Dig Emulator Frontend Setup Guide for Arcade1Up (Android)
Looking to SoftMod your Arcade1Up machine and want to install an emulator frontend to help organize your library of 1,000s of games for dozens of gaming systems? Want to add stunning Dig themes and attract mode customizations along with automatically scraping game covers and game info for all your ROMs?
In this Dig setup guide we’ll walk you through configuring Dig Emulator Front-End on your Arcade1Up Simpsons machine with just a USB keyboard and mouse. Keep your Arcade1Up machine factory without having to replace the PCB with a RaspberryPi or PC!
Note: This Dig Setup guide should also work for any Android device!
Disclaimer and Warnings
This site is for educational purposes only. Proceed at your own risk. There’s a chance this SoftMod approach will void your Arcade1Up machine warranty and may prevent you from getting any future Arcade1Up software updates. There is also the possibility you could brick your machine if the original Android system files or Arcade1Up settings are altered beyond repair. Future Arcade1Up software updates could also lock down the system preventing your machine or this method from working. At the time of this guide we installed Dig v1.42.1 but other versions should also work fine.
Current Limitations
This approach worked on a 2022 Arcade1Up Simpsons arcade machine running Android 10 with a PCB that includes a USB and micro SD slot. Other specifications for this PCB include: model P71, ARMv7 CPU with 4 cores, 1GB Ram, 4GB internal storage, and Wi-Fi. This approach may work for other newer Arcade1Up machines but has only been tested on this particular machine. The easiest way to check if this method will work on your system is to plug in a USB keyboard and hold Windows key + N and verify the Android Notifications Menu pops up on the screen and you should be good.
Prerequisites
This guide uses Dig as an Emulator FrontEnd and RetroArch as the Backend. Therefore RetroArch must be installed and configured before configuring Dig (see Hacking the Arcade1Up Simpsons Machine).
Tools Needed
- Arcade1Up Simpsons machine (PCB should have a USB and Micro SD Card slot and running Android 10)
- Micro SD Card
- Dig Android APK (google is your friend)
- Dig Theme (optional)
- USB Hub (needed to connect both a keyboard + mouse for easier Android menu navigation)
- USB microSD Card Reader
- USB Keyboard
- USB Mouse
- Nova Launcher apk (optional if you want to make it easier to launch additional apps)
- Primitive FTPd apk (optional FTP Server that will make is easier to beam files over to your arcade machine)
*Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through those links you’ll be helping out this small time blogger in their quest to produce more rad content.
Step 1: Access the Android Notifications Exploit
With the arcade machine ON and at the Simpsons main screen, plug in your USB keyboard to the PCB USB slot (or USB hub + USB keyboard + USB mouse). Next hold the Windows key + N on your keyboard to launch the Android notifications screen and accept all permissions. When the notification screen pops up, expand the menu and click on the COG/gear icon to access Android Settings then click Storage.
Step 2: Format the Micro SD Card for Android
Insert your micro SD card into the PCB micro SD slot and access Storage settings (Windows key + N -> Settings -> Storage). Click the micro SD card and format the drive (the Portable format option is more convenient so other devices can still read the card).
Step 3: Copy Dig and Dig Themes to SD Card
Safely eject the micro SD card from the arcade machine then insert the card into another computer so you can copy over your downloaded Dig APK file along with the Dig Theme zip file you selected (you can copy to the Download folder). Safely eject the card and re-insert into your arcade machine.
Step 4: Install Dig APK
If you haven’t already, configure RetroArch and download all the needed Cores before proceeding to the next step.
Next install the Dig APK file accepting all permissions. After the application installs, navigate to Android Settings > Apps to launch Dig. When a prompt asks if you want Scan for ROMs, DO NOT Scan for ROMs at this time.
Step 5: Change Dig Options to Save to External SD Card
With space extremely limited on the Arcade1Up internal storage it’s essential to change where dig stores Themes and Game Covers which can take up several GBs of storage space.
Navigate to Options, expand Game Covers and select Storage Location. In the dropdown select External Storage and accept.
While still in Options, expand Themes and select Media Storage Location. In the dropdown select External Storage and accept.
Step 6: Install and Configure Dig Themes
Navigate to Options and expand the Themes section. Select Install Theme and click Select folder using the storage access framework then find the theme you downloaded on your SD Card. Once the theme finishes installing, click the Select Theme dropdown and select the theme you just installed. You should now see the refreshed theme applied to all the Dig menus as you navigate around.
Step 7: Load RetroArch Config and Scan for ROMs
In the Options menu, expand the App section and click Reset RetroArch Config. The name of this option is confusing as it doesn’t actually wipe out your RetroArch config file, but rather makes a copy of your RetroArch config file that Dig uses.
While still in Options, expand the ROM Scanning section and click Start Manual Scan. Here you can select Scan the whole device or a specific folder to scan.
You’ll see a Wrench icon appear on the top of the screen that you can click on and see the progress of the ROM scanning.
Step 8: Set Default Emulator and Core at the System Level
Once Dig finishes scanning for ROMs (there’s no more Wrench icon on the top of the screen), navigate to Systems and here you’ll see all your ROMS organized by each gaming System.
We now need to configure Dig to load the correct Emulator and Core for each System which includes all ROMs in that System. Start by entering a System and on the Top-Right you’ll see 3 stacked dots. Click those 3 dots then click Manage System.
Where it says Default RetroArch, select 32 bit RetroArch.
Go back to Manage System and select the Core you want to use for that System.
Navigate to the next System and repeat the above steps to change the Default Emulator and Core for each System.
Step 9: Change Default Core for Individual Games
There are many cases where the Default Core that you set for a System will not work with certain ROMs or you’d like to override the default system core with a more optimized core for individual games. This is especially true for MAME ROMs under Arcade system that are optimized for various different cores.
To set a Core override for an Individual Game, navigate to that game then click the 3 dots on the Top-Right. Click Manage Game then select the Core that you’d like Dig to load for that game. Repeat these steps for any additional games you need to override the default system core.
Step 10: Change Game List Display
At the main Dig menu click the 3 dots on the Top-Right and click View As. Here you have several selections to change the view of the Main Menu. Next go into Systems then select a System and change the View. In the video we selected Cover Flow as the default view.
Step 11: Save Dig Config and Game Covers
After all that hard work you’ve spent configuring Dig, it would be tragic if Murphy came along and screwed things up. Luckily you can save your Dig config and game covers to help you save time upon needing to recover your Dig setup.
To Save your Dig config file, navigate to Options > App > Backup/restore > Backup to file. Here you can create a backup file where you can make a copy and save on your computer.
To Save your Game Covers it’s recommended to copy over the Covers and Screenshots folder to your computer or another device. These folders can be found on your SD card in Android > data > com.digdroid.alman.dig > files.
Step 12: Install and Configure Optional Apps
Use the same approach above to copy and install additional APKs on your arcade machine.
- Install Nova Launcher if you want to make it easier to launch additional apps on start up.
- Install and configure Primitive FTPd so you can transfer files wirelessly via FTP rather than popping out the SD card each time you want to add more roms, configs, apps.
Step 13: Revert to Factory Arcade1Up Simpsons Start Up
Exit Dig and navigate to the Android Apps section and open the Arcade1Up app. Done. The Simpsons game should start loading and a pop up will ask if you’d like to set Arcade1Up to be the default startup app.
Enjoy!
Was this Dig Setup Guide helpful to you? Have questions on configuration? Head over to our YouTube channel for answers or to discuss your recommendations and be sure to Subscribe to get alerted with the latest updates!
Looking to auto-launch Dig whenever you Power On your Arcade1Up machine? Check out our next guide on Changing the Arcade1Up Simpsons Startup App using MacroDroid!