JoeViking245

March 2

Startup Screen Load Delay: greater than 30 seconds

Breaking the 30 second Startup Load Delay barrier.

Description:
This plugin allows you to set the Startup Screen load delay time to greater than 30 seconds.

You can set it for a single game, multiple games (in bulk) or per emulator.

Installing:
With LaunchBox not running, download and unblock the zip file.
Copy the contents of the file to /LaunchBox/Plugins/
i.e. D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\StartupScreenTime\StartupScreenTime.dll

Using:

Single game - Right-click a game and select Custom Startup Screen Time
Check Override and Use Startup Screen
Set the Delay Amount to the desired duration.
Click OK to save the changes.

Multiple games - Select multiple games
Right-click and select Custom Startup Screen Time
Check Override and Use Startup Screen
Set the Delay Amount to the desired duration.
Click OK to save the changes.

An emulator - Click Tools and select Emulator Custom StartupScreen Time
Select an emulator
Check Use Startup Screen
Set the Delay Amount to the desired duration.
Click OK to save the changes.

Limitations:
- Max load delay time is 5 minutes (300 seconds)
- This WILL NOT fix issues with games/emulators that use a 'loader' to start a game.
The Startup Screen will still go away after the launched executable exits.

Here's showing a games' load delay time set to 3 minutes and 12 seconds.

Submitter

JoeViking245
Submitted

03/02/2024
Category

Third-party Apps and Plugins

February 28

25 minutes ago, LP64 said:

Unfortunately the updated plugin isn't showing after I add it to the Plugins folder and start LaunchBox.

Guessing you're not on LaunchBox 13.12-beta-3. 😊 This was actually my fault for not rolling back the dependencies.

Version beta-6a will work with LB v13.3 and newer.

32 minutes ago, LP64 said:

Whoops! I was testing changing the version name to see if that had any impact on the issue and forgot to change it back. 🙃

lol. Good. Was about to question the integrity of your xml sources.

February 28

11 hours ago, LP64 said:

I tested across all 3 import options (import everything, clones as additional apps, no clones) and the issue was consistent across all 3.

The issue came down to: it was only comparing the game's Title & ROM name and not taking into account the games Version.

Fixed in beta-6.

Also (not mentioned in the description), the plugin will now add the Version data when importing regular games (vs. just additional apps).

Which bring us to: you may still have an issue with your imported game Boulder Dash [cbdash.zip]. The "Version" of that game per your xml file is "(Zombie Cassette) (US)". In the MAME official builds (since release 0.179), the version is "(DECO Cassette) (US)". So if when getting metadata from LaunchBox and it updates the version field, reimporting via that xml file (or source of the file) may make for unexpected results. (or maybe they will be 'expected' because of what I just mentioned. )

February 28

7 hours ago, LP64 said:

I tested across all 3 import options (import everything, clones as additional apps, no clones) and the issue was consistent across all 3.

I attached the XML file I have been testing with in case that is of any use. No problem if you don't get around to checking this out, I just enjoy helping to troubleshoot

Appreciate the troubleshooting! And for the short and sweet xml file. That'll (hopefully) make debugging easier.

February 27

1 hour ago, BiRaitBec said:

why a .png or .jpg should be considered an application to run.

The pico8 emulators' ROM files are .png files.

February 26

36 minutes ago, Hiddenpalm said:

how many devices can I use Bigbox on?

LaunchBox is DRM free which means you can install it on all computers in your home.

37 minutes ago, Hiddenpalm said:

Do I get to install it on my desktop and phone?

LaunchBox has 2 different versions. One for Windows and one for Android. You will need to get the Windows version for your desktop and the Android version for your phone. Though both have free versions, their respective paid versions are licensed independently from another. aka You cannot use your Windows license for your Android version. You'd need to purchase the Android license separately.

44 minutes ago, Hiddenpalm said:

And if I get a new phone will there be a problem porting the license?

The license is not phone specific. Just move it onto your new phone.

45 minutes ago, Hiddenpalm said:

Can I have it on my desktop, phone and on a project to make an arcade cabinet in my living room?

Yes. Pursuant the 1st 2 answers.

47 minutes ago, Hiddenpalm said:

What's my limit?

"Your LaunchBox Premium for Windows License is DRM-free, which means that you can deploy it to as many personal computers as you wish."

February 24

2 hours ago, marcosgaming said:

For exit with controllers, how to do. Other platform i click on central button of xbox360 and appair a choose beetween : Continue Game or Exit Game, but if i click Exit Game doesn't works...

Can you use the "central button" on the controller during gameplay (not paused) to exit the game? If so, try adding that 2-line script to the Exit Script. (But do keep it in the Running Script as well)

February 24

8 hours ago, LP64 said:

So the problem seems to be that when an xml file is imported to a romset that has already been imported using your plugin, a game that has the same name as another game, but is not a clone, will sometimes inherit the launch file of the game it shares the name with.

What you say makes sense. I'd have to scour this 4-year-old code to see what and how I did what I did.

What doesn't make sense is why you'd import tmnt_104. What is the source of your xml file(s)? May want to look at filtering and remove mechanical games or select MAME Cab Only (in the case of adb.arcadeitalia). What I'm getting at is tmnt_104 is the DMD for the pinball machine. It'll "run". You can add coins. But not much more (unless you use it alongside Visual Pinball and a corresponding table).

8 hours ago, LP64 said:

The workaround to the problem is to just delete the rom entries from launchbox and run your importer from scratch to update a romset, but I thought I'd check with you in case there is any easy fix

There's an easy fix for you, but not for me. lol For now, go the 'workaround' route. I'll add it to my to-do list. When I actually get to it is a different story.

Thanks for letting me know! If you happen to do subsequent tests and the issue keeps popping it's head up, do let me know and I'll 'bump it up' on the list.

February 23

Nice find!! Thanks!

I tested the same and it worked great! I subsequently tested putting the lua script into its own folder. I created a folder under MAME called softlists and placed the script in there. Then for the command line, just added the folder name and a / in front of the script.

electron -autoboot_delay 2 -autoboot_script softlists/electron_cass.lua -cass

February 23

You need to enable it in MAME for it to be enabled for the games.

Launch MAME
Go into General Settings
Plugins
Turn Cheat plugin "On"

Or if you really feel like cheating..

In the folder where mame.exe resides is a file called plugin.ini. Edit that file and on the line "cheat", change the 0 to a 1.

February 22

31 minutes ago, shanghaiultra said:

Unfortunately though it seems %romfile% doesn't work. According to this post we can see that the emulator section allows us to set %romfile% to include either the full path to the rom or just the name of the rom. However as far as I understand the %romfile% in your example above needs just the filename the first time, and the full path the second time.

Good point. I guess it comes down to how you have your MAME setup. Mine happens to just pass the rom filename [at the end of the command line], so in my instance it worked. Using %gameid% is a great alternative for setups needing the pass the full_path _to_the_ROM.zip. As far as mucking things up in MAME's subfolders, you say minor issue, I say non-existent issue. Once you figure how and why it works the way it does, you never look in the folders anyway.

February 21

16 hours ago, faeran said:

New Feature: LaunchBox can now automatically import ROM files that are placed inside of a platform folder

ScummVM platform:
I have 1 game (King's Quest) in this platform that uses the built-in ScummVM. "Use an emulator..." is unchecked under Emulation.

Upon LB restart, Auto-Import imported 7 of the 9 the files from its Data Folder (that aren't their own games). The 2 not imported did not show up as Additional Apps for any of the "games".

February 21

I'm seeing the same issue (LB 13.12-beata-1): when editing a game and attempting to change the emulator, Lb freezes and then shuts down.

February 20

Because it has spaces in it, you need to encapsulate the full path in quotes.

Run, "E:\Testing\LaunchBoxTester (Current Version)\Emulators\Hikaru Demul w Roms\nomousy.exe"  /hide

Do that for your 2nd Run line as well.

February 19

Haven't looked lately, but (unless it's been depreciated) there's a "Minimum Startup Video Duration" setting in the Big Box General options that will force showing more of the video if Big Box loads too quickly.

February 19

After 'updating' to 13.9, be sure to go into Tools, Options, Updates and uncheck the Check/Download/Update options.

February 19

11 minutes ago, shanghaiultra said:

Worked out a more streamlined version of the process of custom Mame configs for individual Acorn Electron games (presume this will work for many other computer systems emulated by Mame.)

Simply edit the custom command line in the emulation section to include "electron -cfg_directory cfg/electron/"<game name>" and then launch the game and press tab and set your controls in "Input (this machine)". The config folder and config files will be created automatically. The <game name> for the config folder doesnt matter as long as its unique to the game you are launching.

If Launchbox is able to accept individual folders for individual roms then %rompath% variable could be used to automate this process for every game. Have not had time to explore this yet though.

Very nice! Cuts out all the middle leg work.

Add the variable %romfile% in the emulators command-line parameters and you'll be good to go.

Cartridge
electron -cfg_directory cfg/electron_cart/%romfile% -cart1 %romfile%

Cassette
electron -ab *TAPE\nCHAIN\"\"\n -autoboot_delay 2 -cfg_directory cfg/electron_cass/%romfile% -cass %romfile%

The ROM file name gives each game the unique name you're looking for. Since we're adding %romfile% to the 'middle' of the command-line parameters, we need to add it at the end as well.

Note the above separates electron_cart and electron_cass. You'll need to do this because of games that have the same name in each media type (i.e. "hopper")

February 18

14 minutes ago, Edouza said:

How do I remove games added to my Collections? Is it possible to do this without having to delete the entire collection?

In LaunchBox, select the game (click once on it) you wish to delete and then press the Delete key on your keyboard.

If you have several you wish to delete, select one of them, then press and hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard. While still holding Ctrl, click on the other games you wish to delete. When done selecting, let go of Ctrl. Then press the Delete key on your keyboard.

With both methods, READ and follow the prompts regarding removing/deleting the games.

February 17

1 hour ago, link182 said:

hello sorry if I ask you but I don't know who else to ask, I have the Eka2l1 emulator working but I've been trying for 5/6 hours, following various guides, to import it into Launchbox would you give me some tips?

You don't necessarily "import" emulators. You simply add them. Tools - Manage - Emulators - Add new emulator

When adding a new emulator, also add the appropriate Command-line Parameters. For the one in question, you can find info on their Wiki.

Using the emulator · EKA2L1/EKA2L1 Wiki · GitHub

Hint:

Quote

Use --help if you want to interact through command lines and need list of commands.

February 16

14 minutes ago, RSmith77 said:

I need to make changes to what I setup in "additional apps", and was hoping there is a way to do a find and replace command instead of making 900 changes on the front end. Where is this information stored?

This won't do a find and replace, but it will let you add or remove additional apps in bulk. Use this for starting an application before/after launching a game. Don't use it for additional apps that games (i.e. clones).

If you wish to make changes manually using find/replace, the additional app information is (typically) located at/near the bottom of the xml file which can be found in

../LaunchBox/Data/Platforms/name_of_platform.xml

February 16

13 hours ago, espidie79 said:

Hello JoeViking245,

Sorry for the delay. Yes. i had the scale set to 150%. When i change it to 100% it works ok. Thank you so much for your guidance.
Just to know. is there any plan to add support for shaders like in early versions?

Thanks again

No worries on the 'delay'. It's a hobby. We get to it when life allows. 😎

Regarding scaling, I was contemplating looking into accommodating different scales. Though to get that to work effectively (have only delve into it a little), it's probably easier to just tell "you" to set it to 100%. haha In all seriousness, I have it on my 'maybe look into to it someday' list. But with the limited number of users of the plugin and only 1 person bringing this up in the last year-and-a-half, it's not a very high priority.

There is currently no plan to add shader support. In early production, I had a "shader" setting in the Test feature of BezelLauncher Setup. Based on your inquiry, guess I forgot to remove it. Personally, I don't intentionally use them (MAME and RA may have thrown them in there for me). So not really sure what'd all be involved. Shaders? Textures? A bazillion choices? Are the png files open source (tiny, as they may be)? Sounds like a can-of worms. I recall that in RA you can also 'layer' multiple ones. I think the worms just multiplied and the can got bigger.

It'd seem like this would be a popular request, but you're the only one of the 4-ish users of the plugin that has asked about it. In the beta thread, one other user did mention the word "shaders". But never requested it. If we count that, then we have close to 50% of the active users wanting it. I do have it on 'the list' (mentioned above) and to be clear, I don't make these plugins for "me". Well, at least not beyond for-the-fun-of-it. I don't create Polls, but do always state: "any thoughts, views, opinions, [constructive] criticism, comments and suggestions are welcome." Given enough [similar] suggestions (requests), they typically get added. (Barring reasonableness, feasibility, is in-line with the intent of the plugin and life's time-allotment.)

February 15

1 hour ago, espidie79 said:

Bezel Window Width & Height not properly fitting the screen

In your Windows Display Settings, do you have the Scale set to something other 100%? If you change it back down to 100%, does it still look all wonky?

February 14

4 hours ago, Retrogamer4423 said:

Is it possible for Launchbox background to support gif animated wallpapers?

This thread is for issues/concerns/likes/dislikes concerning the current LaunchBox (Windows) Beta release.

Though off topic, the answer to your question is yes. But requires modifying your LaunchBox theme to use animated gifs.

February 14

To show a games Background Image in LaunchBox's main view,

Go to
- Tools
- Options
- Visuals
  - Background
  - Check the Box "Use Game Background Images"

To show a games animated Background Image (i.e. gameName.gif) Using the Default Theme as an example...

Enable Game Background Image as shown above.
- Note: Blur Amount has no effect on animated gifs. But the Fade Amount does.
Add animated gifs to your games as Background Images. (saving as 'Fanart - Background' works well)
- You will need to find (create?) your own images. Animated gifs are not available from the LaunchBox Database (nor EmuMovies??)
In Windows Explorer, make a copy of the folder ..\LaunchBox\LBThemes\Default\
1. i.e. D:\LaunchBox\LBThemes\Default - Copy\
In this 'new' folder, navigate to the Views subfolder and open "ContentBackgroundView.xaml" using any text editor.
In the declarations, add

xmlns:gif="clr-namespace:WpfAnimatedGif;assembly=Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows"

On the line beginning with <Image change Name="Image" to Name="Image2"
On the next line, after "HighQuality" add a space and then insert

gif:ImageBehavior.AnimatedSource="{Binding ImagePath}"

Save and close.
In LaunchBox, go to Tools - Options - Visuals - Main Window Theme
- Set the Theme: to the one you just copied (created) / saved (Default - Copy)
Click OK to save this option and restart LaunchBox

ContentBackgroundView.xaml After making the above changes:

February 13

52 minutes ago, space invader said:

the retroarch dolphin core crashes if i attempt to save in any way, and if i don't try to save, it crashes eventually after 30 minutes,

I'm not personally familiar with using RetroArch and its Dolphin core, but it's generally recommended to use stand-alone Dolphin for Wii and GameCube. I know that doesn't help with the issue you're having with RetroArch, but it should help with the issue you're having [in general].

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Startup Screen Load Delay: greater than 30 seconds