Building a two player Retropie system, need help with parts.

v3rd1ct

Hello,

I have been hooked on my Picade ever since it appeared on Kickstarter and finally convinced my boss we should build one in the lunch room.

We would like to build a decently sized (using a 19" monitor or bigger) arcade system, but my issue is what components to get. We have a Raspberry Pi 3 ready to go but need some input on the buttons/joysticks. We also have access to a CNC/3D printer.

Anyone able to link some button kits they have had hands on experience with? What choice of encoder should we go for? I've seen some USB encoders that plug into the RPi's USB spot on ebay, all the controller wires hook into the encoder and off we go. Is this a recommended approach? What encoder should we get?

For the screen, we're looking to build a flat surface arcade (table top) so the viewing angle is important and as such most LCDs are out of the scope due to their bad viewing angle. Any suggestions to a monitor to be used for table top Retropi?

Thank you for your help.

maz

What games / systems are you going to play?

I built an arcade cabinet 12+ years ago, primarily for MAME, and it was a full computer so I also had some gamepads to connect up for N64 or non Arcade games.

Most systems up to N64 / PS1 don't have analogue sticks / triggers. So if you want Aracde + NES / SNES / Sega, etc. The simple solution is https://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html as your keyboard encoder (2 player or 4 player options). You can get wires / joysticks / buttons all from ultimarc as well. That is what I did 12 years ago. Probably could get them cheaper other places. This will give you the real Aracde feel.
It is also much easier to configure

If you want newer games or really need that gamepad feel I wouldn't do a table top control, but just use xbox or ps3 controllers. I would go with wired controllers as I heard they are easier to setup. This won't give you the arcade feel though, but is better for certain games especially newer ones.
I personally haven't use controllers much with retropie, I know depending on the controller it can be easy or can be hard to configure / have working properly all the time.

I am making a Portable Pi, and I am customizing my own gamepad, so I use a teensy https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy32.html a teesny LC should work as well. This you have to program and potentially solder, but it can act as a gamepad or mouse or keyboard. So it supports Analog controls, but again if this is table top you probably won't have analog sticks, you can get analog arcade joysticks, but again it will go back to what games you want to play.

For screen, while I could be wrong, most LCD's have decent viewing angles now. If it is 2 player you should be fine with any LCD. If it is 4 players or you will have people gathering around ala the Grandma's boy movie scenes of the team all gather to watch two people play you might want to buy something from Walmart / best buy to test it out and return if the angle isn't great.

v3rd1ct

Hey Maz,

Thanks for the response, I looked at the link you specified and it answered some of my concerns I have heard of, which is the ghosting, blocking or delays. They explicitly state this does not happen so I will go with that over a similar chip on ebay that has very little information.

We're looking to play mostly MEME (Street Fighter, etc.) but would be great if we can play other games like NES/SNES (Mario Cart).

We were going to also order 2x Super Nintendo USB controllers which should work for NES/SNES. Now my question is, will that work along with having a keyboard encores with joysticks/buttons for MEME?

My goal is to use a Raspberry Pi 3 because I am familiar with it somewhat.

maz

Some of the nice / smart things RetroArch (the base for all emulators) can actually make your initial configuration more of a pain.
Most emulators try to use the same Input for all emulators at the initial setup (which is usually awesome). Your added configuration step will be that you probably want Keyboard (Arcade Controls) to be used for MAME (maybe a few others). Then for SNES and other consoles you probably want to use the USB controllers. This should only be a one time problem were you have to go into each emulator config files to update the controls to not use default, but use the gamepads (or vice versa)

Here is the Wiki specific to RetroArch Control Config. Reminder that Not All Emulators fall under this, Mupen64Plus, I believe anything that doesn't start with lr- doesn't use this. Not sure about the different Mame emulators.

Capeman

I suggest the iPac2 controller, it's very high quality and ive been using it for over a year in my bartop and have never experienced an issue.

https://www.ultimarc.com/ipac2.html

caver01

@v3rd1ct As you go through the wiki and look at controllers, one of the challenges you might find is that there is no wiki for keyboards. It's not really an oversight--several of us here have the combined details and first-hand experience to probably write one. In fact, I will probably take on the task at some point, but in the mean time, here is a good thread about it. Having a keyboard controller is great, especially if you plan to have a lot of buttons. My four-player setup would be a lot easier if I had just focused on a 2-player design, but IPAC is a good solution.

The other thing that will add to the complexity is that with your focus on fighter games, you might find that FBA emulates these better than MAME. So, suddenly you find yourself trying to manage multiple arcade emulators. Maybe you even decide to use the ARCADE folder for your ROMs to simplify the interface. Managing controls over various emulators is part of the challenge, but also part of the fun. It can be done, so hang in there.

I don't often say it out loud to people, but I have to admit that one of my hobbies is "configuring a DIY retro-gaming system". For me, it is never finished, and with new versions of Emulation Station on the horizon, new theme capabilities, updates to emulators, new Pi hardware. . . there is no end in sight, and I love it! But, I still need to write that keyboard controller wiki page.