How to force correct button and monitor setup on each boot?

cmscss

Hi there, completely new to Raspberry Pi so go easy!

I'm trying to build a two player arcade cabinet for 80s arcade games only (no console games). I have 2x USB PCBs connected to 2 sets of arcade buttons and joysticks, 1 for each player.

I'm going round in circles so are obviously using the wrong search terms - sorry if this stuff is obvious.

1. TWO SETS OF CONTROLS
I can't setup both sets of controllers, only the last controls setup are sued. Also, the first set of controls work fine but if I setup the second set, I get unpredictable results with the joystick (up is down etc) and the other buttons don't work.

Questions:

Can you use two sets of controllers at the same time (player one and player two)?
Is there something to enable to use two sets of controls?
Can you designate one set of controls as player 1 (with Start, Select, Esc etc) and have the other set as player controls only?

2. FIRE BUTTON
How do you make it so that the fire button (A) is the fire button in games and in Emulation Station?
Currently, the fire button is swapped in games.

3. MONITOR ASPECT RATIO
When I first start, the Monitor aspect ratio is screwy and chopped off. If I then restart from Emulation Station, the screen comes back looking perfect. But if I switch off (at the wall) and start up the next day, the screen is screwy again.

Questions:

Is there a way to force the Raspberry Pi to always use the right aspect ratio?
Or is there a kinder way to shutdown? I can only see restart from Emulation Station.

4. TEXT FILE SETUP
Is there a way to setup the buttons and monitor settings in a text file so it always boots/works perfectly?

Any pointers in the right direction would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Ben

backstander

@cmscss

Okay, I might be able to help with a few of these but you might need to give us more information about your setup.

It might also help to read through the documentation if you haven't already.
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/

1. TWO SETS OF CONTROLS
We need more information about how you have your controllers wired. You might not have the player 2 wired correctly. Pictures are also nice.

2. FIRE BUTTON
This is also dependent on which emulator you are using and each game will use different configurations for what they what you to press for the "Fire Button". You can override controls per emulator/system and per game.

Since you said you wanted to use Arcade only, you can look here to see all the MAME emulators as well as FinalBurn-Alpha and Neo Geo

Can you use two sets of controllers at the same time (player one and player two)?

You can use 2 sets and even 2 completely different controllers at the same time in 2 play games.

Is there something to enable to use two sets of controls?

I believe all the RetroArch emulators don't need any extra settings to enable 2 player support.

Can you designate one set of controls as player 1 (with Start, Select, Esc etc) and have the other set as player controls only?

I think so but I'm not sure what you're asking.

3. MONITOR ASPECT RATIO
You might experiment with Overscan or try overriding the resolution.

Or is there a kinder way to shutdown? I can only see restart from Emulation Station.

Make sure to gracefully shutdown your Raspberry Pi with the Shutdown or Restart menu options in Emulation Station. If you switch off at the wall before the Raspberry Pi has completely shutdown, that can cause file corruption. It would be like booting your computer into Windows 10 and just pulling the plug from the wall. That could also cause file corruption.

4. TEXT FILE SETUP
Yes you can put custom button mapping and monitor settings in a file. See 3 for monitor.
For controllers it depends on the emulator you are using:

Here are the Custom RetroArch Override Examples
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/#custom-retroarch-override-examples

For example, if you wanted to override the button mapping for the SNES. You would put those in /opt/retropie/configs/snes/retroarch.cfg.

Now If you have a couple games that have wonky controls, you can add a specific custom button mapping just for that game. Look at this doc under "ROM-specific settings":
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/#config-hierarchy

An example I use is for Metroid on the NES. To switch to rockets in the game you have to press the Select button but my Hotkey is also the Select button which can cause some undesirable results. So I made a new file named Metroid (USA).zip.cfg and put it in the same place as my ROM which is named Metroid (USA).zip and is located in ~/RetroPie/roms/nes/. I'm using an Xbox 360 controller so I wanted to substitute my Xbox/Guide button to use as the new Hotkey. This is what I put in my Metroid (USA).zip.cfg file:

# Hotkey button
input_enable_hotkey_btn = 10 #Guide

cmscss

@backstander Thank you so much! Am digesting your answers and will get back to your with questions/pics for anything I don't understand.