Launchbox update change: "Core selection on import"

[Archmage_R]

Hello there, I am the sort of person who import all my games on a "1 by 1" basis,it is a lot of work, but I prefer to do it this way as it is quick to change anything that is "wrong" with game descriptions/info/boxart etc.
The newest update however have made this even more work than before, and has really put me off using launchbox for the moment. The reason for this is that I now have to (every single time) choose from a dropdown list the core that I am currently using for my nes games as it defaults to liberto_nestopia (which I do not even have installed) and I use liberto_mesen.
I can see why this is a useful feature, however It becomes a huge timewaster when you have to do this manually every time for every game. 
I do not see why it does not default to the core you have set as "default core" in your emulator, as then I can just simply click next (This  will retain the option to change for those who want to). 

Will there be a fix/update/change for this in the forseeable future?
 

[fraganator]

45 minutes ago, Archmage_R said:

The reason for this is that I now have to (every single time) choose from a dropdown list the core that I am currently using for my nes games as it defaults to liberto_nestopia (which I do not even have installed) and I use liberto_mesen.

I've noticed a similar issue when importing a game to a platform that has a non-RetroArch emulator set as the default, and RetroArch isn't installed / configured. The import wizard always prompts to select between installing RetroArch or using another emulator, where it should just use the currently configured default emulator. I've raised an issue about it here.

In your case, can you set the nestopia core as the default, do the individual imports, then change the default back to the mesen core? LaunchBox will then update each game's emulator to use the mesen core.

[Archmage_R]

On 3/6/2022 at 1:28 AM, fraganator said:

In your case, can you set the nestopia core as the default, do the individual imports, then change the default back to the mesen core? LaunchBox will then update each game's emulator to use the mesen core.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'd prefer if this was fixed though. Kinda tedious to have to "circumvent" the system that is supposed to be there to make things easier. 🙄 

[Lordmonkus]

Ah yes, the system that works best for the massive majority of users is some how broken for an edge case use such as yours.

[fraganator]

I did a quick test of the import process, and it's unclear what the core selection does during the import.

• I started with a manual RetroArch install (v1.9.1, not installed via LB) without any NES cores, and LaunchBox 12.8.
• libretro_mesen was manually downloaded via RA's Download a Core option.
• RetroArch was configured within LaunchBox to use the libretro_mesen core for NES games:
• 

 

• A NES game was imported. During the import process the core selection is pre-set to nestopia_libretro (this should be set to the above configured libretro_mesen core, which I believe is possibly a bug).
• 

 

• The import continued with the above default settings (nestopia + auto download). After the game was imported I checked the emulator settings for RetroArch, and they were unchanged (still shows libretro_mesen as the NES core).
• RetroArch was run and there's no indication nestopia_libretro was installed (not listed in the available cores).
• The imported game shows RetroArch as the emulator, without any core specific arguments.

So I'm not sure what the core selection during the import is doing. It didn't change the already configured core, and didn't download the nestopia core either. Maybe because my copy of RA wasn't installed by LB in the first place? In any case, it seems like you may be able to ignore this option, @Archmage_R. Try import a game with the default core selection and see what happens.

[C-Beats]

That drop down is only used when you are adding a new platform to the emulator you selected. When adding the platform to the associated platforms tab for you we use your selection to properly fill it in. We have updated the code to help make this more clear by only displaying that drop down when it is actually required to help avoid confusion. Should see the change in the next beta release.

[Archmage_R]

16 hours ago, Lordmonkus said:

Ah yes, the system that works best for the massive majority of users is some how broken for an edge case use such as yours.

1. As a moderator I can only assume that you represent Launcbox (or at least works as one of it's customer relation agents), is this really how you respond to paying customers? With sarcasm and "brushing off" legitimate feedback?

2. Explain to me how a drop down menu defaulting to a core that is not selected as default, in fact not even installed is "the system that works best for the vast majority of users". Also, how do in fact the "vast majority of users" use launchbox?

Read "fragnator"'s post, is this an efficient system to you? then read "C-Beats" post.

Edited March 7, 2022 by Archmage_R

[Archmage_R]

9 hours ago, fraganator said:

I did a quick test of the import process, and it's unclear what the core selection does during the import.

• I started with a manual RetroArch install (v1.9.1, not installed via LB) without any NES cores, and LaunchBox 12.8.
• libretro_mesen was manually downloaded via RA's Download a Core option.
• RetroArch was configured within LaunchBox to use the libretro_mesen core for NES games:
• 

 

• A NES game was imported. During the import process the core selection is pre-set to nestopia_libretro (this should be set to the above configured libretro_mesen core, which I believe is possibly a bug).
• 

 

• The import continued with the above default settings (nestopia + auto download). After the game was imported I checked the emulator settings for RetroArch, and they were unchanged (still shows libretro_mesen as the NES core).
• RetroArch was run and there's no indication nestopia_libretro was installed (not listed in the available cores).
• The imported game shows RetroArch as the emulator, without any core specific arguments.

So I'm not sure what the core selection during the import is doing. It didn't change the already configured core, and didn't download the nestopia core either. Maybe because my copy of RA wasn't installed by LB in the first place? In any case, it seems like you may be able to ignore this option, @Archmage_R. Try import a game with the default core selection and see what happens.

Thanks for the well written and very informative post.

Reading "C-Beats"'s post explained the issue (and future fix), but I really appreciate you trying to help me out/doing the research. I tried importing a game and indeed it did not change anything, so there is our answer :).