Drastic NDS Emulator breaks run command emulator configuration prompt in RetroPie4.2

MrScruff300

Pi Model or other hardware: 3
Power Supply used: official pi 2.5v
RetroPie Version Used: 4.2
Built From: Pre made SD Image on RetroPie website
USB Devices connected: wifi, keyboard
Controller used: PS3 Bluetooth
Error messages received: none
Emulator: Drastic NDS Emulator

Hi there,

I have recently installed a fresh image of RetroPie 4.2. I installed the experimental Drastic nds emulator. The emulator runs really well however once I have run it I no longer get the pop up run command box to configure the emulator on it or any other emulators I run, although it does continue to run the emus. It also just leaves a blank screen if I try to go into the Retropie setup menu or raspi-config, it won't even show the console when pressing f4 just a black screen. It is fixed by rebooting emulation station, however as soon as I run the Drastic emu the problem is replicated. One thing I noticed is that when I close the Drastic emu for a short time there is a mouse pointer the same that you see on Rasbpian OS not sure if this means anything. Can you help resolve?

Thanks!

meleu

@MrScruff300 it seems that when you run Drastic emu you leave the tty1 terminal... Try to exit emulationstation (press F4) and when in that "blank screen" press ctrl+alt+F1. It should put you backk on tty1. It won't actually solve your issue, I'm just investigating what is happening.

AlexMurphy

@meleu @MrScruff300 A similar issue was identified a while ago and fixed a good few updates ago. Something to do with DraStic not clearing the frame buffer when returning to ES. I have just tested it and it returns to ES fine but trying to enter the terminal pressing f4 or using any options on the config menu just retain a black screen with the mouse pointer. Interestingly though the ES menus come up but the theme doesn't show. If you press f4 nothing appears to happen. But when you reboot (i ssh'd in) I was able to see that I was on the console. Changing tty using the method you described did not fix it unfortunately.

mediamogul

@MrScruff300 @meleu @AlexMurphy

It's a known issue, both here and by the author. It's hard to get a read on if he plans to develop the Pi version further. He seems open to it, but he claims to have been a little put out at the beta being incorporated into RetroPie prematurely, while at the same time admitting it was his own doing for not making it a private beta. The latest word on the matter is here.

BuZz

@mediamogul Didn't know about that. The beta was done publicly, and nothing was said about restrictions at the time that I can remember. I'm happy to remove it from RetroPie though if it's a problem.

BuZz

I'm going to remove it. The author doesn't want it in retropie - not a problem.

meleu

@BuZz said in Drastic NDS Emulator breaks run command emulator configuration prompt in RetroPie4.2:

The author doesn't want it in retropie

Did he say it publicly or particularly?

mediamogul

@BuZz

Like I said, it's hard to get a read on how he feels about it. If the beta wasn't intended to go wide, you'd think he wouldn't have released it that way.

mediamogul

@BuZz

If you'd like, I can try reaching out to him and see what his thoughts are directly.

BuZz

@mediamogul feel free.

BuZz

@meleu the author said

It still would have been nice if maintainers of a major front end didn't decide to incorporate it prematurely.

Being the first I heard of this, and the fact that the beta wasn't supposed to be public (even though it was made public), I'm happy to just remove it for now - which I have done.

backstander

I didn't realize Exophase was unhappy with it include in RetroPie.

@mediamogul
Yeah, I think it would be good to have someone representing RetroPie to reach out to him.

mediamogul

@backstander

Will do. I'll even wear my Sunday church clothes.

ExarKunIv

well that's a bummer.
it really works great on the Pi. Hope that he can be convinced to let it stay

mediamogul

My post is currently under moderation:

Hello Exophase,

I'm a moderator over at the RetroPie forums and it's recently come to light that the inclusion of DraStic is potentially something that you wish had not happened. It was assumed by the nature of it's release that this might be an acceptable course of action and I can assure you that no ill will was intended. In an effort to respect your wishes and your work, the ability to install DraStic has been removed from the RetroPie-Setup script. Anyone wishing to test the beta as intended can still or course install it manually. I'm sure I speak for the rest of the RetroPie community when I say that we hope you continue your work on the Raspberry Pi and that the inclusion of a more finalized version of DraStic might be possible in the future with your blessing.

Thanks for all your time.

It might take him a while to respond, but it should be posted here when he does.

meleu

@mediamogul I think my english is not so polished but I think that it is worth to mention that drastic was in the "experimental packages", i.e. that section where the users are aware that issues can happen...

mediamogul

@meleu

That's a good point. I'll be sure to mention that as the dialog continues and ask if he's ok with the current beta being there.

Charononus

I've heard some people saying that the manual installation method is gone now. Can anyone confirm that this is true? I was looking for a the link to it on github and not finding it.

meleu

@Charononus the drastic script module was removed from RetroPie-Setup. If you wanna try it on your end, the old script module is here: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/blob/c522c722b6753b1908d7f5fa00b4bc1e105e514a/scriptmodules/emulators/drastic.sh

Charononus

@meleu

ok yeah just read through the script and his download is still active. I know some people that thought that the retropie script was initially pulling from git not from drastic-ds, and wanted to set it up manually to comply with his wishes yet still use it.