Which Version - Opinions?

[FrizzleFried]

OK... I am 95% happy with my current vertical oriented build running the oldest(?) version of the ARpiCADE hardware and the ole Pi3 ...

I find it plays the vast majority of the games that I want to play on the vertical cabinet though there are a few shooters that experience a bit of slowdown and of course most things are running on AdvMAME so the emulation is suspect on some games and a little more than suspect on others.

I'm considering building a new one to cover those 5% or so... and because I'm a bit bored and need a project anyway. I figure when I am done I'll replace the Pi3 version I have in the cabinet and then sell the Pi3 version ... or use it elsewhere (how awesome it would be if somehow someone could figure out how to make HAPP guns work with it... ).

My biggest question is... Pi4 or Pi5? I see some reports of difficulty with Pi5 that I'd like to avoid unless the Pi5 is just that much better. Will it be noticeable on a vertical build or maybe I should just go Pi5 as it opens the flexibility of it being used in a horizontal oriented cabinet as needed/desired as well...

I could always just upgrade the interface PCB I have here but that would involve updating the fuse and I'm none-too-keen on messing with modern PCBs... I'm all thumbs. Plus I like the ability to just switch as necessary until I am happy with the updated build.

One other thing... I think I asked this before but never really dove in to it. Now I think I need to... I have years of high scores on that Pi3 version...

How difficult will it be to move high scores over from the Pi3 SDcard tot he Pi4 SDcard. We can move them all (whole folder) or just select a few (I have maybe a few dozen I'm most interested in). What would be the process exactly?

Thanks!

[dee2eR]

You're probably best of with a Pi4 for now. As you've seen in the other thread ARpiCADE_5 is rough around the edges at the moment, needs a lot of work. Pi4 can run ARpiCADE_4v3.2 (the Pi4 software mentioned in the other thread) as well as ARpiCADE_5 so you could have a stable build and the current software on 2 SD cards and swap if you liked (if there are changes needed to your themes on ARpiCADE_5 a Pi4 can still test it if you like).

Pi5 is getting there faster than Pi4 did but I'm not ready to be worrying about high scores etc yet... you've seen the thread. Still need to recompile to get rid of the warnings, lol.

You can probably move at least some of your high scores. Anything in MAME0.172 could be copied over to 172 on the newer build. AdvMAME gets less and less use with the newer Pis and used a different high score system so any score in AdvMAME may not be so easy to copy over. 172 to newer I'm not sure, the high score system changed again at some point but I don't know offhand.

Pi4 will be a noticable upgrade for you if you can spot the (admittedly sometimes obvious) flaws of AdvMAME. Much more stuff runs great in newer MAME versions on Pi4. Pi5 can run most 2D games in current (when ARpiCADE_5 released) MAME, in case you're curious.

EDIT: is the later CAVE shmups something you care about? If so maybe consider the RPi5, even with its rough edges it runs them better than Pi4 does.

[FrizzleFried]

...and of course the majority of my games currently are running under AdvMAME so I'd have to figure out how to move those high scores over... regardless of difficulty.

It always seems to be that way, huh?

I'm thinking my timing isn't the best... and maybe I shoudl re-visit this upgrade in 6 months to a year when the Pi5 version is a little more mature...

[FrizzleFried]

Things to think about...

...call me adventuresome.

... call me stupid.

I'm leaning toward going with a Pi5 and just having a good time with it. I actually have a spare 2-way JAMMA switcher laying around here... I'm thinking I keep the Pi3 version and add the Pi5 version to play with at my leisure...

I've almost convinced myself.

I have a spare 64GB SD card already here... but a 128GB would be nice... decisions decisions.



(If you've not noticed... I've doing a pretty good job of convincing myself...)

[FrizzleFried]

...and the more I think the more I think I might just go Pi4 and be happy. What am I gaining with Pi5 vertical over Pi4? Hell, I'm not gaining much going Pi4 to be honest aside from a move from AdvMAME to something more accurate (which I think is probably important... I don't really know WHY it's important but something inside says it is).

Ah...

[FrizzleFried]

Welp... FWIW I 'realized' that my 4-Player cabinet (running only 4-player games) is running a Pi4... so I added a bunch of games to it to test out and was (to be 100% honest) less than impressed with the performance bump from the Pi3. Sure... it's there... but it's not enough of a performance bump to warrant the work IMHO so I decided to go for the gusto ... full well knowing it's going to be a little work for a while ... and got the Pi5.

It arrived (with active cooler) a few days ago... waiting on JAMMA hardware (out for delivery for today). I've already created the PI5 image ... added my .251 software ... added my custom ROMLISTS ... added my layouts ... snaps/movies ... marquees ... etc....

Just waiting for the hardware to arrive ... and I'll be playing with it tonight.

W00t...

[cool_factor]

Welp... FWIW I 'realized' that my 4-Player cabinet (running only 4-player games) is running a Pi4... so I added a bunch of games to it to test out and was (to be 100% honest) less than impressed with the performance bump from the Pi3. Sure... it's there... but it's not enough of a performance bump to warrant the work IMHO so I decided to go for the gusto ... full well knowing it's going to be a little work for a while ... and got the Pi5.

It arrived (with active cooler) a few days ago... waiting on JAMMA hardware (out for delivery for today). I've already created the PI5 image ... added my .251 software ... added my custom ROMLISTS ... added my layouts ... snaps/movies ... marquees ... etc....

Just waiting for the hardware to arrive ... and I'll be playing with it tonight.

W00t...

Really hope your layouts work for the pi5, I'm NOT a fan of the Opacity theme at all.

[dee2eR]

lol, Opacity is a FrizzleFried design originally: https://idahogaragecade.com/2019/03/30/ ... t-opacity/ I just modified it for auto screen rotation (only works with ARpiCADE or other software with the same directory structure) and better readability at 240p.

I'll take a look at SD arcade v3 this week. I'm very curious as to what happened when you tried it... I think there may have been some coincidental timing and something else went wrong for you when you tried it but I'm not sure.

EDIT: just grabbed SD arcade v4 and will check it out.

[cool_factor]

lol, Opacity is a FrizzleFried design originally: https://idahogaragecade.com/2019/03/30/ ... t-opacity/ I just modified it for auto screen rotation (only works with ARpiCADE or other software with the same directory structure) and better readability at 240p.

I'll take a look at SD arcade v3 this week. I'm very curious as to what happened when you tried it... I think there may have been some coincidental timing and something else went wrong for you when you tried it but I'm not sure.

EDIT: just grabbed SD arcade v4 and will check it out.

I knew that it was Frizs, I just dont like it personally. HUGE fan of his SD layouts. Id bet youre correct, I think its just a font thing with the new build but I could be wrong, it just acted odd.. Just another learning curve to overcome.

[FrizzleFried]

Welp... FWIW I 'realized' that my 4-Player cabinet (running only 4-player games) is running a Pi4... so I added a bunch of games to it to test out and was (to be 100% honest) less than impressed with the performance bump from the Pi3. Sure... it's there... but it's not enough of a performance bump to warrant the work IMHO so I decided to go for the gusto ... full well knowing it's going to be a little work for a while ... and got the Pi5.

It arrived (with active cooler) a few days ago... waiting on JAMMA hardware (out for delivery for today). I've already created the PI5 image ... added my .251 software ... added my custom ROMLISTS ... added my layouts ... snaps/movies ... marquees ... etc....

Just waiting for the hardware to arrive ... and I'll be playing with it tonight.

W00t...

Really hope your layouts work for the pi5, I'm NOT a fan of the Opacity theme at all.

If not... I'll convert `em...