(REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?

shift · 28 Nov 2020, 12:26

@pjft said in (REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?:

Download Handbrake and convert all the videos to 480p. 576p might work as well, but still stutter a bit. Or try to find 480p versions of the videos that I believe are available for some of the games, but I converted mine myself and it worked just fine. Just be sure to keep the same frame rate in the converted video, as Singe depends on the framerate to know when to expect the inputs.

You gave me an interesting tip, I'll do as you said. Thanks

Darksavior · 28 Nov 2020, 12:53

Has anyone gotten singe2.0 working with v1 timegal?

 ./Singe-v2.00-Pi-armv6 -v ~/singe2/timegal/timegal.txt ~/singe2/timegal/timegal.singe
Error compiling script:  /home/pi/singe2/timegal/timegal.singe: version mismatch in precompiled chunk

I tried the v2 of timegal and it runs too slow but that's besides the point. Whoever encoded this did a horrendous job with whatever filters they used.

pjft · 28 Nov 2020, 12:57

@darksavior I agree, looks terrible. I keep singe1 around to play Timegal.

DirtBagXon · 28 Nov 2020, 13:56

@darksavior said in (REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?:

/home/pi/singe2/timegal/timegal.singe: version mismatch in precompiled chunk

This is a 32/64bit error - I worked around this in the Singe v1 codebase.

It is because Time Gal (v1) uses compiled 32bit bytecode, not a plain LUA script.

Try:

file /home/pi/singe2/timegal/timegal.singe

Use the 'file' command on any other .singe files, except Ninja Hayate which also uses byecode, you will see the difference.

https://github.com/DirtBagXon/singe/tree/master/bytecode

Why these were 'special cases', I don't know....

DirtBagXon · 28 Nov 2020, 14:19

@pjft said in (REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?:

@shift Actually I have, and an 8GB will do nothing about it. It's because the videos included in most games are 1080p, and the rendering is not hardware accelerated. I believe you can play the ActionMax games/older games, as their native resolution is 480p there, but I can't say for sure.

Download Handbrake and convert all the videos to 480p. 576p might work as well, but still stutter a bit. Or try to find 480p versions of the videos that I believe are available for some of the games, but I converted mine myself and it worked just fine. Just be sure to keep the same frame rate in the converted video, as Singe depends on the framerate to know when to expect the inputs.

You might then need to resize the files in the Overlay on some of the games if they render too big for your liking, but that's a second step. I think I only resized them for Cliff Hanger, as I can live with the "level selection screen" not being quite aligned in the other games.

My understanding of Singe v2 was to allow custom game designers to utilise sprites and mouse coordinates above the 356x240 range which was forced in v1.

Out of interest, with decreasing the size of the videos and overlays, are you actually seeing any benefit on these older games?

In the new games coming out over at http://www.emuline.org I see the requirement for v2.

Not trying to push v1 here, just interested in the gaming communities response to v2.....

pjft · 28 Nov 2020, 14:49

@dirtbagxon Well, I don't have a preference between v1 and v2 - it's just what games I can play there. I use v1 for TimeGal and I'm not going to change. Same for Ninja Hayate.

V2 has a lot of other fan-made games (Samurai Jack, Daitarn, etc) which I can't find for v1, so that's why I'm using it.

DirtBagXon · 28 Nov 2020, 16:48

@pjft said in (REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?:

V2 has a lot of other fan-made games

And I believe the new fan-made games use the larger resolutions in sprite and mouse handling, so totally get that.

The Time Gal overlays on v2 look totally different to v1, nice but different.

I am a traditionalist here, and want retro games to look, well 'retro', like the arcades.

Interesting...

pjft · 28 Nov 2020, 16:54

@dirtbagxon Agree about Time ~~Crisis~~ Gal (sorry, had my mind elsewhere) and the older games in general.

There are, however, people still developing fan-made games that make for interesting experiences in this space. I personally am dabbling in re-creating Road Blaster based on higher quality footage. I'll see if that ever gets done :)

shift · 28 Nov 2020, 22:22

@dirtbagxon said in (REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?:

Out of interest, with decreasing the size of the videos and overlays, are you actually seeing any benefit on these older games?

I've only tried v2 with new games, and, decreasing the resolution (thanks to @pjft for the tip), they are now playable (previously it was impossible on an Rpi4).
As for the old games, on the other hand, I use v1 because I like it. I haven't tried v2 on old games, I only installed it to be able to launch new ones.

Darksavior · 29 Nov 2020, 00:33

@dirtbagxon I was already using your timegal.singe and using the file command didn't change anything.

DirtBagXon · 29 Nov 2020, 01:18

@darksavior said in (REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?:

@dirtbagxon I was already using your timegal.singe and using the file command didn't change anything.

Ok, so two different things to address here:

You don't need to use my timegal.singe (or hayate.singe for that matter) any longer with the latest commit in my repo. You can revert and use the original .singe file. There is no difference in gameplay in my version, it just added a work-a-round for an arithmetic issue. So you can continue to use it, or swap it out with the original - up to you, it won't change the game.

The arithmetic issue has now been fixed in the libsinge.so library rather than the .singe game file in the latest commit of the codebase.

The 'file' command doesn't change anything, it's just an informational utility. Most .singe files will show you that the content is:

file maddog.singe 
maddog.singe: ASCII text, with CRLF line terminators

i.e. ASCII text - open it in your favourite text editor - you can change game variables and functions etc, even rewrite the game.

Then try:

file timegal.singe
timegal.singe: Lua bytecode, version 5.1

This shows that this is not text, but in fact a compiled (32bit) binary bytecode. As stated above, I am not sure why, but at a guess in an attempt to obfuscate code.

You won't be able to edit this as above, but you can try.... ;)

I was trying to convey that the two v1 games, Time Gal and Ninja Hayate, were released in a different format to all other v1 games. And thus had to have fixes specific to them in my repos for both the standalone Singe and the Daphne plugin. From the error you were seeing, it appears that Singe v2 didn't address these.

Most of the changes I made were due to a move from 32bit linux to 64bit, which is now the norm. But also exposed issues (C int/long) and other library updates that have been made in the years since v1 was released. As far as the bytecode issues were concerned, this was my first clue to addressing:

http://lua-users.org/lists/lua-l/2016-02/msg00176.html

Windows doesn't really care so much about running 32bit binaries on the 64bit variants of Windows. It has a 32bit subsystem already built in. So even old versions of the windows Singe will still run on 64bit Windows 10 and these old games just work there.

I hope that clarifies some things...

Darksavior · 29 Nov 2020, 02:10

@dirtbagxon I guess I won't be using singe 2.0 then..

DirtBagXon · 12 Apr 2020, 01:33

@darksavior said in (REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?:

@dirtbagxon I guess I won't be using singe 2.0 then..

It's the new fangled big-brother, but for the retro scene I think you have to make your choice.

I'm sure new games coming to v2 will make it a go to app, but then 'new' isn't 'retro'...

tusabez · 7 Jan 2021, 14:15

@dirtbagxon @pjft

Hello, I noticed that you guys are able to get Badlands working. I've been reading the replies on this thread about several other games but Badlands is the one I want to play on Retropie. I have the game files loaded and as everyone else, I get a black screen. I would love some advice on getting it to run it if you don't mind. Thanks!

pjft · 7 Jan 2021, 14:28

@tusabez Install Daphne from source.

tusabez · 10 Jan 2021, 05:36

@pjft Thanks! I ran the update and it worked! The only problem that I'm encountering now is that I ran a fix to map to my joystick https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/21063/is-there-a-simple-way-to-make-dragonrise-controllers-work-with-daphne/7?_=1610256544543 according to these instructions and while I get joystick functionality with Dragon's Lair, Badlands goes back to a black screen. Any other suggestions or am I stuck in between choosing to play Badlands or using a joystick for Dragon's Lair?

tusabez · 10 Jan 2021, 05:55

@pjft It seems rerunning the update seemed to fix the controller issue except now it's recognizing my Xbox controller instead of my joystick but I can probably figure that out. The game seems to run fine for one game but afterwards it just black out leaving the game scores on screen. I guess I can live with this for now haha.

kg1961 · 18 Jan 2021, 15:21

Hello everyone
I'm very sorry
How do I contact a member
I'm trying to purchase a score board and a retropie to run Dragons lair and space ace in my oem cabinet.
I live in Canada so I'm not sure if the same items are available here
Need a score board
Retro pie
What ever else. My buddy is a computer tech so I'm sure with the right parts and info I can get this going.
I'm a arcade guy so I know I can get it working with all the parts
Thanks

DirtBagXon · 18 Jan 2021, 17:45

@kg1961 said in (REQUEST) Add Daphne Singe emulator?:

I'm trying to purchase a score board and a retropie to run Dragons lair and space ace in my oem cabinet.

Hiya,

I have no knowledge of cabinet hardware, but there do appear to be forums specific to this:

http://www.dragonslairfans.com/emulatethelair/emulate.htm

http://www.dragonslairfans.com/smfor/index.php

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/threads/starting-dragons-lair-build.452723/

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=136708.0

SaturnX · 9 Feb 2021, 13:08

@DirtBagXon and @pjft wanted to pop in and say thanks!

Thanks for all your hard work and effort on Daphne and Singe.

I’ve now got Daphne (with DragonRise/joystick issues fixed) along with compatibility for Badlands, Road Blaster, and Bega’s Battle along with Singe (Time Gal and Ninja Hayate) running like a dream on my Pi4 arcade cab.

I integrated the Singe titles into the “Daphne” system in EmulationStation for a seamless user experience.

Thanks again!!!