1.1. Preparing an SD card

The Skeezball runtime is supplied as a gzip file containing the RaspberryPi OS, required libraries and a user account preloaded with the game software.

Important: Never upgrade the OS. Do not run apt upgrade. GPIO library support changed at some point, and newer OS versions aren't compatible. Generally, it's a good thing to keep software up-to-date to ensure security holes are closed, but this is one of those cases where it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just don't put your arcade game on the public Internet.

The image targets a 32GB or better SD card. To create a new microSD card with the software, on the Linux command line:

gzip -c skeezball-runtime.img.gz | sudo dd of=/dev/mmcblk0 conv=sparse status=progress bs=512

/dev/mmcblk0 targets the microSD card device; it may have a different name on your hardware. Adjust accordingly.

1.2. Logging in

The runtime software comes with ssh enabled. If you connect your Pi to Ethernet, it will request an IP address via DHCP, identifying itself with the hostname "skeezy". Credentials:

1.3. Updates & Tinkering

The software is installed in the directory "Skeezball", which is preconfigured to point to the Skeezball Subversion repository. Within this directory, the following commands may be useful:

svn update

This command will update the software to the latest version in the repository.

svn diff

If you've tinkered with the code, this will show you your changes.

svn revert

If break the code and want to undo, this will revert your changes.

Use svn help or check the Internet for more on Subversion. You do not have commit access. Talk with us if you think you should.

1.4. Start-at-boot

The software will start at boot, and restart if killed. To change this behavior:

systemctl stop/start/restart skeezball

Terminate running instance, start new instance, or restart current instance of Skeezball.

systemctl disable/enable skeezball

Disable or enable automatic startup of Skeezball at boot-time.