RPI4: Kodi version update, N64 stuttering, no rumble pack

Cyber

Pi Model or other hardware: RPI4 2GB
Power Supply used: Official RPI4 power supply
RetroPie Version Used: 4.7.1
Built From: retropie-buster-4.6-rpi4.img and kept up to date with retropie-setup
USB Devices connected: none
Controller used: Sony PS3 sixaxis controller dualshock 3
Emulator: the default N64 emulator

hello,

I wanted to ask three questions:

currently kodi is in version 18.7 delivered. is there already the most current 18.9 available? I installed kodi over the retropie-setup.
mostly my kids like to play super mario kart. it is sometimetimes ugly stuttering. they are not annoyed of it, but ... the sound really hurts. :D
is there a way to configure it to work better? I am using mainly all in default configuration. In log or on screen I neither can see overtemperature nor power supply throtteling of the device.
The strange: in the beginning (so in april when I installed the device) it was not stuttering at all. so I guess, either a firmware update of rpi, or a retropie / emulator update made this worse.
the PS3 controllers would have rumble pack. is there a way to configure retropie or the used emulator to use the rumble pack? I thing, as N64 had also rumble motors, the game used it?

Thank you!

Best regards
Alois

retropieuser555

Hi there,

Not sure about Kodi as I don't use it on the pi4, is there any specific functions in the later versions of Kodi you are after? I use the default Libreelec installation on a pi3b and it works well for me. But that doesn't allow for gaming like RetroPie.

Sorry, did you mean mario kart 64 or super mario kart on the SNES? lr-snes9x should be all you need to play the SNES version. The N64 version, which emulator are you using? The standalone emulator or a retroarch emulator? If it's a retroarch one, you might need to change some settings in the retroarch menu, when you hit select+x then go into options, what's the resolution it gives you? Certain games will go slowly the default resolution and need to be reduced.

And rumble? Sorry I've never used it on retropie, no idea if it's a supported function on retroarch

dankcushions

@cyber can you please post your /boot/config.txt

also please provide a verbose log

Cyber

@dankcushions
here is the config.txt (grep -v "#")

disable_overscan=1
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_group=1
hdmi_mode=16
dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=18,disable-wifi
dtparam=audio=on
[pi4]
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
max_framebuffers=2
[all]
gpu_mem=256
start_x=0

I did not try to overclock the pi4 yet. I have heatsinks installed, but no fan. The temperature is regarding prompt screen at idle normally at about 60°C, at load at about 70°C

I will have a look for the debuglog today evening.

@retropieuser555 my kodi is crashing regularly. I do not know why, I always hope it get fixed, but as it is two versions behind I will never know. ;)

e.g.: https://pastebin.com/AWDNM3De

I mean: 'Mario Kart 64 (Europe) (Rev A).n64' - so super mario kart 64
I have to look which emulator is used for it. I cannot remember if I changed the default, I think I did not. Also I did not set anything at resolution or something like this. I will also have a look today evening. ;)

Thanks.
BR
Alois

Cyber

here is the debuglog: https://pastebin.com/dg0vscQU
it is using mupen64plus-next as emulator.

Thanks!

Best regard
Alois

mitu

To turn on rumble for N64, you can into the Core Options from the RGUI and set the Player 1 Pak option to rumble instead of memory. Do note that Mario Kart N64 doesn't have rumble pack support, so it won't be useful for that game in particular (you can try with Star Fox 64 to test it).
As far as performance is concerned, try using the NTSC version instead of the PAL, since your native display is 1080p@60, or lowering the resolution to 720p from the runcommand launch menu.

Cyber

@mitu thanks for your help.
rumble: does work now. awesome. and also so sad that there is no rumble for Mario Kart 64 :-/

performance: did not help.
two new logs:
a) I forced RPI to 50Hz via raspi-config and Resolution menu. Then I tried again the EU rom (and in 720p via launch menu) - same stuttering. here is the log of this try: https://pastebin.com/gcvRKLyP

b) I set it back to default (60Hz) and used US rom (and in 720p via launch menu) - same stuttering. here is the log of this try: https://pastebin.com/24x02w63

here a video (you need to turn on sound) of my issue: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9svUpu6uQGbwqhweA?e=XQkrsw

already before the traffic light starts you can hear the sound is stucking. This was the US rom with 60Hz and corresponding with the log above posted.

Thanks for your help.

Best regards
Alois

mitu

Try using lr-mupen64plus - should be a bit faster and doesn't have any noticeable slowdowns.

Cyber

@mitu thanks - with lr-mupen64plus it works without stuttering, but it looks much less nice. :-(
so is this a RPI4 performance issue or is this an emulator issue? If I try overclocking the PI4, what should I overclock to have the missing percent in performance? :-)

Thank you!

Best regards
Alois

mitu

@cyber said in RPI4: Kodi version update, N64 stuttering, no rumble pack:

If I try overclocking the PI4, what should I overclock to have the missing percent in performance? :-)

For N64, it's the GPU overclock that has an impact.

EDIT: another thing to check in the core options if it's set the framerate - if it's set to fullspeed (display refresh rate) or original (30 fps for Mario Kart).

Cyber

@mitu can you please point me where the core options are located?
as also overclocking gpu (with gpu_freq=750 and over_voltage=4) did not remove the stuttering I tried today:
-) complete new retropie-buster-4.6-rpi4.img on SD: in the default configuration of this image the stuttering is slightly better. I think on trying it in April I did not try all tracks. especially bigger tracks are affected.
-) other emulators. I am now with mupen64plus-GLideN64-highres which does the job currently best. I changed in /opt/retropie/configs/n64/mupen64plus.cfg to 1920x1080 and currently (with overclocked RPI4) I have perfect video and audio.

Also the black stripes which were visible in the menu disappeared now.

of course, the real test will be tomorrow where the kids are allowed to play again, maybe they can find a track which does not work.

nevertheless I would like to look for the refresh rate thing you mentioned. ;)

thanks for your help and time.

Best regards
Alois

dankcushions

@cyber i suspect it's the hybrid filter - disable it via https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Core-Options/#setting-core-options

It's a recent-ish addition to GLideN64 that allows better upscaling (less uneven pixels), but appears to be a major performance hit. if you set this to False the performance issues go away (even at 1080p).

It was later fixed in the RetroPie script, so a new image should be better, but previous installs and updates from older images will require this manual fix.

EDIT: note this fix is only for lr-mupen64plus-nx. i believe standalone should have it disabled, but you can always check by searching for 'hybrid' in mupen64plus.cfg

Cyber

@dankcushions thanks.
I tried to disable the hybrid filter, did not help, still stuttering.
on filesystem I found: /opt/retropie/configs/n64/mupen64plus.cfg : https://pastebin.com/DR6wNmt1
I think this is the one which is used for mupen64plus-GLideN64-highres ?

/opt/retropie/configs/n64/mupen64plus.cfg.rp-dist : https://pastebin.com/YTVkVDbB

/home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/libretrocores/lr-mupen64plus-next.sh

I can see at the end of the script:

    if isPlatform "rpi"; then
        # Disable hybrid upscaling filter (needs better GPU)
        setRetroArchCoreOption "mupen64plus-next-HybridFilter" "False"
        # Disable overscan/VI emulation (slight performance drain)
        setRetroArchCoreOption "mupen64plus-next-EnableOverscan" "Disabled"
        # Enable Threaded GL calls
        setRetroArchCoreOption "mupen64plus-next-ThreadedRenderer" "True"
    fi
    setRetroArchCoreOption "mupen64plus-next-EnableNativeResFactor" "1"

The Threaded Renderer seems to be also enabled by default, which is also disabled in my case.
Where are those configparts written, and at which values should all of them be? So I can compare mine with them to get the latest state.

Thanks.

Best regards
Alois

dankcushions

@cyber so mupen64plus-GLideN64-highres will only perform same or worse to mupen64plus-GLideN64, as it's got double the resolution. you should first try with mupen64plus-GLideN64.

on filesystem I found: /opt/retropie/configs/n64/mupen64plus.cfg : https://pastebin.com/DR6wNmt1
I think this is the one which is used for mupen64plus-GLideN64-highres ?

yes, this configures both GLideN64 and GLideN64-highres. it looks ok to me but I can see that it has been modified. for example

# Screen aspect ratio (0=stretch, 1=force 4:3, 2=force 16:9, 3=adjust)
AspectRatio = 2

Is not the default, which makes me worry other things have changed...

EnableHybridFilter = True

You need to disable this, as I said.

you should also try updating mupen64plus from source.

/opt/retropie/configs/n64/mupen64plus.cfg.rp-dist : https://pastebin.com/YTVkVDbB

this is the backup of the default .cfg used by retropie, created on installation. it is not the one used by your install, which is your previous pastebin. don't worry about this for now.

/home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/libretrocores/lr-mupen64plus-next.sh

this is the launch script for lr-mupen64plus-next.sh, not mupen64plus-GLideN64/-highres.

The Threaded Renderer seems to be also enabled by default, which is also disabled in my case.

where are you seeing that it's disabled?

Cyber

@dankcushions I changed the AspectRatio by hand to 2.

I can see the Threaded Render disabled in the RetroArch Core Options menu. The Hybrid Filter was there enabled, I disabled it. This did not change the Audio issue.

I will update mupen64plus from source now. I only used it "from binary".

Best regards
Alois

dankcushions

@cyber

@dankcushions I changed the AspectRatio by hand to 2.

I can see the Threaded Render disabled in the RetroArch Core Options menu. The Hybrid Filter was there enabled, I disabled it. This did not change the Audio issue.

but these are two seperate emulators - the mupen64plus.cfg controls the mupen64plus-* emulators. the lr-mupen64plus-* emulators are the ones with the Retroarch menu. one does not affect the other.

Please be specific which emulator you are testing - lets deal with one at a time. i would expect mupen64plus-gliden64 to be the fastest so lets test with that one. please show me your cfg from that when it has my suggested settings and still doesn't work.

Cyber

@dankcushions I am testing from this menu either the lr-mupen64plus-next and the mupen64plus-gliden64-highres: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9szmP2o3-F5I2lTxQ

I have selected there now the first one (lr-mupen64plus-next).

I cannot find any config files "lr-mupen64plus*" - thats why I took now pictures of the settings which I can see with the retroarch core menu:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s3sr_EwOEzchjJRw
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s2ejenqrrrORMhew
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s10tfvMXtuttTlPA
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s0Up0aFFn_PBBQ7A

I have installed specificly from source:
main -> mupen64plus (installed from source on 8th Dec. 2020)
main -> lr-mupen64plus-next (installed from source on 8th Dec. 2020)
main -> lr-mupen64plus (installed from source on 8th Dec. 2020)

graphical issues: compared with mupen64plus-gliden64-highres I have e.g. in the menus black lines: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s4IPgzfQ90i32wrQ

another graphical difference compared with mupen64plus-gliden64-highres: the "virtual screen" in the game.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s6_uDDdldFcDGyJQ
vs.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s551Xt1kDkeSYDDA
look at the in-screen game over the both "oo" from Mushroom. Once it is only black and white (lr-mupen64plus-next), once it is a screen-in-screen (mupen64plus-gliden64-highres)

is there a configuration issue in lr-mupen64plus-next ? hopefully I have now all options on the photos.

the RPI4 is running with over_voltage=4 and gpu_freq=750. Have now cooled it with an additional cooler, as I saw on playing it is reaching over 80 degrees and started throttling. it is now constand below 62°C.

sorry for beeing confusing. Hopefully you can help me.

Thanks
Best regards
Alois

dankcushions

@cyber said in RPI4: Kodi version update, N64 stuttering, no rumble pack:

I have selected there now the first one (lr-mupen64plus-next).

I cannot find any config files "lr-mupen64plus*" - thats why I took now pictures of the settings which I can see with the retroarch core menu:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s3sr_EwOEzchjJRw
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s2ejenqrrrORMhew
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s10tfvMXtuttTlPA
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s0Up0aFFn_PBBQ7A

i don't think there's much point testing lr-mupen64plus-next as it's going to be slower than standalone, but there's a few settings you can change:

native resolution factor = 1x
Overscan = Disabled

be mindful to change only these, and exactly these. some others are named similarly.

graphical issues: compared with mupen64plus-gliden64-highres I have e.g. in the menus black lines: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnFpCl7HpNVtg9s4IPgzfQ90i32wrQ

comparing what to what? please be specific. if it's to lr-mupen64plus-next, again this is not optimal. use mupen64plus-gliden64