Games stuttering a little bit

mediamogul · 2 Mar 2017, 19:26

Have you tried the RetroArch configuration improvements listed here? Alongside it's recommendation to set video_threaded = to "true", you might also want to try setting it to false as well.

Dochartaigh · 3 Feb 2017, 19:28

@mediamogul said in Games stuttering a little bit:

I know this was intended to be the undesirable option, but I would always take a researched understanding of how things work over a clean slate approach any day. If you're constantly reformatting a drive to solve every problem you have, you're never learning anything that could help you more easily solve future problems. I guess it's just a difference in philosophy and I can actually see how attractive the nuclear option is from time to time, but in my experience, this approach is more likely to lead to a cycle of problems that are never solved.

Supposedly all my problems, even through they repetitively occur over the course of building 50ish Raspberry Pi's, are all one-off weird problems that don't seem to be solvable dispite trying all different hardware, power supplies, SD card brands, different USB cables, even writing the images on different computers using different card readers...those ARE the type of problems where anymore I just reformat since there seems to be no other recourse (kinda like how the OP doesn't seem to have much more to try which is why I argued FOR reformatting and starting over!).

@zulueffendi

is it possible to download an older version. Ie. The 3.8 you mentioned as working 100%?

I run RetroPie 4.1.12 with 38 systems and apart from some very minor exceptions, the current version runs very well.

Try the newest 4.1.11 version on a Raspberry Pi Zero and tell me how well common Nintendo games run...your answer will be self evident. 4.0.2. and 4.1.5 are VASTLY superior performance wise on the most popular (if I can claim that ;) gaming platform of all time.

knorde · 3 Feb 2017, 19:28

@dankcushions
This rom:
[Redacted]
On the lr-fceumm emulator it plays the sound normal but the game is stuttering.
On the lr-nestopia emulator it plays the sound to fast but the game is not stuttering.

Later i will make a video with the sound (it play to fast).

BuZz · 2 Mar 2017, 19:32

@knorde because lr-fceumm is running it at the correct speed and the stutter happens since the screen refresh is 60hz vs pal 50hz of the game. Use an NTSC version of the game.

mediamogul · 2 Mar 2017, 19:52

@Dochartaigh said in Games stuttering a little bit:

Try the newest 4.1.11 version on a Raspberry Pi Zero and tell me how well common Nintendo games run...your answer will be self evident.

While I don't own a Pi0 myself, a local friend of mine has one and is able to run NES games without issue. Heck, he's even made a few for other friends of ours and they work as well. I would ask him what his secret is, but it's a bit like asking someone why their car doesn't make that same funny sound that yours does.

Edit: I am going over there tonight, so I will ask him some questions just in case it helps.

knorde · 3 Feb 2017, 20:15

@BuZz
I have tryed that and then the game speed (and music) is to slow.
I will record it another time so you can hear it.

The megadrive (sega) works perfect, it is really a nes emulator problem.

BuZz · 2 Mar 2017, 20:19

@knorde a video might help.

edmaul69 · 4 Feb 2017, 00:58

@knorde have you tried pressing a button before games starts and changed the video resolution in there with the correct frequency for your region?

knorde · 2 Apr 2017, 11:10

@BuZz
http://www.kene.nl/retropie/1.mp4 (normal sound but stuttering, Europe version with lr-fceumm emulator)
http://www.kene.nl/retropie/2.mp4 (to fast sound but no stuttering, Europe version with lr-nestopia emulator)
http://www.kene.nl/retropie/3.mp4 (to slow sound but no stuttering, Usa version with lr-nestopia emulator)
(sorry for the other sounds, my baby don't will be still while recording)

I think option 3 is the best option...

knorde · 4 Feb 2017, 08:41

@edmaul69
Yes i tried that but no luck :(

BuZz · 4 Feb 2017, 12:58

@knorde I'll check the videos, but please try lr-fceumm with USA version.

knorde · 4 Feb 2017, 17:39

@BuZz
I have tryed that.
It does the same as option 3 (see above).

It plays slower then original, but now with lr-fceumm as emulator (with no stuttering).

mediamogul · 2 Apr 2017, 17:56

@knorde

http://www.kene.nl/retropie/3.mp4 (to slow sound but no stuttering, Usa version with lr-nestopia emulator)

Video 3 appears to be playing at normal speed, sound and all.

mediamogul · 2 Apr 2017, 20:10

@Dochartaigh

I talked with my friend last night about his methods in using RetroPie with the PiZero and at first it seemed like a dead end, as he claims to do nothing more than install RetroPie, load the ROMs and scrape the artwork. Then I remembered that in previous posts, you've mentioned a lengthy checklist that you go through during each setup. Have you recently just tried a bare bones approach to where you do nothing more than load the ROMs? If that were to eliminate all of your unexplained issues, you could then systematically work through your checklist, being sure to test a game after each step, until you found what it is that's causing your problems.

knorde · 5 Feb 2017, 08:48

@mediamogul
Video 1 has normaal speed http://www.kene.nl/retropie/1.mp4 (normal sound but stuttering, Europe version with lr-fceumm emulator)
Video 3 http://www.kene.nl/retropie/3.mp4 (to slow sound but no stuttering, Usa version with lr-nestopia emulator) is a little bit slower. If you check both you can see that video 3 is slower then video 1 (original sound).

mediamogul · 2 May 2017, 09:01

@knorde said in Games stuttering a little bit:

Video 1 has normaal speed

That seems way too fast. Have you compared it to a real NES? I'll see if I can't find a YouTube clip captured from real hardware.

Edit: Here's one. It's definitely more in line with your third video. I think you're golden.

knorde · 2 May 2017, 09:35

@mediamogul
You are right!

I thought that video 1 is the normal speed but it is to fast.
Video 3 is the same as the original nintendo, so you are right :)
Many thanks, i'm very happy now!

I have 1 question more, i see that some roms play to fast.
Not all roms so the emulator settings are correct now :)

As example, balloon fight.
When i play the usa version the sound is to fast in lr-fceumm.
When i play the usa version the sound is to fast in lr-nestopia.
When i play the eu version the sound is normal in lr-fceumm.

How can it be that not all the usa roms are normal sound?
Usa version must be the correct speed if i good understand?
Please wait i make a video so you can see it :)

EDIT

Sorry!
In this game the sounds speed is original fast (found it on youtube).
My fault!

I have to play only usa roms and all is fine (no stuttering and good sounds).

All is working fine now!
Many thanks for all the help!

zulueffendi · 5 Feb 2017, 12:57

I installed quicknes last night and it seems 100% with some frame dips where i wouldnt expect them on original hardware. But it is playable.. and that is without overclocking... I may try a little overclocking to see if it steadies out some. But im shocked how night and day the difference is..

Dochartaigh · 2 Jun 2017, 15:02

@mediamogul said in Games stuttering a little bit:

@Dochartaigh

I talked with my friend last night about his methods in using RetroPie with the PiZero and at first it seemed like a dead end, as he claims to do nothing more than install RetroPie, load the ROMs and scrape the artwork. Then I remembered that in previous posts, you've mentioned a lengthy checklist that you go through during each setup. Have you recently just tried a bare bones approach to where you do nothing more than load the ROMs? If that were to eliminate all of your unexplained issues, you could then systematically work through your checklist, being sure to test a game after each step, until you found what it is that's causing your problems.

Thanks for looking into it. I actually tried it this past weekend (although I've tried it like 6 times before too...) - I did it this weekend because I was working on a new master image and the exact card I use turned out to be like 500 bytes larger than all my other identical brand/model SD cards so I couldn't re-image that too-big image onto the other cards and had to start over...

So anyway, I re-imaged the stock Pi 0/1 image. I think the stock image is 4.1.11? (or something over version 4.1.5 my perfectly working setup was at least). ONLY "tweaks" I did was disable_overscan=1, hdmi_drive=2, fps_show = "true" (so I can see the framerate). Unplugged the ethernet as well since somebody mentioned that slowing it down.

I then loaded up only the NES roms (from the 'industry-standard' No-Intro romsets...tried Good, and that 6666-in-1 super-popular romset from like 10+ years ago as well). Using the default lr-fceumm for NES, Adventure Island still drops to like 45ish FPS all the time. Super Mario Bros. is mid to low 50's I believe, but you see stuttering (usually at the apex of a jump it seems to defy gravity and slow down just a bit). Those are my two normal test ROMs, but tried bunch of other games too and it's just as bad flawed performance. lr-quicknes fixes it up to 60 FPS in every single game I tried.

Did my usual of trying it on 2 different Pi Zero's, different power supplies, different USB hubs, 1 monitor and 1 HDTV, etc.

The funny thing is all my regular setting tweaks shouldn't effect performance one bit either - but this was a good blind test. The only possibly 'tweak' I do which I could see drop performance (which they say has zero performance drop) is adding the CRT-Pi shader. But even with that off it seems to be the same.

My original 4.1.5 image I always use is near perfect. I'm sorry to say but all my testing seems to show that something changed between 4.1.5 and 4.1.11 which effects stock performance for NES games on a Raspberry Pi Zero 1.3 in particular. As soon as I update my perfectly running 4.1.5 setup to the most recent version NES performance in particular is jacked-up.

mediamogul · 2 Jun 2017, 15:43

@Dochartaigh said in Games stuttering a little bit:

lr-quicknes fixes it up to 60 FPS in every single game I tried.

That's good to hear. At least there's a working option for your setup. Also, if you're into Retro Achievements, @meleu has said that lr-quicknes has the best compatibility there, so that's a positive as well.