things. I basically just wanted a mini box to play emulators in a cute case, but what arrived had a horrid fan, the frontend wasnt too friendly, and now it stopped working. I can stick some photos on later too if that helps.
 
I love my retropi, but as some said above the hassle of settings not saving properly on top of a truly clunky graphic interface makes me want to plug my superior modded Xbox original in. Why can't the retropi do some of the stuff I was doing on that system 15 years ago?

Get that worked out and there will be nothing better but having to at times go through Linux text commands is so offputting I generally just turn it off.
 
angelic said:
Firstly let me say I appreciate the reply.

Pi is the latest version, I made sure, a 3B +, it's housed in a megapi case..which the guy told me can only work with a standard little fan that he fitted. The case has a reset switch, which is now not working, and something was mentioned about a shutdown mod that's tied to the little on off switch. Again apologies for saying this stuff poorly. I do have a previous history of tinkering, I used to build computers etc, just lately ive not got my hands dirty, and I know nothing about these things. I basically just wanted a mini box to play emulators in a cute case, but what arrived had a horrid fan, the frontend wasnt too friendly, and now it stopped working. I can stick some photos on later too if that helps.
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Raspberry doesn't need active fan cooling unless you overclock your Pi so you could just unplug the fan and toss it, sounds like the seller used some loud piece of crap anyway. Does it already have some kind of small heatsink on the chip where the fan is blowing? If there is that's all you'll need, and you don't need even that unless you play PS1 games.

Item has been modded by the seller + item almost immediately stops working = good chance the seller messed up something. Unless you impaled the thing with a screwdriver or something while opening it up.
 
Shotpun said:
Raspberry doesn't need active fan cooling unless you overclock your Pi so you could just unplug the fan and toss it, sounds like the seller used some loud piece of crap anyway. Does it already have some kind of small heatsink on the chip where the fan is blowing? If there is that's all you'll need, and you don't need even that unless you play PS1 games.

Item has been modded by the seller + item almost immediately stops working = good chance the seller messed up something. Unless you impaled the thing with a screwdriver or something while opening it up.
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The seller used a £3 stock fan, saying thats the only one that fits..and the sound of it, its a piece of crap for sure. Dunno about heatsink, will take photos once it's light and get them up here. I will want to play ps1 games on it for sure, the ps mini being so bad is half the reason I bought it. I was definitely super careful opening it, the only thing I was thinking was there was some delicate switch attached to the megapi reset button so I was extra careful. Photos in a few hours.
 
angelic said:
The seller used a £3 stock fan, saying thats the only one that fits..and the sound of it, its a piece of crap for sure. Dunno about heatsink, will take photos once it's light and get them up here. I will want to play ps1 games on it for sure, the ps mini being so bad is half the reason I bought it. I was definitely super careful opening it, the only thing I was thinking was there was some delicate switch attached to the megapi reset button so I was extra careful. Photos in a few hours.
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I'm sure the seller used the correct size fan, but there are relatively silent fans and there are fans that compete with airplane turbines. Just get rid of it unless the seller wants you to return the whole thing.
 
Shotpun said:
I'm sure the seller used the correct size fan, but there are relatively silent fans and there are fans that compete with airplane turbines. Just get rid of it unless the seller wants you to return the whole thing.
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I got it at xmas, turned it on, it was so loud I put it away until now (ive been busy)....so Ive passed the 30 day window. He may or may not help me, I only messaged him yesterday evening. I'll get a photo up shortly so you can see if theres a heat sink or not. Again, ta for the help.
 
angelic said:
pics:
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No heatsink, but looks like the model B+ has some kind of heatspreader on the CPU. It's the square thing between the Raspberry Pi and HDMI texts. Since you intend to use it for PS1 games you might want to look for a small heatsink that fits in there and slap it on with thermal adhesive or tape.

If you get it to work that is. If you can take all that extra stuff off from the Pi do so and see does the Raspberry Pi itself work?
 
Kazza said:
angelic angelic sorry to butt in, but what do you think of the Megapi case itself? Is it good quality? I'm considering buying one myself later this year.
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Not at all. It's lovely, very nice and dinky. Lid flips up with the volume button to store sd cards. Sits perfectly next to a snes mini, no complaints at all about the case. It's paired with 2x retroflag megadrive pads too, also great.

Shotpun said:
No heatsink, but looks like the model B+ has some kind of heatspreader on the CPU. It's the square thing between the Raspberry Pi and HDMI texts. Since you intend to use it for PS1 games you might want to look for a small heatsink that fits in there and slap it on with thermal adhesive or tape.

If you get it to work that is. If you can take all that extra stuff off from the Pi do so and see does the Raspberry Pi itself work?
Click to expand...

I appreciate that, I'll get looking and get a heatsink on it. Out of interest, I take it it should boot ok without the fan plugged in? Any suggestions of what's actually wrong with it, why its not seeming to start up properly? Im getting no display and no power light. Im not really sure what you mean about all that extra stuff, you mean the 2nd board with the on off switch and reset button? I'm a bit scared to do that.
 
angelic said:
Not at all. It's lovely, very nice and dinky. Lid flips up with the volume button to store sd cards. Sits perfectly next to a snes mini, no complaints at all about the case. It's paired with 2x retroflag megadrive pads too, also great.
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Thanks. I hope you manage to iron out your problems with the pi
 
Kazza said:
Thanks. I hope you manage to iron out your problems with the pi
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Ta, I'll show you the pad later by the case.

The ebay guy has been back to me, he's happy for me to post it to him, but hopefully I can get it sorted out myself with a bit of advice from here.
 
angelic said:
I appreciate that, I'll get looking and get a heatsink on it. Out of interest, I take it it should boot ok without the fan plugged in? Any suggestions of what's actually wrong with it, why its not seeming to start up properly? Im getting no display and no power light. Im not really sure what you mean about all that extra stuff, you mean the 2nd board with the on off switch and reset button? I'm a bit scared to do that.
Click to expand...

Yeah you can just unplug the fan, Pi won't care is it plugged in or not as long that MegaPi control board it is connected to hasn't been desinged very wierdly. My guess is that there is something wrong with that extra board, especially if there is some extra modding done to it. That or you just happen to have a faulty Pi or power supply.

Looks like all you need to do to is unplug those USB cables from the Pi (looks like they are just extension cables that connect MegaPi's USB ports to Pi's USB ports) and unplug that that cable in the top left corner of Pi which connects MegaPi's control board to Pi. Then just plug HDMI and power directly to the Pi and see what happens. If you want to plug that top left cable back in make sure you plug it in the way it was, that red cable on the left side and that green on right.

Oh, and note that the Pi doesn't have any on/off button, it turns on when you plug it in and you need to unplug the power cable and then plug it back in to turn it on.
 
Shotpun said:
Yeah you can just unplug the fan, Pi won't care is it plugged in or not as long that MegaPi control board it is connected to hasn't been desinged very wierdly. My guess is that there is something wrong with that extra board, especially if there is some extra modding done to it. That or you just happen to have a faulty Pi or power supply.

Looks like all you need to do to is unplug those USB cables from the Pi (looks like they are just extension cables that connect MegaPi's USB ports to Pi's USB ports) and unplug that that cable in the top left corner of Pi which connects MegaPi's control board to Pi. Then just plug HDMI and power directly to the Pi and see what happens. If you want to plug that top left cable back in make sure you plug it in the way it was, that red cable on the left side and that green on right.

Oh, and note that the Pi doesn't have any on/off button, it turns on when you plug it in and you need to unplug the power cable and then plug it back in to turn it on.
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Good advice.
As for the fan, when you stick the pi in a box likely it generates heat and keeps it locked in. My pi is just a board floating by itself (ready to be zapped by static no doubt, better to have it in a well ventilated case, but not necessarily with a fan). I wager the second board/mod are what's interfering with normal operation.
 
Found the problem, the bloody SD card is snapped..it was jammed in so when I opened the case...it broke off. Im quite annoyed.

20190219-125547.jpg
 
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angelic said:
Found the problem, the bloody SD card is snapped..it was jammed in so when I opened the case...it broke off. Im quite annoyed.
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My Mega Pi arrived yesterday and the exact same thing happened. A 128gb microSD card snapped.

So a tip for anyone else getting one: Take the MicroSD card out before putting your RPi3 in the case!
 
Bullet Club said:
My Mega Pi arrived yesterday and the exact same thing happened. A 128gb microSD card snapped.

So a tip for anyone else getting one: Take the MicroSD card out before putting your RPi3 in the case!
Click to expand...

Oh wow, you're serious? I don't know whether to be pleased it's not just me, or commiserate you in your loss. I mean, the latter obviously. Mine was a 128gb one as well, I think I paid £25 for it....and of course all the stuff it was loaded with gone too.

I've emailed the seller, god knows what he'll do. I mean technically I "did" it, but it was a time bomb.
 
angelic said:
Oh wow, you're serious? I don't know whether to be pleased it's not just me, or commiserate you in your loss. I mean, the latter obviously. Mine was a 128gb one as well, I think I paid £25 for it....and of course all the stuff it was loaded with gone too.
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I paid AUD$25 for mine a few months ago so it's not a big loss, just annoying. It had a nice RetroPie image on it which I think I deleted off the PC, so that sucks but I can get another one.
 
Bullet Club said:
I paid AUD$25 for mine a few months ago so it's not a big loss, just annoying. It had a nice RetroPie image on it which I think I deleted off the PC, so that sucks but I can get another one.
Click to expand...

It's a loss to me, money is super tight, so im pretty miffed at how it's been set up. I don't know if you knew about the side hatch to access the micro sd, the bit that looks like air vents on the top left of the case. Well mine was jammed shut, I still can't open it, and the card was inside a plastic slot, ready to snap off. Basically, if you don't open the (still unopenable on mine) side panel to remove the card, and you open the case, you're fucked. We had no chance.

I still cant open this sd card access flat, how on earth is it done?

pi2.jpg
 
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Yeah I know about the side flap now, but didn't when putting it together. You just need to use a bit of force to get it open the first time.

Here's an exciting pic of the MPi with the snapped card:

RG6fCta.jpg


Besides the drama with the card, it is a very nice case. It looks great.
 
I also managed and opened the sd port flap. So technically this is my fault for being stupid. God fucking damn it. Thanks for the help though, it's all gods plan to have me break an 128gb sd card.

Maybe the ebay guy will sort me out with something, maybe he won't. Maybe I'm over dramatising my relatively small catastrophe. ANNOYED EXCLAMATION.
 
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Do you have any smaller microSD cards lying around, like a 4gb or 8gb one? That's what I'm using to put together a little collection until I get another card.
 
Bullet Club said:
Do you have any smaller microSD cards lying around, like a 4gb or 8gb one? That's what I'm using to put together a little collection until I get another card.
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I think I have one lurking, it's just I've never done anything pi related so im clueless. I need to download some script that handles the reset and safe shutdown stuff from retrocades site too. I've read the retropie install page instructions and that seems ok, just not the script thing. I'm a person that took forever to mod my wii and found it really painful, I hate modding consoles and installing stuff.
 
My condolences to you guys, this is a really unfortunate mishap.

I'm happy to have bought everything on its own and setting it up alone (had a NESpi before - that has the same little slot for the microSD, but always were a Sega-Kid), so I was aware of the problem.
 
Here's a video guide on installing the script:



It basically just goes through what's on the github page but it might make it easier to follow.
 
Its not gaming but what would be the best resources to build a Raspberry Pi to function as a headless music player outputting sound to a USB DAC?

Never messed with a Pi before but want to make something small for my bedside table to listen to music. I already have a USB DAC I can use and I already have all my music on a home server.
 
ya that looks like a good start.

I would want to control the player via a smartphone app so I guess Rune has something like that? Need to do a bit more research.
 
DGrayson said:
I would want to control the player via a smartphone app so I guess Rune has something like that? Need to do a bit more research.
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It can be controlled via smartphone or PC. You can add network shares to stream or add a USB stick full of music.

I haven't tried it but it is something I've been thinking about doing. Make a little RPi jukebox.
 
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Bullet Club said:
It can be controlled via smartphone or PC. You can add network shares to stream or add a USB stick full of music.

I haven't tried it but it is something I've been thinking about doing. Make a little RPi jukebox.
Click to expand...


Ya right now i have a 24/7 Windows based headless file server. Music is organized via Media Monkey and usually remotely played with Media Monkey or Plex. I have an Audioengine D1 DAC which I use but can be moved to a bedside setup with a Pi. Headphones are Ficher Audio FA-003 TI.

We are moving next year and I want to build a new music listening area in the bedroom but my wife says I cant have cables and speakers and blinking LEDs etc :D:D:D

Pi seems like it would be a good solution.
 
Is there a decent all in one you guys recommend? I honestly would rather buy one with everything loaded on it ready to go. I know its supposedly easy etc but I'd rather someone make a little money off my laziness.
 
Romulus said:
Is there a decent all in one you guys recommend? I honestly would rather buy one with everything loaded on it ready to go. I know its supposedly easy etc but I'd rather someone make a little money off my laziness.
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I dunno I used that Voldemort one and edited it a bit. Removed a bunch of unwanted games and games that didn't work.
 
all those cute projects with pi zero inside retro controllers are just way too cool. Imagine all that inside controller . wow.
my question would be can i use any smoothing shaders to make picture look better like on emulators on pc ? and how much pi 3 B+ could use them more then zero model ? is zero model can run emulator more just raw version of picture no shaders at all ?
 
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