Issue with multiple "USB Controller " controllers...

DavidDraper

Hey folks,

Looking for some help on controller config and recognition. I'm using RetroPie 4.6 on a Raspberry Pi 4. I have several controllers that show up in RetroPie as "USB Controller " in the autoconfig directory; a SNES controller, a Fight Stick, a NES Controller, and a Genesis controller. When I plug these controllers in they seem to not recognize which config doc to use, and it makes using RetroPie a hassle. Once in the games, things seem to work just fine. Any suggestions on ways to somehow help RetroPi better identify the controllers? Thanks!

David

mitu

Each controller reports its name when queried. The "USB Controller" name is what the device reports to the OS. You can check by running cat /proc/bus/input/devices when the controller is plugged in. Besides the name, they should have also an VendorId/ProductId that can be used to differentiate between them.

If all devices report the same name, then they'll share the same auto-configuration file, which may be your issue.

DavidDraper

@mitu

Thanks very much. I ran the cat /proc/bus/input/devices command and received the exact same entry for three devices: (input1 and input2 are a mouse and keyboard)

(a fight stick):
I: Bus=0003 Vendor=0079 Product=0011 Version=0110
N: Name="USB Gamepad "
P: Phys=usb-0000:01:00.0-1.1/input0
S: Sysfs=/devices/platform/scb/fd500000.pcie/pci0000:00/0000:00:00.0/0000:01:00.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.1/1-1.1:1.0/0003:0079:0011.0001/input/input3
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=event3 js0
B: PROP=0
B: EV=1b
B: KEY=3ff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B: ABS=3
B: MSC=10

(a SNES controller:)
I: Bus=0003 Vendor=0079 Product=0011 Version=0110
N: Name="USB Gamepad "
P: Phys=usb-0000:01:00.0-1.2/input0
S: Sysfs=/devices/platform/scb/fd500000.pcie/pci0000:00/0000:00:00.0/0000:01:00.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2:1.0/0003:0079:0011.0005/input/input4
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=event4 js1
B: PROP=0
B: EV=1b
B: KEY=3ff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B: ABS=3
B: MSC=10

a USB Nes Controller:
I: Bus=0003 Vendor=0079 Product=0011 Version=0110
N: Name="USB Gamepad "
P: Phys=usb-0000:01:00.0-1.1/input0
S: Sysfs=/devices/platform/scb/fd500000.pcie/pci0000:00/0000:00:00.0/0000:01:00.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.1/1-1.1:1.0/0003:0079:0011.0006/input/input5
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=event3 js0
B: PROP=0
B: EV=1b
B: KEY=3ff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B: ABS=3
B: MSC=10

Any ideas or suggestions on how to make them show up differently in RetroPie?

Thanks in advance,

David

mitu

Looking at the identification information, all gamepads appear identical (Name/VendorId/ProductId). I don't see how you could differentiate between them except by the USB port they're plugged in.

We've had reported cases with 2 gamepads sharing the same identification info, but never had 3 at a time. Where did you get these gamepads ?

DavidDraper

@mitu the SNES and NES controllers are from VILROS. There is a genesis USB controller I got from them too with the same issue. The fight stick is this one: https://www.newegg.com/p/1B4-06RX-02S78?Item=9SIABJCB2K3542.

But even though the controllers are branded by VILROS, I suspect they were manufactured by another maker. Not sure what to do. :-/; thinking about a way to have a folder with USB Controller config files that I could switch out and reboot the system. Not pretty, but it might be an good option if the Pi can't differentiate between the controllers itself.

mitu

Well, the configuration for the gamepad is kept in

$HOME/.emulationstation/es_input.cfg for EmulationStation
/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads for RetroArch

You could keep a copy for each controller's configuration and have a script to toggle/copy it to the right place when using the controller. You can put the script(s) in $HOME/RetroPie/retropiemenu and execute them from RetroPie system in EmulationStation.

DavidDraper

@mitu

ok- that's interesting. I thought a "master" directory location for the gamepad configurations was in

/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/autoconfig

I thought whatever is in there is automatically copied into

/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads;

do you know if this is the case off the top of your head?

I'm not sure about

$HOME/.emulationstation/es_input.cfg

Thanks,

David

mitu

@DavidDraper said in Issue with multiple "USB Controller " controllers...:

/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/autoconfig
I thought whatever is in there is automatically copied into
/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads;

It's the same folder, the latter is a symlink to the former.

pi@retropie $ file /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads
/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads: symbolic link to /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/autoconfig