Ubuntu 20.04 Kodi 19.1.0 Failed to initialize game.libretro.genplus

[Jieiku]

Bug report

Describe the bug

Here is a clear and concise description of what the problem is:

I have installed Kodi, installed kodi-game-libretro, installed and configured controllers, added rom paths to game section.

but when I try to launch a rom nothing appears to happen at all, but there are entries in the kodi log (down below in log section):

Expected Behavior

I thought the roms would launch, or get an error that indicates what the issue might be. I am not sure where to start, the error log tells me it was unable to initialize but not the reason why.

Actual Behavior

The rom never loads, the screen seems to not change at all, as if it never tried, but it obviously did because the log says so.

Possible Fix

Additionally, if I load my roms by exiting kodi and using retroarch, then I am able to load them and play.

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:
here was my install routine:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libretro/stable

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kodi retroarch
sudo apt install kodi-game-libretro kodi-game-libretro-fceumm kodi-game-libretro-bsnes-mercury-performance kodi-game-libretro-tgbdual kodi-game-libretro-vba-next kodi-game-libretro-desmume kodi-game-libretro-beetle-psx

I installed and configured the additional controllers within kodi.

Debuglog

grc tail -f ~/.kodi/temp/kodi.log

2021-06-15 17:32:56.872 T:2341     INFO <general>: RetroPlayer[PROCESS]: Created process info for X11
2021-06-15 17:32:56.872 T:2341    ERROR <general>: ADDON: Could not locate game.libretro.genplus.so
2021-06-15 17:32:56.872 T:2341    ERROR <general>: ADDON: Dll Sega - MS/GG/MD/CD (Genesis Plus GX) - Client returned bad status (4) from Create and is not usable
2021-06-15 17:32:58.978 T:2341    ERROR <general>: RetroPlayer[PLAYER]: Failed to initialize game.libretro.genplus

Your Environment

Used Operating system:

• Android

• iOS

• tvOS

• Linux

• OSX

• Windows

• Windows UWP

• Operating system version/name: Ubuntu 20.04.2 with KDE Plasma

• Kodi version: 19.1.0

[Jieiku]

Update, today NES, SNES, and PSX are working, and as far as I know I did absolutely nothing that would have made it work.

sega is still having issues:

2021-06-15 17:32:56.872 T:2341     INFO <general>: RetroPlayer[PROCESS]: Created process info for X11
2021-06-15 17:32:56.872 T:2341    ERROR <general>: ADDON: Could not locate game.libretro.genplus.so
2021-06-15 17:32:56.872 T:2341    ERROR <general>: ADDON: Dll Sega - MS/GG/MD/CD (Genesis Plus GX) - Client returned bad status (4) from Create and is not usable
2021-06-15 17:32:58.978 T:2341    ERROR <general>: RetroPlayer[PLAYER]: Failed to initialize game.libretro.genplus

the error is saying that it cannot find game.libretro.genplus.so

however I have it installed:

sudo apt install kodi-game-libretro-genplus
kodi-game-libretro-genplus is already the newest version (1.7.4.9-1).

additionally:

sudo find / -type d,f -iname "*genplus*"
/usr/lib/kodi/addons/game.libretro.genplus
/usr/share/kodi/addons/game.libretro.genplus
/usr/share/doc/kodi-game-libretro-genplus
/home/tommy/kodi-game-libretro-genplus_1.7.4.9-1_all.deb
/home/tommy/.kodi/userdata/addon_data/game.libretro.genplus
/home/tommy/.kodi/userdata/Savestates/game.libretro.genplus
/var/lib/dpkg/info/kodi-game-libretro-genplus.list
/var/lib/dpkg/info/kodi-game-libretro-genplus.md5sums

I have a handful of PS1 roms for PSX Beetle:

Bass Landing
Jet moto
Reel Fishing
Reel Fishing II
ten pen alley
theme park

Out of the above games the contorller does not work and is not deteted, only Bass Landing and Reel Fishing II does the controller work, the rest of the games load but after the loading screen they report no controller found, or if the game does not have a controller detection then it simply sits at the menu with me unable to do anything. I can however press start and select at the same time to exit the game back to kodi.

For instance with Ten Pen Alley, after all the loading cinematics it will open a prompt that says no controller detected.

[Jieiku]

I got the PSX games that were not working to work.

while you have a game loaded, press escape on your keyboard, this opens a menu with settings you can adjust. (need to find a way to bind this to something like select + Triangle)

In this menu you can set stuff for controls such as what button does what, but that is not what fixed my problem.

you want to go into Advanced Settings, here I played with all sort of things to try and get it working, and it was one of these settings:

analog self-calibration: enabled
enable dualshock analog mode toggle: enabled
cd loading speed: 4x
port 1: multitap enable: enabled

I turned all these things on all at once, but if i had to guess it was ether the dualshock analog mode toggle or the multitap that fixed it, no idea which.

Oh I should also mention I am using a Sony Dualshock 2 controller connected via "3 in 1 magic joy box usb adapter"

[Jieiku]

Update, the same thing was happening with gameboy and gameboy color. What I found is that when I first try to run a game in kodi I would get the error.

Failed to initialize game.libretro.xxxx

If I then exit kodi, run the game in retroarch, then load kodi again, its working. running in retroarch may not have been necessary. It might have just been quiting and relaunching kodi that got gameboy working. Next console I run into this on I will try just relaunching kodi.