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Actually yeah, I remember you mentioning that before. Yeah, you are probably better off just starting your own fork and if you do it well your database will probably grow much faster than TGDB anyway. Also 6MB for the whole DB is crazy! You could definitely package that with LB or at least add an option to download it. Will you be using the same size restrictions and file types as TGDB, for the images? I am not fully clear on how you manage images (boxart thumbs) at present, but maybe you could start creating thumbnails now, if you catch my drift. You had a few problems with cached images previously which is not completely resolved yet (the idle cpu usage), maybe it would help? Finally, I am bringing up a local scraper again, but it could help immensely with bulk updates to your DB.

Wow, I had a feeling the legal restraints would be thin, but that is great news. Makes things much easier for you. There is the moral dilemma to consider but like you said, TGDB is up-time is unreliable and if you clearly state that the data was obtained from TGDB I wouldn't feel bad. You have no website frontend planned that would compete against them and you have to remember the majority of data they hold has been ripped from other sites anyway. Most of the times I have updated TGDB, it has been a copy and paste job from other more established sites. Have you considered offering a collaboration type scheme with them, that allows LB users to update from inside LB and you get to mirror the database. They already have the web frontend and moderation protocols in place. Could be mutually beneficial...

Also, forget to mention, I will try disabling the cache and will see how it goes. Thanks for the tip and I will let you know if it solves the problem.

Hmm, doesn't sound like there is much you can do regarding the Wiki scraper. I wouldn't waste any more time on it if I were you. I would just use it as a temporary band-aid while exploring other options, then drop it altogether once an alternative was implemented. Which sounds like what you are doing anyway. I like the sound of creating your own database, especially if it could be easily updated through LaunchBox. I do add to TGDB but i hate having to do it through the website and I always wished they had an external program that could bulk add stuff faster and more efficiently. If you had your own database and were able to modify LB to be that external program for adding content, that would be truly awesome. Also, your userbase by now probably already has a substantial amount of game info and images stored for many platforms, if LB could just upload that already collected data then you will have a hefty database within hours of launch. However, I see moderation being a major issue and you will need a practical solution to manage it. You could also work this in to your premium model, only allowing premium users to update the DB.

First off, I just want to say the issue of LB using the CPU when idle remains in 3.7. It is open now, idle, consuming an average of 16% CPU. This is a test instance containing only 447 games. OK, I now believe that my expectations of the Wiki scraper may have been a bit high. Initial testing has uncovered a handful bugs and the scope has left me feeling underwhelmed. I'll be brief, if you want more info, just ask. Issues i noticed instantly: Game info is scraped from incorrect platforms, this includes images. For example, a fresh scrape of n64 roms using just the wiki scraper pulled info & images from Playstation 1, PC, Nintendo DS, Arcade Posters, Xbox Live Arcade, Virtual Boy, Game Boy and a bunch of generic posters (not box art). At least it is not renaming the platform this time, the name remains static which is a good thing. Also the database seems to be more incomplete than TGDB, leaving more missing info and images. I tested with some more "niche" platforms that are not in TGDB and they are not scraped from Wiki either, well... apart from the incorrect scrapes like mentioned above (very annoying) and maybe a couple of random correct hits. The only artwork I have seen scraped from Wiki so far is front boxart. Is it capable of more than that? HTML tags are sometimes scraped in various fields, for example: Developer: Brøderbund <small>(Apple II)</small> ref name="apple2" Which i guess should just be "Brøderbund" or "Brøderbund (Apple II)" These were all discovered within 10mins, if I do a some deeper testing, I am sure I will find more. So far, all-in-all, this Wiki scraper is a bit of a mess I'm afraid and it most definitely needs some more work. It feels like a step back. As it stands, I would turn off the Wiki scraper all together and try to catch TGDB on a good day. Sorry Everything else seems to work perfectly though, so no other major issues to report.

Wow, I have missed quite a bit it seems, you have been busy Jason. Sorry I couldn't help with testing lately, been really busy, but it is nice to see more activity and some new faces around here. Will try to test your new beta sometime this week. I have some time today, but I want to try out 3.7, specifically the Wiki scrape. I must say, your timing was perfect. It is also great to here 4.0 is just around the corner. Exciting times for LaunchBox.

I have been asking for local scraping for sometime now, so it is on Jason's radar, however I believe it is currently on the backburner. I see 3.7 has just released with a new scraper for Wiki which has got me very excited. I have not tried it yet, but the data offered should be far more substantial than what TGDB had. This does not solve the problem for people who use custom data for their collection, but for general scope it is a step in the right direction. I have never heard of EmuXtras before, I will have to check it out sometime.

You could try DAEMON Tools and create a batch. "C:\Program Files (x86)\DAEMON Tools Lite\DTLite.exe" -mount 0, %1% start /wait "" "nullDC_Win32_Release-NoTrace (rev141-optimised).exe" -config ImageReader:defaultImage= Drive letter of your virtual drive "C:\Program Files (x86)\DAEMON Tools Lite\DTlite.exe" -unmount 0 Might be better setting the deafultImage in the actual config file to the virtual drive letter also.

No probs, anytime I forgot to mention, you need to escape the ampersand, use ^& rather than just &. Doesn't matter now, but for future reference.

Ahhh, sorry, typo! Try this: cd /d "c:/path/to/project64" set string=%1% set string=%string:"=% start "" project64.exe %string% There was a space that should not of being there: set string=%string:!HERE!"=%

I have my roms on a completely different drive to the project64 program folder and this works without a problem. Unsure what your issue may be. If you have not tried already, point the rom paths setting in project64 to your rom folder (the new location that did not work before). Make sure you don't have project64 set to run with admin privileges. You could save the batch script in the project64 folder and run it from there. Or try using code in the original post, but add a /d after the cd at the start of the script. So... cd /d "c:/path/to/project64" set string=%1% set string=%string: "=% start "" project64.exe %string% Don't forget the quotes! If it still does not work, add the word "pause" (without quotes) to the bottom of the script and run it again and post the contents of the cmd window here.

No probs If you ever need more just ask and I would be happy to create them when I have the time.

scree said I've given up on getting the batch file fix to run N64 games with Project64 1.6 in emulator mode. Launching it as an application works fine. The path to the Project64 executable goes in the Application Path box. The path to the game rom goes in the Application Command-Line Parameters box. You must supply the full rom path and rom name including extension. For example, the Doom 64 game entries for my computer's folders setup are as follows. You will need to edit them for your setup. Application Path box: C:\Program Files\Project64 1.6\Project64.exe Application Command-Line Parameters box: C:\Users\My user account name here\Documents\Emulation\Project64\UserData\Roms\Doom 64.zip Handy tip. If you have many games to add, to save a lot of typing, make a text file of the two paths. Example text file using my paths: C:\Program Files\Project64 1.6\Project64.exe C:\Users\My user account name here\Documents\Emulation\Project64\UserData\Roms\ Then for each game you want to add you can just copy and paste each path to it's box in LaunchBox. The text entry for the Application Command-Line Parameters box ends with \ You then just have to type in the rom's name and extension. For anyone having a problem with Project 64 try saving the following code as a batch file and using that batch file as the emulator in LaunchBox. Do not add any cli parameters in LaunchBox. :: Make sure the path below matches the path on your system, to the project64.exe :: Do not remove the "quotes" if you do change the path. SET P64="C:\Program Files (x86)\Project64 1.6\Project64.exe" :: Do not change this bit. SET STRING=%1 SET STRING=%STRING:"=% START "Project 64" %P64% %STRING% This works fine providing the full path is correct. Also, make sure you have "quotes" enclosing the path if spaces are present.

http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/gioco.php?game=gpmonaco&list=arcadia It is the same game. The game is a 4K cartridge not 8K and the Emerson group of the Arcadia family apparently lack support for ROMs less than 8K. So there is no Emerson version of this game. http://amigan.1emu.net/agg/ OK, I really got to go now, hope this info is helpful, make of it what you will.

May be worth taking a look at this: http://www.digitpress.com/the_digs/arcadia/texts/cart-fam.htm http://www.pong-picture-page.de/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=109&products_id=1771&osCsid=54a1c78d4 I will let you take it from here. But from what I can gather, you may be chasing a ghost looking for a Monaco Grand Prix box. Is the game in English? Does it have a title screen? Anything to suggest "Monaco Grand Prix" may not be the games real name?

OK. I decided to do some digging of my own and the game number is linked to a game called Video-Autorennen. Here is the box art (I believe this to be original) Same game?

Ah sorry, I made that myself. Figured it would look better than a screenshot. I should of mentioned that, my bad. I believe Monaco Grand Prix was from the "Palladium" group of the Arcadia 2001 family, so maybe you could use that to hunt down an original box shot if you really want it. Other useful info that might aid your search: It was published by UA Ltd. in 1982. It was a 4K cartridge, not 8K. Game number may be 775/096 (Palladium) Hope this helps.

Here you go...

Another thing, on the subject of old arcade systems. Anyone who wants to play the light gun games but does not want to fork out for a proper light gun and has a WiiMote handy. You can easily set up your WiiMote as a light gun. I found a nice, really simple app that allows you to use a WiiMote as a mouse, this can then be used to simulate a light gun. You can even go on to map buttons to things like "insert coins", "start" and exit the emulator, etc. It is really easy to set up, but if you need any help just ask. The app is called Touchmote and it can be found here: http://touchmote.net/ You will need to get a gun adapter, but you can pick the simple ones up for next to nothing on ebay or amazon. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Awii+light+gun&keywords=wii+light+gun&ie=UTF8&qid=1412470280 Just thought I'd share while I am here.

Maybe assign a code or an abbreviation or something to each platform and use that code to filter for the sidebar.

Someone may have mentioned this before, I can't remember, but when filtering a platform such as Game Boy other platforms with Game Boy also show. So Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. This includes when viewing a platform from the side bar. Can this be prevented somehow? From the sidebar that is.

Use Xpadder. Map a spare button to Ctrl+X.

I have created a script that will create a launch script for each game that can be easily added to LB. Download the zip file and extract it to your desktop (must be on your desktop for the script to work). Then run the script. You will be prompted to enter the romset directory, so open up the folder that contains your (using cps2 as an example) cps2 roms and copy the path from the address bar. Paste this path into the popup generated by the script. You will then be prompted to enter the path to the emulator. Repeat the above step only from your emulator directory. You need the full path for this one, that includes the .exe file. E.g. C:\Emulators\WinKawaks\WinKawaks.exe This script will then create a launch script for each game and put it in its own folder. The next part you need to do manually. Go to your ROM directory and you will see all the new folders. You need to rename each folder to the actual name of the game, not the short name. DO NOT rename the batch files inside them. So the folder named sfa2 (still using cps2 as example) you can rename to Street Fighter Alpha 2 but the .bat file inside that folder must remain sfa2.bat I know this is a tedious task, but it will save you time, trust me. . Now, open LB and go to ' Tools > Import Games > From ROM Files... ' Folder with ROM files to Import: - Point this to your CPS2 ROM directory (that contains all the new folders) Platform for imported ROMs: - Capcom Play System 2 (still using cps2 as example) File Filter: - *.bat (This is important, don't miss it) Emulator for imported ROMs: - ! LEAVE THIS BLANK ! you do not need to do this, the batch file handles this part. . Check the box - Don't import games with the same title... etc Uncheck the box - Search for and download game information... etc Uncheck the box - Search for and download images... etc Check the box - Look in subfolders as well Check the box - Use folder names instead of ROM file names for game titles. . Launch box will then add all the batch files as games and name them as their folder name. That's it your done. All your roms should be imported to LB with the correct names. This might seem complicated at first glance or too much work, but it is actually pretty straight forward, easy and much faster than adding every game individually. I have made it as easy and as automated as I could for you. Oh, you can delete the script.bat from you desktop now, you no longer need it. Unless you plan to use it with a different compatible emulator. Hope this helps someone. Script removed! See THIS post for the working script.