2-joystick games (config)

Drdave79

Arcade games like Crazy Climber, Smash TV, Robotron 2064 use both joysticks for 1-player games. I'm trying to copy that config for other 2-joystick games like Karate Champ and Battlezone. I've tried looking at the Retroarch controller settings for the previously named games, then looking at the following games and I see no difference.

What am I missing here? Thank you.

mitu

Which emulator are you using ? Did you configure the games's input in RetroArch's Controls menu ?

Drdave79

@mitu Mame 2003 & Mame 2010. I've looked at the RetroArch Controls, but don't see any difference between the games. There's got to be a setting that tells the system to use both joysticks for player 1. I just don't see it.

I was hoping someone else could look at their settings for the games I listed above to see if they notice anything different.

IanDaemon

@drdave79 I play Robotron 2084 and Cloak & Dagger often. There's a setting in Retroarch for "Map second joystick to buttons" or something similar.

Thorr69

@iandaemon There's also Dual Stick mode which uses the player two stick as a second stick for player 1. I use that for krull and robotron.

Drdave79

@thorr69 I must be blind because I just don't see this option. Could I trouble you to please tell me where it is?

dankcushions

@drdave79
for mame2003, it's set here:
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/lr-mame2003/#dual-stick-games - but's on by default and clearly on for you as robotron works.

see https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-libretro/commit/3c2bcc8fc3c53c53a8130e6f7c4ccdba42fb79ec

not sure about your games, but looking at their drivers i don't see what's different about smashtv and robotron (which works)...

https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-libretro/blob/60bdaf5650b73a55553130b5e896ea1c0f1c6714/src/drivers/midyunit.c#L249-L252

vs

https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-libretro/blob/60bdaf5650b73a55553130b5e896ea1c0f1c6714/src/drivers/williams.c#L831-L836

something for the maintainers of this core to look into, perhaps? FAO @mahoneyt944

Drdave79

@dankcushions Thank you so much for this information. Very helpful. Only one problem.

Using Mame 2003, "Map right analog stick as buttons" is turned on, but that doesn't do anything. Turning Dual joystick mode (!netplay)" to on DOES fix the problem. However, it saves this as a default setting for all Mame 2003 games and the joystick no longer works for other games.

So, best I can tell is that turning this on for games like Karate Champ work. But you have to turn it off when you're done.

Unless you have another solution to save this setting for JUST this one game?

mitu

@drdave79 said in 2-joystick games (config):

Unless you have another solution to save this setting for JUST this one game?

Use the 'Save Game Options' menu to save the settings just for that particular game.

Drdave79

@mitu I'm sorry for being difficult (and I really appreciate your help), but I'm just not seeing a menu called "Save Game Options." Plus, "Save Configuration on Exit" is turned off, yet when I exit the game it's still saving the configuration globally because it's affecting other games. Auto Save State is also turned off.

mitu

@drdave79 At the top of the Options list, there's a Create Game Options file menu, which will save the current options for the current game. After saving the options for the current game, set back the Dual Joystick setting so it doesn't affect all games.

Drdave79

@mitu Doesn't work. When I do that, it says "Core options file created successfully." It's changing the core of the emulator, not just that one game.

dankcushions

@drdave79 it's explained here: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Core-Options/#setting-core-options-per-rom

if you've already saved the option globally, you'll have to revert that first, exit so it saves normally, and THEN save the per-game way as detailed in my link.

if it still doesn't work somehow, then the info above shows you were the files are stored and how they are named, so you could manually create it, I suppose.

IanDaemon

@drdave79 There should be two options:

Save core preset
Save game preset

Drdave79

@dankcushions It's just not working. Maybe I'm missing some small detail. Here's my process:

Launch Karate Champ
Bring up Retroarch menu and select Options
Select Dual Stick Mode to On
Click Save Game Options File
Return to Game. (both controllers work)
Reopen Retroarch menu
Select Dual Stick Mode to Off
Exit Karate Champ
Launch Joust
Joystick 2 doesn't work. If I go back into Karate Champ and turn Dual Stick Mode to off and exit, Joust works.

I'm having zero success in making changes to Karate Champ that doesn't affect everything else.

p.s. @IanDaemon there are no options. Hitting Save Game Options File just saves without a choice.

dankcushions

@drdave79 please upload your global and core opts, and a verbose log

IanDaemon

Hmm, does https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Core-Options/ give you any direction?

dankcushions

actually, i don't think this is right

Click Save Game Options File

Return to Game. (both controllers work)

Reopen Retroarch menu

Select Dual Stick Mode to Off

if you change the option AFTER you have saved a game options file, it will treat that game options file as the current options and file, and save to it again. you need to exit the emulator entirely, reopen it with joust, and then set your desired global option.

mahoneyt944

@dankcushions @Drdave79

This is why the mame menu exists, I would use the default core options then you can simply map under input general to your specific layout:

Player 1 right side dual stick
P1 right/up
P1 right/down
P1 right/left
P1 right/right

Player 1 left side dual stick
P1 left/up
P1 left/down
P1 left/left
P1 left right

Then if you need to specifically change a per game config, use input this game.

Joust doesn't use the dual stick inputs. It uses:

P1 left
P1 right

dankcushions

@mahoneyt944 said in 2-joystick games (config):

@dankcushions @Drdave79

This is why the mame menu exists, you can simply map under input general to your specific layout:

true but the core option was designed to avoid using the MAME menus. my original goal with the libretro core was to get as much into the libretro system as possible. it does work in with regard to dual sticks, just an issue with the users configuration approach I believe (see my previous post). it would be even more elegant if it simply bound to the retropad sticks by default - not sure why i didn't do it that way in the first place but maybe there was a reason...

mind you, at this point just do it via the mame menus lol :P

Joust doesn't use the dual stick inputs. It uses:

P1 left
P1 right

yes, we know - this is the game OP is using to test the global setting (ie, NOT dual stick) is still working correctly.