Raspberry Pi Gaming thread - Cheap emulation and gaming projects

My only issue with Retropie is that it really feels like one smaller project from one developer trying to integrate with many other projects from other developers. So I often run into issues (all the time with controllers) where one piece (Emulation Station) doesn't play nice with another (emulator x or y, but not z) and from Retropie's point of view where they are stuck in the middle there is little they can do to resolve it outside of asking for other devs to fix their shit.

I'm not sure if Recalbox is organized similarly or different from a technical standpoint.
 
I do agree RetroPie needs tinkering, but once it's all done it's amazing. I think the main reason why I stick with with RetroPie is the support and the community that comes along with it, there is so much documentation and people willing to help out that it's quite easy to look something up if you want to make changes.

The only recommendation I would make to RetroPie is deeper RetroArch configs in the GUI EmulationStation, stuff like being able to aply shaders for each platform without needing to go into a text editor.
 
MRORANGE said:
The only recommendation I would make to RetroPie is deeper RetroArch configs in the GUI EmulationStation, stuff like being able to aply shaders for each platform without needing to go into a text editor.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's weird. You used to be able to save Retroarch shader selection from the RGUI menu on a per-core basis in older versions of Retropie, but somewhere along the way they changed it so that you have to manually edit the Retroarch.cfg file for each console if you want it to stick.

I think I remember reading something about their reasoning where people were applying a bunch of overwrites to the universal Retroarch.cfg without realizing it when it worked the old way. I dunno.
 
MRORANGE said:
I do agree RetroPie needs tinkering, but once it's all done it's amazing. I think the main reason why I stick with with RetroPie is the support and the community that comes along with it, there is so much documentation and people willing to help out that it's quite easy to look something up if you want to make changes.

The only recommendation I would make to RetroPie is deeper RetroArch configs in the GUI EmulationStation, stuff like being able to aply shaders for each platform without needing to go into a text editor.
Click to expand...

Yes. There are more than a few fundamental settings in Retropie that require you to mess with a text editor. Fullscreen/overscan is the first thing I change after upgrading. Simple controller configuration stuff too.
 
I'm considering doing a Retropie install on my Pi 3B to replace my current Recalbox install, as I've heard it has more customization options. Just curious if someone could tell me what sorts of things I can do with Retropie that aren't possible with Recalbox. Is performance with games better using Retropie, or is it all basically the same?

I like that I'm able to add games to Recalbox over my network. Is it just as simple with a Retropie install?

I'll also be installing Kodi and want for it to boot with the system, since my fiancee uses the Pi more as a media streamer more than I do as a retro gaming system. I've looked up a video for it and it seems fairly straightforward. Wondering if there are any differences between Kodi on Retropie and on Recalbox.

Thanks!
 
So I'm considering getting one of these set ups. Just curious, what would need to be done to get NES and SNES controllers to work with this and is that set up process difficult?
 
KeyChainDude said:
Hmm I thought there might be a way to emulate some old NES games, but certainly the Raspberry is a better choice anyway.
Click to expand...

Arduino would not be able to even emulate gb games, even if you could it would run like pants. Arduino so are mostly used for insanely small tiny embedded projects that don't need an overhead like an OS to run and has very low power utilisation overall.

The best thing you can get to playing games on Arduino is a arduboy
 
Got my 3A charger and finally booted my Raspberry Pi 3. What a beautiful piece of engineering, a few seconds and it boots in my monitor. Amazing.

I configured some things (SSH, VNC, other small things such as language, time keyboard..) and it was working well. Then I rebooted and it was still fine.

So i changed the GPU RAM to 128mb and restarted the device again and now I am stuck in the early boot:

MObGDes.jpg
Click to expand...

It seems that its a problem with the clock (?) but I have no idea how to fix it. I had configured my clock/time settings long time before this started happening (I rebooted at least 4-5 times in between these events).

Any idea?

I am running raspbian, last version.


edit. I am just going to erase my sdcard and start from the very beginning...
 
I'm running the latest version of recalbox on a RPi3, and for whatever reason the Libretro GPSP game boy advance emulator will not boot on any game I try to launch. I pick a game, the screen goes black, and then it sends me back to the screen where I picked the game. Does anyone else have this issue?

I really want to use the GPSP emulator because some games on the default MGBA emulator freeze within 10 seconds of start up. The freeze is so bad I have to unplug the power cord and hard reset to fix it. It only freezes on certain games (FFVI, WarioWare, etc) but it's driving me insane. Can someone help?
 
I bought one of these for a family member with the intention to set it all up for them for Christmas. He is mostly interested in emulators and shit like that. Is Retropie still my best bet?
 
dave is ok said:
I bought one of these for a family member with the intention to set it all up for them for Christmas. He is mostly interested in emulators and shit like that. Is Retropie still my best bet?
Click to expand...

Nice info in the last couple of pages with pros and cons of each. it mostly comes down to preference at the end.
 
dave is ok said:
I bought one of these for a family member with the intention to set it all up for them for Christmas. He is mostly interested in emulators and shit like that. Is Retropie still my best bet?
Click to expand...

If you want to do some fine tuning or think they will then Retropie is the answer. If you want a super simple install that they won't have to mess with either, go with Recalbox.

Only caveat I have to that is that I don't think bluetooth controllers work without adding a dongle on the Rpi 3 in Recalbox yet. I know it is supposed to get added eventually though
 
stangend77 said:
If you want to do some fine tuning or think they will then Retropie is the answer. If you want a super simple install that they won't have to mess with either, go with Recalbox.

Only caveat I have to that is that I don't think bluetooth controllers work without adding a dongle on the Rpi 3 in Recalbox yet. I know it is supposed to get added eventually though
Click to expand...

Interesting you mention this. I was just wondering if an Xbox One controller would work without a dongle with a Raspberry pi device. Are you saying it would work with retropie?
 
Just curious, does anybody have a recommended USB NES gamepad? The ones I see online (plus the ones I've personally acquired in the past) always seem to have issues with the down direction on the d-pad or have innate input lag.
 
I just spent some birthday gift cards to get an X-Arcade dual controller with a trackball.

I think I'm going to attach the pi to the controller itself, since I don't want a dedicated cabinet.

Now I wonder if there's some way I can add a weighted spinner control for Tron, Tempest, Arkanoid, etc.
 
Sephzilla said:
Just curious, does anybody have a recommended USB NES gamepad? The ones I see online (plus the ones I've personally acquired in the past) always seem to have issues with the down direction on the d-pad or have innate input lag.
Click to expand...

the generic ones can last for 1 day or 1 month, never had any luck with those, best ones are the 8bitdo SFC30 or SNES30 if you want to go the wireless route, for wired the Buffalo Classic USB, The Buffalo are made in japan, great quality and fair priced.
 
The Omega Man said:
the generic ones can last for 1 day or 1 month, never had any luck with those, best ones are the 8bitdo SFC30 or SNES30 if you want to go the wireless route, for wired the Buffalo Classic USB, The Buffalo are made in japan, great quality and fair priced.
Click to expand...

I actually did end up going with the Buffalo Classic ones. They're basically perfect for SNES controllers
 
I use a dualshock 3 for console games, and I'll be using the arcade stick for arcade games (and probably NES games).

Of course, I had one lying around so it was a no-brainer.
 
Sanjuro said:
Any recommendations for these B&M options?

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?Ntt=Raspberry+Pi+3+Model+B

I see most are bundled with things not needed. Pretty much looking for a case and memory if available.

Based on my gut, the prebuilt one looked like the best deal.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/462684/Fully_Assembled_Raspberry_Pi_3_Starter_Kit
Click to expand...

Only issue I see with the prefab one is the power supply looks a little lower (5V 2.0A Power Supply) versus the one I purchased ( 5.25VDC 2.4A USB Power Supply) which might cause issues when overclocking. Hopefully someone with better knowledge can give better insight!

Here is the one I got. Basically $10 more for a bigger SD card and possibly better power supply.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/461232/Raspberry_Pi_3_Model_B_Starter_Kit
 
Ive had my Pi3 for months now, just too dumb to figure it out. Would love to get emulators and kodi on this thing, but every time I fix something, I break it. Wish I had a knowledgable friend to just set the thing up for me. :/
 
TheApatheticOne said:
Ive had my Pi3 for months now, just too dumb to figure it out. Would love to get emulators and kodi on this thing, but every time I fix something, I break it. Wish I had a knowledgable friend to just set the thing up for me. :/
Click to expand...

Just flash the latest Retropie image onto your microSD using the instructions here:

https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/First-Installation

Can't really screw much up from there unless you start tinkering with config files, which it doesn't sound like you're interested in doing anyway.
 
stangend77 said:
Only issue I see with the prefab one is the power supply looks a little lower (5V 2.0A Power Supply) versus the one I purchased ( 5.25VDC 2.4A USB Power Supply) which might cause issues when overclocking. Hopefully someone with better knowledge can give better insight!

Here is the one I got. Basically $10 more for a bigger SD card and possibly better power supply.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/461232/Raspberry_Pi_3_Model_B_Starter_Kit
Click to expand...

I didn't think the power supply would be an issue on these guys. I wouldn't be looking to do much else with it beyond RetroPie.

That was my number two option though. May just go with it to be safe. Thanks!
 
What to expect in 2017 with Raspberry Pi's

- Pi3 Computer Model being released - mostly for developers, but could be used in making gaming consoles or handhelds.
- Pi3 Model A being released - cheaper price, 1 usb no Ethernet, but has onboard wifi and power of Pi3, maybe less energy consumption.
- No Raspberry Pi 4 apparently
 
So apologies in advance if this is the wrong place, but I have no idea where else to get info from...

So I plan on getting myself started on my first ever arcade cabinet project knowing absolutely nothing about anything...

The only game I actually care about is Capcom vs SNK 2.

I've noticed that on Pi 3, CvS2 runs like dog sht.

I own it already on PS2 and PS3, and after seeing how "90's fax machine" a whole NAOMI set up looks, I'm guessing either the PS2 or PS3 in a cab will be the best way to go...

But admittedly I only found/watched like one vid of the game running on Pi3. Does anyone know if there are better emulators/things out there that run games like CvS2 on a Pi3/etc?

My hope would be to make a much much smaller cabinet for my own personal use so I'm trying to avoid taking a PS2/PS3 approach...
 
I'm gonna give Recalbox a shot now. I don't have much going on today, so I can test it out.

I don't see an option to disable sprite flicker for NES games on Recalbox. That sucks.
 
Hansel? said:
So apologies in advance if this is the wrong place, but I have no idea where else to get info from...

So I plan on getting myself started on my first ever arcade cabinet project knowing absolutely nothing about anything...

The only game I actually care about is Capcom vs SNK 2.

I've noticed that on Pi 3, CvS2 runs like dog sht.

I own it already on PS2 and PS3, and after seeing how "90's fax machine" a whole NAOMI set up looks, I'm guessing either the PS2 or PS3 in a cab will be the best way to go...

But admittedly I only found/watched like one vid of the game running on Pi3. Does anyone know if there are better emulators/things out there that run games like CvS2 on a Pi3/etc?

My hope would be to make a much much smaller cabinet for my own personal use so I'm trying to avoid taking a PS2/PS3 approach...
Click to expand...

CVS2 was a Naomi game so you're looking at Naomi/DC/PS2/GC emulation. It's not going to happen on a Pi3.

Your best hope is either a Zotac ZBOX or similar mini PC which would also give you the option of PC gaming (useful for the likes of Skullgirls/Raiden IV/etc.) and other high-end emulation. This is quite a costly option though and the more power you have, the bigger the box. Anandtech has done some reviews of various levels of ZBOX hardware from Zotac:

http://www.anandtech.com/SearchResults?q=zotac+zbox&=search

I suspect your cheapest option (if you really do only care about CVS2) will be a PS2 slim. You'll likely have to do some modification if you do attempt to put it in a bartop.
 
Hello! I'm super new to the raspberry pi and I was wondering if its ok to give the pi an OS like Ubuntu so I could have it do other things and then stick emularors and roms onto it or if it would be better to just make it a retro gaming machine only.

I like the idea of having a mini computer around so I can type and practice code without having to bring out the expensive stuff from my house.
 
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