Retro-Go: Emulator launcher with improved emulators

[ducalex]

Hi! Reporting that with the lastest fw, my copy of Link's Awakening DX (Rev A,B, or 1.2) does not appear in the GBC gamelist. Also Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 - Cobi's Journey and a patched version of Tales of Phantasia Nariki Dungeon. I think there are some more too.

Can you tell me the exact file names including extension and the number of ROMs in that folder? Thanks!

[yuda00]

Hi! Reporting that with the lastest fw, my copy of Link's Awakening DX (Rev A,B, or 1.2) does not appear in the GBC gamelist. Also Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 - Cobi's Journey and a patched version of Tales of Phantasia Nariki Dungeon. I think there are some more too.

Can you tell me the exact file names including extension and the number of ROMs in that folder? Thanks!

Sure, these are located in the folder but do not appear in the menu. All of them in .gbc
Dragon Warrior Monsters (USA, Europe) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible)
Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 - Cobi's Journey (USA) (SGB Enhanced)
Legend of the River King 2 (USA) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible)
Legend of the River King GB (USA) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible)
Legend of Zelda, The - Link's Awakening DX (U) (V1.2) [!]
Tales of Phantasia - Narikiri Dungeon (Japan) (SGB Enhanced) (eng patched)
Legend of Zelda, The - Link's Awakening DX (USA, Europe) (Rev A) (SGB Enhanced)
Legend of Zelda, The - Link's Awakening DX (USA, Europe) (Rev B) (SGB Enhanced
Mortal Kombat 4 (USA, Europe) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible)
Power Quest (USA) (En,Fr,De,Es,It) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible)
Quest for Camelot (USA) (En,Fr,Es) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible)
Roswell Conspiracies - Aliens, Myths & Legends (USA) (En,Fr,De)

The gbc folder have 79 roms, only 67 appears in the menu. They appear in 1.31 fw though.

[ducalex]

Sure, these are located in the folder but do not appear in the menu. All of them in .gbc
Dragon Warrior Monsters (USA, Europe) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible)
[...]
The gbc folder have 79 roms, only 67 appears in the menu. They appear in 1.31 fw though.

Thanks, there was a length limit of about 56-57 without the extension, I have increased the limit for the next release . For the time being if you use shorter names, they will reappear in the list.

[yuda00]

Sure, these are located in the folder but do not appear in the menu. All of them in .gbc
Dragon Warrior Monsters (USA, Europe) (SGB Enhanced) (GB Compatible)
[...]
The gbc folder have 79 roms, only 67 appears in the menu. They appear in 1.31 fw though.

Thanks, there was a length limit of about 56-57 without the extension, I have increased the limit for the next release . For the time being if you use shorter names, they will reappear in the list.

Ohh nice! Got it. Thanks!
Btw, is it possible to implement a sort of gameboy color palette filters? or like saturation controls?

[ducalex]

Ohh nice! Got it. Thanks!
Btw, is it possible to implement a sort of gameboy color palette filters? or like saturation controls?

Yeah I noticed some emulators have that option to better simulate OG hardware. Might be interesting, definitely possible!

[ducalex]

New release: Retro-Go 1.35.1 is now available! Download via top post or github.

Changes since 1.34:
- SNES: New Snes9x port (based on 2005 version) with sound! (still very slow)
- GEN: Improved compatibility / updated from bzhxx's upstream
- GW: Added Game & Watch emulator by bzhxx
- Lynx: Fixed crash when opening options menu
- Launcher: Added web file manager
- Launcher: Added network time sync
- Launcher: Increased max filename length to ~72 characters
- All: Fixed some crash recovery issues
- Releases are now built with esp-idf 4.3

Notes about this release:
1. Some of your settings will be reset (save states and favorites are not affected)
2. BIOS files must be moved from /retro-go/system to /retro-go/bios
3. Info about the new wifi features can be found here: https://github.com/ducalex/retro-go/tree/master#wifi

Note: The .1 in 1.35.1 is a last minute fix to pce savestates thanks to ddrsoul, you did not miss 1.35.

[Hensch]

That's a really nice update. This makes it the most complete firmware of the Odroid GO. It makes me wish to have a music player in there as I may use it to upload mp3/flac music and have to change the firmware afterwards. Maybe it could be combined mith a module player to hear some game tracks.

[Cralex]

Really, really loving the new update! I never thought I'd actually play SNES on the ODG, but it's actually speedy enough (with the new sound turned off ) to play some simple games. The file manager is easy to use (wifi client mode for the win!) and seems to be very robust. Some of my large ROM directories would make the old wireless transfer firmware I used to use freeze up, but Retro-Go's implementation simply needs to think longer and then it just works. I've got a couple questions/wish list-y things about the new features in the update. Please take everything with no pressure at all.

1. How hard/performance-impacting would it be to add additional wireless networks? Maybe having a few "slots" for different networks would be an option for the user to select in settings, if it works best to only scan for one network at a time.
2. Is the new NTP feature used to set modified time in files? If so, it would be great to start showing this in the wireless file browser to make it easy to see when saved games were modified for backup purposes and such.
3. For the game and watch player, is it like on the Game and Watch branch of retro-go where they need to be compiled somehow, like with https://github.com/bzhxx/LCD-Game-Shrinker?

It's cool to see that, with the wifi file browser, Retro-Go now has all the important features of the ESP32 Mini Game Box... I got a toolchain working a few versions ago and tried tinkering around with a few things (using the MRGC port as an example) to see if I could get a halfway port booting, but the modified firmware I made was "dirty" or something and wouldn't flash so I gave up.

[ducalex]

1. How hard/performance-impacting would it be to add additional wireless networks? Maybe having a few "slots" for different networks would be an option for the user to select in settings, if it works best to only scan for one network at a time.

That was suggested by ddrsoul and I agree. I don't know if it will be automatic, but there will be a dialog to select "Off" / "Access Point" / "Network 1" / "Network 2" / etc.

2. Is the new NTP feature used to set modified time in files? If so, it would be great to start showing this in the wireless file browser to make it easy to see when saved games were modified for backup purposes and such.

Done. Time is (mostly) monotonic in retro-go so even without NTP it is still useful to see the most recent files. I'll add sorting to the table eventually.

3. For the game and watch player, is it like on the Game and Watch branch of retro-go where they need to be compiled somehow, like with https://github.com/bzhxx/LCD-Game-Shrinker?

Yes, it is that exact same process and format. Someone compiled a bunch of games and shared them in a github issue on retro-go. I don't know if it's still up (copyright and such) but you can look it up.

It's cool to see that, with the wifi file browser, Retro-Go now has all the important features of the ESP32 Mini Game Box... I got a toolchain working a few versions ago and tried tinkering around with a few things (using the MRGC port as an example) to see if I could get a halfway port booting, but the modified firmware I made was "dirty" or something and wouldn't flash so I gave up.

Dirty is fine it just means you modified files in the git repository. If it refused to flash it then it probably just means the .fw format wasn't correct. The format selection is controlled by line 134 in rg_tool.py, you can try adding or removing your new target from that list to toggle format. If that doesn't help then send me the original firmware file and I should be able to figure out the format and add support .

[ducalex]

That's a really nice update. This makes it the most complete firmware of the Odroid GO. It makes me wish to have a music player in there as I may use it to upload mp3/flac music and have to change the firmware afterwards. Maybe it could be combined mith a module player to hear some game tracks.

Funny, I was experimenting with a music player just a few days ago I'll probably support at least mp3 in the future, but ogo-shell supports a lot more format so it's still a better choice to use as a music player.

[Cralex]

Dirty is fine it just means you modified files in the git repository. If it refused to flash it then it probably just means the .fw format wasn't correct. The format selection is controlled by line 134 in rg_tool.py, you can try adding or removing your new target from that list to toggle format. If that doesn't help then send me the original firmware file and I should be able to figure out the format and add support .

You mean the one I built, right? (not the device's OG firmware binaries or source code from the seller's website?) I'll see if I still have it, although there have been a few new releases since then so I may as well update. Also, the IDF I have working is 4.1, so I don't know if that matters or not since you've moved to 4.3.3. I honestly have NO idea what I'm doing, just plugging in screen resolution from the product page and trying other values to see if anything sticks.

The game box's OG firmware does include a fairly nice music player that supports multiple formats, (MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, and OGG that I've tested) but I don't know how hard it would be to include it or if there would be any license issues or anything like that.

Edit: I think you might be onto something with choosing a different target as a basis for the GBM port. I tried making my edits to the MRGC target and I was able to build something that flashes... To a black screen. Progress!

Edit 2: The aforementioned music player, and perhaps the GBM firmware itself, appears to be descended from this project: https://github.com/pebri86/esplay-retro-emulation

[ducalex]

You mean the one I built, right? (not the device's OG firmware binaries or source code from the seller's website?) I'll see if I still have it, although there have been a few new releases since then so I may as well update. Also, the IDF I have working is 4.1, so I don't know if that matters or not since you've moved to 4.3.3. I honestly have NO idea what I'm doing, just plugging in screen resolution from the product page and trying other values to see if anything sticks.

No I meant the original from the vendor. But if you got it to flash then there's no need anymore . Your device uses the esplay .fw format, so your target needs to be listed in the line I mentioned (or you can use mrgc-g32 which is already there). You also need to build with --target=mrgc-g32 (or whatever).

I'm assuming you'll have some GPIO changes and the LCD init code won't be the same so you'll have to figure that out (or find it in the vendor's source code, if you have it). I don't know if you got serial working but that's the first thing I'd do, it will be VERY frustrating to get a new target going without a debug log! (I don't know if the mini device has a usb-to-serial chip in it already?)


Esp-idf 4.1 is fine and supported by retro-go but I personally only test with 4.3 now. If it works for you then no need to change .

[Cralex]

Well, it appears as "USB Serial CH340" under windows when plugged in (looks like the esplay also can be interfaced with via a CH340 driver) so I'm guessing there's some way to get serial output. As for the source code, it appears to be linked in the firmware download for the GBA ESP32 on the vendor's website (https://www.myretrogamecase.com/pages/r ... g-firmware) along with a few binaries. However, the source code archive is a bit of a rats nest, at least to my untrained eye. Not only does it contain more firmware binaries, it also seems to have some or all of the build environment used to build it and a bunch of stuff that might be leftover from the esplay repo it was forked from. I'm guessing everything needed to port retro-go is in there somewhere, but the fun part will be finding it.

If I make any more progress on the Mini Game Box I'll put it on github to keep from clogging up this thread.

[rcarillion]

Wifi file browser with Access Point and extra network slots would make Retro-Go even more awesome.

[Hensch]

Funny, I was experimenting with a music player just a few days ago I'll probably support at least mp3 in the future, but ogo-shell supports a lot more format so it's still a better choice to use as a music player.

Yes I know, but in my opinion the ogo-shell is missing some features. I'd really love to have Status bar, playback time, fast forward, repeat/shuffle, playback of all containing subfolders and resume after power off/on. Maybe there are some more things which are nice to have. What I like on ogo-shell is the multiformat support, the DAC support and the screen blank option to save battery. Maybe you think about it and combine these features to make a really good player. MP3 only support would be ok.

[KD-MM2]

Hi, thanks for hard working. Do you have any plan about developing multiplayer in nes? I was DIY 2 Custom Odroid-Go, 1 for me and one for my bf, So I think it could be more great if Retro-Go support for multiplayer(nes).

I would like to buy you a coffee, do you have Paypal?

[kelbot]

@ducalex @Hensch The OGNucleo firmware from millim is a MUCH more fully featured music player than ogo-shell. I do like that ogo-shell plays more formats but with not having any control over how the playback works is a bummer. OGNucleo is very nice and has shuffle, repeat, bluetooth headphone support, equalizer etc. With the multi-firmware it's really easy to switch between OGNucleo and Retro-Go.

viewtopic.php?f=162&t=42758

[kelbot]

Also, ducalex, I have found a GB game that freezes and I think you missed my comment about it a little while back. Do you prefer that I open a github issue rather than commenting here?

[ducalex]

Hi, thanks for hard working. Do you have any plan about developing multiplayer in nes? I was DIY 2 Custom Odroid-Go, 1 for me and one for my bf, So I think it could be more great if Retro-Go support for multiplayer(nes).

I tried getting netplay to work a few years back but it didn't work very well, it would always eventually get out of sync and there were performance issues. But I'm a lot more familiar with the esp32 now, maybe I will try again some time . The netplay code is still in retro-go but I doubt it builds anymore. Cool looking devices btw!

I would like to buy you a coffee, do you have Paypal?

I don't accept donations at this time but thank you I appreciate the gesture!

[ducalex]

Also, ducalex, I have found a GB game that freezes and I think you missed my comment about it a little while back. Do you prefer that I open a github issue rather than commenting here?

It's possible I missed it (sorry if I did). The last game I added to my list was Daedalian Opus but I haven't looked into it yet. Reports here or on github is fine by me (but I guess github makes it harder to miss/forget...)

[ducalex]

Well, it appears as "USB Serial CH340" under windows when plugged in (looks like the esplay also can be interfaced with via a CH340 driver) so I'm guessing there's some way to get serial output.

After retro-go is flashed for the first time, you should be able to use the command `rg_tool.py --port=XXX --target=mrgc-g32 run launcher` which will build + flash + and open a serial console for you, making it easy to quickly iterate on code changes.

If I make any more progress on the Mini Game Box I'll put it on github to keep from clogging up this thread.

Feel free to PM me or open an issue on github. I don't have time to do the port myself right now but I certainly can offer some assistance.

[kelbot]

Also, ducalex, I have found a GB game that freezes and I think you missed my comment about it a little while back. Do you prefer that I open a github issue rather than commenting here?

It's possible I missed it (sorry if I did). The last game I added to my list was Daedalian Opus but I haven't looked into it yet. Reports here or on github is fine by me (but I guess github makes it harder to miss/forget...)

Daedalian Opus is the one I was referring to so I guess you didn't miss it . I just didn't see any reply to that message so I didn't know if you saw it. No worries.

[Cralex]

One day late for Halloween, but I present to you, a franken-firmware. Retro-Go on the GameBox Mini is ALIIIIVE!

IMG_2629.jpg (237.86 KiB) Viewed 2300 times

IMG_2630.jpg (245.96 KiB) Viewed 2300 times

Turns out, I only needed to change a single variable (screen type) from my last attempt in order to get a working build. I have a meeting to get to soon, but I’ll start collaborating on getting a release-ready version made when I can. I’m out of my mind with excitement!

[ducalex]

Daedalian Opus is the one I was referring to so I guess you didn't miss it . I just didn't see any reply to that message so I didn't know if you saw it. No worries.

I found the issue but I don't think I can fix it. I could add a game-specific hack, I'm not sure.

[micro]

This has come a long way since I last looked at this thread, the progress is amazing! Thanks for your hard work, ducalex!

I really like the network RTC synchronization - I've been meaning to get back to the RTC code for a while now and that will make setting the time on that a lot easier.
I remember I did get everything working at one point with your rg_i2c functions, I just have to find that commit lol. At this point I don't even think an extra library is even necessary.

I also picked up an MRGC-32, I'm looking into modding an RTC into that as well. If I can, I want the RTC chip and the battery to also live in the removable cartridge. I think it's possible - There are a few grounds, a power, and a couple data lines, but the rest of the pads appear to just be floating.

I also have a request if it isn't too much of a pain - do you think support for Wolfenstein 3D / Spear of Destiny could be added at some point? DOOM runs pretty well on this device with all things considered, and since Wolf3D is older I think it could run really well.

[ducalex]

New release: Retro-Go 1.36.1 is now available! Download via top post or github.

Changes since 1.35.1:
- GBC: Fixed Pokemon Trading Card Game
- SNES: Added support for ROMs with extra headers
- SNES: Added low pass filter toggle
- GEN: Added support for interleaved ROMs
- Lynx: Changed samplerate to fix some audio issues
- Launcher: Fixed recently played list
- Wifi and WebUI improvements (thanks to KD-MM2)
- Improved recovery mode reliability


This is mostly a bug fix release.

Wifi changes aren't documented yet but they include support for multiple networks as well as access point mode. I will update the documentation in the upcoming days!

[Cralex]

Ohhh, access point mode is in now? I didn’t realize that. I prefer client mode all day, but access point mode will make install/migration on the Game Box Mini waaay easier.

[ducalex]

Ohhh, access point mode is in now? I didn’t realize that. I prefer client mode all day, but access point mode will make install/migration on the Game Box Mini waaay easier.

It's currently controlled by "mode":

Code: Select all

{
"ssid": "network",
"password": "pass",
"channel": 6,
"mode": 1
}

But I will probably add a built-in entry for AP mode in the next release, I don't see any advantage to require manual config (though manual will still be possible too).


Multiple networks can be specified as such:

Code: Select all

{
"ssid0": "retro-ap",
"password0": "pass",
"mode0": 1,

"ssid1": "home-network",
"password1": "pass",
"mode1": 0
}

[Cralex]

Excellent, thanks. Having an AP mode built-in, or even having a configuration with the AP-mode get created automatically if none exists, would drastically improve my workflow. (Clearing all settings also wipes out the WiFi configuration, so I need to be careful if I’m relying on a working connection.)

[jd2000]

This version is amazing! Most of SNES and MD games are playable at decent speed if you disable sound and set up proper Frameskip value.
However I found a small bug under SNES emulator: When you load a game and open the in-game menu -> Controls, the emulator will crash.
Hopefully this issue can be fixed in next version.

[ducalex]

When you load a game and open the in-game menu -> Controls, the emulator will crash.
Hopefully this issue can be fixed in next version.

I keep breaking that somehow . It's fixed but I'll wait a few days before uploading, in case other issues surface.

[jd2000]

I keep breaking that somehow . It's fixed but I'll wait a few days before uploading, in case other issues surface.

That will be great!

[ducalex]

I keep breaking that somehow . It's fixed but I'll wait a few days before uploading, in case other issues surface.

That will be great!

I uploaded the fixed version but I did not test it out myself (and won't be able for another couple days). It's probably fine, though

https://github.com/ducalex/retro-go/releases/tag/1.36.2

[Cralex]

Turns out that the bug isn’t fixed just yet. Ducalex and I are working/testing to fix it.

[ducalex]

This time I tested it myself, and jdcanado and maybe cralex did too. Third time's the charm.

I'll attach it to top post in a couple days. In the mean time it's at: https://github.com/ducalex/retro-go/releases/tag/1.36.3

[jd2000]

I just tried the 1.36.3, confirmed the SNES emulator won't crash when go to Controls Setting, however it seems the button mapping is incorrect?
For example, for Type A it says:
snes9x -- handheld
A -- MENU
B -- OPTION
X -- START
Y -- SELECT
TL -- A + OPTION
TR -- A + MENU

Shouldn't be following?
snes9x -- handheld
A -- A
B -- B
X -- START
Y -- SELECT
TL -- A + MENU
TR -- B + MENU

[ducalex]

Yeah. The names were wrong because I re-ordered something elsewhere.

Fixed now, thanks!

[uohoon]

Hi! thank you for your works!

Could you check this games? It's not working.

NES Dragon Ball series. This games are my favorite.

[odroid]

Could you check this games? It's not working.

I've removed the attached files since this forum does not allow the sharing of any commercial ROM files..

[lordhardware]

Hey all, long time no see.

About to jump on two 9 hour flights so thought I'd update my Odroid before hand and wow look at the progress made.

I cannot thank you enough ducalex for sticking with this. This product was amazing when it released, but the amount of longevity and usability now is off the charts.

<3



EDIT, just played around with a few GBC games and if you select dummy sound they all run at around 120% speed which makes some games very hard to handle, any way to cap expected emulation performance? Can't see any frame limit options in this new version.

[ducalex]

EDIT, just played around with a few GBC games and if you select dummy sound they all run at around 120% speed which makes some games very hard to handle, any way to cap expected emulation performance? Can't see any frame limit options in this new version.

Dummy isn't really meant for playing, it will cause various pacing issues. If you want no sound you're better setting volume to 0 with any other option.

You're not the first confused by the dummy sink though, maybe I should hide it in the releases...

[ducalex]

Hi! thank you for your works!
Could you check this games? It's not working.
NES Dragon Ball series. This games are my favorite.

Yes I can check. Tell me what is the problem (black screen, error message, freeze, crash, glitch, etc)? and also the name of the ROM so I can find it myself.

[lordhardware]

EDIT, just played around with a few GBC games and if you select dummy sound they all run at around 120% speed which makes some games very hard to handle, any way to cap expected emulation performance? Can't see any frame limit options in this new version.

Dummy isn't really meant for playing, it will cause various pacing issues. If you want no sound you're better setting volume to 0 with any other option.

Thats interesting, in a few games: Speaker + 0 swings between 75-95% speed, but is certainly emulating faster than 100% with dummy.

Would be great to be able to use null driver and some sort of set frame pacing for those titles that need accuracy and speed.

[ducalex]

Thats interesting, in a few games: Speaker + 0 swings between 75-95% speed, but is certainly emulating faster than 100% with dummy.

Would be great to be able to use null driver and some sort of set frame pacing for those titles that need accuracy and speed.

It's normal for dummy to exceed 100% but I wouldn't expect it to fix games that can't do100% in the first place, so that's interesting.

Which emulator performs better with the dummy driver? If it's one that's enjoyable without sound then yeah I could add a fast path when sound is at 0 or something.

You mentioned GBC but GBC really should be at near 100% with or without sound, seems like a regression if it isn't able to do 100% anymore.

[lordhardware]

the always difficult to emulate Mario Tennis was the game i specificially noted.

I think its going to be an explicit edge case (things like v-rally championship might be a similar case), the grand sum of games ive tested are all running between 90-100% speed now.

The overramping is actually beneficial for some games, especially some slow homebrew and gamegear to master system titles as it gets them to the expected speeds (even if its not accurate).

[ducalex]

That's weird, I'm almost sure I fixed Mario Tennis at some point and it ran at 100%.

[ducalex]

I've just uploaded 1.37 (attached to top post and also on github) just to wrap the year with (hopefully) known bugs fixed. One cool thing is the new update tool to download releases (in the about menu) if you have wifi configured, no more SD Card swapping!

Changes:
- SNES: Fixed controls menu labels
- GEN: Small performance improvement
- Launcher: Added tool to download updates

[jd2000]

This new version works very well! Thank you so much.
However I would like to know what is the maximum size of SNES rom can be loaded?
Because I found some 3MB roms won't load, for example, SUPER MARIO ALL STARS & WORLD (SF24055).

[ducalex]

This new version works very well! Thank you so much.
However I would like to know what is the maximum size of SNES rom can be loaded?
Because I found some 3MB roms won't load, for example, SUPER MARIO ALL STARS & WORLD (SF24055).

Max size is 2MB (2.5 really but I don't think such rom exists).

There is a check in there concerning size but I disable it when working on the emulator and I always forget to re-enable it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

[jd2000]

I see, so it won't be able to load games over 2.5MB size now.
As I know, there are quite a few SNES and MD games over 2.5MB,
Ordroid-Go has 16MB flash, is it technically possible to support bigger ROMs in the future?