All-in-One Overclocked RPi3B Arcade ROM Set Setup
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What I hope people will use this for is a starting point for an arcade collection that runs well on an overclocked RPi3B or stock RPi3B+. I don't plan to update this as I have other things to attend to, but I hope it saves someone some time.
This is an advanced custom ROM Set building guide that assumes you have the various ROM Sets this requires, and have said ROM Sets in a Non-Merged state with the BIOS included in each ZIP. It has Arcade Manager CSV lists and Windows batch files to largely avoid the constant change of arcade ROMs, and so that everyone who uses this isn't making outdated ROM Sets.
The ROM Set that you will make will consist of ROMs from FBN (v0.2.97.44 as of this post), MAME 2003 Plus, and MAME 2010 that have been tested to run full speed and emulate well on an overclocked RPi3B.
Games emulated with FBN were only given a blind first pass (no FPS monitoring), while games emulated with MAME 2003 Plus and MAME 2010 were given a second pass with FPS monitoring. Some games may run imperfectly, though hopefully everything bad or unplayable was removed.
There is generally only one copy of each game, and the preference of region is USA>Europe>Japan. Games in the Casino, Erotic, Mahjong, and Quiz genres are not included, nor are there any games that require more than a single eight-way input, six gameplay buttons, one Start button, and one Coin button.
The following is the overclock used for testing these games. Please do your own stability testing and do not take it for fact that it will be stable on your RPi3B.
arm_freq=1350 core_freq=550 over_voltage=6
A stock RPi3B+ should run most of these games without much issue, though not overclocking the core_freq may be an issue.
If you are on a stock RPi3B, you'll have to either do some trial and error or learn how to overclock your RPi3B: I advise the latter after all the time it took me to make this collection.
Download Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17i2m5l5f896iWF59ZcsKlYcdidgc1nzp/view?usp=sharing
Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17v-87MEeZtVNNL26pKaWqpaf1-yXwr9pGdiVvXjHwrk/edit?usp=sharing
Use this to see what is in the ROM Set without having to delve into the archive itself.
Known Problems
- All games were tested minimally.
- All games running under FBN were only tested once without any FPS monitoring.
- Included "gamelist.xml" has incorrect info here and there outside of the names (probably) all being fine (barring some Japan games inconsistently having English translations names or English localization names).
Credits
- Cosmo0 for Arcade Manager
- ArcadeControls Community for their All Killer, No Filler game list.
- janderclander14 for additional games and suggestions.
- Malachiel for finding Bubble 2000 and Pang Pang in the collection.
Changelog
v1.0 - Initial Release (Limited Released)
v1.1 - Tidied things up for a release here on the RetroPie Forum. Added personal gamelist and images to archive.
v1.2 - Changed Double Dragon, Final Fight, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, and OutRun to MAME 2003 Plus for the optional CD-soundtrack samples. Added some info on the optional CD-soundtrack samples. Added Tempest to FBN (since controls can be tweaked in RetroArch). Added Undercover Cops: Alpha Renewal to MAME 2003 Plus.
v1.3 - Fixed Magical Drop Plus image path in gamelist.xml and added title screenshot.
v1.4 - Made Arcade Manager CSV lists so that those on Mac and Linux can sort their ROMs as well. Added Neo Geo console ROM Set creation for the heck of it. Added CLRMAMEPRO guide for the heck of it.
v1.5 - Removed Bubble 2000 and Pang Pand due to them being erotic games.
v1.6 - Changed all FBA related stuff to FBN.
v1.7 - Removed Twin Brats due to it being an erotic game.
v1.8 - Removed Demon Front, Killing Blade Plus, and Martial Masters due to them running slow.
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Thanks a lot! This will certainly save a lot of work and make the arcade collection look tidy.
So far, I've only missed some vector games (such as Tempest or Star Wars, which work fine with the latests versions of Mame2003-plus) and the recently added roms (such as Undercovercops Alpha renewal and Virtua Fighter).
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@janderclander14 Thank you.
I'll note those titles for a future update. If you know of any other titles that are missing then please don't hesitate to notify me.
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Thanks. Great job.
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@MajorDangerNine Thanks! I looked with more detail and it seems that, other than the roms recently added to Mame2003-plus, all the missing titles use "special controls" in their original cabinet, but most of them can be played via standard buttons and 8-way joystick: Out run (and racing games in general), After burner, Space Harrier, the vector games I mentioned (Tempest uses a Spinner, but can be played with joystick, the Star Wars trilogy games used a flight joy, but can also be played with a joystick), etc.
I also wonder whether you may interested in adding lightgun games, such as Operation Wolf, which can also be played via joystick, air mouse or standard mouse.
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@janderclander14 I'm fine with most special control games if the emulator makes the game work well enough with an 8-way input (there are a few already in the collection like Centipede), though light gun games just don't feel right to me using an 8-way input.
Most games with special control methods were simply skipped due to my initial creation method of the collection before the long testing process, and I'm not very knowledgeable of arcade games in general.
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@MajorDangerNine If you can post a .dat file with the games with "special controls" that were left out, I may have a look at them.
On the other hand, maybe it's better to switch from FBalpha to Mame2003-plus for games for which CD-soundtrack support has been implemented in the latter (outrun, final fight, double dragon, moonwalker, mortal kombat, nba jam).
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@janderclander14 Yeah, I don't have such a list. I literally exempted all "special controls" games through use of "All Killer, No Filler" list and Cosmo0's Arcade Manager during the initial creation of the collection before I tested them all.
I think I'd prefer emulating any games possible in MAME 2003 Plus if they have that CD audio and will definitely make that change when I can.V1.2 will have this changed. Just need to test those other games. -
This looks fantastic and I am looking forward to trying it out, I notice one of my all time favs is missing though, Monster Farm Jump - mfjump do you happen to know if it's missing because it doesn't run or because it wasn't considered killer?
Thanks for you hard work.
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@Stuarticus I can't say I remember testing it, but the only emulator it is available in out of my chosen three is MAME 2010 with the following info on its emulation state.
driver status="imperfect" emulation="good" color="good" sound="imperfect" graphic="imperfect"
This collection is meant to be used as a starting point. So, if you find anything missing, you'll want to look up their status in any of the emulators I decided on or possibly expand your choices by adding more emulators. Keep in mind that FBA and MAME 2003 Plus are active and add (or remove in FBA's case if the emulation isn't working) games frequently so that's another reason I say this collection should be used as a starting point.
Looking at the game from just videos, I'd hazard a guess it will require too much processing power in MAME. Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout on the PSX will probably be your best bet for a version of that game that runs well on a Pi, though I'm certain I've never tried it on that system.
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Given that Mame2003-plus implements a 4way emulation mode on 8way joysticks for 4way games (such as Pacman), I think Mame2003-plus should be the default emulator for such 4way games.
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@janderclander14 Eh, by the time that was implemented, I was two months into this arcade project and wasn't going to change my stance on choosing FBA as my main emulator for its new and fast emulation of games.
That, and FBA was my "If it looks, sounds, and controls well enough then I'm done testing the game, with some reference to videos whenever I noticed things seemed extremely wrong." choice.
MAME 2003 Plus and MAME 2010 were my "I'm checking the FPS for every game and referring to videos whenever something doesn't seem right on top of casually judging them by their look, sound, and controls." choices.
Not saying you don't have a good point though, but I'm pretty much done with this project. If you want to make new Arcade Manager CSV lists with this change made though, then I'd happily add them to the archive/guide (with you credited of course).
Would prefer the games not to be pruned based on personal tastes, but switching games from one emulator to one of the other two for a reason beyond the 4-way emulation mode is fine. You're also welcome to add any new games for any of the three emulators, though please try to make sure they emulate well and run full speed (or close to it as some in the collection aren't entirely accurate speed-wise due to the emulation itself).
Beyond you making the CSV lists, I can make new emulator defaults for them and probably just warn people that your collection might not be 100% compatible with my included
gamelist.xml
and title screen images if they go thearcade
ROM folder route. -
@MajorDangerNine said in All-in-One Overclocked RPi3B Arcade ROM Set Setup:
or remove in FBA's case if the emulation isn't working
I don't understand, the only case i remember games being removed is when the author of some hacks pestered the fba team because they included support for his hacks (he is trying to make money with them by illegally selling a modded mame emulator able to run them), and actually they are back.
If a game isn't working we don't include it (unless its clones are working, since they need it), if a game stops working we fix it. -
@barbudreadmon Wasn't Depthcharge removed? It's not in the latest DAT and I'm pretty sure its emulation was broken.
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/21018/cannot-find-way-to-start-depthchage-rom
I tested a lot of games with FBA as my first choice and I vaguely remember coming across this game with the same issue the guy in the thread above was having. Their screenshot even shows the game running in FBA.
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@MajorDangerNine My bad, you are right, this game was mistakenly included in the public builds until recently while the driver never worked, last month someone reported an issue with carnival (https://github.com/libretro/fbalpha/issues/97), which led to carnival being fixed and the other vic dual games being moved to their rightful place in debug builds.
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hey @MajorDangerNine ! We spoke on Discord a few days ago and you pointed me here. I've finally got everything in order, but have a few questions.
Samples - I just dumped all my mame2003-plus / mame2010 / fba samples in their respective folders. Is there a better way to do select them, without having to go through the list manually? I did follow the instructions for the soundtrack samples, so that was good.
Universe BIOS. This is a bit of a mystery to me - is it optional? how do I install it? Do I just need it for FBA, or should I be setting it up for the other emulators as well?
EDIT: Now I see that it got added to all my neogeo roms :p All good.Everything else in the documentation was clear and very helpful - but these ones weren't very clear.
Thanks so much for making this!
EDIT: One last question. Any reason why I can't scrape my own gamelist & artwork? I'm using what you had in the zip, but in the future I may want a different resolution, add video, etc.
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@Aksen said in All-in-One Overclocked RPi3B Arcade ROM Set Setup:
Samples - I just dumped all my mame2003-plus / mame2010 / fba samples in their respective folders. Is there a better way to do select them, without having to go through the list manually?
I don't understand what you are asking. Samples are like BIOS. If they contain the right files and are in the right place, then they just work and you don't have to think about them any more.
Dang though, I didn't even mention those beyond the MAME 2003 Plus optional ones. Heh, that's how much I forget about them once they are in place it seems.
Universe BIOS. This is a bit of a mystery to me - is it optional? how do I install it? Do I just need it for FBA, or should I be setting it up for the other emulators as well?
EDIT: Now I see that it got added to all my neogeo roms :p All good.***I added a little bit more info to that part now. Made sure to mention that is for the Neo Geo and that it isn't required.
Everything else in the documentation was clear and very helpful - but these ones weren't very clear.
I hope I've corrected for those issues now in the archive.
EDIT: One last question. Any reason why I can't scrape my own gamelist & artwork? I'm using what you had in the zip, but in the future I may want a different resolution, add video, etc.
Accuracy. You will generally get the wrong region names and image. There's also things like not having the player number on games, which I did to differentiate them as only the two player versions generally have a character select.
If you do decide to scrape things for yourself then expect a lot of work manually renaming and replacing images/videos.
Thanks so much for making this!
You are welcome.
Keep in mind that lr-fbalpha and lr-mame2003-plus are active emulators so the best emulator/ROM combo I chose months ago for any of the three I used may not remain true in the future and is the reason I state this should be used as a starting point.
Know the Mortal Kombat games are now in lr-fbalpha, though I've yet to check out how well they emulate. I know the lr-mame2003-plus/lr-mame2003 version of Mortal Kombat 2 is missing the shadows of the fighters.
So, if you learned how to use CLRMAMEPRO to update ROM sets, then you might be able to get more accurate Mortal Kombat game emulation. Of course you'll have to weigh the choice of accuracy VS the CDA soundtrack hack for the first Mortal Kombat in lr-mame2003-plus.
I'm sure cases such as Mortal Kombat will continue to happen. Like I said, I don't plan to ever update this as keeping up with arcade emulation is not something I'm interested in, and I've stopped doing full system updates to keep my source builds of the arcade emulators the same version alongside matching my ROM sets to the source build.
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Thanks for this list MDN.
I'm curious...are there games you would include that you didn't if you were running on a x64 platform? Any must-have games that just won't run on the Pi HW?
John
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@MajorDangerNine
Thank you for this list. I already build my collection and was using the lists from official documentation, but they are partly outdated or didn't document the current state at all. And I don't know what testing standards there are. On your list, you stated what you tested and every game in the list "should" work. That is great! I think, I will find new games by randomly picking some. :-)@Aksen said in All-in-One Overclocked RPi3B Arcade ROM Set Setup:
Universe BIOS. This is a bit of a mystery to me - is it optional? how do I install it? Do I just need it for FBA, or should I be setting it up for the other emulators as well?
Hi, I once wrote an article about Neo Geo and Arcade. It is directed towards the expert, who exactly know what he is doing. You don't need to do it, but there are information which could be interesting, especially the part about Universe BIOS.
- Why separate Neo Geo system from Arcade?
If you want, you can scroll right down to the part titled "What about Unibios and what is neogeo.zip?" and "Then why not using it?".
- Why separate Neo Geo system from Arcade?
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@johnodon Well, I have a list of games that emulate well (barring some in the CHD section) in my chosen three emulators, but ran slow because of the hardware.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bk30k4As9RZ2b6T54jKzRnu8xifEX_TALPNZUQtrRXM/edit?usp=sharing
I forget my reasoning for turning off my overclock, but they didn't run full speed with the overclock either.
As for any more games, I know there were some that just didn't emulate well in any of the three emulators, but I didn't bother to document those. Just didn't feel like documenting those when I had so many games to test.
Still, you should check out the "All Killer, No Filler" list as anything I'm missing is probably on there if it is any good. Maybe someday I'll revisit this project by testing anything I'm missing from that list in lr-mame2015 despite my doubts anything that does emulate well would run full speed as well.
@thelostsoul Heh, my testing standards were strict for lr-mame2010 and lr-mame2003-plus, though lr-fbalpha I basically skimmed through. That's mostly because lr-mame2003-plus consisted of 272 games and lr-mame2010 consisted of 133 games, while lr-fbalpha consisted of 1,261 games: I had my fill of referencing the FPS and videos after lr-mame2010 and lr-mame2003-plus.
Still, if you are on a RPi3B+ (or an overclocked RPi3B meeting or exceeding my overclock) then you should have a good experience.
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