Lua Hotkey - Fightcade

Fightcade 2 (and its underlying FFmpeg core) exposes a Lua API that hooks directly into the emulated input pipeline. Every frame, the emulator asks: "What buttons are pressed?" Your script can intercept, modify, or generate inputs before the game sees them.

The magic happens in two files you’ll place in your game’s configuration folder (e.g., Fightcade/emulator/ggpofba/config/):

Most hotkey logic lives in input.lua. Let’s build from scratch.

A true frame-step requires pausing and single-stepping:

local stepping = false
local function frame_advance_toggle()
    if not stepping then
        emu.pause()
        stepping = true
        console.print("Frame advance mode ON. Press hotkey again to step.")
    else
        emu.step()
    end
end
local function exit_frame_advance()
stepping = false
emu.unpause()
end fightcade lua hotkey
emu.registerhotkey(58, frame_advance_toggle) -- F12 to step
emu.registerhotkey(1, exit_frame_advance)    -- Escape to exit

You cannot just drop the file and have it work; you must tell FBNeo to load it.

Via FightCade (Online/Rooms):

Here’s a complete input.lua you can adapt. It supports multiple hotkeys, per-key state tracking, and automatic macro cancellation.

-- Fightcade Advanced Hotkey System
local active_macro = nil
local macro_frame = 0
local last_keys = {}
local macros = 
["u"] =   -- Shinkuu Hadoken
trigger = "u",
sequence = 
"down", "downright", "right",
"down", "downright", "right",
"punch1"
,
frame_duration = 2  -- each step lasts 2 frames
,
["i"] =   -- Quick double tap forward (dash)
trigger = "i",
sequence =  "right", "right" ,
frame_duration = 1

function input_frame()
local current_keys = input.get_keys()
-- Start new macros on rising edge
for id, macro in pairs(macros) do
    if current_keys[macro.trigger] and not last_keys[macro.trigger] then
        active_macro =  
            macro = macro, 
            step = 1, 
            frame_in_step = 0,
            trigger_key = macro.trigger
end
end
-- Update active macro
if active_macro then
    -- Cancel if trigger key released
    if not current_keys[active_macro.trigger_key] then
        active_macro = nil
    else
        active_macro.frame_in_step = active_macro.frame_in_step + 1
        if active_macro.frame_in_step >= active_macro.macro.frame_duration then
            active_macro.frame_in_step = 0
            active_macro.step = active_macro.step + 1
        end
if active_macro.step > #active_macro.macro.sequence then
            active_macro = nil
        else
            local btn = active_macro.macro.sequence[active_macro.step]
            input.set(btn, true)
        end
    end
end
last_keys = current_keys

end

To install, drop this into your game’s config/input.lua, edit the macros table, and restart Fightcade. Your hotkeys will be live immediately.

Test names by printing inputs each frame:

function frame()
  local i = input.get()
  for k,v in pairs(i) do
    if v then print(k) end
  end
end
emu.registerframecallback(frame)

Create a new .lua file. Name it my_hotkeys.lua. You can place it directly in the fbneo folder or a subfolder called scripts.