BezelLauncher 2.1.2

12 hours ago, Sbaby said:

I was wrong, it doesn't work.
It basically gave me the correct bezel of Monkey Island, but that was a fluke, what it does is take the first bezel in alphabetical order contained in the Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\ScummVM folder and apply it to all the games I start.

BezelLauncher v2.0.0-beta-3

Fixed:  ScummVM not showing the correct bezel.
 

Game specific bezel folders for ScummVM need to be named the same as the games Data Folder
          (the folder name that the game files are located in)

You can find the name in Windows Explorer or when editing a game.

⟶ BezelLauncher (2.0.0-beta-3).zip

5 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

BezelLauncher v2.0.0-beta- 3

Great, now scummvm works great. You are great.

I would like to point out other problems with MS-DOS.
1) I've also tried with the custom bezel but it doesn't work, in the sense that the bezel is always the generic MS-DOS one, not the custom Novastorm one. In the Bezels folder I currently have MS-DOS.ini, MS-DOS.png, Novastrm.ini, Novastrm.png. I've also tried with the name Novastorm but it doesn't work

2) The pause menu for Launchbox and the return from pause for ScummVM work fine with both the joystick and the key on the keyboard that I configured with the PAUSE key on the keyboard. With MS-DOS, however, the pause menu only appears with the joystick key, whereas if I press the pause key on the keyboard the Windows 11 screen capture appears... For the return from the pause menu the bezel disappears with MS-DOS while with ScummVM it is correct, on the latter I know you are working but I hope I have given you some more useful knowledge

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Sbaby

Thanks!  Glad to hear that part's working now.

 

1 hour ago, Sbaby said:

I would like to point out other problems with MS-DOS.
1) I've also tried with the custom bezel but it doesn't work, in the sense that the bezel is always the generic MS-DOS one, not the custom Novastorm one. In the Bezels folder I currently have MS-DOS.ini, MS-DOS.png, Novastrm.ini, Novastrm.png. I've also tried with the name Novastorm but it doesn't work

Appears I failed to mention:

Game specific bezels for DOSBox need to be named the same as the games Data Folder (just like ScummVM)
          (the folder name that the launching game file is located in)

In your example, the file would be named Novastor.png (which is the launching bat files' parent folder).

 

Also note, if the platform bezel (MS-DOS.png) and the game(s) bezel(s) have the same sidebar dimensions (making their ini files have the exact same info inside), you only need to have the platforms ini file (MS-DOS.ini).  No need to have both ini files if they're the exact same.

2 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

Thanks!  Glad to hear that part's working now.

 

Appears I failed to mention:

Game specific bezels for DOSBox need to be named the same as the games Data Folder (just like ScummVM)
          (the folder name that the launching game file is located in)

In your example, the file would be named Novastor.png (which is the launching bat files' parent folder).

 

Also note, if the platform bezel (MS-DOS.png) and the game(s) bezel(s) have the same sidebar dimensions (making their ini files have the exact same info inside), you only need to have the platforms ini file (MS-DOS.ini).  No need to have both ini files if they're the exact same.

Perfect.  it works now.  I had forgotten the damned 8-character maxims in dos 🤪

On 12/4/2023 at 11:52 AM, JoeViking245 said:

Sounds intriguing. A bit beyond my knowledge base, but something to look into on a slow winter's day.  Thanks.

Note: I never said which winter.  

I'm pretty sure this issue is inherent to the emulator and no solution exists at this time.

I installed a clean copy of m2emulator to verify and when in windowed mode  the emulator's internal resolution is 640x480. Larger windows, whether displayed or borderless, just stretch the image to fit.

When in fullscreen mode the emulator's internal resolution is higher. 

For some games this may be perfectly acceptable but where it is especially noticable is if you use crosshairs. (Yes real men don't use crosshairs but these old eyes need them 😀 )  Crosshairs will get stretched as well which will make them larger. Of course you can account for that and resample your crosshair images smaller to account for the stretching. Just something to be aware of.

 

 

On 12/22/2023 at 4:31 AM, Sbaby said:

"Windowed: 1920x1080" returning from pause menu causes bezel cancellation

BezelLauncher v2.0.0-beta-4

Fixed:   Returning from Pause Menu for DOSBox created undesirable visual effects.

 

Setting up DOSBox recommendations:  (at least, this is what worked for me)

• In the  \LaunchBox\ThirdParty\DOSBox\ folder, create a new .conf file (i.e.  "BL-dosbox.conf"). 
• in this file, put:

[sdl]
fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=1440x1080
windowresolution=1440x1080
output=overlay
priority=higher,pause
[render]
aspect=true
scaler=normal3x

• "1440x1080" (2 locations) is the dimension of the transparent area of your bezel.  Adjust as necessary.
• Save.
• In LaunchBox, select all your DOSBox games and press Ctrl+E (starts the Bulk Edit Wizard)
• On the 2nd screen,
  • select the Field DOSBox Configuration File 
  • for Value, Browse to and select the new file you created (BL-dosbox.conf)
• Click Next. Next (again). And No....

Alternately, you could just edit the existing dosbox.conf file.  But this way (above), you won't get any inadvertent changes.

For the MS-DOS.ini file (under \Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\MS-DOS\, set all 4 values accordingly.  i.e.

[General]
Bezel Screen Top Left X Coordinate=240
Bezel Screen Top Left Y Coordinate=0
Bezel Screen Bottom Right X Coordinate=1680
Bezel Screen Bottom Right Y Coordinate=1080

(above is based on a 1920x1080 bezel with a 1440x1080 transparent (centered) area)

Again, this is what worked for me.

⟶ Edit: see 3 posts down for v. beta-4a

Edited December 28, 2023 by JoeViking245

1 hour ago, JoeViking245 said:

BezelLauncher v2.0.0-beta-4

 

hi 🫡 I'll update you on the tests

With this configuration, it seemed to work fine at first, but after several times of going in and out of pause, the game started to slow down and stutter, also sometimes the taskbar appears.

 

With the second monitor switched on, the game when returning from break disappears and only the bezel remains

37 minutes ago, Sbaby said:

hi 🫡 I'll update you on the tests

With this configuration, it seemed to work fine at first, but after several times of going in and out of pause, the game started to slow down and stutter, also sometimes the taskbar appears.

 

With the second monitor switched on, the game when returning from break disappears and only the bezel remains

Stop pausing and just play the game.  

It's still not set up for multitasking during gameplay.  All testing was done on a dual monitor setup without issue but admittedly, I didn't try switching between apps while playing and only paused the game 1 to 3 times per session, as that seemed (what I felt to be) realistic.

Thanks for stress-testing this.  I'll keep experimenting.

2 hours ago, Sbaby said:

With the second monitor switched on, the game when returning from break disappears and only the bezel remains

I think (hope) this should fix that.

BezelLauncher v2.0.0-beta-4a   BezelLauncher (2.0.0-beta-4a).zip

 

2 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

I think (hope) this should fix that.

BezelLauncher v2.0.0-beta-4a    BezelLauncher (2.0.0-beta-4a).zip 34.84 kB · 1 download

 

when returning from pause monitor 2 becomes monitor 1 🤔 I see all the icons of monitor 1 on monitor 2, the bezel remains but the game is dark black screen.

My two monitors are not the same and have different refresh rates, in any case I have no problems with other games or emulators that use bezels or overlays... this is just to inform you. I don't know if it helps

29 minutes ago, Sbaby said:

when returning from pause monitor 2 becomes monitor 1 🤔 I see all the icons of monitor 1 on monitor 2, the bezel remains but the game is dark black screen.

My two monitors are not the same and have different refresh rates, in any case I have no problems with other games or emulators that use bezels or overlays... this is just to inform you. I don't know if it helps

Do you by chance have your monitors set as.. what Windows identifies as 'Monitor 2' is your primary monitor?  Or something flip-flopped like that?

When 'the bezel remains and the game is dark black', if you hold alt and press tab until you get to the game, and then let go, does it reappear?

 

Also you said you "have no problems with other games...".  Is it just certain DOSBox games? Or just one game that does have issues?  Or is it, all DOSBox games have issues [with the plugin], and ScummVM and all other emulators are OK?

Thanks again for all your testing and feedback! Much appreciated.

9 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

When 'the bezel remains and the game is dark black', if you hold alt and press tab until you get to the game, and then let go, does it reappear?

does not reappear, I am forced to force the closure of everything

 

9 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

Also you said you "have no problems with other games...".  Is it just certain DOSBox games? Or just one game that does have issues?  Or is it, all DOSBox games have issues [with the plugin], and ScummVM and all other emulators are OK?

 

all dos games behave the same

 

---------------

 

I won't talk about my cabinets because unfortunately they reside in another, larger house and I haven't been there for several months, I'll tell you about my current setup which corresponds to a work desk where I have a fixed desktop PC with nvidia 2060 to which 3 monitors are connected (always physically connected by cable)

- two monitors in displayport ports are used when I am sitting at my desk (wall 1) , Windows detects these monitors ID1 and ID3
- one LG C1 TV in hdmi port with 2.1 cable which I use when I want to relax from the sofa (wall wall 2), Windows detects this monitor(TV) with ID2

Then the procedure takes place that with the combination WIN+P I call up the Windows DisplaySwitch manager and switch from the two-monitor+LaunchBox configuration (if I'm sitting at my desk), to the TV+BigBox configuration (if I want to use the sofa), this activation I always do before starting the frontend and therefore before starting any game, the profiles I use are the default Windows ones and namely 

1) PC Screen Only = Monitor 1
2) Duplicate = Do not use
3) Extend = Monitor 1 and Monitor 3
4) Second Screen Only = Monitor 2 (TV)

 

Concerning the use of bezels the problems that arise are the same with all profiles and I think they are very much related to other posts I have already published to which no one can give me an answer and to which I have found my own temporary solution that I want to show you, I think the problem is how LB and BB handle the activation of windows and monitors according to certain types of emulators, including the pause window

I have no problem whatsoever with Mame and Retroarch
ReshadeManager works very well in 90% of cases

Now I'll give you an example where I had a similar problem to ours, and which I had already indicated in this post, I'm talking about HypseusSinge, it in the latest version has a bezel implementation which I use regularly, this is an example launcher for Space Ace

hypseus.exe sae vldp -framefile vldp_dl\ace\ace.txt -fullscreen -bank 1 01100111 -bank 0 10011000 -volume_nonvldp 5 -volume_vldp 20 -force_aspect_ratio -bezel /daphne/v1/ace.png

What happened was very similar to our DosBox, i.e. the first start works perfectly, but when I then exit the game, go to play another game, e.g. MAME, and then exit and restart a HypseusSinge game again, it happens that the window of BigBox or LaunchBox remains blocked in front and the game underneath I can hear it but I can't see it, I am forced to force the closure of BigBox, this is a similar thing that happens with your plugin, when the game screen turns black I can no longer do anything, I am forced to terminate everything.

One of the solutions I had found was to activate the function in the general options of Launchbox that minimises the frontend when the emulator starts up, but it partially solved the problem, in the sense that if I went to pause and returned to the game, the problem recurred

In the end, while waiting for the official Launchbox fixes, I decided to create a script with the help of chatgpt which I have to say works very well with all the emulators I decided to associate it with, keep in mind that it starts when Hypseus starts and closes when Hypseus exits so it's not resident in memory all the time, I'm telling you this so you can understand that it can't be him creating conflicts,

I'll put it below, what it does is force the frontend to continue to minimise if the emulator window is active, you only need to enter the class of the emulator window, in this case it is SDL_app, and if you want you can enter the executable that will be closed when the game exits, this is for extra security, the script needs to be started when the emulator starts and will be closed automatically when the game closes. The script also takes into account the pause menu, the window is "Launchbox Pause Screen", the script pauses for safety at that moment.

Here it is:

HYPSEUS-Script_di_Automazione_per_LB_e_BB-_CLASSES.ahk

With this script HypseusSinge no longer has problems displaying the bezels, it does not lose the bezel after returning from the pause menu, and it always works even when I use other games like mame or pcgames and then decide to restart another hypseus game.
Using this script if you replace the class and put WinClass_Main := "MYWIN" you can also use it with Model2Emulator, to me it solved many problems, important is also to terminate the process on exit because often this emulator leaves more executables in memory (to find the class of the emulator's main window I use AutoIt (Au3Info.exe) )

Unfortunately I tried this script with DosBox and your plugin but it doesn't seem to have any effect, but I tried to give you an overview of my situation.

I'd like to add that lately I've also been using the fantastic "SingleIstance" script, which avoids that annoying bug that sometimes starts two instances of some emulators. this is because BigBox intercepts (and shouldn't) the joystick buttons during the game (it never happens with Retroarch, but again it only happens with those types of emulators)

https://www.dcmembers.com/skrommel/download/singleinstance/

etc..etc,,

Edited December 29, 2023 by Sbaby

10 hours ago, Sbaby said:

does not reappear, I am forced to force the closure of everything

After some messing around, I was able to recreate the black screen and it looks to be the Pause screen. But all black.  'Stuck in limbo', you might say.  Opening up Task Manager and End Task DOSBox.exe fixes it.  But closes the game too (after selecting Resume Game or Exit). 

However I also found... not having BezelLauncher in the mix at all what-so-ever, (i.e. Delete the BezelLauncher folder altogether, then starting LB), I can still recreate the black Pause screen.  But this is on my old test PC, so it very well could be my antiquated, minimalistic video card that's creating the issue all around.  That, or I changed so much crap back-and-forth in the DOSBox settings, I inadvertently screwed something else up. Or a combination thereof.

I haven't stress tested like this with other emulators to possibly rule out my video card.  But I also did not test it in what might be considered a real-life situation: actually playing it for 15 minutes or more, pausing a few, resume play for another 15-20 minutes, Pause, resume etc.  My guess is that's how it's designed to be used.

The best solution in my mind (and I still contend) is to only start the game when you actually plan to play it.  And just play it.  

 

 

 

Thanks for the thorough explanation! 

I did look through your AHK script and saw what you're doing there.  I was going to test the plugin with similar checks and triggers (that are above and beyond what's already there).  But then I tested DOSBox without the plugin being in the mix and saw the issue was still there.  So no point.

 

I think (I'm just guessing here) why ReShade Manager works well is that it "attaches" itself (for lack of better words [or understanding of it]) directly to the emulator's executable.  So when something happens to the emulator and its window, ReShade is right there to tag along.  But that still doesn't explain the black pause screen.

1 hour ago, JoeViking245 said:

The best solution in my mind (and I still contend) is to only start the game when you actually plan to play it.  And just play it.  

I understand what you mean, but my choice for the BigBox frontend was also made because I have so many games from the past that I like to put the key legend in the pause menu, and look at the manual from time to time while playing, I'm doing them all slowly.
for now thanks for everything and see you next time. 👍🤗

Hey @JoeViking245,

thank you very much for this great plugin, best option in my opinion for adding a bezel to games that don't support it natively.

No impact on HW, really easy to setup up and it works per-game as well  😁

LB/BB devs should integrate this plugin to the program directly  😜

Again thanks!!!

Edited January 3 by rockarollo

I recorded a little video for showing the magic of this plugin.

Since latest Citra updates you can't use ReShade anymore. So the Joe plugin is a life saver if you like to put bezels for 3DS games. I added an ahk script to the Citra emu for making the right stick acting like a pointer in the RetroArch style ( Citra core sucks unfortunately ).
When a game is launched the mouse is moving automatically to the little window at right down corner ( I set the emu windows in that way ) and can be moved with right stick and left mouse button is mapped on left stick pressure ( L3 ). I added in the script a few commands for changing the mouse pointer with a custom one but the video didn't record this  🤪

Also this plugin is the only way for putting a bezel for the arcade version of the F355 triple screen.

 

Hope LB/BB devs will think about to integrate this awesome plugin directly in the program   😜

 

GREETs

Edited January 3 by rockarollo

@rockarollo  You wouldn't happen to mind sharing that Citra script would you?

@JoeViking245 One particular issue I am having with Citra and this plugin is that if a game is installed to Citra via a .cia file to launch it with LaunchBox you need to point to its .app file in its content folder. The problem is that those are always named "00000000.app" so with the current setup of this plugin it requires the bezel to be named "00000000.png" with no way to distinguish for different games. Would it be possible to add a fallback unique identifier like LaunchBox ID or something we could pass via a script when a specific game launches to uniquely identify it?

9 hours ago, SatorSquare said:

One particular issue I am having with Citra and this plugin is that if a game is installed to Citra via a .cia file to launch it with LaunchBox you need to point to its .app file in its content folder. The problem is that those are always named "00000000.app" so with the current setup of this plugin it requires the bezel to be named "00000000.png" with no way to distinguish for different games. Would it be possible to add a fallback unique identifier like LaunchBox ID or something we could pass via a script when a specific game launches to uniquely identify it?

I can look into the option of using the games Title.  I think using the LB ID would be more confusing.  Either way, you wouldn't need to pass anything.

If using the games Title, you will need to replace any 'invalid' characters.  The most common one being :  (colon).  They would get replace with an _ (underscore).  The same way LaunchBox does it with image files (but without adding the suffix "-01").  i.e. Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure would become Dr. Mario_ Miracle Cure.png.

Though I must say, I haven't heard of anyone using 00000000.app files (vs decrypting to a single .3ds file or the like) in quite a while.  But the request is reasonable and should be able to accommodate. 

Quote

If using the games Title, you will need to replace any 'invalid' characters.  The most common one being :  (colon).  They would get replace with an _ (underscore).  The same way LaunchBox does it with image files (but without adding the suffix "-01").  i.e. Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure would become Dr. Mario_ Miracle Cure.png.

I think that would be perfectly fine 😀. Thank you!

 

Quote

Though I must say, I haven't heard of anyone using 00000000.app files (vs decrypting to a single .3ds file or the like) in quite a while.  But the request is reasonable and should be able to accommodate.

Your plugin has me revisiting some stuff that has lived in the realm of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" for quite a while.

V2.0.0 (released)

·         New Feature:  Can now use all emulators associated with a platform.  (except for MAME and RetroArch) 

·         Improvement:  Can now show bezels for games using LB's integrated ScummVM (see ScummVM section for setting it up) and  DOSBox (with modifications – See DOSBox section)

·         Fix: Bezel Window Width & Height not properly fitting the screen

·         New Feature:  Game specific bezel files can be named after the games Title.  (See Using the games Title: under Bezel Images)

BezelLauncher v2.1.0-beta-1

Fixed:  Bezel Window Width & Height not properly fitting the screen during Test
New Feature:  Added Shader capabilities

 

Copy the contents of the downloaded file into your /LaunchBox/Plugins/ folder.
Contents include the plugin folder "BezelLauncher" which holds the dll file and a folder/subfolder containing a sample shader.

Using Shaders

• First you need some shaders.  Place the .png shader images in the /Bezels/Shaders/ folder
  •  ("Scanline.png" included with download to get you started)
• Start BezelLauncher Setup
• Select your platform and emulator and click Test
• Click Shaders
• Check the box to turn shader on
• Use the slider to adjust the shader
• Use the drop-down box to select a different shader
• Click Save to save your settings

⟶ BezelLauncher (2.1.0-beta-1).7z

@espidie79  (the lone shader requester ) 

Tested with Duckstation, working ok but the shaders do darken the image a lot so i dropped the opacity of Scanline to 50% seems better, could probably go lower.

Edited February 24 by Rlad

23 minutes ago, Rlad said:

Tested with Duckstation, working ok but the shaders do darken the image a lot so i dropped the opacity of Scanline to 50% seems better, could probably go lower.

As I've stated before (or at least elsewhere), I know little to nothing about shaders/scanlines.  So your feedback is important and much appreciated. Thanks for that! 

When you "dropped the opacity of Scanline to 50%", did you do this by editing the .png file? 

 

Sounds like I should add another setting.  Maybe something like this:

1 hour ago, JoeViking245 said:

As I've stated before (or at least elsewhere), I know little to nothing about shaders/scanlines.  So your feedback is important and much appreciated. Thanks for that! 

When you "dropped the opacity of Scanline to 50%", did you do this by editing the .png file? 

 

Sounds like I should add another setting.  Maybe something like this:

Yes i made another PNG from the scanline.png, but if you could add an opacity slider that would be great.

Adding black lines to the image darkens it but in Retroarch for example shaders have brightness,contrast, gamma etc settings to compensate for it somewhat.

Rocketlauncher uses png's as you're doing but allows to set a transparency.

Edited February 24 by Rlad

On 2/24/2024 at 10:08 AM, Rlad said:

if you could add an opacity slider that would be great.

Done.

 

BezelLauncher v2.1.0-beta-2

- Added Opacity setting for shaders
    Must (at least) start BezelLauncher Setup before launching a game!  In fact, if you don't, you may get all sorts of errors.

(see 4 posts above for setting up)

⟶ BezelLauncher (2.1.0-beta-2).7z

 

On 2/24/2024 at 10:08 AM, Rlad said:

Adding black lines to the image darkens it but in Retroarch for example shaders have brightness,contrast, gamma etc settings to compensate for it somewhat.

Rocketlauncher uses png's as you're doing but allows to set a transparency.

Ya, well this ain't RA or RL.   

Hopefully being able to adjust the opacity (aka, transparency) will get you what you need.  Mainly because there's really good chance I will NOT be adding brightness, contrast, gamma etc. adjustment options.  Too many options create too much confusion. (Sounds like something Confucius might say.)