Zombeaver

So much angst! Doesn't anybody around here listen to anything that doesn't make you want to punch something/someone?

Don't get me wrong, we greatly appreciate those sort of contributions! Jason's got a massive workload so external legwork like this is awesome! It's just that ScummVM specifically is a bit of an odd duck haha There is no real importing of ScummVM per se; not in the same sense as other platforms. You basically have to build the entries from scratch in your library. I've got a list of instructions here. The actually scraping is the simplest part of the entire process. The metadata will be scraped from either DOS or Windows depending on the game (most are DOS). It's just everything else that's a bit on the unwieldy side

Welp, there it is then. If you were to import any rom files in association with any emulator other than MAME itself (even a MAME core of Retroarch) it doesn't automatically apply that option and you should see the box.

Actually... what emulator are you using for these? Are you using MAME proper or a Retroarch core? If you're actually using MAME as the emulator I believe it just uses that function automatically. I have it defaulted to Retroarch so it doesn't for me.

I'm not sure what to tell you there. It's not a premium feature as far as I know. I guess as long as it's taking you to the MAME import screen that's the important part...

I'm a little confused as to what that would be used for, as far as ScummVM importing. Scraping metadata in and of itself has never been the issue with ScummVM importing - it's that you don't have a traditional rom "file" like other emulator+rom combos; you're directing it to a folder that contains the relevant data files. The way you do that is via the drop-down menu in the ScummVM tab of the game entry:

By the way, the option I was talking about earlier is the last box on this screen in the import wizard (these are the default checks for this screen): If that box is left unchecked and you try to import Aero Fighters for example (aerofgt), this is what you'll get on the final screen (where it shows the title that it will import it as): If you do check it, you'll then be taken to a special import screen specifically for MAME: Leaving it with the default options (as pictured above), hitting next then gives you this as the final screen of the import (the actual game title):

Honestly I've moved from "on the fence" to "mostly disinterested" the more I've actually seen of it and read/watched about it. Looks/sounds like a very standard open-world-survival-crafting game not unlike pretty much any other just "bigger" in a very shallow sense. "Width of the ocean depth of a kiddie-pool" is a phrase I've heard repeatedly. I'll pick it up when it's way on sale, hopefully after they add something substantial to it.

As long as you drop them all in the boxes - front folder like Cid said, they'll automatically appear for your existing game entries so long as they match either the game title or the rom name. You just have to refresh your image cache.

Yep, what @CriticalCid is correct. That's why I say to keep in mind there are going to be gaps. It's not like a SNES game where you've got actual box art. For arcade games you're basically dealing with posters. Yep, if you select Box - Front, it'll show up if you're showing "Boxes". The reason there are multiple categories beyond what's in the view options is because of image priorities. You can choose to prioritize certain types of boxes over others in the priority list.

The images don't come from emumovies/wiki anyway - they come from the games DB which is included in the basic scrape. Keep in mind that there are going to be MAME titles that simply have no cover art (especially considering the number of games you're talking about). Some may have cover art but aren't in the games DB yet. I normally use The Arcade Flyer Museum to help fill in gaps along with Google images to a lesser degree.

The verbiage may be slightly different, that was just from memory. It's definitely there. It should say something like "use MAME names".

Sure thing. Yeah it's really important that you use that option otherwise you're going to just end up with a bunch of gibberish titles with nothing properly connected to the right metadata (which includes the cover art).

When you imported them did you tell it to "Use MAME names/metadata" in the import wizard? There's a special checkbox for it. It should recognize all the MAME file names and rename the game title appropriately.

I'm not sure what you mean... it's not impossible at all. Just follow the instructions I listed and you'll be able to play NeoGeo games through Retroarch just fine.

You're welcome! When everyone lends their talents, whatever those may be, to a common goal we all reap the benefits. I've seen some extremely creative solutions to any number of different dilemmas posted here; solutions that, assuming I even could come up with given enough time, would have taken no small amount of time and effort to get there. I'm extremely grateful to everyone here that lends a hand at making this a better place and LB/BB a better experience. If this is a way that I can contribute to that end, I'm all for it. Hopefully none of that sounds sappy or melodramatic I just want to see us grow and be as great as possible! Atari ST will be up next! As far as the "version 2" images below...pretty sure the difference isn't going to be super apparent (if at all) in BB. They look pretty neat at full size though Normal: Scanlines: Normal - Version 2: Scanlines - Version 2:

The thing that puzzles me about it is that those two options should be functionally identical to the shortcut method. They should all be doing the same thing: Emulator -> Disk 1 -> Disk 2. Jason asked for some examples of platforms that are problematic for importing so I mentioned it there along with ScummVM and Amiga. They're all doable, just not in a practical, time-friendly way (or one that the average user would probably be cognizant/capable of).

It seems like that should help quite a bit for auto-association if that's the case. Obviously I can't speak for @Jason Carr since he'd be the one to make it happen, but as a general principle the less need for "guessing" the easier it should be. MAME importing works wonderfully through LB so it seems like this should be possible.

@Jason Carr I actually thought of another one that could probably use some work - Atari ST. I mentioned this in a different thread but thought it was worth noting here as well since you asked for other platforms that are problematic for importing. Honestly, the existing functionality in LB should work but...just doesn't for some reason. All I need it to do is to load multiple .st files via command line but for some reason this doesn't work in LB. The proper format is simply Emulator Path\Emulator.exe "Disk 1 path\disk 1 name.st" "Disk 2 path\disk 2 name.st" What this should do is load the emulator, load the first disk into "Drive A", the second disk into "Drive B", and then start the first disk. It seems like I should be able to accomplish this in one of two ways via LB (neither of which are exactly practical/user-friendly, but still possible): 1) Leave the application/rom path in a game entry empty, use Steem as the emulator, and then tell the entry to use special command line parameters and simply specify my "Disk 1 path\disk 1 name.st" "Disk 2 path\disk 2 name.st" 2) Direct the application/rom path in a game entry to Steem, uncheck "use an emulator" and again specify special command line parameters of "Disk 1 path\disk 1 name.st" "Disk 2 path\disk 2 name.st" Neither one of these seem to work, however. The workaround I've found, which is a pain in the butt, is to simply create a shortcut in Windows to Steem, then edit the target path to append "Disk 1 path\disk 1 name.st" "Disk 2 path\disk 2 name.st" at the end and then rename the shortcut to the game name, and then use the shortcut as my "rom" in LB, and uncheck "use an emulator". It's a real pain to do that though... I feel like this method should be functionally identical to either of the two above options though... Maybe I'm completely retarded and am just missing something obvious, I don't know.

Yeah I totally understand that, believe me. For my purposes I'm hoping this will help a with multi-disk Atari ST games via the Steem emulator. Honestly for that the existing functions should work but...just don't for some reason. All I need it to do is to load multiple .st files via command line but for some reason this doesn't work in LB. The proper format is simply Emulator Path\Emulator.exe "Disk 1 path\disk 1 name.st" "Disk 2 path\disk 2 name.st" What this should do is load the emulator, load the first disk into "Drive A", the second disk into "Drive B", and then start the first disk. It seems like I should be able to accomplish this in one of two ways via LB - either 1) Leave the application/rom path in a game entry empty, use Steem as the emulator, and then tell the entry to use special command line parameters and simply specify my "Disk 1 path\disk 1 name.st" "Disk 2 path\disk 2 name.st" 2) Direct the application/rom path in a game entry to Steem, uncheck "use an emulator" and again specify special command line parameters of "Disk 1 path\disk 1 name.st" "Disk 2 path\disk 2 name.st" Neither one of these seem to work, however. The workaround I've found, which is a pain in the butt, is to simply create a shortcut in Windows to Steem, then edit the target path to append "Disk 1 path\disk 1 name.st" "Disk 2 path\disk 2 name.st" then rename the shortcut to the game name, and then use the shortcut as my "rom" in LB, and uncheck "use an emulator". It's a real pain to do that though...

There's actually a feature request that @lordmonkus put in for that exact thing here. Vote for it! It was for a different purpose but clearly there are other ways it could prove useful as well.

Can you provide an example of one of the file names? Is there any kind of set-in-stone naming convention/format for them similar to MAME? I would assume it would make the implementation of proper name association quite a bit simpler if so.

Hmm interesting. Admittedly the only game I've tested it with for Saturn is Enemy Zero, so the issue there may be game-specific, I'm not sure. I assumed it was across the board since the RA version doesn't seem to let you do it at all, either via m3u or the "disk management" function in the quick menu. Again though, I only tested the RA swap function with Enemy Zero. Launching the second disc from the start works just fine in both RA and standalone so it shouldn't be an issue with the disc images. Glad it's working for you though! I guess I'll have to test it with some other multi-disc Saturn games. If possible, could you upload your save file? The reason I used Enemy Zero to test is because the first disc swap happens at the very beginning. I don't have a save far enough in anything else to test.

Yep! Those are the keys for standalone. I don't know if there's a way to rebind those if that matters to you...

Here's an Arcade variant for Cave. Since the arcade platform banner I created ages ago has Esp Ra.De as the background I guess I can just change it to a Cave logo and the text to Cave. It also occurs to me that the current one says MAME not Arcade... I think I need to make a list... 1. Make an alternate version of the current Arcade platform banner changing the text from "MAME" to "Arcade" 2. Make an alternate version of the current Arcade platform banner changing the top image to a Cave logo and the text to "Cave" 3. Make a new platform banner for MAME that uses a "classic" arcade game background 4. Make a new clear logo for MAME that uses a "classic" arcade game background Permutations aplenty! Normal: Scanlines: