JoeViking245

September 4, 2025

9 minutes ago, Segadorn said:

Is there a way to make everything to defaults whitout touching game libreries?

Delete the file mentioned above (that file, and nothing else), then start Big Box. This will do exactly what you asked.

September 3, 2025

LaunchBox Games Database - Comparer Plus

See What You're Missing™

Game/Platform comparer

Compare games in your platforms against what's listed in the LaunchBox Games Database
See which platforms are in the Games Database that are not in your collection

Filter out games by Release Type, Genre and Co-op.

Import placeholders (see Game Placeholders below) into to a new platform, those platforms or games not found.
(optionally, import missing game placeholders into your existing platform)

Output the results to a tab-delimited text file.

Custom Metadata Updater (New v2.0.0)

Update an individual games metadata or do it in bulk.
Select only the fields you want to have updated. All others will be left untouched.

Requires LaunchBox 13.19 or newer

Installing;
Copy the contents of the zip file into your /Plugins/ folder
e.g. D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\LBDBcomparer\LBDBcomparer.dll

Using:

(click or scroll down for using the Custom Metadata Updater)

Game/Platform comparer

In the Tools menu, select LaunchBox Games Database - Game Comparer

Select a platform to compare.
   (the list excludes platforms you've imported using Add Missing Games to NEW platform [see below])
   This will show games listed in the database for this platform that are not found in the selected platform.
   (this searches and compares by database ID)

Click the games ID # to open the LaunchBox Games Database to that game.

Other things:
Toggle Local games NOT in Database
This shows your games that either don't have an associated LaunchBox database ID # or their ID # is not in the database for the selected platform.

Toggle Missing Platforms
   This show database platforms not found in your collection.
   Search is done by Name Only. Exact match (but Ignore Case).
       Does not cross-check the platforms Scrape-As value.
       Does not exclude platforms you've imported using Add Missing Games to NEW platform (see below).

Settings: (click the gear icon)
   Show only games that match the criteria (boxes that are checked). Filter by Release Type, Genre and/or Co-op.
   Click Save and Close to save the selected filters and close the settings window.
   Click Reset All, Save and Close to reset all filters to the defaults, save and close the settings window.
   Click the Close icon to close the window without saving and changes.

The column headers will be highlighted Orange if any filters are set for that column.

Add/Import options:
Add Missing Games to NEW platform
This will create a new platform named platform_name (M) e.g. Atari 2600 (M)
Add game placeholders of games listed in the datagrid (filtered or otherwise) to the new platform.

Re-running it will essentially recreate the platform based on the items in the datagrid.

Add missing games to selected platform (not recommended)
This will import game placeholders into your existing platform for games listed in the datagrid (filtered or otherwise).

Game Placeholders:
The imported game placeholders will have set their
Title
LBDB-ID
Broken=True
Installed=False

With Installed=False, you can set Arrange By and choose Installed. But you can't Filter by it (nor Broken)
You can also, on the left panel select View Installed [vs. e.g. Platform Categoy] and then select the No option.
This can be helpful if you decide to add them to your existing platform. "Broken" can be used to hide the placeholders.

Output Results to A Text File:
This will output the results to a tab-delimited text file.
The file will be named platform_name (missingGames_count).txt and gets created in /Output/ under this plugins folder.
If it's a platform missing from your collection, the filename will be platform_name (M) (missingGames_count).txt
e.g. D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\LBDBcomparer\Output\Atari 2600 (137).txt
D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\LBDBcomparer\Output\Atari 2600 (M) (137).txt

Click the view file icon to view the created file.
Click the open folder icon to open you Windows Explorer to the /Output/ folder

Notes:

This will not check your games that are Additional Versions (Additional Apps). Additional Versions don't contain a LaunchBox database ID # to compare against.
It "the numbers don't add up", check your platform for duplicates.

Custom Metadata Updater

From the LaunchBox main window...
Select one or more games. Right-click one of them and select Custom Metadata Updater.
- If the games' field matches what's in the database, the Database column will show "identical".
- If they are different, double-click the value in the Database column to update that field in your game.
Click the fields name in the left column to see both values in a larger window. (useful for the Notes field)

If you selected more than one game, click the arrows to move to the next/previous game.
Optionally, you can click Bulk Update, and update only the selected fields for all selected games.

(click to go back up to using Game/Platform Comparer)

If a plugin update is available, the Info icon will flash red. Click it to find a link to the downloads page.

Submitter

JoeViking245
Submitted

09/03/2025
Category

Third-party Apps and Plugins

September 3, 2025

57 minutes ago, Segadorn said:

I intalled a theme and now BB dont launch anymore, how i can fix this? Is there a way to change the theme that is not working to the default one?

Did you install from within Big Box? That is, had BB download it for you and then set it as the theme to use? If so, which theme (The developers will want to be made aware of this)?

Or did you download it from here on the Forums and then set it in BB?

To set it to Default from outside of Big Box, edit /LaunchBox/Data/BigBoxSetting.xml using any text editor.

Search for <Theme>

Replace that line with <Theme>Default</Theme>

September 2, 2025

21 minutes ago, wolfenstein0099 said:

Having issues today. Emu seems to be down.

Try again now.

September 2, 2025

1 hour ago, NoMoUserNames said:

It'll just be important to not go and change those around after creating the images...

lol Since you'll be using an I-Pac, you shouldn't need to change a thing. For ease, may want to keep it in keyboard input mode (vs. Xinput mode). My antique I-Pac doesn't (can't) even support Xinput mode. So I was safe. Then anything you want/need Xinput for (most anything outside of MAME), attach a controller.

1 hour ago, NoMoUserNames said:

The plan is to get things generally working on my main PC using free version

Sounds good. Other than you won't be able to setup/use the Pause Screen(s) with the free version of LaunchBox.

September 2, 2025

7 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

So I guess my question is whether LB/BB treats different "versions" as different "games". Does the "SelectedGame" variable change depending on whether I've launched a different "version" of a game (assuming I selected "import clones as additional versions)?

Short version: Yes.

Long version:

[generally] LaunchBox does not keep 'record' (say, via an xml file or otherwise) of images associated with a game. On-the-fly, it looks in the respective platforms folder under /Images/. It looks for an image file matches the games Title or the games ROM filename (minus extension). (not sure of the order-of-precedence)

Note RE: game Title and image file names. If the game Title has invalid filename characters, they will get replaced with an underscore when saving/naming the image file.

e.g. Title = 19XX: The War Against Destiny Image filename = 19XX_ The War Against Destiny.png

Additionally, LaunchBox also replaces single-quotes with an underscore.

20 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

the pause theme just defines what elements to display on-screen when paused

That is correct.

20 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

Are the actual images themselves (i.e. the StreetFighter logo and cabinet picture) still game specific?

Also correct. Following the guidelines of "SelectedGame".

22 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

The control panel image, I assume, is still somewhat dynamic.

You're on a roll. Coded in the Default Pause Theme (specific for "Arcade") for this image is SelectedGame.ArcadeControlsInformationImagePath

39 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

A static image makes sense for consoles where the input hardware is static, but not for arcades where the hardware and intent of the hardware varies by game.

When you look in the /LaunchBox/PauseThemes/Default/ folder, you'll see Default.xml and Arcade.xml. The latter being the (specific for "Arcade") mentioned above.

Default.xml is the Pause screen shown for platforms that don't have their own xml file.

Default.xml shows the images:

SelectedGame.ClearLogoImagePath
SelectedGame.FrontImagePath
SelectedGame.CartFrontImagePath

So no control panel images.

44 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

If it is dynamic, does the pause theme just define a call to "display control panel here", then dynamically populate the image with button assignment and game-specific actions for that game, (likely from MAME's cfg files)?

Sort of. No.

For Arcade[.xml], it dynamically shows the static control panel image for that SelectedGame (if one exists). You're not that lucky to have available dynamic images like what CPWizard does. In my image above, that panel was created using CPWizard, customized to match my cab (green and buttons etc. layout). I then had CPW save an image file for each game. (Yeah, a ton of images. lol)

When you download images, (for Arcade) you can get (if available)

Arcade - Controls Information (a generic layout)

And/or Arade - Control Panel

1 hour ago, NoMoUserNames said:

Also, thanks again. I know I am getting very specific, and you've been incredibly helpful so far. I really appreciate the assistance.

You're welcome. Now that you have a good basis, I think it's time to stop planning, start setting things up and get to playin'.

September 2, 2025

2 hours ago, Kefka2b said:

I was trying to make those work with the Pause screen and I am positive I have set the right script and it works fine on all other emulator that support it (Retroarch, Dolphin, PCSX2, PPSSPP etc..), even when using the emulators without Launchbox, each time I try to use those features they crash the emulator, anyone able to make it work? I have an 17 13700k and an RTX3070ti if that matters.

The scripts for Save/Load sates are going to be emulator dependent (i.e. what keys need to be pressed to complete the action). Also, the emulator needs to support it. Pretty sure SuperModel doesn't support save states. Not sure about the other 2.

So to make it work for these emulators, you need to first confirm they even support save states. Then you need to know what the key presses are needed for each.

September 1, 2025

17 minutes ago, Drybonz said:

Thanks, I had a feeling it was going to be an edit the theme thing. Haven't had a chance to test yet, but thanks for the tip.

It seems like the best solution would be to have the carousel hide if there is only one image. I can't imaging anyone would want the two redundant images, but who knows.

I can't imagine who wouldn't have all assets for the platforms available to display. 😁

I suppose there's a way to set that sections visibility to only display if there's more-than one asset. Then hide (collapse, actually) if there's 1 or less.

September 1, 2025

20 minutes ago, Drybonz said:

Thanks for the reply. If I uncheck all four, it also removes the large image (as shown above). It becomes a blank frame. I'm wanting to have the large picture with no carousel (smaller) beneath.

Ah... I swear when I tested it, the large image stayed and the carousel disappeared. Retesting (along with your comment) proves me wrong. Sorry about that.

That said, not sure there's a setting for it (e.g. Don't Show the Carousel).

You can however modify [a copy of] the Default theme to remove it.

Make a copy of the Default theme folder /LaunchBox/LBThemes/Deflault/ (e.g. Default - Copy)
Open PlatformFiltersDetailsView.xaml located in the Views folder [of the copy] with any text editor (Notepad++ works great for this)
Comment out, or delete lines 1277 through 1340
- Alternatly, search for 
- starting with that line, comment (or delete) everything below it until you get to 
- 64 lines total
Save and close
Set Default - Copy as the theme in LaunchBox

September 1, 2025

1 hour ago, Get off my head. said:

I dumped all the game files I had archived into one folder and now they're all mixed up

1 hour ago, Get off my head. said:

and I can't tell which one belongs to which

Sounds like LaunchBox can't either.

Try moving them into their respective console subfolders under /LaunchBox/Games/. This way when they go to get imported, LaunchBox will know what console they belong to.

September 1, 2025

3 hours ago, The Papaw said:

Is there a way to re-run the new wizard for testing purposes (v13.24-beta-1)?

If you're referring to the new Welcome Wizard, for "testing purposes" you can simply rename your /LaunchBox/Data/ folder (e.g. /LaunchBox/Data-01/) then start LaunchBox.

Alternately you could instead, move the Data folder to another location outside of /LaunchBox/ and then start LB.

Another option is to run the installer found in your /LaunchBox/Updates/ folder and install it into a new location. (e.g. D:\LaunchBox Testing\) Be careful not to install into double folders. (e.g. D:\LaunchBox Testing\LaunchBox\)

August 31, 2025

28 minutes ago, evildoer said:

Is this not correct?

It was 6 months ago.

See this answer for the latest-and-greatest.

August 31, 2025

10 minutes ago, DaveC1964 said:

Is there some setting I am missing on Bigbox itself? Is there another method I can use to autostart?

Undo what you did in your startup folder then in Bog Box, go to System Menu < Options < General < Enable Using Big Box as the Windows Shell

Be sure to read all the fine print first.

August 31, 2025

6 minutes ago, Rsprin2384 said:

I've tried downloading ROM sets from Pleasuredome several times, the link doesn't work with Edge or Chrome. I can download the Datfile but the link for the Set doesn't go anywhere.

Read through the 1st post. The answer to your situation is in there.

August 31, 2025

1 hour ago, NoMoUserNames said:

pause theme functionality to display game specific control schemes

Sticking with Arcade, when you play a game and then pause it (which to me feels a bit Sacrilege ), you'll see that it already does this.

Here (the Default Pause Theme) you have the game-specific Clear Logo [SelectedGame.ClearLogoImagePath], "Box-Front" [SelectedGame.Box3DOrNormalImagePath] (I set 'Arcade Cabinets' to the top of the priority list) and Arcade - Controls Information [SelectedGame.ArcadeControlsInformationImagePath} (showing my custom control panel for my cab).

And of course, you can add, move, resize the images to your heart's desire.

1 hour ago, NoMoUserNames said:

what about "Import Clones as Additional Versions"? If I set a pause theme for one version, will it display for other versions too?

Again, it's game specific. And it looks for the "SelectedGame". That is, you don't need a specific [pause] theme for a specific game. If fact, you can't because they're created per platform. Or use "default" as a fallback (as seen in \LaunchBox\PauseThemes\Default\).

August 31, 2025

29 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

When I go to that game in Launchbox, will I see both versions displayed separately, or only the primary?

Let's say I WANT to play the UK clone for some reason, how do I select that?

This assumes you'll use the Import MAME Arcade Full Set Wizard. It depends on: When you get to the How would you like to filter your games? screen, which option you choose

Import Clones as Additional Versions (Recommended)
Skip Clones Entirely
Import All Clones as Separate Games (Not Recommended)

Choosing the recommended option, the main game shown will be the one based on the Region to Prioritize (another option on the same screen) that you select. The "other" version(s) can be played by right-clicking the game, selecting Play Version and choosing the version you want to play.

45 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

If I want to pin one specific version like the UK clone as a favorite, and "hide" the NA clone along with some other roms in a kind of "unsorted" folder, is that doable?

Not sure what you're meaning by folder. You can only Favorite the main ("Default") game. If you have the different version as Additional Versions, you can set whichever version you want as the main game. (Edit the game, go into Additional Apps, select the game and click Make Default).

53 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

If I create a custom bezel or pause screen for the UK version, will it show on the NA version?

That's between you and MAME. LaunchBox sends the ROM name (e.g. 19xx [Europe] or 19xxu [USA]) to MAME and MAME looks for the bezel based on that.

59 minutes ago, NoMoUserNames said:

Do these answers change based on whether I have the merged/non-merged/split romset?

No. When importing using the Full Set Wizard, LaunchBox only looks at your ROMs just enough to know "Yes. You have a full set.". After that, it doesn't look at, nor care what set type you have.

Take 19XX: The War Against Destiny as a continued example. When LB imports this game and it clones [as Additional Versions] making 10 total different versions, whether you have a merged set or a non-merged set (my personal preference), it's going to set the respective games application ROM path to the ROM for that game.

So the USA version will point to 19xxu.zip. If you have a merged set, that file doesn't physically exist. But that's OK. MAME knows how to find it [inside 19xx.zip].

1 hour ago, NoMoUserNames said:

Do these answers vary at all between the LaunchBox and BigBox UI?

No. Well, other than you can import ROMs from withing Big Box.

1 hour ago, NoMoUserNames said:

I do not plan to update my romsets often. If I do, it'll be a "once every few years" kind of thing. But when I do, is LB/BB easier at handling updates for any of the romsets without losing custom configs/art?

You can import the updated set into your existing platform without fear of duplicates. The caveat is if MAME removes a game entirely. Which is rare. This will not alter any settings you made in MAME.

1 hour ago, NoMoUserNames said:

Are there any other considerations that I am perhaps not taking into account (besides file size of course)?

As stated, I prefer using (the larger in size) non-merged sets. It provides better flexibility if you want to completely remove (and delete) games. e.g Remove the parent and keep the clone. Also, with each ROM being completely self-contained, you don't have to worry about BIOS and Device files as they're in with the ROM.

Import CHD games on an as-desired basis. Making sure MAME can run it 1st. e.g. As of version 0.266 (yeah, old notes. lol), there were 640 CHD ROMs (including clones). 351 were parent ROMs. 57 [of the 351] were considered working.

Once you imported your games and got the looking pretty (in LaunchBox/Big Box and during gameplay with your desired bezels and shaders), don't forget to actually PLAY them too.

Ahh... bezels..., LaunchBox can import those for from the Bezel Project if you so desire. (an option during import) You mentioned you have custom bezels, so just leave that option un-selected.

August 31, 2025

56 minutes ago, CHNMusty said:

I’m a user from China, and I would like to ask about a feature in LaunchBox. For games that already have Chinese titles in the database, I hope the client can prioritize displaying the Chinese name instead of the English one.

Is there currently a way to configure this in the settings?

You can set Region Priorities under Tools < Options < Data < Region Priorities. And I believe that will use that region as the priority when selecting the Title during import. But TBH, I'm not for certain.

Since (it seems) you have your games already imported, there are a couple options (aside from re-importing).

Change each game manually
- Edit the game.
- Go to the Alternate Names section.
- Click (select) the Name you wish to see.
- Click Set Selected Name as Title.
Bulk change the game Titles to an Alternate Name found for a selected Region using this plugin:

August 30, 2025

8 minutes ago, xevidroid said:

Hi, I just noticed this after updating but my previously "completed" games all show up as "not started/unplayed" instead of Done/Mastered. I basically lost track of a life worth of tracking with this change, I'm very disappointed.

Did you try the Solution in this thread?

August 30, 2025

Add more stuff to the platform and the carousel could look pretty slick.

Or... in Tools < Options < Visuals < Platform Details, un-check the top 4 boxes.

August 30, 2025

Can you share a screenshot of what you're seeing?

August 30, 2025

10 minutes ago, Johnnydement said:

Really believe this should be explored; versioning is each passing day more habitual (just with the repeated free games you get from prime, epic,...). If you rely on auto-importers, you can get a dozen of repeated games.

Are you talking different versions (v1.0, v1.1, v2.0 and US, EU...) of the game? Or different ports (SNES, PSX...)?

If versions, during import you can check the box to combine different versions.

If ports, that's kind of difficult because during import, you're importing into a specific platform. There is however the option (under Tools < Options < Visuals < Game Details) to show possible ports that list the game from other platforms in the game details. This might suffice for the intent of what you were originally after.

27 minutes ago, Johnnydement said:

For games, I envision it as somewhat more difficult, as, in a perfect image, I would like FF to appear with an SNES cover when browsing SNES games and a GBA one when browsing those ^^'. Maybe tagging a version with a cover? dunno.

Not really following here. If you're in SNES, it'll show the SNES cover for it. Same for when in the other platforms. My image above kind of shows that if you look at the different platforms LaunchBox found it in.

In the end, you always have the option to request a feature that isn't already available. At the very top of this page, click Help & Support and select Request a Feature.

That'll take you to the Feedback site where you can also view other forum member's requests. If you see one you like, be sure to vote for ("upvote") it.

August 30, 2025

21 minutes ago, Mogrimor said:

This is what my Big Box looks like, please help.

There is one of two things that cause that
1) You have a "service" called Nahimic running and it needs disabled (if using a modern version of BB, it should tell you if this is the case on startup)
2) You are running an Intel integrated video card

if 2, you need to go to your Intel graphic settings and turn the Anti-Aliasing setting from Auto to On or Off (either works fine)

August 30, 2025

33 minutes ago, Johnnydement said:

is there any way to manage versions of the same game besides not importing deleting?

i would like to be able to have different versions in same entry.

for instance, Final Fantasy VI... have the original SNES, PSX, GBA and PC pixel versions in just a single entry

How are you planning to access these? I understand right-click, play version. But you need to get to FF-VI somehow.

e.g. Go into SNES. Find FF VI and right-click? But also, be able to go into PSX and find the game, right-click? This would be feasible, but a lot of manual work. As in, there's no automatic way to do that cross-platform.

One way to manage games cross-platform would be to create a playlist called Final Fantasy VI and then have all the different console versions in there [separately]. This (and the others you create) could go under a platform category of your choosing. But that would defeat the request to have a single-entry-game.

If you wanted to create a [new] platform containing these combined [single-entry] games, you could create a new platform (e.g. Single Entries). Go to All games and filter for "Final Fantasy VI" to see them from all the platforms. Then select all those games, press Ctrl+E to start the bulk edit wizard set the platform to Single Entries. aka, change the platform they belong to. The problem with this is you then need to go into each game (in the new platform) and [especially if they use RetroArch] edit the emulator section, check the box and set the Custom command line parameters. This is because they don't belong to that original platform and RA doesn't know which core (parameters) to use. Once that's setup and they all work, select all the FF-VI games, right-click one of them and select Combine Selected Games. Wash, rinse and repeat for other games you wish to combine cross-platform.

August 29, 2025

I've always been a fan of Mario Kart anything. So to cover all MK bases, the one game I'd choose would be Mario Kart Wii Deluxe.

August 29, 2025

8 hours ago, d8thstar said:

i’ll need to go thru every classic controller game then?

might there be some xml file or something like it that will set the controller type automatically?

Yes and No. Respectively. Each games config is stored in its own ini file under \User\GameSettings\.

The only way I know how is:

Open Dolphin stand-alone emulator
Right-click a game
- select Properties
Click the Editor tab
Under User Config
- click in the editor box
If there isn't a head called [Controls]
- add it
Under that, look for or add WiimoteProfile1
Set it to
- WiimoteProfile1 = classic controller
This assume "classic controller" is the name of your custom controller configuration
(copy those 2 lines to clipboard)
Click Close to save & close
Wash, rinse and repeat
- (use Ctrl+V to paste in the 2 lines on other games)

I suppose instead, you could edit the individual game ini files in the above-mentioned folders instead.

There may be a general ini file somewhere where you could set the wiimoteprofile1= to multiple configs and use a hotkey to switch which one to use.

Quote

In 5.0-8443 and later, you can add a secondary or more profiles, and switch between via hotkey (to be configured under Options > Hotkey Settings > Controller Profile). The first profile will be loaded first upon game launch. The profiles are separated by commas (,) like so: WiimoteProfile1 = Name of Profile, Name of Profile Another, Name of Profile Other.

GameINI (Controller Settings) - Dolphin Emulator Wiki

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LaunchBox Games Database - Comparer Plus