Vector-gasm... Cosmic Chasm!

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Zebidee:

--- Quote from: bobbyb13 on March 12, 2023, 10:58:56 am ---Biggest issue is that I still understand almost nothing about Linux.
I have already suffered this pain with Windows enough times that I can sort these things out for a groovymame build.

I have been back and forth with burning a fresh image to this sd card so many times that I sometimea forget where I am.

--- End quote ---

Ooops yes, you are slicing Pi. I probably know even less about Linux than you :dunno

If you document your efforts, then at least you (and the rest of us) will know how to do it next time :cheers:

bobbyb13:
And that's where I'm at!
Man, this has been super frustrating but I just pulled it off.
The machine actually works now- 100%.

The last time I refreshed the sd image and fired it up with the I-PAC connected and the spinner plugged into it, this appeared on the HDMI monitor (which if you have a prayer of making this happen you MUST have during setup at least.

I was encouraged because it meant that the spinner was actually registering as a device where I needed it to finally- even if it had a monstrous deadzone?!
Holy crap-

And sure enough, it was working, even if it acted like I drank a gallon of espresso 15 minutes ago.

Mind you, I wasn't getting control button function anymore, but since I had it before I was confident I could get it back.
And since I was on a roll anyway, and the ultimate goal for this machine is that it COULD play Cosmic Chasm, Tempest, and with a control panel swap Quantum also, I figured why not push my luck and see if I can get a trackball recognized here too while I was at it.
At least I would know if I had all of my configuration stuff sorted and can get on to finishing the cabinet itself.

So I built the harness I knew I needed to attach directly to the I-PAC.

What had occurred to me this morning when I woke up ridiculously early and was perseverating on the deadzone issue (which I haven't been able to fix in the \root\boot\cmdline.txt file yet) is that I might be able to get the deadzone fixed in the in-game menu (via the magic 'Tab" button.)
It then immediately occurred to me also that my lack of button response wasn't device conflict, crappy harness connection or screwed up I-PAC configuration, but that since last time I started over with a fresh sd image for the Pi I had NOT gone back in to map my buttons again.
Yeesh.

With this revelation and my maxed control panel setup I decided I should give the whole enchilada a go before my rather mudane tasks the rest of the day.
I got the trackball temporarily plugged in for testing and cleaned my button contacts just for good measure and plugged it all in.

I fired it up and nobody could be as surprised (pleased!) as I am that it actually did what I wanted it to.
Hallelujah
Finally.

How many weeks of Pi torture has this been?!

So, now refreshed, I will go get through my chores for the day and then sit down this evening to outline the ENTIRE process of going from CanaKit to functional vector machine and list the parts I used and steps in order.

And then HOPEfully somebody else can do this in one straight shot without all the tears, loss of hair and desire to throw things.

bobbyb13:
Once again, as threatened, I am posting some more.
Warning:

Not only is this next bit pic and link heavy, if you are already well versed in the art of Pi you will find it extraordinarily boring- so I apologize now.

The other caveat is that I am so Pi stupid that I am using a PC to get all this crap sorted.
Working on the Pi itself to do some of this stuff makes my hair hurt and you can do everything except the finer points of controller details on a PC via network connection before you even fire the Pi up.

If you are like me and can hardly tell your ass from a hole in the ground as regards the Pi do your self a HUGE favor and just buy a complete CanaKit.

It has everything you need to do this properly and easily.
Follow (only!) steps #1-3 in the QuickStart guide directions to put it all together and get to where you need to be.

If you actually know what you are doing you can probably just follow the install method found here (which you should have at hand anyway even if you are counting on me to not destroy things.)
EDIT!
For very understandable reasons, Barry has nuked association with some portions of the USB-DVG project and the link previously here leads to a 404.
Here is the still functional google drive files uploaded by Mario M to be able to accomplish this feat of vector wonderfulness!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KNNcKDJn_mh87HGbJHj9IvhJUWHlr3CX

There is a pdf in there detailing things I go over here also, but I have added quite a bit throughout this post actually.

Also, if you missed it before, I can't remember if I linked to this one yet, but you REALLY need to watch Jason Kopp's YT bit here also.

If for some reason you think sticking with me is a smart move then read on.

I started fresh here with a new Pi for visuals (and this one will actually be what I use for my horizontal build :) ) and it is remarkable how quickly you can get all this up and running.

The reason you don't even hit step #4 is that we are going to nuke the image that the included SD card comes with and write one that was written specifically for using a USB-DVG wo play vector games.

Also, download the Raspberry Pi imager so you can do this easily and follow along step by step here.
I probably have an old version here since I have been torturing myself with this for so long but I imagine it works the same way.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-imager-imaging-utility/

Get your SD card into a USB reader and plug it in and then fire that Pi imager up and you should see this thing.

Be prepared to have a few Windows Explorer windows open for file management because it gets a little nutty if you don't want to just copy and paste this stuff from what I will post here.

N.B.
At ANY point in this process you might/will see all kinds of warning pop ups randomly appear because Windows is pissed off that you are using something else, and the PC will warn you that it can't understand what is going on.
It is important to IGNORE these alerts and just close them without any action otherwise- or you can possibly confuse the Pi imager and break things.

I have seen it at numerous times during this process and had it occur with different types of warnings.
Hit the magic 'X' and disregard them all.

Ok, so when you click on "Choose System" on the imager app you will see a list of possibilities in another window and you need to scroll all the way down to see this:

You want to pick "Use Custom" of course and then you will get another window to pick what you want to write to your card.
Dig around until you find the image you need to use, which currently is this:

You already read the REAL installation guide I linked above before and downloaded the image you need to use, yeah?!
If somehow you are lazier than me (unlikely) and nothing has been moved than you can probably still find the latest version in the above link (and again right here below as before) to all of Mario's google drive files with regard to the Pi.

NEW STUFF!
Mario has also produced a new image for use the new Pi 5 so make sure you are using the right disk image for your build.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KNNcKDJn_mh87HGbJHj9IvhJUWHlr3CX

Once you have found where Windows tried to help you hide your Pi image from yourself and chosen it, you will need to choose the target for the image.
Mine looked like this and I imagine yours will look similar even if the drive designation is different:

If you have followed my directions and somehow this has all still worked you will see it first writing and then verifying the image with progress of a cute little green bar.
Be patient, it does actually take a little bit for it to start and then get through the whole thing.

Patience there should net you this:

At that point you can close this all up.
Close all windows that could have anything to do with the SD card (including any more stupid Windows alerts that may have popped up) and when you are finished you can just pull the card reader out.
Windows can't see the SD card as it is (it won't show up as existing in the far rigth side of the tool bar anyway) so you won't break anything without ejecting it first.

Enough for this round.
I need to upload more pics anyway.

Oh, and this all works much better if you are listening to The Cramps and/or The Chats while you are at it.
8)

bobbyb13:
IMPORTANT UPDATE!!

After you have stuck your now properly imaged SD card into your Pi, plug the Pi into an available ethernet port on your router and power the Pi up.

Give it a minute to understand that it is alive before you try to log into it through Windows.
It takes a few minutes for it to boot up and for the rest of your network to recognize it is there.

If you open an Explorer window on the PC you should be able to type this in and actually get somewhere.

It will take time even if it is working properly so be patient.
If your PC can't find it then it will say so and you have a network issue to address that I probably can't help you with.

This is the folder into which you want to copy your taboo game info elements.
Don't ask, don't tell.

For the rest of our network enabled adjustments the rest is VERY important.

The following bit is the code that someone FAR smarter than me came up with to add somewhere in the Pi- and it actually works.
If the person who wrote this is reading here please message me and I'll send you something mea culpa style for listing your work unacknowledged!

Do the copy and paste thing with the following mouse additions in the manner I set forth in the following if you want to not agonize over this for (at least) weeks like I did.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!

The file that needs to be amended to make your controls all work properly is /home/pi/.advance/advmame.rc and it is VERY important to note that it is a HIDDEN FILE!
There is another advmame.rc file (the one I have been trying to adjust throughout this torture) but it will do NOTHING to get things to work properly.

You can adjust the VMMenu files that are located within the same /advancemame directory that the rom folder resides in above but ONLY changing the advmame.rc configuration file noted in the /home/pi/.advance folder will get your controls to work!!
Here is the final thing I came up with that makes this all work.

device_mouse raw
device_raw_mousedev[0] /dev/input/mouse0
device_raw_mousedev[1] /dev/input/mouse1
device_raw_mousedev[2] /dev/input/mouse2
device_raw_mousedev[3] /dev/input/mouse3
device_raw_mousetype[0] ps2
device_raw_mousetype[1] ps2
device_raw_mousetype[2] ps2
device_raw_mousetype[3] ps2
input_map[p1_trackballx] mouse[0,x] mouse[1,x] mouse[2,x] mouse[3,x]
input_map[p1_trackbally] mouse[0,y] mouse[1,y] mouse[2,y] mouse[3,y]
input_map[p1_dialx] mouse[0,x] mouse[1,x] mouse[2,x] mouse[3,x]
input_map[p1_dialy] mouse[0,y] mouse[1,y] mouse[2,y] mouse[3,y]
input_map[p1_paddlex] mouse[0,x] mouse[1,x] mouse[2,x] mouse[3,x]
input_map[p1_paddley] mouse[0,y] mouse[1,y] mouse[2,y] mouse[3,y]

Easy, NOW, ain't it?!

The last time I did this I actually needed to make all these adjustments driectly within the PI GUI as I think the file permissions for accessing a hidden (protected?) file on the Pi through Windows wasn't happening for me.
YMMV

Dig in and get that addition/alteration made to the /home/pi/.advance/advmame.rc file however you can pull it off.

I also removed the other P1 references to dial, trackball, and paddle that were in that config file as I was adding the new lines in.

As far as things to alter in your code via PC/network connection, that is it.

Save your changes.
Done.

Things to note as you continue:

*I have had ZERO success using a wireless keyboard/mouse combination device in configuring the Pi once in the cabinet.
Do yourself a favor here and just use a plain old corded keyboard for controller configuration.

*I have NO idea if AdvanceMame fails to launch without having an audio device connected (the way MAME has failed for me in the past) so do yourself a favor here also and just have something plugged into the Pi that will make some noise. The Pi4 has a 3.5mm stereo jack but from the Pi5 on it appears not.
It also helps because you can hear Chad's menu wake up when it starts and hear keystroke and spinner/joystick indications as you navigate and exit too.

*You MUST have a display (in addition to the vector CRT you have hopefully already acquired or built and is connected to your USB-DVG) plugged into HDMI port 0 on the Pi while finishing up or you simply can't do it.
Unlike any other MAME build I/you may have attempted, NOTHING will show up on the CRT except what the vectormenu or game are doing.
When it comes to getting AdvanceMame to register your control panel inputs (via the 'Tab' key while in a game- or to adjust things later on) the secondary display is imperative.

Ok-

Now that you have your Pi all set up the next thing is to take care of your controls.

You can be cheap if you want to and try to use something else (and a properly configured Arduino board will suffice here of course- but I am not that smart yet PL1 !) however the following detail is written in reference to an I-PAC and a SpinTrak because I can attest that the following just simply works.

Andy at Ultimarc offers top notch customer service and quickly replied when I asked about what my build was gagging on so that I could fix it.
I've been buying stuff from him for years and he always helps.

I have also bought really nice parts from Randy at groovygamegear (whose support is equal to Andy's) and I am sure that he has a board and Twist that will do exactly the same, although the configuration process will probably differ slightly.
If I can get the time to buy stuff from Randy also I'll test that out too and add notes here if anyone would like.

So, before you fire up the machine with the Pi connected and have fits like I did, let's get your control interface set up properly.

One of the cool things about the I-PAC is that there is are a number of utilities to get your board to act the way you need it to.
If you head to Andy's website you will see a few downloads available for I-PAC boards.

https://www.ultimarc.com/control-interfaces/i-pacs/i-pac2/

Andy's app and directions are very straightforward so I won't bore you with reiterating.
After a lot of patience from Andy with his replies and trying EVERYthing here it turns out that the "Keyboard Only" firmware that his boards ship with is the version to use.

There is a header on the I-PAC to plug both the SpinTrak AND trackball (I have a regular old Happ here) into at the SAME time- and they both work.

This is absolutley awesome from my seat since it allows me to play Cosmic Chasm, Tempest, Tac/Scan with this panel and also Quantum with a panel swap.

Love this.

For the sake of being thorough, this particular cabinet was built solely as a vertical game unit.
X Y monitors don't care about orientation really as they are deflecting from center so you can always be smarter than me and just build a wider cabinet with a 25" tube horizontally oriented and be able to play EVERYthing in one cabinet reasonably well as long as you get per-game configuration proper and have the right controls.

I need to revisit the vertical vector game possibilities here.

bobbyb13:
I realize that I am in a timezone inconvenient for those who aren't insomniacs or early risers but I sometimes feel like I am in an empty auditorium-
Even if there have been over 1,100 views more than comments here!

Suckahs-

So the saga continues.

I fired up my build after the LAST time I burned a new image here and although I can ACTUALLY play Tempest now...

NO Cosmic Chasm again!

The rom files are there but there is no entry in vmmenu- again.
Not sure why this doesn't show up when there is a rom for it present (two versions of it in fact) so back to configuration we go.
I suspect that Chad's menu config writing script is only set to check the first time it is run.

I have however seen in Chad's quite rad vector game menu that you can enable/disable games there once the menu is running on your vector display.
I need to check it again.
Can't remember how to get to it at the moment, and when I am doing this stuff I am going back and forth between my laptop and network in the house and the machine- which is in the workshop 100 yds from here.

After I have had a bottle and a half of wine it begins to get a little fuzzy sometimes.

I dragged the Pi back down here anyway, as I know that I can add a line to the vmmenu.cfg file (for some reason it isn't an '.rc' file in this particular instance) and force the Pi to realize it is there.
If I knew more about how Linux works this wouldn't be so confusing and cryptic- sorry- but at least we know what I am doing works.
:)

I may go try it again before I go to sleep because I can't help myself.

No, of course I will try it again before I go to sleep.

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