[Accidentially uploaded the wrong Clear Logo for the MS-DOS game Bouncing Babies. Is there a way to cancel it?]

Accidentally chose the wrong file, so I wanted to cancel it. Or will the people who review it just deny it, and I shouldn't worry about it?

[Important tip for anyone using RetroArch: Make sure to choose the right Menu Toggle hotkey, or else your hotkeys will stop responding! (Explanation in thread)]

For the longest time, I was having a major issue with RetroArch where RetroArch would stop responding to hotkeys if I used my hotkey enable button + the menu toggle hotkey in order to close the RetroArch menu & return back to my game. I had only found one other person who had this issue, and so I was baffled as to what the cause was.

Well, after giving the latest RetroArch nightly build a try in order to see if the issue was fixed, I found that it wasn't. Disappointed, but not discouraged, I tried making RetroArch fullscreen, and I noticed that it opened the RetroArch menu... with the RetroArch search menu opened.

It then became painfully obvious that what I was doing by using the X button as my "RetroArch menu toggle" button, was accidentally opening the search function, and then closing the RetroArch menu. So it's no wonder why RetroArch stopped responding to my hotkeys. The other person I saw having this issue was using Select, which opens up an information window showing what the highlight menu option does in RetroArch, so it's no wonder they had the same issue.

 

Solution: Make sure to choose a menu toggle hotkey that isn't used by RetroArch for something else. Right now, I'm using my left analogue stick button as my "hotkey enable", and Start as my menu toggle hotkey. From quick testing, this works fine, but I haven't used it long enough to claim that it's flawless.

[Setting up Philips CD-i with MAME]

Around this time period, I had a 486 "multimedia" PC, so my CD-ROM needs were met, but I was curious about what games I was missing out on. These days, it's more about seeing how each system handled their interface & design, or how the PC ports were handled (like the 3DO Need For Speed port). I feel like it's impossible to get the full CD-i experience without having to put up with the awful controller, on top of everything else (not  sure how those Gravis gamepad looking ones are, but the stock spoon thing looks awful for games). 

 

I remember condescendingly writing off the Playstation as another electronics company failing at entering the video game console market when it was announced, all because of Panasonic & Phillips not quite getting it right (or getting it all wrong, depending). I'm usually pretty good at predicting how these things will turn out, but I was dead wrong about that one!

[Has anyone tried the 8Bitdo M30 Sega Genesis controller? If so, how is it?]

Yup, I ended up ordering the M30 & loved it. It was exactly what I was looking for, since I wanted something that made me feel like I was actually playing on a Sega Genesis, instead of using what's essentially a SNES controller to play a Genesis game (makes it easier to figure out what buttons do when you read a manual). It just feels right, too. Really enjoy it for Shmups, too. 

I originally bought a N30 Pro, which I loved at first, but the built quality wasn't the best, and the D-pad & analogue stick kind of got funky. Fortunately, I gave them another shot with the SN30 Pro, cause while the D-pad isn't *perfect*, it's pretty solid & close to the original. I do find that the latest 8bitdo controllers are a good balance between retro look & feel, but with modern features that let you also play more recent games.

 

I do wish they'd make a controller with L & R buttons that are analogue for games that can benefit from it, such as racing games where they act like pedals instead of a button to just "go". 

 

[I want to make sure I have all the "Must Have" arcade games in my collection. Which arcade games would you consider "Must Have"?]

Yeah, the stand alone MAME was a bit easier to make sure it runs, but I absolutely love having the universal hotkeys of RetroArch to unify things like exiting the game or save/load states, so it's worth the bit of extra effort for me.

 

The real challenge for me was just not getting the concept of "sets", as well as finding the proper bios & parent files for non-merged files. But I understand it a great deal more at this point. 

[I want to make sure I have all the "Must Have" arcade games in my collection. Which arcade games would you consider "Must Have"?]

Alright, thanks. That's kind of what I assumed. Even though I've been working with MAME stuff for a couple of months now, it can still be a bit confusing (understandably, given the complexity of creating something that can emulate so many different platforms). I had no idea what I was getting into when I first started. ?

[I want to make sure I have all the "Must Have" arcade games in my collection. Which arcade games would you consider "Must Have"?]

Thanks, a list like this is just the kind of thing I was looking for. I kind of like that my collection has some stinkers because I like giving the full experience, but I'm at the point where I want to make sure I have those "must have" games, so No Filler is right up my ally. 

 

Just a quick question - is there any quick way to tell what version of the MAME core I should use in RetroArch for any given file? Right now, I just have all the MAME cores setup in LaunchBox, and just do trial & error, but it's not very efficient.

[I want to make sure I have all the "Must Have" arcade games in my collection. Which arcade games would you consider "Must Have"?]

I'd also accept a list of Top arcade games to browse. I grew up playing arcade games from time to time, but I was much more of a home player.

[Is there a way to lower the default volume of the Big Box startup videos? (Outside of manually editing the video itself)]

2 hours ago, bman83 said:

Hi, This one sounds tricky. I think the only way to do this one would be to edit the video. What format is the video in? Something like "Windows Movie Maker" is a quick and easy program to use to edit the video.

Have you got a master volume control on your speakers/Amplifier?

The way I would solve this is to match your Launchbox software volume levels with the levels of the opening video. And then use the controls in your operating system to set at say 40% or set the amplifier at 40% to get the levels you want

 

 

All of the startup videos I have are from the downloads here, so they're all mp4 (I use the randomizer plugin in order to randomly play one of the videos). For my main computer, I use an external sound device for my headphones, which I tend to have turned up a bit so that some of the more quiet apps are loud enough, and I turn down everything else (hence which Big Box is at about 40%). So I think I'm going to end up editing the videos so that they're permanently a bit lower, just so they don't blow my eardrums.

1 hour ago, DOS76 said:

is there a way to open the vlc version in LB and set the volume level from there? This of course assumes you are using VLC in BB.

I am using VLC in Big Box, yeah... I suppose if that saves the volume level, than that could work. I'd have to turn the Big Box video volume up in Big Box to accommodate for that. That's a pretty easily solution, but then that does kind of complicate things for using Big Box on other computers (I.E. the volume levels wouldn't be relative to each other). I think I'd rather edit the videos to have a lower volume, just because I'd rather have the volume settings within Big Box to be relative to each other (in other words, the menu sounds being somewhat similar in volume level to the game preview videos).

[I'm debating on methods of how to do my DOS games. I can get them to run, but I'm looking to streamline & unify importing games.]

I'm currently going with the "game by game" basis, and I agree that it's what makes sense for something like this. I do like that RetroArch makes it easier to hotkey an exit hotkey as compared to standalone DOS Box, although I'm not too worried about that since I assume that the vast majority of the DOS games I have require a mouse & keyboard to at least start the game.

 

As far as exiting scripts, I actually haven't ever used one. I just rely on the hotkey I have setup to exit RetroArch for that. I think the only emulators that I use that aren't RetroArch are DOS Box & the TI-99 4/a emulator, and both of those are the type of thing I'd only use if I had a keyboard handy (which I can always just alt+F4 out of). Can't really help you there.

[Is there a way to lower the default volume of the Big Box startup videos? (Outside of manually editing the video itself)]

I have the Big Box volume levels set to around 40%, so the startup videos playing at 100% volume is way too loud for me.  If there isn't an option to turn down the volume within Launch Box/Big Box, I could always do it in a video editor, but I'd prefer to avoid that unless I have no other option.

 

(Mostly unrelated, but man, I LOVE the difference in how well Big Box runs on my laptop with the controller fix.)

[I'm debating on methods of how to do my DOS games. I can get them to run, but I'm looking to streamline & unify importing games.]

Currently, I use DOS Box by default, and I'll create a DOS Box configuration if the default settings feel off. Sometimes I get a game that just doesn't seem to run, even with tinkering with it, and that's when I'll use RetroArch's DOS Box core, which, for some reason, seems to run the games that I can't get to run using standard DOS Box.

So this has left me debating whether I want to just use RetroArch or if I want to continue using my method of DOS Box first, and then using RetroArch for more stubborn games. My question is - what advantages do each methods provide? Does standalone DOS Box have benefits over the RetroArch version? 

For the time being, it seems like it's best to do each game on a game by game basis. For instance, Dark Forces oddly runs very poorly using RetroArch's DOS Box, but DOS Box runs it smoothly (I only get MIDI in RetroArch, but I feel like I'd have to tinker with the DMA/IRQ type of settings, DOS Box has no issue though). On the other hand, my impression is that RetroArch allows for better controller support (or at least it's easier to mess with), including the fact that it lets the player use the RetroArch hotkeys to exit & such.

Lastly, is there a database out there of user-created DOS Box configs to help streamline the experience of importing & setting up games? I fear that I know that the answer is "no", but I figure it's best to ask anyway.

 

(Feel free to mention how you set things up, even if you don't have specific answers to my questions.)

[RetroArch stops responding to hotkey inputs after closing the RA menu using the menu toggle.]

Just tested this out to narrow down the conditions which the problem occurs under. I used hotkeys like crazy (constantly saving/loading/resetting/changing the save slot, etc...), and it never stopped working. I then opened the RetroArch menu, and closed it a bunch of times by selecting the Resume option. It still never stopped working.

Then I tried closing the RetroArch menu by using the RetroArch menu toggle hotkey combination. While the menu closed, all of the hotkeys stopped working. Saving/loading/resetting all stopped working, and so did the menu toggle hotkey.

 

Obviously, I'm using the "Enable hotkey" button option, as opposed to the "Menu Toggle Combo" because I like to use hotkeys for doing stuff like loading/saving on the fly. Anyone happen to know why this problem is occurring? It has an easy solution of just not using the menu toggle to close the RetroArch menu, but A) it's easy to do it on instinct, and B) I want to give my setup to a few friends, and I want to eliminate issues like this. 

[Has anyone tried the 8Bitdo M30 Sega Genesis controller? If so, how is it?]

Thanks! I'll take a gander at them.

[Has anyone tried the 8Bitdo M30 Sega Genesis controller? If so, how is it?]

I have a 8bitdo SN30 Pro & SF30 Pro, really love them, with a few minor criticisms (mostly that the D-pad, while good, is too mushy, the buttons feel a tad cheap when pushed in, but oddly still feel good, and the trigger buttons aren't analogue, so for more modern games, you lose the ability to have incremental values I.E. it's either on or off). Despite those seemingly like major complaints, I'm VERY picky about controllers, so this is me applying very high standards, so I otherwise love the 8bito SN/SF 30 Pro controllers.

So after seeing the 8Bitdo M30 Sega Genesis/Mega Drive controllers, I'm rather curious  as to how they stand up. Not sure I have a need for one, seeing as I have enough controller, but I loved the Genesis/Mega Drive d-pad, so I'm kind of hoping it lives up to that.

 

Also worth mentioning that Retro-Bit is coming out with licensed 8 button Sega Genesis/Mega Drive controllers that are supposed to be really close to the originals. They're not out yet, so I'm not sure if anyone here has gotten the chance to try them (I'm also curious if the mode button on the controller can be used in Retroarch as an "activate hotkey" button, cause if not, it might be kind of rough to use in Big Box. They're also not wireless, which I can live with, especially since they're $10 cheaper than the 8Bitdo M30. 

 

As much as I don't need another controller, part of me would love to get a more authentic feeling when playing Sega games.

[Setting up Philips CD-i with MAME]

ha, seriously! I've always wanted to try them. As a teen, I wanted to play them because I felt like I was missing out on Zelda games, but as an adult? I'm glad I did, but I still want to see what I was "missing".

[Setting up Philips CD-i with MAME]

ah, gottcha, I figured that was the case, just wanted to make sure. Thanks.

[Setting up Philips CD-i with MAME]

So thanks to this thread, I finally decided to give the CD-i another try, and it worked! On the other hand, when I opened up Wand of Gamelon & the Zelda's adventure, they both gave me this message. Should I worry about it, or is it standard? Haven't had any issues with it yet, but I wanted to double check.

 

Also, does this work with Retroarch in any way, or just MAME?

[The mesen libretro suddenly has choppy audio on some games (most noticeable in Castlevania III). CPU is powerful, so I know that's not the issue...]

Yeah, I literally Googled the problem, and one of the few relevant results was this thread, lol.

[The mesen libretro suddenly has choppy audio on some games (most noticeable in Castlevania III). CPU is powerful, so I know that's not the issue...]

Remembered that my 3rd computer doesn't have a GPU, since it's my old computer where the GPU died. No GFE, and it still is having the same issue. I'm baffled. Probably just gonna switch to Nestopia for the time being until I can figure it out.

[The mesen libretro suddenly has choppy audio on some games (most noticeable in Castlevania III). CPU is powerful, so I know that's not the issue...]

I do. Just tried closing it & no difference, although I don't know if I need to disable it from starting up with Windows, as opposed to merely closing it? Still trying to figure out how to disable it on startup (it's not under the Startup section in Task Manager, no option in Geforce Experience itself). 

[The mesen libretro suddenly has choppy audio on some games (most noticeable in Castlevania III). CPU is powerful, so I know that's not the issue...]

That's a good idea! I had a copy of my build on another hard drive on my main computer (sort of a "test build" for stuff like this), and unfortunately, still have the same issue with a fresh version of RetroArch. At least I ruled out bezels/configs being the issue. Even tried a few different version of the same game. 

 

Worst comes to worst, I'll just use Nestopia. I'm less concerned with which core I use, and more concerned with fixing whatever the cause of the problem is, in case it influences other things. 

[The mesen libretro suddenly has choppy audio on some games (most noticeable in Castlevania III). CPU is powerful, so I know that's not the issue...]

Just updated all my drivers, along with Windows itself. Still getting the sound issue. Here's a clip I just uploaded to YouTube just to give an example of what it sounds like: 

 

 

I also installed the same build of Launch Box (which same games & settings) to my laptop, and it has a very similar sounding issue (I don't think it's quite exact, but it's close). The laptop's CPU & GPU are very outdated compared to my main computer, but it's not really too bad (have no problem emulating N64 games, for example). I should mention that the green flicker you see a few times isn't present when actually playing it. Must be introduced from the recording. I also need to move/hide my mouse, lol.

 

Unrelated, but I'm also having an issue with RetroArch where it will stop responding to my hotkeys after making a change (I use the "Enable Hotkey" to input commands into RetroArch). Doesn't always happen, but it does make controlling RetroArch a bit unreliable.

[The mesen libretro suddenly has choppy audio on some games (most noticeable in Castlevania III). CPU is powerful, so I know that's not the issue...]

Yeah, I don't think I have any specific audio settings that aren't default. I do have the bezel project stuff, but when I open it manually within RetroArch, even with the bezels, it works fine. 

[The mesen libretro suddenly has choppy audio on some games (most noticeable in Castlevania III). CPU is powerful, so I know that's not the issue...]

The computer I have my default build on has an Intel i7 8700k & 1070ti (not that I'd expect the GPU to matter), so I know the issue isn't lack of power. Nestopia & FCEUmm libretros work fine, as far as I can tell. I've heard that the Mesen libretro has the best accuracy, so I'd like to figure out what the issue is (also want to fix it in case the cause negatively impacts other things without me noticing). 

The gameplay, as far as I can tell, is smooth, it's just a clicking-popping sound (even with the game is paused). Not every game does this with Mesen, but it's enough that I don't want to just switch the games that do it to Nestopia (would be hard to test every game, too). 

 

Any ideas? I actually just tested opening up Castlevania III manually within Retroarch, and it seemed to play fine. I don't have any extra command line parameters in Launch Box, so I'm not sure what the difference is.