Gamepad input is ignored when window is unfocused

[ssokolow]

Describe the bug

Unlike most of the applications on my Linux system (mupen64plus has the same bug), when Render96's window isn't focused, it ignores gamepad inputs.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Start Render96 on Linux
2. Focus another window (eg. on a different monitor)
3. Press a button

Expected behavior

Gamepad input is not indirected through the X server, so it has no concept of window focus. Render96 shouldn't go out of its way to ignore gamepad inputs.

Desktop (please complete the following information):

ssokolow@monolith-tng ~ % lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
Release:        24.04
Codename:       noble
ssokolow@monolith-tng ~ % echo $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP 
KDE

Additional context

I like to listen to podcasts or documentaries or other such stuff while I game, and I like to keep keyboard focus on the YouTube player so I can do stuff like easily pausing/resuming, rewinding to re-hear something that required more attention than usual, or skipping sponsor/ad reads that lack SponsorBlock definitions.

[Joomsy]

Not sure if this will help since you're on X, or if you can even go with this option since gamescope doesn't really like Ubuntu 24.04, but you could try using that. I don't have this problem on COSMIC (Wayland) and CachyOS with the game running through gamescope. If you'd like to give it a go, the guide below should be able to get you a working build. It's what I followed when I was still on Pop!_OS.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pop_os/comments/1ery65n/you_can_play_fullscreen_games_on_2404_cosmic/

I'm also not sure if this matters, but I'm also setting SDL_GAMECONTROLLERCONFIG. If this ends up being necessary, you can get the value to set for your controller with antimicrox.

[ssokolow]

Thanks. I'd forgotten about Gamescope, but it's probably also a more general solution for "No, I don't want you claiming my whole central monitor and grabbing my mouse and, if you're feeling particularly toddler-ish, shutting off the wing monitors and tricking my WM into forgetting which monitors my windows should be on".

(As is, my solution used to be to use Wine's virtual desktop and, more recently, to just KVM a dedicated Windows 7 "game console but not a console" onto my central monitor, but I'm starting to see the odd worthwhile game which either doesn't like Windows 7 or needs more than a Core i3 from 2012 with a GTX670.)