78 LXF257 Decmber 2019 http://www.linuxformat.comTUTORIALS Retro-gaming
gaming experience by buying games cartridges, you will
almost certainly stumble into the world of collectors of
vintage video games. Many, like you, will simply be
looking for a way to play games they enjoyed when
younger. Others are diehard collectors looking to obtain
rare copies of every game for a particular platform at
any cost.
This is important to understand, as you’ll be able to
buy most second-hand games online for a few pennies.
A few exceptionally rare games such as Smurfs 2: Autor
Du Monde (Smurfs 2: Around the World), however, sell
for far above their original retail price.
This can work both ways, of course. If you still have
any video games left over, particularly if the box and/or
instruction manual are intact, you may find you can sell
them for a profit. If you want to learn more about rare
and valuable games or want to start collecting, the
Retro Collect website is an excellent starting point – see
http://www.retrocollect.com.Retro headaches
The chief issue you’re likely to have with this project is
not that it won’t work; rather, it’s likely to be too
effective and you’ll find yourself whiling away the hours
as you nostalgically play games. If you don’t have
access to any other computer besides the Pi or don’t
have an extra SD card, it is possible to install RetroPie
manually – see http://bit.ly/lxf257manual for
specific steps.
The Automatic Controller configuration should allow
most gamepads to work out of the box. Having said
that, some of the games can be rather tricky. The
default button combination for saving and loading your
progress is Select + Right Shoulder Button and Select +
Left Shoulder Button respectively.
If you have a number of games in your RetroPie, you
may find them difficult to navigate. One excellent and
helpful garnish for your RetroPie is to install a Scraper.
This is a small program which will download a brief
summary and the box art of a game from the internet.
For more information on how to set this up visit http://
bit.ly/lxf257scraper. Finally, if you need further help
with your setup post a question in the RetroPie forums
at http://bit.ly/lxf257retrohelp.on its website, some iconic characters such as Donkey
Kong have been brought back time and again for new
games. Even if an older game is considered public
domain, the characters themselves may be
trademarked. Nintendo also claims that in the USA, for
instance, the copyright for video games developed by
a corporation is 75 years, so even pirating an arcade
game from the ’80s would technically be in breach of
the law. Some websites such as the Internet Archive
(https://archive.org) seemingly circumvent this issue
by hosting ROMs only for companies which no longer
exist, and so would have difficulties making a copyright
claim. It’s not clear if hosting this ‘abandonware’ follows
the letter of the law in every country, however. (It does
not – Ed)Classic collectors
If you follow our recommendation to have an authenticDON’T PLAY GAMES WITH US! Subscribe now at http://bit.ly/LinuxFormat
You can use
Select together
with the right
and left keys to
switch between
save slots. This
is useful if you
have multiple
people playing
the same game.TAKING CONTROL
No retro gaming experience would be complete without a suitable
controller. If you simply want the approximate look and feel of your
childhood gaming experience, Amazon and eBay sell a number of
PlayStation/Sega/Nintendo-style USB controllers such as the Buffalo
Classic USB Gamepad.
If you already have an original controller, you may prefer to buy a
USB adapter so you can plug them into the Pi. Some, such as the
Mayflash Dual SNES Controller Adapter, accept two controllers. You
may find that this puts too great a strain on the Pi’s USB ports,
though. If the second controller isn’t detected, try using a mains-
powered USB hub. For this review, we used a Sony PS4 controller
connected to the Pi via a micro-USB cable.
If you add a second controller, it should automatically set up but
you can use the EmulationStation Menu to reassign buttons if
necessary. See http://bit.ly/lxf257config for more information.
If you don’t want to relive the tangled cabling of your youth,
RetroPie also supports a number of wireless controllers. One excellent
choice is the Logitech F710, which resembles a Sony DualShock
controller but has programmable buttons and joysticks. See http://
bit.ly/lxf257logitech for steps on how to set this up on your
RetroPie. RetroPie also has limited support for wireless PS4 and Xbox
controllers. If you’re on a tight budget, the experimental software
Virtual Gamepad may help you turn your Android phone into a
wireless controller – see http://bit.ly/2qU6ffT for more
information, though don’t expect miracles in terms of performance.The Buffalo gamepad looks
similar to the original SNES
controller, but it’s USB!A collector’s item: a handful of copies of the Smurfs’ second outing
were uncovered in the Czech Republic by a curious Finnish tourist.CREDIT:SEGA78 LXF257Decmber 2019 7776Decmbr 20196T 0
TUTORIALS Retro-gaming
gaming experience by buying games cartridges, you will
almost certainly stumble into the world of collectors of
vintage video games. Many, like you, will simply be
looking for a way to play games they enjoyed when
younger. Others are diehard collectors looking to obtain
rare copies of every game for a particular platform at
any cost.
This is important to understand, as you’ll be able to
buy most second-hand games online for a few pennies.
A few exceptionally rare games such as Smurfs 2: Autor
Du Monde (Smurfs 2: Around the World), however, sell
for far above their original retail price.
This can work both ways, of course. If you still have
any video games left over, particularly if the box and/or
instruction manual are intact, you may find you can sell
them for a profit. If you want to learn more about rare
and valuable games or want to start collecting, the
Retro Collect website is an excellent starting point – see
http://www.retrocollect.com.Retro headaches
The chief issue you’re likely to have with this project is
not that it won’t work; rather, it’s likely to be too
effective and you’ll find yourself whiling away the hours
as you nostalgically play games. If you don’t have
access to any other computer besides the Pi or don’t
have an extra SD card, it is possible to install RetroPie
manually – see http://bit.ly/lxf257manual for
specific steps.
The Automatic Controller configuration should allow
most gamepads to work out of the box. Having said
that, some of the games can be rather tricky. The
default button combination for saving and loading your
progress is Select + Right Shoulder Button and Select +
Left Shoulder Button respectively.
If you have a number of games in your RetroPie, you
may find them difficult to navigate. One excellent and
helpful garnish for your RetroPie is to install a Scraper.
This is a small program which will download a brief
summary and the box art of a game from the internet.
For more information on how to set this up visit http://
bit.ly/lxf257scraper. Finally, if you need further help
with your setup post a question in the RetroPie forums
at http://bit.ly/lxf257retrohelp.on its website, some iconic characters such as Donkey
Kong have been brought back time and again for new
games. Even if an older game is considered public
domain, the characters themselves may be
trademarked. Nintendo also claims that in the USA, for
instance, the copyright for video games developed by
a corporation is 75 years, so even pirating an arcade
game from the ’80s would technically be in breach of
the law. Some websites such as the Internet Archive
(https://archive.org) seemingly circumvent this issue
by hosting ROMs only for companies which no longer
exist, and so would have difficulties making a copyright
claim. It’s not clear if hosting this ‘abandonware’ follows
the letter of the law in every country, however. (It does
not – Ed)Classic collectors
If you follow our recommendation to have an authenticDON’T PLAY GAMES WITH US! Subscribe now at http://bit.ly/LinuxFormat
Youcanuse
Selecttogether
withtheright
andleftkeysto
switchbetween
saveslots.This
isusefulif you
havemultiple
peopleplaying
thesamegame.TAKING CONTROL
No retro gaming experience would be complete without a suitable
controller. If you simply want the approximate look and feel of your
childhood gaming experience, Amazon and eBay sell a number of
PlayStation/Sega/Nintendo-style USB controllers such as the Buffalo
Classic USB Gamepad.
If you already have an original controller, you may prefer to buy a
USB adapter so you can plug them into the Pi. Some, such as the
Mayflash Dual SNES Controller Adapter, accept two controllers. You
may find that this puts too great a strain on the Pi’s USB ports,
though. If the second controller isn’t detected, try using a mains-
powered USB hub. For this review, we used a Sony PS4 controller
connected to the Pi via a micro-USB cable.
If you add a second controller, it should automatically set up but
you can use the EmulationStation Menu to reassign buttons if
necessary. See http://bit.ly/lxf257config for more information.
If you don’t want to relive the tangled cabling of your youth,
RetroPie also supports a number of wireless controllers. One excellent
choice is the Logitech F710, which resembles a Sony DualShock
controller but has programmable buttons and joysticks. See http://
bit.ly/lxf257logitech for steps on how to set this up on your
RetroPie. RetroPie also has limited support for wireless PS4 and Xbox
controllers. If you’re on a tight budget, the experimental software
Virtual Gamepad may help you turn your Android phone into a
wireless controller – see http://bit.ly/2qU6ffT for more
information, though don’t expect miracles in terms of performance.The Buffalo gamepad looks
similar to the original SNES
controller, but it’s USB!A collector’s item: a handful of copies of the Smurfs’ second outing
were uncovered in the Czech Republic by a curious Finnish tourist.CREDIT:SEGA