cammelspit

August 24, 2016

@Nielk1 Sorry, I haven't had a lot of time to do much of testing in the last day or so because I had a massive HDD crash. I had one of those 3TB Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 drives and I just started getting the dreaded click of death. My emulation drive is safe since it is an HGST 4TB NAS drive but my whole Steam library is completely gone, not to mention the stability problems a dying drive that can't access data makes when steam keeps trying to access it. I will try and find some time here today or tomorrow to get all the logs I promised you.

August 23, 2016

@Nielk1 That would be of huge benefit for the Launchbox users. If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, however. Since other users may not necessarily be using launchbox and might be using some other front end, you may still wish to have the roms filename still be usable if the user wishes it, maybe yet another command line switch, or have Proxy fallback on the roms filename if the launchbox XML is not found.

About the logging, I will find some time to puts about with the logging in 0.0.2.0 and make a few logs in a few different scenarios so you can have some more useful information. Since I have found some way to get RA to launch and work, I have been adding systems one by one and playing around with it and I must say, when this thing is more ready for prime time, I am gonna be having a blast! The ROM name function is SUPER cool, to say the least as it allows per emulated game configs that are persistent for the Steam controller. It is like, this Proxy app has opened up a whole new world of many novel and interesting things to do. I have already had a steam friend message me and ask about how I am able to have the game I am playing show up like that if not with ICE, which is terrible IMHO.

In the interests of ease of use, I would like to make another suggestion. This would obviously go FAR down the list of things to do but... Since we know now how ICE adds steam shortcuts and that it is possible to do programmatically, perhaps a feature for having Proxy add the steam shortcut itself instead of manually since that is quite a cumbersome process. Of course, this is early days when it comes to this app but I can absolutely see it becoming a must-have tool in the bullpen of an emulation enthusiast that also uses steam. Just something to chew on.

August 22, 2016

@Nielk1 Hey buddy, I did a little more poking about and I finally found a way to get Retroarch to launch properly. Doing the same thing as I did before that causes the steamproxy.data error only, this time, I tried copying my entire Retroarch install right into the launchbox folder and it does work. I still have to have the system command line -L "cores\whatever.dll" in the main command line and not the system specific command line but this is a good workaround to get it going in the mean time. Thought I would mention this in case it helps you track down whatever it is you need to.

August 22, 2016




3b931387-da79-4a4c-8359-562b24c41e1f	Start



3b931387-da79-4a4c-8359-562b24c41e1f	Start GUI



3b931387-da79-4a4c-8359-562b24c41e1f	End GUI



3b931387-da79-4a4c-8359-562b24c41e1f	End



411daec1-9a49-4c5c-8e1b-ad4dfeda6fc7	Start



411daec1-9a49-4c5c-8e1b-ad4dfeda6fc7	Args[3]



411daec1-9a49-4c5c-8e1b-ad4dfeda6fc7	[0]	-L



411daec1-9a49-4c5c-8e1b-ad4dfeda6fc7	[1]	cores\mupen64plus_libretro.dll



411daec1-9a49-4c5c-8e1b-ad4dfeda6fc7	[2]	E:\Emulation\Roms\Nintendo -Nintendo 64 (N64)\Banjo-Kazooie (USA) (Rev A).zip



411daec1-9a49-4c5c-8e1b-ad4dfeda6fc7	End

This is what it looks like when I attempt a launch via the platform specific command line. Arg 1 does not have quotes as it should and it abruptly stops, I assume this is because Retroarch just closes itself the moment it sees that the command line it is receiving is improper.

August 21, 2016

@Nielk1 Ok, so I think I have found a way to get RetroArch to load up, only it is still not working but for a completely different reason. The command line -L "cores\whatever.dll" won't work at all when it is used in LB platforms command line area. What I did to fix this made another entry for Retroarch just for N64 and added that command line directly to the main command line instead of the platforms area and now Proxy is seeing it, with quotes and the log looks correct. I also needed to make a new copy of Proxy directly in the Retroarch folder since it seems that RA requires a relative path. When I did this,though, it threw and error and told me that steamproxy.data could not be found even though the log looked correct and the command line being passed through also looked correct. Any ideas?

August 21, 2016

@Nielk1 You know, i was actually just thinking this last night. I mean, I added the hold argument to an EMU that didn't need it and it still worked fine. I haven't done an insane amount of testing with 0.0.1.3 yet, so I am not sure if there are any major incompatibilities with using that function on a given emulator. Perhaps replacing it with "-steamproxyrelease" to return to the current behavior just in case of a compatibility issue, later on, would be prudent.

I have errands to run today so I can't really do much testing until this evening but I will try to find any major issues with the hold command in case you want to be sure there aren't any problems making this the default behavior. I also have a theory regarding RetroArch but I can't test now. I think it may have something to do with the fact that the default command line for loading cores is relative and is looking based on starting in my LB folder, where Proxy is installed and not from within the RetroArch folder. If it works when I do use an explicit path then fine, if not I will try making a second copy of Proxy in the RA folder itself so it starts in the same place and the relative path might work. This is all a stab in the dark from an uneducated emulation enthusiast here but it made sense to me while I was laying in bed thinking of possible reasons it might not work. I will look into it and report back what I find.

August 21, 2016

@Nielk1 As I am sure you are loving me finding stuff to report to you by now and speaking of renaming I have found a curiosity/bug. I launch a game in Dolphin, it renames the shortcut perfectly, I then close the emulator by hitting escape on my KB it renames it back to Dolphin. If I close Dolphin using the BPM 'close shortcut' option it does not rename the shortcut back to "Dolphin" and instead it leaves the shortcut with the games name and so it fails to launch a second game without manually renaming the shortcut back to "Dolphin". DeSmuME will not rename the shortcut back to DeSmuME at all even if I use the file/exit option. I assume something to do with a graceful or non-graceful shutdown of the emulator?

With me around, there isn't a single thing that's going to get past.

August 21, 2016

@Nielk1 That is actually what I WAS using before when I couldn't get it to work at all a few days ago. I stopped using the launch options and instead, only use the target now and all is well. No idea if it would work from the launch options now, though. Either way, that is not the intended setup method and so should be considered improper. Also, whatever the steam launch options say, it seems to not change the ID# in a desktop shortcut.

Forgive a stupid question from a plebeian but is this table in a place where you can detect it or read it? Is this something you can change at runtime of Proxy? I ask because even if it only does this when the app is launched by hand and the interface is opened or even a specific button press, it may be a way to ensure at least a modicum of 'future proofing' as I know this is one of your chief concerns.

August 21, 2016

@Nielk1 Ah, the big picture toggle is a great idea. Unnecessary with the steam controller since while the controller is on, steam will automatically use the BPM overlay instead, even when launched from the desktop UI since that is where all the SC configuration takes place. For those who want to use a traditional controller, in the same way, BPM is still nice and controller friendly. I especially like how it has a way to, through the steam BPM overlay interface, close out the app, in this case, emulator. This just pops me right back to Launchbox, kicks to the desktop config for the SC and I can browse the collection and just launch another game so seamlessly.

I also just tested the rename function with the game name and it works beautifully. That really is a nice touch and I am VERY tempted to make a template for systems and start using per game configs. What I usually do right now, like with Dolphin and DeSmuME, is make some complicated touch menus that switch action sets and load the per game configs. This is especially necessary with Wii and DS stuff since they all can play so differently and require specialized configs to perform certain actions with button presses.

I also wouldn't worry too much about the renaming function not working later on. I don't think the calls you are using can really do any harm so it is not likely that Valve would take the time or put in the energy to make these not work. I mean, it took nine months for them to fix the steam controllers completely bugged and 100% non-functional turbo fire and we are STILL waiting for Half-Life 3. I am glad to hear that you have an idea for a workaround in case they do decide to disable those calls. It may be a good idea to start work on that feature before they do make a change and have both options available until they do as a fallback scenario. Though, obviously not anytime soon since there is likely a lot more to do before you can't think of anything to add or fix, like RetroArch not launching correctly. (Just poking fun)

August 21, 2016

@Nielk1 My god man, you are a BEAST! Just tearing this thing up right now. So you know, you NEVER need to apologize for anything. I am just so amazed you have taken this stupid idea from a nitpicky steam controller obsessive and ran with it. I mean, I am honored to be able to help with the testing and that I can be useful, even in my extremely limited capacity. I am already thinking of how I am going to start making a steam community guide in the Steam Controller HUB because I know for a fact that everyone who uses an SC with emulators is going to want to use this thing as soon as a little spit and polish goes on. BIG thumbs up from me dude!

August 21, 2016

HAHA! It works now with the compressed roms! WOOT! I have found a handful of new things to fill you in on.




b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	Start



b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	Args[6]



b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	[0]	-steamproxysetup



b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	[1]	1c3d4e34



b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	[2]	-steamproxyname



b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	[3]	DeSmuME (%cleanromname%)



b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	[4]	E:\Emulation\Emulators\DS\DeSmuME\DeSmuME_r5526_x64.exe



b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	[5]	E:\Emulation\Roms\Nintendo - DualScreen(NDS)\Metroid Prime Pinball (USA).7z



b6271bce-47f7-40d3-b9f8-c404e8ec86fe	SteamProxySetup Mutex Aquisition Failed

This is when I tried to use the rom name feature. My command line that generated this was this...




-steamproxysetup 1c3d4e34 -steamproxyname "DeSmuME (%cleanromname%)" "E:\Emulation\Emulators\DS\DeSmuME\DeSmuME_r5526_x64.exe"

With quotes, around %cleanromname% it also generated the same result and it threw and error at me saying that steam proxy was already in proxy setup mode. I have also noticed that when it threw this error at me, it never closed out steamproxy at all and it had to be terminated via the task manager. When I remove the %cleanromname% altogether it works just fine and loads the rom as you would expect it to.

Also, it seems that the automatic insertion of the steamID# isn't working quite right. I still had to make a shortcut and manually paste it in because the number proxy generated was completely wrong. What metric does the proxy use to detect this? I would have assumed it would be just the name of the shortcut in Proxy but if I change anything in the target field within Steam Proxy it would change the number. My guess is it isn't supposed to do this because the number is based on the name of the shortcut and not the target if I understand it properly.

When attempting a launch of Retroarch, it returns the same result as the previous version. Not sure if you had a chance to look at it yet but I figured it was worth mentioning.

Oh, BTW, thanks for the logging checkbox. I like it! This is coming right along here my friend. and as soon as I can get RetroArch loading up properly, this should be able to launch my whole library in every way the way I want it to. The rom name thing is just a neat idea I want to play around with, even though I am not sure if that is how I want to do it or not.

Again, you rule!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that in Proxy, the target field and the emulator command line field both use just -steamproxy and dont reflect the activate or setup additions, this is how I discovered the steam ID# stuff because I tried changing it myself for the sake of copy pasting the whole target. Just thought I would mention it.

August 20, 2016

@Nielk1

I agree completely with everything you are planning to do with this app.

Do you know what method utilities like ICE use for adding steam shortcuts? If the name of the shortcuts are API functions, could be a more or less failsafe way to future proof the renaming functions. Then, if steam renames files or moves them around, a simple update to the app could be used to deal with those changes instead so if they do remove said functions, no hard done.

I also have found that the proxy app, when using launchbox to call Retroarch, it is not sending the quotes around the -L "cores\mupen64plus_libretro.dll". Instead, it is sending -L cores\mupen64plus_libretro.dll so the emulator fails to launch and the log looks like this.


Start

Args[3]

[0]	-L

[1]	cores\mupen64plus_libretro.dll

[2]	E:\Emulation\Roms\Nintendo -Nintendo 64 (N64)\Banjo-Tooie (USA).zip

End

Yes, this is also the entire log. Sometimes it seems to try doing this a second time and will just have two duplicates of the same entries.

Another little happy discovery I found is DeSmuME, when launched from Launchbox having, in turn, been launched from steam always slowed down to about a third the performance it should be getting. Even after using system explorer to make it a high priority, it would still be that way. When steam launched DeSmuME using the proxy app, not only do my SC configs stick around but also the performance seems to round off right back to where it was when I use it by itself!

If you do want me to lend my writing skills to the readme at any point, please, just let me know and I will be more than happy to do it as a thank you for making this app. I have quite enjoyed the testing and bug hunting here.

For the time being, when you make a newer version of this app, it may be beneficial to either include the logging as a checkbox in the app itself or include a "debug" exe for the app itself in the archive. At least so I can get an idea of what is happening and so I can report anything to you in a more useful way.

Thanks again for this awesome thing!

August 20, 2016

@Nielk1 Since swearing and cursing with electric delight is likely not allowed here on a forum for the civilized I will refrain. I finally figured it out! The logging version really helped me nail it down what I was doing wrong. In the steam shortcut, I didn't put anything on the target but I pressed the launch options button and added it there, apparently, that was the wrong way to do it, at least this was my only initial problem. I had tried this before but it was before I watched ur video and I simply hadn't tried it again. Another thing that was not super crystal clear was the -steamproxy VS. -steamproxystart. steam proxy start was what I had put on the target when I tried it before, which is wrong. -steamproxy is meant for the target in the steam shortcut itself and NOT the command line but -steamproxystart is what you use for the command line and not the shortcut. It tipped me off I was doing something wrong when I had steamproxystart in both places and I had triggered and infinite loop where steam proxy was triggering itself to start over and over again forever, requiring a hasty reboot to stop it. From there I just watched that part of the video for the 100th time and it clicked. I changed it around to the way it is supposed to be and BAM worked like a charm.

Compressed ISOs that are uncompressed by Launch box still do not work and Dolphin opens blank. I have a theory on this, though. I think, when steamproxy closes, LB is thinking the emulator closed and then it deletes the ISO in the temp directory. Below is the log from the last time I launched a game. it not only looks entirely different but it seems to have made two attempts.


Start

Args[8]

[0]	-steamproxystart

[1]	1b86a02f

[2]	-steamproxyname

[3]	Dolphin

[4]	E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe

[5]	-b

[6]	-e

[7]	E:\LaunchBox\7-Zip\Temp\Gauntlet - Dark Legacy (USA).iso

set shortcut name	Dolphin

steamproxy.data contents

program:	E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe

arguments:	-b -e "E:\LaunchBox\7-Zip\Temp\Gauntlet - Dark Legacy (USA).iso"

steamid:	14478098407094222848

oldname:	STEAM PROXY

start	steam://rungameid/14478098407094222848

End

Start

Args[4]

[0]	-steamproxy

[1]	1b86a02f

[2]	-steamproxy

[3]	1b86a02f

steamproxy.data [4]

[0]	E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe

[1]	-b -e "E:\LaunchBox\7-Zip\Temp\Gauntlet - Dark Legacy (USA).iso"

[2]	14478098407094222848

[3]	STEAM PROXY

Starting Program

FileName:	E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe

Arguments:	-b -e "E:\LaunchBox\7-Zip\Temp\Gauntlet - Dark Legacy (USA).iso"

WorkingDirectory:	E:\Dolphin

Ended Program

set shortcut name	STEAM PROXY

End

Looks like I may be forced to use a similar RocketLauncher setup similar to the one you used in your video, see if Rocket Launcher can cope with steam proxy closing and not delete the iso before Dolphin has a chance to pick it up. Not sure if there is anything you can even do on that one or some workaround can be made that will work but otherwise, this is still a good tool and I will be reforming all of my shortcuts to work in this way for better steam controller config management. I also like the idea of using RL to make the rom name and the system name appear. Try game by game steam controller configs without the HORRID ICE tool would be great. Then I will have to go and muck about with learning a brand new launcher step so, who knows?

I moonlight as a freelance writer and have worked for PCGamer in the past and if you would like me to, I would be more than happy to write out a readme with more explicit instructions on exactly how it should be configured for normal front end operation. Another suggestion is you may want to put something in there to detect if someone does it wrong like I did, and triggers a loop so it can gracefully shut itself down and display a message warning about the target in the steam shortcut. So you know, The shortcut for me is now named "STEAM PROXY" and it renamed itself perfectly while launching and my whole Dolphin Steam Controller configs were perfectly intact.

Thanks again!

August 20, 2016

Just ran it and I live the log, VERY easy to read.


Start

Args[6]

[0]	-steamproxystart

[1]	1b86a02f

[2]	E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe

[3]	-b

[4]	-e

[5]	E:\Dolphin\CSO\F-Zero GX NTSC-U.gcz

steamproxy.data contents

program:	E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe

arguments:	-b -e "E:\Dolphin\CSO\F-Zero GX NTSC-U.gcz"

steamid:	0

oldname:	

start	steam://rungameid/0

End

So, it seems it is not picking up the steam ID... This makes no sense because it was working this morning, not properly but it was at least launching Dolphin.

August 19, 2016




-steamproxystart 1b86a02f "E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe" -b -e "E:\Dolphin\CSO\F-Zero GX NTSC-U.gcz"

will not open Dolphin at all so I have no way to know what command line it is using.




-steamproxy 1b86a02f "E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe" -b -e "E:\Dolphin\CSO\F-Zero GX NTSC-U.gcz"

DOES work. But if the game is decompressed by LaunchBox then absolutely nothing occurs.




-steamproxyname "Dolphin"

If I add this, again, nothing occurs even if I am using the uncompressed version that works without it.

UPDATE: I just tested this with both launchbox and Steam.exe as admin and it did load the game properly but the shortcut was not renamed and for some reason the overlay has stopped working when it was working this morning and yesterday during my fiddling. Literally no idea why...

EDIT: I did reboot once since it was working so, maybe?!

August 19, 2016

Sure,


-steamproxystart 1b86a02f "E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe" -b -e "FULL\PATH\TO\ROM\FILE"

was what got me the closest so far. In this example, the desired output would be


E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe -b -e "E:\Dolphin\CSO\F-Zero GX NTSC-U.gcz"

but I would be willing to bet that it isn't sending the quotes or more likely sending two sets of quotes on to Dolphin for the rom path. I say this because when the game is unpacked and the path has no spaces AND I disable quotes in LB it loads the rom just fine but when the game is extracted at runtime it fails. Without quotes, from the command line, it simply doesn't work so from LB it shouldn't work, but it does. So I think the proxy is adding quotes and if the path is too long or has spaces, it will add the quotes in the wrong place because I was able to get Dolphin to tell me GX in not a valid command line option. My assumption as to what the proxy is actually sending is something like this


E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe -b -e "E:\Dolphin\CSO\F-Zero" GX NTSC-U.gcz

when quotes are disabled or


E:\Dolphin\Dolphin.exe -b -e ""E:\Dolphin\CSO\F-Zero" GX NTSC-U.gcz"

when they are enabled,

both of which would not work stemming from extra quotes. I also tested these exact command from the command line and it seemed, to me that is, that it behaved the same. I did notice that with quotes it seems to flash the black frame in Dolphin as if it were trying to open a rom but it immediately closes which would be expected if it tried to load a rom that was not there or perhaps it could have something to do with the attempt to keep the emulator on top and in focus upon launch? I will try and find a minute or two this afternoon to maybe do some more testing, maybe even spend a minute or two and make a video of precisely the scenarios I have encountered so far.

The kind of bug testing is kinda fun! Maybe I should do this stuff more often.

August 19, 2016

What exactly is the command line syntax for launching a rom? I ask because the proxy is not passing along the rom path. The rom path must have quotes in it or Dolphin will not see it. You describe pretty much exclusively how to do it via RL but what I need is a specific example of the command line exactly as the proxy needs to load a rom. Otherwise, I got it to pass along the other command line switches and load the emulator. My guess is, since you are only using RL to launch your roms, RL is what is actually sending the rom path to the emulator and the proxy can't do that itself yet. Almost there!

August 19, 2016

@Nielk1 So, it worked to some degree. It launched Dolphin from launchbox through steam, the hard part works! 0.0.1.1 doesn't seem to want to pass along the command line arguments so I literally can NOT wait till you put up the 0.0.2.0 version to try out. The steam controller works and it saw my Dolphin config exactly as I wanted it to so it is super close! Cannot tell you how excited I am with this. This is just plain perfect for my needs. Just followed the GitHUB and the 3rd party sub-forum post you made so I can keep up to date. Anything, anything at all you need me to try I am there buddy, you rock!

August 18, 2016

Wow, dude! Super cool you already have something that more or less works! I would be MORE than happy to give it a go if you think it is even close to usable yet. I can do any bug testing you would like. I do have one question, though. When you have the shortcut rename itself, what exactly does the shortcut use to do the renaming? My assumption is, just the name of the exe without the .exe file extension? This is the default behavior in steam when adding a non-steam shortcut. The majority of people will just leave it that way so that is sufficient. A more robust way would be to somehow rename it to whatever LaunchBox has as the emulator name or even the system name but I am not sure if that is revealed in a way you can easily access it. Still, SUPER cool!

August 17, 2016

@Zombeaver I know, I hate mentioning my steam controller all day long but because I use it 100% I have had some issues with privileges in some games. The overlay and such wouldn't work in Mass Effect unless steam itself was loaded in admin mode. Perhaps there is something about the emulator that Windows disallows due to it being launched from a third party app and not from Windows itself. Maybe, you could try loading up LB itself in admin mode to see if that helps in any way. Permissions have always been somewhat of a bane of my existence so I use the task scheduler to give steam god privileges so a similar method could be used for LB if the admin thing works. The benefit is you will no longer get the UAC prompts but the downside, of course, is security but if you don't do anything silly or run any crazy unknown apps from LB you should be fine as it will inherit the privileges right from LB if it is run this way.

August 17, 2016

@Zombeaver I added all of my X68K disk images to LB but I have a similar limitation. Too many games to just go around and make custom command lines or shortcuts, which is a great idea I hadn't tried yet, to use more than one disk at a time.

August 17, 2016

@Nielk1 Please, by all means! I am by no means a hardcore scripter. Before all this, I had never even attempted anything quite like this before and so I have been learning as I go. Some of the awesome guys on the steam controller discussions have also tried to help out but we seem to always end up hitting a wall in one way or another. If you nail this, you will literally be my best friend forever!

August 17, 2016

@Zombeaver Holy crap! I will absolutely do this! If I had that I could actually do exactly what I want. What gets me is this 'so close yet so far' kinda thing. I am so close I can taste it but I am just not learned enough to do it in any other way.

Thanks again, you guys are awesome!

August 17, 2016

@Nielk1 Yes and no. The configs you make for any game purchased from steam or not is stored on a per game basis based on it's steam ID# for steam games or the name of the shortcut for non-steam games. They sync to the steam cloud and are automatically retrieved if either you are logged into your account or you have your SC registered to your account and are using it as a guest on someone else's account. If you change the name of the shortcut, yes it will no longer show your configs automatically for that given game. You rename it back and BOOM they are all back again. You can save configs for any game to the could and load then into other games so manual migration if you change a shortcut name is a process that takes literally a few seconds. I once changed Dolphin to "Dolphin GameCube and Wii Emulator" and I about dropped a brick when my config disappeared. It was easy to get back tho so no harm was done.

August 17, 2016

You are absolutely correct but unfortunately Steam explicitly blocks the -launchsettings altogether. If you do this exact thing with a steam game you bought off of steam then it works just fine. I did some looking around and apparently it used to work exactly the same way so it would have worked a few years ago. They must have blocked it intentionally for fear of some kind of "security" reason.

I have spent the last day learning all about batch files and how I can leverage this to my advantage to make this possible and I got VERY close. With only a command line, I was able to get Windows to make a batch file with the full set of launch options for the game itself, it would then trigger steam to open another batch I had converted to an EXE and named "Dolphin" that all it does is open that other batch that was created from the command line and BOOM game loads from steam and it says I am playing Dolphin exactly as I wanted it to. There was a hiccup with LB because it is obvious to me that this specific method was never intended. LB seems to only allow the 'full/path\to\rom' at the END of the command line. I need it to be somewhere in the middle of the command line so that the last thing the command line does it trigger the launching batch from steam itself. So far, I can see three ways this can be made to work.

I learn to code, or at least use a more powerful scripting language like python. I can make a tiny little app that watches for LB and its command line to make a TXT with the proper options and then trigger steam to launch with the appropriate options.
Learn more on how steam itself adds things to the library so I can find how the command line options in steam are handled. Such as the right click, properties and then launch options, so I can modify those on each run. This also may require an app unless steam uses some plain text file or maybe the VDF files like the SC uses for configs. Those could conceivably be modified my hand and thus a script could be made to do it.
LaunchBox adds a feature to either allow the rom path to be somewhere else other than the end of the command line or even makes a feature do this for you. I may be the first to try and make this happen but I think all my other steam controller buddies would LOVE to have this kind of thing because of the steam controllers very specific config management system.

I do feel the need to be crystal clear here. I am SUPER new to LaunchBox. I have always been somewhat resistant to front ends in the past because my experience with them was either that they were too complicated to be worth the setup effort or not powerful enough to use 100% of my emulators and such and thus reducing their usefulness. LaunchBox, at least in its current form as I see it, is very nice. Ease of use is so that any intellect at the level of a toddler can manage adding games without issue. Even though I haven't coughed up the cash to buy the premium yet, I intend to do so at some point soon since I still like the LB interface. It is clean and not too cluttered. The one and only thing I miss are some more powerful MAME features. I have used EMUloader for years with MAME and something similar with more used INI ticks in a menu is about all I actually miss in LB. This is by no means my saying that LB isn't powerful or useful, I just have this niggling feeling every time because of the way steam works with my steam controller in combination with LB. I blame Valve.

Again, all of you guys here have been very helpful and in no way condescending or anything like that. I have felt this way in other forums where I was looked at like I was crazy for asking something so dumb or that I was stupid for even wanting to use my SC in the way that I want to. Thank you to everyone!

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