Hacks, Unl, Translations, and Launchbox Sorting (Add to Additional Apps on Import)?

[fromlostdays]

I'm curating my hacks, unlicensed, bootleg and translations roms. Ideally, I'd like to have launchbox add them to additional apps on import.

I've been renaming them to include the Game name first, then the subsequent information in this order:

Game name - Hack Name (Reigion) (Unlicensed) (Hack) (Bootleg) (English Translation)

e.g Sonic The Hedgehog - Bugfix (Hack)

However, launchbox doesn't seem to want to add it as an additional app to Sonic the Hedgehog (the main entry, already imported)

I can't find any real info on how launchbox determines the naming required for the "Combine games with the same title into one entry" option.

I tried renaming thusly, assuming that everything but the actual gamename should be in parenthesis:

Sonic The Hedgehog (Bugfix) (Hack) 

But unless I'm doing something wrong that doesn't seem to work either. It just doesn't import at all, regardless of whether "force duplicate entries" is ticked.

Can someone break this down for me, or is it the case that I should delete the game, and then reimport the game and the hack at the same time?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by fromlostdays

[DeadVoivod]

As far as I know LB omits everything in brackets, thus your game will be called Sonic the Hedgehog. Try perhaps a different form of name, without brackets to see if it then works. I didn’t try as I skipped all my hacks in LB. 

[fromlostdays]

After much testing and strangely mixed results, I can't find any naming that will consistently merge the hacks to the main entry on import. However, I was able to set everything up how I wanted with just a little manual intervention. Remember my intention was to have these extra files as additional apps, not as additional entries to the system, so no art or metadata etc.  With that said here's how I did it:

• First, name your hacks etc in this way:

            Game Name (Hack Name) (Any Extra Tags)

            e.g Chrono Trigger (Prophets Guile) (Hack).sfc

The main point here is to have the correct game name first, and to have all other relevant information behind the first parenthesis as everything after the first ( is what will show as the title under additional apps. Though technically this process will work regardless of naming, that's just been my best practice so far.

• Now import the hack into launchbox under the relevant system, but 

1. Do not match to the LB database
2. Do not search for art
3. Do not tick "combine Roms with matching names into a single title" as for me this was not working consistently.
4. Do not tick "Force importing duplicate games"

What you are left with after import is an entirely new entry in your system that will have no art or metadata, but will show sequentially next to your main game entry.

• Highlight both entries, right click, and select Combine Selected Games
• Tell it that you want your main entry to be the root game

Viola. Using the above hack as an example I now have an additional app to Chrono Trigger called (Prophets Guile) (Hack) that is set up and ready to launch. It's a little more involved than just being able to import a massive hack list, but it does work. 

Warning: This method does create an extra additional app for some reason that is identical to the main entry. I don't think this is expected behavior, but combining two games seems to always create two additional apps, one for the hack, and one for the existing game entry. 

Hope it helps. 

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by fromlostdays

[DeadVoivod]

Thanks for letting us now. 

Might have tried to consolidate ROMs, could have worked perhaps? 

[fromlostdays]

That's a good idea... but honestly I'm wary of doing it. I think that the combine all feature was more aimed at multidisk than hacks, so I don't know how it gauges what will become the "main" entry, and I have so many NES hacks haha. If it automatically makes one of the hacked versions the main entry I could wind up with having to correct a lot of entries. But, maybe later I'll try adding a few in bulk, I just wont import them all haha, and see what the results are. I'll report back. 

[zoemorn]

I tried this (i think, if i followed your direction correctly) and keep getting "0 games were imported successfully"

tried this with the Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest Redaction hack

i renamed the hack game file to be Castlevania II - Simon's Quest (Redaction)(HACK).zip  (all mine are zips and rest work fine) ..and had LB not try to match for any data etc like you directed.

 

i'll keep playing around with it but wanted to input the experience i had to see if there was something obvious i was messing up in my attempt. thanks

update: i renamed back to its original name and it imported. does it make sense that it wouldnt import when using the renamed version i first tried? Also i was able to rename it after getting it into LB.. just not sure what i did wrong compared to @fromlostdays 

Edited November 21, 2019 by zoemorn

[fromlostdays]

Too my knowledge the only reason it would show 0 games imported is if the game had imported already... or maybe if it went directly to an additional app? After import  did you check to see if it was listed under the additional apps of the game?

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2019 by fromlostdays

[zoemorn]

I did look to see if it was an additional app and it wasn't that I saw.  Ill mess around with it some more, not too worried about it, mostly just novelty. I also failed miserably at trying to make a "hack n homebrew " platform  so I guess I'll just leave them intermixed with the nonhack for now