Launchbox black screen after launch retro arch game

[Neosoul]

Hi -

 

had Launchbox android working beautifully prior but due to an SDcard corruption had to reinstall everything.

my setup is Retroarch plus + fba_libretto as this is a FBA specific rom set. It worked fine before the sdcard issue with Launchbox 1.1 android. Now it just hangs when launching.

 

retroarch works fine directly launching games. Tried uninstalling both retroarch and Launchbox and reinstalling. Fbaneo “works” but it does not recognize the roms. Is there a ghost setting somewhere I need to clear?

[Jason Carr]

That is certainly strange. My guess is that maybe this would be caused by a different version of that RetroArch core, maybe it's broken for some reason? Can you try an older version of the core? I'm really not sure what else it would be. Were you running the same version of LaunchBox for Android on the old SD card?

[Neosoul]

Thanks. So I tried formatting the sdcard as external storage then internal storage and reinstalled everything. Same behavior for both retroarch and plus. I tried installing the mame core and that responded but ultimately crashed everything.

how do I remove/reinstall a specific core?

 

forgot to respond, both were latest versions of retroarch and Launchbox (1.1)

 

also to be clear, retroarch works fine manually with the same core… bizarre!

Edited June 1, 2022 by Neosoul

[Neosoul]

@Jason Carr - I have a sneaking suspicion this could be due to paths... is there a way to get logs on how Launchbox is calling RetroArch (since RetroArch works fine with the same core manually run). I never get a Launchbox crashlog just "send feedback" for RetroArch itself

[Jason Carr]

4 hours ago, Neosoul said:

@Jason Carr - I have a sneaking suspicion this could be due to paths... is there a way to get logs on how Launchbox is calling RetroArch (since RetroArch works fine with the same core manually run). I never get a Launchbox crashlog just "send feedback" for RetroArch itself

Trying to brainstorm what this could be. We have heard of this issue before, but everything works just fine in our testing, so it's been difficult to pinpoint exactly what the issue is for users that are running into it. One hunch that I have is that it could be related to where you're downloading RetroArch from. Are you using a version from the Play Store? RetroArch is now saying that versions from the Play Stored are nerfed, and are no longer recommended because of Google's stupid restrictions (which is also one reason why LaunchBox is not on the Play Store).

It would be great if we could figure out exactly what the issue is though, because I'd like to have an answer for folks in this situation going forward. This is my best guess as to what might be going on though.

[Neosoul]

OK. I’ll download directly and try that and report back. I did go through the GPS for both RetroArchs and for some strange reason it worked before.

 

I thought it was a path issue because I noticed when you format the sdcard the system assigns it a random disk label.

is there any debugging log available to show how Retroarch was launched?

[Jason Carr]

On 6/1/2022 at 5:52 PM, Neosoul said:

OK. I’ll download directly and try that and report back. I did go through the GPS for both RetroArchs and for some strange reason it worked before.

 

I thought it was a path issue because I noticed when you format the sdcard the system assigns it a random disk label.

is there any debugging log available to show how Retroarch was launched?

Google has been imposing *new* restrictions on apps in the Play Store. So it's possible (and maybe likely) that older versions from the Play Store worked just fine, while newer versions do not.

Unfortunately we don't have any debug logging in place specifically for the launching of RetroArch. We could certainly add it in some form, but Android doesn't really make it easy to log how an application is launched (nor does it make it easy to launch). It's not straightforward like the command line is on the desktop.

[GavinZX]

This is also happening to me on android using my Odin. I tried deleting and reinstalling only to find that all of my retroarch settings were deleted too. Playlists look terrible. 
 

I really think I bit off more than I can chew with this purchase. If I can’t get it to work with retroarch what’s the point!

 

edit I was using retroarch from play store and mgba- I think I need to find out how to apply a core to a playlist universally 

Edited June 5, 2022 by GavinZX
Update

[Jason Carr]

@Neosoul Did you get it to work with the sideloaded version?

18 hours ago, GavinZX said:

This is also happening to me on android using my Odin. I tried deleting and reinstalling only to find that all of my retroarch settings were deleted too. Playlists look terrible. 
 

I really think I bit off more than I can chew with this purchase. If I can’t get it to work with retroarch what’s the point!

You probably just need the sideloaded version, which is pretty easy to download and install. You can download the APK from the RetroArch website. Or, if you'd rather just give up, just email us at support@unbrokensoftware.com.

[C-Beats]

I just recently received my Odin Pro and have been using the side loaded RetroArch with no problems at all. Everything just worked out of the box. I've never really used Android for much of anything before this and it was fairly strait forward. RetroGameCorps also has a great guide to help you get your emulators set up for Android/Odin. Once set up and working getting them to work with LB should be just a matter of pointing LB to the correct folder and emulator. I didn't have to do anything other than that.

[GavinZX]

2 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

@Neosoul Did you get it to work with the sideloaded version?

You probably just need the sideloaded version, which is pretty easy to download and install. You can download the APK from the RetroArch website. Or, if you'd rather just give up, just email us at support@unbrokensoftware.com.

Thank you for the feedback. Sideloaded 64 bit seems to be working fine. Just sucks have to set up retroarch again. No worries though if I make setting up launchbox on the focus. I also have to redo my playlists to select a default core at the start so it works with LB. 

since I already ruined my retroarch, might as well keep at the LB, even though right now I am banging my head against the wall. I wish Retrogamecorps would do a guide on launch box haha. Set up is going very difficult right now sadly. My lb has a ways to go. Thousands of Roms for each system. 

[im_no_jedi]

I'm also having this same issue with my Odin where I try and load an nes game and I get a black screen. I'm using RetroArch (64-bit Sideloaded) and I have the correct core selected that has been downloaded from RetroArch site. I'm getting this issue with multiple systems (NES, SNES, ATARI) Only one that works is Genesis. Sometimes I will get a popup saying RetroArch isn't responding and asks to close app or wait. I've tested the games in RetroArch and they boot right up with the selected cores.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

[Jason Carr]

15 minutes ago, im_no_jedi said:

I'm also having this same issue with my Odin where I try and load an nes game and I get a black screen. I'm using RetroArch (64-bit Sideloaded) and I have the correct core selected that has been downloaded from RetroArch site. I'm getting this issue with multiple systems (NES, SNES, ATARI) Only one that works is Genesis. Sometimes I will get a popup saying RetroArch isn't responding and asks to close app or wait. I've tested the games in RetroArch and they boot right up with the selected cores.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

Everyone we've talked to previously (that has responded) has said that everything works fine after they download the sideloaded version of RetroArch. Are you sure you just didn't forget to download the cores? I ask, because I've done that on accident myself. I don't know what else the problem could be.

[im_no_jedi]

Yes, I've downloaded the cores in RetroArch. I followed Retrogamecorp's starter guide. Only thing I can think of is to uninstall and reinstall RetroArch again. I don't think I'm doing anything else wrong.

[faeran]

On 6/9/2022 at 4:10 PM, im_no_jedi said:

I'm also having this same issue with my Odin where I try and load an nes game and I get a black screen. I'm using RetroArch (64-bit Sideloaded) and I have the correct core selected that has been downloaded from RetroArch site. I'm getting this issue with multiple systems (NES, SNES, ATARI) Only one that works is Genesis. Sometimes I will get a popup saying RetroArch isn't responding and asks to close app or wait. I've tested the games in RetroArch and they boot right up with the selected cores.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

A black screen in RetroArch usually means you have some kind of mismatch between your settings in LaunchBox for Android and what RetroArch is tring to do with them.

Focus on one platform that isn't working, like NES, and make sure:

• You have imported your NES games properly - you can edit the metadata of any game and see the file path, and make sure it's correct.
• You have the correct emulator & core selected in LaunchBox - it may be worthwhile for you to download a number of different NES cores in RetroArch, then in LaunchBox, under the NES Emulator settings, make sure you've chosen RetroArch (64-bit sideloaded), and try a few different cores out and see if you notice any difference between them (Make sure while you are doing the above, that you close RetroArch down completely (from the app switcher) before trying to launch a game)

Another reason you can see the black screen is if you are missing any dependencies inside of RetroArch, like a bios file, but in your case, this doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[im_no_jedi]

6 hours ago, faeran said:

A black screen in RetroArch usually means you have some kind of mismatch between your settings in LaunchBox for Android and what RetroArch is tring to do with them.

Focus on one platform that isn't working, like NES, and make sure:

• You have imported your NES games properly - you can edit the metadata of any game and see the file path, and make sure it's correct.
• You have the correct emulator & core selected in LaunchBox - it may be worthwhile for you to download a number of different NES cores in RetroArch, then in LaunchBox, under the NES Emulator settings, make sure you've chosen RetroArch (64-bit sideloaded), and try a few different cores out and see if you notice any difference between them (Make sure while you are doing the above, that you close RetroArch down completely (from the app switcher) before trying to launch a game)

Another reason you can see the black screen is if you are missing any dependencies inside of RetroArch, like a bios file, but in your case, this doesn't seem to be the case.

 

You are a lifesaver! Checked the metadata and sure enough the path is incorrect. When I originally imported, I imported the zip files. But I recently unzipped all my roms.
 

I corrected one to search for the unzipped rom and it worked! Thank you and appreciate the help!

Edited June 11, 2022 by im_no_jedi

[Neosoul]

Hey guys - FYI, for my original problem (RetroArch works fine manually but crashes via Launchbox) - LaunchBox 1.2 fixed it. RetroArch was untouched. One thing I did initially wrong was pick the wrong core and it stopped working. With 1.2 I picked the correct one out of the gate and worked great!

 

It's almost like there is some remaining path cached with the wrong core. 

[Atki2022]

Hello, Im having this same problem on my Odin Pro.. build my roms/platform etc properly but when I go to run a game it either hangs on a black screen or ends up in the sideloaded retroarch64 app but doesnt go further. Ive tried all the basic trial and error stuff and im just out of ideas. Any help would be appreciated. Thx

[Jason Carr]

53 minutes ago, Atki2022 said:

Hello, Im having this same problem on my Odin Pro.. build my roms/platform etc properly but when I go to run a game it either hangs on a black screen or ends up in the sideloaded retroarch64 app but doesnt go further. Ive tried all the basic trial and error stuff and im just out of ideas. Any help would be appreciated. Thx

It's best to start with a simple platform that does not require a BIOS like NES, and see if you can get that working properly first.

[Atki2022]

6 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

It's best to start with a simple platform that does not require a BIOS like NES, and see if you can get that working properly first.

That makes sense, I should have mentioned it was while loading mame/arcade roms.. hadn’t moved to any other platforms. It’s odd that everything works fine when launching from retroarch but while trying to launch from LB it’s not having it despite having all mame/alpha etc cores downloaded.. I have updated all parts of retroarch too. It will be good to sort this out as LB looks great. I could add video a bit later if permissible/possible.