Tag Archives: RetroPi

RetroPie Project

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This month I managed to complete a project I’ve wanted to do for quite some time. I picked up a Raspberry Pi back in February, installed RetroPie and was enjoying it just hooked up to my TV with my old Xbox 360 Hori EX2 Joystick.

I had seen various projects online involving fitting a Raspberry Pi into an existing, or specially built, arcade stick enclosure. This way you have a portable system that just hooks up to power and a screen, and you’re ready to play. Having worked a little bit with customising a stick for my PS4 previously, I figured I’d give it a go.

In deciding on a colour scheme, I was inspired by this classic Namco Playstation Arcade Stick. I am pleased with how mine has turned out.

Components used:

  • 6x fire buttons – Went with the screw in version of the same buttons I used in my PS4 stick. SANWA OBSN-30 Screw in buttons
  • Start and credit feed buttons – These are the smaller buttons at the top. Although I usually prefer SANWA parts, I went with Seimitsu for these because I wanted the translucent yellow. SEIMITSU PS-14-DN-K 24MM Screw in buttons
  • 2x Side buttons – spare originals taken from my Venom PS4 stick, decent enough for function buttons and I like that being a darker colour they look unobtrusive.
  • Ball Top Joystick – Again I went with the same stick I used in my PS4 one, have been very happy with that. SANWA JLF-TP-8YT Ball Top Joystick
  • USB encoder – I got this from Amazon, mostly because I wanted it next day. Seems pretty good so far. Reyann Zero Delay Arcade USB Encoder *
  • Enclosure – Out of stock at my supplier of choice, so I imported one from China.
  • 64gb flash drive – Got this one based on size and speed, but I’ve since learned it runs hot, will need to keep an eye on that. SanDisk Ultra Fit 64GB *
  • Wireless keyboard and mouse – Had these already, the USB receiver for it is tiny, so it’s very convenient to keep installed.
  • Panel mount ports – I just grabbed short extension leads for USB, Micro USB and HDMI from eBay. Only the USB one has proper panel screw fittings, I figure I’ll just glue them in place.

*These are affiliate links, where I will earn commission if you click through and make a purchase

Installation

I originally had the power and HDMI cables plugged directly into the Pi, routed through small holes in the rear of the case. However I wanted to be able to easily detach the cables for storage, so decided to mount power and HDMI ports to the case, along with a USB port for hooking up a second controller. Unfortunately I’m impatient; rather than order some decent attachments for my dremel I only had the couple that came with it. I ended up using a small drill bit to cut the holes, which is why they look hideous. I’m going to glue the ports in place more neatly later, so I’ll tidy the holes up at the same time.

I did briefly look into building the enclosure myself (or getting my Dad involved), but found these pre-cut boxes were so cheap that it wasn’t worth the effort. Almost didn’t get the one with the side button holes, glad I did though, it’s quite nice to have them for hot keys etc.

The RetroPie software is installed on a 16GB SD card, then it’s setup to load roms from the 64GB USB drive. I find this setup preferable to using a larger SD card. Flash drives seem less prone to data corruption as well as being cheaper and generally easier to work with. Now it’s all set up though, I just use WiFi if I want to add any games or change anything I can’t do from within the RetroPie software.

We’re done, for now…

On the whole it was quite straight forward, and gives me confidence for possible future projects. I’ve also got a Pi Zero W from my birthday that I’m still deciding what to do with…

February Gaming

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Just a couple of completions this month, I was going to include ‘Shoppe Keep’ as I thought I was ready to stop playing it, but apparently not. This month I also attended Play Expo in Blackpool, so there are a couple of bits from that to mention.

Games completed during February

halo2vistaHalo 2: Master Chief Collection – Xbox One

A fair few months in the works, my buddy and I finally cleared this in co-op. Great fun, but disappointed by the lack of a final Warthog level that I’d come to expect from Halo finales. Onto Gears of War 4 next!

wEWQWhat Remains of Edith Finch? – PS4

Initial similarities with Gone Home are pretty strong, but there are significant gameplay mechanics that move this slightly away from the ‘walking simulator’ standard. Great story and some pretty dramatic moments. Like Gone Home it’s about a 2 hour play-through, and definitely best experienced in one sitting. It’s worth mentioning that it does have some fairly sensitive subject matter too. It deals with death and loss, so maybe tread lightly if you’re concerned. I can imagine a couple of parts being quite brutal, although I think they actually handle it pretty well.

Also played during February

Power Drift – Arcade & Saturn

Managed to play the full hydraulic Arcade Machine version of this at Play Expo, a machine I’ve wanted to try forever. As such it got me back on the Saturn version, such a great game, and one I’d always choose to play over Outrun. Sorry.

header (1)Shoppe Keep – PS4

I have put too many hours into this. I need to stop.

 

Wulverblade-previewWulverblade – PS4

As with Shoppe Keep, this was one of my pick ups last month. I haven’t made a lot of progress, but managed to put a couple of hours into the Campaign on my own, and also play some arcade co-op. With 2 players it’s everything I loved about Golden Axe, such a great brawler.

February Pickups

Raspberry Pi 3

Finally pulled the trigger on getting one of these. I think it was the C64 Mini that made me do it. I had one of those pre-ordered over on Amazon for about £30 more than the cost of the Raspberry Pi. I saw sense, and cancelled the pre-order in favour of building a RetroPi system. Having a great time tinkering with it and playing a few games. Hoping to build it into a self-contained Arcade Stick that I can just hook up to the TV and play. We’ll see.

PuyoPuyoTetrisLogoPuyo Puyo Tetris – PC

This is the third time I’ve bought this game, but the digital Steam release was much cheaper than the others, and I’m hoping to play a bit online. Maybe I’ll even get a bit better at Puyo. If you like puzzle games like Tetris at all, I can’t recommend this enough, although this port isn’t as polished as the console ones, so maybe start there if you have the systems for it.

Hori Arcade Stick – Sega Saturn

The only thing I bought from the traders at Play Expo, I finally got an Arcade Stick for my Saturn. Really pleased with this, has a great weight to it, and the parts all feel good and responsive. Very much enjoying getting back to my shmups and fighting games on there now.