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slagfart

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Posts posted by slagfart

    Disable Image Cache

    in Noobs

    Posted · Edited by slagfart

    Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have a similar issue. I have a larger LaunchBox collection, but I keep the images on an M2 SSD for performance, and accessing & resizing them at 4K is not a performance problem for my PC - even if I delete the cache, the images load fast enough for me on the next load.

    However, the image cache continuously bloats out in size as it insists on writing the resized image to disk in the cached folder. I've just deleted 200GB of cached images, and have to do this on a routine basis. My M2 drive is only 500GB, and so these cached images take a large portion of my total space.

    Short of a script that continuously deletes the Cache-* directories, I'd like to request that I can disable the cache. I also believe loading the source images would be even faster if it didn't have to perform the write operation at the end of each render of an image.

    PS3 (Eboot.bin) bulk importer

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Development and Beta Testing)

    Posted · Edited by slagfart

     

    3 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

    What specifically are you looking to do?

    Let's say I have a PS3 game in an uncompressed folder that I currently open with RPCS3. I would like to compress the folder with 7z, and upon clicking the game in LaunchBox, I would like LaunchBox to extract the 7z archive to a temp file location on C drive, and for RPCS3 to open the file from there.

    Thanks!!

    MAME Software Lists Import Tool - plugin

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    Hello again Joe!! Thanks for releasing the new version - I'm super keen on this new checkbox for using non-MAME emulators to play MAME games. However, it has crash landed for me :) (no surprises there - I seem to be great at breaking your toys)

    My steps were:

    1. Start with a new install of LaunchBox 10.6
    2. Wait as it updated to LaunchBox 10.7
    3. Extracted your 1.30 files to the Plugins directory
    4. Imported a random game from Windows into the empty library
    5. Extract MAME 0.215 to the Launchbox folder under `LaunchBox/MAME`
    6. Set up MAME 0.215 as an emulator in LaunchBox
    7. Right click on a game, start your plugin
    8. Set my MAME Hash location to the new `LaunchBox/MAME/hash` folder
    9. Click to import Fujitsu FM Towns CD Games
    10. Point my import folder at my main `Games\MAME` folder containing my software CHDs (so `Games\MAME\fmtowns_cd\abel\abel.chd` would be one FM Towns game)
    11. Click 'Import Only'
    12. Get a message after 0.5 seconds that says 'Success! Games imported!'
    13. LaunchBox crashes when I click OK. I get the picture attached. FM Towns XML does not appear under `LaunchBox/Data/Platforms`

    Observations:

    • I didn't see any new tickboxes for the new features
    • I didn't start MAME beforehand after extracting it fresh

    Any ideas? Thanks again!

    191121_LB MAME crash.PNG

    MAME Software Lists Import Tool - plugin

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted · Edited by slagfart

    7 minutes ago, JoeViking245 said:

    My 1st though was that it's opened (or already open) in a window behind LB.  But that shouldn't happen.

    Next thought is that the dll(s) need to be unblocked again.  Nothing (should have) changed with how it starts.   Let me know if it's still acting weird.

    Okay, it's a weird one. I checked and it wasn't either of these things. But, I then imported another game manually with an image that Launchbox was able to scan for and download. I also configured a new MAME emulator for this game. I then right clicked on that game, and it started working again.

    I ~suspect?~ that by importing a new game, I forced LaunchBox to reinitialise some of its Data files that your importer depends on, maybe in particular the MAME emulator XML? Not really sure!

    MAME Software Lists Import Tool - plugin

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    1 hour ago, JoeViking245 said:

    When downloading metadata, choose "...download and replace all existing metadata and media".

    Okay! It makes sense that this should work. Thanks!

    Sadly I'm now getting a new weird error, where I right click an existing game to start the importer, but nothing happens at all. For perhaps the briefest second the cursor changes to loading, but then it changes back and no window appears.

    I don't think it's related to the latest update - on the update prior it happened as I tried the last import I did. I also tried reinstalling LaunchBox with a fresh copy of the importer, but it still doesn't start. Disabled my antivirus too - no good. Any ideas?

    MAME Software Lists Import Tool - plugin

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    Beautiful work Joe! This thing is awesome. :)

    Another feature request from me too please: Parsing the region from the end of the MAME title. What do I mean?

    Here is the LaunchBox XML generated by your loader at current for a random saturn game: 

      <Game>
    <ApplicationPath>Games\MAME\saturn\mastmons\Master of Monsters - Neo Generations (Jpn).chd</ApplicationPath>
    ... 
    <Platform>Sega Saturn</Platform>
    <Title>Master of Monsters - Neo Generations (Jpn)</Title>
    <Region />
    ...
  </Game>

    Whereas if your importer was to parse the region, it would look like: 

      <Game>
    <ApplicationPath>Games\MAME\saturn\mastmons\Master of Monsters - Neo Generations (Jpn).chd</ApplicationPath>
    ...
    <Platform>Sega Saturn</Platform>
    <Title>Master of Monsters - Neo Generations</Title>
    <Region>Japan</Region>
    ...
  </Game>

    The super-pleasant side-effect of implementing this feature is that it would line up in most cases with the LaunchBox title, allowing for automated metadata imports from the LaunchBox DB for the rest of the metadata lines. Of course, I managed to pick a title where that isn't the case due to the hyphen, but I looked at a few before suggesting this and it would count for most. It would also allow for the use of any already-downloaded images or videos.

    It looks like MAME has a few standard region names for CHDs (with their Launchbox equivalents in brackets), which it uses across at least Saturn, Playstation, CD-I, and Sega CD:

    • Jpn (Japan)
    • Euro (Europe)
    • USA (United States)
    • UK (United Kingdom)
    • Fra (France)
    • Ned (Netherlands)
    • Ger (Germany)
    • Spa (Spain)

    Thanks again!

    MAME Software Lists Import Tool - plugin

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    Sorry Joe! I tried this with v1.20.1b and the Saturn CHDs on a fresh install of Launchbox 10.6, and my Launchbox just froze up after I completed the import steps for Saturn.

    Things that I did:

    * Waited 1 hour after running the importer for Launchbox to unfreeze (It didn't)

    * Used the same import folder as 'place to put the roms' (I didn't want the rom files copied to LaunchBox)

    * Linked from one drive to another (My launchbox is on one drive letter, and my rom files are on another)

    * My rom folder has some windows symbolic links (shouldn't affect anything - these are transparent to programs)

    * There are some spaces in the path addresses

    * I didn't add the CD flag to the MAME launcher (the example only said to use this with Playstation, but you then used 'psu' in the flag? not sure how this works)

    * I didn't have Saturn set up as a platform in Launchbox before trying to use the importer

    Is there anything I did that could have made it bug out?

    MAME Software Lists Import Tool - plugin

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted · Edited by slagfart

    Hahahahah thanks for trying it out! I don't yet have a way to deal with all the clones with mangled names, except for going through one-by-one (which I am doing). Hence the intent of the project. Sorry for nearly wrecking your build.

    If you've already done the hard work of importing the complete MAME Saturn set, would you like to share your XML? It could then be the basis for others to extend (if you're missing any images)

    Edit: Just added a warning to the readme. Thanks!

    MAME Software Lists Import Tool - plugin

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted · Edited by slagfart

    Sadly my need was to load the CHD games in. 

    Okay, so I'm thinking of a different method to solve the same problem, especially given that the MAME Hashes don't necessarily hold all the information needed for LaunchBox anyway. I've created this: https://github.com/slagfart/launchbox-data-xml-for-MAME-sets

    I'm still completing the import and cleaning of the Saturn XML by myself, but if you guys already have some XML set up on the MAME sets for other platforms, please feel free to add it! You can contribute whenever you update data in launchbox via git commandline tools.

    If you are interested, I'm also open to keeping the images and videos in the same folder. Thoughts?

    Edit: I hope I haven't hijacked your thread! 

    MAME Software Lists Import Tool - plugin

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    Hey Joe!

    This is really sweet. Thanks for this!

    I installed it on a new installation of LaunchBox with a full mame software set, using the MAME 0.214 hashes. The plugin gets to the end of the import process for the platform I tested (32X), but then the LaunchBox xml files don't get created. I also press F5, and nothing new appears. Any ideas? How can I help you debug? I'm using the latest version of LaunchBox.

    Secondly, ideally I'd like to point the plugin at my MAME software set folder, and have all platforms be imported at once. Is this possible?

    Thanks!!

    How does Launchbox determine game titles from MAME zip names??

    in Game Media

    Posted · Edited by slagfart

    Hi folks,

    I've gotten my hands on a MAME Software set (ex-MESS set), and trying to import a few platforms into LaunchBox is giving me some strange behavior. When I Import Rom Files for a MAME software set for a specific platform (for example 32x), games that had an arcade release (After Burner, Mortal Kombat, Space Harrier, Virtua Fighter and X-Men) are the only games that import correctly. Games that didn't (such as Blackthorne - inside 32x/blackthr.zip, or Knuckles Chaotix - inside 32x/chaotix.zip) don't get imported into LaunchBox.

    Is there a place internally that LaunchBox keeps a list of short names and their unshortened versions? I'd be happy to add the full names for these games from the MAME hash xmls into that, if someone could tell me where it is in the code.

    Thanks!

    Importing a full MAME Software (not ROM) Set without configuring each platform

    in Noobs

    Posted

    Thanks for the replies guys.

    37 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:

    This is not something that is supported directly with pre-populated command lines or the software lists in the full set importer.

    Sad! Is there documentation available around how I can write to the internal LaunchBox configs? I'm sure I could whip something up that at least creates the skeleton of each platform and directory if I could write this into .ini or via commandline.

     

    2 minutes ago, spycat said:

    You would need to either create different Platforms for each format, or go with a single Platform using Default Parameters for the majority of games that use a particular media or software list type amd use Custom Parameters for the other formats.

    The latter option is probably preferable, as most games for a given system/platform were only distributed via a single format. Effectively, it would be multiple 'paths' for different formats within each platform.

    Importing a full MAME Software (not ROM) Set without configuring each platform

    in Noobs

    Posted

    Yo folks,

    New to LaunchBox so sorry if this is stupid. Since the integration of MESS into MAME, there is now a full 'Software' set of ROMs and CHDs (about 2.1TB) that are playable in MAME. This includes oodles and oodles of old console systems from things I have heard of (Like the Commodore 64 or the Sega CD), and then many more which I have no idea about (like a system called 'svi318_cart'). I could sit and google each one, and configure the platform before importing the set for that system, but there are 541 (five hundred and forty-one) different systems and variants in this set, making this task herculean.

    How do I import them all in one sweep? Ideally each system would have a different 'platform' in LaunchBox/BigBox with the variants (e.g. c64_cart, c64_cass, c64_flop) consolidated into one platform in the interface.

    Thanks!!

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