Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on RPi 4

ExarKunIv

@sleve_mcdichael i would like to include your script in my Port list I have going here once its all done of course

and have it posted on my Github for easy download and install.
Of course you get full credit

cant wait to give it a try

sleve_mcdichael

@mitu said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:

Compilation flags may be different, the setup script tries to optimize the build by adding platform specific tweaks.

The installed version still runs the game and loads my save.

Why does it say "update is available", immediately after installation?

I found the typo that broke the configure function.

I think this is almost ready.

It doesn't log very much. There's a "-debug" version we can build that is more verbose. Should we build & install them both at the same time so the -debug version is available from the start, or split it up into two separate modules so the initial installation is more streamlined, but users can still install the debug version only if they need it?

Pro-combined:
Only clone into the repo once
Both executables in the same /opt/retropie/ports/gmloader directory
Cons:
Takes longer since it has to build both (but, it's only like a minute for each one.)
Extra file (but only 1.5MB) that they may not even need.

Pro-split:
Faster installation (each) since it only builds the one you need.
Cons:
Have to clone into the repo two times if you want to install both versions.
Executables in separate gmloader and gmloader-debug dirs.

mitu

@sleve_mcdichael said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:

Why does it say "update is available", immediately after installation?

Probably because your script is not commited to the git repo and the setup script doesn't know the date of its last modification.

Should we build & install them both at the same time so the -debug version is available from the start, or split it up into two separate modules so the initial installation is more streamlined, but users can still install the debug version only if they need it?

I don't think it's needed.

sleve_mcdichael

@mitu said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:

@sleve_mcdichael said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:
I don't think it's needed.

Sure, less is more, right? I think it's ready to go live, then. Please test:

GMLoader-RPi

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/s1eve-mcdichae1/GMLoader-RPi/main/gmloader.sh -P $HOME/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/ports/

If for some reason the debug module is desired, then just edit the file, find the "build" function and change -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release to -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug, then re-install. This will log verbose output to runcommand.log.

ExarKunIv

@sleve_mcdichael works great.
I will be linking your script on my post. if you dont mind.

Now we need a list of the games that will work. lol

sleve_mcdichael

@exarkuniv said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:

Now we need a list of the games that will work. lol

I don't know how to get any of the rest of these or how to get them in APK format, but there's a partial list here:

www.reddit.com/r/AM2R/comments/pgp2x7/am2r_raspberry_pi_take_4/hbh8vgr

Minit (Android, linux w/ wrapper)
Downwell (linux w/ wrapper, game crashes on death, still haven't investigated why)
Maldita Castilla (ouya)
Retro Highway (Android)
Underswap Demo (Android)
Nuclear Throne (Linux build converted to gms1.4.1804 + wrapper)
AM2R 1.5.2 and 1.5.5 (Android)
Psycron Demo (Windows w/ Wrapper)
Unworthy (Windows w/ Wrapper, runs too slow to be usable even on pi4)

Someone also mentioned Gato Roboto, which looks cool as heck.

ExarKunIv

@sleve_mcdichael its better then nothing.

still very cool

sleve_mcdichael

Update: refined the "find" command that configured the games. Now uses:

done < <(find "$romdir/ports/droidports" -maxdepth 1 -type f \( -name "*.apk" -o -name "*.APK" \))

1: -type f - we don't want to return directories even if they're called *.apk. This forces it to only return files.

2: -maxdepth 1 - nothing inherently wrong with using subdirs and normally it would work just fine, but if a user has two files with the same name in different dirs (for example, both FooBar.apk and subdir/FooBar.apk) then their launch scripts and config dirs will conflict. Setting -maxdepth 1 forces it to only return files in the main droidports directory so there can be no filename conflicts. (Edit: FooBar.apk and FooBar.APK would still conflict. Don't do that, I guess. Anyone know a way to safeguard against this that's simple and easy enough for a noob like me to understand?)

mitu

@sleve_mcdichael find knows about -iname, the command can be shortened to

find "$romdir/ports/droidports" -maxdepth 1 -type f -iname \*.apk

sleve_mcdichael

@mitu said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:

\*.apk

That's the same as "*.apk"? Is one preferred or "more correct" over the other?

mitu

@sleve_mcdichael It's just shorter, you can use which version you prefer.

mitu

I tried the port and AM2R works without issues on my Pi4. Great work !

sleve_mcdichael

@sleve_mcdichael said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:

@mitu said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:

It would be better if each game would have its own config folder under $HOME/.config/gmloader.

I agree but I didn't write the software. Is this something that we can config?

Hey guess what. I "wrote" some software:

https://github.com/JohnnyonFlame/droidports/pull/2/files

(Well, I edited one line in one file. Does this do what I think it does, and without breaking anything else? It seems to work on cursory inspection, but I'm gonna wait a bit and see if the author merges my PR, or has any feedback, rather than just link the script to my version.)

vic-viper-001

It's been great playing AM2R. MAJOR kudos!

I've also been able to run .apks of
Sonic SMS Remake 1&2,
Love 2: Kuso,
Undertale aka "Droidtale",
and Spelunky HD Classic.

Several of the games have the minor issue of not giving you an option anywhere to quit, but typing the command "pkill gmloader" into the terminal will return you to the ES menu. Spelunky HD Classic crashes when you read a certain signpost in the tutorial level, and has issues if you try to configure your own controls. As for the others, they seem to work fine.

I don't know if any of these will have game-breaking bugs later, but they SEEM to run okay, which is pretty awesome.

Addison

Will this be heading to a repo anytime soon?

I've read through the thread more times than needed and still don't quite understand how to have the port fully installed.

I have it on Xbox One, but there are some strange lighting issues and also a few hard crashes at times. :/

dankcushions

@addison it's on a repo. it's linked above: https://github.com/s1eve-mcdichae1/GMLoader-RPi

sleve_mcdichael

@addison said in Guide: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) on Pi 4:

still don't quite understand how to have the port fully installed.

There is a script module linked in the first post and by dankcushions above. Just download the gmloader.sh file from that repo and put it in your scriptmodules/ports directory on your RPi4. You can do that from the terminal with command:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/s1eve-mcdichae1/GMLoader-RPi/main/gmloader.sh -P $HOME/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/ports/

After that you can install the port through RetroPie-Setup > Manage packages > Manage experimental packages

ROM Extensions: .apk .APK

To configure the run-command launch script(s) for EmulationStation, you must first copy at least one APK file to ~/RetroPie/roms/ports/droidports and then run (or re-run) the installer.

Addison

Such happy joy!

Will be installing this tonight! :D

G30FF

I just tried installing GMLoader with the scriptmodule, and so far of the three games I tested, AM2R, Sonic 1 remake, and Sonic 2 remake, all worked fine. However, I'm having some specific issues with each of them, and I'm not sure what to do about them.

They seem to only work with Xbox controllers from what I've tested. I tried using my 8bitdo Pro+, but it only recognizes it when it's in Xinput mode. I haven't tried the other input modes though, just Xinput and Dinput.
AM2R doesn't seem to let me remap controls. When I navigate to the controller menu, I press a button to remap any of the control options, but they always just default to LT no matter what I do. I press the button to start the remap, and a split second later it's set to LT.
There is no way to quit without actually killing the process. AM2R has a quit option on the main menu, but the Sonic games don't have any way to quit from the main menu, so the only way to stop them is to kill the process. There doesn't seem to be a hotkey combo that will stop GMLoader.

sleve_mcdichael

@g30ff I can remap AM2R controls on my Logitech F710 wireless; don't have anything else to try with enough buttons. (I suppose if I switch it to 1-button aiming and "classic" morph ball it might fit on a SNES pad? Maybe I'll try that tomorrow.)

XInput is the suggested mode to be using with RetroPie in general, I believe. Is there a particular reason you want to be using DirectInput?

The issue with games lacking an "exit" function is, I suppose, because these are smartphone apps that expect you to just use the phone's "home" button.

To reiterate, the project is still in early alpha, so all features may not be fully functional. I'm not sure if this is something that's on the author's radar or not, you could always post an issue upstream.