Mapping menu is confusing and may be inconsistent

[arromdee]

First and foremost consider this:

• Only RetroArch bugs should be filed here. Not core bugs or game bugs
• This is not a forum or a help section, this is strictly developer oriented

Description

Cannot remap a controller inside a game.

Expected behavior

I know that these don't do what I'd naively expect them to do, but I don't actually know what the intended retroarch behavior is.

I don't know if it's supposed to:

1. Not allow you to map anything (in which case the bug is that it makes it look like you can map things, rather than disabling all of the menu except the "device type" part)
2. Allow you to map retropad inputs to controllers (in which case the bug is that it doesn't)
3. Allow you to map your computer's inputs to retropad inputs (it doesn't do that either)
4. Do one of the above depending on "Remap controls for this core" (in which case the bug is that "remap controls for this core" doesn't function)

Furthermore, it is confusing to have the same menu mean something different depending on whether or not a core is loaded, with the only visual difference being the device type part. There should be two separate menus, "map computer inputs to retropad" and "map retropad to controller" (with the latter enabled only in a core).

Actual behavior

None of the above.

Steps to reproduce the bug

1. With no core loaded, go to "port 1 controls" and set "start button" to have key:enter.
2. Load a core (Flycast). Go back to the menu.
3. Make sure that "Remap controls for this core" is set.
4. Go into "port 1 controls". Set the "start button" to use "g".
5. Play a game. Notice that "enter" still functions as the start button. "g" does not function as the start button.
6. Repeat with "Remap controls for this core" not set. Same behavior. Repeat using a controller input instead of 'g', same behavior.

Bisect Results

I do not know.

Version/Commit

You can find this information under Information/System Information

• RetroArch: -- v1.9.0 -- 0bb7090 --

Environment information

• OS: Mageia linux 8.0g
• Compiler: g++ (Mageia 10.3.0-1.mga8) 10.3.0

[sonninnos]

Doing tests and reports with the latest version is advised.

[hizzlekizzle]

I do agree that having settings > input > port 1 controls and also having quick menu > controls > port 1 controls being the same name for different menus is a bad idea. At one point, it was settings > input > port 1 binds, which I thought was decent (though apparently people were confused by the term). I would personally like to see the port X whatevers moved to a submenu named, as arromdee suggested, "physical device mapping" or something like that.

[arromdee]

I do agree that having settings > input > port 1 controls and also having quick menu > controls > port 1 controls being the same name for different menus is a bad idea.

It's worse than that. I wasn't comparing settings -> input ->port 1 controls and quick menu.

I was comparing settings -> input -> port 1 controls in a game, and settings -> input -> port 1 controls outside a game. No quick menu is involved. It's literally the same menu item that has different behavior inside and outside a game, not just a similarly named item in another menu.

[hizzlekizzle]

oh, i get it. hmm, that's not something i've messed with but I'll try it.

[tbone2k-git]

I'm into computers and coding for decades, I also find mapping controllers confusing in RA (despite some other things) - up to the point of not further looking into RetroArch - but I like the emulator-as-a-plugin idea very much. Some of the issues I have are like this:

You setup controllers..

• you unplug/replug.. does not work anymore
• you map button A and B and they are switched in the game
• analog controls suddenly not working
• always wonder what the hotkey or menu button is
• if there is a hotkey button, it only works on 1 controller?
• always wonder how to exit emulation
• no keyboard defaults etc.
• what is global setting and what is core specific (if there is override)
• why do buttons "A" and "B" map to "X" and "O" on my playstation controllers

It is very irritating, I really wonder how people get along with it.
I'm tinkering with RetroPi (EmulationStation) and EmulationStation "DesktopEdition" + RetroArch for weeks, and I am not even close to something I would call a working setup, which is a sad thing, but I hope things can be resolved somehow.

Of course things get harder if EmulationStation is another layer in the mapping mechanics, I still need to find out how it is related to RA mappings. It's all "hartes Brot" as we say in germany.. (means "hard bread").. o) Thank you!