lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu

ByteFlinger

Hi

I have noticed a strange behaviour in retro pie

Pi Model: 
RetroPie Version Used: 3.8?? (Can't quite figure out where to check 
Built From: SD 
USB Devices connected: Controller and Keyboard
Controller used: Generic USB controller
Error messages received: None
Emulator: lr-mame-2003
How to replicate the problem: Launch rom from arcade menu, press a button on controller to enter runcommand menu, switch the default emulator for that specific rom to lr-mame-2003. Launch rom and try to play

I have placed the same rom file in the mame-libretro folder and the arcade folder. When I launch that rom from the MAME menu, everything works fine and I can play the game without any issues however when I launch it from the arcade menu, switch that rom's emulator to lr-mame-2003 and launch the rom, the game will start however the controller does not work. Removing the controller from the usb port and putting it back in solves the issue for that specific run however next time I launch from the arcade menu, once again I have to remove the controller and put it back in.

I find it really strange as I can confirm the emulator.cfg configuration for that specific emulator is identical on both folders (And the default one as I have not touched it).

Has anybody had this problem? I was really hoping to use the arcade folder for all my roms but I guess at the moment that will not be possible.

Regards
ByteFlinger

dankcushions

that's strange. you could try copying the retroarch.cfg from /opt/retropie/configs/mame-libretro/ to /opt/retropie/configs/arcade/

be sure to back up the file first.

caver01

Yes, I noticed that when you run lr-mame2003 against roms in the arcade folder it wants to use a retroarch.cfg in the arcade config folder. I am Hoping lr-fba-next is ok with that. The beauty of arcade is running multiple emus against one list of roms. We met have a problem if they need to share the same config.

Riverstorm

There is a bug with configs/controllers? I was looking to attempt a ROMs consolidation in Arcade as I have AdvMAME, lr-mame2003, FBA and lr-imame4all. I don't see a Wiki on Arcade. Do you have to associate each ROM to an emulator or is there one default and then you associate the rest?

dankcushions

@Riverstorm

There is a bug with configs/controllers?

it's debatable. i guess if you wanted to do different things with your retroarch.cfg for lr-mame2010 and lr-fba-next (say), but i've never needed to edit those. might be worth raising if someone has a use-case for using different ones.

I don't see a Wiki on Arcade. Do you have to associate each ROM to an emulator or is there one default and then you associate the rest?

https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/MAME#arcade

there is a default one.

caver01

@dankcushions I might be a user who falls into that use case often.

I am using arcade controls with a keyboard interface/controller
My all/retroarch.cfg is setup for console emulators.
For ARCADE I have controls remapped as appropriate for MAME defaults and I use lr-mame2003 where I can remap using mame-gui as needed.
4.a. Also in ARCADE, when I use lr-fba-next I have controls mapped per-rom for fighter games (i.e. 6-button street fighter and the like)
4.b. For NeoGeo (lr-fba-next) I have controls mapped for neo geo since it differs from fighter games.

It's not really a bug, but you only get one chance to specify default controls across all libretro emulators used in Arcade. Basically, it makes sense to pick one and standardize (MAME defaults for instance) and override per rom as needed. That's what I do. So much depends on the game, how closely I want to match the original arcade machine's layout, or if I have to get creative about how I approximate the buttons. For example, how close can I come to the layout for Defender using a stick and six buttons (two rows of 3)?

Giving defaults in Arcade per-emu might be handy, but I'd say that even for me, the effort to make that happen from a development perspective may not be worth the reward.

Riverstorm

Thanks Dank, I scrolled past that one line paragraph a few times. That might qualify for one of the shortest Wiki's. ;) I was expecting something larger like config file locations, artwork, samples for the different emulator versions like lr-mame2003, lr-imame4all, etc. I see in AdvMAME it has two paths and how that works. I'm not complaining at all as it's easy enough to figure out. I think Arcade is an excellent creation/idea.

Just to clarify the all/retroarch.cfg is used for all the Libretro cores emulators but the rest use there native config files. Does it take the Tab configuration into account for the Libretro cores such as for lr-mame2003?

Libretro cores:
lr-fba-next
lr-fba
lr-imame4all
lr-mame2003

Other MAME emulators:
advmame-0.94.0
advmame-1.4
gngeopi
mame4all
pifba

dankcushions

@caver01 said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

@dankcushions I might be a user who falls into that use case often.

I am using arcade controls with a keyboard interface/controller

My all/retroarch.cfg is setup for console emulators.

For ARCADE I have controls remapped as appropriate for MAME defaults and I use lr-mame2003 where I can remap using mame-gui as needed.

so far no conflict.

4.a. Also in ARCADE, when I use lr-fba-next I have controls mapped per-rom for fighter games (i.e. 6-button street fighter and the like)

so you either use the quick menu > options remapping, it stores it on a per-rom basis in retroarch-core-options.cfg (best), or if you use per-rom gamename.zip.cfg, still no conflict.

4.b. For NeoGeo (lr-fba-next) I have controls mapped for neo geo since it differs from fighter games.

not arcade.

so for your 2 lr- cores that share the arcade/retroarch.cfg, there's no conflict :) same as my setup, pretty much.

Giving defaults in Arcade per-emu might be handy, but I'd say that even for me, the effort to make that happen from a development perspective may not be worth the reward.

defaults aren't the issue - what we're talking about is about every lr core that you use for games in /roms/arcade, shares the same retroarch.cfg. this is actually fairly standard for retroarch - on a standalone RA install you would have one .cfg for ALL your systems unless you fiddle it. this approach can cause problems, but i don't hear any yet..

dankcushions

@Riverstorm said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

Thanks Dank, I scrolled past that one line paragraph a few times. That might qualify for one of the shortest Wiki's. ;) I was expecting something larger like config file locations

it says all that against each emulator in the sections below, and the table above. search for 'arcade' in that page

artwork, samples for the different emulator versions like lr-mame2003, lr-imame4all, etc. I see in AdvMAME it has two paths and how that works.

i've personally written https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-mame2003 and https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-fba-next which details some of that stuff for those 2 cores. wiki contributions welcome :)

Just to clarify the all/retroarch.cfg is used for all the Libretro cores emulators but the rest use there native config files. Does it take the Tab configuration into account for the Libretro cores such as for lr-mame2003?

https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-mame2003#mame-menu

Riverstorm

@dankcushions said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

I'm sorry but this is all I could find with direct reference to Arcade emulator. The rest is trial and error is the only reason for asking.

All arcade based romsets can be placed in the arcade rom folder but you will have to specify which emulator each rom will use from the Runcommand Menu

It wasn't clear where the artwork and sound samples should be located in lr-imame4all, lr-mame2003, and AdvMAME as they are different for some Libretro and standalone emulators. Where should the cheat.dat and hiscore.dat be located as they are also different between Libretro emulators pre 0.133 vs post. Do any config files need to be relocated? How about cheat.dat, hiscore.dat, history.dat, mameinfo.dat for the different emulators or does Arcade not use them at all.

That's why I added that addendum I'm not complaining. I was just asking to try to understand how Arcade works as their is some substantial information missing it seems. I'm in no hurry if ever it gets changed/updated so I thought my next best option is to ask on the forums so others can utilize the information also and I suppose an eventual Wiki update would be a natural progression.

I think you write a great Wiki that's well thought out and easy to follow and learn from. I just didn't understand several aspects of how Arcade works.

I guess I am still uncertain if the per emulator retroarch.cfg overrides the global or you only get one config (the global) for all ROMs/emulators used in Arcade or does Arcade change that behavior?

dankcushions

@Riverstorm

I'm sorry but this is all I could find with direct reference to Arcade emulator. The rest is trial and error is the only reason for asking.

there is no 'arcade emulator', though. the arcade folder is just a way of grouping your FBA and MAME roms because conceptually they're they same thing (arcade games), so some don't like 2 arbitrary folders. that's why in the wiki every mention of an /opt/retropie/config/mame-etc folder location in the FBA and MAME wiki pages also says "or /arcade/..." or something like that, to cover people who are running these systems via the arcade folder.

It wasn't clear where the artwork and sound samples should be located in lr-imame4all, lr-mame2003, and AdvMAME as they are different for some Libretro and standalone emulators. Where should the cheat.dat and hiscore.dat be located

i've given you the documentation for lr-fba-next and 2003 - it gives you the destinations for that stuff. if it doesn't mention any differences for /arcade/ users then there are none in the stuff those pages deal with

advmame/mame4all - no one has documented that stuff for them anywhere as far as i know, in the arcade context or otherwise. contributions welcome! i don't care about these, but i've read endless stuff about advmame that hopefully someone will create documentation for rather than the forum :)

as they are also different between Libretro emulators pre 0.133 vs post.

??? 0.133 what?

I think you write a great Wiki that's well thought out and easy to follow and learn from. I just didn't understand several aspects of how Arcade works.

cheers :) hopefully this clarifies.

caver01

@dankcushions said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

so you either use the quick menu > options remapping, it stores it on a per-rom basis in retroarch-core-options.cfg (best), or if you use per-rom gamename.zip.cfg, still no conflict.

I am curious about your "best" option above. I use the second approach--defining gamename.zip.cfg files for each ROM. I guess I like the visibility of the individual config files, but I am curious how it rolls them into a retroarch-core-options.cfg.

4.b. For NeoGeo (lr-fba-next) I have controls mapped for neo geo since it differs from fighter games.

not arcade.

Actually, I should have been clearer. My NeoGeo games ARE inside Arcade. So, titles like the mslug series--these are inside Arcade, and I launch them with lr-fba-next using runcommand. So, I have two "flavors" of games that I launch with the fba core and they don't have compatible control maps. And since I can only have one arcade/retroarch.cfg, I need to decide if I want that config to be MAME, FBA fighter, or FBA NeoGeo. It's not too bad. The only difference with separate emu folders (instead of arcade) is that I could rely on one FBA default retroarch.cfg and I could get away with fewer per-rom configs.

It puts a tiny bit more burden on me to configure what I want per-rom, but sometimes I am messing with rotation or aspect ratio too, so I end up with a per-rom config file for that anyway.

dankcushions

@dankcushions

i've given you the documentation for lr-fba-next and 2003 - it gives you the destinations for that stuff. if it doesn't mention any differences for /arcade/ users then there are none in the stuff those pages deal with

actually, i have to correct myself here! there were a few missing, so i've updated https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-mame2003 - sorry!

dankcushions

@caver01

I am curious about your "best" option above. I use the second approach--defining gamename.zip.cfg files for each ROM. I guess I like the visibility of the individual config files,

so you reconfigure what retropad A etc are depending on the game? doesn't this mess up your hotkey combos?

but I am curious how it rolls them into a retroarch-core-options.cfg.

https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-fba-next#button-rebinding
from memory they're added to the file as fba-gamename-fierce-punch = "RetropadA" etc, but i'd have to check

Actually, I should have been clearer. My NeoGeo games ARE inside Arcade. So, titles like the mslug series--these are inside Arcade, and I launch them with lr-fba-next using runcommand. So, I have two "flavors" of games that I launch with the fba core and they don't have compatible control maps. And since I can only have one arcade/retroarch.cfg, I need to decide if I want that config to be MAME, FBA fighter, or FBA NeoGeo. It's not too bad. The only difference with separate emu folders (instead of arcade) is that I could rely on one FBA default retroarch.cfg and I could get away with fewer per-rom configs.

that makes sense. seems like something that could be fixed if it was logged, but i dunno.

Riverstorm

@dankcushions said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

there is no 'arcade emulator'

Wow, Dank I thought about it but didn't think you would start splitting hairs. I guess I didn't think you would resort to it but I guess it takes all kinds. It's really not funny because you throw a smiley face up.

if it doesn't mention any differences for /arcade/ users then there are none

Ok, so the lack of Arcade FOLDER documentation implies.

??? 0.133 what?

Serious? If you don't know by looking at it it doesn't matter. It's comments like these that clearly show you don't know several things about MAME that you try to imply that you do know.

It was the same on how ROMs work. You just didn't know as well as you implied. It also shows your lack of programming I would guess you know very little because programmers don't generalize on programming issues/problems like you do, they are clear and concise. You can't buffalo a programmer because they will call your bluff every time. They think entirely different, so detailed, so articulate, so logical.

i don't care about these

Clearly.

Sorry Dank, the only thing I can appreciate is your Avatar probably implies your outlook and how others are treated. I would appreciate if you didn't even reply to any of my posts as I find no value in your replies and I waste to much time defending or explaining myself just trying to get an answer from you when I clearly don't understand and still don't. I don't know what is broken and how a few things work in Arcade FOLDER STILL but I spent a good hour defending my questions and trying to word them so I may get an answer and understand how Arcade FOLDER works.

I found ONE sentence pertaining to Arcade FOLDER in the documentation and none of this /arcade etc. you're speaking of. You answer what you want and skip what you deem irrelevant. Honestly I would rather just not know and never use a feature than argue with you because wow. No need to reply but alas this type of stuff is clearly your forte and you won't be able to refrain.

Cheers :) Hopefully this clarifies.

caver01

@dankcushions said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

so you reconfigure what retropad A etc are depending on the game? doesn't this mess up your hotkey combos?

I have hotkeys completely disabled in my all/retroarch.cfg file. As a consequence, I have "ESC" configured for exit, as this is a MAME default and I have a dedicated pushbutton for it on my arcade control panel.

The hotkey combo-thing might be fine on a joypad controller, but it was driving me nuts on my arcade panel--it was just way too easy to drop coins with one button and pressing start would inadvertently exit the game! Imagine trying to re-spawn in the middle of a Metal Slug run, frantically dropping coins and OOPS! you pressed P1 start before letting go of the coin button = screwed. There were other examples, so I just disabled hotkeys altogether.

As for fixing the arcade folder config, it's really not broken--it's just a design choice that comes with a limitation--that libretro cores "share" a single retroarch.cfg file for launching ROMs in the corresponding arcade folder.

I suppose someone is going to run into this problem one day:

Build out a working mame-libretro configuration with a customized retroarch.cfg.
Build out a working fba configuration with a customized retroarch.cfg.
Attempt to combine mame and fba roms into a single working arcade folder.
Run into a retroarch.cfg file conflict, as you can't put both configs into the arcade folder (assuming they are different).

Seems like the best way to correct for this is either:

Use per-rom workarounds like I do
Force any libretro core to use the retroarch.cfg located back in their respective configs folders instead of the one in the arcade folder.

I don't know what kind of effort that would entail. Maybe it's easy, or maybe it's a nightmare. not knowing how the cascading configs are setup, I could understand how this might be way more trouble to "change" than it's worth.

Riverstorm

@caver01 said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

Thanks Caver for explaining the issue that really helps. I see the value of a spreadsheet when jumping into Arcade.

I ran into a similar issue when switching to Libretro cores with a joystick. In non-Libretro cores I was using select+start to exit the emulator/Tab Screen The option is "UI Cancel".

When you're in the Tab screen it backs you out one screen at a time when drilled down. So if you press Tab | Input (General) you could make changes and then press start+select to back out to the main menu to access other options, then press it again to exit Tab back to the game, then a 3rd time to exit the game altogether.

If you have "Config Menu" (Tab) configured without "UI Cancel" configured. You can drill down to say Input (General) but you can never get back to the main screen. It will only open and close the last menu drilled down to when you press select+start and not start at the Main Menu if that makes sense.

Sticking with the joystick explanation and lr-mame2003 the "Config Menu" is the "RetroPad1 Trigger R" which takes away from in game button 6 I think it is. If you're playing a game that requires button 6 you're going to pull up the Tab menu when you actually meant to fire, jump or something else in game.

So you have to resort to using <NOT>. For the "Config Menu" (Tab) it would be RetroPad1 R & RetroPad1 L. Then button 6 would be "RetroPad1 Trigger R" not "RetroPad1 Trigger L". Or that's the best I could come up with for now to stop overlap of buttons.

If you don't resort to using <NOT> you lose actual game buttons since there's no MAME hotkey and you also need to keep the Retroarch hotkeys in mind too.

Before (non-Libretro cores) I was using the left and right analog sticks. Like to pause was "select+right analog down" but analog sticks don't work in lr-mame2003 in the Tab menu so you're pretty limited.

caver01

@Riverstorm I'm not sure I followed all of that, but I guess we gotta do what works, and right now, even with the limitations on a single retroarch.cfg in the Arcade folder, I can get what I need using per-rom configs, but I wish the libretro emulators would simply leverage their respective config folders instead.

Riverstorm

@caver01 said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

@Riverstorm I'm not sure I followed all of that, but I guess we gotta do what works, and right now, even with the limitations on a single retroarch.cfg in the Arcade folder, I can get what I need using per-rom configs, but I wish the libretro emulators would simply leverage their respective config folders instead.

Sorry Caver01, you have a natural way of writing that breaks it down and explains things nicely. :)

I can't quite explain it until I started using MAME Libretro cores "Tab" function keys. Basically the MAME keys trying to leverage pause, FPS and few other functions that aren't Retroarch hotkeys. It's also handy to access the Tab function via controller for tweaks without altering button 1, 2, 3, etc. I was trying to explain it but it didn't quite work.

I agree and I can get by fine as it is. I could use the Quick Save and Load vs. MAME pause on a controller and the IPAC I think should work fine with P1+Down with it's hotkey pause function.

dankcushions

@Riverstorm said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

@dankcushions said in lr-mame-2003 will forget controller if started from arcade menu:

there is no 'arcade emulator'

Wow, Dank I thought about it but didn't think you would start splitting hairs. I guess I didn't think you would resort to it but I guess it takes all kinds. It's really not funny because you throw a smiley face up.

if it doesn't mention any differences for /arcade/ users then there are none

Ok, so the lack of Arcade FOLDER documentation implies.

??? 0.133 what?

Serious? If you don't know by looking at it it doesn't matter. It's comments like these that clearly show you don't know several things about MAME that you try to imply that you do know.

It was the same on how ROMs work. You just didn't know as well as you implied. It also shows your lack of programming I would guess you know very little because programmers don't generalize on programming issues/problems like you do, they are clear and concise. You can't buffalo a programmer because they will call your bluff every time. They think entirely different, so detailed, so articulate, so logical.

i don't care about these

Clearly.

Sorry Dank, the only thing I can appreciate is your Avatar probably implies your outlook and how others are treated. I would appreciate if you didn't even reply to any of my posts as I find no value in your replies and I waste to much time defending or explaining myself just trying to get an answer from you when I clearly don't understand and still don't. I don't know what is broken and how a few things work in Arcade FOLDER STILL but I spent a good hour defending my questions and trying to word them so I may get an answer and understand how Arcade FOLDER works.

I found ONE sentence pertaining to Arcade FOLDER in the documentation and none of this /arcade etc. you're speaking of. You answer what you want and skip what you deem irrelevant. Honestly I would rather just not know and never use a feature than argue with you because wow. No need to reply but alas this type of stuff is clearly your forte and you won't be able to refrain.

Cheers :) Hopefully this clarifies.

this is the second time you have bizarrely taken a post trying to help you as some sort of insult, and following up with a load of your own. i'm so confused as to how you can not understand my answers:

the configs for the collected libretro systems usable by the arcade folder are kept in /opt/retropie/configs/arcade/ folder, which is covered in the table in the wiki (https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/MAME) and the various mame-specific file locations are only documented by the two docs i've written (https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-mame2003 & https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-fba-next). we need someone who uses advmame, etc, to document the rest.

that is all i've ever said. we are all here to help each other and have fun working on this cool project! if you cannot control your behaviour on this forum, you will no longer have the privilege to use it.