Unzipping to "Temp" Folder and Retro Arch Content Directory Override Conflict - Bezel Issues

[W4rCh1ld]

Is there any way to make games be Unzipped (preferably temporarily too) directly into the same game folder they are in? Basically for System Type Bezel Support on Multi-Cores.

Ok for instance:

If a core runs a single system, Yabause, you can set a Bezel for Sega Saturn and Save it as a Core override, Simple, no issue (plus they can be in CHD so not "zipped" anyway, or for instance "Fuse" which can just straight up read .zip files) 

But if a core runs a few systems, genesis-plus-gx, and you want to set a Bezel for Each System Individually (not just a generic genesis-plus-gx Core override - though that may be a nice idea, a retroarch "core bezels" pack doesn't exist as far as i know... ie a nice bezels pack with just the core's name and images of their supported systems as a generic bezel for multisystem libretro's to be saved as it's core override. Any Bezel makers out there? ) that's one for each system, Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, SG-1000, each has their own game folder and thus each bezel can be saved to each system with a Content Directory Override (but they have to be unzipped - OK that "is" a solution but at the expense of disk space) because if however they are zipped, and also must be unzipped to load (as the core doesn't support zipped file types - if only ALL cores supported .zip or 7z that'd be great), then Launchbox auto unzips the file to a temp content directory, and thus becomes the same "Temp" location for all compressed games regardless of core or system etc and that totally breaks the Content Directory Override save type.

OK from here i could make a config for every game instead with either a unique game bezel or a generic system bezel (if there isnt one) for every game individually, and use the Game Override save (again that "is" a solution but slow and cumbersome), and Also another issue on this, lets say a game has the "same name" for instance - Golden Axe (USA), and is on Genesis, Master System and Game Gear and all using genesis-plus-gx so the: RetroArch\config\Genesis Plus GX\Golden Axe (USA).cfg file cannot be saved for each game Instance I.e Golden Axe (Genesis) (USA), Golden Axe (Master System) (USA), Golden Axe (Game Gear) (USA) without "Correcting" the Individual game file name itself (as just shown) as they cannot have a individual game override config file with their own correct bezel as they are as they just over right each other. (Again the solution can be to either correct the game file name to be unique or to make e.g. 3 retroarch installs one for each system using the same core so that the conflict is divided between different folders, so Pico and Genesis-plus etc could be divided up, to reduce overwriting configs within multicore libretro's - so for instance the Bezel Project can be installed per system with less overwriting itself, not that its "per game" cfg's seem to match exactly every time, even to the specified No-Intro naming convention, it seems a few brackets, files specifics (rev1, R1, Proto, etc) or lang amendments (en, fr, It, etc) has mad the "hit" ratio not great, not a complex fix, as you just find the correct bezel and make a new game override (for the exact game name as you have it), but again kinda slow while also leaving redundant cfg files for game names that don't and wont exist, which is messy and a waste of disk space no matter how small. and inside Lauchbox make 3 separate retroarch emulator instances and just separate the associated platforms that use the same cores between them.)

Are there any other solutions that Ive missed, better, faster, more knowledgeable ones? 

can i for instance: duplicate the cores (and corresponding info file) them selves, by adding a system in brackets and have them still work (similar to duplicating the entire retroarch folder but within a single install or would they still want to "pool" all their cfg's within the same folder name without more complex "under the hood" changes), 

or is the "easiest" solution to simply not zip games for cores that don't recognize zip types (zip / 7z) AND give unique names to games that have the exact same name. (and further more if i want to get really prissy probably completely delete ALL the config folders created by the bezel project and simply create my own for each system via Core override and /or Content directory override and each of my games via Game override to reduce unneeded / duplicate / incorrect cfg's as their hit ratio is basically 50% at best).

Edited March 19 by W4rCh1ld

[dragon57]

Some of your items are addressed in this thread:

As to your 'to zip' or 'not to zip' is user preference, but you have to realize how some things will be affected by either choice. I personally 7-zip all my console roms, but many find it easier to just have no of the small console roms compressed as large disk drives are pretty cheap these days. There is no right or wrong here.

[W4rCh1ld]

Ok thanks, i'll give that thread a look and see if any special methods pop out.

And yeah effectively i think im gonna adopt a "Try to not Zip" approach, like cores that Accept .Zip / 7z are unaffected, great. Small File Types just accept the slight loss in compression, it hardly matters when compared to bigger files anyway.

Big files will use the more special compression types (NSP, WUA, WBFS, RVZ, WAD, BIGPIMG, CHD) and for something that is a Big file "ISO" but has no special compression type for that system that i still want zipped, simply give that a core a override save and accept it cannot have Content Directory Override saves whether it is a multi core or not (maybe even see if i can find or make "Retroarch Core name based bezels" as apposed to "Console System name based bezels") for these cases.

Eliminate the few cases of not unique game file names by adding a (system) to the file name. (Maybe even clean up the jargon prefixes and set the file to match the exact lauchbox metadata name - sometimes simply a space here or missing space there means the scrape fails and has to be corrected manually, i'll just correct the file too, as i correct the scrape. - though im kinda surprised MAME metadata isnt 100% as i cannot change these file names and lauchbox should know exactly what the file is going to be called, but i digress...)

Delete ALL the config folders created by the bezel project and simply create my own for each system via Core override, then and /or Content directory override, THEN By Game Name as and when i play a game simply set the bezel and game override first.

Then Finally resort to a 2nd Retroarch if i really must have a core that must be zipped and / or i really must have a Content Directory Override save (say for controller mapping like above ^ ).

Though Really it Seems like Retroarch should just NOT have Multi Core, Cores and Just do it OneCore>OneSystem (or just make saves in the config folder by RetroArch\config\Corename\ContentDirectory (or "System Name")\gamefile.cfg), and if Lauchbox has an Option to Unzip Directly to the content Directory with no "Temp" folder, and just check for the unzipped file before re-unzipping for further plays, to reduce unzipping times etc... (even if then the unzipped file has to be deleted Manually whenever the user is done using it - with a warning message stating this as such) or if all cores in retroarch just recognized some sort of zipped format...

Anybody know of a Bezels pack made by Retroarch Core name at all?

 

 

Edited March 19 by W4rCh1ld