how to change the quit binding

brad2600

so, i have a problem that seems to be semi-common, however none of the solutions i have found seem to work. i am running retropie, and i'm mostly after sega games. i have a 6 button genesis style controller from amazon that feels great, and works wonderfully. the only problem is that i cannot quit from a game! the default quit is start+select. the genesis controller does not have a select button. i've been finding myself needing to keep a keyboard connected, just to be able to hit escape to quit the game. this is a real hassle with 2 player games, and i'd rather not keep a keyboard attached. is there a way that works with the current versions of retropie to map something other than start+select to quit the games? ideally start+select could continue to work as well (i do have a nes controller for some nes games once in a while), but if i could just map it to start+A or something, it would be great.

i am running a pi3 b, with the official power supply, using the current default image, if any of that matters.

meleu

@brad2600 you can find an answer here: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/#autoconfigurations

brad2600

@meleu sadly i have tried running through that page multiple times... honestly, i spent close to 4 hours on this last night, using that page as the basis of it before i got too tired to think, and went to bed frustrated.

i do not see anywhere to update the hotkeys in any of the files mentioned in that page. i also attempted to create a dgenrc file (as suggested at https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Genesis-Megadrive), which appeared to have done nothing.

what am i missing?

brad2600

@meleu ps, i'm painfully aware that it is very likely a simple fix, that is documented on that page... i just seem to be having an absent minded moment, that is driving me nuts!

Capeman

SSH into your pi. Locate the joystick autoconfigs folder:
/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads

Open the file for the joystick you want to change, and adjust the binding number on the exit input to match the binding on the button you want the exit button to match.

This will change the exit combo for all lr-emulators. In this file you can also delete any input combos you dont want. Like if you want to remove reset, save, load, save slot or any of those other functions, just #hash them out and save.

brad2600

@Capeman in that file, i have set exit to my A button:
input_exit_emulator_btn = "5"

trouble is, this does not exit on start+A, it simply exits on A.

it also seems strange to me that even though i often have multiple controllers plugged into this, there is only one usb gamepad.cfg file. is it possible to have it so that the binding start+select works with any controller that actually has a select button?

Capeman

@brad2600 Make sure you have the hotkey button set also:
input_enable_hotkey_btn = "3" (3 being an example)
This should correspond with your select button.

All controllers from the same brand will use one config file, if you setup a different brand of controller, a new config will be created for the different controller.

brad2600

@Capeman somehow, adding input_enable_hotkey_btn was exactly what i needed! thanks!

now, as for the config files, i have three different controllers, one a nes clone, one a snes clone, and one a genesis clone. they all appear to be generic, and i grabbed em all off of amazon. is it wrong that they all appear to share one config file?

Capeman

@brad2600 "somehow" hahaha, theres actually a very good reason that happens.

Anway, the generic clone controllers probably all use the same chipset inside of each one. They just map the buttons differently. Since its the same chipset ID, retropie will think its the same controller. It's not looking at the plastic casing, it's looking at the device ID.

That's how you know you got something "chinese cheap" haha

brad2600

@Capeman of course... i guess this means that if i want to be able to keep my controller setup, i'll have to get controllers that have different device IDs? as it is, if i want to switch between the genesis and the snes controllers, it seems as though i will have to configure them on each change, and in the case of the genesis controller, ssh in to enable the quit option? this seems overly complicated.

Capeman

@brad2600 Set your hotkey to start instead of select and you can use START+A to exit. Genesis fixed. Theres no rule saying you have to use select as your hotkey.

brad2600

@Capeman the genesis was fixed a few messages earlier, when you showed me the input_enable_hotkey_btn. the only trouble is that since my snes and genesis controllers are both using the same cfg file, i'm running into issues when i switch between the two controllers.

specifically, if the genesis controller is configured as suggested here:
https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Genesis-Megadrive

when i switch to the snes controller, the config is wonky (the buttons aren't mapped properly). then, if i remap the snes controller, it both removes the hotkey button fix for the genesis, and maps things so that the genesis controller is now wonky.

Capeman

@brad2600 Yeah, thats the problem with cheapo controllers. Get yourself a better genesis clone like a hyperkin brand and you'll be able to map it differently.

Capeman

WAIT, IM DUMB. Just remap the genesis emulator through the retroarch config window. That way the same controller will act differently on that emulator. Floob has a great video on youtube about how to do that.

brad2600

@Capeman i was actually looking to see if i could find a better brand just now actually, but i think i prefer the idea of remapping the genesis emulator for now! i'll look into that, and let you know how it goes. thanks for all the help!

Capeman

@brad2600

thedishking

Hello!
Thank you for all of the hints thus far!

I kind of feel like I am in a similar situation to where Brad was several years ago.

I have read for many nights and I humbly ask for some help getting keyboard and USB joystick controller together.

I have the keyboard commands working perfectly on RetroPie 4.5.1.

I am able to get in and out of everything with the keyboard.
I have everything mapped to Start + Select and Select is my hotkey.
I am using a Ultimarc I-Pac interface for keyboard interface.

My trouble comes in as I am trying to get joystick working (js0) with RetroArch.
I can exit Coleco and Jzintv with both keyboard and joystick, but I am unable to exit RetroArch with my usb interface.
I am using the Ultimate PC Interface from Hafner Enterprises for an Intellivision Flashback controller.
I am able to use jstest and can see the commands as I think to expect.
I do have most of the joystick working for "b" (Atari), start, select, etc.
I am simply unable to use any combination to for exit of RetroArch.

I have tried modifying both the /configs/all/retroarch.cfg as well as /config/atari2600/retroarch.cfg.

I have seen "different behavior" when changing things such as:
input_player1_b_btn = "1" - I have successfully swapped with other buttons and seen immediate differences.

What I can't seem to get is :

input_exit_emulator_btn = "19" # Button Exit - enter keypad

to make any difference.

So, if I successfully have setup "start+select" on a keyboard to work as exit functions, is it only allowed to have one exit command?

Or, is it possible to have a button interface mirror the command too?

The idea is if you are playing something using arcade controller, you can use it how you want.
If you are playing something that is better experience with a system specific controller, you can also use it how you want and not have to go back to keyboard / arcade controller to exit games.

Sorry to be long winded. Thank you very much for your help!!

thedishking

I figured it out, at least for Nintendo.
I had been testing in Atari 2600, attempting to tweak both the retroarch.cfg file under /opt/configs/atari2600, in addition to the file under /opt/configs/all/retroarch-joypads/Microchip Technology Inc. Ultimate 2.cfg

I was doing some testing on Nintendo, and ended up doing the final modifications under the Microchip file referenced above.

Here are my settings, and "Enter" (19) is my new hotkey, and "6" (13) works to exit!

input_device = "Microchip Technology Inc. Ultimate 2"
input_driver = "udev"
input_l_btn = "14"
input_load_state_btn = "14"
input_start_btn = "12"
input_exit_emulator_btn = "13"
input_down_axis = "+1"
input_r_btn = "17"
input_save_state_btn = "17"
input_right_axis = "+0"
input_state_slot_increase_axis = "+0"
input_select_btn = "11"
input_left_axis = "-0"
input_state_slot_decrease_axis = "-0"
input_up_axis = "-1"
input_a_btn = "0"
input_b_btn = "1"
input_reset_btn = "1"
input_enable_hotkey_btn = "19"

Hope this helps someone.

Thank you for doing what you do.