ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Latest on ARpiCADE new releases, release notes, and history of previous versions.

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ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by dee2eR » Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:13 am

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. I realised after I started uploading I had forgotten to update the instructions files, these release notes are the only new instructions for now.

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 If people want MAME4all back I can add the Retroarch version in future, personally I think it's too out of date to be useful at this point - newer Pis can run newer & better versions of MAME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.

######

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)

######

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.

######
The link:
https://mega.nz/#!Jm4nxA4T!aL8zaZv2nm05 ... RFsY6o8qxM (4.07 GB)

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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by mR_CaESaR » Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:22 am

Awesome!!!

I'll setup the download overnight.

This looks more like a 4.0 release than a 3.82 since there's significant changes from 3.81 to 3.82 :)

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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by dee2eR » Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:31 am

You're right about that. By the original naming convention it would actually be up to ARpiCADE v5 or 6 by now but at some point someone pointed out the ARpiCADE release numbers and Pi revisions were in sync so I started holding off using v4 untill the Pi4. This release was very nearly called 3.9 (as seen in the confusing this morning) but that's what I've dubbed the fresh start-again from Raspian Lite WIP build I have going (crazy early days yet, it only has one emulator - it's a brand new dev branch).

Maybe this release should have been called ARpiCADE 3.82 B+

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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by FrizzleFried » Thu Apr 12, 2018 4:34 am

QUESTION: Where did boot/run.sh go? I can't stop this from re-building the list every time I reboot and my list takes about 5 minutes to load. It also kills my custom lists each time. Help!

;)

(still looking for it myself, but figured I'd ask).

EDIT: ...durr. Found it (ROOT G:).
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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by dee2eR » Thu Apr 12, 2018 6:36 am

Weird, should be in the same place as always.

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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by FrizzleFried » Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:55 pm

dee2eR wrote:
Thu Apr 12, 2018 6:36 am
Weird, should be in the same place as always.
I couldn't remember where it was on the last version... just going by the docs on the site...

My dumb ass read "boot/run.sh" as the BOOT folder in the linux drive... not the boot drive.

Yes, I was getting tired last night.

;)
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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by mR_CaESaR » Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:55 pm

Finally managed to download the file! God love my 2.5Mbps connection! :lol: :lol:

I've just written it, but won't have time to test it out until the weekend..

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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by FrizzleFried » Thu Apr 12, 2018 4:13 pm

It appears that FBA is now saving high scores for Neo-Geo... how about Cave games? I ask as if that's the case, I might actually attempt an upgrade of my vertical cabinet as well... otherwise there's little need to do so as it's operating pretty darn nicely as-is...

NOTE for those considering FBA for Neo-Geo. I've been doing a bit of testing and MAME078 will play most of the Neo-Geo games (all but 17 that I've found) at about 95% the speed of FBA. If you're like me and experience the slight "warble" with Neo-Geo titles in some of the music... you might want to go with a 078 set...

Both FBA and 078 slow down when there's a ton of things going on at once (Metal Slug boss stage as an example)... but even the original hardware did too (but not quite to the extent that the Pi3 does). I'm still playing with overclocking but at 1500 / 525 it's playable, but distracting.

THANK YOU Dee2er ... for the new release!
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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by FrizzleFried » Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:02 pm

I am getting audio "warble" in the music portions of games using FBA. Neo-Geo games... CPS3 games... etc. It's somewhat minor, bit it IS there... Street Fighter III 2nd Strike it was very noticeable. Many Neo-Geo games you can really tell during the initial "Neo-Geo" intro screen. It only happens to "music" ... not samples .

I noticed the issue with FBA using the last version... but only with Neo-Geo titles. I did not notice the issue with CPS3 titles (but I admit I probably didn't play this game specifically that I can remember).

Is anyone else experiencing these minor audio "warbles" (the best way I can describe it... it's like "ticking" but with a slight change in tone with it which gives it a warbleish sound).

Also of note... SFIII didn't save high score.

I wonder what SFIII would be like through 172... probably not nearly as smooth.
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Re: ARpiCADE 3.82 Release!

Post by Matt68061 » Fri Apr 13, 2018 12:29 am

Awesome stuff....

I am also having an issue with the romscan every time I reboot.

Can someone remind me exactly what we have to hash out to stop this. I have tried it like 8 times :lol: and it keeps building the list and killing my custom changes to the list. I see the run.sh file was cleaned up quite a bit.

I am sure it is right in front of my face... long day!

Thanks,

Matt

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