Zombeaver

So I noticed something in your screenshot... why does the rom file name say "2600 1.00 Files.log"? That seems wrong... I'd have to double check when I get home but I'm fairly certain all my 2600 roms are zipped.

lordmonkus said If someone can get MESS in Retroarch figured out that would be amazing just for the shaders alone. Yeah, that's the real reason I was interested in getting it to work - CCS64 is a fine standalone emulator, but I would love to have access to those sweet sweet shaders :( I guess you just have to have the appropriate bios in the system folder and then have your rom named in accordance with what's on this page (Software Lists -> search page -> description [game title])? I may mess around with it tonight.

Here's a new one for Sega Model 2. No "sketch" version this time since it's just a logo. I tried a couple different arcade cabinets and it just wasn't working for me. I'll probably end up doing the same thing for DOS, which will be up next. Full gallery here.

I'm a really big fan of Retroarch Mednafen. I haven't messed with PBPs at all since m3u's have covered my multi-disc needs, but it sounds interesting. I've never played around with Xebra but I've heard good things about it too, but Mednafen's integration with RA (and the many benefits that brings) is a big selling point for me. I came from using ePSXe which is kinda garbage to be honest, at least by comparison. The only real benefit to ePSXe is that you can throw just about anything at it, including erroneous .cue sheets and bad rips and it'll probably still work...if you want to consider that a benefit; Mednafen is pickier, but accuracy is leagues beyond ePSXe.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that. I did some searching and it looks like a whole lot of C64 stuff is missing support on MESS anyway - a lot of the stuff that I would want to use it for isn't even covered apparently. Guess I'll have to wait for the Frodo core... I don't suppose anyone knows anything about compiling these? They have it up on Github. I know literally nothing about how to do that :(

I used Kawaks way back in the day on a POS laptop, but there weren't many good alternatives at the time. Retroarch has replaced the vast majority of the individual emulators that I used in the past - the FBA and MAME cores of RA will cover most of your bases. For the few remaining games that don't cooperate with those, I use MAMEUI.

I also use the additional app method when it's the only option available (based on the emulator), but I think it should be noted that for PSX emulation, Mednafen and the Mednafen core of Retroarch have m3u support which is actually a much better option because it lets you swap discs within the emulator itself, with only a couple keyboard presses, rather than having to exit out or do anything via Launchbox itself. Basically you just create a text document, add the names of each .cue file on separate lines (in disc order), save it, and rename the file extension to .m3u and then choose that as your "rom" in Launchbox. I have Retroarch setup so that I press number 0 to "open/close the disc tray", + to go to the next disc, and - to go to the previous disc so when prompted to "switch to disc 2" I would hit 0 -> + -> 0 on the keyboard and then I can keep on truckin'. A good game to test this with to make sure you've got it working correctly is Riven - it's a 5-disc game and you can get to the second disc in just a couple minutes (each island is its own separate disc).

Thanks for this Brad. Have you messed around (heh) with the MESS core in RA at all? I'd like to use it as an alternative to CCS64 for C64 emulation since the Frodo core is still in early development, but I haven't been able to get it do... well anything really. I would have assumed you could just drop the c64 bios files in the RA system folder like anything else and be good to go but that doesn't seem to be the case. The searches I've done for documentation/help haven't been particularly helpful. Most of the forum posts over at Libretro were basically "Uh...has anyone actually gotten this to work? If so...how?" haha.

I made a new banner for 2600. Full gallery here.

Jason Carr said ...other than the Windows 7 thing, nothing really makes sense. For the record, I'm on W7 and have no major performance issues personally. The only "issue" I have is when BB first boots up there's an initial couple of seconds on each platform where it's caching the images, which I assume is unavoidable/normal; and it's literally about 2 seconds. Once they're cached everything's completely smooth. I have the image caching setting in LB set to 3GB. Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit 32 GB RAM i7 4770k GTX 780 Both LB and my roms are on an external USB 3.0 HDD.

I overwrote them with the ones you supplied - worked like a charm! Not sure what would have caused it in the first place...kinda weird. Is there a github or something where we could access the newest xmls in the event this were to ever happen again? Not a huge deal, but I just prefer to fix my own junk if I'm able rather than pestering someone else :P Thanks for the help!

@Jason I do remember pulling some stuff in yesterday (which worked fine, by the way, this seems to have just started once I moved from the last beta to official) and the progress bar (once you go through all the initial import screens) said something like "updating local metadata" before the bar actually progressed, but that doesn't seem to be happening now. Just to confirm...I'm not going to lose anything if I manually overwrite my current Metadata and MAME xmls right?

@Jason Well, when I try to do an import it has the launchbox games db listed as the resource to parse. It's obviously pulling some of the data because the text description/genre/etc. are coming through fine - it seems to just be relegated to some of the images. Is there something I should look for in the xml or something else I should test? Thank you for all your hard and continued work on LB/BB by the way. I've been involved in a number of other projects for a while but I've come back to working on my LB/BB setup recently and I'm really happy to see all the continued improvements that are being implemented. I really appreciate it!

Has the Launchbox games db integration for images been broken for anyone? I've imported some new SNES games and all I'm getting is clearlogos and screenshots - they're on the db page, but Launchbox isn't seeing them for some reason. Here's an example.

@breachless The Steam Link uses Steam's normal In-Home Streaming tech on top of some basic necessary hardware to make it work. While the majority of the posts here have revolved around the Steam Link specifically, the information is still applicable for normal In-Home Streaming usage via laptops and such as the functionality is basically identical. With that said, you can absolutely use LB/BB over IHS. The only real issue currently is that IHS requires Xinput support in applications in order for controller inputs to be recognized correctly and LB/BB don't currently use Xinput though Jason said he's working on that. Keyboard inputs work with it, however, and once the emulator is actually launched, assuming the emulator uses Xinput (things like RetroArch, PCSX2, and others do) the controller functions normally during play. You'll just have to use keyboard inputs for LB/BB navigation. Regarding the specific issue you're having, what you need to do is go into your Steam Big Picture settings -> controller -> configurations -> desktop configuration -> browse configs -> community -> Xbox 360 Gamepad (I used to recommend Captain Keeb's bindings but I'm not seeing it in the list anymore). Basically what this does is configures the controller so that it only functions as a normal controller and doesn't switch to desktop controls (which is what's causing it to send an ESC signal when you hit the "B" button). You may want to check out this thread I posted in on the Steam Link forums - I go over some things that you need to do to overcome some issues you'll likely run into. If you try the above and read over that thread and are still having any problems let me know - I'm happy to help.

There's no one-size-fits-all solution for much of anything and emulation (and its various and sundry front-ends) are certainly no exception. I welcome as many options as possible because frankly that gives me more opportunities to find something that suits my needs. Just look at how many different emulators there are for some platforms and consider that there's not necessarily a consensus among users of what's best. What's best for one person isn't necessarily the case for others. Options are a good thing! With that said, I'm personally not a fan of RL because I find it pretty unintuitive/non-user friendly/convoluted and I think LB is an absolute breeze by comparison. The only feature that seemed appealing to me about RL were the overlay features which, frankly, I found pretty underwhelming (those that I could even get to work) when I actually messed with it. The only one that I was really interested in was the disc swapping feature (which I intended to use in conjunction with ePSXe) which actually didn't work correctly for me as it never got the necessary open tray signal (I probably did something incorrectly but at this point I no longer care). Once I figured out how to use RA/Mednafen + m3u's it became a non-issue so I had no reason to mess with RL any further. It actually worked out for the best because prior to that I had no knowledge of RA but that experience is what drove me to RA in the first place and now I'm attached at the proverbial hip . At this point RL would be little more than another potential source of problems to troubleshoot, for little to no gain...for me. The more layers you add the more links you add to the chain that can potentially break (or maybe just get tangled). If you're a preexisting RL user and therefore need to invest very little additional time in order to integrate RL into LB then I can absolutely understand why you'd take that route, but if that's not the case RL seems like an added level of complication in exchange for features that are largely redundant with LB. If the feature-set that's actually unique to RL is something people find appealing enough that they're willing to invest the necessary time and effort, then more power to them, they should just go in fully cognizant of the headaches they might be facing. Personally, none of the various features enumerated thus far in this thread have convinced me that I'm missing anything. But again...that's me. As a side note I think the concept of LB -> RL -> RA is pretty hilarious. That's some serious Inception crap right there

Is there a way to disable and/or mute the videos? The audio continues to play even after launching a game which is kindof annoying. They also seem to freak out if you have a long game description and scroll up or down in the details while the video is playing. I'd just as soon disable them until the kinks get ironed out but haven't found a way to do that yet. I haven't been getting any crashing though, thankfully.

Jason Carr said Believe it or not, @WhiteGoblin figured it out: https://www.launchbox-app.com/forum/troubleshooting/big-box-doesnt-see-controllers-connected-to-steam-link#p9215 Apparently it's simply DirectInput vs. XInput. Seems silly that the Steam Link would only support XInput for games, but that seems to be the issue. I'll look to see how difficult it would be to get XInput added. I'm confused. Is this not what I already asked two months ago? That's why I asked if it was using Xinput... Dinput basically never works with the Link. It doesn't work in Retroarch, 4DO etc. Xinput does. Zombeaver said The only thing I can assume is that Launchbox isn't actually using Xinput? Everything that I've tested with In Home Streaming that actually uses Xinput (or even hacked/patched Xinput support ala ePSXe) has worked flawlessly.

cejpe said ...shouldn't alt-tabbing out and back in solve that issue by giving it back to BB? No. The Link (or just Steam's In-Home-Streaming to be more specific) hooks into a specific application when one is launched in Big Picture. It doesn't end/change until that application is closed. If other things pop up as part of the launch process it often causes problems - log windows, launchers, etc. cejpe said Another thing, when I first launch BB from my Steam Link, I am able to control BB, but only for a split second. I've noticed this as well. Not sure what to make of it to be honest. cejpe said If you're using Xpadder and have your game pad buttons mapped to keyboard controls such as up, down, left, right, etc. Then I don't understand why it wouldn't control BigBox ESPECIALLY when you're using VH. Perhaps there is an issue with controller detection within BigBox when VH is used, or when used with the Steam Link in general. I'm not using Xpadder through the Link because I'm not using VirtualHere through the Link either. I use Xpadder on the host when I'm actually playing on it, not when I'm using the Link. Xpadder does work on the Link if you use VH as does BB navigation, but until they fix the sound problems caused with a wireless 360 controller + VH, that's not an option for me. If you're using a wired controller, you should just use VH and you should be fine. Again, if you have VH setup correctly, your experience should be indistinguishable from just straight up plugging a controller into the host and using BB; so as long as you can plug a controller into the host and navigate BB, you should still be able to do it through the Link as long as you're using VH. If that's not the case, you've got something setup incorrectly. Steam Link -> VH disabled -> using wired or wireless 360 controller: Launchbox navigation via controller and/or keyboard works Big Box navigation via controller does not work but keyboard does work Xpadder does not work Steam Link -> VH enabled -> using wired 360 controller: Launchbox navigation via controller and/or keyboard works Big Box navigation via controller and/or keyboard works Xpadder works Steam Link -> VH enabled -> using wireless 360 controller: Launchbox navigation via controller and/or keyboard works Big Box navigation via controller and/or keyboard works Xpadder works Frequent sound popping/audio problems

@Jason Hmmm. Interesting. I'm inclined to think it is indeed a focus issue then - I'm just not sure what would be causing it. Emulators that use log windows do the same thing until they're disabled so I really thought the splash screen was having the same effect. Tonight I'm going to try watching task manager while BB launches to see if I spot anything weird. I wonder if there's a way something like this could be implemented? Maybe with a 10 second delay or something. It should allow you to force focus on a window that you specify. My limited knowledge of AHK is just via fiddling with things in LB though - I've never used it standalone.

cejpe said Interesting. I haven't actually tried using LB with a controller. Have you experimented with Joy2Key or anything similar to get it working? I use Xpadder which is similar, but it only works if you have VH enabled. Without VH the inputs just go to a specific window so they're never seen by something external like Xpadder or Joy2Key. Jason Carr said @cejpe, LaunchBox works with a controller all by itself. It's not the best thing in the world, but it does work decently well. I'm assuming he means by way of the Link, not just in general. Controller inputs to Launchbox do work through the Link by default so long as you've got your controller configuration setup properly in the Big Picture configuration (setup to function like a 360 controller; this is what the Captain Keeb's configuration does). It doesn't require anything weird like VH or Xpadder/Joy2Key to work. This is part of the reason I thought it was the splash screen that was causing the problem - because the inputs work in LB but not BB. @Jason there's nothing about the way xinput is handled in LB that's different from BB?

Yep, it's not working for me either. That's very disappointing :( I did a bunch of experimenting and I've run out of ideas. There's still either something interfering with focus on launch, or their's something weird about Big Box's xinput implementation. The controller does work in LB, but that's not new for me. If it's not working in LB for anyone, it's likely an issue with your controller configuration in Big Picture. I recommend Captain Keeb's bindings for that.

@cejpe Hmmm... there are a lot of variables so I'll have to mess around with it. I'm assuming you've done the requisite disable/enable of the Steam overlay, control mapping in Big Picture, etc.? Are you using Captain Keeb's (or equivalent) bindings in Big Picture? Are you on the latest firmware beta for the Link? Are you launching Big Box directly via non-steam app or via Launchbox -> Big Box? Even before this update I could get a 360 controller to work with Big Box so long as I was using it with VH. I don't think they've addressed the sound issue that VH + wireless 360 was creating though so I haven't been using it. If you're able to get a controller to work normally when directly connected to the host, there's no reason it should act any differently when used with VH - the host should view either scenario as the same thing. The fact that it thinks it's a steam controller indicates that something is setup wrong. Are you just saying that because it shows a picture of a steam controller in the Big Picture mapping? Because it always shows that, regardless of what type of controller you connect.

@Jason Thank you thank you thank you! I will report back as soon as I get home to test this tonight! I just hope my hunch was correct and that this actually solves the issue... Fingers crossed!

@bundangdon There isn't a "list" - you just have to opt in to the beta in the options in Launchbox. Tools -> Options -> General -> Updates and check "Update to Beta Release". Tada! :P