Atari 2600 Joystick setup

Timo21594

I have an Atari 2600 Joystick with an db9 to usb Adapter. Is it possible to use it with batocera for Atari games ?

Superchooch

I have a similar question, but I’ll be more specific. I am also using an original Atari 2600 controller, converted to USB using an 2600-daptor, which works great. Obviously a 2600 controller only has 4 directions and a single button so you can’t configure a hotkey with it. I am able to overcome that challenge (mostly) by plugging in a keyboard. Where I have trouble is that only a couple of the switches on the Atari have default keyboard mappings. Specifically, if you go into Retroarch Quickmenu -> Controls -> Port 1 Controls, you can see that “q” is mapped to Left Difficulty A and “w” is mapped to Right Difficulty A. But the rest of the Atari switches are not mapped to any keyboard values. (but they are mapped to Retropad buttons):

Left Difficult B
Right Difficult B
Color
Black/White

I can use the above fact that they are mapped to Retropad buttons to potentially solve this. I know that I can go into Retroarch Settings -> Input and map the keyboard there, but I also know from past experience, this will save to retroarchcutom.cfg and will not load the next time you run Batocera. So, can you add:

input_player1_l2 = “z”

to batocera.conf, specifically for the stella core, and if so, what is the syntax? If I am able to do that, then I can map the remaining unmapped buttons and Atari should work fully using a keyboard plus the original controller.

jaaem

Superchooch

You may also be able to save a core remap instead of using batocera.conf. Remaps do save/automatically reload: Quick Menu->Controls->Save Core Remap

Make a remap (first make the changes with Quickmenu -> Controls -> Port 1 Controls).

If that doesn’t stick after a restart, look at the file made in:

\\batocera\share\system\configs\retroarch\config\remaps\emulatorname\

and copy the input_player1 syntax over, prepending “systemname.retroarch.” . I do some remaps for intellivision buttons, but syntax should be the similar, except maybe atari2600 or a2600 not sure. perhaps you drop the _btn if using the keyboard

intellivision.retroarch.input_player3_l2_btn = “12”

Superchooch

Ok, I think I officially have this solved. Thanks to jaaem and @Atari (who gave me a hint over on Discord)

Problem:

If you use an original Atari controller with a USB adaptor such as the 2600-daptor, since it only has one button, you will not have any ability to exit the emulator or control any of the Atari switches, such as the Left or Right Difficulty, Color/BW, Select or Reset. Additionally, the emulator is expecting a start button and since the Atari controller will not have one configured, the emulator will immediately crash.

Solution:

You need to use a keyboard to control the other switches and exit the emulator.
Set up Keyboard: Edit batocera.conf which can be found in /share/system/. Edit the file and add the following values to the bottom of the file:

atari2600.retroarch.input_player1_l=r

atari2600.retroarch.input_player1_l2=v

atari2600.retroarch.input_player1_l3=e

atari2600.retroarch.input_player1_r=t

atari2600.retroarch.input_player1_r2=b

atari2600.retroarch.input_player1_r3=c
Save the file and exit
Insert configuration line to prevent Atari from crashing: Edit es_input.cfg which can be found in /share/system/configs/emulationstation/
Navigate to the section of the file that contains the configuration for the USB controller for your Atari Controller. In the case of the 2600-daptor, the tag looks something like this:

<inputConfig type="joystick" deviceName="Microchip Technology Inc. 2600-daptor" deviceGUID="03000000d80400001dfa000011010000">
Between the <inputConfig> and </inputConfig> tags for your USB controller, add the following line:

<input name="start" type="key" id="13" value="1" code="10113024" />
Save the file and exit

After doing that you will be able to use the keyboard to perform the following Functions:

Function	Keyboard Button
Exit the emulator	Esc (Default Assignment)
Select	rshift (Default Assignment)
Reset	Enter (Default Assignment)
Left Difficulty A	r
Left Difficulty B	v
Right Difficulty A	t
Right Difficulty B	b
Color	e
Black/White	c

I’ll add some details about my process for figuring this out, but this is the final result at least.