Controller Config Help

Doran754

Hi all, I'm having some issues with the controllers I keep getting. First of all I bought a bluetooth snes controller but the input lag was horrendous. I have an old snes, so I bought a usb to snes adapter and tried both my old controllers. Both worked intermittently (down and right on the d pad dont work) so I've just bought a new controller and it's the same type of issues, some buttons will allow me to register on the input configuration but others wont. I have a PS4 and xbox 360 controller, are they any better or easier to make work, this is getting quite expensive now. Any help would be appreciated thanks.

mitu

@Doran754 Please add more info about your system, as requested in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first.
What SNES adapter are you using ? I have a similar one with original SNES controllers and I don't have any issues.

Doran754

This post is deleted!

Doran754

@mitu Sorry, the power supple is correct. It's a R/Pi 3b+ Retropie is on 4.4. I'm using a pre built image flashed onto my 128gb microsd card. No USB devices connected other than a keyboard when the controller isn't usable. The emulator is emulation station I think, I'm not sure. The adpater i bought is https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HCGWRC5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Troubleshooting on 3 different controllers has made me realise it's the same issue on all 3. Down and right on the D-pad doesn't work but every other button works.

mitu

@Doran754 Looks like an adapter issue to me, not related to the image or RetroPie. You can exit Emulationtation (F4 or use the menu) and then run from the terminal

jstest /dev/input/js0

This should start a test prompt for your controller, you can press the buttons and test also the D-Pad. This works with every controller.
If the D-Pad buttons don't register, then there's your answer.

EDIT: you can exit the test program by pressing Ctrl + C.

Doran754

@mitu do you have a recommended adapter ? I have 3 snes pads now so i'd prefer to stick to the adapter route. I will try the suggestions above now thanks!

mitu

@Doran754 I'm using the Raphnet dual SNES-to-USB adapter - https://www.raphnet-tech.com/products/snes2usb_2player_adapter_v2/index.php.

Doran754

@mitu I finally got around to running the test. Not sure what the info means though. It says:

Joystick (SFC/GamePad) has 2 axes (X, Y) and 8 buttons (BtnA, BtnB, BtnC, BtnX, BtnY, BtnZ, BtnTL, BtnTR).
Testing . . . (interrupt to exit)
Axes: 0 :-32767 1 :- 32767 Buttons: 0: off 1: off 2: off 3:off 4: off 5: off 6: off 7:off

Is it telling me the buttons dont work? Sorry to keep bothering you and thanks for the help so far.

mitu

@Doran754 You need to press the buttons and see if the output changes, this way you'll know if the button pressed are detected by Linux.

Doran754

@mitu Ah I see, I thought it was going to run the test itself for some reason. Tried all 3 controllers, everything was showing up with an input except down and right on the D pad on all controllers. With it being the same issue on all 3 you think it's the adapter or something else?

mitu

@Doran754 It's the adapter. You can do the same test on a PC if you want to confirm it's not Linux that's fiddly, but I say the hardware is faulty and you should get it exchanged.

Doran754

@mitu Appreciate all the help. Unfortunately the adapter you mentioned doesn't seem available in the uk without importing and after fees it will get quite ridiculous but ill definitely replace the one I've bought already. Thanks!

mitu

@Doran754 Yes, it's not cheap. Try a Mayflash adapter - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mayflash-PC044-Dual-Controller-Adapter-Black/dp/B002IXZ5DE/ref=sr_1_1.

Doran754

@mitu Yep it was the adapter, the mayflash one arrived today and it works great with that. Still feels like theres a slight input delay but its probably just me being bad! Thanks again.

mitu

@Doran754 Don't forget to turn on the 'Game mode' on your TV, this will reduce the TV post-processing lag. You can also use the dispmanx video driver to reduce an extra frame of lag.

Doran754

@mitu Good point, just changed to game mode. Would you mind explaining dispmanx. Do I need to download/install or just move to the root of the sd?

mitu

dispmanx is a video_driver that can be used for RetroArch based emulator instead of the (default) gl driver. It can be enabled through the Configuration Editor in the advanced configuration settings for all RetroArch emulators or for certain cores (emulators).

Now, this is an 'advanced' option and IMHO should only be enabled if you really notice the emulation lag (i.e. compared to the real console). You'll not be able to use shaders and the RetroArch notification messages will not be displayed. So, if you're just starting with emulation on RetroPie, I'd say just leave this one aside for now, but keep it in mind if you really want to tune things up later.

Reducing the resolution - going from 1080p to 720p - can also reduce the work needed to be done by the emulation and it would help for more performance demanding games.

Doran754

@mitu Resolution is just set to auto or default if i recall correctly. I'll double check in a moment and change it to 720p anyway. I'll take your advice on the driver for now too.

mitu

@Doran754 You can check from the command line by running

tvservice -s

It should show you something like the lines below

pi@retropie:~ $ tvservice -s
state 0x12000a [HDMI CEA (16) RGB lim 16:9], 1920x1080 @ 60.00Hz, progressive

You can set the resolution using Raspi-Config from the RetroPie system - https://www.techcoil.com/blog/how-to-change-screen-resolution-in-raspbian-stretch-with-raspi-config/.