11.0-beta-1 Released

[Jason Carr]

8 minutes ago, ZeSystem said:

 

Games still cannot share the same video. Each just rename the videos and the previous game that was using it loses the association.

Yes, we're aware of that. Please see my response here:

32 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

So the previous functionality here was more of a by accident thing than a by design one. We've changed videos to behave exactly like images do now. We need the ability to use different videos for games with the same titles, so that is the reason for the GUID text being appended to the end. Still, if you want to force LaunchBox to use the same video for multiple games, you should be able to just manually rename the file to the game's title, and I think both games should pick it up.

 

[ZeSystem]

2 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

Yes, we're aware of that. Please see my response here:

 

This usually works if the games have the same title, but a lot of games I have issues with this is due to having different names. The workaround you suggested is unfortunately not an option.

The problematic cases include games that are mostly an identical game with just a few contents added and/or tiny little balance changes (fighting games), or games that have different subtitles (modern point and click adventure games) or different episodes (like the 5th Monkey Island game having "Episode 1/2/3/4/5" suffix).

[Jason Carr]

1 minute ago, ZeSystem said:

This usually works if the games have the same title, but a lot of games I have issues with this is due to having different names. The workaround you suggested is unfortunately not an option.

The problematic cases include games that are mostly an identical game with just a few contents added and/or tiny little balance changes (fighting games), or games that have different subtitles (modern point and click adventure games) or different episodes (like the 5th Monkey Island game having "Episode 1/2/3/4/5" suffix).

Oic, so you were manually browsing for the same video for two different games? To be honest, I didn't even know people did that. We'll take a look to see if we can support that. It may be more trouble than it's worth though, to be honest, considering that you can just duplicate the video on the rare occasions that you've got that particular situation.

[RULLUR]

28 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

So the previous functionality here was more of a by accident thing than a by design one. We've changed videos to behave exactly like images do now. We need the ability to use different videos for games with the same titles, so that is the reason for the GUID text being appended to the end. Still, if you want to force LaunchBox to use the same video for multiple games, you should be able to just manually rename the file to the game's title, and I think both games should pick it up.

There are times I use a commercial which promotes the game for several Platforms, and this new way kinda messes that up for me, and the way I have things set is just clips in 1 folder and not any subfolders for Platforms or anything like that which would make anything with a similar name and a -01 at the end of it show up on the wrong Platform version. I just notice all the ones I haven't touched since the new way are doing just fine and don't seem to conflict. I really wish there was a way to go back to the way it used to be without all the conflict or tug of war it's doing of the now though. I don't know of anyone else who may worry they have to go back and spend countless time setting things up again with their videos like I may have to do.

[ZeSystem]

17 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

Oic, so you were manually browsing for the same video for two different games? To be honest, I didn't even know people did that. We'll take a look to see if we can support that. It may be more trouble than it's worth though, to be honest, considering that you can just duplicate the video on the rare occasions that you've got that particular situation.

I have more than 3K games on Steam and this happens quite often, especially with episodic adventure games (Telltale being the biggest offender), fighting games, and games that have multiple entries (Call of Duty Singleplayer/Multiplayer). I wouldn't say it's frequent, but definitely not a rare case.

Most of my videos are personally edited videos that are 30 ~ 60 seconds long. They are mostly 720p/1080p. Everything associated with Launchbox (besides game installations) is installed on an SSD and these videos rack up storage space pretty fast. I'd rather not **copy and paste the same video for hundreds of my games

I think the easiest solution is to add a optional, separate text entry used for media file reference (like Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1/2/3/4/5 entries would have video reference title of "Tales of Monkey Island").

Edited July 7, 2020 by ZeSystem

[C-Beats]

2 hours ago, ZeSystem said:

I think the easiest solution is to add a optional, separate text entry used for media file reference (like Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1/2/3/4/5 entries would have video reference title of "Tales of Monkey Island").

Can just combine them all to the same game called "Tales of Monkey Island" and have each episode as an additional app in that game entry named "Episode 1", "Episode 2", etc. Then you can use the same video for all of them. What I typically do for my episodic games.

[wallmachine]

16 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

The games view will repopulate after closing the Options screen. I'm guessing it just was going to take a bit longer to populate.

sometimes it doesn't populate and I have to click on another platform then go back. Also even if I don't make a change in Options screen it takes some time.

[Jason Carr]

Just put the 11.1 release out; we need to get it out ASAP because of some of the other issues. Depending on feedback, we may still re-visit the single video for multiple games issue, but as for right now, we need to get the release out.

1 hour ago, wallmachine said:

sometimes it doesn't populate and I have to click on another platform then go back. Also even if I don't make a change in Options screen it takes some time.

The Options screen saves whether anything was changed or not, which could probably be improved, but it's not much of an issue (also always did). I haven't seen that not populating issue, but sometimes it does take a while longer to populate.

[mcfilmmakers]

18 hours ago, ZeSystem said:

 

Games still cannot share the same video. Each just rename the videos and the previous game that was using it loses the association.

The same is true for images. If two games have the same title, they'll both share the same image matching the game title. However, if I rename one of the two game titles, the image file is also renamed. 

Ex:
two games are called Launchbox Game and both use Launchbox Game.png. I rename one of the two games to Big Box Game. 

I should therefore have two games: Big Box Game and Launchbox Game and one image: Launchbox Game.png
Instead, I have two games: Big Box game and Launchbox Game and one image: Big Box Game.png
 

This is wrong because the image contains the logo for Launchbox game, not Big Box Game and therefore should not rename when i rename one of the two games. This did not happen under 10.15

HOWEVER, if I only have one game called Launchbox Game and it uses Launchbox Game.png, when I rename the game to Big Box Game I would expect the associated image to be renamed because there is no question as to which game it is associated with.

[Jason Carr]

31 minutes ago, mcfilmmakers said:

The same is true for images. If two games have the same title, they'll both share the same image matching the game title. However, if I rename one of the two game titles, the image file is also renamed. 

Ex:
two games are called Launchbox Game and both use Launchbox Game.png. I rename one of the two games to Big Box Game. 

I should therefore have two games: Big Box Game and Launchbox Game and one image: Launchbox Game.png
Instead, I have two games: Big Box game and Launchbox Game and one image: Big Box Game.png
 

This is wrong because the image contains the logo for Launchbox game, not Big Box Game and therefore should not rename when i rename one of the two games. This did not happen under 10.15

HOWEVER, if I only have one game called Launchbox Game and it uses Launchbox Game.png, when I rename the game to Big Box Game I would expect the associated image to be renamed because there is no question as to which game it is associated with.

I am aware of this issue, but I was aware of it ages ago. Unless I'm misunderstanding, this did occur in 10.15, and has honestly been an issue for a very long time. I don't consider to be a very serious issue though.

[mcfilmmakers]

8 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

I am aware of this issue, but I was aware of it ages ago. Unless I'm misunderstanding, this did occur in 10.15, and has honestly been an issue for a very long time. I don't consider to be a very serious issue though.

Perhaps I hadn't noticed it before since I haven't really taken a deep dive into completing my image files until now.

I can say though that it is a serious issue, especially with the MAME lists. Importing them means there are MANY games with MANY versions, not all of which combine on import because the names don't always match (damn paranthesis!!) and many clones have their own logos as well.

There are ways to work around this (basically, deal with it and rename the image after renaming the game) but it appears to be a simple fix: When renaming the title, check if another game carries the same name as the old title, if it does, don't rename any associated images or videos. If it doesn't, do.

I bring it up not because I have a personal issue with this, but because it helps explain the behavior with videos that many others seem to be mentioning.

[Jason Carr]

8 minutes ago, mcfilmmakers said:

Perhaps I hadn't noticed it before since I haven't really taken a deep dive into completing my image files until now.

I can say though that it is a serious issue, especially with the MAME lists. Importing them means there are MANY games with MANY versions, not all of which combine on import because the names don't always match (damn paranthesis!!) and many clones have their own logos as well.

There are ways to work around this (basically, deal with it and rename the image after renaming the game) but it appears to be a simple fix: When renaming the title, check if another game carries the same name as the old title, if it does, don't rename any associated images or videos. If it doesn't, do.

I bring it up not because I have a personal issue with this, but because it helps explain the behavior with videos that many others seem to be mentioning.

Yeah, sorry if I came off as a bit defensive. Generally, LaunchBox tries to avoid using the same images for several different games, but it does happen on occasion. What it should be doing in that case is renaming images with the game's GUID ID at the end in that case, so that they don't end up being used for multiple games at once (that's how the system was initially designed). There are situations though when that doesn't occur.

Unfortunately though I have a feeling that if we changed this, we'd get complaints the opposite way. "Why did my images disappear when I renamed this game?" So I feel like, instead of fixing that particular issue, we should probably just ensure that images are not used for multiple games in the first place.

Edit: But of course we can never prevent the issue when external tools or other frontends are used to create images, or when a user manually places an image in the folder. This issue is really a doosy, which is why we haven't focused much time on it. Thankfully it is a relatively rare occurrence for most users.

[mcfilmmakers]

29 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

Yeah, sorry if I came off as a bit defensive. Generally, LaunchBox tries to avoid using the same images for several different games, but it does happen on occasion. What it should be doing in that case is renaming images with the game's GUID ID at the end in that case, so that they don't end up being used for multiple games at once (that's how the system was initially designed). There are situations though when that doesn't occur.

Unfortunately though I have a feeling that if we changed this, we'd get complaints the opposite way. "Why did my images disappear when I renamed this game?" So I feel like, instead of fixing that particular issue, we should probably just ensure that images are not used for multiple games in the first place.

Edit: But of course we can never prevent the issue when external tools or other frontends are used to create images, or when a user manually places an image in the folder. This issue is really a doosy, which is why we haven't focused much time on it. Thankfully it is a relatively rare occurrence for most users.

So then the solution should be that launchbox runs a check when the title is changed - if no other game in the same platform matches the old name, rename the image otherwise, if a match exists, copy the image file and rename the copy to match the new name. This way images won't disappear when the game is renamed, ever.

But you're right, it's not always simple. The issue with the GUID is there is no easy way for layman users to find that info when manually adding their image files unless they add the files directly within launchbox somehow (drag and drop onto game title then select image category from a dropdown popup (+ remember previous selection)?

Edited July 8, 2020 by mcfilmmakers

[Chris Kant]

1 hour ago, mcfilmmakers said:

The same is true for images. If two games have the same title, they'll both share the same image matching the game title. However, if I rename one of the two game titles, the image file is also renamed. 

Ex:
two games are called Launchbox Game and both use Launchbox Game.png. I rename one of the two games to Big Box Game. 

I should therefore have two games: Big Box Game and Launchbox Game and one image: Launchbox Game.png
Instead, I have two games: Big Box game and Launchbox Game and one image: Big Box Game.png
 

This is wrong because the image contains the logo for Launchbox game, not Big Box Game and therefore should not rename when i rename one of the two games. This did not happen under 10.15

HOWEVER, if I only have one game called Launchbox Game and it uses Launchbox Game.png, when I rename the game to Big Box Game I would expect the associated image to be renamed because there is no question as to which game it is associated with.

this is so long an issue I am fighting with in LB/BB. and one of the points I want so much a rework of the Metadata and Database Handling in LB/BB plus userbility of GUI but unfortunately this might be very low on the list. maybe in version 20 or so.

[Krakerman]

To Chris's point about the LB gui and having the ability to resize any of the gui windows and remembering the positions would be nice. Always have to resize the Manage emulator window everytime gets old and be nice once you stretch it out it will remember that position. 

Maybe at some point  

Thanks Jason for all the support and updates always looking forward the next one.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Krakerman

[dragon57]

22 minutes ago, Krakerman said:

To Chris's point about the LB gui and having the ability to resize any of the gui windows and remembering the positions would be nice. Always have to resize the Manage emulator window everytime gets old and be nice once you stretch it out it will remember that position. 

Maybe at some point

I use WinSize2 to handle automatic resizing and placement of windows, pop-ups, etc. It works great for the 'Manage Emulators', and other LB windows. http://winsize2.sourceforge.net/en/index.html

[wallmachine]

On 7/7/2020 at 10:07 AM, neil9000 said:

Im not seeing that here on beta 1, same steps. The edit window hangs for a second or two while it saves, but i have full control to click on games in the current platform when it closes.

 

8 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

The Options screen saves whether anything was changed or not, which could probably be improved, but it's not much of an issue (also always did). I haven't seen that not populating issue, but sometimes it does take a while longer to populate.

 

 

Similar example here:

 

Similar example here:

 

Debug 2020-07-09 08-27-54 AM.log Debug 2020-07-09 08-46-41 AM.log

Debug 2020-07-09 09-08-43 AM.log

Edited July 8, 2020 by wallmachine

[RULLUR]

I'm one who is okay with some Images for games not being shared to several game titles due to it being of different versions, but when it comes to Video not sharing several game titles, I'm against that idea. One of the main reasons I want video clips to be used for more than one game title is because some commercials sell a game for various Platforms in one take. I would hate to make 3 copies for a commercial that sold the NES version, Genesis version, and Game Boy version of a game all in the same commercial just because LaunchBox was no longer making it able to share that game commercial to 3 different games. Maybe it's best to make it an optional feature within LaunchBox if you want an Image or Video to be shared to more than one game or not. Then once you finish Editing a game, it can then end up being as is without being renamed, or get renamed with something all encrypted looking to avoid it from being shared with another title like it sometimes does with Images. Doing it that way might help satisfy various tastes on how everyone wants to sort their media with their games without any complaints

Edited July 9, 2020 by RULLUR

[Xirvet]

So I need to report this bug as I feel it is a HUGE one but I went out to do some stuff today and decided to run the cleaning media tool since I knew I had duplicates and stuff. Process was done when I came back, I told to delete what it found based on the 2 or 3 I saw at the start which were legitimate. When I then went to edit some game, I was surprised to find out it had NO images at all only to then realise my images were essentialy wiped clean and I now have to redownload them all because nothing is left. I have NO idea why it happened the way it did but even when I checked my folders, they were gone too.

I put in an image of my images folder. Keep in mind I took this screenshot after I had redownloaded some files so some platforms folders were back but I also put an image of my vid folder which was thankfully intact to show there should be more

[Jason Carr]

@Xirvet Very sorry to hear. I'm currently trying to reproduce this so that I can get it fixed, but I haven't been able to reproduce it yet. Would you be willing to zip up and PM me your LaunchBox\Data folder so that I can test with it?

Edit: Also, do you remember which boxes you checked when you ran the clean up media process?