Pi Zero dedicated 1 game mame. Is there a optimized build for this?

parabolic

Hey guys,
I'm looking to use a PI ZERO for a arcade board replacement for one "golden age" game. Its a difficult game to find but its well emulated in MAME so this would be a great solution to get it up and running.
I know there are other more expensive alternatives out there (FitBit, Mister, etc), but they dont emulate this particular game and I was hoping to do this using this solution.
Is there a way to optimize RP for quick loading and dedicated ROM launch?
I don't need al the other emulators or front end overhead.
I found THIS post from like 8 years ago.
https://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=151626.0
While I tested this method and it does work, it still takes WAY longer than it did in his video to boot.
I tried reaching out to him but again, it was 8 years ago when he posted his findings.
Has anyone done this or can advise me on how to remove the extra "fluff" to get this working in a faster, more dedicated operation?
I was hoping someone else had this issue and know of a dedicated pi image that just boots to mame.
Please don't suggest other boards or options, as this post is looking for a solution to the topic I posted.
Thanks!!

mitu

@parabolic said in Pi Zero dedicated 1 game mame. Is there a optimized build for this?:

While I tested this method and it does work, it still takes WAY longer than it did in his video to boot.

Maybe because they're using a Pi3 instead of a Pi zero ?

I was hoping someone else had this issue and know of a dedicated pi image that just boots to mame.

There's no 'dedicated' image - the method presented in the forum post is the same method as it's recommended in the docs.

The RetroPie image itself doesn't have any extra uneeded services, but I guess you can disable the network and file sharing (Samba) services to reduce the footprint (memory) and startup time even further. The only 'service' that RetroPie auto-starts is the front-end (EmulationStation), but you can replace that with just starting the emulator with the method mentioned in the docs/forums.

The OS start-up time can be broken down into each component with systemd-analyze, you can see which services take longer and disable the one you don't need one by one.

barbudreadmon

@parabolic said in Pi Zero dedicated 1 game mame. Is there a optimized build for this?:

but its well emulated in MAME

That'll entirely depend on what you mean by "well" and the MAME version you are using. Using a pi zero might impede your choice about that. For the reminder, older MAME versions will be less likely to be accurate (i.e. faithful to the original game), and the newer versions usually require better machines.