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WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Mon 8 Apr 2019 16:35
by gameblabla
Hello guys,
several days ago i had asked Pierre for a dev unit so i could work on an Opendingux-like firmware for the Retrostone.
The idea is to have something more suited for a console like the retrostone and less like a Retroarch frontend.
He agreed to it and so i started to work on it as soon as i got mine.

Here's a video of the work in progress so far :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxFvWa4zNZY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqNZfexAf8

I also created an org for my work on it here :
https://github.com/retrostone-dev

Here's what i've managed to do so far :
- Booting initial rootfs built with buildroot. (Works OK so far. glibc doesn't work tho so using musl instead)
- Have sound working. (Works OK now)
- Input working. (Directly reading from GPIO, still software compatible with opendingux software.)

I've written down my observations and notes about it here :
https://github.com/retrostone-dev/Notes-to-Self

Main blocker (As of May 29th)
It's already working, including the GUI and stuff. Missing features so far are external controllers support & HDMI out. (i would need a tool to try out HDMI on the fly)
I'm porting more stuff to it before releasing an alpha version of it.

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Tue 9 Apr 2019 20:00
by Sakib
Good job .. keet it coming .. : )

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Wed 10 Apr 2019 22:15
by gameblabla
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqNZfexAf8

So i had to patch SDL 1.2 and managed to make more progress since then.
Unfortunately though i couldn't make my scaling library work, which means i have to port each game/emulator manually and it will require more effort.
Since i'm using musl-libc, i also can't use 3D acceleration as the open source drivers are only available in mainline.

I'm thinking i should use a mixed-libc rootfs (statically linked musl rootfs + shared libraries glibc apps) as to allow both my own ports and the former ports that were on Armbian. (PPSSPP, Mupen64 in mind)

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Sat 13 Apr 2019 03:11
by jutleys
quake 3 should be possible now i think.

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Tue 16 Apr 2019 01:19
by gameblabla
jutleys wrote: Sat 13 Apr 2019 03:11 quake 3 should be possible now i think.
Yeah but for now i'm mostly focusing on getting emulators for old systems working.

So yeah i admit that i didn't work directly too much on it, though the base system is working now.
I would like to make an early release for it, what platforms should i focus on first ?

I already ported SMS Plus GX (my own fork) and PokeMini to it but there's still much to do.
(also don't ask for Virtual jaguar, it runs too slowly...)

I think i would like to port :
- Picodrive (32X/Genesis/Sega CD)
- PCSX Rearmed
(We will use the NEON software renderer rather than the 3D plugin for now, the mali driver might have some issues)
- Mednafen Oswan/SwanEmu (Need to make a menu for my newer port)
- VBA-M/mGBA or worst case GPSP

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Mon 22 Apr 2019 14:15
by Archanjelc
PLEASE include NEo Geo if possible :D

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Sat 18 May 2019 05:52
by Gamuza469
I just decided to recheck the forums after a long time because of your work. Really happy for your work. Keep it up!

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Mon 20 May 2019 11:05
by gameblabla
Image
Image

I had to redo the Gmenu2x port, especially given that it now got updated for the RS-90 so i thought to switch to that given that GmenuNx's latest versions no longer respect the GPL...
In addition to PokeMini & SMS Plus GX (though i did update both), i also ported :
- VBA-M (runs smoothly from what i've played so far, need to try with frameskip set to 0)
- SwanEmu, my wonderswan mednafen emu fork. (Also runs all of the games smoothly so far)

Now what i need to do next is to port Picodrive, PCSX Rearmed (and merge my HLE patches as to fix games over HLE) and i don't know, PocketSNES 1.43, Fceux and Handy.
I would also consider porting FBA-GCW0 & FBA-A320.
But as you may have guessed it is a lot of work.

Btw, the OS takes around 22 seconds to boot. (a lot of it is taken by uboot & the kernel)

There's also an issue with low sound volume over the headphone jack. Does anyone know how to increase the default volume over headphones with ALSA ?

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Mon 20 May 2019 19:25
by zxdunny
Headphone is a hardware issue. You can fix it yourself with a blob of solder - just search around these forums for the solution.

Re: WIP - Opendingux-like CFW for the Retrostone

Posted: Mon 20 May 2019 23:55
by Gamuza469