Looking to create my own image
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Device: Raspberry Pi4 4gb in NesPi4 case mini with a 32 GB SD card
Controllers: PS3 and Xbox One 2015 model
Consoles wanted: NES, SNES, Genesis, 32x, N64, Dreamcast, PSxI have tried to use the default RetroPie image and canned images from Arcade Punks. I'm a simple person and like to keep things close to stock as possible. Easier to navigate and overall better experience. Less BLOATWARE.
I noticed both RetroArch and RetroPie/EMUStat have issues with N64 games out the box. But these canned images from Arcade Punks work rather well. They have tweaks done to help it run on a Raspberry Pi 4. I assume they have config files that are created that have tweaks implemented to help with N64 emulation.
Could I take these tweaks to a base image somehow and have best of both worlds? I don't like all the screensavers and backgrounds, I want the basics, with good performance.
If this isn't the right forum please let me know. I'm still newer to this whole RetroPie fiasco. If this device can't do what I want is there some other option?
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@billymild said in Looking to create my own image:
I have tried to use the default RetroPie image and canned images from Arcade Punks. I'm a simple person and like to keep things close to stock as possible. Easier to navigate and overall better experience. Less BLOATWARE.
There really isn't much bloatware in the official RetroPie image you can get here. There may be extra emulators you don't need, but they can be uninstalled through
retropie-setup. Everything that isn't directly related to emulating a game system is there to ease the user experience.I noticed both RetroArch and RetroPie/EMUStat have issues with N64 games out the box.
N64 is a bit of a tall order for a Raspberry Pi. (Even of Pi4)
But there is a really good thread on this forum with advice on how to get the most out of it. Most games run fairly well. A big part of that is not running the RetroArch version of Mupen64plus. It adds extra overhead to the task of emulation. Running the standalone emulator, however, does require a bit of manual tweaking of config files.But these canned images from Arcade Punks work rather well. They have tweaks done to help it run on a Raspberry Pi 4. I assume they have config files that are created that have tweaks implemented to help with N64 emulation.
These tweaks can be done to the RetroPie image. The thread I mentioned above has many good tips on how to get things fairly smooth.
Could I take these tweaks to a base image somehow and have best of both worlds? I don't like all the screensavers and backgrounds, I want the basics, with good performance.
I can't tell from your post if you want an "out-of-the-box" experience, or if you are willing to tweak settings and learn about the inner workings. If you want "out-of-the-box" then you are at the mercy of the people who created the image. If you are willing to do the work it would take to create your own image, you should be able to make adjustments as needed to the RetroPie image to get what you want out of it.
If this isn't the right forum please let me know. I'm still newer to this whole RetroPie fiasco. If this device can't do what I want is there some other option?
My advice would be to think about what you really want to gain from this. If you don't want to be manually changing things to your liking, find an image that meets most of your needs and run with that. If you want to put a little effort in to really customize it, use RetroPie and take advantage of the many helpful people in this forum.
EDIT: As for other options, there are plenty. You could use an Odriod, an Intel NUC, or any PC from the last decade for hardware to install GNU/Linux (recommend Ubuntu) and then do a manual install. I run RetroPie from both a Pi3B+ for older systems, and a 12 year old PC with Ubuntu installed so I can run N64, Gamecube, and maybe even Wii games eventually.
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@yfzdude said in Looking to create my own image:
@billymild said in Looking to create my own image:
I have tried to use the default RetroPie image and canned images from Arcade Punks. I'm a simple person and like to keep things close to stock as possible. Easier to navigate and overall better experience. Less BLOATWARE.
There really isn't much bloatware in the official RetroPie image you can get here. There may be extra emulators you don't need, but they can be uninstalled through
retropie-setup. Everything that isn't directly related to emulating a game system is there to ease the user experience.I noticed both RetroArch and RetroPie/EMUStat have issues with N64 games out the box.
N64 is a bit of a tall order for a Raspberry Pi. (Even of Pi4)
But there is a really good thread on this forum with advice on how to get the most out of it. Most games run fairly well. A big part of that is not running the RetroArch version of Mupen64plus. It adds extra overhead to the task of emulation. Running the standalone emulator, however, does require a bit of manual tweaking of config files.But these canned images from Arcade Punks work rather well. They have tweaks done to help it run on a Raspberry Pi 4. I assume they have config files that are created that have tweaks implemented to help with N64 emulation.
These tweaks can be done to the RetroPie image. The thread I mentioned above has many good tips on how to get things fairly smooth.
Could I take these tweaks to a base image somehow and have best of both worlds? I don't like all the screensavers and backgrounds, I want the basics, with good performance.
I can't tell from your post if you want an "out-of-the-box" experience, or if you are willing to tweak settings and learn about the inner workings. If you want "out-of-the-box" then you are at the mercy of the people who created the image. If you are willing to do the work it would take to create your own image, you should be able to make adjustments as needed to the RetroPie image to get what you want out of it.
If this isn't the right forum please let me know. I'm still newer to this whole RetroPie fiasco. If this device can't do what I want is there some other option?
My advice would be to think about what you really want to gain from this. If you don't want to be manually changing things to your liking, find an image that meets most of your needs and run with that. If you want to put a little effort in to really customize it, use RetroPie and take advantage of the many helpful people in this forum.
EDIT: As for other options, there are plenty. You could use an Odriod, an Intel NUC, or any PC from the last decade for hardware to install GNU/Linux (recommend Ubuntu) and then do a manual install. I run RetroPie from both a Pi3B+ for older systems, and a 12 year old PC with Ubuntu installed so I can run N64, Gamecube, and maybe even Wii games eventually.
Thanks for the response.
I am using a canned image from ArcadePunks website. It is by Virtual Man and overall N64 runs pretty good. There are some audio issues from time to time, but game play is decent. I would like to take the tweaks he has done for the N64 emulator and move those to a stock RetroPie image. Is that possible?
This image has proven to do fairly well on N64, but I hate all the other things they add, screensavers, backgrounds, etc.
I'm not sure I can dig into the innerworkings of this program to help make it better. I am just trying to enjoy N64.
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@billymild to find out what is going on with the custom image i would have to install it and have a look, but i don't really want to touch any custom images. you could get some clues via a verbose log on their image, if it even permits you to run that...
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@dankcushions I would think these tweaks would be saved in a ini or text file somwhere.
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