Fully functional Windows software

[barrymossel]

Almost everybody here prefers a PC above a Raspberry Pi. And I can see why, but... why can't I find fully out-of-the-box functional Windows software that can be compared with something like RetroPie. So:

• Plug&Play, so fully functional after initial installation
• Supporting multiple (pre-installed) emulators
• Standard good looking front end (no need to configure for hours)
• Running on top of Windows, so not an entire OS (for testing purposes)

It's not that I don't want to configure myself, but I feel there aren't any user-friendly solutions. And how hard can it be? Just one installation file and BAM you can play! But I might be missing something.

[05SRT4]

If you can install and configure RetroPi you can install and configure windows.

[barrymossel]

Wow, useful reply.

It's not that I don't want to configure myself, but I feel there aren't any user-friendly solutions. And how hard can it be? Just one installation file and BAM you can play! But I might be missing something.

Of course I can configure Windows software. I just wonder why there is no fully configured installation whatsoever (or maybe I just didn't find it?). I guess you never worked with RetroPie? Write the image to an SD card and it works right away, out-of-the-box, and looks well. Nothing to configure except of course the controls.

[05SRT4]

What retro file are you using that has all the games? last time I checked the download was just the emus and configs, you can buy fully loaded windows hard drives.

[Grasshopper]

I guess you never worked with RetroPie? Write the image to an SD card and it works right away, out-of-the-box, and looks well. Nothing to configure except of course the controls.

Indeed. That's one of the advantages of using a Pi that deserves to be more widely publicised. You can download an image with ROMs, artwork, themes, etc. all pre-installed and be up and running in less than half an hour. That's about as plug and play as you're going to get without buying a NES or SNES Mini.

Unfortunately, I don't imagine we'll ever see the equivalent of RetroPie in the Windows world for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, no two PCs are the same. And when the Windows installer is run, it installs only the drivers needed for the target machine. So, if you then take a disk image and transfer it to another PC, the required drivers are unlikely to be present, and Windows will either run badly or not at all. You don't get this problem in the Raspberry Pi world because there are only three versions of the Pi, and the default Linux distribution for the Pi will work (by design) on all three versions.

Secondly, if someone created a Windows version of RetroPie, any pre-built images would, by necessity, have to have an unlicensed version of Windows embedded within them. Most of us don't care about that. However, Microsoft might, and theoretically they could go after the authors of the software. The RetroPie authors aren't legally exposed in the same way because their stock images only contain open source software, and don't come with ROMs. So, they're able to beep the legal and illegal aspects of their project separate. Of course many other people produce RetroPie images with ROMs included. But it's much harder for Microsoft to go after random individuals who upload unlicensed software to the Internet.

[Grasshopper]

Incidentally, if you like RetroPie, you can actually run it on a PC.

You just need to install Linux, and then follow the instructions on the RetroPie website. The process is obviously not as plug-and-play as downloading a Pi image but it's still pretty straightforward, and you don't need any in-depth Linux knowledge.

I tried it myself a few months ago, and it worked flawlessly. I used Ubuntu but I think it will install on top of any Debian-based distro.

[barrymossel]

I guess you never worked with RetroPie? Write the image to an SD card and it works right away, out-of-the-box, and looks well. Nothing to configure except of course the controls.

Indeed. That's one of the advantages of using a Pi that deserves to be more widely publicised. You can download an image with ROMs, artwork, themes, etc. all pre-installed and be up and running in less than half an hour. That's about as plug and play as you're going to get without buying a NES or SNES Mini.

Unfortunately, I don't imagine we'll ever see the equivalent of RetroPie in the Windows world for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, no two PCs are the same. And when the Windows installer is run, it installs only the drivers needed for the target machine. So, if you then take a disk image and transfer it to another PC, the required drivers are unlikely to be present, and Windows will either run badly or not at all. You don't get this problem in the Raspberry Pi world because there are only three versions of the Pi, and the default Linux distribution for the Pi will work (by design) on all three versions.

Secondly, if someone created a Windows version of RetroPie, any pre-built images would, by necessity, have to have an unlicensed version of Windows embedded within them. Most of us don't care about that. However, Microsoft might, and theoretically they could go after the authors of the software. The RetroPie authors aren't legally exposed in the same way because their stock images only contain open source software, and don't come with ROMs. So, they're able to beep the legal and illegal aspects of their project separate. Of course many other people produce RetroPie images with ROMs included. But it's much harder for Microsoft to go after random individuals who upload unlicensed software to the Internet.

There are linux distro's available for PC. Actually you can run RetroPie on a PC. So Plug&Play, and working out-of-the box for most PC's.

I am just wondering why I can't run one installer (like any PC game) on my Windows PC and only have to put some ROMs in the right folder. I just don't get that I can't download a RetroPC.exe (or whatever) which installs a front-end (with a nice default theme) and the most common emulators. I don't think extra drivers are needed, as Windows is already installed. Just one plug&play package.

[Titchgamer]

There are pre made images out there for hyperspin and others that already have emus etc pre loaded.

But they are still alot of work to configure!

TBH I like being able to build as I go, It allows me to build the system the way I want from the ground up without any extras taking up space.

[JDFan]

Probably because windows systems vary greatly and need configuring to perform the best for that particular setup --- while the Rpi3 is identical to every other rpi3 - so having a pre-made image setup will work on every other rpi3. 

[Howard_Casto]

Also on the pi....

Don't like the interface? 
Don't prefer those emulators?

Well guess what?  You are screwed!  You don't get any choices.

On the pc there are two dozen front-ends, each with several skins, at least two emulators for each console.... a myriad of not just emulated games but pc games both in the retro style and modern ect....  It isn't turn-key because you are allowed options.  Options are decidedly a good thing.

[Grasshopper]

Also on the pi....

Don't like the interface? 
Don't prefer those emulators?

Well guess what?  You are screwed!  You don't get any choices.

I'm guessing that you've never used RetroPie because what you've just said is simply untrue.

RetroPie comes bundled with a choice of two frontends (Emulation Station and Attract Mode) and loads of different themes. It also gives the user the choice of more than one emulator per platform.

If you choose not to use RetroPie then there are even more emulator options available under Linux.

I fully accept that there are more options under Windows. But to claim that Pi users don't get any choice is just plain wrong.

[Titchgamer]

Also on the pi....

Don't like the interface? 
Don't prefer those emulators?

Well guess what?  You are screwed!  You don't get any choices.

I'm guessing that you've never used RetroPie because what you've just said is simply untrue.

RetroPie comes bundled with a choice of two frontends (Emulation Station and Attract Mode) and loads of different themes. It also gives the user the choice of more than one emulator per platform.

If you choose not to use RetroPie then there are even more emulator options available under Linux.

I fully accept that there are more options under Windows. But to claim that Pi users don't get any choice is just plain wrong.

True Dat.

[Howard_Casto]

If you say so.  I've tried both.... they are inferior to windows options. 

[ZoOl007]

It's all a matter of taste and technical capabilities one has. Nothing stops someone from making a true *nix gem or a windows gem.
Windows is easier just because there are more resources.
I have got some people who installed Retropie on debian and ubuntu. Speedē...
*nix is as flexible as windows... and free...

[Howard_Casto]

It's as flexible as windows if you are a programmer and happen to specialize in *nix programming, specifically for the pi as it has limited resources. If not then you are s.o.l. and since 99% of the users aren't, yeah.... not nearly as flexible. 

I'm not sure why everyone is having a conniption fit for me stating the obvious.....  Windows gives you more options and allows for more user configuration.  The retropi is turn-key at the expense of being inflexible. 

[barrymossel]

Flexiblity is great for some users, but I can't think of any configuration option that is not (easily - no programming needed) available on Linux distro's like RetroPie. But that is not the point actually. It is the fact that for Windows users (almost everyone has a Windows computer at home) there is no easy plug&play solution widely available. In my opinion (most of the) Windows users rather need such a solution over RPi users. Pre-made images can be easy as well, but I didn't find one yet, while RetroPie is widely available.

And again, I was just wondering. I just was looking into this as I want to compare performance on (a) Windows (laptop) v.s. RPi3 - and I thought it was weird that there was not something like RetroPie available that could be installed in Windows.

[Grasshopper]

For the reasons already given, I don't think you'll get round the fact that you'll have to install Windows separately to the emulator package. But if you can live with that (and it's not really a big deal) then there do appear to be options out there.

For example, I just typed "hyperspin preconfigured download" into google and instantly found several sites offering what appear to be preconfigured Hyperspin builds. Unfortunately, I can't give you direct links as the sites also include ROM packs but they're very easy to find.

Anyway, is there any reason why you couldn't just use Linux/RetroPie on your PC? Or is there some feature only available on Windows that you need, for example, the ability to play modern PC games?

[elvis]

It's as flexible as windows if you are a programmer and happen to specialize in *nix programming, specifically for the pi as it has limited resources. If not then you are s.o.l. and since 99% of the users aren't, yeah.... not nearly as flexible. 

I understand what you're getting at here, but allow me to be a bit pedantic and clarify that you don't have to be a "programmer" to customise a Linux OS with different tools and software. 

I'm not a programmer, but I do happen to be a Linux sysadmin by trade.  So yeah, piece of cake for me to do what I like with this device.   If I need more power than a Raspberry Pi can offer, I still use Linux by choice, because of my skillset and the flexibility that Linux offers over Windows (again, assuming you know how).  But certainly no programming knowledge needed. 

On that topic, familiarity with Linux is not hard to obtain.  It's ludicrously well documented, and I've brought people up to scratch with decent Linux skills and no prior experience in as little as two weeks (a bit part of my job is training folks from scratch, and I offer this to people in my local gaming community for free).  The problem most folks have is that they try to treat Linux like Windows, get frustrated and fail,  But being "different" isn't the same as being "difficult".  Folks forget they've got 20+ years of Windows experience, and confuse that with it being "intuitive".

Anyways, I get what you mean above.  Yes, Raspberry Pis are great if you're a non-Linux-user and want to use the images provided, but can be daunting if you don't have the skills and know-how to modify it beyond their defaults.  Same goes for any software, even Windows.  Working in corporate IT, I've seen my fair share of folks who can barely find the MS Word icon without a call to IT Support.  Not everyone finds Windows "easy" either.

Replying to the OP:  Most emulation software under Windows doesn't require "installation" per se.  You can generally just get your setup running nicely in a dedicated subfolder, zip that up, and transfer it to another system with ease.  Things like MAME and RetroArch store all their configs in handy text files, so use that as a basis to do your config once, and then transfer it system to system later on, with minor tweaks from a clean Windows install other than telling it where to find the frontend to autostart on boot.

[barrymossel]

For the reasons already given, I don't think you'll get round the fact that you'll have to install Windows separately to the emulator package. But if you can live with that (and it's not really a big deal) then there do appear to be options out there.

For example, I just typed "hyperspin preconfigured download" into google and instantly found several sites offering what appear to be preconfigured Hyperspin builds. Unfortunately, I can't give you direct links as the sites also include ROM packs but they're very easy to find.

Anyway, is there any reason why you couldn't just use Linux/RetroPie on your PC? Or is there some feature only available on Windows that you need, for example, the ability to play modern PC games?

I am using a RPi with RetroPie for my cabinet. But... I do have a Windows laptop and wanted to test emulation on that. And then I started to wonder why emulation is so easy on a (Linux) RPi (normally for more experienced people) and so "hard" on Windows (while almost anyone has a Windows computer). And with hard I mean: lots of work and lots of reading.

Titch Gamer also pointed me in the direction of the pre-build HyperSpin packages, but I do not really trust that (possibility of malware etc.). Also I do not want to download 100GB of ROMS Just don't get that there isn't a group of developers that makes something like RetroPie to install on Windows. Just like a "normal" Windows game...

[JDFan]

Titch Gamer also pointed me in the direction of the pre-build HyperSpin packages, but I do not really trust that (possibility of malware etc.). Also I do not want to download 100GB of ROMS Just don't get that there isn't a group of developers that makes something like RetroPie to install on Windows. Just like a "normal" Windows game...

They are out there - For example here is a video of the NES mini frontend running in attract mode on the PC -