ExoDOS and 3winxo collections

[InfinityFox]

I just wanted to check the latest methods of dealing with these two collections. I believe that the front end that originally Was used for the import was meagre and that now both collection are imported through the add dos games option? I also see there was talk in July this year of adding a 3winxo platform, Is this still a posssibility?

Brad on these forums has kindly given me a few pointers on how to deal with dos game and his video is great, but I would like to separate the two collections...

so, having not done dos game imports before can I import the collections and scan them through dosbox platform and make custom platform titles like when you add roms

 

cheers

 

[SentaiBrad]

Yea this is totally possible, in fact, I've done this. We still haven't added new platforms, but that will be coming. So obviously more leg work will have to be done since it's not getting directly imported (hopefully one day), so you'll have to edit some games and let LaunchBox get pointed to their custom conf files, if they need one. Honestly, I've never needed a custom conf file, but I've also never used custom sound fonts or played every DOS Game, clearly @eXo is the master here.

So I downloaded both collections, and had each game in their own rar / zip file. I then Ctrl + A to highlight every single rar / zip, then right click -> extract each file to it's own folder with WinRar (7zip should have a similar function too). It might also take a while for the extraction window to even pop up, let alone actually finish to extract everything.

I then told LaunchBox where the root to my DOS games folder was in the DOS Import wizard, then used the option "Use folder name for game name", and it used the proper folder (as it will be ../DOS/Games/<insert full dos game name>/<insert dos short hand name>/<game files here>), so my original concern is that it would use the folder directly above the exe or bat file LaunchBox grabs, but it used the full name. Every so often I'll need to edit a game as it wont use the proper exe / bat file, or I need to run the install (through LaunchBox in DOSBox) for it to then work, but this would be stuff I would have to do even if I downloaded them individually (I had to rebuild my DOS collection twice before I found eXoDOS). If a game requires it's media as well, you can set all that up in the edit screen for the game in LaunchBox as well.

[InfinityFox]

I've got both collections unzipped but have put the exodos collection in one folder and the 3winxo in another. Is it best to put all games in one folder and import or can I add one collection and then the next seperately?

 

Do you search wiki or will the LB DB to the job?

Edited November 1, 2016 by InfinityFox

[SentaiBrad]

I kept them separate, but I never imported the Windows 3.0 stuff, there isn't even a platform for it, let alone any metadata or media. I don't use the Wikipedia search anymore, I had way too many issues, just the LB Games Database and EmuMovies. Not every game gets found or even has media, but it's better than empty.

[InfinityFox]

I imported everything and I didn't get the option to use folder names and in a lot of cases the games have not imported correctly. As you can see from the picture there are duplicates and the following games in the picture are as follows from left to right

Savage (1988), Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991) (Correct import), A.G.E. (1991), Gateway (1992)

I used the ms dos import tool and went ahead and went with what had been selected my default, and didn't as I said get the option to use folder names

Here is the path for one of the games mentioned above that seems to have added itself correctly. I did it as you said. Into a individual folder/short name folder/ then files for game

E:\eXoDOS\Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991)\gatesf

Any ideas why this would have happened?

 

Edited November 2, 2016 by InfinityFox

[SentaiBrad]

The folder name option is always there though. It shows up on the same screen as a few other check boxes, its one of the last screens. The screen has the box "look for PDF Files" automatically checked, it's right above that. It Savage was found as Savage Frontier, it must have just simply been an error with the scraper, but the rest I can't explain. I had a few mis-matches (DOS Seems to be really really bad for this), but I didn't have that many and AD&D wasn't one of them.

[InfinityFox]

These are the only options that appear for me

[SentaiBrad]

Oh? That's odd then. As long as the games had full names instead of short hand names, then that was the intended goal anyways, otherwise I do believe that it is just the scraper mis-labeling games.

[InfinityFox]

Cool, thanks Brad for all the help!! It's most appreciated and has saved me no end of frustration

[SentaiBrad]

Of course, no problem! If you have anymore questions then please feel free to ask.