this is how the controller was designed. as far as i know there’s nothing that can be done, and it can’t be fixed in firmware either
https://x.com/RetroBitGaming/status/1730717358740885729
retro-bit simply sucks, perennial disappointment
as it is kind of misleading, apparently “new button layouts” would be an entirely new SKU
boo
Yeah, that reminds of how I was excited to try to remap the Hyperkin Duke for N64 games, but the white/black face buttons are of course hard mapped to the L and R shoulders.
there is a firmware update for the pad, but it only seems to address things using the saturn adapter
i think the fundamental unsolvable issue is the buttons are seen as the same electrically, e.g. C/L and Z/R can’t be disambiguated
i could be wrong on something here… but i’m pretty sure the pad is just kind of badly designed
I had all the firmware updates but had no idea about the button mapping which ruins a lot of plans I had with it, oh well.
i’ve been using this thing on the MiSTer
HORI Fighting Commander OCTA (TEKKEN 8 Edition) for Windows PC
got it for 20 USD on woot when it was on sale the other day
definitely worth 20 USD! the left stick has an extremely short throw and gamecube-style notches. the face buttons have a satisfying microswitch-y clickiness to them. the shoulders are solid and very digital (in a good way)
kind of light, but feels good overall. the sunken right stick (actually more of a slide pad) is a nice touch - it doesn’t get in the way of the buttons at all, but it’s there if you need it. thing has also got 4 onboard profiles you can hotswap between if you’re playing something that doesn’t let you remap
it works pretty good for N64 and Saturn
How’s the dpad?
For a second I thought it had a GUIDO button.
Has anyone customized a controller? I was thinking of commemorating a game jam with some friends with some controllers, and I thought it’d be cool to get a logo or something on them, but I don’t know the best way to do it.
I’ve joined the 65% keyboard club, and got a GMMK2. Trying to get used to the new feel and format after many, many years of full numpad layouts. Definitely weird-feeling and a huge change. I think the biggest differences I’m going to have to get used to is fn+# for the F keys and fn+esc for the backtick/tilde key.
Also missing some of the more niche/archaic special keys, like printscreen and pause and insert. That isn’t such a big deal. I did have my generic ShareX hotkey set to ctrl+prntscrn but I will find something to rebind it to. Alt/Fn+end? That seems like an easy one to do with my right hand.
I’m kind of hopeful that once I do get used to this, having to move my fingers less far to do things will make a noticeable difference, and also even before then, I already have the benefit of being able to put my macro pad much closer towards me, in the spot on my desk where the numpad area of my old keyboard used to be. Getting the macropad was what originally prompted me to think it was time to downsize my keyboard.
i’m curious how you fare with it, i’ve gone kind of the opposite route recently, going from mac laptop chiclet keyboards and the magic [sic] wireless variants to tracking down old adb-usb converters to use really old mech apple keyboards, at first entirely out of nostalgia for the univers 58 keycaps ; and then in earnest as i got to learn that the alps switches in certain variants are prized by enthusiasts, and finding myself really liking the keyfeel. so far i’ve gotten a couple of aekIIs, and lucked out getting an apple IIgs one with orange alps for cheap which for my money is the best looking keyboard out there (in use, the aek is better, if only bc of the awful linenav on the IIgs), all of which i fully cleaned and restored.
i’ve been looking at the hhkbs since they seem to be the next logical step being based on the same unix-style layout as the original macintosh keyboard (with the based swapping of left-ctrl and capslock, since i almost never use capslock having it relegated to the hinterlands at the bottom left suits me greatly), and i’ve been driven by a similar (rsi-driven?) desire as you to move my hands as little as possible so the hhkb studio looks tantalizing, but i cant justify its absurd cost. if money is little object to you though, that one might be of interest as well.
I definitely keep coming across more things I have to work around and eventually find alternative combos for. Or possibly reprogram my keyboard for. Eg, I realized that I often use the right-side ctrl key, which does not exist on this keyboard. Maybe I’ll reprogram the right-side alt key to ctrl? I feel like dual-ctrl keys is more useful than dual-alt keys.
In full honesty, I kind of wanted to return this thing, but apparently I can’t return custom kit orders, which this was. I am fine losing the F keys (though I might have to figure out some rebindings in DotA2, I used the F keys extensively for courier actions. Alt+# maybe?). And I think once I get used to it, I will appreciate the more compact layout, with the directional keys squished closer in, and some of those archaic special keys cut off, as I mentioned. But the missing `~ key is kind of annoying, and definitely would have happily taken an extra inch of width to keep both ctrl and alt dual-sided.
Maybe I can reprogram the Fn key (which is the to the right of the right-side alt key by default) to be where the Windows key currently is, and make it’s current spot ctrl? I never use the Windows key anyways, at least on purpose.
I guess what I mean to say is, I can’t tell how much of my annoyance is easily solved while keeping within the confines of this small size, and how much is going to end up being actual compromise. I guess I’ll keep mulling over it and in like a week or two after I’ve had time to absorb it all, start reprogramming things.
The hhkb deal with the small-form keyboard that fits a mouse nub and buttons into it is actually very cool though.
While I do appreciate some nice switches, I’m not an enthusiast or geek about it, by any means. Not yet, anyways. Currently just rocking gateron blacks, which I am extremely happy with. The format its self is definitely the focus for me at the moment.
for me getting a topre was worth the money because i’ve no interest in buying keyboards anymore
Only arcade sticks, which depending on the stick isn’t too bad (got a lot of artwork printed off at Office Depot knowing I would mess up my cutting when I modded my Mayflash F500, then barely used it because it turns out Sanwa clear caps are brittle as hell and if I press too hard/fast the dang buttons pop out).
Someday I’ll make a good design and swap in my pink Seimitsu balltop and buttons…
It sounds of it you’d probably be alright making a nice logo .svg file and maybe seeing if there’s a local place that could laser etch some controllers, maybe on the back or handles.
From what I’ve heard of doing button or case replacements on modern controllers, all the springs and motors and wiresa nd stuff…sounds like a pain.
Every now and then I wish I had a small cheap steering wheel to play Outrun with. Is there one that’s cheap (under $100) that also has rumble? Maybe not 
i’d been wanting an external keyboard with a nub and clicks at the bottom of the keybed like a thinkpad and this one’s pretty ideal… no topre switches in it though for some reason, which is even more disappointing considering the price
pretty compelling argument! however knowing how my brain works “one of one thing” is never enough. i already know i want to get my hands on a model f and/or beamsprings at some point, as well as a topre…
depends on which console but every time i ask myself a similar question i always end up looking at secondhand options and there’s almost always something cheap that allows me to try something out without breaking the bank
pretty good, SEGA style like a saturn/mega drive. so, easy to roll (good for fighting games), but also easy to accidentally hit a diagonal
i like it!
gulikit controllers any good?
I like my King Kong 2 in all respects except for the d-pad.
