[Hide platforms]

Would love this feature as well... For example...

All the Arcade emulators games (e.g. Mame, Demul etc) can be consolidated into one Arcade Playlist and then you can promote that into the platform list. Now you dont want those individual platforms/emulators to be visible as well. This would really clean up the arcade category... can we please get this feature across the line 😙

[LaunchBox for Android New Version - Beta Testing]

On 9/6/2021 at 6:20 AM, Vader said:

Hey @Jason Carr

Here is a video recording that I did, which shows the studdering when trying to scroll through the games using the wheel view. I also tested this with the text list with details view and the scrolling was a little better, but even with this view the list whould studder on occation. 

I'm also experiencing the same stuttering on my nvidia shield pro 2019. I never noticed this behaviour in the previous release. A bit unusual as this is running off an SSD.

[AllNightLong]

This is a great theme! Thanks

Can someone please create the missing Nintendo 3DS Device Platform Image?

[The POC - A Nice View of the New Walls]

Thanks for the tip @C-Beats

Changing position has fixed the view for 21:9 users...

Edited Wall2GamesView.xaml from <OrthographicCamera Position="-1,0,5" to "-1,0.5,5".

 

[The POC - A Nice View of the New Walls]

Thanks @faeran and @C-Beats I'll try that and report back.... I do like the way it looks on my 21:9... it reminds me of that Nesicaxlive style look ?

[The POC - A Nice View of the New Walls]

@faeran

I love this wall view but in 21:9 aspect the top line images are cut off... anyway to fix this? ? (screenshot attached)

 

[The State of LaunchBox on Android]

On 10/15/2020 at 8:52 AM, mennogreg said:

I just got myself a Shield, and was thinking of setting up launchbox on there. I own the app on my android phone, but can only sideload apps into the Shield. Any way to do this or do I have to go hunting for an APK on shady sites?

I would just recommend the reset collection frontend at this stage... that's what I use on my shield

[BannerBox]

On 4/19/2020 at 10:22 AM, chriskrojs said:

Holy moly I didn’t realise all the game banners were custom made. I thought they were being pulled from the downloaded images for each game. Huge effort. Thanks very much. 

I would of preferred if it pulled the images from the downloaded media... so many missing artwork doesn't look pretty and this is an awesome theme.

[How to disable a platform without removing from the launchbox?]

Bumping this post, we need this feature ?

[Minimal-Colorful]

Hi @Palada

The startup themes are awesome, thank you.

Can you please add the Sega Master System platform if possible?

[9.11-beta-1 Released]

Excited for the Android version ?

A break from the windows version will give the community time to come up with some ground breaking features.

I currently use an iPhone XS but plan to switch to Android, probably a Samsung Note or Galaxy towards the end of this year.

Thanks and Good luck @Jason Carr

[9.10-beta-1 Released]

17 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

Some of this would be possible, but doing it for an entire platform would not be possible, because we don't have images divided into sets on the games database. We could use an interface to pick and choose which images you want to download, but that would have to be done individually for each game, and isn't much different than what's currently available, as you can already just download them all and then delete the ones you don't want.

A visual queue for individual media per game to show a preview of the box, clear logo etc would look nice. Not necessary but cool.

[Startup Theme XAML Tutorial?]

23 hours ago, Retro808 said:

I am entry level on all this so happy to share what has been shared with me as I learn. 

First, I would recommend downloading the free version of Visual Studio. This way you can copy in a theme's code and see the grids/columns to make editing easier. Otherwise, just editing on Notepadd++ you are shooting in the dark as to exactly where things may land on the Full canvas. 

The theme views the layout in exactly that, Grids and Columns. So you dictate how wide, tall and how many there are. One thing to note though is when you are listing the Row or Column an element appears in the count starts a "0" and not "1" So if you have 7 rows and want an item to show up on the second row you count 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. So the second row is actually Grid.Row="1". I kept making the mistake thinking I want in on the second row that that should be Grid.Row="2". Nope, the first row is 0 and so on. Same with columns.

The span just tells it how many rows or columns you want it to take up. You want an element to appear in the 3rd column and take up 3 columns you would have Grid.Column="2" Grid.ColumnSpan="3". 

This is all from my fundamental understanding of it. I am sure our more resident experts would have better tips and hints. 

Thanks so much for the reply @Retro808, this cleared up a few things for me.

My main issue is that I'm trying to use the designer view in visual studio as per your screenshot but this doesn't load at all when I'm reviewing the code.

I might be a missing a view that may need to be checked? this would help me out a great deal. I am loading Default.xaml and Default Shutdown.xmal

[Startup Theme XAML Tutorial?]

Hi Guys

Simple question really for the coding noobs like me, are there any useful tutorials for startup theme creation?

I want to understand all the key elements, this example is based on my favourite theme by @keltoigael called minimal.

First Section

<UserControl xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
             xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
             xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
             mc:Ignorable="d"
             d:DesignHeight="562"
             d:DesignWidth="1000"
             HorizontalAlignment="Stretch"
             VerticalAlignment="Stretch"
             FocusVisualStyle="{x:Null}"
             BorderThickness="0"
             Margin="0"
             Padding="0"
             Background="#000">

Second Section

    <Canvas Name="Canvas">
        <Image Source="{}pack://siteoforigin:,,,/StartupThemes/Minimal/background/launching.png" Stretch="UniformToFill" RenderOptions.BitmapScalingMode="HighQuality"
            Height="{Binding ElementName=Canvas, Path=ActualHeight}" Width="{Binding ElementName=Canvas, Path=ActualWidth}" />
        <Grid Height="{Binding ElementName=Canvas, Path=ActualHeight}" Width="{Binding ElementName=Canvas, Path=ActualWidth}">
            <Grid.Background>
                <SolidColorBrush Color="Black" Opacity="{Binding BackgroundFade}" />
            </Grid.Background>
            <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                <RowDefinition Height="30*" />
                <RowDefinition Height="10*" />
                <RowDefinition Height="45*" />
                <RowDefinition Height="10*" />
                <RowDefinition Height="8*" />
                <RowDefinition Height="35*" />
                <RowDefinition Height="9*" />
            </Grid.RowDefinitions>
            <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                <ColumnDefinition Width="10*" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="31*" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="20*" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="31*" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="10*" />
            </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
		    <Image Grid.ColumnSpan="5" Grid.RowSpan="7" Source="{}pack://siteoforigin:,,,/StartupThemes/minimal/platform/arcade.png" Opacity="100" Panel.ZIndex="1" Stretch="Fill" RenderOptions.BitmapScalingMode="HighQuality" />

I want to understand the concept of controlling where things are on the screen. Specifically <Grid.RowDefinitions> and <Image Grid.ColumnSpan="5" Grid.RowSpan="7"...

I kind of worked out how to change source based on other themes that call for clearlogo etc

Also when I changed the code to show the clear logo instead of platform image, I specified a global height and width to shrink the images, is this correct?

This is the code I changed and it shows all clear logos as 500x500 now.

<Image Grid.ColumnSpan="5" Grid.RowSpan="7" Source="{Binding SelectedGame.ClearLogoImagePath}" Opacity="100" Panel.ZIndex="1" Width="500" Height="500" 
			RenderOptions.BitmapScalingMode="HighQuality" />
                			

Any help is appreciated.

[9.8-beta-1 Released]

On 5/20/2019 at 6:29 PM, Juzzotec said:

@wallmachine What’s the script inside game loader all rh.bat? I wanna try it.

Also where do you place the bat file? Okay so you manually set it up with all the other emulators in its own directory. Just wanted to know whats inside that bat file, how does it know what to do with the empty text file?

@wallmachine Can you share the script you used in your bat file? Wouldn’t mind trying it your way and seeing if there’s any difference.

[9.8-beta-1 Released]

13 hours ago, PanteraZombie said:

That's good to hear... I've also noticed that button automation is now closing FS-UAE for Commodore Amiga/CD32 when I used to have to manually exit. However, button automation is not closing a version of MAME I have set up for MESS...

It's best to setup exit inside MAME settings, you can setup the same button combo  

[9.8-beta-1 Released]

4 hours ago, wallmachine said:

So I don't have to import each Game Loader ALL RH.exe for each game and manually rename each entry then lose it when scraping metadata.

1) I create an emulator called Game Loader ALL RH.bat
2) I then create a .txt file with the name of the game in each directory
3) I then import those .txt files into LaunchBox
4) I then use the Game Loader ALL RH.bat as the emulator

Functions the same as using Game Loader ALL RH.exe from each directory and I don't need to rename each .exe at import and keep my game name.

I use that one Game Loader ALL RH.bat for all the systems below. I do a similar thing for American Laser Games, Daphne and WoW Action Max.

Arcade PC
beatmania IIDX
beatmania IIDX Omnimix
Dance Dance Revolution
eX-BOARD
EZ2DJ
Jubeat
Konami PC
Namco System ES1
Namco System ES3A
Namco System ES3B
Namco System ES3X
Namco System N2
NESiCAxLive
Pop'n Music
Pop'n Music Omnimix
REFLEC BEAT
Sega Europa-R
Sega Lindbergh Red
Sega Lindbergh Red EX
Sega Lindbergh Yellow
Sega RingEdge
Sega RingEdge 2
Sega RingWide
SOUND VOLTEX
TAITO Type X
TAITO Type X Zero
TAITO Type X+
TAITO Type X²
TAITO Type X³

@wallmachine What’s the script inside game loader all rh.bat? I wanna try it.

Also where do you place the bat file? Okay so you manually set it up with all the other emulators in its own directory. Just wanted to know whats inside that bat file, how does it know what to do with the empty text file?

[9.8-beta-1 Released]

6 hours ago, wallmachine said:

oh okay yeah I've got enough buttons on control panel for an exit key. How can just using an exit key and keyboard/controller automation be so different?

I guess just to note holding down the key and pressing the exit key still doesn't work.

Why are you using a bat file to launch, aren’t you using Game Loader exe. I’m using JVS Loader and I configured the exit key as escape key keyboard in JConfig. When I use the exit button combination in LaunchBox, it works now... a clean exit but no game exit screen. Still it works perfectly... 

[9.8-beta-1 Released]

@Jason Carr did you fix something around button automation in the last few beta's.

Exiting Taito games that use exe are now exiting game with the button combo perfectly, I don't have to rely on R3 setup as escape.

Beta 16 is working great, good job buddy ??

[Big Box isn't regaining Window Focus after game exit]

20 hours ago, wallmachine said:

The following option fixed BigBox taskbar pop-up but its not available in newer versions so now BigBox taskbar pops up and also other emulators (I just dealt with but now I'm using others more so its annoying)

Is there a reason to use the latest release? I dont know why this option was removed, we need it back.

I would revert back to the last version before it was removed.

[Clarification on how controller automation works]

@Jason Carr So I tested assigning the R3 button as the keyboard escape key and this exits the application EXE smoothly back to Bigbox.

It seems to accept the virtual escape keyboard press, I've attached the screenshot of Inputmapper.

Is there anyway I could check the logs to see whats happening in Launchbox/Bigbox...

I also attached screenshots of my setup - an example Taito Nesica game in Launchbox.

[Clarification on how controller automation works]

3 hours ago, wallmachine said:

so shutdown themes are working with JVS loader now?

I might not yet go over to JVS because of the lack of options with it and do not feel like setting everything up again with 200+ games that had to be done manually in Game Loader and then again in JVS.

Just hold off for now, let’s see if Jason can work it out. Game Loader has awesome features.

[Clarification on how controller automation works]

3 hours ago, wallmachine said:

oh okay different to me then at the moment I'm just using keyboard ESC any other key set with Game Loader ALL RH crashes the game in LB/BB for me you know the usual pop-up make sure no other loader is present etc etc etc.

I plan to use Xbox controller and cabinet buttons later though.

Just wondering what version of Game Loader ALL RH are you using?

I’m was using the latest version 3.3.3 of Game Loader All RH but not anymore since it doesn’t play nice with LaunchBox. So JConfig, IDMac and JVS Loader is my go to now.

You really need at the least a Gamepad or arcade stick for these titles. I’ve had no issues configuring an Xbox controller in JConfig or TTX Config. I use DInput option FYI.

[Clarification on how controller automation works]

6 minutes ago, wallmachine said:

What do you mean by this.
 

I use my PS4 controller through Bluetooth. And in windows there’s an amazing app called inputmapper that treats it like a native Xbox controller.

Within the app, there’s a profile setting that allows you to setup virtual keyboard presses and even macros for specific buttons. I will assign the escape button for R3 as an example and test.

[Clarification on how controller automation works]

10 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

Controller Automation actually sends different keys depending on the emulator/game that is focused, but in most cases it just sends Escape. If it's DOSBox, it will send Ctrl+F9, since that's the key combo that DOSBox requires. Also, if after pressing Escape the emulator has not closed, it will try Alt+F4.

Basically, if the emulator isn't recognized (which is what will happen with GameLoader), it will send Escape, wait half a second, check if LaunchBox is focused, and if not then send Alt+F4. Regardless, I know there are some stubborn applications (MAME, for example), that refuse to accept the virtual keypresses that we send. For some reason they will only accept hardware key presses, so maybe that's what's going on?

In the future I'm sure we can expand it, but it'll probably be a while yet.

Thanks for that detailed write up @Jason Carr

So as you explained, escape will be sent to Game Loader? Maybe it’s not working because like MAME it doesn’t like virtual key presses. Keep in mind I don’t have an emulator set but rather an application the exe defined for each game. I also get the warning that I have no emulator set when I edit the game but I click no, as all I am doing is launching an exe.

I can test setting up a button press as a virtual escape keyboard press. I’ll try this tonight.