New user: need help understanding modifier and mapping

RetroArch General
#1

HI. I’m new to Retroarch and very much like its methods. I could use some help, though, in configuring the controller.

First off, I’m using this as a guide: http://www.libretro.com/index.php/wiki/ … ows-guide/. I’m not writing in the windows forum as I don’t think my questions are Windows specific. Feel free to move this if I’m mistaken.

  1. Modifier. Below the xinput section of the guide, the author talks about mapping the center button (Xbox home button) to a modifier that activates alternate functionality like savestates on the controller.

How does this work? Is the newly mapped button now functioning like a shift key where “modifier+hat +0” executes a function or does it work like a toggle where the entire controller now executes alternate functions?

If I’m using RGUI, what should I be looking for if I wish to set up the controller in exactly the same way the author did? I realize I can probably edit the cfg, but I want to better understand the GUI vs the config files, hence the question.

  1. Mapping. I’m undecided between two methods of using and mapping my controller.

One is to try and use the modifier I just asked about.

The second is to try and map the functions I want to use onto the main configuration without using a modifier, specifically getting save state functions onto the D-pad. I’ve done so successfully, but the auto-configured xinput controller still maintains its own D-pad functionality even given the save-state buttons assignments I set.

For instance if I’m racing along an N64 game and press the D-pad left, I will both save game state and move left. What should I do to remove movement from the D-pad? Disable the auto-configured controller?

Thanks for your help.

#2

Yeah, disable the autoconfigure option. AFAIK, the modifier is like a shift key, so L2 (for example) can do one thing and modifier+L2 can do something else.

I don’t think you can do any of the modifier stuff in RGUI, only in the cfg file. There’s a lot of stuff you can’t do through RGUI, actually, because trying to cram all of those options into RGUI would be a mess.

#3

That’s not true at all, L2 does one thing and modifier+L2 does the same thing plus another one you tell it to. This is IMO a bug, and I recommend you to stay away from it for now until hopefully next stable release. Here the thread about this.

Another issue is that you won’t be able to use the Guide button until you “free it up” The Guide button by default is bound to RGUI menu, so you need to put it somewhere else (can’t disable) in the joypad.

By the way, if you turn off autoconfigure, you will run through a painful process of remapping each core to the pad, and probably lose some autoconfigurations made for you automatically (3 / 6 button pad auto switch for Sega Genesis).

#4

Thanks to both for replying. So it looks like I probably have to manually map the controller sans modifier.