Looking to switch from GameEx to LaunchBox/Big Box

[VinceF]

Hi all,

I've looked through several of the YouTube video tutorials and like what I see.  Currently, I have a cabinet with the usual MAME and main consoles set up using GameEx Arcade Edition as the front-end.  While I like GameEx just fine, I like what I've seen with LaunchBox but have two main questions I'm trying to figure out and haven't found the clear cut answer I'm seeking:

1)  Does LaunchBox allow me to make custom menus?  If I want to create a menu for superhero games, or pro wrestling games, or Capcom games, or Taito games, etc., do I have the ability to do that and if so, am I able to add not only MAME games to that custom menu as well as console games?  For instance, if I create a pro wrestling menu, can I add the various arcade wrestling games (i.e. WWF Wrestlefest, MatMania/Exciting Hour, etc.) as well as the various console releases such as WWF No Mercy, or WCW\NWO Revenge, etc?  The version of GameEx I have does not allow this.

2) Currently, my roms all sit on one drive while my emulators sit on a different drive.  Am I able to simply direct LaunchBox to where the roms are sitting or do they need to be moved and nested within a LaunchBox directory?  I played a bit with EmulationStation and it appears the roms have to sit within EmulationStation's main folder.  While moving or copying roms is not a big deal, I don't want to disrupt what I currently have set up with GameEx and would prefer to leave the roms where they are so they will continue to work with that front-end.  I don't want to duplicate roms elsewhere thus wasting space.

Hopefully what I'm saying makes sense.  If these two functions can be done the way I'm envisioning it, then I'll be thrilled to buy LaunchBox/Big Box and move forward.

Thanks for any forthcoming help.

[Lordmonkus]

6 minutes ago, VinceF said:

1)  Does LaunchBox allow me to make custom menus?

Yes, they are called playlists in Launchbox. Yes, you can add any game from any platform to a playlist.

7 minutes ago, VinceF said:

Am I able to simply direct LaunchBox to where the roms are sitting or do they need to be moved and nested within a LaunchBox directory? 

Yes, you can keep your emulators and roms where you have them.

Download Launchbox and give it a try for free to see if it meets  your needs and then if you like how it all functions then you can buy the license for BigBox and the other premium features.

[VinceF]

Thanks Lordmonkus.  Looking forward to getting this set up!

[Cnells2000]

@VinceF I changed over 2 years ago and have'nt turned back. now all i use it for is a jukebox and movie player now lol.

[VinceF]

On 2/11/2021 at 10:50 AM, Lordmonkus said:

Yes, they are called playlists in Launchbox. Yes, you can add any game from any platform to a playlist.

Yes, you can keep your emulators and roms where you have them.

Download Launchbox and give it a try for free to see if it meets  your needs and then if you like how it all functions then you can buy the license for BigBox and the other premium features.

I made the leap and upgraded to Premium.... have started making playlists but here's my question... can I put a list within a list.  For example, if I create a pro wrestling playlist, can I have a subfolder for WWF games, another subfolder for WCW games, another for All-Japan games, etc?  Or a Fighting games folder, with subfolders for Mortal Kombat, another for Street Fighter, another for Fatal Fury, etc.?

[Mr.Laor]

Sort of and in a practical way,  yes.  You would make a wrestling category and create the playlists within it.  From BBox it will look the way you described. You can also add categories within categories.

[VinceF]

19 hours ago, Mr.Laor said:

Sort of and in a practical way,  yes.  You would make a wrestling category and create the playlists within it.  From BBox it will look the way you described. You can also add categories within categories.

Thanks.  Was able to figure it out with your suggestion.  Appreciate it.