I am running RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi. I’m using two Ultramarc Mini PAC controllers built into a control panel from Xtensions/Rec Room Masters. (It’s the Emulator Edition Plus.) After making a fresh RetroPie install, I updated it just within the last few days (it’s 3/13/20, for the record).
RetroArch sees both controllers and can identify them. The first controller, aside from joysticks and buttons, has a trackball on it. The second has a spinner.
In searching, I found a few issue reports about the need to support multiple mice in RetroArch. It looks like that problem was solved in 2017, as best I can tell. I can’t tell what version that was. I’ve also read this thread about using multiple mouse devices. I’ve done other searching, but that’s what seems most on-topic.
I’m using EmulationStation, in RetroPie, and Mame-Libretro(2003) for an arcade emulator. The problem I’m having is that, no matter what I do, the pointer devices act like the Highlander: There can be only one. I had a mouse on the system. RetroArch saw that and ignored the trackball and spinner. I removed the mouse and RetroArch sees the trackball, but not the spinner. At this point, knowing that the last RetroPie image was done something like a year ago, I’m wondering if, even though I updated it, RetroPie is using a version of RetroArch that’s pre-multi-mice.
Of course, the main thing I want to do is to make it so I can use my trackball in games like Centipede or Missile Command and use my spinner for games like Arkanoid or Tempest - without having to change configurations. (Hey, part of the fun of an arcade system is letting friends play with it at parties, and you can’t keep changing things around every time they change game!)
I have tried using /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg to specify the trackball as the mouse device, then use /opt/retropie/roms/mame-libretro/tempest.zip.cfg to specify the pointer device for use. It hasn’t worked at all. Even when I try to specify the spinner for all games, the spinner is not seen.
I’m having other issues with this. In the page I linked to above, it says to use /dev/input/eventX instead of /dev/input/mouseX. I’ve tried using both and if I use the index number for the eventX path, the trackball doesn’t work. I have to specify the number for /dev/input/mouseX to get the trackball to work.
If someone can tell me the easy and quick way to get some games to use the trackball and some to use the spinner, that’d be great. But since that may not be so easy, I have a few questions that might help me:
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In the link I mentioned, above, it says, “Start RetroArch from the command line with the option…” I can find no command on my RetroPie system that, in any way, resembles RetroArch or an abbreviation (with or without caps). So how do I start RetroArch from the command line?
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I’d like verification about whether the Mouse index # is for /dev/input/eventX or /dev/input/mouseX. It only works with the mouse number, but from what I have read, that shouldn’t be the case.
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I’m binding the trackball to Key 1 Bind. (Is that the right way it’s stated in the menu? I don’t have it in front of me.) Then I bind the spinner to Key 2. Or at least I try to.
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If I can get RetroArch to recognize both devices, am I right that the way to tell the game which one to use is through a special config file just for that game?
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What version of RetroArch marks where the multiple mouse fix was available? And how can I tell what version I have on my RetroPie device?
Any help is appreciated, but I’m trying to focus on the questions I think will help. If there’s a better way to make it work, I’ll be glad to hear it.