ePSXe autohotkey closing (is it already fixed?)

[johnmalloc]

Hi, I'm wondering if the latest version of Launchbox (5.5 I think) fixed an issue I used to have. The ePSXe emulator didn't close properly with autohotkey while using my xbox360 controller. I know this is due to the Alt+F4 / ESC thing, I read a couple of old threads where Jason said that would be fixed in the upcoming releases of Launchbox. So, the only thing preventing me from getting a premium license right now is this bug, I want this amazing frontend to work with all my emulators on big box mode properly. Can someone confirm this is fixed? --- Another thing I'm trying to figure out is this: The setup I am going for is: Retroarch (SNES, N64), Dolphin (NGC, Wii), EPSXE (PSX) and PCSX2 (PS2). The controllers I'm using for these consoles are: 2x SNES USB, 4x Gamecube controllers (with the Wii U USB adapter), 2x Dualshock 4's and a Xbox360 controller for selecting games in Launchbox (not playing). My question is, is there a way for me to use all of this controllers for selecting games (this I could do) and use the autohotfix with all of them to close the games I'm playing (this I could only do with one joypad, i.e. the xbox360 controller). If not, what would be the best way to figure this out? I used to set the xbox360 one only for navigation, but have tried xpadder and that didn't work out because of the mess it was to configure multiple auto-profiles with same brand controllers (i.e. 2x SNES USBs or the 4x Gamecube ones). Ps. Didn't know if I should post on features or troubleshooting, hope here is okay. Thanks a lot.

[SentaiBrad]

Update and find out. You should always be updated anyways.

[SentaiBrad]

As far as the controllers go, it gets complicated when you have more than one. There is no easy way to do what you are suggesting. The closest I have to come to your setup is I have an N64 controller setup in RA and it loads its controller config when I launch any game using that core. Otherwise everything else in RA uses my PS4 controller which is everything but DS and PS2 at this point. I've had controller support disabled for LB for a while since it causes crackling audio for me.

[johnmalloc]

Thanks for the answer Sentai. Yeah, I know I should just download it again and test it, but I was hoping someone else would save me the trouble with a quick answer. Guess I'll download it again then. About the controllers, I get them to work fine with retroarch by messing with the config and setting the right usb ports. It was actually not that hard after I figured out which ports every controller I have was using when I plugged them in the same order. The question was trully about Launchbox/Bigbox and the use of autohotkey with more than one controller. Is this something that will get a patch someday?

[SentaiBrad]

I'm not sure, that will have to be an answer for Jason, I do know that its not come up much if at all. If users do use a controller to control LB its with a 360, PS3, PS4 or Xbox One controller which they also use in the emulators. I am unsure of how many people want to control LB with multiple controllers based on what they want to play honestly. It has never come up to me. I'll pass him along this thread though.

[johnmalloc]

Ok, so I bought a new license and downloaded the latest version! The problem with epsxe continues, but now we have that new autohotkey per emulator tab, which seems to be how to work this thing out. I'm definetly no expert about autohotkey, can you guys help me how to make so my xbox360 can close epsxe properly by holding button 7 + pressing button 5 (select + L button)? I guess the only modification necessary is to set it to hit ESC instead of ALT+F4? Thanks again. EDIT: Didn't see your reply while I was posting this, thanks Sentai. Can you help me with this new post?

[SentaiBrad]

Quite honestly, I don't use AHK, so Jason is gonna have to help you on this one. However, it is becoming more apparent that I need to make a tutorial on AHK. There are also several threads already in the forums that discuss AHK to extent.

[johnmalloc]

No problem, I'll wait for a reply from Jason then.

[Jason Carr]

Hi @johnmalloc, thanks for the purchase! Yes, there are definitely compatibility issues with various emulators and their close methods, so I took a bit of advice from other apps like Rocket Launcher and I added the ability to script that stuff with AutoHotkey, as you noticed. Going forward I want to add more default scripts so that more things just work, primarily so that the escape key always works to exit all emulators. Then you can use whatever solution you want to fire the Escape key, and things should just work (for example you could use Xpadder to bind a button combination to the Escape key). The existing controller AutoHotkey solution in LaunchBox essentially does this, but there are still compatibility issues because of different button combinations required for different emulators. The issue of multiple controllers is a tough one to solve without a big suite of added functionality. Multiple controllers are supported but of course you can't specify different button combinations for each controller. We may get there eventually but in the mean time I would suggest using a program like Xpadder to handle the complicated aspects of it all. To auto-close ePSXe on Escape, I would try using a script very similar to the existing default scripts for other emulators:

; This section closes ePSXe when pressing Escape $Esc:: { Process, Close, {{{StartupEXE}}} }

However, writing a script to handle different button combinations for different controllers would be a major chore, which is why I would suggest using an external program to turn button combinations for each different controller into a key press like Escape.

[johnmalloc]

Hey Jason! Thanks a lot for that code, man. It worked like a charm. I tried messing with xpadder for the customization I wanted for my multiple controllers, the problem was that xpadder was really bad at handling multiple controllers that were identical (like 4x GC controllers or 2x SNES controllers). But to be honest I know it is asking a bit much, so I'm happy right now just using the xbox360 controller to navigate through Big Box and the other ones to actually play. If you someday add a multiple controller option for AHK I'll be glad as hell . One last thing, I'll add my PS2 ROMs later tonight with PCSX2, is there a fix like the one for ePSXe regarding AHK that you could send me in advance? Because by what I've read PCSX2 has some minor problems with the AHK as well. Thank you guys so much, and I'm really glad I purchased my license, you do deserve all the thumbs up I can give you.

[Jason Carr]

Thank you John! I'm not certain, but I'd actually be willing to bet that the same exact code above would work for PCSX2. Basically all that code does is kill the process that LaunchBox started when Escape is pressed, so it should pretty much work for any emulators that don't already close with the Escape key.

[johnmalloc]

Hey, dudes. Posting here to update what have developed since we last talked. So I had the impression that Auto Hot Key only handled one controller, because you can only configure one controller to AHK in Launchbox/Bigbox. But in reality what happened yesterday was that while I had my Xbox360 controller mapped to AHK, my Gamecube controller closed Mario Kart 64 when I pressed L + Z. That got me thinking that for some reason Launchbox was actually taking other controllers as well into account, so I decided to get all my controllers (listed in my OP) and write down each logic button corresponding to the real button while configuring keys inside Launchbox. The result was this: http://pastebin.com/Ay1V27yy The numbers corresponding the controller buttons are the logic buttons from LB (i.e. 1 is Button 1, 2 is Button 2 and so on). With that I could set a exact combo (hold Button 9 + press Button 5) that I think will not intervene with my pads and their corresponding games and platforms (as shown in the link I provided). The reason I'm posting this is... Well, I think it raises a question about how LB handles the multiple controllers and AHK. It is really up to Jason how he will eventually tackle this matter, I'm just here to help him in any way I can. And also, that with patience (and luck) you can set up a config that will make all of you controllers work with LB/BB and AHK. With this config I'm able to have all my controllers launching, playing and closing games with this amazing frontend.

[Jason Carr]

Awesome, thank you John. Yes, sorry I didn't make that clear enough; the AutoHotkey script should work for all attached controllers, you just can't customize the buttons for each one. :)

[johnmalloc]

Jason Carr said Awesome, thank you John. Yes, sorry I didn't make that clear enough; the AutoHotkey script should work for all attached controllers, you just can't customize the buttons for each one. :)

No problem Jason, thank you for the feedback. Have a good one!

[johnmalloc]

Oh yeah, one more thing Jason. I don't know if this is the right place to do this, but is there a plan in the recent future to add custom music to LB? I know there is already this functionality regarding specific games, but I'm thinking about one (or maybe more) songs being played in the background while browsing your game collection inside Bigbox mode. Thanks.

[Jason Carr]

Yeah, for sure. I've had quite a few requests on this so it's definitely planned. Feel free to browse the issues list and add anything related that isn't there. One thing you might not be aware of; you actually can add complete soundtracks if you add them as m3u playlists. The only thing is right now there's no way to skip tracks, but the tracks will play in order in LaunchBox. I am hoping to add controls for that stuff soon, that's another thing I want for my personal collection. ;)

[johnmalloc]

Jason Carr said Yeah, for sure. I've had quite a few requests on this so it's definitely planned. Feel free to browse the issues list and add anything related that isn't there. One thing you might not be aware of; you actually can add complete soundtracks if you add them as m3u playlists. The only thing is right now there's no way to skip tracks, but the tracks will play in order in LaunchBox. I am hoping to add controls for that stuff soon, that's another thing I want for my personal collection. ;)

That's very nice, I didn't know it. But it only works in a per-game basis right? There is currently no way to add a song or playlist to play in the background of Launchbox, is there?

[Jason Carr]

Well, you can make something play in the background manually by playing it with the little music icon that pops up; that way it won't stop playing when you leave the window or select a different game. However, currently there's no way to automatically play a song in the background when you start it up, or anything like that.

[johnmalloc]

Jason Carr said Well, you can make something play in the background manually by playing it with the little music icon that pops up; that way it won't stop playing when you leave the window or select a different game. However, currently there's no way to automatically play a song in the background when you start it up, or anything like that.

Oh, I wasn't aware of that. I'll definitely give it a look, an automatic music player would be very nice, and from what you said it is planned. Also, if you ever need help with the brazilian portuguese translation feel free to hit me up. EDIT: Jason, I can't seem to find that option you are talking about, just the per-game song. Can you elaborate a little more? Sorry if I'm asking too much from you. EDIT2: Ah, now I see what you were talking about, the music icon over the game at launchbox. Yeah, the thing is I was hoping to use that in Big Box mode. Guess I'll wait for it in the next updates then. I've also added this suggestion to the bitbucket list you posted and voted up a few others I found interesting.

[Jason Carr]

Thanks John. Feel free to hit up the translating LaunchBox thread here: https://www.launchbox-app.com/forum/features/translating-launchbox @AFaustini has been doing a great job covering it for us but he may appreciate the help.