# Amiga UAE Emulator

**URL:** https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625
**Category:** Emulators
**Created:** [September 9, 2018, 8:06am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625 "2018-09-09T08:06:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2018, 8:06am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/1 "2018-09-09T08:06:49Z")

</div>

Anybody else working on getting an Amiga emulator up and running on Gameshell ?

There is [libretro-uae](https://github.com/libretro/libretro-uae), compiles with one little tweak and runs. I don’t know whether [uae4arm-libretro](https://github.com/r-type/uae4arm-libretro), [libretro-fsuae](https://github.com/libretro/libretro-fsuae) or even [uae4arm-rpi](https://github.com/Chips-fr/uae4arm-rpi/) would be the better choices. However the latter three will need some more work to make them compile.

Meanwhile **libretro-uae** works, probably needs some improvements and configuration work. I can play games, however it feels like it is just a little bit too slow and sometimes there is a lag with joypad inputs. I am still with retroarch 1.70 and may also have a look at [Retroarch Megathread](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/retroarch-megathread/716) first.

![DSC_0769](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/3/32f1cf2dc791b0708a22d4a4efe69d7623daa6a4.jpeg) ![DSC_0770](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/7/76ea249d72d27d570c47937739fd370853d28e0e.jpeg)

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![bigeasy\_uk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9f8e36/32.png) [@bigeasy\_uk](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/bigeasy_uk)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/2 "2018-09-10T19:49:55Z")

</div>

I’d love to get this working on my gameshell, I’ll give compiling it a go and see how I get on.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/3 "2018-09-12T03:33:51Z")

</div>

Would you like me to write down how I compiled it? For instance one single include is missing, sys/timeb.h in the only file that will fail to compile.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![bigeasy\_uk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9f8e36/32.png) [@bigeasy\_uk](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/bigeasy_uk)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2018, 6:52am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/4 "2018-09-12T06:52:39Z")

</div>

If you could that would be a big help, thank you!

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![nouty](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/nouty/32/4255_2.png) [@nouty](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/nouty)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2018, 8:15am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/5 "2018-09-12T08:15:24Z")

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Waiting for that emulator to work all night long. All my gaming childhood memories refer to an AMIGA 500 (okay, the SNES and Mega Drive, too. 😃).

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/6 "2018-09-12T18:31:17Z")

</div>

First of all a **warning** this is work in progress and only for experienced users, the result runs, however slow, some games not stable or not at all. You will probably be disappointed, but be eager to get it fixed soon 🙂

Although the worst case might be that GameShell is not powerfull enough, but we will see.

Please do also read the original [README](https://github.com/libretro/libretro-uae) on github, it tells which of the Amiga ROM’s will work with the emulator. And yes it is **really that picky**.

Connect to your GameShell with **ssh** then type the following **2** commands:

```auto
git clone https://github.com/libretro/libretro-uae.git
cd libretro-uae

```

Now you need to edit the following file, either directly on the GameShell or you copy it to your PC, once edited copy it back to the GameShell:

```auto
sources/src/fsdb.c

```

At it’s top insert the following line:

```auto
#include <sys/timeb.h>

```

Still connected with **ssh** and in **libretro-uae** directory type the following **2** commands. **NOTE** that the compilation (first command) takes roughly **25 minutes** :

```auto
make
cp puae_libretro.so /home/cpi/apps/emulators

```

At the moment I am directly having one menu item for each single Amiga game. Here for example Turrican II:

Create it like this when logged in with **ssh** , one single line:

```auto
echo "retroarch -L /home/cpi/apps/emulators/puae_libretro.so /home/cpi/games/Amiga/TurricanII.uae" > /home/cpi/apps/launcher/Menu/GameShell/TurricanII.sh

```

And then do this single command, still one single line:

```auto
chmod +x /home/cpi/apps/launcher/Menu/GameShell/TurricanII.sh

```

Upload ROM and ADF files to GameShell, that would be:

```auto
/home/cpi/games/Amiga/turrican2.adf
/home/cpi/games/Amiga/kick40063.A600

```

Finally create the UAE config file for the game place it here:

```auto
/home/cpi/games/Amiga/TurricanII.uae

```

Contents are:

```auto
kickstart_rom_file=/home/cpi/games/Amiga/kick40063.A600
chipmem_size=1
bogomem_size=2
use_gui=no
nr_floppies=2
cpu_type=68000
cpu_speed=real
cpu_compatible=true
ntsc=false
chipset=ocs
immediate_blits=false
gfx_linemode=double
gfx_framerate=1
sound_output=normal
sound_frequency=44100
sound_channels=mixed
sound_interpol=none
show_leds=true
floppy_speed=100
gfx_center_vertical=smart
gfx_center_horizontal=smart
gfx_color_mode=16
floppy0=/home/cpi/games/Amiga/turrican2.adf

```

Start RetroArch, quit again, or reboot your GameShell to let it refresh the menu items. Turrican II is ready to play.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![nouty](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/nouty/32/4255_2.png) [@nouty](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/nouty)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/7 "2018-09-12T21:19:25Z")

</div>

Oh my god!

Followed your guide and set up Test Drive II - The Duel (played this a lot in my childhood).

It works really great. A bit sound cracking, but no problems with the performance at all. This is so great.

Huuuuuge thanks to you.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 5:03am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/8 "2018-09-13T05:03:23Z")

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Have a look at the RetroArch Megathread I meantioned above, I do not have a prove whether the tweaking of video and audio do really help. I tried, but this is really hard to measure.

I will continue to work on this, including writing an installer as soon as the result runs betters.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/9 "2018-09-16T17:52:05Z")

</div>

These are the settings to play with in **uae** configuration files, I have not checked out all settings yet, however these **3** did the job for every game I tested.

Turning cpu compatibility off will increase the performance, some games will even have better audio output. E.g. IK+ has sound effects, they are only played when false, else only music is played and that one stuttering.

```auto
cpu_compatible=false

```

Decrease frame rate to **2** , this will improve performance also, and you won’t see any difference. When set to larger numbers you will immediately notice frame drops.

```auto
gfx_framerate=2

```

Decrease sound frequency to **22050** , you won’t hear a difference out of the speakers, except that the music is played without stuttering nor is it slowing down when lot’s of things happen on the screen. Haven’t checked earphone output though, however again, performance improves.

```auto
sound_frequency=22050

```

I will check the other Amiga emulators soon and post the results here. So **libretro-uae** is promising with these settings. However I would change the keyboard layout and create a GameShell branch for it. Only drawback of this emulator choice is the restriction of working Amiga ROM’s.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![bigeasy\_uk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9f8e36/32.png) [@bigeasy\_uk](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/bigeasy_uk)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/10 "2018-09-16T19:58:07Z")

</div>

I’ve tried following the steps several times but all i am getting is a flashing green screen. Bad kick rom perhaps? The rom was labelled kick40063.a600 so is named correctly and I’ve tried a completely different Turrican 2 ADF file.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![bigeasy\_uk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9f8e36/32.png) [@bigeasy\_uk](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/bigeasy_uk)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/11 "2018-09-16T20:08:51Z")

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Turns out it was the kickstart file, all working now 😃

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2018, 5:44am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/12 "2018-09-17T05:44:04Z")

</div>

@bigeasy_uk glad to hear, yes it is really the ROM you choose, that is the the bad thing about this emulator.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![bigeasy\_uk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9f8e36/32.png) [@bigeasy\_uk](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/bigeasy_uk)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/13 "2018-09-17T17:29:16Z")

</div>

I forgot how hard Turrican 2 is, I died on the first level. I need more practice!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/14 "2018-09-22T15:13:57Z")

</div>

A few news about Amiga emulation, I did check virtually every version of UAE that might run on Gameshell. In general all emulators accept only a very limited choice of ROM files and I have only tested OCS/ECS graphics with A500 or A600 models.

### Libretro FS-UAE

- crashes when starting, hence does not work

### Libretro UAE4ARM

- seems to be **2-3 times too fast**
- screen size not adapting correctly

### Libretro UAE4ARM (R-Type)

- same as original above

### Libretro UAE (P-UAE)

- works quite well when tuned with configuration options

### Libretro PUAE

- does not compile

### FS-UAE

- may be installed directly with **apt-get** however runs **too slow**
- compiled from source same result, **too slow**
- yx/ab keys need remapping in fs-uae config

### UAE4ARM-RPi

- works really well with default configuration
- yx/ab keys not working, hence no fire button by default
- Gameshell buttons not all working by default

### UAE4ALL2

- not tested, uae4arm is the new one to work instead

### Conclusion

I will try a few more hours with **UAE4ARM-RPi** and **Libretro UAE4ARM**. I would prefer the latter, because it is integrated with **Libretro** , looks quite promising.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![clotted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@clotted](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/clotted)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/15 "2018-09-30T19:29:35Z")

</div>

Has using Amiberry been considered?

> **[Amiberry](https://blitterstudio.com/amiberry/)**
>
> Turn your Raspberry Pi to an Amiga! Amiberry is an optimized Amiga emulator for ARM-based SoCs (such as the Raspberry Pi, Odroid XU4, ASUS Tinkerboard, etc.), that brings you the highest performanc…

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2018, 11:02am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/16 "2018-10-01T11:02:43Z")

</div>

Amiberry is a light weight Linux distribution with UAE4ARM-RPi. So that is the one I am already doing my testing.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![frohlich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/919ad9/32.png) [@frohlich](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/frohlich)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2018, 8:10am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/17 "2018-10-24T08:10:52Z")

</div>

Would love to hear if you have an update on testing **UAE4ARM-RPi** and **Libretro UAE4ARM** and subsequently which was the best experience overall.

Thanks for the hard work and sharing the process and experience.  
It is truly appreciated

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2018, 9:21am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/18 "2018-10-24T09:21:35Z")

</div>

I did not have time for a couple of weeks to work on it, however continued last week end. I have Libretro UAE4ARM running with correct speed. However the screen size is still wrong and there is an audio issue. UAE4ARM-RPi also working, there I am checking if the built in functionality is enough to remap the controls or whether I need to program something new into it. I should have an update in a couple of days, also which one to finally choose on the GameShell.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![frohlich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/919ad9/32.png) [@frohlich](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/frohlich)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2018, 10:54am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/19 "2018-10-24T10:54:30Z")

</div>

Thanks for the update.  
Will be looking forward to your final conclusion.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sbielmann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/sbielmann/32/1190_2.png) [@sbielmann](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/sbielmann)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625/20 "2018-10-29T18:36:42Z")

</div>

I am sorry, I don’t have as much time as I would like to. So I am only advancing in small steps. **Libretro UAE (P-UAE)** is out of the game. Once tuned it might look and sound as it would work well, however controls have issues and do lag very strong. @bigeasy_uk, Turrican 2 is even harder than thought, because of these lags.

**Libretro UAE4ARM** and **UAE4ARM-RPi** are both really great. I have already a tested some games with Cloanto’s Amiga Forever ROMS, like 1.2, 1.3, 3.1 for OCS and AGA. By either emulating an A500 and A1200 and all is working fine. Tried even Hyperions 3.1.4 ROM and Workbench 😁 but my GS is meant for gaming.

Although **Libretro UAE4ARM** would be the best choice, with **retroarch** on GS, sound and screen size remain an issue for which I do not find a solution for. If anybody else is interested into digging deeper here, let me know, I can provide compilation instructions and a couple of example configuration files and my findings so far.

**UAE4ARM-RPi** is my current choice, it already provides a way to reconfigure key mappings. For example to map special keys (e.g. space key for an energy line in Turrican) I have not all work done yet, but will continue these days when ever I find time.

[Next page](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/amiga-uae-emulator/1625.md?page=2)
