[ms009986]

OK!  It's running!  I uninstalled GearColeco and reinstall it and it came right up!

:-D

So now we're back to where we left off before, I see the game option screen but don't have a way to select the numbers.

So I have a generic controller, Switch-pro-controller layout, hooked up.  I have Colecovision controller profile 1.0.33 installed.  I try to program the buttons, but the first button is Left Button, which I want to map to B, but B is already mapped to back apparently and takes me away from the mapping screen.

(I also have a wireless keyboard, which I wouldn't want to use as a keypad every time I wanted to play a game, but just to see if it would work I tried pressing 1 to play a game and it just made "00:01" pop up in the upper-left corner.)

So I think that's where we left off!

Now to catch up with all that I missed:
Zach, I did install the Retro BIOS tool add-on when I installed IAGL from your repository (simply because I noticed it was there, and since I was having BIOS-related problems I thought it might come in handy).  I ran it and it wanted to know a folder containing BIOS files, so I guess you have to actually have the BIOS files beforehand, as opposed to the tool providing them or finding them for you?  So I tried to point it to my Onedrive folder which had my one and only BIOS file, and for some reason I couldn't view my Onedrive folder, so that made it more complicated and then more life happened and I got distracted.

But I do have it and now that I know basically how things are supposed to work, I can see it coming in very handy; for instance when we get this Colecovision thing working and then I gently let GB know that I want to do MAME and Intellivision and Commodore 64 and Atari 5200 and PC Games and a bunch of other things next and hope he doesn't run away screaming.  :-D

Android is particularly annoying.  It seems they made navigating around intentionally difficult.  But I won't get started on that.  

Personally I don't mind having to hunt for BIOSes if I have to, I understand why they're not always included.  And if the add-on pops up a screen that says NO BIOS I have a pretty good idea of what the problem is and I can go from there.  Just when it crashes Kodi it's a bit more mysterious.  Of course documentation would be great, but we're creating documentation now for anyone who can search a forum.  That's how I think of it, which is why I'm being extra-descriptive in my replies, so the next guy that comes along will find all this if he can't get it working himself.  So as long as nothing happens to the forums....

Thanks for your help so far, guys, excited to move forward!

[garbear]

OK!  It's running!  I uninstalled GearColeco and reinstall it and it came right up!

\o/

So now we're back to where we left off before, I see the game option screen but don't have a way to select the numbers.

Fortunately now we're onto those input problems I mentioned. This is a different class of problem, but we can solve it!

I try to program the buttons, but the first button is Left Button, which I want to map to B, but B is already mapped to back apparently and takes me away from the mapping screen.

I can't reproduce this error. With my controller (PS4), I press Cross (A) to start mapping, it says "Press Left Button", I press Circle (B), and it works.

My guess is you're hitting the Android controller bug. Can you verify you're either on my build (v21.1-20250104), an Omega nightly, or a master nightly? (this excludes v21.1 from the play store, which has the android controller bug).

I mentioned, input bugs are a different class of bug. We can solve these using debug logs, becaues debug logs include all input, both what is pressed and what Kodi thinks is happening. So at some point we'll probably need to collect a log showing the input problem.

To very the controller is working correctly, can you find it in the Peripherals Dialog? Settings -> System -> Input -> Peripherals. Tell me what appears there for all controllers you have.

Then try mapping the "Kodi" controller in the Configure Attached Controllers item.

and then I gently let GB know that I want to do MAME and Intellivision and Commodore 64 and Atari 5200 and PC Games and a bunch of other things next and hope he doesn't run away screaming.  :-D

Bring it. We'll work through all these platforms!

That's how I think of it, which is why I'm being extra-descriptive in my replies, so the next guy that comes along will find all this if he can't get it working himself.  So as long as nothing happens to the forums....

This is how open source software is built. Thanks for all you've done so far to get Gearcoleco working!

[ms009986]

Okay, I have backed up my Kodi, if I understand how to back it up right.  So how would I go about changing to your build?  I have Kodi set to update automatically, so I guess I'm on 21.1 regular-old-Kodi.

[garbear]

Just install the APK. No need to backup unless you uninstall. Install/reinstall will save your files. Only uninstall will clear your files. I verified this on my Shield TV.

FWIW, I found the problem with controllers on v21.1. Installing from the Play Store pulls in a single 32-bit file on your 64-bit system. This is a Play Store problem; if you download the same APK from the Play Store and install it manually it'll work. I'm fixing the problem now; when v21.2 is released, installing it from the Play Store will work.

[garbear]

Also, I uploaded peripheral.joystick to the mirrors. You can install that on v21.1 and your controllers should work fine enough until v21.2 is released in a few days.

[ms009986]

OK, so I bring good tidings of great joy for those who like Colecovision.  

So I got it to run, AND I even PLAYED it!

I updated to your build nightly thingy whatever-it's-called which was on your GitHub in your signature and then I was able to map the controller keys to the joystick controls!

Then I could actually choose my game.  It was kind of weird mapping keypad buttons to random joystick buttons, but I made it mostly work.  Sometimes buttons would take a few tries to register, but they all eventually seemed to work.

HOWEVER there is bad news as well.  I don't know if this is an Android thing, but every time my joystick timed out, I couldn't just hit the home button to connect it again, I had to re-pair it every time. 

AND it was very difficult to play....the controls worked as I mapped them for the most part.  It seemed that there was lag like you wouldn't believe.  Sometimes it seemed quite normal, but the next second buttons weren't registering at all and the next second buttons I'd pressed seconds earlier finally registered.  So me, a Donkey Kong Master, if I do say so myself, couldn't even get past the first level.  Scandalous!  I wouldn't think it was the joystick, this is the same one I use to play my Switch and it always works just as well as the ones that come with the Switch.

The games seem to load and look fine.  About a third of the time the games would flash, just blinking rapidly while you play, but seemed fine otherwise.  And before the games loaded, when it asks what emulator you want to use and such, instead of a plain back background for all those windows, there would, seemingly randomly, be artwork from previously loaded games stretched across the windows instead.  It made it hard or impossible to read the text in the windows.  So that was weird.  And once on my Silvo skin the main menu bar with MOVIES and TV SHOWS and so on turned from the normal blue to invisible...no blue background, only the text.  Restarting the skin fixed that, but it was odd that that was affected.

I thought Kodi crashed a few times while I was playing, but apparently some button or other I pushed on the controller sort of acted like the Android version of an alt-tab and just took me out of Kodi to the main Android screen.  When I ran Kodi again, I was right back where I left off.

BUT I tried 20ish games and they all loaded, and they almost all started when I chose the skill level/pressed start.  Sometimes the controller wouldn't work at all, but I'd load another game and it would for that one.  So a pretty giant leap for this particular console.

I did all that before I ready your peripheral.joystick post, so I'll load that if it'll matter, but I assume since I got the version you mentioned I did what I needed to do.

Peripherals info:
virtual search   version unknown
shield-ask-remote    version unknown
Harmony keyboard    version unknown
7039RG    version unknown

Not sure what the first two are.  The Harmony keyboard is my wireless keyboard and the 7039RG is the generic controller I'm using.

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

[garbear]

OK, so I bring good tidings of great joy for those who like Colecovision.  

So I got it to run, AND I even PLAYED it!

\o/

Good job, the hard part is over! Now it's on to the "long tail" of problems, as we chase down individual issues until we totally rock "just works" Colecovision support.

I updated to your build nightly thingy whatever-it's-called which was on your GitHub in your signature and then I was able to map the controller keys to the joystick controls!

Let's stick to my test builds, as I include all my early-access fixes and features, and any use is good validation as we include them upstream.

Then I could actually choose my game.  It was kind of weird mapping keypad buttons to random joystick buttons, but I made it mostly work.  Sometimes buttons would take a few tries to register, but they all eventually seemed to work.

I classify this as an "input bug". All input should work out-of-the-box and be understandable without needing to map anything. Fortunately, the input system I created is pretty robust (my design requirement was all controllers emulate all other controller for all gaming history, and I'm getting closer).

Let's first address stability, then work on input - games are useless if you can't even control them easily.

HOWEVER there is bad news as well.  I don't know if this is an Android thing, but every time my joystick timed out, I couldn't just hit the home button to connect it again, I had to re-pair it every time. 

Controllers unpairing is an Android thing. I might be able to help if you grab a full debug log showing the controller drop out.

It seemed that there was lag like you wouldn't believe.

First, disable "realtime rewind support" in Settings -> Games -> General. The lag from this could be affecting input.

The two steps to getting anything working are, Step 1, make it work, Step 2, make it work fast. Once all the buttons are correct we'll fix any latency issues.

And before the games loaded, when it asks what emulator you want to use and such, instead of a plain back background for all those windows, there would, seemingly randomly, be artwork from previously loaded games stretched across the windows instead.

I get this bug on my Macbook when I run builds with shader support. When I build without shaders, it works.

Is it hard to sideload builds? Can you sideload an Omega nightly from https://mirrors.kodi.tv/nightlies/androi...v8a/Omega/ and verify the bug doesn't appear? If you can verify this, then we can report the bug in the shader-tracking thread here.

I thought Kodi crashed a few times while I was playing, but apparently some button or other I pushed on the controller sort of acted like the Android version of an alt-tab and just took me out of Kodi to the main Android screen.  When I ran Kodi again, I was right back where I left off.

I'm guessing this is an Android problem, again debug logs might show the issue.

So a pretty giant leap for this particular console.

\o/

Peripherals info:
virtual search   version unknown
shield-ask-remote    version unknown
Harmony keyboard    version unknown
7039RG    version unknown

You got this info from the Peripheral Dialog? I just make it a lot better to see what Android "thinks" your peripherals are, which will help debug this. I'll get you a build later today.

I'd say it's pretty epic we got a completely new platform to work in RetroPlayer! Now it's a just a long tail problem.

[ms009986]

Full disclosure:
I'm not sure I get the long tail analogy, but OK.
Your test builds, meaning the ones like the one I just installed?  OK, I can do that.
I do not know what a shader is, but OK.
If by "can you sideload buildis", you mean, "can you click on this link and get these files and do something with them", then I think so, but you may have to tell me what.
I don't know what an apk is.  I used to know, some sort of jailbreaky thing that I did with my Oculus I think.
Yes, I got that info from the Peripheral thing you directed me to in Kodi.
I await your next commandment, O Guy Who Makes Things Work

Interesting, I disabled rewind support and then deleted my controllers and readded one in Android and tried to play and none of my buttons would respond.  I went to Controls settings and remapped them all but still it wouldn't respond.  Mario just stood there dumbly taking barrels to the junk.

I didn't do anything, I promise!

[garbear]

Grab my latest Android ARM64 build from https://github.com/garbear/xbmc/releases...1-20250114 and install it. That has the enhanced Peripherals Dialog (Settings -> System -> Input -> Peripherals). It actively shows input as the buttons are pressed so you can better identify devices. Mice and keyboards also show up, if you have any attached.

Don't uninstall or disable controller add-ons, there's no point, and it can only break input. You can go to the Controller Dialog (Settings -> System -> Input -> Configure attached controllers) and click "Get All" to install all controllers.

Next, we need to start figuring out input. Can you try getting input to work in a game poorly, and then capture a debug log? There's a log uploader add-on.

Once you've pasted the debug log, I'll try to replicate your input mapping. Can you explain how you mapped the controller in the controller config dialog?

[ms009986]

Sorry for the delay, sick and so forth.  

UMMM I downloaded your build apk thingy and installed it, fairly painless.  Then I had like a million new Joystick addons in my addons list without me doing anything.  I guess you were telling me not to remove those?  Or maybe I did something I didn't mean to, but I'll leave them for now.

I mapped the controller the only way I know, either running the joystick addon, I think, or clicking settings from the game menu.  Anyway, did you mean what did I map to what?  So it's a standard Switch style controller.  East button is CV left, South button is CV right, left analog stick up, down, left, right to CV up, down, left, right.  That's all I need to navigate most anything.  For the keypad buttons, 1-4, started on the left back.  Trigger = 1, next button up = 2, - = 3, + = 4.  Then from the right back, trigger = 5, next button up = 6, X = 7, Y = 8, then for the rest I mapped those to the D-pad cz I was out of buttons.

Not sure if the analog sticks can be used for a ColecoVision joystick, but that would be best cz you need diagonals for some games, which are a combination of two buttons...if I remember dissecting a controller, under the CV joystick there were basically four buttons, up, down, left, right, and diagonals would be pushing two of these buttons at once.  Like northeast would be both up and right pressed.

Gonna try the log thingy you asked for now.

[ms009986]

OK, mostly great news, it seems to be working more or less correctly now just from the updated build.  Up down left right work fine with the analog stick.  

The only thing odd is
the HOME button.

And this could just be user error or ignorance...I don't know what the default action for a generic bluetooth controller is supposed to do normally.  I didn't remap it, so whatever it's doing I guess is the default.  When I hit HOME, it looks like it tries to show the Reset/Exit/Settings menu, but then it just goes to the Android home screen.  I thought Kodi crashed, but it didn't, it's still there, just loses focus.

I go back to the game, hit Home, I'm out of Kodi again.  If I go back to Kodi and don't hit home, then try to play, I'm back to the controller not working.  Lots of lag or no response.  

Maybe the controller works as long as you don't hit home.  I'll experiment.

But I would think the Home button in a game would bring up the Reset/Exit/Settings menu, that makes sense.  It doesn't seem to work that way though.

OK so trying things, Kodi definitely doesn't like being sent to the background when it's playing a game.  It's still acting funky and now the regular Kodi menu bar is screwed up again.  I'll restart Kodi.

Didn't matter, repaired controller, restarted Kodi, controller still screwed.

[ms009986]

OK, just seeing if I can make the problem happen.

1.  Restarting Shield.
2.  Re-pairing controller.
3.  Starting Kodi.
4.  Starting IAGL.
5.  Tried to use controller to move around, controller acting crazy.
6.  OK, so I couldn't make it happen, it just happened.
7.  Used regular old Kodi remote (Harmony) to get the Reset screen.
8.  Hit reset.

9.  Joystick starting working again!

10.  Played 10 minutes or so with no problems.

11.  Remembered how CV Donkey Kong was very much like original Donkey Kong in looks, but unfortunately not in fun.

12.  Hit Home button to get out of Kodi to see if I could screw up the controller.  
13.  I did, controller screwed up.
14.  Hit reset on the reset screen.
15.  No response from controller at all.  Then random responses.

16.  Repeated 12-14.
17. Controller stayed screwed up.
18.  Repeated 12-14.
19.  Controller seemed to work normally, then the game froze making a beeeeeeeeeeeeeep noise.
20.  Reset again to shut that up.

21+ Etc. etc.  so basically controller working great once in a while randomly.  Can't seem to break it on purpose.

PS.  Realized this probably may not be very helpful to you.

[ms009986]

OK, been playing around with it and it's been mostly working.

Here is a debug log.  

I have found that when i hit the Home button on the controller is when I get trouble.  I think it wants to take me to the game menu, as it should, but it takes me out to the Android home screen as if I've hit alt-tab.  

When it does that, I can navigate back to Kodi and I'm back where I left off.  HOWEVER, my controller is also no longer in Android mode.  Just hitting the home button seems to make it go into Switch mode.  So I have to hit a key combination native to the controller to get back to Android mode (Y+home, if it matters).

Once I do that then the controller is working again most of the time.

I couldn't make the controller misbehave too much this time.  I did get the odd super-long delay or ignores of button presses once in a while.  I've found when it starts acting up, if I go to the game menu and hit reset (like I'm resetting the console) then the controller seems to work again.

So to sum up, my major complaint about this whole setup is that I shouldn't be able to alt-tab out of Kodi by hitting the Home button.  I SHOULD get the game menu screen.  And I'm not sure if this were fixed whether I'd still have problems or not.

Hope that's helpful somehow.

[garbear]

I have found that when i hit the Home button on the controller is when I get trouble.  I think it wants to take me to the game menu, as it should, but it takes me out to the Android home screen as if I've hit alt-tab.  

So to sum up, my major complaint about this whole setup is that I shouldn't be able to alt-tab out of Kodi by hitting the Home button.  I SHOULD get the game menu screen.  And I'm not sure if this were fixed whether I'd still have problems or not.

Sorry, can't help you there, Android takes over the "Home" button. You'll have to use another OS to gain functionality of the Home button.

[garbear]

I'm seeking guidance in our android channel to see if it's possible to intercept the Home/guide button. But from what I can see through google, it looks like you'd need root access to use the Home button in Kodi.