ARpiCADE Forums

ARpiCADE 4.3 is here!
This update has everything arcade related the Pi3 version of ARpiCADE has and then some (still missing some consoles and Beats of Rage). If you have been considering trying Pi4 I can't think of much reason not to at this point unless a missing console or BoR is important to you. I still don't have an Pi4 8gig to test but 1, 2 and 4 gig all work fine. [EDIT: works on 8gig models too, thanks @Japan for trying & reporting it]

NEW to ARpiCADE 4.3:
Added MAME 0.230 (currently current)
- arcade only build
- has speed similar to 203 on Pi4
- standalone MAME, not a Retroarch core

Daphne
- added an optional line in the launcher to have no onscreen scoreboard
- NOTE: daphne will not work if the system is in 240p only mode, it needs at least 480 lines to run

AdvMAME 3.9
- can run a few games that won't run well elsewhere, otherwise not really recommended for Pi4
- BUG: the menu in AdvMAME can cause a blackscreen, not sure what this is caused by - it only happens if you use the menu and not always - exiting the game fixes everything up again if this happens to you

updated input drivers, 4 player board now supported on Pi4 (selectable from service menu)
- some emulator control config for players 3 and 4 may still be needed

highres mode (480p) now available
- only use the highres hdmi_timing that is already there and commented out in config.txt, using other modes may have unexpected results
- highres is NOT selectable from the service menu to avoid low res users accidentally selecting it, just set it in config.txt using the hdmi_timing for highres

TWEAKS:
faster, cleaner boot (cmdline.txt changed fdsk from repair to skip)
- hopefully this won't effect SD card stability or life time, make a backup if you make a build you like just in case

extra refresh/resolutions from 3.X.1 added
- most games should run at, or very very close to, their original frame rates (excepting when they're not in the games native monitor rotation or when the system is in high res)
- bug found, 10 yard fight refresh rate is bad on Pi4 - not sure what the difference is it works on Pi3 fine but it's commented out for now and 10yard will run very slightly fast
- added 240p @ 61.702586 the MAME reported Naomi refresh rate but I'm not sure it actually improved anything, possible emulator limitation or config issue.
- NOTE: Naomi/Atomiswave originally ran 480p (or optionally 480i)

improved MAME 172 and 203 launchers (and inherited by new 230 launch script)
- improved launcher script readability
- improved rotated aspect aspects (ie vert game on hori monitor or vice versa)
- MAME 0.172 specific: rotated aspect aspects won't fill as much of the screen or can slightly overscan compared to 203 and 230 due to no unevenstretchy setting
- NOTE: due to the launcher script logic using MAME command line settings changes to mame.ini files can have unexpected results... not really a bug but go slow if you edit ini files

changed MAME 172 and 203 sample rate back to 48000 (the default)
- noticably sounds clearer than 2x0x0 and doesn't seem to hurt performance

flycast config tweaks

fixed screen aspect for vert game on 240p hori and vice versa (Retroarch cores)

removed some unused retroarch mame cores to free up some space

attract-mode screen saver aspect mode setting changed to fill screen as it doesn't understand ultrawide-pixel-aspect-but-still-4:3-aspect ratios
- this does mean rotated games previews will be stretched to fill too, unfortunately
- if you use high res mode I'd suggest changing it back to the setting that respects aspect ratio (high res has 4:3 pixel aspect so it should work as intended)
- also odd, game logos can look too big in 240p mode - prob to do with image size but I haven't checked it out yet

cleaned up config.txt a bit, unused options removed to be less confusing

other stuff I've tweaked and forgotten to write down the details of...

And, one bug I just noticed: I forgot to update the version info in run.sh that displays the version when you go to the command line... it will still say 4.2... edit run.sh to fix or remove it if it bothers you.

https://mega.nz/file/J4ljSYyZ#l44Nuv7RC ... Ec9xOG7N4I

As always I recommend the @frizzlefried guide to resizing your SD card found here:
http://idahogaragecade.com/2018/02/02/h ... ory-cards/

Except for setting highres mode use the service menu for setup (240p only, rotation settings etc.)

Enjoy!

UPDATE 29/4/'21:
ARpiCADE 4.3.1 update (requires 4.3 on SD card)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14_iFls ... sp=sharing

Mainly settings improvements and launcher tweaks. Updated a bunch of the aml files to improve game order and removed gambling and other stuff we don't care about.

MAME 172 menus should now be visible in most instances, for some reason Hyper Street Fighter 2 still has menu visibility issues... it's the only game I've found so far though.

Exiting all menus to the command line should now identify the ARpiCADE version correctly.

Also has new version of Retroarch and a few updated cores. CPS3 and Naomi/Atomiswave should be smoother at 240p settings. Also added a 240p array to the Naomi launcher so when booting in 480i you can run games at 240p, it's got 2D games in it by default. I haven't checked all the consoles, there may be some unexpected behaviour from the update to the RA binary (not sure if anyone is using consoles on Pi4).

To update put the update folder and the update script into /boot/config-updater/ and run from the service menu.

Extra update for new 2022 Pi4s that won't boot 4.3:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Be8SCd ... sp=sharing
just overwrite the original 4.3 files on the boot partition with the new ones in the zipfile. 480i won't work but 240p will. If your Pi boots 4.3 do not use these files as they will break 480i and offer no advantage for older Pi4s.

Some STV testing in AdvMAME on Pi4 notes for anyone curious.
Many games used 480i for menus and 240p in game which isn't replicated by AdvMAME 3.9. Menus and start screens may appear very overscanned while the game looks good. Also even current MAME doesn't have perfect STV emulation and I don't know most of these games particularly well so grain of salt...

Astra Super Stars has GFX and sound glitches, 480i game? - use generate double to see whole screen
Batman Forever has no audio but otherwise seems playable so far
Columns 97 no sound no controls , 480i game? - use generate double,
Cotton 2 seems good so far.
Cotton Boomerang drops sound at the first boss comes back glitched out in level 2 but is playable otherwise.
Decathlete GFX broken, unplayable
Die Hard no sound, otherwise playable - poss scaled wrong
Elan Doree/Fighting Dragon/legend of dragoon - glitchy mess
Final Fight Revenge blackscreen once booted - don't bother
Golden Axe the Duel - maybe OK, seems slow but speeds up when speed unlocked in MAME... I don't know the original, maybe best at 200% speed?
Guardian Force seems OK so far
Outlaws of the lost Dynasty / Suiko Enbu - playable with glitches
Pebble Beach Golflinks - maybe OK, I don't know the game, playable possible gfx texture pop in issues?
Puyo Puyo Sun - seems fine - needs jap bios
Radiant Silvergun music only no SFX (or SFX very quiet?), more issues at bosses - crappy 2 button mode with USA bios
Shienryu seems good so far but I once had the sound dropout when I left it in running in its attract mode for a while
Soukyugurentai/Terra Diver minor gfx glitches(?), very playable - poss slow when not speed unlocked - try 150% speed.
Steep Slope Sliders - used fancy controls? check system assignments...
Tecmo World Cup 98 - glitcy and slow, menu rendering errors too
Virtua Fighter Kids - no audio, inputs seems broken, slow? - odd scaling?
Virtua Fighter Remix - playable but slow, scaled worng and glitchy music?
Winter Heat - not sure... doesn't seem right but I don't know the game

In conclusion:
PROBABLE WORTH HAVING STV GAMES
Cotton 2
Guardian Force
Puyo Puyo Sun
Shienryu
POSSIBLE WORTH HAVING STV GAMES
Golden Axe the Duel (set 200% speed? then too fast?)
Pebble Beach Golflinks
Soukyugurentai/Terra Diver (set 150% speed)
Radiant Silvergun (IMPERFECT)
NO AUDIO BUT MAYBE IF YOU DON'T MIND NO AUDIO
Batman Forever
Die Hard (700ish x240) -needs video tweak

So dragons lair will be fine for playing as well as mainly late 70s to late 90s (a few early 2000s) arcade games in low res? I do no care about console games. low res mode is 240 and 480? And lastly, how does star wars play in 172,203 or 230? Dont want to jump into a $60-$70 Pi if its not gonna play these games.

Just tried Star Wars in 172, 203 and 230 for you. It's actually best in 230, it's the first game I've tried that was faster in 230 than 172 which surprised me.

In 230 it's 100% speed and usually on 0/10 frameskip, sometimes goes to 2/10 framskip. Keep in mind using the f11 key to see the game speed actually slows down 230 slightly so I think it's prob full speed without framskip if you don't have the FPS up.

Controls poorly on JAMMA controls but is playable, much better controls on my trackball. Incedentally I just plugged the trackball in and it worked in 230 without any messing around with settings, I hadn't tried that yet.

Looks like I could tweak the default vector settings though, could use more brightness, maybe thicker lines... I'll have a go at improving it at some point in the future. (true of all three MAMEs tried)

very cool. thanks for trying it. yes, hard with jamma but the track ball can do it, just gotta tweak the settings and yes vector needs playing with but same thing it can be tweaked to be good enough. onto DL and old school arcade games. pi4 seems like its ok for that? Ill only need 1 Pi (i have 2 cabs but the pi3b+ has been flawless on my vert cab. Mainly want to try the pi4 for games I could never get to play well on my other pi3b+ horz. cab.

whats needed besides a pi4. power cable and/or video cable adapter??

Dragons lair seems fine to me. I got a little further than usual in the quick game I had. Not really my game though.

If ther's any games in particular you want me to try? I'm happy to.

The big one that most people want is Killer Instinct which is playable but far from perfect using 078 on Pi4, it's not good enough to justify upgrading to Pi4 just for KI, IMHO. I wouldn't include it on my own cab as it currently is, maybe (big maybe), that could change in the future with magic settings or software update though.

One good thing about Pi4 is being able to get more games running in 172 (or newer) rather than using AdvMAME (or older). Sometimes the difference is very noticable, eg MK3 in 172 (pi4) is butter smooth unlike MK3 in 078 (Pi3) due to MAME 078 running the game at the wrong refresh rate even though it is fullspeed on Pi3 using 078.

I'm also curious about the audio changes in MAME 0.230. A lot of stuff is supposed to sound more accurate now, although I don't know all the details.

EDIT:
you don't need anything extra for Pi4 except an adaptor from full size HDMI (DAC side) to micro HDMI (Pi4 side). Depending on the HDMI to micro HDMI adaptor you may also need to lift the Pi a bit for clearance. Otherwise Pi4 works with the RaspberryJAMMA adaptor exactly like Pi3 (or earlier).

I can also supply new RaspberryJAMMA boards with DACs that have micro HDMI instead of full size by request at no extra cost.

ok cool, just wanna cover all bases before buying one. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!

dee2eR wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:16 am

I can also supply new RaspberryJAMMA boards with DACs that have micro HDMI instead of full size by request at no extra cost.

Is it a better DAC?

The main USBs are the same type, although 2 are USB3 now they still essentially work the same, you don't need it in a cab but the power in USB has changed but will work with a RPi3 power supply and adaptor.

The power in and HDMI are the main physical I/O changes on Pi4. The physical form factor is probably the most identifiable RPi thing about Pi4 really, CPU, GPU etc. all changed. It's the first RPi to use a different graphics chip since the original RPi model A (or was it the B that came first... I can't remember now, doesn't matter really). The form factor of the RPi has largely been the same since the RPi B+ (the first 40 pin GPIO RPi), except the compute boards and zero.

RPi4 is an amazing upgrade compared to the RPi model B I started with... anyone still using a first gen RPi update now!

Update: as far as I know the micro HDMI DAC is the same as the full size one except the size of the HDMI connector. Both the micro and full size are from the same manufacturer. I have been using Vention branded DACs for the last couple of years, if you have one from before I was using Vention it is possible the new ones are higher quality (not definate though, the mixed quality of generics was why I swapped to a brand name product for them, some generics are fine but either my standards got higher or they were getting worse...).
EDIT: I'll pull apart one of each DAC to check at some point, I'm curious now... but still pretty sure they're the same.