Jump to content
LaunchBox Community Forums

Running LaunchBox and Big Box on Linux


Jason Carr

Recommended Posts

On 7/27/2021 at 2:59 AM, AbbieDoobie said:

2. Linux users are often more aware of the license terms they are agreeing to, and what all goes into software development. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of Linux users who want access to BigBox will be willing to pay for it, out of respect to the dev team.

I paid for BigBox, so I can confirm that the Linux community is onboard with paying for this. :)

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all. need some help. I'm on Pop os and ran the sh but ended up getting stopped here:

--2021-08-04 10:57:12--  http://ak.or.download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/F/0AFB5316-3062-494A-AB78-7FB0D4461357/windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe
Resolving ak.or.download.microsoft.com (ak.or.download.microsoft.com)... 23.103.192.61, 23.103.192.62, 23.103.192.63, ...
Connecting to ak.or.download.microsoft.com (ak.or.download.microsoft.com)|23.103.192.61|:80...


The connection never happens. I also cant go to that address via browser so i think the files have moved. Can someone please help me Thanks!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, ShivitoApps said:

Hi all. need some help. I'm on Pop os and ran the sh but ended up getting stopped here:

--2021-08-04 10:57:12--  http://ak.or.download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/F/0AFB5316-3062-494A-AB78-7FB0D4461357/windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe
Resolving ak.or.download.microsoft.com (ak.or.download.microsoft.com)... 23.103.192.61, 23.103.192.62, 23.103.192.63, ...
Connecting to ak.or.download.microsoft.com (ak.or.download.microsoft.com)|23.103.192.61|:80...


The connection never happens. I also cant go to that address via browser so i think the files have moved. Can someone please help me Thanks!

 

Yeah, I reported the same issue and have yet to get help. However, The Android version is apparently being ported to Linux. So for now, we wait. ☺️

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, DavrosKaled said:

They are talking about it on the latest Poll. ☺️

Screenshot_20210805-134750_Firefox.jpg

Problem is if it's dependent on CPU architecture, then we won't be seeing it on our Desktop Linux installs.  Also, the problem seems to be lack of posting of Launchbox in the right places.  I bet you if we hit up reddit and gamingonlinux.com there would be lots more interest in such a thing.  With the Steam Deck running ArchLinux, I think Launchbox / Bigbox would be amazing on it.

Also... Android != Linux as far as what we would like, the Android version will use Android libraries, so will basically be not usable on a normal Linux setup.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, ShivitoApps said:

Thanks! BTW This is my first time putting Linux as my main OS on a device. I'm interested because i heard programmers prefer Linux. What is your reason for using Linux?

Awesome, welcome to the future.. or something.  I've been using Linux since '97.  Excellent platform for learning, programming, and pretty much anything.  Programmers tend to prefer Linux because they can look directly at the source code and hack around and learn from it easier than from closed source operating systems.  Not to mention the many great programming tools.  I actually got into Linux because I thought Windows 95 was ugly, and I wanted something a bit more open to customization.  Little did I know it'd set me upon my career path :P

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, ShivitoApps said:

Thanks! BTW This is my first time putting Linux as my main OS on a device. I'm interested because i heard programmers prefer Linux. What is your reason for using Linux?

I just love how much control Linux gives the user. And thanks to things like Gnome, KDE Plasma and Cinnamon, Linux now extremely user friendly.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, slaapliedje said:

Problem is if it's dependent on CPU architecture, then we won't be seeing it on our Desktop Linux installs.  Also, the problem seems to be lack of posting of Launchbox in the right places.  I bet you if we hit up reddit and gamingonlinux.com there would be lots more interest in such a thing.  With the Steam Deck running ArchLinux, I think Launchbox / Bigbox would be amazing on it.

Also... Android != Linux as far as what we would like, the Android version will use Android libraries, so will basically be not usable on a normal Linux setup.

The Android version uses Xamarin.Forms, and will be upgraded to MAUI when .NET 6 comes out. There will be a native implementation of MAUI available for Linux. It will all still be written in .NET. Because of that, CPU architecture is mostly irrelevant. We've also experimented with running the full desktop version of LaunchBox and Big Box on Windows 11 ARM (compiled for ARM64), and we've confirmed that it runs well, and it's even usable on a Raspberry Pi using WOR. But the main problem is that there is no implementation of WPF on Linux, so no native version of the desktop app could ever be built with the themes support that we have (without a complete rewrite and reinventing the wheel, which is just not at all feasible).

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

The Android version uses Xamarin.Forms, and will be upgraded to MAUI when .NET 6 comes out. There will be a native implementation of MAUI available for Linux. It will all still be written in .NET. Because of that, CPU architecture is mostly irrelevant. We've also experimented with running the full desktop version of LaunchBox and Big Box on Windows 11 ARM (compiled for ARM64), and we've confirmed that it runs well, and it's even usable on a Raspberry Pi using WOR. But the main problem is that there is no implementation of WPF on Linux, so no native version of the desktop app could ever be built with the themes support that we have (without a complete rewrite and reinventing the wheel, which is just not at all feasible).

https://ccifra.github.io/PortingWPFAppsToLinux/Overview.html

Something like this maybe?  Granted this is still using Wine.  But has all the instructions on how to get it running.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

That's ultimately what we're doing with the version that is already available. It's just not native.

For people like me, who don't have a clue about all of this, what are downsides of using LaunchBox on Linux through Wine compared to running natively on Windows?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, SiriusVI said:

For people like me, who don't have a clue about all of this, what are downsides of using LaunchBox on Linux through Wine compared to running natively on Windows?

The biggest one is having to use Windows emulators under Launchbox, or figuring out a way to wrap around the native emulators.  With most programs it's not much of a difference (except maybe some performance issues).  But as Launchbox is a frontend to multiple emulators, it's better to use the native ones for integration, performance, etc. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, slaapliedje said:

The biggest one is having to use Windows emulators under Launchbox, or figuring out a way to wrap around the native emulators.  With most programs it's not much of a difference (except maybe some performance issues).  But as Launchbox is a frontend to multiple emulators, it's better to use the native ones for integration, performance, etc. 

Oh OK, I can see how using emulated windows emulators on Linux might hurt performance. Is there no way to just emulate Launchbox and have to point to the Linux versions of the emulators (e.g. Retroarch cores) ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/4/2021 at 10:47 PM, DavrosKaled said:

I just love how much control Linux gives the user. And thanks to things like Gnome, KDE Plasma and Cinnamon, Linux now extremely user friendly.

  Agreed I think the user friendliness contributed quite greatly to me putting Linux on one of my main machines. Also pop os looks very nice? 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I'll take wine support for now though. Looking forward to seeing if/how well it will get ran on Steam Deck. The Steam Deck's OS is based on Arch which is a rolling release distro. What this means is it gets the latest updates faster than things like Ubuntu. This may amount to nothing but it will probably help in getting this running well in WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator).

More importantly, Arch has access to the AUR. This will make installing Launchbox SO MUCH EASIER. Someone will probably make a launchbox-steam-deck that will have it configured pretty perfectly I imagine. One command and it's installed. If the developers see enough demand in that market, then they will happily make a more native implementation, as they have said before. 🙂

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 8/7/2021 at 7:14 AM, SiriusVI said:

Oh OK, I can see how using emulated windows emulators on Linux might hurt performance. Is there no way to just emulate Launchbox and have to point to the Linux versions of the emulators (e.g. Retroarch cores) ?

Believe it or not there isn't that much of a hit in performance to many of the "low end" emulators.  Of course when you start getting into really performance hungry emulation it gets too much.  I think when I was using LB in Wine I used Windows Retoarch for everything up to PSX and Saturn (I think), then using Native emulation after that.  If you want help with that look at page six of this thread.  A user named Sterophonick figured it out, so much love for that person.

All of that being said, I really have no idea what (if any) version of LB runs in Wine.  We had some very talented individuals work hard and managed to get it up and running fairly well (though with some quirks), but as far as I know no version post-11.7 works at all, which kind of killed it for most of us.  And if you are like me and no longer patronize Windows for entertainment, there really is nothing more to say.

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/20/2021 at 6:07 PM, bombatomba77 said:

Believe it or not there isn't that much of a hit in performance to many of the "low end" emulators.  Of course when you start getting into really performance hungry emulation it gets too much.  I think when I was using LB in Wine I used Windows Retoarch for everything up to PSX and Saturn (I think), then using Native emulation after that.  If you want help with that look at page six of this thread.  A user named Sterophonick figured it out, so much love for that person.

All of that being said, I really have no idea what (if any) version of LB runs in Wine.  We had some very talented individuals work hard and managed to get it up and running fairly well (though with some quirks), but as far as I know no version post-11.7 works at all, which kind of killed it for most of us.  And if you are like me and no longer patronize Windows for entertainment, there really is nothing more to say.

 

I am in the process of getting the Android version working natively with GTK on Linux. I think I can safely say that it's going to work at this point, but I do have a lot of work left, so it will still be a while. But it's coming. :)

  • Like 3
  • Unusual Gem 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/22/2021 at 10:25 AM, Jason Carr said:

I am in the process of getting the Android version working natively with GTK on Linux. I think I can safely say that it's going to work at this point, but I do have a lot of work left, so it will still be a while. But it's coming. :)

If we bought an Android license, is that valid for this Linux port or will it require a Linux license? I don't mind either way since this is a fantastic product and is always worth shelling out the $.

Edited by Hifihedgehog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...