ChristopherNeff
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Posts posted by ChristopherNeff
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On 4/30/2022 at 11:45 PM, proghodet said:
If you're logged in you just need to click "vote for this issue".
I am logged in. Where is it at?
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On 4/30/2022 at 10:09 PM, proghodet said:
I don't think having music in the pause screen is a feature yet. You can vote on @crusadeRGP's ticket and hope that enough people vote on it so it gets implemented.
How do I vote? I don't see a vote button on the site that is linked. All I see is a section to add a comment. And yes, I have an account on there.
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5 minutes ago, proghodet said:
Yeah, try to have them all in the root. If you use folders for specific platforms they will override whatever you have in the root folder.
Yeah, that worked for me now. I deleted all the other copies and put the file into the root background folder and now problems 1, 2, and 4 are solved. I only have one single music file that I wanted to use anyway, not a bunch. At first, I was just copying that one music file into every folder and subfolder that is within the background folder though. So, now, with all of that out of the way, can you please help me with problem number 3? Thank you.
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13 hours ago, proghodet said:
You're adding music files to specific platforms - that's why they don't work where you want them to. I have all my background music files in \\Launchbox\Music\Background
I have that as well. But in that folder, it shows Platform Categories, Platforms, and Playlists. Don't I have to copy the music file into every single one of those folders including all of the sub folders within them like I have been doing? Or, are you saying that I was supposed to just put the file into the root Background folder and not mess with any of the other folders that are in there?
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40 minutes ago, crusadeRGP said:
Created a Bitbucket ticket suggestion of #3
https://bitbucket.org/jasondavidcarr/launchbox/issues/6800/pause-screen-music
So, I take it that means that it's not actually currently possible? And also that it's something you didn't initially think of before but now you want it, or you were just doing it for me? Thank for you that BTW.
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Hello. I hope Troubleshooting is the right place for this one, as I usually put all of my other threads under Noobs. I have been using Big Box lately, and customizing the shit out of it and really like it so far. I just discovered a feature that allows me to set a background song for Big Box to play and then I chose to select the option to prioritize it over all video audio. Then, I put this same audio file into every single Console, Platform, and even in Platform Categories. But I've noticed 4 problems with it that I don't know what to do to fix it, and I tried Googling it but I didn't really find anything. So, here they are:
1. The audio file doesn't work on any view I have set as default. Here's what that means. If I set Platform Categories as the default view then the audio file won't play and the videos will be playing with their own audio instead. If I click on any Platform such as Consoles, Arcade or Handhelds, it will start playing there. If I click on any Console such as PSONE, SNES, N64, etc, it will play there as well. But not on the view I have set as default. And if I click back to go back to it, the videos are still playing with their audio and not the music file. So, I thought maybe Platform Categories just couldn't play it for whatever reason, and so I decided to set Platforms as the default view instead which shows every Console, Handheld and Arcade on one screen. Now, the audio file won't play on Platforms and the videos play with their own audio instead again. But if I click on any Consoles such as PSONE, SNES, N64, etc, those still work. Going back to the Platforms via the back button still plays the video audio and not the music audio. It played on the Platforms view when I didn't have it set as default however, but not when I do.
2. This leads to the second problem. That means that the audio file won't automatically load when I launch Big Box without some input first and also won't load on whatever I have set to default. Only if it's not default and I go there myself. What I want is to have Platform Categories as my default view and have the audio file automatically play at launch with the video audio muted just like how the main theme music plays automatically when you turn on a PS4 or PS5 and works on all menus.
3. How do I set the background music to play on the Pause Themes that can be installed or even the default one? What I would like is that when I am playing a game and I go to the Big Box Pause Screen where it shows options to quit, reset, look at manual, etc, instead of it being silent, I would like it to play my background music just like a PS4 and PS5 would do if you pressed the PS Button on the Controller during a game (although the game doesn't actually pause on a PS4 or PS5). And yes, I have sounds enabled for the Pause Menu in the Big Box settings but that only makes it so you hear menu sounds like clicking on the menu items. (Side Note: For some reason, all of the menu items make a sound on the Pause Menu except for Quit Game. What's up with that?)
4. And finally, I had to put the music file into every single Platform, Console, and Platform Category to hear the music all throughout Big Box. The Problem with having to do it this way is that any time I switch Platforms, Consoles, or Platform Categories, the music starts over, each time I go forward, and each time I back out to where I was previously. So when Attract Mode starts, every time it switches a Platform, Console, or Platform Category, the music resets, which is jarring and somewhat off putting. What I would like is to somehow be able to set one music file that works across the entirety of Big Box across the board or at least have an option in the Settings somewhere that I need to tick. That way, the music will just play continually on loop without interruption, seamlessly as I navigate to different Platforms, Consoles, and Platform Categories, Think of the PS4 and PS5 again. The theme music just plays continuously and is consistently integrated as you go to all the different menus and options, etc. It doesn't have to start over each time you go to a different menu, go forwards and back out to where you were previously. So, how do I get this set up that way?
I hope some of these aren't too nit picky and/or unappreciative sounding. Thank you.
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On 4/16/2022 at 12:45 AM, Lordmonkus said:
Better to build a new one. Any new CPU would require a new motherboard and ram, you would also be getting a new GPU. At that point all that is left to buy is a new power supply and case. I said all of this earlier in the thread.
The reason I asked that is because I was wondering, what if I just bought a new GPU and upped my ram to 16 GB and skipped everything else? Would that be good enough? Is it important that I also upgrade my CPU as well? And is there that much of a difference between DDR3 vs DDR4 RAM? As in, if I upgraded my RAM right now to 16 GB, it would be 16 GB of DDR3. Is that very much different than a new PC that will have 16 GB of DDR4?
On 4/16/2022 at 12:45 AM, Lordmonkus said:At that point all that is left to buy is a new power supply and case.
Is that important to upgrade? Do I need a new case and PSU if I just upgraded my current PC? My current PSU is 600 W from ATNG.
Oh, I also wanted to ask, is the new UEFI BIOS with the EFI partitioning system stuff super important? Will that make a huge difference? The reason I ask is because my current PC is still setup under the Legacy BIOS under the MBR partitioning system. It CAN do UEFI and EFI, but it acts weird and my Local PC shop said it's because my generation of hardware barely supported that system since it was still new and in it's infancy then and so it was never fully and properly supported by my current hardware since by the time the UEFI and EFI stuff was made the new standard and stable, we were several hardware versions ahead which means that my current hardware will never be updated to support it fully or properly so I am stuck with Legacy and MBR in order to get full stability and compatibility. I heard that all new hardware and PC's will automatically be setup under UEFI and EFI by default though.
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What's better? My intel i7, or the AMD 8350?
Would my 2 SSD's be able to be transferred to a new PC? Adding to whatever HDD or SDD the new one already comes with of course.
Also, at this point, would it be better that I just get a whole new PC instead of trying to upgrade a bunch of stuff in this one? It's been repaired at least 3 times by now with different hardware components dying and needing to be replaced.
Is my current information really that old and out of date now?
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12 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
Except it's not just about raw clock speed, Intructions Per Clock cycle matter as well plus the new CPUs can match that raw clock speed as well as better IPC. Check the comparison link I posted earlier, it shows that the lower end i5 12th gen out performs your CPU even on single threaded operations by a large margin.
And that's all stuff MAME will care about and can utilize? Maybe I need to contact MAMEDev again and show them this convo and then just ask them what CPU they think I should get.
13 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:Also, if you want to, you can just keep your current system as your emulation PC and build a new PC for modern gaming. It's not like any of your older hardware would be usable in an upgrade, you would need a new motherboard, ram, cpu and gpu and at that point you may as well just get a new power supply and case and hard drive/s, preferably and ssd.
Unfortunately, I only have room for one PC, and I would want the horse power of the new PC for newer console emulation as well, and I don't want my games being separated into 2 different PC's. I'd end up forgetting which PC has which ROMS and Games. LOL. I'd also want to emulate on my new PC as well so I can use more advanced shaders. I want to try one out called CyberLab Mega Bezel Death To Pixels Shader Preset Pack. Or CRT-Royale with 4K resolution and Integer Scaling. Right now, I am using one called CRT-NewPixie Shader.
NONE of my older hardware would be usable in an upgrade/new PC? Not even my 2 SSD's?
At this point, would it be better that I just get a whole new PC instead of trying to upgrade a bunch of stuff in this one? It's been repaired at least 3 times by now with different hardware components dying and needing to be replaced. Why can't they all just consistently die at the same time like a console does? LOL
18 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:Because prior to the Ryzen gen CPUs AMDs were not as good as Intels for emulation because of its IPC. Like I said, my AMD 8350 @ 4GHz could just run Mednafen Saturn smoothly barely. The Ryzen CPUs improved their IPC to match Intels and there is literally no difference in the 2 brand at this specific point in time, that may change in the future of course.
Still doesn't explain how you knew I was just about to start shitting on AMD's when I haven't even done it yet. LOL
Also, is the AMD 8350 @ 4GHZ the new one that is equal to Intel or the old one?
20 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:It was cheap when I got it and it's older now.
Oh, you meant literally as in price. When I hear the word "cheapo" I just automatically assume that they mean something that is shit quality.
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38 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
Trust me, any modern CPU currently available, Intel or AMD are all going to out perform that i7 4790 you have. That CPU was and still is a great CPU but the tech has evolved and even the current gen budget CPUs will out perform it in modern games and emulation.
Yeah, but MAME is a fickle pain in the ass and has the dumbest CPU requirements for those 2 games and most other 3D games. What is great for most any other emulator MAME shits all over. So it might outperform my Intel i7 for other emulators but I know any new CPU I get will need to go to 4.4 GHZ max because MAME unfortunately, doesn't give a shit about anything other than raw clock speed. And it apparently uses only 2 Cores out of a CPU so the other 2 in a Quad Core might as well not even exist as far as MAME is concerned. MAME doesn't care about the evolved tech or Current Gen. So I have to make sure I do this right. So no matter how new or advanced the CPU is, it still HAS to be 4.4 GHZ max speed for the 2 Gauntlet Games to play at full speed. So, unless I can find a CPU that can do that, I can't upgrade my PC, because my current CPU will play better in MAME than any new CPU that does any less than 4.4 GHZ.
38 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:And before you even ask, yes, AMD CPUs are just as good as Intels right now, even in emulation.
Are you psychic? I was JUST about to start shitting on AMD. LOL
38 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:I have an old cheapo 40" 1080 Samsung
It aint "cheapo" if it's from Samsung. They are legit the best brand you can have and make the best quality parts physically speaking. Even if the specs themselves aren't the newest and greatest.
38 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:Watching TV shows and movies is not something care that greatly about. My money goes into PC gaming.
So, PC Gaming and Emulation is what you do most of the time more than anything else? Like Netflix binging etc?
38 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:You will be hard pressed to find 40" TVs, it's just not a size that fits well when cutting them out of the larger panel during production.
Why is there so many for 1080P though? And what did you mean by not fitting well? They are literally being CUT out of something? As in literal and not figure of speech?
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9 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
Nope, no overclocking required, it just boosts as needed. If you look up your CPU you will see that the 4.0 is base speed but it can boost up to 4.4.
It's not really going to burn or wear out faster running at its max speed while gaming. Overclocking, especially extreme overclocking will wear out a CPU faster running it at higher voltages but modern CPUs and hardware will throttle themselves if they get too hot under normal usage (ie: not overclocking).
Okay, so I don't need something that is 4.0 GHZ base, but I DO need to get something that goes up to 4.4 GHZ max boosted. For all I know, the 2 Gauntlet games could be using the boosted max 4.4 GHZ on my CPU, so if I get something that only boosts up to 4.0 GHZ max, then I might be screwed.
9 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:I have no idea where the limits are, im not doing experiments to find out either.
Are you gonna get an 8K TV yet? Do you think I should probably wait a while on 8K? I can't find any 40 inch 8K TV's. I have a 40 inch 4K TV and even that was a pain to find. All of the 8K TV's I see are 50 inch minimum which would never fit in my small bedroom. Hell, the 40 inch 4K TV I currently have is almost too much.
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1 hour ago, Lordmonkus said:
The base speed is just the speed it runs at when idle or doing light work loads. The boost speed is what the CPU can go up to when under load and as needed.
No overclocking required? You mean just natural boosting? So, is my i7-4790K 4.0GHZ at base speed or is that the max boosted speed?
Also, wouldn't that burn out the CPU faster if it had to always be at it's max boosted speed for intensive games? Kind of like how over clocking shortens a CPU's total life span by a lot.
1 hour ago, Lordmonkus said:These are just bullshit internet lies. I remember back when running a game at 30 fps was a big deal and many people said that 26 fps was all that was needed because that was what films are at. People can even perceive the difference between 120 and 240 fps. The human eye is not some digital instrument that has hard limits, you just start to run into diminishing returns and the increases in framerate and resolution need to get in order of magnitudes larger to perceive the difference. For example going from 30 fps to 60 is quite big and then 60 to 120 is almost as big in terms of perception goes but its an extra 60 fps vs 30, then the next step is 240 fps. You can see where this is going.
Is there a limit to how much the eye can perceive? Will we be able to see anything beyond 240 FPS? Where does the Law Of Diminishing Returns start to kick in and at full throttle?
What about 4K to 8K? Can the human eye perceive that? Is it really worth getting an 8K TV?
For me, I noticed that the jump from 180P to 4K was smaller than the jump from 480P to 720P or even to 1080P.
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49 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
It uses the GPU for outputting the image to the display but not for rendering any of the graphics, that is all handled by the CPU.
I didn't even know that a CPU had anything to do with graphics or rendering at all. I always thought the GPU did all of the outputting of the image PLUS the rendering of all the graphics and that the CPU was just for FPS and that was it.
50 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:At the time what they told you was true and is still mostly true. CPU is the most important component when it comes to emulation, especially Mame. CPUs have not progressed a whole lot in terms of clock speed over the years but they have progressed a lot in terms of IPC and Mames CPU requirements really have not changed since then either.
So, most likely I would still need a CPU that had a base clock rate of 4.0 GHZ after all? Or that the 2.5 ones will work fine so long as they can boost to 4.0 or 4.4 GHZ?
51 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:You will be waiting a long time then. N64 parallel isn't cycle accurate though it's much better than previous N64 emulation. Demul and PS1 Beetle / Mednafen is not cycle accurate either.
Okay, I probably shouldn't say Cycle Accurate then. What I should have said is that I will wait for the Wii U, PS3, and Switch emulators to get as good as Parallel, Demul and Beetle/Mednafen. So long as it's at least as good as those 3, then that is good enough for me.
52 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:I prefer to run all my modern PC games at 1080P 120 fps, its far better than 4K60.
Can you even notice a difference between 60 and 120 FPS? I heard the human eye can't even detect anything beyond 60 FPS. Just like the human eye apparently can't detect anything beyond 4K, which according to some people, makes 8K a scam since you wouldn't even be able to see it anyway.
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31 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
Because Mame only utilizes the CPU for running the games, it will only use the GPU when using drivers and Mame shaders are not that demanding.
Wait, it uses the CPU exclusively? But it would have to use the GPU for graphics right? Or at the very least the onboard graphics? From what I understand, the CPU is only for speed of a game, but it can't render graphics. That's what the onboard graphics chip or dedicated GPU is for.
31 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:You have to figure what is worth it to you.
What would you say is cheap to you? How much are they retail for brand new?
31 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:Raw clock speed is not all that matters, instructions per clock cycle or IPC matters almost as much or more. For example my old AMD 8350 runs at 4GHz but is pretty bad when it comes to emulation because of its relatively poor IPC. Also the vast majority of the new CPUs aren't 3.3GHz, that may be their base speeds but they boost to much higher. For example, an Intel i5 12400 has a base clock of only 2.5GHz but boosts up to 4.4GHz. Also you are running a 4th gen Intel CPU while now we are on the 12th gen, there have been a lot of improvements made in the architecture which makes a huge difference in modern PC gaming.
Just take a look at this comparison between your older but very good for its time i7 4790K vs a new but budget friendly i5 12400: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-4790K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-12400/2384vs4122
Wait, those new CPU's would most likely cut it for the 2 games of Gauntlet Legends and Gauntlet Dark Legacy even though the clock speed looks low on the specs page? The reason I said all of that is because when I was doing heavy research into a gaming PC about 7 years ago, I asked the MAMEDev people what specs I needed to play those 2 Arcade games at max speed or at least as close as possible, and they all told me that the CPU was the most important component and that I should not even LOOK at any CPU who's base clock speed was not at LEAST 4.0 GHZ or more. They told me that clock speed was the most important thing to MAME more than any other feature or spec and that hyper threading and multiple cores didn't even matter either. As an example, MAME apparently doesn't make use of Quad Core, MAME can only use 2 cores and so 2 cores at a high clock speed per core was better than a quad core at lower clock speed per core.
31 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:The system requirements may go up as they get more accurate or the system requirements may come down if they find some new speed improvements, we simply don't know what will happen.
So, it's the actual optimizations that can make an emulator need more beefy specs as well? When you say speed improvements, are you referring to speed hacks that sacrifice accuracy in favor of speed, performance and playability? Because for me, I ONLY use Cores and Emulators that are as Cycle Accurate as possible. So, I use BSNES/Higan over SNES9X for example. I don't want another shit emulator like ZSNES. So, for PS3, Wii U and Switch, I won't even touch them until they are close to being more Cycle Accurate like N64's Parallel, PSONE's Beetle PSX, or DreamCast's Demul etc, however long that will take.
29 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:Technically yes, the 750 could do 4K gaming, it all depends on the game and how demanding it is. The 750 could probably run Quake at 4K60 but no way in hell it is gonna run Cyberpunk at 4K60.
Resolution and framerate are hardware and game engine dependent. You can keep bumping the resolution up but as you do the framerate will drop. Also, graphics settings have a say in all this as well. As you enable more fancy graphics options like better quality shadows, higher quality textures, higher quality lighting and post processing effects the lower the framerate will drop. It's all a balancing act and the higher the resolution and graphics settings the higher the GPU requirement becomes.
A lot of the questions you ask are very dependent upon several factors, there is very little cut and dry yes or no answers.
Specifically, I want to play the Kingdom Hearts series that was recently ported over to PC at their very max settings, including Kingdom Hearts III and the ReMind DLC. Will my PC be able to cut it?
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Wait, it's the 60 FPS where the money comes in, more than the actual 4K or HDR? You said PC's have been able to do 4K forever. So, is my Nvidia GTX GeForce 750 TI from MSI included in that as well then?
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3 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
Not strange at all, most of the shaders are not that demanding on GPUs but there are a couple that are. Some of them have a lot of complicated passes in them and they will strain lower end GPUs.
I wonder why the Arcade Gauntlet Legends and Gauntlet Dark Legacy play at full speed though. Those are supposed to need a super PC and most 3D Arcade games like CarnEvil should struggle since MAME is made more for preservation that for actual playability. Unless they're just exaggerating. When I bought this Gaming PC 5 years ago, I picked specs specifically to play those 2 games at full speed. I guess now, even basic gaming PC's are considered super PC's for MAME requirements when it used to be the exception and something very special and rare.
7 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:No. Though if you find a cheap GTX 970 o r 1060 series card then you could think about it. No need to get an entirely new system.
So, used then? Is it trustworthy to get used parts? I get all my parts brand new. What would cheap be to you? I don't even know the full retail price of the parts to compare the two.
8 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:I doubt it. Wii U, Switch and PS3 emulation are pretty demanding and every other system you mentioned either don't have an emulator or they have a barely functional emulator.
When you say you doubt it, you mean with Shaders or just period? And are you talking about max settings on those 3 emulators or are you saying that my PC would be too weak even at mid or low settings?
9 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:That will depend on the game and every game is different, you will have to look up each games recommended hardware.
I actually want to get into playing at 4K and HDR at 60 FPS. I have a Samsung UHD KU7000 4K HDR TV already. As dumb as this will sound, I'm not into playing A LOT of PC games. Not yet anyway. But, I want to specifically play Kingdom Hearts at 4K and HDR at 60 FPS. I paid $700.00 for my TV and then paid $400.00 on a PS4 PRO pretty much exclusively to play Kingdom Hearts III at 4K when it first launched and it wasn't at a stable 60 FPS nor was it even in HDR which kinda pissed me off, not gonna lie, since FF XV was both 4K and HDR when it first launched. Now, they have the entire KH series on PC and it's ALL in 4K, HDR AND a stable 60 FPS, and I would be willing to either upgrade whatever I need to in my current PC, or buy a whole new PC just for those games, AGAIN! Stupid, I know. LOL Hell, maybe I'll even get a whole new TV too while I'm at it. Maybe upgrade to 8K now?
However, if I need to get a new PC, I need to find one that has a Quad Core CPU of at LEAST 4.0 GHZ, if not more. Most of them I have seen I am not impressed with. All the other specs are great, but most CPU's are more like 3.3 GHZ something, which aint gonna cut it for MAME. Since MAME uses more CPU than it does GPU, then my CPU is the only reason why the 2 Gauntlet games run at full speed. I heard that those 2 games require at least 4.0 GHZ, which is why I chose an i7 over an i5 when I first got my current Gaming PC.
18 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:For emulation up to PS2 / Gamecube / Wii era your system is fine. I wouldn't be thinking about a new system or upgrading parts unless you decide that emulating PS3, Wii U and Switch are that important to you.
If I upgrade my current PC or get a new one to play the KH series in 4K and HDR, will that also be good enough specs for those 3 emulators as well? PS3, Wii U and Switch that is.
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Strange that it still plays every ROM for pretty much all consoles, handheld and even arcade at full speed with most shaders. It's only a couple I found that struggle. Hell, it even plays the Arcade Gauntlet Legends and Gauntlet Dark Legacy at full speed WITH most shaders, and that is supposed to be 2 games that needs a SUPER PC to play at full speed.
Is it worth getting a whole new PC or upgrading my current one just for a shader or 2 though?
How about newer consoles? Will my GPU work fine for them? Xbox, Wii U, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Xbox X, PS5 etc?
Would it still be good for new PC games like the entire KH bundle that was released on PC not too long ago, or Steam games? Or, GOG, etc?
How about my other specs of CPU, and RAM? Are they still good enough? Is there any other specs and components that matter that I didn't list that I should have?
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3 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
This is gonna come down to the GPU you are running and how powerful it is.
GPU: Nvidia GTX GeForce 750 TI from MSI.
CPU: Intel i7-4790K Quad Core 4.4 GHZ.
RAM: 8 GB of DDR3 from Dynet.
Not sure if any other specs or components matter. Can list them in another post if they do.
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20 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
and remove all the telemetry crap
Is it important to remove telemetry stuff? Will it make performance better on my PC? I don't care about privacy at all since I don't have anything to hide so they can look at whatever they want so long as it doesn't inconvenience me in anyway. In fact, How To Geek said they don't recommend turning off Telemetry on Windows 10 because it can permanently mess things up over time and that all of the programs out there are crap. AKA, Destroy Windows Spying, O&O Shutup 10, Spybot's Anti Beacon (especially now that it locks some of the telemetry blocking features behind a paywall, so screw them), etc.
20 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:Not important at all.
Wait, really? Not even if I had drivers from years ago? So it won't make any emulators or the games they play perform better or faster with the latest update? I ask because some shaders make RA slow and hiccup and I want it full speed and smooth at all times.
20 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:I just let Windows do it and if there are problems then I would go looking for a better driver but I haven't had an issue with a Windows driver for anything in a very long time.
So you don't even install the motherboard drivers on a new install? Such as INF Update Utility, Intel Management Engine Components, Intel Rapid Storage Technology, Intel HD Graphics Driver, Realtek HD Audio Driver, Realtek LAN Driver etc?
What about your GPU drivers? Do you let Windows install those too? You don't get the real drivers from Nvidia which comes with Nvidia Graphics Driver, Nvidia HD Audio Driver, and Nvidia Physx System Software, etc?
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41 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:
I can't tell you if you should or shouldn't keep it, I have never used it or anything like it personally.
That program I use is part of a larger program called IOBit's Advanced System Care. I saw it recommended in your how to make LB faster thread that also recommends the K-Lite Codec Pack and also Black Viper's Scripts to make Windows faster etc.
41 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:I just let Windows update when it wants to. It will push urgent security updates.
So, you just keep the Windows Update settings at default? You don't go out of your way to manually turn on all of the Recommended, Optional and Microsoft Product Updates? AKA, what I consider the "extras".
41 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:Updated drivers can make new games that just came out work better but it certainly won't make every game perform better and definitely won't fix any bugs with the games. The only bug fixes that would happen would be driver bugs. I keep my video drivers fairly up to date but I do not lose any sleep if I let them slide for a couple of months or so.
How do you update your graphics drivers? Do you just check the website every now and then or do you have GeForce Experience installed and running in the background that tells you when a new driver update is available?
Also, I don't actually play PC games at all. My PC is used exclusively for Emulation of consoles and handhelds and arcade. RA, LB etc. How important are GPU driver updates for Emulation?
45 minutes ago, Lordmonkus said:No.
Lastly, should I still install the manufacturer drivers for each component and USB device I plug in when I first get a new device or install Windows for the first time, or just let Windows take care of all of the drivers for everything from it's own Windows Update? AKA, Motherboard, Video Card, USB Wifi Adapter, USB Bluetooth Adapter, SSD, Gaming Mouse and Keyboard etc.
P.S. I just figured out how to individually quote parts of replies, comments and threads, so it should look better now rather than just use the " to quote things like I've been doing up until now.
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Should I get rid of that third party driver updating program then? The IOBit's Driver Booster?
For Windows, when you say keep it up to date, does that include all of the Optional, and Recommended updates as well along with the Other Product Updates from Microsoft Update or only the ones under the Important Section, AKA Security Updates?
Wait, I don't have to keep even Graphics Card Drivers up to date constantly? I thought each update made games performance, and FPS better each time. Also bug fixes. For some reason, graphics drivers are the thing everyone makes the biggest deal about.
What about Wifi drivers? If I update them all the time, will my internet go faster?
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9 hours ago, C-Beats said:
1. LaunchBox CAN extract archives with any number of files in them, but if the archive contains more than one file we just basically grab one at random to pass to the emulator before launch. A game is NEVER extracted to the games folder though, it's extracted to a temp folder that is destroyed when you close LaunchBox. Because of this you only really should be passing LaunchBox archives with a single file in it, because those are the only ones that are guaranteed to work 100% of the time. We do not EVER unarchive an archive file on import because we assume if you passed us them, you want to keep them in that format (or you'd just have extracted them before you imported them).
3. What you're asking is "Isn't it faster to unzip my file several times instead of once?" and the answer that will always be no. Truth of the matter is for ANY cart based system leaving the rom zipped typically is a waste of time since you're increasing the load times (since even if the emulator can read the encryption data without the need to completely unarchive it, it still has to perform the decryption in memory which of course takes extra CPU cycles thus increasing the load time). For most of the systems the space saved by todays standards is beyond minimal, and should LaunchBox or the emulator actually have to extract the archive to disk before running you're actually shortening the lifetime of your hard drive (though I admit not by a TON). The reason you typically find the files zipped is simply because it takes less net bandwidth which helps those will slow or metered net connections
4. There are several ways to extract an archive and several places to do it. Some emulators can read the archive (depending on the format) raw and extract them in memory, others require doing it to disk. When they do it to disk it will almost NEVER be to the same location the original archive was. They typically have their own temporary location they extract to (as does LaunchBox) that they can then clean up when the process is done. Extracting to the same folder the archive is in could lead to a whole lot of potential issues and so it just isn't done that way in most cases. Long story short, just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't happening.
5. Any update regardless of when or how you get it has the potential for danger. Much like any day you walk outside you could potentially be struck by lightening. You definitely want to vet your sources before downloading anything but if the source is trusted, then typically the updates are safe. Bleeding edge and beta updates to software have a much larger risk though typically not in the malware sense, but in that it potentially breaks or only half works on your installation. Most of the stories of old regarding people getting hacked by updates are because they fell for a phishing scam and "updated" their software with an infected file they didn't ACTUALLY get from the trusted source.
Other Random Questions:
Build bot is an automated tool used by software developers that automatically builds a release application when they push a code change. It just builds the app and then makes it available with the single press of a button instead of them manually deploying all 15+ versions of the thing when they update versions.When importing I believe there is a checkbox to download out of date cores. Fairly certain you manually have to tell us to grab the latest RetroArch proper though. I admit Jason did most of the work on that feature though so I could be wrong on this point.
Just since we are getting to more detailed responses before I answer the questions about updating RetroArch I want to make one thing clear. RetroArch is NOT an emulator. RetroArch is a compatibility layer to make emulation across the libretro cores consistent. The core itself is the emulator, because of this you can get away sometimes with updating a core and NOT RetroArch. This is not typically true of stand alone emulators. So you CAN have the most up to date emulator and settings for that emulator but still have an older version of RetroArch itself (assuming the emulator didn't NEED a newer feature set of RetroArch to make it happen, which typically it doesn't).
Regarding the whole don't update LB or any other software bit, essentially yes that what's he's saying. You don't HAVE to. You can stay on an older version if the newer version doesn't have a feature you want or doesn't correct anything you've found wrong in an older version. Some people would simply prefer not to bother as sometimes updating can be a pain, or introduce new issues where there currently are none. It's a decision everyone has to make for themselves, but both options are valid. I have the option to be on Windows 11 (an "upgrade" from 10) and I won't be making that leap until I absolutely need to, because frankly it can only cause MORE issues than I have now with Win10. The more experienced you get with the tech, the more the terms "upgrade" and "update" typically lose their allure, so you'll see a lot of people with more experience under their belt be far more selective of which update/upgrade they apply or not.
1. Oh, so that's all temporary? So, I need to continue doing it the way I've been doing it then? Namely, what I do is when I have a game that is a BIN and CUE file and especially with Track files, I will extract the archive, and then I will import ONLY the CUE file into LB, then I will manually add the other files into the Games Folder of LB afterwards, so that way LB remains clean and doesn't import unnecessary files into it's database, but the game will still play because the folder still has all of the required files. I hope that made sense. I was hoping that maybe LB made that more streamlined with the latest version and would literally do all of that for me. Just trying to be lazier than I already am! LUL
3. Wait, so the Emulators and RA temporarily extracts the files into a Temp folder every single time I load a zipped game into an Emulator and RA? So, if I manually unzipped the files myself, the games will actually load faster in RA and the Emulators? Huh, you know, the games load pretty much instantly for me anyway, probably because I have everything on an SSD, including Windows. So, not sure if I'd notice the speed improvement one way or the other. Then again, perhaps that is the reason why RA flickers to the Desktop for a few seconds when launching a game when transitioning from RA to the Core and game.
4. So, even for big files such as ISO's and other archives that only have a single file, even though LB CAN import them without a problem, should I STILL extract them manually beforehand? I know you were saying that cart games can be unzipped without taking HDD space, but how about larger files for newer consoles and CD based games? Should I extract them too? Will they also load faster if I extract them and load them directly?
5. "Most of the stories of old regarding people getting hacked by updates are because they fell for a phishing scam and "updated" their software with an infected file they didn't ACTUALLY get from the trusted source."
I actually wasn't referring to people who get fooled into downloading fake updates and getting their downloads from bad sources. I was referring to stories of people who supposedly got hacked and/or got viruses and malware simply because they DIDN'T update out of date programs at all and just left them out of date. Apparently, people who didn't always keep their Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader and Java up to date at all times were at risk for malicious exploits and back doors on their PC.
IDK. It just seems that not keeping every single thing up to date at all times is seen as the ultimate sin and foolishness by most PC people on the internet and forums for some reason.
6. How do I set up Build Bot to automatically check for and download RA updates for me in the background?
7. So if RA is just a front end and not the actual Emulator itself and you can run the latest Cores on an older RA, then what do you actually get for updating RA? Because everyone at RA seems adamant that we keep it up to date at all times, even going so far as to call people foolish for sticking to an older version, so IDK.
I have a few questions for @neil9000
When you said that we don't always have to keep everything up to date at all times, I have a few questions if that is alright.
1. How about Windows itself? Right now, I have it set up so Windows automatically downloads and installs all updates and then tells me when to restart. Should I change anything about that? Does Windows need to constantly be up to date at all times? Should I install only the important updates, or the recommended ones and optional ones as well? How about the check for other product updates from Microsoft Update? Should I have that checked or unchecked?
2. Do I need to constantly make sure the actual BIOS Firmware of my Motherboard itself is constantly up to date as well? Do I HAVE to flash the new version each time a new version is released?
3. How about Drivers? Everyone always seems to make a HUGE deal about how important it is to always keep them up to date. Do I need to? Right now, I have a third party program installed called IOBit's Driver Booster which checks for any driver updates, downloads, and installs them for me and then asks me to reboot.
4. Should I jump to Windows 11 yet, or wait? I'm not even sure my hardware is compatible with Windows 11. Do I need to run out and start upgrading stuff in my PC to make it compatible? Or, should I go the whole opposite of the extremes that some people are doing and just install Windows 7 and stay there forever? Considering that most people still regard it as the "Golden OS".
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39 minutes ago, neil9000 said:
1. That 7zip has always been there and is used for systems that have zipped roms but the emulator requires them unzipped, it is a option in the UI whether or not to extract zips before passing to the emulator, but as @Lordmonkus said, this will not work with zips that have more than one file in it, as Launchbox will not know which specific file the emulator needs. I am with Lordmunkus here in that the only roms i have zipped are MAME, cause they have to be, cart roms are not worth zipping as you are not saving any space, and for CD/DVD systems i use the compressed single file formats that can be loaded directly like CHD/CSO/GCZ etc.
2, Yes ECM is not a good format and outdated, as stated you will need to trawl the web for a program to "UNecm" them back to cue/bin files. As for 3DS that's up to you, but as you stated the encrypted ones will need unencrypting first to work in a emulator, encrypted roms are for actual hacked 3DS hardware.
3. Because why wait for something to unzip that doesn't need zipping in the first place? and the bigger the files get the longer they take to unzip, and as i already said, you really are not saving any space by keeping them zipped, maybe 200-300mb for a entire GBA romset for example. And yes there is zero difference between a zipped and unzipped rom.
4. I guess, but do you really want to wait 30 minutes while RPCS3 unzips a 50GB rom file before you can play it? i for sure dont, same with Wii U, so those formats use a folder style of of rom so that all files are readily available, just like they would be on the disc on real hardware.
5. Those programs are updated, but not for every release. You have to remember we do not make those programs, and bugs in them can easily happen, so why update for the sake of it when what you already have you know for sure works correctly? You are always taking a risk when updating software that a new bug creeps in that effects functionality, why risk a third party program breaking Launchbox/Bigbox when there is no reason to do so?
Your opinion, but i completely disagree. Windows itself, sure, but programs like VLC, DOSbox, scummVM do not have deep level access to your system like that and are not a risk or entry point for virus and malware.
Only true if you use the main website for the download rather than the buildbot, the buildbot allows you to just download the new .exe file and replace the one you have, sometimes you also need to add the redistributable file as well as new DLL files are added, Launchbox has no way to know if this file is needed for a release, so its better/easier to download the full package again.
You have a choice, manually updating from the website, or auto updating through Launchbox both have pro's and cons, which you use is completely up to you. Downloading the new .exe from the buildbot takes like 10 seconds, as does just clicking the button in Launchbox. Its also worth noting, like point 5, that you do not HAVE to update Retroarch at all, people are still happily using versions that are into the years old at this point, again, if it's not broke, don't fix it mentality.
1. LB doesn't have any way of actually extracting files during the actual import process to put it in the games folder? Like say you have a BIN and CUE file that is in a RAR format, and go to import that into LB, LB can't extract that RAR file for me, take all of the files within it and then add them to the LB Games Folder like it does for NON-Zipped/RAR'd files?
3. Actually, all the ROMS I get are already zipped, so wouldn't it be faster to just keep them zipped, and not bother unzipping them since they already come like that? I'm not zipping them myself. That's just how they are.
4. Wait, the emulators extract those files when I go to play them? Are you sure? Because, whenever I play a zipped game in RA for example, the games are STILL zipped when I am done playing. They're not extracted or anything. If I go into the folder right now where they are all stored, they are all zipped. So I guess RA must just play them directly without unpacking them first somehow?
5. So it's not automatically dangerous to not have every single program up to date? Cuz I heard of people getting hacked through outdated Adobe Flash, and Java and Adobe Reader back in the day etc.
"Only true if you use the main website for the download rather than the buildbot"
Can you explain that part please? What is a Build Bot and how do I use it? Is it some fan made, third party tool that automatically updates RA for me in the back ground without manual input?
"You have a choice, manually updating from the website, or auto updating through Launchbox both have pro's and cons,"
Wait, auto updating? Last time I checked, I had to manually click the update RA button in LB's menu. So, you're saying there is a way to have LB just automatically update RA for me in the background without manual input? If so, how do I set that up?
"Downloading the new .exe from the buildbot takes like 10 seconds, as does just clicking the button in Launchbox."
Huh, that's weird cuz for me, it seems slower to update RA through LB then just doing it directly via RA's site unless I'm just imagining it.
"Its also worth noting, like point 5, that you do not HAVE to update Retroarch at all, people are still happily using versions that are into the years old at this point, again, if it's not broke, don't fix it mentality."
That's not true when it comes to Emulators and Games though. You always want to be using the latest versions of Emulators for 4 reasons. Added Features and Support, Bug Fixes, Improved Speed/FPS, and increased Accuracy of original console emulation, and the only way to have access to the latest cores I believe is to also keep RA itself up to date.
I only use Cycle Accurate Emulators and so they need to be always up to date to make sure that my experience is as accurate, authentic, and true to the original hardware and games as possible.
I also want access to all the latest shaders, overlays and cheats etc.
This is also why you need to always be using the latest versions of PC Games, and Graphics Drivers from Nvidia or AMD as well.
" if it's not broke, don't fix it"
What about LB itself? Why even keep it up to date then? Wouldn't that same rule also apply there as well? Just shut off the auto updater on it and never ever update it?
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For number 1. I was referring to when it's like a PSONE ROM that is Bin and Cue files and a lot of them even have Track Files. I always Un-Zip them using 7-Zip, put them into a folder and then import the entire folder into LB and it works perfectly. Recently, I noticed that LB has it's own portable/stand alone version of 7-Zip in the Third Party folder, so then I started wondering if I was wasting my time doing extra unnecessary steps all this time, and started thinking that maybe LB would just automatically extract those files from the ZIP, 7Z, or RAR and put them into the Games folder for me during the import process. Not a temporary extract, but a permanent one that it would do as part of the import process when adding those games into LB for the first time. How about ISO games? Can those stay compressed, AKA 7Z, RAR etc?
For number 2. Are ROMS that have those weird compressions usually mean they are old dumps and bad? So, good ones don't have all of that extra stuff attached to them? What about 3DS? What's better? Get the encrypted ones and then decrypt them myself, or try and get ones that are already decrypted? And as for the non self bootable DC games, am I still stuck having to make them self bootable or use the UTopia Boot Disc, or are there DC ROMS out there that are already self bootable out of the gate?
For number 3. If it doesn't matter, then why do you bother extracting all of yours? Why not just leave them zipped? The saved space might be small for each individual ROM, but it builds up over time. Also, you're sure that I don't need to extract them for any sort of purist/originality/accuracy reasons?
For number 4. The Emu Devs COULD be making them all be compatible with compressed files if they really wanted to all this time? Then why don't they for newer games and CD based games?
For number 5. It's actually not about functioning correctly. It's about 2 things. One is that newer versions will always have new features that do cool things for you and will be faster. Like a newer version of DOSBox or ScummVM, as an example might play games with better performance and FPS than an outdated one. Two, and this is the most important one, when you leave any program out of date, no matter what it is, you put people's PC's at risk with potential security holes that can open up gateways, and back doors to malware, viruses, and hacks etc. Any program you have on your PC, regardless of whether it is installed, or a Zip file/Stand Alone/Portable MUST be kept up to date at all times to ensure that all vulnerabilities are patched out, or else get rid of it/don't install or download it.
For number 6. RA actually doesn't have it's own updater. It has updaters for the components, Assets, and Cores within RA, but not for the actual program itself. As it stands, the only way to check for updates and to update it if needed is to manually go to their website and go the downloads page to see what version they are at, and if you notice it is newer than the one you currently have, you have to download the entire program, and then you have to install it over the existing installation on your PC. That is why I was hoping that the RA Updater within LB would somehow be able to crawl their site to check for new versions against the currently installed one on your PC so I could check within LB and not have to go to their site each time.
Some Problems With Background Music
in Troubleshooting
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I don't see anything like that underneath the replies, but I can still comment.