[SOLVED] Slide transition issue

j.e.f.f

Hello

I'm building a new Retropie image from scratch based on the latest Stretch-based Retropie 4.4 image. I'm doing this because my old build based on Retropie 4.2 on Jessie does not boot on a new Raspberry Pi 3B+.

I had built my own customized version of the carbon theme (called Carbonated; https://github.com/jclarke0000/ES-Theme-Carbonated), and it works perfectly on my old build.

However, when I install it on the new build, I'm seeing some problems with the horizontal slide transitions between games list, and the vertical transition from the console menu to the corresponding game list. I'm seeing some jerkiness at the end of the slide animation, almost like it is not sliding to the correct end point, and then jumps to the right position in the last frame. The same theme on my Retropie 4.2 build is smooth as butter.

I'm assuming I need to make some modifications to my theme in order to bring it up to date with Retropie 4.4, but I'm not sure what I need to do. Has anyone faced this issue? If so, what did you do to solve it? Or do I need to adjust the video ram split on the pi itself? I recall having this issue at some point on my 4.2 build but I don't remember what I did to fix it.

I'll post a video of the transition later when I get a chance so you can see what I'm talking about.

Perhaps unrelated, but the font rendering has changed as well. The size of the font in the games list is larger on the 4.4 build than it was on 4.2 build, but it leads me to believe that I've got some kind of zoom setting that is scaling my theme's UI components a little in the new build... is that a thing? and might that affect the slide transition?

Thanks!

Jeff

mitu

I'm not sure about the theme needing modifications, but some things to check:

disable overscan_scale in the /boot/config.txt file and make sure you've updated your OS/packages.
check the VRAM limit set in Emulationstation configuration - if your theme needs more memory than the default, you'll likely want to increase that limit.

I downloaded the theme and it doesn't look like it's working fine - though I have a limited set of systems and ROMs. The fonts look large, it's true, but I can only compare with the stock Carbon theme. I've set the VRAM limit to 100 (I think 80 is the default), but I think it worked fine also on 80.

j.e.f.f

@mitu said in Slide transition issue:

The fonts look large, it's true, but I can only compare with the stock Carbon theme

I had intentionally designed Carbonated to use larger fonts, so that is expected. However, on your screen, is the last item in the list fully visible or is it clipped (You'll only notice if your list of games is longer than what can fit on screen at one time).

Also, are the transitions smooth for you or do you see the same jerkiness that I'm seeing?

@mitu said in Slide transition issue:

disable overscan_scale in the /boot/config.txt file and make sure you've updated your OS/packages

I thought I had done this via the raspi-config script, but I'll double check that the config file reflects it.

@mitu said in Slide transition issue:

I've set the VRAM limit to 100 (I think 80 is the default), but I think it worked fine also on 80.

I'll look into this as well. Now that you mention it, I seem to recall having to change my VRAM limit before. Maybe it was for this, or maybe it was for something entirely unrelated ;)

Thanks for your help! Much appreciated.

mitu

@j-e-f-f said in Slide transition issue:

Also, are the transitions smooth for you or do you see the same jerkiness that I'm seeing?

I didn't notice any jerkiness. I initially had the transition set to 'Fade', but I also changed it to 'Slide' and it doesn't seem to have hick-ups or to have any noticeable slowdown.

j.e.f.f

@mitu and to confirm, you are on Retropie 4.4 correct?

mitu

@j-e-f-f said in Slide transition issue:

you are on Retropie 4.4 correct?

Yes, I'm using the 4.4 version, updated regularly so I have the latest Emulationstation version.
The only modification to the stock image was the overscan_scale option which I commented out from the default image in /boot/config.txt.

j.e.f.f

@mitu excellent! I will look into that. Will report back.

Thanks again!

j.e.f.f

None of the above solved my issue, but I'm starting to suspect that video previews have something to do with my issue... jerkiness seems to kick in right as the video preview starts to play. I turned on the framerate display and it drops to about 9fps exactly as the video starts to play.

Is there a way to delay the video playback for a second or two to give the transition a chance to finish?

mitu

@j-e-f-f said in Slide transition issue:

Is there a way to delay the video playback for a second or two to give the transition a chance to finish?

You could instruct the video to start after a delay - see the https://github.com/RetroPie/EmulationStation/blob/master/THEMES.md guide for the video element.

j.e.f.f

Figured it out! I turned on OMX player in the Emulationstation menu and it's all smooth now.

mitu

@j-e-f-f You probably had OMX enabled in your old build.