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Gameboy Advance games not launching in RetroArch


NormalNomad

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I am able to launch SMS, SNES, and N64 games from LaunchBox (5.5) / Windows 10 using RetroArch (1.2.2). However, when I attempt to start Game Boy Advance games from LaunchBox nothing happens. I am able to load cores (mGBA, VBA-M) and start games in RetroArch with no issues. I updated RetroArch following the instructions on the "LaunchBox Tutorials - Updating RetroArch" video posted 11 December. After doing this none of the systems worked, so I reverted back to 1.2.2
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Huh... really? That... is odd. I've updated through dozens of nightlies with it working every step of the way. If you edit your emulators and open the RetroArch edit, you associated the right cores to the right system correct? This is in Associated Platforms and it is worth noting that the name in Associated Platforms needs to match the name you used to import your games. So on the left if it says Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which is default, RA's associated platform needs to say Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). For everyone who comes across this, I d also recommend to name your platforms to the defaults. They were chosen as the default on purpose, and that's because that is what most scrapers use. For example, I fight TheGamesDB constantly renaming my MS-DOS games to PC because they don't have a damn MS-DOS section. Grab a new nightly and see if it will load just fine without an upgrade. 1.3 does have some changes and updates though and that could be considered worth it but as long as your cores are updated you have half of the puzzle. Updating RA can help performance though which is why I do recommend upgrades every so often.
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Maybe I did the update incorrectly. One thing that confused me in the video is what folders and files to copy. At 2:26 it says to copy over "assets, autoconfig, config, states, shaders, filters, saves, overlays, retroarch.cfg, retroarch.default.cfg, retroarch-core-options.cfg". At 3:32 it says the three most important things to copy are the "config folder, retroarch.cfg, and systems folder". I copied over the assets, autoconfig, config, states, shaders, filters, saves, overlays, AND systems folders, and the retroarch.cfg, retroarch.default.cfg, retroarch-core-options.cfg files. After the update when my other games would not work I pointed the games back to the old RetroArch (1.2.2) version. Not sure if this what you mentioned, in LaunchBox on the left side it says "Nintendo Game Boy Advance". Also, in the 'Edit Game' window under the 'Emulation' tab and the 'Edit...', the 'Emulator Name;' is "Retroarch" for all systems I use (SNES, SMS, G&W, N64, GBA). Here is some more info if I didn't provide enough information previously. I updated everything from within RetroArch (core updater, info files, assets, etc). When I double-click on a Game Boy Advance game it will not run, however, the ‘Play Count’ note in the details increases by one without actually opening RetroArch. I tried running the games with these cores: gpSP, MednafanVBA, mGBA, VBA Next, VBA-M. Currently I am using RetroArch version 1.2.2
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Updating RetroArch from the Online updater is not a full update, you have to download RA from the site to do a full upgrade. The Emulator Name does not change. When you edit RetroArch there is a tab called Associated Platforms, this is where LaunchBox and RA communicate. LaunchBox sends command line commands to RA to load the right Core when you launch a specific system. In here is a list of Console, you can add and remove them or change their names. You can also change what core it is using by changing the core .dll name. The Console names here need to match the console names in the left pane of LaunchBox. As far as the Tutorial goes, I thought it was straight forward honestly. I separated the two for a reason. All of those folders have things you can carry over, but the first set can also be downloaded from the Online Updater. The second set can not. Systems folder houses Saves and BIOS which are required for some platforms. The Config folder will house system specific configs if you start creating them for some cores, which I do for shaders and control schemes (I have a USB N64 controller for example). Your RetroArch.cfg file houses all of the settings you've changed around or edited. None of these can be 'downloaded'; they're either created when LB runs and are default with no changes or need to be completely supplied by the users. All of the files I listed can be copied over, but if someone were to ignore or miss the first part I made it a point to say "Hey, this is the most important part." I'm not getting GBA to work either with mGBA right now either... but everything else works. I'll work on it more in a bit.
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  • 2 years later...
7 minutes ago, kostas said:

omg they games are just dont want to laucnch through launchbox i tried everything i dont know what the hell is going on il try a stand alone emulator just not retroarch omg ffs 

Do they launch directly in Retroarch without using Launchbox?

My recommendation is share pics of your Launchbox set-up. Right click and edit a game and show pics of the launcher tab and the emulation tab. then go to tool, manage emulators and edit your Retroarch emulator. Share pics of the Emulator Details tab and the Associated Platforms tab. It is easier to diagnose seeing some data on screen. 

Edited by Retro808
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iv checked my set up 1000 times names where the same libretro cores where named corectly , anyway i launching them fine through launchbox now by using the standalone visual boy advance emulator as an .exe my only problem is the top emulator menu bar is shown everytime and i have to close it by pressing escape :(

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1 minute ago, kostas said:

iv checked my set up 1000 times names where the same libretro cores where named corectly , anyway i launching them fine through launchbox now by using the standalone visual boy advance emulator as an .exe my only problem is the top emulator menu bar is shown everytime and i have to close it by pressing escape :(

I cannot help with that as I only use Retroarch for GBA games. I can set it up and test it so give me a few minutes. I still recommend sharing those pics of your RA set-up might as well find the issue and it can help if you set-up other RA cores and they do not work as well. 

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I just set it up VisualBoyAdvance emulator and in the options/video menu there is an option to start full screen. With it ticked I was able to start roms fullscreen with no windows bar. VBA I do not think has been updated in a long while (I think last update was 2014). RA cores are typically recommend for GB/GBA games. 

 

Capture.JPG

Capture2.JPG

Edited by Retro808
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9 minutes ago, kostas said:

do you think the vba-m emulator is better at your opinion and will be compatible with my most gba games??

Not sure. This is the only version of VBA I have. I do not use them since they are so outdated (2014). This was just a version I had sitting in my "unused" emulator folder for testing. If you want to try and get RA cores working this forum is great at working with its members to trouble shoot. Just set it up in Launchbox again and post some pics. Otherwise try finding a copy of VBA-M since it has that menu option. 

Or give mGBA standalone emulator a try. 

Edited: If there is a config file in your VBA folder edit with notepad++ and see if there is a line for "fullscreen". If there is and it is set to 0 change it to 1 and save then restart VBA and see if that worked. 

Edited by Retro808
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