Third-party Apps and Plugins
224 files
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Archive Cache Manager
By fraganator
A LaunchBox plugin which caches extracted ROM archives, letting you play games faster. Also allows launching individual files from archives, and loading preferred file types from an archive.
New in v2.16
New M3U name option - "Disc 1 Filename" Always use the filename of the first disc of a multi-disc game for the m3u file, regardless of which disc was launched Allows better support for The Bezel Project config files, which use config files based on the ROM name New batch caching option to pause on caching errors (default is to skip and continue) Minor config window tweaks Description
When a compressed ROM (zip, 7z, rar, gz, chd, rvz, etc.) is first extracted, it is stored in the archive cache. The next time it is played, the game is loaded directly from the cache, virtually eliminating wait time.
As the cache size approaches the maximum size, the oldest played games are deleted from the cache, making room for new games.
Features
Skip the extraction wait time for recently played games. Configurable cache size and location. Configurable minimum archive size (don't cache small archives). Option to extract all discs in a multi-disc game, and generate M3U file. Option to copy ROM files to cache without extraction. Option to keep select ROMs cached and ready to play. Select and play individual ROMs from a merged ROM archive. Batch cache feature for extracting or copying multiple games to cache at once. Filename and extension priorities per emulator and platform (cue, bin, iso, etc). Support for additional archive formats (chd, rvz, etc) Support for Xbox iso to xiso conversion Badge to indicate cached games Example Use Cases
Why use Archive Cache Manager? Here's some example use cases.
ROMs located on NAS or external storage, where disk read or transfer time is slow. ROM library maintained as accurately ripped/dumped collections, where specialised compression formats not an option. Extract and play archives from location other than LaunchBox\ThirdParty\7-Zip\Temp, such as platform specific folder (for RetroArch Content Directory settings). Playing ripped PS2 games with PCSX2 where the disc image is bin/cue format, avoiding the "CDVD plugin failed to open" error message. Playing zipped MSU versions of games, where need to launch the rom file instead of the cue file from the archive. The library contains GoodMerged sets, and you want a quick way to play individual ROMs. Installation
Download the latest release from https://forums.launchbox-app.com/files/file/234-archive-cache-manager/ or https://github.com/fraganator/archive-cache-manager/releases Unblock the download if necessary (right-click file -> Properties -> Unblock) Extract this archive to your LaunchBox\Plugins folder, then run LaunchBox / BigBox. Within LaunchBox, ensure the emulator or emulator platform has the "Extract ROM archives before running" option checked. Uninstallation
Quit LaunchBox / BigBox, then navigate to the LaunchBox\Plugins folder and delete ArchiveCacheManager. Delete the archive cache folder (default is LaunchBox\ArchiveCache). Usage
Extracting and Caching
Archive Cache Manager runs transparently to the user. All that is required is the emulator or emulator platform has the "Extract ROM archives before running" option checked. Extraction and cache management is carried out automatically when a game is launched.
Cache and extraction behaviour can be modified in plugin's configuration window.
Multi-Disc Games
To use the multi-disc cache feature, check the "Multi-disc Support" option in the Archive Cache Manager config window. The next time a multi-disc game is launched, all the discs from the game will be extracted to the cache and a corresponding M3U file generated.
If the emulator \ platform supports M3U files (as configured in LaunchBox), the generated M3U file will be used when launching the game. Otherwise a single disc will be launched, and swapping between cached discs can be done manually in the emulator.
Batch Caching Games
Multiple games can be cached at once using the Batch Cache Games window. Select one or more games in LaunchBox, then right-click a game and choose the "Batch Cache Games..." option.
A window will popup displaying the list of games, and begin checking the extracted ROM sizes. Once the checks are complete, click the Cache Games button to begin caching.
Games are cached according to the plugin's emulator and platform settings. A game may be extracted, copied, or no action taken if it doesn't match a caching rule, or it's already cached.
Each game's caching progress will be displayed in the Status column, and a progress bar at the bottom of the game list shows the overall caching progress. If an error occurs during caching, it will be flagged in the Status column and caching will skip to the next game. If the "Pause Caching On Error" is checked, an error message is displayed with the option to continue or stop.
Tip: For games stored on a NAS or an external drive, use Batch Cache Games to cache a selection of them locally. Enable the plugin's Always Bypass LaunchBox Path Check option to allow the cached game to be launched directly, even if the network or external drive is disconnected!
Selecting and Playing Individual ROMs From an Archive
To play an individual ROM from an archive containing multiple ROMs (different regions, hacks, or discs), right-click it and choose "Select ROM In Archive...".
A window will popup with a full listing of the archive contents. Select the desired ROM file, then click Play. That ROM will now launch with the configured emulator.
The next time the game is launched via the normal Play option, the previous ROM selection will be automatically applied. To select another ROM, use the same "Select ROM In Archive..." menu.
The same menu is also available in BigBox, though currently only supports keyboard input.
Keeping Games Cached
Games can be marked 'Keep' so they stay cached and ready to play. To keep a game cached, open the plugin configuration window from the Tools->Archive Cache Manager menu. From there a list of games in the cache is shown. Check the Keep box next to the game, then click OK.
Badge
The plugin includes a badge to indicate if a game is currently in the cache. It is available under the Badges->Plugin Badges->Enable Archive Cached menu. There are additional Simple White and Neon style badges, which can be found in the LaunchBox\Plugins\ArchiveCacheManager\Badges folder. Copy your preferred icon to the LaunchBox\Images\Badges folder and rename it Archive Cached.png.
Configuration
Configuration can be accessed from the Tools->Archive Cache Manager menu. An overview of each of the configuration screens and options is below.
Cache Settings
This page shows a summary of the cache storage and currently cached items, and provides options for cache configuration.
Configure Cache
Clicking the Configure Cache... button opens the cache configuration window.
Configure Cache - Cache Path
This is the path of the cache on disk. The path can be absolute or relative, where relative paths are to the LaunchBox root folder.
Default: ArchiveCache
If the cache path is set to an invalid location (LaunchBox root for example), an error message will be displayed when clicking OK.
If the cache path is set to an existing path that already contains files or folders, a warning will be displayed when clicking OK. Click Yes to proceed, or No to go back and change the path.
Configure Cache - Cache Size
This is the maximum cache size on disk in megabytes. The oldest played games will be deleted from the cache when it reaches this size.
Default: 20,000 MB (20 GB)
Configure Cache - Minimum Archive Size
This is the minimum size in megabytes of an uncompressed archive before it will be added to the cache. Archives smaller than this won't be added to the cache.
Default: 100 MB
Keep
A Keep flag can be applied to a cached item. When set, the item will be excluded from cache management and not be removed from the cache. This is useful for less frequently played games which need to load without waiting (very large games, party games, favourites, children's games, etc).
Default: Disabled
Open In Explorer
Clicking the Open In Explorer button will open the configured cache path in Windows Explorer. This button is disabled if the cache path does not exist.
Refresh
Refreshes the cache summary and list of cached items from disk.
Delete
Clicking on the Delete button will remove the selected items from the cache (including items with the Keep setting).
Delete All
Clicking on the Delete All button will delete everything from the cache (including items with the Keep setting).
Extraction Settings
This page provides settings for archive extraction and launch behviour. Each row in the table applies to the specified emulator \ platform pair. If a game is launched which doesn't match an emulator \ platform, the settings in All \ All will be used.
Emulator \ Platform
The specific emulator and platform for the settings to be applied to. Add a new emulator and platform row using the Add... button. Remove an emulator \ platform row using the Delete button.
When a new row is added its settings will be copied from the All \ All entry, except for Priority which will be blank.
Priority
Files from an archive can be prioritized in the case where an emulator requires a certain filename or file type. This setting defines the filename or extension priority for the specified emulator and platform combination.
The priorities are a comma delimited list, where the highest priority is the first entry, the next highest priority is the second entry, and so on. If a match is not found in the archive when a game is loaded, the priority in All \ All is used.
A wildcard (*) can be used to perform partial filename matches. Examples include:
bin, iso - Files ending with bin, then files ending in iso, then all other files. eboot.bin - Files named eboot.bin, then all other files. *(*E*)*[!].*, *(*U*)*[!].*, *[!].* - GoodMerged style, prioritizing European 'good' ROM dumps, then USA 'good' ROM dumps, then other region 'good' ROM dumps, then all other files. Note that the priority is applied to all archives, even if they are not cached.
The fallback All \ All priority is the basis for the contents of the multi-disc M3U file generation. Be careful removing entries such as cue, unless a specific emulator \ platform is used to handle cue and similar file types.
Default:
All \ All | mds, gdi, cue, eboot.bin PCSX2 \ Sony Playstation 2 | bin, iso Action
The action to take when processing a ROM file.
Extract - Extract an archive to the cache. Non-archive files will be passed directly to the emulator. Copy - Copy the game file to the cache. Archive files will copied, but not extracted. Extract or Copy - If the game file is an archive, extract it to the cache. Otherwise copy the game file to the cache. Default: Extract
Launch Path
The path within the cache to launch the game from. Useful for managing common settings in RetroArch which are based on the game's folder.
Default - The archive folder in the cache, which is in the form <Filename> - <MD5 Hash> Title - The game's title set in LaunchBox (e.g. Final Fantasy VII) Platform - The game's platform set in LaunchBox (e.g. Sony Playstation) Emulator - The emulator title set in LaunchBox (e.g. RetroArch) Games will always be extracted \ copied to the <Filename> - <MD5 Hash> location. If the Launch Path is set to something other than Default, the corresponding folder will be created within the cache, and NTFS hardlinks will be created which point to the extracted \ copied files.
Default: Default
Multi-Disc
Check this option to enable multi-disc support. When enabled, the following actions occur when playing a multi-disc game:
All discs from a multi-disc game will be extracted \ copied and added to the archive cache. M3U files will be generated, with the name based on the M3U Name setting. The M3U contents will list the absolute path to one cached file per disc, where the file is chosen based on the emulator \ platform file priority, or the special All \ All priority. If the emulator \ platform supports M3U files, the generated M3U file will be used when launching the game. Default: Enabled
M3U Name
The name of the M3U file created when launching a multi-disc game, and Multi-Disc is enabled. The M3U file name is used by some emulators to create a save file and match settings.
Game ID - The unique ID for a game, generated by LaunchBox. This is the same M3U naming convention used by LaunchBox (e.g. 2828d969-4362-49d5-b080-c2b7cc6f7d59.m3u) Title + Version - The game's title and version combined, with (Disc N) removed from the version (e.g. Final Fantasy VII (Europe).m3u) Disc 1 Filename - Use the filename of the first disc as the name of the M3U, regardless of which disc was launched (e.g. Final Fantasy VII (Europe) (Disc 1).m3u). Allows for The Bezel Project support, while maintaining a consistent name for emulators to manage save files across multiple discs. Default: Game ID
Smart Extract
Check this option to enable smart extraction, which will only extract a single file from an archive if a number of rules are met. See the Smart Extract Settings section for details.
Default: Enabled
chdman
Check this option to extract a chd file to cue+bin files using chdman. The executable chdman.exe must be copied to the folder LaunchBox\Plugins\ArchiveCacheManager\Extractors.
Default Disabled
DolphinTool
Check this option to extract rvz, wia, and gcz files to iso files using DolphinTool. The executable DolphinTool.exe must be copied to the folder LaunchBox\Plugins\ArchiveCacheManager\Extractors.
Default Disabled
extract-xiso
Check this option to extract and convert full iso files to Xbox iso files using extract-xiso. Supports both zipped and stand-alone iso files. The executable extract-xiso.exe must be copied to the folder LaunchBox\Plugins\ArchiveCacheManager\Extractors.
Default Disabled
Smart Extract Settings
When enabled, the Smart Extract option will check if it's possible to extract only a single file from an archive. For merged archives containing multiple ROM versions and hacks, this avoids the need to extract a potentially large number of files to play a single game.
Smart Extract will extract and launch a single file from an archive if the following conditions are met:
All of the file types in an archive are the same, excluding files with Metadata Extensions.
OR
All of the file types in an archive are Stand-alone ROMs, excluding files with Metadata Extensions.
The file to extract will be (in priority order):
The individual file selected through the "Select ROM in Archive..." right-click menu. The first file which matches a configured Priority. The first file in the archive. Stand-alone ROM Extensions
A comma delimited list of file extensions which can run stand-alone (no dependencies on other files).
Default: gb, gbc, gba, agb, nes, fds, smc, sfc, n64, z64, v64, ndd, md, smd, gen, iso, chd, gg, gcm, 32x, bin
Metadata Extensions
A comma delimited list of file extensions which indicate ROM metadata, and aren't required to play a ROM file.
Default: nfo, txt, dat, xml, json
Plugin Settings
Always Bypass LaunchBox Path Check
When enabled, bypasses LaunchBox's check that a game's application path (ROM file) exists before launch. If a game is cached and the source ROM storage is slow or unavailable, the game will still launch immediately.
The bypass check happens automatically if the extract action is Copy, or the file is not zip, 7z, or rar.
Default: Disabled
Check For Updates On Startup
Enable this option to check for plugin updates when LaunchBox starts up. This is a simple version check of the latest release on github, and nothing is automatically downloaded or installed. If a new update is found a message box will appear shortly after LaunchBox is started, with the option to open the download page in a browser.
Default: On first run, a message box will appear asking the user if they'd like to enable the update check.
Source Code
This plugin is open source, and can be found on github: https://github.com/fraganator/archive-cache-manager
1,489 downloads
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LaunchBox Controls
By gbiscoo
About
This will display the controls for the selected game on a secondary monitor (will work on 2+ monitor setups).
It will either read the controls from the required xml file or display the control image from: LaunchBox > Images > [System] > Arcade - Controls Information
It includes an xml control file for MAME and a default configuration for LaunchBox and Windows.
Game controls can be manually added copying the existing format.
Installing
Extract the zip into your LaunchBox plugins folder and ensure that all files remain in the LaunchBoxControls folder
ie. Launchbox\Plugins\LaunchBoxControls\
Edit the settings.xml file as required. The screen number to display the controls on being the most important, currently set to 2. You can get this number from computer Display Settings.
103 downloads
0 comments
Submitted
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Marquee Intro Video Support
By superrob3000
*** Edit: Note that you can use this plugin to add startup marquee video support if you are using BigBox's native marquee handling. However, I recommend you switch to my new plugIn, ThirdScreen, for startup marquee video support because it also adds support for platform marquee videos and unlimited screens. ***
Plugin that adds Marquee Intro video support. After installing the plugin you can simply place your Marquee intro videos into the LaunchBox/Videos/StartupMarquee folder. One will be chosen randomly at startup. Static images (jpg or png) will work as well.
The marquee video will always automatically end at the same time as the main screen intro video. If the marquee video is shorter than the main screen video, it will loop until the main screen video ends (or until you hit a button to skip the intro).
See demo:
Installation:
Unzip the file and drop the contents into your LaunchBox folder. Place your marquee startup video(s) into LaunchBox/Videos/StartupMarquee.
You of course have to make sure your marquee screen is set up first in your BigBox settings:
Set your marquee screen number in Options->General->Marquee Screen If you want the intro video to stretch fill the entire marquee, then set Options->Marquee Screen->Set Marquee Images to Fill the Screen If you have a cut-off type marquee, then make sure your screen compatibility mode is set correctly in Options->Marquee Screen->Screen Hardware Compatibility Mode. Currently this plugin does not support the squeeze 1/2 or squeeze 1/3 modes, but all of the following screen compatibility modes are supported:
- None
- Monitor Cuts Off Bottom 1/2
- Monitor Cuts Off Top 1/2
- Monitor Cuts Off Bottom 2/3
- Monitor Cuts Off Top 2/3
- Monitor Cuts Off 1/3 Top and Bottom
322 downloads
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Big Box Voice Search
By Fry
BigBoxVoiceSearch
BigBoxVoiceSearch is a plug-in for BigBox that enables searching for games using your voice and a microphone via microsoft's speech recognition. To make use of this plug-in, the plug-in components must be installed to the LaunchBox plugins folder and a few lines of XAML code must be added to the themes where you wish to use it.
Demo
Installation
1. Download the latest version of BigBoxVoiceSearch.zip from the LaunchBox forums or from this github repositories Releases
2. Extract BigBoxVoiceSearch.zip to a folder. Inside the BigBoxVoiceSearch folder is a folder called LaunchBox. Inside the LaunchBox folder is a folder called Plugins. Copy the plugins folder
3. Go to your LaunchBox installation folder and paste the copied folder
4. To verify the installation - confirm the following files exist in your LaunchBox\Plugins folder
- BigBoxVoiceSearch.dll
- System.Speech.dll
5. You can delete the downloaded zip file and extracted folder once the files have been copied into your LaunchBox plugins folder
Adding the voice search element to a theme
In order to use the voice recognition function, a few lines of XAML must be added to the views of the themes that you would like to use this with. Since it's easy to make simple mistakes while tinkering with XAML, it's strongly recommended to make a copy of whatever theme you plan to use this with and make your changes to a copy of the theme so that you can revert to the original theme if mistakes are made. Inside your copied theme there is a views folder. Inside the views folder are xaml files that correspond to the views that you use in BigBox. Select the view(s) for which you wish to include voice searching functionality and edit them in a text editor like notepad or visual studio.
XMLNS
Each view starts with a UserControl element. The user control element will include several lines that start with xmlns. Add the following line to the user control element along with the other xmlns lines.
xmlns:BigBoxVoiceSearch="clr-namespace:BigBoxVoiceSearch.View;assembly=BigBoxVoiceSearch" Examples of adding the voice search user control to a theme
Once the above XMLNS line has been added to a views user control element, you can add the BigBoxVoiceSearch:MainWindowView anywhere inside the theme that you would like it to appear. There are a few properties that you can set on the voice search control to specify how it should behave. First, here are some examples of how it would look to add the voice search control inside a theme:
<!-- Trigger voice recognition with page up, the control is always displayed --> <BigBoxVoiceSearch:MainWindowView ActivationMode="PageUp" ShowInitializing="true" ShowInitializingFailed="true" ShowInactive="true" ShowActive="true" ShowRecognizing="true"/>
<!-- Trigger voice recognition with page down, the control is only displayed while recognizing --> <BigBoxVoiceSearch:MainWindowView ActivationMode="PageDown" ShowInitializing="false" ShowInitializingFailed="false" ShowInactive="false" ShowActive="false" ShowRecognizing="true"/>
<!-- Activate the user control with Up - you will need to press enter to trigger the voice search, the control is always displayed --> <BigBoxVoiceSearch:MainWindowView ActivationMode="Up" ShowInitializing="true" ShowInitializingFailed="true" ShowInactive="true" ShowActive="true" ShowRecognizing="true"/>
<!-- Trigger voice recognition with page up, the control is always displayed, override default images with theme specific images --> <BigBoxVoiceSearch:MainWindowView ActivationMode="PageUp" ShowInitializing="true" InitializingImagePath="Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\MySpecialTheme\Initializing.png" ShowInitializingFailed="true" InitializingFailedImagePath="Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\MySpecialTheme\InitializingFailed.png" ShowInactive="true" InactiveImagePath="Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\MySpecialTheme\Inactive.png" ShowRecognizing="true" RecognizingImagePath="Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\MySpecialTheme\Recognizing.png"/>
ActivationMode
By specifying the ActivationMode property on the voice search user control, you can control how the voice search control is activated and how the voice search is triggered with the following options:
Off The plug-in is effectively disabled No button will activate the user control or trigger speech recognition Up The up button will activate the user control The down button will deactivate the user control Once activated, press enter to start speech recognition Down The down button will activate the user control The up button will deactivate the user control Once activated, press enter to start speech recognition Left The left button will activate the user control The right button will deactivate the user control Once activated, press enter to start speech recognition Right The right button will activate the user control The left button will deactivate the user control Once activated, press enter to start speech recognition PageUp The page up button will trigger voice recognition immediately You do not need to press enter after pressing Page Up You do not need to press any button to deactivate the user control PageDown The page down button will trigger voice recognition immediately You do not need to press enter after pressing Page Down You do not need to press any button to deactivate the user control VisibilityMode
The VisibilityMode property from previous versions has been replaced with individual boolean properties ShowInitializing, ShowInitializingFailed, ShowInactive, ShowActive, and ShowRecognizing.
ShowInitializing
The ShowInitializing property accepts the values "true" or "false" to indicate whether the user control should be displayed while initializing. When the view is loaded, there is an intialization period where the titles in the launchbox game library are parsed to create the speech recognition grammar. Setting this property to true can give a visual indication that the speech recognition functionality is not yet ready to use. This property defaults to false if not specified on the UserControl.
ShowInitializingFailed
The ShowInitializingFailed property accepts the values "true" or "false" to indicate whether the user control should be displayed if initialization fails. Failures could occur while the user control is initializing if there is no default audio device for the speech recognition engine to use. Setting this property to true can give the indication that speech recognition was not setup successfully and is therefore disabled. If errors are encountered, check the log.txt file in the LaunchBox\Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch folder for any error details. This property defaults to false if not specified on the UserControl.
ShowInactive
The ShowInactive property accepts the values "true" or "false" to indicate whether the user control should be displayed while it is inactive. The user control will be inactive after initialization completes successfully. Setting this property to true can give the indication that speech recognition is setup and available to use. The property defaults to false if not specified on the UserControl.
ShowActive
The ShowActive property accepts the values "true" or "false" to indicate whether the user control should be displayed while it is active. The user control is put in an active state when you press Up, Down, Left, or Right and the ActivationMode property is set to Up, Down, Left, or Right. Setting this property to true can give the indication that the speech recognition user control is active and will perform a search of enter is pressed. The property defaults to false if not specified on the UserControl.
ShowRecognizing
The ShowRecognizing property accepts the values "true" or "false" to indicates whether the usr control should be displayed while recognizing speech. The user control recognizes speech when you press Page Up or Page Down and the ActivationMode is set to PageUp or PageDown or when you press Enter while the speech recognition user control is active (if ActivationMode set to Up, Down, Left, or Right). The property defaults to false if not specified on the UserControl.
Default image paths
If no custom image paths are specified on the user control, the plugin will look for images with the following path to display in various states:
| State | Default image path | |--------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Initializing | ..\LaunchBox\Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\Default\Initializing.png | | InitializingFailed | ..\LaunchBox\Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\Default\InitializingFailed.png | | Inactive | ..\LaunchBox\Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\Default\Inactive.png | | Active | ..\LaunchBox\Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\Default\Active.png | | Recognizing | ..\LaunchBox\Plugins\BigBoxVoiceSearch\Media\Default\Recognizing.png |
Custom image paths
Images displayed by the user control can be overridden or customized by specifying a relative path to the image file on the user control with the following properties:
- InitializingImagePath
- InitializingFailedImagePath
- InactiveImagePath
- ActiveImagePath
- RecognizingImagePath
Settings
When BigBox loads for the first time, a settings file will be created that will allow you specify how the plugin should behave. Currently there is only one setting to configure
{ "VoiceSearchTimeoutInSeconds": 5 } VoiceSearchTimeoutInSeconds
Specify the number of seconds that the voice search should stay open before it stops listening
Link to GitHub repo
https://github.com/AtomFry/BigBoxVoiceSearch
142 downloads
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Arcade64 No-Nag 0.248
By MadK9
This is the no nag for Arcade64.
Please only use this if you know about Arcade64 and how it works, there will be NO support for this no-nag. You also need to have setup Arcade 64 in advance as there are required files in the official release that are not added to this no-nag.
If you are looking for Mame no-nag's then click here.
140 downloads
0 comments
Updated
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Mount compressed cd images and play
By Anthes
This script was born to resolve this issues:
you want to save disk space you are a rom/iso collector that uses dat file to check your collection with rom manager tool. Actually you cannot find any DAT that support CHD files, so to save disk space you are forced to compress all your isos or cue/bin images in .zip or .7z format you want to play with compressed iso, bin/cue games without extract files you don't want specify cd image extension in command line, but only zip file extension. This script automatically will search for chd, iso, cue, bin (in this order) contained in compressed file. This script can use one of the following tools to mount compressed cd image files:
WinArchiver => recommended tool with the best performance. It supports .zip, .7z and rar format. It is a commercial software with a trial period. Prismo File Mount => good tool, totally free, it supports only .zip files. Bad performance with large compressed file, so I don't recommended it for PS2, PS3, PS4 and Wii emulation Daemon Tools => really bad performance, it is free with lite version. It supports only .zip files. Futhermore the script supports these emulators:
1) Retroarch with all cores
Command line structure:
ZipMountAndRun nameOfCoreOfRetroarchWithoutExtension zipfileWithExtension
Real example for Dreamcast emulation:
ZipMountAndRun flycast_libretro "4 Wheel Thunder (Europe) (En,Fr).zip"
2) PCSX2 in standalone mode
Command line structure:
ZipMountAndRun pcsx2 zipfileWithExtension
Real example for PS2 emulation:
ZipMountAndRun pcsx2 "Ace Combat - Squadron Leader (Europe, Australia) (En,Fr,De,Es,It).zip"
3) Dolphin in standalone mode
Command line structure:
ZipMountAndRun dolphin zipfileWithExtension
Real example for Gamecube emulation:
ZipMountAndRun dolphin "Casper - Spirit Dimensions (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It).zip"
4) Mednafen in standalone mode
Command line structure:
ZipMountAndRun mednafen zipfileWithExtension
Real example for Saturn emulation:
ZipMountAndRun mednafen "2Tax Gold (Japan).zip"
How install the tool for mounting
Search setup on google Download and install the tool Create a virtual drive and remember the letter that you should set in my script How to install my script in Launchbox
1) Copy the downloaded file in Launchbox Emulators folder assuring that my script was saved inside own folder:
LaunchBox root folder -> Emulators -> ZipMountAndRun -> ZipMountAndRun.cmd
See the image below
2) Set variables in my script for setting the tool for mounting files and its directory and the directories of emulators.
Please open my script with a text editor and fill " Variables to set" section
Variable name => Descrition
mountTool => define the tool used for mounting. Value accepted are winarchiver, pfm, daemon
daemonPath => path of Daemon Tools Lite, if you install it in default folder it is not necessary to change it
winarchiverPath => path of WinArchiver, if you install it in default folder it is not necessary to change it
letterForMounting => it is the letter used from virtual drive. This letter must be equals to virtual drive letter that you have created in previous phase.
retroArchPath => retroarch path. if your retroarch folder is called "RetroArch" in your Emulators folder don't change the setting.
pcsx2Path => PCSX2 path. if you have saved the PCSX2 emulator in RetroArch system folder then don't change the setting. If you have PCSX2 installed in the folder
LaunchBox root\Emulators\PCSX2 then you can change this variable to "..\PCSX2" (without quotes)
dolphinPath => path for dolphin standalone emulator. if your dolphing folder is called "Dolphin" in your Emulators folder don't change the setting.
mednafenPath => path for Mednafen standalone emulator. if your Mednafen folder is called "Mednafen" in your Emulators folder don't change the setting.
All the paths that you can set can be absolute or relative. By default the paths of emulators in my script use relative paths.
3) Add ZipMountAndRun like emulators in Launchbox
Click on Tools -> Manage -> Emulators
Click Add button
Insert "ZipMountAndRun" in emulator name textfield
Select ZipMountAndRun in Emulators\ZipMountAndRun folder
Copy other settings in image below
4) Edit linked platform for ZipMountAndRun emulator
Click on Tools -> Manage -> Emulators
Select ZipMountAndRun and click on Edit button
Select linked platform on the left bar
Fill rows like image below including your preferred platforms
I hope you can apprecciate my sharing and enjoy your games!!
61 downloads
0 comments
Updated
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Bulk Convert .cue/.bin (or files other than .bin) to .chd
By JoeViking245
Bulk Convert .cue/.bin (or files other than .bin) to .chd
Using MAME’s chdman.exe (“Compressed Hunks of Data (CHD) Manager”, included with MAME), this plugin will convert CD based game files to a single .chd file in your selected Platform. Example:
Before Loom (USA).cue Loom (USA).ccd Loom (USA).img Loom (USA).sub
After Loom (USA).chd
Before Arctic Thunder.cue Arctic Thunder.bin
After Arctic Thunder.chd
If you are looking to convert gdi or iso files (as well as cue) to CHD, see this plugin instead.
Bulk Convert cue/gdi/iso files to CHD - Third-party Apps and Plugins - LaunchBox Community Forums (launchbox-app.com)
Why convert?
You end up with just a single file per game A CHD file is, well… compressed. Resulting in less storage space requirements Arctic Thunder.cue + .bin = 601MB Arctic Thunder.chd = 466MB Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro = 684MB CHD format = 318MB Because we can and it's easy to do
Requirements
This plugin file chdman.exe (included with MAME) Game rom-sets that include a .cue file. (Loom (USA).cue, Arctic Thunder.cue etc.)
What happens after converting?
After successfully creating a CHD Image, the games application path will be changed to the new .chd file.
Also, after the files have been converted you have the option to
Leave the old files in place (default) Move the old files to a separate [backup] folder Delete the old files
Installing the plugin
Download the plugin Unblock “cue2chd (v1.00).zip” by right clicking the file and checking “Unblock” and clicking “OK”. Open the zip file and copy the contents (1 folder containing 1 file) into /LaunchBox/Plugins/ i.e. G:/LaunchBox/Plugins/cue2chd/cue2chd.dll
Using the plugin
Start LaunchBox Select Tools, Convert cue to chd Select a Platform Click Convert (Optional) Check Delete old files when complete This will permanently delete the old files (.cue, .bin, .img etc) after successfully converting them to .chd. Check Move old files when complete This will move the old files (.cue, .bin, .img etc) after successfully converting them to .chd to a folder you specify [for ‘backup’].
If you do not select Delete or Move, all files will remain in their current location along with the newly created .chd file.
If you opt to delete the old files and later want/need to convert the CHD files back to .cue etc., you can use chdman.exe to "reverse the process". The command line is:
chdman.exe extractcd -i “file_name.chd” -o “file_name.cue”
Special thanks to @faeran for coming up with the idea for this plugin and his support and testing.
As always, all comments and suggestions are welcome.
3,055 downloads
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Bulk Convert cue/gdi/iso files to CHD
By JoeViking245
Bulk Convert cue, gdi or iso ROMs to chd
This plugin expands the capabilities of the existing Bulk Convert .cue to .chd plugin by adding the options to also convert gdi and iso formats to CHD. (For cue/bin files, the process is the exact same between the 2 plugins.)
Using MAME’s chdman.exe (“Compressed Hunks of Data (CHD) Manager”, included with MAME), this plugin will convert CD based game files to a single .chd file in your selected Platform.
Why convert?
• You end up with just a single file per game
• A CHD file is, well… compressed. Resulting in less storage space requirements
• Most, if not all emulators now support .chd format
• chdman applies lossless compression so there should no noticeable difference in load time.
Requirements
This plugin file chdman.exe (included with MAME) ROM sets that are in a .cue, .gdi or .iso format
What happens after converting?
After successfully creating a CHD Image, the games application path in LaunchBox will be redirected to the new .chd file.
Also, after the files have been converted you have the option to
• Leave the old files in place (default)
• Move the old files to a separate [backup] folder
• Delete the old files
Installing the plugin
1. Download the plugin
2. Unblock “BulkConvert2CHD (v1.00).zip” by right clicking the file and checking “Unblock” and clicking “OK”.
3. Open the zip file and copy the contents (1 folder containing 1 file) into /LaunchBox/Plugins/
../LaunchBox/Plugins/BulkConvert2CHD/BulkConvert2CHD.dll
Using the plugin
1. Start LaunchBox
2. Select Tools, Bulk Convert To CHD
3. Select a Platform
4. Select the file format you’re converting from
5. Click Convert
6. (Optional)
Check Delete old files when complete
This will permanently delete the old files after successfully converting them to .chd.
Check Move old files when complete
This will move the old files after successfully converting them to .chd to the folder you specify.
Troubleshooting:
If you are getting errors while attempting to convert the files, make sure you are using chdman.exe that comes with the latest release of MAME.
If you use multiple versions of MAME in LaunchBox, copy chdman,exe from your latest MAME release folder into the ../LaunchBox/Plugins/BulkConvert2CHD/ folder
Special thanks to @faeran for the idea of the original Bulk Convert cue to chd. Without that, I probably never would have made this.
As always, all comments and suggestions are welcome.
1,489 downloads
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Arcade64 No-Nag
By MadK9
This is the no nag for Arcade64.
Please only use this if you know about Arcade64 and how it works, there will be NO support for this no-nag. You also need to have setup Arcade 64 in advance as there are required files in the official release that are not added to this no-nag.
65 downloads
0 comments
Updated
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Archive.org Collection Sync
By Jason Carr
Easily download/sync any collection from archive.org to your local computer. Automatically scans for any existing files and checks MD5 checksums to make sure that all downloads are correct.
To download, simply paste the archive.org URL into the top field, put the destination folder into the second, and click Start.
To pause/abort a running download, simply close the window. To resume that download later, re-open the app, choose the same URL and folder, and then click Start. Existing files with the correct checksum will not be re-downloaded.
Requires the .NET Framework 4.7.2. Licensed under the MIT License.
Source code is available here: https://github.com/jasonunbrokensoftware/ArchiveOrgCollectionSync
1,559 downloads
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The Definitive Audit "Tool"
By ci2own
This is not exactly a tool, but can be easily used to extract an almost perfect 1G1R from their Romsets.
To do that, just create a .txt file like the example one and rename it from .txt to .bat and execute it inside the ROMs folder.
Note: Only Official Released games are included in the lists. No Protos, Unlicensed, Demos, etc.
Note 2: A lot of cells are linked to others, so better not modify them manually. You can navigate by pressing each System Name on the Index Tab, and go back to Index by pressing "Go to INDEX" button on the System Tab
If any wrong game or any question, feel free to notify/ask me.
Hope it helps people to sort their rom collection.
372 downloads
0 comments
Updated
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N64 Save Converter Tools
By ABOhiccups
This is for anyone who backup N64 Save Files from Retail Cartridge, EverDrive Flash Cartridge, or Controller Pak and want to use it on N64 Emulator that only support SRM File. These tools also helps if you want to import N64 Save File from Emulator to Retail Cartridge, EverDrive Flash Cartridge, or Controller Pak.
Convert EEP to SRM with Batch Script (Not Recommended)
1) Place all EEP Save Files in the same directory where you extracted.
2) Run "EEP to SRM.bat"
This Batch Script will rename all EEP Save Files to SRM Save File Format.
Convert EEP/MPK to SRM
Drag EEP Save File or MPK Save File to "pj64tosrm_32bit.exe" or "pj64tosrm_64bit.exe"
Only drag one file at a time.
Convert SRA/FLA to SRM
1) Run "ED64-Saveswap.exe" and select SRA Save File or FLA Save File.
2) Leave everything as default and click on "- Convert file -"
This will create another SRA/FLA Save File by swap a Save Data to be compatible with N64 Emulators that only reads SRM Save Files.
3) Drag SRA Save File or FLA Save File to "pj64tosrm_32bit.exe" or "pj64tosrm_64bit.exe"
Only drag one file at a time.
Convert SRM to EEP with Batch Script (1KB/2KB Size only)
If SRM Save File size is 290KB. Skip to "Convert SRM to EEP/MPK" instead.
1) Place all SRM Save Files in the same directory where you extracted.
2) Run "SRM to EEP.bat"
This Batch Script will rename all SRM Save Files back to EEP Save File Format.
Convert SRM to EEP/MPK
Drag SRM Save File to "pj64tosrm_32bit.exe" or "pj64tosrm_64bit.exe"
Only drag one file at a time.
Convert SRM to SRA/FLA
1) Drag SRM Save File to "pj64tosrm_32bit.exe" or "pj64tosrm_64bit.exe"
Only drag one file at a time.
2) Run "ED64-Saveswap.exe" and select SRA Save File or FLA Save File.
3) Leave everything as default and click on "- Convert file -"
This will create another SRA/FLA Save File by swap a Save Data back to original form to be compatible with N64 Retail Cartridge or EverDrive Flash Cart.
Credits
All credits goes to the people who made these Tools Software happened.
ED64-Saveswap by saturnu
pj64tosrm by Higor (heuripedes)
399 downloads
- nintendo 64
- save game
- (and 2 more)
0 comments
Updated
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The Game Zone (Multiple BB Instances via AHK script)
By The Papaw
Allows you to Easily use multiple instances of Bigbox on each PC to improve speeds in navigation by splitting up platforms and running them from a single app. Also allows you to customize each instance to use different themes, platform videos, etc.. Includes a ReadMe in the folder
I wrote this AHK script to make it easy to run multiple instances of Bigbox on the same PC.
The reason I did this was I noticed my main LB/BB rig was getting so big that navigation was starting to slow down, especially in arcade using the newer themes. It was even worse on the older PC's thoughout he house. I got the idea that maybe if I split the platforms up into different copies of LB/BB I might get a smoother experience, especially on older PC's and it worked.
The script can be easily changed and customized to your needs. It's simple to change the images, background, layout, number of instances, etc. with much more than Notepad++. It takes a little work to set things up, but works pretty well after your done.
Just extract it and put the "The Game Zone" folder where you want.
Here is what you need do to Prepare: - this is most of the work
1. Make a copy of your Launchbox folder before doing anything just as a backup in case you have a boo-boo and something gets messed up. That makes it easy to go back. I'd leave it alone until finished.
2. If your game media, including roms, (images, videos, music, manuals) is within your Launchbox folder, you will need to move or make a copy of it all to a centralized location Outside the default Launchbox folder. This excludes your Platform Categories, Platforms, Playlists folders and startup videos. Mine is actually on a shared NAS folder. This keeps you from creating and having multiple copies of your roms and game media in a later step.
3. Next, you need to edit the paths to each of them in the "Folders" section of Launchbox by right clicking on a platform, then Edit > Folders (tab) and navigate each of them to where you put the media OR edit the Platform xml (../Launchbox/Data/Platforms) files with Notepad++ so Launchbox uses the new centralized media locations. Notepad++ is faster and easier, but more chance of errors.
4. After your media is in a centralized location, you can delete it all from your default Launchbox folders.
5. Next, make multiple copies of your edited Launchbox folder and rename them the following (only if you wish to use the script "As Is"):
LB-Arcade
LB-Retro
LB-Modern
by default the script uses your normal Launchbox instance for the Master system.
6. Lastly, you will need to edit the AHK script to match the different path instances that you have chosen. Mine are as follows and what the script is using by default:
D:\Gaming\Apps\LB-Arcade
D:\Gaming\Apps\LB-Retro
D:\Gaming\Apps\LB-Modern
D:\Gaming\Apps\LaunchBox (master system with all platforms)
After everything is all set up and working, you can play with modding to your taste and needs.
TIPS:
I do all my maintenance work in my master instance and use Syncthings to copy the appropriate platform xml files to the appropriate LB instances, that way I do the work once and the other instances are updated automatically. Yep, I'm lazy! There is a shortcut in the folder to drop on the desktop. You might have to fix the icon for it (copy of it in the "The Game Zone" folder), since my paths may be different than yours.
I think that's it. This is my first AHK script and was fun learning about AHK. You can do much more with it than I imagined.
Feel free to post questions, comments, suggestions and share what you come up with.
-Enjoy
51 downloads
0 comments
Updated
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BigBox PlatformCategoryPlaylist Selector
By Benuno
2022-03-23 10-33-23.mp4 A plugin for BigBox that makes it possible to have a playlist/platform carousel inside any game view/theme via simple .xaml edit of any game view. With this plugin you no longer have to leave the game view as you can select every playlist/platform from there!
Installation:
Globally: Put the BigBoxPCPSelector.dll file into Launchbox/Plugins folder.
Per Theme: Put the BigBoxPCPSelector.dll file into Theme's Plugin folder.
Theme's Game View files: Edit WallView/TextGame/HorizontalGame View's files by adding the plugin to the user control
<UserControl Name="Canvas" ClipToBounds="True" xmlns:PD="clr-namespace:BigBoxPCPSelector.View;assembly=BigBoxPCPSelector" .... /> and after that add the Platform Selector somwhere between the <Canvas> tags as below. These are currently the values you have to give the plugin to work. (Stuff like Position adjustment will be added soon)
<PD:PlatformSelector Panel.ZIndex="900" ItemFontSize="20" ItemFontWeight="Normal" ItemForegroundBrush="White" ItemBackgroundBrush="Transparent" SelectedFontSize="30" SelectedFontWeight="ExtraBold" SelectedForegroundBrush="Black" SelectedBackgroundBrush="Transparent"/> Controls:
Esc: Activate Plugin Wheel
Left/Right: Move carousel index
Up: Switch between playlists and platforms
Down: Deactivate Plugin Wheel
Esc 2x: Escape Menu like default
Enter: Confirm Playlist/Platform selection
Contribute:
Feel free to improve the plugin at https://github.com/Benuno/BigBoxPCPSelector! Any support is appreciated .
Thanks to @Fry for the help/initial code structure!
87 downloads
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Create Playlists from MAME category ini files
By JoeViking245
Create Playlists from MAME category ini files for your Arcade Platform.
This plugin allows you to generate Playlists in LaunchBox from .ini files. The same ones MAME uses in its UI to apply filters used to categorize viewing of your games.
To be clear:
This doesn't really expand much on the already available Arcade/MAME Playlist building feature in LaunchBox. But if there's a rare instance you come across a MAME category ini file that has a 'pre-built' "filter" list and isn't already available in LB, well here you go. Regardless, this was actually a just-for-fun, 'let's see if I can' type of thing. And figured I'd just put it out here for whatever reason.
..now on with the show..
Only games that actually exist in your Arcade Platform will be added to the created Playlist. So say you choose “Control.ini” and Select “Joystick 8-way”, there are 6827 roms listed with that ‘filter’. If your Arcade Platform only has 1007 of those 6827, only 1007 will be imported into the new Playlist.
Many of these files can be found at www.progettosnaps.net. (Specifically here) And several more at https://mameinfo.mameworld.info/ (Look for the “MAMEUI 0.2xx Category-, Version and Alltime inifiles” link). There’s probably other sources available out there too.
These files are typically (and should be) stored in the ../MAME/ini/folders/ folder.
Requirements:
This plugin file. Place it inside the ../LaunchBox/Plugins/ folder. Your MAME/Arcade Platform MUST be named “Arcade”. v3.0 A valid .ini file (or set of files) to read from. (see possible sources above) (sample from “Controls.ini”)
[FOLDER_SETTINGS] RootFolderIcon mame SubFolderIcon folder [ROOT_FOLDER] [Dial] 2mindril 720 720g 720gr1 ..... [Joystick 8-way] 10yard 10yard85 10yardj 1941 ..... How to use:
First download and unzip the file. Copy “Create Arcade Playlists.dll” to you LaunchBox/Plugins folder. Right click the file and select Properties. Check the box to “Unblock” (if present) then click OK. Now start LaunchBox.
In LaunchBox, select “Tools”, then “Arcade Playlists from ini” (near the very bottom). [not to confused with "Create Missing Arcade/MAME Playlists.."] When the plugin loads, it will attempt to automatically locate your ../ini/folders/ location and populate the “Available ini files” section. If it wasn’t able to find it or you want to look in a different location, click “Browse” and navigate to the folder you want to use. Click on the ini file you want to use. This will populate the “Available sections/filters”. If there are no ‘[Sections]’ below “[ROOT_FOLDER]”, that means there are only rom names listed, and those will be added to the “List of roms to add” area. Click on one the “Available sections/filters” you want to use. This will add all the roms for that selection to the “List of roms to add” area. Select the Platform that has all your Arcade games. If it's called "Arcade", it will be selected automatically. (new v3.0) Click “Create Playlist” to create the playlist. Click Exit or create more. (new look v3.0)
Once Exited, select Playlist or Platform Category and expand Arcade to see the new Playlist.
Notes:
This does not work with Additional Apps (mainly clones).
This adds “Arcade” to the beginning of the selected section/filter for its “Unique Name:” (to maintain consistency). The “Nested Name” will be the same as selected section/filter.
The Playlist will be added to the “Arcade (Category)” of the Platform Categories list.
If you click Create Playlist and you don’t have any existing games that match, an empty Playlist will not be created.
If a Playlist of the same name already exists, either delete your existing Playlist or edit it and change the name. It will not be overwritten nor modified.
1,085 downloads
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How Long To Beat - Game Length Plugin
By matiaspons
About
Plugin that scrapes information from HowLongToBeat.com and adds custom fields with game lengths information.
I made this plugin to add length information for certain games, mostly rpgs. This adds 3 custom fields for Main Story, Main + Extra and Completionist length. You can configure which ones you want to add by editing the file HLTBPlugin.xml.
Because there's no oficial API from HLTB, I had to parse the HTML, which means that as soon as they change something on the HTML this plugin probably will stop working...
Install
Extract files (dll + xml) to : Launchbox/Plugins/HLTBPlugin.
Config (HLTBPlugin.xml)
MainStoryLength: Enable/disable main story length update. Default: true. MainExtraLength: Enable/disable main story + extra length update. Default: true. CompletionistLength: Enable/disable completionist length update. Default: true. MainStoryFieldName: Change main story length custom field name. Default: Main Story Length MainExtraFieldName: Change main story + extra length custom field name. Default: Main + Extra Length CompletionistFieldName: Change completionist length custom field name. Default: Completionist Length Note: If you change the fields names it will not update the games that already have information, so you will end up with duplicated fields with different names and you will have to manually delete them (edit game -> custom fields tab). So config the first time and stick with that.
Usage
Access the option by right-click a game (only one game, no massive update yet). A window will popup with all the games found and you can choose which one correspond to your game. If there's no results you can manually change the search words (e.g. Metal Gear Ac!d will get no results but you can then change the search to Metal Gear Acid).
You can use the "Arrange By" option to order the games by length. Lengths are shown with leading zeroes because is the only way to properly order the games since custom fields are strings and not integers.
Tested on version 8.9. I think you need a premium license because custom fields are not supported in free license (not sure).
I have no relation with HowLongToBeat.com, if you like their work please go and support them.
Public Repository
https://github.com/matiasponsml/HLTBPlugin
1,549 downloads
- plugin
- game length
- (and 2 more)
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Marquesas HTTP Server
By pdavis
Small Footprint HTTP Server Plugin for LaunchBox.
Example Uses
* Display the current game marque full screen on a seperate system such as a tablet or smart phone.
* View the current game manual on a seperate system such as a tablet, laptop, smart phone.
* Retrieve LaunchBox and game information through a standard HTTP JSON API.
Installation
To install unzip and copy the MarquesasServer folder into your LaunchBox/Plugins folder.
The server will begin running whenever LaunchBox is started. The first time you run
it with the plugin a Windows security dialog will pop up asking if you want to allow
it to connect to the network. You will need to select one of the two options presented,
the option "Private networks, such as my home or work network will suffice". Once in
LaunchBox you will see a new "Marquesas Server Admin" option under the Tools menu to
manage the server. The server can then be accessed from any computer, phone, or tablet
located on (or with access to) the same network as the machine running LaunchBox/BigBox.
Requires .NET Framework Version 4.8 from https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net48
See the default index (LaunchBox->Tools->Marquesas Server Admin->Ellipses Button)
for a comprehensive list of dynamically generated direct links and detailed information.
Auto Refreshing Web Pages
These pages (specifically the Marque page) were designed to be brought up on a separate
computer such as an old tablet to display the marque of the game currently being played
in BigBox. It is recommended that the page be loaded and then the browser set to full
screen (kiosk) mode. In most browser on Windows you can toggle kiosk mode by hitting F11
when in your browser. Each page will refresh automatically every few seconds to insure
that the game being played will be reflected in the browser.
Works via a standard HTTP interface allowing the retrieval of HTML pages for the current
game. Any *ImagePath property can be retrieved from the IGame object
(Unbroken.LaunchBox.Plugins.Data.IGame.*) by specifying /Image/ followed by the Image
descriptor (the part preceeding ImagePath)
* /Image/Back
* /Image/Background
* /Image/Box3D
* /Image/Cart3D
* /Image/CartBack
* /Image/CartFront
* /Image/ClearLogo
* /Image/Front
* /Image/Marque
* /Image/PlatformClearLogo
* /Image/Screenshot
* /Manual
JSON API for retrieving
* /StateManager (Unbroken.LaunchBox.Plugins.PluginHelper.StateManager)
* /StateManager/IsInGame
* /StateManager/* (Unbroken.LaunchBox.Plugins.PluginHelper.StateManager.*)
* /SelectedGames (Unbroken.LaunchBox.Plugins.Data.IGame)
* /SelectedGames/* (Unbroken.LaunchBox.Plugins.Data.IGame.*)
JSON API for retrieving raw binaries
* /Binary/ScreenshotImage
* /Binary/FrontImage
* /Binary/MarqueeImage
* /Binary/BackImage
* /Binary/Box3DImage
* /Binary/BackgroundImage
* /Binary/Cart3DImage
* /Binary/CartFrontImage
* /Binary/CartBackImage
* /Binary/ClearLogoImage
* /Binary/PlatformClearLogoImage
* /Binary/Application
* /Binary/Configuration
* /Binary/DosBoxConfiguration
* /Binary/Manual
* /Binary/Music
* /Binary/ScummVmGameDataFolder
* /Binary/Video
* /Binary/ThemeVideo
See the default index (LaunchBox->Tools->Marquesas Server Admin->Ellipses) for direct links and detailed information.
Source: https://github.com/fpdavis/MarquesasServer
122 downloads
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View MAME High scores in Game Details - A plugin for LaunchBox/BigBox
By JoeViking245
View MAME High scores in Game Details - A plugin for LaunchBox/BigBox
Use this plugin to see a games top 3 high scores in the Game Details.
Features
Shows high scores for most games in your Arcade platform in the Game Details. After playing a MAME Arcade game that saves its' high scores [and is supported by the included hi2txt program], this adds a Custom Field called "Hi-Scores" to the game. It will store 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and appear in the Game Details when the game is selected.
What's needed
(3) files that are included in the downloaded zip file (the plugin) One file that is included in the Version 3.0 downloaded zip file MAME configured to save high scores Saved high score files (These are automatically generated by MAME [once configured to save them] in the "hi" and/or “nvram” subfolders of your MAME emulator)
What it won't do
Show high scores for games using emulators other than MAME. MAME does not save high scores for all arcade machines, so not all games are supported by this plugin.
Contributors
@jayjay and @JoeViking245
A HUGE Special Thanks goes to GreatStone’s utility “hi2txt”. This utility converts MAME’s high score files into a readable format which ultimately makes this plugin possible!!
http://greatstone.free.fr/hi2txt/index.html
Installation and setup instructions:
Step 1: Installing the Plugin
Step 2: Making sure MAME is set up to save high scores
Installing the Plugin:
Download the plugin, LB-BB_Hi_Scores_v1.0.zip, from the LaunchBox download section After you’ve downloaded the zip file, be sure to unblock it in Windows by right clicking it, selecting Properties, and clicking Unblock
Open the zip file and extract/copy the "Hi_Scores" folder into ..\LaunchBox\Plugins e.g D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\
If you have previously installed “MAME Hi-Score Display - A plugin for BigBox”, you will only to copy the “HiScoreCustomField.dll” file into that same folder. Otherwise all 3 files are required. (Only one file is required with version 3.0) The 2 plugins will not conflict with each other.
Setting up MAME to save high scores:
Using a recent official MAME release –
By default, plugins are enabled in MAME. You can verify this by looking at the “mame.ini” file located in the root MAME install folder. Open “mame.ini” and scroll down to (or press Control + F and search for) “Scripting Options”. “plugins” should be set to 1. If it’s 0 (zero), change it to 1.
Next, open “plugin.ini” also located in MAME’s root directory and change “hiscore” to 1.
If you have an older release of MAME, you may need to do the following steps.
Go to this website: http://www.mameworld.info/highscore/download.htm and download a copy of the file hiscore.dat that corresponds to your version of MAME. The file (hiscoredat.zip) will need to be unzipped. Place the file hiscore.dat in your MAME/Plugins folder Open up your MAME.ini file in a text editor. In newer versions, this file will be in the same directory as the MAME.exe Press control + F and search for “Scripting Options” Next to the word Plugins, type “1” no quotes Next to the word Plugin, type “hiscore” no quotes It will look like this:
How to use:
Start LaunchBox or BigBox Go into the "Arcade" Platform Select a game, run it, then close it Now select a different game, then go back (poor man’s version to refresh the Game Details) If the game has saved high scores, they will now appear in that game’s Detail pane Depending on the BigBox theme you use, the amount of data shown in the Game Details may be limited. So you might need to go into Options, Game Details and deselect some of the Details.
Be sure that “Custom Fields” is checked.
466 downloads
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Jay's Arcade - Animated Marquee Mod - for any theme
By JaysArcade
For lack of a better place to put this, I guess I'll settle for this Third Party apps category since it doesn't really fit anywhere else.
What is it: The Marquee Mod will add animated marquee support to your theme. I created this marquee style with the Community Theme Creator. Unfortunately it's not currently possible to use a Marquee created for one theme and use it in another unless you have all the source Community Theme Creator files from both the Marquee and theme you wish to patch. The files here will allow you to use the marquees I created for my Vertical Aspirations theme in any other theme. Everything you'll need is included in this one zip file. If you don't have a second monitor in use for marquees, this mod won't do you any good.
Instructions: After downloading the zip file, right click the zip, select properties and check the unblock box and click ok.
Open the zip and extract the folder onto your desktop or other directory you wish to work in.
Inside the folder, run the Edit Game Marquee View.exe first. If you have autohotkey installed on your PC, you can alternatively run the Edit Game Marquee View.ahk
When the search dialog opens, type "Marquee Views" without the quotes. Make sure you capitalize it and you type it plural with the s at the end.
When the replace dialog opens, type the name of the theme you will be importing this into. Example: Unified Refried. Make sure you spell the name of the theme correctly and use CAPS where needed or this mod won't work.
Next, run the Edit Platform Marquee View.exe. If you have autohotkey installed on your PC, you can alternatively run the Edit Platform Marquee View.ahk
When the search dialog opens, type "Marquee Views" without the quotes. Make sure you capitalize and you type it plural with the s.
When the replace dialog opens, type the name of the theme you will be importing this into. Example: Unified Refried. Make sure you spell the name of the theme correctly and use CAPS where needed or this mod won't work.
To confirm the rename worked, open the views folder and open the GameMarqueeView.xaml file and the PlatformMarqueeView.xaml files in a text editor (they may have already opened automatically in the previous step). Verify at the top of the text in the author block that the new name is present there.
An example (assuming you used Unified Refried in the replace field), the author block should look like...
<!--
COMMUNITY Theme Creator for BigBox - Version 2.3
Theme: Unified Refried
Aspect Ratio: Stretch
Developed by: Marquee Mod by Jay's Arcade
Published: Saturday 05, February 2022 @ 10:43 AM
BigBox Version: 12.7-beta-4 or later
-->
Finish: If all looks well, close both files. Now, copy the Views, Media and Plugin folders into your theme. Open Bigbox and switch to the theme you added support to if it's not already selected.
If something is not right, it's likely that something got misspelled. Delete the directory and re-extract from the zip and try again.
Please report if you have any issues.
Mascot files and animations in this mod were directly stolen from Faerans excellent RetroMags theme.
How the marquee views work: The views are not too much different from the default marquee views that come with BigBox. They do offer better support however (in my humble opinion) for Platform Marquees since they defeat the ugly default Banners that come with Bigbox. They also have some animations that run on either side of the logo. The animations are subtle.
Platform Marquees will have a default background image, a logo (pulled from your clear logos folder), and animated "mascot" images on either side of the logo.
Games Marquees will use a video marquee if available. If a video is not available, it will use an arcade marquee image if available. If an arcade marquee image is not available, it will default to the platform marquee.
Games View
2022-01-08 19-05-17.mp4
Platform View
2022-01-08 19-01-42.mp4
Options: Inside the Media folder there is a Platform Marquees folder that has a file named Platform Marquee Background.png. This is the file to change out if your prefer a different background.
There are a limited number of mascots in the 2 mascots folders. Faeran's RetroMags theme has a ton of these images if you need to fill in some blank spots that this mod doesn't cover.
How to remove: If you find you don't want to use this with your theme anymore, simply go into the theme folder and delete the GamesMarqueeView.xaml and the PlatformMarqueeView.xaml
181 downloads
0 comments
Submitted
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Create marquee images from Clear Logos (for use with Pixelcade™ LED Marquee displays)
By JoeViking245
Create marquee images from Clear Logos (for use with Pixelcade™ LED Marquee displays)
Pixelcade already provides numerous marquee images for many Platforms. But you may come across one or more that are missing.
This plugin will create 128x32 marquee-resolution png images using your games existing Clear Logo and place them in your Pixelcade directory**, under the corresponding Platform folder.
What’s needed:
The plugin files Pixelcade software installed (including LEDBlinky) [https://pixelcade.org] ffmpeg.exe (used to convert/create the marquee images) [https://ffmpeg.org] (included) (optional) An actual Pixelcade™ Marquee display
Installing:
Download and unblock the plugin zip file (Right-click the zip file, select Properties and check UnBlock) Copy the contents of the zip file into your ../LaunchBox/Plugins/ folder i.e. D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\PixelcadeMarquees\
Setting up the plugin:
The default install location for Pixelcade is “C:\Program Files (x86)\Pixelcade”**. If you installed it somewhere else, edit “pixSettings.xml” located in the Plugin folder. (Notepad can be used to edit it) Change the path (line #3) to match your install location. Save and close.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <settings> <pixCadePath>C:\Program Files (x86)\Pixelcade</pixCadePath> </settings>
**Note:
If your Pixelcade installation is located under “C:\Program Files (x86)”, you will need to have Access Permission to be able to save the images there. The plugin will check for permissions when launched. If it doesn’t have the proper permission, images will be saved to the "Completed" subfolder.
i.e. D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\PixelcadeMarquees\Completed\
You will then need to copy them manually when done. The images will be saved to their own Platform subfolder as Pixelcade sees them. (Pixelcade Platform naming conversions are taken from "console.csv" located in your Pixelcade directory.) Example: if your Platform is called "Arcade", images will be saved in the folder "mame".
Using the plugin:
Start LaunchBox. Select one or more games. Right Click and select Generate Pixelcade Marquee Image Click Create Marquee
Game Title vs. ROM name:
In most cases LaunchBox passes the games ROM name to LEDBlinky (which in turn passes it to Pixelcade). But for certain games (namely Steam games [and others?]), LaunchBox will pass the games Title. For these, you’ll want to check the box Use game Title for marquee image.
If the games Title contains illegal characters (such as : [semicolon]), the image will not be created.
When selecting multiple games, if you check Use game Title for marquee image and click Create Marquees, if the game Title contains illegal characters, a message will popup indicating that game will be skipped. You can bypass these messages by checking Skip warnings about Titles with invalid characters.
Special thanks to @megashub for coming up with the idea for this plugin and for figuring out how to manipulate and convert the images to make them suitable for Pixelcade™ displays.
As always, questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome.
156 downloads
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Inexpensive scrolling marquee
By mobarton
First, I am not a developer, so I am sure this can be improved on.
This is a way to get a scrolling marque for aprox $100 Canadian.
I did a quick video of it working in attract mode;
It uses the following hardware:
Elegoo LYSB01H4ZDYCE-ELECTRNCSMEGA 2560 R3 Board ATmega2560 ATMEGA16U2 with USB Cable Compatible and Arduino - $20
BTF-LIGHTING WS2812B RGB 5050SMD Individually Addressable Digital 8x32 256 Pixels 12.5in x 3.1in LED Matrix - $50
Power options for panel, can use 5v from a PC power supply (red wire) or a power brick with 2 amps or more. This is based on just scrolling text, if you start doing graphics or lighting a lot of LEDs, get a real power supply,
These were purchased off Amazon.ca. Read on the panel, as again, if you light a lot of LEDs it will draw a lot of power.
I provided the code for the Arduino, That I want to give credit to Cyan Infinite, although I did edit the code some.
see sketch.serial.text.ino
Cyan Infinite | Scrolling text with flexible 32x8 RGB LED Matrix
I started with a generic UNO, but it seemed a bit underpowered, so changed to a generic Mega board.
Note, later when I built the Python code, I had an issue with 2 odd characters being displayed at the beginning of my scrolling text which I suspect was a communication setting for the com port, but not positive. That is why I used a substring command.
I used pin 49 to send the data to the panel, as it was close to a ground. You need a data and a ground, and the pin you use must match the one identified in the code. If you use a UNO, the pin numbers are different range, I had used 6 then for example.
You need to set the com port for your board. That can be done in a couple ways, one is Device Manager, Properties, Ports, USB Serial Device, Port Settings, Advanced. My code uses Com 3. You can adjust this, but will need to compile the Python then and not use the supplied exe.
The python script will set the options in windows to match the Sketch settings (although I think I may have an error per my Note above)
The send_com.py is the source code for send_com.exe.
I tried to use the py file, but bigbox didn't like that. I actually started with a basic .bat file, but the popup window was messing things up. I'll paste that at the bottom for enquiring minds. The port settings may not match the sketch though, so if you use it, adjust it.
If you want to use different port or port settings, you will need to recompile. Up to you where you put the send_com.exe, but note that windows antivirus deems it a security risk when you try running it, it will block it and remove the file, so you will need to exclude it, I found it easiest to create a subfolder and exclude the subfolder from scanning. SEE V 1.02 or newer, recommend use of the ZIP version and not the single file exe to avoid this issue. If you are concerned I am providing malicious code, read the .py file and compile it yourself. Not going to try to tutorial that, I'm a novice at best and there is lots of info on the web. For some reason windows antivirus does this with all py files compiled as a single file exe, at least ones compiled using pyinstaller.
See the screenshot for the LaunchBox LEDBlinky settings. Browse to where you put the send_com.exe file, your path will not likely be same as mine.
So there are a couple things I don't like about my solution. LaunchBox and BigBox don't seem to be coded exactly the same for what to send to LEDBlinky for parameters. I didn't test LaunchBox really. Think it is close though. It does not send the Platform name (MAME, Playstation, etc...) when scrolling the Platform wheel, or I couldn't figure it out. If you navigate to a Platform (like MAME) in BigBox, it will show the game followed by platform, If you move the Game wheel, it will update to the game. If you select the game, it will update to the game. BUT if you navigate up a level, I could not find any content sent. That would be ok going from Game Details to Game Wheel, but not so going from Game Wheel to Platforms. And this all uses the same level code of 8 (the first passed parameter). I would like to code around that sometime, but have a bunch of learning to do...
Feel free to update this if you like. If you find it useful, excellent
send_com.zip
87 downloads
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Playtime Tracker Migration
This Python script migrates playtime data from the Playtime Tracker plugin to a native LaunchBox playtime entry introduced in 12.5.
Python 3 is required.
To use, either launch the script from LaunchBox directory
OR
pass path to LaunchBox as the first argument, for example:
python migrate_launchbox_playtime.py "C:\Programs\LaunchBox" WARNING: This script OVERWRITES playtime already specified in LaunchBox with playtime from Playtime Tracker (if present),
so playtime counted by LaunchBox but not Playtime Tracker will be overwritten!
However, games without a Playtime Tracker entry present at all will remain untouched.
57 downloads
0 comments
Submitted
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Visual Pinball X VideoSnap Creator
By JoeViking245
Visual Pinball X VideoSnap Creator (Playfield Recorder)
Use this plugin to create videosnaps of the Visual Pinball X tables on your PC/Cab.
This will record any VPX table at any orientation and from any monitor.
Why record your own?
There already exists a lot of video snaps of most every Visual Pinball Table. You can even find vertically oriented (portrait) ones for your pincab. The issue is they may not be recordings of the actual version of the table you use. Or you simply can’t find one for a particular Original. Or you just don’t like the one(s) you found.
Features:
This will automatically ‘find’ your table’s playfield view so there’s no need to set up which monitor to look at or set any scale, resolution or aspect ratio. Your VPX default monitor settings will be displayed for your reference. (new v2.0) Record the backglass at the same time as the playfield. (optional) (new v2.0) Record the DMD (3rd screen) at the same time as the playfield. (optional) (new v2.0) Record the tables gameplay sounds along with the playfield video. (optional) (new v2.1) Add the tables Clear Logo to the end of the video. (optional) Included is an AutoHotkey script that the plugin uses to quickly bypass the VPinMAME window when loading a table. (Should reduce loading time by approximately 4 seconds per table) (This also works well if added to your Running AutoHotkey Script tab for your VPX emulator ) Record durations can be set between 5 seconds and 3 minutes. If your playfield is in portrait mode, the saved output video can be rotated for proper viewing. (Options are 0º (default), 90º, 180º, -90º) You can set the video to record at 60 FPS (Depreciated v2.1) All video will be recorded at 30 FPS Videos are automatically saved to the default folder (/Plugins/VPXVideoCreator/CreatedVideos/) or you can change it to be placed directly into your /LaunchBox/Videos/Visual Pinball/ folder. Installing:
Download and unblock the zip file. (right click the file, select properties and check the Unblock check box and click OK) Copy the VPXVideoCreator folder (from inside the zip) into your /LaunchBox/Plugins/ folder. If updating to 2.0, overwrite the existing file. Quick Start:
Start LaunchBox (always a good place to start) Right click one of the tables in your Visual Pinball platform and select Create VPX video. Set how long you want your final recording to be. Click Capture Video. The default save location is in the plugins’ subfolder, “CreatedVideos”.
Setting up to record audio: (new v2.0) (optional)
You will need to register “audio_sniffer-x64.dll”** (included with the plugin) with Windows. Basically what this does is makes all your audio output accessible in one place. Think of it as a Frontend for all your audio output devices. This “frontend” will be labeled “virtual-audio-capturer”.
2 ways to register/unregister audio_sniffer are:
The easy way: Run the included batch file (located in the plugins AudioSniffer subfolder). You need to run this as administrator. The batch file can also be used to unregister it. Follow the prompts.
Old school: Open the command prompt [as administrator] in the “AudioSniffer” subfolder.
To Register: type in then press enter:
regsvr32 audio_sniffer-x64.dll.1 To Unregister: type in then press enter:
regsvr32 /u audio_sniffer-x64.dll.1 **NOTE: The file is named "audio_sniffer-x64.dll.1" (with a “.1” at the end). Otherwise LaunchBox will try to load it as a plugin, which will cause errors. Source code for audio_sniffer can be found here: https://github.com/rdp/virtual-audio-capture-grabber-device
Using the plugin:
Set Delay:
This is the delay time between clicking Capture Video and the video actually starting to record. Set to bypass (in the recording) the VPX editor loading the table. Default is 12 seconds. Options are from 5 to 30 seconds.
Record Duration:
Set to how long you want your video snaps to be. Default is 30 seconds. Options are from 5 to 180 seconds (3 minutes).
Video Rotation:
If you play on a rotated monitor (or TV), you will want to set this to the direction your monitor/TV is rotated. Default is 0º. Options are 0º, 90º, 180º and -90º.
Include Audio: (new v2.0)
Check this box to include the tables playfield sounds with the recording (needs to be configured).
Record Backglass: (new v2.0)
Check this box to record the Backglass at the same time as recording the Playfield. This will be saved to a separate file that is saved in the “/VPXVideoCreator/CreatedVideos/Backglass/” folder.
The backglass is typically on a 2nd monitor, but (if setup) will get recorded separately no matter which monitor it’s on (single or otherwise). The file will be saved as [the-games_Title]_BG.mp4
Record DMD: (new v2.0)
Check this box to record the Dot Matrix Display (DMD) at the same time as recording the Playfield. This will be saved to a separate file that is saved in the “/VPXVideoCreator/CreatedVideos/Backglass/” folder alongside the backglass video.
The DMD is typically on a 3nd monitor, but (if setup) will get recorded separately no matter which monitor it’s on (single or otherwise). The file will be saved as [the-games_Title]_DMD.mp4
Add Clear Logo to the end of the video: (new v2.1)
Check this box to add the tables Clear Logo (if one exists) to the end of the video. The logo will fade in as the video fades out during the last 2 seconds of the recording. This feature is automatically disabled if no Clear Logo for that table exists.
60 FPS Option removed (v2.1)
Experimental. Check this box to record at 60 frames per second. Default is 30 FPS (un-checked). Depending on your video card (and probably some other factors too), this may or may not even be worthwhile.
Change Save Location:
The default save location is in /LaunchBox/Plugins/VPXVideoCreator/CreatedVideos/. The video filename will be saved as the ‘games’ Title in LaunchBox with .mp4 file extension. You can save them anywhere you want.
Reset to Default:
This will reset the Save Location, Delay, Duration and Rotation to their default values.
Save Settings:
This will save the Save Location, Delay, Duration and Rotation values you set and will load these next time you run the plugin.
Save settings before video capture
This is checked by default and will save any changes made when you click Capture Video and before launching VPX.
Capture Video:
This will launch the table you selected to open the plugin with. At the same time, the AutoHotkey script “vpxBypassPinMAME.ahk” will start. This runs in the background and waits for the VPinMAME popup window to appear and then ‘hits the spacebar’ to make it go away (sooner). The script will exit after it see the popup, or 15 seconds. Whichever comes first.
After the amount of Delay time has passed, recording will begin and will continue for the set Duration. When done, VPX closes and the video gets converted.
The video is saved to “_tempVideo.mkv” (in the CreatedVideos subfolder) and then gets converted to an mp4 file. After conversion, _tempVideo.mkv will be deleted.
Keep temp video when done:
By default, “_tempVideo.mkv” will be deleted after the video has been converted. If you want to see what the video looks like before converting, check this box. After your video is complete, go to the CreatedVideos folder to view it. Note: this file gets overwritten each time you click Create Video if you have the checkbox checked.
View Saved Video
Click this to view the converted video. This is the video file shown in Saved Video Location.
VPX Playfield
This shows the default playfield monitor settings you have setup for your Visual Pinball installation. These get read from your Registry settings:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Visual Pinball\VP10\Player\Display
The Monitor # listed may not be the same as what your Windows Display Settings says. So if it’s “wrong”, ignore it. The Image Scale (W and H) shown will be correct.
If the VPX display settings cannot be retrieved from the registry, monitor #1’s information will be displayed with an asterisk (*) after the monitor number. (Monitor #: 1*)
Some notes:
When you click Capture Video, probably don’t click anything else until recording is complete. However once the table is loaded, feel free to drop in a coin, hit start and play until ‘your time is up’. Just don’t click on another window.
Backglass and DMD recordings only work with B2S Backglass Server (which is what most of them are). PinUPPlayer windows are not supported.
Designed for LaunchBox v11.3 and higher.
Special Thanks!
Special thanks to gtxjoe’s PBX Recorder on VPForums and Carny_Priest’s post on GameEx Forum for paving the way to figuring out an excellent approach to creating your own Visual Pinball table videosnaps.
Huge thanks to @sundogak for convincing me (though it didn't take much once I saw it in action) and showing me how to add video fade and attaching Clear Logos to the videos. Also for all the testing done and invaluable insight!
Future releases and enhancements:
If there’s enough interest in this plugin (as in, it’s actually useful and would get used), I will look at adding:
Option to record the table’s audio in with the video. (added v2.0) Ability to select multiple tables for ‘bulk recording’. Record backglass videos??? (added v2.0) Any REASONABLE request.
As always, any and all feedback is welcome!
241 downloads
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Mame 0.238 No-Nag
By MadK9
NOTE: This does NOT interfere with the Leader boards at all.
**This removes the nag screen that informs you if a rom doesn't work correctly, or if at all, if you use this no nag, then please do NOT go to the mame support site with issues with games, please only use if you understand that there will be no help from anyone at mamedev as you are using a modified version of mame.
mame.exe - Normal Mame with Nags removed. For Version 0.238 (Note mame no longer carries the 64 in its exe name changed by Devs in 0.229)
It's advisable to download the full 0.238 official pack and install it, then just overwrite the exe with the replacement, this covers any changes the mame devs may have made to the support files.
After you have done this, make sure you copy the folders artwork, ctrlr, cheat, hlsl, ini, folders and the ini files from the root of your original mame folder, and move/copy them to the new install.
make sure in the mame.ini file you have the following set.
Skip_gameinfo 1
202 downloads
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EmuStation2LaunchBox.bat
By BeemanDev
EmuStation2LaunchBox moves emulation station roms/images (from a pi image saved to drive) into LaunchBox folders.
Then by using a pre-filled platforms.xml file, you can import the lot into LaunchBox with one command.
I've set up most of the front ends over the years and usually automate it. There are loads of pi images available, just grab one, use a tool to extract to your hard drive and run this.
113 downloads
0 comments
Updated