JoeViking245

December 31, 2024

15 minutes ago, hhcasey said:

I've updated to 0.273.

Both the romset and the emulator? I can see you have the 0.273 emulator. But if the ROMs are [still] from the older revision, that could pose a problem.

If you didn't update the romset, you should (need to) install the version of MAME that corresponds with them.

Provided the romset was updated as well, I assume you're still having issues with the Arcade games loading from LaunchBox. i.e. you click Start, the screen flashes for a quick second and returns to LaunchBox. If it's doing something different, please describe what it's doing.

Can you share some more screenshots?

Edit one of the games that you tested and isn't launching. Share a screenshot of:

The Metadata section
The Launching section
and the Emulation section

December 31, 2024

In LaunchBox, edit your MAME emulator and share a screenshot of the main Details section. Please.

Since you're using an older release of MAME (0.242, or is it 0.262?), I'm guessing the Default Command Line Parameters are the culprit. You can try removing them if see if that fixes it.

December 30, 2024

On 12/13/2024 at 11:11 PM, Joe35car said:

Couldn't you make a plug-in the same way but with other dats?

gameinit.dat

December 30, 2024

7 minutes ago, Eggbert said:

I am not sure if it wouldn’t show it to me because the theme I am using wants a clear logo?

No. Nothing to do with that.

I was just about to post the same thing. I tried manually adding a game and (like you, before) it would only find the Wii version. Went to Tools < Download < Force Update Games Database Metadata... and (again, like you) this time it worked.

December 30, 2024

MAME gameinit.dll Viewer

View File

View game specific "Initialization(s)" and/or "Tip(s)" from MAME's gameinit.dat

Inspired from MAME's built in feature in the main UI and via their in-game Tab menu.

Not all MAME games require any initial setup to run, but some do. Currently, the DAT file contains 1439 entries.

A badge will be displayed if there is an entry in gameinit.dat for that game. (See below for Enabling Badges)

Currently only available in LaunchBox (not BigBox)

Prerequisites

Requires LaunchBox 13.3 or newer

Installing

Download and then open the plugin file using 7zip.
- if you don't use 7zip, first unblock the file (Right click, select Properties, and click Unblock) then open it as you normally would.
Extract the main folder from inside the zip file into ..\LaunchBox\Plugins\
- i.e. D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\MAMEgameinitDAT\
Start LaunchBox

Included Files

MAMEgameinit.dll
/Data/gameinit.dat (v0.263 [latest available] - downloaded from https://www.progettosnaps.net/gameinit/)

Using

Right-click on a game and select View MAME gameinit.

Updating gameinit.dat

When loading the plugin, it will check the local version of gameinit.dat against what's available from https://www.progettosnaps.net/gameinit/.
If a newer version is available, you will be given the option to Update the local copy.
- Updating will attempt to download and then replace the existing file.

Enabling Badges

To enable the badge, click Badges, Plugin Badges, MAME gameinit
- The Badge image can be changed by replacing the image ../LaunchBox/Images/Badges/MAMEgameinit.png

As always, all thoughts, views, opinions, suggestions, comments and accolades are welcome. 😎

If you like this plugin, you may also enjoy some of my other MAME related plugins:
View game specific commands from MAME's command.dat
https://forums.launchbox-app.com/files/file/4913-view-game-specific-commands-from-mames-commanddat/
MAME History.xml Viewer
https://forums.launchbox-app.com/files/file/5228-mame-historyxml-viewer/
MAME Hi-Score Display - A plugin for BigBox
https://forums.launchbox-app.com/files/file/2173-mame-hi-score-display-a-plugin-for-bigbox/
MAME Software Lists Import Tool
https://forums.launchbox-app.com/files/file/2080-mame-software-lists-import-tool-plugin/

See all my plugins here:
https://forums.launchbox-app.com/profile/102158-joeviking245/content/?type=downloads_file

Submitter

JoeViking245
Submitted

12/30/2024
Category

Third-party Apps and Plugins

December 29, 2024

10 minutes ago, Fabio2598 said:

I was wondering if there's any interest in adding this to the database? There is a java emulator that works great and I'm currently importing all my games into Launchbox (Manually) so it would make it easier for other people if there was a platform to add metadata into

May want to check this out / ask here:

December 29, 2024

5 hours ago, hyunchris said:

They show up as installedm but when I set the new theme to my main theme, it will only change the background in the settings/options screen. The actual theme will not show up, any ideas on why this is happening? I am just getting the default theme.

Hopefully something in here will shed some light on the issue you're having.

December 28, 2024

You might need to run the games in 'windowed mode' to get OBS to capture it.

December 28, 2024

10 minutes ago, chisox63 said:

Does it makes sense that the default launchbox pause screen would incorrectly have the "Save State" option mapped to Shift+F7 (MAME default to load)?

Yes and no. MAME changed the default keys back in February (v0.263). So, if you're installing/running an older version of MAME, they'd be correct. But for newer versions, they'd [of course] be incorrect. It seems that LaunchBox doesn't check those against the version of MAME you have.

But using a save state for an Arcade game is kind of like cheating. Pausing too, for that matter.

December 28, 2024

6 hours ago, chisox63 said:

I'm unable to get MAME games to save. I get the same error no matter what game I try. For example, if I try to save while playing Galaga, I get the following error:

"Error: Load state file galaga\quick.sta not found"

This happens no matter how I try to save the state...via Launchbox Pause Screen, via Shift + F7, or even if I enable autosave directly in MAME. Each option gives the same error.

Auto-Save, 'Manual'-Save and Quick-Save are separate Save States. The Error is trying to load a Quick-Save. (vs. creating one)

Open MAME (mame.exe) and go to General Settings < Input Assignments < User Interface and look for Save State to see the assigned keys for saving and loading States.

[The default] to create a Save State is F6. (To create a Quick-Save, it's Shift+F6.)

[The default] to load a Save State is F7. (To load a Quick-Save, it's Shift+F7.)

Here's the 3 different Save States

"1" is a "manual" Save State. (I believe can be a number 1 through 9 [1 through 0?].)

"auto" and "quick" are self-explanatory.

December 28, 2024

Did you try setting it up from the Windows Command Prompt using the parameter -config-inputs? You may need to use one of the other Input Systems (listed in the link). I don't have a Wii Remote, so not sure which one is needed (if any) or if it'll even work.

You can read more about it here: Advanced Usage - Supermodel: A Sega Model 3 Arcade Emulator

December 28, 2024

26 minutes ago, bpitt said:

So I guess when using compressed files, Launchbox names the save file same as the file name within the zip

To be clear, RetroArch "names the save file same as the file name" that was sent to it.

28 minutes ago, bpitt said:

when I rename the save file to Arkanoid - Doh It Again (USA).state, Launchbox now finds the save. Not sure I like this.

You probably won't like this because my guess is that RetroArch will now not be able to find/load the [renamed] save.

If that's the case (RA can't find the save), I see 2 options (which both come down to personal preference).

The obvious one, have the filename inside the zip the same as the zip.
Don't zip up these tiny, single-file ROMs in the 1st place. (reduce/eliminate situations like this)

39 minutes ago, bpitt said:

Happy Holidays!

Merry belated-Christmas and Happy New Year, right back at ch'ya.

December 27, 2024

Are you having LaunchBox unzip the file before sending it to RA? What's the name of the file inside of the zip?

December 27, 2024

18 minutes ago, Joe35car said:

Just want to say thank you JoeViking. Seems like every time I have a weird issue you are there to solve the problem. Many thanks and I am very appreciative.

You're welcome. Always glad to help when and if I can. 😎

December 26, 2024

27 minutes ago, Joe35car said:

At least it works on arcade and no software list games. Guess I can't have my cake and eat it too.

Sure you can.

When running MAME softlists', the default is to start it using the consoles' emulated keyboard. Here, MAME's UI commands don't work (i.e. F5 [or "P"] to pause emulation). To get out of the emulated keyboard mode, press SCRLOCK on your keyboard. Then... you can press F5 to pause MAME. Alternately, you can add in the command line parameter -ui_active. This will automatically enable MAME's UI keyboard functions. But if the system you're running requires its 'emulated' keyboard, you'll need to press SCRLOCK to get [back] into the emulated keyboard mode.

December 26, 2024

15 minutes ago, Joe35car said:

MAME is still running in the background when I hit the Pause key in LB. If I check suspend emulation it crashes.

Un-check Forceful Pause?

December 26, 2024

12 minutes ago, Joe35car said:

Show me where this topic is? lol Becasue it's driving me crazy. I even tried to create a new emulator and named it MAME Arcade. So I could use the different setup and still crashes.

It seems that, if you set one emulator up the way you had it before, that one will work for your softlists. If you create a new emulator (in LaunchBox, pointing to same mame.exe) and set it the way you have it now, that will work for Arcade.

What I meant by "different topic" is, that it's getting off topic from this thread. But yes, there are probably quite a few other existing topics that go over setting up MAME for softlists. Some if using MAME's softlist ROMs and others for using non-MAME ROMs. But what you look for depends on the ROMs you're using.

December 26, 2024

23 minutes ago, -neo- said:

Had to run a AHK script to identify the xBox 360 controller, which turns out to be 2Joy and not 1Joy 🫣 sadly it doesn't close down the emulator BUT if I change {Esc} to !{F4} it does close it down but of course it doesn't reload Lichtknarre

Yeah, sending Alt+F4 will only close the emulator. And not trigger the Escape sequence you wrote.

try this

Run, C:\Users\Retro-pc\Desktop\LaunchBox\0-UTILS\0-myscripts\kill-Lichtknarre.ahk

Process,Wait,Dolphin.exe
While WinExist("ahk_exe Dolphin.exe")
   Sleep 700

$Esc::
{
   run "C:\Users\Retro-pc\Desktop\Lichtknarre.exe - Shortcut.lnk"
   WinClose, ahk_exe Dolphin.exe
}

2Joy5::
If GetkeyState("Joy8") 
{
   run "C:\Users\Retro-pc\Desktop\Lichtknarre.exe - Shortcut.lnk"
   WinClose, ahk_exe Dolphin.exe
}

December 26, 2024

13 minutes ago, stigzler said:

if I create an associated data object linked via the LB Platform name, and then the user changes the platform name in LB that then breaks the link between the LB IPlatform and the data object

Tell them not to change the Platforms' name.

Add some checks-and-balances. if (specificPlatform == null) Or (worse case) use a try { } catch { }. Then process accordingly.

26 minutes ago, stigzler said:

I've also had a look at Metadata/Platforms.xml and see no ID there either, so I'm thinking I'm going to have to do some convoluted design accommodating the possibility that the user changes the Platform name

Nothing is "convoluted" in programming. It's called expect-the-worst or being creative.

If you have to add 10-20 more lines of code or create new ViewModel methods to handle the checks-and-balances, it's all part of the game (figuratively speaking).

December 26, 2024

27 minutes ago, stigzler said:

is there any way to get or generate a unique ID for each IPlatform function?

Essentially, the platforms Name property is its unique identifier since there can be no duplicates of that property.

So, the get that specific IPlatform,

IPlatform specificPlatform = PluginHelper.DataManager.GetPlatformByName("Nintendo Entertainment System");

December 26, 2024

39 minutes ago, Joe35car said:

After further testing this option does not work. It breaks other console systems that I use the MAME emulator with. I need to have these boxes unchecked for the other systems to work. Any other options to get the Pause to work properly? Is there anything else that can be interfering with this?

Checking/Un-checking "Remove quotes" and "Remove file extension.." has no effect on the Pause Screen. From what I understood, the only thing needed to be changed to get the Pause Screen(s) to work was to disable the Forceful Pause Screen Activation.

If (somehow) your Arcade platform had no issues loading the ROMs with those un-checked, un-check them.

If you're not using MAME's softlist ROMs for non-Arcade systems, then yes, those boxes need to be un-checked. (There are options to get a single instance of the MAME emulator in LaunchBox to play nicely between arcade ROMs, softlist ROMs and/or non-MAME ROMs. But that's a different topic.)

December 25, 2024

1 hour ago, -neo- said:

Only use the code for Dolphin as Lichtknarre plays nicely with the other emulators

yeah the Dolphin command-line parameters are -b -e

You can add a hotkey to your existing script to get the controller to work. Add it below your existing escape routine.

1Joy2::
   If GetkeyState("Joy1")
   SendLevel, 1
   Send {Esc}
Return

The above example uses a button combo. Press and hold button 1 (aka "Joy1", aka "A"), then press button 2 (aka 1Joy2, aka "B"). (As written, it won't work the other way around.) Setting SendLevel, 1 is required to be able to trigger the Escape sequence you already have in your code.

Change the 1 and 2 respectively to whatever buttons you want.

If you want to use only a single button press, remove the 2nd line.

🎄

December 24, 2024

44 minutes ago, -neo- said:
Sorry to be a pain 🫣

I can use my xBox 360 controller or ESC key to shut down all emulators but with Dolphin if i use the xBox controller it doesn't reload Licktknarre but the escape key does, i've had a quick dabble but no go am sure it's an easy fix, help 🤣
$Esc::
{
  run "G:\LaunchBox\0-UTILS\Lichtknarre\Lichtknarre.exe - Shortcut.lnk"
  WinClose, ahk_exe Dolphin.exe
}

Do all your other emulators use the same Escape hotkey sequence you show (restarting Lichtknarre)?

If so, is your Dolphin Default Command-line Parameters -b -e?

December 24, 2024

41 minutes ago, Sbaby said:

I’m attaching my original VPX file in VBS format so you can take a look and perhaps figure out what’s wrong.

Sounds like more work for me. lol That was the only thing I had changed in the script when it worked. So if you had changed anything else in the script or maybe transposed my change...

49 minutes ago, Sbaby said:

That's exactly what I was doing! The only thing I hadn't tried was 'Click and hold... wiggle/shake it a little (weird, I know)'. Since I did it once, it works every time now. Incredible! How do you know all this stuff? Haha!

"a lot of study". But no AI stuff. Glad you got it working!

December 24, 2024

10 hours ago, Sbaby said:

However, with other Bigus tables, I had to declare Dim WshShell and call the ROM's system registry, but in the end, it works great. For example, with Batman:

Using Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") adds another layer to things. I tested with .Games(cGameName).Settings.Value("showwindmd")=False [or True] and it worked fine.

Also DesktopMode is already declared up on line 75 (Batman).

Though adding WshShell doesn't really hurt anything, it is one more 'layer'. To an external call (where an internal one already exists).

10 hours ago, Sbaby said:

how can I make the internal DMD slightly larger by default? I manage fine with FlexDMD, but it seems the same approach doesn't work for the VPINMAME DMD. If I change it with the mouse, it doesn't maintain the size.

Right click the DMD
Click Show Window Border
Mouse to the lower right corner until you see the double arrow
Click and drag to resize
Click the window to drag/move to where you want it
Click and hold.. wiggle/shake it a little (weird, I know)
Right click and click Show Window Border (to hide the border)
Click the playfield then exit/restart the table

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MAME gameinit.dll Viewer