lr-bluemsx controls - swap a and b, add pause

pajordan

i've been messing around with msx games recently using lr-bluemsx and it's a pretty fun system, but i was hoping to adjust the controls to my liking. (I'm using RetroPie 4.2 built from pre-made SD Image on RetroPie website running on a Pi Zero W)

the retropie msx page (https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/MSX) states that lr-bluemsx utilizes RetroArch configurations and links to the RetroArch Configuration page for more information on custom controls: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/RetroArch-Configuration

i tried Core Input Remapping first but couldn't figure it out. i invoked the RGUI (select + x), went into Quick Menu - Controls, but couldn't find the user1 a and b buttons (i'd like to swap these inputs). the User 1 Device Type is set to RetroPad, but i don't see fields for user1 a and b buttons - instead there are fields like Auto: 1 (N/A), (Key: z) [User1] (which is set to 2 / coleco but.2) and Auto: 3 (N/A), (Key:a) (which is set to 3 / coleco 2). can i remap the a and b buttons through Core Input Remapping for lr-bluemsx, and if so, how?

another option i explored is a Custom RetroArch Override; i opened this file in a text editor: /opt/retropie/configs/msx/retroarch.cfg and i see:

# Settings made here will only override settings in the global retroarch.cfg if placed above the #include line

input_remapping_directory = "/opt/retropie/configs/msx/"

#include "/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg"

but in my /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg, i don't see anything specific to msx, and i don't know the syntax to use to remap the a and b buttons in the /opt/retropie/configs/msx/retroarch.cfg file. would i try inserting these lines with swapped a and b values?:

input_player1_b_btn = 2
input_player1_a_btn = 1

this would probably work for swapping a and b in the msx emulator but something else i was hoping to do was map a keyboard key to the start button that corresponds with pausing the game. could that be done?

pajordan

i figured out a few things with this.

in the RGUI for lr-bluemsx, it is possible to reconfigure the gamepad buttons but some of them aren't clearly labeled; here's how it corresponds for me:
B button (down) 0 (N/A), (Key: z) [User 1] = B
Auto: 3 (N/A), (Key: a) [User 1] = Y
Auto: 6 (N/A), (Key: rshift) [User 1] = Select
Auto: 7 (N/A), (Key: enter) [User 1] = Start
...
A button (right) 1 (N/A), (Key: x) [User 1] = A
Auto: 2 (N/A), (Key: s) [User 1] = X

this makes it easy to swap the a and b buttons. (the Custom RetroArch Override mentioned in my initial post also works but this has the added effect of swapping the a and b buttons in the RGUI as well.)

unfortunately, i don't see how to choose any other keyboard keys other then the ones listed above (Key: in each parenthetical). and it looks like the choices for each field are geared towards colecovision (the options are like 1 / coleco but.1, 2 / coleco but.2, etc., and no keyboard keys).

i tried one of the other emulators listed on the retropie msx page - lr-fmsx - and this one does allow you to set keyboard keys as controls via the RGUI if you set the User 1:Device Type to Joystick + Emulated Keyboard; then you have options in each field like function keys (F1, F2, etc.) and Spacebar, etc. this is great, but one problem i've noticed with this emulator is that the emulation seems a bit worse than with lr-bluemsx. with lr-fmsx, the game feels like it runs faster and not at a consistent speed (it slows down and speeds up); it's pretty weird.

anyway, if anyone knows how to map keyboard keys to gamepad buttons with lr-bluemsx (or if there's a fix to adjust the emulation speed with lr-fmsx) i'd love to hear.

Thorr69

Are you going about these solutions while considering that A & B get swapped deliberately whenever you launch an emulator? This setting can be simply turned off and save you the trouble of remapping.

Here is what I am referring to: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/6379/swap-a-b-button-in-emulationstation?_=1587575521876

Emulationstation does a swap for itself and then launching an emulator undoes the swap. I'm really just curious if this may be something contributing to your frustrations or if this is all directly in the emulator level. (Though it sound sliek you already worked out the A-B swap problem anyway...)

pajordan

@Thorr69 thanks for the reply; i didn't know about that setting and thank you for sharing, but that's not what's going on in this case. some games for the msx just have the buttons swapped from what you'd expect, like Vampire Killer, as mentioned in the video linked below.

i have a few solutions for swapping a and b now for this emulator, but now i'm focused on mapping keyboard keys to buttons in lr-bluemsx (or adjusting the emulation speed in lr-fmsx), which i'm still hoping to figure out.

this video mentions that the buttons are swapped from what you'd expect in Vampire Killer even if you're playing on an actual msx with a controller (mentioned at timestamp 4:35, which i tried to include in the link):