M.A.M.E and Autosave feature in Launchbox

[Pixelfetish]

Hello @ll,

another short question about the Autosave feature.

Here, I also edited the mame.ini in the Launchbox\Emulators\Mame folder, activated "autosave 1", and I did change the "state_directory   <some custom path>;sta" (custom path helps when upgrading MAME not to lose savestates)

In Launchbox for MAME Launch options, I tried to set the switch -autosave and without the switch( -noautosave is default). Autosave wasn't possible in any case.
When launching only MAME via context menu of a MAME game in Launchbox and then running a game from within MAME, the Autosave feature works just fine.

Does the -autosave switch need a path parameter in Launchbox?

Thank you for any help in advance. 👋

[JoeViking245]

2 hours ago, Pixelfetish said:

When launching only MAME via context menu of a MAME game in Launchbox and then running a game from within MAME, the Autosave feature works just fine.

Does the -autosave switch need a path parameter in Launchbox?

If you have autosave enabled in MAME itself (autosave 1), you don't need the -autosave parameter.  Adding that parameter just overrides whatever you have set in MAME.  Just like as if you executed MAME form the Windows command prompt.  

Same thing with "state_directory   sta" and the -state_directory <path> parameter.

 

If in LaunchBox you have Upload Your MAME High Scores... enabled (Tools < Options < Integrations < MAME), there's a caveat...

Quote

Finally, if you have "autosave" enabled in your MAME configuration, MAME may not save the high scores upon exit, so make sure that you
do not have autosave enabled in your MAME configuration or in your LaunchBox MAME emulator settings (-autosave parameter). They are
not enabled by default.

I know high scores and autosaves are 2 separate things.   But if it affects that, it's possible it has an effect on auto saves as well.  (I don't know for certain)

[Pixelfetish]

Yes, Online Highscore seems to affect Autosave feature. So I will have to turn either one on or off. Thank you very much for the answer. Hopefully both features may cope in the future. 👍

Edited September 17, 2024 by Pixelfetish

[JoeViking245]

32 minutes ago, Pixelfetish said:

Hopefully both features may cope in the future. 👍

Glad we were able to track down the root of the issue.

In all fairness to others who upload their high scores to the leaderboard to stake their claim-to-fame, I'm inclined to say it's never going to happen.