BT Keyboard support

RetroArch Android devices
#1

Hi, just want to know if are there plans for enabling BT keyboard support for Retroarch Android?

I know that in C64 and PUAE there are keys that enable virtual keyboard (SELECT in both cases), but I have found in DOSBox only with an overlay.

But, I have a BT Keyboard, very useful for other apps installed in the tablet, and would be good to use it too for Computers cores in Retroarch.

Thanks in advance.

#2

It should support them already, technically, but RetroArch doesn’t have any way to tell the difference between gamepads and keyboards-that-Android-says-are-gamepads, which is, unfortunately, almost all of them, evidently.

#3

It’s interesting. I enter Retroarch, press any key on the BT keyboard and it says something like this: “Android Gamepad (1452/556) not configured, using fallback.” so if I understand your answer, it sort-a-kind recognizes the key pressed, BUT it’s unable to properly understand the keycode sent. Am I right? or oversimplifying?

#4

Pretty much. It’s just seeing them as generic button events. So, you could map the retropad to it, and then for cores that support it (including dosbox) you could remap keyboard keys back to those retropad buttons, but you wouldn’t have access to the whole keyboard’s worth of keys.

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#5

I think I get it then.

It would be impossible to access all the different keyboard keys, and getting a true gamepad accessing a certain core at the same time.

I was trying to do this, because some games required it (Lakers vs Celtics and the NBA Playoffs was one of them, the timeouts were called with a F3 press), while others (“Space Quest”) was a bit awkward to use both controllers, it was more practical to use only the keyboard.

I wonder if in DosBox core I could remap a Retropad button (think R2) to simulate the behaviour of a keypressed (like “N”). Think of a game where at first ask you if you have a joystick (“Winter Games” from Epyx).

I already did that in a couple of Commodore 64 games (Commando and Ghostbusters have an increase in playability that way). I’ll try it in DosBox, if I could not find how to do it, I’ll probably ask again.

Thanks in advance.

#6

quick menu > controls > device type to ‘keyboard’. Back out of that menu and then go right back in to refresh and you should be able to cycle through the keys to assign them to the desired retropad buttons.

#7

A keyboard does work as a keyboard on android but it needs to be an old vintage keyboard…almost every modern keyboard shows as a gamepad on android…I’d have to check my keyboard to get the model of it…its pretty basic and old but functions as a true keyboard even in mame

#8

Worked like a charm and got the desired effect. Thanks for the guide

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