Light Sock

Vote for that feature request here : https://feedback.launchbox.gg/p/separate-view-per-platform-category-in-bigbox

Vote for this feature request here : https://feedback.launchbox.gg/p/alpha-channel-support-for-vp8vp9-webm-in-bigbox-theming

Hey @Retro808! I was wondering if you have any news about this feature request? Guess I should've dig this further a few years ago when I stumbled upon this issue. I tried today on the latest nightly and it's still not implemented. This time I'm kinda sad because I've put quite some time in a theme thinking it was possible to do. But the option was only for Platforms and not about Platform Categories. Basically I want to use this view for Playlists/Decade/Genre : And this view for actual systems : Same view after 4 seconds : I was about to create a dedicated view for the root where all Platform Categories are shown. But it's where I found out the Platform Category views weren't saved per category. I would like to upvote this feature. Thank you!

Hello, I've been using LaunchBox and BigBox for many years now and I'm the creator of the Arcab theme. I'm currently taking on the development for the Slipstream theme which have been abandoned by it's creator. I think he's now working on creating his own front-end. At least that's what I understand from his latest messages. Sorry if that assumption is wrong. BTW I'll have the theme's source code on Github for anyone to contribute in the future. One thing I always had issues with BigBox is that there's no way to use the alpha channel in videos. I wanted to make Slipstream more clean by integrating @viking's system videos. It's great because he shared all of the source AE and PS files. It was easy to remove the coloured background that ties the files to the Colorful theme which doesn't work in other themes. At least as a graphic designer, it would require something very specific to make a great match. I'm currently using his platform images pack which he kindly took the time to make available for us theme creators. Unfortunately everything I tried didn't work in BigBox. I'll share what I tried if @Jason Carr you're open to integrate this. BTW, I'm willing to re-export all viking's work in 4K resolution, 1:1 aspect ratio and alpha channel. This would be a great opportunity for theme developers out there. 1. WEBM Support - https://www.webmproject.org/ Pros is that the file size is much smaller than any other formats. VP8 codec would be great because it requires less time to encode. VP9 would be the greater option since it outputs better quality videos with smaller size. Tried both codecs in BigBox and the alpha channel is filled with white/black color. It's compatible with K-lite and VLC, so I think it wouldn't be complicated to integrate. I tried both with K-lite and VLC getting same results. I would vouch for this format since it's made by Google and it's open source. I don't believe this format will disappear anytime soon. 2. Quicktime Support I tried it out of curiosity because it's what we use in the industry when dealing with alpha channel but this makes huge files since it's meant to be used primarily for production. It does work in BigBox but the alpha channel is replaced with a matte black. In other words, everything under the video can't be seen aka doesn't work. I tried both with K-lite and VLC getting same results. Maybe there are codecs I'm not aware of that outputs smaller size files but I never tried it. 3. Filename Based Image Mask Support If for whatever reason it's not possible to support alpha channel through above methods, perhaps performance issues, etc. The last thing I'm thinking of are image filename based image masks. I tried it by making a mask of everything apart of the actual video layer, exported, added mask and voila! I can "technically" get the equivalent of a "transparent" video in BigBox. Thing is that the image mask will be the same for any platforms which is problematic because not every platforms are the same. So it does work for one platform but, that's it. A simple workaround would be hard coding in BB to check for a .png of the same name of the platform video. If present, it's getting automatically applied as an image mask respecting perfectly the alignment of the video for a perfect match. This idea isn't the best because it would have fair amount of limitations compared to just supporting WEBM format. Plus it's adding more code to support in LB. 4. GIF Will post soon the Slipstream theme.

This is kinda time consuming though! Someone shared an app here on the forum. It parses the xml with all the games and let you sort by rating. I found it after so I had found another way around which might work for someone else. Basically you download a torrent with the fullest and set qbittorrent to pre allocate files. Even if it’s at 0.01% you can stop the torrent and all the roms will be there with their correct name.zip. These can all be imported just like if you had the games. Basically LB can’t tell they’re pre allocate dummy files. Since I kept only like an hundred or 2 it was easy to check them in qbittorrent and only download the ones I want.

That one was confusing! It would be really great to have the choice of the conditions logic. AND/OR is basic and would save a lot of time. For example Disney isn't in every Title. So I would like to have Alternate Name Contains Disney AND Title Contains Disney

Np man! I understand that, hope @faeran could chime in in the meantime and update the links

I made a theme to speed things up in LaunchBox. It's the default theme with everything that was causing slow downs and memory leaks, removed. Something doesn't feel right since I could get very good speed by deactivating basic things like transitions and effects. I mean, I got a very good computer, those animations and transitions shouldn't pose an issue. Anyway here's the link;

Snappy View File This theme is a simplified version of the default LaunchBox theme, designed for instant responsiveness and stability. I created it to address issues such as memory leaks and crashes that often occur when managing large game libraries over extended periods. To achieve these improvements, certain elements like videos in the game view have been removed. While not intended for everyday use, this theme prioritizes performance for situations where stability is more important than additional features. Please feel free to suggest any features. I will gladly consider adding them as long as they can be implemented without reintroducing previous issues. Submitter Light Sock Submitted 03/19/2024 Category Custom Themes  

Tried to fill PS Vita with content but I'm getting the error I tried both .zip and .7z Same error

It's a good idea but I'm not sure I need this and it shouldn't be opt-in after the update. I was annoyed as well by this feature since it's adding back DLCs I have manually deleted from LB import but kept in my folder in case they would be needed in the future. Some DLCs must be installed in the emulator virtual HDD. I found this topic yesterday and was able to deactivate that option and delete the Games folder since my game library is on my NAS like many users. Unfortunately deactivating this option can cause crashes if you deleted the Games folder. It happened to me when un-checking the Show Videos option in Visuals > Game Details. I can't tell if it's also related to my other post where I had 3 crashes when pressing play on a video snap in LB. Hope this helps trouble shoot this issue. (Inner Exception) Could not find a part of the path 'G:\LaunchBox\Games'. App: LaunchBox Version: 13.12 Theme: Default Type: System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException Site: IntPtr CreateDirectoryHandle(System.String, Boolean) Source: System.Private.CoreLib at System.IO.Enumeration.FileSystemEnumerator`1.CreateDirectoryHandle(String path, Boolean ignoreNotFound) at System.IO.Enumeration.FileSystemEnumerator`1.Init() at System.IO.Enumeration.FileSystemEnumerableFactory.UserDirectories(String directory, String expression, EnumerationOptions options) at System.IO.Directory.InternalEnumeratePaths(String path, String searchPattern, SearchTarget searchTarget, EnumerationOptions options) at System.IO.Directory.GetDirectories(String path, String searchPattern, EnumerationOptions enumerationOptions) at System.IO.Directory.GetDirectories(String path) at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Desktop.ViewModels.OptionsAutomatedImportsPageViewModel.PopConcreteSingleton(Object ) at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Desktop.ViewModels.OptionsAutomatedImportsPageViewModel.Save() at ConnectionThread.ChangeTraversalStub(Object , ConnectionThread ) at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Desktop.ViewModels.OptionsViewModel.VerifyObservableBroadcaster(IEnumerable`1 item) at ProcessProducer.ChangeTraversalStub(Object , IEnumerable`1 item, ProcessProducer ) at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Desktop.ViewModels.OptionsViewModel.VerifyObservableBroadcaster(IEnumerable`1 item) at ProcessProducer.ChangeTraversalStub(Object , IEnumerable`1 item, ProcessProducer ) at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Desktop.ViewModels.OptionsViewModel.Ok() (Outer Exception) Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. App: LaunchBox Version: 13.12 Theme: Default Type: System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException Site: System.Object InvokeMethod(System.Object, System.Span`1[System.Object] ByRef, System.Signature, Boolean, Boolean) Source: System.Private.CoreLib at System.RuntimeMethodHandle.InvokeMethod(Object target, Span`1& arguments, Signature sig, Boolean constructor, Boolean wrapExceptions) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture) at System.Reflection.MethodBase.Invoke(Object obj, Object[] parameters) at Caliburn.Micro.ActionMessage.<>c.<.cctor>b__33_0(ActionExecutionContext context) at Caliburn.Micro.ActionMessage.Invoke(Object eventArgs) at System.Windows.Interactivity.TriggerBase.InvokeActions(Object parameter) at System.Windows.Interactivity.EventTriggerBase.OnEvent(EventArgs eventArgs) at System.Windows.Interactivity.EventTriggerBase.OnEventImpl(Object sender, EventArgs eventArgs) at System.Windows.EventRoute.InvokeHandlersImpl(Object source, RoutedEventArgs args, Boolean reRaised) at System.Windows.UIElement.RaiseEventImpl(DependencyObject sender, RoutedEventArgs args) at System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.ButtonBase.OnClick() at System.Windows.Controls.Button.OnClick() at System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.ButtonBase.OnMouseLeftButtonUp(MouseButtonEventArgs e) at System.Windows.RoutedEventArgs.InvokeHandler(Delegate handler, Object target) at System.Windows.EventRoute.InvokeHandlersImpl(Object source, RoutedEventArgs args, Boolean reRaised) at System.Windows.UIElement.ReRaiseEventAs(DependencyObject sender, RoutedEventArgs args, RoutedEvent newEvent) at System.Windows.RoutedEventArgs.InvokeHandler(Delegate handler, Object target) at System.Windows.EventRoute.InvokeHandlersImpl(Object source, RoutedEventArgs args, Boolean reRaised) at System.Windows.UIElement.RaiseEventImpl(DependencyObject sender, RoutedEventArgs args) at System.Windows.UIElement.RaiseTrustedEvent(RoutedEventArgs args) at System.Windows.Input.InputManager.ProcessStagingArea() at System.Windows.Input.InputProviderSite.ReportInput(InputReport inputReport) at System.Windows.Interop.HwndMouseInputProvider.ReportInput(IntPtr hwnd, InputMode mode, Int32 timestamp, RawMouseActions actions, Int32 x, Int32 y, Int32 wheel) at System.Windows.Interop.HwndMouseInputProvider.FilterMessage(IntPtr hwnd, WindowMessage msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam, Boolean& handled) at System.Windows.Interop.HwndSource.InputFilterMessage(IntPtr hwnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam, Boolean& handled) at MS.Win32.HwndWrapper.WndProc(IntPtr hwnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam, Boolean& handled) at MS.Win32.HwndSubclass.DispatcherCallbackOperation(Object o) at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.InternalRealCall(Delegate callback, Object args, Int32 numArgs) at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.TryCatchWhen(Object source, Delegate callback, Object args, Int32 numArgs, Delegate catchHandler) Recent Log: 2:26:09 PM Exception I understand the way it's done but it's unpractical for advanced users. I'm currently fine tuning my medias for all systems and it's very annoying to search for stuff when you must open dozens of empty folders. It would be really appreciated to disable this feature in the options and a purge button to delete all empty folders. This way when you want them you can toggle them on otherwise they can be deleted when needed.

So I turned on the logs after 2 crash today. It froze there but doesn't actually crash. 2024-03-18 02:19:35 PM Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Desktop.ViewModels.MainViewModel.window.Deactivated Start 2024-03-18 02:19:35 PM Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Desktop.ViewModels.MainViewModel.window.Deactivated Before Pause Video I could right click the LB icon and get LB to close correctly, that's a good thing. 2024-03-18 02:19:35 PM Saving GameControllers.xml... 2024-03-18 02:19:35 PM Saving ListCache.xml... 2024-03-18 02:19:35 PM Saving Settings.xml... 2024-03-18 02:19:35 PM Saving BigBoxSettings.xml... 2024-03-18 02:19:35 PM DataManager.SaveInternal completed successfully. I'll have to turn off the video snaps from LB, but they were very handy to figure out some games.