Some questions from a new user

[legolas119]

hi guys i'm a user of Hyperspin/rocketlauncher frontend. THey are really good, with a lot of features, but it is necessary a lot of time to configure everything... I have just discovered Launch Box, I saw some videos and it seems really good and simple to configure. I'm downloading the free version, but I have some questions for you: 1) I have't understood the differences between Premium and Free version...The premium has BIBBOX feature for example but I haven't understood...if I'm not wrong the interface and the informations that BIGBOX shows me are the same of the free version...Can you tell me which are the differences, please? 2) In Hyperspin it is possible to load the wheels for every games list: it is possible to use the same wheels in Launch Box too? 3) And in Hyperspin I configured, for every game, the box of the game(I think that I can use the same box collection I use with Hyperspin, if I want, Am I right?), the video (i'm sure that i can use them with Launch Box too) and the cartridge. Well, is it possible, in some section of the game in Launch Box, to see the cartridge too of every game? 4) In RocketLauncher I configured some extra-files form every game as: manuals (scan in .pdf format), flyers, and so on. Is it available inLaunch Box a section where I can see these extra-files? 5) Is it possibile to configure more than one emulator for the same system? For example: for Super Nintendo I have a default emulator (i.e: Snes9x) but sometimes I use Higan or Znes. Thank you very much! thank you!

[SentaiBrad]

LaunchBox and BigBox are seperate sides of the same coin. LaunchBox is based around a mouse and keyboard while BigBox is based on a controller and couch style gaming. They are completely different interfaces. In LaunchBox you also get a few more features like being able to download Video from EmuMovies if you have an EmuMovies Premium account and Custom Filters. We're always looking to add more features to premium too, of course with careful thought. If you watch the BigBox Demo's for the Wheels and new views you'll see them in action and I think that might answer a lot of your questions on how they work, you can view those videos on our YouTube channel and that link is in the signature of all my posts. If you still have more questions after that I would be more than happy to answer them. Right now LaunchBox doesn't have all of the categories that the LaunchBox Games Database does yet. We have categories like Cart / Disc and such, but LaunchBox nor BigBox have the ability to really see these unless you put them under fanart, but that would not be correct. In terms of Front Box Art, Back Box Art, Screenshots, Video, Manuals, Music and Fan Art, there are folders inside of your LaunchBox folder labeled Video, Music, Manualst and Images. Inside each of those are folders with the System name that you've added to LaunchBox. Drop the right images in to the right folders and the right sub-folders in each of those Platform named folders... if this makes much sense. It's pretty much drag and drop in to the right location inside your LaunchBox folder, and as long as the image matches the name of the game inside of LaunchBox or the file name then the media will match up automatically. You may need to restart LaunchBox for it to take effect though. You can add as many emulators as you want, and you can edit a single game to use a specific emulator, but otherwise there is the Bulk Edit Wizard for changing things like emulators that the games use. You can also add any system or emulator to LaunchBox even if it isn't on the list. If the platform isn't in the list, or it is and you've named it something different it may not scrape properly though. At the same channel I directed you to earlier are Tutorials that I have done on most systems, and the SNES Tutorial is aimed more at beginners (though there is plenty of info in there for more veteran Emulation and LaunchBox users) that I suggest you check out also to get started. Like I said, if you have more questions please feel free to ask, and welcome!

[Jason Carr]

Hi legolas, you can indeed use the Hyperspin wheel images in Big Box relatively easily. It's as easy as downloading them and putting them in the right folder: LaunchBox\Images\[Platform]\Clear Logo.

[legolas119]

well, thank you very much guys I'm downloading the latest release 6.20 of the free version of Launch Box so I can try it in order to better understand how it works and how/if I can see my images (cartridges and manuals for example) and so on. So, with BIGBOX I can configure everything, for example the layout and the effects of the emualtors and games and I can't do this with the free version: with Launch Box free I can modify not a lot of parameters, am I right? When you say: "In LaunchBox you also get a few more features like being able to download Video from EmuMovies if you have an EmuMovies Premium" probably you want to say in BigBox...am I right? Yes, I have a platinum account for bot Hyperspsin/Emumovies in ordert to download every images/videos, and I used it with Hypersync in order to download automatically images and videos Ok I wil start with the tutorial of SNES emulator. Do you think that more tutorial will be added in order to teach us how to add more emulators? for example Neo Geo, Taito Type X, Atomiswave/Naomi? thank you very much!

[SentaiBrad]

Every system will be covered in the tutorials eventually. BigBox is a 100% completely premium feature, you can not access it without paying for LaunchBox. When I talk about the video needing Premium LaunchBox too, this is correct for for LaunchBox or BigBox. You don't add or download anything from within BigBox, all of it is handeled within LaunchBox and BigBox simply shows you your library. You can download from EmuMovies directly within LaunchBox, we don't touch the Hyperspin servers at all. If you have the media already downloaded you can certainly put that media in the proper LaunchBox location or tell LaunchBox in the Edit Platforms page under tools where the folders are and it will automatically read from that location. The media needs to be in the proper folder (or told where it is) and the names need to match the Rom file or the game name. BigBox is not fully customizable at all. There are options for different views, and of course there are plenty of options within BigBox but you can't edit the views. We have plans to expand this so that other people can create themes or other views if they so desire, or users can download themes or views that users upload, but what you see is what you get. In LaunchBox there are some customization features only available for Premium users, like font changes, color schemes and spacing of your items in LaunchBox. There is also Custom Filters as well. Our Premium page on the website details what Premium offers you if you want it.

[legolas119]

thank you I see here https://www.launchbox-app.com/premium in the screenshot that it is possible for example to see a desktop theme for every game (Donkey Kong for Wii, or Far Cry or Gran theft Auto V) !?!?Like in Hyperspin/Rocketlauncher?! Well, I will configure and try the free version in order to understand how it works and where it is different from the Premium: so I can decide if I want to buy a forever licence for the Premium version :)

[legolas119]

Hi! I have finally downloaded for the first time Launch box, 6.7 version and I think I will buy the premium version, I want Big Box :) I have a question: which is the best tutorial for a beginner? I have to start so I found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC4NieHGwbo&index=13&list=PL6pTDaHeAz-WMcNURVPU-1xLN_TVpT3FB I have a lot of emulators, but not Retroarch: do you suggest to set up Retroarch with Launch box or do you think that it is easier to set up the normal emulators that I already have? thank you!

[8Phantasm]

RetroArch is simply the best to use for a lot of platforms because it has many options like the ability to remove input lag and the best shader system, including the best CRT shader. At the very least, I'd suggest using it for NES, SNES, Mega Drive/Mega CD, PC-Engine/SuperGrafx/Super CD-Rom, Game Boy, GBA, Nintendo DS, Virtual Boy, 3DO, PSP. You can use it with many other platforms as well, but in certain cases like MAME, it's not always the best option at the moment. They are always improving it, so PS1 and N64 should be a lot better soon. I haven't tried everything in it yet, like Atari and MSX.

[Jason Carr]

I agree with @8Phantasm. Retroarch really does provide the best experience for many platforms. However, that said, it is far from the easiest emulator to get set up, so it might not be the best one to start with. It's also not the only way to do those platforms. Nestopia, for example, works really well on NES. So I think I would start with a simple emulator like Nestopia and then move on from there to Retroarch or whatever else you're interested in.

[Lordmonkus]

Just for clarification you simply cannot "remove" input lag but Retroach does let you reduce it as much as possible within the emulation itself by turning on Hard GPU Sync in the video settings. Your TV / monitor is also going to add some input lag if you aren't using a CRT.

[8Phantasm]

GPU Sync alone isn't nearly good enough. I still saw a huge delay with just jumping in Super Mario Bros. NES. Use it in combination with Frame Delay set to as high of a setting as your GPU can handle. It will also depend on the shader and the core for how high you can set Frame Delay. After that the input lag is so low that it's unnoticeable, for me anyway. I tested next to real hardware on an SD CRT TV and a NES. It also helps to disable GPU downclocking in RetroArch.exe if using heavy shaders, otherwise you won't be able to set frame delay as high as you could.

[Lordmonkus]

Yeah frame delay is also a big help. Maybe you can correct me on this but I believe that only has an effect when you have v-sync enabled which you shouldn't have enabled unless you have terrible screen tearing issues. V-Sync causes some slight input lag along with as you said certain shaders depending on your system. I have V-Sync disabled because I have a G-Sync setup and the input lag is so extremely low. But like I said before, I was just clarifying the term "remove" because there is no way to get rid of 100% of the input lag. With correct settings and a low input lag display you can get really damn close to getting rid of 99% of it. Also on a side note while it's not directly input lag if you go into the audio settings you can reduce the audio latency to 24ms (depending on your system) before getting bad static. It's not input lag exactly but audio so its just perceptive lag.

[8Phantasm]

I didn't actually mean remove "all of it"... bad choice of wording. I just meant remove it to a point where it's unnoticeable. I'm not sure if GPU sync or Frame Delay only has an affect with vsync on. I have to use vsync with my monitor in everything. The options should still work with Gsync, though... I'd imagine, but don't know for sure. EDIT: It might just be GPU Sync that only works with vsync and probably gsync as well. I don't think it does enough anyway compared to frame delay. NES is where I really noticed lag more than other cores.

[Lordmonkus]

I have to go back and redo some research on it. I was under the impression that frame delay only had an effect if V-Sync was enabled. I just know right now with G-Sync (v-sync disabled and frame delay 0) my input is extremely responsive. I don't think it could be any better outside of having real hardware and a crt tv.

[8Phantasm]

I'm sure it's fine with Gsync but if using Frame Delay it should always be set as high as it can go on your hardware (without any performance drop). 0 isn't going to do much. It goes up to 15 but I usually have to lower it anywhere from 10 down to 4, depending on the core. That's only cause I use a modified crt royale shader though, which is the heaviest shader GPU-wise. GPU Sync on the other hand should be set at 0 for the best option, if you use that.

[Lordmonkus]

Yeah you are definitely doing it right for having v-sync on and it's what I did before making the switch to a g-sync monitor. Trying to find a definitive guide on Retroarch + G-Sync + Hard GPU Sync + Frame Delay is kinda rough. But the best I can figure out with the information I can find spread across different websites and posts is that Hard GPU Sync is for V-Sync and does nothing if you are using G-Sync, quote from Hunterk over on the RA forums "hard GPU sync shouldn't matter because gsync already minimizes the delay between emulating a frame and displaying it" Frame Delay only has an effect when V-Sync is enabled so having anything set while using G-Sync is doing nothing.

[8Phantasm]

Well, GPU Sync wouldn't do much anyway. I could barely tell a difference with it on or off before I found out about frame delay. I was under the impression that Gsync WAS a form of Vsync, just way better. Best I can tell you to do is what I did, if you have an SD CRT TV and a real NES. I literally loaded up Super Mario Bros. on both next to each other, put one controller in each hand and just sat there repeatedly jumping at the same time. If Mario lands first on the NES, then the other is lagging too much. Yeah it's a real crude way to test, lol...but it works if you don't want to get all crazy using cameras to measure by the millisecond. Mario jumping on RetroArch NEStopia never landed at the same exact time as on the NES, until I turned on frame delay. I'd love to do tests with Gsync, but I don't have it. NES emulation was really bothering me before this. Even my friend for the past 15 years could never beat Mike Tyson on Punch-Out!! using emulation. So I setup RetroArch with my settings at his house and he finally beat him the first try, for the first time ever with emulation. So it's definitely good enough now. I think it's difficult for people to tell there is input lag a lot of times, unless it's a twitch game they are very familiar with playing on real hardware. EDIT: Also, I think I've read hunterk say before that using GPU-Sync and Frame Delay at the same time has no effect since they both basically do the same thing. But, I notice lag too much with just GPU sync so I just leave them both on since it won't hurt.

[Lordmonkus]

Well the nice thing about G-Sync is that it gives you all the benefits of V-Sync without the drawbacks (except for cost). The drawbacks of V-Sync is it does add to input lag, how much exactly I don't know but it does add some. Along with the added input lag V-Sync can also mess with the games timing because you are now syncing the game to your monitors refresh rate which is typically 60 Hz. This generally is not a problem for standard console games but when you get into Mame where many games run at oddball speeds it can cause problems. NeoGeo and Mortal Kombat are the prime examples here where those run the 50 (ish) Hz range. Load up Samurai Showdown 2 with V-Sync on and look at the shadows, they flicker at odd intervals and looks weird. Now the side effect of these games running at improper speeds varies from game to game and can be nothing more than cosmetic but can have weird effects later in the game. G-Sync eliminates these problems by syncing the monitor to the game so you don't get screen tearing like you would with V-Sync off. G-Sync does some other nice things as well which I would have to find certain articles I have read to relay them. Also most G-Sync monitors are of a higher quality and have a naturally low input latency level compared to average monitors even though you can get good low latency non G-Sync monitors, BenQ makes some nice ones. The obvious disadvantage of G-Sync is cost. A G-Sync monitor is going to add on at least an extra $200 to the price of a monitor and you are locking yourself into a relatively new Nvidia video card. My monitor I picked up on sale and after taxes it still cost me damn close to $1000 Canadian which really had me worried when I bought it. Now that I have been using it for a few months I have to say the extra cost was well worth it but that is obviously not an option for everyone. For me it was a birthday present split 3 ways and I paid 1/3rd of it myself. I do not have a hard objective way to test for input lag and I don't have an old CRT laying around to plug in one of my old consoles to do a side by side test on but I can tell you from my personal subjective feelings and using the 240p test suite everything feels buttery smooth and probably as good as it's going to get with emulation.

[legolas119]

Thank you. Well,I already use emulators,so i'm not a noob :) I think that retroarch is a "big" emulator that use other emulators for every sistem,am i right? For example it uses Fceu (or nestopia?) for Nes and so on. retroarch isn't an emulator itself, it is linked with other emulators if l'm not wrong. I saw some videos and it seems that it is in this way... Do you suggest a particular video to start with Launch box, in order to understand how it works and how to config it? Thanks!

[Lordmonkus]

Yeah Retroarch is basically a front end but that is an oversimplification because it isn't just a front end for other emulators. They have their own "cores" which are based on code from stand alone emulators where they have the permissions from the original author and even in some cases the RA core code is actually maintained by the author of the original. I hope all that made some sense.