Only the P1 controller has access to the Hotkey, so you can do any configurations for a game in the RGUI with a controller that has a hotkey defined (the one you chose when you configured the controller in EmulationStation). Make sure that controller has also an X button configured, otherwise you can't open the RGUI with the Hotkey + X combination.

To enable Multitap - and get more than 2 players working - you can do so from the Options menu, where you need to toggle on the Show other input settings, close the RGUI, then open it again and in the same Options menu, can set _Multitap_1 to ON and Pad 2 to Pad 4 to dualshock.
Since not all games support Multitap and enabling it globally would probably break input for it, make sure that you use the 'Create Game Options file' menu at the top of the Option list, then toggle off the Multitap option(s).

@lootchamoneytho if you are talking 4 player arcade games, like TMNT or the simpsons, etc, there are 2 player versions of most these games that allow you to select your character in game. Just note that those versions are limited to 2 players.

@TheBlueBanner said in USB HUB not detecting Joysticks:

https://thepihut.com/products/4-port-usb-hub-usb-2-0.

So, I received this USB hub. It worked! The only issue I have is that there doesn't seem to be enough power going to the LED lights, and they are dimmer than what I would like. I am not sure if there is anything I can do, but it worked none the less.

I see - in this case your project is just a regular RetroPie box (any case would do) and connect 4 external fightstick controllers - via USB (possibly you'll need an USB hub to not bog all 4 USB ports on the Pi) or Bluetooth.

@drewjbx why dont you create a second config file for players 3-4 with the buttons slightly remapped? Probably could use the coin button as start or something?

Edit:how often are both triggers used in game?

@Clyde Yes agreed, didn't plan on doing that. :)

@Breadbin As long as the system has 4 working controllers (regardless of how they're connected), it should work. The only possible configuration would be in the emulator options, to enable multi-tap if it's not the default.

@allenpie Install the Joystick Selection tool from the link provided and you'll have an extra menu entry in the RetroPie menu for you to configure the controller/player mapping.

@lurker said in Games with 2P ROM versions:

I am developing a theory that Player 3 has the best characters;
Ralph the Wolf (Rampage)
Bart (the Simpsons)
Donatello ( TMNT) and TMNTII

Ha! I really think you're on to something there. For 'Rampage', I play Ralph most of the time myself. It's a shame he was always the one snubbed when they needed to cut a character for the home ports. Of course the Lynx version actually threw us a curve ball by including a fourth character, Larry the rat. I've experimented with just about all the ports, looking for a good alternative that allows character selection and while several of them are very impressive on a technical level, especially on the Lynx, Master System and Atari 2600, nothing beats the arcade original.

@lesk said in 4 Player and 4 Monitor Ikea Coffee Table Hack:

What is the name of the second last game? The weird fighting game before the game with the airplane?

Looks like Pocket Fighter for PS1/Saturn

I just pushed an update for the ControlBlock driver. The four-player feature should work again now!
Sorry for this bug!

Trash it for PS1
It's an action game where the 1-4 players have to destroy buildings with gigantic hammers. As a player, you take role of a construction worker who has only one mission: To smash everything to bits and cross the finish line before the opponents. Check it out on youtube it's actually great deal of fun.

@EctoOne

These scripts can be considered experimental at best.

Wouldn't recommend installing them

Check to make sure none of the spare trackball button wires inside aren't touching each other.

You are right, the two pads that are nearest to the 1 must be soldered.

If cost doesn't matter to you, you can pickup a super small 'desktop' computer for a couple hundred bucks and it'll literally be like 10 times faster than the Raspberry Pi 3 (mainly because it'll have a fully-functioning video card doing most of the graphics overhead). If you're a fan of the latter MAME 3d games this is a must. If you're just playing classics from the 70's into the 80's then a Pi would be just fine.

@domodan Although not as big as your 60" screen plan, my cabinet is a functioning 4-player design that plays all of the classic arcade games plus some consoles that interested me from when I was a kid (Atari 2600, NES, SNES). Check the link in my signature for details about my project.

As you are probably concluding, you can get away with playing most of the older consoles using arcade controls, provided you have enough buttons. For me, that was six action buttons for players 1 and 2, and four buttons for players 3 and 4, not counting coin and start which double as select and start for consoles.

I am looking forward to seeing more details about your project, as we seem closely aligned in terms of what you want to play--the only difference being maybe that I wanted some portability and the ability to play vertical games from the short sides of my cabinet so the image can fill the display.

As of 2024, I can confirm that @akafox's method still works.
In our case, we had two generic SNES-like controllers and a third generic PS3-like controller plugged in.
After pressing Select-X to get into the emulator menu:
The first two controllers had many controller type options.
The third controller only had retropad available.

On controller #1, we selected 3 button + 4 way tap.

Then reset the emulation from inside the menu.
Voila, 3 players.