Old Computer Appreciation Thread

[Folly]

@Zering @AdamBeGood

Earlier I discribed booting lr-mess with a sort .cmd file.
In this ".cmd" we can now also implement -autoboot function.

This is very interesting.

A month ago I read this, but could not find it anymore.
Now I have found it again :
https://docs.mamedev.org/commandline/commandline-all.html#mame-commandline-autobootcommand

This is an example of booting a cas file in msx with a ".cmd" file :

hbf700p -rp /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS -autoboot_command load"cas:",r\n -autoboot_delay 8 -cass "/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/msx/cas-tests/OILSWELL.CAS"

So, if you load your game with a ".cmd" file you don't have to type the load commands.
This should work for other systems also.

The commandline in emulators.cfg, looks like this :

lr-mess-msx-cmd = "/opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/bin/retroarch -L /opt/retropie/libretrocores/lr-mess/mess_libretro.so --config /opt/retropie/configs/msx/retroarch-for-cmd.cfg %ROM%"

retroarch-for-cmd.cfg for linking the seperate system specific core options :

# Settings made here will only override settings in the global retroarch.cfg if placed above the #include line

input_remapping_directory = "/opt/retropie/configs/msx/"

core_options_path = "/opt/retropie/configs/msx/custom-core-options.cfg"

#include "/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg"

ps. adding this in a valerino commandline in emulators.cfg works also.

[Zering]

@folly So essentially you're using .cmd files the same way we're using .sh files in DOSBox, albeit with a different operating system?

[AdamBeGood]

@zering said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

@adambegood I've got it, haven't played it. What is it?
Cyberpunk looks utterly unappealing to me, I already hated The Witcher 3. I hope you enjoy it though, it certainly seems to be making a big splash.
I'm a bit jealous about the GameCube though, I love that console. Has one as a kid ; the remake of the original Resident Evil was my favourite game on there, and for the time it looks absolutely incredible.

I always thought I should play Witcher but never got around to it. I'll let you know what I think when I've played some of 2077. It looks good though, aesthetically.

I remember Resident Evil looking ridiculous for the time also, I'm just loading it up for the first time now on the laptop.

[Folly]

@zering said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

@folly So essentially you're using .cmd files the same way we're using .sh files in DOSBox, albeit with a different operating system?

I am still experimenting with this.
But indeed this works the same way.
The idea is to add this in my script, so we can generate scripts for .cmd files too.
Then we will be able to generate our own starters for games.

[Zering]

@folly I have to say I still find .cmd files intimidating, mostly because I don't understand what's supposed to be in them.
More importantly I'm not sure I understand how you intend to add them to your script? Wouldn't you have to do this for each game? Or would you be able to create a script that generates cmd files automatically, much like your code for m3u?

@AdamBeGood Resident Evil is spectacular. To me it still holds up graphically even today, and I think it's one of the five best survival horror games ever made (Code Veronica being my favourite).

[AdamBeGood]

@zering said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

@folly I have to say I still find .cmd files intimidating, mostly because I don't understand what's supposed to be in them.
More importantly I'm not sure I understand how you intend to add them to your script? Wouldn't you have to do this for each game? Or would you be able to create a script that generates cmd files automatically, much like your code for m3u?

@AdamBeGood Resident Evil is spectacular. To me it still holds up graphically even today, and I think it's one of the five best survival horror games ever made (Code Veronica being my favourite).

Go on then, let's have the top five!

Resi 1
Code Veronica
...
...
...

[Folly]

@zering said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

@folly I have to say I still find .cmd files intimidating, mostly because I don't understand what's supposed to be in them.

Indeed it's a bit intimidating.
That is why I am experimenting.
Just to see if we can come up with some standard approach that is descibed properly.
The big advantage is that we can boot multiple disks without going into the mess menu.
Also autoboot is a nice option.
Because how do we boot cassettes on a system we never used. (Every time you have find this information)
I do this also because the valerino scripts are not officially accepted by RetroPie.
So if we can discover a simpler or better way of running things in lr-mess that should be nice.

More importantly I'm not sure I understand how you intend to add them to your script?

Simply said, it will generate the same script, but then without a media component.
So no "-cass" or "-flop1". If then installed and used, that should be able to boot .cmd files.
(Already tried some things, but that didn't work. So I have to come up with something else)

Wouldn't you have to do this for each game? Or would you be able to create a script that generates cmd files automatically, much like your code for m3u?

Yes, both are a possiblility here.

[Zering]

@adambegood said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

Go on then, let's have the top five!

Resi 1
Code Veronica
...
...
...

1. Resident Evil Code Veronica
2. Resident Evil (GameCube)
3. Silent Hill
4. Fatal Frame
5. Silent Hill 2

(With the reservation that I never actually finished Silent Hill 2)

@Folly So using .cmds as you describe would allow us to boot games for systems we've never used without having to look up how to boot them manually?

[AdamBeGood]

@zering said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

@adambegood said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

Go on then, let's have the top five!

Resi 1
Code Veronica
...
...
...

1. Resident Evil Code Veronica
2. Resident Evil (GameCube)
3. Silent Hill
4. Fatal Frame
5. Silent Hill 2

(With the reservation that I never actually finished Silent Hill 2)

@Folly So using .cmds as you describe would allow us to boot games for systems we've never used without having to look up how to boot them manually?

Right, I don't have Silent Hill 2 or Fatal Frame (never even heard of it). I'll get those. Thank you!

[Zering]

@adambegood Bit off topic, but if you get Code Veronica on Dreamcast, get the Code Veronica X hack that brings over the improvements of the PS2 version. Enjoy.

[Folly]

@zering said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

@Folly So using .cmds as you describe would allow us to boot games for systems we've never used without having to look up how to boot them manually?

Yes indeed, sort of.

But first it has to be programmed ofcourse.
So we have to look for those boot commands once before programming or making a .cmd file.

So if programmed a user doesn't have to know the loader commands.
If the user makes his own .cmd file he has to look it up once, but after that no more.

Take for example bbc micro.
If for all disks the load option is the same, then for all those disks we can implement that autoboot option in the commandline in the generated valerino alike scripts or in a .cmd file.
(for programming i have to make some database first to implement that, ofcourse)

Theoretically I think it could be done.

[Folly]

I have GameCube working on my soft modded Wii.
Do you guys know that this can be done ?
There is no emulation involved here, because the processors are exactly the same.
And you can just connect a gamecube joystick to it.

I forgot what games I played. So I can't give you any.

oh yea, something like :
Mario's Mansion

[AdamBeGood]

@folly said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

I have GameCube working on my soft modded Wii.
Do you guys know that this can be done ?
There is no emulation involved here, because the processors are exactly the same.
And you can just connect a gamecube joystick to it.

I forgot what games I played. So I can't give you any.

oh yea, something like :
Mario's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion!

I've heard about it, but I never bought a Wii. It seems quite a nice hack though.

FR

[Folly]

I am going to try the handhelds described by DTEAM.

https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/28462/tutorial-handheld-and-plug-play-systems-with-mame

There are only 5 days left to get his stuff from google drive.

[Folly]

@adambegood said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

@folly said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

I have GameCube working on my soft modded Wii.
Do you guys know that this can be done ?
There is no emulation involved here, because the processors are exactly the same.
And you can just connect a gamecube joystick to it.

I forgot what games I played. So I can't give you any.

oh yea, something like :
Mario's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion!

I've heard about it, but I never bought a Wii. It seems quite a nice hack though.

FR

Yes thats the one.
Looks really great !

Nice thing, you can just add a harddrive with ga...s .

It took me quite some time to figure it out how to mod.
But the second time, for a friend, it was really easy.

[Folly]

@AdamBeGood @Zering

Chears, I am celebrating our 1000+ posts ;-).

[AdamBeGood]

@folly said in Old Computer Appreciation Thread:

@AdamBeGood @Zering

Chears, I am celebrating our 1000+ posts ;-).

Nice! I had a beer and a Chinese takeaway today, so I was accidentally joining you. 1,000 posts!

[Zering]

@adambegood @Folly Does loading up 200 GB of CHD files on my Pi count as celebrating? It's the only tinkering I've had time to do lately haha
By replacing my Neo Geo CD bin/cues with chds, I've shaved about 60 GB off. Went from 85 GB to 28. I'm honestly in awe at how efficient these are.

[Folly]

@zering

Ofcourse, Good for you !

[Zering]

@folly Do you know if chds work with lr-np2kai? Might be a nice easy way to launch those finicky CD PC98 games.