[Solved] DragonRise Controller axis and buttons inverted when in-game

DjGenEsIs

please run RetroArch from Emulationstation, as it's run in a standard image, not from the commandline

@mitu OK now I see where did the confusion stem from.

Can you please direct me to the documentation that explains how to do that? On this thread the user @dudleydes states:
<< Verbose logging is only available as an option in the runcommand menu for RetroArch emulators.>>
The runcommand wiki does not mention anything.

I'll read the retroarch config guide you gave me but is this to validate my configuration or to manipulate the config options to change the key sequence in-game?

mitu

@DjGenEsIs said in DragonRise Controller axis and buttons inverted when in-game:

The runcommand wiki does not mention anything.

It's literally the 2nd picture from the page - where the Runcommand launch options are shown.

I'll read the retroarch config guide you gave me but is this to validate my configuration or to manipulate the config options to change the key sequence in-game?

No, it's to understand how the RA configuration files are processed by Runcommand in RetroPie - where the main configuration file is located (i.e. not in ~/.config/retroarch), where you can set per-system RA options or even per-game configuration options. So you'd know in which configuration file to look and modify if you need to change the defaults.
Also, the page explains that the way to change the input configuration mappings is through Core input remapping and not by using 'Save Configuration' or 'Save Configuration on Exit'.

DjGenEsIs

@mitu thanks for the help. I'll do the work, post back and clean the thread if I solve the problem myself.

mitu

@DjGenEsIs There's no need to clean-up anything. Try working with the RetroPie's configuration conventions and see if you can find a solution.

DjGenEsIs

OK I solved the issue! For future reference and to maybe help someone else, I'll share troubleshooting info:

Intro

Note that This page explains how the configuration works for RetroArch. I'll sum the parts that interest you in a TL;DR version

RetroArch

RetroArch is the system that sits between the emulator and your pi and facilitates audio video an gaming inputs.

RetroArch and controlls

When RetroArch loads, it builds a "virtual controller" which maps your actual controller's buttons to the virtual ones. The virtual controller then passes the inputs on the emulator.
There are 3 main ways to configure the virtual controller buttons.
1) Automatic configuration from EmulatioStation. This is the first menu you see when you load RetroPie for the first time. So this is saved here:
/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/autoconfig
The contents of my autoconfig were:


      pi@retropie:~ $ ls -al /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/autoconfig
      total 16
     drwxr-xr-x  2 pi pi 4096 Jan 23 01:42 .
     drwxr-xr-x 16 pi pi 4096 Jan 23 14:33 ..
     -rw-r--r--  1 pi pi  477 Jan 23 01:42 DragonRise Inc.   Generic   USB  Joystick  .cfg
    -rw-r--r--  1 pi pi  551 Jan 23 00:50 DragonRise Inc.   Generic   USB  Joystick  .cfg.bak

And the contents of my configuration in DragonRise Inc. Generic USB Joystick .cfg:

   input_device = "DragonRise Inc.   Generic   USB  Joystick  "
   input_driver = "udev"
   input_start_btn = "6"
   input_exit_emulator_btn = "6"
   input_down_axis = "-0"
   input_right_axis = "+1"
   input_state_slot_increase_axis = "+1"
    input_select_btn = "7"
   input_left_axis = "-1"
   input_state_slot_decrease_axis = "-1"
   input_up_axis = "+0"
   input_a_btn = "0"
   input_b_btn = "1"
   input_reset_btn = "1"
   input_enable_hotkey_btn = "5"
   input_x_btn = "2"
   input_menu_toggle_btn = "2"
   input_y_btn = "3"

Notice, the values below:

input_up_axis = "+0"
input_down_axis = "-0"
input_right_axis = "+1"
input_left_axis = "-1"
When I configured my controller through the GUI and press up/down on my joystick, the values I see on the screen correspond to the "+0" "+1" e.t.c. So the problem was not there.

2) Hardcoded Configurations With RetroArch you can configure the mapping of Physical Controller <==> Virtual Controller buttons &joystick axis per emulator.
This type further includes to options. Either to change the mappings for a) all emulators, or change the mappings b) per emulator.
To achieve a) a global configuration file needs to be edited. This sits in: /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg
My retroarch.cfg file is too big so there's no point in attaching it here. However, the specific section which references the controllers is this:

# Input device buttons.
# Figure these out by using RetroArch-Phoenix or retroarch-joyconfig.
# You can use joypad hats with hnxx, where n is the hat, and xx is a string representing direction.
# E.g. "h0up"
# input_player1_a_btn =
# input_player1_b_btn =
# input_player1_y_btn =
# input_player1_x_btn =
# input_player1_start_btn =
# input_player1_select_btn =
# input_player1_l_btn =
# input_player1_r_btn =
# input_player1_left_btn =
# input_player1_right_btn =
# input_player1_up_btn =
# input_player1_down_btn =
# input_player1_l2_btn =
# input_player1_r2_btn =
# input_player1_l3_btn =
# input_player1_r3_btn =

Notice that all the lines have a # in the front, which means they are commented out. This also means that this configuration file does not contain any controller info that would cause the buttons switching during game play.

To achieve b) a configuration file for each emulator needs to be edited, and it should reside in its respective folder in the retropie emulator system folder: /opt/retropie/configs/XXXXXXX/retroarch.cfg where XXXXXX is the name of the emulator.
In my system these are the contents of /configs folder:

pi@retropie:~ $ ls -al /opt/retropie/configs/
total 140
drwxr-xr-x 35 pi   pi   4096 Jan 20 18:43 .
drwxr-xr-x  7 root root 4096 Mar 13  2018 ..
drwxr-xr-x  4 pi   pi   4096 Jan 24 09:48 all
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:03 amstradcpc
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:29 arcade
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:08 atari2600
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:02 atari5200
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:07 atari7800
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:02 atari800
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:04 atarilynx
drwxr-xr-x  3 pi   pi   4096 Jan 20 18:43 dreamcast
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 24 08:12 fba
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:06 fds
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:04 gamegear
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:05 gb
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:08 gba
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:05 gbc
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:05 mame-libretro
drwxr-xr-x  9 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:32 mame-mame4all
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:06 mastersystem
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:06 megadrive
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:42 n64
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:03 neogeo
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:07 nes
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:02 ngp
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:02 ngpc
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:03 pcengine
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Mar 13  2018 ports
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:06 psx
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:06 sega32x
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:06 segacd
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:04 sg-1000
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:07 snes
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:08 vectrex
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi   pi   4096 Jan 23 01:04 zxspectrum

Since I've been playing MAME games and using an fba emulator I checked the contents of the /fba folder:

 pi@retropie:~ $ ls -al /opt/retropie/configs/fba
total 32
drwxr-xr-x  2 pi pi 4096 Jan 24 08:12 .
drwxr-xr-x 35 pi pi 4096 Jan 20 18:43 ..
-rw-r--r--  1 pi pi  195 Apr 14  2018 capex.cfg
-rw-r--r--  1 pi pi  441 Jan 23 19:50 content_history.lpl
-rw-r--r--  1 pi pi  454 Jan 24 08:06 emulators.cfg
-rw-r--r--  1 pi pi  918 Jan 24 08:12 fba2x.cfg
-rw-------  1 pi pi  221 Apr 14  2018 retroarch.cfg

Sure enough there is something in the /fba2x.cfg file

[Keyboard]
# Get codes from /usr/include/SDL/SDL_keysym.h
A_1=306
B_1=32
X_1=308
Y_1=304
L_1=122
R_1=120
START_1=13
SELECT_1=9
LEFT_1=276
RIGHT_1=275
UP_1=273
DOWN_1=274
QUIT=27
#player 2 keyboard controls, disabled by default
A_2=999
B_2=999
X_2=999
Y_2=999
L_2=999
R_2=999
START_2=999
SELECT_2=999
LEFT_2=999
RIGHT_2=999
UP_2=999
DOWN_2=999

[Joystick]
# Get codes from "jstest /dev/input/js0"
# from package "joystick"
# Defaults to XBOX 360 Controller
A_1=1
B_1=0
X_1=2
Y_1=3
L_1=4
R_1=5
START_1=7
SELECT_1=6
#Joystick axis
JA_LR_1=0
JA_UD_1=1
#player 2 button configuration
A_2=1
B_2=0
X_2=2
Y_2=3
L_2=4
R_2=5
START_2=7
SELECT_2=6
#Joystick axis
JA_LR_2=0
JA_UD_2=1
#player 3 button configuration
A_3=1
B_3=0
X_3=2
Y_3=3
L_3=4
R_3=5
START_3=7
SELECT_3=6
#Joystick axis
JA_LR_3=0
JA_UD_3=1
#player 4 button configuration
A_4=1
B_4=0
X_4=2
Y_4=3
L_4=4
R_4=5
START_4=7
SELECT_4=6
#Joystick axis
JA_LR_4=0
JA_UD_4=1

[Graphics]
DisplaySmoothStretch=1
# Display Effect: 0 none, 1 scanlines
DisplayEffect=0
DisplayBorder=0
MaintainAspectRatio=1
DisplayAutoRotate=0

[Sound]

Notice the section below:

[Joystick]
# Get codes from "jstest /dev/input/js0"
# from package "joystick"
# Defaults to XBOX 360 Controller
A_1=1
B_1=0
X_1=2
Y_1=3
L_1=4
R_1=5
START_1=7
SELECT_1=6
#Joystick axis
JA_LR=0
JA_UD=1

The #Joystick axis section contains JA_LR_1=0 and JA_UD_1=1 where left and right, according to my the contents of my configuration in DragonRise Inc. Generic USB Joystick .cfg (see above) UP/DOWN should have been '0' and LEFT/RIGHT should have been '1'.

Changing these values and correcting the appropriate button maps, solved my problem :)

3) The third retroarch controller configuration method is to change the emulator's input mapping itself instead of changing the mapping on RetroPie or RetroArch configuration. For this to work, the emulator itself needs to support this method and it can be applied on the Emulation Station GUI.
The example below is a page extract from the RetroArch config page

Start a game of the system you want to remap the buttons
list itemInvoke RGUI (Select+X with player 1)
Go to Quick Menu and then Controls
Configure the buttons the way you want
Select Save Core Remap File
OR, if you want to save this remapping for the current game only, select Save Game Remap File

Thanks @mitu for pointing me in the right direction !

mitu

@DjGenEsIs Well, glad you got it sorted out. I bet it was easier than modifying any config files.
Btw, regarding your post about the fba emulator - the fba2x.cfg I think it's only used for pifba, which is not a RetroArch emulator and only recommended for low perf systems (Pi Zero/1).

DjGenEsIs

@mitu I actually ended up modifying the fba2x.cfg config in /opt/retropie/configs/fba

With regards to pifba I don't know if it came with the image, or it was automatically installed when I updated the RPI with sudo apt-get upgrade or by updating the retropie-setup script and then reinstalling it. Apart from pifba I also have lr-fbalpha and another whose name I can't remember, but my ROM only loads with pifba.

Which core in your experience works best ?

mitu

@DjGenEsIs said in DragonRise Controller axis and buttons inverted when in-game:

Which core in your experience works best ?

Undoubtedly, lr-fbalpha. As mentioned in the arcade quick start docs, get the proper ROM set for your emulator, not the other way around.

DjGenEsIs

[REPLY MOVED AS A NEW TOPIC]
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/20984/on-mame-emulator-popularity

DjGenEsIs

@DjGenEsIs said in DragonRise Controller axis and buttons inverted when in-game:

Somehow I feel this needs to be a separate post :S

DjGenEsIs

@mitu can you please mark this post as [Solved] ?

mitu

I think you can do it yourself - just edit your initial post.