8.3-beta-1 Released

[Drybonz]

The beta download is stuck at about 30% for me.

[glaymore]

Adjustable sidebar width, that's great news! I really prefer my sidebar narrow.

However, the sidebar now looks a bit weird, as if an area right below the icons is occupied by something invisible, and the game name wraps to the left. Looks kind of unnatural.Not sure if this behavior is new in Next 8.3; but I never noticed it before.

Probably it could be changed?

[Mr. RetroLust]

@Jason Carr I do notice in this beta that the setting for fade background doesn't make any changes, the background image has no fading applied to it, do you notice the same or is it my settings? I do have unchecked everything in 'background priorities' and 'default background' set to use launchbox default background.

Ps I cant believe how super smooth and fast it is now in comparison with regular launchbox and a huge (mame at the moment) library, thank you again, really happy with this  

[Drybonz]

16 hours ago, Drybonz said:

The beta download is stuck at about 30% for me.

I tried again today and the whole thing downloaded.

For the game details... I agree with Lordmonkus, it looks cleaner and more symmetrical in the original style.

I would move the slider/scroll bar for the games area to the right of the game details.  It looks weird wedged in between the two areas (or maybe just some blank space between the game thumbnails and scrollbar).

Another note... it would be nice if Launchbox would pre-build the thumbnail cache so that any time it needs rebuilt, you wouldn't have to scroll through them to get them to build as they scroll onto the screen, but would already be built so you could just cleanly scroll through the images.  It seems like it needs to rebuild them frequently.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Drybonz

[Mr. RetroLust]

@Jason Carr One last thought, I don't know if you are already planning this but I personally have a hard time to quickly navigate my eyes to the data I'm specifically looking for as all the text is in one color, might it be possible to add an option to  alternate/colorize the data columns? Maybe even together when you change the theme color, see below for an example of what I mean, in my opinion it would really benefit the readability and design.

Like it is now:

Alternate column color example (it's not a very nice color in this case but at least you know what I mean):

[Retro808]

5 hours ago, Mr. RetroLust said:

@Jason Carr I do notice in this beta that the setting for fade background doesn't make any changes, the background image has no fading applied to it, do you notice the same or is it my settings? I do have unchecked everything in 'background priorities' and 'default background' set to use launchbox default background.

Ps I cant believe how super smooth and fast it is now in comparison with regular launchbox and a huge (mame at the moment) library, thank you again, really happy with this  

It lis likely Jason has not gotten the fade background option working yet. He did advise in the first post that he still has a bunch of little things to get up and running before he launches Next as an official release. So you can definitely count on it will be coming. 

[Mr. RetroLust]

36 minutes ago, Retro808 said:

It lis likely Jason has not gotten the fade background option working yet. He did advise in the first post that he still has a bunch of little things to get up and running before he launches Next as an official release. So you can definitely count on it will be coming. 

Thanks for your reaction, ah ok I thought I mention it as feedback in case it got overlooked.

[ckp]

On 4/27/2018 at 1:49 PM, Lordmonkus said:

https://media.giphy.com/media/7Tvt38mOvtBxC/giphy.gif

Aww man, the older way looks much better, oh well i'll get to tweaking it when you let us.

I'm with Lordmonkus. 

[ALIE]

@Jason Carr got this error.

 

he given key was not present in the dictionary.

App:     Big Box
Version: 8.3-beta-1
Type:    System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException
Site:    Void ThrowKeyNotFoundException()
Source:  mscorlib

   at System.ThrowHelper.ThrowKeyNotFoundException()
   at System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2.get_Item(TKey key)
   at Ao.Bigbox.Utils.Db.LaunchboxData.GetPlatformInfo(String name)
   at Ao.Bigbox.Plugins.PlatformMetadataIcons.DoOnSelectionChanged(FilterType filterType, String filterValue, IPlatform platform, IPlatformCategory category, IPlaylist playlist, IGame game)
   at Ao.Bigbox.Plugins.AbstractMetadataIcons.OnSelectionChanged(FilterType filterType, String filterValue, IPlatform platform, IPlatformCategory category, IPlaylist playlist, IGame game)
   at (<>c__DisplayClass25_0 )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf.ChildViewModelBase.<>c__DisplayClass25_0.<OnPluginSelectionChanged>b__0()
   at System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherOperation.InvokeDelegateCore()
   at System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherOperation.InvokeImpl()
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
   at System.Runtime.ExceptionServices.ExceptionDispatchInfo.Throw()
   at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.TaskAwaiter.HandleNonSuccessAndDebuggerNotification(Task task)
   at System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherOperation.Wait(TimeSpan timeout)
   at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.InvokeImpl(DispatcherOperation operation, CancellationToken cancellationToken, TimeSpan timeout)
   at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.Invoke(Action callback, DispatcherPriority priority, CancellationToken cancellationToken, TimeSpan timeout)
   at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.Invoke(Action callback, DispatcherPriority priority)
   at (Action , DispatcherPriority )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf.Threading.Invoke(Action callback, DispatcherPriority priority)
   at (ChildViewModelBase , FilterType , String , Platform , Game )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf.ChildViewModelBase.OnPluginSelectionChanged(FilterType filterType, String filterValue, Platform platform, Game game)
   at (PlatformFiltersViewModelBase , Object )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf.BigBox.ViewModels.PlatformFiltersViewModelBase.<SelectionChangedTimerElapsed>b__11_0(Object state)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.QueueUserWorkItemCallback.System.Threading.IThreadPoolWorkItem.ExecuteWorkItem()
   at System.Threading.ThreadPoolWorkQueue.Dispatch()

Recent Log:

   10:02:40 PM Music.Resume Start
   10:02:40 PM Music.Pause Start
   10:02:40 PM Music.Resume Start
   10:02:44 PM Music.Initialize Start
   22:02:44 Music.Kill Start
   22:02:44 Music.Kill Finished
   10:02:54 PM Exception

[Jason Carr]

On 4/27/2018 at 2:53 PM, DOS76 said:

I'm having issues where if I launch a game in Dolphin the sound from LBN video doesn't stop playing. Going to switch my video player to see if it changes anything.

Good to know; added to my list.

On 4/28/2018 at 7:13 AM, glaymore said:

Adjustable sidebar width, that's great news! I really prefer my sidebar narrow.

However, the sidebar now looks a bit weird, as if an area right below the icons is occupied by something invisible, and the game name wraps to the left. Looks kind of unnatural.Not sure if this behavior is new in Next 8.3; but I never noticed it before.

Probably it could be changed?

I've added this to my list as well, though we have plenty of more important things to do before I'll likely be able to come back to it.

On 4/28/2018 at 2:03 PM, Mr. RetroLust said:

@Jason Carr One last thought, I don't know if you are already planning this but I personally have a hard time to quickly navigate my eyes to the data I'm specifically looking for as all the text is in one color, might it be possible to add an option to  alternate/colorize the data columns? Maybe even together when you change the theme color, see below for an example of what I mean, in my opinion it would really benefit the readability and design.

Like it is now:

Alternate column color example (it's not a very nice color in this case but at least you know what I mean):

Same here; I like this idea but it will likely be a while.

On 4/28/2018 at 4:54 PM, Retro808 said:

It lis likely Jason has not gotten the fade background option working yet. He did advise in the first post that he still has a bunch of little things to get up and running before he launches Next as an official release. So you can definitely count on it will be coming. 

Yup.

 

On 4/30/2018 at 1:05 PM, ALIE said:

@Jason Carr got this error.

 

he given key was not present in the dictionary.

App:     Big Box
Version: 8.3-beta-1
Type:    System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException
Site:    Void ThrowKeyNotFoundException()
Source:  mscorlib

   at System.ThrowHelper.ThrowKeyNotFoundException()
   at System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2.get_Item(TKey key)
   at Ao.Bigbox.Utils.Db.LaunchboxData.GetPlatformInfo(String name)
   at Ao.Bigbox.Plugins.PlatformMetadataIcons.DoOnSelectionChanged(FilterType filterType, String filterValue, IPlatform platform, IPlatformCategory category, IPlaylist playlist, IGame game)
   at Ao.Bigbox.Plugins.AbstractMetadataIcons.OnSelectionChanged(FilterType filterType, String filterValue, IPlatform platform, IPlatformCategory category, IPlaylist playlist, IGame game)
   at (<>c__DisplayClass25_0 )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf.ChildViewModelBase.<>c__DisplayClass25_0.<OnPluginSelectionChanged>b__0()
   at System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherOperation.InvokeDelegateCore()
   at System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherOperation.InvokeImpl()
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
   at System.Runtime.ExceptionServices.ExceptionDispatchInfo.Throw()
   at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.TaskAwaiter.HandleNonSuccessAndDebuggerNotification(Task task)
   at System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherOperation.Wait(TimeSpan timeout)
   at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.InvokeImpl(DispatcherOperation operation, CancellationToken cancellationToken, TimeSpan timeout)
   at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.Invoke(Action callback, DispatcherPriority priority, CancellationToken cancellationToken, TimeSpan timeout)
   at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.Invoke(Action callback, DispatcherPriority priority)
   at (Action , DispatcherPriority )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf.Threading.Invoke(Action callback, DispatcherPriority priority)
   at (ChildViewModelBase , FilterType , String , Platform , Game )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf.ChildViewModelBase.OnPluginSelectionChanged(FilterType filterType, String filterValue, Platform platform, Game game)
   at (PlatformFiltersViewModelBase , Object )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf.BigBox.ViewModels.PlatformFiltersViewModelBase.<SelectionChangedTimerElapsed>b__11_0(Object state)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.QueueUserWorkItemCallback.System.Threading.IThreadPoolWorkItem.ExecuteWorkItem()
   at System.Threading.ThreadPoolWorkQueue.Dispatch()

Recent Log:

   10:02:40 PM Music.Resume Start
   10:02:40 PM Music.Pause Start
   10:02:40 PM Music.Resume Start
   10:02:44 PM Music.Initialize Start
   22:02:44 Music.Kill Start
   22:02:44 Music.Kill Finished
   10:02:54 PM Exception

This looks to be a bug with the Ao.Bigbox plugin, as it seems to be assuming incorrectly that a particular platform exists.

[Jason Carr]

Thanks for all the feedback guys; all noted. Beta 2 is out now with two new features:

- New Feature: The Launch With functions will now allow you to choose a core when launching Retroarch

- New Feature: Managing the Retroarch emulator is now much easier with drop downs for the cores and notifications for missing cores

The Launch With stuff is not yet in Big Box or LaunchBox.Next (only LaunchBox), but will be coming soon to those as well. I'm particularly interested in feedback on the new Retroarch core management stuff, as it's kind of tricky and I'm curious to know if anyone runs into any hitches or restrictions. Testing from a new install, adding cores, etc. would be great. Let me know how it goes.

LaunchBox.Next development is in progress of course, but there's nothing new there for this beta.

[DOS76]

Okay grabbed the new beta went to N64 right clicked a game went to Launch with choose RA only got the mupen core as an option and not the parallel core. So not working correctly for me unless I have to do something in LB to get it to see other cores. I checked in RA and yes I do have both cores already downloaded

[Jason Carr]

4 minutes ago, DOS76 said:

Okay grabbed the new beta went to N64 right clicked a game went to Launch with choose RA only got the mupen core as an option and not the parallel core. So not working correctly for me unless I have to do something in LB to get it to see other cores. I checked in RA and yes I do have both cores already downloaded

The cores do need to be configured properly in the Retroarch emulator. It doesn't automatically find all cores from your folder. They have to be added in the emulator dialog. The emulator dialog does allow you to add more than one core for a particular platform.

[Jason Carr]

So the next feature we're looking to tackle from the poll for this release is further Retro Achievements integration. Looking for some brainstorming here:

 

[DOS76]

4 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

The cores do need to be configured properly in the Retroarch emulator. It doesn't automatically find all cores from your folder. They have to be added in the emulator dialog. The emulator dialog does allow you to add more than one core for a particular platform.

Yeah just figured out that you had to associate a second time for more than one core to show up in the options

[DOS76]

I like the drop downs too great work there

[DOS76]

I do see one thing that is concerning though you now don't have the ability to add a -c config as a system wide option as its only a drop down now with no ability to type in there. Plus any core I have a config set for is listed as missing the core I'm about to test and see if they even work.

[Zombeaver]

1 minute ago, DOS76 said:

I do see one thing that is concerning though you now don't have the ability to add a -c config as a system wide option as its only a drop down now with no ability to type in there.

Uhhh... yeah that's a pretty big deal if that's the case. I use -c for quite a few platforms. Any time you have one core that you're using for multiple platforms (like Genesis Plus GX for Genesis/MS/CD etc.) you'll need separate configs if you want them to have separate overlays/shaders/whatever per platform, which you're specifying with -c "config\[name].cfg".

[DOS76]

yeah any system with a -c config is broken and doesn't launch

 

[DOS76]

I believe for the genesis plus gx cores though there are already -c options in the dropdowns included but for Sameboy which I'm using different overlays for that isn't an option.