RetroPie - HD Retro gaming on a Raspberry Pi for ~Ł50! • Gaming • Retro • Eurogamer.net

Deleted user 7 June 2016 17:30:40

raspberry pis, remember those? tiny computers originally made as a learn-to-program thing, immediately subverted to be used as media centres and wee retro gaming boxes. i work a little bit on the latter, so thought i'd spread the word.

the latest raspberry pi 3 supports almost all 2D-era arcade games, and pretty much every 2D system perfectly. PlayStation is perfect, and Dreamcast, N64 and PSP emulation are...variable. i personally use mine to run a lot of arcade and multiplayer games, so i can rinse my pals at windjammers. actually, i get rinsed. i was lying to impress you.

it takes a little bit of setting up, but there's lots of help out there. i can answer most questions (sad, innit)

all you need is:
raspberry pi 3 bundle
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Create-Raspberry-Official-Starter-Black/dp/B01EX61D1Q
you could buy all these things separately, but this is pretty good value and keeps things simple.

hdmi cable
you probably have one of these

a means of getting data onto an SD card
usefully, micro sd cards come with an adapter so you can plug it into a (more common) regular sd slot. you'll need a laptop or computer with one of these slots so you can do the initial setup of your sd card.

controller(s)
pretty much any USB controller/stick will work. PS3/4 is a good choice. there's also some nice SNES clones available that i use: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Buffalo-Classic-USB-Gamepad-PC/dp/B002B9XB0E

retropie
this is the magic part. it's basically a linux operating system that boots up into a menu system where you can select your system and game, and then away you go. a video explaining installation, etc:

https://retropie.org.uk/

i'll keep this thread updated with new versions, etc.

Edited by dankcushions at 10:02:08 08-06-2016

neilka 7 Jun 2016 17:41:41 24,021 posts
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dankcushions wrote:

mowgli?

BigOrkWaaagh 8 Jun 2016 15:15:40 10,554 posts
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I have Retropie running on a Pi2. Getting the controls right was a bit of a pisser but you only have to do it once. Never got the N64 bit working properly though.

Rodpad 8 Jun 2016 17:30:34 2,997 posts
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2old4disshit wrote:
The last version I tried around xmas time- the controls were totally screwed. Very hit and miss getting my ps3 controller or a keyboard to work.

I then came to the realisation that I should have just used my laptop for the whole thing instead.

Exactly the same issue with numerous controllers and getting the thing to scrape my roms properly.

In the end I just created shortcuts to emulators in Steam for Big Picture mode. Much better.

Edited by Rodpad at 17:30:53 08-06-2016

samharper 8 Jun 2016 17:43:26 1,124 posts
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Mac has the best emulator I've ever used in OpenEmu, works straight out the "box" (although getting disc based systems to work is pretty fiddly).

D_arkTrooper 8 Jun 2016 18:48:11 1,492 posts
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Hmmmm I bought the RPi2 upon release last year and had RetroPie running with my PS3 pad. The trouble is the amount of faff to get it all working. I even went as far as buying a second Pi and building a bar top arcade machine out of it but once again the amount of faff to get it all working was the drawback.

Admittedly the feeling of satisfaction when everything does finally click and work is great. However RetroPie has been updated nearly every month (which ultimately is a good thing) for ages so you find yourself getting it all up and running only to find there's a newer build available which CAN make things go belly up.

I can't rate the nVidia TV highly enough if emulation is your thing and you wan't to spend time with some of the old retro classics from days gone by. There are some cracking emulators available on Android/Google and the supplied control pad is excellent.

Best of all.....it all just works.

Deleted user 8 June 2016 21:24:16

if only there was a thread where someone could help you all out?

it can be a pain setting up controls, but if you're talking about versions of retropie from last year then it's almost totally different now. everything should 'just work', but the scope of the project is so huge that there's no g'tees. however, there's almost always a solution some way or another. try me!

mrpon 9 Jun 2016 08:54:07 37,366 posts
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I want one of these, if I had the time and the inclination I'd make one.

Psiloc 9 Jun 2016 10:29:59 6,366 posts
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Tempted by a retropie and one of those wooden flat pack arcade things.

Deleted user 9 June 2016 11:19:13

Another "tried setting up a PS3 pad and gave up in frustration" here... I keep meaning to give it another chance, so will have to dig out my spare Pi2 and look into it again.
I take it the Pi2 will be fine for 16 bit era games?

Psiloc 9 Jun 2016 12:13:30 6,366 posts
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Not keen on all these controller issues since I'd be plugging in an arcade kit, what chance has that got if you can't get USB gamepads to work. I might stick with Windows for it.

What do we think?:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/-/272258934673?roken=cUgayN

Deleted user 9 June 2016 13:07:12

dfunked wrote:
Another "tried setting up a PS3 pad and gave up in frustration" here... I keep meaning to give it another chance, so will have to dig out my spare Pi2 and look into it again.
I take it the Pi2 will be fine for 16 bit era games?

absolutely. ps1 also. n64.. some games.

Deleted user 9 June 2016 13:08:37

Cheers. Using a Pi 3 for Kodi, which seems underutilised most of the time, so I might do a switch (or just buy another Pi 3...)

Deleted user 9 June 2016 13:09:50

Psiloc wrote:
Not keen on all these controller issues since I'd be plugging in an arcade kit, what chance has that got if you can't get USB gamepads to work. I might stick with Windows for it.

What do we think?:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/-/272258934673?roken=cUgayN

i think about half of all retropie users are using them in cabinets like that. you'll be fine! anecdotally, i've heard of more people having trouble with IPAC setups than others, as IPAC is a bit weird (makes the computer think a keyboard is connected I think), but there's lots of threads and guides about that stuff on the retropie forums.

Psiloc 9 Jun 2016 13:35:46 6,366 posts
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Hmm. I suppose it would be more sensible to have a small, cool unit closed up in there. But on the other hand I really don't want to be troubleshooting all the time...

I think since I've already got the PC I'll start with that and see if there are any problems.

D_arkTrooper 9 Jun 2016 19:02:02 1,492 posts
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This is the kit I used for my bar top style arcade machine:

https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/picade

Only I bought a 12inch screen and replaced the supplied 8inch.

It's easy set up and put together but a proper faff with the Pi itself cause I struggled to get my ethernet cable to reach. A Pi3 would be ideal I think cause it has built in Wifi and Bluetooth. Maybe I'll update it sometime.

y2rich 9 Jun 2016 19:09:39 3,501 posts
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Really weird how you lot have been struggling with getting pads to work. Had mine set up with PS3, PS4, 360, One and those USB Snes pads without issue.

Theres also an alternative to Retropie out these days, same EmulationStation setup but a few other neat tricks (including a proper version of the latest Kodi) called recalbox. Also seems to come with some far better default control settings for most major controllers.

Also if anyone is looking for something similar for PC, have a look at Launchbox. Doddle to set up and lets you select which emulators you want to run for which systems etc.

Edited by y2rich at 19:10:44 09-06-2016

Deleted user 9 June 2016 21:06:59

recalbox and retropie are very similar, but recalbox is for sure aimed more at ease of use. actually i'd probably rate lakka (another distro) above either in that regard.

retropie is hugely more popular though, so tends to get the advancements first. i suppose i effectively work on both since they have a lot of emulators and software in common.

Deleted user 12 June 2016 20:06:04

nice use of overlays and shaders to make a faux arcade machine. i just use the shaders and not the surrounding marquees, personally.

Rhaegyr 27 Jun 2017 14:00:10 5,499 posts
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Can anyone comment on how this runs a year on? Has it significantly improved?

Psiloc 27 Jun 2017 14:06:30 6,366 posts
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http://www.eurogamer.net/forum/thread/316023

You want this thread really.

And yes, they're great. If you don't want to go beyond PS1 you absolutely cannot do better for the money.

Deleted user 27 June 2017 16:19:50

Rhaegyr wrote:
Can anyone comment on how this runs a year on? Has it significantly improved?

yeah! lots of quality of life things. n64 emulation is improving every day (but still fairly ropey on the rpi3). most of the fundamentals have always worked, so there have been no huge breakthroughs, i suppose.

oh, and this nice theme:

Edited by dankcushions at 16:20:03 27-06-2017

Rhaegyr 27 Jun 2017 16:29:55 5,499 posts
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Thanks for the replies (and direction to the correct thread) - looks like I'll go for one. That theme looks great!

IronGiant 1 Jul 2017 00:39:02 6,352 posts
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I'm seriously tempted by one of these.. there's a few on eBay but can anyone recommend a good bundle? I assume 32gb version has more than enough storage?

mal 1 Jul 2017 01:33:56 29,326 posts
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If it isn't, just buy a new SD card. It's no more complex than that really.

Edited by mal at 01:34:12 01-07-2017

grounded_dreams 1 Jul 2017 08:17:05 107 posts
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IronGiant wrote:
I'm seriously tempted by one of these.. there's a few on eBay but can anyone recommend a good bundle? I assume 32gb version has more than enough storage?

I've been looking at upgrading from my original Pi B model and was thinking of getting one of these thepihut looks decent and getting great reviews.

They do a version with two controls as well or you could buy them separately here .
Another place I was recommended was Pimoroni .

Hope that helps.

Edited by grounded_dreams at 08:20:02 01-07-2017

MrFlay 1 Jul 2017 08:20:34 4,670 posts
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It might be worth having a look at Lakka. It uses Retroarch too but the UI is cleaner and it doesn't rely on Emulation Station which is an abandoned project. Lakka works with the most common controllers without any configuration too.

HarryB 1 Jul 2017 18:44:59 7,630 posts
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Thanks for those that mentioned Lakka. I have a mini PC like a NUC sitting unused .. until now!