How do I go "back," when my controller doesn't have a "back" button?

[pmindemann]

I've searched allover the web, and I can't seem to find answer to the most vexxing problem I've encountered while attempting to use Dolphin on Android (and that's saying something, given the SAF debacle)... how the hockey sticks can I quite a game when I can't access the in-game menu?

More specifically, I'm using 8-bitdo controllers on a Lenovo tablet running Android 12. My Dolphin build is 5.0-17271. I have my controller mapped in the Dophin settings, and it works fine to play and control games, BUT...

There's apparently no way to access the in-game menu via this controller, because there's no built-in "back" button (unlike my Shield controller, which was made specifically fur use with Android, and therefore has a dedicated "back" button). There's no way to map a "back" button in Dolphin, that I can tell, and likewise no way to do this in Android that I've seen.

So, that makes Dolphin virtually unplayable on Android via a standard controller... unless I'm totally missing something (which I assume is the case).

Any ideas?

[JosJuice]

If your controller doesn't have a button that acts as a back button, the only realistic option for now is to use the touch screen instead. (The unrealistic option would be to not map the B button to anything, which will make it fall back to acting as a back button.)

[AnyOldName3]

My 8bitdo controller labels it Select, not Back.

[pmindemann]

Yeah, I tried “Select (and literally every button and button combination possible)… that would certainly be the obvious and most preferable solution. But I’m not aware of any way to remap Android to make Select the “back” button, and it would appear it can’t be done in Dolphin, either. I welcome any other workaround ideas or suggestions, though!

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If your controller doesn't have a button that acts as a back button, the only realistic option for now is to use the touch screen instead. (The unrealistic option would be to not map the B button to anything, which will make it fall back to acting as a back button.)

Thank you for the quick reply, but I’ll admit I had to read your reply several times… I’m astonished an emulator as well-developed as Dolphin doesn’t have a way to remap this button (or at least a hot key workaround). Is this a technical limitation or just a feature that was never developed?

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One more thing (while I'm waiting for my other replies to be approved for posting)... even if I let the "B" button go un-mapped so it can acccess the in-game menu, once I'm there, none of the controls respond to inputs. So, I can't pause, access settings, change disc, or even exit the emulation... literally nothing responds.

So, it's all very odd. Unlike most emulators, the controls seem to be tied to either the game or the emulator, and there's no integration between the two.

[JosJuice]

I’m astonished an emulator as well-developed as Dolphin doesn’t have a way to remap this button (or at least a hot key workaround). Is this a technical limitation or just a feature that was never developed?

The input system that Dolphin uses on Android is badly designed and hard to extend. I'm working on completely replacing it, which will take a while, but once that's done it should be possible to add mappings for things like this.

One more thing (while I'm waiting for my other replies to be approved for posting)... even if I let the "B" button go un-mapped so it can acccess the in-game menu, once I'm there, none of the controls respond to inputs. So, I can't pause, access settings, change disc, or even exit the emulation... literally nothing responds.

Might be a bug related to recent changes in Dolphin. Sorry, I don't have as much time to deal with Dolphin nowadays as I'd like.

[pmindemann]

The input system that Dolphin uses on Android is badly designed and hard to extend. I'm working on completely replacing it, which will take a while, but once that's done it should be possible to add mappings for things like this.

Might be a bug related to recent changes in Dolphin. Sorry, I don't have as much time to deal with Dolphin nowadays as I'd like.

Appreciate the reply! Yeah, I'm using a very recent dev build, and it appears something in Android is borked... even with touch controls enabled, I'm unable to navigate the in-game menu, which basically makes it unplayable.

I wish you the best of luck in the Android control redesign. It's sorely needed, since Dolphin is really the only GC emulator out there, but the inability to control anything makes it a non-starter.

[JosJuice]

Appreciate the reply! Yeah, I'm using a very recent dev build, and it appears something in Android is borked... even with touch controls enabled, I'm unable to navigate the in-game menu, which basically makes it unplayable.

Wait, you mean touching it doesn't work? I've never seen that before.

[pmindemann]

Wait, you mean touching it doesn't work? I've never seen that before.

Touchscreen controls work in game, just like using a controller. BUT... also like using a controller, there's no "back" button or menu option of any sort. So, once you enter the game, you can play it, but there's literally no way to get back out no matter where you touch or swipe. You have to force quit the app and relaunch it to change games! 

For what it's worth, I'm using a brand new Lenovo Tab Yoga 11 tablet, Android 12, with Dolphin 5.0-17271 and either touch inputs or an 8-bitdo SN30 Pro... neither works to access the menu. I also use a Shield TV Pro with a Shield controller that has a built-in "back" button on the controller, and it works with Dolphin just fine because it has that "back" button. 

[JosJuice]

Oh, so the problem is that you can't open the in-game menu using touch controls, not that you can't interact with the in-game menu once it's open. I have actually experienced that once, but it was on a pretty weird Android device. The way it normally works on phones is that if you swipe up from the bottom of the screen, the back, home and recents buttons are shown. Does that not happen on your tablet?

[pmindemann]

Oh, so the problem is that you can't open the in-game menu using touch controls, not that you can't interact with the in-game menu once it's open. I have actually experienced that once, but it was on a pretty weird Android device. The way it normally works on phones is that if you swipe up from the bottom of the screen, the back, home and recents buttons are shown. Does that not happen on your tablet?

You've got it right, and I'm sorry for any confusion... my Android experience has typically been on the Shield TV, which works well, but tablets are posing some new challenges.

Anyway, you're correct, the "in game" control is fully functional--whether touch or controller (I've mapped the inputs, and they all work well). The issue resides solely in accessing that in-game menu. I mistakenly assumed there would/should be a way to access it without having to use the main Android menu, but I was mistaken. That said, sitting my controller down and using touch to access the "back" menu button failed the first 3 or 4 times... Dolphin just crashed and took me to the home screen. But, somehow, after repeated attempts using the touch menu, that method worked.

All of which to say:

1. The Android controller implementation is only semi-functional. Having to sit down the controller and swipe the screen to exit a game isn't ideal, but mostly works (see below). However, if you're playing on a TV and using a controller that doesn't have a built-in "back" button (like you might be with any number of Android TV boxes), it makes Dolphin virtually unplayable since you have no way to "swipe" the screen and hit the "back" button. You'd have to quit the app to simply change games.

2. Even with the "touch" method of exiting a game via swiping up to use the "back" button, something seems buggy. It worked for me some times, but crashed the app other times.

Thanks again for seeing this through. Given that Dolphin is the only/best emulator available, your rebuild of the Android control scheme can't come soon enough!