Development of module-script generator for lr-mess, lr-mame and mame standalone

Folly

I installed lr-virtualjaguar on my pi5.
Running avsp on it is a lot better.
I made some changes to the atarijaguar specific retroarch.cfg :

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

input_remapping_directory = "/opt/retropie/configs/atarijaguar"

aspect_ratio_index = "24"
video_shader = "/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/shaders/crt-blurPi-soft.glslp"
fps_show = true

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

The aspect ratio makes it full-screen and the shader makes the graphics much better.
The fps will also show, if added like this.
For me it's between 50-60.
Don't know about the pi4 yet.

And added these core options :

PAL removes the garbage line and the other ones make it a bit better too.

bbilford83

@Folly that is interesting about the shader, I hadn't thought of that but I agree the blockiness of the Jaguar graphics is improved this way. I don't actually have that shader automatically for whatever reason - the closest I have is crt-blurPi.glsl - but I am sure I can figure that out. And yes, the fast-blitter thing seems to be basically necessary for most games to run at anything decent, at least for pi4. Good to hear about AVP for Pi5... I have mine still in a box waiting until retropie and such get sorted out for it.

Interesting about PAL fixing the graphics error too. Maybe that depends on if you are running the NTSC or PAL rom?

Folly

@bbilford83 said in Development of module-script generator for lr-mess, lr-mame and mame standalone:

@Folly that is interesting about the shader, I hadn't thought of that but I agree the blockiness of the Jaguar graphics is improved this way. I don't actually have that shader automatically for whatever reason - the closest I have is crt-blurPi.glsl - but I am sure I can figure that out. And yes, the fast-blitter thing seems to be basically necessary for most games to run at anything decent, at least for pi4.

Good to hear

Good to hear about AVP for Pi5...
I have mine still in a box waiting until retropie and such get sorted out for it.

I would recommend to just start with your pi5.
Just install bookworm and install RetroPie on top of it.
Use 64 bit OS if you can.
You can just run it from the Desktop or if you want start in the lite terminal, setting it on in the raspi-config, and (auto)boot it from there.
There is only 1 real problem, RetroPie will install an older version of libSDL2.
The thing is to remove it manually and install the regular one.
Of-course you have to install most things from source.

Interesting about PAL fixing the graphics error too. Maybe that depends on if you are running the NTSC or PAL rom?

Sure, I agree.

bbilford83

@Folly thanks again for the steps for pi5, I may do that soon but honestly I still have so much left I am trying to finish on my pi4 image I may not complicate things yet :). This way when I finish the pi4 one I can have that set aside and then maybe build a pi5 one with stuff that needed the extra oomph added.

Mostly unrelated, and I thought I had posted this earlier but I guess I didn't, I learned that the Amstrad GX4000, which is just like the C64GS/XEGS/Zemmix/CD32 in that it's basically a consolized computer system, could also play CPC games. Which I guess I should have assumed since it is just a CPC turned into a console, but whenever I added the GX4000 to my setup I wasn't thinking about that. But so when I did some googling to see if I could do the same thing as I have been with those systems - testing out the CPC games to see which could be played without a keyboard so the GX4000 could handle them - I discovered this amazing website, where the CPC fan community already has done that! Even more, they have about 700 games already identified that qualify by this description: "Fully playable from the very beginning to the end using a joypad (including the high-score table and the password system if present)." So I tested it with the system as installed via your script and it is working perfectly, and obviously took me just a few hours to get together rather than the insane amount of work the other systems need. And all of these games can be played on a cartridge on real hardware too.

Long explanation but I am going to share my gamelist and art when I am done on my gdrive same as the others. Because this resource is already out there obviously it isn't as useful as the other systems I'm creating, but if someone out there finds my stuff and wants just systems that run without keyboard I think it makes sense to include it too. Plus, some of the games have wonky control setups that are explained on the website, and I am incorporating that into the gamelist descriptions to make it easier.

Folly

@bbilford83

Nice to hear about the gx4000.
Will have a look at that one.

Folly

@bbilford83 @DTEAM

On my pi5 with Debian 12 retroscraper didn't work because it needed a virtual python environment just like with the latest arch linux running archypie so I updated the script to 262.03 to use a virtual python environment for retroscraper and removed the code used by older OSes as basically a virtual python environment is safer and should work on older OSes too.

I have already tested it on Debian 11 and 12 and seems to work OK.

Edit :
Will do some more testing as it seems it misses a dependancy.

Edit 2:
Added the install for python3-venv dependancy correctly to the script.
So it should work correctly now.

abj

Can someone tell me please, if can remember, how much, approximately, time it takes to build lr-mame and lr-mess on an RPi5 ? Thanks

Folly

@abj

Roughly 2 hours.

Folly

Added some mame0263 binaries.
The RPI4 one is made today to test if this issue would be resolved with it.
(Btw : it has the patch for fmtmarty not showing the popmessages)

bbilford83

@Folly said in Development of module-script generator for lr-mess, lr-mame and mame standalone:

Added some mame0263 binaries.
The RPI4 one is made today to test if this issue would be resolved with it.
(Btw : it has the patch for fmtmarty not showing the popmessages)

Thanks for doing this @Folly! I still haven't gone back to add the new Tiger handhelds to my setup but I will now that I know I don't have to wait for the new binaries.

Emudeck for Steam Deck just recently enabled automated installation of the great new Jaguar emulator (BigPEmu) and Model 2/Model 3, so I have been spending all my time on that for a bit. Then back to all my consolized computers again :).

Folly

The database for mame263 has been added and the script has been updated to that version.

bbilford83

@Folly do you know if there's art out anywhere yet for the Double Dragon II and Mighty Max Tiger Handhelds? I found two .zips for mame with the background art and a layout file, but no scans of the handhelds themselves to use as images for the gamelists. I could've sworn there was a thread on another forum where they had art before even the games were on MAME, but I can't seem to find it now...

Edit: I dug up the following two. Double Dragon II is perfect but the Mighty Max one is low-res and I had to edit it myself to make it have a transparent backdrop, so if anyone finds a better one for that it would be nice.

DTEAM

@bbilford83

I'm waiting the tddragon2 artworks from here

Only Mighty Max is newly available (see here) . Here is my artwork for the gamelist

bbilford83

@DTEAM thank you!

DTEAM

@bbilford83 said in Development of module-script generator for lr-mess, lr-mame and mame standalone:

@DTEAM thank you!

I updated my gamelist. It's fully done for Mighty Max but partially done for Double Dragon 2. I'm waiting for the Artworks previously mentionned.

Retrodade

@DTEAM the background for double dragon 2 is it available anywhere ?
also are you able to move your fighter left and right on the screen?
oddly I can't

Retrodade

@bbilford83 I made this PNG for the unit of Double Dragon II
I hope this helps at least with the unit image. @DTEAM

This one has a background of screen added perhaps good for gamelist image - https://mega.nz/file/ifgkXTAC#3BeabWHEIEiA31rhzPvlOBnqTfmJAMQo34jDSv-_lew

PNG blank screen area- https://mega.nz/file/zbpGxBDQ#3BeabWHEIEiA31rhzPvlOBnqTfmJAMQo34jDSv-_lew
green screen - https://mega.nz/file/bGozGKjI#ZA24MMrtEuLYawLP0gpk20ZmLHWGVeVNfryr3d6wq-A

bbilford83

@Retrodade apologies for the delay, I am actually traveling for fun with my family to Japan for 2 weeks so I don't have access to my raspberry pi setup. I should have shared it before but I did find the background image as part of a zip with one of those .lay files so that it worked in standalone MAME. Obviously the PNG could still be used with a standard overlay setup for Retroarch, but I was using standalone anyway since @Folly had uploaded the binary for it with tweaks.

If I find anymore of those Q&Q game and watch clones on my trip I'll buy them and share pictures! Planning to visit a lot of retro/flea market places.

Retrodade

@bbilford83 nice! enjoy ...ok great good to know the background is available at least, no rush to get it, in the meantime enjoy your trip and the hunt of whatever gems you may find!!

Folly

@bbilford83 said in Development of module-script generator for lr-mess, lr-mame and mame standalone:

I am actually traveling for fun with my family to Japan for 2 weeks

Have good trip !
Enjoy ;-)