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Additional Apps Using Wrong Game Path (DOSbox)


Short Fuse

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Intro Thanks for Launchbox and this website. Just registered today but have been a lurker for a few months. I also purchased the premium license in summer of 2015. Issue TL;DR Launching a DOSbox game under the additional apps tab is failing because it's mounting the wrong directory then trying to change directory and failing to find the game. My setup was working a few months ago. Longer Explanation of Issue Not sure if an update within the last few months intentionally changed the setup of the additional apps tab but I just want to make sure. I was trying to show a friend the difference between the original DOS version of Doom II and a recent modded version of Doom II. Surprise to me, when launching the DOS version, the window opened and immediately closed. I changed a few settings around so I can see what the problem was. Here's what I found: DosboxSS.jpg It's mounting my sourceport directory first and then trying to change to the specified directory in my settings. This is bizarre since it didn't use my sourceport directory before, it originally went straight to my specified directory. By default under the first launcher tab, I have Doom II running Project Brutality through a sourceport called GZDoom. Works flawlessly. This is the mod I will go back to play when I want to fire up Doom II so it's the first one. DoomIIEditGame.png When I right-click the game, here's the additional options I setup under the additional apps tab: RightClickDoomII.png Here's what the makeup of the additional apps tab: AdditionalAppsTab.png And when you edit the DOS version of the app: EditDOSAPP.png Is this a bug on your end or do I need to try a different approach? I hope this explanation was clear enough. Thank you.
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I don't have much experience launching games through Additional Apps, but I don't think it should be any different. Have you tried booting Doom normally through LaunchBox? Just a regular single default entry. Launching it separately can tell us if there is a chink in the method you're using and a command line or something is off, or if it is a LaunchBox bug in additional apps maybe. To help narrow down bugs in additional apps, do other games launch with this method away from Doom?
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Hi SentaiBrad, Thanks for responding to my question. Love the YT vids btw. Here are a couple things I tried:
  1. Tried other DOS only games (no sourceport, first tab path is directly to DOS exe, dosbox checked under dosbox tab). Success.
  2. Created a test Doom II entry (DOS version first, first tab path is directly to DOS exe, dosbox checked under dosbox tab, sourceport version under additional apps). Success.
  3. Tried other games where sourceport version is first and DOS version is under additional apps. Same failure.
Since these were working before, it lead me to believe that apps under the additional apps tab were now keeping the root folder value under the folder tab instead of only using the additional apps application path.
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Hi @Short Fuse, thanks for reporting this. I am not 100% sure, but I *think* this is caused by the "Root Folder" setting on the game. If I recall correctly, LaunchBox will mount the root folder, and then CD to the directory of the game's EXE. Try experimenting with that setting (or clearing it out). It's in the Folder tab when editing the game.
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Thank you for your feedback Jason Carr. I did play with the Root folder path before but if the root folder doesn't match the application path, there will be a perpetual error that can't be dismissed. If the value is cleared out, the full path will automatically reinsert. Your post made me think of something to try however. One way I found to get around this was to make the root folder as basic as it can go to make both paths essentially true. What I mean by this is:
  1. Application Path: Games\Source Ports\Gzdoom-2.0.05\gzdoom.exe
  2. Root Folder: Games\ (before this was Games\Source Ports\Gzdoom-2.0.05\)
  3. Additional Apps (Dos version): Games\DOOM2\DOOM2.EXE
This essentially fixes the problem and the appropriate folder is able to mount as C: in DOSbox. Unfortunately, the application command line parameters (Still under additional apps) doesn't affect DOSbox, and as such my game specific confs are not loading. As a temporary measure, I have made the default application load the DOS version and the additional app load the mod I play the most. Since this is a slight inconvenience and I guess a suitable feature request would be to have additional apps have an additional section to change DOSbox settings, not just an on or off switch. Thank you for your assistance.
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At the top of this page is a Send Feedback button, you are more than welcome to search for other feature requests and vote them up or submit feature requests for ones that don't exist. Otherwise I think Additional Apps can do with an overhaul. Why can't Additional Apps do the same exact function LB can? It's just with the way DOSBox has to get handled, but baring some technical limitation I don't see why Additional Apps can't be as modular as regular LB. Maybe set it to where if you set an additional app, it will use the same method (separately) to run that the game it's attached to is using? So Mega Man 2 is using RetroArch NES, I attach Mega Man AVGN to MM2 under additional apps and it by default uses the same command line to launch RA? Maybe it's even separated a bit and called Additional Games? Variants? Version? ... Oh, it might even be able to be utilized for disced games too... I need to stop thinking now. There would need to be a way to identify if a game has anything in it's additional apps (or otherwise) like a small number counter over the image. Granted, this process wouldn't be automated either, this would have to be manually input (Except maybe discs), but once you start adding them the numbers start appearing. This way you can remember what's what.
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Yeah I really like Brads idea of there being some indicator that a game has additional apps set up for it and even a filter to show only games that have additional apps attached to them also. I like the number over the box in the same fashion that Plex shows how many unwatched episodes a particular TV series has.
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