@ecto Thanks for the configs, I did some analysis. First: I should have mentioned that after the change of this line to make -j4 PLATFORM="rpi4-sdl2" the amiberry must be rebuilded and installed (sudo ./retropie_packages.sh amiberry), please also make sure you use v4.1.6 of Amiberry and not the current master, just in case you missed it.

From the configs I found these differences to mine:

In amiberry.conf:
Diffs mine (which are also the default amiberry.conf settings) starting with - (red), yours starting with + (green)

$ diff -bB -u --color amiberry.conf amiberry.conf_usr_ecto --- amiberry.conf 2022-03-04 18:10:15.818541075 +0100 +++ amiberry.conf_usr_ecto 2022-03-04 17:57:08.000000000 +0100 @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ rctrl_as_ramiga=no gui_joystick_control=yes use_sdl2_render_thread=no -default_multithreaded_drawing=yes +use_drawing_thread=no input_default_mouse_speed=100 input_keyboard_as_joystick_stop_keypresses=no default_open_gui_key=F12 @@ -15,11 +15,11 @@ rotation_angle=0 default_horizontal_centering=yes default_vertical_centering=yes -default_scaling_method=-1 +default_scaling_method=0 default_frameskip=no default_correct_aspect_ratio=yes default_auto_height=no -default_width=640 +default_width=720 default_height=512 default_fullscreen_mode=2 default_stereo_separation=7 @@ -38,49 +38,3 @@ default_whd_buttonwait=no default_whd_showsplash=yes default_whd_configdelay=0

You may change them one by one to my settings and retest after each change.

In config.txt:
I have seen you run a high overclocking. Maybe you can disable it for the tests on amiberry. I had different downside effects on Amiberry (3.3 and 4.1.6 when OC over 1950Mhz) (on my 4.19 kernel with fake KMS).
I assume you are using a (4k?) TV for the Raspberry. Can you try with a full HD computer monitor?
E.g., set hdmi_group=2, hdmi_mode=82 or set only hdmi_group=0, I guess you know the switches. --> https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/config_txt.html#hdmi_group

And I did not review/change the WHDLoad file. I just let it sit there. You should however update it from time to time (within the Amiberry UI menu), if you haven't done it recently.

HTH

@Xorcode in this case, please provide a log from running the game - see here. EmulationStation closing is normal, it minimizes itself so that the game can start.

You're running a very old 3rd party image which may not be compatible with your Pi.

Start with the image from retropie.org.uk/download and we'll be able to assist you - we don't support 3rd party images in the forums, as noted in the https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first topic (see point 4.).

Can you give more details about your system ? See https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first; you don't have to list all gamepads in the info, but what is important is what platform are you running on and how are the gamepads connected.

EmulationStation should save the controller info after the gamepad is configured, this is stored in $HOME/.emulationstation or (if you're using file shares to access your system) in \\retropie\configs\emulationstation. The filename is es_input.cfg and you can check its contents after each controller is configured to see if an entry for it is added.
It's better to add them one by one and - after adding one controller - restart EmulationStation and check that the controller works fine.

[..] when I run games it goes to the 4 arcade joysticks.

That's probably because they're added as Player 1 - 4 in the order of their detection and they're always detected first.

I have set retroarch to show 13 ports so I can finally see all the controllers

Not sure how useful this is unless you want to play a 13 player game - not a very common scenario.

. I also have the setup of the controllers get mixed up in emulation station and I have to go back into setup each one or restart the system.

That may happen if different controllers have the same name and Vendor/Product IDs. The name and VID/PID serve as an identifier to the configuration of the controller (not only in EmulationStation, but emulators also). That's not something that can be fixed easily or by configuration: if 2 different controllers identify themselves similarly, then how can the system tell them apart ?

xpadneo is the right driver for the Bluetooth Xbox One controller, xpad should stay for the wired ones.

Make sure you remove any paired/detected devices in the Bluetooth menu and then re-attempt the pairing.

@blackholebomb
I had to add usbhid.quirks=0xf000:0x0008:0x100000 to /boot/cmdline.txt and then reboot to get the missing buttons working.

@nicshoe18

I had to add usbhid.quirks=0xf000:0x0008:0x100000 to /boot/cmdline.txt and then reboot to get jstest detect the missing buttons.

@sirhenrythe5th
File patch:
/retropie/roms/psp/Battlefront Renegade Squadron.iso

@fatfei said in Joystick not working in emulators:

I can move the joy stock to select different characters but when it comes to a race, I can't turn. I randomly chose another bye game and the stick doesn't work on that either.

I think this is because the N64 games were set up to only use the analog stick. If you mapped your joystick to the UP,DOWN,LEFT,RIGHT buttons, then that is the same as using the D-Pad. The analog stick has separate mappings. Something like Left Analog Up, etc.

Ok, this is embarrassing.
It turned out that (for some reason) the volume was set to -60 db in the playback audio setting, and this (for some reason) affects also the Kodi UI sound volume. The playback audio settings are separated from the general settings > system > audio, but the playback audio can be modified pressing the keyboard keys + and -. This, coupled with the weird behavior of Kodi that (for some reason) does not play UI sounds when using a controller, but only when using a keyboard.
It turned out to be a rather silly problem, but I leave it here hoping this can help others facing the same behavior.

@jimmyfromthebay

Due to this thread I found that there was a mistake in my script and I fixed it.
So now it can create lr-mess overlays for gnw from the mame artwork.
2022-03-02-183543_800x600_scrot_resized.png
I think it's not what you are looking for, though.
It is still an overlay and transparency is always used and not perfect.

I have tried the combination lr-mess with mame artwork but never had any result,
because then the game just won't load.

Perhaps you both can find a way.
It would really be nice if it could work like you want to.

@silvan Doesn't work even with a dongle. Using bluetoothctl I can pair it, but the controller keeps flashing and it doesn't work,.

@persephale It's the same as flashing a sdcard, if your Pi supports booting from USB. Pi4 should have this by default, for the Pi3 you still need a sdcard in order to boot RaspiOS and enable USB booting. See https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/raspberry-pi.html#usb-mass-storage-boot for more details on Pi USB boot support.

@sleve_mcdichael

BLAH! I had a feeling that was coming. Cool. Thanks for the info!

@redmarsbluemoon We intend to include SDL 2.0.20 - not only in Bullseye, but on Buster also. For Mesa, we always use the version offered by the OS, I don't think this will change soon.

@chaoseffect Done. It's possible it'll just lead to a "mute" moment, but it's worth a shot :D I'm happy to follow a lead, but I really just don't know where to go from there.

Roms (and saves) can be easily be placed on an external disc - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Running-ROMs-from-a-USB-drive/.

For configurations (almost all of them are kept in /opt/retropie/configs), there's no out-of-the-box solution available, since they require a Linux filesystem and generally users have a PC/macOS compatible partitioning schema on their external disc.

If you want to dedicate a SSD just for running RetroPie, you can just install RetroPie on the SSD drive (same process as installing it on a sdcard) directly.

Has anybody ever came across a good learning book for this stuff?

RetroPie specific documentation - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/. Raspberry Pi documentation - https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/ (has a Getting started section and a Using RasPI OS guide). The RetroPie image is based on RasPI OS. For Linux in general, I'd recommend the Debian user guide (https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/index.en.html). RasPI OS is based on Debian, so it should apply to a RetroPie installation.