Coming: Retroflag GPi Gameboy Case for Raspberry Pi Zero/W

[simpleethat]

@celly I'm mildly optimistic that it will go similarly to their last couple releases and not sell out in moments.

[ballboff]

I should have waited. I bought a bittboy instead, and i'm pretty disappointed.

[Spiky]

and it's already listed on Amazon. still can't order it, though...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RT9VGS4

[HurricaneFan]

@Spiky What's weird is it doesn't show up in the Retroflag amazon store page.
https://www.amazon.com/retroflag

So it almost looks like its a 3rd party listing.

[simpleethat]

@HurricaneFan I feel like that might be the right listing but it's not released yet. If you select Retroflag at the top of the listing it does take you to the Retroflag storefront; a third party listing wouldn't do that. It's going to be released at the end of the Month; maybe the SKU is showing up a bit prematurely.

[Spiky]

release of GPi case delayed to early June (https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroPie/comments/bu0qun/just_in_time_for_the_retroflag_gpi_gb_studio/)

also found new article yesterday that confirmed it. let's hope it won't get delayed any further

[simpleethat]

@Spiky dammit! Oh well. I'll keep waiting and continue checking every day.

Anybody know what systems the zero runs well? Or doesn't run well for that matter? I've googled but keep finding conflicting info. Like will GBA play? I'd like to finish my ROM selections for my build whenever it comes out

[MajorDangerNine]

@simpleethat Well, I have a list I can share that should be accurate enough from my messing with the RPi0.

Anything in the Fair sections I feel should be expected to have a 75% success rate of emulating any game from the system well on the RPi0. Keep in mind my use of the word feel as I've only tinkered with the RPi0 and never seriously used it for emulation.

---

Consoles - Good

Atari 2600
Intellivision
Odyssey 2 (NTSC Only)
ColecoVision
NES
SG-1000
Master System
Famicom Disk System
Atari 7800
TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD

Handhelds - Good

Game & Watch (Simulation)
Game Boy
Lynx
Game Gear
Game Boy Color

Consoles - Fair

Atari 5200
Genesis/Mega Drive
Neo Geo (AES Mode)
SNES (Regular Games)
Sega CD/Mega CD

Handhelds - Fair

Game Boy Advance
Pokemon Mini

---

When it comes to the systems I put in the Fair sections, keep in mind that:

GBA is something I tested quite a bit on the RPi0, and can say for a fact, that out of 386 games I tested, 76 were in an unplayable state between lr-gpsp and gpSP (I would've put GBA under Fair even if I hadn't tested as much as I did because of those two emulators being the ideal ones).

"Genesis/Mega Drive" and "Sega CD/Mega CD" are where they are solely because they are being emulated with lr-picodrive.

"SNES (Regular Games)" requires the resolution to be lowered (from 1920x1080) for most games to run full speed, and the use of (Regular Games) mean that SA1, Super FX GSU-1, or Super FX GSU-2 enhancement chip games will not run full speed. You'll also be using lr-snes9x2002 and PiSNES as your primary emulators so expect general emulation inaccuracy with lr-snes9x2002, and expect constant poor audio emulation using PiSNES on top of general emulation inaccuracies.

"Neo Geo (AES Mode)" requires the resolution to be lowered (from 1920x1080) and for frameskip to be used for some games: "Neo Geo (MVS Mode)" is more flexible due to GnGeo-Pi and PiFBA where frameskip would not need to be employed if it is even available (I can't remember).

Atari 5200 needs a lower resolution (from 1920x1080) to run full speed and has control issues.

Pokemon Mini has a few games where saving doesn't work.

---

Edit: Added inaccurate SNES emulator bit.

[rkoster]

@MajorDangerNine Several of the issues you list are present on the RP3, like Pokemon Mini not saving in all games, or 5200 control issues. And virtually every emu will run better with less screen to refresh; I'd be surprised if running at the little 320x240 screen or whatever it is didn't provide a big speed boost all by itself.

I mean, on the RP3, I was able to double performance in several emus by taking screen res down from 1920 to 1280...

[MajorDangerNine]

@rkoster Yes, the problems are present on the other hardware and I would list them the same when it comes to that hardware as well. I mentioned the resolution mostly from a console setup point of view, though the fact it has to be mentioned means the RPi0 doesn't have power to spare for those systems so the likelihood of a game not running full speed is higher.

Also, GBA, Genesis, Sega CD, and SNES all require the use of inaccurate emulators paired with further issues caused by the RPi0 hardware.

[simpleethat]

@MajorDangerNine thanks for the info! I had a feeling about most of that but most of my searching came up with a lot of conflicting info

[GeneraleRusso]

I'm wondering if this case could work (with some thinkering) with those BananaPi M2 Zero boards and similar form factor...

After all those board may need MORE power to run, but they could help in doing some slightly better emulation compared to a stock RPi0 W.

What are your opinions in regards of this?

[blackshadow]

@GeneraleRusso

dont quote me on this as its mostly from memory but im sure that the bananna pi has a raspberry pi 3 compatible gpio layout taking this into account it should....'technicly' be plug and play with a banana pi this isnt taking into account any script alterations required for shutdown scripts etc etc but hardware wise it should work fine

[Spiky]

here we go: https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroPie/comments/bzkw5p/retroflag_gb_case_officially_available_aliexpress/

order fast guys, looks like there are not many in stock

[simpleethat]

@Spiky well I was going to share a link to the Amazon page with "In Stock on June 22" but now it's saying currently unavailable... again

[Spiky]

posting this in case anyone will need help with safe shutdown script in future: https://howchoo.com/g/ndc3njbhytv/retroflag-gpi-setup#install-the-safe-shutdown-script

people are reporting it doesn't work properly, but it looks like following this guide helps

also, I was lucky I subscribed on howchoo.com to get notification email when GPi goes on sale. it was 3:20 AM when the notification woke me up and I actually got out of bed to order it. looks like it sold out again few minutes later

[hiulit]

Wow! They went out fast! :(

[slosher]

I was watching this with a lot of excitement! At first I was disappointed that I got to Amazon within an hour of release, only to find that it was already sold out. Now I'm more disappointed, and a little angry, to find that someone apparently scalped the product and is selling it for an ever-increasing inflated price. Currently it's going for $175... what's wrong with people? :/

[HurricaneFan]

I tried buying one and it kept saying my cart was empty when I would click the add button. I'll just have to wait for the next batch. Amazon needs a better system here.