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alfredolvera

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Posts posted by alfredolvera

  1. 3 hours ago, PlayingKarrde said:

    Have to say I wholeheartedly agree. While it's great all the work that goes into BB themes, I really want something that I can use as my main hub for games that feels elegant and modern. I might do it myself although if there are already lots of limitations then I don't want to get 50% of the way there before finding out it's not possible. It's not like learning XAML will have many other uses for me. I also find BigBox just a little cumbersome to use from a user experience point of view so even with a theme to my liking I'm not sure if it will be the steam big picture replacement I want.

    Yeah... I also dream about BigBox someday resembling Steams's Big Picture aesthetic. I love BB's functionality and versatility, but it seems that there are a lot of theme developers (and users who want them) who rode the Hyperspin & ES train (both general layouts that aren't my cup of tea) a little too hard. I worked for some companies that specialized in UI and I don't think it's a good layout from a usability standpoint, but then again it comes back down to personal taste. Sure, it looks 'pretty' but as I said, I'm not in the 'wheel' bandwagon (and it seems that neither are you) but we might be in the minority and if so, we might have to wait. Hopefully, @Jason Carr will improve the grid view sometime in the future and a new revolution of themes can come along for the ride :) Fingers crossed!!

  2. To all the fantastic and skilled BigBox theme developers in this forum:

    Ever since I paid for my Launchbox licence, I've been waiting for a theme to closely resemble a "grid / console interface like", but sadly most of them have centred mostly on wheels (which I personally dislike), most of them rely on a "retro" or "snazzy neon oranges Republic of Gamers", and almost all of them rely on clear logos to be displayed properly. Since I use BigBox for retro AND current windows games, and since most windows games don't have a clear logo in the database, I've been running the Futurestate Black theme with text list view for as long as I can remember.

    Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that wheel based, retro or ROG based themes are wrong. It just a matter of personal taste.

    I looked into making the theme myself, but XAML looks daunting and I don't think I have the time (or skills) required for me to develop a theme to my liking. So I wanted to ask the theme community if any developer would like to work on a new BigBox theme for a bounty:

     

    WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

     

     

    Yeah, I know the Polymega and all its shenanigans smell fishy, but I really like its UI. The grid interface for selecting a game is clean and simple. I would love to have a grid with Fanarts/screenshots/backgrounds with the Clear Logo on top, or just the cover art cropped and centred.

    Capture.thumb.PNG.5eda6c7cceeb34f6f9f5b2ba5a91ff8a.PNG

    I don't know if we can theme the Games Details screen yet, but I would love to be displayed as Polymega's UI: screenshot or video at the top, the box on the left, followed by info to the right.

    Capture2.thumb.PNG.7453d67980e4dbf8ffe63906bbcc5e9d.PNG

    Also, I would love a view with the same grid as the classic Kodi theme. 

    Capture3.thumb.PNG.d24633949309321b7c5256a2a0c2e172.PNG

    I know the AEON theme has a similar view, but I wanted a cleaner look, boxes really close together, less text on top, boxes on the left and game description with the developer, publisher etc info on a more organized way.

    Capture4.thumb.PNG.ea8b37361691b563c87814cccd587c46.PNG

    Also, a couple of requirements:

    • Must work with 4k displays
    • Must work with DPIs higher than 100%
    • The theme can and should be released publicly

     

    So... I don't know how much I should offer at the start of this bounty since I really don't know how much time something like this would need in development. So if any developer would like to tackle this, let me know and name your price :) I'm not rich, but I personally would offer something like $60 USD? Don't know if any other forum members would like to add to this amount.

     

    Calling out for help:  @gibbawho @Styphelus @Klopjero @Neonrage @knewlife @Creloce @CriticalCid @ghostlost @RetroHumanoid @ninja2bceen @THK @Rkh @scooter1974 @guyverjay @hoscarconh @viking

    Anyway, worst case scenario: Thanks for reading! :D

    Cheers.

    • Like 1
  3. 8 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

    Even just showing an image while an emulator loads is tricky and would require emulator-specific code.

    Hey @Jason Carr , can you elaborate a little more on this issue? I'm very curious because (even though I'm not a developer) from my ignorant point of view you just had to replace the "Now Loading" box in BB with an image from the db? I even filled a request for this https://bitbucket.org/jasondavidcarr/launchbox/issues/3521/request-fan-art-or-screenshots-for-loading#comment-40921691

    I don't care that much about the fade in-out when loading. Just replacing the plan "Now Loading" with some background fanart would make wonders for BB's eye-candy.

    My 2 cents :)

    • Like 1
  4. So... @Jason Carr you asked for feedback so here it is: No, thanks. I use LB to have ALL my games in one place. PC Games included. And Linux doesn't have the big ones, so no, I don't want you to invest time in a port for a little user base - compared to Windows. I don't like Windows's privacy issues either, but ultimately I don't care that much about them. I know I'm part of the problem, but such is life.

    But I think we get the message (from this port, and Music Box) that you are bored, you need to do other things. So go ahead, my friend. Do what's best for you. And be happy.

    Looking forward to the next LB beta! :) 

    • Thanks 1
  5. Hey Gang, I just got this by switching from LB to BB:

     

    Cannot access a disposed object.
    Object name: 'GameDetailsControl'.

    App:     LaunchBox
    Version: 7.15-beta-7
    Type:    System.ObjectDisposedException
    Site:    System.Object MarshaledInvoke(System.Windows.Forms.Control, System.Delegate, System.Object[], Boolean)
    Source:  System.Windows.Forms

       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.MarshaledInvoke(Control caller, Delegate method, Object[] args, Boolean synchronous)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.Invoke(Delegate method, Object[] args)
       at (GameDetailsControl , GameInfoWithProgress )
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Controls.GameDetailsControl.InitPlacement(GameInfoWithProgress achievementsInfo)
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Controls.GameDetailsControl.<.ctor>b__9_0(Object sender, GameInfoWithProgress achievementsInfo)
       at (<>c__DisplayClass80_0 )
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Drawing.GameDetailsGui.<>c__DisplayClass80_0.<RefreshImage>b__0()
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

    Recent Log:

       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailFileName
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailCustomFields
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailLastPlayed
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailNotes
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailDates
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails End
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Start
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailRating
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailFileName
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailCustomFields
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailLastPlayed
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailNotes
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailDates
       7:50:28 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails End
       7:50:28 AM Music.Prepare Start
       7:50:28 AM Music.Kill Start
       7:50:28 AM Music.Kill Finished
       7:50:28 AM Music.NotifyTrackList Start
       7:50:28 AM Music.NotifyTrackList Invoke
       7:50:31 AM Music.Stop Start
       7:50:31 AM Music.Kill Start
       7:50:31 AM Music.Kill Finished
       7:51:00 AM Music.Pause Start
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Start
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailRating
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailFileName
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailCustomFields
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailLastPlayed
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailNotes
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailDates
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails End
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Start
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailRating
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailFileName
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailCustomFields
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailLastPlayed
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailNotes
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailDates
       7:51:01 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails End
       7:51:01 AM Music.Prepare Start
       7:51:01 AM Music.Kill Start
       7:51:01 AM Music.Kill Finished
       7:51:01 AM Music.NotifyTrackList Start
       7:51:01 AM Music.NotifyTrackList Invoke
       7:55:52 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Start
       7:55:52 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailRating
       7:55:52 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailFileName
       7:55:52 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailCustomFields
       7:55:52 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailLastPlayed
       7:55:52 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailNotes
       7:55:52 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailDates
       7:55:52 AM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails End
       7:55:53 AM Exception

     

    Don't know what happened, but it seems to be working fine now.

  6. 5 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

    This has come up before; unfortunately .NET does not provide a good solution for that. Of course anything is possible, but I would have to reinvent the wheel in order to make it happen, so that's not likely to happen any time soon. There are certainly things that can be done, though, such as trapping all plugin errors and handling them separately, but that by definition won't catch everything.

    3

    I see. So maybe we could use the log to signal the user (and you) that this might be a plugin related issue? Because at least in my case, I installed that plugin a long time ago to try it, didn't like it and just forgot that I had it installed. If the log said something like "Plugin Invoked, exception" maybe I could have figured it by myself! I know that maybe isn't that simple, but I know you can figure something out ;)

    Thanks for the help, Jason :)

     

  7. 1 minute ago, Jason Carr said:

    As stated above, we figured out that this is caused by at least one plugin: the add to games database plugin. Please try removing all plugins and let me know if you still get any errors.

    Oh, I'm an idiot... Plugin removed, everything works now. Sorry :( This makes me wonder if it's possible to add a "fenced sandbox" mode so that plugins can't crash LB, so if something's broken with the plugin, just crash the plugin, not the entire program. Is that even possible?

    Thanks again!

  8. 42 minutes ago, alfredolvera said:

    Hey @Jason Carr

    I just updated to beta 6 and it's still broken :( Same error, whenever I select ANY game in LB. Please let me know if I can maybe assist you in any way with this, testing or otherwise. This makes LB unusable, as I can't edit or start any game or ROM. 

    Thanks for your help!!!! :)

    1

    By the way @Jason Carr AFAIK this didn't happen on Beta 4. Just in case this is relevant to finding the issue.

     

  9. Hey @Jason Carr

    I just updated to beta 6 and it's still broken :( Same error, whenever I select ANY game in LB. Please let me know if I can maybe assist you in any way with this, testing or otherwise. This makes LB unusable, as I can't edit or start any game or ROM. 

    Log:

    Input string was not in a correct format.

    App:     LaunchBox
    Version: 7.15-beta-6
    Type:    System.FormatException
    Site:    System.Object MarshaledInvoke(System.Windows.Forms.Control, System.Delegate, System.Object[], Boolean)
    Source:  System.Windows.Forms

       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.MarshaledInvoke(Control caller, Delegate method, Object[] args, Boolean synchronous)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.Invoke(Delegate method, Object[] args)
       at (MainForm , Game )
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Forms.MainForm.SetOneSelectedGameState(Game game)
       at (MainForm , Object , EventArgs )
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Forms.MainForm.gamesControl_SelectedGameChanged(Object sender, EventArgs e)
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Controls.GamesControlBase.OnSelectedGameChanged()
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Controls.ImageGamesControl.<selectionTimer_Tick>b__57_0()
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

    Recent Log:

       2:43:43 PM Music.Pause Start
       2:43:43 PM Music.Prepare Start
       2:43:43 PM Music.Kill Start
       2:43:43 PM Music.Kill Finished
       2:43:43 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Start
       2:43:43 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Invoke
       2:43:47 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Start
       2:43:47 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailRating
       2:43:47 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailFileName
       2:43:47 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailCustomFields
       2:43:47 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailLastPlayed
       2:43:47 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailNotes
       2:43:47 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailDates
       2:43:47 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails End
       2:43:49 PM Exception

    Thanks for your help!!!! :)

  10. Same as @Killerdog, every time I select any game, LB crashed. Fortunately, BB is working fine.

    Log:

    Quote

    Input string was not in a correct format.

    App:     LaunchBox
    Version: 7.15-beta-5
    Type:    System.FormatException
    Site:    System.Object MarshaledInvoke(System.Windows.Forms.Control, System.Delegate, System.Object[], Boolean)
    Source:  System.Windows.Forms

       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.MarshaledInvoke(Control caller, Delegate method, Object[] args, Boolean synchronous)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.Invoke(Delegate method, Object[] args)
       at (MainForm , Game )
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Forms.MainForm.SetOneSelectedGameState(Game game)
       at (MainForm , Object , EventArgs )
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Forms.MainForm.gamesControl_SelectedGameChanged(Object sender, EventArgs e)
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Controls.GamesControlBase.OnSelectedGameChanged()
       at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Desktop.Controls.ImageGamesControl.<selectionTimer_Tick>b__57_0()
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

    Recent Log:

       12:44:31 PM Music.Pause Start
       12:44:31 PM Music.Prepare Start
       12:44:31 PM Music.Kill Start
       12:44:31 PM Music.Kill Finished
       12:44:31 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Start
       12:44:31 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Invoke
       12:44:37 PM Music.Pause Start
       12:44:37 PM Music.Prepare Start
       12:44:37 PM Music.Kill Start
       12:44:37 PM Music.Kill Finished
       12:44:37 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Start
       12:44:37 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Invoke
       12:44:46 PM Music.Pause Start
       12:44:46 PM Music.Prepare Start
       12:44:46 PM Music.Kill Start
       12:44:46 PM Music.Kill Finished
       12:44:46 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Start
       12:44:46 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Invoke
       12:44:49 PM Music.Pause Start
       12:44:49 PM Music.Prepare Start
       12:44:49 PM Music.Kill Start
       12:44:49 PM Music.Kill Finished
       12:44:49 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Start
       12:44:49 PM Music.NotifyTrackList Invoke
       12:45:07 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Start
       12:45:07 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailRating
       12:45:07 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailFileName
       12:45:07 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailCustomFields
       12:45:07 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailLastPlayed
       12:45:07 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailNotes
       12:45:07 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails Before ShowDetailDates
       12:45:07 PM GameDetailsGui.RedrawDetails End
       12:45:09 PM Exception

     

  11.  

    Hi gang!

    After a year of using BigBox just about every day (just renewed my licence for another year. Wohooo!!!) I documented my issues and ideas for BigBox, and I wanted to share them for discussion. I already filled them on BitBucket, and wanted to know what you think of them. You can read more details on each issue by clicking the link for each one on the title:

    This was filled by OmenBoy, but wanted to raise awareness of this issue

     

    I would like to suggest an option for BigBox to replace the current "Now Loading" box with random Fan Art or Screenshot from the game.

    The behaviour would be similar to the way Xbox One or PS4 loads a game, once selected and as it loads, it shows some artwork.

     

    This would be very helpful for a lot of us using RetroArch or CEMU in a standard plate HDD, since from a cold boot they sometimes take 8 to 10 seconds to load, and the "Now Loading" screen is long gone by then. To a novice user this could create some confusion in the seconds it takes to load the program, since the Now Loading box disappears, nothing happens and they might think the game failed to boot for some reason, the user tries again and at worst case scenario, they end up loading two copies of the same emu at the same time, with obvious performance problems.

     

    I would like to request a standard way of defining button inputs on BigBox. Right now a lot of themes display some button inputs on their themes, but this has created some big issues: Since there's no "canonical" button mapping on BigBox, some custom themes just "guess" that the Y button on XB controllers (or the triangle button on PS Controllers) is mapped to the "Search" splash screen and they display this info on the screen, when on my custom configuration, that button it is mapped to change the theme's view or layout. More info in the link above.

     

    This one is short and sweet: I would love that the Games Detail page becomes themeable. Since the theme developers keep making more and more impressive themes, I think that a themeable Games Details page would make their heads explode with ideas, coming with some very good-looking way to select games with Multiple Versions or Multi CDs, or even selecting a different emulator altogether, maybe all of this with icons, images or even videos (spinning CDs is one idea).

     

    I have a custom arcade cabinet running BB on it, and sometimes when I invite my friends to play while browsing the games and platforms they accidentally go all the way back to the settings screen. Even if it's "locked", this confuses even my best tech-savvy friends, since they are not familiar with the way BB navigates, and they don't know what to do. You can imagine that my less tech-savvy friends just think that the machine is malfunctioning and they just stop playing.

    I would like to request a BB custom line parameter to completely disable the options screen. When the user is on the first screen of BB (doesn't matter if it's the platforms, categories, playlists, etc, when the command line is present on launch, the user can't go back to the settings screen. If the back button is pressed on this first page, BB would do nothing.

    This would be extremely helpful for us that have BB on an arcade cabinet, and we made sure that everything is ready and set before we invite our friends to play. I wouldn't mind having to Alt+F4 or similar to quit BB when this custom line parameter is used to launch BB in a special "cabinet mode".

    _____

    Anyways, hope you like them and hopefully together we can help the LB team make an even better program!

    Cheers! :D

  12. Hey @lordmonkus, care to comment what's that 1% that we should be looking for in SNES9X's core? I was using bsnes accurancy, since I have an i7 7700 and I thought I could use it no problem, but when I tried higan I saw some weird fps drops on Yoshi's Island, don't know if I need more horsepower, or the new core just needs more development.

    But either way, if 99% of the games run 99& accurately, I think it's not worth the hassle to fiddle around with either bsnes or higan. Would you elaborate a little more?

    Thanks! :)

  13. 37 minutes ago, lordmonkus said:

    That's if you are using the stand alone and how it functions with its Icarus importer but it is not necessary with the RA core version because it loads the roms straight up.

    I can honestly say that this theory is 100% untrue because I am loading my special chip games without any issues and all I have is the special chip dumps in my \system folder like any other bios file.

    Well... then I don't know what happened. Maybe I just had a bad Mario Kart dump. I already tested all the Mega Man X, Star Fox 1 & 2, even Top Gear 3000, they load with no issues. I just find it funny that my bad dump worked fine with bsnes xD

  14. So, after trying out 3 other Mario Kart ROMs from the Internet, I found one that works with Higan. I find it extremely odd that the one I had worked with bsnes, but not on Higan. Gotta test the rest of my SNES library to test if all my ROMs work with this new core. Hope the improvements and updates are worth the hassle of changing from bsnes to higan!

  15. 18 minutes ago, lordmonkus said:

    Play around with the resolution settings in the core options and see if that gets you sorted out. I don't play with bezels and I am playing with integer scale on but a 1440 resolution monitor so I don't notice and extra space but I didn't look either.

    I had to play with those settings for a bit, but after smashing my face against my 4K TV and doing everything step by step, I got it filling the entire screen using the SNES Video Test Program. Honestly, I find it pretty weird that some values have to go on the minus side of things, and my Mario Kart ROM loads perfectly with SNES9x and Bsnes, but not with Higan. Maybe this core isn't ready for prime time?59db1f012c135_RetroArchhigan(SuperFamicomAccuracy)10510_9_20171_56_55AM.thumb.png.8fa3aead084e033a6c6ff5605a2795bf.png

    This are my settings for 4K res, if anybody wants them.

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