hansolo77

I had a suspicious feeling that's what you were doing! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Got your score, sorry it's a couple of days late. I had surgery yesterday and haven't been on the site. Updated OP, DB, RSS

Quick update... PHASE ONE (Odroid and Parts) - Complete! PHASE TWO (Hard Drive) - Complete! I also got an Anker 4-port USB 3.0 hub. The XU4 has a single USB 2.0 connector, and a double USB3.0 connector. That severely limits connectivity. The hard drive is for sure going to take one 3.0 slot, and there's also the need for the wifi, bluetooth, and keyboard/mouse. Definitely needed more ports. Now that I have it, I might go back and upgrade this to an even larger capacity hub, since after connecting EVERYTHING (with no controllers), I only have 2 spots left. I guess that's all I really need. The XBox dongle can pair 4 controllers, and I can always disconnect it when I want to use something else (like 2 sega controllers). Plus 8BitDo has been coming out with some pretty sweet bluetooth controllers which might be the best way to go. I've connected everything up and it works! I made a backup of the eMMC card using the supplied USB reader. Damn that thing is fast! 16gb took maybe 3 minutes to backup. It was chugging along at around 100MB/second. My MicroSD cards that I use for the Pi's are only reading at 20MB/second if I'm lucky, and take anywhere from 20-30 minutes to backup. I'm gonna love this! Boot up is pretty fast too. I've just been fiddling around with it right now, getting my mind wrapped around the Ubuntu OS. It's got a nice "Windows-esque" GUI interface, but still provides a terminal for quick access like I'm used to on the Pi. Gonna be exciting working with it and tweaking it to my needs. Two things I've done so far. Remote Desktop - Since my primary display is my TV, and right now my ports are all used up with Xbox's, Kodi Box (Raspberry Pi), BluRay Player, and RetroPie Box (NES!), I needed another way to access the device easily. I'm already using a Remote Desktop Interface to access my server from my home computer, and I access the home computer now through Remote Desktop on my tablet. It's amazing! To do this, I had to install the software. Access the Terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and enter this: sudo apt install xrdp sudo systemctl enable xrdp If following along step by step, you'll get asked to enter the password for the sudo, unless you've changed anything it should be odroid. Once that was done, all I had to do was make sure I knew what the IP address was and then create a new profile in my Remote Desktop software. All good! There is a small limitation, you can't be logged into the account when you try to access it remotely, so just log out first. Not a problem if you just reboot (so long as you're not logging in automatically). Establish Access to Server - This took me forever to figure out. Turned out it was working like it should, but the makers of Ubuntu had updated the Samba utility and left out a very specific setting in the configuration file! Opps lol! So all you have to do is add a single line: client max protocol = NT1 The file you're adding this to is located in /etc/samba/smb.conf. The easiest way to do this is bring up the Terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and type sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf. On the screen that opens up, pres ENTER once to drop it a line, go back up and paste. Then to save the file, press CTRL+X, then Y, then ENTER. The documentation I read said that should be it, just re-open your file browser and re-establish the connection! If using the default Ubuntu image, the File Manager is called Caja. When you create the connection through "File -> Connect to Server...", make sure you tick the box to save it as a bookmark so it is available after reboots. That's all I've had the time to mess with today. I have to get ready for bed. Work tomorrow, then I'm off on Thursday for hernia repair surgery. Gonna be out for at least a week they said. Looking forward to the end result but not the downtime recovering. When I get off work tomorrow I'll take a few pictures of the device so's certain people won't be upset. Not sure about a case, still leaning on an NES again. I did check, they don't make an extension cable for the eMMC card, so I have to install the device with access to it for future backups. If I go with the NES, I can use the secret trap door, as I checked and it fits with enough room to get to the card. Later gents!!

Don't you mean the 2nd guy, Mr. Third Place?

Yeah he hooked me on LastPass. Seems to be working ok so far. I set up triple level security. They already guarantee the data is secured and nobody but you have access to your passwords because the databases are encrypted at time of creation. However, I have mine set up to also require a 6-digit PIN, which requires a phone app to generate (it changes every 30 seconds). My 3rd level is that the app I have on my phone will only unlock the app with my fingerprint. It's a little annoying at times, but I'd rather open the app with a thumbprint (1) to get a code to type into LastPass (2) AFTER I've given it my Master Password (3), than worry about my account info getting hacked. MOST (not all yet) of my online accounts now have 20-30+ character randomly generated passwords which LastPass can create for you. You can even have it ask you to update/create new passwords every "X" days too. I've not tried setting that up yet. It's completely free, but they do offer premium versions which as far as I can tell only allows you to share your keys with somebody like a family member should you die or something. I guess that would be nice, but unless I'm a millionaire, I don't see why my brother would need to access my bank account or email even after I die. I'm sure the banks have a way to verify him and verify I'm dead for him to get access and/or pay my bills.

You guys are still way better than me. Updated OP, DB, RSS

Sure, glad to add it!

Jerks! Updated OP, DB, RSS

I've been dabbling with Raspberry Pi's for probably 3 years or so now. I'm starting to get more and more comfortable with the environment, and learning how things work with it. But, alas, I'm starting to become irritated with the hardware limitations of the Pi. Specifically for Retro gaming. The Pi 3B+ is only just BARELY capable of running a handful N64 games. There are lots of games for that system I'd love to play. Also, there are only a couple of games for the PSP and Dreamcast that the Pi is just remotely capable of playing. I've given up on the idea that I'll be able to play PS2 and GameCube games. But it doesn't have to be that way. Sure, I can build a dedicated gaming machine. But I'm limited to something in a huge case or spend a ton money on something like ITX. That's what led me to discover ODROID. Their XU4 device is a small SOC form factor, only a little larger than the Pi. They have a C2 model too that is practically identical to the Pi. The C2 supports 4k output (wow) whereas the XU4 actually has better "under the hood" equipment. Both are capable of gigabit LAN (Pi is still sitting at 100mb). Both have eMMC capabilities whereas the Pi only has MicroSD. Both are superior to the Pi in terms of onboard RAM, CPU speed, etc. Although not for me, both can run Android as well as Linux (whereas the Pi's are limited to Linux). The XU4 has 2 USB3.0 slots, Pi's are only USB2.0. It's a no brainer. Not to mention there is a growing community of users who swear by XU4 as being nearly perfect for retro gaming! So I've made my decision and I'm building a new system using the XU4! ODROID-XU4 - Currently on sale from the manufacturer for only about $10 more than the Pi! ODROID-C2 - Same form factor as a Pi but with 4k video! Perfect for Kodi! I intend to fill this thread with my building progress like I did my "NintendoPi" so it can help other would-be builders. I've already got an order processing. But here's a breakdown of what my plans are: Take my time and do it right! Once I got the ball rolling, it was easy to do rush jobs and hacks to make the system work. I really want to have a solid piece of quality. So that means no crappy drilling and sawing unless absolutely necessary. Most likely going in another NES case. The internal capacity of the case is ideal for hiding cables and things that would otherwise take up too much space inside some other case like a Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. I also like the nostalgia look of the case, it instantly screams "retro". I'm ditching what I did with the current NES as far as controllers go. I pulled out all the stops by having the NES controller ports run to a USB encoder as well as installing 2 DB9 plugs in the case so I could have ATARI/SEGA controllers too. It's nice, but really unnecessary. I NEVER use them. So instead, I'm going to keep everything simple with USB and Bluetooth. The XU4 doesn't have built-in Bluetooth (or wifi, unlike the Pi's, unfortunately) so I ordered a dongle. I'll just get some inline USB adapters for my other controllers. I'd like to rid myself of having those huge ugly adapters inside the case. It was a great design idea that did work, but the way the device gets it power is different. I'll have to experiment and see where I can take this. I plan on running this on Linux with RetroPie again. I'm familiar with the system now and migrating shouldn't be that difficult. Still, GameEx would be awesome!! (hint hint). I'm going to stretch this out as my 2019 project. You know, keep me sane and not depressed, etc. Planned system name: RETROID. Step one at taking my time and doing it right is acquiring the hardware. That requires a few steps too. PHASE ONE - Computer ODROID-XU4 ($49.99) - On Sale! 5V6A Power Supply ($12) - Extra Amps for Hard Drive 16gb eMMC Module ($14.90) - Replaces the MicroSD for up to 7x faster speed! USB eMMC Module Writer ($9.90) - I need this to read/write backups of the eMMC Wifi Module ($7.90) - v5A, Supports dual band Bluetooth Dongle ($3.80) - v2, Supports v4 BLE technology Total: $97.50 ---------- PHASE TWO - Hard Drive 4tb ($99.99) - Mostly Likely Candidate ---------- PHASE THREE - Case NES Classic Case ($??.??) - To Be Determined At this point, Phase One has been ordered. Once I receive the device and the other bits, I can start building. The Hard Drive will come after more money is available. I might buy it locally rather than online, depends on how the costs look when I'm ready to buy. I know I want 4tb because I intend on having more systems installed, and the newer systems are much larger in filesize. My current build with 1tb is reaching max capacity. I also plan on having a similar setup to my current one, where I have video screenshots, so that eats up a lot of space. So right now, I'm waiting for delivery! Stay tuned...

Sure seems like it! Jump from 4th to 1st! That's some epic punishing right there! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Nope, I still can't make it past the 10th guy lol! Updated OP, DP, RSS

OH wow cool! I didn't even notice I was close to 5000! Don't be too embarrassed about low scores. There's still 7 "good" spots available. Even if you have the worst score, if only 4 people post scores, you're in the top 4! Personally though, I usually try to at least get recognized in the game (providing initials etc). I'm not even close to that yet!

Oh man I hated those games, felt like I was killing the joystick! Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a go!

I tried playing a little of this last night. I really SUCK. Is there a trick to avoid or get out of the holds the guys get on you? I'm walking along, doing pretty good, then all of a sudden one guy grabs me and I'm stuck. Sometimes 2 or 3 guys at once and my life bar just drains super fast and it's game over. There's gotta be something I'm missing.

Classic Mario right there! Nice score too, after taking a certain player off the board, you're now in first place! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Nice run! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Well, in the spirit of "fun and friendliness", I'll just ignore you posting a better score than me. Updated OP, DB, RSS

I was never really any good at these SHMUPS. My exposure, I remember, was blasting demon bats in Demon Attack on the Atari. Then it was Galaxian. I was the best in our family, but probably nowhere near the best in our city, let alone a global stage. Galaga is one of those muscle memory games. The mroe you play it, the better you get because you remember how the enemies appear on screen. You can be prepared ahead of time to dodge them coming, or be lined up to kill them without moving much. That's where the big scores come from. Updated OP, DB, RSS

Glad to have you back posting scores ol' buddy! Updated OP, DB, RSS

It's a party game. I don't think it plays well single-player. The difficulty is too hard. Still, gotta love TMNT! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Oh man, that's just mean! You bumped off @Draco1962!! He only has 1 game in the Leaderboards as it is, now he has 0! Updated OP, DB, RSS

You got 3 months to try and do better. Not to mention your whole life. Nobody said you have to participate lol! Updated OP, DB, RSS

I knew you weren't too far away. Looking forward to seeing what you can come up with! I've just recently started trying the quarterly method. It mostly came up out of necessity because I'm the only one moderating now. It just seemed like too much work creating a new Game of the Month every month when we'd only get maybe 4-5 entries the whole time. I tried every other month for a while, but participation has really dropped off. I don't want to completely stop the feature competitions, because it seems they're the only reason people keep coming back. I guess that's just the struggle we'll have to deal with going forward. This GOTQ is only the 2nd one. We'll see how well it pans out.

Let the games begin! Updated OP, DB, RSS

That's great you're getting good response time. Honestly, I've not noticed any input lag. Maybe I just don't play enough games, or played enough of the old ones to remember how they should act. But for me, things look and act the way I'd expect when I play.