8Bitdo M30 Bluetooth setup in Retroarch for Mega Drive and Saturn, and other controllers (Game Cube and Nintendo 64)

[Kefka2b]

Hello,

I've just received the Bluetooth version of this controller (already upgraded firmware to v2.0) and I am setting it up as XInput (and pad set as D-Pad) for full compatibility with LB/BB (navigation and pause screen for which I use the Xbox corresponding button to open, Retroarch menu is set to open with "Start+Select" only), until now I have mainly used a DualSense emulated as XInput with DS4Windows and it works great!

But I am trying to map the controller in Retroarch from the main menu, the controller is recognised as XInput compatible Bluetooth device.

Since the GenesisplusGX core is mapped this way:

- Joypad Auto:

• A -> X
• B -> A
• C -> B
• X -> LB
• Y -> Y
• Z -> RB
• Start -> Start
• Switch mode -> Select (However I have unmapped this since the pad converts automatically according to games I believe)

I then setup my controller this way in the main Retroarch menu (Buttons are labelled as digits and axis values which makes it very confusing also...):

• A -> X
• B -> A
• C -> B
• X -> LB
• Y -> Y
• Z -> RB
• Start -> Start
• Select -> Middle bottom button
• L -> LT
• R-> RT

It seems to work more or less in GenesisplusGX, however in Mednafen Beetle Saturn, the core default mapping is completely different (although the controller was very similar to the Mega Drive one), I guess I may just do a core-remap and forget playing Saturn games with my DualSense on this core completely since the controls would then be completely messed up.

However here are the issues:

• In Mednafen Saturn both L and R work as LT although the mapping of the core clearly shows that L and R are set to LT and RT...
• I use "Select" as my hotkey toggle in Retroarch and then LT as Rewind, RT as fast-forward (hold) and RB as fast-forward toggle, but C is used as fast-forward (hold) and R is used as Rewind. 

Has anyone gone through this? I'm starting to lose my mind. I have already updated controller profiles in Retroarch (V1.16.0) before doing the custom config.

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Kefka2b

[Kefka2b]

Hey for anyone who'll stumble upon this in the future I managed to find a solution to this

1. Set the M30 to Switch mode (Hold start+Y for a few seconds) and pair it to Windows.

2. Set it to D-Pad mode (Hold Select+D-pad up for a few seconds)

3. If like me you tried to fiddle with controller configs in Retroarch, make sure you use the default auto-config profiles in Retroarch and save your config.

5. I took my Dual Sense (Emulating an Xbox360 controller via DS4Windows) and had to reconfigure it manually for some reason.

6. Connect your M30 using DS4Windows (Hide the Nintendo controller in Hid Hide wizard), it will now be recognized as a Switch pro controller and emulate an X360 controller with it also.

7. Retroarch will recognize both as the same x360 controller which is good (it means that hotkeys will work on both controllers the same way)!

8. Make sure you create a separate profile in DS4Windows for both controllers in DS4Windows and that they are linked to each by default.

9. You now have to  re-assign a few buttons manually in the DS4Windows profile config (A,C,X,Y,Z only were needed IIRC) for your M30 to match the auto config mapping of the x360 controller in Retroarch.

Now everything works and Mega Drive and Saturn buttons are mapped well without any modifications needed on the cores (which means you can also use the regular controller if you want to :D

 

[Kefka2b]

I went ahead and purchased the Exlene GameCube updated Bluetooth Switch controller as well as the Brawler 64 (N64) Bluetooth Switch controller, as I reckon they should be detected as Switch Pro controllers (with the Home and Select buttons) which means they will also allow me to emulate an XBox360 controller via DS4Windows (creating a separate profile and mapping for both) and enjoy all the BigBox (navigation and pause screen with home button) & Retroarch/Dolphin (Hotkeys shared across all controllers) capabilities for N64 & GameCube emulation.

I'll share the results once I test them for anyone that might be interested in going down the same route in the future.

[Kefka2b]

Update for anyone who may be interested in the future regarding the Exlene Game Cube Bluetooth controller and the Brawler 64 Bluetooth controller:

- Exlene: It works in X-Input mode (It doesn't work in Switch mode with DS4Windows so no remapping possible), home button will activate BigBox Pause screen and you can use the Select button as fast-forward in Dolphin (standalone) for example, however Windows sees A as B, B as A and X as Y, Y as X, so navigation in Bigbox will be a bit weird, but game controls can be remapped correctly in Dolphin of course.

- Brawler64: Works perfectly in X-Input mode (the manual is very misleading, you have to pair after combining the pairing button + B button for a few seconds, the top and bottom leds will start blinking), everything is recognised like the X360 controller in Retroarch which means that all your previously set hotkeys will also work the same way with this controller, I tried to use DS4Windows in D-Input or Switch mode but I couldn't make it work, however not required here in the end. It will perfectly assign the controls in Windows and the home button also work in Bigbox for Pause screen. A is A, B is B, C-Down is X, C-Left is Y. The only thing to consider is that C-UP and C-Right will be assigned the R3 and L3 buttons respectively, so you just need to remap your controls to accommodate the controller in your N64 emulator

 

-> So conclusion I can use all my controllers (DualSense, M30, Game Cube and N64, I also have an 8bitdo Arcade Stick which I think will also be easy to get to work according to my needs) with consistent Hotkeys and Button mappings for both my emulators and also Bigbox (apart from the Game Cube controller in Bigbox where the face buttons are reversed due to bad mapping in Windows).