Migrating from HyperSpin and existing HyperSpin/Emumovies media

[DJQuad]

So a lot of us are migrating from HyperSpin and have everything already sync'ed via HyperSync. In my case I only have about 20 systems setup, and my media folder is over 23GB. I read that you can change media paths, but for the initial ROM import, do we deselect everything as far as box art, screenshots, logos, as well as everything in the Emumovies dialogue? I'm not sure where HyperSync puts everything so I'm a bit unclear what these paths should be set to. Keep in mind that many are transitioning from HyperSpin and do not want to duplicate media in the process. The easier and more automated the devs make it, the more people will make the leap.

[SentaiBrad]

I would say to import without any media downloaded, so uncheck everything. Then either move the media you have downloaded in to your LaunchBox folder and the proper sub folders, (might be best in the long run) and then restart LaunchBox once you either set the path or put the media in the proper locations. After that, open a system on the left, click a game and Ctrl + A to highlight them all. Once highlight, use Tools -> Download Metadata and Images. Choose the second option in the Wizard which should only download media for games that have a missing field. So if you have games that have missing front box art, that option should fill them in if we have the media on the LaunchBox Games Database, if it's found on Wikipedia, or if EmuMovies has it. Keep in mind that EmuMovies has a daily 1GB download limit and a concurrent speed limit for users who are not premium membersm, but they offer a lot of art. Video is for Premium Only, and it's updated consantly, which you also need LaunchBox Premium to access. If you do have an EM Premium account or want to get one, the bandwidth limits go away too.

[DJQuad]

Thanks for the reply Brad. Most HyperSpinners already have premium licenses to both HyperSpin and Emumovies. The vast majority are now evaluating LaunchBox and some have already have licenses for BigBox. They aren't ready just yet to make a complete switch so moving and/or copying all that media to the ideal LaunchBox locations will either break their existing HyperSpin, or waste GBs of HD space that not everyone has. Some HyperSpin installs are upwards of 4+ TBs. I'm not sure how familiar you are with HyperSync but this is basically the structure of the media folders both with HyperSpin and RocketLauncher from my system. https://mega.nz/#!7MlyjCaD!ZHJb1nCaf78Vw5UnJWqgNruOAsIqJ-4hmlBXJPg18FI

[SentaiBrad]

Putting the media inside of LaunchBox in the proper location is just one solution, but you can tell LaunchBox where the media is on the screen you screenshotted as well. Press Browse and find the folder with the corresponding media. As long as the media is named after the game or the file name then it will automatically match. We get that some users don't want to make the full switch over. If you import with no media and tell LaunchBox the location of the media and restart LB, it should work pretty flawlessly or with minimal changes needed. Our Database is free to contribute to though, and soon uploading games we don't have from within LaunchBox will be supported. We have much more image categories than inside of LaunchBox currently that also still need to make their way over. We have guidelines in our LaunchBox Games Database section and conversations about certain situations are available too if you are curious. So our Database is rapidly expanding, and it's free. The only thing we suggest if you want something Premium is EmuMovies video, which also requires LaunchBox Premium. I get that it's kind of a tricky situation, and we want everybody to comfortably move over. At the same time though LaunchBox can be fully independant as well, if you feel like going that route and doesn't take too much to get your existing artwork working.

[progets]

This is a good topic. I'm using symbolic links to point LaunchBox to my HyperSpin media. This can be done from the command line or with a 3rd party tool. Here's an example of my NES mappings. mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Games\Nintendo Entertainment System" "D:\HyperSpin\Roms\Nintendo Entertainment System" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Front" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Artwork3" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Screenshot\Cart" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Artwork4" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Clear Logo" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Wheel" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Videos\Nintendo Entertainment System" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Video"

[SentaiBrad]

progets said This is a good topic. I'm using symbolic links to point LaunchBox to my HyperSpin media. This can be done from the command line or with a 3rd party tool. Here's an example of my NES mappings. mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Games\Nintendo Entertainment System" "D:\HyperSpin\Roms\Nintendo Entertainment System" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Front" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Artwork3" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Screenshot\Cart" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Artwork4" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Clear Logo" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Wheel" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Videos\Nintendo Entertainment System" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Video"

May I ask why? You can tell LaunchBox the pathing when you go to Tools -> Manage Platforms. Edit a Platform and it will show you paths to where it's looking for all the media.

[DJQuad]

Thank you progets, I've spent the last couple hours trying to determine where HyperSync puts everything. I wish there were some sort of variable since the system is the only thing that changes both with HyperSpin and LaunchBox. I think putting the paths in Manage Platforms would be easier than using old school sym links ;) but at least I know the appropriate paths now. Thanks again! Also, MAME doesn't appear to have any box art. HyperSpin\Media\MAME\Images\Artwork3 is empty. Their ArtworkX folder structure makes no sense whatsoever.

[progets]

SentaiBrad said

progets said This is a good topic. I'm using symbolic links to point LaunchBox to my HyperSpin media. This can be done from the command line or with a 3rd party tool. Here's an example of my NES mappings. mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Games\Nintendo Entertainment System" "D:\HyperSpin\Roms\Nintendo Entertainment System" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Front" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Artwork3" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Screenshot\Cart" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Artwork4" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Images\Nintendo Entertainment System\Clear Logo" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Wheel" mklink -d "D:\LaunchBox\Videos\Nintendo Entertainment System" "D:\HyperSpin\Media\Nintendo Entertainment System\Video"

May I ask why? You can tell LaunchBox the pathing when you go to Tools -> Manage Platforms. Edit a Platform and it will show you paths to where it's looking for all the media.

A couple of reasons. First, it's much faster to create a script then to manually go through and change each setting... especially if you have a lot of systems/platforms setup. Second, you can easily toggle between your existing media and media that LaunchBox downloads to see what you like best. Third, if you do decide to make LaunchBox your main front end you won't need to go and change all the paths back. Forth, if you're like me and like to try a lot of different front ends it's an easy method that will work with any front end.. even front ends where the paths aren't configurable. If you're using RocketLaucher and all your emulators and games are setup you can easily run additional front ends with very little setup. Once you have a script with all your media paths you can simply do a quick find and replace for the paths that your new front end uses.

[progets]

DJQuad said Thank you progets, I've spent the last couple hours trying to determine where HyperSync puts everything. I wish there were some sort of variable since the system is the only thing that changes both with HyperSpin and LaunchBox. I think putting the paths in Manage Platforms would be easier than using old school sym links ;) but at least I know the appropriate paths now. Thanks again! Also, MAME doesn't appear to have any box art. HyperSpin\Media\MAME\Images\Artwork3 is empty. Their ArtworkX folder structure makes no sense whatsoever.

HyperSpin doesn't use box/flyer art in its front end. If you have a complete RocketLauncher setup these files can be found in D:\RocketLauncher\Media\Artwork\MAME. They are laid out in a different format and won't be easy to use directly with LaunchBox. Many people store the MAME artwork directly in their MAME installs which can easily be mapped to LaunchBox. P.S. You can create a text file of your systems and then use a variable in your script to call each system name. I know that one of the biggest benefits to LaunchBox is its ease of setup and configuration but if you're trying to migrate from another front end or use them both the best/quickest method isn't the easiest.

[SentaiBrad]

No that totally makes sense, I was just curious was all. :P

[DJQuad]

progets said HyperSpin doesn't use box/flyer art in its front end. If you have a complete RocketLauncher setup these files can be found in D:\RocketLauncher\Media\Artwork\MAME. They are laid out in a different format and won't be easy to use directly with LaunchBox. Many people store the MAME artwork directly in their MAME installs which can easily be mapped to LaunchBox.

Yeah the biggest issue is the videos that take up the vast majority of space. I have a complete (or at least I thought complete) RocketLauncher setup, but I don't have an Artwork folder under Media. I really wish they'd build in options to make the migration process easier because the vast majority of new people are from the HyperSpin community who have their media folders completely sync'd.

[progets]

DJQuad said

progets said HyperSpin doesn't use box/flyer art in its front end. If you have a complete RocketLauncher setup these files can be found in D:\RocketLauncher\Media\Artwork\MAME. They are laid out in a different format and won't be easy to use directly with LaunchBox. Many people store the MAME artwork directly in their MAME installs which can easily be mapped to LaunchBox.

Yeah the biggest issue is the videos that take up the vast majority of space. I have a complete (or at least I thought complete) RocketLauncher setup, but I don't have an Artwork folder under Media. I really wish they'd build in options to make the migration process easier because the vast majority of new people are from the HyperSpin community who have their media folders completely sync'd.

HyperSync or HyperBase only get media for HyperSpin. RocketLaucher media is a separate thing. You would only see the RocketLauncher media in its "Pause" feature. What other things are you having issue with in your migration? You should be able to point to your HyperSpin directories for the media and then setup LaunchBox to use RocketLauncher for all of your emulation. This makes setup a breeze and you also get the controller profile features and "Pause" features that RocketLauncher offers.