SteamLauncher

[Mantis]

For some reason the new version doesn't work at all. I was using an older version that worked fine yesterday. When it stopped loading RetroArch today I figured I'd look for a new SteamLauncher, and indeed, there are major changes. The problem with the old plugin occurred right after a LaunchBox update I was prompted to download/install today.

I followed all of the instructions. LaunchBox isn't installed on the system drive and I didn't have the DLL blocking problem. Unfortunately the new SteamLauncher does not work either. I wondered if somehow RetroArch had broken. After turning off that Steam toggle, games load fine. I tried loading with Steam both with the toggle on and off. No dice. I haven't tried deleting (or moving or renaming) the config yet as it doesn't appear to be problematic but I will paste it here in case that helps.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<SteamLauncherConfig>
  <DebugLogEnabled>false</DebugLogEnabled>
  <PreventSteamFocusStealing>true</PreventSteamFocusStealing>
  <UniversalSteamLaunching>true</UniversalSteamLaunching>
  <ProcessStartTimeoutSec>10</ProcessStartTimeoutSec>
  <ProcessWatcherPollingIntervalSec>2</ProcessWatcherPollingIntervalSec>
  <TotalSecondsToPreventSteamFocus>6</TotalSecondsToPreventSteamFocus>
  <DosBoxScummVmProxySleepMs>400</DosBoxScummVmProxySleepMs>
  <CustomPlatformNames>
    <Platform Name="Super Nintendo Entertainment System" Custom="SNES" />
    <Platform Name="Nintendo 64" Custom="N64" />
    <Platform Name="Nintendo GameCube" Custom="GC" />
    <Platform Name="Nintendo Game Boy" Custom="GB" />
    <Platform Name="Nintendo Game Boy Color" Custom="GBC" />
    <Platform Name="Sony PSP" Custom="PSP" />
    <Platform Name="Sega Genesis" Custom="MD" />
    <Platform Name="Sega Dreamcast" Custom="DC" />
    <Platform Name="Sony Playstation" Custom="PS1" />
  </CustomPlatformNames>
  <LauncherToExeDefinitions />
  <RepairPaths />
  <DosBoxExeNeedsRepair>false</DosBoxExeNeedsRepair>
  <ScummVmExeNeedsRepair>false</ScummVmExeNeedsRepair>
</SteamLauncherConfig>

I tried adding you on Steam as that was your first support suggestion but hadn't heard back.

[Lahma]

1 hour ago, Mantis said:

For some reason the new version doesn't work at all. I was using an older version that worked fine yesterday. When it stopped loading RetroArch today I figured I'd look for a new SteamLauncher, and indeed, there are major changes. The problem with the old plugin occurred right after a LaunchBox update I was prompted to download/install today.

I followed all of the instructions. LaunchBox isn't installed on the system drive and I didn't have the DLL blocking problem. Unfortunately the new SteamLauncher does not work either. I wondered if somehow RetroArch had broken. After turning off that Steam toggle, games load fine. I tried loading with Steam both with the toggle on and off. No dice. I haven't tried deleting (or moving or renaming) the config yet as it doesn't appear to be problematic but I will paste it here in case that helps.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<SteamLauncherConfig>
  <DebugLogEnabled>false</DebugLogEnabled>
  <PreventSteamFocusStealing>true</PreventSteamFocusStealing>
  <UniversalSteamLaunching>true</UniversalSteamLaunching>
  <ProcessStartTimeoutSec>10</ProcessStartTimeoutSec>
  <ProcessWatcherPollingIntervalSec>2</ProcessWatcherPollingIntervalSec>
  <TotalSecondsToPreventSteamFocus>6</TotalSecondsToPreventSteamFocus>
  <DosBoxScummVmProxySleepMs>400</DosBoxScummVmProxySleepMs>
  <CustomPlatformNames>
    <Platform Name="Super Nintendo Entertainment System" Custom="SNES" />
    <Platform Name="Nintendo 64" Custom="N64" />
    <Platform Name="Nintendo GameCube" Custom="GC" />
    <Platform Name="Nintendo Game Boy" Custom="GB" />
    <Platform Name="Nintendo Game Boy Color" Custom="GBC" />
    <Platform Name="Sony PSP" Custom="PSP" />
    <Platform Name="Sega Genesis" Custom="MD" />
    <Platform Name="Sega Dreamcast" Custom="DC" />
    <Platform Name="Sony Playstation" Custom="PS1" />
  </CustomPlatformNames>
  <LauncherToExeDefinitions />
  <RepairPaths />
  <DosBoxExeNeedsRepair>false</DosBoxExeNeedsRepair>
  <ScummVmExeNeedsRepair>false</ScummVmExeNeedsRepair>
</SteamLauncherConfig>

I tried adding you on Steam as that was your first support suggestion but hadn't heard back.

Hey @Mantis, I saw and accepted your friend request on Steam and we chatted for a min, but apparently your battery was about to die. Msg me again whenever you get back on and we will get your problem figured out asap. Hopefully there isn't some problem with the latest LaunchBox version as I actually haven't updated to the latest version myself. I'm actually going to do that right now just to be sure. I don't imagine that has anything to do with your problems since a LaunchBox update has never broken compatibility with the plugin before, but I guess its not outside the realm of possibility. I will talk to you in just a bit.

[Lahma]

Looks like the new update is working well (regardless of whether you're using the latest version of LaunchBox or not) for everyone I've talked to so far. Please let me know if you are having any issues.

Edited June 18, 2019 by Lahma

[JedExodus]

Lahma thank you v much for the new version, it works a dream. I may have been one of the ones who downloaded the version that you pulled, (i'm in Ireland so the times line up) but it seems to work a treat regardless. Only home from work now so will change over to the new one.

If you want a tester for the pause screens (which I love btw for the save states) i'll be more than happy to muck in. Sent you a friend request on Steam so drop us a line. Thank you again, you utter legend!

 

[JunkRunner]

Just wondering if this works for DosBox. I’m using eXoDOS and that launches DosBox via a batch file. Any hints on how this plugin works internally (is the latest code on github or something)? So I can figure this out...

[Lahma]

16 minutes ago, JedExodus said:

Lahma thank you v much for the new version, it works a dream. I may have been one of the ones who downloaded the version that you pulled, (i'm in Ireland so the times line up) but it seems to work a treat regardless. Only home from work now so will change over to the new one.

If you want a tester for the pause screens (which I love btw for the save states) i'll be more than happy to muck in. Sent you a friend request on Steam so drop us a line. Thank you again, you utter legend!

 

Thanks for the kind words! I got you on my friends list and whenever I'm ready to start testing the pause screens, I will definitely hit you up.

[Lahma]

3 minutes ago, JunkRunner said:

Just wondering if this works for DosBox. I’m using eXoDOS and that launches DosBox via a batch file. Any hints on how this plugin works internally (is the latest code on github or something)? So I can figure this out...

The plugin has support for LB's internal DosBox implementation (took a lot of time to add actually). Unfortunately, I have not yet uploaded the latest version of the plugin to GitHub.. I definitely need to do this, and I will try to do it as soon as possible. I'm not familiar with exactly how eXoDOS works, but if it is a launcher exe that then runs a bat file to launch the DosBox game, then you should be able to make it function with the plugin. First, I would just try it and see if it it works, if it doesn't, post back here, and I will give you a couple of easy things to try which should make it work (there are some specific settings you can use in the plugin's config.xml to make the plugin work with "launcher" exes).

[JunkRunner]

It’s a launcher bat file, I guess. The issue is probably that the batch file runs a few exe’s and then eventually DosBox. 

[JunkRunner]

I’ve tried it without the eXoDOS bat file by using launchbox’s Built in DosBox function, still no joy. I’ll upgrade Launchbox to the latest version (9.6 at the moment) and try again. But something is off... I’m assuming that when I hit the guide button I should get the steam overlay?

[Lahma]

On 6/18/2019 at 8:32 PM, JunkRunner said:

I’ve tried it without the eXoDOS bat file by using launchbox’s Built in DosBox function, still no joy. I’ll upgrade Launchbox to the latest version (9.6 at the moment) and try again. But something is off... I’m assuming that when I hit the guide button I should get the steam overlay?

The problem could be a few things... First and foremost, you must ensure that the game you're playing uses a graphics API that the Steam overlay supports. Currently, the Steam overlay supports DirectX 7 - 12, OpenGL, Metal, and Vulkan. It does not support software rasterization. Your best bet is to set the DosBox renderer to OpenGL. You can do this by opening the game's .conf file and setting the 'output' variable to 'opengl'. It should look like this:

output=opengl

Alternatively, you can just set this variable in the dosbox.conf so that it is applied to all games (you can find LB's built-in DosBox conf file at "LaunchBox\DOSBox\dosbox.conf".

If you see a black screen when starting a game, press 'ALT+ENTER' and the game should show up. I just tried playing DOOM using LB's built-in DOSBox and it worked perfectly, Steam overlay and all (note: I changed the output variable in the dosbox.conf file). You can bring up the Steam overlay using your keyboard by pressing "SHIFT+TAB". Try using the built-in DosBox using these instructions and see if you can get it to work. Once we get that working, I can help you to get eXoDOS working.

[JunkRunner]

I’ve now got a slightly different issue which I need to solve first. When I try to launch via steam I get an exception saying that SteamLauncher.XmlSerializers dependency is not found. 

Which is weird as it was working before. I’ve tried it on 2 machines with the same results. 

 

Games that we’re launching properly before now just times out with that exception. 

I can also only get the overlay working with DosBox Daum. I’m using doom as my test game...

i can get it to put black bands at the top and bottom of the screen for other DosBox builds, I suspect it’s the render pipeline that’s not compatible. 

Getting the launcher proxy to work again would be a good start. 

[Lahma]

14 minutes ago, JunkRunner said:

I’ve now got a slightly different issue which I need to solve first. When I try to launch via steam I get an exception saying that SteamLauncher.XmlSerializers dependency is not found. 

Which is weird as it was working before. I’ve tried it on 2 machines with the same results. 

 

Games that we’re launching properly before now just times out with that exception. 

I can also only get the overlay working with DosBox Daum. I’m using doom as my test game...

i can get it to put black bands at the top and bottom of the screen for other DosBox builds, I suspect it’s the render pipeline that’s not compatible. 

Getting the launcher proxy to work again would be a good start. 

Being that I've never heard of anyone having this error before, including numerous people who've installed the latest plugin update, its kind of inexplicable that this would happen to you on 2 unrelated machines simultaneously... unless it is related to specific software that you have installed on both machines... What version of Windows are you running? If you're on Windows 10, what version/update are you running? How are you seeing this exception? Does it pop up in a msg box or are you simply seeing it in debug output in something like Dbgview.exe? 

[JunkRunner]

If you could push the code to github I’ll attach visual studio to the process to track it down. 

 

I see the exception is the LaunchBox logs. 

I’m also seeing permissions issues with the DosBox-sl-delete.exe proxy copy. 

One machine is on the latest win 10 updates, the other is lagging behind a bit. 

Both latest version of steam. I’ve tried LaunchBox 9.6 and 9.9

On one machine I’m running the software on a micro sd. The other is on an external hdd. 

It was working for non dos games at some point, but now works for neither...

 

is is there any hidden registers entries you add?

 

also the debug logs for the proxy is not being created. 

[Lahma]

If you can't figure out why you're getting that exception despite continued troubleshooting, I might be able to explicitly generate that assembly for you to put into your SteamLauncher directory... It would only be a band-aid for a more serious problem that you have on your machine(s). Assemblies that use an XmlSerializer automatically generate the assembly on the fly using JIT, and I don't have any clue what could prevent your machine from doing that successfully outside of some really strange anti-virus setup or something. I haven't looked into it, but I suspect there is someway to forcibly generate that assembly for testing purposes... and that may temporarily patch the error you're seeing (but again, this is indicative of some larger issue on your machine in relation to .NET assemblies). Let me know if you figure anything out and if need be, I can look into this...

[JunkRunner]

It’s very odd that it’s both machines. I just use the built in av. 

What’s really weird is that it used to work. I was wondering if it was an update of some sort that messed with it. It might be a wider permissions issue, seeing as how I keep coming back to it. How ever the permissions are open to everyone with full control...

if you push the code to github, I’ll see what I can figure out, when I get enough spare time. 

[Lahma]

11 minutes ago, JunkRunner said:

If you could push the code to github I’ll attach visual studio to the process to track it down. 

 

I see the exception is the LaunchBox logs. 

I’m also seeing permissions issues with the DosBox-sl-delete.exe proxy copy. 

One machine is on the latest win 10 updates, the other is lagging behind a bit. 

Both latest version of steam. I’ve tried LaunchBox 9.6 and 9.9

On one machine I’m running the software on a micro sd. The other is on an external hdd. 

It was working for non dos games at some point, but now works for neither...

 

is is there any hidden registers entries you add?

 

also the debug logs for the proxy is not being created. 

Again... All of these problems seem to indicate some other problem... No, there are no registry entries used with the plugin. If you've changed the config.xml entry to (config.xml must be edited while LB is closed):

<DebugLogEnabled>true</DebugLogEnabled>

and you're still not seeing a debug.log file being created after you restart LB then it could be a number of things. The first and most obvious thing to check (which people do constantly despite being absolutely sure they haven't) is to ensure that there are not 2 copies of the plugin ANYWHERE within the LaunchBox directory structure (in the LaunchBox root directory or any of its subdirectories). If you have 2 copies of SteamLauncher.dll anywhere within the LaunchBox directory structure simultaneously, very weird things are going to happen (such as config.xml changes seemingly not "taking hold", debug logs not being output, etc and so on). You will also see multiple weird exceptions that are actually unrelated to the root problem. This would be my first guess as to what the problem is... If you are absolutely positive that this isn't the case, let me know, and we can continue troubleshooting. 

Note: Like I said before, I will do my best to get the source code pushed out to GitHub asap. I've got a million things going on this afternoon, but perhaps later tonight or this weekend... but no promises. 

 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Lahma

[JunkRunner]

It’s very odd that it’s both machines. I just use the built in av. 

What’s really weird is that it used to work. I was wondering if it was an update of some sort that messed with it. It might be a wider permissions issue, seeing as how I keep coming back to it. How ever the permissions are open to everyone with full control...

if you push the code to github, I’ll see what I can figure out, when I get enough spare time. 

[JunkRunner]

The plot thickens, I checked for duplicate plugs ins, but found none. Then I decided to remove all plugins, run LaunchBox to verify nothing was present and added the plugin back. I ran LaunchBox without steam and the proxy started up and the game ran. How ever it’s back to square 1 now. 

I did briefly see a rogue LaunchBox process while trying to remove another plugin. 

 

Ill do more digging and update as appropriate, I thought I had a workaround for a minute, but I was clearly wrong... I’ll try on the faster machine later, I wonder if it might be a timing issue or potentially some weird race condition...

[Lahma]

It sounds like multiple copies of the plugin are loaded.. A 2nd LaunchBox process running would explain that perfectly... Although I can't say I've ever seen 2 instances of LaunchBox running simultaneously... Clearly you have something strange going on. Btw, to use the plugin you need to have Steam running when you open LB. If you close or restart Steam while LB is running, you must restart LB. There is a lot of very complex logic going on under the hood... LB does not facilitate what my plugin does in any way.. I'm fighting against LB at every step to do what the plugin needs to do to accomplish its purpose.

[JunkRunner]

I figured that to be the case. I just ran it without steam at the time to ensure the proxy actually kicks off. I wonder if me alt tabbing might be screwing with it too, I’ll do more digging.

 

How ever multiple instances shouldn’t cause the issue as the ddls should be loaded in proc, not like the old com days...

 

Edited June 20, 2019 by JunkRunner