performance issue Big Box/Launchbox & Dependency File check - slowing startup of Retroarch (multiple cores, especially CD based)

[kurzih]

Hi,

Any way of disabling or uninstalling dependency file check? For example when I try to start a PC-Engine CD game with my controller it usually just makes the start sound immediately after I press the button and loads Retroarch. Now with the dependency check in the background it takes at least 3-5 seconds before it even starts to load Retroarch. Extra wait is not the best user experience, and I've been using BigBox for years.

Besides, all of my dependency files are "green" and none are missing, there is absolutely no need for BigBox to check each time a game is about to load if it has the necessary bios/files.

What can be done to improve the situation so I can have that same fast and pleasant experience I had before this feature (which would be great as an optional "check if I have all the files needed when I want to" instead of "check everytime without asking me". I tried to find in options in both Launchbox and BigBox but couldn't find anything to change settings.

 

Edited December 7 by kurzih
more details

[kurzih]

adding some facts according to the community FAQ:

Launchbox version: 13.17 (portable, installed on SSD)
Windows 10
Number of titles in my setup: over 75 000
Launchbox Theme: Old Legacy Default (still visually and practically the best theme for me)
Bigbox theme: Old Default (by Jason)
HW: PC Intel i7 3.2GHZ, RAM 16GB, LB installed on SSD, RTX 4060

If necessary I can provide a video of the Retroarch startup delay (because of LB/BB force-checking some bios etc. files even if it doesn't need to). Let me know.
Pretty sure this issue is because of the Dependency File check. The solution would be to disable that check (at least from BigBox!) to make things normally fast again.

EDIT: And to reproduce the issue on your computer it would probably help to know that my Retroarch System folder is 2,73GB big and has 3931 files and 515 folders in it.

I have no other plugins in my plugin folder except for the ones the new LB versions are adding. BTW would deleting "RetroArch LaunchBox Integration" folder help my case, would that disable the dependency files check?

PS. Talking about integrations, I also had issues with the ScummVM integration, for some reason the LB-version is messing up the settings and not reading them correctly (ie. forcing the "extra" path to be the game path). But I have solved this by making my "own" ScummVM emulator script and just using the game ID's as ROMS and it work perfectly now - finally able to use Roland MT-32 sounds and so on from LB/BB.

EDIT 2: I spent a bit more time to figure out more details and the same issue is with Launchbox, so it's not just with BigBox. Loading a game from the platforms below takes many seconds before they even start loading retroarch and its core:

3DO (opera_libretro)
NEC PC-FX (mednafen_pcfx_libretro)
PC-Engine CD (mednafen_pce_fast_libretro)
Sony Playstation (mednafen_psx_libretro)
Sega Saturn (mednafen_saturn_libretro)

And when I choose those cores in the Dependency files window they are just as slow (the window gets stuck for a few seconds) as when trying to start a game from those platforms. The drop-down menu cannot be selected until it has somewhat refreshed(?) and not stuck anymore. And that is the main reason I suspect something is wrong with the dependency file check (hopefully it's just a bug that can be fixed) - there is no delay issues with other cores I'm using:




EDIT 3: Confirming that Launchbox 13.18 has still this issue.

 

Edited December 18 by kurzih
New launchbox is out, but hasn't solved this issue

[AstroBob]

Hi @kurzih thanks for the ping and apologies you haven't had a response here. Firstly, thank you for being diligent and running through the performance thread, that info is very useful. Please leave this with me for now as I want to check a few things and will update you as soon as I can. 

Cheers,

[AstroBob]

Hi @kurzih 

Thanks for bearing with me! To start, we’ll need to rule out a few factors.

Step 1: Rule Out Issues with Your Specific LaunchBox Build

To test this, please follow these steps:
    1.    Install a brand-new instance of LaunchBox on the same drive, but in a different location.
    2.    Import a few games from one of the problematic platforms, along with their BIOS files.
    3.    Use this new instance to download RetroArch via LaunchBox and launch a game.

Can you confirm if you notice the same delay with this fresh setup?

Step 2: Check for Older Install Files

Do you have an install file in your updates folder for a version lower than 13.13? If so:
    1.    Use that file to set up LaunchBox in a new location, as in Step 1.
    2.    Run the same test process.

Versions earlier than 13.13 don’t include the dependency check, so this will help us determine if that check is causing the delay. While our internal tests don’t show any noticeable difference with or without the dependency check, it would be helpful to verify this in your setup.

Let me know how it goes!