[LaunchBox Beta Testing]

I can't get the compressed ROM feature to work no matter what I do... I constantly get this error on every beta release I've tried. Any idea's on what I might be doing wrong? I'm using .zip files with latest stable version of Retroarch. I should point out I do have .7z and WinRAR both installed on this machine... could it be a possible conflict? I haven't tried this on my HTPC setup as it's working flawlessly with the latest stable version of LaunchBox, I'm not wanting to compromise that until I can get this working...

[LaunchBox Beta Testing]

DOS76 said Do you need to have 7zip installed? I'm getting an error message.

Still getting this error with a Sega Master System ROM. All are in .zip format made using WinRAR. Tried making the archives with .7z and still same result... Is there a setting somewhere I'm missing? Also, I had to delete the games from within LaunchBox, zip the ROM's, and then import them again. Is there another way to do this after simply compressing the ROM's without having to re-import them?

[Some simple requests for an otherwise perfect front-end]

keltoigael said The only feature I am dying for is being able to set a single static background for your game list in each system. It would greatly cut back on media size and not rely using blown up screen shots that make everything look a mess. I love Big Box mode so much but it makes my OCD twitch so bad that I am thinking on removing all screen shots and just going with a blank and boring black background it defaults too.

Have you thought of submitting a feature request ticket for this? I have made system backgrounds that I place in the Platforms>YOUR SYSTEM HERE>Device folder that would look nice for this feature.

[Some simple requests for an otherwise perfect front-end]

File compression is always lossless, meaning no data is lost when you compress it. You compress it and un-compress it and you have the exact same data. If file compression tools "destroyed" the data over time or multiple compress/un-compress re-writes, then they would ultimately be rendered useless. You won't find any "general compression" tool (like .zip, .rar, .7z, etc.) that is lossy. Lossy compression is only ever used for specific, targeted uses where it's appropriate, like audio (.mp3) or photos (.jpg) or video (.mp4). .rar, .zip, .7z, etc. are just wrappers, whatever is inside may or may not be lossless (photos, .mp3, video files).

[Some simple requests for an otherwise perfect front-end]

duhmez said

Riffman81 said And finally, .zip/.7z support for ROM files would be awesome!

I have a hot tip for this. You don't need zip suport at all. Windows has built in file compression. Right click your roms folder>advanced>compress. This will compress them in a way that apps will not know they are compressed, all seamless. ANy new files put into a compressed folder will also be compressed. You cantell it worked by checking file properties, it will say file size 3MB, size on disk, 2.1MB.

Thanks! Not a bad idea and I don't know why I didn't think of this before. I guess I'm so used to using RocketLauncher and having everything in .zip format.

[Some simple requests for an otherwise perfect front-end]

Created the request and it can be found via the link below. Arranging of Big Box Elements

[Some simple requests for an otherwise perfect front-end]

Thanks for providing the links, I voted on all of these. Yeah I agree, being able to use the HyperSpin Cinematic themes would be sweet! James Baker has done an amazing job creating that project and seems to be cranking new themes out almost daily. Certainly a project I've been watching for awhile and those themes look simply beautiful on my display. As for the PDF feature, I suppose one could just setup a program like CDisplay or something similar through adding a new emulator. With the correct command lines, you'd be able to launch it through the frontend. Not really a big deal so I probably wont submit a feature request ticket for it as Brad said, controlling a program like that outside of LB might be a hassle and isn't really worth it. I think I had to use a 3rd party app in order to control it with HyperSpin if I remember correctly. The idea of maybe having a miscellaneous or "other" image folder inside the image directory would be cool for things like viewing art or opening PDF files that may not have a specific category, but is somehow related to the selected platform or game/title. The no compression support for ROM files was almost a deal breaker for me using LB to be honest, as I have a very large collection and when you have multiple Disc based platforms to work with, and have disc image files that have multiple files inside, things tend to get a little messy. It's nice having all of those in a compressed format and helps keep your ROM sets clean and orderly all while saving quite a bit of space to add other content in the future. However, after getting to know LB and having several platforms setup in a matter of minutes really was a game changer for me in terms of minimal setup time. I was looking for something simple, but yet provided a nice looking menu system when browsing my game collection... something not too "busy". LB nailes this aspect beautifully.

[Some simple requests for an otherwise perfect front-end]

Thanks for the reply Brad! In terms of images, lets look at the Super Nintendo platform's image file structure as an example. I see the following: Back Banner Clear Logo Fanart Front ScreenShot Steam Banner I was saying that maybe a folder for Cartridge art, adverts, and flyers could be added. That way these items could be displayed within Big Box. I realize I can put cartridges in the banner or fanart folders as a work around, (I don't use fanart anyway) but I was just making a simple suggestion to add these in so they could be viewed in Big Box. I would also add a folder for title screen images as well for variety. I would also clarify these folder names a little better but that's just me being over picky and it probably doesn't help I'm OCD, lol But... My folder structure would look like the following: Adverts Banner Box Back Box Front Cartridge Fanart Flyers In-Game Screenshot Logo Steam Banner Title Screens We also have a large selection of old video adverts for various platforms. I think it would be a neat feature to be able to view these in Big Box per platform. These are old retro game commercials, mostly from the 80's and 90's and we have them for individual games as well, not just systems. As for the YouTube channel, I think I subscribed the day I installed LB, great work with the tutorials and info provided. Looking forward to seeing more content on there in the future. I kind of figured the file compression thing had already been mentioned due to the posts I found with people suggesting RocketLauncher. I will be sure to checkout the BitBucket page.

[Some simple requests for an otherwise perfect front-end]

Hey everyone, this is my first post here on the forums, but some of you may already know me as your friendly neighborhood moderator over at EmuMovies. After spending the last month or so with LB, I have to say, this front-end is very user friendly and a breeze to setup and get going. I'm currently setting up LB on my new gaming PC and it's been a real pleasure in terms of set up. I can actually spend more time playing and less time tweaking and configuring my setup. I hope this is a trend that continues as new features are implemented. I like the fact that I've gone through my first update with LB and nothing got "broken" or had to be reconfigured. I have used HyperSpin with RocketLauncher for years and it always seems something gets lost in the shuffle or broken whenever a new update is released... it's become quite annoying. With that said, I have a few requests I'd like to see in future releases and I hope none of these have already been mentioned. I did spend some time browsing through the forums and I mentioned a few of them to Jason already the last time we spoke. However, I figured I'd post them here as well. As most of you know, EmuMovies hosts a very large library of content and we're adding new content all the time. I noticed LB doesn't have support for system intro videos. I think these would be a great addition, as well as adding folders for flyers/adverts, and cartridges. I'm using most of the artwork I have collected for my HyperSpin setup already but it would be nice to make full use of everything I have in terms of art and having the correct folder in LB to store it. Also, it would be nice to have a way to edit the layout of Big Box. I'm not talking "themes" like HyperSpin (Although having a way to use individual games themes would be nice as well) I'm simply talking about having a way to arrange the way the content that is displayed on the screen already... like if I wanted my video snaps to be displayed in the top left corner, or somewhere else on the screen. Being able to move things around so to speak. No need to get all fancy and go all out like HyperSpin does (and does it very well). The simplistic, clean look of LB is one of the things I like most! My next idea was to have a integrated .pdf (or other file types like .cbr) reader. This would be great for those of us who want to add Nintendo Power or other retro gaming mags to our setups. I realize LB will use the default app you have in windows for viewing these file types already, but having integrated support would be nice and I believe GameEX has something like that. And finally, .zip/.7z support for ROM files would be awesome! I know we can use RocketLauncher as a work around, but the thing LB has going for it is it's user-friendly setup! Bringing in another launcher for someone new to this hobby just complicates things more then it has to be so I think there should be something within LB for users who want to stay away from Rocketlauncher as sometimes it can be a fanatical program to use. I'm not knocking on RocketLauncher by any means, simply saying it's menu system and overflow of options can be a bit overwhelming for users just getting into emulation and want to just play games... not spend weeks with their hand on a mouse and keyboard configuring their front-end. Simple answer here is choice. It's always nice to have options, and RocketLauncher sure does have it's share. Others may want it for bezel support, etc. Retroarch is my go to emulator for most of the 8-Bit, 16-Bit era consoles and it's overlay options are quite nice so I see no point in bringing in RocketLauncher to use in my setup currently. However, I do realize Retroarch can't always do everything. So, that's about it from me. LB is a great frontend and I've really enjoyed using it and setting it up! I want to thank Jason again for getting in touch with me and answering my questions.