[Close Steam after a game closes]

2 hours ago, Sbaby said:

Run, "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe" -shutdown

Lol, this actually works! I never knew this. -shutdown closes steam and it's child processes and even does this after cloud syncing! Thank you!

[Atomiswave plays as dreamcast]

7 minutes ago, hdjoe22 said:

Only now Dreamcast won’t play unless I recheck extract roms.

If you use RetroArch for multiple platforms, in LaunchBox > Tools > Manage > Emulators > RetroArch > Associated Platforms tab, you have to specify which core you want to use per platform. There's also a checkbox for enabling or disableling extracting roms per platform.

[Close Steam after a game closes]

54 minutes ago, skizzosjt said:

I bet this piece of info is the fix to certain exotic launching configs I made that have the startup screen work fine, but the shutdown screen prematurely closes a handful of seconds after the startup screen fades out

Right click a game > Edit > Edit Metadata/Media > Startup/Pause tab > check "Override Default Startup Screen Settings" > Click "Customize".  There you have a checkbox "Hide all Windows that are not in Exclusive Fullscreen Mode" and I found that that works pretty consistently for games that are using fullscreen exclusive mode. If you check that checkbox with games that are using borderless window fullscreen, you get a black screen when the startup screen duration finishes. But I check that checkbox for all my pc games and I fix the games that are giving trouble with a script. What the script does is wait for the game window to appear and send the startup screen to the bottom of the window stack. When you exit your game the script brings the startup screen back to the front and you get the a working shutdown screen. An example for the game Flower:

#NoEnv
#SingleInstance
#NoTrayIcon
SetTitleMatchMode, 3
SendMode Input
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%\..\..

Run, com.epicgames.launcher://apps/Yarrow?action=launch&silent=true
SendInput #!b
	WinWait, Flower ahk_class Flower[   0]
		WinSet, Bottom, , LaunchBox Game Startup
	WinWaitClose
		WinActivate, LaunchBox Game Startup
		WinSet, AlwaysOnTop, on, LaunchBox Game Startup
SendInput #!b
#Include %A_ScriptDir%\CloseTrayApps\CloseEpicGamesLauncher.ahk
ExitApp

But again, this works best with the checkbox "Hide all Windows that are not in Exclusive Fullscreen Mode" checked.

BTW, this topic is about closing Steam and I posted a script to do that. But what I did is make separate scripts for each launcher and #Include the appropriate script into my games' script. That way, if I want to change how I close a launcher I have to edit only one script instead of all the games that use that launcher.

[B Button doesn't go back anymore!]

You can redo the bindings.

While BigBox or LaunchBox aren't running delete InputBindings.xml from the LaunchBox\Data folder. If after that you start LaunchBox again a new InputBindings.xml will be created.

*BTW*

Are you using any keymapper software like JoyToKey? That can mess things up also.

[B Button doesn't go back anymore!]

4 minutes ago, JHub87 said:

Plus the bindings look fine.  It's so strange.

 

I also just noticed that the A button goes to the game menu instead of just playing the game.  What's going on here??

Have you switched controllers since doing the mapping in BigBox? This sound like you switched from a Xbox (xinput) to a Playstation (dinput) controller. You can't mix xinput and dinput controllers for navigating BigBox as those controller api's use different button numbers. i.e. On Xbox controllers button A = button 1 but on Playstation controllers the X button = button 2.

 

[B Button doesn't go back anymore!]

3 minutes ago, JHub87 said:

In bigbox the B button starts a game instead of going back to the prior menu.  I tried to replace the InputBindings.xml from an old backup, but that didn't work.  When i go to options / controller mapping everything looks fine.  Please help.

Can you redo the mapping?

[Close Steam after a game closes]

I have done this for years with various scrips and approaches. For the longest time I used a script that sends the mouse pointer to the tray area, right click the Steam icon and select Exit from the tray menu. I used this script mainly because it is a completely safe way to close Steam. But the main appeal for me to use LaunchBox and BigBox is to get everything working as seamlessly as possible. So the drawback of this method was that a script opening tray menus wasn't visually appealing. Because of that I switched to force closing Steam (and other launchers as well). I start all my pc games from AutoHotKey scripts which I imported as roms with AutoHotkey.exe as the emulator. I share an example script for the game Rayman Legends:

#NoEnv
#SingleInstance
#NoTrayIcon
SetTitleMatchMode, 3
SendMode Input
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%\..\..

Run, steam://rungameid/242550
	WinWait, ahk_exe Rayman Legends.exe
	WinWaitClose
		Sleep 9000
	Process, Close, upc.exe
		Sleep 3000
	Process, Close, steam.exe
		Sleep 1000
	Run, %A_WorkingDir%\Games\Windows\CloseTrayApps\SystemTrayRefresh.exe
ExitApp

What the script does:

- First it sets the LaunchBox folder as the working directory

- Then it launches Rayman Legends via a Steam url.

- Waits for the game window to open and then close.

- Because this game opens Steam and Ubisoft Connect upon launching, after the game window has closed it waits 9 seconds before closing Ubisoft Connect to give it some time to finish cloud syncing.

 - It waits another 3 seconds and then closes Steam. (Because in my experience cloud syncing on Steam can take a little more time.)

- Lastly, force closing tray apps leaves "orphan" tray icons that will disappear when you hoover over them with your mouse. But to automate this process I run an app called SystemTrayRefresh which will remove all "orphan" tray icons.

 

Of course there are many other reasons I start my pc games from scripts. For example to fix the LaunchBox / BigBox startup screens if they don't work properly and to toggle HDR on and off for supported games.

*Edit*

If you just want to add a script as an additional app to your game (tick "Automatically Run Before Main Application"), this is all you need:

WinWait, ahk_exe Rayman Legends.exe ; The games' main executable
WinWaitClose
Sleep 12000 ; Adjust to how long it takes for cloud syncing to finish, if you use it at all. (1000 = 1 second)
Process, Close, steam.exe ; The executable of the launcher
ExitApp

 

[Atomiswave plays as dreamcast]

1 hour ago, hdjoe22 said:

Clicking an atomiswave game in LB kicks up a Dreamcast splash screen and then the Dreamcast Home Screen.

In LaunchBox > Tools > Manage > Emulators > RetroArch > Associated Platforms tab, have you selected the Flycast core for your Sammy Atomiswave platform. Check if this platform name exactly matches with how you have named it in LaunchBox. Also make sure you have "Extract ROMs" unchecked.

[AHK script for when 'exit game' hotkey doesn't work]

12 minutes ago, hyp36rmax said:

ESC and ALT+F4 triggers Confirmation Exit with window title "information".

Ah, that's a start.

WinWait, information
Sleep 500
SendInput {Space}

 

[AHK script for when 'exit game' hotkey doesn't work]

15 minutes ago, hyp36rmax said:

In Big Box Mode I can trigger the same Confirmation Exit with a designated Button Press.

That's because when you press the "exit button", LaunchBox / BigBox sends an Escape.

1 hour ago, Your Friendly A.I Overlord said:

How did you add it to LaunchBox? Via a Steam url or an executable?

Can you answer this for me? Do you know the name of the games' executable?

[AHK script for when 'exit game' hotkey doesn't work]

I have to say, seeing as I don't own this game and it seems a bit obscure, it is pretty difficult making a script without knowing anything about this game. How did you add it to LaunchBox? Via a Steam url or an executable? You say you tried to close the game with escape, but have you also tried to close it with Alt + F4?

1 hour ago, hyp36rmax said:

I've tried ESC that triggers exit dialog and pressing enter to "OK" BUT... Enter is also the same key that triggers full screen.

Sometimes those dialog boxes also accept Space as confirmation.

[AHK script for when 'exit game' hotkey doesn't work]

Well, if you scoured the menu settings and config files for options to disable "Confirm on Exit", beside force closing your game, you could write a script to click O.K. for you.

[AHK script for when 'exit game' hotkey doesn't work]

2 minutes ago, hyp36rmax said:

In my case it’s actually a Steam game with an Exit Dialog.

I’ve setup BigBox Exit hotkey that works for all the other games.

I would advice against closing Steam games with an exit script. You don't know what a games does upon closing, like writing to it's config- or save files. Force closing PC games might corrupt those. Most Steam / PC games can be closed via it's menu, even with a controller.

7 minutes ago, hyp36rmax said:

When executed on this game it triggers an exit dialog to confirm.

There might be a setting anyway, somewhere in it's config / .ini files.

[AHK script for when 'exit game' hotkey doesn't work]

15 minutes ago, hyp36rmax said:

Have a similar issue Game Exist combo exits game, BUT an EXIT dialog comes up.

Almost always you can disable this in the emulator itself. In the emulators' settings look for a checkbox or setting named something like "Confirm Exit".

[Auto Hotkey Scripts]

9 minutes ago, CtinD said:

My reasoning is I try to keep everything within the script itself so it is self-contained,

You can:

SendMode Input  ;; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ;; Ensures a consistent starting directory.
eProc = explorer.exe
 
^!e::
    Process,Exist,%eProc%
    If ErrorLevel != 0
       Run, taskkill /im %eProc% /f

    If ErrorLevel = 0
        Run, %eProc%   
Return

 

[DosBoxPure with Retroarch and Launchbox]

2 minutes ago, fotiosmark said:

When I start from Launchbox it starts from here.C:\Users\seatt\LaunchBox\Emulators\RetroArch

But when I start Retroarch itself it starts from C:\RetroArch-Win64

That's because you installed RetroArch twice. You once installed it manually, then downloaded it again from within LaunchBox. If you download RetroArch from within LaunchBox, LaunchBox will use that install. To change that, in LaunchBox click the "Tools" menu > Manage > Emulators > RetroArch. Click the "Browse" button and browse to the location of the retroarch.exe you want to use.

BTW. Setting up controls in RetroArch can be a bit confusing. In Settings > Input, you set up a more general binding. In the Quick Menu > Controls you can set up system / game specific controls.

[DosBoxPure with Retroarch and Launchbox]

38 minutes ago, fotiosmark said:

Then I changed the HotKey Enable to PageDown, I though that maybe I need to press that first before I press Home and again it does nothing.

BTW. Leave "Hotkey Enable" empty. That way they're enabled by default.

[DosBoxPure with Retroarch and Launchbox]

43 minutes ago, fotiosmark said:

For the info you gave me, I found those steps before but when for example I start Doom and press F1 it gets me to the details of the game.

I don't fully know what you mean with "the details of the game". But if you press F1 (or Home in your case) it will take you to the RetroArch "Quick Menu". Scroll down to "Controls".

43 minutes ago, fotiosmark said:

1. I extracted them because I found that games like Ecstatica and Alone in the dark wouldn't play as zip files. I don't know why

Maybe because you have to tell Dosbox Pure which file inside the zip is the games' executable. I made a post describing how to do that here:

More information about Dosbox Pure on it's Github page. (Including running games from zip files.)

 

[DosBoxPure with Retroarch and Launchbox]

1 hour ago, fotiosmark said:

2. Intstalled MS dos (extracted games) as folder in launchbox done and working

You do not need to extract your games from zip to folders. In fact, if you use the Dosbox Pure core it's better if you import your dos games as zips and have "Extract ROMs" unchecked. If your zips contain disc images Dosbox pure will auto-mount the disc images this way. (And you will save some disk space in the process. 😉)

1 hour ago, fotiosmark said:

Now the issue is this. As many times as I change the controls in Retroarch > Input it doesn't reflect the changes when I run the game from within Launchbox. The settings are saved in Retroarch so I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

Start your game and press F1. > Scroll down to Controls > Port 1 Controls. > Edit your controls. > Go back one level in the menu and go to Manage Remap files. > choose one of the Save options.

[Retroarch / Neko Project II Kai issue]

1 hour ago, Dybdal said:

There are some games that requires both disk drives to be used to launch a game (4D Driving fx) but so far i've been unable to figure out how to accomplish this.

I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to PC-98 emulation, but here is some information. Go to the "Mounting/Swaping Disk and HDD/CD mounting at start" section.

[Help ! Spiderman Remastered run right in the game]

50 minutes ago, binhonorberg said:

Some script or command line in the game's executable.

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Marvel's_Spider-Man_Remastered#Skip_launcher

[Sega Model 3 and Launchbox]

2 hours ago, Joe35car said:

I am using supermodel emulator which works outside of LB but I can't get it to work in LB

Make sure you have supermodel.exe as the emulator. (Not supermodelUI.exe). Also make sure you have "Extract ROM archives before running" unchecked.

[Exit button doesn't exit in pause menu]

21 minutes ago, Sbaby said:

I could configure a fake emulator with autohotkey but then how can I tell the exit to close all those ahk windows arcade games that I add to that emulator?

I do this for all my Windows game. In LaunchBox I have added AutoHotKey.exe as the emulator. I start all my Windows games from autohotkey scripts. So I added those scripts as the roms to my Windows platform. But for you there might be a simpler solution. You could add the game itself as the emulator. I tested this with Quake II RTX.

Create an emulator and add the path to the games' executable. Check "Remove File Extension and Folder Path".

In the "Pause Screen" tab I checked all 3 options. This seems to work for Quake II RTX as the Pause Menu shows up.

In the "Exit Script" tab add an exit script for your game so you can exit the game from the pause menu. In my case I used:

WinClose, ahk_exe q2rtx.exe

Right click your game and go to the "Emulation" tab. Tick "Use an emulator to play this game" and select the emulator you just created. In my case Quake II.

Go to the "Launching" tab. I have enter a random letter here because you do not really want to launch a rom. This will only launch the chosen emulator as the emulator = the game.

I tested this briefly but it seems to work.

[Exit button doesn't exit in pause menu]

1 minute ago, Sbaby said:

thanks but if in a year I play that game again how do I remember that the reset corresponds to the exit?

Yes, but why do you insist in closing the game via the pause menu. It's much faster (and easier) to close the game with Escape. (Or a controller button combination.)

[Exit button doesn't exit in pause menu]

11 hours ago, Sbaby said:

I would like to use the EXIT pause option from launchbox pause screen. How to do? Single games do not have the lb EXIT section, I could insert some scripts in the lb PAUSE section of the game but which script should activate when pressing the last EXIT GAME option of launchbox?

If you just want to close the game with your controller or Escape you could add a script as an additional app to your game. But if you absolutely want close the game via the LaunchBox pause menu I can only come up with sort of a work around. Right click your game > Startup/Pause > tick "Override Default Pause Screen Settings" > Click "Customize" > Tick "Enable Game Pause Screen". As you said, there is no "Exit Game" section. But you can put an exit script under the "Reset Game" tab. So, this is more of a work around because for exiting your game you have to select "Reset Game" from the pause menu. NOT "Exit Game".