LaunchBox slow performance.

[bd00]

Oh right. Didn't mean for it to be a workaround, I saw it as a tag for development purposes, an anchor if you like and also an extra bit of info for the user which they can utilise to make tasks quicker and easier. I use abbreviations all the time to speed things up, as do you. I was actually looking at the bigger picture here, it is not a workaround for this particular issue (although it does solve it) but it has potential for future uses. I thought it would be handy to have. The workarounds I suggest are user fixes, for features that are likely much further down the line, not everyone is patient enough to wait and may move on to alternative programs if it doesn't work the way they want right now. I just try to offer ways they can work with it now, so hopefully they stick around. Community is thin at present, I just try to help. I don't want you to start implementing mindless workarounds, they will cause you all kinds of problems in the long run and then what use is LaunchBox to me and the rest of the users when it is messy, fractured and broken and the developer throws his hat in because it is no longer worth the time, it would be easier to build the whole thing again, properly, from the ground up. I will however, make my own workarounds to make an app function the way I want it to, until adequate features are added by the developer which make my workarounds redundant and I am happy to help anyone else make it work for them too. All I offer you are suggestions or nudges that may spark an idea, I am not telling you what to do nor would I suggest you band-aid your program.

[Jason Carr]

Absolutely, bd. I know that, for sure. Sorry if I came off brash, just needed to respond quickly because I was at work. For one thing, I very much appreciate *everything* you do to help out on the forums, and with LaunchBox in general. It is *hugely* appreciated. I've never been at all offended by anything you've contributed; it is always constructive, and I'd be very disappointed to see you move on. Just wanted to share that because I was afraid I came off too harsh and rubbed you the wrong way.

[bd00]

Hmm, it's obvious that I should be apologizing for being brash, although it was not intended. Seems you have misunderstood me again. You did not rub me up the wrong way at all, It's just that with all my talk about workarounds lately, I feared I had inherited the persona of the "duct tape" guy and I just wanted to clear things up. On my systems, I admit, I have deployed many workarounds to make things work the way I want, but I would never ask a developer do it to their program. Who am I to jeopardise someone else's creation? So it was nothing more than an insecurity of mine that resulted in, what now looks like, an unwarranted rant. I was also having a bad day yesterday and that might of seeped into that post, but it was not intended to offend. I realise sometimes I can come off brash, it has got me into trouble before and that is why I feel written text, be it sms messages, hand written letters or forum posts etc, are one of, if not the worst forms of communication. 93% of communication is non-verbal, and this 93% is difficult to express using only text in a forum post. It is often left to the reader to decipher and more often than not, plain guess as to the emotion behind or the intent of the message and the result often reflects a variety of factors (much more so than face-to-face) on the readers end, as oppose to the writers end where it should be. (e.g. a general negative outlook on life/day/writer or they may just be having a bad day). Knowing this, I do try to work on my written communication so these misinterpretations are kept to a minimum, but I often get it wrong, this case in point. I appreciate that you appreciate and I also appreciate that you apologized when you felt you rubbed me up the wrong way, but it really was not necessary, thank you anyway I guess. Finally, I'm unsure why you thought I was suggesting I would move on. A hint of passive aggression leaking out perhaps? or another misinterpretation of the fact I mentioned other people may move on? Either way, it proves the point I just made. You see? Hmm, another rant. What can I say? I am passionate, sue me. It's as much a curse as it is a blessing. I am going to shut up now and hope I cleared that up and not made it worse.

[Jason Carr]

Ha, okay, from here on out let's just assume that neither of us are ever offended. No kidding on the text form of communication; it's a complete fail. Misunderstanding is so easy. For what it's worth, I feel like your communication skills have been top notch. I just sensed (probably falsely) a bit of irritation in the last message (empathy is one of my personal strengths), and I feared that you would back off a bit, which I do not want in the slightest. That was the only source of my concern. Let's just assume we're both positive from here on out; doesn't do either of us any good to worry about the other, lol. I've been busy unnecessarily worrying about not offending you, and you've been busy unnecessarily worrying about not offending me, when in reality, neither of us are ever really offended. Such is forum life.

[SentaiBrad]

Rename the thread therapy with words. Kidding aside, good to see you guys aren't out for blood. The internet seems to be full of that after all.

[Jason Carr]

Hehehehe...I could use some therapy...

[bd00]

Haha, couldn't we all to some extent Looking back at the message, it does appear to be riddled with irritation, but I assure you, you were not the root of that. I was having a bad day. Yeah, you're right, if I am offended I will tell you outright, plain and simple "you just offended me", otherwise assume i'm not offended. OK, therapy over. I do feel better for talking about it, good to get it off my chest Same time next week?

[Jason Carr]

Oh indeed.

[pogowolf]

Evening all, I'm having the same problem. I have a rather large collection of games (steam and roms) and installed LaunchBox a few days ago while looking for a GOOD multi-emu frontend. All and all I like the interface and the the features.. but yeah.. it's slow with a large collection. Filtering down the imported games (steam, nes, and snes) for 'no platform' (since I want all the STEAM games listed.. and some didn't quite a few didn't (at 100 now) it takes 8 seconds to pull up the edit command. and 14 seconds to save it, then the system waits a few more to update the record. at this point it's my biggest issue with the system.. though filters on a large collection is also a bit of a PITA since the filters are set 'real-time', so on a large collection you set the filter then need to wait the 15+ seconds to filter the data and then wait again to add another,etc.

[SentaiBrad]

pogowolf said Evening all, I'm having the same problem. I have a rather large collection of games (steam and roms) and installed LaunchBox a few days ago while looking for a GOOD multi-emu frontend. All and all I like the interface and the the features.. but yeah.. it's slow with a large collection. Filtering down the imported games (steam, nes, and snes) for 'no platform' (since I want all the STEAM games listed.. and some didn't quite a few didn't (at 100 now) it takes 8 seconds to pull up the edit command. and 14 seconds to save it, then the system waits a few more to update the record. at this point it's my biggest issue with the system.. though filters on a large collection is also a bit of a PITA since the filters are set 'real-time', so on a large collection you set the filter then need to wait the 15+ seconds to filter the data and then wait again to add another,etc.

Hm, this issue has been solved for quite a while now. Which version of the program are you running? In LB Click Help at the top then About. Also, how much RAM do you have? Large libraries can't escape from the giant cache of images. It may not necessarily be LB just lagging but the system running out of proper resources. Idleing with my RAM recycler off I get about 1.2-1.5GB of ram usage. It is A LOT.

[pogowolf]

SentaiBrad said Hm, this issue has been solved for quite a while now. Which version of the program are you running? In LB Click Help at the top then About. Also, how much RAM do you have? Large libraries can't escape from the giant cache of images. It may not necessarily be LB just lagging but the system running out of proper resources. Idleing with my RAM recycler off I get about 1.2-1.5GB of ram usage. It is A LOT.

It's the current version, I just downloaded it like 2 days ago. so 3.2, and I have 16 gig RAM and a 6 core processor, so I don't beleive it's the hardware. I kinda understand the cache setup from skimming ( ) the thread above.. to me it would make more sense to link the images to the display boxes that are on screen instead of cacheing the whole lot. was the 'load on demand' perfomance so bad it was changed to a cache? still 8 seconds to save a change in the metadata which should have nothing to do with the cache is a bit strange to me.

[SentaiBrad]

pogowolf said

SentaiBrad said Hm, this issue has been solved for quite a while now. Which version of the program are you running? In LB Click Help at the top then About. Also, how much RAM do you have? Large libraries can't escape from the giant cache of images. It may not necessarily be LB just lagging but the system running out of proper resources. Idleing with my RAM recycler off I get about 1.2-1.5GB of ram usage. It is A LOT.

It's the current version, I just downloaded it like 2 days ago. so 3.2, and I have 16 gig RAM and a 6 core processor, so I don't beleive it's the hardware. I kinda understand the cache setup from skimming ( ) the thread above.. to me it would make more sense to link the images to the display boxes that are on screen instead of cacheing the whole lot. was the 'load on demand' perfomance so bad it was changed to a cache? still 8 seconds to save a change in the metadata which should have nothing to do with the cache is a bit strange to me.

Damn... we were pretty certain we got the lag issue taken care of... I have a 7000 count library and Jason bubbled his to 10k. Because sometimes there can be duplication issues in the cache, try this: Tools -> Clean Up Images It will find all of the images that are not currently assigned to any entries. From what I've been told, they're not saved per game they're saved to a generated code per setup based on hardware. So you import a game, it generates a code then assigns the data to that code including images. If you were to go to a different system and import that same game, or theoretically reimported and had the game twice in on library, the code would change then reassign new values to the entries. Since the images are cached, they're generally kept. There is a total clean up feature that should be coming at some point, but for now this is what we have. About the issue of certain things not being filtered correctly. My suggestion and what I have done, is when you import a section of games, name the Platform what TheGamesDB has them named. http://thegamesdb.net/platforms/ I say this because if you setup a custom Platform name like 'SNES' and import them all like that, when the GamesDB scrape happens it is going to rename the ones it finds to that specific platform. It will only rename the ones it finds on that initial import which is strict. So then you have 2 sections of Super Nintendo roms, 'SNES' and 'Super Nintendo (SNES)'. This should help in the filtering issue. That way when you select 'Super Nintendo (SNES)' It will list all of the games in your library, not just the ones it found on GDB.

[pogowolf]

well, right now my collection stands at about 32k. I'm sure there's some dups, hacks, and other crap in there though.. LOL I did clear the cache as well.. thinking the same thing (my background is programming and QA) but I'll re-run the option since it's imported my STEAM, NES, and SNES games so far. speaking of platforms.. I did notice that the first time I assigned a game a platform I needed to manually enter it (IE the list was blank) then all of a sudden there was a full list of platforms. =/ though, since LaunchBox uses the GamesDB so much for it's meta data, one nice thing would have the system just pop up, grab the list of platforms and place it the drop down.. if it doesn't already do that. Currently most the issue of missing game information is STEAM games. I get an 'error' like 'Steam Name not found: ID XXXXX) so I just load the XXX into a steam DB website that gives me the game name and then look for that on the GamesDB.com I figured the next step would be to just take some time measurements. Remove all games except for the liSTEAM games and start testing how long they take to import with or without GamesDB support (with/out MetaData and Images) and how long it takes to edit the metadata after a system reboot and without. Since LaunchBox is built to be all in one folder doing a clean install of LaunchBox will be easy! LOL From what I'm seeing..perhaps the data structure isn't as optimal as it could be. there seems to be a 3 step process to edit the meta data (Load the data, Save the data, and then refresh the list of games)

[SentaiBrad]

When we had the initial lag I tested how long it took to start lagging and it was around 4k entries if I recall, maybe a little less. So now I sit at like 5.5 and Jason had almost double that with no over extended lag. By that, it wasn't taking for than a second or two which we thought would be normal once it got gigantically big. My imports were balooned hardcore because of a duplication problem as well as I didn't set filters when importing, so it imported the roms, then everything else. Once I used the filters like *.nes, the out of control library was fixed. As far as Steam game importing goes, it is kind of tricky. From what Jason explained to me and from what I saw, its depending on the acf files in each steam directory. So even if a game is uninstalled but some filing still remains, it will still add that game. I honestly don't use LB for Steam because there is no Steam API for that kind of importing function. So, its not perfect. He also understands that TheGamesDB is woefully incomplete as it relies on user input. I myself have added dozens of DOS games... lets not get started on there being no DOS system selection either. That is why he's trying to figure out the Wikipedia API, but that is going to take a while. It's not exactly easy to understand, not to mention he ones person also trying to add other new features and fix bugs, so we ask to give him time on that one. That's also another reason why im trying to take it upon my self to help out on the forums. At a certain point, libraries can get so huge that it wont matter the revisions to the software, too big is too big. That said, he is working on a different way the program can handle things as well as a modified UI. If I understand correctly.. not even completely, each system you designate will have their own XML. Honestly, to solve your specific lag solution, I would use multiple LB instances. It is a portable program so its easily acheivable. I would create instances for Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Steam, then DOS etc etc. Split it up how it makes sense for you, but that would be a quick solution right now.

[pogowolf]

SentaiBrad said [CyberSnipped] 1) Once I used the filters like *.nes, the out of control library was fixed. 2) [steam] I honestly don't use LB for Steam because there is no Steam API for that kind of importing function. 3) too big is too big. I would create instances for Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Steam, then DOS etc etc. Split it up how it makes sense for you, but that would be a quick solution right now.

Thank you for the reply! I'm pretty sure I'm not running into a dup thing because all my games are already broken down into separate folders. one for NES.. one for SNES, etc. and, so far, only 3 imports have been done, Steam, NES, and SNES. I understand not using LB for STEAM games, but I really like the 'all in one place' functionality let alone the extra meta data that comes with the GamesDB.com I'm not knocking the LB for not being perfect.. God knows I understand the programming process. it was just an off-handed thought about how to handle the issue. I think one issue is that there really isn't an 'all in wonder' website / database for gaming information. though I can't say the same thing about too big being too big. when there's a will there's a way. It's not like Google just stated nope.. Maps have too many points, too big is too big. However.. using an instance of LB for each platform type.. there is an idea.. but it does kinda defeat the purpose of having an 'all in one' front-end.

[bd00]

SentaiBrad said speaking of platforms.. I did notice that the first time I assigned a game a platform I needed to manually enter it (IE the list was blank) then all of a sudden there was a full list of platforms. =/ though, since LaunchBox uses the GamesDB so much for it's meta data, one nice thing would have the system just pop up, grab the list of platforms and place it the drop down.. if it doesn't already do that.

Hmm. this seems to be what has happened to me, maybe it was not a copy Brad.

pogowolf said Honestly, to solve your specific lag solution, I would use multiple LB instances. It is a portable program so its easily acheivable. I would create instances for Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Steam, then DOS etc etc. Split it up how it makes sense for you, but that would be a quick solution right now.

This is what I am doing. I have pretty much automated the process too. I just need to create a script that will pull the games from a specific platform out of the xml of the main instance and copy it into the platform instance, then use the list of games copied to copy the image folders, therefore no repeated set-up. I also have a main menu instance that displays the platforms, which when opened, closes the main menu instance and opens the desired platform instance. I Have added back buttons to the platform instances to return to the main menu. I have almost got it all set up, and like I said it is all automated, with the only user input being choosing a platform. I will gladly share so anyone who wants do this can have it set up automatically in 10mins. The good thing is, everything is pulled from your main instance, so if you want to add games, add them to your main instance and run the script again to deploy to the platform instances. This way, when Jason adds a feature that makes this redundant, you have your full library ready and you can simply delete the folder containing the platform instances, without worrying about loosing anything or having to import your collection again. I will post some pictures when I get it all working so you can see what I mean.

[SentaiBrad]

pogowolf said

SentaiBrad said [CyberSnipped] 1) Once I used the filters like *.nes, the out of control library was fixed. 2) [steam] I honestly don't use LB for Steam because there is no Steam API for that kind of importing function. 3) too big is too big. I would create instances for Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Steam, then DOS etc etc. Split it up how it makes sense for you, but that would be a quick solution right now.

Thank you for the reply! I'm pretty sure I'm not running into a dup thing because all my games are already broken down into separate folders. one for NES.. one for SNES, etc. and, so far, only 3 imports have been done, Steam, NES, and SNES. I understand not using LB for STEAM games, but I really like the 'all in one place' functionality let alone the extra meta data that comes with the GamesDB.com I'm not knocking the LB for not being perfect.. God knows I understand the programming process. it was just an off-handed thought about how to handle the issue. I think one issue is that there really isn't an 'all in wonder' website / database for gaming information. though I can't say the same thing about too big being too big. when there's a will there's a way. It's not like Google just stated nope.. Maps have too many points, too big is too big. However.. using an instance of LB for each platform type.. there is an idea.. but it does kinda defeat the purpose of having an 'all in one' front-end.

bd, another forum user here, has LB open up to links of other instances of LB. Or he did at one point. That said, the XML and Library changes coming up may help fix Library lag. Like I said, we only got up to 10k, you tripled that. There is a will, and there will be a way, its just a slow going way because Jason is alone in coding, I have no code expertise so I am helping elsewhere. About using Filters. I thought the same thing, but some Emulators do keep multiple save files or misc items in where the rom is accessed, especially SNES emulators. zsnes and higan do this. So I would try to rescan your library or sort the folder by type and see what pops up. Some systems I have to do multiple scans but in the end it was worth it. Disc based systems needed multiple like *.iso, *.bin and *.img, but NES o0nly needed *.nes. *.fds is technically a different system but still technically falls under NES. Otherwise If you can't hold out there is the multiple instances of LB you can try. There isn't an easy way right now to fix that.

[SentaiBrad]

bd and I also have the horrible coincidence... TO POST AT THE SAME TIME. xD You beat me by a few min. This time I directly referenced you. Now it goes down in the database that I am just a blind person who missed your post. xD

[pogowolf]

bd00 said This is what I am doing. I have pretty much automated the process too. I just need to create a script that will pull the games from a specific platform out of the xml of the main instance and copy it into the platform instance [SNIP]

I would be very interested in this setup!

[bd00]

Lol. Like I said, I am making it all automated so anyone can set it up easily, within a few mins. It has navigation to get between instances too and it links to your main instance (All games) if you want to see everything together.