Lost newbie looking for directions

[Magnyto]

Hello. I discovered the console emulation systems a couple days ago from a youtube video.

I wanted to install one with many games in my rpi 3b+, but then I saw that not even the rpi 4b could handle the ps2 games and I had to get an old pc to emulate that. But then I thought I could somehow install one of this systems with a new SSD in my pc and select the different drive at boot and stream to the TV with the rpi 3b+ and maybe I could have another micro sd to use the rpi 3b+ as a portable console emulator.

So then I began looking for what I would need to install in the SSD but all I saw where videos describing the themes and the number of games per console of the different images. I need a broader overview to be able to understand all of this, the big picture as to speak. Is there some kind of introduction?

For example the first thing I need to know is what are the differences between recalbox, retropie, batocera, lakka, hyperspin, coinops, launchbox, retrobat... Are they all operating systems or do any of them run as a program? Do they all work on all systems or are there some that are only for pc or rpi? Pros and cons of each.

If I wanted to make an image with different aspects that I see in those huge images loaded with games, for example a theme, would I have to download the whole thing, burn it on a drive and boot from it just to get the theme? The thing is I've seen an image I like for raspberry but I want to make it for pc, how do I make an image and how do I get the same theme, game pictures, console pictures, console descriptions? And then I would put my own games.

I posted here because this site looked like the more welcoming because of the intro video explaining about hyperspin. That and that I didn't know of a place to ask that where neutral until I decided which system I liked.

[Spawk]

Wow, there is a lot to talk about here. It can be overwhelming for new users though for sure. Unfortunately I am at work right now so I will collect my thoughts and write you back soon.


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[Spawk]

Ok, so first about hardware. For ease, it may be worth checking out a Pi. These are what uses the "images" you speak of. With any luck, you copy an "image" to the device and all is set up for you. IMO these are "just get some old systems running" though. The bare minimum if you will. They will cap out around PS1 somewhere. The lack of a video card holds these back from ever doing more no matter how fast their processor is or how much RAM they add. And you can forget about adding a shader without slowing them to crawl.

That being said, almost any PC with a video card will be an improvement. PC's do not work with "images". There are really no magical downloads or easy setups. Everything must be setup manually. Although daunting at first, the actual setup of different systems launching, playing and exiting really isn't that hard. The hard part is the media! Having a gameplay video playing when you are surfing the "wheel" for example. These are not included with any "Front End" (FE). You'll want an "EmuMovies" premium membership to get those. I won't say it's needed because technically you could download stuff manually in packs and do it slowly. There's lots of other artwork as well. Themes, wheels, bezels, fades, and it's all very personal. Everybody has a slightly different idea about how things should actually look. 

Still with me? I know what you are thinking. "What kind of PC do I need to run everything up to "insert system name here". This is a really difficult question to answer. It largely depends on how new you want to go (PS3, PS4, hell I think Switch has an emu already). And whether you just want stuff in some kind of running state or perhaps you would like to add a "shader" that will make games look like the CRT monitors of the old days. Want to run all this in 4K? More you want, more power you'll need. Basically you can never have too much power. My general advise is to spend as much as you possibly can and if there is overspending to be done anywhere, do it on the video card!

Now about software. Hopefully you have played around with at least a couple of emulators. All controls "in-game" will be handled by them so you will want to make sure a few from each one you use load and play fine in the emulator before adding them to any FE. What is the best emulator for each system? The term "best" has no meaning in this hobby. It's all subjective. It's all personal preference. I think RetroArch has some benefits compared to any stand alone emulators so I use it whenever possible.

Once you have a bunch of working systems you'll want a nice "guided user interface" (GUI) for browsing everything. There are many FE's to chose from. You'll have to do your homework on this one. They all have pluses and minuses in my opinion. That's all an FE is though. "How you want it to look". While most (if not all) FE's have some sort of launching method built into them, they all pale in comparison to what RocketLauncher (RL) can do. No matter what FE you chose, you'll likely want to hook it up to RL.

As you can see, there is no one program solution. Want the buttons on your arcade cab to light up? Add a program to the mix, ledblinky. Have a second monitor and want a graphic to show for each game? Add a program, hypermarquee. Want to enter keyboard commands from your xbox360 gamepad? Add a program, keymapper. I am probably making it sound harder than it is, LOL. There a lot of tutorials around for all this stuff. A user here @ninja2bceen has a youtube channel full of video tutorials that I highly recommend watching.

HyperSpin is a great place to start. It's free! :-) Ok getting a premium would help with syncing a bunch of the initial artwork (not videos, you absolutely need EmuMovies for them!). Maybe just forget all about artwork for now and get your feet wet first. See if you can't get everything "working" just control wise. Start with a fresh USB drive. Create 3 folders on it:

GAMES

EMULATORS

ARCADE

First 2 are self explanatory, put any program you use (start with just HS and RL for now) for this in ARCADE. If at any point you are unhappy or things seem to be beyond repair, you can simply delete that folder without affecting your working and configured emulators. Most of the programs you will use have no real install, they are merely copied to the location you chose and run from there.

Good luck!

[ninja2bceen]

Thanks for the respectful shout out

 

https://youtube.com/c/PlanetGeekdom

 

 

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