[GPi Case] Recalbox 6.1 Beta 4 (pre-release) - New Public Beta!

[Bkg2k]

Here it is! Public beta for GPi Case is available!

Beta 4 - 2019-09-08

You CANNOT update from beta 1-3 to beta 4. Fresh install required.

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Please, read carrefully this post. Do not jump quickly to the download link without reading the whole post.

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Just flash and boot!

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It's that simple! Recalbox detects and installs automatically everything required to make your GPi case working fine.

Just flash your SD card with the following image, insert the SD card into the GPi cartridge, and switch your GPi on!

DOWNOAD LINK

Wait for a few seconds, then you should see the following image on screen:

Wait a few more seconds (this can be longer for large SD cards) until EmulationStation starts with its usual screen:

Then, enjoy an optimized theme to make your experience rich, smooth and fun!

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Enjoy your Recalbox'ed GPi Case ;)

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What's different from a regular Recalbox?

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When Recalbox detects and installs all GPi case stuffs, it also changes some settings to let you go playing quickly.
Obviously, all settings are available through the START menu and you can still change back what you want.

Here is the list of the modified settings:

• All videomode are set to default to avoid useless HDMI resolution changes
• GPi's hostname is set to RECALBOXGPI
• Kodi and button X are disabled
• Virtual game pad is disabled
• Update is disabled
• Netplay is disabled
• Bluetooth is disabled
• XArcade & PS3 drivers are disabled
• Music popup are disabled
• XBOX360 configuration is replaced with GPi's one (Yes, the GPi controller is also an XBOX360!)
• Our optimized theme recalbox-gpicase is copied into /recalbox/share/themes and activated

What's new in the beta 2:

• Some changes in the default theme
• Fix most of sound hiss and humm
• Power optimization (HDMI and Pi0's LED powered down)
• Lots of emulators/cores updated

What's new in the beta 3:

• Added PCSX Rearmed standalone: Buttons are mapped according to your Recalbox configuration. However, pad number and dpad/joysticks are not. This makes no difference on GPi, but using a Pi0 elsewhere might cause some pad configurations not working properly. This standalone emulator has been heavily modified to mimic the libretro version, however not all features are mapped and/or available. You can save/load with SELECT+X/Y, change slot with SELECT+UP/DOWN. Some other features may have been mapped to SELECT+A/B/RIGHT/LEFT but they could change in the final release.
• Added PISNES (Snes9x) standalone: Same remarks as for PCSX Rearmed. Both emulator does not have an Hotkey entry, so HK is hard-mapped to SELECT for both emulator, even on non-GPi Pi0.

Here is also what's installed:

• dpi-pizero-gpicase.dtbo : GPI's screen driver
• pwm-audio-pizero-gpicase.dtbo : GPi's sound driver
• GPi special shutdown script, initially made by Retroflag and heavily modified for quick shutdown.

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Setup WIFI connection

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You can still use the START menu, get into network sub-menus and configure your WIFI.
However, on the GPi, you have no choice but to use the controller and the virtual keyboard to enter your WIFI password. If your password is complex, this can quickly turn into a painful task.

Here is a quick solution, step by step:

• Flash and boot your GPi. Once EmulationStation is up, press START, enter the Network menu, enable the WIFI and select your SSID.
• Stop your GPi using the SELECT menu / Shutdown option, and wait for Recalbox to shutdown!
• Remove the SD card and use an SD adapter to access the BOOT partition on your PC.
• Open the file recalbox-backup.conf, go to the line starting with ;wifi.key=
• Remove the ; character and add your WIFI password after the =.
• Save the file, insert the SD card into your GPi and boot.
• Once EmlulationStation is up, your WIFI connection should be up also
• Open \\recalboxgpi\share\system\recalbox.conf and change the ;wifi.key= once again. You may change this file using nano via an SSH connection also.
• Save the file. That's all, your connection is set up.

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Installing games

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If your GPi is connected to your network, you should be able to install games as usual, using the samba share ( \recalboxgpi\share in a file explorer) or via the WebManager ( http://recalboxgpi in a web client)

If your GPi case is not connected, and you're running Windows on your PC, you may:

• Boot on a Linux live-CD, and access your regular disks as well as the share partition on your SD card, so that you can copy what you need on the SD card.
• Install Paragon Software to access EXT4 linux partition on your SD Card ( https://www.paragon-software.com/fr/home/linuxfs-windows/ )

Enjoy your favorite games!

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What you should know...

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What game can I run on a GPi case?

You can run any 8/16 console/computer available up to Arcade games.
Yes you can! Really :-)

For arcade, you have PiFBA an ARM optimized FBA version that require a 0.2.96.37 romset.
FBNeo (formerly FBAlpha), MAME2000 up to MAME2003plus run also very well and lots of games are playable.

Some GBA/SNES games, as well as Arcade games, may suffer some lags or slowness. In such case, you may want to disable rewind option in Emulator Advanced Options.

Needless to say, even with optimized options, some games won't run at full speed.

Obviously, I do not recommend to install computer games as they often require a keyboard or a mouse to run.

Can I overclock my Pi0?

Unfortunately, the Raspberry Pi0 is not easy to overclock. Moreover, the GPi cartridge does not have air vents to let the hot air out (At least on the GPi case v1 we use while writting this lines).
And the most important: This beta version DO NOT have proper O/C settings for the Raspberry Pi0.

How long can I play on battery?

First tests tend to show you can play about 2h on battery.

Don't forget your GPi has also an USB power cord. In a car or at home, use the USB cord.
If the cartridge back gets too hot, we recommend to stop your GPi and let it cool down a while.

How can I scrape my games?

The internal scraper is still unavailable in this beta version.
We really recommend to use an external scraper. It faster and better. You may also configure image max size to 170x170 to save space and improve the speed in EmulationStation.

Will I be able to update this beta version?

Yes. With a valid WIFI connection and update option on in EmulationStation, this beta will update to the 6.1 final release when it's available.
UNTIL THE FINAL 6.1 IS AVAILABLE, DO NOT UPDATE YOUR BETA VERSION!
... or you will fall back to a regular 6.0...

What else?

We're still working on optimizing the boot sequence and you could expect faster boots with the final release.
The default theme is still under construction and you could also expect some changes.

Can I install other themes?

Yes. And No.
It is NOT recommended to install regular theme, done for higher resolution. They are not optimized, and may be a lot slower!
However, you may want to give a try to the @mYSt 's Next-Pixel theme for the GPi available HERE

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Troubleshootings

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If you're facing bugs or misbehavior, and especially if you are in the following situations:

• On first boot, there is nothing on the screen after a reasonable amount of time
• You cannot set up the WIFI connection

Zip the following files from the BOOT partition (the one you can read in any Operation System) and post your file here:

• config.txt
• recalbox-backup.conf
• hardware.log

[Aldwinn]

Bonsoir tout le monde et merci pour cette beta très attendue !!!

Premier boot fait tout juste et lors du reboot du changement de langue, le système se bloque après démarrage (figé sur "Amstrad") et aucun bouton ne marche pour en sortir... ( il m'arrivait la même chose avec la 6.0) Merci au safe shutdown qui fonctionne parfaitement! Démarrage suivant OK.
Je continue les paramétrages pour vous faire parvenir d'autres retours.
Un grand merci aux dev!

[snwfrd38]

WOW! Genial l'equipe et merci pour cette release!
Merci ca a l'air de fonctionne pour le moment!
Je test plus en profondeur ce soir!!!!

[cheikh abdel]

bonsoir.
pour moi tout se lance bien.
l'installation s'est bien passé.ensuite je boot sur l'ecran d'accueil recalbox avec l'emulateur amstrad en tete.
et la l'ecran se fige sur amstrad. j'ai eu le cas ou ça a fonctionner 5 secondes et ensuite ecran noir avec les 4 fantomes et un message en bas a droite (illisible désolé).
y a t il quelquun qui rencontre ce probleme?
merci l'equipe.

[Michael Lajoie]

Bonsoir, pour l'instant pas de gros problèmes (hormis le premier boot, un peu long) et le son qui craque sur quelques émulateurs déjà essayé : sgx, neogeo et gba. pour la md ça à l'air d'aller...

[Bkg2k]

To french people: Please use the french thread :)
https://forum.recalbox.com/topic/18158/recalbox-sur-boitier-gpi-beta-publique/2

[cheikh abdel]

This post is deleted!

[Michael Lajoie]

@bkg2k Sorry!

[ian57]

@michael-lajoie pour le son point de salut, il n'y a pas de chip audio et c'est assuré par les pwm du GPIO... du coup c'est très très loin d'être parfait, c'est le mieux que l'on ait pu obtenir pour l'instant meêm en bidouillant les paramètres du pi dans tous les sens.

[acris]

@ian57 said in Recalbox on GPi Case - Public Beta!:

@michael-lajoie pour le son point de salut, il n'y a pas de chip audio et c'est assuré par les pwm du GPIO... du coup c'est très très loin d'être parfait, c'est le mieux que l'on ait pu obtenir pour l'instant meêm en bidouillant les paramètres du pi dans tous les sens.

in english please, @ian57

[amzg]

First and foremost, to thank for this beta 6.1, many thanks.

Two doubts, I thought that in 6.1 you could put video snaps, I do not get it, must we activate something?

And the second, is the psx cores included? It not detect any game.

Thank you

[RescueGamer]

@amzg said in Recalbox on GPi Case - Public Beta!:

First and foremost, to thank for this beta 6.1, many thanks.

Two doubts, I thought that in 6.1 you could put video snaps, I do not get it, must we activate something?

And the second, is the psx cores included? It not detect any game.

Thank you

Very interested on the psx core too. I was testing pcsx-rearmed on GPI Case with RetroPie and it was working like a charm, but I prefer Recalbox and I don't see the way in to get the psx emulator enabled no matter what I do :S

[Bkg2k]

@amzg This has been disabled for Pi0 as, for now, it's not running at full speed

[D4rK_D3ViL]

Bonjour les amis,

Veuillez trouver ci dessous les bugs que j'ai relevé sur la beta :

-manquerai un indicateur de batterie restante

-Mame Magic Sword son avec grésillements assez forts

-Grésillements haut parleurs menu general et lors des chargements

-Son pas assez boosté/mauvaise qualité

-Ralentissements MAME

-Earthworm jim 1 et 2 bug et latence

-FBA certains roms ne marchent pas comme dungeons ans dragons les 2
Et plusieurs autres qui tournent très bien sur le même emulateur sur Retropie

-manque une touche Screensaver (select sur retropie) permet de mettre l'écran en veille plus rapidement

-bug du logiciel lorsque l'on veut trier les jeux par dernière partie jouée

C'est surtout les problèmes de son le plus génant, et aussi les emulateurs qui ne fonctionnent pas bien contrairement a une autre os

Sinon j'adore ! Cette version est vraiment très prometteuse !

[acris]

@d4rk_d3vil said in Recalbox on GPi Case - Public Beta!:

Veuillez trouver ci dessous les bugs que j'ai relevé sur la beta :
-manquerai un indicateur de batterie restante

In english please.
@D4rK_D3ViL
French People : https://forum.recalbox.com/topic/18158/recalbox-sur-boitier-gpi-beta-publique/75

[RescueGamer]

@bkg2k Don't know if you are talking about video snaps or psx emulator. In case of psx emulator, did you tried pcsx-rearmed core, the non libretro standalone one?? It needs to manually map the controls (maybe you need to enable joystick mode of GPI Case's D-Pad with select+left during 5s to be recognized in the emulator), but once you have it, with built in plugins and ntsc region it runs fullspeed in almost all games I've tried, and the ones that not runs pretty damn well with auto frameskip.

[Bkg2k]

@rescuegamer We didn't have time to test the standalone pcx_rearmed, but it sounds promising :)
I was talking about video snaps. Until now they are too slow on the Pi0. We'll see later if we can do something or not.

[amzg]

@bkg2k thanks :)

[Michael Lajoie]

@ian57 Merci pour l’explication technique !
Thanks for the tech explanation !

[bishop]

I've got the problem - my GPi freezes when Wi-Fi is turned on. Can't attach logs here, so the link: https://yadi.sk/d/34wIpOlGw9DWSA