LaunchBox 13.19 - Beta Thread

[faeran]

Hi Everyone,

13.19 Beta 1 is out with a bunch of improvements and fixes. The main goal of this release will be focused on performance and under-the-hood advancements to help us get into a better position for future updates.

To that affect, beta 1 includes two major changes, including a complete under-the-hood change to how the LaunchBox Game Details view loads in each time you select a new game. Instead of reloading the entire pane, we are now only updating the bindings in that view. We've also migrated the app to .NET 9 (previously were using .NET 6.0). From a user-standpoint there's nothing you'll need to do other than running the update, as .NET 9 is built directly into the app.

If you are using a custom theme, you'll want to make sure to use the Theme Manager to update them to the latest versions before commenting below.

 

Thanks to all who help test these beta versions. Don't forget to include the following information in your feedback to help us out with tracking down with any issues you may face with these betas:

• Your Windows version
• Description of the issue
• Can it be reliably reproduced on your end?
• Reproduction steps

 

You can opt into the beta within LaunchBox by going to Tools > Options > General > Updates and turning on Update to Beta Releases. If a beta release is available, you will get prompted each time the app opens up, or you can manually check using Menu > Help > Check for Updates.

Full Changelog: https://www.launchbox-app.com/about/changelog

 

Beta 1:

• Improvement: Improved speed at which the Game Details View loads in LaunchBox
• Improvement: LaunchBox has now been upgraded to .NET 9.0 (from .NET 6.0)
• Improvement: The LaunchBox Game Details Default view now features Related Games in a dedicated, easily accessible section, for a more performant and user-friendly experience
• Improvement: The ability to disable individual Related Games sections has been added in LaunchBox, accessible under Options > Visuals > Game Details
• Fixed: Restored the expected behavior for the top background image in the Default theme's Game Details view. It will now prioritize images from your Background image group before using a Gameplay Screenshot as a fallback
• Fixed: Resolved an issue where image loading could be disrupted by multi-threaded gremlins
• Fixed: Corrected an error introduced in version 13.18 where dragging and dropping non-ROM game files would incorrectly assign an unassigned emulator value
• Fixed: Eliminated the unnecessary prompt to select a RetroArch core for platforms that have already been imported
• Fixed: Restoring saves on an Additional App could inadvertently overwrite the save data of the primary game

 

Known Issues with Beta 1 (which will be solved in beta 2):

• Some views in Big Box, including the system menu, and Options menu show up black due to .NET 9 namespace migration issues

 

Beta 2:

• The Black Screens Big Box have been fixed (introduced in beta 1)
• Under certain conditions game media within the carousel could show images from a previous game if the new game had no media (introduced in beta 1)

Known issues with Beta 2 (which will be solved in beta 3):

• Opening a second Game Details view using the Related Games feature is not always loading properly
• Related Game tabs not always resetting back to the first tab in the list under certain conditions
• Expanded achievements is sometimes left on after changing to a new game
• Platform Icon within Game Details not always appearing

[TheNewClassics]

Is there a way to update BB themes (via Theme Manager) without being in BB? Because I can't see the text lists at all in BB, and I'm getting an error each time a text list tries to load. 

[faeran]

17 minutes ago, TheNewClassics said:

Is there a way to update BB themes (via Theme Manager) without being in BB? Because I can't see the text lists at all in BB, and I'm getting an error each time a text list tries to load. 

I updated the OP with known issues with beta 1, which this falls under. There's some missing .NET 9 theme migration things that should be fixed by tomorrow.

I'll try and work through potential workarounds, or as the section indicates users can downgrade or wait for tomorrow when beta 2 releases.

[Fursphere]

I did this:

Quote

 

With your custom theme files, located in: LaunchBox\Themes\[your custom theme]\Views\  . Check all xaml files and find and replace the following:

• Find: xmlns:i="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/2010/interactivity"
• Replace: xmlns:i="http://schemas.microsoft.com/xaml/behaviors"

 

And that fixed an error when loading the theme (Unified Refried)

But when I try and access the system menu, I get a black screen (as mentioned in the notes) AND a huge ugly .net error:

This is on a Windows 11 install.

[faeran]

2 minutes ago, Fursphere said:

I did this:

And that fixed an error when loading the theme (Unified Refried)

But when I try and access the system menu, I get a black screen (as mentioned in the notes) AND a huge ugly .net error:

This is on a Windows 11 install.

This doesn't work for ANY theme that doesn't have all xaml files and falls back to the default theme for certain xaml files, which is essentially what you are seeing here. Unfortunately, not an easy fix as a lot of themes have decided to rely heavily on the default theme for fallback files instead of including their own. Either way, this will get fixed tomorrow and all of this will become a moot point. Sorry for the inconvenience here.

 

For anyone willing to test the new LaunchBox Game Details view changes, we could definitely use as much feedback as possible as it was a large sweeping change.

[Fursphere]

Are new default theme files going to be included with the next update?

[Drybonz]

Just curious if the games details changes will affect or fix the issue I mentioned in the old beta thread about the game details panel being blank.  If not, that's ok... I just thought it might be related because of the timing.  Thanks.

[faeran]

6 minutes ago, Drybonz said:

Just curious if the games details changes will affect or fix the issue I mentioned in the old beta thread about the game details panel being blank.  If not, that's ok... I just thought it might be related because of the timing.  Thanks.

We still haven't managed to recreate it, so if it does fix it for you, we'll take the win. Let us know what you find out.

19 minutes ago, Fursphere said:

Are new default theme files going to be included with the next update?

Yes, it will be completely automatic for all custom themes, including default. No user action would need to take place.

[Drybonz]

6 minutes ago, faeran said:

We still haven't managed to recreate it, so if it does fix it for you, we'll take the win. Let us know what you find out.

Thanks.  I'll let you know if it happens.  Did you get the data files I sent?

Also... if anyone is wondering... it looks like if you turn off the "related games" options for game details that you need to restart to get it to kick in.  Not sure if that is intended or not, but that's how you get it working.

*edit*  It seems like game details does load faster if you turn off the related games, which, for me, is a nice trade off.

Edited Thursday at 11:04 PM by Drybonz

[faeran]

4 minutes ago, Drybonz said:

Thanks.  I'll let you know if it happens.  Did you get the data files I sent?

Also... if anyone is wondering... it looks like if you turn off the "related games" options for game details that you need to restart to get it to kick in.  Not sure if that is intended or not, but that's how you get it working.

Yeah, got them. I'll let you know how that goes in the PM.

Also, if you are referring to turning on the 3 related games sections under the game details options, that should only require you to change games once after you turn any of the 3 sections off. However, in saying that, it does require a theme to be updated to support this.

[Fursphere]

Why is it when I say "No, don't apply this update" in BigBox, it does anyway as soon as I exit? 

Shouldn't "No" mean "Skip this version, and don't ask again until the next version" ?

I mean, its straight up non-consensual at this point.

Edited Thursday at 11:56 PM by Fursphere

[faeran]

1 minute ago, Fursphere said:

Why is it when I say "No, don't apply this update" in BigBox, it does anyway as soon as I exit? 

Shouldn't "No" mean "Skip this version, and don't ask again until the next version" ?

That means you have the setting to automatically download the update in the background turned on. 

You'll want to go into LaunchBox's options under Tools > Options > Updates and turn that off. Before you do that, you'll want to go into your LaunchBox\Updates folder and delete the setup file.

We've never had a "skip this version" option, but sounds like a good idea, although thinking out loud, I could see people clicking it by accident and wondering how to actually get the update.

[Fursphere]

"skip this beta version" maybe?  (only apply to beta versions)

I get that it auto-downloads updates when you have the setting enabled.  But if it ASKS ME "do you want to install this update" and I say "NO" (because I read the forums and know this particular update is jacked), the "NO" button shouldn't just install it anyway. 

If that's the behavior, why even ask?  Just auto-download, exit the app, and install.  Don't even give the user a warning.

 

[faeran]

1 minute ago, Fursphere said:

"skip this beta version" maybe?  (only apply to beta versions)

I get that it auto-downloads updates when you have the setting enabled.  But if it ASKS ME "do you want to install this update" and I say "NO" (because I read the forums and know this particular update is jacked), the "NO" button shouldn't just install it anyway. 

If that's the behavior, why even ask?  Just auto-download, exit the app, and install.  Don't even give the user a warning.

 

No means don't do it now. As soon as you open it up again, it's queued up to install. That's just how the automatic download option has always worked.

We've talked about altering it in the past, but it's significantly more risky to adjust that piece of code than in other places, as it could get people "stuck" on a version if not altered correctly.

Anyway, getting a bit off topic at this point, so hoping to head back into discussions around LaunchBox's Game Details changes.

[Fursphere]

Fair enough.  I'll keep watching for the next beta release.

[Mitchinator1]

Noticed that the dividing bars (for example, sorting by year has 2022, 2023, etc headers) show up on initial load, but if you select another playlist, they disappear until closing and reopening LB. I'm using default plus, and confirmed this is still happening on beta 2 and after updating the theme.

[Rlad]

The console icons have gone missing in game details, i noticed it appeared once then dissapears again.

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Rlad

[faeran]

1 hour ago, Mitchinator1 said:

Noticed that the dividing bars (for example, sorting by year has 2022, 2023, etc headers) show up on initial load, but if you select another playlist, they disappear until closing and reopening LB. I'm using default plus, and confirmed this is still happening on beta 2 and after updating the theme.

Are you able to take a screenshot? I wasn't able to reproduce what I was thinking you were referring to here.

My assumption was that you were using the image grid, and you turned on Arrange By > Release Date Year, while using the Default Plus theme, and the separators that contain things like "Release Date Year: 1979" disappear for you while within the Playlists filter section of LaunchBox, after clicking on your second playlist and beyond.

24 minutes ago, Rlad said:

The console icons have gone missing in game details, i noticed it appeared once then dissapears again.

 

Good catch will look into it for beta 3.

[faeran]

Here's the changelog for beta 2:

• The Black Screens Big Box have been fixed (introduced in beta 1)
• Under certain conditions game media within the carousel could show images from a previous game if the new game had no media (introduced in beta 1)

 

Here's a list of known issues that will be solved with beta 3:

• Opening a second Game Details view using the Related Games feature is not always loading properly
• Related Game tabs not always resetting back to the first tab in the list under certain conditions
• Expanded achievements is sometimes left on after changing to a new game
• Platform Icon within Game Details not always appearing

 

Thanks everyone for the help so far!

[Mitchinator1]

6 hours ago, faeran said:

Are you able to take a screenshot? I wasn't able to reproduce what I was thinking you were referring to here.

My assumption was that you were using the image grid, and you turned on Arrange By > Release Date Year, while using the Default Plus theme, and the separators that contain things like "Release Date Year: 1979" disappear for you while within the Playlists filter section of LaunchBox, after clicking on your second playlist and beyond.

Good catch will look into it for beta 3.

I think you're understanding correctly.

The "Last Played: 2025" for example.


Disappears here after clicking another playlist (I went back to the same playlist for an easier comparison.