Multiple controls.

[Stevie Mac]

Hey guys I've been doing the same thing for years & that's getting all my games & systems loading then closing then giving up due to life when it comes to sorting the controls out etc.
Now I've done this with Hyperspin many times & other front ends but I've now finally got Launchbox which has made things so much easier!  But now I'm on the dreaded controller setup again so I'm looking for some answers so I don't end up doing it multiple times & giving up again!
If you can please help that would be great thanks.


I have 3 controllers PS4, 8bitDo & another I'll prob buy.
Can all these pads be used to control Launchbox/BB front end and play launched games as players 1 2 3?

The problem is if I load up Launchbox then play something with the PS4 pad it's all good. Now my daughter wants to play her game with the 8bitdo, will her pad now work with Launchbox or do I need to close it all? 
What says what pad is used for what? 
Will the 8bitdo always be player 2 or can I restart LB & the 8bitdo will take over as player 1 & menu etc?

It's confusing to explain but hopefully someone gets what I mean.

Basically I want 3 players with 3 different pads to be able to be player 1 & control Launchbox. Is this doable or should I just have the PS4 pad to control Launchbox menu & the 8bitdo is always player 2?

Thanks guys 

 

[faeran]

The way Windows works by default (and most consoles for that matter) is that the first controller that turns on gets marked at player 1, then the second controller that turns on gets marked as controller 2, and so on. So, if you just happen to turn on your 8bitdo controller first, it becomes player 1 for that session. LaunchBox and Big Box allow you to pick a specific controller to navigate or make all your controllers have that ability.

Windows likes x-input devices (which I'm pretty sure most current 8bitdo controllers have support for). I feel like the PS4 controller needs a third party program in order to get it to run in x-input mode, something like DS4Windows. If you are looking to purchase a controller in the future, it becomes a lot easier if you purchase one that has support for x-input out of the box.

There are also third party programs that can force a specific controller to always be a specific player, or to make many controllers all the same player (something like x360ce).

[Stevie Mac]

Thanks for the reply!!
I did read about controllers in order being turned on selects what player they are ok.
Ok I was thinking of just getting all 8bitdo controllers to make it more simple so that's good to know.
Where in Launchbox does it allow you to use all controllers to navigate or is that default?

So can I add all 3 controllers to Launchbox it'll let me use all 3 to navigate Launchbox and big box?

If the PS4 pad is logged in first & select a game in Retroarch but I want the 8bitdo to be player 1 i need to turn off the PS4 pad then turn on the 8bitdo one?  This is where I get confused since Retroarch & Cores inside it & other emus all have places to put controllers 1 2 3 4 but do they stay in that order or does the order re-arrange depending what controller is turned on or logged in first?

Thanks for the Help

[faeran]

5 hours ago, Stevie Mac said:

Where in Launchbox does it allow you to use all controllers to navigate or is that default?

Under Options, in both LaunchBox and Big Box, there's a controllers section with an option that allows you to enable/disable this.

5 hours ago, Stevie Mac said:

So can I add all 3 controllers to Launchbox it'll let me use all 3 to navigate Launchbox and big box?

Yes.

5 hours ago, Stevie Mac said:

If the PS4 pad is logged in first & select a game in Retroarch but I want the 8bitdo to be player 1 i need to turn off the PS4 pad then turn on the 8bitdo one?  This is where I get confused since Retroarch & Cores inside it & other emus all have places to put controllers 1 2 3 4 but do they stay in that order or does the order re-arrange depending what controller is turned on or logged in first?

Not sure about all emulators, but they normally adhere to how Windows does things. Like in RetroArch, you aren't configuring a specific physical controller, but configuring the controls for "player 1", then that gets applied to whatever physically controller is currently registered as player 1 at any given time.

5 hours ago, Stevie Mac said:

Ok I was thinking of just getting all 8bitdo controllers to make it more simple so that's good to know.

That's a good idea, it will definitely make things easier on you.

[Stevie Mac]

I've ordered a new 8bitdo so hopefully I can use this as a base along with the other one & get this all working.
Great that Launchbox can use multiple pads for the menu.

With Retroarch I need to configure the pads for the menu then every emulator within Retroarch e.g SNes, N64 etc?

So my list of order to do things is this I think.
1.Add both pads to Launchbox & Big Box
2.Go through all emulators & configure both pads eg MAME CEMU etc
3.Add/config pads to Retroarch menu
4.Add/config pads in each emulator I'm using within retroarch by playing a game in that emulator then switching to quick menu & adding the pad/config?

I think that's it right?

Thanks for the help mate  really appreciate your time.

[faeran]

6 hours ago, Stevie Mac said:

With Retroarch I need to configure the pads for the menu then every emulator within Retroarch e.g SNes, N64 etc?

RetroArch usually has good defaults, especially when dealing with x-input. It's one of its strengths. So, most likely you won't have to alter anything unless you dislike any of the defaults they've set up for you.

But yes, you can go through this process with the controller you have right now and see how well you do.

[Stevie Mac]

Great hopefully it'll be that simple.  

My last problem is I want to run this through my NVidia Shield using Steam link or Moonlight etc, I'm not sure if it'll all work if the pads are connected to the Shield or do have to leave them connected to the PC?

Thanks for the help.