Cannot remap controls in Retroarch

RandomManA

So, when playing NES games, I prefer using Y as B and B as A. To me, at least, this makes it easier to press A while holding B down, and the standard setup in Retroarch, with B as B and A as A, feels awkward and uncomfortable. Up until now, it's been easy to remap the controls in Retroarch's Quick Menu and save a core remap file, however, in Batocera for some reason, all of the controls are locked in the Quick Menu. Instead of a button assignment, there is only three dashes, like this: --- ; and I cannot change it no matter what I do. I've enabled Advanced Options, and Remap Binds for this core is ON, and I can't find anything else that might be preventing me from changing the binds. Any ideas?

joinski

RandomManA
I also prefer using Y as B and B as A for Super Mario Bros on NES for example.
And it is possible, to remap the controls.
First you have to change the Emulator of NES to Libretro and the Core to FCEUMM.
Then, when you start a game and go to RetroArch Quick Menu (Hotkey +B ) you go to Controls and then change "B button (down)" to A and "Y button (left)" to B.

Unfortunately you can not save this setting.
Neither "Save Game-options file" in Options, nor "Save Core/Game Overrides" under Overrides will save this setting permanently 🙁 So if you exit the game and start it again, you have to change the settings under Controls again.

@nadenislamarre
In previous versions (5.20 and older) the changes you made in RetroArch QuickMenu under Controls were saved permanently, when you saved core or game overrides under "Overrides", but in 5.21 it is not saved permanently anymore. Why is that like this?

Dragu

joinski
Its not just with Retroarch, also with Dolphin and other emulators. There seems to be a global error on individual configuration changements. As I dropped 5.21, I didnt tested for Mame but would wonder if this worked correctly.

RandomManA

joinski Changing the core worked. Now I can save the core remap file, and it automatically loads that file when I select a different NES game. I'm not sure why you can't save it yourself. Maybe core overrides are disabled, but remap files aren't? I'm not terribly knowledgeable at Retroarch, as I'm sure you can tell, and even less so with Batocera.

Dragu

joinski
As I unterstood here https://batocera-linux.xorhub.com/forum/d/2140-wii-controller-not-working/31
for him this is not an issue but normal behavior, as he want to do everything automatic. My opinion is that in Dolphin and Dosbox anyway this is not possible, as you can just use the original (or clone) gamepad and not any arcade or gaming machine with joysticks and buttons and 2 players.
He think that people mapping 2 players on one player (how you want otherway emulate a Nunchuck or a mouse on a standard arcade machine ?), so he think better moving to retropie.
For me, this is not some advanced user thingy to configurate the dolphin or dosbox controller menu by yourself.
Solution is very simple, make just a parameterline imn recalbox.conf as ex. dolphinselfconfig = 1 and the problem is resolved. But I guess you bite on french granite. 😉 Anyway without, more easy to use dolphin over windows.

joinski

RandomManA
Thanks! I just tested it again (with the beta of 5.22, but this should also work for 5.21 and older versions, i guess) and when i use "Save Game Remap File", the changed settings of Controls will be saved and loaded upon next start of a NES game (also works for Gameboy and Gameboy Advance and i guess for all other systems with RetroArch cores aswell) 🙂 🙂 🙂
For NES you just have to change the Emulator to Libretro and Core to FCEUMM first (because with default Emulator/Core = AUTO/AUTO you are not able to change the Controls in RetroArch Quick Menu, as it is all "---" and cannot be changed, just as @RandomManA already mentioned in the first post of this thread).

Dragu
With dolphin (and PCSX2) you are right. The settings (when you change them) there are always being overwritten with default values, after you exit the emulator and start it again 🙁
I don't know if @nadenislamarre already gave an answer in another thread in the forum or at the discord-chat regarding this issue.

joinski

Dragu

Well, you can argue about, what is better in terms of user-friendlieness for basic users and what is better for advanced users.

The best would be, if at default it stays like it is right now, but to give the users the possibility (by adding an option in ES Menu like "enable advanced features" for example) to change and save different settings (within dolphin, dosbox, pcsx2 and maybe other emulator configurations) permanently.
@nadenislamarre what do you think about this?

Dragu

joinski
Problem is also that it not only depends of emulator but may change from game to game. I have most of my dosbox games (where I made most configurations) for complex games individualy, some need mouse but not all the same way and some need number from 1-9, for codes and so on, depending of the game. Game companies never respected a standard in controller configuration, so you cannot make a standard from such complex controller configurations as dosbox and dolphin. For SNES, just to change A, B, X, Y generally is flexibility enough, but not for the former. Same story with Citra.

nadenislamarre

joinski yes, an option can be added in advanced to avoid autoconfiguration of pads by emulator

there were changes in dolphin for pads explaining it doesn't work anymore. however, even by configuring manually, i don't manage to get the ir working. (i can point to only a part of the screen, not fully, even by adjusting values).

AeoN

joinski I know this is long since this post and I agree with you. This is something that drives me crazy that is not there in settings. (or maybe I cant find it yet)

I want this. Why lock everyone using the same default controls and not allow the freedom to save your own remapping of controls.

I just converted an Arcade1UP machine and cannot save remapped controls? Its insane

Dragu

nadenislamarre
I think with such option(s) perhaps just for emulators with native controller configuration, you are on the right way.
Now, it will always be people that will not arrive with manual configuration, depending of complexity.
But they have always the option to buy a standard controller in this case. For owners of self build machines using usb controllers from the market, there will never be an alternate choice for manual configuration.

Atari

AeoN Remapping controls using RetroArch’s Quick Menu has been integrated and is fully supported now: https://wiki.batocera.org/remapping_controls_per_emulator

proxypunk

And even this doesn’t work anoymore, currently. But I have worked out a workaround:

In a game of your desired platform you want to change the buttons for, open up the Menu with special key+b. Use the back menu button (b) one time, go to Quick Menu, Overrides and Save Core Orride. This will generate a file at \\batocera\share\system\configs\retroarch\config\[platformname]\[platformname].cfg
But the file is not properly filled! You gotta changed it:

[platformname] can be FCEUmm for NES or Gambatte for Game Boy. I found it most annoying that the buttons of this two systems were not ordered in the right way they were in my childhood - so they need to be swapped.

Example for NES Core:
\\batocera\share\system\configs\retroarch\config\FCEUmm\FCEUmm.cfg
input_player1_a_btn = “0”
input_player1_b_btn = “3”

If you have no clue about config setting lines and button codes, you can simply change your buttons via Quick Menu/Settings/Input/Port 1 Controls, go back to main menu (still the menu within the game)/configuration file/save current configuration.
This will output a file at \\batocera\share\system\configs\retroarch\config\
named [platformname]_libretro.cfg (i.e. fceumm_libretro.cfg for NES). Just copy the content of the file over to the file i mentioned above, or (better) search for button values as in the example above and add them to the file under /[platformname]/[platformname].cfg.

Warning: It doesn’t work if you simply create those files. You have to save a Core override first, let the system create the file for you so everything is linked and named right (upper/lower case).

Hope this helps. Please send me a mail if you need further assistance. I gonna take vacation soon and play some of the jewels of my childhood. :)

Did you even know, that you can record videos of your footage right out of the bat with Batocera? Just open the in game menu, you’ll see! :D Recorded video footage will be located at \\batocera\share\screenshots

The given path above is the SMB path (you can directly access it with the Windows browser via LAN)./

Atari

proxypunk It does work, I’m using per-game remappings right now.

What you’re doing is rebinding the RetroPad itself. Read more about its philosophy here: https://docs.libretro.com/guides/input-and-controls/

You don’t need to touch that, Batocera handles it for you. All you need to do is create the remap for it in the game’s quick menu, which offers you controls specific to the core you are using: https://wiki.batocera.org/remapping_controls_per_emulator#libretro_cores

proxypunk

Atari This is not meant offensive ofc, but do you think I’m doing this just for fun? Furthermore: Why did I write “And even this doesn’t work anoymore, currently.”? :)
Batocera doesn’t save it for me the way you explained.

Atari

proxypunk No offense taken.

You said you were going to “Quick Menu, Overrides and Save Core Orride,” which is not the process you would follow if you were just saving a remap file. That is done from the controls menu itself: “Save core remap file” or something similar to that is the final option you would click.

This creates a (core).remap file in your hidden configuration directory, not the (core).cfg override you mentioned.

proxypunk

Atari This really seems to work! My problem was, that I jumped out of the quick menu and changed the Input somewhere in another sub-menu outside of quick menu. But I encountered a funny thing: When I reassigned buttons for NES I had B+A together on one button even when everything looked good in the config menu. After loading a different game and jumping to the previous game everything was fine. Is this bug known?

Atari

If you think it’s a bug and you have a reproducible method you should report it here: https://github.com/batocera-linux/batocera.linux/issues
But I don’t think it is because the feature works fine for me.

proxypunk

Yepp the feature’s fine, but I encountered double-button fired by just one button pressed just after controller configuration in the overall-system (on a new installed system). Thanks again, without your hints I’d probably still try to mess up config files. ;)