Performance, tweaks and Raspberry Pi

Whiplash Taxi Co+ » Devlog
135 days ago by Tom Mulgrew
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Whiplash Taxi Co has been rebuilt with the latest MotC version so as to benefit from the runtime performance improvements. And there's a now Raspberry Pi version which can run on many retro handheld devices.

Plus some minor QOL improvements:

  • Fixed the "near" view distance setting (was too near!)
  • The "view distance" and "dead zone" pause menu settings are persisted across sessions
  • Added a "quit" function to the main menu.

Files

windows.zip 2.8 MB
Jan 16, 2025
linux.zip 2.5 MB
Jan 16, 2025
raspberrypi.zip 2.5 MB
Jan 16, 2025
web.zip Play in browser
Jan 16, 2025

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pathosbob8 days ago

Greetings! Sorry for the noob question, but how would this install on my "retro handheld device"? I'm pretty hip to setting up emulators and roms, but I can't seem to figure out how this works.

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Tom Mulgrew8 days ago (2 edits)

I'm not much of an expert, but I'll try and share what I've figured out.


Essentially it's a native Linux executable for the aarch64 processor (aka "arm64"). So assuming your device is compatible, it boils down to: 1) Transferring the files onto your device, and 2) Getting it to run the executable file.

Also it may be necessary to bring up a terminal and run:

chmod +x whiplashtaxi

to make it executable first.


To integrate it into the front end UI you can use PortMaster - assuming your frontend supports that (I use Knulli, which I believe is EmulationStation based). Basically it involves adding a bash script to the ports folder to launch the main executable, which PortMaster should detect when you next scan for games. There's some other commands to enable proper PortMaster integration, which may be necessary to get the controller inputs to map correctly, and enable shortcut keys (like exiting back to the menu). It's worth following through the PortMaster documentation to make sure it's done correctly.


I can put an example script somewhere if that would help.

-Tom

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Tom Mulgrew8 days ago

#!/bin/bash

GAMESUBDIR="taxi"

GAMEEXE="whiplashtaxi"

# Based on

# https://portmaster.games/packaging.html#the-launchscript-sh

XDG_DATA_HOME=${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}

if [ -d "/opt/system/Tools/PortMaster/" ]; then

  controlfolder="/opt/system/Tools/PortMaster"

elif [ -d "/opt/tools/PortMaster/" ]; then

  controlfolder="/opt/tools/PortMaster"

elif [ -d "$XDG_DATA_HOME/PortMaster/" ]; then

  controlfolder="$XDG_DATA_HOME/PortMaster"

else

  controlfolder="/roms/ports/PortMaster"

fi

source $controlfolder/control.txt

[ -f "${controlfolder}/mod_${CFW_NAME}.txt" ] && source "${controlfolder}/mod_${CFW_NAME}.txt"

get_controls

GAMEDIR=/$directory/ports/$GAMESUBDIR/

cd $GAMEDIR

> "$GAMEDIR/log.txt" && exec > >(tee "$GAMEDIR/log.txt") 2>&1

$ESUDO chmod +x "$GAMEDIR/$GAMEEXE.${DEVICE_ARCH}"

$GPTOKEYB "$GAMEEXE.${DEVICE_ARCH}" &

pm_platform_helper "$GAMEDIR/$GAMEEXE.${DEVICE_ARCH}"

./${GAMEEXE}.${DEVICE_ARCH}

pm_finish

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Tom Mulgrew8 days ago (1 edit)

That's the PortMaster script I use.

The game files are in the "taxi" subfolder of the "ports" folder.

The main file is renamed to "whiplashtaxi.aarch64"

The script has the "chmod" logic built into it, so that shouldn't need to be done manually.

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pathosbob7 days ago

Firstly, thank you for the extremely thorough walkthrough. You are the absolute MAN! It would have been very easy of you to simply say, "Use Portmaster, look it up," but you didn't. As thanks, be on the lookout for my purchase of WTC+. Think of it as a tip not only for your help in this matter, but as recompense for the hours of enjoyment I've gotten from your various pico8 titles (the original WTC is a personal favorite that I recommend often). Take it to go get yourself a Red Bull or a thirstbuster or something.

That said, I'd hoped my solution was vastly more simple: put the files into a folder I hadn't thought to use, or add an appropriate extension to the whiplashtaxi file and it would magically run itself…something I could wrap my clueless head around. Don't get me wrong, I'll attempt to get it working following your instructions, but I'm not gonna hold my own breath that I'll figure it out. (For the "bash script" above, I just copy/paste to a text file then change its extension to .sh, correct? Told you…clueless.)

Anyway, thanks again for taking the time, for being truly helpful when others may have been dismissive, and for the enjoyment you've provided through your other titles.

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Tom Mulgrew7 days ago

Hey thanks for that! Much appreciated.

I'm pretty lost in the Linux world, so it took me a bit of time to figure out how to get it running. But yeah, you'd need to save it as text with a .sh extension.


So hopefully the steps should just be:

1. Rename the "whiplashtaxi" file to "whiplashtaxi.aarch64".

2. Find the PortMaster folder on your device (e.g. /share/roms/ports).

3. Create a subfolder named "taxi" and copy in the files.

4. In the main PortMaster folder save the above script as "Taxi.sh" (or whatever name you want it to appear as in the UI).

5. Update your gamelist in the frontend UI.

Then (hopefully) it should appear in your "Ports" folder.


If it has trouble running, it *may* be necessary to set the executable flag on "whiplashtaxi.aarch64" and/or the .sh file - which might involve invoking a linux shell and running:

chmod +x filename

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