Thoughts/Suggestions from a new user

[polybius22]

Hello, I've purchased a year subscription to Big Box and I absolutely love how slick it is. I'd really like to commend everyone involved with its development, truly wonderful. Setup has been quite straight-forward and problem-free, so I just wanted to echo a few others by requesting the ability to run Big Box in windowed mode. This really would be a great feature, particularly to help with easier setup (I know I've entered and exited the program many times), but also for those such as myself who often use emulators in windows and would appreciate less limitations from the front-end while in mid-game. There may be a script for that I suppose (to minimize the front end while applications are open), but I'm not the best at writing scripts. I would love to see a page or thread devoted to scripting examples if you have one. For example, is it possible to run a process other than the main application by adding code into the script tab? Lastly, it would be fantastic if there was a way to add background music to the front-end. Possibly a folder which users could place choice .mp3s to play at random or in order. I absolutely love the music when selecting games, and I can say I would love for an option to always have something of my choice playing. I can see how this might get weird while scrolling through games (then restarting songs), however it would be great even if the option was reserved for scrolling through options, platforms, filters, etc. Guys, thank you again. Keep up the great work and happy gaming. Mike Hornung

[SentaiBrad]

The background music selection might be a unique request for me actually. You're more than welcome to request features with the feature request button at the top of the page. When you make your ticket don't forget to vote on it, and you can search other tickets to see what others have suggested and vote on your favorites. I also don't quite get why there is a need for a Windowed mode. BigBox isn't in a true fullscreen, so things appear on top of it and you can more easily alt tab (vs true fullscreen which needs to minimize and etc). Maybe I am missing something though, and a few people have requested that (may be a ticket). That's not to say we won't add that, in the long run it might be a good idea, but I am confused by it.

[DOS76]

I use alt+tab to leave fullscreen but that doesn't actually help users who are committed to a controller only approach.

[SentaiBrad]

If you need more functionality that a controller can't provide though, then software or a mouse and keyboard is the solution right?

[DOS76]

Hey you know I always have my keyboard handy because I basically feel crippled using just a controller. That being said implementing better controller support more like RetroArch uses could increase the controller functionality exponentially.

[SentaiBrad]

Certainly there is more we can do, it was just more of a curious statement than anything. Like I said in another thread a few min ago, anything I generally suggest is not a way to hide bugs or deter progression. It's just a means to offer a solution right then and there instead of waiting for development time.

[Zombeaver]

@DOS76 have you ever tried Xpadder (or an equivalent)? You can assign buttons or combinations of buttons to various keys (or combination of keys). I have Back + Right Bumper setup to alt+tab for example. This does seem like a function that could be added to the existing "Controller Automation" implementation though. If it can be used for the current functions it contains, I don't see why alt+tab couldn't be added in.

[DOS76]

I actually have a paid license for XPadder but I don't use it I actually couldn't figure out or find an tutorials when I was messing with it to setup button combos (although I admit I didn't search extensively) and the issue I used it for got fixed with newer XBox 360 drivers so I just stopped using it. I recently converted to RetroArch and I absolutely love it based on the controller features alone not to mention all the other awesome features and would like to see some more controller features enabled in LaunchBox for convenience not out of necessity since I always have my keyboard in reach.

[polybius22]

Sure, I'd be happy to make a ticket. I saw the suggestions button but it took me to an "Issues" page which seemed directed towards bugs and complaints. Mostly I would just like to see the front-end collapse when I activate an emu, and then reappear when I close it. Perhaps I am a specific type of user who puts their emus into windowed mode more than most, but I've been using Win+D (windows 10) to hide the front-end manually every time in order to multitask or look things up. By the way, I'm a paid user for xpadder too, and swear by it. I do prefer to do save states/automations such as exiting game by button combination. This is why BigBox appeals to me over Launchbox - the streamlined "console" feel to it. But its great to give users the choice and flexibility. Retroarch was a huge pain for me to set up, but it is awesome with respect to controller users. Having a blissbox and using the actual controllers is a real treat for me. I'm really surprised to hear that nobody else has requested music! To overcome some of that FOMO (fear of missing out), I enabled "repeat" for game music, but was saddened to hear it stop playing when backing out to other menus. Additionally, before anything is selected (and sometimes it takes a while before a game with music is selected), the silence is very noticeable to me. I've noticed I prefer to be treated to a familiar song on my Wii U or in a Virtual Console store over the silence of my PS3 menu, as well, so again just a personal preference.

[SentaiBrad]

The Report Issue and Request Feature button at the top actually take users to the same location.