Running LaunchBox and Big Box on Linux

[static]

The tools will mature, it will just take time, no worries, everyone wants a version that runs on linux but not at the cost of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, just give it time things are always improving with compatibility solutions being developed and implemented in the Linux community.

[Jason Carr]

5 hours ago, static said:

The tools will mature, it will just take time, no worries, everyone wants a version that runs on linux but not at the cost of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, just give it time things are always improving with compatibility solutions being developed and implemented in the Linux community.

Yes, this.

@Icebergnyc Apologies for not being more patient with you. But in all honesty, you're not a developer, and it's clear that your understanding of how a transition to Flutter would work (and how much effort and code would be required) is lacking. One company's experience is going to be massively different than another company, depending on the code and the technologies used.

[Hifihedgehog]

On 8/4/2022 at 4:44 AM, static said:

The tools will mature, it will just take time, no worries, everyone wants a version that runs on linux but not at the cost of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, just give it time things are always improving with compatibility solutions being developed and implemented in the Linux community.

I would insert the term: with all due respect, just no. Stop while you’re ahead of yourself in that train of thought. Besides the colossal amount of overhead of migrating and reimagining a codebase on Linux knowing that some things just won’t port over nicely or at all (for example, the Windows BigBox theming system), pure and simple economics is the driving factor here. Even if the Steam Deck is relatively popular in the eyes of some users here, perspective is helpful. Valve informs us that Linux accounts for just over 1% of Steam gamers compared with Windows’s over 96% and that closely reflects the status of Linux as a gaming platform. Further, EmuDeck, RetroDeck and other tools have fast become the go-to choices among Steam Deck users, meaning there is entrenchment and acceptance of these free offerings that make that market more resistive to purchasing a paid product. Conclusion? Maybe when Steam Deck 2 or 3 comes out and the Linux has miraculously cracked 10% of the PC gaming market will it then be worthwhile for them to explore a Linux version in more depth with a faster development that more closely mirrors the cadence of their Windows and Android products.

As it is though, Linux is far less lucrative than Windows or Android and therefore will stay on the back burner for the foreseeable future. If I were to peg a price tag on this pipedream, provided you could prove they’re were enough people interested in purchasing at that point, I would wager a price of at least double if not triple for yearly and lifetime licenses would be the absolute minimum price given the Herculean amount of work involved and significantly smaller user base. So if the price paid for the time and effort and if waiting five years more until Steam Deck 2 or 3 when maybe, just maybe Linux becomes more mainstream, then I will believe that Linux is worth us developing for. But until then, it is simply not realistic to push so much for Linux support.

Edited September 2, 2022 by Hifihedgehog

[static]

https://github.com/vvvv/VL.Video.MediaFoundation

I have to test this out, iirc it was the vl video stuff that was a roadblock for my tinkering

and i like how we can setup a portable proton environment free of steam

https://github.com/Castro-Fidel/PortWINE

as an example,. meaning we could make an install script that sets up the environment for the program with better control/access to proton releases and patches.

 

[The_Clockwork_Gamer]

Hi I just want to say I'm another person interested in launchbox on linux. I sadly only switched OS's a year and a half ago and missed the time when you were asking about interest. I have lifetime licenses for both windows and android.

launchbox is the only thing keeping me back from running linux on everything. I know its a difficult task with less interest then other features, but I wanted to say I support it any form and hope it can happen sometime in the future however long it may take.

It's been a pleasure watching launchbox grow and only get better!

[LostinthePANIC]

On 9/29/2022 at 8:37 PM, The_Clockwork_Gamer said:

Hi I just want to say I'm another person interested in launchbox on linux. I sadly only switched OS's a year and a half ago and missed the time when you were asking about interest. I have lifetime licenses for both windows and android.

launchbox is the only thing keeping me back from running linux on everything. I know its a difficult task with less interest then other features, but I wanted to say I support it any form and hope it can happen sometime in the future however long it may take.

It's been a pleasure watching launchbox grow and only get better!

I'm with him. and while EmuDeck has been working okay for me on my Steam Deck, nothing has been better than Launchbox and Big Box. Here's to hoping a better experience is on the horizon.

[Crossfader]

I have been able to install Launchbox 13.0 on Linux using Lutris, no install script. But there is a catch, it crashes everytime I try to add roms.

Basically, I have been experimenting with different windows app trying to get them to run on Lutris will different degrees of success. I started by installing a game on Lutris and named it Launchbox and pointed it to the Launchbox .exe install, it downloads all the stuff and installs it, but crashes when installing DirectX. Now at this point, Lutris has created all the directories of a windows installation inside ~/home/Games/Launchbox.
In Lutris, i select Launchbox and at the bottom, beside the play button I press the arrow and select Configure, Configure>Runner Options, change wine version to "lutris-GE-Proton7-33-x86_64", things just seem to run better with this version of wine. Save and then, copy the Launchbox installer file, go inside the Launchbox directory and paste it inside, I usually paste it inside the desktop directory of launchbox, so ~/home/Games/Launchbox/drive_c/users/{username}/Desktop and paste it there, now open configure for Launchbox in Lutris again and point the Executable to the installer we just pasted inside. It should install all the dependencies for Launchbox properly now.

After it is done, change the executable to the Launchbox launcher , ~/home/Games/Launchbox/drive_c/users/{username}/Launchbox/Launchbox.exe, and start Launchbox from Lutris and it should open no problem.

I have tried this with Ubuntu and Linux Mint, so Debian distros, and it works, pretty stable UNTIL!!!!! You try to import roms, the import rom window appears without an issue, but if you try to select a rom folder, the whole thing crashes.
Dragging and dropping the folder will accomplish the same thing. At first I though it was being caused by importing roms from the Linux environment, even if it was from a USB flashdrive with ntsc, so i copy/paste the rom folder to the Desktop directory inside Launchbox, but the same thing happened.

The import rom window also flickers black, I believe many experienced this too. I think we are almost there, but I am very inexperienced when it comes to Linux, hope this helps point someone more qualified than me in figuring out how to import roms and get Launchbox to boot them.

Also, will we need some sort of USB controller passthrough to work with Launchbox? I ask this because I also have a DJ controller called Traktor S8 from Native Instruments, I have been able to install Native Access and Traktor Pro 3, but there is no communication between my controller and the software, also when I try to load an mp3 to a deck manually to play it, the application crashes, just like Launchbox, even the built-in mp3 songs that come with the application.

I think we are getting close, proton is really working wonders.

[tracker1]

I mostly do backend systems, with web based UI tooling, which is quite a bit different.  I do have a fair amount of experience with C# as well as migrating codebases from older .Net to .Net Core/5+ under Linux.  Been looking into this thread for a few years now.

Have you looked at, or considered the Avalonia[1] UI toolkit.  It's what MS used for their git-credential-manager (formerly *-core)... I'm not familiar enough with the codebase to know how easy it would be to convert/port to another UI framework for LaunchBox or BigBox's UI though.  Part of me thinks that an SDL[2] library for C# may be better for at least BigBox's interface, but not sure what's in place for this.  There's mention of MAUI above (for Android), which has seen some movement on a Linux branch, not sure on performance though.

1. https://avaloniaui.net/
2. https://www.nuget.org/packages/sdl2.nuget

Edited January 22, 2023 by tracker1

[C-Beats]

We're aware of Avalonia but moving to it would mean not only a complete rewrite of the UI, but would break all themes as well. So even the best case scenario is that we'd be able to right some sort of translation layer for themes to the new syntax, but to do that on top of an complete rewrite AND still deliver on the current product suite is a bit unrealistic for a team as small as ours.

[Crossfader]

I got it to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, that is a LARGE asterix beside the "Got it working"

So I have been able to load roms and play them, but I have been having some big issues. Let's start from the beginning.

Last time, I mentioned how I was able to get Launchbox to work on Lutris using lutris-GE-Proton7-33-x86_64. Well, last night I was on r/linux_gaming and saw that there was a new version, proton7_36 for Wine, and a 7_48 for proton. Decided to update the wine proton on Lutris and the 7_36 was not available yet, but 7_35 was available to I downloaded that for Lutris.
Started Launchbox and it was still crashing everytime I tried to add roms by dragging and dropping or by going to potions and importing the folder with the rom library.

After a few fails, I started messing around and it was then I realised I was still on launchbox 13.0, I manually updated it by going to options > help > check for updates. After it downloads and installs 13.1, it will close itself to download .NET, I think it was .Net core 4.8.1 , then Launchbox restarts.
At this point, I decided to manually download Retroarch, this is the point of difference between my previous attempt from a month ago to how I got it to work this time. After manually downloading Retroarch, Options > tools > Manage >retroarch > download/install , I decided to make another attempt to add the library (its a genesis roms library) , this time it went through, I was able to download the covers, metadata, bezels etc.

I was so excited at this point!!! After everything was done downloading, I started Sonic 2, and it ran!!!!!
BUT, you have to switch between applications with Alt+Tab, works half the time, found more success just minimising Launchbox.
Because I have Steam, I started having all sorts of issues with button conflicts when using either my Xbox One controller through usb (somehow won't work with bluetooth) or my PS4 controller with either bluetooth or usb, like L3 brings up a keyboard, R analog controls the mouse, x/a button which is the B button for genesis does both the B and Start at the same time.
Did not run into any conflicts using my PS3 controller with usb or bluetooth so I would recommend using older controllers I guess.

After testing 6 games, Sonic 2, Sonic & Knuckles, Streets of Rage 2, Mega Bomberman, Super Hang-On and Super Street Fighter 2 The New Challengers, and finding no issues with gameplay, I closed Launchbox and everything went downhill from here.

Could not get it to start again, it keeps on getting stuck in limbo at the beginning when it is populating the games library.
After Alt+Tab, I saw there was a small error window that I could barely read (I got a 4k monitor, everything is smaller now) , it says "The application is running out of system memory (ram).", yet when I look at my system resources, the ram is barelly getting used, I got 32 GB of ram (I'm mister 1001 tabs on my browser, i need my ram) and Launchbox is barely using 0.7% of system ram, with 80% of ram unused, it's also an old CPU an i5 6600 4 core 3.3Ghz but, again they are barely running at 4% each core.
There is no way to adjust ram usage on Wine, so I don't know what to do.
I decided to delete everything on Lutris regarding Launchbox and start from the beginning, was able to replicate everything, including playing some roms, but as soon as i close it, and try to launch it again, I get the ram error.

This PC is my old gaming PC.
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
CPU: i5 6600 3.3 Ghz
Ram: 32 gb 3000 Mhz
GPU: MSi AMD RX 6600XT
driver on lutris: the default AMD Radv Mesa open source driver

Now, wondering if I could replicate it on my laptop that has Linux Mint, i gave it a go.

MSI Laptop GE63VR 7RE Raider:
Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon
CPU: i7 7700HQ 2.8Ghz x4 (i think it is 4 core and 8 threads)
Ram: 32Gb
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 (GP106M)
driver on lutris: the default Nvidia proprietary driver

This time I am using a NES library, followed my previous steps, and it crashes everytime I try to add a rom library, even after having manually installed retroarch.

So with Mint, I am not sure if it's crashing because I am using Linux Mint, or because of the different hardware, not sure if the i5 6th gen vs the i7 7th gen processor or the amd mesa vs nvidia gpu drivers made the difference.

Hope this helps push it forward.
I would be very happy with Launchbox just working properly in Lutris.
Maybe the Launchbox developers can just tweak Launchbox a bit to get it working with Lutris instead of creating a Linux version.

Anyways, Lutris is currently using Wine 7, I know Wine 8 was announced recently, and with newer GE Proton versions coming out too, maybe we can see Launchbox running great on Lutris some time soon.

[DavrosKaled]

With Flatpak now allowing devs to have paid apps, with purchase in flathub, I really hope we see Flatpak offering for this application soon.
We can pay the devs directly on Linux now. Let's goooooooo.

[neil9000]

6 minutes ago, DavrosKaled said:

With Flatpak now allowing devs to have paid apps, with purchase in flathub, I really hope we see Flatpak offering for this application soon.
We can pay the devs directly on Linux now. Let's goooooooo.

Its not about how the money is taken, it would be sold through the website like always, the problem is that there is no Linux version, its really that simple as to why its not available.

[Crossfader]

LAUNCHBOX ON LINUX IS ALIVE MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, I got it to work permanently.

If you have previously read my posts, it's basically what I did, but then when you select Launcbox on Lutris, go to Wine Configuration and change the compatibility from Windows 10 to Windows 7. I will explain why later.

OK, I have installed Launchbox twice on my brand spanking new PC twice, and on my laptop too, everything is working, there is the ocasional freeze on my gaming PC, but I assume it is because of brand new hardware that Linux and Mesa Kernels are not 100% stable yet.

My new gaming PC specs:
OS: Fedora 38 Beta.
Linux Kernel: 6.2.10-300.fc38.x86_64(64-bit)
Mesa: 23.0.1
Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus Xtreme X670E v1.0
CPU: AMD 7950X3D
GPU: MSI AMD RX 7900 XTX
RAM: Corsair 64 Gb 6000Mhz 36CL

MSI Laptop GE63VR 7RE Raider:
Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon
Linux Kernel 5.15
Mesa: 23.0.1
CPU: i7 7700HQ 2.8Ghz x4 (i think it is 4 core and 8 threads)
Ram: 32Gb
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 (GP106M)
driver on lutris: the default Nvidia proprietary driver

 

Ok, so the main thing about Lutris is to be running the latest Wine Version. When I started this, I was using lutris-GE-Proton7-33, but if I remember I was able to get it to work with 7-28, not sure of 7-27, currently I am using 7-42 (at the moment of writing this post, 7-43 just popped).

I used Launchbox 13.2

 

Guide:

On Lutris, on the left side, go to Wine, select the configuration wheel icon, open it, and in Runner options, change the Wine version to lutris-GE-Proton7-33-x86_64 or above, avoid the lutris standard wine version, Eggroll Proton Wine is the way to go.

Now at the top left corner, press the cross icon to add a game, select the "Install a Windows game from media" option.

Type a name for your game, I choose Launchbox, press continue, then press the install button. A installation directory will appear, just press Install.

Now it is the time to select the file LaunchBox-13.2-Setup.exe , wherever you have it stored in, and press Continue.

It will start to install Launchbox, just follow the normal installation as if you were doing it on Windows, but expect it to crash while installing Dot Net 4.8, or right after completing it and attempting to install DirectX.

After it crashes, press Close on the Lutris installation window. Now, on Lutris, you will see the game, for simplicity sake, I will just call the game Launchbox.

We will need to install Launchbox again, but this time we will be doing it from inside the directory we just created. Copy the LaunchBox-13.2-Setup.exe file, into somewhere inside ~/Home/Games/launchbox, I drop it inside the Desktop directory, so ~/Home/Games/launchbox/drive_c/users/<my_pc_name>/Desktop/<here> .

In Lutris, select Launchbox but don't start it, at the bottom, there will be two pairs of buttons, left is the Play button with an up arrow for settings, right is the Wine button with the up arrow for Wine settings.

Press the up arrow for the Wine settings, and select "Wine Configuration", a window will open, in the Applications tab, at the bottom is the Windows Version, switch it from Windows 10 to Windows 7, then press Apply, then Ok.

Press the up arrow beside the Play button,  and select "Configure". Go to Runner options tab and make sure the Wine Version is one of the latest GE-Proton, at this moment "lutris-GE-Proton7-42-x86_64" , then go to the Game options tab and on "Executable", navigate to the LaunchBox-13.2-Setup.exe file, you coppied inside the Launchbox directory so we can install it again. On Prefix Architecture , set it to 64-bit or to Auto. Press Save.

Now press Play, it should start going through the Launchbox install process, but it will be different from the previous install attempt. Before, it tried to download Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable, dot Net Framework 4.8 and dotNet Core 3.1.6 dependencies and install them. This time it only does for 4.8 . The install will terminate abruptly, but don't worry, it should have been a success.

Go back down to the arrow up beside the Play button, select "Configure" again, on Game Options tab we are chaning the "Executable" path again, this time to ~/Home/Games/launchbox/drive_c/users/<my_pc_name>/LaunchBox/LaunchBox.exe  , and press Save.

Press Play, Launchbox should start. It will take a little while to load, just give it time. Just remember, it is not as stable as it is in Windows, have patience.

Congratulations, you installed LaunchBox on Linux, but it is not over yet, as there are some differences, main one is you cannot drag and drop your roms folders as it will cause a crash.

You have to install Retroarch manually. And you have to do this first before adding any roms, so things will go smoothly.

ATTENTION!!!

At this point, pop up windows will go in and out of rendering, often just displaying black, it helps if you have previously installed  Launchbox on Windows and so have some experience with adding rom libraries manually. Usually, just pass your mouse icon over areas in the window to cause them to render again, like the buttons.

OK.

At the top left corner, to the right of Launchbox, press the burger menu icon, then Tools > Manage > RetroArch >Download/Install (can't remember which one) .

After that, same burger menu icon, Tools > Import > Rom Files , a window will pop up, just press Next at the bottom right corner, Then it will ask to add rom folder, search for the add button and press it, here the window is divided into two parts, the left for the path and the right for the rom folder. It is important to point at the directory where the rom folder is in the left part of the window and not at the rom folder directly, if you don't do this, you will only get a white screen on the right side.
Press Next.
It will ask what system it is for, if your folder is properly labeled, it will select the proper system, if not, then select it manually.
Press Next.
It will ask what emulator, since we only have RetroArch, it should be the only option.
Press Next.
It will ask if you wish to copy the roms to another location, in Launchbox, or use the current location of the roms folder, I usually just go with the current location to save space.
Press Next.
Then it is a series of questions about metadata options and Bezels, I always just press Next.
It will add the roms to the Left now, and if you choose the standard metadata and bezel options then it should be downloading and updating the roms info and images.

NOW Congratulations!!!!!!!! You did it.

Enjoy LaunchBox, and consider getting a license. I am not affiliated with the Launchbox crew, I just appreciate what they have done with this software.


WARNINGS!!!

It is still unstable, but when comparing it to my laptop with Linux Mint, I think the problems I am suffering from on my gaming PC is mainly because of brand new hardware and the Linux and Mesa kernels  still having compatibility issues and Fedora Beta is, well, a beta release.

On Linux Mint, it is much more stable, I don't have LaunchBox freeze for a good 2-5 minutes sometimes. The LaunchBox does not jitter when scrolling up or down with my mouse, I think this is because of Mesa 23.0.1 and my GPU 7900 XTX versus the Mesa 23.0.1 and the GTX 1660 on the laptop, maybe Nvidia is better with Launchbox, but they are both using DXVK.
On Fedora, LaunchBox freezes and crashes if I try to minimise it. On Linux Mint, that does not happen.

There is no need to go to Winetricks and install/add DLL Components, I tried to do this on Fedora, added dotnet48, vcrun2015,dotnetcore310, those components then changed the compatibility to Windows 7 and it just started to work. 
Curious, on my laptop, I just changed the compatibility and Launchbox just started working.

I have shutdown and restarted both PCs many times and Launchbox continues to work. I have played 7 games so far, a total of 2.5 hours and it works fine.

The error I was getting previously on my old gaming PC that had Ubuntu 22.04 was an error saying system out of ram, or something like that, after some research, I found out it was because on earlier Wine versions, the Wine prefix architecture was set at 32-bit and it caused conflicts with libraries, so you need to set it to 64-bit.

And I did set it, but I still got the error, problem was Windows 10 compatibility, I came across some forum posts talking about making changes to the Wine regedit on Lutris, but this is way beyond my capabilities, I am not an intelligent person, I have often difficulties learning, I am just glad I figured this out and can help the community.
Maybe someone who is well versed can figure out the reason of this error and perhaps give us a fix, because Launchbox on Windows performs better in Windows 10 compared to Windows 7 according to the Launchbox website.

Also I am running my libraries from a Nas (trueNas Core), mounted on a folder in my Desktop through NFS. LaunchBox reads the roms just fine!!!

I apologize for the long post, but there was a lot to say.

Hope you all enjoy it, and happy gaming.

PS: For MAME, Probably same as RetroArch, just manually add it, I have not tried it yet, but should work.
PPS: It also works with Windows 8 and 8.1 compatibility, but seems a bit less stable than 7, only tried this on my new gaming PC with Fedora, haven't tried with the laptop.

Edited April 10, 2023 by Crossfader
info update

[The_Keeper86]

On 4/10/2023 at 5:12 PM, Crossfader said:

LAUNCHBOX ON LINUX IS ALIVE MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, I got it to work permanently.

If you have previously read my posts, it's basically what I did, but then when you select Launcbox on Lutris, go to Wine Configuration and change the compatibility from Windows 10 to Windows 7. I will explain why later.

OK, I have installed Launchbox twice on my brand spanking new PC twice, and on my laptop too, everything is working, there is the ocasional freeze on my gaming PC, but I assume it is because of brand new hardware that Linux and Mesa Kernels are not 100% stable yet.

My new gaming PC specs:
OS: Fedora 38 Beta.
Linux Kernel: 6.2.10-300.fc38.x86_64(64-bit)
Mesa: 23.0.1
Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus Xtreme X670E v1.0
CPU: AMD 7950X3D
GPU: MSI AMD RX 7900 XTX
RAM: Corsair 64 Gb 6000Mhz 36CL

MSI Laptop GE63VR 7RE Raider:
Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon
Linux Kernel 5.15
Mesa: 23.0.1
CPU: i7 7700HQ 2.8Ghz x4 (i think it is 4 core and 8 threads)
Ram: 32Gb
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 (GP106M)
driver on lutris: the default Nvidia proprietary driver

 

Ok, so the main thing about Lutris is to be running the latest Wine Version. When I started this, I was using lutris-GE-Proton7-33, but if I remember I was able to get it to work with 7-28, not sure of 7-27, currently I am using 7-42 (at the moment of writing this post, 7-43 just popped).

I used Launchbox 13.2

 

Guide:

On Lutris, on the left side, go to Wine, select the configuration wheel icon, open it, and in Runner options, change the Wine version to lutris-GE-Proton7-33-x86_64 or above, avoid the lutris standard wine version, Eggroll Proton Wine is the way to go.

Now at the top left corner, press the cross icon to add a game, select the "Install a Windows game from media" option.

Type a name for your game, I choose Launchbox, press continue, then press the install button. A installation directory will appear, just press Install.

Now it is the time to select the file LaunchBox-13.2-Setup.exe , wherever you have it stored in, and press Continue.

It will start to install Launchbox, just follow the normal installation as if you were doing it on Windows, but expect it to crash while installing Dot Net 4.8, or right after completing it and attempting to install DirectX.

After it crashes, press Close on the Lutris installation window. Now, on Lutris, you will see the game, for simplicity sake, I will just call the game Launchbox.

We will need to install Launchbox again, but this time we will be doing it from inside the directory we just created. Copy the LaunchBox-13.2-Setup.exe file, into somewhere inside ~/Home/Games/launchbox, I drop it inside the Desktop directory, so ~/Home/Games/launchbox/drive_c/users/<my_pc_name>/Desktop/<here> .

In Lutris, select Launchbox but don't start it, at the bottom, there will be two pairs of buttons, left is the Play button with an up arrow for settings, right is the Wine button with the up arrow for Wine settings.

Press the up arrow for the Wine settings, and select "Wine Configuration", a window will open, in the Applications tab, at the bottom is the Windows Version, switch it from Windows 10 to Windows 7, then press Apply, then Ok.

Press the up arrow beside the Play button,  and select "Configure". Go to Runner options tab and make sure the Wine Version is one of the latest GE-Proton, at this moment "lutris-GE-Proton7-42-x86_64" , then go to the Game options tab and on "Executable", navigate to the LaunchBox-13.2-Setup.exe file, you coppied inside the Launchbox directory so we can install it again. On Prefix Architecture , set it to 64-bit or to Auto. Press Save.

Now press Play, it should start going through the Launchbox install process, but it will be different from the previous install attempt. Before, it tried to download Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable, dot Net Framework 4.8 and dotNet Core 3.1.6 dependencies and install them. This time it only does for 4.8 . The install will terminate abruptly, but don't worry, it should have been a success.

Go back down to the arrow up beside the Play button, select "Configure" again, on Game Options tab we are chaning the "Executable" path again, this time to ~/Home/Games/launchbox/drive_c/users/<my_pc_name>/LaunchBox/LaunchBox.exe  , and press Save.

Press Play, Launchbox should start. It will take a little while to load, just give it time. Just remember, it is not as stable as it is in Windows, have patience.

Congratulations, you installed LaunchBox on Linux, but it is not over yet, as there are some differences, main one is you cannot drag and drop your roms folders as it will cause a crash.

You have to install Retroarch manually. And you have to do this first before adding any roms, so things will go smoothly.

ATTENTION!!!

At this point, pop up windows will go in and out of rendering, often just displaying black, it helps if you have previously installed  Launchbox on Windows and so have some experience with adding rom libraries manually. Usually, just pass your mouse icon over areas in the window to cause them to render again, like the buttons.

OK.

At the top left corner, to the right of Launchbox, press the burger menu icon, then Tools > Manage > RetroArch >Download/Install (can't remember which one) .

After that, same burger menu icon, Tools > Import > Rom Files , a window will pop up, just press Next at the bottom right corner, Then it will ask to add rom folder, search for the add button and press it, here the window is divided into two parts, the left for the path and the right for the rom folder. It is important to point at the directory where the rom folder is in the left part of the window and not at the rom folder directly, if you don't do this, you will only get a white screen on the right side.
Press Next.
It will ask what system it is for, if your folder is properly labeled, it will select the proper system, if not, then select it manually.
Press Next.
It will ask what emulator, since we only have RetroArch, it should be the only option.
Press Next.
It will ask if you wish to copy the roms to another location, in Launchbox, or use the current location of the roms folder, I usually just go with the current location to save space.
Press Next.
Then it is a series of questions about metadata options and Bezels, I always just press Next.
It will add the roms to the Left now, and if you choose the standard metadata and bezel options then it should be downloading and updating the roms info and images.

NOW Congratulations!!!!!!!! You did it.

Enjoy LaunchBox, and consider getting a license. I am not affiliated with the Launchbox crew, I just appreciate what they have done with this software.


WARNINGS!!!

It is still unstable, but when comparing it to my laptop with Linux Mint, I think the problems I am suffering from on my gaming PC is mainly because of brand new hardware and the Linux and Mesa kernels  still having compatibility issues and Fedora Beta is, well, a beta release.

On Linux Mint, it is much more stable, I don't have LaunchBox freeze for a good 2-5 minutes sometimes. The LaunchBox does not jitter when scrolling up or down with my mouse, I think this is because of Mesa 23.0.1 and my GPU 7900 XTX versus the Mesa 23.0.1 and the GTX 1660 on the laptop, maybe Nvidia is better with Launchbox, but they are both using DXVK.
On Fedora, LaunchBox freezes and crashes if I try to minimise it. On Linux Mint, that does not happen.

There is no need to go to Winetricks and install/add DLL Components, I tried to do this on Fedora, added dotnet48, vcrun2015,dotnetcore310, those components then changed the compatibility to Windows 7 and it just started to work. 
Curious, on my laptop, I just changed the compatibility and Launchbox just started working.

I have shutdown and restarted both PCs many times and Launchbox continues to work. I have played 7 games so far, a total of 2.5 hours and it works fine.

The error I was getting previously on my old gaming PC that had Ubuntu 22.04 was an error saying system out of ram, or something like that, after some research, I found out it was because on earlier Wine versions, the Wine prefix architecture was set at 32-bit and it caused conflicts with libraries, so you need to set it to 64-bit.

And I did set it, but I still got the error, problem was Windows 10 compatibility, I came across some forum posts talking about making changes to the Wine regedit on Lutris, but this is way beyond my capabilities, I am not an intelligent person, I have often difficulties learning, I am just glad I figured this out and can help the community.
Maybe someone who is well versed can figure out the reason of this error and perhaps give us a fix, because Launchbox on Windows performs better in Windows 10 compared to Windows 7 according to the Launchbox website.

Also I am running my libraries from a Nas (trueNas Core), mounted on a folder in my Desktop through NFS. LaunchBox reads the roms just fine!!!

I apologize for the long post, but there was a lot to say.

Hope you all enjoy it, and happy gaming.

PS: For MAME, Probably same as RetroArch, just manually add it, I have not tried it yet, but should work.
PPS: It also works with Windows 8 and 8.1 compatibility, but seems a bit less stable than 7, only tried this on my new gaming PC with Fedora, haven't tried with the laptop.

I'm really surprised this hasn't gotten any replies. I really appreciate this! I'm gonna give it a try myself on Garuda. Have you tried Big Box? Also what about Linux native emulators?

[The_Keeper86]

I got around to finally giving this a shot! Did everything you said but upon launching LaunchBox it still asks to install .net but it just closes abruptly without any errors. I even installed .net inside the prefix but still same thing. I'm using lutris-GE-Proton7-43-x86_64. Also I'm on Nobara atm I had issues with Garuda.

[cedar]

@The_Keeper86 I am testing this out right now and I had the same results as you with it continually asking to install dotnet.  What I did was copy over all the directories (except for the data and media folders) from my existing Windows installation of LaunchBox to the Launchbox installation directory that was created from Lutris. Launchbox starts up now remotely on my SMB share when using GE-Proton7-43-x86_64.

Edited April 23, 2023 by cedar

[The_Keeper86]

@cedarThanks! I gave that a shot and it's still asking to install dotnet unfortunately 

[The_Keeper86]

Still no luck. Maybe its an issue with Nobara/Fedora?

[Dark574]

I just tried to get it to work with the latest version of Launchbox -> 13.5 on Linux Manjaro

i installed it through Steam->Add Non Steam Game to my Library with GE-Proton8-4 as Compatibility Layer. The installation now works flawless (including the .net frameworks which are included in the installer)

 

In the past i had problems with popup windows showing in Launchbox (popup windows will go in and out of rendering, often just displaying black), this is no longer the case!!!! popup windows work now.

I added my first game and it starts....so Launchbox works now in Manjaro at least. But there are still some drawbacks

 

1. Adding games and change settings in games, plattforms or categories takes ages, because Launchbox is really sluggish, performance is really bad at the moment

2. If you dont interact with the LaunchBox interface for a while it gets non responsive and you need to close Launchbox through task manager (kde in my case)

3. i added a native linux game for tests, when i start it through Launchbox it starts but it also generates an error message in Launchbox (Beim starten des Spiels ist ein Fehler aufgetreten: Ungültiges Handle. (0x80070006 (E_HANDLE)))

4. Starting Launchbox takes ages

 

So i can say Launchbox finally works on my Linux desktop, but performance is really bad at the moment. If i have time the next few days, i will try it on my Steam Deck

 

Update: i checked my Steam Deck, and i can say that LaunchBox finally works with terrible performance on the Steam Deck (i only tested LaunchBox not BigBox-Mode)

Edited June 7, 2023 by Dark574

[Crossfader]

I recorded a video, spoiler alert, the audio is not great, and well, I stutter quite a bit and go on long tangents.
But, it shows how to install Launchbox 13.6 on Nobara 38 with Lutris.

I cut out of the video the temporary freezes that occur while adding roms, and installing retroarch, and some tips to fix image flickering/glitching.

Also, I bought a lifetime license and tested Bigbox, Bigbox works too, but the images glitch a lot. But it works.

Anyways, I uploaded it to Odysee  https://odysee.com/@Shadow_House:c/LaunchBox-on-Linux:1