change RetroArch controllers index on-the-fly with no issues

[meleu]

[UPDATED: actually in some configs it still can bring some issues. Look https://retropie.org.uk/forum/post/35243]

Hey guys, I would like to share a cool info.

RetroArch had recently got the capability to let every connected joypad controller bound to a player control the RGUI (after this Pull Request). The option is all_users_control_menu and must be explicitly set to true (the default is false).

It is specially useful to change the players joypads on-the-fly with no issues through:

Main Menu -> Settings -> Input -> Input User N Binds -> User N Device Index

Before that Pull Request, the changing of the player1 joypad could bring unwanted situations (as I reported here).

To get this new feature you guys must to update RetroArch from source (instructions here). ;-)

Cheers!

[meleu]

Changed the topic title to a more appealling one! :-)

[mediamogul]

@meleu When changing the joypads, does it persist between sessions?

[meleu]

@mediamogul Well... only if the config_save_on_exit is true. [please don't do it! :-) ]

[mediamogul]

@meleu said in change RetroArch controllers index on-the-fly with no issues:

please don't do it!

Hah! I've been down that dark road and I don't want a repeat. It looks like this is a nice way to change things up for a single session without having to dive in to deep with configs. Very useful when gaming with friends. Very kool.

[meleu]

@mediamogul said in change RetroArch controllers index on-the-fly with no issues:

Very useful when gaming with friends.

The https://github.com/meleu/RetroPie-joystick-selection was made for it as well! ;-)

[mediamogul]

@meleu I would even say it's better suited for the job. However, I know a few people who run somewhat vanilla RetroPie setups of their own now and it'll be nice to have a quick, out-of-the-box solution to recommend.

[meleu]

@mediamogul said in change RetroArch controllers index on-the-fly with no issues:

I know a few people who run somewhat vanilla RetroPie setups of their own now and it'll be nice to have a quick, out-of-the-box solution to recommend.

Ehrr... I understood what you mean, but it is a very new feature. One needs to reinstall RetroArch from source to get it in RetroPie. Maybe it'll be an out-of-the-box solution in the next RetroPie release.

Cheers!

[mediamogul]

@meleu Actually, my friends may never see it either. It's amazing how many people install something and just never update it. It can be slightly frustrating, but I try to adopt a certain level of non-involvement as long as their system isn't just plain broken, seeing as how there will always be another tweak to arguable make RetroPie run better in some way.

[meleu]

I was making some tests (for this user request) and realized that, unfortunately, we can still have some issues when changing the player1 controller index on-the-fly (I think it can be considered an edge-case, but it should be mentioned).

The option is "All Users Control Menu", and not "All Controllers Control Menu".

Here is a scenario showing how it can bring issues.

Connected joysticks:

index = joystick
----------------
  0   =  joyA
  1   =  joyB

retroarch.cfg:

input_player1_joypad_index = 1
input_player2_joypad_index = 3
# There's no joystick with index 3 currently,
# then there's no device controlling player2.
# All other players joypad_index are commented.

If I go to

Main Menu -> Settings -> Input -> Input User 1 Binds -> User 1 Device Index

And change it from joyB to another value, then joyB can't control RGUI anymore. This happens because joyB isn't bound to any player. So, repeating what I said, the option is "All Users Control Menu", and not "All Controllers Control Menu".

It can bring unpleasant issues, as I detailed here: https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/issues/3014

[meleu]

I was too verbose in the previous post. Let me summarize:

The all_users_control_menu doesn't make all plugged controllers control the menu. Actually it just makes all controllers bound to a player control the menu.

If I have a plugged controller not bound to any player, this controller can not control the menu.

Changing Device Index on-the-fly still can bring some unpleasant situations, like I detailed here (the all_users_control_menu decreases the chance to make it happen, though).