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UnderwoodNC

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Posts posted by UnderwoodNC

    Add To Games DB

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    Hey, thanks for getting my attention.

    @sqlallstar Yeah, I don’t know if there is an API for the games database now, but at the time, there was not. Bulk updates were also intentionally not supported.  Using UI testing tool, Selenium, I wrote a plugin that opens the browser and does some work.  Unfortunately, Selenium relies on drivers whose versions have to be kept in sync with their respective browser versions, and browser versions can update frequently.  That aspect was problematic.  At the time, I was going to look into phantomjs as an alternative to Chrome to resolve that issue, but phantomjs is no longer supported.  Selenium does have a headless experience now, but I think it still requires the driver and has the same issues.  It just makes testing more performant.  Pretty soon, I’ll be able to look at an alternative to Selenium, and hopefully it doesn’t carry the same issue.

    I’ve also been going back and forth on whether it would be better served as a separate app instead of a plugin.

    I don’t know if I have the latest code after the laptop crashed, but I’ll grab the latest version I have and get it posted, and update it if I get a hot minute.  I would like to bring it back for the community if there’s interest.

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 1

    We're Hiring Again!

    in News and Updates

    Posted

    This is the something I would *love* to do.  I just moved to another company a few months ago, so it’s too early for me to move again.  If you do need someone part-time, however, I would definitely be open to it.

    Add To Games DB

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    Hi Tanuki,

    It was only compatible with Chrome at the time, but this plugin is unfortunately outdated.  I’m thinking through ways to keep it up to date, and what the new functionality would need to look like to prevent duplicate or incorrect submissions.  I would recommend uninstalling it for now and, if there’s enough interest, I hope to have a rewrite available soon.

    Thanks!

    • Like 3

    Add To Games DB

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    Hey, I appreciate it, thanks!  I've been thinking it's time for a rewrite to bring it up to date.  I'll have to remove the image upload functionality for now since there were issues with duplicate images getting added to the database, but I can at least get the metadata upload working again and then look into images in a future update.

    Thanks for reaching out about it, I'll pick it up this week and see if I can get something out to the community.

    • Like 2

    Moderator Guidelines and Contributor Rules

    in News and Updates

    Posted

    Hi @Jason Carr, just seeing this!  Tonight may be tough to take a look at it, so if I can't get to it tonight, I'll check it out tomorrow and see what I can find out.  If it helps for now, the plugin should be entering a name and platform, then proceeding to the next screen.  If there are potential matches, it should pause there and wait for the user to select a matching game or add it as a new game.

    @Robin55 Can you confirm if it's pausing on that screen for you?

    • Like 1

    7.15-beta-1 Released

    in Beta Testing

    Posted

    On 11/28/2017 at 3:18 PM, Jason Carr said:

    Ah, so this *is* plugin-related. We'll need to talk to @UnderwoodNC to hopefully get this fixed for the new versions. :)

    Is this still an issue?  If so, I'll try to give it a look tomorrow.  Sorry I've been away and haven't seen this, huge work project I'm wrapping up day and night at the moment.

    • Like 2

    RocketLauncher for LaunchBox (beta)

    in Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released)

    Posted

    RocketLauncher for LaunchBox (beta)

    View File

    RocketLauncher for LaunchBox

    * This is a standalone application.

    What it is:

    RocketLauncher for LaunchBox automates the configuration of RocketLauncher so that you can quickly and easily get setup to use bezels, fades, and other RocketLauncher features.

    This app will read your LaunchBox configuration, convert the platforms to their RocketLauncher-friendly naming convention, let you choose RocketLauncher features to enable, and then write everything into RocketLauncher's configuration files.  The conversions are largely powered by the included XML files -- PlatformIntegration.xml and EmulatorIntegration.xml.  These are updated as the app runs.  The default setup of PlatformIntegration lists all the RocketLauncher-supported platforms, the LaunchBox equivalent if the platform is supported there, and whether or not that platform supports MultiGame (disc-swapping).

    * I don't know all the platforms that support MultiGame.  I currently have Sega CD, Mega-CD, Panasonic 3DO, Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox setup to support MultiGame.  Let me know which ones I've missed and I'll update the default settings for everyone!

    Features Supported:

    • Zipped Roms:  the app will enable this feature on a platform-by-platform basis if it finds any zipped roms for the platform in LaunchBox.
    • MultiGame:  this is the disc-swapping feature of RocketLauncher, and will be enabled on platforms that support disc swapping (Sega CD, Mega-CD, Playstation, and 3DO -- let me know which platforms I'm missing!)
    • Bezels (Overlays):  Custom borders around the edge of the screen while playing a game.
    • Fade In:  Game loading screen.
    • Fade Out:  Game exit/closing screen.
    • (Hyper)Pause:  Pause menu that lets you browse game manuals, videos, soundtracks, etc.

    Before Running the App:

    Some people may need to double-check their setup to get full functionality of the app if you have customized your platform or emulator names in LaunchBox, or to be sure you can use disc-swapping via RocketLauncher.  Plus, if you haven't already, you'll need to install RocketLauncher.  Here's the steps if any of those things apply to your setup:

    Backup your LaunchBox Data folder:

    As always, before running any kind of tool that will modify your configuration, it's best to backup that configuration -- just in case.  I've tested this on my own system and setup, and made a ton of fake setups to test it out, and it worked well.  Still, can't be too careful.

    1. Browse to your LaunchBox install folder.
    2. Copy the Data folder, and paste it somewhere safe.  Maybe create a Backups folder somewhere if you haven't already done so.

    Cloud-Sync:

    If you have cloud-sync turned on, I recommend you turn it off for this app.  If you use the cloud sync option in LaunchBox (Cloud -> Sync to My Collection), then you will either need to make sure LaunchBox is disconnected (Cloud -> Disconnect), or that you keep LaunchBox open and run the sync again once everything is finished.  Otherwise, whenever you close or open LaunchBox all of the changes will be overwritten as your cloud sync gets restored.  

    Platforms:

    If you have given any of your platforms custom names, make sure the Scrape As was populated for that platform.  If you're sure it was, you can skip this step.  If you started using LaunchBox before "Scrape As" was a feature, it may be missing in your configuration, please verify by following the steps below.

    1. In LaunchBox, go to Tools -> Manage Platforms.  
    2. Open any platform where you're using a name other than the LaunchBox default, and make sure the "Scrape As" field is populated correctly.  

    If you have a platform missing on the RocketLauncher tab, it's most likely because the Scrape As field wasn't saved into configuration.  Please try doing the above, then running the app again.

    Emulators:

    If you are using custom names for emulators (other than the actual name of the emulator -- like calling RetroArch "Multi-Platform Emulator" or something), you'll need to rename the emulator to the actual emulator name.  This is something I may automate at some point, but it seems like an uncommon case.  To rename your emulators, do the following:

    1. In LaunchBox, go to Tools -> Manage Emulators.
    2. Rename any emulators with non-standard names (calling it something other than the name of the emulator).

    Multi-Game:

    RocketLauncher disc-swapping requires games to have a certain naming convention.  You're probably already using this naming convention, but if not, you'll need to rename your multi-disc roms to their expected format.  You can see instructions on that naming convention here:  MultiGame - RocketLauncher Wiki

    There is also a custom pause menu for changing discs that looks amazing.  More details on that can be found here:  Pause Change Disc Menu - RocketLauncher Wiki
    Essentially, it will involve adding media to RocketLauncher/Media/MultiGame/[PlatformName]/[GameName]/*.png

    Installing RocketLauncher:

    RocketLauncher

    1. Download RocketLauncher from RocketLauncher Download 
    2. Unzip to wherever you want RocketLauncher installed (Note:  the password to unzip the file is www.rlauncher.com)  

    RocketLauncher Base Media Pack

    1. Download the RocketLauncher Base Media Pack from RocketLauncher Base Media Pack Download
    2. Unzip it and copy the Media folder to your RocketLauncher install folder, let it replace any existing files.
    3. This contains extra and default media, bezels, fades, etc. from RocketLauncher, all of which are contained in RocketLauncher/Media.

    Run the RocketLauncher Update

    Once installed, you'll need to make sure you have the latest modules, etc. installed.  

    1. Open RocketLauncherUI.exe from the RocketLauncher/RocketLauncherUI folder.  When it opens for the first time, it creates all the default configuration files that we're going to update with our app.
    2. When RocketLauncherUI opens, if you are prompted to check for updates, click OK.
    3. This will open the Auto Updater window.  It will not start checking for updates by itself, you'll need to click "Check Updates" in the bottom left.  Otherwise you'll sit there and start a countdown timer until swearing begins.
    4. After clicking "Check Updates" it will go out and do its thing, click OK when the results notification comes up.  Then click "Apply Updates".
    5. After the updates actually download, you'll get a notification to install the updates.  Click OK.
    6. If there was a Critical Update included in the download, you'll get a warning notification.  Click OK.
    7. After everything installs, you'll get a success notification with a prompt saying that RocketLauncherUI will restart for the updates to take effect.  Click OK.
    8. Once RocketLauncherUI re-opens, close it.  We're finished with RocketLauncher.

    * You'll need to check back for updates regularly as, anytime an emulator is updated, the RocketLauncher Module that wraps around that emulator to provide the extra functionality (bezels, fades, etc.) will also need to be updated.

    RocketLauncher for LaunchBox:

    * One more thing!  Make sure RocketLauncher is closed before running the app.  RocketLauncher doesn't like its .ini files being modified while RocketLauncher is open and reading from them.

    Now then, here we go:

    1. Open the app and tell it where your LaunchBox and RocketLauncher installations live.  Then either click Next or the now-enabled LaunchBox button.

    After clicking either button, the app will analyze your LaunchBox configuration and list any platforms that need to be renamed to Rocketlauncher-friendly platform names.  It will also notify you if it couldn't find a certain platform, with instructions on how to fix that error.

    2. Click the "Rename" button and the app will update all of your LaunchBox configuration files, and all platform-named folders (media, manuals, etc.), to the RocketLauncher-friendly name.  Once complete, the Next and RocketLauncher buttons become available.  Click either (they take you to the same place).  As there are multiple Arcade and PC platforms in RocketLauncher, please note that Arcade will be renamed to MAME, and Windows will be renamed to Microsoft Windows.  If one of your platforms does not get renamed, please try the "Before Running the App" -> "Platforms" step above.

    At this point, it is setting up the global configuration of RocketLauncher.  Global configuration basically means setting defaults that, unless otherwise configured, will be used by a platform.  It's setting up your frontend as LaunchBox (pointing to BigBox.exe -- if you want it to point to LaunchBox.exe, you'll need to go into RocketLauncher, click the RocketLauncherUI tab, click the Frontends tab, then edit the LaunchBox frontend entry to point to LaunchBox.exe instead of BigBox.exe).  It's adding all your LaunchBox emulators as Global Emulators along with the rom extensions for games using those emulators.  It's setting each emulator and rom path for each platform.  Finally, it's setting 7zip and MultiGame options.

    3. Once all that is done, the RocketLauncher feature options load in the app.  Here, you can specify which features you want to enable on a platform-by-platform basis, or you can "Select All" for a feature to enable that feature for all platforms.  Once ready, click Save and you're done with the app.

    Final steps:

    To enable this integration, you'll need to do a couple things.  I'll likely automate this in the future, but for now:

    Add RocketLauncher as an emulator in LaunchBox:

    1. Open LaunchBox.
    2. Go to Tools -> Manage Emulators.  If you don't have RocketLauncher set up as an emulator here, add it now.  Use these settings
      • Emulator Name:  RocketLauncher
      • Emulator Application Path:  (The folder where you installed RocketLauncher)
      • Default Command-Line Parameters:  -f "%launchboxorbigboxexepath%" -p "LaunchBox" -s "%platform%" -r
    3. Click OK and close out of Manage Emulators.

    Set RocketLauncher as the preferred emulator for your games:

    1. Wherever you would like to enable RocketLauncher -- whether for a certain platform, a category of platforms, a playlist or all games, select the appropriate option in the LaunchBox left navigation. 
    2. Select all games.  You can do that by clicking a game and then hitting Ctrl + A.  
    3. Right-click on one of those games and select Edit.  
    4. This opens the Bulk Edit Wizard.  The field you want to change is Emulator, and the value you want to set is RocketLauncher.  
    5. Click Next and that will change all of the selected games to use the RocketLauncher emulator.

    Adding Bezels, Fades, Pause:

    Your RocketLauncher install should have come with some default media for these features, but there are amazing people out there with a ton of custom media, such as @RetroGaming's RocketLauncher Experience.  You'll need to download any additional media you would like to use for these features and add them to the appropriate folders in your RocketLauncher installation's Media folder.

    If you want to further customize any additional RocketLauncher features and functionality, I highly recommend colpipes1978's video tutorial series on LaunchBox and RocketLauncher.  In the video descriptions, he also includes links to download the media he uses for each platform he sets up.  They're very clear instructional videos that make set up easy.

    Thanks!

    Thanks to everyone for making this such a fantastic community, and to the LaunchBox team for making this an amazing platform.  

    If you have any questions or issues with the app, feel free to post on the support page or message me directly.
     

     

    • Like 4

    Your List of Small Things

    in Features

    Posted

    Since it came up in the stream yesterday, support for multiple video types:

    - Gameplay

    - Ad/Commercial

    - Trailer

    - Review

    Maybe we can work with emumovies to start sourcing, organizing and storing the videos until the functionality is there?  Would they be interested in that?

    • Like 2

    Your List of Small Things

    in Features

    Posted

    Someone pointed out to me that longer startup videos (1 minute+) don't work as the minimum startup video duration can't be set higher than 30 seconds.  So, my request would be either allowing longer minimum startup video durations on Big Box startup videos, or deactivating the minimum duration setting and instead letting the video play until the end, WaitForExit, and then if Big Box is still loading, either loop the video or show a "loading" splash screen until Big Box is ready.

    It would be leaving it up to the user to time how long it takes Big Box to actually start and to not use startup videos shorter than that, but it would also guarantee that longer videos are allowed to play to completion, and that the minimum duration would be exactly the length of the video by default rather than configured and adjusted whenever changing startup videos.

    I don't know if other users would be interested in that change, but I think it will add some flexibility without too much work.

    • Like 1
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