DOSBOX exit key mapping on gamepad issue

jamrom2

Hi. Looks like you're using straight DosBox. First you need to change over to the newer versions, which might require you to update your build.

"Staging" is the best performing non-libretro based version. It's a lot like basic DosBox but has been optimized to run in the RetroPie environment. For the higher end, more modern DOS games it's the best choice as the performance is really good. Easy to co figure as well with a very small amount of info in the .cfg file, unlike DosBox that needs a .sh file for each game.

"Pure" which is a Libretro based version of DosBox and awards you with the menus, shaders and overlay options like any other lr-based emulator. Performance not as good for higher end DOS games because the shaders and all that drag down the Pi.

So start there before you even bother trying to fix the controller issue. Once you have either of them running, it's a fairly easy fix to config.... especially the lr-dosbox-pure.

mitu

The mapper configuration seems ok, I tested with my gamepad (different buttons) and I'm able to use a similar mapper configuration to exit by pressing Select + Start.

Are you sure there aren't other conflicting bindings in the mapper file ?

Btw, your start-up script can be replaced with a im2.conf file containing:

mapperfile  = /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/pc/im2.map
joysticktype  = auto

[autoexec]
mount c /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/pcgames
c:
cd im2
im_ega.exe
exit

and it will have the same effect.

mbernier

@jamrom2

Thanks for this ! I never heard of staging, but i just installed it and will deep dive into it soon. Now trying to customize mapper-sdl2-0.77.1.map that seems to be the file called by dosbox-staging.com for key mapping :-)

thanks !

mbernier

Thanks for your reply.

my complete map file is here: [https://pastebin.com/921LG5dn](link url)

Maybe you will see something conflicting that i am not aware of...

I also realize that a LOT of other key binding no longer works... Especially for games using both stick on my controller.

As an example, here is my map file for duke 3d to have both stick working:

key_up = joystick 0 up = "stick_0 axis 1 0"
key_down = joystick 0 down = "stick_0 axis 1 1"
key_comma = joystick 0 left = "stick_0 axis 0 0"
key_period = key_joystick 0 right = "stick_0 axis 0 1"

key_pageup = joystick 1 up = "stick_0 axis 3 0"
key_pagedown = joystick 1 down = "stick_0 axis 3 1"
key_left = joystick 1 left = "stick_0 axis 2 0"
key_right = joystick 1 right = "stick_0 axis 2 1"

this no longer works...

Will get a try at staging-dosbox to see if it solve it :-)

Thank you !!

jamrom2

@mbernier have you tried mapping in the game as well.

Some games you have to trick to map correctly as they won't see the inputs from a dual stick controller.

What I mean is this...
You can make your own mapping file for each game.

Create the config file for the game and in the [sdl] section add "mapperfile = mapper-sdl2-0.77.1.map" but change the name to whatever you want it to be. Hold that file on the side.

Now go into the game and config your controls to map to whatever key you want. Let's say "strafe" you set to "s" and "jump" you set to "j". So the game will see those inputs as keyboard inputs... and should work.

Now go to the mapper file and find the "s" key and "j" key and map those to your controller input whatever you want them to be. Do that for whatever inputs you need for the game and you should have them working in the game now.

Place that new mapper file in /opt/retropie/configs/pc and again, name goes in the [sdl] section as mentioned above.

Restart the game and you should have it working.

These games you have to finagle with because remember... back then, we only had Gravis pads and Joysticks. Wasn't until the Xbox and PS1 came out that we got Multi-button controllers on PC as well. So the games are geared up for keyboard/mouse input as well

** you can do what mitsu said above as well. I prefer to keep my mapping files all in the same place this was they are separate from the roms.

but for staging... create a folder called "dos" in the /home/pi/RetroPie/roms folder. I store all of my DOS games there for Staging so all I have in the /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/pc folder are the configs and the .dosz files for lr-dosbox-pure. It keeps everything clean and separate. So in each of my config files to run my Staging games... I simply have this... plus any other sections I added for performance, mapping... etc.

for Dynamix A-10 Tank Killer :

[autoexec]
mount c /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/dos
C:
CD a10
a10.com
EXIT

mitu

@mbernier said in DOSBOX exit key mapping on gamepad issue:

my complete map file is here: [https://pastebin.com/921LG5dn](link url)

The only issue with the map you posted is a blank line at the end, which causes the message from the log:

...
Can't find matching event for
...

Otherwise, replacing btn9/10 with btn6/7 (to match my joystick) works for exiting Dosbox by pressing both buttons. So there's nothing wrong with the configuration file.

Can you try running the game with the .conf file I posted in my first reply ? Just create it in the pc roms folder, replacing the .sh file you have, and run the game.

EDIT: one more thing - can you check that you're using the RetroPie patched libsdl1.2 package ? Run

dpkg -l | grep libsdl1.2

and post the output.

mbernier

@mitu

Hello !

Here the command output:

pi@retropie:~ $ dpkg -l | grep libsdl1.2
hi  libsdl1.2-dev                     1.2.15+dfsg2-7rpi                   armhf                                     Simple DirectMedia Layer development files
ii  libsdl1.2debian:armhf             1.2.15+dfsg2-7rpi                   armhf                                     Simple DirectMedia Layer

I removed the blank line in .map file

And also i tried the "clean" by .sh by moving my multiple -c arguments in the .sh into the [autoexec] tag in the .conf. It works, but it does not solve the original mapping problem. BTW thank you for this trick, it is a lot more clearer now and intuitive !

I think i will now migrate to staging-dosbox or wait for a new major release of RetroPie (4.8 ?) and re-install everything...

Best regards,

Martin

mbernier

Re-Hello,

i finally understand what happened. It seems that after a kernel/firmware update, gamepad configuration was changed. In fact only a couple of button (select, start, triggers) changed and i was able to remap most of them, but one thing remains: The triggers are now seen as axis instead of button. And this is for all non-libretro core (ex: dosbox).

i can confirm this by using "jstest /dev/input/js0" that are recognizing my left/right triggers in the axis 2/5 instead of the button 6/7 .

In the case of dosbox, i changed my left trigger from "stick_0 button 6" to "stick_0 axis 2 0": This works but as soon as i press the trigger in a game, dosbox sees it as always pressed. So i would like to revert my configuration from axis to button based triggers.

I saw numerous posts on this subject before writing this post and tried the following without success:

unsintalled/installed xpad driver
edited "options xpad triggers_to_buttons=1" from 1 to 0 in xpad.conf file
re-started the emulationstation gamepad configuration GUI

Nothing works...

any ideas ?

regards

mitu

@mbernier said in DOSBOX exit key mapping on gamepad issue:

So i would like to revert my configuration from axis to button based triggers.
...
edited "options xpad triggers_to_buttons=1" from 1 to 0 in xpad.conf file

If you like the shoulder trigger to behave like buttons, then you need the triggers_to_buttons parameter to be set to 1. Did you try to see if jstest behaves differently with the different options set (0 / 1) ? Note that you need to restart after changing the parameter in order for this to work.

mbernier

@mitu

Hello !

Thanks for your answer.

The parameter "options xpad triggers_to_buttons" has the same output in jstest if it configured to 1 or 0. Just to be sure the subdirectory is /etc/modprobe.d/xpad.conf.

I am 100% confident that the changes are done since i verified the change using "more xpad.conf" after each modification.

Normal value is -32767 and pressed value is +32767 for both axes 2 and 5. Previously (before kernel or firmware update weeks ago) it was button 6 and 7.

I also rebooted the RPi 400 after each change.

Weird isn't ? Also even if i stay on this axis configuration, that is strange that the trigger seems to stay glued after using it. This happens only in games, not in jstest.

p.s. i have two different logitech f710 gamepad and both of them have the same result.

UPDATE: I want to add that my F710 controler is configured in Xinput (X) mode,
meaning that it is in 'analog trigger' mode. But is there a way to keep in X mode and use in button mode in retropie ? The reason for this is that the logitech button is not working in DirectInput (D) mode...

To recap: why the "options xpad triggers_to_buttons=1" is no longer working for me ?

Ciao !

mitu

@mbernier said in DOSBOX exit key mapping on gamepad issue:

To recap: why the "options xpad triggers_to_buttons=1" is no longer working for me ?

Let's check whether the xpad driver is correctly installed. Run the following commands and post the output:

cat /sys/module/xpad/parameters/triggers_to_buttons
modinfo xpad | head -n 5

mbernier

@mitu

Hello !

Here is the requested output:

pi@retropie:~ $ cat /sys/module/xpad/parameters/triggers_to_buttons
Y
pi@retropie:~ $ modinfo xpad | head -n 5
filename:       /lib/modules/5.10.63-v7l+/kernel/drivers/input/joystick/xpad.ko
license:        GPL
description:    X-Box pad driver
author:         Marko Friedemann <mfr@bmx-chemnitz.de>
srcversion:     E1B709DF2EBAA331E53C6D6

Thanks a lot !

mitu

@mbernier Can you run the following commands:

sudo rmmod xpad
sudo rm "/lib/modules/5.10.63-v7l+/kernel/drivers/input/joystick/xpad.ko"
sudo depmod -a

then reboot and try again after the reboot to see if the triggers map to buttons.

mbernier

@mitu

OK i executed the commands. It works ! Will try a couple of things to confirm later but can you tell me what happened ? I am not sure of what i have removed :-)

You are a magician !

Will do some testing and get back to you !

mitu

@mbernier said in DOSBOX exit key mapping on gamepad issue:

I am not sure of what i have removed :-)

You removed the Linux kernel's built-in xpad module (driver), so the one installed by RetroPie-Setup took over.

The reason the parameter triggers_to_buttons didn't work is because the built-in kernel driver applies it only for certain gamepads, whereas the xpad driver installed from RetroPie-Setup applies it to all gamepads. The system loaded the built-in driver instead of the one installed by RetroPie, so the parameter didn't work for your gamepad(s).

Now the question remains why the override doesn't happen by default, this may be something that's changed with an update (for dkms maybe ?).
Note that upgrading the kernel would still make the built-in driver the default, reverting to the behavior you noticed, so we should find a solution that would work without the steps I posted earlier.

mbernier

@mitu

Thanks for this. That was not an easy one (for me). The support is fantastic, you really are a very knowledgeable team! I would never have found it on my own.

I can confirm now that everything seems to be back to normal now.

In my case i did not notice immediatly because it only affected non libretro package like redream, dosbox, vice and jzintv. All the others was working properly so it's something that can easily go unnoticed.

Best regards,

mitu

@mbernier said in DOSBOX exit key mapping on gamepad issue:

In my case i did not notice immediatly because it only affected non libretro package like redream, dosbox, vice and jzintv. All the others was working properly so it's something that can easily go unnoticed.

My guess is only SDL1 apps would not be able to work reliably without the trigger_to_buttons param, all other SDL2 applications, should have better support for this configuration.