[Excluding ".nkit" from Game Title during import (Wii/GCZ)]

2 minutes ago, C-Beats said:

Please do your research before making baseless assumptions, this isn't a personal preference but one of the emulator in question. RVZ is the format recommended by the developers of the emulator in question. You can read more here regarding the problems NKIT format has.

Downloading ROMs you do not physically own is illegal and not encouraged here on these forums.

Again, not the best format for that platform. Preferred format for Wii titles is WBFS files. See linked article for similar reasons as to avoid NKIT.

Not implying you can't do what you want within your own collection, only informing the community that moving forward your collection should ideally not be in that format according to the developers of that emulator for the reasons noted in the linked article.

Yes, I understand your concern better now. It was terse before so I assumed you were upset or being catty.

I often have niche or rare problems - and greatly appreciate it when strangers post solutions...knowing it won't get them any upvotes etc. 

This is why I thought I should post what worked for me. Maybe someone is stuck and this solution is a temporary fix till budget/time allows them your obviously ideal solution.

 

[Excluding ".nkit" from Game Title during import (Wii/GCZ)]

13 minutes ago, C-Beats said:

This thread is largely pointless at this point. Your GameCube backups should be in RVZ format anymore.

Please do not confuse your personal preferences or situations with others.

I downloaded a collection of Wii ROMs containing thousands of games. All of them happen to be in Nkit format.

I neither have the time nor disk space required to convert/re-download them all to RVZ format. 

And based on my tests, so far all Wii Nkit games are working perfectly in latest Dolphin. 

Hence, it would be a situation where a rare game might have problems. 

So having Nkit in the title helps me remember this issue (I can be forgetful after time elapses).

Perhaps someone else might benefit, so I posted what worked for me. 

There's no harm or annoyance in such a thing.

[Excluding ".nkit" from Game Title during import (Wii/GCZ)]

On 4/14/2024 at 1:42 AM, FamShoppa said:

But what if you need the "nkit" in the file name?

Is there a way to include it without causing the metadata scraping to fail (maybe putting it in brackets or other special wrappers)?

I'm just setting up Wii games for the first time...and have a large number of games with ".nkit.iso" in the file names. Then I have others that are normal ".iso" files.

I'd like to keep the Nkit games in their compressed formats for the space savings. But I don't know which specific games would cause problems (that Dolphin emulator warns might happen).

It would be too confusing if I get an Nkit-realted error, but the file name only has ISO.

The solution to this problem...

1) Because ".nkit.iso" causes LaunchBox media scan to fail...batch rename the ROM's to "(nkit).iso".

2) To batch rename lots of ROM's in Windows, you can use Den4b Renamer. Drag your files to the rename list. Create a "Replace" rule. Set "Find = .nkit" and "Replace = (nkit)". Resulting files will be something like "Game Title (nkit).iso".

3) If you do this, then LaunchBox scans the titles properly - and you get "(nkit)" indicator in the title of the game. This way if Dolphin emulator has a problem loading the game - you easily know nkit could be a problem. Then either convert it or get a new ROM in another format.

[Excluding ".nkit" from Game Title during import (Wii/GCZ)]

On 7/30/2020 at 4:08 PM, DOS76 said:

here is the fast thing you can do to fix the issue.

1 remove the game from Launchbox

2 download bulk rename utility

3 edit out all the .nkit from the file name in one quick go using the rename tool

4 reimport renamed games to LB

In BRU you will use the replace field you will type ,nkit in there (leaving the with field blank) and then use ctrl+a to select all the game then run the process.

But what if you need the "nkit" in the file name?

Is there a way to include it without causing the metadata scraping to fail (maybe putting it in brackets or other special wrappers)?

I'm just setting up Wii games for the first time...and have a large number of games with ".nkit.iso" in the file names. Then I have others that are normal ".iso" files.

I'd like to keep the Nkit games in their compressed formats for the space savings. But I don't know which specific games would cause problems (that Dolphin emulator warns might happen).

It would be too confusing if I get an Nkit-realted error, but the file name only has ISO.

[[Solved] Arcade Stick responds in Windows & Big Box - but not RetroArch?]

An update to the problem above...

The MayFair unit has a switch called "LS DP RS" which controls the joystick's mode.

When originally connecting to PC, the switch was on the default "LS".

I disconnected the arcade stick from USB, switched the mode to "DP" (to represent Direction Pad)...then plugged it back in.

Now RetroArch responds to the buttons and joystick - both in the settings menu and game. I can also change the button associations.

I'm a noob so I don't even know what made it actually work. Just unplugging and replugging could have done it, for all I know! Just wanted to leave this here in case anyone else runs into this problem.

[[Solved] Arcade Stick responds in Windows & Big Box - but not RetroArch?]

I wanted to use my new arcade stick for playing LaunchBox/RetroArch games from consoles (like NES, SNES, Genesis, Saturn, etc.). But despite the arcade stick being detected and working in Big Box...there is no response after games are launched in RetroArch (either within the games, or in the pause menu).

I'm connecting a MayFlash F500 Elite arcade stick to my Windows 10 PC in "xinput" mode:
https://www.mayflash.com/product/1.html

In Windows "joy.cpl" the controller seems to be detected properly. In the related 'Properties' menu, the joystick and buttons seem to be responsive.

In Big Box, I am able to use the joystick to navigate the menu and press buttons to launch games or go back.

The problem is RetroArch. I cannot control to game or navigate the menu.

I went into RetroArch to set the "Port 1 Controls" option.
The 'Device Index' option sees my arcade stick and has it selected.

But the problem is that I can't set any of the button or direction options that are below.
If I try to set any "D Pad" keys, they don't accept my joystick clicks.
If I try to set any of the "A, B, X, Y, etc." keys, they don't accept my button clicks.

Can anyone help me?
I searched online and asked ChatGPT but could get no proper answer.

[If I'm tweaking the settings of an existing RetroArch shader preset, is there a way I can use split-screen to compare before/after?]

I'm using Duimon's Mega Bezel shaders, which have lots of options you can tweak in the shader settings.

Currently, I'm having to tweak a setting...pause...then undo the setting to get a sense of the difference. This is manually very difficult to do constantly...and sometimes changes are too subtle to notice that way.

I was hoping RetroArch would have some split-screen option where it would show the shaders from a certain default state on one side...then your most recent changes on the other.

I asked ChatGPT about this, and it pointed me to the "Shader Passes" section...but none of its instructions made any sense. Please wonderful LaunchBox experts and humans...help me!

 

[Is there a way to make the full titles of games (and region info) show in LaunchBox?]

I'm using the 'Big Details' theme in LaunchBox for management of my games.
But the titles are always getting cut off (see attached image).
I also have the option "Versions" also enabled...and I also want to be able to see that.

Is there any way I can prevent the text from being hidden?

 

[What does it mean when an emulated game has "aftermarket" in the title?]

I was going through this pack of emulated games I downloaded. The well known games have standard titles. But then I notice unfamiliar games with words like "homebrew", "demo", and "aftermarket" in their titles.

I guess "homebrew" and "demo" are kind of obvious in their meaning.
But I'm not sure what games labelled "aftermarket" mean.

Would appreciate any clarification!

[Setting up stand-alone Dolphin for the first time with LaunchBox, I have questions and am soliciting tweaks/settings...]

EDIT/UPDATE: After tinkering and researching, I found out you do have to configure the controllers in Dolphin.

At first, it felt overwhelming because I've never done it before - and I have no idea what a GameCube controller looks like.

So this reference image really helped explain what Dolphin was referring to in those various controller options:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GCController_Layout.svg

I also saved separate profiles for both my PS4 and Shield controllers. There was a slight difference between the two, as they have different mappings for the start button. The profiles should also help me apply the mappings quickly, in case the wiring or device detection changes in the future.  

==========

PAST POST:

Hey guys, another question...do I have to setup my controller manually in Dolphin - or does it do it automatically?

For example, I have two controllers plugged into my PC right now.
One is a PS4 controller that's going through the software "DS4Windows" to make it "xinput".
The other controller is an Nvidia Shield controller that's "xinput" by default.

Both controllers have similar layouts...only difference is that the PS4 controller has those extra "share" and "options" buttons at the top - whereas Nvidia Shield controller just has that logo-button in the middle.

[Setting up stand-alone Dolphin for the first time with LaunchBox, I have questions and am soliciting tweaks/settings...]

Hey guys, I'm confused about a certain setting within Dolphin: "Graphics > General > Aspect Ratio"

By default, it's set to "Auto - Uses the native aspect ratio".

I read online that most GameCube games were 4:3 aspect ratio, while some were "16:9".

Does the auto setting mean it uses the "native aspect ratio" of the game...or what my monitor is set to?
Basically, I don't want 4:3 games awkwardly stretched out (and vice versa, 16:9 games compressed if I change the setting to force 4:3).
So I'm wondering if this setting needs to be adjusted.

 

 

[Setting up stand-alone Dolphin for the first time with LaunchBox, I have questions and am soliciting tweaks/settings...]

8 minutes ago, C-Beats said:

Command line is the same regardless of your settings so the default values we prepopulate should work fine to open your games regardless of what in-app settings to change.
 

Oh! When I added Dolphin to LaunchBox...I noticed a command-line column that was populated with some letters. I guess that's what you're referring to. Okay that's very cool it works so easily!

 

2 minutes ago, C-Beats said:

Really ALL your games should be running through the standalone. The core is pretty far behind and doesn't run anywhere close to what standalone does....

People have told me this, and I certainly understand the point. But I've played like a dozen GameCube games so far...and never experienced any performance issues. In terms of picture quality, I use Duimon's Bezels and and tweak things like blur/sharpness/colors...and again, I think it looks pretty amazing.

But as you said, it's far behind - and that's why I'm using Dolphin right now for the first time. Retroarch hasn't solved bugs that Dolphin has - in my case, it was the game 'Happy Feet'.

Anyways, I'm going to research what you said about "upscale hacks". If I can see a real visual difference, that'll certainly motivate me to sacrifice Duimon's retroarch bezels and get everything running on Dolphin.

Thanks for your answers!

[Setting up stand-alone Dolphin for the first time with LaunchBox, I have questions and am soliciting tweaks/settings...]

I'm kind of a noob at LaunchBox.
I'm trying to set it up so that my GameCube section uses RetroArch for some games (I know it's outdated, but I want to take advantage of its cool bezels)...but also stand-alone Dolphin emulator for other games (ones that require bug fixes the latest Dolphin has).

So far...

• I've installed stand-alone Dolphin emulator. I'm not sure this is relevant, but my arcade setup is all "portable". So based on what I read online, I added a "portable.txt" file to my Dolphin program folder. Hope that doesn't interfere with LaunchBox.
• I've gone into LaunchBox and used the 'Add Emulator' option to add "Dolphin"...and I also pointed it to my custom Dolphin path.

Now I'm kind of blanking out, and I have some questions...
If experienced users could answer any of them, I'd greatly appreciate it:

1) Are there any important settings I need to apply within Dolphin itself (to make sure it plays nice with LaunchBox)?

2) Are there any personal settings/tweaks you recommend for Dolphin (related to performance, quality, etc.)?

3) Right now, all my GameCube games launch with RetroArch by default...how can I change certain games to launch with Dolphin?

System specs
LaunchBox paid version on PC
OS: Windows 10 x64
GPU: Nvidia 1660 TI
CPU: Intel Core I7-4790K 4 GHZ
RAM: 31.95 GB
Monitor: 1080p

[A game that's supposed to be fixed on Dolphin Emulator won't start]

2 minutes ago, neil9000 said:

You say this is a new fix to dolphin, but you are not using dolphin, you are using retoarch with the dolphin core, these are not the same things, the core is very far behind the standalone version of dolphin. We do not recommend the dolphin retroarch core to anyone, it is simply nowhere near as good or up to date. So it sounds like you want to use a new fix in a old emulator it seems, thats not going to work if the emulator you are using is old and does not contain the fix you need.

Oh! Okay, I'm a noob and only have basic knowledge. I assumed both the RetroArch-Dolphin and standalone-Dolphin were basically the same (hence, would have the same bug fixes).

But I understand now what you're saying.

I guess first I'll try going to RetroArch github and reporting this bug. If I get no response, then I'll switch to standalone Dolphin.

I just really love my Bezel setup (I think only available via RetroArch), and was hoping I wouldn't have to give it up lol!

[A game that's supposed to be fixed on Dolphin Emulator won't start]

2 hours ago, neil9000 said:

Why not? A pool of two isnt a great way to state that as a fact, it is highly likely it is your rom, or rom format that is the issue. My rom is named "Happy Feet (USA) (En,Fr).rvz" and loads up just fine, no issues at all.

 

Hi @neil9000, my copy of the game is the same as yours (see highlighted):

Are you using LaunchBox+RetroArch to load the game?

I don't think the issue is the download source. My sources are a popular torrent collection where the uploader claims to have tested these before inclusion - and the popular repository everyone uses. I don't use any exotic download method, just default saves.

What makes me most confident is that my situation perfectly resembles the reported bug (described in the earlier link). The game loads, then only freezes when you have to 'Press any button" to start. This happens with both the "RVZ" and "CISO" copies.

===============

Hi @Lordmonkus, I'd like to save changing emulators as a last resort - because I love using Duimon's Mega Bezels. I don't think those are available without RetroArch.

[A game that's supposed to be fixed on Dolphin Emulator won't start]

I can't edit the above post, so I just wanted to add an update. I downloaded an alternate copy of the game via a popular source. This is "Happy Feet (USA) (En,Fr).ciso" and "1.33 GB". Again, it produces the same problem. 

So this is not a problem of the game file itself being bad. 

[A game that's supposed to be fixed on Dolphin Emulator won't start]

I'm trying to launch the GameCube version of 'Happy Feet' via LaunchBox+RetroArch. It loads fine during the introductory screens. But then it says 'Press any key to continue' - and when you do, it just freezes.

I searched online and came across these two articles that explain it used to be an issue - but was subsequently fixed:
Happy Feet (GC) - Dolphin Emulator Wiki (dolphin-emu.org)
Dolphin Emulator - Dolphin Progress Report: June and July 2021 (dolphin-emu.org)
Relevant information:
- I've tried over 20 GameCube games in LaunchBox+RetroArch, and none have given me any errors
- Windows 10 x64 environment
- Latest updates of stable LaunchBox and RetroArch.
- No exotic customizations in RetroArch - except for "Mega Bezels" and "Vulkan Driver" enabled.
- My RetroArch "Dolphin" core settings are default (I know very little about emulators, so don't mess around there).
- My copy is "Happy Feet (USA) (En,Fr).rvz" and sized at "1.17 GB".

I'm not sure where to ask for help, so I figured I'd start here in case someone could point me in the right direction.
I can also provide any screenshots or files needed for troubleshooting.

[Can "symlinks" work in a portable manner? Related to LaunchBox and ExoDos]

2 hours ago, faeran said:

Could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure your portable drive just needs to be formatted in a file system that supports symlinks, so something like NTFS. Then it should work just fine.

Yes, it is an NTFS drive. And it would only connect to other Windows laptops/PC's.

I've called a friend to bring his laptop over this weekend.
I guess the only way to be sure is test it out on another device.

I will report back with my experience, for the sake of any other potential users who have a similar question.

 

[Can "symlinks" work in a portable manner? Related to LaunchBox and ExoDos]

This is my first time attempting to install ExoDos and integrating it with LaunchBox.

So far, I've setup everything (LaunchBox, RetroArch, etc.) in a portable manner on a portable drive.
I was hoping to do the same with ExoDos.

However I have a slight confusion which stems from this note in the ExoDos instruction manual (see "symlinks" note):

I want to keep the ExoDos content (the "exo" folder mentioned above) outside of the LaunchBox program folder (but still on the same portable drive).

So I would use a Windows software like "Link Shell Extension" to create a symlink to the "exo" folder.

However, would such a symlink work in a portable context?
If I connected my portable drive to another computer (without "Link Shell Extension" present)...would LaunchBox still be able to utilize that symlink?   

   

[What does "Re-1" mean in a game title?]

I'm trying to learn different things in LaunchBox. To that end I was looking to import my first multi-disc game.
So I randomly chose the 3Do console, which had a game with the discs named this way:
BrainDead 13 (USA) (Disc 1).zip
BrainDead 13 (USA) (Disc 1) (RE-1).zip
BrainDead 13 (USA) (Disc 2).zip

Inside those archives are Bin/Cue files (that have the same names as the archives).

I'm most confused by the "(RE-1)" titled disc.
Should I treat it as part of a set?
Is it a unique thing?

[Does a ROM title with "(Rev 1)" mean that it's newer?]

I have two different copies of the same game.
One only has "(USA)" in the title.
While the other has "(USA) (Rev 1)".

I want to combine these in LaunchBox, but want the "newer" version as the default.

Which should I choose?

[Does LaunchBox consider TurboGrafx-16 and TurboGrafx-CD different consoles?]

I'm about to organize these games into proper folders for LaunchBox import...but am confused. On the GameTechWiki, the article seems to treat them as a single console.

But when I look at the games, they're radically different in size. The "16" ones are very small files, while the "CD" ones are larger in size. Plus they seem to have different titles. 

So how would LaunchBox treat them? As a single console - or two different ones?

[How can I disable infinite/endless scrolling in themes?]

After much research this morning, I've learned a few things.

I edited the topic with the correct terminology: "infinite scrolling".
I think Kodi also has such a feature, and it can be disabled easily via their settings.

Unfortunately, from my research on LaunchBox - it cannot be disabled via settings.
The logic provided is that most users will have huge game libraries, so there's no motivation to accommodate other use-cases via a setting:

 

However, if one were familiar with skin-editing, there seems to be a way to do it via coding.
But it doesn't look to be a simple task...and probably requires some experimentation:

As a noob, I think I will test out the advice in one of the comments linked above...and switch the views to avoid "clear logo" views that seem to come with this "infinite scrolling" feature.

[First time importing games, got a problem and a question...]

9 hours ago, Retro808 said:

Usually something like this happens when there is conflicting xaml files in the \Data\Platform folder. Look in your \Data\Platforms folder are there any platform xaml files in there that may be named Nintendo Entertainment System_Backup.xaml or Nintendo Entertainment System_Copy.xaml?

Currently there is not. Could be because my non-sensical triggering of the metadata screen for that game solved any underlying problem.

But I will keep this tip in mind if I see the problem again.

Thanks fo the tip!

[First time importing games, got a problem and a question...]

3 hours ago, FamShoppa said:

Hi sorry to keep bothering you guys, but I just noticed another weird buggy behavior.

For some reason, one particular game disappears from LaunchBox every time I restart it - or launch Big Box.

I scanned and added the following game ("PaperBoy"):
A:\DataBase\Programs\-- Arcade --\[Games]\Nintendo Entertainment System\PaperBoy [NES-PY-USA]\PaperBoy [NES-PY-USA].nes

It seems to be added normally. It's got all the images and metadata.

But again, as soon as I exit LaunchBox and restart it - or launch Big Box...this particular game disappears from LaunchBox.

Any possible reason this could be happening?

 

So I had to keep adding this game multiple times...and it would keep disappearing after restarts.

But I've finally gotten it to stay...and I'm not why this worked.
After adding the game, I right clicked it and pressed "Edit Metadata".
I didn't really do anything on the pop-up, but after I pressed "OK" to close the window...it essentially solved the problem.

Now the game does not disappear when closing LaunchBox or initiating Big Box.

Just thought I'd mention for any fellow noob who has this problem.