Arcade Stick with RetroArch

RetroArch
#7

Im still kinda lost here, let me explain myself further:

I want to have a configuration that’s useful for most game (mostly fighting games on numerous systems, Neo Geo, MAME 2016, FBAlpha for CPS1 and CPS2, Dreamcast, and SHUMPS in general). I tested the configuration using this layout that’s apparently the most widely accepted for arcade games:

Y X R L B A R2 L2

But it didn’t quite work very well for Neo-Geo games and (specially), Marvel vs Capcom 2 on Dreamcast. I decided to map the buttons in-game, but it doesn’t let me use the buttons i want to call out an assist, which sucks. I decided to do it from RetroArch, but i’m just stuck. I want to freely map the buttons for exactly what i want to do, and save the configuration specifically for Marvel vs Capcom 2

It’s something like this possible?

#8

Yeah, it’s possible. When you map your controller in settings > input, don’t try to do anything tricky. Just map the buttons as it asks for them.

Then, when you load a core, go to quick menu > controls and move the functions around however you want to put them on the buttons you desire. You can pop back into the game and test them as much as you like. Once they’re where you want them, save a game-specific remap from that same menu.

#9

That’s the recommended mapping for 8 buttons arcade stick indeed, but there are 2 problems with your case :

  • you use MAME, MAME’s default mappings aren’t made to be friendly, the MAME emulator expects you open the MAME OSD and remap everything the first time you launch a game, the only exception to that would be mame2003plus which had its mappings heavily customized. Another alternative is FBNeo which is designed to have friendly mappings by default (more details here)
  • usage of arcade sticks on dreamcast is peculiar because the dreamcast arcade sticks had non-standard layout and iirc the console would detect it and do a custom mapping from this, i doubt that would translate very well to a modern 8 buttons arcade stick, some remapping can’t be avoided.
#10

What options do i have at this point? i’m still kinda confused

#11

My previous post contains everything you need to know, the golden rule being that there is no way you’ll have a plug’n’play experience with what you are trying to do.

  • for mvsc2 on dreamcast, you’ll have to apply what @hunterk said in quick menu > controls
  • for mame games, either you keep using that mame2016 core and enter mame osd every time the default mapping is crap, or you switch to one of the cores that have better defaults
#12

I don’t have a problem with mapping everything per-game really, since is a one-time stuff and in the case of Neo-Geo, most game works fine with just a few corrections within the quick menu -> controls option.

The problem i have with FBNeo is that all my games are meant to work with MAME 2016, they won’t run on FBNeo.

Im a total n00b in terms of mapping really, the MAME OSD configuration you need to access can be saved? how do i access to it?

#13

Through tab key from a keyboard, i don’t know if there is another method to access it, and yes it should be saved.

#14

Okey, in the case of MVC2 i just came across another problem. So far i’ve able to map the first 4 buttons following the official layout for the game:

LP HP A1
LK HK A2

But as soon as i go to the quick menu -> configure the buttons for A1 and A2 (R1 and R2 in the stick), everything goes wrong. I’m not sure if the stick is detecting both buttons as one or what but if i set the A1 to R1, R2 acts as the same

#15

Okey yes, apparently RetroArch/Flycast or just the game itself considers R2 as the same button as R1, they act the same :confused:

I was able to successfully map up to A1 (which is L in-game) by using the quick menu and setting Trigger L, but i can’t do it for A2 (that’s supposed to be R-Trigger in-game), the game just won’t call the assist and just mimic R1 button instead

#16

If you go to quick menu > controls > port 1 controls, at the top of the menu, you should see an option for “device type”. If you set that to “arcade stick”, back out of that menu and then come right back (just to refresh it), it should give you the ability to map A, B, X, Y, L-trigger and R-trigger to any of the retropad buttons.

Does this treat you any differently?

#17

It does’t allow me to set the buttons at all with the “arcade stick” option within the quick menu. I cant use neither the keyboard or the arcade stick itself to map them

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#18

How are you trying to change them? are you pressing left/right to cycle through the functions?

#19

Yes. I’m trying to use left and right on the keyboard to map the buttons, which doesn’t work

#20

I don’t know what to tell you, then, as it seems to be working just fine on my end:

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#21

Nop, i’m totally unable to modify it. I was able to do what i wanted by inverting the assist button in-game via the quick menu using the “controller” device type, but now i have the problem that the Arcade Stick is still mapping L2 to call an assist, even tho i have it disabled (with no buttons mapped to it) via the quick menu. So now, every time i call out an assist while having 1 hyper bar, it will do a hyper combo instead :confused:

EDIT: The same happens if i invert the in-game options. So there’s definitely something wrong here. I want to be able to disable the L2 button entirely, which is the one that triggers the hyper combo in-game (i assume RetroArch understands that i’m pressing two buttons at the same time). Maybe i mapped something wrong?

#22

Bump! any help? so far i haven’t been able to solve my problem. It all comes down to just one button: R2 in the sticks, that acts as two different buttons at the sime time. In Capcom VS SNK2 for example, it acts as HP + HK

The quick menu option doesn’t allow me to map it using the arcade stick function. I don’t know what else to do

#23

Ok i kinda figure it out. Turns out i was mapping in the shoulder buttons instead of the triggers. The Dreamcast controller have 4 front buttons and 2 triggers for a total of 6 buttons. I just mapped R1 and R2 to each trigger and fixed the issue!

1 Like
#24

eyy, I’m glad to hear you got it worked out, and thanks for posting your solution!

#25

How do i submit it for inclusion, btw?

#26

If you have a github account, you can do a pull request to https://github.com/libretro/retroarch-joypad-autoconfig or, if you don’t, you can just paste the contents here and I’ll add it.

Thanks!