GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Here is all the tutorials, FAQ and support for RaspiBoy Kit
Shay
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue 17 Oct 2017 17:50

GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Shay »

Hi all,
My specs are down below.

The issue:
I recently received my PCB device. Its a beautiful little rig. My only problem now is, that when I am running GBA games, some of them lagg at certain points in the game. I am using 8GB SD Card. My goal is to play GB / GBC / GBA and some NES / SNES games. It seems to be that when dialect pops up in a game there is severe lagg to sound / picture. Then once the person pops down after speaking in the game, it runs ok.

Has anybody had an issue with sound / game lagg using a Raspberry Pi Zero W? In particular GBA Roms? I remember setting this up on my Pi 3 in anticipation of the 8bcraft device coming, where there was no problem. Is the Pi Zero W just not powerful enough? Could my card be corrupt? Is sound a known problem on GBA Roms on Pi Zero W? Maybe I need to free up some space? Although it's only 200-300 Gameboy/GBC/GBA Roms, which is not a lot of space on an 8GB SD Card.

The things I haven't tried:
  • - A different SD Card
    - Start Fresh on current card
My Specs:

Pi Model or other hardware: Raspberry Pi Zero w on 8bcraft device
Power Supply used: Battery from 8bcraft project. But have tried whilst plugged in also using official RP3 Charger
RetroPie is v4.3
Built From: SD Image on RetroPie website
USB Devices connected: SNES Controller as part of the 8bcraft device
Emulator: Mainly GBA. GB & GBC are running OK mostly.
How to replicate the problem: Switch on device. Start up GBA ROM. Warioland, Krazy Racers, Zelda..etc. Note sound is lagging / gameplay lags at some points when music is playing / dialog is playing.
Other things to note: I have about 200 ROMS mixed between GB / GBC / GBA on it at the moment.
Telev
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat 26 Aug 2017 14:45

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Telev »

Hi,

I have just finished my play of metroid fusion without problem.
What core do you use?
Shay
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue 17 Oct 2017 17:50

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Shay »

Which Emulator? Whichever is default (I think). I'll check when I get home. What do you use? And how much free space is on your SD card?
Telev
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat 26 Aug 2017 14:45

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Telev »

I use the core lr-gpSP, the game run at 60 fps
StrangersWrath
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun 31 Dec 2017 08:08

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by StrangersWrath »

I have just tried it and it worked perfectly for me. What resolution are you using for emulation? I know the raspberry pi zero can struggle rendering higher resolutions for more demanding systems, have you tried configuring it to render at a lower resolution?
Shay
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue 17 Oct 2017 17:50

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Shay »

So I checked last night and the emulator which works with all my ROMs is lr-mgba. This seems the default one. lr-gpSP didn't work for my GBA ROMs. I tried freeing up some space in case, but I had 4GB free so thats not the issue.

I think starting from scratch is my best bet. I remember during my other project for MAME games, the games lagged when I enabled shaders to give the screen a more retro feel with curvature and lines. As soon as I disabled the shaders, performance was perfect. In relation to this project I changed font sizes and maybe something else I can't remember. Maybe something messed up the config leading to performance issues.

My next tests are going to be:
- Change Render Res.
- Try the same sd card (problematic raspiboy) in a RPi 3 and see if ROMs are OK. This will rule out any issue with my GBA ROMs / config / sd card.
- Flash new sd card (8gb) with retropie for pi zero, install GBA games and test with raspiboy.

If I still get some lagg in my GBA games after trying a fresh sd card in my raspiboy I will be greatly dissapointed. Raspiboy is perfect for GBA with the triggers on the back, and the games are so good (from childhood).

I am not sure on my resolution. I changed the font and possibly something else, it was a while ago. Do you think lowering the resolution will allow for better performance?
Last edited by Shay on Fri 5 Jan 2018 11:01, edited 2 times in total.
Telev
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat 26 Aug 2017 14:45

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Telev »

The core lr-gpSP don't work for you ?
I think is the default one
Shay
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue 17 Oct 2017 17:50

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Shay »

Yup, well I only tried it for 1-2 ROMs but they didn't start when I changed it to lr-gpSP. I am now thinking that the render resolution is the problem. Its probably too high, leading to bad performance / lagg.
Knipsknirps
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat 23 Dec 2017 20:31

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Knipsknirps »

Bios-File installed?
Shay
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue 17 Oct 2017 17:50

Re: GBA ROMs Lagging / Not playing great???

Post by Shay »

Knipsknirps wrote:Bios-File installed?
Well thats included in Raspberry Pi image. I updated setup script..etc too.

Still no luck after changing Res / video mode. Will have to try a new sd card and start from scratch.
Post Reply