DrEvil

Glad you got the platform running and launching modules — nice work getting over the hump. Here's the easy path for both the game list and the artwork. I've bundled it all into one zip (link below): the full ~3,300-game VASSAL index plus box art, map backgrounds, and counter-sheet screenshots. It does NOT include the modules or rulebooks — you grab those from vassalengine.org as you go, and every entry already has the official download link built in. Download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AWbZstZTYBiRntU8J2kZVDeyW49oLDJD/view?usp=drive_link (about 2.7 GB) Install (there's also a READ-ME-FIRST.md in the zip with these same steps): 1. Close LaunchBox. 2. If you just want art for the games you've already added — copy only the "Images" folder from the zip into your LaunchBox folder (e.g. C:\LaunchBox) and choose Merge. Any game whose title matches will light up with its art. That's it. 3. If you also want my full ~3,300-game list — first back up your existing Data\Platforms\VASSAL.xml (copy it somewhere safe), then copy both the "Data" and "Images" folders in and choose Merge/Replace. 4. Start LaunchBox. A few things so nothing looks broken: - The entries default to C:\VASSAL Games for the module paths. If you keep your .vmod files somewhere else, use Tools > Change ROM Paths to repoint them. Art shows either way. - "File not found" when you hit Play just means you haven't downloaded that module yet — open the game's Additional Apps, use the vassalengine.org link, drop the .vmod in your folder, and Play works. - Blank cover on a game? LaunchBox matches art to the game's title, and characters like : / ? get turned into _ in the filename. That's almost always a title/filename mismatch — a quick rename of the image fixes it. Shout if anything doesn't show up and I'll help you sort it.

Not stupid at all — that's a fair snag, because the README never says "copy the XML" as its own step. Here's why: You don't handle VASSAL.xml as a loose file. It's already sitting inside the zip's Data\Platforms\ folder. So the instruction is the one in Option B, step 3 — "copy both the Data and Images folders into your LaunchBox folder." When you copy that whole Data folder in and choose Merge, Windows drops the XML into the right place automatically: LaunchBox\Data\Platforms\VASSAL.xml That's the only place it needs to go. There's no separate XML step because copying the Data folder is the XML step — it carries the file to its home for you. So, concretely: 1. Open the zip, you'll see Data and Images. 2. Drag Data into your LaunchBox install folder (e.g. C:\LaunchBox) → Merge/Replace. 3. That puts VASSAL.xml at C:\LaunchBox\Data\Platforms\VASSAL.xml.

OK - I am comfortable with sharing all the artwork from the modules but not strictly copyrighted material such as manual. I'll post again with the art collection when I have it

Excellent - thanks for testing this out. It worked!. The readme in the zip has instruction for you to copy the included xml into your platforms directory in your launchbox folder structure. I also included a python script that pulls and places all artwork from you modules. If that is beyond your ability, let me think about whether I can legally distribute my artwork collection. I certainly cannot distribute the modules themselves as they belong to VASSAL

Adding VASSAL games to LaunchBox — a beginner walkthrough Welcome! Good news: VASSAL drops into LaunchBox really cleanly once you know the trick. I put together a little kit that does all of this for you (attached) — but here's the whole idea in three steps so you know what's going on. The key trick: a VASSAL module (that .vmod file) is your "ROM," and VASSAL itself acts as the "emulator" that launches it. 1) Add VASSAL as an emulator Tools > Manage Emulators > Add. Name it "VASSAL" and point it at your VASSAL.exe (usually in C:\Program Files\VASSAL-3.x). Then on the "Associated Platforms" tab, add a platform called "VASSAL" and set its Default Command-Line Parameters to --load. That's the magic bit — it tells VASSAL to open the module straight away instead of showing its menu. 2) Add your modules as ROMs Tools > Import > ROM Files (or just drag your .vmod files in). Set the platform to "VASSAL" and launch them with the VASSAL emulator you just made. Skip the metadata/art download step. Rename each game to a clean title while you're there. Double-click and it launches. 3) Get the artwork automatically Every module already contains its own cover, board, and pieces. I included a tiny script, extract_art.py, that pulls them out and can drop them straight into LaunchBox's image folders (needs Python + pip install pillow — instructions in the README). There's a Tobruk example so you can see what it produces. The attached kit has: a step-by-step README, extract_art.py, the Tobruk example output, and — for later — a ready-made "VASSAL" platform with the entire 3,300+ game library already catalogued. Start with the README and steps 1–3; save the big XML for when you're comfortable. Shout if you get stuck. LaunchBox-VASSAL.zip

The entire VASSAL board-wargame library as a LaunchBox platform — 3,331 games with box art, manuals, and one-click launch (assuming you have downloaded the module) As far as I can tell this is a first, so I wanted to share it: the complete VASSAL library is now a fully-built LaunchBox platform. If you haven't met it, VASSAL is a free, open-source engine for playing tabletop board wargames on a PC — think hex-and-counter classics like Afrika Korps or ASL, but also everything from ancients to sci-fi. Each game is a "module" (a .vmod file) hosted in the official library at vassalengine.org. The library holds 3,557 projects; 3,315 of them have a downloadable module. It's very much alive — over half the catalog had its current module released in the last six years. It is an amazing system. What's in the platform: - 3,331 games in a single VASSAL platform XML — the library's entire downloadable catalog, with title, publisher, year, era/scale/topic metadata pulled from the library's own catalog data. - VASSAL registered as the "emulator." Each game's application path points at its module file, so hitting Play opens the game in VASSAL exactly like launching a ROM. - Art for nearly every game: box covers as Box - Front (3,106 games), the actual game-map scans as Fanart - Background (3,077), and composite counter sheets as gameplay screenshots (3,108). All of it harvested out of the modules themselves, so it's the real components, not placeholders. - Manuals that actually work: 676 games have the rulebook PDF bundled inside their module. Those get extracted automatically — the rules PDF becomes the LaunchBox manual, and any other PDFs in the module (charts, playbooks, scenario books) attach as Additional Apps, one click away on the game's page. - Nothing copyrighted gets redistributed. Every game record carries custom fields with the module's official download URL and its sha256, plus an Installed yes/no stamped from what's on disk. The XML is really an index: you fetch only the modules you want, straight from the official library. (If you want everything, a one-module-per-game mirror runs about 85 GB.) How it was built: the whole platform is generated by a script from vassalengine.org's public JSON catalog (all 3,557 projects censused, zero API errors, politely rate-limited) plus asset extraction from the module files. Regenerating refreshes installed flags, art, and manuals. I built it with heavy AI assistance as part of a larger project around making these games more playable. Some flavor on what the catalog actually contains, from its own tags: WWII is the center of mass (813 games), then gunpowder-era (340), fantasy (305), moderns and ancients; roughly a thousand tactical titles, nine hundred operational, six hundred strategic. If you have any interest in board wargaming, this platform turns LaunchBox into a genuinely spectacular shelf for it. Screenshots attached. Happy to go deeper on how any piece of it works if there's interest.

Note that I stopped working on it a while back to focus on another project so I am not sure what state it is in. https://midwinter-remaster.titanium-helix.com/decisions.html

Are you the developer type that could clone a repo and take a look at the current state of the code - or more interested in seeing a working application?

I've been working on a ground-up remaster of Mike Singleton's 1989 classic Midwinter, with blessing from Chilli Hugger (who held the remake rights). Built in Rust using the Bevy engine, the goal is faithful recreation - same mechanics, same 32 recruits, same desperate guerrilla war against General Masters across that frozen 160,000 square mile island. Project website: https://midwinter-remaster.titanium-helix.com/ Latest video: https://youtu.be/TsMep9npCVE Would love feedback from anyone who remembers skiing into combat with nothing but grenades and a sniper rifle.

heres the latest info , I'll PM you

I am almost ready to share the first module of my controller mapping framework. This is a set of tools that finds all of the controller actions for games in a platform, and creates images showing users what button does what. The first module is the CONTROL_FINDER.py that accumulates, parses and canonizes the controls for all NES games. This is the hard step, and creating the visuals overlaid on an image of an NES gamepad is a little easier. Anyway, here is a design doc for this first module. If you're interested I'll keep you in the loop and eventually share the git. For what it worth I am using Claude code in JetBrains PyCharm IDE and apps are using PyQt6. All of the sources for information about game controls are open source. Any feedback is welcomed. It may be important for you to know that I am not a dev - just a guy who knew a little python then learned to vibe code. Collaborative development is something I'd like to learn about by doing it.ARCHITECTURE.html

Thanks. I will start the thread in that forum once I have a testable app.

For anybody following this thread - I am close to release candidate version and will create a git repository for anyone interested in providing feedback, testing, contributing code, forking, whatever. I have a few GUIs. The pipeline involves finding all the control for specific games in specific platforms (i.e. what does "Button A" do in "1942" on "NES"). These are then put in a database. Then the user create a very dynamic visual controller template for the NES platform in general, to which all the specific game controller mappings are individually loaded, yielding game-specific controller templates. FYI - I am using claude code in PyCharm (python) on windows. I say this because: if I were to clone the repo and start working on it, the first thing I would do would be to ask claude to walk me through the project. PM or post here if you are interested

For anybody following this thread - I am close to release candidate version and will create a git repository for anyone interested in providing feedback, testing, contributing code, forking, whatever. I have a few GUIs. The pipeline involves finding all the control for specific games in specific platforms (i.e. what does "Button A" do in "1942" on "NES"). These are then put in a database. Then the user create a very dynamic visual controller template for the NES platform in general, to which all the specific game controller mappings are individually loaded, yielding game-specific controller templates. FYI - I am using claude code in PyCharm (python) on windows. I say this because: if I were to clone the repo and start working on it, the first thing I would do would be to ask claude to walk me through the project. PM or post here if you are interested

@stigzler @megashub Hi Guys, wondering if you are making progress. I just developed a prototype process for programmatically generating controller mapping images. I started with Sega Saturn. Here is a early sample of the output. Should be scalable to all consoles, the problem being finding and verifying the correct controls for old games based on wikis and image rec.

Hi All. I don't post much or do much shareable development. But there is a problem I am working on: PROBLEM: When running an emulated game for an old console, its hard to know which button does what on the original controller. Its not enough to map the A on your Xbox controller to the A from a Sega Saturn controller. You still don't know the function of A, at first. SOLUTION: Build a library of media files for LB that show the original controller with button function labels. I am automating the process and here are some sample outputs for a few Sega Saturn Games. My process is scalable and can probably handle any gamepad from any console. Its really pretty easy with Claude Code in PyCharm. The included images were generated without human editing. The only thing I manually edit is a beginning template layout of the controller buttons superimposed on a drawing of the original control, which is not specific to any game. What do you think? Does it already exist (other than for MAME)? Is it useful for others. If so, please give feedback on these prototype images.

Experience user - but new to the forum. This is to report a consistent crash in all version of Launchbox for android: Long press MSX platform banner > press Emulator Setting > Press Default Emulator = crash to Android home screen. Same for MSX2 and MSX2+ I am using a galaxy tab S5e

Thanks. Apparently some themes dont do this properly..

Where does does BigBox look for MARQUEE images for platforms? I have a second monitor working well for game marquees, pulling images without issue. But when Big Box is focused on the platform list, I get blank screens. Thanks in advance

FYI the errors I got involved date/time entries in the xml. I actually parsed them all out but LB still could not load the xml for flash

After I copy the Flash platform xml file into the Platforms folder of LB, LB will not start and throws errors indicating an issue with the xml format. When I remove flash.xml, LB runs. I downloaded the newer v7 of flashpoint

I will write up a functional requirement tonight. Is this where I would post it?

This is a good adaptation of my idea. I don't do my own template editing so I cant directly answer your questions. Regarding my own developments, I also now directly edit "Notes" to make custom comments on controls. I did this to give detailed explanations of controls for very unique games. For example, I finally got every Naomi, Model 2, Model 3, and Atomiswave game working with custom controls using the combination of HOTAS flightstick/throttle and Fanatec steering wheel with pedals. So for example, with the Naomi baseball games, when I am about to start the game from LB, I can remind myself how to select a pitch and control the baseball bat.

I think I figured out a solution for one of my issues - showing the Arcade Controls Information in a theme: I just adjust the image priority for existing images in LB Options. So, instead of having "3d Cart Priorities" default to "Cart 3d", I have moved "Arcade Controls Information" to the top of the list.

Wow that is great to here. I would love to help test. I currently have a 4 screen setup that displays a main game window, a marquee monitor, a smaller monitor that displays the control panel image and the fourth monitor provides general info, graphic ads or the RL pause screen. At one point I had ledblinky implemented but it required too much baby sitting to keep working, so I would rather just see a control panel image. I think a comprehensive solution would allow for additional displays on different monitors or on different regions of the main screen. So, for example, I might have a single large screen and I want a bezel to show the arcade cab bezel art and/or an image of the CP, or whatever. Plugins to various front end would be a plus. Personally I use RL plus Hypermarquee to accomplish this now on my Mame setup; and PinballX to do it on the pinball cab. The brings up the other issue, that the added screen (or screen regions) need to be able to render animation (the backglass screen of a pinball cabinet is commonly animated).