BBC Micro / Acorn Electron Emu

Folly

@mrnoholster said in BBC Micro / Acorn Electron Emu:

Thanks @folly
I'm still confused about how to get this working but will have a dig around some more.

Indeed, you have to read a lot before you know how this works.
It took me quite a lot of time to figure out this myself.
But if you start, you learn.
And later on you get the "aha" effect.
If then you know how it works, it's seems actually quite simple.

The valerino setup sounds great - is this separate to the official Retropie Setup script? I don't want to break my other emulators of course! :D

If you don't want to break your original install.
Do it on a fresh install.
If you do something wrong, begin from scratch again.

I see lr-mess is already included in the Retropie Setup but couldn't see where to add roms etc.

Yes, lr-mess is already implemented in the Retropie Setup.
But it's added for just a few systems : nes, gb, coleco, arcadia and crvision.
This will basically work with "mame game naming" using xml database hash tables.
Earlier on you could use, for examle, the arcadia rom directory for other systems also using subdirectory's for your added system. But after an update of lr-mess this doesn't seem to work anymore. If you don't know what you are doing it can be quite difficult ! For MAME and AdvMAME you have the same problem because all these packages come from the MAME source.

An other way is to create/use a .cmd file for running a game.
This could be done with an original Retropie/lr-mess install.
But the .cmd file extension is not recognised by default in emulationstation.
So it has to be added manually.
Here you can find an example booting an msx game with a .cmd file :
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/28345/old-computer-appreciation-thread/1025

The Valerino's Retropie-Setup works a bit different and is easier.
There are more systems added that can seperately be installed.
Every system gets seperate configs installed.
And MAME naming is turned off so it becomes easier to run games, because you don't have to know the names anymore.
So if you install the bbc-micro you get a bbc rom directory added where you have to add the games.
All these added seperate systems use the same lr-mess package though.
Every time you run a game the valerino script will generate automatically a .cmd file to run the game with the correct system, then boot lr-mess with that .cmd file and removing the .cmd after the run.

If you know it all !!!
Then you can also use my script to generate systems that are not added by valerino.
https://github.com/FollyMaddy/RetroPie-Share/tree/main/00-scripts-00

Thanks and really appreciate your help.

That's ok ;-)

Here is just a taeser (works but sound echo's a bit) :
Beebem running in Box68/wine.

Read here about Box86/wine :
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/28528/box86-and-wine-on-rpi4

h2805270

Honey please...

Those two are so 2019.

The Raspberry Pi Pico is all the rage now (came out recently even).

Folly

@h2805270

Nice, but what has your post to do with BBC Micro / Beebem ?

Edit :
I see what you mean now :
https://raspberrypiprojects.com/bbc-micro-emulation-on-a-4-raspberry-pi-pico/

Cool, but where is the emulator code ?

Edit :
Graham Sanderson used source-code of the B-em project.

Development on B-em seems to be active !

Folly

This post is deleted!

Folly

I was able to compile B-em on the raspberry pi 4, here is the first picture :

I had to choose bbc master 128 to boot .ssd disk files.
In default it runs in 30% speed, If you select 400% it runs approximately 100%.
Tested with the same zalaga disk, it runs and later freezes.
So this emulator still seems to be buggy somehow.

Folly

For those who are interested :
Graham Sanderson (kilograham) uploaded the source-code of b-em for the pico, about 10 days ago.
So it's available now on github.

I can confirm it's working on the pico.

I have built the VGA DAC's on a breadboard and the keyboard is working through an sdl_event_forwarder on the RPI, connecting it to the gpio serial port.
I still have to build the audio filter circuitry though.
Edit :
I compiled for the pico with keyboard enabled and other disks and it works with a few glitches here and there.

PS.
You can even compile this version for running it on the raspberry pi.
So perhaps there is a future for b-em within RetroPie.

MrNoHolster

I tried downloading Graham's version of B-Em but couldn't figure out how to install it on the Pi3... really hoping this will be added into the Experiential menu options on Retropie soon.

Folly

@mrnoholster said in BBC Micro / Acorn Electron Emu:

I tried downloading Graham's version of B-Em but couldn't figure out how to install it on the Pi3... really hoping this will be added into the Experiential menu options on Retropie soon.

Indeed it's not yet that simple.
When I learn more about it, I will share my knowledge here.

BTW.
Did you have a look over here :
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/29682/development-of-module-script-generator-for-lr-mess-and-mame-standalone
Here we are improving my script, so feel free to join in.

The project has matured now and I have rewritten the readme on github to understand the script better.

You can use this to generate module-scripts for BBC-micro and run it with lr-mess and MAME standalone.

Folly

@mrnoholster

I made it really simple for you to install (BBC Micro Model B with 1 floppy support), which can run with lr-mess and mame standalone.

You can use the original RetroPie-setup.

Use these commands to get the run_mess script and the module-script for (BBC Micro Model B):

wget -nv -O /home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/run_mess.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/valerino/RetroPie-Setup/master/scriptmodules/run_mess.sh
wget -nv -O /home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/libretrocores/install-bbcb-from-mamedev-system-bbcb-flop1.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FollyMaddy/RetroPie-Share/main/00-scriptmodules-00/libretrocores/install-bbcb-from-mamedev-system-bbcb-flop1.sh

Go to the RetroPie-setup and install :

lr-mess and mame from the experimental packages (binary packages will do the trick)
install-bbcb-from-mamedev-system-bbcb-flop1 from the experimental packages
place the bbcb.zip and saa5050.zip bios file in /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/mame ( I used the one from the MESS-0.151.BIOS.ROMs set )
place the .ssd disk games in /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/bbcb

Let me know if it works for you.

PS.
Use scroll-lock to activate the hotkey's, so you can escape with esc from lr-mess or mame.
Use shift+F12 to boot the disc. ( sometimes you have to do it twice )

Folly

@MrNoHolster

When are you going to try ?

Here a few pictures.

ps
I also made a test port to install a pico_pi build of kilograhams b-em fork.
Interested ?
read this post

MrNoHolster

@folly Thanks for the help - I'll try this out and let you know! Will it appear it Emulation Station?

Folly

@mrnoholster said in BBC Micro / Acorn Electron Emu:

@folly Thanks for the help - I'll try this out and let you know! Will it appear it Emulation Station?

When you install this install-bbcb-from-mamedev-system-bbcb-flop1 you will see it as the console BBCB without any theme, if you add games to the bbcb rom directory.

Folly

@MrNoHolster

Have you already tried something ?

I have some new stuff and improved stuff, still interested ?

AdamBeGood

@folly said in BBC Micro / Acorn Electron Emu:

@MrNoHolster

When are you going to try ?

Here a few pictures.

ps
I also made a test port to install a pico_pi build of kilograhams b-em fork.
Interested ?
read this post

What is the second screenshot here? I think I recognise it...

Folly

@adambegood

It is Blagger from Alligata.

With BBC you can do the same now as what you did with cdimono1.
(I just improved the naming in my script, so you will see the BBC Micro theme if it is there(carbon is ok))

curl "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FollyMaddy/RetroPie-Share/main/00-scripts-00/generate-systems-lr-mess_mame-2v0-alpha.sh" | bash -s bbcb
mv /home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/ext/RetroPie-Share/scriptmodules/libretrocores/* /home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/libretrocores

Use roms/bbcmicro/ for the games
Place the bbcb.zip and saa5050.zip bios file in /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/mame ( I used the one from the MESS-0.151.BIOS.ROMs set )

AdamBeGood

@folly Nice, thank you! I'll try that tonight.

Folly

Because this thread is only for BBC Micro I also add this new module-script here.

I have made the emulator module-script for the b-em fork,
so we can run the discs from the bbcmicro rom directory !
Read the package help for some extra information.

Get it with this command :

wget -nv -O /home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/emulators/b-em-pico-pi.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FollyMaddy/RetroPie-Share/main/00-scriptmodules-00/emulators/b-em-pico-pi.sh

Then install from the RetroPie-Setup.

AdamBeGood

@folly This all seems to work - I needed to change my es_systems from bbcb to bbcmicro in order to use that.

Any idea if there is a better way of doing that...? Or do I need two BBC Micro systems?

Also, I was looking at trying to get Stunt Car Racer and Prince of Persia by BitShifters (the guys who do all those demos) working. Stunt Car Racer says it "needs master", so I thought that might work on the new b-em emulator that I've added. But where does that look for discs (I feel like you've told me or linked me this before but I can't find it yet)? I am still seeing Twisted Brain, etc when I go to the disk select.

Folly

@adambegood said in BBC Micro / Acorn Electron Emu:

@folly This all seems to work - I needed to change my es_systems from bbcb to bbcmicro in order to use that.

Any idea if there is a better way of doing that...? Or do I need two BBC Micro systems?

Well the bbcmicro name should be an improvement so the the names match the themes in emulationstation.
For example bbcb is a mame/lr-mess name and for these names there are no themes.
That's why a whole bunch of mame/lr-mess system names are converted to RetroPie names to match with RetroPie.

Also, I was looking at trying to get Stunt Car Racer and Prince of Persia by BitShifters (the guys who do all those demos) working. Stunt Car Racer says it "needs master", so I thought that might work on the new b-em emulator that I've added. But where does that look for discs (I feel like you've told me or linked me this before but I can't find it yet)? I am still seeing Twisted Brain, etc when I go to the disk select.

You have to install from this post :
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/29402/bbc-micro-acorn-electron-emu/20

When you boot the disc in emulationstation from bbcmicro, you have to press a key and select xmaster if you want to run it with b-em. Only .ssd are supported for that emulator.

If it loads you will see this in the gui. <cmd-line>

Hope it helps.

Folly

@AdamBeGood

You can install more BBC Micro types just alter the last name in the curl line.:
Driver bbca (BBC Micro Model A):
Driver bbcb (BBC Micro Model B):
Driver bbcb_de (BBC Micro Model B (German)):
Driver bbcb_us (BBC Micro Model B (US)):
Driver bbcbp (BBC Micro Model B+ 64K):
Driver bbcbp128 (BBC Micro Model B+ 128K):
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ /opt/retropie/emulators/mame/mame -listdevices | grep Driver | grep "BBC Master"
Driver bbcm (BBC Master 128):
Driver bbcm512 (BBC Master 512):
Driver bbcmaiv (BBC Master AIV):
Driver bbcmarm (BBC Master (ARM Evaluation)):
Driver bbcmc (BBC Master Compact):
Driver bbcmc_ar (BBC Master Compact (Arabic)):
Driver bbcmet (BBC Master ET):
Driver bbcmt (BBC Master Turbo):

You have to use the appropriate BIOS files though.