AstroBob

Thanks, so it’s not an association issue, but given the example you gave I wouldn’t be surprised if it categorises those as the same game. Let me know if the `Import Duplicates` makes any difference.

Hi there, Thanks for the update. For your arcade platform that uses FB Neo and works correctly when using LaunchBox, when you edit the emulator settings, which emulator is it using (RetroArch, Retroarch (32/64-bit sideloaded etc?). And for the platforms that don't work, what do they have as the set emulator?

Hi @Guardian1676, thanks for the report here. We recently published a guide that walks through a bunch of troubleshooting steps to increase the performance and startup times of both LaunchBox and Big Box, you can access it below. It would be great if you could run through the steps and suggestions outlined in that guide (in particular ones that make reference to startup times), and see if that makes a difference. Keep me posted

You need to be on a least 13.18-beta1 for this option to be available, so you'll need to opt in to the beta by going to Options > General > Updates and turn on Update to Beta Releases. It isn't available in versions prior to that. Great to hear some of the changes have made improvements, would be great to hear if turning this off adds further improvements to your boot speeds. Let me know

Thanks for the update there. In LaunchBox, go to Tools > Options and then right at the bottom under Game Controllers. If you uncheck enable game controllers and see if the issue goes away, that will tell you if the input is being caused by one of your connected controllers. If that is the case, under Mappings, check to see what you have mapped for Mouse Left/Right. Clear those mappings and see if the issue goes away. The reason you likely don't see it in Big Box is either you have different mappings, or you have mouse-mode disabled (which I think it is by default). Either way, keep me posted with how you get on.

Hi there, My sincere apologies for the delayed reply here. Thanks for providing those details. At this point, we'd like to verify if this happens with a fresh install of LaunchBox, so we can identify if it's something within your build, or at the OS level. To test this, grab any of the installers located in LaunchBox > Updates folder and install it in a different location. Once that's done, connect to Epic Games and try to import some of your games and see if the issue occurs there. Let me know how you get on.

Hi @51mm5 Apologies for my delayed follow-up, and thank you for sharing the video—it’s incredibly helpful for narrowing things down. From the video, I can see that after launching and quitting a PC game, you need to reopen LaunchBox. However, after launching Pikmin from Dolphin, LaunchBox remains active as expected. Could you confirm if this is the case and share what happens when using other emulators? If this issue only occurs with PC games, that would significantly help us narrow it down. However, I want to double-check, as you mentioned it seems to happen with any game, whether it’s a native PC game or run through an emulator. Let me know, and we’ll do our best to get this sorted for you.

Hi Folks, Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I have both good and bad news regarding the situation. The Good News: I’ve encountered this issue myself and believe I have some insight into what might be causing it. Essentially, when a secondary LaunchBox window is open, you’re unable to interact with the primary window until the secondary window is closed. We suspect the problem arises when a secondary window is triggered, but another task running in the background takes over and prematurely closes that window. In my case, I was bulk editing metadata and performing several tasks when I noticed the secondary window suddenly disappeared. It seems that LaunchBox still “thinks” this window is open—even though it’s not—which leaves the primary window unresponsive. While your scenario might differ slightly, the underlying issue seems to be that although no secondary window is visibly open, LaunchBox behaves as if there is one. The Bad News: Unfortunately, we haven’t yet been able to reliably reproduce this issue. Without a consistent way to replicate it, implementing a fix is challenging. That said, we’re much closer to understanding the root cause and will continue investigating ways to reliably reproduce the issue. If either of you can pinpoint a way to consistently trigger this issue with clear steps, please let me know—we’ll be actively working on this as well. I apologize for not having a definitive fix at this stage, but I believe we’re heading in the right direction. Please keep me updated on any developments on your end, and I’ll do the same. Thank you for your patience!

We've confirmed there is an issue with the import wizard and are able to reproduce what you're describing. The team are looking into this now. Thanks for the report

Hi @bradipo666 thanks for the report here (and hope you are enjoying the RG Cube, heard great things about it!) A few things to help try and narrow this down: Does this happen for every system that uses RetroArch? Or are some systems able to successfully load? If you open the RetroArch app outside of LaunchBox and try to load your core/game, do you get the same error? Let me know and we'll try to get you sorted. Cheers,

Hi @legolas119 thanks for the report here. LaunchBox is certainly known to perform better on an SSD rather than a HDD, but that said it may not be the only reason why you might be seeing issues here. We'd need to know a bit more about the specifics of your setup, to try and advise further. We recently published a guide specifically on troubleshooting performance. You can view it below: It would be great if you could follow the steps outlined in that guide to see if that improves what you're seeing. If not, at the bottom you can see a list of diagnostics to provide, and we can try to dig into this further. Keep me posted Cheers,

Hi @fxgogo Thanks for reporting this, a few things to try here: 1) Go to Options > Integrations > GOG and under GOG Game Association select the Run Process Now Option. 2) During the import wizard, if you turn on `Import Duplicate games` does that show the games you're missing? It's possible Cave Story's Secret Santa might get grouped under the original game, so worth trying this out. Let me know how you get on.

Hi @celcius thanks for reporting this, happy to try and look into this but we'll need a bit more info to narrow things down: - What version of LaunchBox are you on? - Can you describe the issue in a bit more detail (or ideally provide a screen recording showing the issue in action) - Does this only happen within LaunchBox? Or does It happen in other applications? - What input device are you using? Is it just a normal USB / Bluetooth mouse? Let us know and we'll see if we can narrow things down

Hi there, Thanks for reporting this, and sorry for the issues you’re experiencing. The first step I’d recommend is ruling out whether any of your connected inputs are triggering the volume increase. You can check this by unplugging your connected joysticks and then starting Big Box to see if the issue persists. I’d also recommend going into Big Box’s keyboard shortcuts to see if anything is mapped there. If you find a shortcut mapped to the volume function, try removing it and see if the issue still occurs. If it does, it suggests that an input is triggering the function, although it’s strange that this would happen only on startup. Let’s start with that. If you can test those steps and let me know how it goes, we can troubleshoot further if needed.

Hi there, Thanks for reporting this. I just gave this a quick test on my end, and it seemed to work. I added one of those games, and after linking it to the game DB entry, it was able to find all the relevant media for it. May I ask how you are trying to download the media? Are you highlighting the specific game and then trying to download the media there, or are you using the Download Missing Media option on the platform itself? If you’re using one method, does the other method work? How did you add those games to your Android library? Was it an export from the Windows version, or did you add them to Android directly? Let me know, and I’ll see if there’s anything else I can do.

Hi there, thanks for the question! In terms of total space, it’s hard to say since it completely depends on how many games you have and the specific images you’ve downloaded. Looking at my own collection, I have images ranging from 200-300kB up to a couple of megabytes. Box Fronts and Backgrounds tend to be larger images compared to, say, clear logos, but that’s not always the case. To preserve space, I’d say your best bet is to only download the image types that will work with your theme. For example, I use the default Banner view for my platforms and the Boxes Grids view for my games, so I only really need a Box Front and a Background (I don’t even need clear logos since I don’t use wheel views). I hope this helps clarify things! Let me know if you have any further questions or need more advice.

Hi there, thanks for the update and explanation there. Unfortunately, I'm still not 100% sure where you are referring to, is it possible to share a screenshot or a screen recording demonstrating the issue? Let me know if that would be okay.

Hi Folks, thanks for the great suggestions so far. Just to let you know we're not ignoring these, but just waiting for a bit more input from the community before we dive in to start discussing our thoughts and suggestions. We appreciate the early input so far. Cheers,

The most up-to-date version of this article is now available on our new Help Center. Please visit the article here Big Box offers a wide variety of themes that can drastically transform every aspect of your gaming experience, from sleek modern designs to nostalgic retro aesthetics. However, one question we frequently receive from the community is: “I’ve just changed my Big Box theme, but it doesn’t look like it’s applied properly. What gives?” This is a common misconception. To answer it, we need to take a step back and explore how Big Box’s theming system works. ⚠️ Please note, this is not a FAQ for theme developers. This is to help new users answer some common questions about how themes work. ⚠️ ------------------------------------------------------ Understanding Big Box “Sections” ------------------------------------------------------ Big Box’s interface is built around what we call “Sections”, and each one can be themed. These sections define specific areas of the Big Box interface that you can navigate to via the System menu. Here are some examples of common sections: The Game Discovery Center: An interactive hub that curates playlists, themes, and recommendations, helping you explore and rediscover hidden gems in your library. Platforms: A list of the Platforms you have in your library (e.g., Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo). Platform Categories: A combined, modular view showcasing a tiered-style list of platforms, categories, and playlists. Filters: A text-based list of different metadata filters, like Genres, Developers, Publishers, and more. Games: A set of views that will list games. System Menu and Options: The section for managing Big Box options and preferences. While all of these sections are technically themeable, it’s important to understand that: “ Just because everything can be themed doesn’t mean that every theme includes theming for all sections.” ---------------------------------------------------------------- Why Some Sections May Not Be Themed ---------------------------------------------------------------- Many custom themes focus on specific sections, like the Platform and Game sections, as these are the most commonly used and visually impactful. However, other sections, such as the Game Discovery Center or System sections, are often left out of custom themes. Here’s why: Game Discovery Center: As a newer feature, many custom themes haven’t yet implemented styling for this view. This can lead to confusion for users, especially since the Game Discovery Center is often the default landing page in Big Box. Applying a custom theme therefore may not result in visible changes to this section, which is perfectly normal. 🚨 Important 🚨 If you prefer Big Box to load to another view that does support theming, you can go to `Options > Views > Default Startup View` and select a different section to use. System Settings: This section is frequently omitted from custom themes, as many creators prioritize the core game navigation section instead of settings. In these cases: "When a section hasn’t been explicitly themed, Big Box automatically falls back to the default theme." This fallback behaviour ensures that all sections remain functional and visually cohesive, even if they’re not customized by the theme developer. An example of a theme (BannerBox) that does explicitly theme the System Menu, but not all themes will do this -------------------------------------------------------------------- How to Know Which Sections Are Themed? -------------------------------------------------------------------- To avoid confusion, here are some tips for understanding which section your chosen theme applies to: Check the Developer’s Description: Theme developers often include notes on which section their theme supports. This is the best way to know exactly what to expect. Explore the App: After applying a new theme, navigate through the various sections (Platforms, Games, Game Details, etc.) to see where the changes have been applied. Understand Default Behavior: Remember, any section not explicitly themed by the developer will default to Big Box’s standard theme. ------------------------------- What about Views? ------------------------------- In Big Box, Views refer to the different ways your games and platforms are displayed within specific sections. Each view provides a unique browsing experience, and some common examples include: CoverFlow: A scrollable list of boxes that uses 3D models, allowing you to rotate and admire original box art in all its glory. Vertical/Horizontal Wheel: A dynamic, scrollable wheel showcasing game logos or platforms, often accompanied by complementary artwork or media. Wall View: A grid-style layout that displays multiple items at once, ideal for browsing large libraries quickly. Text List: A minimalistic view showing a simple text list of items, often with smaller box art or logos and additional game details. Much like Big Box sections, not all themes will support every view type. The level of support for views is entirely dependent on the theme developer, and this is often indicated in the theme’s description. Here are a few things to keep in mind about views and themes: Theme Limitations: If a specific view isn’t supported by a theme, it may fall back to the default theme styling. While theme developers can stop a specific view from appearing as an option for users, they sometimes forget to do this. Check Descriptions: When selecting a theme, review the developer’s notes to understand which views are fully supported. This will save you time and potential frustration when customizing your experience. ------------------ Conclusion ------------------ Theming in Big Box is a powerful tool to customize your gaming experience, but understanding how themes apply to specific sections and views is key to avoiding confusion. If you’ve applied a theme and notice some sections, like the Game Discovery Center or System Settings, don’t seem to change, this is likely because those areas weren’t included in the custom theme you’ve applied. When in doubt, check the theme’s description or explore the app to see which sections are covered. By doing so, you’ll gain a better appreciation for how each theme enhances your experience and can tailor your setup to your liking.

Hi @Wally, thanks for providing those diagnostics and repro steps for the issues you're seeing. We've been trying to standardise our performance diagnostics and recently just released a troubleshooting guide aiming to address some of these concerns. I'm attaching it below: I understand that your primary concern is with CPU usage. While this guide may not offer drastic changes to that, it does outline some steps you can take to disable loading the database .XML into RAM, which may help improve your startup times and release some pressure on the system. We recognize that suggesting a guide or recommending turning off certain features is not an ideal solution. There are long-term improvements we know we need to address. However, in the short term, if you’re not using any of the features outlined in the guide, disabling some of them might help reduce your startup times. I’d appreciate it if you could review the guide, try out some of the suggestions, and let me know if you notice any significant changes in your startup times. I completely understand your frustration, and I want to work with you to address these concerns. Improving "performance" will likely involve tackling several smaller areas, but for now, focusing on startup times gives us a concrete place to begin. Once we’ve explored those options, we can move on to addressing other issues. Let me know how it goes!

Hi @MJF, thanks for flagging this. Our best guess about what happened to that game is that there may have been another game under the old Steam ID, and the developer may have deleted it and set it up as a new game. Either way, we've updated it, so it should work now. Thanks for letting us know.

Thanks for the update @Tinfoilhat42, looks like you beat us to it. However, for future reference, one thing that is worth trying is clearing your image caches in Big Box. You can find this by going to Big Box's System menu, and then under Options > Image Cache > Refresh All Images. Re-installing LaunchBox will have generated a new image cache for you, so this may be why it appears to be working again, but hopefully,y this might be helpful if it happens again. Cheers,

Hi @goobertime thanks for the question and no worries at all, no question is a silly question 😊 Let's confirm a few things to try and narrow it down: Under Tools > Manager > Emulators can you confirm if you see any Default Command-Line Parameters listed for Citra? If so what are they? Next, edit the Citra emulator, what is set as your Application Path and Sample Command? Finally, take any 3DS game, right click and go to Edit > Metadata. Then under Launching, can you let me know what is filled out under ROM File (Emulation is enabled): Let me know and we'll hopefully be able to point you in the right direction. Cheers,

Hi @PCKid thanks for the question, may I confirm a few more details to try and narrow this down: May I confirm what you mean by "there are no thumbnail folders with boxart folders". Where specifically are you expecting to see thumbnails, are you talking about within LaunchBox, or are you referring to image directories on disk? How did you import those 2 systems? Can you elaborate on their "systems are not recognised just as generic names". Are you referring to the games not being linked to a LaunchBox GamesDB ID, and therefore isn't pulling down any metadata for those games? Please let me know and we'll get you sorted. Cheers,

Hi @Alerum68 thanks for the report and sorry for the issues here. May I confirm a few things to understand the issue further: Can you describe any steps taken to reproduce this error. You mention auto storefront imports, so can I assume this crashes when you open LaunchBox and it's trying to import and install a game? I noticed you're on 13.18 beta-2, can you confirm if you're using any of the new auto-import platform per storefront options in Tools > Manage > Storefronts? Can you consistently reproduce this error, or does it happen sporadically? Let me know and we'll see if we can get you sorted. Cheers,