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

DTEAM

@Folly
yes, it was for my Pi4 , but I switched for my Pi5 last week. 32 bits is important for Pi 4 and lower with the official Retropie image.

Folly

@DTEAM

Ok, got it.

duglor

I'd like to play Bubsy in Atari Jaguar emulator Lr-Mess-Jaguar- Help. 2024

Hello. I'd like to play Bubsy in Atari Jaguar Emulator. I have the game .j64 and the game zipped as bubsy.zip with that .j64 in it and a folder named bubsy as well with that .j64 in it. I'm trying to cover all bases here.

Installed lr-Mess-Jaguar and have regular lr-Mess set for that directory along with the virtual jaguar emulator.

I have a bios called jagboot.zip and jagboot.rom is my bios folder.

Now....so far i have not been able to run the .j64, the .j64 in the bubsy folder, or the bubsy.zip with lr-mess-jaguar chosen as my emulator. It just kicks me out.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

p.s. btw, all my bubsy names in the folder are lower case.

Folly

@duglor

I am not going to talk about lr-virtualjaguar as that is an other topic

For running bubsy in mame or lr-mess with my script you need to install jaguar from my script.
Mame needs a bios called jaguar.zip (see in mame-merged) which needs to be in :
~/RetroPie/BIOS/mame
Try to get the "original" bubsy.zip file from jaguar.zip (see in mame-sl).
Always try with mame-standalone first to see if it works then you know the files are good.
(If it doesn't the /dev/shm/runcommad.log is better to reed if mame standalone is used.)
Then try lr-mess if it works.
If it doesn't then you know it's probably an lr-mess issue.

Good luck

duglor

@Folly Thanks!

DTEAM

Hi @folly, do you think it's possible to use Vulkan on pi5 for MAME standalone?

shift

Hi @Folly, I was testing the Jupiter Ace system (jupace) and I saw that to work correctly the "-ram 32k" parameter must be added, otherwise most of the roms don't work, I'm now using this command line:

lr-mess-jupace-basename-32k = "/opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/bin/retroarch --config /opt/retropie/configs/jupace/retroarch.cfg --appendconfig /opt/retropie/configs/jupace/retroarch.cfg.basename -S /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/jupace -s /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/jupace -v -L /opt/retropie/libretrocores/lr-mess/mamemess_libretro.so 'mame jupace -cfg_directory /opt/retropie/configs/jupace/lr-mess -c -ui_active -ram 32k -rompath /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/mame;/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/jupace/  '%BASENAME%''"

when you get to the prompt, a precise line must be typed for each game (up to the "." if there is one, the rest are the game controls), for convenience here are those of all the games reported as working:

3dmaze		load 3dmaze 3dmaze
avoider		load avoider run
invader1	load GR load GR load GR load GM load GM load GM z p
aceinvad	load graphics gr load run run
amce11	
acemines	load mines mines
acestar		0 0 bload astar 16384 call
acevader	load gr load acevaders gr r. Z = left, X = right, M = fire
adventa		0 0 bload adva 16384 call
aliendef	load defender g
amazmaze	load maze g
astrian		load Lander run
aticraid	load atic go
blackisl	load black island
bomber		load bomber play
breakout	load breakout b. Left = A, Right = L
callisto	8930 0 bload callisto
cavern		load graphics load run gr run. A = up, Z = down
cenipede	load centipede go
chase		load chase chase. Cursor keys to move
chess		load chess run
dodge		load Dodger game
ducksht		11272 0 bload dchars load duckshoot d. Fire = Enter
firebird	load FIREBIRD run
surround	load surround go
frogger		load frogger go
fungle		load FU run
gobbgook	load gobblegook gobblegook
grexfrog	load graphics load run grf run
guessing	load game game
kkong		load CHARACTERS CHARACTERS load KONG run
lightrac	load LightRacer run
memstars	load run run
meteor		load gr meteor load meteor game
metracer	load GR load GR load GR load GM load GM z p
meteors		load asteroids g
micromaz	load graphics load run s run
minefld		11272 0 bload mchars load minefield m
othello		load othello 11272 0 bload pieces go
owler		load owler loading
quickdrw	load quick-draw go
quickdrp	load Qdraw run
robohnch	load robohench g
robohunt	load robohunt g
sailhorn	load hornpipe hornpipe
sambombs	load sam g
sokoace		load sokoace play
sacemap		load sokoed ed
sbattle		load graphics load run gr run. Fire = F
startrek	load startrek g
sudoku		load sudoku sudoku
schess2		load chess run
tankbatl	load tankbattle g
tetris		load tetris tetris
hanoi		load hanoi hanoi
turbo		load turbo 0 0 bload track turbo. Left = 5, Right = 6
zapem		11272 0 bload zchars load zapem z. Left = 6, Right = 7, 9 = Thrust, 0 = Fire
zombies		load zombpot zombpot

Folly

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

Hi @folly, do you think it's possible to use Vulkan on pi5 for MAME standalone?

I don't have much knowledge of that.
Looked for some info and it seems it can use vulkan with BGFX stuff.
That would mean background and shader stuff.
On the stickfreaks website I found some info that it will not work correctly on Bullseye on the pi4.
(https://stickfreaks.com/misc/raspberry-pi-4-mame-performance-guide)
However for the pi5 this could be totally different.
Seems that if the computer has it it will automatically be enabled.
However not sure how one can see what is enable.

Folly

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

Hi @Folly, I was testing the Jupiter Ace system (jupace) and I saw that to work correctly the "-ram 32k" parameter must be added, otherwise most of the roms don't work

Ok, will do some tests.
If -ram 32k is a good add-on I will add it to the script so it will be installed automatically when installing jupace.

Thanks for the loader commands will have a look at them too.

Edit 1 :
Added the maximum of 48k to jupace when installing by default :
https://github.com/FollyMaddy/RetroPie-Share/commit/c1d164d7e2b71a11c6a35d969f690fb60482dfac
I tested it with 3dmaze and indeed adding ram works.

Edit 2 :
Loader commands can also be found in the hash table jupace_cass.xml

DTEAM

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

I don't have much knowledge of that.
Looked for some info and it seems it can use vulkan with BGFX stuff.
That would mean background and shader stuff.
On the stickfreaks website I found some info that it will not work correctly on Bullseye on the pi4.
(https://stickfreaks.com/misc/raspberry-pi-4-mame-performance-guide)

I found this (from 2020)
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/28362/enhanced-performance-of-mamedev-mame-in-x11/2

Folly

@DTEAM

Have read the topic link you proposed.
Was indeed informing but hard to understand how things are really connected to each other.
Seems resolution changes were working better with some drivers in x11 which improved the speed sometimes, right ?
From my own perspective I have also seen these differences sometimes.
Indeed Vulkan was mentioned having a possible impact when enabling BGFX and using the HLSL shaders.
I think the questions would be :

When are resolution changes active underneath to perform speed improvements in drivers ?
(using x11 or wayland in a desktop environment or not or in both situations and or using older or newer RaspberryPi's)
When is Vulkan installed and how can we check ?
Is Vulkan part of the mesa package ?
What does the mesa package do ?
When is Vulkan active ?
(using x11 or wayland in a desktop environment or not or in both situations and or using older or newer RaspberryPi's)
Do we use HLSL shaders in our drivers, for example with the handheld ?

What do you think are these questions correct ?

Edit :
We might find more info over here about mesa.

DTEAM

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

What do you think are these questions correct ?

Vulkan could be useful for 3D consoles (like Dreamcast) or newer 3D arcade games (like Naomi 2) under MAME standalone. Maybe the results will be disappointing, but it would be good to do the test.

Folly

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

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

What do you think are these questions correct ?

Vulkan could be useful for 3D consoles (like Dreamcast) or newer 3D arcade games (like Naomi 2) under MAME standalone. Maybe the results will be disappointing, but it would be good to do the test.

I think there are indeed some drivers that could work faster.
However I don't expect 50 % speed increases.

Folly

Script and database are updated to 267.

shift

@Folly Thank You!

Meanwhile, I continue to point out those systems that require some adjustments to the scripts in order to work.

Orion-128
It has a really complicated operation

cassette
The script I used is this:

lr-mess-orion128-cart-cass = "/opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/bin/retroarch --config /opt/retropie/configs/orion128/retroarch.cfg --appendconfig /opt/retropie/configs/orion128/ retroarch.cfg.add -S /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/orion128 -s /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/orion128 -v -L /opt/retropie/libretrocores/lr-mess/mamemess_libretro.so 'orion128 - rompath /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/mame;/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/orion128/ -cfg_directory /opt/retropie/configs/orion128/lr-mess -c -ui_active -cart /home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/orion128/romdisk.zip -cass %ROM%'"

the romdisk.zip (a cartridge) must necessarily be loaded and then the cassette, this is the procedure for loading the cassette:

Once the game is launched you will arrive at the Orion-128 prompt, immediately press the "Scroll Lock" button to change the focus
You will enter the ROMDISK GUI
Select CH4# and press ENTER (the LOADER will load)
At the BBOA prompt? press A (the cursor should stop flashing)
Refocus by pressing "Scroll Lock" (GAME OFF)
Press F2 to play the tape
Refocus by pressing "Scroll Lock" (GAME ON)
Alongside BBOA? you will see the name of the game you chose at the beginning appear
Once loading is complete, press F4 (the LOADER will close)
In the next column you will see the name of the game you loaded
Go right with the cursor arrows, select it and press ENTER
Type RUN and ENTER

floppy
The script I used is this:

lr-mess-orion128-cart-flop1-flop2 = "/opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/bin/retroarch --config /opt/retropie/configs/orion128/retroarch.cfg --appendconfig /opt/retropie/configs/ orion128/retroarch.cfg.add -S /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/orion128 -s /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/orion128 -v -L /opt/retropie/libretrocores/lr-mess/mamemess_libretro.so ' orion128 -rompath /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/mame;/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/orion128/ -cfg_directory /opt/retropie/configs/orion128/lr-mess -c -ui_active -cart /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/orion128/romdisk.zip -flop1 /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/orion128/floppy/game1715.zip -flop2 %ROM%'"

Once the game is launched you will arrive at the Orion-128 prompt, immediately press the "Scroll Lock" button to change the focus
You will enter the ROMDISK GUI
Select Boot# and press ENTER (the first floppy that loads the Norton Commander will boot)
You will enter directly into the Norton Commander GUI
Press D to change drive press B (you should have the floppy you chose at the beginning)
The launchable games are the .com ones, select the one you want and press ENTER

EDIT: I moved the romdisk.zip cartridge to the correct folder, which is .../orion128/cart

Folly

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

Good to hear you got Orion-128 working.

I saw you saying : "The script I used is this: ".
We call that a runcommand which is normally installed by the script, so there will be no misunderstanding in what we mean.
I see you have edited the runcommands to get them working for the Orion-128.

Will have a look at the Orion-128 when I can, and perhaps I can change the way things are installed.
With some drivers this is not always possible.
Initially these installs were added in systems with EXRAS.
However I try to add more stuff to the DEFAULT installs like adding more ram.
Will have a look at what is possible.

Thanks for explaining how this system driver works.

Folly

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

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

What do you think are these questions correct ?

Vulkan could be useful for 3D consoles (like Dreamcast) or newer 3D arcade games (like Naomi 2) under MAME standalone. Maybe the results will be disappointing, but it would be good to do the test.

I see you experimenting with other things on the forum like aethersx2 and using xinit with it, if I am correct.

If you run a headless distro (OS without desktop) then you could try to load mame with xinit in the runcommand and see if it gives some improvements.
Would like to hear if it works and if it gives some higher speeds.

shift

I'm experimenting with the pecom 64 (or pecom 32, it's the same because they use the same BASIC), but there's no way to make it load the cassettes. The command should be PLOAD (I also tried DLOAD) + Enter and then F2 to start the tape, but the system seems to do nothing, and remains stuck, as if waiting for data that doesn't seem to arrive. Has anyone tried to make it work? There are examples online but only with standalone emulators, not with mame.

Folly

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

I'm experimenting with the pecom 64 or pecom 32

Will have a look at these.

Edit :
Very strange indeed.
No message of the driver that it is not working somewhere.
Also tried many things with no luck.

DTEAM

@Folly

You can run MAME with X-init, it works . Now we must try Vulkan. I don't know where it is in the MAME GUI.

try this or select another system

mame-GP32_xinit= "XINIT-WM: /opt/retropie/emulators/mame/mame -c -autoframeskip gp32 -memc %ROM%"

Maybe you don't need X init like RetroArch, to be honnest I'm greener than green for this.