Try Retropie on a PC!
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Of course I believe in software improvements, and I'm sure that the N64 emulators will improve on the Pi 3 to the point that it could run the games I want at an acceptable clip.
However, why set up the Pi and wait for improvements when the PC I already have runs them really well?Of course more optimized code is a better solution, but if throwing more powerful hardware at the problem works today, why not use it as a stopgap?
Also, something we haven't touched on yet, what about other emulators for more recent systems?
I haven't tried any emulators past N64 and PSX, but what about the Saturn, Dreamcast, PSP etc? Retropie supports them, but I bet they don't run on the Pi 3. -
@jamesbeat i have 1 tv i game on but 3 pi systems. I did one with a playstation myself. I enjoy making a modified pi systems and have done quite a few of them. There is great joy in just making one. If you want to make a playstation pi just do it. The build is the fun part. If you decide to build one feel free to ask me any questions you might have. And for inspiration here is mine. I reused the sony composite output as well as hdmi. I event made the io port house a usb port.
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/2583/my-sony-pistation-1-and-super-mario-bros-zero-cart
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@jamesbeat You're going to wait a long time before a Pi bests your current PC. I kind of felt what you'd really like is more effort from the team for other platforms...say..for example....a PC.
I've been truly gobsmacked that a £30 gadget the size of a pack of cards can do so much, love the way it tries to democratise computing.
Whatever you think, would make a great retro-gaming backup system :)
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@edmaul69
Nice Job on the PSX, better than a couple of others I've seen. Bookmarked.@chavatar
I'm not necessarily waiting for the Pi to best the PC I'm using. I get the feeling that the PC has a lot more power than I actually need. I'm just waiting for good N64 emulation, especially for Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, which are my wife's favorite games.
My marriage would be in jeopardy if I made her use the Pi 3 in its current state after playing those games on the PC.Now, before I say this, I would just like to reiterate that I love the Pi, and might even go as far as to call myself a fanboy under certain circumstances.
The Pi doesn't cost 30 quid (sorry, I'm using a US keyboard) or $40 or whatever because of the extra stuff you need to buy to get it working.
Once you buy the psu, the hdmi cable a case, an SD card and probably a usb hub, it costs well over the $50 I paid for my PC (I actually bought it for a different project and had it laying around) and it's probably very easy for most people to get a PC like the one I'm using for free, because it's pretty old and low spec.I'm not knocking the Pi, I love it, but the barrier of entry is well over 30 quid.
Now, is the price of the Pi and all of the necessary accessories too high? Absolutely not, it's a bargain for what it is, but if you just need a cheap computer, a Pi probably isn't that answer.I remember when I got my first Pi, and people tried to argue that everyone probably had everything they needed already - who hasn't got an old phone charger laying around?
That led to all sorts of problems, because it turns out that old phone chargers are not powerful enough.'More Power' became something of a mantra in fact, and many problems that were not psu-related got blamed on inadequate power supplies.
I ended up buying no less than three psu's when I started out because of bad advice. It turned out that the problem I was having (flickering display) was software related, because it went away after an update.That first Pi cost me north of $100 by the time I had something that worked how I wanted it to.
I actually took my first Pi with me to the range to put a couple of round through it out of frustration, and the only reason I still have it today was because they had a new rule - Paper Targets Only! -
@jamesbeat A user works on a ubuntu x86 retropie distribution. https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3320/retropie-x86/17
We added x86 installation option early this year. We do not provide ready to use images but it should be always possible to update RetroPie-Setup and all available software modules. So there is no big difference if you use retropie on ubuntu on your pc or on the pi.
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@gizmo98
That's great!
I had to install manually, but it was relatively painless. I'd like to try the lighter distro, because Ubuntu is a bit bloated and slow to boot, and it's really not necessary for Retropie.I'd love to see a Live DVD or flash drive image with an option to install - I think that would really bring Retropie to the masses.
Not everyone has a Pi (or even knows what one is) but I bet there are thousands of retro gamers who have an old PC gathering dust - they could be transformed into retro gaming consoles with a few clicks of a mouse.The only option currently is Lakka, which is nowhere near as nice as Retropie. I tried it out a couple of weeks ago, and was very disappointed.
My five year old daughter can use Retropie without any help, which is a high praise indeed.My hope is that one day Retropie will be as ubiquitous as Kodi (formerly XBMC), ie very mainstream, adopted by people who aren't necessarily 'techie' and available for many different architectures.
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timely...
retropie 4.0 running n64 games (including goldeneye, smooth aside from one bit, but since the first level is always the worst i reckon it should do the rest of the game pretty solidly)
not perfect, but just shows what can be achieved when people focus on a specific hardware target, and there's more to come.
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@dankcushions said in Try Retropie on a PC!:
timely...
retropie 4.0 running n64 games (including goldeneye, smooth aside from one bit, but since the first level is always the worst i reckon it should do the rest of the game pretty solidly)
not perfect, but just shows what can be achieved when people focus on a specific hardware target, and there's more to come.
That was one of the videos that put me off the Pi 3 actually!
If you think that's good, you should see it running on my setup - there is NO stuttering or slowdown even on the gun barrel sequence at the start.
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@jamesbeat the video was published after your post and moments before mine, so it can't have been.
but anyway you miss my point; of course any old pc will be better. the point is that the software is improving every month, and clearly several games are already in 'playable' condition.
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@dankcushions said in Try Retropie on a PC!:
@jamesbeat the video was published after your post and moments before mine, so it can't have been.
but anyway you miss my point; of course any old pc will be better. the point is that the software is improving every month, and clearly several games are already in 'playable' condition.
Oh, sorry, I definitely watched a video with the same intro. I confess that I thought it was the same one, so I didn't watch it again.
It's not bad, and I don't doubt that things are improving all the time, but that doesn't change the fact that it's not 100% ready right now, and my PC is.
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@dankcushions said in Try Retropie on a PC!:
@jamesbeat the video was published after your post and moments before mine, so it can't have been.
but anyway you miss my point; of course any old pc will be better. the point is that the software is improving every month, and clearly several games are already in 'playable' condition.
True, I played N64 roms on PC in 2004 on a Pentium 4 PC with 256MB ram onboard video (LOL!). I never had any lag everything worked perfectly. The thing is that the problems in emulation are not hardware related but software related. They will be able to make this emulator run roms perfectly without any problem but it is going to take time.
My PC runs PS2 games perfectly but I really don't want to play roms on PC I want to play them on my TV sitting on my cough for the nostalgia memories.
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@PetroRie
That's the beauty of Retropie - you can put it on a PC and hook it up to your TV.
The one I'm using is a 'small form factor' PC.
It's a lot bigger than a Pi obviously, but as PCs go it's quite small - it looks more like a big console than a small PC. -
@jamesbeat said in Try Retropie on a PC!:
@PetroRie
That's the beauty of Retropie - you can put it on a PC and hook it up to your TV.
The one I'm using is a 'small form factor' PC.
It's a lot bigger than a Pi obviously, but as PCs go it's quite small - it looks more like a big console than a small PC.Ah you mean one of those barebone PC's? Well yes, but the Pi is way more cheaper, uses only a couple watts, no noise, it's way smaller you can hide it behind your TV.
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@PetroRie said in Try Retropie on a PC!:
@jamesbeat said in Try Retropie on a PC!:
@PetroRie
That's the beauty of Retropie - you can put it on a PC and hook it up to your TV.
The one I'm using is a 'small form factor' PC.
It's a lot bigger than a Pi obviously, but as PCs go it's quite small - it looks more like a big console than a small PC.Ah you mean one of those barebone PC's? Well yes, but the Pi is way more cheaper, uses only a couple watts, no noise, it's way smaller you can hide it behind your TV.
No, it's a small form factor PC. It is small and flat, but actually has room for two internal HDDs and an external optical drive.
I get what you're saying about size, but is small size really the most important part of the equation?
As far as I can tell, small size is really the only advantage that the Pi has (and also I suppose low power consumption).As to price, I indictated in an earlier post that the PC actually worked out cheaper than the Pi 3.
The PC cost me $50 including shipping.
The Pi 3 is $40, plus the cost of a psu and SD card, a case maybe a powered hub etc etc.Having said that, I kinda paid through the nose for the PC because I needed it in a hurry. PCs with sufficient specs are often available free from friends or relatives.
I actually bought this PC for my MAME cabinet, but ended up being given a much more powerful one for free, so I had this one sitting around gathering dust.
The actual cost of this project for me was $18 for a better graphics card (the existing graphics were fine, but I upgraded because I wanted hdmi output) and $0.50 for a Bluetooth dongle.
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@jamesbeat
So, if you had to distill your entire post into 1 or 2 coherent sentences, what would it be? What are you unhappy about fella? -
@chavatar said in Try Retropie on a PC!:
@jamesbeat
So, if you had to distill your entire post into 1 or 2 coherent sentences, what would it be? What are you unhappy about fella?-
Size and power consumption are less important than the ability to do the job.
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In its current state, both hardware and software, the Pi is inferior to a PC for N64 emulation.
I'm not unhappy, but I am a bit baffled that nobody seems to agree with me that a PC running retropie is a valid option for some people.
It's cheaper, easier in some respects, and performs better. What's not to like? -
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In my opinion running RetroPie on a PC is a valid option. To be honest i have written initial x86 installation patches because i was not satisfied with rpi2 performance. But comparing a second hand PC with a new PI is not fair. Compare new devices or used devices. A used PI should be cheaper as well. Even though if size, power consumption and loudness matters a PI is unbeatable.
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So the nub of the question - RetroPie (properly) on x86? For sure a valid question No is also for sure a valid answer though ;)
My crystal ball is murky, but l suspect the kodi for retrogaming, may well be Kodi and the philosophy behind this project is very different.
But that's entirely conjecture on my part ! I do know, however, my Pi has room for an external optical drive too ;p
Peace.
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@jamesbeat said in Try Retropie on a PC!:
I'm not unhappy, but I am a bit baffled that nobody seems to agree with me that a PC running retropie is a valid option for some people.
It's cheaper, easier in some respects, and performs better. What's not to like?It doesn't seem to me that people are not agreeing with you. It's sorta like going into a Target and being mystified that no one is particularly interested when you walk around talking about how Wal-Mart has a superior selection and price-matching, despite being "only" 15 more miles away. You're in a Pi-centric forum talking about how other PCs are more powerful, despite being larger and more power-hungry.
We get it: old PCs are still useful creatures, and they are more powerful than a Pi. You can get old used equipment on the cheap, and it's working great for your particular needs. Fantastic--but to be frank: so what? What precisely are you trying to convey? You made your opinion, and others made theirs. I think that's the crux of where this discussion has gone: we don't quite get the agenda here.
Plus your comment about optimism vs. realism when reading the forums and people's experiences with N64 emulation is ever-so-slightly suggesting that you have been collectively misled, and that's far from the truth.
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This is a Retropie forum, not the Raspberry Pi forum.
I understand that it is Pi-centric, as that is the most common platform, but it is also available for x86, and I wanted to share my positive experience with people who are disappointed in N64 performance on the Pi.As to being collectively misled, I don't believe that I was deliberately misled, but I do think that my definition of 'playable' differs from that of many of the people discussing the subject.
One guy did warn me what to expect, and that's what made me delve deeper and watch the videos carefully.
The Pi is magnificent, and as I said, I would almost consider myself to be a fanboy under certain circumstances.
I have a bartop arcade cabinet that uses a Pi, and I think it is ideal for that application.While it can be made to work to an extent, I don't believe that the Pi is currently the best piece of hardware for those looking to use N64 emulators.
My post was directed at people in that position, to show them that there is an alternative that works very well.
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