RetrOrangePi is a retro gaming & media center firmware based on Armbian Debian image and working on Allwinner H3/H2+ based Orange Pi boards, Banana Pi M2+, and NanoPi M1, as well as Beelink X2 TV Box.
Right at the end of last year, I reviewed RetrOrangePi 3.0 on Orange Pi One board to which I connected Mars G01 gamepad, and I could play some games like Wolfenstein 3D and Quake, and watch videos on OpenELEC/Kodi 16. The firmware also comes with various emulators, but you’d have to load the ROMs yourself due to intellectual property / license issues. The developers have now released RetrOrangePi 4.0.
RetrOrangePi 4.0 changelog:
- Latest Armbian v5.32 (Debian Jessie kernel 3.4.113)
- RetroPie-Setup v4.3.3 (unofficial fork, upgradeable)
- New RetrOrangePi repository for easy updates and fixes
- EmulationStation v2.6.5 with video and game collection support, Desktop/OpenELEC shorcuts from main menu
- New ROPi “Attract-Mode”-like theme (based on Cosmos theme)
- Retroarch 1.6.7 – Retroachievements tested
- Kodi Krypton 17.4 (hardware acceleration provided by MPV + VDPAU): IPTVsimple included, quit button fixed
- OpenELEC (Kodi Jarvis 16.1) with CEC support by Jernej Skrabec (optional installation)
- Slim and Full versions for all compatible boards
- All Libretro cores updated
- All RetroPie themes available for installation
- Experimental new libretro cores: DOSBox, MAME2014, VICE, X68000, Amiga PUAE
- PPSSPP latest v1.42
- Mupen64Plus standalone emulator (with hires textures support)
- AdvanceMAME 3.5
- AdvanceMENU frontend integrated
- AdvanceMESS (support for ancient platforms, tested OK: Bally Astrocade, BBC Micro, Channel F, Colecovision etc.
- New Quake 2 port (Yamagi Quake)
- New Streets of Rage Remake port (needs BennuGD engine downloaded to home folder)
- Improved Amiga emulation – fullscreen UAE4ARM with JIT support, optional WHDLoad
- Hatari 2.0 (SDL2) – atariST emulator
- Vice 3.1 (SDL2) – Commodore emulator
- Boot selection – from Desktop (EmulationStation, Kodi, AdvanceMENU, RetroArch, Desktop)
- Onscreen keyboard (Florence)
- Overscan fix in AV outputs (Allwinner_TVOUT_manipulator)
- New Desktop wallpaper, wifi config, ES, Kodi, Donate and Support icons
- Customized Retroarch configuration (optimal settings, appearance tweaks, original aspect ratio)
- New HDMI/Analog AV configuration tool (thanks Jose Rios) + our overscan fix
- New exclusive ROPi Radio beta version
- Scraper by Sselph update
- Universal XML Scraper integration and tutorials
- Binary cores updates
- GPIO driver can be installed from driver section.
- RetroPie services tested: USBROMSERVICE – create a retropie-mount folder in your FAT32 flash drive, Virtual gamepad
- Custom ES splashscreen by Francois Lebel @MagicFranky – the number 4 was on us :p (great skills!)
- Custom MOTD with ROPi invader + Armbian info
- Improved filesystem support: FAT32 automount, ExFAT support
The full images are not yet available, but if you are an existing users with ROPi 3.0.1 instead, you can upgrade to version 4.0 by running ropi4.sh script in your board/device as pi user:
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1 |
sudo -u pi ./ropi4.sh |
The images for new users will be coming later once one of the developers involved get more free time. In the meantime, you’d have to download & install RetroOrange Pi 3.0.1, and run the script to upgrade to 4.0.
You’ll find more details about the release in the forums, where you can also ask for support questions. The source code can be found on github.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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They’re ever so slightly “nicer” than a Raspberry PI 3. Nice enough if you’ve got one to spare it’s the preferred target now for this stuff (I suggest Lakka…seriously. It’s cleaner than the other projects now and looks/acts mostly like a PS3 in it’s UI.)
If you’re buying new parts…the availability of the parts in your locale should be the deciding factors…there’s not as much as you’d think on advantage over a Pi3 here with these in the large….
Micro console coming of age but needs a plug and go design, still to hands on, build wise.
And several non happy customers at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retroengine-sigma-mini-video-game-console-cool#/comments
Retro engine.
I am seriously considering this instead of the Pi 3…
@Nobody of Import
Not only this but at Lakka we use the mainline kernel 4.13.11 for these SOC’s now 🙂 vs the ancient 3.4.113 legacy kernel.
Also being fully supported by the mainline kernel also gave the ability to Libreelec team to start working on a new project for allwinner socs as well.
In our future plans is the inclusion of A64/H5 socs too like Pine64
This system works wonderfully on my 0+2. Im so glad they’ve kept up on the project.
Given the cheap price, box, power supply combo, surprised this TV box gets no interest?
https://www.banggood.com/search/android-tv-box-h2.html
@Demetris
Ah, one of the team working on it in here. MANY thanks for the latest RC. That, coupled with dropping the DB’s in the right place made a world o’ difference for my little pet project. It actually FEELS like working with a PS3. It’s epic and I’m sold, looking at how one might be able to make 64-bit happen on RPi 3’s for ooching out a little more for N64 emulation.
@theguyuk
Unless you’ve got a Linux BSP so you can use OpenElec or OpenEmbedded to build an image for it, with the ability to flash the same onto it…you’re getting **NOWHERE** with that nice set-top for that purpose. IF…magic word there..if, one can get that info, it can be made possible with the likes of myself or someone like @Demetris getting ahold of one and it providing enough oomph.
This specific box http://linux-sunxi.org/Sunvell_R69 is just another rather boring Allwinner H2+ thingie so OpenELEC, RetrOrangePi, every Linux distro or Lakka will run (needs just few DT modifications). Easy to flash and unbrickable (since SD card always has higher boot priority than internal eMMC)