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Final Burn Neo => FBN Development => Topic started by: seaside on September 25, 2012, 11:10:34 AM
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such as linux,wince/winmobile/android
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Linux does not have anything to do with 'embedded'.
Anyways, fba libretro runs on Linux (and soon to be) Android.
Somebody might donate a WP7 phone down the line, so that would cover that too.
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Today I got FBA libretro running on Android. I threw a couple of ROMs at it and the bigger-sized ROMs like KOF 99 run despite claims of Android apps being limited to 32/64MB RAM - it seems these limits do not apply for native apps, which is how RetroArch Android has been programmed as.
I will commit the new patches soon to the FBA devs so that these can be pushed upstream. At the moment, RetroArch Android will be aimed at devices that are running Gingerbread and up - anything lower is not really worth bothering with because of how limited the NDK was in previous versions.
Every core runs now - the main problem now is optimizing the GL driver, implementing sound (either OpenMax or OpenSL would do), and handling all input in native code.
Performance right now is worse than the Wii (Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 1.2Ghz CPU with Mali-400 MP GPU and around 512MB/1GB RAM) - hopefully that will change as soon as we've identified the bottlenecks in the GL code.
And yes, RetroArch Android as well as all the emu cores will be totally free -none of that 'payware' sh** thanks very much - time to bring back the original spirit of homebrew to these 'app store' 'scenes'.
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That's interesting - like buses, you wait ages for FBA on Android and then two turn up at once:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1932280 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1932280)
Looking forward to both! :smilie:
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Can you upload that onto https://play.google.com/store?hl=en
My friend have a Android.
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Does anybody know how compatible fba core might be with WinRT (Win32 replacement for Windows 8 app) ?
Since directx and C++ are supported (with some restrictions) on WinRT, fba could become a nice WinStore App.
The only issue is to locate all fba Win32 system calls which disapeared in WinRT and of course rewrite the interface Modern UI style...
Any idea ?
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OK, so I waited before commenting on that other 'port' until it had actually been released.
And just like I suspected, it's once again all about 'making money' with the 'donate version' (2.99 Euros here). Yes, I know there is a 'free' public download on xda-developers - doesn't matter - the masses don't even know nor care that an 'apk' is available somewhere on some obscure site since most phones/tablets are unrooted and they can only install stuff from the App Store - so where do you think they will be getting this from? That's right, you'll have to pay the emu porter to be able to use the emu port - ie. the 'donation'.
And again, the source is not really made available to the public in any useful way - he says libafba is licensed under the GPL, but no link on where to get his 'source' (not that I really need it - FBA already runs here on RetroArch Android - but still, it is my RIGHT provided by the GPL that I can look at any derivative sourcecode).
libafba, like FBA, is released under the GNU GPLv2 licence: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0-standalone.html
(Actually, I'm not sure if FBA is licensed under the GPL 2. Perhaps somebody from the FBA dev team can make that clear).
His previous library version of gngeo also didn't have the source put up somewhere at a publicly available site - you had to personally e-mail him in order to get the source. I mean this is just bullshit - nobody should have to PM anybody in order to get the source - this should be publicly made available and it's the developer/porter's responsibility to put up your sources, no questions asked.
And sorry but I'm going to put my foot down on this sh** - just to make it clear what RetroArch and libretro will NOT be about - and the second reason why it's going to be on Android beyond being merely about 'playing games' - it's also about changing the business landscape there - and more importantly, 'killing it off'.
RetroArch and its ports is NOT about making money - RetroArch will be for free, on any console, on any tablet, on any phone, whatever. Anybody who will ever pay money for any libretro port or any RetroArch port - know that you have been scammed and that you should demand your money back from whomever ripped you off.
This is why it's important that RetroArch makes its appearance on these 'App Stores' for free - to totally kill off this 'make a quick buck by making emulator ports' business. No, you shouldnt feel 'entitled' to making money just because you can port an open source emu - no, putting up a 2.99 Euros version without ads is not really a 'donate version', no, just because the GPL makes it 'possible' for you to do this shouldn't mean that you should do it.
These 'App Stores' and this whole new way of 'making homebrew/doing business' is f***ing up the original spirit of homebrew and open-source. You can call me crazy now, but a few years from now and when everything will have a price tag associated to it and nobody will have the inclination to release any source anymore you will know that I was right. Everybody championing this sh** on happening on the Android App Store/Apple Store is a pallbearer who never gave a damn about open source and free software in the first place.
f*** this entire 'monetizing your apps/port' sh**.
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I totally agree with you, he is not asking for donations, he is selling a version of FBA, although, he might be doing a workaround on this... he is not really selling the "core" just the front end... but he is still not releasing the source for libafba ...
he seems to be doing the same for several other emulators as well
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On Android you will always compile your emulator C/C++ core separately as a native library - so that part is no different from any other emu that has been released. Also, one does not work without the other - everybody understands this.
Anyways - I'll be committing an update to the libretro port soon - hopefully the FBA devs can push it upstream - it will have an Xbox 1 solution, Android makefiles and more improvements.
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yeah I understand, just I notice that he might be doing a "workaround" then he can claim he is just selling the front end... shaddy on my book :)
I am looking forward for your release :)
I am rocking RetroArch on my 360 jtag ;)
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Wow -
Well there's a few things to clarify.
- First: FBA is based on FB which is based on a multitude sources under the GPL licence. The GPL allow monetisation and donation. FBA author can't claim its own licence ...
- Anyway: aFBA is just a frontend to libafba and so can remain closed. libafba, which is a port of FBA is released under the GPL licence as stated on the market and so sources are available on demand.
So thanks to worry about me internet police but all is ok there.
I saw this douchebaggery happen before with ekeeke and Genesis Plus GX ports on Android (the one by Halsafar charging up to 5 dollars) and I personally made sure in this instance (Halsafar) that ekeeke got his wishes granted and that the 'payware' version got reinstated into a free version (this was after having to go through a lot of stonewalling, circular reasoning and outright fights with this Halsafar guy because he didn't want to do the right thing and do what the author had requested him to do so). This is why I was booted off a site called Homebrew Cafe - but to tell the truth I really decided to leave because he started to sell other ports just as carelessly and I didn't care to be around this guy by that point.
It's just damn sad this scene is redefining the definition of being a 'scab' - at least I can do my part and make sure RetroArch upsets this economic landscape in that scene.
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Made a post. I don't expect much.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1932280&page=6
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Since im not at home i'll reply in details later but you can write to anyone you like, libfba is free and source code available (you'll get it dont worry), no licence is actually broken even "your" licence so good luck with that.
Else i would return your compliment: you cant use licenced part/modules and apply your own.
Last but not less the frontend (which is closed sources and can remaind so) is also available for free.
iq_132 - it's unfortunate you had to be made aware of the ugly attitude that this new breed of 'porters' have - with absolutely zero respect being given to the wishes of the original authors. it's really just amazing that a porter like this states plain clear in your face 'good luck with that, I'm still going to make money off this'.
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I've reported it to google. From experience they are pretty good at removing stuff from the store.
Made a post. I don't expect much.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1932280&page=6
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iq_132 - it's unfortunate you had to be made aware of the ugly attitude that this new breed of 'porters' have - with absolutely zero respect being given to the wishes of the original authors. it's really just amazing that a porter like this states plain clear in your face 'good luck with that, I'm still going to make money off this'.
yeah, that dude is a big ahole!
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I've reported it to google. From experience they are pretty good at removing stuff from the store.
we should all do this :) I Am going to do it right now
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Google emailed me saying the app has been removed from the Play store. If anyone notices any more paid builds please post here so I can get those taken down as well.
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Well, judging by the comments on that xda-developers thread it isn't just the author that is biting the hand that feeds it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1932280&page=8
Reply to iq_132's post:Well thanks to you. US people who wanted to donate for his troubles of a nice UI and his part in the android port have to now spend time searching for updates. You won't stop him working on it and giving it for free, all you have achieved is making life harder for the gamers. Thanks alot, some people are such kill joys. This world's bad enough as it is without moaners like you. Don't Care what bull crap you come up with about licences. Your code was the free part. His UI and time we paid for.
@Cpasjuste thanks for your work and was happy to donate to you
Damn, and I thought the PS3 scene was a cesspool of scum.
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Google emailed me saying the app has been removed from the Play store. If anyone notices any more paid builds please post here so I can get those taken down as well.
ah good, they didn't email me, but I also reported it :D I am just glad they have sense on this
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"Originally Posted by Cpasjuste
Well actually you can say whaterver you want, you can cry everywhere but aFBA is not linked nor derivated in anyway to FBA and so google did remove it without valuable reason. I'll fill a complaint right now and see how it goes.
Anyway aFBA will remain updated and free here."
holy damn that guy is a total douche! now he is saying it not derivated in any way from FBA? :S the nerve on some people :(
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Google emailed me saying the app has been removed from the Play store. If anyone notices any more paid builds please post here so I can get those taken down as well.
Just to be extra cunty, i've asked google to remove the afbalib thing as well, as it's missing source and violating the licence.
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and it worked :) afbalib is no longer on the play store either.
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Just wanted to let you guys know - his entire account may be pulled from the store - but now his free version on that xda-developers thread has Google Adsense ads plastered all over it. So he is still making side-channel revenue off FBA.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1932280&page=15
You now use Push notification ads for this app... this is VERY BAD. Unfortunately i will uninstall this until push notifications are disabled. Adding this is not good. Please get rid of it. I will happily donate or deal with normal ads but I cannot put up with Push Ads!
Yep, many thanks for the support, it's nice to have positive feedbacks in early morning For the ads yes, there is one full ads when you first launch the frontend, and one push notification per day which can be disabled if you run android 4.1.2. I guess people can survive to it
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he already got booted:
- aFBA:
A closed source frontend/launcher for libafba. It is used to explore your device for roms in a "cool" way: optimized for phone and tablets, show/hide clones, filter roms by name, show previews and information about the game, and many more to come. This project is now Ad's supported since my google developper account was definitively suspended for not taking the time to releases libafba sources on day zero (well and other related drama, if you want to read this whole thread).
he also posted the source
- libafba:
A port of Final Burn Alpha to android. FBA support multiple systems, including Cave, Neo Geo, Sega System 16 (and similar), System 18, CPS-1, CPS-2, CPS-3, X-Board, Y-Board, Toaplan, Taito, Psikyo 68EC020 based hardware and misc boards. This project is released under the FBA licence, and source code is hosted on github.
I think that is good :) but he is still (sorta) making money out of it :S
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That's quite annoying. Historically people making money from FBA (other than the rom copyright holders) tends to kill it stone cold dead, at least for a while.
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I imagine you'll see it more and more because (due to performance etc.) FBA is better positioned for the 'cool' platforms like mobiles than MAME is and there are always people wanting to make money out of that.
Of course it doesn't stop people still trying to push 10+ year old versions of MAME saying that their Raspberry Pi kits are a perfect emulation system....
Google know about MAME anyway and have even been contributing to it as of late (changes to make their native Chrome version easier to maintain) so I guess there are people there who aren't stupid, know FBA is somewhat related, and will be more than happy to pull clear violations if asked.
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I hope so Haze. The fact that this guy has the guts to try and profit from the FBA project (which includes MAME, Davey, the current and past developers and the rom copyright holders) is beyond aggravating.
Half the fun with FBA is porting it to other systems (which is sometimes is borderline very dodgy at best) so the fact that this guy has done it probably one of the only legal ways its been done and not released the code is twice as annoying.
All for the sake of what amounts to probably the cost of 4 pints of beer he's caused us and himself a lot of grief.
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He released the code to libafta, someone should make an open source front-end for it, that would probably kill his idea of getting money if there is an open source front end. I would do it if I was more skilled :(
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He released the code to libafta, someone should make an open source front-end for it, that would probably kill his idea of getting money if there is an open source front end. I would do it if I was more skilled :(
Actually, that could be a job for libretro and RetroArch since RetroArch has been designed to work with dynamic/shared libraries to begin with.
However, libretro FBA already runs way better than his own FBA port (the port couldn't have been more lazily made to be honest) so after RetroArch gets released on Android I honestly don't see why you would want to suffer through Push ads or pay for any of the other 'payware emus' - the way to combat this is to simply undercut it by providing a better free alternative.
That, and if I push libretro FBA with the recent Android changes upstream, there should be even less incentive from these people to try to make a profit from it since a very good version of FBA for Android will be available in mainline.
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Sounds great Twinaphex. Do you have an approximate release date for libretro FBA?
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Sounds great Twinaphex. Do you have an approximate release date for libretro FBA?
I hope to have something releasable by the end of this month - it already works quite well but there are no overlay touchscreen controls right now.
RetroArch Android will be launched with a lot of libretro cores bundled in, including - SNES9x Next, FCEUmm, Genesis Plus GX, PCSX ReARMed, MAME 0.78, Mednafen PCE/Wonderswan, VBA Next, FBA, Gambatte, TGB Dual, Prboom and some other stuff I might be forgetting right now.
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That's really good news !
I would really like to be able to use libretro/retroarch with an android device like this :
(http://www.thinkteletronics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/s5600.png)
One thing that could be really nice may be to have the opportunity to set different keymapping for horizontal/vertical games and allow automatic switch based on screen orientation (portrait/landscape), allowing to play vertical shooters with the right nub in portrait mode.
I'll wait patiently for yours updates !
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I hope to have something releasable by the end of this month - it already works quite well but there are no overlay touchscreen controls right now.
RetroArch Android will be launched with a lot of libretro cores bundled in, including - SNES9x Next, FCEUmm, Genesis Plus GX, PCSX ReARMed, MAME 0.78, Mednafen PCE/Wonderswan, VBA Next, FBA, Gambatte, TGB Dual, Prboom and some other stuff I might be forgetting right now.
Wow :eek:
I don't know what half of those things are but it still sounds great.
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I hope to have something releasable by the end of this month - it already works quite well but there are no overlay touchscreen controls right now.
RetroArch Android will be launched with a lot of libretro cores bundled in, including - SNES9x Next, FCEUmm, Genesis Plus GX, PCSX ReARMed, MAME 0.78, Mednafen PCE/Wonderswan, VBA Next, FBA, Gambatte, TGB Dual, Prboom and some other stuff I might be forgetting right now.
wow that sounds AMAZING! :D have you consider releasing as a beta to test it out ? as long as it has USB game pad support (or a way to do it) I am set :D
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wow that sounds AMAZING! :D have you consider releasing as a beta to test it out ? as long as it has USB game pad support (or a way to do it) I am set :D
Given how this Android scene 'operates' (ie. the worst of the very worst - it makes the console scenes look respectable, and that's saying a lot) I don't think that would be a good idea at this point - the moment I'd release a beta, somebody would take it, create a Java frontend around it, change the name, claim it as their own and charge top dollar for it - so I won't make that mistake - especially not since RetroArch is GPL and Maister doesn't feel like changing the license (and I don't think I'd be able to convince him to change it to non-commercial) - so these scam artists would almost feel 'entitled' to their money by selling derivative copies of it.
Rather, RetroArch Android will be dropped at the end of the month when it's more or less ready and it will be free on that app store they love so much and on our own site so that it will be pretty pointless for any entrepreneurial 'scam artist' to try to make money out of it since nobody is going to be paying money for an emulator/game collection that can be found for free on the same app store/Internet. The plan here is to pretty much destroy and undercut this money grubbing opportunist 'business' where everybody and his dog tries to make a living out of porting open source emulators - and to do that in one fell swoop with the key element being surprise. And with the libretro port being in mainline FBA, in the future there should be zero incentive for anybody to want to pay for payware FBA ports to begin with on Android.
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Given how this Android scene 'operates' (ie. the worst of the very worst - it makes the console scenes look respectable, and that's saying a lot) I don't think that would be a good idea at this point - the moment I'd release a beta, somebody would take it, create a Java frontend around it, change the name, claim it as their own and charge top dollar for it - so I won't make that mistake - especially not since RetroArch is GPL and Maister doesn't feel like changing the license (and I don't think I'd be able to convince him to change it to non-commercial) - so these scam artists would almost feel 'entitled' to their money by selling derivative copies of it.
Rather, RetroArch Android will be dropped at the end of the month when it's more or less ready and it will be free on that app store they love so much and on our own site so that it will be pretty pointless for any entrepreneurial 'scam artist' to try to make money out of it since nobody is going to be paying money for an emulator/game collection that can be found for free on the same app store/Internet. The plan here is to pretty much destroy and undercut this money grubbing opportunist 'business' where everybody and his dog tries to make a living out of porting open source emulators - and to do that in one fell swoop with the key element being surprise. And with the libretro port being in mainline FBA, in the future there should be zero incentive for anybody to want to pay for payware FBA ports to begin with on Android.
totally understandable and respectable :)
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Given how this Android scene 'operates' (ie. the worst of the very worst - it makes the console scenes look respectable, and that's saying a lot) I don't think that would be a good idea at this point - the moment I'd release a beta, somebody would take it, create a Java frontend around it, change the name, claim it as their own and charge top dollar for it - so I won't make that mistake - especially not since RetroArch is GPL and Maister doesn't feel like changing the license (and I don't think I'd be able to convince him to change it to non-commercial) - so these scam artists would almost feel 'entitled' to their money by selling derivative copies of it.
Rather, RetroArch Android will be dropped at the end of the month when it's more or less ready and it will be free on that app store they love so much and on our own site so that it will be pretty pointless for any entrepreneurial 'scam artist' to try to make money out of it since nobody is going to be paying money for an emulator/game collection that can be found for free on the same app store/Internet. The plan here is to pretty much destroy and undercut this money grubbing opportunist 'business' where everybody and his dog tries to make a living out of porting open source emulators - and to do that in one fell swoop with the key element being surprise. And with the libretro port being in mainline FBA, in the future there should be zero incentive for anybody to want to pay for payware FBA ports to begin with on Android.
Well said. This is going to be a very nice early Christmas present.
Can I ask about screen options? I prefer nearest multiple scaling at pixel aspect ratio with no filtering - will that be possible? The MAME4Droid apps have excellent video options, as a point of reference.
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Are there any update about a first release ?
I would like to know if the FBA and mame core will have the ability to display games by their long name (using some kind of DAT or rom list) or only by the name of the zip.
I see that mame core is based on 0.78 wich is probably a good compromise between speed and functionality (save states support).
Are you going to use only one frontend for all the cores or one frontend per system ?
Will it be possible to map keys to physical buttons ?
Thanks in advance.
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Are there any update about a first release ?
I'm planning an initial release a week before Christmas.
I would like to know if the FBA and mame core will have the ability to display games by their long name (using some kind of DAT or rom list) or only by the name of the zip.
Not yet in the initial release. I'm planning to integrate RetroLaunch (which has the ability to do something like that) into mainline in future releases.
I see that mame core is based on 0.78 wich is probably a good compromise between speed and functionality (save states support).
If we go any lower we'll sacrifice compatibility (well, MAME 0.72 is still a good balance - I could create a separate version for mame 0.72 if it's worthwhile and if there's a big speed difference between 0.72 and 0.78) - if we go any higher we'll sacrifice speed, so yes, pick and choosing a good version of MAME for slower systems (ARM, PS3, 360) is like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Currently the most outstanding issues in MAME are to do with this being a legacy codebase - out-of-sequency memory reading is an issue (I suspect this is what is behind the massive problems I've been having with the Midway drivers on PS3), there are some 64bit bugs still in here (this will not affect Android though as every architecture on Android is 32bit - but it does affect PC), endian isues, and other issues of the sort. I'm still hoping some people familiar with this codebase can help me out based on their past experiences with it.
Are you going to use only one frontend for all the cores or one frontend per system ?
The initial release will just have one frontend - anyway, anybody can feel free to design their own frontends - I've designed RetroArch Android in such a way that the entire program is still C (as a native activity library) but the frontend is all Java (which is totally separate from RetroArch itself) - so everyone with basically zero to no coding skills could knock up a frontend themselves if they don't like the initial one I'll be supplying.
Will it be possible to map keys to physical buttons ?
If by pressing it it sends an Android key code, then yes,it will be supported - basically, Android works in a way so that it translates Linux keycodes into Android key codes through some Java event service. So I'd expect your physical buttons to be supported yes.
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Thanks Twinaphex for answering my questions !
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If anyone wants my help let me know...I can update the mame core to work at speed with many games...plus add lots of fixes and drivers in that core....
alot are thanks to IQ_132 :) but I also have done alot of work making this fast core work with way more games or way better.....I could also insert a different gui totally as I guess it will have the ram....
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If anyone wants my help let me know...I can update the mame core to work at speed with many games...plus add lots of fixes and drivers in that core....
If you could provide the source with your changes, that'd be great - we could incorporate them into the libretro port.
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sure but it wont be that easy....iq has them.....it adds and fixed probably 1000 games in total for keymap speed or drivers....and has fixesin mame.72 and mame.84, years of work has gone into getting the most bang for your buck on an aging system and not much is left now......
id say you will need to have more than the sources to merge them....indepth knowelge to why stuff is the why it is would help alot.....
there are also sources for coinops if you search on google the mame folder will have tonnes of fixes.....there are so many missing games in the version your using and so many issues.....your welcome to the fixes.....up to you if you work as a team or not....I can only offer.....
heres is a good place to start.....http://code.google.com/p/coinops/source/browse/
your welcome to what ever you want I dont need credit or anything like that and prefer not to have it.....do what you can.....if you work it out and want more let me know....this stuff is on going........lots of the latest core is in there and being added....IQ helped lots and add the big name games mostly although I did add some myself...like raiden 2000 fighters and jet....iq added stuff like osman...boogiewings....sf1 speed fix.....I added midway speed fix....the list goes on forever....
ill leave you to it....if you ever want to gain some of the experince learnt in CoinOPS come over.....theres new stuff now like VISION that will work on PC and Android with not much work....
if I see any of the normal scene fear and politics ill opt out......but use what you want....its just a hobby ....anyone is free to use this stuff for me its about the gui as the really genius is mame fba iq haze etc they did the real work......im just making it shine where I can for the users who want this....
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PS IQ_132 your the man :) much love.....you helped the humble XBOX alot....and these to could be patched into PS3 360 or Android....you have mad skills....hopefully your work can live on in other systems......
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anywhere I could get a binary (apk) of this? to try it out
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anywhere I could get a binary (apk) of this? to try it out
Some private APKs have exchanged hands already although I don't think there are any download sources yet. And that's probably a good thing - because it's not released yet for a reason.
Anyway, I'm very hard at work at getting something ready to release by the end of this week. I think it will have been worth the wait personally.
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Thats cool :) I was just wondering, I can still wait for an official release :) Thanks
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Still very much looking forward to this, but 'ready when it's ready' is the right approach.
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Still very much looking forward to this, but 'ready when it's ready' is the right approach.
The delays were unfortunate - and in hindsight I shouldn't have done the 'set in stone' release date thing - I underestimated how much work it would be to finally arrive at something I would be satisfied in pushing out. That and it didn't help that I also wanted to sort out a lot of the issues that people were still having on the console front - which also required at least a good one/two weeks of refactoring.
Anyway, this week, guaranteed. As far as I know this will be the first time that FBA will be available on the Android App Store for free with no strings atttached. It also comes with 14 other cores including a PS1 emu that was previously only available on Pandora (and is rather good), so there's plenty to do here.
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Released now. See my Twitter for the download link. As soon as it gets uploaded on the Android App Store I'll publish the link on my Twitter as well.
EDIT: Play Store link here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.retroarch
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Nice one.
I assume it's 4.0+ only? It's coming up as incompatible with the Xperia Play.
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Nice one.
I assume it's 4.0+ only? It's coming up as incompatible with the Xperia Play.
Right now it's 4.0 and up, yes.
Only the menu frontend really requires this - there might be a way to make a 'degradable' menu frontend that could work on lower Android versions as well - although I am a bit shocked that Xperia Play is so outdated.
I even added autodetection of the 'Zeus' gamepad and was looking forward to seeing somebody try it on the damn thing - and now it appears it doesn't even have an official 4.0 OS? Yet more lovely Android fragmentation there.
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Sony did make an ICS ROM but it failed beta testing due to performance issues:
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/no-ics-for-xperia-play-other-sony-devices-to-get-the-update-next-week-223153
It would be great if you could make it Gingerbread-compatible, but of course all in your own time, thanks.
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Sony did make an ICS ROM but it failed beta testing due to performance issues:
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/no-ics-for-xperia-play-other-sony-devices-to-get-the-update-next-week-223153
It would be great if you could make it Gingerbread-compatible, but of course all in your own time, thanks.
Android itself is one big performance issue. It's the worst 'abortion of an operating system' that has ever existed, and in a sane world Google would have been laughed out of the door with this junk. Unfortunately, it's the most popular mobile OS there is right now, so we're stuck with it for a while.
So while I can still see where Sony is coming from, Gingerbread if anything would be even worse right now than ICS/Jelly Bean and up unless they miraculously managed to iron out all the chinks in Android 2.3's armor (unlikely). RAM requirements have gone up drastically since 2.3 though - 4.0 seems to 'require' 1GB of RAM if you don't want to get a lot of 'onLowMemory' invocations.
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Not a huge fan of Android then? :biggrin:
I must say I've not really noticed anything worthwhile in 4.0 over 2.3 to justify the higher memory requirements - it's the new Vista of OS upgrades.
Is it a lot of work to downgrade your 4.0 menus to 2.3? If you do get chance to work on them then I'm happy to help you test.
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Hi Twinaphex.
Thanks for for that release ! I'm really looking forward to try it on a decent android device with physical controls.
Do you think that you could port retroarch over the following system :
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld)
(http://allgamers.fr/archive3/gcw-zero-1.jpg)
Specifications
CPU: Ingenic JZ4770 1 GHz MIPS processor
GPU: Vivante GC860, capable of OpenGL ES 2.0
Display: 3.5 inch LCD with 320x240 pixels; 4:3 aspect ratio is ideal for retro gaming
Memory: 512 MB DDR2
Internal storage: 16 GB, most of which is available for applications and data
External storage: micro SDHC up to 32 GB or micro SDXC up to 64 GB (SDXC cards must be reformatted before use)
Mini USB 2.0 OTG
Mini HDMI 1.3 out
3.5 mm (mini jack) A/V port for earphone and analog TV-out
Stereo speakers, mono microphone
Accelerometer (g-sensor) and vibration motors
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz, can connect to access point or direct device-to-device
Dimensions: 143 * 70 * 18 mm
Weight: 8 oz / 225 g
Battery: 2800 mAh
Currently the OpenGL driver is not implemented so there should be some performance issues.
Anyway, it's a great open source project in the same way of retroarch !
As a previous dingoo a320 owner, i myself backed the project since it seems to be able to handle emulation without some of the flaws android show like poor audio sync...
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wow, very Cool!! I just downloaded this on my galaxy S and my A500 Tablet, hopefully they will run smooth, I will be testing it ASAP and report back :D
Thanks Twinaphex!
BTW, have you considered opening a thread in the XDA forum ?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=530
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wow, very Cool!! I just downloaded this on my galaxy S and my A500 Tablet, hopefully they will run smooth, I will be testing it ASAP and report back :D
Thanks Twinaphex!
BTW, have you considered opening a thread in the XDA forum ?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=530
I made a thread for it - unfortunately I will need to get my post count up over at least 10 before i can begin posting links and sceenshots there
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2116468
A download link has been posted by a user so far.
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great work!
can we hope for a version compatible with older Android (Ginger Bread)?
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great work!
can we hope for a version compatible with older Android (Ginger Bread)?
Yes, this is being worked on.
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Excellent work! It is great to see some of my drivers running on my phone. :-)
I only have a couple of notes--
The on-screen controls seem to be pretty bad. It seems like there is no multi touch?
No dipswitch configuration?
A nice idea to simplify the front end - - include descriptions for each core and have that displayed.
I imagine most of that is related to this being the first release.
On a somewhat related note, if you need a hand with speedup or something else, let me know.
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Excellent work! It is great to see some of my drivers running on my phone. :-)
I only have a couple of notes--
The on-screen controls seem to be pretty bad. It seems like there is no multi touch?
No dipswitch configuration?
A nice idea to simplify the front end - - include descriptions for each core and have that displayed.
I imagine most of that is related to this being the first release.
On a somewhat related note, if you need a hand with speedup or something else, let me know.
I'm adding a bunch of new overlays today that will go some way towards addressing the situation with the bad overlays before -
http://imgur.com/a/fsu9l#8
On a somewhat related note, if you need a hand with speedup or something else, let me know.
Yes, I need all the help I can get with the libretro port. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
As for speedups - we can start out by adding Cyclone as an 68K CPU core - there is an ARM-optimized version done by notaz which should be much faster on ARM than Musashi right now.
http://notaz.gp2x.de/cyclone.php
The libretro port is all in upstream and everything should be compilable - so it should be easy to help out with making the port better.
No dipswitch configuration?
I'll need to think about a way to add this. Right now libretro ports are lacking a way to 'expose' options of a core to the 'RetroArch' backend - a stop-gap solution would be to bake in an ingame menu - I could probably reuse most of the code I'm using for the Wii's RGUI for that.
For now - there are a couple of button combos you can use -
Button combos ingame:
• RetroPad L2 + RetroPad R2 + RetroPad L + RetroPad R + Select =
Service Menu button
RetroPad L2 + RetroPad R2 + RetroPad L + RetroPad R + Start =
Diagnostic button
RetroPad L2 + RetroPad R2 + RetroPad L + RetroPad R + Left = Reset
button
RetroPad L2 + RetroPad R2 + RetroPad L + RetroPad R + Right =
DIP A Pressed
RetroPad L2 + RetroPad R2 + RetroPad L + RetroPad R + Up = DIP
B Pressed
RetroPad L2 + RetroPad R2 + RetroPad L + RetroPad R + Down =
Test Pressed
There are also a couple of currently existing issues with the libretro port - it would be good if some of these finally get fixed - this is one such issue -
If you want to play Warzard or Red Earth and you happen to get a ’No
CD-ROM drive’ message - do the ’Reset’ combo (see above) - it should
work then.
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As for speedups - we can start out by adding Cyclone as an 68K CPU core - there is an ARM-optimized version done by notaz which should be much faster on ARM than Musashi right now.
http://notaz.gp2x.de/cyclone.php
The libretro port is all in upstream and everything should be compilable - so it should be easy to help out with making the port better.
i'v do this test one year ago, speed seems not good then gcc optimized with ARMv7 thumb-2.
but we can use the NEON to optimize the PCM and graphic process.
i also add some code to connect bluetooth joypad directly like zeemote and wii remote
the soucecode is not finished and ugly, i can share it if somebody needed .
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i'v do this test one year ago, speed seems not good then gcc optimized with ARMv7 thumb-2.
but we can use the NEON to optimize the PCM and graphic process.
i also add some code to connect bluetooth joypad directly like zeemote and wii remote
the soucecode is not finished and ugly, i can share it if somebody needed .
Sure - post it and we can take a look at it - I try to code everything in native C code though so hopefully the input code is not Java code.
BTW - just pushed a major update to the Play Store - you can grab the APK early on the xda-developers thread or on our forum thread -
http://forum.themaister.net/viewtopic.php?id=235
This fixes the two biggest issues (the low-res 256x256 stretched layouts and the lack of custom input binding) and is the version I would have wanted the initial release to be if we hadn't rushed the release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u6cywQ601oI
Not yet an 'arcade-style layout' though but the nice thing about the overlay system is that every overlay is just a cfg file with some hitbox coordinates and a couple of png images - you can easily make your own. And in case that is too hard, a proactive user is trying to make a WYSIWYG editor for it.
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sourcecode upload to https://sites.google.com/site/oopsware/fbalpha , FBA.7z
i simply update the game frame buffer to a Texture2D, and render it by GLES.
no sound, no touchscreen support ... it's only a test.
the fba source is very old and use C core currently, it you want use ASM core,
take a look at the Android.mk file in jni folder.
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As for speedups - we can start out by adding Cyclone as an 68K CPU core - there is an ARM-optimized version done by notaz which should be much faster on ARM than Musashi right now.
Cyclone addition would be great, as would DrZ80 - Android MAME4ALL uses both of those and they give a very nice speedup. However there are some bugs leading to incompatibility so it would be wise to allow for those ARM ASM cores to be toggled on/off per game (MAME4ALL allows this, and also has an option to only use DrZ80 for sound CPUs which also helps compatibility).
Great to hear Gingerbread support is being worked on.
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To the people who had Android 2.3 devices in here (and who therefore couldn't try out RetroArch) -
please test this out for me - it's the newest version of RetroArch that should be Android 2.3 compatible. Has been tested on an HTC HD2 but I want to make sure it works with a more mainstream device first (rather than something that was originally a Windows Mobile device) before I push it out.
https://anonfiles.com/file/478271612...639fcf9bb77597
If it works for you, then I'm pushing this out to Google Play tomorrow.
Thanks in advance.
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Working link:
https://anonfiles.com/file/478271612a775800b3639fcf9bb77597
The menus are working fine now on 2.3.4, thanks.
Here's some Xperia Play specific issues that I found:
1. The hardware controls aren't working ingame. I can configure my controls in the menu (P1 custom binds) and the keypresses are detected, but no response ingame. Oddly though Start and Select do work (as P1 Start and P1 Coin respectively). Strangely enough the d-pad works in the SNES emulator, but no others.
2. By default the circle key on the XP is mapped to the BACK function, meaning whenever circle is pressed ingame the emulator quits and returns to the menu. This is a common issue though that every developer has with the XP, it can be fixed.
3. In the custom binds section, pressing the X key brings up the onscreen keyboard, and pressing the O key cancels (as per 2. above).
And some general observations:
1. There doesn't seem to be a way to enter the ingame menu in FBA to change dip settings etc., nor does there seem to be a way to display FPS (unless this is related to the hardware buttons issue above).
2. It would be nice in the FBA roms menu if the internal rom name could be used instead of the file name, so for example instead of listing 1944.zip, 1944d.zip and 1944j.zip it could read '1944: The Loop Master (USA 00620)', '1944: The Loop Master (USA 000620 Phoenix Edition) (bootleg)' and '1944: The Loop Master (Japan 000620)'.
3. Could you add a scroll thumb to the rom browser? It takes several minutes to get through the list.
4. If possible, add Cyclone and DrZ80 speedups as previously mentioned.
Apart from the above quibbles it's all working impressively, thanks.
(also thanks of course to the FBA and MAME devs!)
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Working link:
https://anonfiles.com/file/478271612a775800b3639fcf9bb77597
The menus are working fine now on 2.3.4, thanks.
Here's some Xperia Play specific issues that I found:
1. The hardware controls aren't working ingame. I can configure my controls in the menu (P1 custom binds) and the keypresses are detected, but no response ingame. Oddly though Start and Select do work (as P1 Start and P1 Coin respectively). Strangely enough the d-pad works in the SNES emulator, but no others.
2. By default the circle key on the XP is mapped to the BACK function, meaning whenever circle is pressed ingame the emulator quits and returns to the menu. This is a common issue though that every developer has with the XP, it can be fixed.
OK - I can fix the CIRCLE button.
As for your hardware controls - i thought I covered them by now - guess not. Could you please go through the steps laid out here and report back to me? In order not to clutter the board here, you could do it on my forum -
http://forum.themaister.net/viewtopic.php?id=248
3. In the custom binds section, pressing the X key brings up the onscreen keyboard, and pressing the O key cancels (as per 2. above).
Yeah, I know auto button input for manual binds right now is very finicky - it's best if you just scroll down the list and select the keycodes manually for now. You can find which of your keys are bound to which keycodes by using RetroArch's 'Debug Input Reporting Enable' feature.
1. There doesn't seem to be a way to enter the ingame menu in FBA to change dip settings etc., nor does there seem to be a way to display FPS (unless this is related to the hardware buttons issue above).
Yes, this is not implemented right now - I'll look into a way to providing options/settings per core though.
2. It would be nice in the FBA roms menu if the internal rom name could be used instead of the file name, so for example instead of listing 1944.zip, 1944d.zip and 1944j.zip it could read '1944: The Loop Master (USA 00620)', '1944: The Loop Master (USA 000620 Phoenix Edition) (bootleg)' and '1944: The Loop Master (Japan 000620)'.
I get this request a lot - on the console side I am going to rectify this by making use of RetroLaunch which will use text-based database files for internal lookup of 'prettier names' - but I'm afraid to do this in Java would just be to overbloat the Java side of the app which I want to make as lightweight as possible. Really, I want to do my darned best to prevent the Java garbage collector from being enacted and adding even more Java code is a sure-fire recipe in doing just that - so that's why I'm declining the offer for now until I can think of something that works that isn't a performance hazard.
3. Could you add a scroll thumb to the rom browser? It takes several minutes to get through the list.
On Android 4.0 you can scroll easily - but I guess we need to come up with something on 2.3.
4. If possible, add Cyclone and DrZ80 speedups as previously mentioned.
Yes, hopefully the FBA devs can take a hand in any further improvements to the libretro port as well. I push as much upstream as I can find so I'm definitely all for a collaborative exchange of improvements in this port.
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Pushed RetroArch Android 0.9.8.1 to the store - should be Android 2.3+ compatible now and should hopefully take care of the back button problem on certain pads like the Xperia Play. Also improved custom button mapping a bit - there is a 'Detect' button now that is able to better detect buttons when pressed.
You can get it early here until Google Play resyncs (takes a long time) -
https://libretro.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/retroarch-android-0-9-8-1-released/
if your gamepad still doesn't work, go onto the forum - there's a thread dedicated to it -
http://forum.themaister.net/viewtopic.php?id=248
EDIT: It's now updated on Google Play.
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either the same guy has done it again or someone else is e.g. https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=google%20play%20pocket%20arcade&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fplay.google.com%2Fstore%2Fapps%2Fdetails%3Fid%3Dcom.greatlittleapps.pocketarcade&ei=ov-bUY2sDO3u0gX8_YCwBQ&usg=AFQjCNGNfQuTnkcvJAcazVh3zlsQVHqYsQ&bvm=bv.46751780,d.d2k
I've sent a takedown request to Google.
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Ugh. annoying.
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Selling something which is free is totally Lame but selling something which is free and is the hard toil and graft of others is even Lamer