Groovy_MiSTer Core

[dickhardpill]

I'm still not able to get this to work.

I grabbed the MAC address from the mister and set up a static IP for the mister in my router, but it has me thinking - why is this necessary if I now have a direct/wired connection via ethernet cable from the laptop to the mister? That said, I am still seeing the wifi symbol in the mister menu and not the network symbol, so something clearly isn't working. Also, I am reading that I need to edit "dhcpcd.conf" but I cannot save my changes to the file when using ftp (permission denied, despite having correct permissions) and I am no longer able to log in via putty/SSH.

I'm afraid I'm totally lost here. Is there a definitive guide for absolute noobs?

Have you changed the default password? If you check the target/MiSTer IP in putty is it the same IP that shows up in the MiSTer menu?

[Mr Mister]

Weird, so after taking a long walk I was able to change the dhcpcd.conf with the necessary info as it's working again. I'm not sure what changed. 0_o

Now that I have the changes saved, I'm still only seeing the WiFi symbol with new static IP on the MiSTer, but still no network symbol with associated IP. Does that seem right if I have an Ethernet cable running from the laptop to the MiSTer?

[dickhardpill]

Can you ping the assigned IP address?

[Mr Mister]

Yep, pings just fine. Sent four packets/received four. 484ms average.

EDIT

So it seems like a connection was made - the bouncing logo screen is gone, and I noticed a quick flash of the MAME menu, but it's just a black screen on the VGA now. Hey, it's progress I suppose.

Now the question is: does anyone know why I have a black screen? When I close MAME, the bouncing ball returns. Wrong resolution, perhaps?

[Mr Mister]

Thinking about this further, is it even possible to send groovy mister to a VGA monitor? Every example I've seen is on a CRT television or PVM. The screen goes dark, but I'm not getting the usual "resolution not supported" error I usually get from my monitor when I try sending it something it doesn't like.

[psakhis]

Thinking about this further, is it even possible to send groovy mister to a VGA monitor? Every example I've seen is on a CRT television or PVM. The screen goes dark, but I'm not getting the usual "resolution not supported" error I usually get from my monitor when I try sending it something it doesn't like.

I suppose you are using last versions of all (test build MiSTer_groovy, Groovy.rbf and last GroovyMame version).

You can use vga monitor setting monitor as arcade_31 on switchres.ini or arcade_15 and enable scandoubler on core options.

[Mr Mister]

Thinking about this further, is it even possible to send groovy mister to a VGA monitor? Every example I've seen is on a CRT television or PVM. The screen goes dark, but I'm not getting the usual "resolution not supported" error I usually get from my monitor when I try sending it something it doesn't like.

I suppose you are using last versions of all (test build MiSTer_groovy, Groovy.rbf and last GroovyMame version).

You can use vga monitor setting monitor as arcade_31 on switchres.ini or arcade_15 and enable scandoubler on core options.

I am using mame_nogpu_24.7z downloaded from https://github.com/psakhis/Groovy_MiSTe ... 20(stable)

As far as the settings go, are you saying I should adjust these settings in the mame.ini?

Currently I have this at the end of my mame.ini file:

Code: Select all

video                     mister  

aspect                    4:3
switchres                 1
monitor                   arcade_15
mister_window             1
mister_ip                 192.168.1.6
mister_compression        lz4

As far as editing switchres.ini, I only see it under "OSD FULL SCREEN OPTIONS" and the bottom section I added per the instructions here:

https://github.com/lutechsource/MiSTerS ... ntation.md

Also, I am only seeing a doublescan setting under "OSD FULL SCREEN OPTIONS." Would I just switch this to 1?

EDIT

mister.ini is now attached.

[Darxide]

Hi all, I have a couple noob questions that I have searched around for and cant find the answer for, any guidance would be appreciated.

How do I assign start and coin buttons through groovy into MAME? I only see assignments for buttons 1-10 while doing the config through the mister OSD.

Does Groovy support 4 player inputs? I was not able to get 3p and 4p to recognize inputs while playing.

Thanks in advance!

[KennyL]

Hi all, I have a couple noob questions that I have searched around for and cant find the answer for, any guidance would be appreciated.

How do I assign start and coin buttons through groovy into MAME? I only see assignments for buttons 1-10 while doing the config through the mister OSD.

Does Groovy support 4 player inputs? I was not able to get 3p and 4p to recognize inputs while playing.

Thanks in advance!

You can map coin and start buttons in mame ui. I don't know about 4 player inputs.

[KennyL]

Currently I have this at the end of my mame.ini file:

Code: Select all

video                     mister  

aspect                    4:3
switchres                 1
monitor                   arcade_15
mister_window             1
mister_ip                 192.168.1.6
mister_compression        lz4

As far as editing switchres.ini, I only see it under "OSD FULL SCREEN OPTIONS" and the bottom section I added per the instructions here:

https://github.com/lutechsource/MiSTerS ... ntation.md

Also, I am only seeing a doublescan setting under "OSD FULL SCREEN OPTIONS." Would I just switch this to 1?

EDIT

mister.ini is now attached.

Your mame.ini looks old so I'm guessing you might be using old groovymame. Also there are duplicated settings.

Try the latest version and make sure to grab mame_mister.ini, put in your settings, and rename it to mame.ini.

https://github.com/antonioginer/GroovyMAME/releases

[Mr Mister]

Currently I have this at the end of my mame.ini file:

Code: Select all

video                     mister  

aspect                    4:3
switchres                 1
monitor                   arcade_15
mister_window             1
mister_ip                 192.168.1.6
mister_compression        lz4

As far as editing switchres.ini, I only see it under "OSD FULL SCREEN OPTIONS" and the bottom section I added per the instructions here:

https://github.com/lutechsource/MiSTerS ... ntation.md

Also, I am only seeing a doublescan setting under "OSD FULL SCREEN OPTIONS." Would I just switch this to 1?

EDIT

mister.ini is now attached.

Your mame.ini looks old so I'm guessing you might be using old groovymame. Also there are duplicated settings.

Try the latest version and make sure to grab mame_mister.ini, put in your settings, and rename it to mame.ini.

https://github.com/antonioginer/GroovyMAME/releases

Thanks for the reply. Everything was downloaded from the official groovymister github sources last week. Not sure what looks old or how, but the duplicate entries might be from the conflicting instructions online. I have yet to find a comprehensive how-to guide that doesn't assume things about the install. That said, am I even supposed to download groovymame if I'm using groovymister? None of the instructions mention this. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try again.

[KennyL]

Thanks for the reply. Everything was downloaded from the official groovymister github sources last week. Not sure what looks old or how, but the duplicate entries might be from the conflicting instructions online. I have yet to find a comprehensive how-to guide that doesn't assume things about the install. That said, am I even supposed to download groovymame if I'm using groovymister? None of the instructions mention this. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try again.

Yeah groovy definitely needs better updated guides...

You only need groovymame if you want to use mame. If you do, just replace mame.ini with mame_mister.ini, put in your mister ip address, run mame.exe, don't need to put in command line option.

Also search and replace these options in ini:

Code: Select all

mister_window             1
mister_interlaced_fb      0
keyboardprovider          mister
mouseprovider             mister
monitor                   arcade_31

Mistercast is quick and easy way to test connection without needing to setup roms and all that so maybe you could try that.

https://github.com/iequalshane/MiSTerCast/releases

[Mr Mister]

Just downloaded groovymame and I don't see any sort of mame.ini/mame_mister.ini.

I hate to say it, but I'm officially giving up on this idea. This was supposed to be a fun idea to try out, but it has turned into anything but.

Thanks everyone for the help.

[LamerDeluxe]

Just downloaded groovymame and I don't see any sort of mame.ini/mame_mister.ini.

I hate to say it, but I'm officially giving up on this idea. This was supposed to be a fun idea to try out, but it has turned into anything but.

Thanks everyone for the help.

It is here: https://github.com/antonioginer/GroovyMAME/releases

[Mr Mister]

This is what I'm talking about though. What is there? I understand that it's GroovyMAME, but then how does GroovyMister and/or Mistercast and the original MAME installation play into this? Different sets of the available instructions are not clear as to what's needed for a beginner. The post above says to replace mame.ini with mame_mister.ini, but from what install and where does it go? Which MAME am I using? Do I erase mame.ini? Do I keep both mame.ini and mame_mister.ini? Will whatever I'm supposed to be using recognize mame_mister.ini?

Furthermore, the auxiliary instructions are just as confusing. "Just set static IP" is WAY easier said than done since there are a few different ways to skin that cat. Do I do it in putty? On the mister? On my router? But hey, now that I got the IP thing working, does this need to be on an ethernet cable? Can this run wireless?

The IP stuff is figured out now (I think) but now there's no display on the VGA monitor. Is this possible to even run on a VGA monitor? What settings do I adjust? I see above that I can use "vga monitor setting monitor as arcade_31 on switchres.ini or arcade_15 and enable scandoubler on core options" but what does this mean? Is this the mame.ini? Is this the mame_mister.ini? I'm told my ini is outdated, despite having downloaded this a few days ago.

Furthermore, the how-to video from Video Game Esoterica is unclear at best and wrong at worst. Liu's instructions don't seem to be working.

All that to say, this seems like a really fun and cool way to use this tech, but I'm now easily several weeks into this without any real solution on how to get this working. I am usually very persistent with these sorts of projects, but I will respectfully have to give up on this idea for my own sanity until an actual how-to is available and working.

I don't intend any offense, just throwing in my experience as an outsider.

[Calamity]

Hi Mr Mister, I feel your pain.

Some guides were created before things had got more or less stable, that's why some instructions may be more complicated than required really. Also, since I noticed people were creating batch files and other weird ways to pass options to GroovyMAME, I simply uploaded an already configured mame.ini (mame_mister.ini), with all options already set, for MiSTer specific use.

So, if you've already figured out the static IP stuff, all you need to do is:

• Download the latest release from my site. Unzip it. That's all you need. No original MAME package, nothing, it's all in the package from my site. Test builds on psakhis site are only a binary. Use my packages instead, please do.

• Download the mame_mister.ini file from my site. Double click on it and follow the instructions on the top of the file:

Code: Select all

#
# Configuration file ready for GroovyMiSTer.
#
# Rename this file as mame.ini, and overwrite the
# default mame.ini file inside GroovyMAME's folder
# with this one.
#
# You only need to edit the mister_ip option below
# with the actual ip address of your MiSTer.
#
# And set the option rompath to point to your roms
# folder, of course.
#

• Go down the ini and set the paths that point to your roms etc., you're supposed to know this stuff.
• Still in there: set any additional options you need for your specific case. In your particular case:

  Code: Select all

  monitor arcade_31

That's all.

Always use wired connection. Prefer direct connection. Wifi is for browsing the net.

[Atohmdiy]

Am i alone to have mistercast only working on older version of groovymister ?

[thorr]

Mr. Mister, if you haven't already, try toggling the Volatile Framebuffer setting in the core menu. I had to change it to Off, or I would get a black screen in some situations.

[Mr Mister]

@thorr - I am not seeing anything regarding "volatile framebuffer" in any mame menu or the .ini file. A google search for "volatile framebuffer" pulls back exactly two entries, one of which is groovymisterpwm, which seems to be yet another version/fork. I sincerely appreciate the help, but this is now officially way WAY over my head.

@calamity - I will try this now.

[Mr Mister]

@calamity - I followed the directions, and while the bouncing ball blanks out on the VGA monitor, I can't actually do anything because the screen is still black like before. The OSD VIDEO setting in the .ini file is pointed to display on the mister, so it seems like nothing happens on the PC side of things, but I don't know for sure because, well, the only output it's set to display on is black.

[KennyL]

Am i alone to have mistercast only working on older version of groovymister ?

Have you tried mistercast 1.01?

https://github.com/iequalshane/MiSTerCa ... /tag/v1.01

[thorr]

@thorr - I am not seeing anything regarding "volatile framebuffer" in any mame menu or the .ini file. A google search for "volatile framebuffer" pulls back exactly two entries, one of which is groovymisterpwm, which seems to be yet another version/fork. I sincerely appreciate the help, but this is now officially way WAY over my head.

Calamity is definitely the expert, so listen to him before me. With that said...

It is in the MiSTer menu after launching the core. Are you at a point where you can see the bouncing ball, or is it a black screen? If you can see the bouncing ball, hit F12 then go to Video Settings. Right now my setting is "On", but it is something you can toggle off to try to fix black frame issues sometimes.

If you don't see the bouncing ball, your MiSTer.ini might be the issue. I had mine set up for testing composite video for another core, and I tried launching GroovyMiSTer and I got a black screen. Are you using component video? (No, I think you are using a VGA monitor after re-reading a bit). Here is my MiSTer.ini at the moment that works. However, this is designed for directvideo on a 15KHz CRT. You mentioned you have a VGA monitor. I am not sure what the secret sauce is to get the bouncing ball to work in 31Khz mode. Maybe a simple way is to use forced_scandoubler=1 in the MiSTer.ini and run everything on the PC side as if you had a 15Khz screen. The forced_scandoubler just line doubles everything so it works on a 31KHz screen. This would be ok for classic games like Pac-man, etc. For higher resolution games, you wouldn't want to do that. This is just a quick test to get something working. The real way is to get the bouncing ball working at 31KHz on the MiSTer side and use arcade_31 on the PC side, but I am not sure how to do the MiSTer side of that.

[Atohmdiy]

Am i alone to have mistercast only working on older version of groovymister ?

Have you tried mistercast 1.01?

https://github.com/iequalshane/MiSTerCa ... /tag/v1.01

Ok it was finally updated. Great news thank you.

[Mr Mister]

@thorr - I'm sorry, I didn't realize you meant to look for the volatile framebuffer setting on the MiSTer itself. I was looking in the .ini/mame settings menu. You said core and I seem to have overlooked that key word. This was definitely just me pulling a stupid!

The volatile framebuffer setting was set to on, so I toggled it, but I still get a black screen. Everything seems to be working in the regard that I have the bouncing ball screen going and it disappears when I start MAME, so I'm going to assume the VGA/CRT isn't receiving the right settings. The MiSTer core settings are still very much available on screen though, so it's good to know it didn't freeze or anything.

If my PC is directly connected to the MiSTer via Anker USB-C Ethernet dongle, should I be messing around with subnet mask on the Windows side? Something tells me no since MiSTer is clearly getting some sort of feedback from the PC already. Also, is there a comprehensive list of available monitor options I can swap out in the mame.ini? A cursory search brings back a few different results, but they don't seem too terribly up-to-date.

This may or may not be related - when I try to run MiSTerCast, I receive an error on open:

DxgiOutput1->DuplicateOutput failed: -2005270524
Failed to initialize video capture.

As far as I know, both MAME and MiSTerCast are whitelisted in my firewall settings. And if that isn't enough, I am now also noticing that I am no longer able to wirelessly FTP into the MiSTer if there is a static IP assigned to the MiSTer Ethernet port. Update_all displays "name server cannot be used: temporary failure in name resolution, unable to sync." Once I remove the static IP on Ethernet, the wireless side works again. 0_o

EDIT
I ran dual displays from the MiSTer to see if it was just the VGA CRT not receiving the correct signal, but the 2nd HDMI display also displayed black. I'm officially at a loss as to what's going on.

[LamerDeluxe]

My MiSTer and PC are connected to the same switch, this works fine here, without having to use a direct connection.

I tried Calamity's package today and that works well. I need to check how to map the gamepad controls. The PC keyboard doesn't seem to do anything in MAME, neither does one connected to the MiSTer, so I have no idea how to even exit a game and until I can map the controls I can't play one.

Tried MiSTerCast for the first time today and it is really cool.

EDIT: When the MAME screen is hidden on the PC (which it is by default with Calamity's settings) mouse and keyboard input don't work from the PC. I guess that makes sense. Now I can easily remap my controls from the menu.
EDIT2: Keyboard still doesn't work, only the mouse does. It is detecting some weird keyboard devices, with my actual keyboard being in third place.

[Mr Mister]

Spent some more trying to find a solution this morning - started fresh and reinstalled everything on the PC and MiSTer. Groovymame must be seeing the MiSTer in the direct connection because the bouncing ball screen blanks out, and it's likely not a VGA resolution issue because the HDMI is output from the MiSTer is also displaying a black screen in tandem.

Maybe I'm not as crazy as I initially thought. It's just not working despite following directions. No idea what to do at this point besides just using an HDMI-to-VGA converter from the PC and avoiding this process entirely.

[RiotRay]

@Mr Mister

On a "hdmi-to-vga"-converter you're stuck again to PC timings at 31khz. The whole point in GroovyMister is to have the exact timings of the arcade machines. This is working fine without noticeable lag here even though I'm not using a direct connection to my pc.
Maybe you want to try this first?

[eerie]

Maybe you can try an older version and see if it works.

In the github page the Stable version is from 5 months ago 20240125. There you have Groovymame and Mister file for that release.

[RiotRay]

@psakhis

Today revision of "mister_groovy" doesn't boot here. Is there something special about it?

[psakhis]

I will post how install new MiSTer_groovy for high performance server (xdp)

1) New rbf if builded with sys updated and new options (xdp server type and arm clock freq)
2) MiSTer_groovy has udp/xdp server and last commits
3) For xdp linux needs some tweaks
a. Change kernel zImage_dtb file on /media/fat/linux (is same kernel with some patches for eth0 driver)
b. Save new file groovy_xdp_kern.o on /usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/bpf
c. Save libelf.so.1 on /usr/lib