Arcade Punks Forum user Smithers (AKA Mr Burns) has created this awesome little Pi 1/Zero image in a vertical format with 900 classic vertical games, in the video below turn on the subtitles for it to make some sense!
As well as this version there is a Pi 3 or Pi Zero 2 and Pi 4 version released. Its an arcade and Vectrex build and you can choose whether to use Attract Mode (the default choice), or Emulation Station. Everything is rotated via scripts so you choose whether you want left or right rotation, what resolution and the script handles everything else (Attract Mode, Emulation Station, Emulators, Console, Artwork… everything will be rotated correctly).
Other features include artwork options (standard or ‘generic’ for a clean, uniform look!), custom bezel and marquee overlays that can be toggled for 16:9 aspect ratios via a single click, scanlines toggle, favourites display in Attract Mode
FROM THE AUTHOR
Please note this is a highly cut down version of the 900-in-1 build – see below list of removed functionality due to performance issues
with the Pi 1 / Pi Zero:
– Removed bezels / overlays (majority of roms are using non-libretro emulators so would not support them regardless)
– Removed ‘generic’ marquees option (there wasn’t much need for them since overlays are now removed)
– Non-Libretro emulators – majority of roms now use ‘MAME-4-ALL’ emulator which sees much improved performance on the old Pi 1 / Pi Zero, this
comes at the cost of being ‘non-libretro’ based so you lose the Retroarch GUI menu and instead use the MAME menu (press ‘TAB’ key to access)
– Removed loading screens – they were an extra resource pull that could be done without on these low power boards
– Removed video snaps – they were too much for the old Pi to handle and have been replaced with static images instead, making the frontend run
much faster and smoother
– Some games that run on the libretro cores will be slow and choppy. This is because the Pi 1 / Zero 1 is old and slow by todays standards. You
may have some luck with overclocking the Pi, or you may wish to try a different emulator (AdvMame for example). For this reason I have left these
poor performing games in the build so you can decide whether you want to try and tweak them to run better or just ignore / delete them.
*Note* – You will have to manually set up your controls (even after the initial EmulationStation control setup) for MAME-4-ALL. To do this just
load a game and press the ‘TAB’ key to access the MAME menu then choose ‘Input – General’ to define your buttons for all games. Make sure you
add an exit key too – you can do this by defining a ‘UI Cancel’ key in this menu and key combos are allowed (e.g. select + start).
See video here for instructions:
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It is highly recommended to run this image with a low resolution like 1024×768 and avoid 1080p for performance reasons!
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+ Below are some the changes made since the ‘800 in 1’ release (note some of these changes only apply to the Pi 3 / Pi 4 build) +
-Custom scripts for rotation and resolution
-Custom scripts for shader (scanlines) and marquee + bezels
-Rotation of Emulation Station
-Rotation of console
-Correct aspect ratio applied to games depending on selected resolution
-Pixel perfect 4:3 aspect ratio adhered to with custom bezels
-Improved Marquees + custom made marquees where none were available
-Option to toggle marquee style (regular or generic)
-Custom built bezels
-Custom built loading images for each game
-Modern themes in both Attract Mode and Emulation Station
-Favourites display in Attract mode
-Extra arcade roms and all utilising Libretro
-Addition of Vectrex system
-Better quality video snaps
-All video snaps converted to be 100% compatible with Emulation Station and Attract Mode
-All roms checked for functionality and best emulator assigned per rom
-Re-ordered romlist in Attract Mode so displayed in name order rather than rom name order
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+ First Boot and Emulation Station Setup +
On first boot the image will boot into Emulation Station where you will be prompted to set up your controller as normal.
Note if you have a bluetooth controller you may need to exit out by pressing ‘F4’ and setup the bluetooth connection via the
normal Retropie Setup Script – link to instructions below:
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Bluetooth-Controller/
Once you have setup your controller you will be taken into the normal Emulation Station frontend and by now you will notice that the screen is not in vertical mode. This is because the rotation has not been applied yet, you choose which direction to rotate (left or right) and my scripts will handle all of the configuring for you!
Go into ‘Retropie’ system and if you need to set up anything then now is your time to do it. When you’re done with any setting
up, select ‘Configure Screen Rotation’, and then choose either Left or Right (your monitor has been rotated either to the left or right).
If you’re unsure what way your monitor has been rotated, don’t worry, I have rotated the images for these 2 options so 1 of them
will look the correct way up when you hover over it (choose that one!), and the other will look upside down (don’t choose that one!).
Now select a resolution. If you are using a 16:9 aspect ratio monitor and want access to the bezels and marquee overlays then
choose either 1080p or 720p resolution. If you’re using a 4:3 aspect ratio display then choose the correct resolution that your
monitor supports. Once you click on one of these options then the scripts will do what they need to do to configure everything
and you will be transported into Attract Mode.
+ Attract Mode Setup +
On first boot into Attract Mode you will launch straight into the list of arcade games. You will need to set up your joystick for use in
Attract Mode frontend so press ‘TAB’ on your keyboard or ‘Joy Button 1 & Joy Up’ together to enter the Attract Mode config menu.
Further instructions for Attract Mode can be found here:
https://github.com/mickelson/attract/blob/v2.4.0/Readme.md
+ Attract Mode Favourites +
When configuring your controls you might want to define a ‘Add/Remove Favourite’ key (it is ‘F’ by default). Then any arcade game that you
add as a favourite will appear in the favourites display. As standard I have set the favourites display to use the ‘Arcade SD’ theme but
feel free to change this to a theme of your choice. When you have added all your favourite games then you can simply use the favourites
display as your main game list, ignoring the full list of games. At this point you may wish to set your controller differently so that
‘left/right’ will move through the game list, rather than ‘up/down’ and you could also have a dedicated button for ‘next system’ instead of
using the joystick.
+ Emulator Controls +
The emulators I have set up are all Libretro based so your controller config should have pulled through as expected when you set up your
controller in Emulation Station’. If you find need to alter any controls for a game them then simply launch a game and press ‘TAB’ to
bring up the normal MAME menu where you can alter controls accordingly. If you need to alter the controls for the FB core games then you
can do that via the normal in-game GUI – link below will guide you:
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/
+ Generic Artwork +
If you want a clean, uniform and modern look to your cabinet then try out my custom made bezels and marquees. Select the ‘Toggle Artwork
Style’ option in either Attract Mode or Retropie menus to switch between ‘regular’ and ‘generic’ modes.
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Troubleshooting:
-Do not set a resolution outside of the dedicated scripts!! You shouldnt encounter any problems with these scripts UNLESS you tried to
amend it yourself. I have tried to cover all of the most common resolutions and I wouldn’t recommend going any higher than 1080p regardless
for fear of performance issues
-Attract Mode controls will need to be set up by you – press ‘TAB’ in Attract Mode and choose ‘Controls’
-Controls for some games may not be set up as you like them so open the MAME menu (normally by pressing the ‘TAB’ key when in a game) and set
the buttons for that specific game
-Some arcade games may require a reset after first boot before they become playable
-Deco Cassette games take a long time to load! I don’t know any way around this -Whilst the vast majority of games run just fine, 1 or 2 may have a touch of slowdown. This is unavoidable as the Pi can only perform so well, especially the Pi Zero 2 although overclocking may fix it and I have included a couple of overclock options in the config.txt file should you wish to try it – completely at your own risk!!
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Credits:
I believe in credit where its due so whilst not involved with this image at all it wouldn’t have been
possible to make this image without them:
Retropie team
Libretro emulator devs
Attract Mode team
Floob – for the pre-made Retropie / Attract Mode image
https://tropicade.org/ – for the guide on creating bezels / marquee overlays
Mr Do’s Arcade – for the plethora of artwork
losernator – for the ‘ssimple-ve’ vertical EmulationStation theme
tenDESIGN – for the Nevato theme
http://idahogaragecade.com/ – for the SDArcade v4 theme
jedione – for the Arcade 1UP theme
Arcade Punks – for an abundance of resources
Support
See the dedicated Arcade Punks Forum thread HERE
| RELEASE NAME: | Mr Burns 900 in 1 Vertical Classics – Pi 1 – Pi Zero |
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