Controls in ZX Spectrum

10vorne

In contrast to actually all other systems, I have problems with the controls of the ZX-Spectrum. I've tried different games and I couldn't move anything with the USB gamepad or any key on the keyboard. I did some googling, but Retroarch also takes over control in other emulators by default and it works everywhere. And now I'm not sure if I should start messing around with the Retroarch configuration. Not that I break the controls in the other emus.

hawkes_84

@10vorne ZX-spectrum is a bit trial and error when it comes to what works. Sometimes your retropad will work with the right choice be it Kempston Joystick or Sinclair Joystick. Yes you'll have to go into RetroArch for pretty much any game to see what works. Under quick options go to Controls and Port 1 for checking what works with your retropad. Go to Port 3 if it's a keyboard game and you wanna use your keyboard scroll through the options it gives you. If you find a good match for any of them make sure you save the Game File so you don't need to keep going into RetroArch again each time. Good luck!

Floob

@10vorne If you are using lr-fuse, there is some useful info here:
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/ZX-Spectrum/#controls

I use that to set the gamepad to act as a Kempston joystick then choose that in the game. So thats just editing the spectrum retroarch file in /opt/retropie/configs/zxspectrum/retroarch.cfg

For what its worth, here are some notes I scribbled some years ago

input_libretro_device_p1 = "513"
input_libretro_device_p2 = "0"
input_libretro_device_p3 = "259"
input_libretro_device_p4 = "1"
input_libretro_device_p5 = "1"

This sets the first player to Kempston and player 3 to keyboard

To choose controls when starting a game, press select to bring up the keyboard overlay
some games may need core option set per game to force 48k model for compatibility (like dizzy)