Couple of retroarch bugs and info for Picade users (remapping as a gamepad)

[movisman]

Hi,

I just thought i'd share some findings when having a few issues with Libretro cores (arcade ones) using the default keyboard mapping on the Picade.

I found on my Picade, when using the Libretro arcade cores, eg. lr-imame4all, lr-fba-next I had an issue with simultaneous button presses not working reliably (depending on the game you have to hold one button and then press the other to get the desired output, eg. pressing attack+jump to perform a special move in Final Fight). Hitting them simultaneously hardly ever works. Not dissimilar to this issue: https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/issues/2043

I also had a problem using lr-mame2003, which just acts strange because it doesn't seem to enjoy the default bindings of the Picade keyboard (pressing ctrl triggers ctrl+shift, for example), and some games don't control correctly as a result, for example Golden Axe when you try to jump, it performs a reverse attack because it is triggering ctrl+shift (attack+jump) together instead of ctrl, which is jump). This only happens in lr-mame2003 and not the other cores from what I can tell, they all map correctly I think.

Not sure what the process is for filing bugs, but the above two were certainly issues for me when using keyboard input and have been since I first installed my Picade last year. I get these issues when using a normal keyboard too plugged into USB, so this isn't an exclusive issue to the Picade i'm sure. I am happy to log these if you think they are legitimate issues.

So, after spending too much time trying to fix, when I noticed Gadgetoid over on the Picade forums posted a new experimental firmware which enables the Picade to be configured as a gamepad, I thought i'd give it a try. Over serial I managed to configure the Picade buttons and stick as a gamepad, but left the side buttons as vol up/down and enter/escape accordingly as my preference. I then reconfigured retroarch with the new 'gamepad', and the above two issues seem to be totally resolved - I guess because retroarch sees the Picade buttons as a gamepad instead of a keyboard. I had to change the joypad driver to SDL2 in the global retroarch.cfg (input_joypad_driver = "sdl2") for games to recognise input though. This does mean you get weird SDL warnings in the console which is a known issue I believe, but the messages can safely be ignored.

The only downside I have found so far, is the Amiga emulator is now as good as useless, because of the hardcoded keyboard inputs and no obvious support for a joypad. I can live with this though, as the Amiga emulator isn't really a finished article anyway and the frontend isn't that friendly (although it does run very well considering, I hope it gets developed further).

Anyway, if anyone is interested I can attempt to post some brief instructions on how I configured my Picade to be a gamepad. I would advise you look at http://forums.pimoroni.com/t/new-2-x-configurable-keyboard-gamepad-firmware/1881 to see if it's something you want to even attempt.

@BuZz, I noticed in another post you have a Picade, do you have the same issues as I describe above?

Thanks

[BuZz]

I haven't noticed, probably because of the games I play on MAME - I have an older Kickstarter PIcade which is which is not compatible with any of the firmware updates, and a newer one. I have not tested the new firmware though, and the older Picade has a different one I believe.

It's possible it is a RetroArch issue - need to use a tool to test if multiple presses work at the same time via console etc, and if so, it must be an issue with RetroArch keyboard handling vs some of the cores, or if not it is the Picade board firmware.

For the Amiga emulator I tend to keep a keyboard handy anyway, but joypad support does work I believe.

[movisman]

Hi BuZz,

Thanks for the reply. I believe it is a Retroarch issue in both cases on certain cores, as using a keyboard directly plugged into the Pi (removing the Picade from the equation) suffers the same response and mapping issue. You are correct, I think that experimental firmware is for the retail boards, although in the video posted in the thread, he does mention it'd be pretty easy to make the same firmware available for the kickstarter version, just a few changes are needed.

I agree with the Amiga emulator, I only tested it quickly but when I realised I couldn't even navigate the menu without a keyboard, I moved on for now. I am trying to keep my Picade setup as compact as poss and everything else is working great. I'll revisit it later, I hope one day it is ported into Libretro or developed further. Some games run really well.