[smithers]

[quote=105529]Hi, thanks for the update! Got a question on a few issues I’m having.

1. nes and mame are in tiny windows instead of full screen. I checked in /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg and it looks like it’s set to 1280×720 so I’m not sure why this is happening. Changing it doesn’t seem to have any effect. Any ideas?

2. None of my advmame roms seem to work, they all say missing files. They all work flawlessly in the standard retropie install but in your image, none seem to work.

Thanks again for this, hoping I can get these 2 issues fixed and move over to your image permanently.

[/quote]

1) Sounds like an issue with your TV not being able to display the resolution properly. Press ‘x’ (or ‘button 1’ on your control pad) whilst loading a rom to enter a menu where you can change the default resolution for all nes / mame games (depending on what system you are loading at the time of course). This should sort you out but it is just trial and error until you find a resolution that suits your TV. I would recommend a common resolution, such as 720p, and whilst the retroarch.cfg states it is already outputting in 720p, it is what is held in the ‘videomodes.cfg’ file that takes preseidence over retroarch. From memory, I think it will be set to 640×480 output resolution, but that works great on my TV – full screen with no borders.

2) I mentioned this in my readme file but did not elaborate. The ‘advmame’ folder will no longer work, instead you need to put your advmame roms into the ‘arcade’ roms folder. This is because advmame will only allow 1 roms directory to be defined within its config files, so I had to choose ‘/arcade’ to allow merging of all the arcade systems properly. All other arcade emulators will allow roms to be called from any directory, so they can work as normal or via the ‘/arcade’ folder.

[smithers]

[quote=105523]

smithers wrote:

This is the incorrect directory (it was used in an earlier version of RetroPie but changed recently). You need to change it to exactly match the below:

joypad_autoconfig_dir = /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads/

1,This problem persists when using the script on video mod 4: 3 (4_3.sh)

2,Videomode switch to 4:3 only worked for the first time, then it’s still only 16:9. You can look at the problem?

[/quote]

Indeed it does – an oversight (again) on my behalf as I use pre-configured 16:9 / 4:3 retroarch.cfg files and whilst I updated the main retroarch.cfg file, I forgot to update those 2. :/ I am fixing this and will upload a 7.2 version.

One thing I will say however – please bare in mind that the purpose of the ‘aspect ratio switcher’ is meant to be a one-time choice on first setup, for those who don’t like the stretched 16:9 image. All my script does is remove my videomodes.cfg file (so you can start afresh) and replace my retroarch.cfg file (which is set for 16:9), with a version that forces 4:3. If you switch back to 16:9 again then all it does is copy the original retroarch.cfg file over again and re-enable my videomodes.cfg file. This means that if you have made any changes to the retroarch.cfg file since setting it to 4:3 ratio then they will be lost as all my script does is copy over the top of the retroarch.cfg file that it finds present at that time.

So like I say – I envisioned this to be a one-time change and only included it for the few folk who had asked for a 4-3 build to fulfil their needs in a simple way. If you are wanting to regularly change the aspect ratio then that is fine but please be aware that you need to make a backup of your retroarch.cfg and videomodes.cfg files *if* you have made any changes to them.

Hope this makes sense!

[smithers]

[quote=105505]I ve tested your image and overall it is quite impressive:)

Here are my thoughts/suggestions though:

1) I d suggest to provide a “clean” kodi image (without any extra addons, except for the game-retropie addon of course).
2) In retropie now: i couldnt use uae4arm so i reverted back to uae4all (couldnt start any game although my kickstart bios files where in the right folder)
3) I couldnt use Quake either so i reverted back to quake from binary set up (had a conflict between my keyboard and my xbox 360 controller – i had constant move of the player when controller was on)
4) Just a though: Brutal Doom is fantastic:D Can you install also Blood (it needs prboom libretro i think) and/or dinothwar?

I also cannot find a config.txt, in order to overclock..:(

Overall , your project is awesome!

[/quote]

Hi.

1) I already offer a ‘vanilla’ build or ‘tweaked’ build, and you can mix and match as needed (i.e. put the vanilla KODI NOOBS files in place of the tweaked KODI NOOBS files then install), so I don’t see any value in uploading a separate build (there are quite a few variants you can have really and I wouldn’t want to have to upload them all when it can be done already by the end user!)

2) UAE4Arm is working ok for me and I specifically use that version as it has fixes for PS3 pad usage. Did you point the emulator to the bios files and were they named correctly (kick12.rom, kick13.rom etc. if I remember rightly)

3) Again, this works fine for me using PS3 pad or using Thrustmaster Mini T Wireless so I have no reason to exclude it, as I find its a much better version of Quake (in terms of looks). I have however made it easy for you to revert back to the default ‘tyr-quake’ as I left the original script in but named it ‘Quake.shh’ so it didn’t appear in ES. Just rename it to remove the extra ‘h’ and it will appear again, and rename ‘quake.sh’ (note the lowercase ‘q’), to ‘quake.shh’ to remove the Darkplaces Quake from the ES menu.

4) I would love to get Blood up and running on the Pi, however the source code has not been released so there are no SDL / Linux ports that I’m aware of. There are some ‘Blood’ mods to be had however, one of which works in ZDoom which I included in my build, and the other is a Duke Nukem mod. I tried the Duke Nukem mod (BloodCM), but it ran very very poorly for some reason. I will re-visit it when I get a chance though.

As for Dinothawr – I had never heard of this until now. Looking into it, it shouldn’t be hard to add it in so I will try yes. I will be releasing a 7.2 image soon due to me stupidly overlooking the retroarch joypad location in my aspect ratio switching script, so if I can get Dinothawr working then I’ll include it.

As for the config.txt files – I think the easiest way to configure these is using the Pi directly. RetroPie will mount the boot partition on startup as ‘/boot’ so all you need to do is type in the following, either on the pi itself or via SSH:

sudo nano /boot/config.txt

This will allow you to edit the RetroPie partitions config.txt file.

Another way to do it is via the NOOBS ‘recovery’ option whereby it allows you to change the config.txt per OS. All you need to do is plug in a keyboard and turn on the Pi whilst holding down the <shift> key. It will display the recovery menu where you can click on the relevant OS and choose ‘Change Config’ (or something like that), and it will bring up a text editor where you can edit the relevant config file, save it and boot up. I have never done this so can’t comment on how reliable it is or if it even works at all, but from what I read when researching NOOBS, you should be able to do this.

[smithers]

[quote=105412]Thanks so much for putting this together, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.

I am having one issue though I’m hoping there’s a fix for. I switched skins to the default in kodi just to see what it looked like, I then switched back to the aeon theme and everything looked correct. After I launched Retropie from the menu and went back to Kodi, the Aeon skin looks like it has reverted to default settings and there is no menu item to launch Kodi, is there any fix for this short of re installing the image?
[/quote]

I did mention in my readme file that you shouldn’t change skins in KODI!

You can set it back up again yes, in fact, with any luck it may still be lurking in the background but not enabled. Go into skin settings and ‘Change Aeon Home Menu’ (or something like that – Im not in front of it right now to confirm the exact title). In there you will see all the various different menu items – Movies/TV, Live TV etc. etc. One of them should be called ‘Games’. Look inside that and at the top there will be an ‘Enable’ button. Make sure that is checked then go back to your home screen and see if it worked. If it didn’t, then you need to set it up from scratch again I’m afraid.

I’m guessing you will have already upgraded to my 7.1 image to fix controller issues, so if you have then you will be sorted already, but if not then let me know and I will write out instructions on how to fix it.

[smithers]

Here is a link to v.7.1:

[link removed]

Fixes controller errors as described above – should run perfect! :)

All the best
Steve

[smithers]

Please read r.e. controller problems with v7 build!

OK guys, I’ve been ‘reverse-engineering’ my build to try and find out what the problem with controllers not working is and I’ve found out the problem… unfortunately, I have dropped a bollock here and caused this problem myself!! :oops:

When creating the build I copied elements of my old ‘retroarch.cfg’ file (that I have been using since v3 B2), and without paying attention I have copied over an incorrect directory path for where the controller configurations are held. This means that on first setup your controller setup in Emulation Station works fine, but when it comes to playing a game in any of the RetroArch emulators, it cant see that the control pad has been set up…. which means no controls for you. Doh!

So then, to fix this error I will upload a v7.1 release of my build and delete the v.7 BUT I appreciate there will be some folk who don’t want to go through the whole download / install process again so here is how you can fix it yourself, should you want to (you will need to either SSH into the Pi or press <F4> to enter the terminal on the Pi itself):

Type in the following at the command prompt:

sudo nano /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg

Now scroll down the file until you find the following line of text in the ‘Input’ section (its quite far down, line 379 to be exact):

joypad_autoconfig_dir = /opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/configs/

This is the incorrect directory (it was used in an earlier version of RetroPie but changed recently). You need to change it to exactly match the below:

joypad_autoconfig_dir = /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads/

Now save the file, exit out of the text editor and restart Emulation Station. Choose a game to run (must be via the RetroArch emulator, i.e. Megadrive, SNES, NES etc.), and you should find your controller will be set up and ready to play.

My apologies for the error and frustration I imagine you were experiencing and apologies to RetroPie admin if anyone had posted a ‘bug’ in a thread outside of this one! I will post a new link soon (tonight) for those who want to re-download. Incidentally, I have also fixed a script error within the Doom1 script (it was pointing to doom2.wad in error), and also deleted a few un-needed folders that I had left behind when compiling certain games / dependencies.

Sorry again! :oops:

All the best.
Steve

[smithers]

[quote=105120]
Is there a way to set it to Auto since I will be moving it about to different TVs/Monitors? For example would you recommend setting it to hdmi_group=0. Don’t want to be playing around to much with changing the settings in fear of braking something.
Thanks

[/quote]

If I recall correctly, if you don’t set any resolution settings in config.txt then the pi will request a setting from your TV, when running via HDMI. I could have totally made that up but I’m pretty sure that is correct. Try commenting out the 2 lines hdmi_group and hdmi_mode in the config.txt file (by placing a # in front of both of them), and you may well find that it works.

As for how my image will look or respond – I’m not sure. I have tweaked everything to be 720p friendly, however 1080p should also be fine (assuming it will choose 1080p since it allows it on the openelec partition).

Good luck!
Steve

[smithers]

[quote=105157]I cant seem to get my 64gb Samsung Evo micro SD to work with your build, and have to copy it using Win32DiskImager from a 8GB card, then resize it using Gparted. However I cant merge the partition allocated to retropie with the new partition as there is some small partition dedicated to “settings” in the way, so I can’t thereafter utilise all the extra space.

[/quote]

Hi.

Sounds like your 64gb card is being formatted to a file system other than fat32, I suspect exfat or NTFS maybe. NOOBS only supports Fat32 file system so that is why it won’t allow you to install directly (Im guessing you are getting a black screen when trying to boot the install files?). What you need to do is force format the card to the Fat32 file system. You can do this in gparted as standard, if using Linux, or do a Google search for ‘fat32 formatter’ (for example) and you should find a Windows program that will sort you out. There is no way to expand the filesystem once NOOBS has done it’s partitioning (or rather, I gave up trying), so that is why you are having difficulties expanding from your 8GB I image.

As for your PS2 pad problem, sorry but I can’t help you there in afraid as I don’t own a Ps2 pad. I would suggest starting a seperate thread for your issue, unless one already exists.

Hope this helps!
Steve

[smithers]

[quote=105084]What about sd card corruption issues? Are y facing any ?

I am asking because as the image is only installed to an sd card (and not usb) corruptions may be present (especially if you overclock your pi2). So any news about that?

[/quote]

The corruption issues are in the OpenELEC side of the system, however I have never encountered them myself and I have tried it on multiple different brands and sizes of SD card. If you do encounter SD corruption issues then you can install the update I included a link for in my ‘README’ file. This will supposedly resolve the issue. I will say though – if you have rebooted a few times already then I doubt you have the corruption issue. From what I have read it occurs after just a few bootups into KODI.

[smithers]

[quote=105057]Candyluv, the build seems to run smoothly for me… Strange it doesn’t for you…
[/quote]

Glad to hear it! Works perfect my end so it puzzles me when it doesnt for others haha!

[quote=105071]v.7 runs very well and I don’t have any troubles.
Can anybody tell me where I can change local and language settings?

[/quote]

Do you mean in OpenELEC? If so then you need to go to:

System > Appearance > International

[smithers]

[quote=105053]I seem to have a problem when trying to launch Retropie. I get a black screen from the start and it freezes at that. The only version that works is the vanilla v6. Both version 4 and 7 is giving me the black screen and I really want to use your pre-configured version. Also if I launch retropi from openelec then when I restart it will automatically go to the black screen.
Is there a way to rectify this issue.[/quote]

Hmmm… sounds like your TV may not support the resolution I have set? In my ‘tweaked’ builds I set the resolution to 720p / 60Hz as below:

hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=85

You could try changing the resolution to something different in the ‘config.txt’ file on the partition named ‘BOOT’. Follow the below link to find a list of options you can try:

http://elinux.org/RPiconfig#Video_mode_options

Seems strange though – your TV obviously supports 1080p as thats the resolution I set for OpenELEC, so you would think it would support 720p if it supports 1080p? Well, try amending the options in ‘config.txt’ and see how you go.

[smithers]

[quote=105034]Thanks for getting back to me. It didn’t like the beast build on your v6 but I’ve set up your v7 anyway and I like what you’ve added so I’m sticking with it. Thanks a lot. You are a genius. Love the PS1 soundtrack when you open emulation station. So many memories! Buzzing
[/quote]

Thats great – I’m not familiar with this ‘beast build’ however I find that pre-made builds generally contain a ton of addons that either don’t work or are not relevent to your interests. I spend alot of time researching and testing out KODI addons and I only add those that work and are good. I also like to keep it minimal. Pointless having every addon out there but only using 2 or 3 of them. It can mean your system spends all its time updating the addons when all you want to do is watch movies etc.!

[smithers]

[quote=104979]Hello Smithers, is there any way to update only sdcard partition with Retropie? I have installed version OpenELEC (KODI) Dual Boot V1 and I tuned OpenELEC and I would not like him set up your again.[/quote]

Hi. You can do this yes, you would just need to take a backup of your existing KODI setup then restore it within the new build. OR you can do a full .tar.xz backup of your whole KODI ‘Storage’ partition and replace the one that I provided in the ‘os’ folder. You would need to rename it the same as what I have named mine for it to work.

[quote=105020]Smithers,

How did you get the transistion of your video to the ES loading screen so smoothly?

I have followed some other sources but i keep getting a flash of text before the ES loading screen comes up.
[/quote]

I had to amend my boot video for the latest RetroPie as it loads the video later in the boot process. I took a 1080p picture of the emulationstation loading screen and loaded it into my video editing software and had the ‘swirling galaxy’ video clip fade into the ES logo screen instead of a blank white screen. It turned out quite well, at least on my TV! I made the video quite long, around 20 seconds I think, so maybe yours needs to be longer? Also note – the ES logo takes priority over the boot video but the sound will still play in the background. You can use this to good effect if you design a video that fades into the ES logo.

[smithers]

[quote=104950]I was wondering what would be the perfect resolution for the emulators. I guess You are right setting the resolution this low. But what about the Street Fighter, X-man etc. from arcade machines? Are those also only native 640p?
[/quote]

The maximum resolution on the CPS3 games (i.e. Streetfighter III 3rd Strike and the likes) is 384×224 (or 496×224 in widescreen mode). Even on the N64 – the majority games are less than 640×480, with only a few games using 640×480. So to me, 640×480 is the ideal resolution. I would imagine this puts much less strain on the CPU / GPU and awards better performance with the emulators.

[quote=104950]I didn’t had the chance to check yet, but is Your build of OpenElec supporting advanced subtitles in the mkv files (on my old basic system I had to do this: sudo apt-get install libass-dev to get subs in mkv) ?[/quote]

Hmm, I would say probably not, but I have never used .mkv’s in OpenELEC so I can’t say for definite. If its something that is widely used by folk then I have no issue in including it as standard in a future build, as long as it doesn’t come with unpleasant side effects?

[quote=104950]The error I mentioned before with missing files is visible on attached photo (the beginning of the message is cut, but it says lvl0: in each line.

Lastly… Is it possible to lower the space available on OpenELEC partition? I’ve noticed that I had to sacrifice a good few games for it, and if I’ll ever use Media Center, I’ll either use LAN or USB stick.[/quote]

As for the missing files – what directory are you using for your roms, is it the ‘mame-mame4all’ folder or the ‘arcade’ folder? I have tried both with no such problems so I’m struggling to replicate your error?

Lowering space on OpenELEC – yes, you can lower the partition size to whatever you want (within reason). I have set it to approx 1.3GB and as standard it is using around 600MB of that space for the addons I installed. If you are planning on adding more addons then you need to consider they will take up more space. Anyway – you can set the partition sizes in the ‘partitions.json’ file in the ‘os’ folder of the NOOBS files. If you read through this thread you will find more detailed instructions I posted for somebody else (ironically they wanted to increase their partition size for OpenELEC!).

[smithers]

[quote=104944]I have noticed that by default Your system is using a little bit of overscan (black bars are visible around the screen), but going to the pi settings and disabling overscan fixes the issue. Also on OpenElec I had to go to the settings and remove it. Another thing is that I have noticed that if I delete Your preinstalled games, after going to console, log is showing that those files were missing. I’m not sure what exactly is looking for them but it shows in the console. I have also noticed that the emulationstation is starting in 720p for some reason.

Other than that, amazing job! Thank You very much!

[/quote]

Overscan is dependent on your TV – it looks perfect on my Samsung 48 inch TV but if I plug it into a different brand / size TV then the black borders re-appear (or the screen goes beyond the TV edges). There is no ‘one size fits all’ here, unfortunately.

As for the games being ‘missing’ – Im not sure what you mean? Can you explain what files you deleted and maybe a screenshot of the error?

I have set EmulationStation @ 720p resolution deliberately. I find it performs better this way without any noticeable loss of quality and there is less memory being used. All of the system background images in my theme (and also in the original theme) are set to 720p too, and to be honest I dont think there would be any benefit to gain by increasing it to 1080p as most emulators are running @ 640×480 resolution anyway!

OpenELEC is set to 1080p however.

[smithers]

[quote=104928]thanks for that smith

about sd corruption in kodi helix, means that can i risk my sd physically ?
if is like that, maybe is better isengard, anyway i’m very noob, so please forgive me for this silly question. [/quote]

No I don’t think it will corrupt the actual card, just the file system which means you would have to start over again. I have never had it happen to me and I have used 5 or 6 different brands and size of cards, but it does apparently happen.

[quote=104928]another question is about mame4all that doesn’t work bluetooth command with ps3 controller and in 2.6 retropie works, is possible restore it? because is impossible remap the controller via bluetooth in mame4all, but in advmame works without problem, and you can remap all buttons.
[/quote]

Hmmm, I have just tested it with my own PS3 controller and you are right – MAME4All does not recognize any of the PS3 pad the inputs. I’ve checked the mame4all github and sourceforge pages but there is no mention of this bug. I could probably test out an older build of MAME4ALL to see if that fixed it but in the meantime I would recommend making a separate post about this issue.

[smithers]

I have compiled a binary for ZDoom and it runs well. I include it on my dual boot build, along with Brutal Doom which runs great on there.

If you’d like a copy of the binary then let me know and I will upload it. It is for Pi2 only.

I also have Crispy-Doom (and Crispy Hexen, Heretic and Strife) binaries pre-built, should you want them. All Pi2 only.

[smithers]

[quote=104367]sorry but what change about vanilla? i don’t understand this “vanilla” what is
[/quote]

Hi.

A ‘Vanilla’ version means that there are no tweaks or changes applied. My Vanilla builds offer a standard version of RetroPie and OpenELEC with the only change being a script that I created to switch between the 2 operating systems. Hope this makes sense.

[quote=104510] A few questions whilst im here. Can i add a pre made kodi set up (the beast build from the wizzard) on to the kodi software without it messing up the retropie cross over?

Also if i make changes to kodi and then you perhaps bring out another build/fixes can i update without losing all the set up I’ve created? [/quote]

You should be fine to add any build that is in a .tar format (which I believe is the normal method of upgrading or restoring KODI), and it shouldn’t change my script, but I have never tried it myself so couldn’t guarantee. Maybe have a trial run before you set too many things up in KODI!

[quote=104604]May I suggest something?
I was fiddling with the Recalbox, which is also a “dual boot” version of a media center + retropie.
I like how transitions are seamless on that distribution. I mean, linux line codes and texts and command lines do not appear for the user when you boot, start a game, change from media center to game station, etc. It’s more like a “retail version”, if you know that I mean.

Do you plan to do it on your next versions?[/quote]

I had already implemented this from the start! All you need to do is go into the ‘Settings’ menu and choose ‘Turn off Comand Line Access’ and all Linux text will be hidden! :)

[quote=104678]Greetings

I see that this image works only for pi2. Any thoughts about a rasp1 version?

[/quote]

Sorry, but I don’t own a Pi 1 any more so won’t be able to as I don’t believe the Pi1 software will boot on a Pi2. I could recommend buying a Pi2 instead – its much better performance wise!

[quote=104811]I’m setting up from the new v6 you made Smithers and can’t download addons to kodi. I guess it’s because kodi is a new version? Normally genesis etc. is right there and now can’t even download addons. Going into movies just brings up “title genre etc” and noting to search through.
[/quote]

Yes I had problems too and that is why I have reverted back to using an older version of KODI. You can mix and match my images in the NOOBS installer if you are wanting a ‘Vanilla’ version of RetroPie – otherwise just use my new build (v7).

[quote=104869]Will it be possible to add (at some point) Blood and Shadow Warrior to ports? Those games are on the same engine as Duke so in theory it should be…
[/quote]

I would love to and believe me I have been investigating this (well, I have for Blood anyway), however the source code has not been released yet so its not currently possible. :( You can however use a Blood Total Conversion in Zdoom which is pretty similar to the original. There is also a Duke Nukem TC however it seems to run slow for me? I will investigate Shadow Warrior.

[smithers]

Ok then, seems to be working fine so here is a link to v7 – RetroPie / OpenELEC Dual-Boot (tweaked build):

[link removed]

Dropbox link
I will upload to Dropbox tomorrow as it is going too slow right now for some reason.

Changes are as mentioned above but as always please read ‘README.TXT’ file for full instructions and troubleshooting etc.

Let me know how you get on and what you think of the changes. I will answer questions tomorrow as it is way past my bedtime right now. ;)

All the best.
Steve

[smithers]

Hi all.

Sorry for the lack of replies to your questions – I’ve had my head buried in my laptop working on my next build! :s I will answer your questions soon, when I am finished testing the new build.

In the meantime, here are some things to expect in my new build (a direct copy & paste from my new readme file), which I should hopefully be uploading tonight:

############
# RetroPie #
############

* Merged PiFBA, lr-FBA, AdvMAME, MAME4all, and lr-MAME4all into a new ‘Arcade’ system. This means you can put *all* arcade roms into one directory – /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/arcade/ – and assign any of the arcade emulators per rom. If you would prefer not to use this method then the normal functionality still remains the same for these emulators (with the exception of AdvMAME)

* Created a new script in ‘Settings’ where you can toggle between 16:9 widescreen and 4:3 standard picture format

* Added new games to the ‘Ports’ section:
* Aliens vs Predator (Classic / Gold version)
* Wolfenstein 3D
* Brutal Doom (using ZDoom port)
* Heretic (using Crispy-Heretic port)
* Hexen (using Crispy-Hexen port)
* Strife (using Crispy-Strife port)
* Double Dragon Extreme (using OpenBOR port)

(See the various ‘readme’ files inside each new game folder for instructions on how to install and activate the full version games))

* Tweaked my boot video for a better transition into the ES logo (unfortunately I had to shorten it too as RetroPie v3 will not allow my old splashscreen methods, meaning the video is forced to play much later in the boot sequence)

* Themed the new RetroPie Settings items

* Changed the theme of FBA to accomodate the new ‘arcade’ theme

* Created Dragon32 theme

* Added disk art for the Zork Trilogy and changed the theme

* Changed Amiga art, keeping in line with other ‘computer based’ emulators

* Various subtle changes to my scripts

* Installed UAE4Arm, Darkplaces Quake, Super Mario War and Cave Story as standard and assigned artwork to them all

############
# OpenELEC #
############

* Set up from scratch, again, and reverted back to Helix version due to bugs and incompatabilities in Isengard. This means the SD card corruption bug is present again however you can work around this by applying an update yourself via the following link: (I will add this when I find it!)

* Amended my ‘Launch RetroPie’ script for a more intuitive user experience and much more polished look and feel

* Changed the theme in certain areas for a better look and replaced the annoying (in my opinion) ‘Gravity’ default background of the Aeon skin

* Removed IPTV Stalker addon as it has gone paid-only, and replaced it with Zeus

* Various other addon changes / additions

[smithers]

Hi.

Sorry for bumping an old post but I thought I would share something I stumbled across online:
http://choccyhobnob.com/mame-on-raspberry-pi2/

The dude has compiled MAME 0.164 on the Pi but it ran very poorly. Looking through the steps he took to compile, he didn’t appear to add many Raspberry Pi specific flags to the build. It got me wondering if there were any specific flags that could be set that would make it run better (with 0.139 as the source, not 0.164). I have the source code downloaded for MAME 0.139 but I’m not skilled enough to know how to build it specifically for the Pi (if indeed you can even do that?), but I thought this may help if there was someone else out there who was able to try?

Just a thought anyway – I would love to see MAME 0.139 on the Pi too!

All the best,
Steve

[smithers]

Ok then, time for a new build – this is “Vanilla” RetroPie v3 and OpenELEC v15.1 (which addresses some of the bugs present in the last build). Please see links below:

[link removed]

They work the same as my previous builds however I have changed the way in which you switch from OpenELEC to RetroPie. I no longer use Advanced Launcher and instead have incorporated a direct link to the launcher script in the ‘Games’ section (click the ‘Launch RetroPie’ button under the ‘Games’ header).

Seems to work fine my end – on first impressions OpenELEC seems more stable and no annoying popups asking to install scripts (so far!). It also has a nice KODI boot video too now which is new and looks great! (I didn’t make the video, it is just something that appeared in this update – just to be clear!).

Anyway – let me know how you get on.

My ‘tweaked’ build will follow in the next few days and I will be including some more ‘non-standard’ ports for your gaming pleasure.

All the best.
Steve

[smithers]

[quote=104038]Hello,
First of all, thanks for your amazing work!

I am a total beginner regarding linux, Pi2 and everything, but I managed to get it working.

However, there are somethings I cant figure out regarding your last image.
– As it boots, I enter the configure controller screen (I have a Logitech Precision Pad). I managed to configure it properly, no hassles. Then the system enters the emulators screen.
– Only 3 emulators appears to me: Amiga, Scumm, Ports and Arcade Classics. Kodi shows up too.
– As soon as I enter a game, or even Kodi, controllers stops working, but I can use the keyboard to play.
– As soon as I exit the game, returning to the Retropie screens, it freezes. Controllers and the Keyboard do not work. I have to disconnect the power source.
– As I boot again, I have to reconfigure controllers all over again and the problem loops.

Any help?

[/quote]

Hi.

Really sorry, but I don’t know what is causing the crashes to happen? All I can suggest is for you to try my new build which I will be uploading v soon (“Vanilla” build will follow this post).

As for only a few emulators emulators showing – that is because there are no roms installed as standard – you should see Amiga, Apple II, Macintosh, Ports, PC, ScummVM, KODI, RetroPie and Zmachine. There are a few shareware / freeware games in the ports section and you should find the Zork games in the Zmachine section, but the others are just shortcuts to load the emulator GUI – you still need to add your own roms. When you start adding (acceptable) roms to the other systems then they will appear in the Emulation Station main selection screen automatically.

Hope this helps.

Steve

[smithers]

Here is a MEGA link:

[smithers]

Hi.

Here is a new link to my video:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/845k2b4db6d3avk/ES%20Intro%20%28Steve%20Smith%29.mov?dl=0

Cheers
Steve

[smithers]

[quote=103978]Is it at all possible to install RiscOS via your NOOBS install and then configure it so as it shows up in Retropie?

If so, how?

Thanks in advance.

[/quote]

I can’t see why not, but I have never used RiscOS. Can you run normal bash scripts in RiscOS? If so then yes, it should be fine.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the benefit of RiscOS over say Raspbian? Or is that comparison irrelevant? :s

[smithers]

Hi.

I agree entirely and that was my plan. There is little point in me building a new image for betas etc, and the only reason I have is because that’s what was availavbe at the time. I will definitely stick to a stable release for as long as people wanted it.

I think it’s a good idea to release with Openelec 14 and offer a link to the fix it needed. That is the way I will go, unless the stable v15 release appears soon.

I will create a new install for v3 final but I want to add a couple of new port options first, namely Hexen and Heretic but also hopefully Zdoom which would allow for some great mod support (Brutal Doom is what I’m hoping for!).

All the best.
Steve

[smithers]

Okay so what are people’s thoughts on creating a new image based on retropie 3 final? Is it worth it or can the changes be obtained via updating the setup script?

Also, do I go with OSMC or OpenELEC? Let me know.

All the best
Steve

[smithers]

[quote=103898]I’ve been playing with this setup/configuration for a few days and I wanted to share my experience thus far.

– FIRST: HUGE thanks to smithers for laying out a “packaged” groundwork for this. Not only does it take time to understand how to use NOOBS, creating the images, but the Skinning of both OpenELEC and integration with Retropie is also time consuming. That said, smithers has provided the basis for anyone to take this model and adjust it to their needs.

For example: I’ve created my own images of OpenELEC and Retropie for backup purposes using NOOBS. As smithers mentioned, this is quite powerful because it allows you to restore to essentially any SDCARD (provided it meets the minimum space needed) without running into sizing issues (not all 16GB cards are the same size for example) as you would with a typical block-type backup/restore using Win32Imager. Also this method allows you to easily restore/install to a larger size SDCARD (and potentially a smaller one )

[/quote]

That was my intentions entirely with the usb build yes so I am glad you have jumped onto it! It is really the icing on the cake for me and was worth the many hours of investigating and compiling the build! Hopefully it will inspire others to create other dual or perhaps triple boot custom builds as you have all you need to do it at your fingertips.

Thanks for writing up a guide. I personally do all my work on a dedicated Linux laptop (Linux Mint Cinnamon 64) and would highly recommend others to install it too. It will even set up a dual boot function if you already have windows installed!

[smithers]

[quote=103873]Hi all, me again :\ lol

I’m at my wits end lol, I have downloaded and installed all versions of this and I have no joy whatsoever with psx games. I am able to get them to appear (via usb) in a untouched version of retropie but any of smithers versions I cant get it to work. I have followed many guides and even tried using the vanilla version. All in all I am trying to run all my roms off SD internally except psx and sega CD which I want to run off usb externally.

Below is my path for the psx and I cant see where I’m going wrong. please tell me it is simple, because once I have this done I will be able to enjoy my retropie and then continue work on my bartop project

<system>
<name>psx</name>
<fullname>PlayStation</fullname>
<path>/media/usb0/psx</path>
<extension>.cue .ccd .cbn .m3u .mdf .pbp .toc .z .znx .CUE .CCD .CBN .ISO .$
<command>/opt/retropie/supplementary/runcommand/runcommand.sh 0 _SYS_ psx %$
<platform>psx</platform>
<theme>psx</theme>
</system>

Ps smithers, your work has been fantastic and I personally would like to thank you for all your help and work.

Thanks in advance

Jodie

[/quote]

Hi.

Firstly – what file extension are your roms using? Maybe they are an unaccepted extension such as .zip, .ecm or .7z? Sorry if that’s an obvious question, but best to ask!

I don’t use usb storage personally but could give it a test if you’re still stuck? One thing I will say though – are you sure that /media/usb0 is correct? I may be thinking of something different and can’t test right now but should it not be something like /dev/sda or /dev/sdb? Let me find out – I could be totally wrong!!

Edit – worth mentioning that Linux is cAsE sensitive, so if your play station folders on usb stick is /PSX but your path in es_systems.cfg is /psx then it won’t find it. Sorry if you already knew this!

Edit 2 – so I was right with the /dev/sda (or similar) remark, but I forgot about the important step of mounting the usb drive. I assume you have a script in place that mounts your usb stick on boot? Based on your es_systems.cfg I would guess the script was something like:

sudo mount /dev/sda1 /media/usb0

Is that right?

[smithers]

[quote=103836]what does the “gameslist” file do or required for? I just added roms through winscp remotely and they work fine for now. Is it for game covers or something?

[/quote]

Correct – gamelist.xml files are used for the following:

Path to cover art / screenshot location
Path to rom
‘Clean’ rom naming (get rid of those version numbers and country tags etc)
Extra data pulled from scraping (description, date of release, developer etc.).

It is not mandatory to amend them, only if you want any of the above really. Your rom will work fine without any need to touch them (but don’t delete them!).

[quote=103836] Anyone know where I can find the “es_input.cfg” file? I found it on the first version of this thread, but no more. Keep having my ps3 remote ask for button config whenever i reboot.

2- unrelated to number 1 above. Wondering if I need to configure controller as retroarch? Is retroarch used for mame/arcade games? ie. I loaded a mame game and no ps3 controller for mame games. Is this why one would config controller as retro arch? sorry hope these arent dumb questions.

[/quote]

es_input.cfg is located at /etc/emulationstation/ – you should not need to keep resetting it? Maybe snoop inside after you have set up your controller, make sure it is populating correctly then take it from there.

As for MAME – press ‘tab’ on your keyboard when in a game and you will find the setup options. You may find the ‘hat’ keys don’t work (D-Pad) so may need to assign analog joystick instead.

[smithers]

Hi all.

Sorry for delay in replying.

[quote=103802]Hi, i have some questions:

in first thanks a lot for this amazing job

1 – it’s possible install jdownloader under kodi and autostart when kodi running ? ( to download my stuff when i see my movies.

[/quote]

I really have no idea Im afraid. I will say though that anything that works with the regular build of OpenELEC should work in my build – I have made no fundamental changes that would affect normal functionality in either OS.

[quote=103802]
2 – how can i connected my ps4 dualshock controller for retropie via bluetooth ? i tried without success in retropie forum. I don’t know if someone get it.

[/quote]

I really can’t help here I’m afraid as I don’t have a ps4 controller. Perhaps someone else could chip in if they have had success?

[quote=103802]3 – same issue with controller vie bluetooth in kodi. but here i can see the controller via bluetooth and i can connected the controller ( blue light ), but nothing works, maybe i need to setup something ?
[/quote]

As far as I am aware, OpenELEC does not support navigation via control pad? I briefly investigated this myself and that was the answer I found – I did not pursue any further into it .

[quote=103802]

I have RPI2 overclocked to medium, but anyway i see that the movies have a little slow framerate sometimes, i don’t know why.
[/quote]

I dont know why either? I generally don’t over clock OpenELEC and it runs great for me. Is it perhaps poor stream sources that you have been watching, or maybe your TV is not syncing with the pi correctly?

[smithers]

Hmmm, I’ve just been looking into Plex and it is not at all what I thought it was. I thought it was another variant of KODI, but it appears not; rather it is a standalone media centre, with no addon support (to speak of)?

From the outset, I dont think it will be possible to create a link to boot RetroPie from in there so I think its a lost cause.

I think instead, when the stable v15 of OpenELEC is released I will include the PlexBMC addon, which kind of gives the best of both worlds (so I read anyway!).

[smithers]

MEGA link:

[link removed]

[smithers]

Haha, my Dropbox links are currently suspended so you wont be able to download this. :/

I’ll upload it to MEGA instead now. Link to follow….

[Author]

Posts