Page 1 of 1

Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: August 1st, 2014, 1:27 pm
by The Swollen Goiter of God
Jubbers and I got a new TV, and we got a Raspberry Pi Model B+ to go with it. Our intention with the B+ is to load it full of emulators and make it our go-to vintage gaming system. I already have a bunch of ROMs for NES, MAME, Game Boy, Genesis, the Sega Master System, and the Atari 2600. I have a handful of Commodore 64 games, but I'm not sure if I'll load the Commodore 64 emulator on there. Each game requires something different to run, and it's best to have a keyboard for it.

I'm not sure what all Jubbers will want on there. I'm guessing she'll want to put a bunch of SNES games on it.

It's an ongoing project. For the moment, we're mostly concentrated on moving in. Once we get settled, we'll probably start playing with our B+. I figure I'll just put my ROMs on a flash drive and let Jubbers deal with the majority of the technical stuff.

Maybe we'll update with pictures, details, and the such.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: April 22nd, 2016, 8:10 am
by Master Skywalker
I know this is an old topic, but I only noticed it now, so forgive me for resurrecting it! ;P I'm curious how this turned out. The Pi is used by many home theater enthusiasts such as myself to serve as a cheap media server in conjunction with software like Kodi or Plex (both of which I personally use).

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: April 22nd, 2016, 9:16 am
by The Swollen Goiter of God
We got distracted. We both collected some games and emulators, but we didn't get too far beyond that.

There were some issues on the technical end. We vowed to come back to it, but it has yet to happen. Maybe we'll get back to work on it at some point.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 17th, 2019, 7:57 pm
by Mal Shot First
Hey, I was recently considering doing something similar. I'm not all that ambitious about collecting a bunch of emulators - probably just a SNES and NES one since I wouldn't have to go out looking for ROMs for those (I already have all of them, haha).

Unfortunately, I'm a total Linux n00b, so I'd appreciate some advice. For example, which emulators would you recommend? I like ZSNES and I know it has a Linux version, but I have no idea how it compares to the Windows version. Would the ROMs that work on Windows also work on a Linux system (I mean, would it recognize the ZIP files)? Also, does Raspbian download drivers automatically for plug-and-play devices like Windows does? It wouldn't be all that difficult to track down the drivers I need, I suppose, but it would be less convenient.

Is there anything else I should know before I order a Raspberry Pi?

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 18th, 2019, 11:34 am
by Jubbers
For our attempts, I used Retropie, which is a special distribution of Raspbian that already includes a bunch of emulators and a controller-friendly front end. For that, you basically create a bootable micro-sd card with Retropie on it and stick that in the Pi, and, in theory, very little actual linuxing is then required. That said, our attempts have not gone well (and I haven't tried since we moved house) - we had issues getting the controllers to register (last attempt, they worked on the game selection screen, but then once the snes emulator started, no input was recognized. we have since purchased new controllers - ours were decades old - but have not tested those yet) and for getting games to be recognized (this seemed to be alleviated by only adding a few to the card at a time). Goiter has asked about the Pi again recently, so I may get it out and try it with the new controllers and then, failing success, I will abandon Retropi and go old-school linux installation - if I do that, I'll try to document what I do in case you need to also go that route. I have used both Snes9x and zsnes on linux installs before - I think my laptop (which runs an offshoot of Arch linux) currently has ZSNES on it, but I think Retropie's default may be the other emulator.

Did you know they sell the Raspberry Pi at Target? I discovered that the other day while aimlessly meandering through the aisles near the 3DS demo station where Jubboiter was playing a game she already owns.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 18th, 2019, 11:37 am
by Jubbers
Tangentially related: We bought Jubboiter a Kano computer for Christmas, which itself is a Raspberry Pi, but with a kid-friendly version of linux and a bunch of games to teach programming installed on it.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 18th, 2019, 1:54 pm
by Mal Shot First
Hm, I have to admit, that sounds a bit discouraging. It seems like the Linux versions of the emulators might not be that stable and that you're going to run into compatibility issues depending on the OS you use. Not really ideal. :|

Is it possible to install Windows on a Raspberry Pi? I guess I just want a small and cheap computer to run the software that I already have on my PC without much fuss. Do you know if there are any alternatives to Raspberry Pi that are essentially a scaled down PC?

I saw your Facebook post about the Kano computer back when you got it for Jubboiter. It does look pretty cool. Of course, that's not what I wrote to you on Facebook and instead made a Mortal Kombat reference. In the MK universe, though, it would have been spelled Kano Komputer. :)

Edit: Looks like the Intel Compute Stick might do the trick. I found some on Amazon for $40.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 18th, 2019, 9:42 pm
by The Swollen Goiter of God
Jubbers wrote: March 18th, 2019, 11:34 amGoiter has asked about the Pi again recently.
Image

* * *

I've been playing a little Link's Awakening on a Game Boy emulator on my desktop computer in anticipation of the Switch redo of it. Man, do I love that game. I'd just play it on my Game Boy Advance, but my cartridge's internal battery is dead, so it can no longer save. Gotta start from scratch every time you power down. (There is a used game store in Fenton, MO that will replace batteries in games. I might take my cartridge to them and have them put in a new battery. I could do it myself, theoretically, but I'm a big-handed blunderer, and I'd hate to screw up what's probably my all-time favorite Game Boy game.)

I have been playing games on my Game Boy Advance a bit more, recently. In part because Jubboiter likes it and asks to play games on it, which reminds me that it's there. I offered it to her as an alternative, once, when Jubbers wouldn't let her play something or other, and she got hooked.

I got myself a copy of Marble Madness for five bucks, which was a game I loved as a kid but never owned. Jubbers recently bought me a copy of Tetris for my Game Boy. It replaces the copy my mother stole from me some twenty or so years ago. I've been playing it a lot. I'm also playing Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland. I'm playing it because Jubboiter erased both my 100% saves. I've given her strict instructions not to erase my new game.

I replayed the first couple stages of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan the other day. Man, is that game easy. I don't think I took a single hit. I remember when I beat it as a kid and felt this huge sense of accomplishment. I think it may be the first game I ever properly "beat."

* * *

I played a little DuckTales on an NES emulator on my phone the other day. I played it and a few other games I really like. It was a bad experience. The emulator was good, but it's just no fun playing those type games on a smart phone. Most emulators have a default display that puts the D-pad and the B and A buttons over the playing field. It doesn't often cover over your sprite, but it's still awkward and annoying. They also often have the buttons configured weirdly, with the B stacked on top of the A or with the two arranged diagonally. Sometimes, infuriatingly, they will put the A button before the B button. Monsters. Some emulators let you shrink the game screen to get the buttons out of the playing field, and some will let you reconfigure the buttons. Some don't let you do either.

Even with the very best emulators, there's a tactile issue. The screen's flat. I need raised buttons. My fingers move around a lot. Also, I have a tendency to mash down when I get excited, which, Gorilla Glass or no, is probably pretty bad for my screen.

* * *

I'm less of a Linux n00b than I used to be, since I put Lubuntu on the laptop I've been using to write my book. I've done a little command line gaming in the Terminal, which has been fun. Greed, so far, has been my favorite. I've played a couple Pac-Man clones that have also been fun, but the Pac-Man experience is only really the Pac-Man experience with a joystick.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 19th, 2019, 12:14 pm
by Mal Shot First
Fall of the Foot Clan *is* pretty damn easy... I think I even felt that way when I played it as a kid. Not that its easiness stopped me from playing it over and over again. I guess I just liked the Ninja Turtles, and that was the only Turtles game I had.

I remember I came over to your place on Pershing one time and saw you had Super Mario Land, so I decided to give it a whirl since I hadn't played it in years. Now that game I remember as being super-challenging when I was a kid, but I think I breezed through it in 30-40 minutes that day. I guess everyone kind of sucks at video games during childhood.

I know what you mean about emulators on tablets/smart phones. I think they lend themselves better to playing RPGs with turn-based combat or to games like Pokemon (which is kind of in the RPG genre, I suppose). Anything that in any way requires precision or timing is nigh impossible for me to play using the on-screen controls.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 19th, 2019, 12:46 pm
by Jubbers
Part of what played into my setting aside the Pi was also the fact that my mom got me a SNES Mini for Christmas. I added about 20 extra games to it, and with that met most of my TV emulation wants. I'm selfish, you know, so Goiter's non-SNES wants kinda got ignored....

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 19th, 2019, 1:32 pm
by The Swollen Goiter of God
Granted, my non-SNES wants were NES, Game Boy, Genesis, MAME, Atari, and C64 wants.

* * *

I should add that I put "beat" in quotes above because I had "beaten" some games with the Game Genie by then. I would go on to beat a number of the ones I'd beaten with it--like the whole Super Mario Bros. series--on my own.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 19th, 2019, 1:52 pm
by Mal Shot First
Jubbers wrote: March 19th, 2019, 12:46 pm Part of what played into my setting aside the Pi was also the fact that my mom got me a SNES Mini for Christmas. I added about 20 extra games to it, and with that met most of my TV emulation wants. I'm selfish, you know, so Goiter's non-SNES wants kinda got ignored....
I thought the SNES Mini came preloaded with 21 games and that's it. I didn't realize you could add to it. Did I misunderstand the product description?

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 19th, 2019, 6:15 pm
by Jubbers
It's not something Nintendo intended to be done, but there are tutorials online...

Not all games can be added (I couldn't add "Illusion of Gaia") but a lot of the others I enjoyed as a kid could: Donkey Kong Country 2, ChronoTrigger, Stunt Race FX, Super Mario All-Stars... there's even a special rom of Mario Paint that allows the controller to sub for the mouse.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 28th, 2019, 8:15 am
by Mal Shot First
I ended up buying an ACEPC W5:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078MT5ZJ8/re ... NCbG2M8V72

It comes with a USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 port, as well as HDMI output. Windows 10 is pre-installed. It's $100, but I had a $50 gift card I got for my birthday, so I essentially got it for half price. Basically, I just wanted something that I could use right out of the box without having to learn to use a new OS and to figure out how to make software and peripherals compatible with that new OS when I already know they're compatible with Windows.

I haven't had a chance to fire up the ol' ZSNES on it yet, but I'll post some pictures of my setup once I have some time to try it.

Re: Raspberry Pi Model B+

Posted: March 30th, 2019, 2:30 pm
by The Swollen Goiter of God
Sweet! Does it put a limit on the SD card storage size? I've looked at similar things in the past and they've had an external storage cap of 32 GB or less. If your main focus is ROMs for 4- to 16-bit games, of course, 32 GB + 32 GB is still gonna go a long way.