[Auto Hotkey Scripts]

14 hours ago, Sbaby said:

Hi @JoeViking245 after more than a year I can tell you that your script is still great, I use it all the time with Bigbox. 

Thanks!  

 

14 hours ago, Sbaby said:

I wanted to ask you if it's possible to insert a custom mouse cursor (I need it in a few steps during weapon loading where for a few seconds the mouse arrow is shown) and then restore of course the windows cursor when closing.

Not personally tested, but this looks like it should work.  You'll need to have the custom cursor file and edit the 1st line to point to it.

https://www.autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=356126&sid=6cea5e7a2d7eb46ec819002b2927457f#p356126

 

14 hours ago, Sbaby said:

And then disable the screensaver, this is because during attract mode the screensaver starts, I thought there was an option to disable it but if not maybe it would be nice to include it in your script

I haven't used a screen saver since the early 90's. lol

The easiest way is probably to change the registry value directly.

;Disable screen saver
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Control Panel\desktop, ScreenSaveActive, 0

;Enable screen saver
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Control Panel\desktop, ScreenSaveActive, 1

 

[PCSX2 and AHK launch error in launchbox]

1 hour ago, atalec said:

If I launch directly the AHK on windows, it works

OK.  Well, I assume when you edit that game (Crisis Zone) in LaunchBox, in the Launching section, ROM file it pointing to "E:\Games\PCSX2\CZ.ahk".

Go to the Emulation section and un-check Use an emulator to play this game (primarily for console games).

Save and close.  Click Play and it should now launch the AHK script directly, just as it had done from Windows Explorer. 

[PCSX2 and AHK launch error in launchbox]

Looks like it's saying that pcsx2 can't run an AHK script.

What I suspect you're essentially doing right now is:

pcsx2-qt.exe "E:\Games\PCSX2\CZ.ahk"

Which of course doesn't work.  You need to have that game NOT use an emulator, and just run the script.  If you have AutoHotkey installed on your computer, it should work this way.

If you don't have AutoHotkey installed, you'll need to go another route.

 

If you simply double-click CZ.ahk in Windows Explorer, does it all run correctly?

[What is best scripting language to learn for using with Launchbox?]

The code you're copying and pasting is most likely AutoHotkey scripts or batch file [commands].  I'd start with those.  And depending on what [type of] task you're wanting to perform, one maybe easier to make work that the other.

For learning AutoHotkey (AHK), probably best to start with their tutorial.  Beginner Tutorial | AutoHotkey v1  Once you get going with your scripts, Google is your friend for finding solutions.  Preface the search with "ahk".  i.e.  ahk check if application is running   Answers found on StackOverflow and on AutoHotkey sites seem to yield the best results.

 

There's probably a tutorial site for batch files (Command Prompt commands put into a .bat file) too.  Something like: Batch File Programming - (Introduction and Programming Tutorial) (trytoprogram.com)

 

Another (but a little more involved) is PowerShell.  Like batch files, the language is essentially built into Windows.  

[Does removing and reimporting a mame merged romset mess up my custom playlists?]

34 minutes ago, Hamburglin said:

I suppose I can regex out the U's at the end of games in the playlist xml file

That should work for most every, if not all games.  And for the one's it doesn't work, either you'll never know (because you may never play it) or the 1 maybe 2 that it does mess it up, you know the fix.  

 

38 minutes ago, Hamburglin said:

How does this game file path ending with U vs not have to do with the prioritized launch version of the game?

Ah ya.  That'll mess things up.  Maybe backup as previously discussed, do the reimport "NOT setting it to prefer US versions", exit LB.  Then do the regex thing on the playlist(s?).  Save then start LB.   Worse case, you can restore the backup.  Best case, I can stop grasping at straws. 🙃

[Does removing and reimporting a mame merged romset mess up my custom playlists?]

Depends on how your playlists are setup.

If they're all set to Auto-Populate, then they should be OK.

If you don't already have Backups turned on, turn that on (Tools - Options - Data - Backups).  Maybe exit and restart a couple times so that there's more than one. You never know.

Then if it does mess them up, you can restore the backups.

If you're leery about that (though no reason to be), you can always create your own backup of /LaunchBox/Data/Playlists/.  But NOT in that folder. Save if somewhere outside of /LaunchBox/.

[BezelLauncher]

BezelLauncher

View File

---

What is it?
Use this plugin to display bezels for emulators that don't natively support them.

What does it do?
It displays a bezel and resizes the emulator window to fit within the bezels transparent area.

What's required to make this plugin work?
LaunchBox v13.3 (or newer), the plugin file, bezel images and some minor setup.  No more. No less. (See Setting up)

Do I need to provide my own bezel images?
Yes. (See Setting up for where to place them)

Will it work with game specific bezels?
Yes.

Will this work with all emulators?
Yes, with exception. RetroArch and MAME emulators will not show in the list of emulators and cannot be used with this plugin. 

The emulators that have been tested so far all work. Some adjustments may be necessary. (see Emulator Settings)

Will this work with storefront games or Windows games?
No.

Can I use my existing RocketLauncher bezel configuration files?You can use the existing platform.png and platform.ini files from RL.  These existing files should be located under:
   /RocketLauncher/Media/Bezels/platform_name/_default/something.ini (and something.png) 
(See Setting up [step #3])

What are the .ini files for?
The .ini (configuration) files tell the plugin how to resize and move the emulator window to fit within the bezel.  (See .ini (configuration) Files for more info and Testing for creating and saving them)

Can this plugin add shaders as well?
No.  Yes. See Using Shaders  (new v2.1.0)

 

Disclaimer

This works on my test PC.  I didn’t test it on my cab because I didn’t want to change my emulator settings to not use fullscreen (see Emulator Settings).  Outside of RetroArch and MAME, I don’t use bezels, so didn’t want to mess-up-a-good-thing.

There are no guarantees, express or implied… blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

There is no risk. This plugin makes no changes to LaunchBox or your emulators.  If you decide this isn’t for you, simply undo any fullscreen changes you made and (with LB/BB not running) delete the BezelLauncher folder.

 

Special Thanks
Special thanks to @MadK9 for the idea, direction and help with testing!  Without him, I would have never contemplated starting this project.   Also a big thanks to @Sbaby for testing un-tested emulators with the plugin.

 

Installing

With LaunchBox/BigBox not running...

1. Download the plugin .zip file
2. "Unblock" the file
   1. Right-click the file, select Properties, check the box "Unblock", click OK.
   2. Or better yet, just use 7-zip to open the file
3. Copy the contents (a folder called "BezelLauncher") into your \LaunchBox\Plugins\ folder
4. Start LaunchBox

 

Setting up

1. Start BezelLauncher Setup from the LaunchBox Tools menu, then click Close
   • This will create the \Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\platform_name\ subfolders
2. Copy your bezel images into their respective platform_name subfolders
   • See Bezel Images for more information
3. (optional) If you have existing RL platform_name.ini files, copy those alongside the image files
   • See .ini (configuration) Files for more information
4. Restart BezelLauncher Setup
5. Select a platform
6. Choose an emulator you wish to use for that platform.
7. Check Disabled to enable it
   1. Click Test
   2. Adjust (Move/resize) the orange frame to fit within the view area of the bezel (See Testing)
   3. Click Shaders to enable, adjust and change shader (see Using Shaders)  (new v2.1.0)
   4. Click Save [to save the .ini file]
   5. Click Save on the main setup screen to add the emulator to the list of Enabled platform emulators
8. Repeat for other platforms and emulators you wish to add
9. You must click "Save" for each emulator you've enabled, separately.

 

Maintenance
After adding/removing platforms or emulators

1. Run BezelLauncher Setup
2. Click Refresh
3. Continue with Setting up, step #5

 

Testing
To configure the placement of the emulator window within the bezel (Requires an existing bezel image):

1. Run BezelLauncher Setup
2. Select a platform and an emulator
3. Enable it (if it's not already)
4. Click Test

Move and resize the frame

• Click [and hold] the left or right side of the frame to move it around
• Click [and hold] the bottom right corner to resize 
• Use the on-screen buttons to fine-tune the adjustments

The on-screen display will show information about the emulator window.
(You can click and drag the OSD to move it around as needed)

• x, y = upper left monitor-coordinates of the emulator window
• w, h = width and height of the emulator window
• x, y = lower right monitor-coordinates of the emulator window

• If any of the values are red, they are off the screen
• The OUTSIDE edge of the frame is the emulator window extents

After adjusting, click Save.  This will overwrite any existing configuration file.
 

Using Shaders  (new v2.1.0)

• First you need some shaders.  Place the .png images in the /Bezels/Shaders/ folder
•     (Scanline.png 'shader' is included)
• 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
• Adjust the opacity down to lighten the shader
• Use the drop-down box to select a different shader
• Click Save to save your settings

 

Parameters
Depending on the emulator and the bezel, you may need to check 1 or more of the following parameters:

(h) hideStuff	Check this if you see the desktop behind bezel while the game is loading.  This adds a black background during the startup process.
(s) startupSleeper	“Hide stuff” for a little longer during startup (3 seconds)
(l) longerSleep	Same as above (4 seconds)
(g) hideGameStartup	Check this if LB Game Startup screen is showing behind the bezel at game startup

When selecting a platform, if the plugin detects an emulator that has been tested, “suggested” parameters will be shown.  Your mileage may vary.

 

Emulator Settings

For the plugin to move/resize the emulators’ window, you will need to disable fullscreen in the emulator(s).  This may be as easy as removing "-f" or "-fullscreen" from the Default Command-line Parameters (depending on the emulator).

Beyond that, of the emulators I've tested, the only one that needs to have its Default Command-line Parameters altered is SuperModel.  You will need to manually set the resolution.

1. Start BezelLauncher Setup
2. Select your Super Model 3 platform and Enable it
3. Click Test and after adjusting the frame to where you want it, make note of the W(idth) and H(eight) #'s shown in the OSD.
4. Save and Close.  (Be sure to click Save on the main Setup screen to save Enabled as well.)
5. Edit your SuperModel emulator (in LaunchBox) and set the Default Command-line Parameters to "-res=W,H"  (no quotes, no spaces and replacing W & H with the #'s noted above)
   1. Example:       -res=1420,1076

 

Bezel Images

When you run BezelLauncher Setup for the 1st time, the plugin creates subfolders for each of your eligible platforms. They are created in:
                \LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\[platform_name]\

The platform image file needs to be in the [platform_name] folder and must be named the exact same as the platform.
                \BezelLauncher\Bezels\Sony PSP\Sony PSP.png

 

Game-specific bezel files

Game-specific bezel folders (or files) can be named after the games ROM filename or the games Title.

Using the games Title:
If the Title has 'invalid file name characters', those characters will need to be replaced with _ (underscore).  The exact same way LaunchBox does with its image files (but without the -01 suffix).
      Example:  Title = Disney-Pixar's Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!
                      Bezel = Disney-Pixar_s Toy Story 2_ Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!.png

NOTE: Additional Apps game Titles are (i.e.) "Play USA Version...".  So the bezel would be "Play USA Version....png".  Same rules apply with 'invalid file name characters'.

Invalid characters are:  

<  (less than)
>  (greater than)
:  (colon)
"  (double quote)
/  (forward slash)
\  (backslash)
|  (vertical bar or pipe)
?  (question mark)
*  (asterisk)
'  (single quote) Not technically invalid (post-DOS), but consistent with LaunchBox character replacement

 

Storing game-specific bezels:

 Option 1:

• Place your game bezel images directly inside their respective \[platform_name]\ folder.

Game-specific image files must be named the exact same as the games ROM file or the games Title (accounting for invalid characters).

example:

• \BezelLauncher\Bezels\Sony PSP\After Burner - Black Falcon (USA) (En,Fr,Es,It,Nl) (PSP) (PSN).png

 

Option 2:

• Place your game-specific bezel image folders under the \[platform_name]\ folder.
• The subfolder must be named the exact same as the games ROM file or Title (barring invalid characters).
• The .png and .ini files in the subfolder can be any filename.

 example:    

• \BezelLauncher\Bezels\Sony PSP\After Burner - Black Falcon (USA) (En,Fr,Es,It,Nl) (PSP) (PSN)\thisIsAnyFileName.png

 See Launching different game versions for information about bezel requirements for games that are combined as Additional Apps.

 

ScummVM

Setting up ScummVM for use with this plugin:
In LaunchBox, Edit games using ScummVM.  In the ScummVM section, have both checkboxes un-checked.  (Fullscreen and Aspect Correction).  This cannot be done using the Bulk Edit Wizard, so will need to be done on a per-game basis. One-at-a-time.

If it's not displaying correctly with just the above, try the (optional) following:

• Navigate to /LaunchBox/Third Party/SummVM/ and start ScummVM.exe.
• On the Graphics tab, set Graphics Mode to opengl.  Leave the other 2 as default and the check box's un-checked.  Click OK and Exit.

ScummVM Bezel Files:
To use bezels with games using LB's integrated ScummVM, you will need to set them up manually.  It will not appear in BezelLauncher Setup.

1. Navigate to the plugins Bezels subfolder and add your platform folder.
   • i.e.    \LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\ScummVM\
2. Add your platform default png and ini files to this folder.
   • i.e.    ScummVM.png   ScummVM.ini

Game specific bezels for ScummVM must be named the same as the Game Data Folder.
    i.e.    D:\LaunchBox\Games\ScummVM\King's Quest 1 - Quest for the Crown\[game files]
             use:     "King's Quest 1 - Quest for the Crown.png"
 

DOSBox
The integrated version of DOSBox is NOT supported by this plugin.  I couldn’t get it to cooperate 100% of the time.  So going with plan “B”.

To use DOSBox with this plugin, you will need to install and set up DOSBox-X.

Setting up DOSBox for use with this plugin:
Note: BezelLauncher Setup will NOT show your DOSBox platform ('MS-DOS') as an available platform.  So don't bother looking for it.

Download DOSBox-X
DOSBox-X releases can be found here:  https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x/releases

1. Download the vsbuild-win64 version. (direct link for the download file)
2. Create a new folder under \LaunchBox\ThirdParty\ and name it DOSBox-X
3. Extract the contents of the downloads "\bin\x64\Release\" folder into the new folder
   • Be sure to unblock the zip file before extracting (unless you’re using 7-Zip)

Configuring DOSBox-X

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to \LaunchBox\ThirdParty\DOSBox-X\.  
2. Make a copy of dosbox-x.conf.  
3. Rename the copy to [something like] "BL-dosbox-x.conf"
4. Right-click the new 'BL-dosbox-x.conf' file and select edit (Notepad++ works great for this. But any text editor (Notepad) will work)
5. Look for the following keys and change their Values as shown:

(starting on approximately line 78)
fullresolution          = 1400x1080
windowresolution  = 1400x1080
windowposition      = 260,0
output                      = ttf
showmenu              = false

"1400x1080" (2 locations) is the dimension of the transparent area of your bezel.  Adjust as necessary.
    From your MS-DOS.ini file, use [Right X]-[Left X] for the 1st value (1400) and [Right Y]-[Left Y] for the 2nd (1080)

"260,0" is the upper-left coordinate of the transparent area.  Use the Left-X value for the 1st number and Left-Y for the 2nd.

Save the changes and close the editor.

Configure games to use DOSBox-X
The following assumes your MS-DOS platform games are already setup to use the integrated version of DOSBox.

1. In LaunchBox, select all your DOSBox games and press Ctrl+E to start the Bulk Edit Wizard.
   • (Select 1 game in the MS-DOS platform, then press Ctrl+A to select all)
2. On the 2nd screen
   1. select the Field Custom DOSBox Version EXE Path
   2. for Value, Browse to and select dosbox-x.exe
3. Click Next, Next
4. Click “Yes, I would like to make more changes”
5. select the Field DOSBox Configuration File 
   1. for Value, Browse to and select the new file you created (BL-dosbox-x.conf)
   2. Click Next. Next (again). 
   3. Click "No, I would not like to make more changes"

 

MS-DOS Bezel Files:
This assumes your DOSBox platform is called "MS-DOS".

• In the Bezels subfolder under the plugin folder, create a new folder called 'MS-DOS'.  
• In \LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\MS-DOS\, add your bezel files (MS-DOS.png and MS-DOS.ini).

Game specific bezels for DOSBox need to be named the same as the Game Data Folder
    i.e.    D:\LaunchBox\Games\MS-DOS\Cosmos Cosmic Adventure\COSMO1.EXE
            use     "Cosmos Cosmic Adventure.png"    
 

 

.ini (configuration) Files

The .ini files contain the monitors' coordinates for placing the emulator window.
The Upper Left x,y coordinate and the Lower Right x,y coordinate

Example:
Upper Left X Coordinate=240
Upper Left Y Coordinate=100
Lower Right X Coordinate=1680
Lower Right Y Coordinate=1080

The platform ini file must be named the exact same as the platform.  If copied from RocketLauncher, you may need to rename it (removing any under_scores).

i.e.   \BezelLauncher\Bezels\Sony PSP\Sony PSP.ini  

For game-specific ini files, if they are located in a subfolder below /[platform_name]/ (see Bezel Images, Option 2, above), they can have any filename.  If they are inside the /[platform_name]/ folder (Option 1), then they must be named the exact same as the games ROM file or Title.

If a game-specific .ini file doesn’t exist, the plugin will use the games platform.ini file.

 

 

Launching different game versions

Also known as Additional Apps, when right-clicking a game and selecting Play Version, the Additional App is not required to have its own bezel files.  If the Additional App doesn't have its own bezel, the plugin will look for the Default Games' bezel.  If neither of those exist, it will use the platforms’ bezel.

This eliminates the need to have a separate set of bezel files for each version of the game. Useful since they most likely all use the same image.  This only works for games that are Additional Apps.

 

 

Plugin Folder Structure

Spoiler

Main plugin files

 D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\
            BezelLauncher.dll
            BLSetup.xml

 

(default) Platform Bezel

D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\platform_name\
            platform_name.ini
            platform_name.png
 

Game-specific Bezels

Option 1:

D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\platform_name\
            game-1-ROM_name.png / game-1-ROM_name.ini
            game-2-ROM_name.png / game-2-ROM_name.ini
            game-3-ROM_name.png / game-3-ROM_name.ini
 

Option 2:

D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\platform_name\ game-1-ROM_name_name\
            anyNameYouWant.png  /  anyOtherOrSameNameYouWant.ini
D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\platform_name\ game-2-ROM_name_name\
            anyNameYouWant.png  /  anyOtherOrSameNameYouWant.ini
D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Bezels\platform_name\ game-3-ROM_name_name\
            anyNameYouWant.png  /  anyOtherOrSameNameYouWant.ini

 

Log files

D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\BezelLauncher\Logs\
            log [date/time].txt        (Up to 5 files max)
            SetupLog [date/time].txt    (Up to 5 files max)

 

As always, any thoughts, views, opinions, [constructive] criticism, comments and suggestions are welcome.

---

• Submitter
  JoeViking245
• Submitted
  12/02/2023
• Category
  Third-party Apps and Plugins

 

[Emulator and bezels]

1 hour ago, damageinc86 said:

However, this plug-in does look like it can do a good job.

Of course it can.  

 

1 hour ago, damageinc86 said:

I guess I'm just so damn used to RL that there's no point for me to mess with anything else just yet.

Well, after a tenure of ten years of working with it, figuring it out and getting it to work, I'd probably stick with it too.  My issue was (granted this was about 5-ish years ago) I spent about 3-4 days attempting to set it up. I gave up, deciding "I don't need no stinking bezels." lol  Then someone came to me 6 months ago asking about creating a plugin to show bezels on emulators (other than MAME and RetroArch).  [For me,] that was way easier than I recall how setting up RL was.  But you're most likely correct in that with end-user support, it's become a lot easier.  BTW, I still don't use bezels for anything other RA and MAME).

Whether one uses RocketLauncher, ReShade (and the ReShade plugin) or my plugin above, if they get bezels to show the way they like and they're happy with it, then we're all happy.  

[Emulator and bezels]

6 hours ago, damageinc86 said:

It would really be nice if the people over at Rocketlauncher would just donate their Bezel code to Launchbox to see if it can be integrated into the frontend directly.

The issue with integrating something like that into LaunchBox is in your preceding sentence.  However, I think you downplayed it a little [a lot?] when you said "It may take some tweaking."  

Really, there's no way to just say "Ok bezel program, here's the path to the emulator and here's the path to the bezels. Make it work."  Even with the plugin that @bundangdon recommends, there's some manual setup that needs to take place.  Though from what I've seen compared to RL, it's a walk-in-the-park. 

My guess it that the LaunchBox team doesn't want to integrate something that, for a new user, will never work.  At least not until they (the new user) get some working knowledge of how to do 'some tweaking'.  For and about each and every emulator they wish to use this on.  

There's just too many logistics involved with making it end-user friendly in a plug-and-play world.  But again, this is just my guess.

[Certain games refuse to scrape]

38 minutes ago, Reaper978 said:

certain games won't scrape.  See "Addometer Calculator" below

Addometer Calculator may not be the best example to share.  It's neither a game nor is it in the database.  But I understand it's just an example.

 

39 minutes ago, Reaper978 said:

I've tried scraping one of the blank ones with everything checked

Sounds like you used Tools - Download - Update Metadata... for scraping the one of the blank games.   Instead, (for now, to do some checking) try editing the game and click Search for Metadata. (assuming there isn't a LaunchBox DB ID # there already)

Once there's an ID # there, go to the Images section (lower down on the left panel), then click Download Media.  In the window that opens up will be the checkboxes for the available images for that game.  If no checkboxes appear, then there're no images for it in the database.  If you have an EmuMovies account and set it up in LaunchBox, you can click the EmuMovies tab (near the top) and get images from there as well.

[Can't get Launchbox to start retroarch in windowed mode]

When editing RetroArch in LaunchBox, look at the Command-line Parameters in the Associated Platforms section.  Those will take precedence over the command-line parameters in the Details section.  Specifically, you're looking for -f

[IPAC exiting MAME]

1 hour ago, grimllock said:

My apologies for the delay, 

 

I just tested, and it only happens when I boot the game through big box. When launching in Mame or launch box it works fine

That tells me you have something mapped in BigBox to "Button 0 + Button 3".  (at least mine calls them "Button".  vs "Joy")  Look for Close the Active  Window under Controller Mappings.  Though if it were there, the same thing would happen in other emulators as well.  At least it's a starting point.

Note: BigBox and LaunchBox have separate controller mappings.  Also, 0 [zero] might not appear as 0.  It may be 1 [one] (or even something else).  i.e. Button 1.

[IPAC exiting MAME]

Does it do this when starting a game via stand-alone MAME (start MAME, start a game, press 0+3)?  That, vs. launching a game via LaunchBox.  

[AHK + Visual Pinball]

If all is set up correctly, you shouldn't need to have-to reload the ROM (F3).  If you find you need to [still] do that often, something [else] is not right.  Using the above command-line parameters should be all you need.

You can disable the pause screen by editing the emulator in LaunchBox (Tools - Manage - Emulators) and in the Pause Screen section, un-check Enable Game Pause Screen.  Or play it like a real pinball table and don't press pause.  

[Changing drive letter for game collections.]

There is the option to do it platform-by-platform.   Select a platform then select all games in that platform.  Then...

Tools - File Management - Change ROMs Folder Path for Selected Games...

 

But don't think it'll work if the ROMs (games) for the given platform are in separate subfolders

i.e. 
F:\Roms\my1stPlatform\gameA\rom.ext
F:\Roms\my1stPlatform\gameB\rom.ext

 

[pcsx2 with error during execution. Unknown parameter. - - fullscreen.]

Be sure to look in Associated Platforms and make sure you don't have --fullscreen in the Custom Command-line Parameters there either.

[Recording black screen while recording gameplay with BigBox.]

I've seen this happen when the window you're trying to record is full screen (vs windowed full screen).  I don't recall if OBS has that issue or if it was a different software I saw that in.

[Camputers Lynx Working]

33 minutes ago, Svantja521 said:

Hello, has anyone made any progress with Mame? My command line is:
 
lynx96k -ab load\"\"\n -autoboot_delay "2" -cass

It loads the tape, but unfortunately nothing happens after that.

 

Try pressing ScrollLock (to get into keyboard mode) then press F2 (to 'run' the tape).  Wait for the screeching to stop (when the tape has fully loaded).  You may need to press ScrollLock again to get back into Lynx keyboard mode to use it.

Not tested. But those are the typical steps to Run a cassette tape in MAME.

[Game pictures not showing and other questions]

1 hour ago, Vlahka said:

I've noticed some places talking about visual pinball.  I've played with this emulator years back but I dont see an option to add it from the emulator choices in launchbox.  Just quickly, is this a good emulator to use with launchbox or is there a different preferred one thats better suited to launchbox?  They're probably all the same but felt I should ask anyway.

Visual Pinball is proprietary as to running tables made for it.  From the immortal words of Highlander, "There can be only one."   There are other pinball emulators like Future Pinball and Pinball FX/FX2/FX3... if you prefer the 'eye candy'.  But no tables are interchangeable between different pinball emulators.

Any program you can run from the Windows command prompt can be ran from, and added to LaunchBox.  Visual Pinball included.  Probably what you've seen when adding a platform to LB is that it has some preconfigured settings to help with getting them setup.  Including download links to the emulators and filling in the default command line parameters for you.  It obviously can't include every possible emulator.  But it doesn't stop you from adding in your own.

Tools - Manage - Emulators - Add New Emulator    then just fill in the blanks.

 

The reason Visual Pinball isn't listed with preconfigured settings is because the full and proper setup is not an easy process to automate.  It's not difficult to do.  Just a pita to programmatically automate a proper installation.  There are 'extras' (though not required) that are necessary to have it work 'like you think it should work'.  Also, the emulator can require some manual setup depending on your system.  Lastly, the LB developers believe that "every" table has to be customized (individually) before they can even run.  This is only true in part.  But all these are a drawback when wanting to provide something usable out-of-the-box.

Bottom line, there are a lot of nuances to doing a complete and proper setup.  

That said, I have Visual Pinball (VPX) installed on my cab and running through LaunchBox, without issue.  If that is your goal, like ALL emulators, make sure things work to your liking BEFORE you bring it into LaunchBox.  By the way, VPX is my go-to when wanting to play anything on the cab. 😎

[Game pictures not showing and other questions]

1 hour ago, Vlahka said:

Do you know if theres any other emulator that plays it well like demul does for the sequel?

Getting a little off topic here.  But if Demul can play the sequel, chances are it can play the 1st one too.  I haven't tried either one. 

 

1 hour ago, Vlahka said:

My other question is about demul.  When I click for a game to launch, unlike with mame where the game automatically starts, demul just opens up as a window and I need to manually tell it to open the game.  Is there a setting I've missed or string of code I'm supposed to put somewhere to make it auto launch with the game in launchbox or demul itself.  And will this behaviour be similar to other emulators I tie in with launchbox.

Different emulators are going to have different, the same (or similar) or no command line parameters. Will depend on the specific emulator. 

Not that I mind helping, but I think it's time you go into research mode.  Try a Google search for LaunchBox Demul (keeping the search terms simple).  For this inquiry, I'd start with the YouTube results that are from Unbroken Software, LLC (aka: the people that brought you LaunchBox).   Next would be to only click results from the LaunchBox forums (depending on what it is you're searching for/about).

In the link I gave, there are tons of "videos to eat breakfast by".  You'll find how-to videos for setting, using and navigating LaunchBox/BigBox as well as a plethora of videos for installing emulators to use in LaunchBox. 

Once you've exhausted your research and get stuck on something specific, add a reply on that [related] forum thread (keeping things on the same topic) or start a new thread.  Probably don't post a question on a YouTube video page.  That'll get lost real fast.  

[Display game specific controls image on a separate monitor during gameplay (plugin - beta release)]

5 hours ago, PhantomFighter said:

Is this project still up and running? 

Not really.  It was more of a "just-because, proof-of-concept" thing.  There are a couple of other plugins out there that do the same thing, but better.

 

5 hours ago, PhantomFighter said:

would like a way to get the marquee to be on the same screen as the game, sitting above the lightsout bezel.  Is this possible please?

Pretty much anything's possible.  But I can only think of one person who would want to have a marquee displayed on the top portion of their monitor and the game displayed (albeit, squished) below that on the same monitor. 

Or maybe you're talking about somehow having the marquee floating in space above the game while using a VR headset?  That would actually make sense.  At least from all the sci-fi movies I've seen.  So it may be pushing the technology a bit.  But I'd have nofa king idea, as I've never even touched a VR headset.  You could try creating a new post requesting a plugin that does what you're wanting.

[Game pictures not showing and other questions]

45 minutes ago, Vlahka said:

Game runs pretty good although the sound is a little glitchy for some reason.

The sound is glitchy probably because the BIOS holds the emulation status of "preliminary".  Hence my comment "if it'll even run well".

Shikigami no Shiro II / The Castle of Shikigami II

 

Since this game uses Sega NAOMI GD-ROM, you might be able to run it[?] [better?] with Demul.

[Game pictures not showing and other questions]

30 minutes ago, Vlahka said:

But theres a sequel to it that I've grabbed but everytime I try to get launchbox to notice it, it sees nothing.  I have the rom and the chd file in their own areas like the rest.  I'm not sure if maybe one of them is named wrong or something.  The chd file is named gdl-0021.chhd, and thats in a folder called Shikgam2.  The rom is named the same as the folder.  Is there something else I should be checking?

Does the game work when you launch it directly from MAME?  ALWAYS check that 1st.

As far as importing it into LB, Tools - Import - Manually Add Game.  Type in the name "Castle Shikigami 2" and search the database.   When found, you can look in the Alternate Names section and (if you want to) change the name as you want to see it in LaunchBox (select one if the options listed and click "Set Selected Name...").  In the Launching section, point directly to the ROM file.

 

To run the game (if it'll even run well) you'll also need the BIOS and 3 Device files.

NAOMIGD.ZIP    BIOS
MIE.ZIP    DEVICE
JVS13551.ZIP    DEVICE 
SEGADIMM.ZIP    DEVICE

[Game pictures not showing and other questions]

56 minutes ago, Vlahka said:

quite a few of these chd games are lightgun games.  Do I configure the controls in mame to use mouse for these or is there a different method?

Glad you got it working.  By default, your mouse (and arrow keys [ugh]) should work as [aiming] a light gun in MAME.

 

57 minutes ago, Vlahka said:

And this is a side question that I dont expect anything, I've seen online people using VR headsets to play lightgun games.  Are you familiar with this and how would I go about it?  As in is it something I'd look for in launchbox or a pc/mame setting thing?

I've never even seen in real life a VR headset.  Not even in a box, at the store.  Though I do have some red and blue lens 'glasses'. 

[Game pictures not showing and other questions]

50 minutes ago, Vlahka said:

I've changed it a few times.  First it was a zip file with the rom and chd files in them.  Then I had it going to a folder that had the chd file selected with the roms inside it too.

Don't combine the ROM and the CHD into 1 zip file.  Don't put the ROM and CHD inside the same folder.  Don't tell LaunchBox to launch the CHD file.  (You can, but then you'd have to change your MAME emulator settings in LaunchBox and it will screw up the rest of the [non-CHD] Arcade games)

 

Using Big Buck Hunter as an example: 

• In the folder that you have all your MAME Arcade ROMs (all the .zip files for the Arcade games you're using to launch from LaunchBox) there should a file named "bbh.zip" (the ROM file).  (this file is included with your MAME full set ROMs) 
• You also need to have in this folder "iteagle.zip" which is the BIOS file required for all the Big Buck Hunter series games. (this file is included with your MAME full set ROMs) 
• In this same folder, you should have placed the (sub)folder for the CHD.  This subfolder should be named "bbh" and contains the (one) file "bbh_v1.00.14.chd"
• Direct LaunchBox to the ROM file 

Make sure these are in place and try launching it again.  If it still doesn't work, please provide the following:

In LaunchBox,

1. Edit your MAME emulator and share a screenshot of the Default section.
2. Edit the game in question and share a screenshot of the Launching section.