Vertical Scrollers - 90s to 00's on Retropie Pi Zero

[Codiene]

Does anyone else out there use a Pi Zero running Retropie to play shmups? Looking for some help from anyone that has experience.

I'm trying to play some vertical scrollers from 1990 through 2000. I can get some to run on the different board systems but then others on the same system won't. For example I can get gigawing to run on CPS2 but not Dimahoo. There are also some systems I cannot get any games to run.

I'm aware of some peoples feelings on the Pi and I know the zero isn't a powerful board but it is as good as the Jamma multi-carts that run all the vertical games from this era and it had low entry cost to get involved and use to work out what kind of games I like before buying some of the limited re-releases on Switch/PS4. Many of the games I have only seen on attract mode inn the arcade or played a handful of times back then.

As ever any help greatly appreciated, drop me a PM if you prefer.

PS I've also just managed to play Crisis Force 'on' the NES which I've wanted to play for as long as I can remember and it is a lot of fun

Cheers

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Depending on what version of MAME you're running on your Pi, you need to have a romset that matched accordingly so the games can run. Unlike NES and SNES emulators, MAME actually changes what files it expects to see in the rom's .zip file depending on what version of MAME you're running.

A list of Retropie MAME versions and what # romset version they require is listed here: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/MAME/

[Codiene]

@BareKnuckleRoo thanks for that info, doing some reading now. I'm using Final Burn to run arcade games.

Looks like I might not be able to play some of the games I really wanted to try out but not giving up yet as some that are not listed or noted as untested do work. But for example Change Air Blade, Cyvern and Sengeki strikers I can't seem to get to work in Mame or Final Burn.

Was wondering if anyone else had extensively tested just shmups. I'll post up some findings/experience when I've tested more but for a circa £30 investment (board, case+adaptors& cables, PSU and memory) I'm not going to complain. There is plenty I can play using the setup. But might need to look at an alternative (that doesn't involve me selling my soul ) to play the ones I can't get to run.

[el_rika]

All shmups you mentioned are working in FBN and/or Mame.
Mame is usually more picky with the romset, while FBN tends to play (almost) any rom version/revision.

[leodash]

I tried Retropie on Pi 1 (700MHz). Only tested Dodonpachi, Raiden 2, and Strikers 1945 II. They run super slow. I gave up on playing arcade on my Pi 1 and then searched for NES games. Found some that looks fun but haven't test them yet. I'm tempted to buy Pi 3/4.

[el_rika]

I'm pretty sure Dodonpachi and the rest with that driver (Esprade, Fever Sos, etc) should run pretty good even with that CPU. Try an older version of FBA.
NeoGeo games should run well too.

[heli]

I have a RasPi4 2GB, every game works, exept for those with the alpha-blended explosions ( beyound 2000 , like muchi pork )

[leodash]

I'm pretty sure Dodonpachi and the rest with that driver (Esprade, Fever Sos, etc) should run pretty good even with that CPU. Try an older version of FBA.
NeoGeo games should run well too.

I tried with all available emulators on Retropie. I mean even arcade Bubble Bobble runs slow on it. I did ask around and everyone said the same thing. I'll try some handheld emulators when I got some time.

Also, clock speed alone doesn't determine anything. Pi 1 uses the old ARM chip that has bad architecture.

[el_rika]

Try Retroarch (go for a version from 2013 - 2014), if it runs on that device. It has a lot of cores, old and new for Fba.

I used to run NeoGeo games and Cave 1st gen full speed on my 600 mhz Celeron back in the day. Maybe you CPU is a bit worse though (Celeron was a pretty crappy at the time as well).

[el_rika]

I have a RasPi4 2GB, every game works, exept for those with the alpha-blended explosions ( beyound 2000 , like muchi pork )

Cv1000 games require much more CPU power.
On mobiles they only became playable full speed on Snapdragon 845.

[dmk1198]

Timely thread for me
Just put retroarch on my SNES mini
Wow that's a great piece of kit!!
Running NES and genesis roms perfectly
And pleasantly surprised how many mame classics it's running to
Any tips on how to get more running greatly appreciated
Buzzin

[emphatic]

Do you have the BIOS file for Cyvern?

[Codiene]

@el-rika the Pi Zero doesn’t run FBN it runs FBA on a standard install and I haven’t tried loading any other emulators on as this is all very new to me at the moment and I have limited time to spend experimenting.

From what I can tell the Cave6800, Capcom cps2 and Toaplan SH2 games I’ve run seemed to play at the right speed? But I have not had any extensive play tests and haven’t played most since they were in the arcades. I also have no originals to compare performance or test them against.

The stock pi zero install also has a couple of other emulators, I’m not near the pi now so can’t check but I’m sure one other is mame4all.

I’ll populate with more games to test and update the thread. I could post some short videos of them playing so anyone with more knowledge can comment if they think the games aren’t running properly, if people are interested?

[Codiene]

@emphatic yes I think it is in the zip with the rest of the dump. Does it need to be located elsewhere for the kaneko super nova games?

[el_rika]

I could post some short videos of them playing so anyone with more knowledge can comment if they think the games aren’t running properly, if people are interested?

These games are fully emulated and should have no issues (even on older emu versions) outside of running full speed or not. If you can enable a fps gauge, then it is simple. If it stays around 60, you're all set.
If not, then audio is your friend. It should have no skips or distorsions, which means again that the games are full speed.

[WelshMegalodon]

It will never cease to disappoint me that people here would even consider RetroPie, but it is what it is.

[Codiene]

It will never cease to disappoint me that people here would even consider RetroPie, but it is what it is.

I'm not sure why running retropie is disappointing to anyone? Or why there is a need to broadcast this whenever there is an active discussion going. I'm genuinely trying to understand peoples reasoning. Its just a case of 'horses for courses'.

Is the Pi a power house, no of course not. Do I think it is the best thing to cover all my retro gaming needs, obviously not. I agree there are much better options out there BUT it is one of the most cost effective ways to get involved again.

For me like I said before, I have accepted its limitations and my focus is 90's-00's vertical shmups. It has an extremely low entry threshold for people wanting to play older games? Trust me I would love nothing more than to have a home setup to play the original games and the disposable income to purchase the boards or the systems and some rare carts/CD's for ports or console exclusives but that just isn't where I'm at right now.

If I find there are games that I like I will get a few of the re-releases for the current Gen consoles I own, Switch and PS4 (assuming they are not super limited and prohibitively expensive). Unfortunately I don't have access to the really large retro collection I used to. I had to stop collecting and sell up over a decade ago, which still hurts to this day as I knew when I sold it I would never be able to afford to recover the collection in the future once it was gone and I was right, prices are really high these days. I've been buying video games for getting on for 30+ years now and have never had a problem supporting developers either.

On top of this there are some games I have wanted to play since the 90's that just don't have home ports Kaneko Super Nova titles and some SSV systems games are examples I can think of.

To my mind all of this coupled with the simple install, makes the Pi a PRACTICAL place to start playing again for those that have sensibly accepted its limitations.

[Codiene]

If you can enable a fps gauge, then it is simple. If it stays around 60, you're all set.
If not, then audio is your friend. It should have no skips or distorsions, which means again that the games are full speed.

Thanks, that's useufl info. I'll enable the FPS clock and use audio issues as a cue as you mention to check and compile a list as I go through and test more.

[heli]

It will never cease to disappoint me that people here would even consider RetroPie, but it is what it is.

Who cares if it dissapoints you ?
You have better alternatives for playing ROMs ?
Then please share what you want us to play with.

[WelshMegalodon]

I'm not sure why running retropie is disappointing to anyone? Or why there is a need to broadcast this whenever there is an active discussion going. I'm genuinely trying to understand peoples reasoning. Its just a case of 'horses for courses'.

Is the Pi a power house, no of course not. Do I think it is the best thing to cover all my retro gaming needs, obviously not. I agree there are much better options out there BUT it is one of the most cost effective ways to get involved again.

For me like I said before, I have accepted its limitations and my focus is 90's-00's vertical shmups. It has an extremely low entry threshold for people wanting to play older games? Trust me I would love nothing more than to have a home setup to play the original games and the disposable income to purchase the boards or the systems and some rare carts/CD's for ports or console exclusives but that just isn't where I'm at right now.

If I find there are games that I like I will get a few of the re-releases for the current Gen consoles I own, Switch and PS4 (assuming they are not super limited and prohibitively expensive). Unfortunately I don't have access to the really large retro collection I used to. I had to stop collecting and sell up over a decade ago, which still hurts to this day as I knew when I sold it I would never be able to afford to recover the collection in the future once it was gone and I was right, prices are really high these days. I've been buying video games for getting on for 30+ years now and have never had a problem supporting developers either.

On top of this there are some games I have wanted to play since the 90's that just don't have home ports Kaneko Super Nova titles and some SSV systems games are examples I can think of.

To my mind all of this coupled with the simple install, makes the Pi a PRACTICAL place to start playing again for those that have sensibly accepted its limitations.

Man, you and your false dichotomy. You can get much better emulation than what's available on a Pi without breaking the bank. I have a 3rd-generation i5 from 2010 that will run circles around a Pi Zero. It's absolutely not worth the hype.

There's being cheap, and then there's reusing a dirty condom because it's marginally cheaper than swapping it out for a new one.

[heli]

i5 is alot bigger, with more wires and things.
A raspi you connect to your TV, and place it anywhere, next to the SEGAs Nintendos, and Playstations.
No room for another computer, that would be my third PC.

Naaah gaming is gaming, dont confuse it with a PC, it is something else, a total bloat.

[WelshMegalodon]

i5 is alot bigger, with more wires and things.

A PS4 is 12" x 10.8", while the laptop I'm using to write this post is 13.19" x 9.13". Please tell me you're joking.

[Codiene]

I’m not sure where the dichotomy lies? I have agreed with you and I have painstakingly pointed out I understand the limitations of the zero. There are better emulation options if I want to run a wider range of newer games and systems.

You’re right you could buy an old laptop, but for the sub £30 I spent on the complete Pi setup with case cables etc? To get something of that age from eBay you’d likely be buying a machine in a bit of a state so that In itself has its drawbacks.

And if you think I’ve succumbed to hype. I don’t know what to say. I’m not here pushing it as the best solution for all your emulation needs. Pi’s have been around for quite some time and I’m pretty late to be getting involved now but that’s just the way it worked out for me. I deliberately went for the £5 pi zero to give Retropie a try because I’m not intending to run post 2000 process power dependent games on it and it’s good to try stuff for yourself sometimes. It’s as much about learning new stuff for me. If I decide to play more recent games in the future I’ll have to get something more powerful, but maybe, just maybe, hardware emulation will push forward and raw power won’t be the solution to preserving and running systems and games more accurately anymore.

[Codiene]

@emphatic and el-rika

Still can't get the SSV games to run in Libretro or FBA. From what I have seen these should run but the roms just fail to load. I have tried a few different places but all the roms seem to be the same file. Change Air Blade doesn't appear to have a bios file associated with it but Cyvern does.

Is there something I am missing with these games?

EDIT: any help in working out why i cant get these to run in any emulator would be most gratefully received, they are two I am most eager to try.

[WelshMegalodon]

Both of those run just fine in MAME 0.222, pal. Maybe the problem is your shit-tier hardware.

(Cyvern does have some graphical issues, yes, but that's only because the emulation is still in progress.)

[el_rika]

Cyvern runs perfectly in FBN, but i'd give up on this game on Pi, as it's way too demanding.
Pi is great value fornthe money, but use it only for what it plays well (Cps1,2, NeGeo, Cave 1st gen and the likes).

[Codiene]

@el-rika thanks and noted. If there’s a good place to read up on what makes certain stg’s more demanding or difficult to emulate than others then let me know as I’d like to understand more about this.

I’ve got many games to play on the pi zero there are a few that should run that aren’t. I say that as I know they are running on similar spec micro consoles like the super retrocade so I will do a bit ore testing and then do a summary so if anyone else is ever interested they at least have some useful information about what it can run as opposed to the “pi zero is crap” response.

Will post findings here with as much useful detail as I can.

[el_rika]

Use this site to see what hardware a certain arcade game was made on http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/

As a general rule, the more advanced the hardware, the more demanding it is to emulate it.

Note: there are some games that used to have speedhacks in older mame/fba versions (Strikers series and games on the same driver ran much faster in fba v. from around 2012) so actual testing is ultimatelly the best gauge.

[emphatic]

I run Cyvern in AdvanceMAME on my Pi3B. AFAIK, I have the bios file in my roms root, just like the cyvern.zip rom. I'm sure it does suffer from incomplete emulation, but I'm not playing it for score anyway.

[dmk1198]

Any reason why retroarch on my shield only has mame 2003 plus as latest option?
No mame 2010 or 2013 to download? Bit weird