Close
0%
0%

GPi Case + Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W

Using a Pi Zero 2 W with the Retroflag GPi Case

Public Chat
Similar projects worth following
Working out the various kinks to get the most out of a Pi Zero 2 W in a very nice portable form factor. Working towards both games and media on the handheld system.

This Project's goal is to finally have a portable game and media console I will actually use. I'm very particular about anything I'll carry with me daily, so it's taken me a very long time to decide on the Retroflag GPi Case. I actually use this every day and am thoroughly enjoying it.

DO NOT COMMENT TO SAY THAT I CAN JUST USE MY PHONE FOR ALL OF THIS INSTEAD. IM SICK OF THOSE COMMENTS AND MY REPLY TO SUCH IGNORANCE WILL NOT BE FRIENDLY.

I've been wanting to play through quite a few games for most of my life, and am very far behind the times. Games like Spyro The Dragon for PS1 and Donkey Kong 64 for the N64 have been on my "to play" list for many years. I've never had a good way to play them, and am rarely anywhere near a screen with a console of some sort. This little device lets me play at work, waiting on things like food at the restaurant, and at night while I unwind before bed. Though the hardware is excellent, on my opinion, the software is lacking when using the Pi Zero 2 W.II'll cover all of the issues I've encountered with the default setup of GPi Zero 2 by Sliver X. Overall, excellent software.

Hardware

Retroflag GPi Case

128GB micro SD card

Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W

Powerex professional AA batteries, 2,700mah

Software

GPi Zero 2 by Sliver X, running RetroPie

Known Issues

I'm well aware that the Pi Zero 2 W is still fairly new at the time of writing this. I'm quite grateful for the work that's gone into GPi Zero 2 already to even get this going. Retroflag may release an official version soon that addresses many of the issues, but I am working with what's available now. The biggest issues I've found are those that make entire platforms unplayable. These are just my gripes, and I will work to resolve them and share the results. Check the logs for details.

- A little small. Very minor annoyance.

- Cannot map all buttons in Sega Genesis     emulator. Unplayable.

- "Up" on right analog stick of Switch controller does not work. Cannot play N64 games that require it. No input accepted when setting up the controller in Emulation Station.

- Disconnecting Bluetooth controller during gameplay does not enable built in buttons on GPi Case.

- "A" and "B" buttons mapped backwards in Emulation Station. "B" = "A" for main menu navigation. Very annoying.

- Kodi media center controls not mapped to device buttons. Will try with Bluetooth controller.

- Kodi media center theme nearly unusable on GPi Case display. Will try other themes, or make custom.

- Audio noise on main menu.

- No default GUI sound effects in menus. Nice to have feature.

- No settings to specify NiMH rechargeable batteries. May be a hardware limitation. Minor annoyance.

- No analog sticks. Minor annoyance.

- HDMI output not accessible. Case can easily be modified.

- Trigger buttons are a little awkward. Minor annoyance, easy to get used to.

- Screen too bright at night on lowest setting. Minor annoyance.

- Cartridge is loose in socket. Minor annoyance. Power switch locks it in place.

- Power switch jams when cartridge loose. Minor annoyance.

- SD card cover difficult to install while closing case. Minor annoyance, removes from my unit.

Pros

Overall, the system is excellent and I've gotten much joyful use from it in the first few weeks of initial use. There is much to love about the system, especially with a Pi Zero 2 W. The extra processing power unlocks systems such as N64 and PS1 that would be unplayable on a Pi Zero W.

- Good screen. Plenty bright, clear, and colorful IPS display.

- Decent sound from the little speaker in the corner.

- Has a 3.5mm audio output jack.

- Good build quality. Feels great, especially with heavy AA batteries.

- Good battery life with proper rechargeable batteries.

- Locking power switch keeps cartridge secure.

- Removable batteries are very convenient.

- Good quality buttons.

- Excellent form factor for most retro gaming.

- Awesome retro design.

Initial Thoughts Summary

An excellent system for portable emulation of simpler, older systems....

Read more »

starfield.zip

GPi Zero Rick Roll splash screen with audio. 10 seconds. Unzip, drop the "starfield" folder into the following folder, overwriting the original: retropie/home/pi/RetroPie/splashscreens Will load the splash screen image, then play this video clip with audio.

Zip Archive - 557.60 kB - 05/07/2022 at 19:42

Download

  • Custom Splash Screen: Rick Roll

    Dustin05/07/2022 at 19:55 0 comments

    I finally had some free time to just play around with random stuff. I ended up taking the first 10 seconds of the classic Rick Astley video and turning it into a splash screen for my GPi Case. Now I, or anyone I hand this device over to, will get Rick Rolled. Dumb, but fun. I now know how to make custom startup screens for this thing, which is quite fun. I also made a custom start up image that shows right before the video starts. Video quality isn't great to begin with, and it gets worse after being compressed to 320x240 resolution and played on the tiny screen. The screen is actually quite good, but I started with a garbage quality video file that I feel makes it even more hilarious.

    I hope someone else finds this as funny as I do. If so, I have the file o the main page for download as a zip file.

    Unzip, drop the "starfield" folder into the following folder, overwriting the original:

    retropie/home/pi/RetroPie/splashscreens

    Will load the splash screen image, then play this video clip with audio.

    The initial spalsh screen image is located under the "boot" partition on the SD card, and is named "splash.png". I took one of my favorite images, added funny text in Inkscape, then resized it to 320x240 pixels and exported as "splash.png" and dropped it into the folder above.

    I'm sure there are more proper ways to do this, but I'm lazy and it works for me. I'd love to get all the little bugs worked out of the already excellent GPi Zero 2 OS image by Sliver X and release it and the changes so more people can enjoy this excellent little system. If you already have a Pi Zero 2W, I highly recommend getting the GPi Case ad playing around with it. Seeing a standard mp4 video play was promising, and is motivating me to get Kodi working on the system. I want to watch TV on my GameBoy.


View project log

Enjoy this project?

Share

Discussions

george.photo19 wrote 07/25/2022 at 23:27 point

If you like games, I can share with you a site (ExpCarry — Game Boosting Services | EU & US Regions) where you can buy boost services or play money, or provide and earn on it

  Are you sure? yes | no

Similar Projects

Does this project spark your interest?

Become a member to follow this project and never miss any updates