Kodi Joypad Issues...

Leo1372

I am having annoying issues with Kodi!

   I am trying to set up Kodi to be controlled by my USB, SNES controller.  So, I read the Kodi page on the RetroPie GitHub Wiki (https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/KODI), and followed the Joypad Support section. I used there example and edited and added some lines. So then I reboot my system and load up Kodi. But, my usb gamepad doesn't work! Completely unresponsive! So, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Leo :)

Here is my controller config and joystick.xml :

usbgamepad.cfg ( /home/pi/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads/):

input_device = "usb gamepad "
input_driver = "udev"
input_r_btn = "5"
input_save_state_btn = "5"
input_start_btn = "9"
input_exit_emulator_btn = "9"
input_l_btn = "4"
input_load_state_btn = "4"
input_up_axis = "-1"
input_a_btn = "1"
input_b_btn = "2"
input_reset_btn = "2"
input_down_axis = "+1"
input_right_axis = "+0"
input_state_slot_increase_axis = "+0"
input_x_btn = "0"
input_menu_toggle_btn = "0"
input_select_btn = "8"
input_enable_hotkey_btn = "8"

joystick.xml (/home/pi/.kodi/userdata/keymaps):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<keymap>
<global>
<joystick name="usb gamepad ">
<button id="1">Select</button>
<button id="2">Back</button>
<button id="8">Info</button>
<button id="0">Stop</button>
<button id="4">Rewind</button>
<button id=5">FastForward</button>
<axis id="0" limit="+0">Right</axis>
<axis id="0" limit="-0">Left</axis>
<axis id="1" limit="-1">Up</axis>
<axis id="1" limit="+1">Down</axis>
</joystick>
</global>
</keymap>

Thanks again in advance!

herb_fargus

@Leo1372 did you install kodi 16 first?

Leo1372

No I have not...

I am on RetroPie 3.5 currently, and Kodi 15.2.

I was wondering how to update to Kodi 16 but never really figured it out! So help on that be good to start off.

Thanks

herb_fargus

@Leo1372 sudo apt-get remove kodi update your setup script and reinstall kodi from the experimental menu as usual. You need to be on Jessie for it to work as wheezy is not supported.

wetriner

Kodi xml buttons usually start at 1 and count up, so your stop button may not work. To make a more complete xml you can add the lines for all buttons and type noop as the command to not do anything when pressed, so if in the future you want more commands, it's already set up.

Leo1372

Alright, Kodi has been updated, but the issue remains! :(

Leo1372

@wetriner Thank-You! I am not an expert on coding and line writing, I am more of a follow the tutorial guy, so a more easier in depth description of your most recent post would be nice!

herb_fargus

@Leo1372 the controller name can be picky make sure you copy exactly what shows up when you run cat /proc/bus/input/devices including spaces and just swap settings in and out based on the examples in the wiki until you figure it out.

wetriner

<button id="1">Select</button><!-- A? -->
<button id="2">Back</button><!-- B? -->
<button id="3">Info</button>
<button id="4">Stop</button>
<button id="5">Rewind</button><!--L?-->
<button id="6">FastForward</button><!--R?-->
<button id="7">noop</button>
<button id="8">noop</button>

I don't have your controller, so I can't even say that this makes sense or works. All I was trying to say is that keeping it organized for when you want to make additions or changes is a good idea. Optionally, the button name comments can help a lot as well, and get ignored by Kodi.

Leo1372

Sorry I went away for a bit.

@wetriner can I just copy your example and input my button id's?

@herb_fargus Yes I have checked that and made sure it is the same.

So would this work?

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<keymap>
<global>
<joystick name="usb gamepad ">
<button id="1">Select</button>
<button id="2">Back</button>
<button id="0">Info</button>
<button id="3">Stop</button>
<button id="4">Rewind</button>
<button id="5">FastForward</button>
<button id="8">noop</button>
<button id="9">noop</button>
<axis id="0" limit="+0">Right</axis>
<axis id="0" limit="-0">Left</axis>
<axis id="1" limit="-1">Up</axis>
<axis id="1" limit="+1">Down</axis>
</joystick>
</global>
</keymap>

wetriner

@Leo1372 That was just an example of what I was talking about, which is what you asked for. You should be trying your own xml. If you're not getting any buttons responding, something else is wrong, like the name, and you could check the log for more info. You will probably need some tweaking. I just used putty and kept tinkering with it to finally get all my controllers working the way I want. Kodi xml is still pretty confusing to me. The ids kind of match what's in retroarch-joypad file or jstest but not always. I ended up setting all unknown button IDs to a corresponding Notification command, like Notification("Button 1",,.5), so I could get them all sorted out.

Leo1372

Thank-you for all of the help, I've started to get a grasp of this!

Leo1372

Alright. I got everything working. But, I thought it would be a good idea to update to 3.6. Everything works except my joypad in kodi. Everything in that area is hosed. Is there a way to revert back to 3.5 without losing all my data?

Leo

Rascas

Configuring joysticks in Kodi on the RPi now is the same as configuring them in other platforms/OSs.
Some joysticks are plug n play, the most common ones like Logitech, PS3 etc, don't need any configuration.
Others needs the creation of a keymap in one .xml file.
You can read all about configuring them here:
http://kodi.wiki/view/Keymap

I agree that it is not very easy or straightforward, but if you spend some time understanding how keymaps works in Kodi, you will see that it is not that hard.

herb_fargus

@Rascas also as an aside I've submitted a PR for the xboxdrv driver : https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/9590

Leo1372

@Rascas I have a keymap xml file (based on the kodi setup on the wiki) set up it worked before the upgrade but not after, here it is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<keymap>
<global>
<joystick name="usb gamepad ">
<button id="1">Stop</button> 
<button id="2">Select</button> 
<button id="3">Back</button> 
<button id="4">Info</button> 
<button id="5">Rewind</button> 
<button id="6">FastForward</button> 
<axis id="1" limit="+1">Right</axis>
<axis id="1" limit="-1">Left</axis>
<axis id="2" limit="-1">Up</axis>
<axis id="2" limit="+1">Down</axis>
</joystick>
</global>
</keymap>

Rascas

Which upgrade are you talking about ? Joysticks only work in this version of Kodi 16. Make sure the gamepad option is enabled in Kodi -> Settings -> Settings ->Peripherals.

Leo1372

@Rascas The retropie 3.6 update, and how do I set setting periphrials?

Rascas

@Leo1372 In Kodi -> Settings -> Settings ->Peripherals

Kodi 16 + joysticks was tested in RetroPie 3.6. Keep in mind that if you update the RetroPie-Setup scripts and make a Binary based instalation, you will get the very latest changes to RetroPie, so not the same as installing a clean RetroPie 3.6 image.