I apologize if this has already been covered and I’m not SUPER coding savvy so I’m trying to learn!
I have a MacBook (12 inch, 2017 model) running a 1.2 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core m3 (I don’t know if for downloading and uploading ROMs to Gameshell if a Windows computer is better?). I recently found online, bought, and built the Gameshell which I love! Now the problem is trying to get games. I found a GREAT video on YouTube (for anyone else that may need help): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKLG_WYUmsc&t=214s
In watching, I did download FileZilla to my Mac. Here are my concerns:
-I see 2 potential host links: at the top ‘For ssh and scp’ or at the bottom it says: ‘USB-Ethernet’ --> which one do I enter into FileZilla under the ‘Host’ box?
-Do I need to physically connect my Gameshell to my Mac or is it fine that both devices are connected to the same WiFi network?
-When I go online to Google and search for a downloadable ROM (for my sake, I downloaded Pokemon FireRed version), the download will pop up as a .zip file but when I open it, it turns into a document…? So can I NOT download ROMs to a Macbook?
If there’s anyone who also has a Mac and has SUCCESSFULLY gotten ROMs onto their Gameshell, any help you can provide would be so appreciated! I’ve been trying for a few days now, and have been unsuccessful.
-I see 2 potential host links: at the top ‘For ssh and scp’ or at the bottom it says: ‘USB-Ethernet’ --> which one do I enter into FileZilla under the ‘Host’ box?
if your gs connected wifi, then use ssh and scp and you can see the ip of gs in the tiny cloud in gameshell
-Do I need to physically connect my Gameshell to my Mac or is it fine that both devices are connected to the same WiFi network?
*not necessary to physically connect to mac, * connected to the same WiFi network is more convenient for uploading/copying roms
-When I go online to Google and search for a downloadable ROM (for my sake, I downloaded Pokemon FireRed version), the download will pop up as a .zip file but when I open it, it turns into a document…? So can I NOT download ROMs to a Macbook?
rom usually in zip format, no need to uncompress it
Host: did the ssh cpi address
Username and password: cpi
Port: 22 (from YouTube video I posted before!)
Connection did work!
So now here is my problem still…
I ‘downloaded’ Pokemon Fire Red off of Gamulator (says it downloaded) as a .zip file. So in FileZilla, I found where it was on Mac and dragged it over to the location for MGBA: /home/cpi/games/MGBA (for a GameBoy Advance game). It doesn’t show as a .zip file icon, but rather a document icon. And according to the YT, once you drag it over, you should be able to access the game. However, when I went to my GH home under ‘Retro Games’, I can’t find my transfer anywhere…
Sorry for the imprecise description about the ROM suffix
every type of emulators has its own suffix for the ROM file
according to the
the MGBA rom suffix is in gb,gbc,gba,gbx
so in this situation, you need to uncompress the zip file
and if the ROM file is correct, then there should be a file with suffix in
gb,gbc,gba,gbx, copy it with Filezilla, then you can see it in GS
You are the man! SO! I ended up downloading an app called ‘The Unarchiver,’ versus the Archive Utility on my Mac which in theory should be able to open ROM files, but it’s supposed to be more powerful at unarchiving the files.
So I did redownload Pokemon FireRed version to my Mac, unarchived it using the new app, and it converted the .zip file to the .gba file extension. Relaunched FileZilla, transferred the new file over the MGBA folder in GS, and it worked!!! You just made my day man, thank you so much!
Thanks for this post. I used this to download my own ROMs, but here is something small that helped me (this might be easy to understand for some, but I am still learning and thought this might help someone who is new like me):
Double check your file extensions! In Filezilla, after transferring files to the GS from your computer, be sure that all ROM files end in the right extensions (these can be modified even after transfer).
For example, I downloaded a GBA game, but for some reason, it didn’t show an extension for the game file. Well, no surprise, it wouldn’t load on my GS. So I had to manually type out “.gba” to the end of the file and it worked! Afterwards, I went through all of my downloads and manually typed the extensions - then clicked “Reload UI” on the GS main menu.
It works for most of them. There are a few Genesis games I can’t get to work, but all others worked great! Again, thanks for the original post!
