retroarch, emumovies, hdd and more retaled questions

[vgbox]

I just bought launchbox premium and i use it with retroarch (only for mame gaming atm) and my aim is eventually to have all possible content that lbp offers for arcade and consoles:

1. How do i reset retroarch shaders to the original default state?

2. Any recommended shaders for enhancement effects that do not hurt the credibility of the game graphics for mame gaming? I'm looking for perfectly balanced effects (i don't want my games to look like they are from old crt with those "weird" distortion, overly soft, etc. effects) with nice scanlines, accurate brightness, contrast, etc. Any recommended settings? My display is 42" led tv. Is it possible to make different display effects for each console and/or emulator?

3. How can i make my games play with right and left side bezel art ONLY while 4:3 aspect ratio is in between (top and bottom are taken by the game window)? This configuration makes perfect use of traditional16:9 display as there is no wasted space - saw a few youtube demonstrations, it looks really nice.

4. What is the difference between retroarch and rocketlauncher? Is there better solution than retroarch for lbp?

5. Does launchbox premium and emumovies (with all executive producer paid content) is everything i need to get every possible image/cabinet/videosnap/info, etc. that lbp and bigbox can display? Should i dl some files from other sites/trackers to complete the front end and make it look the best? Are there more content to dl from emumovies for lbp aside what lbp syncs from emumovies? Are there other beneficial addons for lbp/bigbox aside of retroarch? Is it worth buying em executive producer content?

5. Should i only dl non merge roms and chds for maximum compatibility with lbp for both arcade and consoles?

6. Is it recommended to use mame software list (mame console roms) with lbp?

7. how much storage space should i need to store all possible arcade and console non merged roms, chd, bios (assuming non merged roms are the ideal solution for lbp) including any other content (images, videosnaps, lbp and retroarch software, etc.)? I'm planning to buy a new hdd this year and  i need to know how much TB should i need. What is the ideal hdd settings? internal or external (i always prefer internal 3.5 type hdd's)? Is it recommended to split lbp content between several hdd's and/or virtual drives?

 

I have so many questions and that is after watching several tutorials... 

Thanks in advance.

Edited June 1, 2017 by vgbox

[SentaiBrad]

Set the RetroArch shader passes to 0 and apply changes.

RetroArch and MAME have Overlay packs that you can find, and there are tutorials online to get them set up. I haven't really done it personally, but it's really easy in MAME Standalone.

RetroArch and RocketLauncher are not the same things. RetroArch is the UI on top of Libretro, which you can consider the emulator all together (not completely accurate, but good enough for our purposes). RL is a backend system that you could use to plug in to LaunchBox, but it makes things much more complicated for very little added benefit. Some users still love to use RL, but I really do not find it useful enough for the trouble you have to go through adding it together. So RA all together is an emulator (we mostly ignore the front end features because we have LB, but you can consider the "Front End" part, also it's UI), and RL is a backend and not an emulator at all.

I don't know what you're referring to when you say Executive Producer Content. If you're referring to our Patreon, that only gets you the benefits posted on our Patreon page. That doesn't get or give you any bonus LaunchBox content. You do still get perks, but LaunchBox Premium is the only thing you'd need to get all of the program benefits. We would love it people pledged at our Patreon campaign, but it's totally optional. EmuMovies Premium gets you Video pretty much. You do obviously get the rest of their content, but a free account could get you all that content. You need LB Premium to even use video, but you could supply them manually if you wanted. They'd need to go in the proper folders and be named after the game name in LaunchBox or the rom file name. With it plugged in with EmuMovies, it downloads, gets set and named automatically for you. So it's an added convenience. You'll also get a Promo Code for EM when you purchase LaunchBox Premium. Neither database is complete, but most of your games should be found without too much tweaking. With a bit of tweaking, more will be found (remember, names aren't exact and sometimes things may not be found right away). There's tons of threads related to how our Database is scraped though.

If you have the space to share, a MAME non-merged rom pack offers the best compatability. There is only one MAME CHD pack, but you'll need that to play some games. Also tons more info on that in our forums (that goes for a lot of this I think...?).

You do not need to use MAME Software Lists at all. Regular roms work, but I wouldn't use MESS (inside of MAME) for every console. RetroArch has good coverage, then everything else could be a standalone emulator. I only use MESS for systems that don't otherwise have an emulator. I would also say to use MAME standalone as it's got a few advantages over RA MAME, and RA MESS (in MAME) is really convoluded and hard to manage. MESS in MAME Standalone is the easier option. There's a major thread about MESS that I made, and a few tutorials about MESS (replace MESS standalone that I talked about with regular MAME standalone now). Software lists are regular non-arcade roms for MESS. Any BIOS that you might need come in the MAME rom packs.

If all you want is MAME, a 1TB drive might cover you for LaunchBox, decked out with the media, and enough space for MAME. With the CHD and non-merged packs all said and done, you'd be looking at a decent chunk. 1TB might be a bit too much by a few hundred HD, but they're super cheap. If you want to go all out, I purchased an 8TB drive for my entire collection, but we're talking almost every system emulatable.

If you have any more questions, I'm sure a lot have been answered already on the forums and feel free to ask more.

[Lordmonkus]

For question #2 I suggest looking at the CRT-Aperture shader but you can try others in the CRT folder to try and find one that suits your tastes. And yes you can have different shaders per core.

[vgbox]

1. I tried some shaders returned it to 0 but the effect won't disappear even after i exit retroarch... How do i disable it? Its a colorful grid display show effect all around the game window. 

2. Any chance someone here know how to configure or where to dl these right and left bezel art in with 4:3 aspect ratio in between? I'm looking for a FULL mame roms bezel pack of these. Example: 

 

 

3. So it is better to use lbp with parent mame instead of ra mame. How do i make ra work with parent mame in lbp? How can i disable ra mame from loading games?

4. So what is the point of having ra? Only for controller mapping for the different emulators and possibly shaders configuration?

5. So ideal solution for lbp is mame non merged roms and mame chd (which is merged by default and the only option). Bios are not needed with mame non-merged roms, only with partial split or merged roms, i read. For other emulators, Does arcade boards/consoles like neo geo, cps2, megadrive, snes, etc. need their own roms, chd and bios devices files to be downloaded separately if played in their own unique emulators through lbp (not through mame) or can they use the mame software list roms/chd's/bios?

6. In case i buy hdd that will not have enough space to store all lbp arcade and console files, say, i buy only 3TB hdd: Will lbp operate perfectly fine in case the files it reads (roms, images, retroarch, etc.) are spread between different physical and virtual drives? 

I just purchased the unlimited emumovies downloads (45$ with lbp coupon code) with never needing to renew the account, That is what i mean by "executive producer": http://emumovies.com/acctupgrades/

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2017 by vgbox

[DOS76]

6 You can use multiple drives and even network drives to store roms in LB (we are going to drop the P because its the same regardless if you have premium or not)
5 Non-merged or Split (I personally don't understand the emphasis given to the non-merged as the split has always worked fine for me and is half the disc size) For things like Sega Genesis/Megadrive and NES you can use the software list roms in MAME but to use them in LB is a pain due to the naming that MAME uses for them not being supported in LB scraping. Most users just get regular roms and not many bother to emulate console systems through MAME unless it is the only viable option.
4 RA is a great program which offers more than just controller features and shaders it also emulates a few quite a few consoles that aren't supported in MAME yet.
3 By parent MAME I'm going to assume you mean the stand alone version  I'm kind of unclear on what you are trying to ask here
2 I don't use bezels so I'm not your guy for this one.
1 I've always just turned the pass to 0 and it worked don't know what would cause it to keep running it at 0

[SentaiBrad]

You need to set shader passes to 0 then hit apply like normal.

Standalone MAME isn't necessarily easier, but I prefer it. I do prefer RetroArch for everything, and we have a ton of tutorials on the matter. MESS, MAME, RetroArch, etc. Like the RetroArch starter tutorial. I get that it's long, but the last few segments aren't about getting them imported and running. They cover a few extra features. It's also a bit older, so replace it with the new RA, new button configs, etc, but it's still totally valid.

MAME non-merged or split work just fine. I am getting split again for .186 to see if it'll work for me now.

You can put your entire collection across drives, but it will work best if it's all on the same drive. If your roms, emulators and LaunchBox are on the same drive it uses relative paths. If LaunchBox is on one drive, and your roms and emulators are on another, it uses absolute paths. Relative paths are the key to making LaunchBox truly portable.

[vgbox]

What features are recommended for 3.5" internal hdd jam packed with launch-box, emulators, non-merged roms including any other additional files (and also maybe a few modern pc games) for playing while also sharing the roms and chd in a torrent tracker? Any specific features i should look for? I think in direction of 3-5TB, it may only store mame related files but i think that its good enough for start.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2017 by vgbox

[DOS76]

3-5TB for MAME is more than enough

[SentaiBrad]

3TB might even be over. I would go with larger, that way you can get other systems if you're interested or just in case. You can use the rest of the size to store other stuff if you want.

[vgbox]

I wasn't clear enough i think.

1. I want to have all emulators and roms (mame and all console emulators that exist) including all additional files with launch box (video snaps, images, additional software, etc.). I estimate something like 8TB (?) could be enough for it all but i think i will grab one of the latest 4TB seagate barracuda internal 3.5" hdd for start and add 1-2 more drives in the future. Anyone has experience with that hdd? Also, i heard 3TB and 5TB are not recommended because reports of drive issues. Only 2TB and 4TB are recommended. I don't know how accurate this is.

2. I'm a bit concerned of not having a backup drive but i take the risk... Does lb and emumovies have any backup features? I have lb premium and also emumovies "executive producer" (the unlimited dl) account. How do you backup all your emulation related files if at all?

[jayjay]

Mame, N64, NDS, NES, Snes, GB, GBC, GBA, GC, WiiWare, Wii(incomplete), Sega 32x, CD, GG, Gen, MS, Saturn, PS1, PSP, PSP mini... 5TB, got 1TB space left.

 

Pc games under console platforms. x360 /ps3 -150 games, xbox arcade 300 games, xbox one/ps4 - 40 games, windows 40 games. 5TB, got 100gb left. 

 

Backup your own stuff. 

[neil9000]

4 minutes ago, jayjay said:

Mame, N64, NDS, NES, Snes, GB, GBC, GBA, GC, WiiWare, Wii(incomplete), Sega 32x, CD, GG, Gen, MS, Saturn, PS1, PSP, PSP mini... 5TB, got 1TB space left.

 

Pc games under console platforms. x360 /ps3 -150 games, xbox arcade 300 games, xbox one/ps4 - 40 games, windows 40 games. 5TB, got 100gb left. 

 

Backup your own stuff. 

Amazon drive does cheap unlimited storage, not sure where you are, but it's £55 a year here, for unlimited storage, so that's a good choice for backup, something big, not connected to your PC or network.

[vgbox]

@jayjay

That is cheering! There is hope! lol. 

...wait a sec... does your calculations for mame 5TB drive include mame non-merged roms, and for both drives all rom sets of all listed emulations and any other related lb files like videosnaps, all kinds of the images, etc.)?

If so than that means i could pack all mame related plus a dozen of consoles related files similar to what you listed with just my intended 4TB drive which i think is great for start. The first consoles i will pack in aside of mame is sms, nintendo, genesis, super nintendo, mega cd, 32x, saturn, nintendo 64, dreamcast, gamecube, ps1, ps2. These are the highest in my priority list, the nostalgia, childhood memories... I'm excited to play all from lb. Sms is the first console i had, i'm a gamer since the 80's...

@neil9000

Thank for the info, i will check it out.

[neil9000]

I have everything up to PSX on a 1TB HDD Everything  mame will be about 600GB tops. 

Obviously everything gets much bigger when you hit psx, as it all started getting put on disk.

[DOS76]

My PS2 folder is 4TB alone.

[DOS76]

Also if you get the software list CHD files in your MAME set it will be much larger than 600GB but if you don't get the softlists that's an accurate estimation.

[neil9000]

Yep what @DOS76 said.

 

[jayjay]

56 minutes ago, neil9000 said:

Amazon drive does cheap unlimited storage, not sure where you are, but it's £55 a year here, for unlimited storage, so that's a good choice for backup, something big, not connected to your PC or network.

Considering how expensive this is becoming I might consider this when I finish sorting out media and meta, so in about 15 years time.

 

27 minutes ago, vgbox said:

snip

Sorry, my mame is only 50gb, 29000 files.

 

My media: have 15000 games, Im prob missing about 3000/4000 vids (my best estimate), I have front cover, back cover, clear logo. Fan art just for x360/one/ps3/ps4/etc. But am still missing some of those as well. But they are stored on my c: which is a SSD. 250gb, have just under 100gb left.

 

I havent got any ps2, im missing maybe 500 wii games, only have 20 wiiu. I have a 4tb for movies. I need 5tb for tv series. Im almost out of space for more games and still have a long way to go yet. Still have over 1tb of pc games archived... all these games I'll never play... this gets addictive.

 

Edited June 7, 2017 by jayjay

[vgbox]

Well, i'll settle for full mame (minus mame software list roms as i read stand alone console emulation is better than what mame console emulation offers right now) and some of the consoles i listed. Again, i mean EVERY single related file that exists that can be configured, presented and played from lb for mame and console emulation, that includes full rom sets (among them, mame non-merged roms) and full chd as well.

Hopefully i'll grab seagate barracuda 4TB this week.

[neil9000]

I have a seagate Barracuda in my rig it's a 1TB, and to be fair it is still working good guns for me (it's about 5-6 years old). I have also though had really big problems with seagate drives, if i was you i would spend a little extra and get a WD drive.