Raspberry Pi

[MartyG]

Had a Pi 2 Model B V1.1 for ages, it was preloaded with loadsa decent stuff so I haven't fiddled about with it much. It's got Recalbox on it and I just tried to add some stuff but it's not even reading my WiFi, even though it's all dongled up with the right key and SSID n all that. Annoying...anyone had this? I initially thought I could just cram loadsa ROMs on an SD card but no such luck I'm afraid, I thought it would be so easy...

Could be any number of things, first thing I'd do is get a command prompt up, type sudo raspi-config and setup the wifi again through the config tool (this is assuming recallbox image is on top of Raspbian).

[JazzFunk]

Oh god that looks scary! Man I'm so crap with computers right now, haven't bothered with em for yeeears. Know it sounds thick but do I do that on the Pi or the laptop. Uhhhh. Feel thick as. Ha.

[MartyG]

On the Pi using the "Direct access" - it'll just bring up a text menu that allows you to configure things on the PI.

The SSH stuff (which would be from your laptop via Putty) needs the network to be working before you can connect remote to the Pi, although you could always plug in a network cable and use it to set up wifi via raspi-config

If you're going to plug a network cable into the Pi though, you may as well transfer the games whilst that is plugged in and forget about getting the Wifi working.

[JazzFunk]

Cheers for all that meaty info mate, gotta get up early for work but will deffo be giving this a go this week when I've got a chance, fancy the challenge, too rusty in this regard!

(goes hunting for network cable in spare room... )

[Colin]

that md case is awesome, only problem with the pi though is the frontends look like trash. Going to the effort of making it look like a ace md is kind of ruined when you boot it up and have an ugly frontend dealing with your games, wonder if it's improved since i last dabbled on my pi?

There are absolutely tons of front ends now, definitely take another look if you haven't for a while.

[Digfox]

that md case is awesome, only problem with the pi though is the frontends look like trash

Can't agree with that.

Even Emulation Station in its early days was functional, with clean design and consistent style. However it has come on a long way, with stuff like video snaps (fullscreeen, partial etc.), theming, customisable placement of lists etc. Also a lot of these Retropie builds can run Attract Mode too. That said I still think LaunchBox is the best looking frontend but Emulation Station is getting better all the time.

I think where Retropie and it's like fall down is when you have to go into one of the configuration options. At this point all the pipework of the Linux-Raspbian software is exposed. And it ain't pretty if you don't know what you are doing.

That said the advantage the Raspberry Pi has over everything else (other than PC maybe) is the community which is pushing forward with updates at an amazing pace. Although the platform agnostic nature of the components (Emulation Station, RetroArch etc.) means it can be done on other platforms.

As someone who has dabbled with many of these frontends, Lakka and even modded Xbox etc., I wouldn't describe the RetroPie/Emulation Station frontend as 'trash'.

[Escape-To-88]

You can make your own frontend relatively painlessly if needed. There are all sorts of CRT ones if you're using it on a tube set too.

[QualityChimp]

So, if I wanted to get into this and make my own emu Pi, what would be a good starter kit for me to put on my Christmas list?

Maybe £50-60?

[Digfox]

I'm sure other will reply but you can get kits like this: https://thepihut.com/collections/ras...us-starter-kit - £60

The current 3B model is the best for emulation as the most powerful and latest version of the Raspberry Pi.

Typically these starter kits will include a small mSD card, PSU and case without on/off switch. The advantage of the kit I've linked to from The Pi Hut is that the PSU is official and therefore you'll have no issues with power.

Personally I would buy the things separately so you get what you need:

• Raspberry Pi Model 3B+
• Official Power Supply
• mSD card - size of YOUR choosing
• HDMI cable - if you need it
• Ditto for Cat 5/6/7 Network cable - although the RPI3B+ has onboard WiFi - but it is useful to have a network cable at the start.

Then a keyboard/mouse/joypad combo of your choosing. Joypad can be anything from a PS3, 360 or whatever. I personally use a Wireless Xbox 360 controller or a 8bitdo SN30 Pro most of the time. The KB&M is more for setup when required. The logitech K400R is cheap and awesome for this sort of task.

Although it will smash your budget the NES, SNES and MD cases discussed here recently are awesome but will cost £20-30 ish alone.

[QualityChimp]

Thanks, Digfox!
That's a perfect answer and very helpful.

[Digfox]

Np. I didn't have a case in my list, although obviously you'll get one with a starter kit. And as I was alluding to the RetroPi (NES, SNES, MD) cases are worth it, but obviously worth considering a case although you can run things without one.

[QualityChimp]

No, I get that, thanks, and I would totally get one of those MD cases, but I followed your link and saw it had a case, so I'm fine to start off with that, cheers.

I'll add it to my wish list!

[Asura]

This might seem a daft question, but what is the best option for wireless pads for the 3B+?

I ask because I see those MegaPi consoles have a matching controller that you can buy; they look great, but only have 6 face buttons (no shoulder buttons etc.).

It makes me think; what is the definitive Pi wireless pad? Presumably you need something with at least L2/R2 shoulder buttons... But you also ideally need something with 6 face buttons for fighters.

[Digfox]

Subjective isn't it?

DS4/Xbox One/Xbox 360 controllers will all work through their respective Wireless adaptors or Bluetooth adapter (where relevant).

The pad I've taken to really liking is the 8bitdo SN30 Pro: http://www.8bitdo.com/sn30-pro-g-cla...r-sn30-pro-sn/

It's perfect for 2D stuff because the analog sticks don't get in the way, but has these sticks for the few games that need it. Not as ergonomic as the DualShock 4 etc. but that's less of an issue with 2D games. Can work with it's own 8bitdo adapter or through the RPi 3's Bluetooth. I really like these controllers.

[MartyG]

I'm sure other will reply but you can get kits like this: https://thepihut.com/collections/ras...us-starter-kit - £60

The current 3B model is the best for emulation as the most powerful and latest version of the Raspberry Pi.

Typically these starter kits will include a small mSD card, PSU and case without on/off switch. The advantage of the kit I've linked to from The Pi Hut is that the PSU is official and therefore you'll have no issues with power.

Personally I would buy the things separately so you get what you need:

Normally I'd agree and say avoid the kits, but in this case I'm not sure you'll save much buying separately; the Pi Hut kit is actually not bad value at £60 as they're not filling it with useless fluff.

If you total the individual items on Amazon, this comes to over £60 before postage, dropping the HDMI and ethernet cable saves about £6-8. If you're starting from scratch, the only downside with the kit is the size of the memory card which you'll probably end up overwriting with an EmulationStation image.