Setting up Ipac2 and USB controllers for 4 player games

mitu

The IPAC doesn't appear in the gamepad/joystick selection because it's not a gamepad, but a keyboard. Normally, you'd leave empty/unset the places for the players you want to go to the IPAC in the selection tool and set the gamepads for the systems where you want them to be P1/2 or P3/4.
Does the IPAC work with RetroArch, without any gamepad plugged in ?

larrygoodstuff

@mitu

Hi mitu, thanks for the reply.

OK that's why I can't see the Ipac as an option to select as I was expecting. I guess because I'm actually trying to set up on a per ROM rather than system at the moment i.e. NBA Jam in Arcade using lr-mame2003, it's a little different.

I can assign the keyboard to multiple players. When I go into the RA menu (either TAB or start + x) I can assign keys to buttons, but it adds them as "Up or retropad1 Up", "x or retropad1 Y" etc. What I want to do is map "up" to player one, then map "retropad1 up" to player three.

mitu

You're using the MAME internal menu to map, to clear a mapping you can use Enter then ESC ESC, then you can add a single mapping.
However, this might pose a challenge since ESC is mapped by default to Exit Retroarch, so you'll have to change that shortcut by editing the global retroarch.cfg file in /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg and setting input_exit_emulator = "nul".

I don't have an IPAC, but I think in order to configure it you'll need to modify the configuration for RetroArch and map the RetroPad's buttons to keyboard inputs, for both P1 and P2. Start RetroArch from the RetroPie's system and go to Settings -> Input -> User 1 Binds. You can map your P1 and P2 buttons from there. After you finish the configuration, go to the main menu and then use the Configuration File -> Save Current Configuration menu. This would make the P1/P2 configuration for the IPAC stick.

If you configured your gamepads through Emulationstation, they'll also be configured for RetroArch, so when you start a game you only have to instruct RetroArch for which Player they're used - and for this the joystick selection tool is useful. You can also use the Configuration Editor to set the gamepads as P3/P4 for certain systems (but not per game).

Re-mapping buttons/keys for individual games is achievable through RetroArch's input re-mapping features - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/#core-input-remapping - just in case you'd like to change some buttons around for some games.

larrygoodstuff

@mitu said in Setting up Ipac2 and USB controllers for 4 player games:

You're using the MAME internal menu to map, to clear a mapping you can use Enter then ESC ESC, then you can add a single mapping.
However, this might pose a challenge since ESC is mapped by default to Exit Retroarch, so you'll have to change that shortcut by editing the global retroarch.cfg file in /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg and setting input_exit_emulator = "nul".

I tried this and it still says "UP Retropad1 Up" It doesn't let me select just "UP" which would be the keyboard. Up and Retropad1 Up makes both controllers works.

I don't have an IPAC, but I think in order to configure it you'll need to modify the configuration for RetroArch and map the RetroPad's buttons to keyboard inputs, for both P1 and P2. Start RetroArch from the RetroPie's system and go to Settings -> Input -> User 1 Binds. You can map your P1 and P2 buttons from there. After you finish the configuration, go to the main menu and then use the Configuration File -> Save Current Configuration menu. This would make the P1/P2 configuration for the IPAC stick.

OK when I do this, should i still select the device type as "Retropad"? Or should I make it "None"? I ask this because I think technically the Ipac isn't Retropad.

mitu

@larrygoodstuff said in Setting up Ipac2 and USB controllers for 4 player games:

I tried this and it still says "UP Retropad1 Up" It doesn't let me select just "UP" which would be the keyboard.

The dialog doesn't select anything, it just reads what the key you are pressing and assigns it. Your Up probably registers as RetroPad1 Up since RetroArch assigns the Keyboard to RetroPad1.

OK when I do this, should i still select the device type as "Retropad"? Or should I make it "None"? I ask this because I think technically the Ipac isn't Retropad.

The Retropad is the internal abstraction for RetroArch, your keyboard can also act as a RetroPad. The device type can be:

# Joypad (RetroPad): 1
# Mouse: 2
# Keyboard: 3
# Generic Lightgun: 4
# Joypad w/ Analog (RetroPad + Analog sticks): 5
# Multitap (SNES specific): 257
# Super Scope (SNES specific): 260
# Justifier (SNES specific): 516
# Justifiers (SNES specific): 772

but in your case RetroPad is the correct type.

Halvhjearne

perhaps the problem is that the ipac2 is mapped as a controller and is therefore not reconized as a keyboard anymore, maybe you need to delete the keyboard mapping for it to work again?

also, i think xarcade2jstick works with ipac2, i see reference to ultimarc in the code.

larrygoodstuff

@mitu said in Setting up Ipac2 and USB controllers for 4 player games:

The dialog doesn't select anything, it just reads what the key you are pressing and assigns it. Your Up probably registers as RetroPad1 Up since RetroArch assigns the Keyboard to RetroPad1.

OK that makes sense.

The Retropad is the internal abstraction for RetroArch, your keyboard can also act as a RetroPad. The device type can be:
# Joypad (RetroPad): 1
# Mouse: 2
# Keyboard: 3
# Generic Lightgun: 4
# Joypad w/ Analog (RetroPad + Analog sticks): 5
# Multitap (SNES specific): 257
# Super Scope (SNES specific): 260
# Justifier (SNES specific): 516
# Justifiers (SNES specific): 772
but in your case RetroPad is the correct type.

I would have thought i would want it to be keybpoard?

I edited the binds and it changed the buttons in other games as well (obviously). Which file does this edit? I have a backup and would like to reinstate it and start from scratch.

By the way thanks for your help so far. I see you all over the forums, you're doing great work.

larrygoodstuff

@Halvhjearne said in Setting up Ipac2 and USB controllers for 4 player games:

perhaps the problem is that the ipac2 is mapped as a controller and is therefore not reconized as a keyboard anymore, maybe you need to delete the keyboard mapping for it to work again?

also, i think xarcade2jstick works with ipac2, i see reference to ultimarc in the code.

I was thinking of doing this. Just painful to start again!

larrygoodstuff

After doing a little more reading, would it have been better to have single Xin-Mo's or something equivalent instead?

mitu

@larrygoodstuff said in Setting up Ipac2 and USB controllers for 4 player games:

I edited the binds and it changed the buttons in other games as well (obviously). Which file does this edit? I have a backup and would like to reinstate it and start from scratch.

If you used the RetroArch entry from the RetroPie system, the file you edited and saved is at /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg (also accessible via file shares at \\retropie\configs\all, if you're editing the files from a PC).
There is a default file you can use to go back to the beginning - retroarch.cfg.rp-dist - by overwriting the retroarch.cfg in that location with the -dist file.

If you used the game/core remapping, then the remap file is saved in /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/config/remap.

larrygoodstuff

@mitu

Thanks, but I've ordered some zero delays. I think that will work for me better.