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I realize this is nothing new, but with many of the emulators being pulled from the market, and the somewhat confusing process of getting everything in place, I thought I would post a little guide here on how to get some old school console gaming on our Photons, for people who may not have realized it was possible.
I also would ask that no one flame on about YongZh. Whatever your opinion is of him, his N64 emulator is bar none the best on Android.
Now, with that out of the way, the MoPho is a seriously capable gaming machine for those of you who grew up in the 80's and 90's. Because of the support for bluetooth that Motorola has in their phones, you can interface with the phone with several devices, some of which you may already have. With it's fast processing power, and a solid GPU, it runs emulators smoothly, and with HDMI, you can connect right to your TV. I have tried similar set-ups with the Evo, and the Evo3D, and neither one compared to what I am enjoying with my MoPho.
To start, you will want download some of the best emulators. You need to create a SlideMe account to buy N64oid. You can do that here: http://slideme.org/application/n64oid
SlideMe is safe to give your credit card information. Plus once you have an account, you can download several other emulators for free, like SNES, Gamboy Advanced, etc. For PSX, it's available in the Android market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.emulator.fpse&hl=en
The best SNES app is no longer available in the market. It was Snes9xEX from Robert Broglia. You can still find it here: http://www.explusalpha.com/home/snes9x-ex/downloads
There is an initial investment here of about $10 for the newer consoles (N64 and PSX), but it's worth it if you have the cash. These developers continue to work hard on these emulators, and $5 is a steal for the experience you get.
Second, you will want to download the BluezIME that supports a Wii Controller. Found here: http://code.google.com/p/android-bluez-ime/downloads/list
There are other Wii Mote apps, but this is the only one that works natively with the N64 emulator.
This app will allow you to pair a number of controllers with your device, and it supports true analog movement with the Wii controller analog stick. For those that don't know, analog allows you to control the movement of your player based on how far you bend the stick. Digital is 100% or 0% with a trigger somewhere about half way. Analog lets you push the stick a little, and move a little, push the stick alot, and move alot faster. I hope that makes sense. N64 is really the only console from this era that used it actively. PSX had a few games that did take advantage of it.
Once you have N64oid installed, as well as BluezIME, you can go into N64oid, and connect a Wii controller directly there. Just go into menu>settings>input settings>bluetooth gamepads>controller 1.
Once you are in there, you can hit connect, and it will ask to turn on bluetooth if you haven't already done so. Once it is on, it will say connecting. At this point, hit 1 and 2 on the Wii controller to pair it. The buttons automatically map, but you can change them if you want to. The analog stick should not be mapped in this section. It's already mapped correctly. If you are using the nunchuck, it's mapped to that analog stick. If you are using the classic controller, it's mapped to the left stick.
If you have multiple remotes, you can pair them all up using the other controller slots. N64 had a lot of great 4 player first person shooters. The wonderful advantage to having the MoPho is out of the box mirroring on to your HDTV. Because mirroring uses far less resources than webtop, make sure you just do mirroring, not webtop. It will ensure your emulator runs more smoothly.
Pairing with FPSE is a little different. It doesn't support BluezIME right in the app. So you have to pair with Bluez before going into FPSE. The upside to the N64oid emulator is you don't have to change your input method. So if you pause your game to answer a text, you type with your regular keyboard. In FPSE, Bluez is now your input method and you are mapping to actual keystrokes. Which means you will have to change your system input method if you need to type something, and change back when you re-start your game.
There is another option for a controller, which is the Sixaxis controller app. I don't have that controller, and so I haven't bought or tested that app. If anyone has, feel free to post your feedback here.
The other thing these emulators have is on screen controls, or hardware contols that use the sensor to move or physical buttons to shoot, jump, etc. Again, the MoPho has an advantage here over other phones. The camera button, and the volume up button can be mapped as triggers, and they are placed nicely. Also, because the MoPho has a gyroscope instead of an accelerometer, using the sensor as an analog stick is much more accurate than it was on my OG Evo. You can also map the camera and back buttons if you so choose.
Once you have installed your emulators, you need to get games to play. I have to tread lightly here, because downloading game roms from someone else is illegal. If you already own the game, and make a back up of it, it's legal to play your own copy of your own game with these emulators. You can use Google to find roms to see an example of what your backup will look like. PSX roms are the most difficult to get a solid working copy. This is because they are very large to begin with, and need to be "un-cem'ed" usually. I can tell you there is a good youtube video if you search on how to get PSX roms for your android device. If me saying that violates something, let me know and I will take it out. For FPSE, you will need to install the PSX bios. Again, this is easily downloaded by doing a Google search. If you can't find it, PM me, and I will send it to you.
FPSE is a somewhat complex emulator with a lot of options. For more support related specifically to that system, go to their support forums at:http://www.fpsece.net/forum2/index.php?sid=0fe4c20b809864ad49553f31ba1e9d1a
For N64oid, you can view the discussion here: http://n64oid.forumotion.com
If you have made it this far, here is a list of some games that are fun to play if you re-map the controls. Most of these are games that used the gun, because it can be emulated with a screen tap.
NES
Duck Hunt - Use input method as zapper. Map volume up as select, and volume down as start to navigate initial menus.
SNES
Yoshi Safari - This was a game that used the superscope. So you have to set the superscope as your main controller. If you map the volume up as the up button, and the volume down as the down button, and use sensor as left and right, then you are actually playing it in 2 player mode. The second player controls Yoshi, while the first is Mario shooting. But if you hold your phone in portrait, you can tilt left to right to dodge enemies, and press up to jump on the platforms, and down to slow down and evade obstacles. These instructions should work with SNESoid or Snes9x EX.
Mario Paint - This only works with Snes9x EX. The developer allows you to emulate the mouse.
Mario Kart - Use sensor as left and right, and map Volume up as A, Camera as R. Leave the on screen controls for acceleration. You accelerate by pressing B on screen, steer with the phone, but hop to do power slides with Camera, and fire your weapons with volume up.
PSX
Time Crisis - Change the controller to Guncon, and map L3 to volume up, and R3 to volume down. L3 will come out of cover to shoot, then you can tap on the enemies, and R3 will pause the game.
N64
Star Fox - Use the sensor as your analog stick, map volume up to Z, and camera to R. Map Volume down to C-left (use for boost). Leave the on-screen controls except for the analog stick and L and R. Flying the ship is done mostly from the phone controls, and firing is on-screen controls.
The compatibility lists in the forums for N64oid and FPSE aren't really specific to our phones. I have found excellent compatibility with most games on this phone. FPSE runs almost everything 100%. For N64 here are all the ones I have currently running with no issues that I can see, but I am sure that more are compatible, and the developer is improving this app regularly.
Super Mario 64
Mario Kart 64
Star Fox 64
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Banjo Kazooie
Zelda OOT
Zelda Majoras Mask
I hope that helps some of you enjoy your Photon that much more. If I missed anything or you want to add anything, just let me know.
Great guide!
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
Nice! Can't wait to try this out.
Yongzh is the freaking man. Google pulled his emulators I believe because of violations etc. Emulators don't last that long in the market. Ex, apple got a mame emulator and it was pulled in 2 days. I don't need to explain why they were pulled its pretty obvious lol. Also if you go to Google and search for "slideme market" yongzh gives his emulators free with updates. All of the emus are the latest versions. I'm not 100% on the story with yongzh and Google but the dude puts out qualify work. Not to mention the photon is the best devices I've ever emulated older systems/games on. Great write up.
Update: It appears slideme marketplace is down at the moment but I'm guessing it will be back soon? Here's a dropbox link to slide me i hope it's back up soon...
http://db.tt/KtgsxLaK
kennypow3rs said:
Yongzh is the freaking man. Google pulled his emulators I believe because of violations etc. Emulators don't last that long in the market. Ex, apple got a mame emulator and it was pulled in 2 days. I don't need to explain why they were pulled its pretty obvious lol. Also if you go to Google and search for "slideme market" yongzh gives his emulators free with updates. All of the emus are the latest versions. I'm not 100% on the story with yongzh and Google but the dude puts out qualify work. Not to mention the photon is the best devices I've ever emulated older systems/games on. Great write up.
Update: It appears slideme marketplace is down at the moment but I'm guessing it will be back soon? Here's a dropbox link to slide me i hope it's back up soon...
http://db.tt/KtgsxLaK
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I totally agree. My Evo was my first Android phone, and when I saw that there were SNES emulators, I was hooked. Yongzh replies to emails too, which is great. The Robert Broglia is also a really cool developer. If you want to venture into mame, and other systems like that, his emus are pretty legit.
Having in game sound stuttering issues in fpse playing resident evil nemesis
Checked the fpse forum and saw other posts with people with same issue, but that forum is a mess and didn't find any answers
Cut scene audio is intact, it's just in game audio
Anyone got re3 working flawlessly?
What settings you using for
Dual core boost
Hle mode
Mdec acceleration
Gte acceleration
Fast booting
Spu sync
Frame skip
Screen filtering
Fast draw
ksound said:
Having in game sound stuttering issues in fpse playing resident evil nemesis
Checked the fpse forum and saw other posts with people with same issue, but that forum is a mess and didn't find any answers
Cut scene audio is intact, it's just in game audio
Anyone got re3 working flawlessly?
What settings you using for
Dual core boost
Hle mode
Mdec acceleration
Gte acceleration
Fast booting
Spu sync
Frame skip
Screen filtering
Fast draw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of my biggest complaints about FPSE would be that the sound never seems to work correctly. I would suggest unchecking the framelimiter, and see if that makes it work. Some games ran too fast with that unchecked.
I was looking into this today. This is a great start for a guide. This is what I found. Looks like this article is about 8 months old but, should help with a few things to look for. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Android/Top+10+Android+charts/feature.asp?c=29415
Thank you =]
i got this 1 link is in mine mediafire who ever want to used welcome to used is the gameboy and 64 and mariocar=]]
You know what to do
/?iuwcxceaieleqxa
Nice write-up. I'm running Snes9x and Gameboid on my Electrify (Photon minus 4G) and they run great, but with on-screen controls, fast-action games like Mario are just unplayable. I beat both real Castlevania games for the GBA (I don't count Circle of the Moon, they made that for people who thought the other two and SOTN were too easy) on my Electrify, and Zelda 3 is kinda playable (SNES or the Capcom reissue on GBA). A Sixaxis controller is a little too expensive. I didn't think about the Wii classic controller.
Eek. Looks like the Wii option costs more than I thought. First you have to buy a Wiimote, and the black one with MotionPlus is $2.69 cheaper than the white and blue ones, and $4.69 cheaper than the pink one (girl gamers always get shaft...eh, scr... eh, cheated), but if you want to go black on black, Newegg needs $2 more to ship the black classic controller than the white one (both $19.99 with $4.99 and $2.99 shipping, respectively, and $35.30 and free shipping for the black Wiimote). So we're looking at $60 for the Nintendo option.
Meanwhile, Newegg wants $39.99 for the PS3 controllers in blue or black. If you want white or red, the price goes up to $44.99. But if you want pink (again, girls get... eh, you get the idea), the price jumps up to $54.99. All with free shipping. (Does the pink... eh, sorry, "Candy pink"... one support breast cancer research? No? Sony's just being misogynistic?)
Hmm... looks like Sony wins this one, by about $20. (Note that none of those are referral links, I'm not getting kickbacks or anything.)
Since I originally wrote this I bought a PS3 controller, and the sixaxis app is nothing short of amazing! The touch profiles make it so you can use N64oid with full analog control. But, what's more, is you can play games like Shadowgun and map the controls to key presses, or Modern Combat 3 with mapping on screen touch profiles.
If anyone is interested in these mappings or profiles, I can upload them here.
Yes please upload the n64oid profile
Is there one that exists? And if not any emulators?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
+1 to this. The only two (legitimate) emulators I know of are N64oid and Mupen64Plus AE. The latter is a very respected desktop emulator that's currently being worked on, and the former is a Yongzhoid production so yeah...
N64oid I know doesn't have any native gamepad support, which is a total shame. I can't find Mupen64 in the Market, and it looks like it might be a few more weeks before it gets put back up.
irishtexmex said:
+1 to this. The only two (legitimate) emulators I know of are N64oid and Mupen64Plus AE. The latter is a very respected desktop emulator that's currently being worked on, and the former is a Yongzhoid production so yeah...
N64oid I know doesn't have any native gamepad support, which is a total shame. I can't find Mupen64 in the Market, and it looks like it might be a few more weeks before it gets put back up.
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I actually have Mupen64 from when it was in the market, and from what I can tell there is no controller support. I guess I'm out of luck for now I would love to play some goldeneye with my controller instead of the ****ty onscreen controls. Thanks for the reply though.
PS3 controller is the only way. I have a Rapid Fire from Gamestop, and it has a Xbox 360 layout. But it's a PS3 bluetooth. So it works, just need 6Axis Tool via Play.
Edit: Then you need to have the IMEI mimic keypresses. Then map each key to a button. Then set it up. It takes like 15 minutes, but it's worth it.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium
I actually ended up creating an N64oid touch profile in Sixaxis so I could have analog support.
irishtexmex said:
I actually ended up creating an N64oid touch profile in Sixaxis so I could have analog support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guide or it didn't freaking happen! Lol, anyway, seriously, throw out a quick step-by-step? I'll admit I haven't tried recently, but I always get a headache when I decide I'm going to get the right analog stick to work right
Should work with USB/BT joystick Center. Its an app that lets you connect the Xbox controller (via USB). Then you can either map the buttons to keyboard input or to touch input on the screen. Works very well with analog controls an everything, i played through ModernCombat 3 this way
So it should work perfectly with any n64 emu that has overlay analog controls.
Thanks a lot, I'm going to check it out.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
irishtexmex said:
+1 to this. The only two (legitimate) emulators I know of are N64oid and Mupen64Plus AE. The latter is a very respected desktop emulator that's currently being worked on, and the former is a Yongzhoid production so yeah...
N64oid I know doesn't have any native gamepad support, which is a total shame. I can't find Mupen64 in the Market, and it looks like it might be a few more weeks before it gets put back up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
n64oid has gamepad support. I know if my old usbPC dual shock controller works fine on it, Xbox 360 controller should do fine. my controller works perfectly playing Golden eye, Perfect dark, Mario64, Castlevania64. and others on my prime. you just have to go into its settings and map the controller/buttons.
oh n I didn't need any 3rd. party apps to get it working. worked instantly once I went into N64oid settings and mapped the controls. Same with my NeoGeo emulator on Prime called Neodroid. I also have FPse, Snesdroid, Genesoid, and a Turbografix 16/PC engine emulator. my controller works perfectly with them all. controller especially good when playing the many neogeo fighting games I have like Art of Fighting 3, Samurai Showdown 5, Saturday Night Slammasters, Fatal Fury3 and more. All the Metal slugs work great also. I have like Metal Slug 3-5 and Metal Slug X. I had a Sega Saturn emulator but its like an alpha build and was never really completed. Games played way too slow up there.
My understanding is that it has digital gamepad support? Meaning that all the buttons work except for the analog sticks. Did you find out a way to get the analog sticks working, with full analog support, just in the N64oid app itself?
irishtexmex said:
My understanding is that it has digital gamepad support? Meaning that all the buttons work except for the analog sticks. Did you find out a way to get the analog sticks working, with full analog support, just in the N64oid app itself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my analog sticks work fine. with no extra app needed. on all emulators. ive only needed to map one analog stick. i map that one for movement. then when you click it in, i mapped that pause. other stick i click in and have mapped to select. some games like golden eye or perfect dark, clicking in the second analog stick is to fire my weapon.
its easy to map the analog stick though. just go into settings and hardware map controls. then for the movement like up , down, left, right, just map those to the matching direction on analog stick. very simple.
analog stick for movement works great on Fpse when im playing Marvel vs. Capcom or Einhander. also Strider and Final Doom. Einhander is like the best shooter ever. i wish android developer would make something of that quality caliber. it looks n plays great on prime.
demandarin said:
my analog sticks work fine. with no extra app needed. on all emulators. ive only needed to map one analog stick. i map that one for movement. then when you click it in, i mapped that pause. other stick i click in and have mapped to select. some games like golden eye or perfect dark, clicking in the second analog stick is to fire my weapon.
its easy to map the analog stick though. just go into settings and hardware map controls. then for the movement like up , down, left, right, just map those to the matching direction on analog stick. very simple.
analog stick for movement works great on Fpse when im playing Marvel vs. Capcom or Einhander. also Strider and Final Doom. Einhander is like the best shooter ever. i wish android developer would make something of that quality caliber. it looks n plays great on prime.
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Click to collapse
Ah, gotcha. While that method works, what is happening is that pressing up on the analog stick equals "Up", pressing left equals "Left" and so on and so on. This is just replicating digital input on the analog sticks.
Analog support/input means that when you just barely press left or right on the analog stick then your car (in a racing game, for example) just barely moves left or right. And when you push it all the way to the left or right you turn much more dramatically. This is also very evident in character movement for first person shooters (difference between walking slowly forward and running) and a game like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
That is, unless I just completely missed something on the various emulators I use and I just typed a long post that makes me look like an idiot.
irishtexmex said:
Ah, gotcha. While that method works, what is happening is that pressing up on the analog stick equals "Up", pressing left equals "Left" and so on and so on. This is just replicating digital input on the analog sticks.
Analog support/input means that when you just barely press left or right on the analog stick then your car (in a racing game, for example) just barely moves left or right. And when you push it all the way to the left or right you turn much more dramatically. This is also very evident in character movement for first person shooters (difference between walking slowly forward and running) and a game like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
That is, unless I just completely missed something on the various emulators I use and I just typed a long post that makes me look like an idiot.
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I didn't think the emulators got that detailed on movement..lmao. I see what you saying though. I guess its not that serious for me. as long as I can live in direction I want, I'm good. I have tony hawk pro skater3 on prime and it moves just fine. same with my first person games. nothing seems excessive in movement. I just barely move it if i want to move slow or something.
Anyone use this controller?
I have SuperGNES, FPse, MC3, ShadowGun, Dead Space, Dead Trigger, Minecraft, and a few other games.
1. Can anyone confirm this controller works with SuperGNES and FPse (probably these two are the most important to me)
2. Can you use a USB min-hub to get more usb ports on the dock and plug in 2 controllers
I'm looking to be able to play 2 player games and curious if others have got it to work.
Thanks
I've just gotten one of these controllers myself today. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble.
Some games work fine, like "Cordy". Another well-known game, Shadowgun, does not. The game mixes up the controls, rendering the right analog stick messed up. It thinks the left trigger is the analog sticks left/right and that the analog up/down is actually on left/right. Unplayable.
before, I've tried connecting two Xbox controllers, both wired. These work fine. You can't play with two controllers, however. Android recognizes both controllers as one, so you'll both control the same thing.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's a solution to the latter, it's a driver issue.
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Did anyone get Shadowgun to work properly with the F710? If so, please teach me!
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For the record, I'm using the ASUS Padfone, which is related to the transformer series.
Anyone know about emulators with the F710?
SuperGNES says you need to install gamepad IME, which is free. It installs fine, and I can see it in the settings, but there are no options to bind keys...which makes me think its all in the games but I cant figure out supergnes. It thinks both the A and B buttons are down, and I can't change it in the controller settings.
I just bought my controller, may return it if I can't figure this out. It works natively for Dead trigger. ...kinda pissed it doesn't work the same for superGNES.
After having tested the logitech controller, I've decided to get rid of it and go for Sixaxis with a PS3 controller. It's just way more configurable.
Billyvnilly said:
Anyone use this controller?
I have SuperGNES, FPse, MC3, ShadowGun, Dead Space, Dead Trigger, Minecraft, and a few other games.
1. Can anyone confirm this controller works with SuperGNES and FPse (probably these two are the most important to me)
2. Can you use a USB min-hub to get more usb ports on the dock and plug in 2 controllers
I'm looking to be able to play 2 player games and curious if others have got it to work.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had my controller for about 6 months now and there is a way to play ShadowGun with it. You just have to manually map the controller yourself in the options menu for game pad input. Haven't used SuperGNES but I use another emulator called SNESoid and it allows me to map the controller out.
YES, I've searched the forums.
NO, nobody is talking about key mappings for this game.
Yeah, I'm sick of those fingerprints all over my tablet screen.
Yeah, I want to play SG: DZ but when I have time, my Android tablet - Transformer TF101 - is begging for a recharge, and I don't want to hold my tablet with my hands while it recharges and game; I'd prefer leave it charging next to the wall while it stands there on my tablet stand and then use my Phonejoy Bluetooth controller and play. Much better. I thought that wouldn't be a problem, have played Shadowgun and the Leftover series with this controller, it's compatible and now Madfinger releases DeadZone.. I think they tweaked the game and/or changed the button configuration - Using my controller all I can do is walk around with my left analog stick and look around with my right analog stick. No shooting, no running, no reloading, no switching weapons. nada. I DO NOT want to root my tablet just to emulate touch controls. I believe that's a waste of time and too much of a headache for this function. And NO, I'm not going to buy a PS3 controller, that would require me to buy Sixaxis and that app requires root. I believe NYKO is going to release their final version of Playground app yet this year and that app promises to emulate touch controls without asking for root. If that's true, I might buy their Playpad controller but until then, i'm sticking with this Phonejoy Bluetooth controller for now.
So I came here to ask you guys, if anyone here managed to make this controller to work with Shadowgun: DeadZone, please post the key maps for this game here and I'll try it; It doesn't matter if your controller is a Wii-mote, a PS3, whatever, if you managed to make it work using your controller and Bluez-IME, please post here the key maps for this game.
Any suggestion is much appreciated.
All the best.
NOTE FOR ADMINS: I'm NOT asking whether the controller works or not!!! As I said before, my controller works PARTIALLY (ONLY my analog stick do work, not my buttons), so I'm looking for suggestions to set up my buttons. This thread is NOT a question! I'm not breaking any rules here.
In the same boat
Yip, I've got the same problem. I am actualy very suprised about how few games have IME keybard options. I've looked at the Android Event API, and there is a good reason that you have to be root to get the other touch screen emulaters to work. Android doesn't want malicious apps to take control of your device and does not allow fake touch screen events from the Java api. You have to be a device (linux level) to do that, and that's why you need root.
I tried to generate the same events as a PS3 controller by fiddling with the Bluez IME source code, but android overrides certain flags on the events, which makes it impossible to emulate it via standard Java software.
hope this helps...
If so, and you can tell me your experience, I'd appreciate it.
I'm looking for three controllers -
For Dolphin Emulator / Wii, I understand you can use a USB connected Mayflash W010 Wireless Sensor DolphinBar with an OEM Wii controller. This was made for PC's but there were suggestions it will work with Android.
For Atari 2600 using Atari2600EMU, I'm looking for a wired USB or Bluetooth joystick. The only one I see on Amazon, a Retro-Bit USB joystick has very poor reviews on Amazon. 50% of the reviews are one star. A paddle controller might be nice too.
For SNES, GBA, GBC, N64, using a hodgepodge of emulators including Mupen64plus, John GBAC, John NESS, My Boy, and Classic Boy, I'm looking for one controller which will work for all. On my potential list is a SteelSeries Stratus XL, an 8Bitdo SN30 Pro, and an 8Bitdo SF30 Pro. All are in the $30 to $40 range; I'm leaning to one of the 8Bitdo remotes because they look more like old school Nintendo remotes.
I was impressed by the Dolphin Emulator. They made note that on some Android systems the video encoding would be slow and choppy. Outside of crappy on-screen controls, I didn't notice significant lag/drag to the video. The other systems' emulators I've tried seem to function well, aside from the awkwardness of on-screen controls.
So is anyone running emulators on a Tab S4? What tips and tricks can you give? Any deeper insights to controllers? Are there other games you run that are enhanced with a game controller? Are there emulators you like best? Why?
Thanks,
Joe
Hi! I love Mupen64 FZ (N64 emulator), ePSXe (PSX emulator) and Redream (Dreamcast emulator). They run most games flawlessly and the Tab S4's gorgeous AMOLED screen really does wonders on older games.. I also love Delta Touch (Doom engine source port), Quad Touch (Quake engine source port) and Xash3D (GoldSrc engine source port). As for the gamepad, the DualShock 4 v2 is natively supported on Pie and it works on those emulators and ports.
been using xbox controller depending on the game, octopus does a decent job re-mapping ps4 and xbox buttons.
I purchased the SN30 Pro. Here are some observations
The SN30 Pro and SF30 Pro are functionally identical. The two differences are the color of the unit and the shape of the X/Y buttons. For the SF30 Pro, X/Y and A/B are all molded center up. For the SN30 Pro, the X/Y are dimpled center down with A/B center up. I like the color scheme for the SF30 Pro better, but went with the more monochrome SN30 Pro for the tactile difference between the X/Y and A/B buttons.
The Pro versions are USB C and Bluetooth 4.0. They are reported to have less lag than earlier models with older Bluetooth formats. I haven't seen any lag, but I'm playing NES type games, which don't require microsecond response.
The documentation is poor for 8bitdo. They tell you how to choose a profile but don't explain their differences.
My understanding of Bluetooth controllers was poor. I assumed they were plug and play.
It turns out that it is Really Complicated (tm).
A) There are no specifications for Bluetooth controllers that define which physical button corresponds to which electronic button.
B) 8bitdo has five "profiles" that you can set prior to connecting by Bluetooth.
1. Nintendo Switch (appears to be default after firmware upgrade)
2. XBox
3. Apple
4. Android
5. USB C
C) The profile you pick determines which physical buttons are active and maps the physical buttons to different electronic buttons
D) It seems like we want to be Android, Switch, or XBox, most of the online forums suggest that Android is "best". I get the impression that the Apple profile does not work with any other platform than Apple. I've had the controller in both Switch and Android profiles, and can't tell you the difference. I found some links to device config files that may enumerate the assignment differences, but haven't had a chance to look at them yet.
E) Because there is no Bluetooth standard, emulator programmers don't know what controller you are using and how they are assigning buttons. So unless they have an 8bitdo controller profile, you'll still need to go in and assign buttons manually.
These are the sites I got most of my understanding from:
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/15201/8bitdo-sf30-pro-and-sn30-pro/
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/15201/8bitdo-sf30-pro-and-sn30-pro/37
https://www.reddit.com/r/8bitdo/comments/7k9hb3/sn30_pro_windows_and_star_button/
https://buildbot.libretro.com/assets/frontend/bundle/autoconfig/udev/
I've played with this on several emulators. None seem to have 8bitdo profiles built-in. The Nintento 64 Mupen64plus emulator works great. John GBAC works pretty well, but John NESS is having more problems getting buttons mapped properly. I played with this on a few of the Atari games with Atari2600EMU, and it seems to work good on some games (Galaxian) and worse on others (Adventure).
Part of my problem is that it isn't always clear what the physical button to emulator button mapping should be. This is complicated by getting a one-size-fits-all remote that has all the right buttons, but includes extra buttons, and also has to encompass console functions and emulator functions. But I can see that if I play with it for awhile it will get better.
What I'm trying to get across is that none of this seems to be plug-and-play. But I like the controller a lot.