Hi, this is a gamepad overlay that I developed for my own use, but I thought it might come in handy for other people so I’ve decided to share it. The thing is, RetroArch on Android is great but I never really liked its gamepad overlays (the default neo-retropad is pretty good but I don’t like buttons placement and also it doesn’t fit well with some emulated systems, i.e. N64). That’s why I developed RGPAD, a universal gamepad overlay that can make most RetroArch emulated systems nice to play on a touch screen
Features:
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Works on most devices with a screen aspect ratio of 16:9 and up
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Optimized controls and buttons layout
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4 different overlays: landscape, portrait, portrait mini and portrait one-handed
All overlays also offers alternative versions of them:
D-pad with no diagonals, useful for various types of games but especially for those games where you need to move left-right or press buttons as fast as possible to get up speed (i.e. Track & Field, Decathlon, etc.)
Swapped D-pad / left analog stick, more precision in some games by using a bigger analog stick
To change overlay, first press the “option” button (the one with the 3 white lines on it) then just click on the small arrows that appears at the bottom-center of the screen
- 2 graphic styles: modern and retro
How to configure it:
(most options should be already defaults)
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Set “Show Inputs on Overlay” to “Touched” (recommended)
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Enable “Auto-Rotate Overlay” option
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Enable “Auto-Scale Overlay” option
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Set “Overlay Opacity” to 0.80 (recommended)
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Set “D-Pad Diagonal Sensitivity” to 80% (recommended)
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Set “ABXY Overlap Sensitivity” to 50% (recommended)
Also, for a true “handheld experience”, I suggest to set RetroArch UI to “rgui” and disable the on-screen overlay option “Hide Overlay in Menu”. But that depends on your preferences
Acknowledgements:
- Valent-in for its awesome RetroPad Editor ( https://valent-in.github.io/retropad-editor/ ). Especially at first, it helped a lot to understand how gamepad overlays worked in RetroArch!
Download (v8.2):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uU-2lwWFphOQVJF0n-6dWmdXuqUt2doq/
Version history:
(v8.2)
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Added the OPTION BUTTON on the screen also when overlays are hidden
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Changed button positions in some overlays
(v8.1)
- Added the option to have HOTKEYS on the screen when overlays are hidden!
Many people like to use gamepad overlays also when they play with an external controller to have on the screen all the hotkeys (save/load, rewind, fast-forward, etc.). In this new version it’s possible to hide the overlay but still enable all the hotkeys!
(v8.0)
- Added new D-PAD WITH NO DIAGONALS overlays!
These new overlays (landscape and portrait) are useful for various types of games but especially for those games where you need to move left-right or press buttons as fast as possible to get up speed (i.e. Track & Field, Decathlon, etc.). If the game doesn’t use left-right but use buttons to run, you can remap them to the D-pad. For example, in Track & Field you can remap Button 1 and 3 to D-Pad Left and Right. Or, even better, you can try to remap Button 1 to D-Pad Up and Down, Button 3 to D-Pad Left and Right and with a circular movement of your finger on the D-Pad you can get great speeds (of course you can use this trick also with games which use left-right to run, just map those directions alternately to the D-pad)
- Added NEW BUTTONS (left and right) to switch between overlays
To show these new buttons on the screen you need to first press the “option” button (the one with the 3 white lines on it)
- Fixed a few minor issues, reworked some overlay graphics and code cleanup
(v7.0)
- Added a new MINI OVERLAY!
This new overlay (portrait) replaces the old “TATE” overlay and is useful to play vertical games and systems like Nintendo DS / 3DS
(v6.0)
- Added new overlays with SWAPPED D-PAD / LEFT ANALOG STICK!
These new overlays (landscape and portrait), by using a bigger analog stick, give more precision in some games
- Reworked analog sticks sensitivity
(v5.0)
- RGPAD now comes in 2 graphic styles: MODERN and RETRO!
(v4.0)
- All overlay graphics have been redesigned and optimized for a more modern and clear look
(v3.0)
- Added a new ONE-HANDED overlay!
This new overlay (portrait) is great for playing in situations where you can only use one hand (stand up on a bus / subway, etc.) and also for people who have some sort of physical disability.
It was really a challenge to develop this, I had been working on it for some time but I was never fully satisfied with how it worked… After a lot of work I have figured out a solution that allows to play most games with just a thumb (of course you need a bit of time to adapt to the new controls… now I am also able to play games like Street Fighter 2 with all the special moves!). The overlay has some limitations for obvious reasons and is not meant to be used with modern games as it doesn’t support analog sticks and there are “only” 6 buttons on screen. I won’t make a version of this overlay with the analog sticks, I made several tests during development and is impossible to make something truly “enjoyable” to play with one hand. If you really want to play games that require analog stick for movements you can try to map the directions to the D-pad.
Also, keep in mind that there will always be games that will be by default less “playable” than others but, by playing around with the overlay settings (some games play better with one hand if you try to reduce a bit the default 80% “D-Pad Diagonal Sensitivity”) and / or remapping the buttons, it is possible to play almost any type of game with this overlay (yes, even racing games where you need to press and hold a button to accelerate, I implemented in the overlay a solution that allows you to press and hold buttons when required!).
For more information about how this new overlay works, you can WATCH THIS VIDEO
(v2.0)
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Reorganized the interface with the addition of 7 NEW BUTTONS:
- Save / Load state slot
- Decrease / Increase state slot
- Rewind
- Slow-motion
- Fast-forward
(v1.0)
- Initial release