SentaiBrad

Jason Carr said Ha, didn't see your reply, Brad. That's cause I am a Ninja.

sylandro said Hi, First of all, excellent job making this software! After having tried multiple frontends over the last years, I feel this is the one that fits my needs best. I'm considering buying premium once all my (10K+) games are imported into the frontend. I'm having an issue while importing ROMs, though. I have a collection of ROMs that use the NoIntro nomenclature, and when I try to import them through the Import Folder wizard, the words between parenthesis are not parsed. That means that if I have a game that has the same name in two or more regions, the wizard will add two games with the same name (no region tag), creating confusion when trying to add metadata, cover images or running the game. This is a screenshot of the differences between the filename and the name that is imported: Is there a way to use the filename as the game title without it being cut automatically? No, LaunchBox ignores anything in [] or (). Personally, i leave stuff like Disc 1, Disc 2, out of the () or [], but then it just throws off the scraping. That would be why I assume LB ignores it. One extra word will cause it to not scan. So its a trade-off, have your multi disc games be found, data be imported and you mark the disc #, or you manually import the data and specify the disc number. Same deal for regions if you have multiples. I only keep out of region games if there is no US equivalent so I generally don't need to mark them.

kamyk2000 said Mine was the Commodore 64, and Atari 2600. Then the NES when it came out. The Commdore 64 could kick some butt considering it's specs compared to modern computers. Also consider this a nostalgia thread to wax on about your favorite older systems. I remember the SNES most fondly. I can barely count how many good games I played on that for god knows how many hours. The first one that was purchased for me intentionally? Technically the Sega Genesis with the Sega Channel. It was awesome. Really though... two technicalities. One, my dad had an SNES before that, and I played NES at my cousins a few times. The first console I was really old enough to start knowing how to play, getting in to it and me realizing it was more than a hobby? My N64.

Jason Carr said Ew. Zuckerberg. It would definitely be regulated, but may be community regulated. If someone is abusing the system (which honestly I think will be fairly rare), then it would be easy to ban them quickly, and remove all of their content. Yeah, it is definitely a challenge, but I think the end result would be worth it. Can always put limits in place to prevent system overload. I just know so many users put so much time and effort into their collections. Allowing them to easily share it all would be amazing, even if they had to prove their feasibility first. There are systems we can put on the server that block uploading certain types of images. File size and resolution are just many of the different types. Then, if we get abusive users who upload what ever they want there are several ways to do this. Make uploading to the server another Premium feature? With that we can ban someone based on the license they hold for LB. Or if we let everyone be able to upload then IP banning. IF we ever needed to go that route. I agree with Jason, we have such an awesome community right now that I don't think this would be a problem for a while.

kamyk2000 said I just want to put it out there that I don't want to see TheGamesDB replaced in Launchbox. Rather I'd like to see it supplemented with a user database. Like right now you can choose LocalDB, GamesDB, or Wikipedia. I'd like to see a user database added to that list but not replacing it. I'd also like a system where you can choose info from any or all sources selectively, and have any info you add either manually or from any given source appended or replaced at choice. A preview of some sort for various metadata would also be helpful. Let me explain. Currently there are thousands and thousands of entries on TheGamesDB. While the notion of adding my own information to a database is enormously appealing (so much so I joined TheGamesDB), I have no interest in adding thousands of entries for games I don't even own, nor is it a burden I think anyone else including Jason should shoulder. I do want to be able to add my own metadata and/or pictures without worrying about them being replaced by the data from any database, however. And being able to add data to a user database would be nice. In particular I dislike the extremely limited number of genres available on TheGamesDB. A Shmup is not a First person shooter is not a shoot-em-up is not a 3rd person platform shooter. Currently all of those fall under the vague genre category "shooter". However, I don't want to have to select an entry from any source without being able to see what information it contains beforehand. I joined TheGamesDB specifically for two reasons. One, so I could add games it was missing I needed information for, and two, so I could expand on shitty entries it has with almost no info. It is annoying having info I added manually replaced by nearly empty entries just so I can get a box art if I can't find one. I'd like to have all of that metadata available to me, rather than just one source. It occurs to me just now. Mp3s have Basic info/Id3v1/Id3v2/Artwork tags. Maybe something like that might work? Like Personal info/User database\TheGamesDB\Artwork? All I know is that while I find aspects of TheGamesDB or any other current data source limited (and annoying when choosing one replaces the info from another) and I'd like to add info where needed, I also don't want to rely on spotty additions numbering in the thousands requiring boatloads of work for anyone. So let me dispel something about this. We do want to eventually replace Wikipedia and TheGamesDB, at least that's what Jason and I talked about being possible. But, we have all of TheGamesDB data. We can update the data we have anytime we want. So we wouldn't be starting from scratch, we would essentially be using their data which they offer up for free. The cool thing about us going this route is that we want the user to be able to update a LaunchBox Database from inside the program. So instead of going to a website, if a user has their own custom info and images in LaunchBox, they can hit an upload button and it gets uploaded to the server for everyone. At least this is what Jason and I talked about wanting to happen. We're both very excited but also have some reservations about doing this. Moderation being one of them. We don't want to just throw together some half assed feature, we want it to be a clear upgrade so that the user doesn't feel like their getting shafted in the end. Especially for users who paid hard earned money. I think that if we do start rolling something like that out, we'll keep GDB and Wikipedia available for a time to ease transition. Another possibility is just to keep them there always, download data from one of the services and then have that be uploaded to our server from inside LB. Things could also change as licenses change, but as it stands right now we can do that with both the data from Wikipedia and TheGamesDB. Not so much for example, from MobyGames. Keep your concerns coming though, it lets us know what our user base wants in terms of features and ideas.

You can't, and a Virtual Machine doesn't help. I've been trying to figure this out myself. In the 16bit exe days though either they have a 32bit variant / update, or a DOS version. Those are going to be your only two options sadly. I tried VM Software, a few different kinds with Windows 98 and Windows XP. Both of which ran ok, better with Guest Additions (its called something different with each piece of software) but the games never ran. Virtual Machines can run DirectX 9, some Open GL and have basic 3D capabilities regardless of what the host PC can do. DirectX 8 If I remember had some ok testing... but anything prior does not run at all. There were a few PC ports of console games from the time that I wanted to get working. An alternative would to also search online, see if anyone is rewriting the engine. Morrowind, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Doom, Myst, X-COM and several other game engines are being written where you just need to provide the disc or install files and it can run with updated graphical features.

CadetStimpy said I have some older games (such as The Neverhood (Chronicles)) that need the CD inserted in order to play it. I found a Website (Game Copy World) that has work-arounds for many older games (including The Neverhood) that have this issue. It's usually just a small executable you run. Does anyone know any other sites, or Registry hacks, that will enable me to do this? I'd rather do Registry hacks (although they're surely different for every game, but maybe the basic principle is the same), as executables off the Internet can be spooky (despite my Anti-Virus protection). I can verify that GCW is reputable. Most of the time, older games required the disc to prove that you owned the game. If you really own the game however and just want to disable the disc check then just grab the patched exe from the site, that is going to be the best way generally. I haven't heard of really doing Registry hacks for this sort of thing that work. If the game requires the disc inserted to stream data off of the disc, then you need to also figure out a workaround to this. Generally speaking, all you need to do is copy the pertinent files from the disc to the installed directory in the proper folders and you could be good to go. So its just really a game by game basis. Don't forget to backup the original files just in case.

Actually Jason, I think this is close to what we were already talking about on Steam, what I said would be a cool feature. Being able to more or less refine the Results from the left pane window. For example, If I want RPG's but I only want one system's RPG's, I could go in to Genre -> RPG's then -> PS1 or something... and vice versa. Another use more similar to what the OP is asking for, would be to do that same thing but for Genre's. So you go in to RPG then instead of, say PS1, the user selects Racing games. So now LaunchBox is showing you the results for multiple Genre's instead of just one. Or, a Genre for a specific Platform.

kamyk2000 said Btw, now might be the time, since I bought Launcbox to ask for consideration of a few things. One, could you add a save function to custom color themes? Lol, that's what I'm playing with now. And two, could you also add the option for a 3d button look to the boxart? Oh and also could you implement add PC game to the import menu? I've been using import MS-Dos game, then unchecking "Use Dosbox", and changing the status line to read "Imported PC Windows Game". This should probably go in the troubleshooting forum, but I also should mention I was having problems with the background images. When I had the view settings set to display metadata on hover and/or on selection and also had the background settings for anything but "Launchbox default background" Launchbox kept replacing the background art every time I clicked a game, and then would crash to desktop. Sorry I'm not being more specific. I turned it to default background within the first hour of downloading it because it solved the crashing, and it hasn't happened since, so I'm not sure exactly what about that combination of settings was crashing it. Game -> Add and then point the edit to the correct exe. That's how I have been adding GOG games.

Well I am an idiot, but Jason raises a good point, changing the name invalidates it. No im not a musician, but I lke chiptune and The Megas music so I like Bandcamp. I am trying to develop a game in RPG Maker without being able to make music well or being able to draw pixel art well. So Soundcloud is great for Royalty Free Video Game music. Some people put up their music with specific licenses for free commercial use, and its great music.

kamyk2000 said Sorry, was editing my post (I do that a LOT) to correct spelling and add a question. I appreciate the xml info, but since that's what you are using as "DRM" I'm not sure you want to leave that info public on the forum... I don't care about my name being out there. Jason knows who I am and I am already a public person anyways. I have a YouTube channel where I am myself so. It's only DRM in the lightest of sense, anyone could change the look of it or easily copy the XML from someone else. As far as music sites, Bandcamp and Soundcloud are great sites for music. Soundcloud specifically I think you can post for free? Bandcamp im not 100% sure. I've bought albums off of Bandcamp however.

kamyk2000 said I had a question Jason. I want to buy Launchbox like I said I was going to, but about the whole adding my name to the title bar thing... I want my screenname there not my billing name. Can you do that? I'd have asked privately, but the forum doesn't seem to have a PM function, and I didn't find your email. Btw, I ran across your blog while looking in your profile for contact options. Wow do you have a great voice, and musical skill. You've obviously put more time into music than I have. Psh... I have a good voice too!!!! (joking) The License.xml, edit it with a text editor like Notepad++ and change this line Brad Cheyne That is what mine looks like. Just change that line and you should be good to go. Edit: grr, the forums took away the formatting. But look for your name a few lines down.

Jason Carr said I don't recall discussing a 4G memory patch, but of course I forget stuff all the time. Are you talking about patching LaunchBox itself? I don't fully understand the purpose, but it sounds like it's only for 32-bit machines? I mentioned that patching exe's was possible. This was before you could change the amount of RAM LB uses and If i recall... which I honestly barely do, I thought it COULD help with something completely unrelated. It allows programs which aren't fully optimized for 64bit operating systems to utilize more RAM.

Jason Carr said Hi kamyk, no, this is specific to DOSBox games. Unfortunately emulators are all too different in order to be able to properly implement disc swapping for all of them. It would have to implemented individually for each and every emulator, and most emulators don't even provide a way to communicate externally to swap the discs. That said, with ePSXe or most emulators you should be able to save state and launch the second disc, load the save state and it should continue. I did this in the past, but it was a long time ago. ePSXe Savestate button is F1, then to load the game is F3. F2 changes the save state slot.

DOS76 said All emulators and ROMs are located on a network share \\"ServerName"\ Emulators and all PC's have access to them. Resetting the paths is ideal but wouldn't be that much of a hassle anyway as long as the games and all of their metadata are duplicated. The visual aspect is the top priority especially since the usability is there with all of the platform I have tried so far I haven't gotten into anything to complex yet like Playstation 1/2, Sega Saturn or Dreamcast. I have been reading a tutorial on how to configure Virtual Pinball and everyone is using Hyper-Pin as the front-end but I am wary of the Hyper name since Hyper-Spin was impossible for me to configure but I digress I was wondering if you or anyone else knew if I would be able to setup the pinball tables to launch from inside of Launch Box I was thnking that would be pretty cool if so. Oh yeah I forgot to mention thanks for taking time to answer my question its appreciated. I can also confirm that PS1 and PS2 work just fine, and PS1 is less complicated than you think. It actually runs a bit better than most N64 emulators. Just grab the latest ePSXe version, which was actually really recent. And no problem, I like helping people and trying to figure out LaunchBox more and more.

DOS76 said I was messing around today in Launch Box getting box art and metadata for any of my NES games that didn't get it when I imported them and there where quite a few mostly hacked games, anything made by Sachen and Japanese ROMs. It took a while especially if something went awry like renaming the game moved down or up form where I was working. This had me desperately longing for some keyboard navigation like in file explorer where if I touch the letter it would jump to that point in the list. I have a massive amount of games (I am sure others do to especially since Rom sets for the older systems take up next to nothing in space). I am not saying that this is a priority or anything but I thought I would throw it out there. We had this in a previous version if I remember correctly. If we did, Jason must have taken this out for some reason... I'll however pass along this to him.

DOS76 said Ok I am interested in this thread but not so much for backup but so that I have launchbox on all of my PC's but only having to do the Platforms one time. My set up is running launch box on an internal data drive with a SSD as the system drive all the emulators and Roms are kept on my Windows Home Server 2011 machine so all the paths would be the same no matter what machine I installed them on. So I would just basically copy the folders from my launchbox and copy them on the other PC's then I would have an easy and visual way to launch games every where in the house. I have 4 HTPC's in my house already have Plex and Slingbox enabling them to be insane entertainment portals and now Launch Box is making everything nice and tidy by granting easy access to games also. I have a 24 inch AOI around too that I have be thinking of making into an arcade/emulator machine if I was to do so is there anyway that I could set Launch Box as a service and have it startup when booting the computer. Yea this should work. As long as the network protocol you're using on all of them is the same, for example I have Kodi running on my wife's PC and it points to my internal 3TB media drive. Its something like SMB:/BRAD/Video because I didn't share the Drive, I shared the specific folder over the Homegroup. So as long as the protocol you use is the same across all of the HTPC's then you should be good to go. Edit: That said, there is an easy fix I have been mulling around with. I open the XML in Notepad++ which allows some cool things to be done. One is a Replace All command. Ctrl+F then then I change it to look for, for example, C:/ in the XML and replace it with F:/. So if all of the roms were on the C:/ drive and you moved that folder to the F:/ drive, it should work because you're just internally changing the system. So even if what you point to needs to change, if done correctly you still wouldn't need to do the import process all over again.

allan_rex92 said Yes I know, is can be used to play multiplayer game like the legend of zelda - four swords (GBA Version). I just wished that launchbox could launch the game properly. Ok. But this isn't LaunchBox's fault necessarily. Not every emulator is going to work, and some emulators we needed to find a work around or alternate command line parameter. 95% of the time thus far has been a problem with the command line, which is how we launch the game. Without coding emulators directly in to LaunchBox which is way out of our scope, there is little we can do about this problem. I brought up that VBA-M can do what you would like it to because VBA-M works. I know for a fact it works because I use it. I was trying to suggest this so that you can get it to work. Use LaunchBox, an emulator that we can get to function in conjunction with LB and be able to achieve the goal you would like it to do.

So allan, I just took a look, VBA-M has a Netplay / Link section in its options menu.

LaunchBox made me realize my problem was worse, It just made it a pretty problem. I have about 8500 games in there. I haven't added all of the platforms I want either, but ... It's actually good I have that many games because I break LB constantly because of the amount of games. Jason loves me for it.

Jason Carr said For the record, Brad has 1,433 games. That's quite a feat. No wonder he's broke. Not true. It was all of those night caps with escorts! Joking.. Actually, a lot of it is actually friends and bundles.

CadetStimpy said Reply to Brad: In the top-level directory I have 2 xml files - LaunchBox and License (I have Premium). In the Metadata sub-directory, I have one large one. In the Backup sub-directory, I have 25 files with names like this: LaunchBox.xml.backup-635628852809969171 So you're saying I only need the LaunchBox.xml and License.xml files (or I can back-up the entire LaunchBox directory)? Reply to Jason: Well, since I have a semi-insane amount of disc space on my system (14Tb), backing-up the entire LaunchBox directory wouldn't be an issue. Perhaps I'll just Back-Up the whole thing (it's about 330Mb at this point), although just Backing-Up those 2 xml files is a space-saver. What do you recommend between these 2 choices? I know the feeling. I have a ton of space too. Regardless of space its which ever you want to keep. I have all my roms and emulators on an external drive and LaunchBox on an internal because of the high read write access, but its a separate drive than my OS drive. So when I reinstall Windows 8, which I had to recently, honestly I didn't need to do anything. I just created a new shortcut on my desktop and ran LB like nothing happened. Nothing important is kept outside of your LaunchBox folder except for the roms and emulators, those are where you want them to be. But more or less, yes you only need to keep the LaunchBox XML files or you can just copy the entire folder so you don't have to run the installer again. The backup folder is supposed to have that many XML files. It is in case there is an error that is in the XML file or caused from the XML file you can just rename one of the backups and it replaces the XML with a previous version. Any information written to it since that backup will be lost, but it beats having to start over.

Jason Carr said Drop shadows, bevel and emboss, and outlines! And textures! Im ignoring that last one.

Several official LaunchBox banners then. Textless, white text, colored text, bold and unbold... forget anything else Jason? http://i.imgur.com/9Gc0T5d.png http://i.imgur.com/wp58nLa.png

Jason Carr said Whoops, sorry Brad, the official font is bolded. ... Damn it. xD