Hotkeys Save/Load Game doesn't work.

theink · 3 Oct 2016, 16:23

I want, to sum up my current state.

I'm using the default keyboard set-up with some alterations, since I had some problems, in the beginning. I remapped both start and select buttons to other keys on the keyboard. (YUHJ)

I don't have problems reconfiguring the IPAC board and I want to clarify that all my buttons work. I'm able to successfully configure my per-system and per-game configurations. And although this is not the default set-up it still works.

The things that don't work are some of the hotkey features.
For example, I'm able to exit a game (select+start) or change save slots with (select+left/right). I can also reset my game (select+b) and start the reproach menu (select+x) but I'm unable to save/load the savegame files (select+ri/l1).

I checked my main retroarch.cfg . In it this function is enabled. It is also enabled in some of my platform config files.
I'm not sure which config files are dominant and I assume that I might have accidentally disabled the save function myself.

I'm interested to know how the configuration files hierarchy is constructed and if there is a master config file on the top of the pyramid that sets the hotkey options?

I hope I don't sound like a total noob and you can understand me.
Thank you.

rbaker · 3 Oct 2016, 19:22

@theink Global, System Specific and Rom specific is the general hierarchy and is described in the wiki under hard coded configs, see here....
https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/retroarch-configuration

theink · 3 Oct 2016, 20:48

@rbaker I think I might have solved it, but will b able to test tomorrow.
I looked into the reproach config file.
While describing the player controls I have been writing this line:

input_enable_hotkey_btn = "y"

But later on I found this one written at the bottom of the document:

input_enable_hotkey = "nul"

Is it right to guess that this second line deactivated my first command?
This still doesn't describe how most of the hotkeys still work while others don't, but I hope that by removing it things will come at their place.

rbaker · 3 Oct 2016, 21:20

@theink Yes, but check that the syntax is correct with null as opposed to nul. The incorrect syntax would probably make the input enable behave oddly, especially as you have set it higher in the config. By setting the null bind, you effectively disable hotkey functionality. |Setting it to Y is also odd as Y is a button function if you are using abxy mapping. Select and Start or combinations of them and buttons are best in my experience. With the ipac, the best course of action is to modify the configs in retropie to match your buttons rather than keep adjusting the ipac.

theink · 3 Oct 2016, 21:45

@rbaker thanks.
Are you sure that the right syntaxis is supposed to be "null"?
I read this instruction inside the retroarch config file.

#Keyboard input, Joypad and Joyaxis will all obey the "nul" bind, which disables the bind completely, rather than relying on a default.

In My case, the select start buttons are mapped as:
P1 select = y
P1 start = h
P2 select = u
P2 start = j

What is the button function for Y?
Asking as if there is hidden function unknown to me that might solve another bug I'm encountering from time to time.
Pressing the Y button fast two times in Main Menu can through me to command prompt.

rbaker · 4 Oct 2016, 08:03

@theink I am absolutely not sure at all. However, I used NULL in computing for years so assumed, maybe wrongly! So in SQL for example, it indicates no value. I have used it and it appears to work but maybe I have not noticed that it doesn't as I haven't tried my "disabled buttons"! I know in windows that it's NUL for no process, probably......if it's in the retroarch.cfg, it could be NUL! Lets ask @meleu

meleu · 4 Oct 2016, 09:17

The trailing _btn in config name means that it refers to a joystick mapping (not the keyboard one)

input_enable_hotkey_btn = "y"

With no _btn, it refers to keyboard. So...

input_enable_hotkey = "nul"

... means that you don't have a hotkey enabled for your keyboard.

theink · 4 Oct 2016, 09:25

@meleu Thank you!
This was really helpful!

Now I get it.
All my hotkeys are currently mapped as joystick buttons.

One step closer to greatness! :)

meleu · 4 Oct 2016, 09:46

@theink if your problem was solved, please mark this thread as "solved" and select the post that solved your problem as the correct answer. This practice improves the forum quality and other members can solve their similar problems. ;-)

rbaker · 4 Oct 2016, 11:25

@meleu so is it always nul or null? or a combination of both?

meleu · 4 Oct 2016, 11:49

@rbaker nul. But I think RetroArch ignores any invalid option. So, null has the same effect as nul (but I'm not sure).

theink · 5 Oct 2016, 11:24

@meleu
I will postpone the testing for the weekend as I don't have much time in the evenings.

But an interesting thing happened to me yesterday, that I want to share.
I have done some fast configuring. I started the Pi and it turned out that my hotkey has stopped functioning.
Retropie detects the right key pressed, but it appeared that the function is nulled. I thought that I f*cked something up and restored my backup.
When I turned it on the hotkey still didn't work. I tested it several times with no result. I gave up and turned off the cabinet from the plug.

This morning I turned it back on and everything worked just fine.
I can not explain this to myself. I'm completely baffled. Even as I write this I wonder if I had imagined it.

From what I know the raspberry pie's only memory is located on the sd card, so I really have no idea how such a thing could be possible.

meleu · 5 Oct 2016, 13:26

@theink keep in mind that despite being all RetroArch each core has its own config file. It can be related to your episode.

theink · 7 Oct 2016, 18:11

@meleu
I finally have some free time to do testing on the configuration.

First question...
I just figured out that I can not have two sets of hotkeys for each player.
For example, if I write the following code the second two lines are canceled by the first two.

input_enable_hotkey = "y"
input_exit_emulator = "h"

input_enable_hotkey = "u"
input_exit_emulator = "j"

What I tried to do is to list two sets of hotkeys for each player. It obviously doesn't work this way.
In short Is there a way to map two sets of hotkeys?

Thanks in advance.

dankcushions · 7 Oct 2016, 18:21

@theink no. in fact, only player 1 has access to hotkeys at all.

meleu · 7 Oct 2016, 19:18

@theink

In short Is there a way to map two sets of hotkeys?

You can map different sets of hotkeys for each controller.

For keyboard the file is the ...all/retroarch.cfg.

For each joystick the files are those ...all/retroarch-joypads/JOYPAD_NAME.cfg files.

And, as @dankcushions said, only player 1 can use hotkeys. But RetroArch recently got a feature to let any player use hotkeys and control RGUI (implemented in this PR). You can use this feature if you update RetroArch from source, and I think it will be available in the next RetroPie release.

theink · 7 Oct 2016, 19:37

@meleu Ok, now I get it. Thank you for clearing this. I will stick to one player hotkey controls.
Another question please.

While editing the main retroarch.cfg file I made a little test.
I switched the functionality of my SELECT button with another button on my control panel and noticed that after a restart the Select key has still has been mapped to its previous position, although that in the cfg file this key has been nulled.

I concluded that the controls for the main menu are not written inside the all/retroarch.cfg.
Is that so? Where can I find them?

meleu · 7 Oct 2016, 19:46

@theink said in Hotkeys Save/Load Game doesn't work.:

While editing the main retroarch.cfg file I made a little test.
I switched the functionality of my SELECT button with another button on my control panel

What do you mean with "control panel"?

I concluded that the controls for the main menu are not written inside the all/retroarch.cfg.

The control configs for the main menu (what we are used to call RGUI) are on those file I mentioned on my last post. It depends on what you are using to control the player1.

theink · 7 Oct 2016, 19:59

@meleu Sorry, by control panel I mean the physical joysticks and buttons installed on the arcade cabinet.
Basically what I did has I reassigned the functionality of the Select button of retroarch to a different keyboard key.
I did that inside the ...all/retroarch.cfg . After that, I restarted the Pi.

What I found is that my newly assigned Select button didn't work.
Instead, the previous key I used continued functioning as Select.

meleu · 7 Oct 2016, 20:32

@theink

What I found is that my newly assigned Select button didn't work.
Instead, the previous key I used continued functioning as Select.

Well, I don't know the details of your IPAC mappings. But the retroarch.cfg doesn't change by itself. :-)

You have to discover what key is bound to what button after your changing and then edit your all/retroarch.cfg.

(P.S.: Is "bound" the past participle of "bind"? I almost wrote binded. :-) still learning English...)