11.8 Beta Testing

[Jason Carr]

Hey all, the first 11.8 beta is out now with the following:

• New Feature: Steam Achievements are now available inside of both LaunchBox and Big Box! They can be viewed in the game details sidebar and via a popup from the game details menu in Big Box.

• New Feature: LaunchBox and Big Box now both have a Retroarch Netplay lobby browser! Access it from the tools menu in LaunchBox or the system menu in Big Box.

• Improvement: Games are now marked as duplicates in the Audit window if there are multiple games with the same LaunchBox Games DB ID assigned to them

• Improvement: Manuals/documents that have been added as additional apps will now be automatically recognized and dealt with properly in the Delete Platform, Edit Platform, Bulk Edit Platform, and Clean Up Media processes

• Fixed: Potential error when downloading media for manually-added games before they are saved for the first time

• Fixed: On rare occasions, Bulk Edit changes were not properly saving after a restart, mostly affecting Custom Field changes

• Fixed: Uplay import was not working due to Ubisoft's changes to Ubisoft Connect

• Fixed: The "Set Selected Name as Title" button in the Alternate Names section of the Add/Edit window wasn't always adding the currently used title to the list of alternate titles

• Fixed: The "Prioritize Music Over Video Audio" option in Big Box was sometimes not allowing video audio to play if no music was playing

[wallmachine]

I haven't downloaded the beta, but does the BB retroarch netplay lobby allow us to bind a key so we don't need to access the menu?

[TheNewClassics]

Thanks for another great update. I got the following error when trying to open the Retroarch Lobby:

 

The calling thread cannot access this object because a different thread owns it.

App:     Big Box
Version: 11.8-beta-1
Type:    System.InvalidOperationException
Site:    Void VerifyAccess()
Source:  WindowsBase

   at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.VerifyAccess()
   at System.Windows.DependencyObject.GetValue(DependencyProperty dp)
   at System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.Selector.get_SelectedIndex()
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.RetroarchNetplayViewModel.OnUp(Boolean held, Boolean onlyUpPressed)
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.OnUp(Boolean onlyUpPressed)
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.kRVYosFQUl(Guid  )
   at J0bmNVoRQoly8SCybi0.gK3oWMtAb(Object , Guid  , J0bmNVoRQoly8SCybi0 )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.<>c__DisplayClass336_1.ljls5uAuae()
   at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

Recent Log:

   4:11:57 PM Exception

[neil9000]

Looks like im getting the same error, however in my case the error pops up behind Bigbox so i dont actually know the error has occurred, but at the same time i lose controller use and i have to use the keyboard instead to navigate and exit Bigbox.

The calling thread cannot access this object because a different thread owns it.

App:     Big Box
Version: 11.8-beta-1
Type:    System.InvalidOperationException
Site:    Void VerifyAccess()
Source:  WindowsBase

   at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.VerifyAccess()
   at System.Windows.DependencyObject.GetValue(DependencyProperty dp)
   at System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.Selector.get_SelectedIndex()
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.RetroarchNetplayViewModel.OnDown(Boolean held, Boolean onlyDownPressed)
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.OnDown(Boolean onlyDownPressed)
   at O1VGAmcOE8WBjy3DH1g.gK3oWMtAb(Object , Boolean value, O1VGAmcOE8WBjy3DH1g )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.kRVYosFQUl(Guid  )
   at J0bmNVoRQoly8SCybi0.gK3oWMtAb(Object , Guid  , J0bmNVoRQoly8SCybi0 )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.<>c__DisplayClass336_1.ljls5uAuae()
   at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

Recent Log:

   21:18:44 Exception

 

[neil9000]

Im also getting a slightly different error when using the host or join netplay options in the game details screen. Upon clicking it opens the onscreen keyboard, and if i just hit done i get the below error and lose controller input again (keyboard still works).

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

App:     Big Box
Version: 11.8-beta-1
Type:    System.NullReferenceException
Site:    Void GqytMJKiFm(System.String)
Source:  BigBox

   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.MenuActions.RetroarchNetplayMenuAction.GqytMJKiFm(String  )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.MenuActions.RetroarchNetplayMenuAction.y2ItdIodLO(Object  , EventArgs  )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.KeyboardViewModel.P4LI6yisuvmbFWI5KqA(Object , Object , Object )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.KeyboardViewModel.drt1nUGOvZ()
   at ksl0gNjKrT2vujrklrg.gK3oWMtAb(Object , ksl0gNjKrT2vujrklrg )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.KeyboardViewModel.OnEnter()
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.OnEnter()
   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.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 Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Threading.Invoke(Action callback, DispatcherPriority priority)
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Threading.Invoke(DispatcherPriority priority, Action callback)
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.kRVYosFQUl(Guid  )
   at J0bmNVoRQoly8SCybi0.gK3oWMtAb(Object , Guid  , J0bmNVoRQoly8SCybi0 )
   at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.<>c__DisplayClass336_1.ljls5uAuae()
   at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

Recent Log:

   21:28:30 Exception

 

[Chris Kant]

any change to get improvements in the Mediamanager for the games or changes in the detail screen to make changes in the media? it is really unmotivated work to add media to each Titel like I have a set of PAL PS1 3D Covers. to get them available in Launchbox and BigBox it is a game by game manual work so far.

[C-Beats]

12 hours ago, Pixel said:

Also, do you plan to add GOG achievements? 

To my knowledge GOG doesn't have achievements.

[neil9000]

Just now, C-Beats said:

To my knowledge GOG doesn't have achievements.

[C-Beats]

4 minutes ago, neil9000 said:

Ah nice I stand corrected. Wasn't aware they added them to their platform yet. Even looked in Galaxy before posting, just wasn't looking in the right place lol. Thanks for the heads up. Will write up a feature request on BitBucket,

[Krakerman]

@C-Beats Include the ability to view them within LB/BB Pause as well?

 

[C-Beats]

26 minutes ago, Krakerman said:

@C-Beats Include the ability to view them within LB/BB Pause as well?

 

Just NEVER happy with what ya get huh @Krakerman.... Always MORE MORE MORE!!!  ;)

Suppose you're right THIS time though... should probably look at getting them working there as well. I'll see what I can do.

[Jason Carr]

20 hours ago, Pixel said:

Would it be possible to show the number of earned and remaining achievements? 

E.g. steam shows: "1\43 (2%)"

Is this possible to set the achivements to be hidden by default?  And to expand it only after clicking it? Some of them take a lot of space etc. 

Also, do you plan to add GOG achievements? 

If we get the chance, we may look into some of these options, depending on our schedule next week. GOG achievements would indeed be good to add, so we'll look into that for the future.

11 hours ago, Chris Kant said:

any change to get improvements in the Mediamanager for the games or changes in the detail screen to make changes in the media? it is really unmotivated work to add media to each Titel like I have a set of PAL PS1 3D Covers. to get them available in Launchbox and BigBox it is a game by game manual work so far.

I'm confused what you're asking for here. Can you explain?

[Jason Carr]

Beta 2 is out now with the following:

• Fixes for the netplay-lobby related issues above
• An overhaul for the add/edit platform category screen

[The_Keeper86]

Great release! How do we get Steam achievements to appear? non are showing up for me. I have one category (labeled Windows) set for my PC games maybe I need a separate one for Steam?

[Chris Kant]

9 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

I'm confused what you're asking for here. Can you explain?

Sure.

 

I like the Launchbox and BigBox thing for all my games and emulators. that is great and launching everything incl. Steam Archivements (new feature) and Retroarchivements are great. but managing the media and design is not user friendly and most of the time annoying.

example one: adding a 3D Box to one game you have to make multiple clicks. first go into the newer detail screen of the game in launchbox. then choose in the side bar the media. then Drag and drop the png (or whatever) into the place and then choose what kind of Art is this (in this example 3D Boxart). doing this for thousands of titles is frustrating and taking tooo long. 

example two: checking what kind of Arts and videos do we have in Launchbox / Bigbox and exchanging it is tooo complicated too. you can go into the detail screen then choose media and then going left and or right. but sometimes I have two of the same Arts like two clear logos. which one is the better one? first helpful addition would be getting media details like file size (i.e. 78kb) and dimension (i.e. 160x90px). this helps during clean ups. and having a flag for "active" and "inactive" if we have multiple arts of the same kind like clear logos or 3D Boxart etc. sometimes I just want to change the art style because of different sets.

example three: in the launchbox board other are uploading art files as a set. like Playstation 1 PAL Box set. thousands of files with great artwork BUT the file names are not align with the launchbox file conversion. so you have to rename most of the file names or manually load it through the game detail screen. I know that launchbox can handle filenames like "Tekken (PAL).png" but the system has a problem with such file names next to the name scheme from imported files like "Tekken-1.png". and sometimes the just copy and paste file names not matching the game names in Launchbox and then you have to find those in a folder with thousand files.

a media manager screen like game detail screen where you can go through the games and see on one screen 4 or more artworks like 2D BOX, 3D Box, clear logo and Start screen plus the video file and manual file directly available would be a big benefit for making the appearance way more better. of course with the change to delete files from there and drag and drop files to import them. also a filter with show all games without artwork x or y so we can dive directly to these missing artwork games. and a great feature would be if we could have the chance to upload those artworks from the launchbox ("media manager") to the launchbox games DB to make the collection available for everyone easier. 

downloading great artwork is so easy in retropi (for example) and one of the reasons why it is easy to handle.

I think, this would be another USP - unique selling point. not the unique one but another for the great Launchbox.

 

and being honest, I do not know what kind of others features do launchbox really need, I am not missing something but would like to see an improvement of the current things in the way of how to use (user acceptance factor can be improved through GUI upgrades).

 

keep that great work and I hope that my examples was helpful to understand me.

 

edit: I know there are some external application or plug ins for this but they are not working seamlessly with launchbox. a good starting point was this one 

 the issue with this tool is that it only looks in the standard location of the files and I had moved my files to another location due to space issues. Launchbox is in my ssd c drive, media Incl. manuals and videos is in a SSD b drive and games are on several discs. changing the folder information is also not easy and I have to make the changes in the xml files directly.

Edited November 14, 2020 by Chris Kant

[neil9000]

12 hours ago, The_Keeper86 said:

Great release! How do we get Steam achievements to appear? non are showing up for me. I have one category (labeled Windows) set for my PC games maybe I need a separate one for Steam?

 

12 hours ago, The_Keeper86 said:

Great release! How do we get Steam achievements to appear? non are showing up for me. I have one category (labeled Windows) set for my PC games maybe I need a separate one for Steam?

Also make sure that the "Game Details" part of your profile is set to public. Its under your username/edit profile/Privacy.

[neil9000]

12 hours ago, The_Keeper86 said:

Great release! How do we get Steam achievements to appear? non are showing up for me. I have one category (labeled Windows) set for my PC games maybe I need a separate one for Steam?

Also its likely theme dependant and only supported by the default theme currently. Maybe @C-Beats could confirm?

[neil9000]

Just now, Pixel said:

It's enough to copy one line of code into  from the original GameDetailsView.xaml to make work with other themes. For example, I modified Lambada theme like this, and it's perfect:  

Yes it is, but most users probably wouldnt know that and wouldnt want to mess with theme code, hence why i mentioned it. It could simply not be working because they are using a custom theme that has no support for the feature currently.

[The_Keeper86]

@neil9000 Yeah, it was because I was using a custom theme. I didn't think about that. I should've checked that before but it might help other users as well. I appreciate the help guys!

[C-Beats]

On 11/14/2020 at 7:11 AM, neil9000 said:

Also its likely theme dependant and only supported by the default theme currently. Maybe @C-Beats could confirm?

Yeah, a theme may need upgraded if it is older. We use the same controls as we did for RetroAchievements but they changed controls sometime around 11.0 and so some themes may not have the correct control. It is pretty easy to find it in the default theme xaml and put it into whatever theme you need it in, or can ask the theme dev to do it and update the theme.