[Help request for a plugin (or something similar) that would add semicolons between tags in the Version Field]

15 minutes ago, Clutz450 said:

It worked using command prompt.  Still not sure why dragging and dropping didn't work, but oh well.  Thank you so much for your time and helping me out with this.  Now to see if this truly is going to be the solution I was looking for to help me with Auto Playlists.

It may be a matter of when you installed AHK v2.0 and then installed v1.x, there may have been some overlapped files that didn't change.  So it may be using parts from v1 and v2.  A complete uninstall of v2 and a complete uninstall of v1 (and maybe a reboot of the PC), then reinstall v1 may fix it.   Just a guess though.

 

Since you know it works from the command line using LaunchBox's AutoHotkey.exe, you could create yet another file to call the 1st file.

Create a batch file that you can drag & drop the file onto it.  Put the batch file and the AHK script in the same folder as your xml files [that you had already made a backup of  ].

@echo off
"D:\LaunchBox\ThirdParty\AutoHotkey\AutoHotkey.exe" "MyScript.ahk" %1%

 

[Help request for a plugin (or something similar) that would add semicolons between tags in the Version Field]

31 minutes ago, Clutz450 said:

Not sure if you saw my message in Discord, but here is an error I am getting when trying to use the ahk file you had me create. 

You'll get that error if you don't do step #8.

[Creating Generic PNG Logos For MS-DOS / Windows 3.1/95/98 Games]

On 5/5/2024 at 3:37 PM, jrusso4587 said:

create hundres of generic logos using a pre-made background and generic lettering

The program ffmpeg can do just that.

 

If you don't have ffmpeg already on your system:

1. Download "ffmpeg-release-essentials.7z" from the link above
2. Copy the contents to... somewhere  (i.e. D:\MyApps\ffmpeg-7.0-essentials_build\)

 

1. Create a temp folder (for starting out and testing)  (i.e. D:\Temp)
2. In that folder, create a new text file  (i.e. CreateClearlogo.txt)
3. In that text file, paste the code from below
4. Change the last line accordingly... 
   1. Replace the path to ffmpeg with your actual path (note, the executable is in the 'bin' folder)
   2. Replace "premadeBG.png" with the actual name of your 'pre-made background' image file
   3. Save and close
5. Rename the file to have a .bat file extension  (i.e. CreateClearlogo.bat)
6. Copy your 'pre-made background' image file into the temp folder
7. Navigate to your /LaunchBox/Images/[platform_name]/Box - Front/ folder
   1. This assumes you have Box-Front images for all the games in that platform
8. Copy four of those files into your temp folder
   1. Your temp folder will now have 6 files in it
      1. CreateClearlogo.bat
      2. premadeBG.png
      3. (4) Box-Front images
9. Select CreateClearlogo.bat and press enter. (or just double-click it)
   1. The batch file will look for both .png and .jpg images

Executing CreateClearlogo.bat will pop up a Command Prompt window showing a bunch of gibberish.  At the bottom should then say "Press any key to continue...".  Press the 'any' key to close the window.

You will now have a new folder in your temp folder called "Output".  Go in there and look at the 4 images it created.

If the text is not centered where you want it, edit the batch file (right-click, edit) and adjust the "x" and "y" values to move it.  Adjust "fontsize" to make the text larger/smaller.  Re-run the batch file.  Note: this will overwrite existing files in the Output folder.

 

Once you're happy with how the Output images look, copy the batch file and 'premadeBG.png' into your /LaunchBox/Images/[platform_name]/Box - Front/ folder and run it.

When done and you've pressed the 'any' key, move the images from the just now created "Output" folder into that platforms "Clear Logo" folder.

(and of course, you can remove the batch file, your premadeBG image and delete the Output folder. Oh, and you probably now have a premadeBG.png file in your /Clear Logos/ folder. Delete that. )

 

Note: The batch file WILL NOT recurse through sub folders (i.e. Region subfolders).  So you'll need to move the 2 files and re-run accordingly.

 

@echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion

md Output

for %%f in (*.png) do (
   call :Sub %%~nf
)

for %%f in (*.jpg) do (
   call :Sub %%~nf
)

pause
exit

:Sub
set string=%*
set string2=%string:-01=%
set string2=%string2:-02=%
"D:\MyApps\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i "premadeBG.png" -vf "drawtext=text=%string2%:fontcolor=white:fontsize=75:x=1002:y=100:" "Output/%string%.png" -y

 

 

[DeSmuMe Pause menu save/load scripts]

That's the right spot.  Add a line above that and put "SetKeyDelay, 0, 50" (without quotes).  Not tested, but "looks good on paper".

SetKeyDelay, 0, 50
Send i

 

[Help request for a plugin (or something similar) that would add semicolons between tags in the Version Field]

So I think what you're trying to say is you want to convert the data in the Version field from a string to an array.

a.k.a.  Convert "(USA) (Beta) (Aftermarket) (Unl)" to "USA;Beta;Aftermarket;Unl"

 

This AutoHotkey script can do that for you.

myFile := %0%
Loop %myFile%, 1
xmlPath = %A_LoopFileLongPath%

xmlDoc := ComObjCreate("MSXML2.DOMDocument.6.0")
xmlDoc.async := false
xmlDoc.load(xmlPath)

FileCopy, %xmlPath%, %xmlPath%.original

for Game in xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("Game")
{
    Text := Game.getElementsByTagName("Version").item(0).text " "
	myString := StrReplace(Text, ") (",";")
	myString := StrReplace(myString, "(","")
	myString := StrReplace(myString, ")","")
	myString = %myString%

	Game.getElementsByTagName("Version").item(0).text := myString
}

xmlDoc.Save(xmlPath)
Exitapp

 

To use:

1. Exit LaunchBox/BigBox and wait for it to completely finish it's background saves
2. Go to /LaunchBox/Data/Platforms/
3. Make a copy of all the xml files and save them somewhere else (a.k.a. Backup all the files)
4. Copy the above script into a blank text file
5. Save the file, name it whatever you want
6. Change the file extension from .txt to .ahk
7. Place the file into /LaunchBox/Data/Platforms/
8. Drag and drop ONE of the xml files onto the AHK script
   1. This assumes you have AutoHotkey installed on your computer
   2. This will not work if you drop more than one file onto the script at one once.  In fact, it might really bork things up if you do. So don't do that.
   3. It'll only take a split second to complete
9. Move the file(s) with the file extension ".original" to somewhere else (consider it a secondary backup)
10. Remove the script file (move it somewhere, anywhere else for future use)

 

What it does:

1. Loads the file you dropped onto it
2. Copies the file you dropped onto it to theFileName.xml.original (in the same folder)
3. Goes through all the Version elements and:
   1. replaces inner parenthesis with ; (semicolon)
   2. removes open parenthesis
   3. removes close parenthesis
4. Save changes to the file you dropped onto it

 

If you don't have (or don't want to have) AutoHotkey installed on your system, you can use the one that comes with LaunchBox from the Windows command prompt.  Open the command prompt from within the folder in step #7.  The command would be [something like]:

"D:\LaunchBox\ThirdParty\AutoHotkey\AutoHotkey.exe" "myScript.ahk" "Super Nintendo Entertainment System.xml"

Be sure to change the path to LaunchBox, the name of your script and the platform file you're wanting to modify.  BE SURE TO USE THE QUOTES AS SHOWN.

[Trying to create a top-level "Lightgun Games" Category]

2 people typing and responding at the exact same time, saying the exact same thing.. I think we're on to something here.  

[Trying to create a top-level "Lightgun Games" Category]

14 minutes ago, timekiller said:

I tried creating a top level category "Lightguns" but I think there is a bug in Launchbox because the category is getting listed under "Handhelds" despite me not nesting it there.

It's not "under" Handhelds, it's (alphabetically" "below" it.  Not the Handhelds is collapsed.

 

18 minutes ago, timekiller said:

The other problem I am having is that when I try to move a lightgun game to my custom "Arcade-Lightgun" Platform, it is not listed as an option.

When editing the game, and then [attempting to] change the platform, manually type in "Arcade-Lightgun" and click OK to save.  Then, now that you have at least one game in that platform, when you subsequently change a games platform, it will appear.

[Many Images No Longer Linking To Games - HELP!]

2 hours ago, jrusso4587 said:

ONE LAST QUESTION: Is there a way via the images view (I know I can do it through the audit) to see ONLY the games missing a certain media or video? I see that I only have an option to hide games with missing media, not the show only the games with missing a certain media. 

I can't attest to the file naming conventions 'changing'.  1st thought looking at the screenshots is that the ROMs region got changed (USA) from when the game was first installed (UE).  But don't take that to heart as that's not why I'm butting in...

On the left side-bar, you can select Games Missing Media.  From there, you can sub-select from different media type.

[[Solved] Some game's Metadata reloads every time I open up Launchbox]

8 hours ago, FangerZero said:

two of my games Has their Media files imported,

It's saying 2 "new" games were found [and then subsequently attempting to download their respective images (media)].  When you click View results, what 2 games, and in what platform is LaunchBox saying it found?

[No scanlines when using HLSL shaders in MAME in BigBox, scanlines work when starting MAME manually]

@Reaper978  Un-check the box to 'Remove space...'.  That's why when launching a game, it just going to MAME's UI.

Everything else looks as it should.  Let us know if that fixes the issue.

[LaunchBox 13.13 - Beta Thread]

1 hour ago, TheNewClassics said:

Sure. Some of the console ones I noticed were Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Pink Edition for Genesis; (video file name just switches the : for - in all instances). Another was Star Wars: Battlefront II: Unofficial Update Mod for PS2. Third was Star Fox Adventures: Amethyst Edition for GCN. I can send application path as a follow-up.

The : (colon) in a games Title should be changed to _ (underscore) vs. a - (dash) for its videos and images.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2_ Pink Edition

[No scanlines when using HLSL shaders in MAME in BigBox, scanlines work when starting MAME manually]

You might think about removing all but 1 of your MAME emulators in LaunchBox.  You can keep the physical files (for now?) in their respective folders (if you want). Just remove them in Manage Emulators.

In LaunchBox, edit the one remaining "MAME" emulator.  I'll assume it'll be the one that's "stripped down to the 'bare essentials'".  Double check that the Application Path it's pointing to the correct "mame.exe" file, in the correct folder.  Preferably the one you know for sure is showing the scanlines when launched from the MAME UI.  

Go into the Associated Platforms section and verify that the "Arcade" platform (assuming that's what you named it) is in there.  Check the box for Default Emulator (only. No other boxes checked).

Click OK to save.  If prompted with [something like] "Make this the default emulator...", "Do you want to change the default emulator for all Arcade games...", click Yes.  Test a game.

 

If it's still not working, share some screenshots with us.  Edit your MAME emulator (in LaunchBox).  Share a screenshot the of the Details section and one of the Associated Platforms section.  Now edit the game you know works (shows the scanlines) in stand-alone MAME but not when launched via LaunchBox.  Share a screenshot of the Metadata section, the Launching section and the Emulation section.  (5 screenshots total)

[Extract (Copy) ROMS from MAME Unmerged Set based on XML]

An option could be... delete you arcade platform.  Then (re)-import the games using the MAME Arcade Full Set Import Wizard.  Select the option to Import All Clones as Separate Games.

Once completed, select your Arcade platform and select all games.  Click Tools, File Management and select Export/Copy ROM files from Selected Games to New Folder. 

After they're copied to the desired destination, select all games again and click Tools, File Management, Change ROMs Folder Path for Selected Games.  

And finally, click Tools, File Management, Consolidate ROMs for Arcade.

Note: This will ONLY work because you're using a Non-Merged set.  This won't work if you have a Merged or Split set.

 

You now have a curated set in its own folder.  Your fullset is still intact in a 'safe' location.  The games are imported into LaunchBox and pointing to the curated sets folder, including the clones that are additional apps.

[Extract (Copy) ROMS from MAME Unmerged Set based on XML]

If you're just relocating where your ROMs are stored, you can move them all to the new location in Windows Explorer.  Then in LaunchBox, select your Arcade platform and select all games.  Then click Tools, File Management and select Change ROMs Folder Path for Selected Games.  That will change all the selected games' Application Path to point to the new location.

Another option is, with the ROMs already in their new location, delete the Arcade platform (but don't delete the Media) and then reimport them.  This way they'll be pointing to the new location, and you'll still have your images.

There is a plugin that will import games using a custom created MAME xml file.  It won't read a LaunchBox created xml file though.  But it does have an option to copy the files to a new location when importing.

[No scanlines when using HLSL shaders in MAME in BigBox, scanlines work when starting MAME manually]

I didn't know you could have more than one emulator with the exact same Name ("MAME 0.261").  Granted they have different paths.  Anyway...

Looking at the one you have on the F: drive, you have it (the command-line parameters) stripped down to the 'bare essentials'. Good!

Since you have 4 (2?) choices for MAME, edit (in LaunchBox) one of the games you know shows the shaders in stand-alone MAME [but doesn't show them in LaunchBox].  Go to the Emulation section and make sure the chosen emulator is "MAME" (and not "MAME 0.261").

[Steam 'The ROM file you have specified does not exist']

In LaunchBox, edit 'the game' causing this error.  Share with us a screenshot of the Details section, the Launching section, and the Emulation section for that game.  Hopefully after seeing those, someone here can help determine what the issue might be.

Pasting the Steam ID link "into Google" and having it run, sounds.... well, I don't know.  I wasn't aware you could run Steam games from Google.

[No scanlines when using HLSL shaders in MAME in BigBox, scanlines work when starting MAME manually]

Thanks for verifying that it works in MAME first, outside of LaunchBox/BigBox!   In LaunchBox, edit your MAME emulator.  In the Default Command-Line Parameters, remove -nofilter.

[Visual Pinball table focus issues]

1 hour ago, timekiller said:

Now when I launch a table, I get a "Loading Game" dialog on top of the Bigbox screen

That's a BigBox only option (Options - Game Startup - Show "Loading Game..." Message) that shouldn't affect what you're experiencing.  My guess is that it's more on an 'indicator' showing that [at least] something's happening.   In leu of displaying a Startup Screen.

Are you running a relatively recent version of VPX? 

I recall in the past that sometimes when loading a new table, the DMD would be behind the table.  I would need to Alt+Tab to the DMD, then mouse-click on the table to make it the active window.  Exit the table and then time it loaded, the windows were all in the correct z-order.

But that still doesn't explain why, when launching from LaunchBox it's fine. But when launching from BigBox, it's only intermittently fine.

 

I'm usually in LaunchBox when starting a VPX table.  But did just test a couple tables (one being Tron Legacy) through BigBox, without issue.  I have Startup Screens disabled and the Show "Loading Game..." Message is enabled.  Not sure I can be of much help.

Hopefully someone will have some ideas of what's going on.

[Filter Arcade Platform - post MAME Arcade Full Set Import Wizard]

Filter Arcade Platform - post MAME Arcade Full Set Import Wizard

View File

---

Dilemma:
"Oh snap! I used the MAME Arcade Full Set Import Wizard, unchecked all filter boxes and now I have a bunch of extra junk in my Arcade platform."

 

Solution(s):
Option 1:  Delete the Arcade platform and re-import again (this time paying attention to the boxes you decide to un-check).

This is actually a super easy and relatively fast process.  And you won't need to re-download images again (assuming you downloaded some and didn't delete the media also when deleting the platform).

Option 2:  Run this plugin and check the boxes to have those filter types removed from your collection and click Delete.

 

Plugin Features:

• Show you the number of 'games' you have in each filter type. (unplayable, bootleg, quiz, rhythm, mahjong etc.)
• Check the boxes for the filter type(s) you wish to remove and click Delete to remove them from your LaunchBox collection.
• Click the number next to the filter type to show a list of the 'games' included with that filter.  (shows ROM name and game Title)
  • (optional)  Create a text file of "the list" (for whatever reason)
  • (optional)  Create a playlist from "the list"

Notes:
You don't need to have used the MAME Arcade Full Set Import Wizard to make use of this plugin.

When launched, the plugin will attempt to load the platform "Arcade". If that's not found or you want to check a different platform that uses MAME ROMs, select the platform from the drop-down list then click Get Counts.

"Total Games" only takes into account your Main Games. No Additional Apps (clones) are accounted for in that number.

When clicking Delete to remove the games in the selected filter type(s), if a game being removed has Additional Apps, those will be removed too.  No ROMs will be deleted from your system.  Only the entries in your LaunchBox collection.

It won't delete any images associated with the removed games.  But most likely, the 'junk' won't have any anyway.  If they did, it's nothing that a suitable application of Clean Up Media located in the Tools menu couldn't take care of.

The Save to Text File option saves the file to ..\Plugins\FilterArcadePlatform\Output\[filter_type].txt

The Add to Playlist option will name the new playlist "Arcade type-[fileter_type]" and place it under the category "Arcade".  If your selected platform is named something other than "Arcade", it' will name the playlist and put it under the category using your platforms actual name.
    
RE: Game Counts:

• Some games fall into multiple filter types.  i.e. some (but not all) Fruit games are also included in with Casino games.  
  • So don't try to add the numbers up and have them make sense.
• "Remove Preliminary" refers to Emulation Status and only includes games that are marked as Preliminary AND are not included any of the other filter types.

Example Usage:

1. Using the Import Wizard, un-check Skip games unplayable in MAME
   • Once done, from the Arcade platform Search for source:model3
   • Select all the resulting games
   • Press Ctrl+E to start the Bulk Edit Wizard
   • Select the Field "Platform"
   • Set the Value to (type in) "Sega Model 3" (without quotes)
   • Save
   • From here, you can
     • Do "Option 1" (above) and your Sega Model 3 games will [now] be safe.
     • Or, using the plugin and have it remove the remaining "Unplayable Games".
2. Have the Import Wizard include "Bootleg", "Hacked" and "Prototype" games
   • Use the plugin to create playlists of those respective filter types
3. Select the playlist "Arcade type-Bootleg" created in example (2) and... well, I don't know.  Attempt to play them, I guess.

    

Beyond that (if that), it's not very practical. But may have some merits.

---

• Submitter
  JoeViking245
• Submitted
  04/24/2024
• Category
  Third-party Apps and Plugins

 

[Visual Pinball table focus issues]

Try disabling the Startup Screens.  Though I didn't notice them on in your 1st video for LaunchBox, they were definitely on for BigBox.

When editing the emulator in LaunchBox, in the main screen, Details, check that Attempt to hide console window.. is un-checked.

Then in the Startup Screen section, if you have Hide All Windows that are not in Exclusive Fullscreen Mode checked, you can try un-checking that without disabling the Startup Screen, first.  If there're still issues, then go back and disable the Startup Screens and see if that fixes it.

 

[Games launch from Launchbox, but BigBox says Rom not found]

8 minutes ago, timekiller said:

At some point in setting things up I configured BigBox to run as administrator

Ya... don't do that.  

[Games launch from Launchbox, but BigBox says Rom not found]

BigBox uses the same command line parameters as LaunchBox does.  So they should be launching equally the same, in both.  The only troubleshooting I can think of is:

In BigBox, confirm that other games from different platforms that are also located on the NAS, work.

Make sure you're launching BigBox.exe from the same folder you're launching LaunchBox.exe (say if you have multiple installs for testing).

Test the same table as you had success with in LaunchBox.

Be sure to be in the same platform you tested in with LaunchBox.  (maybe you were originally doing tests in "VPX" platform, and your final one is in "Visual Pinball X" platform).

[help player 2 controlls on 1942 mame not working]

You need to be in cocktail mode.  The upright cabinet only has (and can read) one set of controls.  However, the cocktail cabinet does have 2 sets of controls in which the defined player 2 inputs would be [then] recognize.

[Launch Box / Big Box error message]

Looks like the 5-year-old plugin Steam Tools is causing issues.    With LaunchBox closed, remove the plugin from the /LaunchBox/Plugins/ folder and restart LaunchBox.  See if the issue goes away.

 

[Visual Studio: Some assembly references are missing.]

The references are asked for in the xmlns: lines.  What they asked for can be found in the LaunchBox/Core/ folder.  But I always get an error when trying to add them.  If you figure it out, please do share.