Best Configuration for SFIII Third Strike on Retropie 4.8.x (Pi4b) ?

PikWik

hey there!

i have used retropie on a 3b+ in the past and emulated SFIII third strike, rendering at 800x600 with the recommended tweaks at https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Input-Lag/ with wired mayflash F300 arcade sticks. the experience was great, no issues with framerate, and my friends and i had a blast playing this setup for years.

i just purchased a Rasp Pi4b, and am wondering how best to set this new board up with retropie in order to get the best input lag reduction and optimized settings for third strike, preferably at my 4:3 monitors resolution (1600x1200) and i will also be using a custom arcade control panel with 2x Daemonbite arcade boards (pro micro arduino).

is there anyone here that can suggest how they have their rasp pi 4b setup and run SFIII third strike?
im reading on these forums the newest version of retropie 4.8.x is able to use a KMS driver instead of dispmanx, and that with a raspi 4b some of the suggested tweaks from https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Input-Lag/ are no longer needed?

could someone post which input lag tweaks they have used for third strike on their 4b, and also if they are able to use "run ahead 1" and retain a stable framerate?
can the rasp pi4b output at the original refresh rate of ~59.59hz (does video_refresh_rate = "59.59" resemble a close CPS3 refresh rate?)
if using the KMS driver, can you also use a CRT shader (zfast or crt-pi) and retain stable framerates? or does enabling CRT shaders make run ahead not possible?

thanks so much for your help!
im excited to get an updated third strike setup going

barbudreadmon

@PikWik said in Best Configuration for SFIII Third Strike on Retropie 4.8.x (Pi4b) ?:

video_refresh_rate = "59.59"

Assuming you are using a recent core (MAME current or FBNeo) where the correct refresh rate was set, you should only need to set vrr_runloop = true to ensure the content is running at the refresh rate set by the core.

As for runahead, i think setting it to 1 should be fine with FBNeo on a pi4, note that FBNeo also has a dipswitch to shave 1 frame of input lag (at the cost of possibly causing gfx issues in some cps3 games, but afaik it only happens in jojo's attract mode).

PikWik

@barbudreadmon

thank you for your reply!

im just now getting around to setting this all up with an ice tower, overclocking, and tinkering with configuration files.

so far everything is "better" than the rasp pi3b+. i can run the system and FBneo at 1600x1200 with runahead set to 1, GPU hard sync on, threaded video off, that "sync to exact framerate of content" turned on, and zfast-crt shader.

3rd strike feels snappy and i ran through the game without thinking input lag was holding me back. the basketball bonus game is kind of my input lag test, and i almost got all 20 on my first try.

some clarifying questions tho, as you are a dev and would probably be able to answer these 2. what polling behavior should i use? i have it set to the default of late, but should it be on early? normal? im familiar with USB polling rate, but is that what polling behavior is??

also, you mentioned the dipswitch setting for CPS3 in FBNeo "less sprite lag". the default is yes. from reading around https://neo-source.com/index.php?topic=3676.0 (where i see youre an admin) it seems "yes" adds the additional frame of lag and fixes some GFX errors that might be present in some CPS3 games, and setting it to "no" is the old behavior and removes the frame of lag. is that correct?

thanks again!

barbudreadmon

@PikWik said in Best Configuration for SFIII Third Strike on Retropie 4.8.x (Pi4b) ?:

what polling behavior should i use? i have it set to the default of late, but should it be on early? normal? im familiar with USB polling rate, but is that what polling behavior is??

Sorry, this is a retroarch setting (not a FBNeo one) and i don't know much about what it does.

@PikWik said in Best Configuration for SFIII Third Strike on Retropie 4.8.x (Pi4b) ?:

also, you mentioned the dipswitch setting for CPS3 in FBNeo "less sprite lag". the default is yes. from reading around https://neo-source.com/index.php?topic=3676.0 (where i see youre an admin) it seems "yes" adds the additional frame of lag and fixes some GFX errors that might be present in some CPS3 games, and setting it to "no" is the old behavior and removes the frame of lag. is that correct?

The default value is "No", so if you have a different default then maybe retropie is changing something here ? "Yes" is the old behavior.

mitu

@barbudreadmon said in Best Configuration for SFIII Third Strike on Retropie 4.8.x (Pi4b) ?:

The default value is "No", so if you have a different default then maybe retropie is changing something here ?

No, it's not changed by RetroPie. We do have a function to set core options during core configuration, ~~but it's not used for FBNeo (see here)~~.

EDIT: correction, we actually set the diagnostic-input option for FBNeo to "Hold Start" (code).

"Yes" is the old behavior.

If the game was started with an older FBNeo version, then it might have defaulted to yes (and saved in the core options) and saved the option automatically.

barbudreadmon

@mitu said in Best Configuration for SFIII Third Strike on Retropie 4.8.x (Pi4b) ?:

If the game was started with an older FBNeo version, then it might have defaulted to yes (and saved in the core options) and saved the option automatically.

That dipswitch didn't exist when the old behavior was the only behavior available, and default has always been "No" since its implementation.
I suppose OP forgot he changed it ? Maybe he imported cfg files from a previous setup ?

Addison

My small contribution is that I edited the crt-pi shader:

opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/shaders/shaders/crt-pi.glsl

//#define SHARPER

to

#define SHARPER

The slightly added sharpness makes the display not seem quite as smeared.

It's my most favorite shader. :)

PikWik

@barbudreadmon @mitu

thanks so much for confirming that dipswitch!
it is a little cryptic without a comment running along the bottom of the screen like some of the other options in retroarch. perhaps if it was labeled as a simple On/Off dipswitch and described as "Sprite Buffer (adds 1f of lag)" it would be a little more clear to someone who hasnt researched what that was and why its in the FBneo core options.

and apologies for any confusion, i do think it may have been set by me to "Yes" and then later thought that was default.

im still unclear on the polling behavior setting in retroarch, but im just going to leave it on late and hope that means its some kind of high polling rate (similar to a forced 1000hz USB polling). i can say, third strike is playing just fine and at this point im not concerned about input lag.

this rasp pi 4 project started as a way to find an acceptable way of playing CPS3 (third strike), and is more of a bandaid to hold me over until the MiSTer FPGA core is released by Jotego. but with his recent public response saying it would take 15 months of continuous work to just trace the chips on the board, an FPGA CPS3 core is years away from being a reality. so this will have to hold me and my friends over until then.

thanks again for developing and making retro games so accessible to people!

PikWik

@Addison

i do like crt shaders, they definitely give retro games a certain character that shows off the pixels better. the way the scanlines break up the image lets your mind fill in the blank space and smooths out the jagged edges. right now, im using the zfast-crt shader, which seems like the more lightweight shader for retroarch. looks great!

i can say, im also more fond of that composite blurry style. a consumer TV with my consoles hooked up over composite is what i played the most growing up, so that looks "better" in my opinion. but i know some people like those sharper settings too

dankcushions

@PikWik said in Best Configuration for SFIII Third Strike on Retropie 4.8.x (Pi4b) ?:

im reading on these forums the newest version of retropie 4.8.x is able to use a KMS driver instead of dispmanx, and that with a raspi 4b some of the suggested tweaks from https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Input-Lag/ are no longer needed?

just to add that the suggested tweaks (ie, everything before the 'unsupported tweaks' section) are still relevant for pi4.

PikWik

update -

i retired the 1600x1200 screen from 2007 (LP2065, which is the same panel as the 2007FP) and switched to my main 1080p monitor i use for the MiSTer - Acer Nitro XF243Y (https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/acer/nitro-xf243y-pbmiiprx).

there wasnt anything wrong with the LP2065, but after doing a swap and test with my gaming monitor, it was apparent the monitor from 2007 doesnt hold up well in 2023. while very sharp and 4:3, the response time seemed sluggish compared to the Acer, almost like the LP2065 was on a slight video delay.

and the overall input lag experience was noticeable. the reported input lag of a LP2065 panel is ~16ms at 60hz

and the XF243Y is ~9ms at 60hz (see rtings review). while thats not too much of a difference in actual input lag, when combined with the almost instant response time of the XF243Y, the LP2065 just "feels" old.

also better colors on the Acer, and its an LED panel so it uses way less power and doesnt get hot. i am happy