Atari 8 bit emulator (Raspberry Pi)

[JimF]

Thanks for the tip, I'll have another look!

[NISMOPC]

Anyone know why I would be able to use keyboard input on the terminal but not within Atari800?

I installed DietPi on one of my Pi ZERO W's with no desktop. As minimal as it gets. Boots super fast into terminal.

 

Terminal works fine and I can start Atari800, but the keyboard input is not responsive within Atari800.

 

When I back out of it using ctrl-c or ctrl-x, I see all my keystrokes are being entered in the terminal.

 

EDIT: NEVERMIND! Just figured it out. I have to run it with sudo command. Apparently I need to work on my user permissions.

Edited February 19, 2021 by NISMOPC

[E474]

https://xkcd.com/149/

[_The Doctor__]

gah political crap is on xkcd now too... sad day... not going there again...

[+bf2k+]

On 2/16/2021 at 10:26 AM, mimo said:

Do you have an idiot's guide? I've got a pi3 that just sits in its box waiting for me to do something with 

Ditto.  I am in the same boat.  I have a nice little PI 3 sitting in the box... I'd like to run my BBS on it.

 

Is there an Atari -> Pi 3 for Dummies?

[Mr Robot]

Install RaspberryPiOS lite on the raspberry pi and configure it as usual, then

 

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install git automake autoconf libsdl1.2-dev
git clone "https://github.com/atari800/atari800"
cd atari800
./autogen.sh

For Pi 1,2,3
./configure --target=rpi

For Pi4
./configure --enable-opengl-by-default

make
sudo make install
atari800

 

Emulator should run, press F1 for UI

 

Something like that

 

 

[hatchcliff]

Alternatively, if you just want to run the latest release and you have no need to access the source code, you can install the pre-compiled package as described by NISMOPC in post #13 of this thread.

The package for the Pi 3 is atari800_4.2.0_rpi0+2+3_stretch+buster.deb.  Download it here, double click on it to install, and you can then use the atari800 command in a terminal or create a shortcut to run it.

18 hours ago, Mr Robot said:

Install RaspberryPiOS lite on the raspberry pi

It runs fine on Pi OS Full too.

[Mazzspeed]

Getting the latest version of Atari800 on the Pi is easier if you use the Atari800 installer for Linux. This way you get the very latest version and you don't have to build it manually.

 

sudo git clone https://github.com/VR51/Atari800-Installer.git
cd Atari800-Installer
chmod u+x Atari800.sh
./atari800.sh

I'm running it on the Pi400 under Twister OS and it runs perfectly.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Mazzspeed

[zzip]

22 hours ago, Mr Robot said:

For Pi4 ./configure --enable-opengl-by-default

what's the advantage of using --enable-opengl-by-default ?    I'm pretty sure I didn't use this when I built it for my Pi 400.

[Mr Robot]

And this is the reason no one gives any help in linux. There are a thousand ways to do anything and when someone offers one solution a dozen people who didn't offer a solution to the OP will pop up to say there's a better* way. 

 

*better= the way they did it

 

According to the docs

Quote

The Pi 4 hardware is different to its predecessors. It runs the stock

version of atari800, not a special Raspberry Pi variation. However,

it is not fast enough to run the stock version without OpenGL hardware video

acceleration, so the --enable-opengl-by-default option is required. This

sets VIDEO_ACCEL=1 in the configuration file that is created on the first

run after installation, enabling acceleration by default.

(Acceleration is generally disabled by default to permit the emulator to run

on systems with broken OpenGL drivers, but this is not an issue with the

Pi 4 because the drivers in Pi OS are good.)

 

 

[zzip]

4 minutes ago, Mr Robot said:

However I can't find enable-opengl-by-default or video_accel in the configure script so it looks like the atari800 docs are out of date ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Just type ./configure without any flags for Pi4

Maybe it means the configuration script that atari800 will create when you run it

 

I did not notice atari800 running slowly on the Pi400, but maybe I'll look into this

[Mr Robot]

8 minutes ago, zzip said:

Maybe it means the configuration script that atari800 will create when you run it

That's the configure script I looked at.

 

[zzip]

19 minutes ago, Mr Robot said:

That's the configure script I looked at.

I think I understand now.    I copied my atari800 file config over from PC when I installed atari800 on my PI,  and it already had VIDEO_ACCEL set in it.

 

There is an option in the F1 menu to enable/disable Hardware Acceleration.   I tried disabling it, and atari800 does become a bit sluggish without it.   The Turbo key doesn't even give it a boost.   With Hardware Acceleration on, it runs at 100% and the turbo key makes it run super fast.

 

So I'm guessing all --enable-opengl-by-default does is turn on Hardware Acceleration by default,  but if you enable it in your config file anyway, it's just an optional config option.

Edited April 27, 2021 by zzip

[Mr Robot]

yes all it does is cause atari800 to write VIDEO_ACCEL=1 instead of VIDEO_ACCEL=0 in the .atari800.cfg file when it creates it on first run.

 

It was added by @hatchcliff in july last year.

 

[hatchcliff]

4 hours ago, Mr Robot said:

However I can't find enable-opengl-by-default or video_accel in the configure script so it looks like the atari800 docs are out of date

The --enable-opengl-by-default option is ready for inclusion in the next release (it's not in V4.2.0).  In your procedure (post #31) type './configure --help' after './autogen.sh' and you should see it in the list.  It's defined in configure.ac

 

The VIDEO_ACCEL setting appears in the default .atari800.cfg file for OpenGL-aware machines only (those capable of hardware acceleration).  So if you are using an OpenGL-aware machine such as the Pi 4 and you can't see it, something has gone wrong - let me know if this is the case and I will try to work out what's happening.

[Mazzspeed]

7 hours ago, Mr Robot said:

And this is the reason no one gives any help in linux. There are a thousand ways to do anything and when someone offers one solution a dozen people who didn't offer a solution to the OP will pop up to say there's a better* way.

So, no one offers help under Linux, but when they do offer advice that's not help? Interesting.

 

I can find more useful answers regarding Linux than I can on the Microsoft official help forums.

[hatchcliff]

18 hours ago, zzip said:

So I'm guessing all --enable-opengl-by-default does is turn on Hardware Acceleration by default,  but if you enable it in your config file anyway, it's just an optional config option.

That's right.  It's a minor addition, but it makes it possible to produce Pi 4 packages that install and run properly.

 

If you install the current version (atari800_V4.2.0_rpi4_buster.deb) it runs badly until you go into the menu system and turn on hardware acceleration.  It would be better to turn in on automatically - and this will happen in future releases.

[Mazzspeed]

1 hour ago, hatchcliff said:

If you install the current version (atari800_V4.2.0_rpi4_buster.deb) it runs badly until you go into the menu system and turn on hardware acceleration.  It would be better to turn in on automatically - and this will happen in future releases.

I can quite honestly state I didn't have this issue installing the software using the script linked above. Hardware acceleration works differently on the Pi4 than it does on the Pi3, most software technically runs worse on the Pi4 if you enable hardware acceleration.

 

It's why I can't run Quake 3 with hardware acceleration enabled on my Pi400, but it works fine on the Pi3.

[54018,52]

On 4/26/2021 at 9:56 AM, bf2k+ said:

Ditto.  I am in the same boat.  I have a nice little PI 3 sitting in the box... I'd like to run my BBS on it.

 

Is there an Atari -> Pi 3 for Dummies?

Looking for this also a step by step guide. I don't like using it inside retropie or recalbox.

[hatchcliff]

In principle, you just need to install Pi OS, obtain the latest atari800 package from here, and double click on it to install.  That's really all there is to it, but I appreciate there are plenty of places to get stuck in the detail.

 

Have you tried the procedure described by @NISMOPCin post #13 of this thread?  Which steps are you getting stuck on?

[Mazzspeed]

2 hours ago, hatchcliff said:

In principle, you just need to install Pi OS, obtain the latest atari800 package from here, and double click on it to install.  That's really all there is to it, but I appreciate there are plenty of places to get stuck in the detail.

 

Have you tried the procedure described by @NISMOPCin post #13 of this thread?  Which steps are you getting stuck on?

Is the .deb a new thing regarding 4.2? I swear last time I looked there was no .deb installer for 4.2 at all let alone for the RPi.

 

That's great.

[54018,52]

2 hours ago, hatchcliff said:

In principle, you just need to install Pi OS, obtain the latest atari800 package from here, and double click on it to install.  That's really all there is to it, but I appreciate there are plenty of places to get stuck in the detail.

 

Have you tried the procedure described by @NISMOPCin post #13 of this thread?  Which steps are you getting stuck on?

Its the bit : 4. Located the executable and created a shortcut on the desktop

 

I have no idea where the install put anything I have looked around in the folders but not found it yet. What is the location? @NISMOPC

[Mazzspeed]

1 hour ago, 54018,52 said:

Its the bit : 4. Located the executable and created a shortcut on the desktop

 

I have no idea where the install put anything I have looked around in the folders but not found it yet. What is the location? @NISMOPC

The executable? Just download the .Deb package related to your Pi variant, open terminal, cd Downloads (assuming that's where you download to) and enter sudo dpkg -i package name.deb

 

With 'package name.deb' being the installer you just downloaded.

[hatchcliff]

If you have got as far as step 4 you are nearly done. 

• Try typing 'atari800' in a terminal to check that the installation succeeded.  This should run the emulator.
• Go to <Preferences>, <Main Menu Editor>, select <Other>, click <New Item> and fill in the details:
  • Name: Atari800
  • Command: atari800
  • Comment: Atari 800 Emulator
  • You can also click on <Image> to select an icon if you wish.
• Click <OK>.

You should now have a working menu item that you can use, place on the panel etc. - just like any other.

Instead of specifying the command 'atari800' you can give the full pathname of the executable '/usr/bin/atari800' which I guess is what NISMOPC did, but it isn't necessary to be precise about the location - the system knows where to find it.

 

P.S. My preference would be to put atari800 in <Games> rather than <Other>, but there seems to be a bug in the Menu Editor, and placing it there screws things up sometimes.  I have no idea why, but I've stopped fighting it and just put it in Other.

 

[54018,52]

43 minutes ago, hatchcliff said:

If you have got as far as step 4 you are nearly done. 

• Try typing 'atari800' in a terminal to check that the installation succeeded.  This should run the emulator.
• Go to <Preferences>, <Main Menu Editor>, select <Other>, click <New Item> and fill in the details:
  • Name: Atari800
  • Command: atari800
  • Comment: Atari 800 Emulator
  • You can also click on <Image> to select an icon if you wish.
• Click <OK>.

You should now have a working menu item that you can use, place on the panel etc. - just like any other.

Instead of specifying the command 'atari800' you can give the full pathname of the executable '/usr/bin/atari800' which I guess is what NISMOPC did, but it isn't necessary to be precise about the location - the system knows where to find it.

 

P.S. My preference would be to put atari800 in <Games> rather than <Other>, but there seems to be a bug in the Menu Editor, and placing it there screws things up sometimes.  I have no idea why, but I've stopped fighting it and just put it in Other.

 

OK that seems to work I now have the window asking for a disk, now just need to locate the help file to see how to set it up with BIOS etc