AstroBob

With the release of LaunchBox 13.21, we’ve officially switched our default video playback engine to Windows Media Player (Legacy) and are deprecating VLC. This change should improve stability and compatibility going forward, but if you’re experiencing black screen issues or missing playback, we’ve put together a detailed support article to help you out: 👉 Read the full article here Feel free to use this thread for any questions, feedback, or discussion!

Hi Folks, Apologies for the confusion regarding this issue. I'd jumped the gun here announcing that this was fixed, as we'd addressed part of the issue in an earlier beta, but it is still affecting some users. For full details on the issue, you can follow our known issue report for this over on our bug tracking board: Out of Memory Error When Waking from Sleep I'll be updating that report with updates, but have also taken note of these posts to update once we have a fix in place. Thanks for bearing with us there, and apologies for any confusion caused there.

Hi there, Apologies for the confusion regarding this issue. I can confirm it is indeed present in 13.21 (I'd jumped the gun a bit there as we'd addressed part of the issue in an earlier beta), but it is still affecting some users. For full details on the issue, you can follow our known issue report for this over on our bug tracking board: Out of Memory Error When Waking from Sleep Thanks for bearing with us here, we hope to have this nailed down soon, so please follow the post for updates on it's progress. Cheers,

Big Box comes pre-installed alongside LaunchBox, there is a BigBox.exe application in the same directory as the LaunchBox application. As long as your license file is in the root of this directory, you should be good to go. If you’re still seeing the trial screen when Launching Big Box, then it means you’re license isn’t installed properly. You can check this in the LaunchBox app in the top right it will either say free version or licensed to your name. Let us know how you get on. Cheers,

Hey @Glauco Fox So sorry for the delayed reply here—I’d been meaning to reach out, especially since your proposal sparked a lot of internal discussion on our end. First off, thank you for the incredible thought and effort that went into structuring this. We completely agree that, over time, the menus have become a bit unruly, with overlapping items and a structure that doesn’t fully reflect all the new features we’ve added. UI changes are always tricky, and something like this would likely need to be tackled all at once—better to rip the bandage off than slowly shift things around and cause ongoing confusion. That said, while we don’t have any immediate plans in this area, I’d hate for your proposal to go to waste. So, I’ve gone ahead and fleshed out a request on our new feature request forum, using your examples as inspiration. You can view the request below: Reorganize Tools Menu for Improved Usability It’d be great if you could give it an upvote, and feel free to add any additional use cases or suggestions there too! Hopefully the community can chime in too Thanks again for the incredible write-up!

Hi there, Please see our article here for issues on missing WMP installs: 🔗 https://feedback.launchbox.gg/help/articles/3227530-understanding-video-playback-for-launchbox-and-big-box-in-1321#p4x8qtkcy4b Let us know if one of those methods isn't able to get WMP installed for you and we can debug further. Cheers,

Hi there, Just to close the loop on this, as of 13.21 this should now be addressed, since dynamic playlists in Big Box now update instantly without caching, so changes are reflected during the same session. Let me know if you're still seeing this issue, and thanks for bearing with us while we got that sorted. Cheers,

Hi there, Thanks for the question! A playlist can have its own sort order that’s specific to that playlist. Simply right-click the playlist and select Edit. You’ll then see an option for Sort Games By—this setting applies only to that particular playlist. Just a heads-up: this applies to the playlist view in both LaunchBox and Big Box (you can’t set them separately). Hope that helps! Feel free to give me a shout if you have any other questions. Cheers,

HI Folks, With the release of 13.21, we're considering these specific issues (Big Box freezing relating to the video playback engine) resolved. Please check out the details on our known issue report for more info. For anyone who is still experiencing freezing, as long as you are NOT using VLC as the playback engine, then this is likely a different issue, and we highly recommend submitting a new post so we can diagnose things separately. Thanks for bearing with us while we got things sorted out here. Give me a shout if anyone has any questions. Cheers,

HI Folks, With the release of 13.21, we're considering these specific issues (Big Box freezing relating to the video playback engine) resolved. Please check out the details on our known issue report for more details. For anyone who is still experiencing freezing, as long as you are NOT using VLC as the playback engine, then this is likely a different issue, and we highly recommend submitting a new post so we can diagnose things separately. Thanks for bearing with us while we got things sorted out here. Give me a shout if anyone has any questions. Cheers,

Hi Folks, Just updating you that, as of Android 1.18 beta-4 and the new implementation of scoped storage, Duckstation "should" now be working correctly. For those interested, you can check out the beta below, We'd love to hear if things are working as expected for you. Cheers,

Version 13.21 - Released April 24th 2025 Release Summary Full Changelog: https://www.launchbox-app.com/about/changelog New Features: New Premium Feature: A new section has been introduced under Tools > Manage > LaunchBox Themes & Media, providing users with the ability to browse and download Media Packs. These growing list of packs, created by both the LaunchBox team and the community, include Platform Clear Logos, Badges, Platform Icons, and Controller Input Graphics Packs. The packs are non-destructive, allowing users to seamlessly switch between them on the fly, and can be applied to both LaunchBox and Big Box independently. New packs will be regularly added, and applying or swapping between them is now just a simple click away. New Feature: Content Creators now have the ability to upload Media Packs for community access through the following page: https://www.launchbox-app.com/media New Feature: A new Xemu Integration Plugin has been added, allowing users to download and set up the Xemu emulator directly from LaunchBox New Feature: The Big Box Default theme now dynamically displays Controller Input graphics based on the currently selected media pack Improvements: MAME Gambling games are now marked as Casino games allowing you to easily filter them out during imports I Star Rating functionality has been updated so that each star rating grouping uses the raw value instead of massaged values. For example 3.8 star games now appear in the 3 star grouping instead of 4 star as they did previously The Star Rating Arrange By functionality now sorts games by star rating within each grouping MAME High Score logic is now more robust, and the following games are now working thanks to the hard work of our community: Batsugun, Bubble Bobble, Dig Dug, Mushihime-Sama Futari Black Label - Another Ver, Viper Phase 1 Enhanced installer/updater to install K-Lite Codec Pack Basic, streamline runtime and DirectX checks, and enable/install Windows Media Player when needed Fixed: The freezing issue experienced by some users in Big Box has been resolved The false out-of-memory error that appeared when a computer awoke from sleep has been addressed The minimize/maximize game launch feature now functions correctly with additional applications Game files containing more than one space in a row now launch as expected The Nintendo 64DD now displays the required dependency files for supported RetroArch cores Long-term stability in Big Box has been improved Searching for a game while in certain areas of Big Box would display no results Playlists with no games were incorrectly appearing in the root of the Platform Categories view Corrupted images cause fewer issues when loading in both LaunchBox and Big Box Several improvements regarding file paths when launching from or pointing to a network location Several stability improvements for Big Box to stop the application from freezing after running for extended periods The Region field no longer clears when selecting a new Games Database entry in the Add/Edit Game window Dynamic playlists in Big Box now update instantly without caching, so changes are reflected during the same session Bezels for vertical MAME games were applying a horizontal layout file

Hi there, thanks for the report here. If you're certain that the email you've entered is the one associated with your license, then please reach out to support@unbrokensoftware.com and let them know your name & email address. They'll be able to cross-check the system to confirm and get your license re-sent if you need it. Cheers,

Thanks for the report here, it does look like our scheduled task to build new copies of the local metadata file turned itself off last week. I'm not 100% sure when this game was added, but this should be fixed now and you should be able to run a Tools > Downloads > Force Update Games Database Metadata... , then it should appear in your search. Let me know if that isn't the case, and apologies for the issues there. Cheers,

Hi Folks, I just wanted to update this thread that as of LaunchBox for Android 1.18 beta-4, due to the additions around scoped storage, Duckstation should now be working correctly. Feel free to update to the latest beta to give this a go: Thanks for bearing with us there while we got that implemented. Scoped storage has been an ongoing initiative, so do let us know if this still isn't working for you. Cheers,

I really like what you've done there with the mini consoles. I have done something similar for playlists of compilation games, but for mini consoles, it's nice how you've broken those out into the main platform categories view. Couple that with the mini consoles theme in Big Box and that would be :chefskiss

📣 Introduction Hey everyone! Those of you who've joined our streams recently may have seen us refer to a platform called FeatureBase, and today we’re excited to announce the official kickoff! Going forward, we’ll be moving away from BitBucket and using FeatureBase to manage feature requests, bug reports, and certain aspects of our documentation. ❓ Why are we switching platforms? Long-time users may remember we’ve previously used BitBucket to catalogue feature requests and bug reports. After 10 years, that platform has simply become unmanageable and no longer meets our needs. FeatureBase offers everything we’ve been missing—and more. Here’s what it brings: SSO login with your existing LaunchBox Games Database account. No more separate Atlassian registration. Improved tracking and voting tools, giving users better insight into what’s being worked on and allowing you to vote based on importance, usage, and urgency. Greater transparency with public statuses so you can follow feature and bug progress in real time. Integrated help center, tying documentation, bugs, and features together in one central location (WIP) 🔁 What about my old feature requests and bug reports? Feature Requests We won’t be porting over all feature requests from the old system, but we are reviewing the most popular ones and bringing them into FeatureBase. If there’s a request you feel strongly about, please consider resubmitting it in the new system! We understand this may cause some frustration, especially since votes from the old system won’t carry over. That said, after 10 years, the old list had become cluttered with duplicates, outdated ideas, and requests that no longer reflect the current direction of the platform. Starting fresh gives us—and you—a better opportunity to highlight what really matters today, using a system that’s far more visible, interactive, and easier to navigate. Your input will have more impact than ever before, and we’re excited to build a more transparent and community-driven roadmap together. Bug Reports We will not be migrating ANY existing bug reports. Many of them are likely outdated, already resolved, or no longer relevant to the current version of LaunchBox. We know this may be disappointing to those who took the time to report issues in the past, however, to ensure accuracy and focus, we want to start fresh with reports that reflect the current user experience. If you’re still encountering a bug, please resubmit it in the new system so we can investigate it fully with up-to-date context. Your reports remain incredibly valuable, and this new workflow will help us address them more efficiently and directly. 🔄 What happens when I submit a feature request or bug report in the new system? Feature Requests When you submit a request, our team may reach out with follow-up questions to better understand your use case. This helps us shape a clear and useful request for the community. Once it’s ready, we’ll publish it to the board so other users can vote, discuss, and add their own use cases. You can view the various boards, upvote, and add your own comments to existing requests. We encourage users to provide lots of use-cases, so that the team has a better understanding on how the feature will enhance everyone's user experience and address specific needs. 🚨 Please Note: Before submitting feature requests, please ensure one doesn't already exist. If it does, please add your requests to this existing one, rather than creating a new one. The system has tools in place to help recognize duplicates and will prompt you before submission if one already exists You can review similar posts or help articles before submitting a new request Bug Reports Bug submissions are handled privately between you and our team to ensure direct attention. You may be asked for additional context or steps to reproduce the issue—please include as much detail as possible! We’ll also use the Bug Reports board to track known issues, so we recommend checking there before submitting a new report. 📚 What about documentation? You’ve probably noticed that LaunchBox has never had an official help center. Instead, we’ve relied on YouTube tutorials and forum posts—many of which have become outdated as the emulation landscape continues to evolve. We’re now building a proper, searchable help center filled with up-to-date tutorials, FAQs, and guides. This is an important step toward offering more consistent and accessible support for all users. While there isn’t a huge amount of content available just yet, we’re actively working on it—and you’ll start seeing it referenced more often by our team. This new help center will serve as a reliable starting point for users seeking answers to specific questions, and it even includes some helpful AI integrations to quickly surface solutions to common problems. You can view the help center here. 🤷 Why should I care? We understand change is tricky, and we want to ensure this new platform and process provides a much better experience for our users. To summarize some of the advantages we're excited about: SSO login using your LaunchBox account (no extra account needed) Better searching and filtering of requests (top, trending, recent) Enhanced tools for developer and user collaboration Centralized, official documentation that’s easy to access 💬 What about the LaunchBox forum? The LaunchBox forum will continue to live alongside FeatureBase. They’ll serve different purposes, side by side: FeatureBase – For feature requests, bug reports, and read-only documentation LaunchBoxForum – For community discussions, user troubleshooting, file sharing, collaboration, and open conversations 🚀 Okay, I’m sold. How can I contribute? You can access the portal here: Feedback Portal https://feedback.launchbox.gg/ Also accessible via the HELP & SUPPORT link at the top of this page, and within the LaunchBox application Documentation Portal https://feedback.launchbox.gg/help We will continue to iterate on this process, so please let us know if you think there's anything we could add or improve on.

Hi folks, Thanks for the great discussion here. We’ve definitely heard from many users about the desire to obscure license information—especially when streaming. In previous conversations, we’ve leaned toward a solution that allows for obscuring this information (similar to Discord’s streaming mode). While we don’t have a perfect solution just yet, I’ve added a request to our new feature request system. You can check it out here: 🔗 https://feedback.launchbox.gg/p/option-to-obscure-license-name-when-streaming-or-capturing-content It’d be great if you could add your support to the request and share any additional use cases that aren’t already included. We’re definitely eager to find a solution that respects privacy concerns while still honoring the original intent of displaying the DRM-free license name. Cheers,

Hi there, Just to let you know this has been addressed in 13.21 beta-1. You can find details on this here, or wait until the 13.21 official release to receive this fix. Thanks for bearing with us while we got this sorted

Hi there, One thing to check here is to ensure the Dolphin instance you're opening standalone is not different from the instance LaunchBox is using? You cancheck this by going to Tools > Manage > Emulators and confirm that the path to the Dolphin .exe is in fac,t the same as the Dolphin application where you're saying the controllers work. We've seen instances where people have a standalone version of Dolphin, but then let LaunchBox download and manage a separate instance, which would explain why your controller configurations aren't working when running through LaunchBox (as they haven't been setup yet). Let me know and we'll try to get you sorted. Cheers,

Hi there, Apologies for the delayed follow-up here. This is in fact by design, there is a hard-coded list of image priorities which are as follows: - Steam Screenshot - Epic Games Screenshot - GOG Screenshot - Amazon Screenshot - Origin Screenshot - Background (group priority) - Screenshot - Gameplay The reason storefront screenshots take priorities is that backgrounds from storefronts are notoriously bad for including logos in them, which creates conflicts where we overlay our own clear logo ontop of it. That said, I can totally see the request where it would ideally give the user the choice to re-arrange the priorities for this section of the app. We've had someone request something similar which you can upvote here: 🔗 https://feedback.launchbox.gg/p/separate-out-screenshot-priorities-and-what-is-shown-in-the Cheers,

Hi There, Thanks for the question! LaunchBox does include Series as one of the editable metadata fields for games. However, outside of arcade titles (where that data is automatically populated from MAME), you’ll need to manually assign the series for your games. To do this, simply right-click on a game, choose Edit, and fill out the Series field. You can also apply this in bulk by selecting multiple games, right-clicking, and editing them all at once. Once you’ve assigned series values to your games, you can switch the view in LaunchBox from Platform Categories to Series to browse your collection organized by series. Additionally, the Series field can be used to sort games. For example, when creating a playlist, under the Sort Games By dropdown, you can choose Series to group the games in that playlist accordingly. Lastly, you can even create an auto-populating playlist based on a game series. For instance, if you’d like to create a playlist that includes all Mario games, you could set the filter to Series > Contains, and then list the series names you’d like to include. Hope that helps, give me a shout if you have any further questions. Cheers,

Hi Folks, For those experiencing issues with startup videos after upgrading, it would be great if you could run the following steps to help us narrow down if the issue is with the LaunchBox app or specific LaunchBox builds, since we're unfortunately not able to reproduce this yet. Could you try: Install a brand new LaunchBox build in a separate directory (but on the same drive as your current build). Copy over your startup video to this new build, ensuring that in the LaunchBox\Videos folder, you need to create a directory called startup which contains your videos. If the startup videos work in this new build, it indicates there is an issue with your existing LaunchBox build, which will help us narrow down next steps. Cheers,

Hi Folks, Thanks for the reports here. Just to let you know we think we've identified the cause of this and hope to have something out in our next beta. I'll post here again once that is available. Thanks for bearing with us and sorry for the issues caused here. Cheers,

LaunchBox is continuing to grow, and we're thrilled to introduce our newest team member, skarmy_punk! (better known as Stefan! As a Full Stack Developer with 13 years of experience🖥️, he’ll be diving into the Games Database, helping to shape the next-gen cross-platform LaunchBox, and generally making the web side of things even better. Let’s get to know him! 🎮 👋 Introduce yourself and describe your role on the team? Hey everyone! I’m Stefan, a Full Stack Developer who’s been tinkering with web development for over a decade. My focus at LaunchBox will be on the Games Database and making sure our web-based tools are running smoothly, as well as helping to develop the next-gen cross-platform version of LaunchBox. Basically, if it lives on the web and needs some magic, I’ll be the one waving the wand. I’m beyond excited to be here and work on projects that bring gaming communities together. Also, let’s be honest—working on a platform that revolves around gaming? That’s the dream. 🎮🚀 🎮 What is your history with gaming? I genuinely can’t remember a time when I wasn’t gaming. I’m pretty sure I emerged into this world clutching an NES controller. My first console? No idea. It was just… there, like a childhood best friend who never left. One of my earliest gaming memories is playing some helicopter flight sim on a floppy disk with my dad. I have absolutely no clue what the game was, and at this point, I’m half convinced I imagined it. From there, the console collection just kept growing—N64, GameCube, Xbox (soft-modded, of course), Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, and now PS5. I also had a pretty serious handheld obsession, going through Game Boy Color, GBA, DS, 3DS, and even one of those MegaMan Advanced PETs—if you know, you know. Oh yeah, anyone remember these? 😉 Of course, once I built my first gaming PC as a teenager, that changed everything. Suddenly, I could play anything, mod everything, and lose entire weekends to games like Terraria. Oh, and VR? I’m in. Got the Vive, ready to dodge imaginary bullets in my living room. 🛠️ What’s the most challenging aspect of your role? Taking over a codebase that someone else wrote is like inheriting an ancient treasure map—except some of the landmarks have moved, and there’s definitely a few traps along the way. It’s always a bit of an adventure figuring out how everything fits together, but that’s part of what makes it fun. The cross-platform LaunchBox project is going to be a massive challenge, but it’s one I’m really looking forward to. Who doesn’t love solving puzzles, right? 🎉 What has been your proudest moment while working on LaunchBox? So far, getting the new game details page deployed has been a highlight—but there’s still plenty more I want to improve! Funny enough, before I was even officially on the team, I kind of helped out by pointing out that the SSL certificate had expired. So technically, my first real contribution to LaunchBox was playing the role of security watchdog. Not glamorous, but hey, someone’s gotta do it! 🔐😆 Some examples of the new games database game page, with rich media and metadata front & center 🔥 What do you think is the most underrated LaunchBox feature? I don’t know if it’s underrated, but I am blown away by how seamless emulator setup is. Anyone who’s tried to configure emulators manually knows the pain—it’s basically a rite of passage. The fact that LaunchBox makes it so smooth is a huge win. Also, Big Box theming is next level. The amount of customization you can do? Chef’s kiss. 🎨 🏆 What is your favourite game of all time and why? This is an impossible question. It’s like asking me to pick a favorite cat, and I have two (who would definitely judge me for it). That said, if I had to pick, I’d go with a tie: Halo 3 (because Forge mode was way more powerful than it had any right to be—anyone remember forgehub.com?) and Terraria, because once you start playing, it will consume your life. Honorable mentions to about 50 other games I’ve lost weeks of my life to. 🎭 What types of games do you enjoy in your downtime? It really depends on my mood! If I’m playing with friends, it’s usually something chaotic like Lethal Company, Blood Typers, or just some weird and wonderful indie multiplayer game. If I need to chill, I’ll fire up Satisfactory and spend hours optimizing factory layouts like a true efficiency nerd. For story-driven games, I love something cinematic like Alan Wake, which I’ll play on the big screen with my partner. And if I want to get moving, Beat Saber or Synth Riders in VR is my go-to workout that doesn’t feel like a workout. 🐱 Can you share a fun fact about yourself that the community might not know? I just adopted an 8-month-old kitten who is very eager to help debug my code—by randomly stepping on my keyboard. We’re in the process of introducing her to our 6-year-old cat, and negotiations are ongoing. Debugging hard at work with the new kitten 🐈 and the grumpy toothless Ruby in her little area we built for her, along with cat versions of famous photos Also, my partner plays competitive dodgeball, which is probably the coolest sentence I’ll ever be able to say. Oh, and I’m based in Winnipeg ❄️ 🎮 What’s your go-to gaming setup currently? Mostly PC for everything, but when I want to kick back and play on the big screen, I’ll fire up the PS5 for story-driven games. And of course, PC for VR, because let’s be real, that’s where all the fun is. Game console collection, along with VR PC, complete with cardboard underneath to prevent cat toys getting stuck 🎲 Do you have any hobbies outside of gaming? I love keeping my hands busy! I’ve been dabbling in game development (currently using Godot), building Gundams, making book nooks, and even needle felting. If it’s creative and involves putting something together, I’m into it. I also love board games, escape rooms, hiking (just getting into it), and bouldering (also just getting into it). And I’m a big fan of Activate, which is basically a high-tech playground where you jump, climb, and dodge obstacles. It’s like being in a video game, except with actual cardio. We’re absolutely stoked to have Stefan on the team! He’s already making an impact, and we can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next. Join us in giving him a huge welcome! 🎉🙌