Importing the Win3xO and eXoDOS Collections (Now with Win3xO+eXoDOS images!)

[PiZZAMAN]

Anyone in the know, but to which folder am I supposed to extract all the files to? All I get is missing images.

[Aevans0001]

Read page 2.  I explained how to add all the games.  There are an update to 3.0 for 2 of the packs.  The other ones I used Syntax guide but read page 2

[meaning_]

Hey there,

as I stated, exo already released the new (launchbox friendly) versions of part of his exodos collection.

so, my suggestion would be to be patient, and stick to the adventure (3.1) and rpg (3.0) packs for now. This will ensure you an easy integration of those games.

[PiZZAMAN]

I have read through the entire thread multiple times but ain't getting any of the jp2 files scraped. In which folder do i put them? Fanart, box art, screenshots? The instructions only say in your launchbox folder.

[vahacris]

7 hours ago, meaning_ said:

Hey there,

as I stated, exo already released the new (launchbox friendly) versions of part of his exodos collection.

so, my suggestion would be to be patient, and stick to the adventure (3.1) and rpg (3.0) packs for now. This will ensure you an easy integration of those games.

Hi sorry to bother but where can I find new version? I think I'm good enough with google search, never had problems with findings but after a few try I decide to ask question and stop loosing time ;]

If You can't give direct links please tell me what should i put into google search...

[Aevans0001]

7 hours ago, PiZZAMAN said:

I have read through the entire thread multiple times but ain't getting any of the jp2 files scraped. In which folder do i put them? Fanart, box art, screenshots? The instructions only say in your launchbox folder.

the jp2 images are duplicates.  These were used if you used the built in emulator meagre.  

1. Download image files

2. open your favorite file manager (i use xyplorer).  Go to directory where all the games are

3.  Search in directory for install.bat

4.  move all files to a different location (i have the option to keep the folder structure, this is what you want)

5.  Load Launchbox

6.  Click Tools --> Import---> rom files

7.  Click next --->add folder--->select folder where files are (not the install.bat files)

8.  Click next--->Choose a name for platform (eXoDos) ---->next

9.  Choose any emulator ----->next---->choose best option for you

10 Uncheck everything on next page--->next---->uncheck everything on download image screen--->next---> uncheck all on emumovies screen-->next

11.  Uncheck all options except force import duplicate on custom options screen---->next---->finished

12.  after completed, close launchbox

13.  Copy launchbox images you downloaded from the Win3xO_1.0_Launchbox7_Images.zip file to your launchbox folder  (example    C:\Launchbox\images\eXoDos)

 

14.  open launchbox and select all games in exodos system (click on one title and press alt+A)

15.  Right click and select bulk edit-->emulator-->leave  it blank--->save--->exit launchbox

16.  backup your exodos.xml file in the data directory (example c:\launchbox\data\platforms\eXoDos.xml)

17.  Open launchbox and select all files in eXoDos again----> Tools--->download metadata--->Choose which images you want and complete scrape

18.  Close launchbox and copy your backup xml file over the current xml file.

19.  Move the install.bat files back to the original locations

 

The end

 

alternatively if you are not able to move the install.bat files in step 2-5, you can go through launchbox and son the select files to import screen  choose add files.  In the pop up in the upper right hand corner search for *.bat (this takes a minute or 2) choose all files except install.bat and continue with the above steps

 

 

 

[eXo]

Figured I'd drop in and provide an update;

 

I'm close to finishing the phase of adding new games to the Action volume. Around 500 games have been processed for adding, so it's a very large update. Once I finish getting the games into the pack, I'll run a process to start importing the base metadata into launchbox. At that point I have to go through the entire set and make sure each game gets all of it's require data. So probably a few weeks of work there. At that point I'll put out Action v3.11.

 

While working on the final volume of 3.11, I've also been working heavily on the release that follows it. I've decided to do away with the genre split. the next release will be a single, complete, eXoDOS release. Apart from merging the volumes, I am also adding quite a few other things.  Some of those are:

 

• Manuals/Extras project. Hundreds of missing manuals have been located and added to the collection. Also, many extras and manuals have been replaced with higher quality versions. Currently I'm at 9gb of manuals just for vol 1-4, and another 10gb of extras (clue blooks, hint books, strategy guides, reference cards, journals, documents, etc...)
• MT32/Sound Canvas project. Games that have MT32 and Sound Canvas support are being given launch options to choose between the various sound cards. I have opted not to force any particular sound card, as each person has their own preferences. In addition to this, select Gravis and Tandy games are having those options added as well. In some cases these options simply sound a little better than their Sound Blaster counter parts. In other cases, they have a totally different score. It all depended on what the original sound designers provided with the game. I will provide documentation on the differences between these different sound cards with the full release, as I expect there to be a lot of questions about them.
• Patches\Fixes etc... Many problematic games have been identified and fixed. In some cases extra versions have been added, with launch options to choose between them. In other cases, special fan patches of games have been added, such as the NewRisingSun patches from the dosbox forums. One example of this is the KQ4 patch which enables the high res graphics on the original SCI floppy release (removed from later releases to shorten the number of disks), the AGI easter eggs, the amiga background sounds )emulated via the gravis ultrasound), the mt32 score, and the soundblaster effects. In other cases, disabled sound effects such as brief speech in Space Quest 3 have been patched back in and re-enabled.
• All of this will be packed with the newer version of LaunchBox as well as made compatible with LaunchBox.Next, the new version of the front end. Meagre support will remain, however metadata for MEAGRE is no longer being updated. New manuals and extras have not been enabled in meagre. Also, where-as all mobygames watermarks have been removed from the LB metadata, it remains in the meagre metadata. 

I initially thought 3.11 would be the final release for quite some time. However the eXoDOS discord channel has brought together a really great group of people, several of whom have spent quite a lot of time contributing to the above projects and enhancements. I plan to call the complete release v4. I will do any scan of moby games before releasing it to make sure nothing new has been added. I'm also hoping to have a comparison against TDC run soon in ordert o incorporate any games that may exist in TDC that have't migrated to eXoDOS yet.

 

it's worth noting that one fellow at Discord is working on a front end of sorts that mimics MAME or FS-UAE, but with DOS games. he is using eXoDOS as the base set, and it appears that simply taking a game from my set and popping it into his tool will allow it to launch on any setup. He is also working on joy mapping so all of the action games can easily be played with a controller. He understands it all much better than i do, but for anyone who would like to run eXoDOS on a cabinet, HTPC, raspberry pi, etc.... His project will be a huge benefit to you.

 

After v4 release, I'll start churning the machine towards an update of the Win3xO project. Based on feedback and suggestions I'll be renaming Win3xO to eXoWin3x. It's not as catchy in my opinion, but it is more descriptive of what it actually is and will allow those with familiarity of eXoDOS to know what they are getting into. It also makes it easier to then put out an eXoWin9x eventually, following the same naming convention. As of right now, the primary updates to the Win3x collection will be the addition of games and conversion to launchbox. I'm not sure if there are any improvements to be made on the sound side, as I'm not sure what type of compatibility exists between Win3x and Sound Canvas (MT32 would have pretty much subsided by then). If there is room for an audio project there though, then I'll look into it. 

 

And before anyone asks, yes, I am still looking at the possibility of a Win9x project, but no, the technology isn't quite there yet. PCem is getting close, but it still needs a handful of features to meet my requirements. As I have mentioned previously, it's not just about getting games to run, it's about doing it in a portable way that doesn't use up massive amounts of drive space dedicated to wasted virtual hard drive space. parent\child VHD relationships, expanding VHD's, and dynamic access to the VHD's are going to be needed.

 

And again, please feel free to join our discord channel to follow along, ask questions, or enjoy the comradery of fellow DOS nerds and ne'er-do-wells.

[meaning_]

Hi Exo,

can you please give me the discord server invite link?

 

thanks!!! 

[Klopjero]

@eXo Thanks! 

[dmjohn0x]

6 hours ago, eXo said:

Figured I'd drop in and provide an update;

 

I'm close to finishing the phase of adding new games to the Action volume. Around 500 games have been processed for adding, so it's a very large update. Once I finish getting the games into the pack, I'll run a process to start importing the base metadata into launchbox. At that point I have to go through the entire set and make sure each game gets all of it's require data. So probably a few weeks of work there. At that point I'll put out Action v3.11.

 

While working on the final volume of 3.11, I've also been working heavily on the release that follows it. I've decided to do away with the genre split. the next release will be a single, complete, eXoDOS release. Apart from merging the volumes, I am also adding quite a few other things.  Some of those are:

 

• Manuals/Extras project. Hundreds of missing manuals have been located and added to the collection. Also, many extras and manuals have been replaced with higher quality versions. Currently I'm at 9gb of manuals just for vol 1-4, and another 10gb of extras (clue blooks, hint books, strategy guides, reference cards, journals, documents, etc...)
• MT32/Sound Canvas project. Games that have MT32 and Sound Canvas support are being given launch options to choose between the various sound cards. I have opted not to force any particular sound card, as each person has their own preferences. In addition to this, select Gravis and Tandy games are having those options added as well. In some cases these options simply sound a little better than their Sound Blaster counter parts. In other cases, they have a totally different score. It all depended on what the original sound designers provided with the game. I will provide documentation on the differences between these different sound cards with the full release, as I expect there to be a lot of questions about them.
• Patches\Fixes etc... Many problematic games have been identified and fixed. In some cases extra versions have been added, with launch options to choose between them. In other cases, special fan patches of games have been added, such as the NewRisingSun patches from the dosbox forums. One example of this is the KQ4 patch which enables the high res graphics on the original SCI floppy release (removed from later releases to shorten the number of disks), the AGI easter eggs, the amiga background sounds )emulated via the gravis ultrasound), the mt32 score, and the soundblaster effects. In other cases, disabled sound effects such as brief speech in Space Quest 3 have been patched back in and re-enabled.
• All of this will be packed with the newer version of LaunchBox as well as made compatible with LaunchBox.Next, the new version of the front end. Meagre support will remain, however metadata for MEAGRE is no longer being updated. New manuals and extras have not been enabled in meagre. Also, where-as all mobygames watermarks have been removed from the LB metadata, it remains in the meagre metadata. 

I initially thought 3.11 would be the final release for quite some time. However the eXoDOS discord channel has brought together a really great group of people, several of whom have spent quite a lot of time contributing to the above projects and enhancements. I plan to call the complete release v4. I will do any scan of moby games before releasing it to make sure nothing new has been added. I'm also hoping to have a comparison against TDC run soon in ordert o incorporate any games that may exist in TDC that have't migrated to eXoDOS yet.

 

it's worth noting that one fellow at Discord is working on a front end of sorts that mimics MAME or FS-UAE, but with DOS games. he is using eXoDOS as the base set, and it appears that simply taking a game from my set and popping it into his tool will allow it to launch on any setup. He is also working on joy mapping so all of the action games can easily be played with a controller. He understands it all much better than i do, but for anyone who would like to run eXoDOS on a cabinet, HTPC, raspberry pi, etc.... His project will be a huge benefit to you.

 

After v4 release, I'll start churning the machine towards an update of the Win3xO project. Based on feedback and suggestions I'll be renaming Win3xO to eXoWin3x. It's not as catchy in my opinion, but it is more descriptive of what it actually is and will allow those with familiarity of eXoDOS to know what they are getting into. It also makes it easier to then put out an eXoWin9x eventually, following the same naming convention. As of right now, the primary updates to the Win3x collection will be the addition of games and conversion to launchbox. I'm not sure if there are any improvements to be made on the sound side, as I'm not sure what type of compatibility exists between Win3x and Sound Canvas (MT32 would have pretty much subsided by then). If there is room for an audio project there though, then I'll look into it. 

 

And before anyone asks, yes, I am still looking at the possibility of a Win9x project, but no, the technology isn't quite there yet. PCem is getting close, but it still needs a handful of features to meet my requirements. As I have mentioned previously, it's not just about getting games to run, it's about doing it in a portable way that doesn't use up massive amounts of drive space dedicated to wasted virtual hard drive space. parent\child VHD relationships, expanding VHD's, and dynamic access to the VHD's are going to be needed.

 

And again, please feel free to join our discord channel to follow along, ask questions, or enjoy the comradery of fellow DOS nerds and ne'er-do-wells.

Had no clue you had a discord. Was that dropped here, PD, or elsewhere?

[eXo]

Ah, I replied with this status update to a post I didn't know existed... Lol.  There is a different thread I had been active in and posted the discord link.

 

https://discord.gg/Nd5xtDZ

 

After reading through the thread I did want to state there seems to be a little confusion. While I have no problem with syntax_x, and I appreciate him making this post, he is not directly involved with eXoDOS. I also don't recommend following his post. You are better off using my v3.11 projects as they already have launchbox set up.

 

V4 will be setup with launchbox.next.

 

 

[dmjohn0x]

15 hours ago, eXo said:

Ah, I replied with this status update to a post I didn't know existed... Lol.  There is a different thread I had been active in and posted the discord link.

 

https://discord.gg/Nd5xtDZ

 

After reading through the thread I did want to state there seems to be a little confusion. While I have no problem with syntax_x, and I appreciate him making this post, he is not directly involved with eXoDOS. I also don't recommend following his post. You are better off using my v3.11 projects as they already have launchbox set up.

 

V4 will be setup with launchbox.next.

 

 

Wasn't following him anyway, no offense Syntax. I've been thinking about how best to merge your sets into a single build as is. and then working on an eXoDoS big box 4:3 Theme.

[harryoke]

yippee @eXo just released: eXoDOS Vol 5: Action v3.11  via PD

grabbing it now

[vahacris]

Hi exo. I just want to ask if nothing change in your plans of releasing full v3. 11 with all volumes in one download. 

If this still in plan i just wait because it would be easier to grab them and import to LB that way. 

 

Props for your hard work as always man. 

[eXo]

there will still be a merged pack. it will be version 4.0 though. Lots of changes coming to it. 

[vahacris]

Oh. If you said many changes i understand we should wait for it for a while... I dont know if i can ? all those games really seduce me. 

Please let me know if its a matter of weeks or months before droppin it? Im not bitchin for accurate date, just want to know if i can wait that much ?

 

Again big props man. If you ever conduct your plan with win 95 games collection you should get some official medal or something. 

[eXo]

I don't have an ETA yet. It won't be a few weeks.  Too much new stuff.

[vahacris]

On 9/21/2018 at 9:32 PM, eXo said:

I don't have an ETA yet. It won't be a few weeks.  Too much new stuff.

Last question ;] I understand that the new edition will be Launchbox compatible like v3.11 ?

If Yes I will patiently wait for it ;]

Salute

 

[eXo]

Yes, it will be packaged with launch box, however it will be launch box next rather than the older version I had packed v3.11 with.

[Rogerooo]

Hi! I've downloaded the v3.11 packs and want to merge them into my installation of LB. If I understand correctly the setup.bat included in each pack extracts a new instance of a complete Launchbox installation, however I already have one properly set up with my other systems, is it possible to merge the eXoDOS packs into it? Which files do I need to copy over and update my installation after running the setup.bat?