JoeViking245

I think it's time to file a bug report. Top of this page under Help & Support.

A couple quick tests shows switching the games startup theme in Big Box on-the-fly isn't applying the newly selected theme. But switching theme, exiting/restarting Big Box does work. Tested back-and-forth between Default, SlipStream and StageBox startup themes. Same results each time: The "old" (originally selected) startup theme still showed until Big Box was restarted. But... (regarding your PS2 dilemma) when I switched back to Default, exited and restarted Big Box, then launched PS2's Arctic Thunder, the spinny disc, spun. aka it used the 'Sony Playstation 2.xaml' startup file. So maybe the restart is the trick? "trick". NOT to be confused with "solution". BB not applying the changed startup theme seems like it may be a bug. 🐞 Which brings me to, my tests were all using LaunchBox version 13.25-beta-3. Yours? (I didn't test on any earlier versions of LB/BB)

(just some background info...) For game startup themes, it will use the xaml file that has the same name as your platform. If it can't find one named the same, it will look for one named after the platforms Scrape-As value. If it can't find either of those matches, it will use Default.xaml. However, it doesn't explain why you see the spinning disc when launching a Sony Playstation 2 game from LaunchBox and not from Big Box. So call this a non-helpful fyi reply.

Read here: LaunchBox Licensing FAQ - Name or Email Change on a License

Sounds like you had downloaded a custom theme. Can probably look through the Big Box Custom Themes section of the Downloads area and see if the image previews show the one with the awesome backgrounds, you're referring to. Alternately, in Big Box itself, you can look at previews of the 20 popular themes via System Menu - Manage Themes - Available Most Popular. If you find it there, you can install it directly from there.

A Feature Request was made for this that you may want to look at, comment/expand on and/or upvote. Missing Platform in the Game Database: Mega LD / Pioneer LaserActive

Ran a test for importing... can't find 'mspacmanf' as a MAME ROM. But 'clubpacm' (and 'clubpacma') should import without issue. On the How would you like to import your MAME games screen, be sure to un-check Skip hacked games.

You can manually add it. Press Ctrl+N, enter the games Title. Go to the Launching section and Browse to the games file and select it. Press OK to save & close.

Carefully follow all of the steps in the "possible solution". Note that the mentioned "curated copy" that is created is your [new] 4GB set. Once done, and satisfied, delete the folder the full set ("complete set") is in. e.g. F:\MAME 0.284 (non-merged) You won't be able to later to retrieve a future-discovered "gem". (Well, you can. By going through the process that initiated this post. ) But this will accomplish what you're asking for. Having a 4GB set and no full set. Please take some time and carefully re-read my previous 2 posts as they're pretty elaborate to begin with. Then if you have questions about a specific item in them, ask.

Follow the steps I outlined above. As stated above: If you were to start with a full set, you can cherry pick from that. Then if you later discover a "hidden gem", you can go back to your full set and "pull it out". The process I outlined creates your "4GB only games" set. AND maintains the full set. Which you can keep on an external drive, or wherever, so that it's out-of-the-way. Yet available. Again: Note: This process will only work with a non-merged set! Adding new games: Then when you discover a "gem" (like Gun Force 2) that's not in your LaunchBox collection, go to your external drive (or wherever) and copy gunforc2.zip to where you have your "4GB only games" set. Then use Tools - Import (or Ctrl+N) and navigate to where you copied the ROM to. Keeping the full (non-merged) set intact (somewhere, wherever) is cheap insurance in case something was to happen with your "4GB only games" set. Also, it makes it easy to retrieve the "gems" from.

Maybe take a look at this. Note, it will only show MAME cabs (so you don't have to look a bunch of other junk). Also, not all revisions will show having any "new games" (like the last 2 or 3 revisions). With just MAME cabs, you won't see new "prototypes" and the sort. I suggest 1st creating a new platform (Tools - Manage - Platforms). Then import the "new games" into that platform. From there, you can sort as you had previously done into their "proper" platforms. It shouldn't be that bad. e.g. 0.279 will show only 9 games. Worst case, it'd be a good start.

Appreciate that.

Ideally, yes. In the case of Gun Force 2, you need one for at least 0.253. A newer versioned one may still work with 0.253. If you're cherry-picking, ideally yes. e.g. The Simpsons The parent ROM is simpsons.zip which is the 4-player version. If you want the 2-player version only, using a merged set you'd still need the ROM simpsons.zip. But the launching section of the game in LaunchBox will "point to" simpsons2p.zip. simpsons2p files are "inside" of simpsons.zip (along with 12 other versions of the game). Using a non-merged set, you'd have/use just simpsons2p.zip. Which contains ONLY files for that 2-player version. In the end, it's less confusing to have and use simpsons2p.zip (via a non-merged set) rather than having simpsons.zip and pointing to simpsons2p.zip (merged set). BTW, MAME "knows" to look inside simpsons.zip (for simpsons2p files) if simpsons2p.zip doesn't exist. I'm not sure what you mean here. If you're starting with a partial set, you get what you have. If you were to start with a full set, you can cherry pick from that. Then if you later discover a "hidden gem", you can go back to your full set and "pull it out". A possible solution is to: Get full non-merged set. save it somewhere. e.g. F:\MAME 0.284 (non-merged) Get the corresponding mame.exe version e.g. 0.284 Optional, but probably not a bad idea... Create a backup of your /LaunchBox/Data/ folder before continuing. This can be done in LaunchBox via Tools < Options < Data < Backups In LaunchBox Update your MAME emulator to the new one In LaunchBox In your Arcade platform select all games Go to Tools < File Management < Change ROMs Folder Path for Selected Games... Tell it to change the path to wherever you saved your non-merged set Test a few games. They should just work. In your Arcade platform select all games Go to Tools < File Management < Export/Copy ROM Files from Selected Games to New Folder... Tell it to copy the ROMs to your "F:\LaunchBox 13.5\LaunchBox\Games\Arcade\" folder aka. where you had you previously stored the games you like This step creates a curated COPY of your ROMs. Leaving the full set intact for later retrieval of future-discovered "hidden gems" If you're nervous, you can create a backup of your existing ROMs 1st, before doing this step. In your Arcade platform select all games Go to Tools < File Management < Change ROMs Folder Path for Selected Games... Tell it to change the path [back] to "F:\LaunchBox 13.5\LaunchBox\Games\Arcade\" Test a few games. They should just work. Note: This process will only work with a non-merged set!

You can ignore the 1st 2 warnings. The other 6 errors are files missing from inside the ROM file's zip. Based on those missing files, it looks like the ROM file you have is for MAME 0.252 or older. I was right when I stated, "the ROM might not be compatible with your 0.253." But was wrong when I said, "it might be for a newer release." It's actually for an older release. Though some ROMs can work between different released versions of the MAME executable, the rule of thumb is to have ROMs that are for the same version as the executable.

Give this a read and see if it helps any. Moving Your LaunchBox Instance to a New PC - LaunchBox

In the game edit window, click the LaunchBox database link in the upper right corner to go straight to the source.

iso files are generally the same size as the "expanded" folders. "Expanded" as in, not all put into one "book cover". It's still all the same "pages". aka, iso file are generally not compressed at all.

Is it safe to assume the other games in Arcade launch and the added ROM(s?) is in the same folder as the others? If so, the ROM might not be compatible with your 0.253. That is, it might be for a newer release. You could try this plugin and see if it sheds any light.

Run... Tools < Download < Force Update Games Database Metadata... Then try again. What version of LaunchBox are you on?

It should be able to show up and import without issue. Which method are you using to import the ROM? If you're hoping it will auto import when adding it to you /Games/Arcade/ folder, auto-import is disabled for Arcade (as well as a few other platforms). Worst case scenario, you can press Crtl+N to manually add the game. When in you Arcade platform, press Ctrl+N and type in the Title and hit enter to get the metadata. Then in the Launching section, click Browse and navigate to and select the ROM.