ARpiCADE 3.82 out now!
ARpiCADE 3.82 is here!!!!!
There’s a lot of changes to stuff in the system side of things, added support for new hardware, bugs squashed, more emulators for consoles.
NEW FEATURES:
support for new hardware revision Raspberry Pi 3b+, Raspbian base updated from Jessie to Stretch, new Linux Kernel etc. (*NOTE: currently WiFi on Pi3b+ is not working, works on Pi3 though*). This version of ARpiCADE works with RPi2, RPi3 and RPi3b+.
removed MAME4all, it’s old and the old compiled binarys are no longer compatible with the rest of the system (segfaults running games). If people want MAME4all back I can add the Retroarch version in future, personally I think it’s too out of date to be useful at this point – newer Pis can run newer & better versions of MAME
additional console emulator cores for retroarch:
stella (Atari 2600 / Video Computer System)
prosystem (Atari 7800 Prosystem) (bios optional if you want the Atari logo at game startup)
vecx (Vectrex) (has overlay support with overlays for the official games included, buggy sound)
bluemsx (ColicoVision) (requires bios file colico.rom)(bluemsx is capable of MSX computers too but I don’t have any knowledge of the system or even a game to test/setup with so nothing is tried or setup for MSX but its there if you want to try doing it yourself…)
lr-FBA updated to xxx.40 – now has limited high score save support – more games supported too but I’m not sure if it adds or improves any games compared to the MAME versions already available
fixed hotkeys keyboard bug + new hotkey start+B6 to access Retroarch menus (during a game in Retroarch)
all Retroarch config files overhauled, now only one unique config file for each emulated system and a set of resolution specific config files shared by all Retroarch cores – any changes to resolutions should be made in the resolution files and will work for all cores (that use that res). This should simplfy config changes for Retroarch + if you make changes in low res mode then change to run high res your changes should still be working
all launchers overhauled, no setup specific launchers anymore just one per emulator that check your resolution and rotation and should act accordingly – won’t lie the logic in some of them has gotten confusing but I’ve tried to comment everything for those who like to dig around in a launcher script. Adding Retroarch cores should be simple now as the launchers are pretty similar for all Retroarch stuff (the arcade ones are more complex than the console ones because they use more resolutions).
resolution switching is now all handled by a script that is called by the emulator launchers – it checks the boot resolution and will not change to low res if in 480p, if you boot in 240p it won’t use 480i. Arcade games using the MAME naming convention are checked against mameinfo.txt for resolution and refresh rate to find the optimal resolution to use automatically. /boot/launchers/resSwitch.sh
improved sync performance for non 60Hz games in most MAME versions (more refresh rates in use)
AdvMAME (106 romset) audio lag fixed – still not sure when/why it started… I assume with a system update…
service menu moved to its own unique (config file) instance of Attract-Mode rather than accessed in the same menu as the games, now launches automatically when you exit the game list instance of Attract-Mode. So now you can set up multiple game lists without having a service menu pop up in the rotation
system config (monitor setup) can now be done through editing /boot/config.txt (be careful) or the service menu – uncommenting the service menu script to unlock high res is now at the top of the file and far fewer lines to uncomment as well
default mounting for vertical low res monitors flipped from previous (if using the service menu auto setup options) – if you need to swap it back do so in /boot/config.txt
Attract-Mode exit command changed to F4 instead of esc (due to moving the hotkeys start to run.sh instead of from each launcher in an attempt to improve reliability – they’re now running in Attract-Mode too but shouldn’t effect anything there)
console rom folders and launchers renamed after the console rather than the emulator, hopefully less confusing to people unaware of the names of emulators. Extra folders added for SEGA Genesis, Master System, 32x, SEGA CD, PC Engine CD and TurboGrafx that use the same emulators & launchers as Megadrive and PCEngine but allows for more complex organisation of game lists in Attract-Mode. (and remember keep your console roms unzipped and without spaces in the file names)
console rom scanner updated to change underscores in filenames to spaces in the Attract-Mode lists. ie Mario_Bros.nes will be displayed as Mario Bros in the menu.
dedicated art folders for each console for game previews, wheel images and boxart (images not supplied); system images (loading screens etc.) moved to /boot/previews/system/
Attract-Mode keyboard output to terminal bug hidden more effectively (it’s an SDL2.0 on Pi thing I really can’t claim to have actually fixed the bug but it should no longer be noticable)
USB to optical analog controls (trackballs and spinners) should now work “out of the box” for MAME0.192, MAME 0.172 & AdvMAME (1.4 + 3.0) & AdvMAME0.94 – tested with Opti-Wiz + trackball, your hardware and need to tweak further may vary (USB trackball/spinner/whatever required, obviously)
more Attract-Mode themes (thanks FrizzleFried) + required extra Attract-Mode module installed
experimental RaspberryJAMMA DTBO hardware overlay GPIO controller keyboard “driver” included but not enabled by default (thanks ChucksinSpace), there’s no way to do hotkeys with it currently but it works great otherwise and is setup using the default MAME keys. If you want to try it it can be enabled in /boot/config.txt you may also want to disable the mk_arcade joystick module although they both work together fine.
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KNOWN BUGS
boot splash bug – If the network connection is set up but doesn’t find the router the splash can be buggy (I think that’s what caused it… maybe I’m wrong but it seemed to be fixed when I removed my old router info)
Pi2 only boot text bug – a little bit of Linux boot text is visible between splash and loading images on Pi2 (anyone still use a Pi2?)
WiFi not working on the new Pi3 B+ (works fine on Pi3, doesn’t exist on Pi2)
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Big thanks to everyone who has been giving suggestions/advice/setup-tips/testing/making Attract-Mode themes and trying new things and posting about it, publicly and privately. You guys are making the software better and it’s lighting a fire under me lately.
To the person who asked for Atari 5200 emulation, sorry it didn’t make it. I didn’t find a Retroarch core for it and the standalone emulator for Atari 800 computers that can do 5200 is complex (adding Retorach cores is pretty quick and easy as the main setup stuff has already been done for the other Retroarch cores). To be honest 5200 didn’t seem like it was worth the potential effort I was going to put into setting it up as the best of list for the 5200 I checked only had arcade ports anyway. Also analog controls… I may still do it in the future.
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The link:
https://mega.nz/#!Jm4nxA4T!aL8zaZv2nm05 … RFsY6o8qxM (4.07 GB)