Visual Pinball - more than one instance? Best way to import?

[Pineappleking]

Hello everyone, I have loaded a huge package of Pinball tables (more than 6000) and would like to import them into Launchbox.

Now the tables always have to be loaded with a special version of the emulator in order for them to work. I have files that are named like this: "Empire Strikes Back, The [VP8]". Would mean I would have to start this table with "Visual Pinball Version 8" for it to work without any problems.

If I add up all the versions, there would be 14 versions for which I would probably have to create my own emulator in Launchbox. I would also have to create a separate Pinball category or playlist for each version so that the different emulator versions work, right?

Is there perhaps a better way?

Then something about the image data. Each table is in its own folder. In each of these folders there is a JPG file that is named exactly like the table. The JPGs are screenshots of the tables. I would like to use this as a cover, but I don't know how to do it.

Can someone help me?

[JoeViking245]

7 hours ago, Pineappleking said:

If I add up all the versions, there would be 14 versions for which I would probably have to create my own emulator in Launchbox.

14 versions of vpinballxxx.exe?  I can see maybe up to 5 or possibly 6 as many are, to a degree, are backwards compatible.  Or are you talking pinball emulation in general (including Future Pinball etc.)?

 

One Option:

Setup your 14 variants of vpinballxxx.exe emulators.  Import the tables into 14 platforms using the 14 respective emulators.  (you can go to your Tables folder in Windows Explorer, then filter-search i.e. *[vp8].vp?  then drag/drop the results on LaunchBox)

After all are imported, you should be able to bulk edit the 14 platforms of tables and change their Platform (combine them all into) to "Visual Pinball".  You probably need to do it 14 times, but they should all maintain the respective emulator.

 

Another option (which would be a lot cleaner):

Such as you illuded towards, create one emulator.  That 'emulator' can be a batch file, AHK script, Python, C# app  ...whatever you're comfortable with coding in.  Then just pass the table to the 'emu' and parse the filename for whatever's between the brackets (i.e. [vp8]) and then use 14 if/then statements (or a switch/case statement) to start the respective emulator.

Then you can just dump all 6k+ tables in, all at once, into one platform, using one emulator.

 

8 hours ago, Pineappleking said:

Then something about the image data. Each table is in its own folder. In each of these folders there is a JPG file that is named exactly like the table. The JPGs are screenshots of the tables. I would like to use this as a cover, but I don't know how to do it.

Since they're named the exact same as the table, you can just copy those into /Images/Visual Pinball/[image_type_of_your_choosing]/ folder.

Like in 'one option' above, go to your Tables folder in Windows Explorer, then filter-search *.jpg, then copy the results into the folder.