Kriven

Nah, I get where you're coming from exactly. It's natural to want the best parts of everything. Hell, I want that too in a lot of ways. I mean, I'm a pretty big advocate for the Game Grid concept.

I also ran into issues with the length of filenames, when I moved my LaunchBox from the external drive to my internal drive.

Sounds like LaunchBox is going to have its own overlay features before long. Better work on adding user profiles and a chat client :p

Not really a feature, exactly, and definitely not about the "Clean Images" utility. The Images folder is a giant mess, really, which makes it somewhat problematic to work with. Is there some way to restructure it so that it's more in-line with the way LaunchBox handles Videos and Games organization? So I mean, instead of listing every game in the one directory (which can be messy if you have the same game for multiple platforms [which reminds me***]) the Images folder would look: LaunchBox\Images\Super Nintendo (SNES)\Donkey Kong Country\Front.png I don't know what all the numbers and letters are exactly, but they seem to have corresponding files so I assume they're important... some kind of identifying code for LaunchBox? They slow down my folders a lot, but if they're important that can't be helped. But would it be possible to stash them deeper within the folder hierarchy somehow? ***Also, I was reminded while typing this that I keep meaning to ask about a "Other Games with the Same Name" section. I haven't ironed out how that would work exactly, but I'll create a more detailed request when I have.

Ran into an issue with videos. Since you can't use " : " in a file name, that method won't work for connecting a video file with its respective game's title. The only way to do link the two is by using the game's actual file name, which can be problematic for a number of games which simply use "Launch.exe" as their filename... yet for some reason when I try to manually link the video and game by going into Edit - Other - Video, LaunchBox doesn't want to save the video directory. Quick Edit: Also, for the sake of keeping the visuals consistent, do you think we could use the "Rating Pending" icon for any game which doesn't have an ESRB rating? Edit Again: Actually, I found an ESRB image generator and made this: Could that be used for all items which have an empty Rating field?

Also, I'll admit that this is my first time playing with the music feature, so I've got that on the mind at the moment (as well as the new videos feature). Playing with Big Box at all tonight, so just been thinking a lot about ways to use it. A "Next Screenshot" button from the Game Menu list would be neat. Maybe also "Next Fanart" for the backgrounds, to allow users to seamlessly view multiple images for a game without leaving Big Box. Maybe the music could stop playing when an additional app is selected? Sorry if I'm cluttering the thread with this since I know it doesn't particularly pertain (at least, this post doesn't) to the current Beta build.

So the way the new video folder hierarchy works is to go: LaunchBox\Video\Super Nintendo (SNES)\Donkey Kong Country.mkv ? Will those videos be wrapped up with the game when you export it and its metadata? Can a similar feature be added for music? Edit: Okay, so I've tested the videos feature, and here's my thoughts: Users should be able to designate whether the music or video files takes priority of autoplay. It's a little annoying to have the music and video playing at the same time (though I suppose there could be an option for that as well). There should also be an option to play the video in fullscreen. Probably right under the "Stop/Play Music" selection. If users choose for videos to take priority over music, maybe allow the music to play once the video has concluded? (Unless they have some kind of "loop" option selected). Second Edit: Playing with it a little more, I think an option that allows the videos to play while perusing the games list but to pause that video and play the music when the player opens a game (when they switch from, say, the full SNES game list to just the Super Mario Kart menu list) would be a nifty thing. At least, that's the one I would use. Possibly even replacing the video with a screenshot when in the game-specific menu. Also, I know the intent is to use trailers and gameplay videos for the videos feature, but am I the only one using those cheesy 80s and 90s commercials instead? :D

Just chiming in on the wonders of the "Additional Applications" feature and its potential. It's one of the single most important features LaunchBox has, and its uses are nearly limitless. In the future I can see it being used to link the special features with movies, or discs for ripped DVD sets. Artbooks with music albums. Comics with their anniversary specials. As far as media centers go, the "Additional Apps" function of LaunchBox gives it a solid headstart for approaching the broader spectrum of entertainment, when that point comes.

At the moment series are handled pretty typically, by being considered their own category... But I'd like to see them more fully featured, if it's possible. By this I mean, I'd like a "Series Browser" view for at least Big Box Mode. Instead of browsing by platform, users can browse by game Series (with an option at the bottom for Unaffiliated games). In this view, series should have their own descriptions and box art (an all-encompassing user-determined poster image) and fanart. The fanart could be set to appear mixed in with a games' specific fanart, although that should also be a toggleable option (for instance, if I scroll to Super Mario Land, my Super Mario franchise art may or may not be among the Super Mario Land rotation at my discretion as a user. The Franchise should probably draw on all fanart from the games within its series). It might also be ideal to allow for multiple series to be associated with a single game, for instances of crossover. I'd also like some limited metadata applications for additional apps and game manuals. Cover art at the very least, a description at the next level. Edit: Oh, I keep forgetting. It would be nice if the "Fanart" and screenshots could be better fit when they're used as the background. Right now a lot of them end up being too large for LaunchBox, and the image gets cropped in strange places. It would be nice to add a "Letterboxed" option that will scale the image only as far as its largest side to avoid unwanted cropping.

I like the idea of a Platform Apps feature... it would probably be a good compromise to add that with some kind of "exclusions" list. That way the majority of games would open with the same additional apps, but you could tell LaunchBox which specific games have a different requirement. "Open with All Except..."

Just enjoy your trip... the time off is well-earned.

Forgive me if this feature already exists, but it would be handy if LaunchBox could locate doubles of existing games for specific platforms. For example, Sonic the Hedgehog on Sega Genesis should not be considered a double with Sonic the Hedgehog on Steam, but if two copies of the title exist for Sega Genesis, LaunchBox should be able to point that out.

US release date or Global release date? Are we counting Famicom and NES as separate consoles or the same?

Oh snap, this is cool. I'd like to see something like this integrated to manage "series" when the time comes to approach other types of media (like tv shows).

Double post because this is a bit more of a substantial update. I've taken a break from the Nintendo 64 posters to fill out my Nintendo DS collection: Here's an updated template which includes new elements for the N64 posters (as well as PAL coloration for the banners) and the elements for the DS posters I've needed up to now: https://www.mediafire.com/?37311z128ng7g70 I'll add the DS posters to the top post.

LaunchBox McQuack?

That worked Jason, thanks :D Added three new posters to the OP. Hopefully I'll get through the "A" games tomorrow. Edit 5/24: I finished off all the games beginning with "A". All-Star Baseball 2000 and 2001 are actually exclusives, but using the "Only For N64" graphic would have hidden some actual text, so I had to leave that off. It's more important, to me, that games retain their identity more than it is if they're exclusive or not. Tomorrow I'll begin on the B's, but I don't know if/when I'll get through them. Ugh, weekdays. I've been thinking about how I'm going to handle other consoles (particularly PC games, where some games actually already feature traditional artwork while others have some pretty weird dimensions). In doing so I came across this site which has box art for Steam games which replaces that "Games for Windows" banner. Might be of interest to some folks. Edit 5/25: Worked through all titles beginning with "B" today (I think... Maybe I missed something). Bottom of the 9th suffered the same fate as All-Star Baseball, being an exclusive that had to have the generic banner to prevent from hiding important images. Those baseball games just really shove too much information on the boxes x.x; There aren't very many "C" games, so hopefully I can have those finished by tomorrow :D

The template I'm using right now is here: https://www.mediafire.com/?37311z128ng7g70 it works with GIMP. It's not complete though, but I plan on hopefully getting all the pieces in place by mid-afternoon tomorrow. I will gladly add any posters made with it to the top post to keep things organized. Edit: Oh, I can't edit the OP anymore... does this forum not allow users to edit a post once it's been replied to?

I mentioned in a few other threads that adding various display options would be a cool possibility, particularly with the new Big Box Mode and how it's tailored to suit taller images, or basically the traditional "DVD Case" type of image. To accommodate that, I've begun creating "tower" images for games which do not officially have them (N64, SNES, etc.). Right now I'm working almost exclusively on Nintendo 64 games, but I will get to other systems eventually. I figured I would share them here, since there isn't a database for this kind of thing like there is for Steam Banners. Some of these are just cropped from the custom covers over at The Cover Project others are ones I've done using a modified version of their template (the original was just... such a mess). When I put these in myself, I set the original front image as a fanart so it isn't lost if I decide I want to use a different style of display image. Vertical Posters: Nintendo 64: Nintendo DS:

I can still launch all the games I could yesterday, but now it looks like the errors are all fixed ^_^

A lot of people seem to be having issues with running games. I just want to report in that so far I haven't had any issues running NES games using FCEUX. I'll try some other platforms throughout the day. Edit: This happened while I was simply browsing the platforms list after having tested Super Mario Land 2 (RetroArch emulator, Gambatte core. It played fine, btw): System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. ---> System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Index must be within the bounds of the List. Parameter name: index at System.ThrowHelper.ThrowArgumentOutOfRangeException(ExceptionArgument argument, ExceptionResource resource) at System.Collections.Generic.List`1.Insert(Int32 index, T item) at System.Collections.ObjectModel.Collection`1.InsertItem(Int32 index, T item) at System.Collections.ObjectModel.ObservableCollection`1.InsertItem(Int32 index, T item) at Caliburn.Micro.BindableCollection`1.InsertItemBase(Int32 index, T item) at Caliburn.Micro.BindableCollection`1.c__DisplayClass5.b__4() --- End of inner exception stack trace --- at System.RuntimeMethodHandle._InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, SignatureStruct& sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks) at System.Delegate.DynamicInvokeImpl(Object[] args) at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.InternalRealCall(Delegate callback, Object args, Boolean isSingleParameter) at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.TryCatchWhen(Object source, Delegate callback, Object args, Boolean isSingleParameter, Delegate catchHandler) Edit: So I've now tested about sixish emulators for different systems (NES, SNES, GB, GBC, N64, NDS, 7800, 2600) and those all launch without an issue. I've also tested a handful of typical Windows games (Solitaire, Minesweeper, a couple of others) and those launched without issue. I also tested Left 4 Dead 2 from my Steam collection, and didn't have any problems with that either. I can't speak for how well DOS games work because I don't really play DOS and honestly can't figure out DOSbox >>;;; But everything I've tried to launch with BBM has worked without any problems at all. Potentially unrelated console-browsing error notwithstanding.

I receive this error whenever I attempt to close out to Desktop Mode in the latest beta: System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. ---> System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The system cannot find the file specified at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithShellExecuteEx(ProcessStartInfo startInfo) at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(ProcessStartInfo startInfo) at BigBox.DesktopModeMenuAction.OnEnter() --- End of inner exception stack trace --- at System.RuntimeMethodHandle._InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, SignatureStruct& sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks) at System.Delegate.DynamicInvokeImpl(Object[] args) at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.InternalRealCall(Delegate callback, Object args, Boolean isSingleParameter) at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.TryCatchWhen(Object source, Delegate callback, Object args, Boolean isSingleParameter, Delegate catchHandler) I did not have this error in the previous beta. Edit: Also, is there a way to shift BBM into a Windowed mode? I know it goes against the concept of the mode, but it would be very useful for troubleshooting some of my game configurations (like my joytokey profiles) without exiting everything.

Okay, I downloaded the (alpha? beta?) and messed around with it a bit. I didn't launch any games, but I mainly just wanted to get myself acquainted with the system. Right now there's some disparity between inputting a navigation command and the highlighter moving to the next item, but I think that's something which will eventually be ironed out. In general I think it's looking really cool. My one gripe with it at the moment (and assuming better navigable features will be included in the future) is the way it handles artwork which is wider than it is tall. I think either an alternate view will have to be generated for displaying the information below N64 box art instead of to its side, or I think this might be an opportunity to add the "Posters" image functionality I had mentioned in another thread, so that in BBM users can customize the display image so they better fit the space alotted in BBM. For example: This is what Banjo-Kazooie would look like in "Box Front Mode" (which is the display BBM uses now): But it could look like this if the user has a defined "Poster" among the game's images: Edit: Well, something weird happened although I can't say if it's related to BBM or not. In BBM I decided to test out the game launching and all that, so I went to Adventures of Dino Riki (my go-to test game) and flipped the box art, just to test that feature. When I went back to Library View and linked Dino Riki to an additional app, the image automatically switched from "Steam Banner" to displaying the back of the NES box. I can't get it to revert back, even though I have my library set to prefer Steam Banners. Edit 2: I fixed it by flipping the box image again, ha. Maybe have box images automatically return to default when you close BBM?

One thing I've noticed while doing this is that LaunchBox's native alphabetization is a little wrong. For instance, it seems to place special characters after "Z" when they should technically be placed before "#". By this I mean the traditional hierarchy is: Special Characters > Numbers > Letters. I have a number of B.P.R.D. comics which, because of their spelling, should come before all other comics beginning with the letter "B". Instead they come at the end. Similarly, Son of Sinbad, because of the short word "Son", is following "Sonic the Hedgehog", when "Son of Sinbad" should be coming first.

Jason Carr said Very cool Kriven. This is extremely long-term, but I'm thinking eventually we could put a drop down at the top of the side bar for the type of media (Games, Platforms, Books, Movies, TV Shows, Music, etc.). And then have customized views and filtering for all of them. I greatly look forward to the day when LaunchBox's fullest potentials are realized. A drop down menu for switching between media libraries would be a very handy thing indeed. I'm trying to refrain so much from loading you with suggestions about each specific media type because I know it's all so far in the future, but just thinking about it gets my mind whirring. Ha.. LaunchBox is really the greatest launching program I've ever used... it's so simply designed, yet so incredibly powerful for those who care to dig into it all. Hippyshake said @Kriven: That is a seriously, seriously excellent idea. Thanks ^_^