eatkinola

February 6, 2019

10 hours ago, Zaazu said:

I've tested the built in startup screen with Dolphin which runs in windowed, that works just fine?

Okay, in that case I might add some support for these situations, though with the caveat it will not likely work across the board.

10 hours ago, Zaazu said:

Yep that's all I have for the log file

Okay, I'll need to add some more logging then. I'm working on an update and will try to get something to you for testing probably this weekend.

February 5, 2019

9 hours ago, Zaazu said:

Can't get this to work on another computer I have. No fades, no pause, no bezels. This is with the default game launcher disabled of course.
Log: https://pastebin.com/jBfZUEyb

Thanks for the log file -- that's all there is to the log file? It seems to initialize WL but not invoke it when a game is started. Would you please double check you have disabled the LB startup screens? Did you try it for emulators for which it worked on your other computer? Does it work from BigBox?

February 5, 2019

9 hours ago, Zaazu said:

Is there any chance you could make it so it would work with LB/BB's game startups?

LB's built-in startup screens require emulators to run fullscreen (if I recall correctly), but WL requires they be run in windowed mode. Because of this difference, they are not compatible and you must choose one or the other.

February 3, 2019

What you are trying to do will most likely require a custom control -- I cannot think of a way offhand to do this purely in XAML (and if there is one it'd likely be convoluted). If you're willing to do without the alternating row colors, the only code-behind you'd probably need is an IValueConverter, e.g., you could use an IValueConverter to split the "Status: good" string into "Status" and "good", then drop it in your Grid defined in XAML. Perhaps someone else can weigh in.

February 2, 2019

CRT Overlays

View File

These overlays are meant to mimic a CRT screen for 16:9 displays. They include a hazy glass effect but no scanlines -- that's left up to you using RA or MAME shaders however you want. This set meets my needs, but if it's missing a platform you'd like let me know and I can probably throw it together. There are three downloads here:

BARREL: bezel designed for barrel distortion
FLAT: bezel designed for no barrel distortion
WSSL: widescreen edge-fade with scanlines

The BARREL and FLAT downloads also include bezels without platforms; instead there is an alpha cutout you can use to make your own for other platforms, games, etc.

Submitter

eatkinola
Submitted

02/02/2019
Category

Platform Bezels/Overlays

February 1, 2019

2 minutes ago, drunkfists said:

I use the viking videos and it ends up playing the video inside of a video image.

Ah that's the infamous inception effect. I love viking's videos which is why I made a theme around them. When using Nostalgia, I recommend using a set of platform videos that are not vikings. That way you can see his backgrounds but have your own platform and game images playing in the TV, handheld, arcade, etc.

February 1, 2019

2 hours ago, netklamath said:

how add marquees in arcade?

The theme currently does not support such a feature. Maybe I could do this in the future but don't have any immediate plans. It's a good idea, though; thanks.

February 1, 2019

19 hours ago, drunkfists said:

Have I missed a step?

You'll probably also need to comment out some things at the bottom of the wheel view files, such as this in PlatformWheel1FiltersView:


            <!-- DETAILS ON (WILL SHOW THE METADATA ICONS, BOXART, ETC.) -->
            <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource NostSideAnimeTriggerDetails_PLAT_ON}">
                <TextBlock.Triggers>
                    <EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Binding.TargetUpdated">
                        <BeginStoryboard Storyboard="{StaticResource NostMetadataFade_SB}" />
<!--
                        <BeginStoryboard Storyboard="{StaticResource NostSelectorFade_SB}" />
-->
                    </EventTrigger>
                </TextBlock.Triggers>
            </TextBlock>

            <!-- DETAILS OFF (WILL ONLY FADEOUT VERTYEAR WHEN SCROLLING) -->
            <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource NostSideAnimeTriggerDetails_PLAT_OFF}">
                <TextBlock.Triggers>
                    <EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Binding.TargetUpdated">
                        <BeginStoryboard Storyboard="{StaticResource NostMetadataFade_SB_YEAR}" />
<!--
                        <BeginStoryboard Storyboard="{StaticResource NostSelectorFade_SB_YEAR}" />
-->
                  </EventTrigger>
                </TextBlock.Triggers>
            </TextBlock>

I don't have time to test that now but you can try it out. You're the second person to ask for this change, so maybe I'll work in a toggle where you can easily turn the date on/off. I really need to finish an update for this theme, and if you want to just wait for the update perhaps I can add that change. Glad to hear you like the theme; was quite a chore to put together.

January 30, 2019

9 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

@eatkinola There's really nothing to worry about. I'll fix the issue tomorrow and everything will upgrade smoothly. Just give me a day.

Thanks, Jason. I know you always get things squared away, and I appreciate the effort you continue to put into improvements. There are a few quirky things about my themes in their current form on the downloads area. I have some updates in progress on my dev machine that are working fine (prior to the recent styles change), so I'll test with these versions once you have a fix in place.

January 30, 2019

5 minutes ago, Undertherainbow said:

As far as i can see FSanimations are for wheel fade control and popup another info after hide. Easy fix would be just to copy data from it to files that have reference to it

Thank you. To be clear I don't use that particular file, but I do put my own xaml files in the Styles folder. I know other theme developers do, too.

That fix is reasonable if it's done automatically by BigBox. But the theme developer should not have to do this. It goes against the principle of refactoring and makes maintenance more difficult.

January 30, 2019

1 hour ago, Jason Carr said:

@Undertherainbow I haven't checked that theme in detail, but I have found the issue. Thanks for reporting it and helping me troubleshoot. There's an FSAnimations.xaml file in the Styles folder that it can't parse; I just never expected there to be a file in there that isn't used by the Big Box themes directly. I'm guessing maybe it's used by another control or something, but I'm not sure how without Big Box knowing about it. It should be an easy fix, but I probably won't get it in yet tonight.

This is probably the same reason my themes are broken.

January 30, 2019

5 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

Styles XAML Files No Longer Supported

In the past, the previous code allowed for occasional theme conflicts when switching between themes. If you've ever seen a particular styling from one theme end up in another, then you've noticed this in the past. This was caused by theme styles not getting fully reset to defaults before applying the new styles, which was a rare problem, but it did happen between particular themes. We've simplified themes going forward so that styles cannot be shared between themes, which should eliminate this as a problem as well as make things a little bit more straightforward for new theme developers.

All of my themes are broken. About the above problem of one theme's styling ending up in another -- I honestly never saw that problem, and if it's a rare problem between particular themes maybe it's due to how those themes were designed. Doing away with the ability to use styles totally destroys my themes. If they work on your setup that's great, and I'd be surprised. Even if this does not break themes, it makes it harder to maintain them especially for those of us who rely on styles to create uniform appearances.

P.s. I did download fresh copies of my themes just to see, and they're definitely broken. The theme upgrade process seems to just delete the Style folder and does not do anything to put the appropriate styles into the view files.

P.p.s. If I put a fresh copy of a theme in Themes and add to that theme's folder the 9.4.5.txt file, it seems to prevent the upgrade process from messing up the theme. However, there are still some weird style issues that are occurring with files such as ListBoxItemStyle.

January 17, 2019

20 hours ago, Zaazu said:

Hope you don't mind me posting this here. I got a black DS4 controller image, cleaned it up and made a template for people to use if they wanted, here's a sample:

Yep that's great -- thanks for posting it. I use gimp for a lot of stuff too. If you don't mind, perhaps I can bundle it with WL the next time I update?

December 31, 2018

5 minutes ago, JaysArcade said:

When I have them both set to true, I can pause my game but I see no pause menu. If I have video fullscreen false and video windowed fullscreen set to true, then the Pause menu comes up for me but I have the file menu at the top.

That differs from how it behaves for me (Windows 7 but shouldn't matter). What about doing this?

video_fullscreen = "false" 
video_windowed_fullscreen = "true"
ui_menubar_enable = "false"

8 minutes ago, JaysArcade said:

H'mmm, maybe I should have helped you beta test. I'm loving what I see so far though.

Glad you like it. Yeah, no one caught this in beta testing. I'm pretty sure we can figure it out though.

December 31, 2018

11 hours ago, JaysArcade said:

Question: Is there any way to run RetroArch with Wootlauncher without having the file menu at the top? If I disable the menu via editing RetroArch's retroarch.cfg (ui_menubar_enable = "false"), it has the same effect as running in fullscreen. Basically breaks the pause screen functionality.

Edit: I see I can cover it with a bezel. Not ideal but I guess its an option.

WL basically forces an emulator's window into a fullscreen window, and to work the emulator must not be running in exclusive fullscreen mode. To prevent exclusive fullscreen mode in RA, you can either set video_fullscreen to false or video_windowed_fullscreen to true. I use the following configuration settings:

video_fullscreen = "true"            # can optionally just leave this false if you want
video_windowed_fullscreen = "true"   # if using fullscreen, RA will render to a window

Using this config, I don't need to worry about setting ui_menubar_enable to false (because video_fullscreen automatically hides it) but you could do so if you want it won't change anything. Thanks for pointing out this issue -- I'll update the WL guide to mention video_windowed_fullscreen.

11 hours ago, JaysArcade said:

Also, is there something to getting the exit fades to work? I have yet to see one when exiting from MAME or RA unless I exit via the pause menu.

WL currently supports exit fades only when quitting the game from the pause menu. I might try to tackle this in the future.

11 hours ago, JaysArcade said:

On a side note, I have save states running well with MAME.

That's terrific. I hadn't tried MAME savestates but glad to hear it's working well. I'll bundle your config file with the next release.

December 29, 2018

On 12/25/2018 at 10:57 PM, JaysArcade said:

I'm kind of lost here and not sure what to try next. Maybe its just something simple I'm overlooking?

Sorry for the late reply @JaysArcade -- not sure how I missed your post. Thanks for the log file; looks good. To activate the pause menu, you can use either a keyboard or gamepad. By default, use "Alt+A" on the keyboard or "PageUp^PageDn+Up" on the gamepad, i.e., hold down gamepad buttons mapped to PageUp and PageDn (as per BigBox) then press button mapped to Up.

I pulled this from the bundled PDF manual:

Also, I recommend enabling a hotkey modifier when using RetroArch. It's probably not necessary, but I tested the bundled config files using SHIFT as the hotkey. I did this to better work with certain cores such as scummvm which rely a lot on keyboard input. From the WL manual:

RetroArch: tested with version 1.7.4
 Use general setting: input_enable_hotkey = "shift" (to work with bundled configuration files)

Let me know if the above gets it working for you. I suspect you just need to use these keyboard or gamepad button combos to pull up the pause menu. These button combos are configurable.

December 24, 2018

1 hour ago, daphnefan said:

So I'm using the latest version of LB and your theme. My media is on my c:, which is also where my LB is.

I'll try VLC to see if it works smoother.

Edit: Unfortunately, it hangs with VLC as well

Thanks for testing VLC as well. Would you send me a log file from LaunchBox\Logs when it hangs? You'll first have to enable logs by changing this line in LaunchBox\Data\Settings.xml:

<DebugLog>true</DebugLog>

Maybe the log file will contain some clues. Please generate the log file using the default WMP if you have time.

P.s. You should backup the LB settings file anytime you hand-edit a change like this, just in case.

December 24, 2018

10 hours ago, daphnefan said:

@eatkinola hey, I think I discovered an issue. It seems the theme locks up Big Box after a while of Attract Mode running. I've had it happen twice today FYI. Otherwise I really like it!

Glad you like it! Thanks for reporting that issue -- I don't typically let attract mode run for awhile, so I've never noticed that. Would you please provide some more info:

What version of Refaktor are you using? The newest version?

What version of LaunchBox are you using?

Is your LB media stored locally on the system, or do you use networked drives?

Were you using WMP or VLC to play videos? If you used the theme out of the box it'll force the use of WMP. To use VLC, you have to edit AOStyles.xaml in the theme's Styles folder; look at the notes int the top section of that file (it's a simple edit). It forces WMP by default because I've found it's generally more stable, but please see how VLC holds up to attract mode on your system.

December 23, 2018

8 hours ago, isilkin said:

Could custom themes be edited? I know the word custom in it. But I tried opening xaml files and I don't see any font or color properties in them. Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Any theme can be edited by modifying the XAML files. How you go about it depends on the specific theme. Try contacting the author of that theme with specific questions. There are also support threads for many of the themes.

December 23, 2018

Updated to v1.7 -- see changelog on download page

December 23, 2018

Updated to v5.6 - see changelog on download page

December 22, 2018

@daphnefan: Updated Refaktor to 1.3 -- added a wheel view for platforms and games. It should look good on a 4:3 monitor; please let me know if it works out as I don't have a 4:3 monitor myself for testing. You might need to tweak the config file a little (maybe not); check out the PDF bundled with the download for info.

December 22, 2018

Thanks again to all the beta testers who provided feedback: @ALIE, @androtaz08, @bundangdon, @Klopjero, @Kondorito, @Lordmonkus, @MadK9, @misterlamide, @neil9000, @Nicodemus, @Porl Hendy, @Retro808, @Zombeaver. It wouldn't have turned out half as nice without good feedback.

Consider this thread closed. Please use the new thread for further comments:

December 22, 2018

REPORTING ISSUES: Please include relevant screenshots and log files in your post. I recommend using hidden content ("spoiler") sections when posting logs and screenshots to prevent the message from appearing crazy long. E.g.:

Screenshots

Spoiler

Log (plain text and/or with attached text file)

Spoiler


==============================================================================
# WOOTLAUNCHER STARTUP =======================================================
# WootLauncher Version = 1.0.0.0 by eatkinola
# LaunchBox/BB Version = 9.2.0.0 LaunchBox
==============================================================================
# GENERAL SETTINGS ===========================================================
# EnableFades .................. True
# EnableBezel .................. True
# EnablePause .................. True
# RequireCfgs .................. False
# BgImageAuto4Game ............. False
# BgImageAuto4Plat ............. False
# BgImageAutoOpacity ........... 0.3
# BgImageAutoBlurRadius ........ 10
# BgImageAutoScanlineOpacity ... 0.3
# LsBackgroundImage ............ True
# LsBackgroundVideo ............ False
# LsBackgroundMetadata ......... True
# LsBackgroundDuration ......... 00:00:05
# EsBackgroundImage ............ True
# EsBackgroundVideo ............ False
# EsBackgroundMetadata ......... True
# EsBackgroundDuration ......... 00:00:05
# PmLaunchJoyBinding ........... Up+(PageUp, PageDn)
# PmLaunchKeyBinding ........... A+(Alt)
# PmStyleColorFgNormal ......... #90FFFFFF
# PmStyleColorFgActive ......... #90FFFFFF
# PmStyleColorFgSubtle ......... #10FFFFFF
# PmStyleColorBgNormal ......... #90000000
# PmStyleColorBgActive ......... #3000FF60
# PmStyleColorBgSubtle ......... #90000000
# PmStyleFontFamily ............ ./#Orbitron
==============================================================================
# EMULATOR CONFIGS ===========================================================
# Cemu::Nintendo Wii U ............ CEMU
# Demul::Sammy Atomiswave ......... DEMUL
# Demul::Sega Naomi ............... DEMUL->DEMUL+SEGA_NAOMI
# Demul-DC::Sega Dreamcast ........ DEMUL-DC
# Dolphin::Nintendo GameCube ...... DOLPHIN
# Dolphin::Nintendo Wii ........... DOLPHIN
# ePSXe::Sony Playstation ......... no configurations found
# MAME ............................ MAME
# PCSX2::Sony Playstation 2 ....... PCSX2
# PPSSPP::Sony PSP ................ no configurations found
# Retroarch ....................... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Arcade Classics ...... RETROARCH->RETROARCH@MAME
# Retroarch::Atari 2600 ........... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Atari 5200 ........... RETROARCH->RETROARCH@ATARI800
# Retroarch::Atari 7800 ........... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Microsoft MS-DOS ..... RETROARCH->RETROARCH@SCUMMVM
# Retroarch::NEC TurboGrafx-16 .... RETROARCH->RETROARCH@MEDNAFEN_SUPERGRAFX
# Retroarch::NEC TurboGrafx-CD .... RETROARCH->RETROARCH@MEDNAFEN_SUPERGRAFX
# Retroarch::Nintendo 64 .......... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Nintendo GameCube .... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Nintendo GB .......... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Nintendo GBA ......... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Nintendo GBC ......... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Nintendo NES ......... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Nintendo SNES ........ RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Sega Dreamcast ....... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Sega Genesis ......... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Sega Master System ... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Sony Playstation ..... RETROARCH
# Retroarch::Sony PSP ............. RETROARCH->RETROARCH@PPSSPP
==============================================================================
2018-12-22 12:16:58 game = River City Ransom (Id=1304)
2018-12-22 12:16:58 displaying game loading screen
2018-12-22 12:16:58 configuration = RETROARCH
2018-12-22 12:16:58 overlay/bezel = no overlay configured
2018-12-22 12:16:58 controllermap = E:\meta\LaunchBox\Plugins\Ao.Bigbox.Dropins\WootLauncher\Images\Controls\RETROARCH+NINTENDO_NES.png
2018-12-22 12:16:58 finding emulator process retroarch, wait up to 10 seconds
2018-12-22 12:17:01 wrapping emulator process 9104 in adornable window
2018-12-22 12:17:15 exiting game 1304, process 9104

WL 2018-12-22 12-16-57.txt

The better the info you provide, the better my troubleshooting will be.

December 22, 2018

WootLauncher

View File

WootLauncher provides game load/exit screens, bezels/overlays and a pause menu with built-in PDF viewer for manuals, as well as support for emulator savestates and images of control mappings. I looked into using RL but didn't feel like going through the trouble of setting it up, so I instead ironically went through loads of trouble creating this plugin. It's not meant to do everything RL does (caveat: I've never used RL), but maybe it does enough and you'll find it useful. It's designed to be easy to setup but also quite customizable. It will not support all emulators but should support "enough"; tested with RetroArch, MAME, Dolphin, Demul, and PCSX2 which I think are the more common ones used (anyway what I use). It should work with other emulators, too. In addition to the built-in look-and-feel, WL can be integrated with Bigbox themes for a seamless experience; here it is integrated with FluxCRT:

The PDF bundled with the download describes how to quickly setup and also how to customize ... so I'll not repeat that here. You can also download the PDF guide separately. Please use the support thread if you have any questions or spot bugs. When reporting issues, supply the log file and any relevant screenshots to help troubleshoot. It's worth mentioning this is not compatible with the new built-in game startup screens for LB/BB, and it likely never will be as it uses a different window management strategy. Absolute requirements for using WootLauncher are:

1. LaunchBox / BigBox version >= 9.2
2. Disable built-in LB/BB startup and pause screens (see PDF)
3. Do not try to use both RL and WootLauncher; it will not go well
4. Configure your emulators to run in windowed mode

NOTE: If criteria 1 and 2 are not met, the plugin will simply disable itself.

ADDITIONAL PLUGINS: This DLL (Ao.Bigbox.Dropins.dll) contains additional plugins besides WootLauncher, but they are inactivated by default. You can activate these other plugins by editing the DLL's config file (Ao.Bigbox.Dropins.dll.config). See the Ao.Bigbox Customs download page for additional details about these other plugins.

Submitter

eatkinola
Submitted

12/22/2018
Category

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CRT Overlays

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