Welcome to the forum :)

Wow, this hardware is also already retro. However, it can be refurbished for the 2020s.

For the Pi 4 or 5 there has been recently a thread https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/36439

If smooth N64 emulation is a must then it is a Pi5.

The current IPAC won't work. But if you are satisfied (also in terms of inputlag) you can use a IPAC for USB. You can also wire the GPIO directly as you have 12 buttons per player. I recently released a project which is compatible with the Pi5 (and earlier).

You will also need some adapters between the Pi's micro HDMI and the monitor connection (VGA, DVI, regular HDMI). Driving a CRT is a different story.
For the Pi 5 you will also need an USB audio device (any C-Media compliant stick will do).

Have fun!

@Omay said in Jack of all trades controller needs:

What buttons would I need to be able to run just about any game that RetroPie supports?

Supporting 'any' game is a tall order, since imitating a PS1/Xbox style controller may not work so well with a cabinet style panel - operating 2 joysticks for 3d game while at the same time having to push buttons is a bit cumbersome.

For an arcade style cabinet you may want to use a traditional arcade cabinet with an analog joystick + 6 buttons for actions (A/B/X/Y + LT/RT) + 2 buttons for Start/Select. Optionally, you may want to add a separate button for the 'Hotkey Enable' button used by most libretro emulator - that one can function also as a 'Menu' or 'Exit' button for other (non-libretro) emulators.

You can also use an external (Wired/Wireless) gamepad for more modern games - i.e. PS1/Dreamcast games which require a joystick + D-Pad.

@beudbeud Thank you, I might give it a try. I now have the software from the Pi2Jamma guys installed, called "regamebox". But its just not as good, imho.

Thank you guys. They do look awesome dont they.

Re: Fixing a Konami arcade cabinet.

So turns out this model is super old. It has a monitor and a VGA port (the model is: hp Hewlett Packard Pavilion) the motherboard seems to be okay. Just dusty. I plug in everything and the monitor works but nothing shows on the screen. I'm starting to think it is the power supply of the pie or the VGA port not working. Any ideas?????

@adamguest1985

If you're good and comfortable with house wiring, I've found the best way to build a cabinet is to install a powerstrip internally then open it and extend the switch to a 20a 120v hard-mounted external switch, like the original cabinets had. In fact, you can actually use the original switches to be honest, they ran on 120v systems. I normally replace them just for reliability sake.

Once you do this, everything is left as "wake on power", or left switched "ON". Even the Pi can work this way, but will need a proper shutdown process to turn it off. Everything else in the cabinet will remain off when power is off, then immediately turn on when the main power strip is energized (Lights, LEDs, Audio, Monitor.. etc... just like an original cabinet did. When I build a cabinet, my goal is Old School.. I like it all on at once, and ready to play...all discrete and hidden so you can't tell it's a PC or modern electronics.

Again, not saying to do this, but I am very comfortable designing and working with power, so it's not an issue for me.

Best,

JamR

@landyvlad said in What theme would you choose for a cabinet?:

Let's say for the sake of argument that you were to build an arcade cabinet for your retropie... what theme/decals would you choose?

Well, I actually built one and chose to design it like the original Asteroids cabinet:

https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/17268/my-asteroids-themed-diy-upright-cabinet

I wanted a single, classic design with a black background and vibrant, high-contrast colours to emphasise the retro character of the cabinet.

i added a (re)Action Cam, a fisheye lens mounted inside the bezel.

it shoots out so you can watch faces people make while playing—more fun than staring at backs.

the camera is connected to the direct interface slot of the pi that controls the LED marquee, running the RPi Cam Web Interface; the feed can only be viewed inside my house's network, it is not connected to the internet. It's just for fun.

IMG_6167.jpg

@h2805270

WOW these look great'

thanks

BTW this interface is taking some getting used to so if i double post, i apologize in advance, took 4 tries to get the first one :)

@yfzdude said in MAME query re: picking characters on 4-player games? (TMNT, Simpsons etc):

Rampage also matters. (3 Players)
[I think the order was George/Lizzy/Ralph.]

They made sequels to Rampage. (After ten years) But they were basically the same gameplay with different characters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampage_(1986_video_game)

I decided to update my question, just in case someone comes back to look at this asking the same question I was.

I'm using joystick encoders instead of a keyboard encoder. What I found is that retroarch allows you to setup a mouse for use with the game. So my trackball goes in as mouse 1. Since I do not have a UI running on my setup, I don't actually need mouse buttons. I only need the trackball input for the games.

What all this means is that the retroarch setup will use a joystick along side the trackball... meaning the buttons going through the joystick controller work along side the track ball and I don't need extra buttong for left and right mouse clicks.

sorry.I wasn't asking for the game roms,just the already to go set up really,I can add the roms myself

thankyou

@joesnow81 said in Arcade Cab Power Questions:

Also need to buy another button anyway as currently using a spare arcade button.

While each switch may have its specific bouncing characteristics, I don't think it will eliminate the issue. I believe bounce is just a normal characteristic of mechanical switches.

There might be another issue causing this too... If you use a digital low to trigger something, the digital line on the RPI should be "pulled high". This is because the input may float up/down causing false triggers. If you pull the input high (3.3V in case of RPI), it will always sit far from its low threshold (around 1V for RPI). When you push the button, it will be pulled down to zero. To pull a digital line up high, you would typical use a resistance between the 3V rail and the digital input unless the board does so itself.

This video says RPI can be configured to do so, therefore I must assume the script you are using configures the input with a pull up resistor, if not, then that might be the issue.

@joesnow81 said in Arcade Cab Power Questions:

Press it again and the pi starts, half way through the splash screen it then shuts down again.

Sorry, I want to double confirm this... when this other undesired shutdown happens, what happens exactly? 1) graceful shutdown 2) power just turns off suddenly 3) it reboots

From what you've said, it would be #1 as you see the shutdown messages, but I wanted to be certain.

What button are you using? Does it have 2 or 3 pins? If it has 3 pins, which ones did you use? You might find 'C', 'NO' and 'NC' labels. A picture of the connections and or labels would help. I haven't tested this but I am wondering whether you connected C and NC, instead of C and NO.

@webodan I found my own solution in this github post. All it took was adapting his SwitchToKodi script to kill Xorg after emulationstation was dead instead of having a user switch.

That is actually pretty cool!

@Clyde I'm not sure yet, I only took a moment to map because I'm waiting for an image to come out. Then I'll take the time to map properly.

@UDb23 thank you!

Didn't you already asked this a couple months ago ?
You got an answer on how to set-up your keys in Emulationstation - did you try applying the steps there to configure your controller ?

Another question: can I switch of the emulator type display in favourites, that thing in brackets:
MOON PATROL [MAME-LIBRETRO]

I think this should be possible for custom collections, though your version of Emulationstation is a bit old for that. How did you install RetroPie ?

@wstanek Not every vertical game is 4-way, though. Many arcade SHMUPs are vertical and 8-way. But with either the xboxdrv (item 2D) or switchable Joysticks like the Ultimarc Mag-Stik Plus (I have two of them built into my upright cabinet, see my review here), that wouldn't be an issue.

As from time to time I still have the sudo password prompt hitting me back on a system where I can't change /etc/sudoers and this is one of the first Google results: sudo password will be requested if you changed the runcommand configuration to set the CPU governor to something that is not default. It'll request password during game launch and after the game ends (to restore previous value).

So, solutions are, like described above, add entries to /etc/sudoers or change runcommand config to not touch CPU governor.