Tutorial: Handheld and Plug & Play systems with MAME

In the instructions you all mention that you have to map each handheld's buttons individually because they're all different. That's certainly true, but now that I've gone through the effort of doing them all, won't my configs be useful to the group if they want a shortcut? I've mapped everything appropriately in Konami and Tiger (I didn't install the others) and now have .cfg files for each game, and they work both for my 8bitdo and my PiBoy. I know different controllers map differently but I would think this should be helpful for a lot of folks. Anyway, if it is useful, I am happy to share my zip with the files in the right file structure to be just dumped into a retropie/configs folder, but I can't figure out a way to upload them directly here....

Cheers and thanks for this wonderful project!

Folly

@bbilford83

It could be something to add to our project in the future.

If you can, then you could upload them, separately, to a google-drive.
This is what we also use in the project for artwork and gamelists with media.
Later we can try to implement if there is some time to do so.

bbilford83

@Folly Thanks. I've never tried that before but I think it did it correctly here. There's a folder for all Konami and all Tiger handheld configs, the ones that would go in configs/[system]/lr-mess/.

Cheers.

Folly

@bbilford83 said in Tutorial: Handheld and Plug & Play systems with MAME:

@Folly Thanks. I've never tried that before but I think it did it correctly here. There's a folder for all Konami and all Tiger handheld configs, the ones that would go in configs/[system]/lr-mess/.

Cheers.

At least there is something now to be shared, which is nice ;-)

Not sure right now if it is the correct structure that we can use in the future, we will see.
And if we can use it, somehow we miss the default settings because the configs just contain only the differences vs the default.
So that could be a problem too.

Another question :
Are the settings the same for 8bitdo and PiBoy ?
Because I would expect 2 directories one for 8bitdo and one for PiBoy.

bbilford83

@Folly It's true I didn't have a default set up, though for me the only default I have is a mame menu shortcut instead of tab. I have it as the left analog stick "button," and that is the same on the 8bitdo and the PiBoy. I know you have recommendations for mapping all the other needed functions but I never use any so I left it simple.

For me I only need one set of mappings for both but I guess it would depend on how people have their piboy set up if they would want it different. There are 6 face buttons and one set of rear triggers on the Piboy and the manufacturer recommends mapping the left-most face buttons as the rear shoulder buttons, but I don't like it that way because it doesn't map right for fighting games on arcade, genesis, dreamcast, etc. So I have it with the left 4 buttons the same as face buttons on a standard modern controller (8bitdo, DS4, etc.), the rightmost two face buttons as "shoulders," and the rear buttons as triggers. So for me, these mappings work just as they should on the piboy with the left four face buttons the same as the four possible "buttons" on a konami/tiger handheld.

Folly

@bbilford83

When I come home I will have a look on how my joystick is reacting when I use your configs.

Folly

@bbilford83

It took some time for me to be able to check your konami/tiger handheld joystick configs.
I have a BigBen_Interactive_Usb_Gamepad.
I always used my old retroarch.cfg with joystick settings but I now created a file for automatic detection in :
/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads
Quite some automatic detection configs can be found over here :
https://github.com/libretro/retroarch-joypad-autoconfig/tree/master/udev
I also see 8BitDo's, so you might want to use them too.
To my knowledge they aren't added in RetroPie by default.

For now I only tested most konamih games and that worked for me.
All "shooting" worked with the X button.
Probably tigerh games will work too and the configs can probably be used for more joypads and joysticks.

If I have the time I will try to see If I can add a few lines for these configs somehow.

bbilford83

@Folly Thanks! I think I did already have those there, but the handhelds still required game-by-game mapping because they all have different set-ups you can see by looking at the images of the handheld. So hopefully they could still be helpful.

Folly

@bbilford83

I added both, see post.

Retrodade

Help please,
I hope you can help, So far I was able to get all these handhelds working with the exception of all_in1 section set, other than "mc_tv200", is that because this one has mame/art?
is this what I'm missing for the all_in1? I haven't had any luck trying to search hoping reaching out is ok and thank you!

oh, also here is what error log shows,
Parameters:
Executing: /opt/retropie/emulators/mame/mame -autoframeskip "mc_89in1"
89in1.bin NOT FOUND (tried in mc_89in1)
Fatal error: Required files are missing, the machine cannot be run.

seems like every all_in1 is asking for .bins
ideas on my issue

Folly

@Retrodade said in Tutorial: Handheld and Plug & Play systems with MAME:

So far I was able to get all these handhelds working with the exception of all_in1 section set, other than "mc_tv200", is that because this one has mame/art?

Executing: /opt/retropie/emulators/mame/mame -autoframeskip "mc_89in1"

It looks like you did the setup manually, setting the rompaths in the mame.ini, correct ?

If mc_tv200 works then your install looks correct, but since others don't work I doubt it.

You have to know, It doesn't matter if you have or haven't artwork for games, games can run without it.

If other files don't work that that is because mame can't find them.
So make sure the rompath is in the mame.ini (if you did your setup manually).

Or you have old or incorrect game roms, so you should check.
My working file, with this sha1sum, is :

sha1sum /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/all_in1/mc_89in1.zip 
29e581c0b135f896d3efdb70939ef102926039bd  /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/all_in1/mc_89in1.zip

Be sure to pick them from mame-merged.

P.s.
Consider using this module-script :
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/29682/development-of-module-script-generator-for-lr-mess-lr-mame-and-mame-standalone
Rompaths will then be automatically applied to the "runcommands".

Retrodade

@Folly said in Tutorial: Handheld and Plug & Play systems with MAME:

mame-merged.

Thank you for getting back,
I did use the add dev installer as you described
I did use 2 sets of mame merged to put it all together as 1 didn't have all from list, could that be my issue?
I went through mine some work some don't
so, I'm guessing one of those merged sets is the issue?
time to remove them n start a new search I think
I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks again for your input/direction

Retrodade

OK we got it, after having some issues set them to mame-autoskip and they worked and really want to Thank you for reaching out!

Retrodade

This post is deleted!

Retrodade

yes it was needed i did my best
Thanks for all you do
2 questions.

image scrapes/gameslist for your Atari Portfolio, didn't did not any. currently putting together gameslist and at least screen shots if interested I can forward your way when completed unless you have them already.
I also installed the all_in1 to my downstairs image but i spent a lot of time mapping controls which id like to just drop in ...any way i can do that? location of mame mapping for these handhelds I've done to just drop n call it a day? lol
and again, thank you for making retro gaming more fun