Guide: Setting Up a RetroPie controls using IPAC2 Controller - Extensive Tutorial + Preconfigured files

alexp

Hi @theink ,
Thanks so much for your extensive guide about setting up Retroarch with different controllers and MAME !
I think it is the best guide ever, on the internet there are so many "guides" and partly right or wrong statements where you get completely lost...
I am working on my arcade cabinet to make an update on my first install which was not 100% OK, using your guide step by step on Github. If you are interested I can keep you informed about the progress and the end result...

I have only one question at the moment:
I tried to import your xml file into my IPAC2 but it failed, saying there is an unexpected error in line 42....
I am using my IPAC2 with Winipac version 1.0.8.10 under Windows 10 home, my IPAC board has hardware version 1.33.
Can you take a look at your xml file "IPAC2 Config - v4.xml" or do I need to upgrade to the recent firmware?

Waimea

Step 5: Does anyone have I-PAC2 Config for 2 players with 6 buttons?

tuki_cat

@waimea I have one, is the retroarch.cfg that you want? I'm not at home at the moment but I can send it to you later.

Waimea

@tuki_cat

Perhaps you could upload it here so I can edit my retroarch.cfg?

caver01

@tuki_cat You will also need to include a wiring table for which SW# inputs are wired to which button locations and what keyboard key is configured for each.

There are layers of abstraction here, so by the time you get to the retroarch.cfg, you have already made several config decisions upstream.

tuki_cat

@waimea - Here is the relevant section of my retroarch.cfg (https://pastebin.com/bPhzKrLr)

@caver01 - I am using all of the standard IPAC keys as outlined on the Ultimarc website - https://www.ultimarc.com/ipac2.html. I haven't changed any of them, they are all default settings. That being the case is there any reason that you know of why @Waimea can't use this layout?

Waimea

@caver01

I think there is new firmware that makes the I-Pac 2 register as two gamepads.

caver01

@tuki_cat he can use it, but the missing link is "six buttons". You are using Ultimarc defaults, that is a good start. But what switch#s are wired to what buttons? Ultimarc does not decide how you wire your buttons and where you drill the holes in your panel. Unless @Waimea has that detail from you, the configs may match, but the buttons won't. Make sense?

caver01

@caver01 For example, I have my panel wired like this for Players 1 and 2:

    UP         SW1   SW2   SW3
LEFT  RIGHT
   DOWN        SW4   SW5   SW6

tuki_cat

@caver01 @Waimea

I have my buttons set up like this (the LP, MP, etc is Street Fighter II specific!):

Player one

Top row from left to right
LP - lctrl (P1 button 2)
MP - lalt (P1 button 3)
HP - space (P1 button 5)

Bottom row from left to right

LK - lshift (P1 button 1)
MK - z (P1 button 4)
HK - x (P1 button 6)

caver01

@tuki_cat Ha ha ha. Now you see my point! Your switch locations are totally different than mine. Yours maybe simplifies things for fighting games. Mine probably leads to remapping. But mine is how I have been wiring the Ultimarc for over a decade.

Waimea

@caver01 said in Guide: Setting Up a RetroPie controls using IPAC2 Controller - Extensive Tutorial + Preconfigured files:

@caver01 For example, I have my panel wired like this for Players 1 and 2:
    UP         SW1   SW2   SW3
LEFT  RIGHT
   DOWN        SW4   SW5   SW6

I have my panel wired the exact same way for Player 1 and 2. I can't get this to work though in game, I setup Player 1 in emulationstation and from there I want to config RA.

caver01

@waimea I started a wiki page for setting up keyboard controllers. It is a bit of a work in progress, but it does help explain a few of the details. You might need to verify you are running the IPAC in keyboard mode. We all do things a little differently, so one size almost never fits all.

Waimea

@caver01
I'm using what I think is new firmware for the I-pac2 which makes the I-Pac2 register as two gamepads. Instead of a keyboard and one gamepad which the old firmware did.

tuki_cat

@waimea my setup is with the IPAC in keyboard mode.

Maybe that is the issue, although the IPAC firmware is registering as two pads but maybe retroarch doesn't recognise them both.

You could try and contact Ultimarc, they may be able to provide with some info, I have always found them helpful when I have contacted them.

Waimea

@tuki_cat

I did a fresh install of Retropie 4.3 and now it works perfectly!

caver01

@waimea Hey, nice!

I am always at a bit of a loss helping new IPAC owners, as mine is very old. I don't have a gamepad option, so mine is one keyboard, over, done. This is convenient because it is easy to understand. Two gamepads might make more sense considering all of the documentation around using them.

All of these variables are why it is difficult to just provide a config file for people to use. It has to come with a bunch of documentation about firmware, wiring diagrams and so on. Not everyone agrees on what works best either. It is better to understand your own configuration details than to use someone else's anyway. In any case, I am glad you have it working.

tuki_cat

@waimea great!

@caver01 I've learnt two things from this thread -

1.) That I can put my reasonably new IPAC2 into a duel game pad mode, I might give that a try.

2.) That I shouldn't offer my retroarch configuration details unless I have all the info to back it up, otherwise it could cause more problems than it solves!

Loggahead

Wondering if someone here can help me out with this. Waimea said that their IPAC2 was recognized as 2 gamepads after upgrading the firmware. Reading through the documentation, the IPAC2 definitely will function as 2 separate gamepads with firmware 1.34.

I upgraded to 1.34 and programmed both the P1 and P2 sides of my IPAC2 as gamepad inputs but when I hook it back up, Retropie only sees one gamepad detected? When programming the gamepad inputs, I programmed both P1 and P2 on my IPAC2 identically because I thought that since it looks at each side of the board as a separate gamepad that should be ok? Is this where I've gone wrong?

Any help is much appreciated.

-logga

caver01

@loggahead Most people with IPACs that I have worked with with avoid using the gamepad configuration and opt to reconfigure their IPAC into Keyboard mode. New firmware or not, you should be able to use the WinIPAC utility to save the mode as Keyboard.

After that, you can pretty much use the default MAME keys for everything. Just be mindful of IPAC "shift" function which behaves a lot like a hotkey. This can obviously cause confusion when it interferes with RetroArch hotkey functionality.