RetroArch using Dolphin for GameCube - controller works fine unless launched from LaunchBox

[Huda_Thunkit]

Ok, here's the breakdown of what's going on:

I'm running GameCube games with the dolphin_libretro core through RetroArch.  I noticed that certain games (like Crazy Taxi or Dragon's Lair 3D) slow to a crawl.  Through some research on other forums, I was able to determine that the xinput controller driver in RetroArch was the cuprit.  It doesn't play well with the dolphin core for some reason.  So...I start up RetroArch, get to the menu and then Settings/Drivers/Controller and change it from xinput to sdl2.  Voila!  Crazy Taxi and Dragon's Lair run great now!  I think the problem is solved.

Nope!  For some reason, the controller just does not work at all when I load any GameCube game from LaunchBox now.  The games load and run just fine, but I get no input from the controller.  Everything works fine when I load straight from RetroArch, but not when I have LaunchBox launch it.  I can change the driver back to xinput and everything works, but the sluggishness is back.  It's also worth noting that every other console I emulate through RetroArch works fine with the sdl2 controller driver, whether I launch it straight from RetroArch or Launchbox.  It's just Dolphin that's giving me the issue.

I thought maybe I changed some obscure setting in LaunchBox that is messing with it, so I installed an absolutely fresh copy of RetroArch and a fresh copy of LaunchBox.  I only installed the dolphin_libretro core in RetroArch and imported a couple of GameCube games through LaunchBox.  The same problem still occurs.  With the sdl2 driver set as the controller input in RetroArch, everything works great unless I launch it from LaunchBox.

Since it runs fine from RetroArch, there HAS to be something that LaunchBox is doing to make this not work, right?  Is there some command LaunchBox is throwing into the mix when it launches a game that could be causing the problem?  Again, the sdl2 driver works fine for every other system I run through RetroArch regardless of whether or not I launch it from LaunchBox.  So why is Dolphin so strange, and what is LaunchBox doing during launch to keep it from working??

Edited September 6, 2021 by Dindu Nuffan