• Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Home
  • Docs
  • Register
  • Login
RetroPie forum home
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Home
  • Docs
  • Register
  • Login
Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

Displaying message on top of RetroArch

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Help and Support
retroarchmessageretropieemulationstatio
6 Posts 2 Posters 1.0k Views
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • R
    RicardoJeronimo
    last edited by 24 May 2018, 18:01

    So, for a university project, I'm building an arcade cabinet and one of its features is the ability to unlock more gametime via QR code. With Android and Python I was able to make it work by pausing the RetroArch process with pkill -stop.

    Now I want to display a message (or image) on top of RetroArch saying something like "Insert Coin", however, after many hours of research, I still haven't found a proper way to do it. Fbi runs on the terminal behind RetroArch and so do the demo programs located on /opt/vc/src/hello_pi.

    Is there any way to achieve this, either by overlapping a message or even minimizing the RetroArch process?

    M 1 Reply Last reply 24 May 2018, 18:09 Reply Quote 0
    • M
      mitu Global Moderator @RicardoJeronimo
      last edited by 24 May 2018, 18:09

      @ricardojeronimo Instead of overlaying RetroArch, why not use it to show your message ? RA has a network (UDP) input interface, that you can send messages to. You could extend this interface with a new function (print "my Message"), then use the RA code to show text using the OSD sub-system (i.e. like RetroAchievements do).

      R 1 Reply Last reply 24 May 2018, 18:39 Reply Quote 0
      • R
        RicardoJeronimo @mitu
        last edited by 24 May 2018, 18:39

        @mitu That's really interesting. Does it involve changing and recompiling the actual RetroArch code?

        M 1 Reply Last reply 24 May 2018, 18:43 Reply Quote 0
        • M
          mitu Global Moderator @RicardoJeronimo
          last edited by mitu 24 May 2018, 18:43

          @ricardojeronimo said in Displaying message on top of RetroArch:

          Does it involve changing and recompiling the actual RetroArch code?

          You bet it is - doesn't that sound challenging ? Or use the LED Api to blink some lights on your Raspberry PI. You could contribute back your code to RA (a new UDP network function and a new OSD function - if one does not already exist).

          R 1 Reply Last reply 24 May 2018, 18:52 Reply Quote 0
          • R
            RicardoJeronimo @mitu
            last edited by 24 May 2018, 18:52

            @mitu I guess the most challenging part of it all is learning how RetroArch works and how the code is laid out. Even though I already have a 7-segment display blinking "00:00" when time runs out, I think it's worth the effort

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • R
              RicardoJeronimo
              last edited by 25 May 2018, 12:31

              For anyone wondering, I got it working using Raspidmx PNGView: ./pngview -b 0 -l 10000 file.png

              I set the layer to 10000 so it overlaps EmulationStation as well as RetroArch

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              6 out of 6
              • First post
                6/6
                Last post

              Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.

              Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.

                This community forum collects and processes your personal information.
                consent.not_received