Can I group multiple versions of a single game in big box?

[alpenjodler]

I like to have the translated and the original versions of roms. Mostly because I'm still lying to myself about eventually learning Japanese.

Is there a way to make big box show the game (and store the video) only once and always run the english version but allows me to select a different version on demand? I have the different versions in seperate .7z files and launch box correctly identified the different locales of each game.

[spycat]

Hi alpenjodler.

You can add different versions of a game such as a different region, a pre-release, a translated copy, a trained copy and so on using the Additional Apps feature in LaunchBox.
Any Additional Apps you create in LaunchBox for a game will be available in BigBox.
You'll have just one visual entry for the game, with the other options available in LaunchBox via right-clicking the game's boxart and in BigBox from within the Game Details menu.

[SentaiBrad]

What @spycat! Thanks.

[alpenjodler]

oh nice. Do I have to do this when I add them or can I group them after I already added them?

Ah, I found additional apps. So I have to manually add the duplicates to my default version and remove those duplicates?

It won't delete the game when I press delete, right? Will it automatically remove the extra videos and pictures?

Edited December 11, 2016 by alpenjodler

[SentaiBrad]

If you press delete and you have the box checked to remove the file as well (in the options), it asks you if you want to remove from LB, then delete the file. If you say yes then no, you keep the files. Media doesn't get deleted when you remove it from LaunchBox. There is an image cleanup that can take a while in the tools menu. The other media isn't accounted for yet, but Jason wants to get that fixed at some point.

Automatic Grouping only happens in a few cases currently. When a game, or in this case a file, is called FF 7 (Disc 1), FF 7 (Disc 2), FF 7 (Disc 3), that will automatically combine. There's a few variations but not all. Most Disc and Disk variations with numbers attached to it work, any of the variations with letters are currently not implemented, nor is the verbiage for side, like Side 1. Everything else needs to manually be done as trying to guess what to group would actually not be a good idea. It's partly the same reason why LaunchBox's image clean up only cleans up images not associated to any games anymore, and because unless it knows it's a duplicate, or in this case unless it knows it's a rom hack or alternate version, then there's nothing it can do with it. That kind of logic is some what hard to do, making such large leaps in logic and having it be accurate.

[alpenjodler]

Ahh, I see. I think I'll be busy with some cleaning up once mame finishes importing :-D

[MijacOnAir]

On 12/11/2016 at 9:20 PM, SentaiBrad said:

If you press delete and you have the box checked to remove the file as well (in the options), it asks you if you want to remove from LB, then delete the file. If you say yes then no, you keep the files. Media doesn't get deleted when you remove it from LaunchBox. There is an image cleanup that can take a while in the tools menu. The other media isn't accounted for yet, but Jason wants to get that fixed at some point.

Automatic Grouping only happens in a few cases currently. When a game, or in this case a file, is called FF 7 (Disc 1), FF 7 (Disc 2), FF 7 (Disc 3), that will automatically combine. There's a few variations but not all. Most Disc and Disk variations with numbers attached to it work, any of the variations with letters are currently not implemented, nor is the verbiage for side, like Side 1. Everything else needs to manually be done as trying to guess what to group would actually not be a good idea. It's partly the same reason why LaunchBox's image clean up only cleans up images not associated to any games anymore, and because unless it knows it's a duplicate, or in this case unless it knows it's a rom hack or alternate version, then there's nothing it can do with it. That kind of logic is some what hard to do, making such large leaps in logic and having it be accurate.

Hi SentaiBrad,

I am sorry to reopen this thread as of today but I've been investigating this topic and I need some clarification. Your previous posted has helped me understand if you name your games like "xxx (Disc 1)", LB detects it as one single game and you will find the Play version option. My question comes regarding the different regions of the same game and the "correct" way of naming files. I have "Aerofighters Assault (U).zip" and "Aerofighters Assault (J).zip" and they appear like 2 different entries within LB. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks a ton

Edited November 4, 2018 by MijacOnAir

[neil9000]

1 minute ago, MijacOnAir said:

Hi SentaiBrad,

I am sorry to reopen this thread as of today but I've been investigating this topic and I need some clarification. Your previous posted has helped me understand if you name your games like "xxx (Disc 1)", LB detects it as one single game and you will find the Play version option. My question comes regarding the different regions of the same game and the "correct" way of naming files. I have "Aerofighters Assault (U).zip" and "Aerofighters Assault (J).zip" and they appear like 2 different entries within LB. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks a ton

They should of been combined during the import process, but if not its no issue. Just hold ctrl and click both games, then right click one and choose the combine option, depending on which one you right click on that is the one that will show as the default, with the other added to the right click menu.

[MijacOnAir]

That works well, the problem is that some games named exactly the same (except for the country) import perfectly as one item and others don't and even after merging them, when scanning the library for more additions, it asks you to import the one that it is not the default version.

Is there any way of avoiding this? Maybe some additions to forthcoming LB versions? I could understand if games would not be a part of the LB game dB but that is not the case.

Thank you Neil