Updating my 4p cabinet to pi4 (total noob)

uwbadgers19

Hi,

First post here and let me say that I didn't build anything I own :) and thus have overall low knowledge of all things here.

A year ago I purchased a fully setup arcade cabinet with pi3 b+ (I think) that was setup to run once it arrived. It's a 4 player, joystick, 6 button each, plus coin/start buttons.

It works pretty well!

I want to upgrade to the pi4 though after reading and watching videos of it's performance increases. I definitely have troubles with a fair amount of games running slow/not at all.

I have found someone that creates the same thing (pi4, done for you, retropie and emulation station which is what I have now) and want to purchase the upgrade.

My main goal is to get the better system (pi4) AND use joysticks/gamepads interchangeably between different games (if possible).

I’d get a done for you and ready to use setup, as was/is my current.

My questions:

I'd LOVE to be able to have use of joysticks AND gamepads. How simply, and can I, switch between using a joystick and gamepad. I could get bluetooth or wired (although would all my USB ports be used?) but not quite sure what to do for that.

The main reason for this question is I want to be able to play the classics as normal (joystick) while enjoying mariokart with a gamepad.....it's not as smooth with a joystick :)

Assuming I CAN do what I want in #1, is this simple enough? I haven't really done anything with my current setup and have very little knowledge. From what I've read I the controllers sound simple and quick to setup......but, the switching back and forth aspect.

Like I can play pac man on the joystick, then go to mariokart 64 with a gamepad after that (without 100 steps)?

Related to 1 and 2, assuming that works, would my controls and button combos always stay/save? I wouldn't want to redo them all the time.

Apologies if I left out big details that are needed or you need more info, happy to provide.

Thank you!

mitu

@uwbadgers19 said in Updating my 4p cabinet to pi4 (total noob):

I have found someone that creates the same thing (pi4, done for you, retropie and emulation station which is what I have now) and want to purchase the upgrade.

We don't support 3rd party installations/systems/images - the license of some of the emulators included in RetroPie is non-commercial not to mention some of the vendors (scammers) bundle the games/roms with them. The installation image distributed by RetroPie for the RPI models has also a non-commercial license - see https://retropie.org.uk/about/legal/.

If you wish to use these forums for support, use the installation image from retropie.org.uk/download and set-up your system.

As for you questions - yes, it's possible to switch between the gamepads/joystick. You can choose the order of the connected joysticks using the Configuration Editor, so that the external gamepad acts as player 1 and the cabinet's panel is a secondary player.

Clyde

@mitu said in Updating my 4p cabinet to pi4 (total noob):

As for you questions - yes, it's possible to switch between the gamepads/joystick. You can choose the order of the connected joysticks using the Configuration Editor, so that the external gamepad acts as player 1 and the cabinet's panel is a secondary player.

There's also @meleu's joystick-selection script that lets you choose the players' controllers by name or system id via a text menu.

lucaparzival2022

Hello,
Im am guessing you are using the Picade kit that's using the PicadeX raspberry pi hat.
Tell me if I'm wrong.
Anyway you could try configuring two controllers using the RetroPie menu (press the start button to open it). It might switch back and forth depending on which controller is plugged in.
Also what image are you using? Many custom images have preset controller configurations on Retroarch.
Im currently using the latest deleted 256gb raspberry pi 4 image which works really well for the pi 4 and its easy for beginners because its got tons of scripts that are easy to access including a overclock script (Goldeneye 007 at almost full speed with overclock!).

mitu

@lucaparzival2022 Please don't advertise 3rd party images here.

lucaparzival2022

@mitu Ok. Sorry

sirhenrythe5th

i would recommend to delete the name of the 3rd-party-image in lucaparzival2022s posting.
Otherwise it is still an advertise because it is just there and readable.

lucaparzival2022

@uwbadgers19 If you're going to ask questions about 3rd part images just go to reddit. 3rd party images are pretty taboo here.

Darksavior

@lucaparzival2022 I delete anyone's posts mentioning them in the retropie subreddit so don't try there.

lucaparzival2022

Im sorry people. Look, I'm new to this forum and I hadn't read the rules set by the moderator. Also, I used to make my own images until I realized how much time I was wasting so now I use a 3rd part image. I still edit it and add roms and emulators but not adding everything. Let's just say I enjoy playing the games and not hunting down various roms and bios and editing random config files. Im only 16 and I have better ways to waste my time.

Clyde

@lucaparzival2022 Seriously, do whatever makes you happy. 👍 It's just that (support for, advertisement of) third party images aren't allowed here. The main reasons are that no one can know what changes from the official image were done to them – maybe creating problems that won't occur with the official image – and if they conain any illegal additions that may cause legal problems for the forum (you can be pretty sure about that with a 256 GB image).

That said, it's always advisable to read the rules of a forum or other community when you join it. 🧐

I wish you all success and fun with RetroPie.

AdamBeGood

@lucaparzival2022 said in Updating my 4p cabinet to pi4 (total noob):

Im sorry people. Look, I'm new to this forum and I hadn't read the rules set by the moderator. Also, I used to make my own images until I realized how much time I was wasting so now I use a 3rd part image. I still edit it and add roms and emulators but not adding everything. Let's just say I enjoy playing the games and not hunting down various roms and bios and editing random config files. Im only 16 and I have better ways to waste my time.

There are no better ways of wasting time, take that back!