Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 (edited) Hello Everyone, I have been searching for the best way to view my old gaming magazines for a while now and thought I would share what I found. I love them as much as I love the games, and felt they looked pale in comparison to everything else I have done with launchbox. This isn't a post about how I found the BEST possible way to do this, I'm actually hoping that somebody might come along and make it better as I don't know everything about pdf and the viewers. This will likely be something I keep adding to as I go on with this, i can tell it will take me some time to finish it but I really enjoy doing it...as they say, time you enjoy wasting isn't time wasted. I started my journey few years back and got alot of information from the forums here about how to add them and get the covers and such, it was very helpful. I just....hate the pdf viewers, all of them. I use them for strategy guides but for my magazine or comic stuff it just takes away all the immersion. Launchbox has come a long way since then, and we now have 3d boxes that can be edited to look like a magazine! Suddenly I started to see what I always wanted out of my magazine pdf collection, if I could just find a better way to read them. After months of trial and error, reading and testing, I think I found my winner. There are apps that convert PDF files into flipable interactive exe's, none are free (that I'm aware of) but man does it make a difference. You can flip them with the mouse, keyboard, etc. You can literally grab the page and wiggle it around with the mouse! These combined with LB have blown me away, im not far into converting them all but I plan to document my journey here so others can get the most out of their old mag collections. PLACES TO FIND MAGAZINES Spoiler RetroMags Retro CDN SegaRetro Out-of-Print Archive Internet Archive OldGameMags.net I'm sure there are many more to add here, these are just my goto places to look for mags. CONVERTING PDF TO FLIPBOOK Spoiler I stumbled across this in my search for a better viewer, at the time it was the only thing bothering me as LB already provided a decent way for me to list them neatly. I downloaded quite a few applications, but only one had everything I wanted. After uninstalling all the others the only one that remained was FlipPDF. It has a free version but I can't remember the catch with that, I assume I didn't like it or I wouldn't have bought it, whatever it was. Knowing me and my ocd it's likely a watermark, i can't stand to see those. They have a interactive demo on their site so you can see it in action real time. Takes a while to convert all your PDF's, they are a slightly larger filesize than the PDF used to make it. If you add extra features before you convert them such as the built in pdf download, it will double in size (due to it embedding the pdf file you used to make it inside the exe). It has a bulk convert option to just add them all and walk away, I started a 150 issue set earlier today and its still going...maybe 3 hours now. You can add music, change the background (I used Mr Retrolust Background), all kinds of stuff. CONVERTING CBZ/CBR TO PDF: If you have a collection of cbz/cbr files and can't load them into FlipPDF they will need to be converted first. I first tried this with Calibre but it left behind white edges and looked terrible after converting it into a Flipbook. I found the easiest way to do this and keep the original documents width and height is to simply open the cbz/cbr with SumtraPDF and "Save AS" PDF. UPDATE: Turns out its way easier to convert CBZ/CBR to PDF with this tool HERE (Thanks DerSchlachter!) DELETING FILES FROM CBZ/CBR: There have been more than a few instances where I needed to remove/rename the website "thank you page" from a cbr/cbz, due to it displaying as the front cover instead of the actual cover. I don't like to remove them, I usually just rename them to "zzz.jpg" and it works most of the time. There are a number of ways to do this, the way I found easiest is to open the CBR/CBZ file with Winrar and rename/delete the page. MY FLIPPDF TEMPLATE: Here is my FlipPDF template, it likely has some settings that you will need to change before you use it. It's mainly to look over to figure out the vast options menu, I've had a few people ask for it so I figured I'd leave it here. my FlipPDF template.txt LAUNCHBOX 3D MODEL SETTINGS & GETTING COVER/BACK ART Spoiler Getting some of the art needed for the new 3D model feature in launchbox wasn't complex, most users won't need much help with that but just in case, I will explain how I got them. I plan to upload these as I go to save somebody hours of exporting front/back covers for the magazines I have in my collection, I will post the links at the bottom of this thread when I get that far. I export the art using ComicRack, it seems their website is no longer available so I had to search google for a download. I still haven't spent much time trying to automate this process, I think its possible to export both in bulk but haven't had the time to mess around with it so I'm doing them manually for now. You save first page, then jump to last page and export that page. I'll post my magazine edge to use as the spline but I will admit it's nothing fancy, I plan to look into this further in the future and make full scans maybe. I also use the front page to create a background fanart by cropping it just under the title so each magazine has a more unique look, this way last played and most played don't always have the same background. I use the magazine company logo as the clear logo, and fill out what i can of the metadata. MAGAZINE 3D BOX SETTINGS FOR LAUNCHBOX: If you right click on a platform, and click edit. You can do custom options for the 3D Model, these are my settings: SCREENSHOTS: This is what the magazine edge looks like when added as the spline (for now) And here is a photo of a test with all these things added, I have 3 monitor setup so it looks really wide. ADDING EXTRAS TO YOUR MAGAZINES (DEMO/VHS/ETC) AS ADDITIONAL APP Spoiler I was very excited to find a treasure trove of demo discs on the Internet Archive in my search of random magazines from my past, I added them immediately but found that I needed to add a few new emulators to LB in order to play them via the additional apps menu. I use retroarch for most things below ps2, and magazines come for all platforms, causing it to not know what core to use when I try to launch them with my default Retroarch emu. I mean, I can't just NOT have them work ya know, it's a important part of the experience. I learned that I had to add another instance of retroarch to launchbox with a bit of info in the cmd line field, telling RA what core to use. Go to manage emulators, add a new emu named Retroarch (Playstation) or whatever platform you need it to use to load the demo, then select that as the emu when adding all demo discs. Add one for each platform that you want to play demo from, I'll post my settings below. Other people that don't use retroarch may not have this issue, just figured I'd post this in case somebody was struggling with it. If RA doesn't know what core to use it just exits, leaving you wondering what is going on. CUSTOM BADGES: There is a custom badge that displays for any magazine that has a demo/supplement, I did that by using the very cool tool I found in these forums made by jayjay, it makes plugins for custom badges. I had a blast with this thing, I've made maybe 40 different custom badges with it, never gets old. You can find it HERE MAGAZINES THAT CONTAIN INCLUDED DEMOS: Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK (100 Demos) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (112 Demos) Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine (10 Demos) Official Xbox Magazine Sega Saturn Magazine PC Gamer MAGAZINES THAT CONTAIN INCLUDED VHS TAPES: Game Players (16 VHS Tapes) Nintendo Power (Promo Tapes) GBX (9 VHS Tapes) & 2 GBC games In addition to the extras posted above, there are also supplement extras that come with some magazines that can be added as additional apps as well. Ranging from small strategy guides to extra booklets for upcoming games. Here are some for Electronic Gaming Monthly. USEFUL TOOLS (POSTED BY USERS) Spoiler There are quite a few useful tips and guides posted by users of this forum. There are several full detail guides posted by DerSchlachter! and Baggio, they can be found in the first few pages of this thread. They explain how to use various tools and other ways to make things less tedious. I will link some of the files they have posted here for easy access. I also linked the page the files come from as most have a small explanation on how to use them. Extract Last Page Renamer Batch Script by Baggio Extract Last Page PDF.zip 3.19 MB · 4 downloads Extracting Front & Back pages with Adobe Acrobat by Baggio First and Last page to JPG.sequ 977 B · 0 downloads First Page To JPG.sequ 759 B · 0 downloads Last Page To JPG.sequ 760 B · 0 downloads Set_Initial_View.sequ MAGAZINE MEDIA UPLOADED BY OTHER LB USERS Spoiler Magazine Theme Video 1.0.0 By LCMan27 Magazines (Category/Platform) video By CTRL-ALT-DEFEAT MAGAZINE MEDIA FOR LAUNCHBOX I will add my media for the magazines I have in my collection here if anybody needs them. You will need to rename your magazines to match the names in the zips if you want to copy/paste these, can also add them manually. I will admit I didn't get very creative with the fanart, just a way to distinguish the magazines for my "most recent" and "most played" buttons. I added Front Covers, Back Covers, and Fanart into each zip. Also included platform icon, clear logo, and spline. I created a download section for all the media I've pulled so far, it can be found in the link below. Custom Clear logos in any of the sets are made by Baggio Magazine Platform Media: Magazine Platform Icon.zip Magazine Edge Spline.zip Magazine Platform Media.zip Edited October 2, 2023 by KingSlayer420 Added Info 5 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerSchlachter Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 I have a lot of German Magazin and a few english Magazin Cover....and 10000+ Comic Cover...if desired, I will upload them 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, DerSchlachter said: I have a lot of German Magazin and a few english Magazin Cover....and 10000+ Comic Cover...if desired, I will upload them Thanks DerSchlachter, I think it turns alot of people away knowing they will have to pull all those covers from every pdf, if we upload everything we have done I think it will help others that have collections like we do. Most of mine are USA magazines, I aim for the complete sets. I don't have a ton of comics, usually just get ones that are about the games I own. We have little to no magazine/comic stuff in the downloads section, so any little bit would help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Beats Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 Shouldn't really need to upload covers for magazines/comics for most of the ways I know of them being distributed. Just use the image from the first page. I can't imagine it's hard to find software that does it for you automatically (though admit I've not looked). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerSchlachter Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 I convert the last 2000 Files (extract Cover) then uiploads start. This is my Magazine and Comic Section....starts with a few....ends in a mess 😁😍 My tools cbrconvert Comic Utility Belt calibre Viewer: Sumatra PDF P.S.: Examples of the MESS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerSchlachter Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, C-Beats said: Shouldn't really need to upload covers for magazines/comics for most of the ways I know of them being distributed. Just use the image from the first page. I can't imagine it's hard to find software that does it for you automatically (though admit I've not looked). Thats right! calibre is simple for cbr and cbz Files, Comic Utility is good for PDF Files. If needed i have a bunch of Covers....but the Name convention can make the trouble of import, it is maybe necessary to use the following software NIYoW (Name it Your Way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Beats Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 Yeah, I need to get my work finished up with CHAOS. It's what I use to read my comics but haven't as much time as I'd like to work on it with the kids on summer break. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 (edited) 10 minutes ago, C-Beats said: Shouldn't really need to upload covers for magazines/comics for most of the ways I know of them being distributed. Just use the image from the first page. I can't imagine it's hard to find software that does it for you automatically (though admit I've not looked). Yeah I used ComicRack for that but I can't figure out how to pull the back cover as well, i'm sure it's in the settings somewhere. I have to go to last page on each one and save it manually. If I made a pack would it work as it does for the platforms and games? Using the Image Packs feature. I will be honest and say that sounds like a cool thing to have right now for me lol, i have to pull about 500 front/backs then add them individually. That doesn't sway my motivation but it will take me some time. 8 minutes ago, DerSchlachter said: I convert the last 2000 Files (extract Cover) then uiploads start. This is my Magazine and Comic Section....starts with a few....ends in a mess 😁😍 My tools cbrconvert Comic Utility Belt calibre Viewer: Sumatra PDF P.S.: Examples of the MESS I knew I wasn't alone haha, mine looks like that but magazines instead. You have a very big collection, larger than mine. Edited July 12, 2023 by KingSlayer420 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 (edited) 5 minutes ago, DerSchlachter said: Thats right! calibre is simple for cbr and cbz Files, Comic Utility is good for PDF Files. If needed i have a bunch of Covers....but the Name convention can make the trouble of import, it is maybe necessary to use the following software NIYoW (Name it Your Way) Ah yes, you are right about that. Well that's definitely a hiccup. I already have that issue having to name each one different or they will share media with another magazines "Issue 001" Edited July 12, 2023 by KingSlayer420 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerSchlachter Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 I think it's cool to meet like-minded people again rofl MEGA. You could deal with the paper back in a timely manner. Create a spine and then batch copy it and rename it in one go...I've done that before! Let's see what can be done at the end of the week! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 5 minutes ago, C-Beats said: Yeah, I need to get my work finished up with CHAOS. It's what I use to read my comics but haven't as much time as I'd like to work on it with the kids on summer break. Mine keeps me busy most of the afternoon, i liked CHAOS and checked it out when you posted it a while back. I thought it was a solid step towards getting us some proper magazine/comic support. Wish there was some kind of app that converted these on the fly into the flip pages type of setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Beats Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 Just now, KingSlayer420 said: Mine keeps me busy most of the afternoon, i liked CHAOS and checked it out when you posted it a while back. I thought it was a solid step towards getting us some proper magazine/comic support. Wish there was some kind of app that converted these on the fly into the flip pages type of setup. Yeah, it'd be interesting to tackle something like down the road, but I've definitely got a few things that have to get taken care of before I can start entertaining features like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, DerSchlachter said: I think it's cool to meet like-minded people again rofl MEGA. You could deal with the paper back in a timely manner. Create a spine and then batch copy it and rename it in one go...I've done that before! Let's see what can be done at the end of the week! It's my current project while the API for retroacheivements is down, I know i can still earn my cheevos but man it's a inconvenience to not have the info on my left monitor. Get used to being spoiled with all these features...lose one and i can't cope haha. I am going to go pretty hard with it for a while, i should be able to show off something by the end of the week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerSchlachter Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 btw i love the sort feature by Series per launchbox Good Night Friends...very late in Germany 😃 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, C-Beats said: Yeah, it'd be interesting to tackle something like down the road, but I've definitely got a few things that have to get taken care of before I can start entertaining features like that. You seem like a busy guy, I'm sure your still working on Omni, which i really liked but couldn't figure out how to get the one list view you had in the screenshots. I plan to go back to it and figure it out. Nice to see a few people comment about their love for these magazines, they are a forgotten treasure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Beats Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 20 minutes ago, KingSlayer420 said: You seem like a busy guy, I'm sure your still working on Omni, which i really liked but couldn't figure out how to get the one list view you had in the screenshots. I plan to go back to it and figure it out. Nice to see a few people comment about their love for these magazines, they are a forgotten treasure. Post on the support thread which view and I'll help ya there. Don't want to derail this thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 46 minutes ago, C-Beats said: Post on the support thread which view and I'll help ya there. Don't want to derail this thread. Thanks C-Beats, I'll do just that when I get some time to tinker with it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerSchlachter Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 If you have a whole archive of cbr/cbz files, a batch converter like CBRConvert is a good idea. You can convert up to 200 files at once with it...the program can't do more in one go. I will fill the thread with more tips throughout the day, or rather, as I am currently working on my comic and magazine area. https://github.com/dragouf/CbrPdfConverter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playnite_Is_Better Posted July 15, 2023 Author Share Posted July 15, 2023 57 minutes ago, DerSchlachter said: If you have a whole archive of cbr/cbz files, a batch converter like CBRConvert is a good idea. You can convert up to 200 files at once with it...the program can't do more in one go. I will fill the thread with more tips throughout the day, or rather, as I am currently working on my comic and magazine area. https://github.com/dragouf/CbrPdfConverter Thank you for this DerSchlachter, this will save me a ton of time. I'd also like to thank you for the tool suggestions the other day, they were helpful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerSchlachter Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 Cover extract from CBR and CBZ Files: Download calibre and install it. After installation import your cbz/cbr files and mark all your files. Then export files in one folder Open your export folder and mark all jpg/png files. IMPORTENT: calibre usually appends the filename with - Unknown You have to rename the files, i use bulkrename for this Import your cbr/cbz files into Launchbox, copy your renamed images into the correct folder and refresh the files in Launchbox. Done! Cover extract from PDF Files: Download Comic Utility Belt and install the Programm. Choose your directory and import your PDF Files. Mark all your files and export the covers. Choose the export folder and copy your PNG/JPG Files and copy them to your Launchbox image folder. Done Important, for me, the export function cbr/cbz doesent work for cbr and cbz files! Thats the reason why i export my cbr/cbz files through calibre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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