Launchbox is exactly what I wanted, and I was thinking of going premium, but having some config issues...

[kamyk2000]

Hi, obviously I'm new here. I just found Launchbox the other day after spending days looking for a decent multiple emulator frontend with a nice typical user interface. So far Launchbox is exactly what I was looking for, and I spent several hours adding my emulators and roms. Had a few tech hiccups learning the ins and outs so far,but nothing I couldn't figure out. Each time I added roms and an emulator I chose a random rom for it from the list and double clicked it to see it I had set everything up correctly. The hitch came when I tried to add my NDS roms. I used No$GBA for the emulator in Launchbox, and every single rom I tried for it gave me the message: I have no idea what that means in relation to using it with Launchbox and any information on command line options for No$GBA seems to be almost non existant. I searched for hours for tutorials, faqs, whatever for the subject and came up with almost nothing. I decided to try DesMuME instead even though it's my second choice, but when I try to run an NDS rom with that through Launchbox, I double click and nothing happens. I use the right click menu option "Play" and nothing happens. I looked around to see if there needed to be command line options for DesMuME with Launchbox, and the list you have says none are required. I searched the web for DesMuME command line options and found a partial list, but nothing that would indicate anything to do with loading a rom from an outside source. Finally I tried RetroArch since Launchbox kept suggesting it. It works properly to load my NDS roms, however quite frankly I don't like it. I find the dos interface clunky, and it took me pressing every button on my keyboard to even figure out what was accept/next and what was cancel/back (x and z of all things rather than enter and esc). It has more limited options regarding screen layout for the NDS, it doesn't seem to remember saved configs from run to run, and it prevents my in game saves from functioning at all. As in the games itself will tell me "Game save failed". Yes RetroArch has a save state function, but I don't like saving states. I find it inconvenient and too tempting to abuse. I'd much rather save my game as the individual games themselves intended. The only time I ever use save states is on the old games that required passwords to continue rather than saves. Like NES games. The long and short of all this is, how the heck do I set up No$GBA or DesMuME to run my NDS roms using Launchbox? If the info is helpful, I am using No$GBA 2.6 and DesMuME-0.9.10-win64. Also I should add that for some stupid reason No$GBA will not recognize any path or filename that has spaces in it. For years I have wanted a way to organize my emulators and roms all in one neat program with a preview list and simple loading. Other than this issue, so far Launchbox has turned out to be one of the types of programs you look for and hope for a long time, finally find, and wouldn't want to be without again.

[paladin181]

I use DeSmuME and No$GBA for different functions (NDS and GBA games) and I have absolutely no issues with them. A few questions: What operating system are you using? What version of LaunchBox? What are the extensions of the files you are trying to load? Can you load the games outside of Launchbox with either DeSmuME or No$GBA? I believe I started using DeSmuME because No$GBA didn't want to work right for me in Launchbox (for the NDS games, it works like a charm for GBA games), but I'm not really 100% certain anymore as I set this up quite a while ago. It may be because I couldn't get No$Zoomer to work right through Launchbox for NDS games, now that I think on it. I don't have any special parameters set up in my Emulator config, or individual game configs either. I hope you find some of this information useful.

[kamyk2000]

Hey thanks for replying I am using windows 7 x64 Launchbox 6.4 The files I am trying to load end with .nds I should note that the version of No$GBA I have is 2.6A btw, I didn't realize the "A" made a difference until I was doing more searching just now. Yes, I can load all my NDS games fine with No$GBA, No$GBA through No$Zoomer, and DesMuME. I can play them, save my games etc. They also all work through RetroArch, but that won't let me save anything amongst other issues. Actually a lot of them hang on the "Preparing memory card for saving" launching step with RetroArch. Not with anything else though. I'm actually halfway through Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow with standard in game saving through No$GBA at this time. For whatever reason I don't understand, neither No$GBA nor DesMUME will do anything for me when launched through Launchbox. For the record it's not a case of user error. I have over 10 emulators and accompanying roms fully working in Launchbox having used the import roms wizard, and during this issue I have looked a bit more into the various options for editing emulator and rom info files inside Launchbox. Since you say both work for you in Launchbox, I'm completely at a loss. Edit: Just tried using No$GBA to run a .gba game file through Launchbox and got the same pop up message I included in my first post. I have also tried using an un-unzipped one (.nds or .gba inside .zip) and that doesn't do it either.

[Jason Carr]

Welcome kamyk, thanks for chiming in paladin. Perhaps you two can compare emulator settings? That's most likely what I would figure is going on here. I'm adding new emulator settings all the time, but I haven't added (or tried) any of the emulators mentioned above, as of yet.

[kamyk2000]

Was trying to add to the previous reply so I didn't doublepost, sorry. Thank you for the welcome, and the reply Here's what I was typing about what I found out. -------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, I just saw in my emulator settings that every Emulator listed in Launchbox has something similar to "-L "cores\desmume_libretro.dll" set as a default command line parameters in the edit emulator settings window. They all seem to be command lines relating to cores in RetroArch. I have no idea if they were inserted when I added RetroArch, or if they were all set like that from when I installed Launchbox, and I have no clue if those entries are supposed to be there, but every emulator listed (that I added or not) has them. And guess what happens when I delete that line for the Nintendo DS entry? Suddenly No$GBA works, and even works if I set No$Zoomer as the default start program. Imagine that. I discovered this because I just added my GBA roms, and VisualBoyAdvance emulator, and it wouldn't run either. It kept telling me "File type -L invalid" and I couldn't figure out what the heck it was talking about. It certainly didn't get any "-L" from my input. So I looked in the edit emulators again, and I found those command lines. Removing the one for Nintendo Game Boy Advance made all my .gba roms work, so I removed it from my Nintendo DS entry too. So, problem solved. However, what I still need to know from the Dev or someone is are those entries supposed to be there? Were they installed when I installed Launchbox? I have added and fiddled with hundreds of roms metadata at this point, and I'm certainly not going to uninstall the program and then reinstall it to find out, but I also don't want to just arbitrarily remove those entries from every "default command line" if they shouldn't be removed.

[paladin181]

kamyk2000 said Was trying to add to the previous reply so I didn't doublepost, sorry. Thank you for the welcome, and the reply Here's what I was typing about what I found out. -------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, I just saw in my emulator settings that every Emulator listed in Launchbox has something similar to "-L "cores\desmume_libretro.dll" set as a default command line parameters in the edit emulator settings window. IMAGE REMOVED TO CONSERVE SPACE They all seem to be command lines relating to cores in RetroArch. I have no idea if they were inserted when I added RetroArch, or if they were all set like that from when I installed Launchbox, and I have no clue if those entries are supposed to be there, but every emulator listed (that I added or not) has them. And guess what happens when I delete that line for the Nintendo DS entry? Suddenly No$GBA works, and even works if I set No$Zoomer as the default start program. Imagine that. I discovered this because I just added my GBA roms, and VisualBoyAdvance emulator, and it wouldn't run either. It kept telling me "File type -L invalid" and I couldn't figure out what the heck it was talking about. It certainly didn't get any "-L" from my input. So I looked in the edit emulators again, and I found those command lines. Removing the one for Nintendo Game Boy Advance made all my .gba roms work, so I removed it from my Nintendo DS entry too. So, problem solved. However, what I still need to know from the Dev or someone is are those entries supposed to be there? Were they installed when I installed Launchbox? I have added and fiddled with hundreds of roms metadata at this point, and I'm certainly not going to uninstall the program and then reinstall it to find out, but I also don't want to just arbitrarily remove those entries from every "default command line" if they shouldn't be removed.

I'd imagine they were added with RetroArch, as I've not experienced this issue and I've fully removed RetroArch without successfully using it due to the interface. I have no entries under any of my Emulators that correspond to cores\xxxx_libertro.dll. Searching "libretro.dll" on google pulls up RetroArch pages. So that's a pretty safe assumption. I'd say remove them from everything since you are not using RetroArch anymore.

[SentaiBrad]

That's strange that it added RetroArch command line parameters to other emulators. This could be a bug? Command line parameters are added when you start adding Emulators to your internal list. When you add an Emulator LB knows, it fills in the command line parameters. They're not all perfect or the same settings that everyone wants to use. For example, I take off any fullscreen parameters LB add's, but in some cases like ePSXe and RetroArch, some of them are needed for the emulator to run with how LB runs. More specifically with RetroArch, you need to put those proper DLL's in a folder names cores with RetroArch. The fact that it stuck RetroArch command line parameters on EVERY emulator entry says to me its a bug. Jason will have to look in to this for the next beta to get resolved. Can you walk us through how you added an emulator? Did you add RetroArch first by any chance? -Brad C

[kamyk2000]

Actually i'm not sure it is a bug. I think it is more of a feature gone wrong. I can quite easily reproduce it at this point because I finally figured out what was going on. Any time I add a new emulator Launchbox does exactly what you are describing. It automatically fills in command line parameters. The problem is that it is prematurely suggesting an emulator and filling in the command lines for the suggestion before I do anything past hit the add button. For example, I will try to add rom files for Atari 2600 using the rom wizard. I go to tools>import games>from files. Hit next>rom files, browse for any file, add one, hit next, choose platform>Atari 2600, hit next, click add on choose an emulator, and this pops up: The problem is, if I choose not to use RetroArch, and insert my own emulator settings instead, none of the preconfigured command line options are removed unless I do so manually. While I am extremely grateful to have found Launchbox and intend to buy it on payday, I have to say that in this instance at least it isn't very clear on what your options are. The prepopulated lists do not look editable other than the "default" checkbox, and it is only by sheer luck and frustration that I discovered that you can click inside the columns and edit them manually, removing or deleting as you see fit. Like I said, problem solved, but it wasn't very intuitive to figure out what was going on or how to resolve it. A better solution to this would be for Launchbox to ask you if you'd like to have an emulator suggested and preconfigured in this type of circumstance, rather than doing it automatically. Either that or Launchbox removing all those preconfigured command lines if you don't use it's suggested emulator. As a side note, typing things into the "Default command line Parameters" entry line section does NOT change what is in the list section in any way, nor as you can see in the picture do any of those command line parameters listed show up in the entry box section. The only way to edit or remove them is to click on the entry inside the listbox itself Edit: To try to be more clear,choosing a different emulator from the drop down list DOES remove all those preconfigured settings. What doesn't clear them is when you are adding an emulator by hand that is not included in the drop down list. Ie. typing your own information into the dropdown box - like No$GBA. Which is required when adding your own entries, since apparently the named text in the dropdown list is the only .exe that Launchbox will see when you go to add one. Another solution would be to have the entries in the listbox show up in the default command line parameters input box. Then it would be obvious how to remove it, provided that edits there affected the entries in the listbox. Again, like I said, i figured it out for myself already. Just trying to provide feedback so someone else doesn't get stuck with the same issue. I find this program both visually appealing and enormously useful, and I'd hate for people who stumbled onto it to be turned off or stop using it over something like this.

[Jason Carr]

Ah, sounds like a glitch! I didn't intend for it to work that way, good find. I'll take a look and get the fix in the next version.

[kamyk2000]

So you don't mind all that information I provided? I can never tell on forums, because frequently Devs act like someone giving feedback or tons of info is an unwelcome pain in the ass. From what I can see in this forum so far, you don't seem to be that type. I hope to see this program continue to improve because frankly out of all the other programs of this kind out there, I think this is the best one, and ought to get more notice from people. I might start linking it in various other related websites if that's ok.

[Jason Carr]

Lol, nope, don't mind at all! Details are good and help me solve the problem. I understand how some devs get pretty worn out taking feedback from users, but in all honesty I'm just tickled pink to have so many great users. This is what I loathe, however: DAMMIT, YOUR APP DOESN'T WORK Gee, thanks. I'll totally fix that. Yes, I get those emails. And spreading the word of LaunchBox is always appreciated! Thanks Kamyk!

[paladin181]

Jason Carr said Lol, nope, don't mind at all! Details are good and help me solve the problem. I understand how some devs get pretty worn out taking feedback from users, but in all honesty I'm just tickled pink to have so many great users. This is what I loathe, however: DAMMIT, YOUR APP DOESN'T WORK Gee, thanks. I'll totally fix that. Yes, I get those emails. And spreading the word of LaunchBox is always appreciated! Thanks Kamyk!

I'm constantly advocating this product because it works. It is truly a great way to manage a library. I'm currently adding all my games from Steam and GoG to it, with the installers linked as "Additional programs" and it's working well so far. Due to a few limitations, I'm using the favorite marker as an "Installed" marker. Works pretty well with the custom filters. Maybe an option to add custom fields or to be able to filter by "NOT" having a specific text in a field would be ok.

[SentaiBrad]

IF Jason was one of those dev's, he'd have snapped at me several months ago. xD I probably give him information overload at times, but that's how he fixes bugs and adds new features. I like seeing all that information too because it means someone else other than myself is passionate for this piece of software; Other than Jason of course, I just mean people who aren't a developer on the project.

[kamyk2000]

What's not to like? It does exactly what I need it to do. It shows a nice list of platforms, and then shows box art of each game I have for each platform, and then shows metadata details on top of that. Then I get to doubleclick to start the game. Saves me from having to put up with dozens of desktop or start menu shortcuts and having to jump through those programs file menu hoops to run my games. Some of the other programs like this aren't bad, but all the ones I found gave a great big list of every game owned. I don't want to scroll through hundreds of games to browse them. The only one I found that was very much like Launchbox was outdated, didn't seem to work right, and required you to join a forum by email to even try to get the metadata part working through some sort of passcode. Launchbox is quality software with no crap to go through to use it, and he even made it free with a voluntary purchase for extras. Now all my consoles can go to a well deserved retirement, and I can play hassle free. And so far I have to say that the Dev, the support, and the forum user base are all very friendly and helpful.

[Jason Carr]

Great to hear guys, thanks.

[SentaiBrad]

kamyk2000 said What's not to like? It does exactly what I need it to do. It shows a nice list of platforms, and then shows box art of each game I have for each platform, and then shows metadata details on top of that. Then I get to doubleclick to start the game. Saves me from having to put up with dozens of desktop or start menu shortcuts and having to jump through those programs file menu hoops to run my games. Some of the other programs like this aren't bad, but all the ones I found gave a great big list of every game owned. I don't want to scroll through hundreds of games to browse them. The only one I found that was very much like Launchbox was outdated, didn't seem to work right, and required you to join a forum by email to even try to get the metadata part working through some sort of passcode. Launchbox is quality software with no crap to go through to use it, and he even made it free with a voluntary purchase for extras. Now all my consoles can go to a well deserved retirement, and I can play hassle free. And so far I have to say that the Dev, the support, and the forum user base are all very friendly and helpful.

Yea this software single-handedly makes my new show on YouTube 100x easier. I could have achieved the result without it but its so much easier and I can show off LB, albeit quickly because its more about the specific game, to a wider audience.