[Solved] Dreamcast: Controller stops responding in some games

[dash-dot]

Hello,
I see there are a lot of threads regarding controller problems in Reicast, but I did not find anything matching my particular issue, so here goes:

• I'm running RetroPie v4.3 on an RPi 3.
• My controller is a Wii U Pro clone, set up as an XBox 360 controller using xboxdrv -- everything seems to be set up correctly, and the mappings are to my liking, and are working outside of Reicast, and in some Dreamcast games.

My issue is that the virtual XBox 360 setup works in some games, but not others. In smaller games such as Namco Museum, it works perfectly in all of the mini-games exactly as it should, including the analogue stick, D-pad, start button, etc. In "medium" sized games such as Chu Chu Rocket!, I'm able to get through some of the initial screens, but the controller then stops responding at the puzzle selection screen, at which point nothing works save for the exit emulator button (mapped to the physical Home button in my case).

Lastly, in the "big" games such as Crazy Taxi or Jet Grind Radio, I can never get past the initial menu screen where it says to press "Start" because the controller becomes unresponsive almost as soon as the game launches. Every game launch script takes me to the date setup screen, and the controller works fine in the BIOS, just not once the bigger games are launched.

My Wii U Pro controller works fine by itself in all my Dreamcast games, except for the erratic analogue controls, which is why I'm trying to use xboxdrv instead--I'd like to be able to adjust the stick calibration, but it looks as though most games that actually require the stick become unresponsive for me. I'd love to find a solution for this; I just hope it's not a memory-related issue, in which case the options might be limited.

Thanks for reading.

Update: Reducing the resolution in emu.cfg from 640x480 to 320x240 does not help. I confirmed that xboxdrv is fully working in Virtua Tennis 1 & 2, as well, but the games mentioned above are still not playing nice with xboxdrv.

[dash-dot]

I just thought I'd provide an update for anyone looking for pointers on getting Reicast up and running with their setup and controller(s).

After many unsuccesful attempts trying to get all my Dreamcast titles working on my Raspberry Pi -- including a hardware upgrade to the 3 B+ -- I finally had to wave the white flag and switch over to my Linux PC to run the bigger titles (Jet Grind Radio, Shenmue, Resident Evil, etc.).

It's fairly easy to build Reicast from the source code hosted on GitHub, provided you have all of the package / library dependencies covered (tested and working on my PC running Ubuntu 16.04):
How to compile Reicast on Linux
Build Reicast emulator on Ubuntu/Debian

I would ideally have liked to keep all of my retro games together on my Raspberry Pi, but I guess the reality of emulation is that sometimes, depending on the controllers one has on hand and the peculiarities of specific target as well as host platforms and titles, one has little choice but to cobble together a working solution by tinkering, tweaking or whatever other means that come to mind.

To cut a long story short, all of my Dreamcast titles now work well in Reicast running on Ubuntu, so this is now my preferred method of playing Dreamcast games.

More specifically, I think this is the best solution for getting the most out of a Wii U Pro Controller in Reicast, but perhaps other controllers would work better with the Raspberry Pi. Note that it is still necessary to run xboxdrv in order to have the analogue stick and dead zone parameters properly calibrated, however.

[ByteThis]

@dash-dot I have 3 Wii U Pro generic controllers which I use on my Pi 3b, using a Mayflash adapter : https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00E6553PW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 with no xboxdrv drivers installed and I have no problem with Reicast games. All buttons and analogue sticks work fine. Maybe it's the xboxdrv that's making it play funky.

[dash-dot]

@bytethis Good to know that a solution exists for the Raspberry Pi; thanks! It's just too bad that it requires additional bulky hardware.

I must admit I'm a bit confused as to why this adapter is necessary when the Wii U controller pairs just fine with either the on-board Bluetooth or a cheap dongle. Is it to ensure correct button and stick mapping? Have you had to adjust the calibration settings at all?

Regardless, you've definitely given me a good option to consider since I still prefer my Raspberry Pi over my PC for retro gaming, so thank you again!

I don't yet know for sure if I'm going to be purchasing this adapter, but I'll take your word for it that the Wii U Pro controllers function well when connected through this device--so I'll mark this thread as solved for now.

[ByteThis]

@dash-dot I bought the adapter because for the life of me, I couldn't get my controllers paired with the bluetooth on my pi. I tried everything. Some people have had luck pairing them, but unfortunately I was one person who couldn't get the generic ones to connect. I leave my pi in one place all the time, so I don't mind having the adapter at all as long as my controllers work ! :-)

EDIT: I didn't have to calibrate anything. Plugged the adapter in and synced my first controller and the other ones followed suit just by turning the controllers themselves on. No other messing around with them ! I bought this adapter as I was new to the scene at that time and didn't know what other dongles existed for the controllers to function.