PadeMoNiuM Prods

Yes, feel free to share your solution; I'll summarize all the different solutions proposed at the top of the post. thank !

@TsikOnce again, I also think the solution is brilliant, but for me, the risk is still enormous compared to the hidden file method where you don't touch or move anything. Thanks for sharing! I don't recall seeing empty arcade folders on consoles either.👀🤷‍♂️ That's the case today, here's my NES image folder This is what happens when a system is active and regularly used; the resolution is too small to display all the folders... A perfectionist's nightmare, lol.😂

Your idea is very good in principle, clearly. I totally understand the logic, and on paper it does sound cleaner. The problem is that, with LaunchBox, I see it a bit like a time bomb. 👀😂Those folders may be empty today, but nothing says they won’t be used later by an import, a media scan, an update, or some internal BigBox/LaunchBox function. If LaunchBox / BigBox automatically recreates them because they match expected media categories, then you’ll basically be fighting against the software. And if you replace them with symbolic links, protected folders, or some system-level workaround, it may work… until the day an update, a theme export, a media scan, or an import decides to write something inside them. And at that point, you’re basically bringing out the bazooka to kill a fly.^^ So I’d rather avoid deleting, blocking, or redirecting a folder structure that the software seems to expect. It’s not really about disk space, because an empty folder barely takes any. It’s mostly about readability.Setting those folders as hidden feels like the safest compromise to me: the structure stays intact, LaunchBox can keep working normally, and visually those folders no longer clutter the media directories. It’s less radical, but much safer in the long run.

I understand, and that makes sense. To be honest, I wasn’t even aware that these discussions and voting guidelines were already posted there. That might be part of the issue not everyone has visibility on it.Maybe it could be highlighted a bit more, or shared more widely (for example on social media or in a more visible place reddit etc), so more contributors can actually see it and follow the same direction. I’m just sharing my perspective here. I don’t have visibility on everything that’s being done behind the scenes, and I’m not questioning the work that’s already been put in. I’m just trying to contribute and help things move forward in a smoother and faster way.

I understand your point about consistency, and I actually agree that we need clear and unified rules. That’s exactly the issue here: right now, things are not clearly defined, so people interpret them differently.But constantly reverting submissions and reposting the same content over and over again, especially when others disagree, just creates confusion and slows everything down. In the long run, it does not really help the database. It mostly creates noise and frustration. Personally, if it were up to me, I would honestly use AI to help clean up and sort all of this much faster. (AI critics are going to fall off their chairs😂.)Of course, I would still review the results afterward, make a proper report, and check for possible mistakes, but it would save a huge amount of time. That is one possible solution. We also have to move with the times. Another solution would be to create a poll on the forum and ask the community what they think. A kind of referendum. That would be a fair way to establish clear rules that everyone agrees on.Beyond that, I think we could go even further by creating a contribution system with real incentives. The more people contribute, the more they unlock, whether that means access to exclusive or premium content from dedicated creators, more visibility, or even the occasional license reward for top contributors. Right now, the community feels very individualistic. There are a lot of talented people doing great work, but mostly on their own. That feels like a missed opportunity. If people worked more collectively, things would move faster, more ideas would emerge, and it would naturally encourage more people to create and get involved. In the end, what we need is clear rules instead of personal interpretations, fewer reuploads and more consistency, better tools to speed up sorting and cleanup, community votes on unclear cases, and real incentives for contributors. it might just be wishful thinking, and I know it may never happen, but at least I’ve shared my ideas. Who knows, maybe a few seeds will grow.😁

I’ve actually noticed the same thing on my side, not just with SNES but across other platforms as well. At first I thought it was just a few isolated cases, but after a while you realize it’s pretty consistent.That said, I think it’s important to keep in mind that this is a massive amount of work for the moderators and contributors. Organizing all these assets isn’t easy at all, especially when you start dealing with high-quality recreations that are almost indistinguishable from the originals.And I think that’s really where the issue comes from. Some of these “fanart” carts or covers are so close to the real thing that it becomes tricky to classify them properly. Technically they’re not original scans, but visually they’re sometimes just as good or even cleaner. Maybe what’s missing is a clearer threshold or guideline. Like, if a recreation reaches a certain level of accuracy and quality, it could be considered equivalent to an official asset and placed in the standard categories (like “Carts - Front”), instead of being pushed into fanart.It’s definitely not a perfect system right now, but I don’t think it’s intentional either — more like the side effect of how complex and subjective this kind of classification can be.

Yes, you can control it, but not really in a dynamic per-theme or per-system way from within Big Box itself. Basically, Big Box can pull from two different video sources: snap videos and theme videos. Since those are stored in separate folders, one workaround is simply to remove or move the snap videos if you only want the theme videos to appear. In that case, Big Box will only use the videos from the Theme Videos folder. You can also change the video priority in LaunchBox itself, in the video options, and choose whether snaps or theme videos should take priority. The catch is that this setting is global, so it affects everything rather than one specific system or theme. If needed, you can also go more granular on an individual basis through Edit Media. In the video section, you can choose which video is used for a specific game and adjust the order there. So in short, yes, there are a few ways to manage it: globally through the video priority setting, manually by organizing the snap/theme video folders, or individually through Edit Media.

@KRI$85I came across an article by Faeran. I thought it might be useful to you. It made me think back to our little conversation. Take care. https://feedback.launchbox.gg/en/help/articles/4883944-music-in-launchbox-and-big-box

How do you get rid of those annoying folders in LaunchBox? Have you ever wondered about that?☝️😅 In the Images folder, a lot of folders keep appearing. You can delete them, you can even uncheck them in the options, but they keep coming back anyway. The thing is, LaunchBox has a bit of an archivist obsession: it automatically recreates the standard image folders whenever it needs them. As soon as a game is scanned, a theme checks for media, or a scraper looks for a specific image type, LaunchBox recreates the missing folders inside LaunchBox\Images. The result is simple: you delete them, and a few minutes later they reappear. Pretty annoying. But there are three things to understand. First, unchecking media types in the options does not prevent the folders from being created. That option only prevents media from being downloaded. LaunchBox still keeps the folder structure ready just in case. Second, some themes or Big Box views can trigger the recreation. If a view looks for something like Steam Banner or Background, LaunchBox will recreate the folder to check whether images exist there. Third, the most effective solution is often to simply leave the folders but hide them. There are two easy ways to do this. Right-click the folder, open Properties, and set it as Hidden. The folders will still exist, but you won’t see them anymore. Another option is to place a small .gitkeep or .ignore file to keep things visually clean. Many LaunchBox theme creators do this because fighting the automatic recreation of folders is almost impossible. The only way to really limit the proliferation is to check two places. In Options → Media, disable everything related to Steam, Fanart, and similar media sources. And in Options → Scrape / Metadata, disable any providers you don’t actually use. Even then, LaunchBox will still keep its basic image folder structure. From a software design perspective, the logic is actually quite interesting. The program prefers to recreate an empty folder rather than risk breaking a view or a media load. It’s a very “digital museum” philosophy. The structure always exists, even if the display case is empty. I hope this helps you understand why it happens.😉

Sorry about that, I completely forgot /my bad😅 . I was looking through the website files here. Which view is this exactly? I think I’ll send you a few screenshots to explain.Could you send me some screenshots of the elements you want to change? Just circle them roughly in Paint or something. Then I’ll explain how to do it. I’ll also send you a few screenshots on my side it’ll be much easier, because explaining it only in text might make some of the details unclear.

Alright, I’ll take a look at it during the day. The easiest thing will probably be for me to just send you the animation directly. I’m not sure yet how I’ll send it, but I’ll find a way. I’ll simply send you the animation, you’ll just have to copy and paste it, and then you can set the timing however you want. I’ll show you how to do it.