Expectations from a $35 Computer
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As a 'newbie' here myself, I'm quite saddened to read some of the responses. The immediate effect those have is 'am I going to ask a stupid question?'. There may be a tonne of resources and how-to's online which are really helpful, but sometimes it just sits better to talk/converse with someone who has achieved what you're aiming for. Think of it as a flat pack Wardrobe-the instructions may be there and simply step by step: but talking to someone who may build these things for a living may reveal some improvements over the instructions, or knows that 'this may work better if'. You can't cover every eventuality, especially with software, so what may seem repetitive or frustrating to some, may be really frustrating or daunting to others. Everyone has to start somewhere.
I've ended up here through pricing exclusivity: I'm not a modern gamer at all, infact, looking at some of my hobbies and my music collection, it's clear I've not really moved on from the 80's/early 90's: so my gaming comfort zone is definitely the NES/SNES/Amiga camp. I reinstated my SNES late last year in a bid to collect some titles that I always wanted as a child but couldn't afford, and maybe revisit some older hardware. My what a shock I got online when I looked at the pricing. Carts alone selling for £50+. The games are classics, but eBay has made people greedy. So that was my idea down the pan. Then I stumbled across a guide online. I've been using Open Emu on my Mac, but it's not the same as sitting on my sofa with the surround sound on and a cuppa! The guide was about how to set up Retro Gaming on an RPi for under £50. A week later and there I am, RPi in hand with a handful of ROMS reliving my youth.
The point I'm making I guess is what it's opened up for me. I've always been intrigued by the RPi, but never really made the time to find a use for one-but now I have, and I love it. After delving (and getting lost) in the many sub menus within Retropie, it's made me not only appreciate the effort that has gone in to creating it, but has piqued my 'tinkering' interest. I'm looking through it, reading articles, researching etc and I actually feel really positive about having a go and getting a little more stuck in. I've been using a Mac since late '99 so yeah, getting stuck under the hood is never something I've had to worry about because Apple have made it an easy to use computer: but what I've never forgotten is the hours I used to spend on my Amiga 1200, creating boot menus and GUIs that gave you options upon disk insertion (that ultimately only ever led you to playing the game), but all the PD and Shareware disks I used to order from the back pages of the mags so I could create my own stuff. The RPi has reignited that excitement which is so cool: and as my daughter gets older, I can introduce her to the stuff Daddy played when he was little, sharing a bit more of my childhood with her. It's just so cool.
So, do I demand out of the box functionality being a newbie? No. Will I repeat a question that's already been asked at some point ? Yes. Do I do it because I'm lazy? No-I do it because I'm reaching out to the people that understand this the most.
When anything becomes popular you do see a surge in repetitive questions (I'm no stranger to forums), so I get it, but don't tar us all with the same brush. I want to learn and am happy to, I just don't always get to do it the way I'd like!
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No-one minds answering a question that may have been asked before, so long as someone looks like they have at least searched for it first - otherwise it's a waste of our time to have to keep repeating the same information over and over again.
For example, when registering on the forum users are asked to read https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first and agree to it. However it is obvious many don't, or just don't care. They then start a new topic with the subject "help" or similar, with something like "snes games don't work".
We cannot help people unless they are willing to a) help themselves as much as they can b) help us by at least providing the information we ask for.
To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first
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@BuZz if you had a penny for everytime you posted that....
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@BuZz I totally agree. In my first few days here, just looking through some of the topics posted there was a glut of first timers who'd posted topics along the lines of 'this doesn't work', 'why won't this' etc, and the first response they had was: read these rules, you haven't told us anything about your setup etc. So I get the frustration thing, I do. I think my post read a lot more sharp than intended.
I used to own a car that was an acquired taste when newer, and the forum I used was quite tight knit, but over the years as the value of he car decreased the new forum members started coming thicker and faster. It was a relatively simple car to work on, but the common faults were very common. So much so, we had stickys in every forum with guides to relating to those to avoid repeat posts etc. It did work, but not as often as we liked. But some stuck around and those were the ones that really gelled with the club and they got a lot out of it.
As mentioned earlier, we are in a 'everything just switches on and works' time: and people get frustrated when it doesn't do that. I think if you're the sort of person who has no patience and wants things to just work, then the RPi isn't for you, but if you have a bit of resilience and patience when things going wrong knowing that you probably won't get an immediate fix then stick around.
So in answer to the OPs question, then yes, now there is an increase in its popularity then there probably is too much expectation, but with the increase in its popularity there will also be an influx of people who genuinely are interested and what to learn (like myself for example), and those are the people that will kinda' embrace what the RPi was always meant to be.
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@Danorak1981 said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
As a 'newbie' here myself, I'm quite saddened to read some of the responses. The immediate effect those have is 'am I going to ask a stupid question?'. There may be a tonne of resources and how-to's online which are really helpful, but sometimes it just sits better to talk/converse with someone who has achieved what you're aiming for.
the reason we write the documentation is because it's not always fun to explain the same thing 1000 times :) i'd much rather explain it once and share a link to that explanation.
that said, they're not necessarily 'stupid questions'; people can miss things and posting a link isn't much effort. the wiki is written to be read and we're happy to share it :)
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I wish I could get these for $35... In Canada they're more like $50. But so far I'm pretty impressed with what these can do. I have so many classic games installed that I loved when I was younger, and I haven't even touched KODI and
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@obsidianspider said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
I'm pretty upset when I see posts (not just here, but elsewhere on the Internet) where people are complaining that it's too hard to use
I continually find it remarkable that people suggest that it is too hard to use. The instructions to get up and running using an SD card image couldn't be clearer. However, people just do not read them then complain and ask pointless questions because they cannot be bothered to search the site. Some people on here have even said that they don't need to read instructions and that it should "just work". Well in my opinion it "just does work".
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@obsidianspider said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
I'm pretty upset when I see posts (not just here, but elsewhere on the Internet) where people are complaining that it's too hard to use
I continually find it remarkable that people suggest that it is too hard to use. The instructions to get up and running using an SD card image couldn't be clearer. However, people just do not read them then complain and ask pointless questions because they cannot be bothered to search the site. Some people on here have even said that they don't need to read instructions and that it should "just work". Well in my opinion it "just does work".
I remember buying Day of the Tentacle in the 90s on a CD and it was the "talkie" version so big excitement......and sitting for a very long time trying to modify the batch file to get the extra memory needed out of MS DOS so that it would run based on the manual, those days were frustrating but I learned so much. The Pi brings back the requirement to learn about how software is build, installed and executed, something that was lost, something that the Pi foundation deliberately wanted to promote in the first years of release. We now have a new generation of self taught kids. I grew up "Peek"ing and "Poke"ing Manic Miner, now I SSH into the Pi and poke around that. The thing that I find the most unbelievable is that as I put 10p in Astro Blaster in 1984, if someone produced an SD card sized piece of paper and said in 30 years, every game ever produced now and for the next 2 decades will be made available on something this big and it would plug into something the size of a C90 cassette , you would have thought it totally impossible. I await the next 2 decades with great enthusiasm and interest!
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@rbaker said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
@obsidianspider said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
I'm pretty upset when I see posts (not just here, but elsewhere on the Internet) where people are complaining that it's too hard to use
I continually find it remarkable that people suggest that it is too hard to use. The instructions to get up and running using an SD card image couldn't be clearer. However, people just do not read them then complain and ask pointless questions because they cannot be bothered to search the site. Some people on here have even said that they don't need to read instructions and that it should "just work". Well in my opinion it "just does work".
I have never used a RaspberryPi before a week ago, nor have I ever touched linux/unix before and apart from PS3 Controller issues (because ended up being a fake controller) I had the RetroPie up and running without any issues at all.
Only 'hard' part right now is figuring out the MAME stuff. Everything else has been pretty straight forward and lots of YouTube videos if the written directions are difficult.
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@THRobinson said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
Only 'hard' part right now is figuring out the MAME stuff.
I think everyone struggles with MAME stuff, even experienced users. With those arcade games there are just so many variables to consider.
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@obsidianspider said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
@THRobinson said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
Only 'hard' part right now is figuring out the MAME stuff.
I think everyone struggles with MAME stuff, even experienced users. With those arcade games there are just so many variables to consider.
Ya, I remember trying on my PC years ago and was a bit of trial/error. Luckily, I only have about 3 games I want to get working in MAME. Mostly that old Superman/Shazam arcade game, Bad Dudes (arcade was better than NES) and an old wrestling game called Exciting Hour. :)
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@THRobinson If you want to learn more about MAME stuff, check out the "MAME ROW (Random of the Week)" threads where weekly we all check out some usually obscure MAME games, and at least in my case, figure out how to get it working. :)
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Think my biggest problem was
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Think my biggest problem was locating the bios files for the psx games. A little research and success!
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I totally agree with the topic starter. People should not bitch about something that's completely free. If people had to pay for RetroPie I would understand if people complained about it, but I mean you got it for free and the people behind it are doing it for free in their own spare time.
Many questions people ask on this board are already answered in other topics. Using RetroPie isn't hard, the configuration is pretty straight forward. I had only to change like 5 variables to get what I wanted and that's it and I found all the answers on this board (other topics), the Wiki page, YouTube and searches on Google.
Figuring out MAME is not hard at all, I use lr-fba-next emulator with the required romset and it works perfectly. It's not hard if you read the page on the Wiki. Converting romsets is easy too, there are many good guides on YouTube on how to do this.
Installation is easy too, a fellow forum member Floob has a great Youtube channel with tutorials, I think he done a great job with his channel. It has been posted here many times and he's pretty active on this board.
If you log in trough SSH via PC you can litteraly paste complete command lines straight from guides lol.
I'm glad I got the RPi3. I was looking for a device to play Retro games on. I found some Android handheld devices which are pretty expensive. Long story short I found an article on the internet about RetroPie and I immediately bought the Pi with a 64GB card. So far one of the best purchases I ever made. Supporting Kodi is a huuuuuuuuge plus if you really like movies/tv shows and you want to stream them in HD on your TV.
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@herb_fargus said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
I really respect the people who take the time to learn things for themselves and contribute back to the community with their developments.
Herb- i know i speak for everyone when i say i am extremely thankful for all that you do. I am a novice programmer of 10 years, and mainly do lots of automation in Windows using C#, .net blah blah.
I am usually bored at work looking for some side "projects" to keep me entertained. I've dabbled here and there in linux for the last 8 or so years. Not a complete novice, but definitely not advanced. it seems i am reteaching myself every 2 years when i pick it back up.
I enjoy working things out on my own and finding answers through experimenting. That being said the Rpi is right up my alley.
This post really has no agenda other than i am bit bored and this thread had me inspired to say my piece.
As a beginner, i openly welcome any and all pointers. If there are some good online resources for reading up on linux in general, rpi, and retropie stuff (other than the wiki) please send them my way. i would love to assist in some future aspects of the project, but i need to get up to speed first. Also, i am running out of things to do with my retropie build and need some new challenges.
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@HoustoneD said in Expectations from a $35 Computer:
Also, i am running out of things to do with my retropie build and need some new challenges.
That's what got me looking into putting my Pi in a Super Famicom and now a Gameboy Advance. Messing with hardware has proven to be a whole other level of challenge for me.
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@obsidianspider Yes I agree with you that some peoples expectations of the platform are way up in the clouds, posts about emulating PS2, Gamecube, and Wii comes to mind. But on the other hand its good to have high expectations to a certain degree as that encourages innovation and clever programming. I'm amazed with what this little device can do and tinkering with the Pi platform has become a routine pass-time for me.
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