Empty Remaps (Mednafen PSX)

RetroArch Windows devices
#1

Some older PS1 games will only accept input with the PS Joypad, as I open some games, I then create remap files according to their needs, to make sure, I created some, like for Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, the remap file was created but only an empty one, with 0 kb. I then noticed that other (not all) remap files are also empty, I’m also creating game specific configs as I load them.

Can anyone try to reproduce it? I’m on a 1.4.0 nightly, one week ago I think.

There’s another weird thing going on, under Quick Menu/Options, the first thing I can do is create a game specific config file, when I try saving some specific changes I’ve made for that game, it reads “core config file created”, or something like that, when I check my config/Mednafen PSX folder, there’s nothing there, but the main Mednafen PSX.cfg file under /config folder was edited, so in other words, my Retroarch setup is not creating game specific options, just editing the main Retroarch.cfg.

#2

There is this issue that doesn’t take a remap into account if one is already loaded. So try to push start/space on “load remap” to empty it before doing any change.

#3

Thanks for the input dude. I actually found out what’s happening, still I’m not sure if it should be this way. Remaps aren’t working, no matter what, I even updated the latest nightly now and deleted my old Mednafen PSX.cfg to make sure it wasn’t anything in the way.

The only way to make, say, DOOM (that only works with PSX Joypad, not the Dual Shock), is going into Quick Menu/Controls, changing Dual Shock to PSX Joypad (don’t save a remap), then, back to quick menu and save game overrides. Checking the game config DOOM (USA), it reads "input_libretro_device_p1 = “1”, that probably translates to Joypad.

I’m not sure if it should work this way, the remap cfg is loaded if I save it, but it seems the core config is forcing the Dual Shock.

#5

I was having a similar problem. I created remaps for those older games (e.g. Castlevania SotN, Goal Storm, Soul Blade, Star Gladiator, SFEX, SFEX2, Tomb Raider 2, Twisted Metal 2) and they worked under 1.3.6

Now on 1.4.0 pre-release (from the 1.4.0 folder at the buildbot) they weren’t loading.

It used to be like this on 1.3.6:

For Dual Shock, was properly saved and loaded from the Core remap, while the option with “1” (for PS1 Joypad) was saved and loaded from the game remap.

Now, it doesn’t get saved to the Core Remap, and must be saved on the Core Override (which doesn’t seem to be consistent on XMB, since they are set on different option trees). BUT, for those old games, the option for the “PS1 Joypad” (1), doesn’t get saved on neither the Game Override nor the Game Remap (RA just creates the empty file for the remap, and the override just mirrors the other options changed for the core). The game specific setting input_libretro_device_p1 = "1" now only works when manually added to the Game Override (it doesn’t work anymore set on the remap).

Windows 10 64-bit Retroarch 1.4.0 pre-release x64

#8

Just an update, there’s another thing that is bugging me in this core (Mednafen PSX), the wide screen hack makes lots of games look better in 16:9 monitors/TVs, but some has issues, like in Tenchu games, the sprites where we select our items are misplaced, trying to save a game override with “wide screen hack” off, it just doesn’t save this setting.

#11

Can you clarify this all a little bit?

I know I’ve got the core set to automatically enable/disable that analogue button which greatly improved this sort of issue with controller type incompatibilities.

Am I correct, that this particular issue is that even with the controller’s analogue function set to “OFF”, it is still incompatible with the DualShock controller, and instead requires the original “Stick-less” version?

If this is the case it leads me to 2 questions.

1.) Have we tried to see if it works with the “Dual-Analogue” controller, instead of the “DualShock”? I’m not sure if RA even supports this feature or if it makes a difference.

2.) Do you by chance have a list of games you’ve noticed with this issue? I saw you mentioned DOOM and now I’m trying to remember if it’s the PSX or Saturn version I was screwing around in. lol

#12

OK, I only know the things I’m facing, so my clarifications can only be confirmed by someone that has a deeper knowledge about it. You say you have that option to enable/disable analogue button, but I don’t know if it solve older PS1 games problems of incompatibilities, if it does, great, one less thing we need to care about.

I know that the Dual Analogue gamepad was released a little before the Dual Shock gamepad, so there’s a possibility that some games are compatible with this one and not with the DS.

I don’t have a list of games that aren’t compatible with Dual Shock, but the ones that only will work with the original joypad I tested so far are, DOOM, Final DOOM, Street Fighter Alpha 1 and 2, Time Commando, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha and EX2 Plus, probably KOF from 95 to 96 and some others.

I’ll check that option you mentioned and see if that solves the incompatibilities or not.

#13

All those Street Fighters… I again can’t be sure if I had tried PSX or SAT lol this is good though, it gives me a list of games to check against my current setup.

I’m at stupid work right now, but I have the whole night free so I will check this stuff tonight and post my controller setting if it indeed does work.

#14

OK I had a go with the “turn analog off” you mentioned and it really does turn off analog function, making older games recognize the buttons, etc., like it was on the real hardware, without analogs (of course), but, then we have Tomb Raider from II to V that are Dual Analog compatible, but not DS (the remap function is not working anymore, I can’t save a game option, it doesn’t exist in the yesterday’s nightly.

Another thing to observe about the automatic analog turning off, is that some games that are compatible with Dual Shock analog, turns analog off, example, Driver 2, I opened the game and it turned the analogs off, when I deactivated this function and the analogs were working, the game recognized my analogs normally.

So for me it’s still nice to only have older games to use the original joypad, I don’t want 90% of the games to turn analog off without the need for it.

#16

So, the setting I am using is “DualShock Analogue Button Toggle = On” in Core options. I tested both Dooms and Street Fighter Alphas and they worked perfectly for me.

Reading on though I see your comment about DA but not DS compatible. I didn’t know there were any games that had this behavior. I check myself on Tomb Raider 3 and indeed it turns the analogues on my DS off :frowning:

To solve this, in Quick Menu’s Controls I saved the game-remap file with player 1 set to Dual Analogue instead of DualShock and now Tomb Raider 3 loads up with the analogue functions.

So, my ultimate proposed solution is thusly:

Set default to DualShock with “DualShock Analogue Button Toggle = On” in Core Options. For all games Compatible with Dual Analogue, but not DualShock set control types to Dual Analogue in a remap file per game.

I can’t imagine the list of Dual Analogue, but not DualShock games is very long. From what I remember the Dual Analogue controller was short lived before it was replaced with Dualshock.

Anyway, that should result in each game giving you the ‘proper’ control methods.

#17

Your idea is good, but like I said, Driver 2, for instance, althought is compatible with Dual Shock, it still turns analogs off if you set the automatic turn analog off activated, so, for now, the most accurate approach is to still let this option deactivated and when you open a given game that doesn’t have compatibility with analog or dual shock, you can then remap that game.

Hunterk, I swear this option does not exist for me after my latest update, for other cores I have this but not for Mednafen PSX, and it doesn’t reload remaps, but Glupen64 does.

#18

A little update, I removed all configs related to Mednafen PSX and now I can save specific game options, sorry for the confusion.

Also, it seems that TR III, in its latest revision works with DS, don’t ask me why. The “Create Game Options” let me save some settings, but it just saves my remaps when I save game overrides, so there are varied parts of configurations in the latest updates that will probably let some people confused in the near future, I think. Remaps are reloaded in some other cores I tested, but not in Mednafen PSX, but Radius explained that earlier, the only confusion here is why other cores are reloading remaps if it’s getting obsolete and merged in other configurations, like overrides.

I tested Tomb Raider II, it seems to only works with the original Joypad, no other gamepad, like Dual Analog or Dual Shock works, the game pauses immediately if you switch any other gamepads, that can be solved with the auto ON/OFF for the analog, but I still don’t trust it will work for all games, letting some that are compatible with analog, with analogs turned off, so I could only remap the joypad using game overrides.

In Short: Dual Shock Analog Button Toggle (ON) will probably make all your games recognize your inputs, but I tested Driver 2 and it turns analog off, even the game being compatible with Dual Shock and probably Dual Analog, this happens with other games as well.

Saving Remaps only creates a blank file, in Tomb Raider II and earlier PS1 games only works with Analog OFF or with the original joypad, to save the analog we’ll need to use Save Game Overrides, now the correct remap will be loaded.

While some games works perfectly with Wide Screen Hack (ON), even using 16:9 stretched video, some will not and this option will only be saved for that game using Game Options saving, not overrides, that was what Radius was explaining earlier, I think, somethings are related to the core itself and somethings to the frontend, right?

I’m fine with it now, the confusion was created here because somethings were changing and will probably change in the near future, everything is working perfectly fine now.

#22

You say that like Retroarch never used the remap function to change the control type, it always worked this way, until now, that’s why this thread was created, I’m fine with the changes now I understand how it’s working today.

#24

Can you update Retroarch and PSX core to the latest builds and confirm that your “remaps” are still working? Someone said remaps only works when you actually change buttons, not controllers types.