LaunchBox 13.23 - Beta Thread

[MrDeKat]

6 hours ago, faeran said:

How did you update a game's metadata? Edit the game and make a change, run the metadata and media wizard? Do you remember the options you chose? A specific example would help us test this.

It's strange, it doesn't happen with all games. And I don't see a pattern.

Example: "Pokemaze" for Nintendo Pokemon Mini (ID 460420).

It says the last time played was 08/24/2025.

I click on edit, search for metadata, select the one in the LB database, and accept.

It automatically deletes the last time played. If I only change the file name, the same thing happens.

 

-If I do the same for Wild Riders (Arcade, ID:40602), Dragster (Atari 2600, ID:22154) or Ultra Vortek (Jaguar, ID: 3988), the same error occurs

-If I do the same for Jeanne d'Arc (PSP, ID:7088), Mario Power Tennis (GBA ID:7522), Sonic Classic Collection (DS, ID:18931) or Wirehead (Sega CD, ID:157532), there is no error and it keeps the date.

In both cases, there are games that, when updating the metadata, change some information or don't change anything.

 

PD: When the date disappears, the <LastPlayedDate> line for that game in the XML disappears.

Edited Tuesday at 11:05 PM by MrDeKat

[faeran]

5 hours ago, bbweiners said:

Hi All,

I'm having the BigBox isn't starting up issue.

I have an Nvidia 3060 TI.

I've tried removing the video startup folder and all that happens is I get the BigBox splash logo, the taskbar disappears, and then it just sits.

Thanks!

Did you update to 13.24 beta 1 yet?

[bbweiners]

4 hours ago, faeran said:

Did you update to 13.24 beta 1 yet?

Ahhh, I didn't realize that there was a 13.24 beta that fixed the problem. For some reason I thought it was a 13.23 beta that fixed it. I'll try it and let you know what happens.

Thanks Faeran!

[bbweiners]

9 minutes ago, bbweiners said:

Ahhh, I didn't realize that there was a 13.24 beta that fixed the problem. For some reason I thought it was a 13.23 beta that fixed it. I'll try it and let you know what happens.

Thanks Faeran!

That did it. Thanks!

[TheBanditKing]

This version sucks totally ruined Launchbox for me. 

 

No longer starts up and takes forever to load, and then freezes constantly. 

[TheBanditKing]

Even I uninstall this version, and put an old version Lainchbox just freezes and takes forever to load.

 

I uninstalled everything and reinstalled and it still does this even to different HDDS. 

 

Launchbox sucks now. 

[skizzosjt]

On 8/24/2025 at 11:00 AM, skizzosjt said:

there is a problem that has been occurring since version 13.22 the official release. All betas and official releases since then reset game videos and animation type stuff happen when exiting any game from any platform. It's 100% recreatable every time. So for example I boot Contra from the Arcade platform. Upon exiting, the game video actually resets to the start. You can briefly see that it is paused right where it left off but then it resets instead of continuing where it left off. Then at the same time all the text and badge images, etc, the chunk of info in top right area of the default theme will re-animate as if you just entered the view. Seems like it's doing all the stuff it would do if you just went into the view, rather than returning from exiting a game. This is noticeable and 100% recreatable on every custom theme too. Both video resetting and other animations reoccurring at exit when they should not be running. 

If I reinstall v13.21 or earlier the problem is not there. I then reinstall v13.22 or anything newer and the problem exists. The problems exist on default and custom themes regardless of the media player I have selected. Video for reference using v13.24 beta 1....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have tracked this down further. 

Totally fresh install, imported Steam games in Windows platform automatically, and then I setup Arcade platform with just Contra.

Before I run Big Box I am showing I am nuking Big Box settings to prove it is 100% default. 

 

For Windows Steam games goes like this, Launch a game, play, exit game......nothing happens......

If I then ALT + TAB to bring up the ALT + TAB window...I can go to a new window and back to Big Box......or just bring up the ALT + TAB window even if Big Box is the only existing window.....once Big Box regains focus it restarts the video and some other animations that would normally only occur when entering the view. This would have been happening to me on my previous post because I have a script that would ALT + TAB back to Big Box at game exit to ensure it has focus

If I disable Startup Screens this happens for Steam games regardless of user input. Though, doing some user input like ALT + TAB after game exit will make this bug occur an additional time even. 

 

 

For Arcade platform this bug behaves different when startup screens are or are not enabled. When they are not enabled it looks like it's doing the reanimation stuff twice instead of just once. Notice the game notes goes through the animation twice instead of just once on that video. You don't need to do any ALT + TAB business for Arcade game launching through Retroarch though.

 

Launching Windows (Steam) game with all default settings

 

Launching Windows (Steam) game with all default settings, with exception that Startup Screen is disabled

 

 

 

Launching Arcade game with all default settings

 

 

 

Launching Arcade game with all default settings, with exception that Startup Screen is disabled

 

 

 

 

This is not some one off user issue when it's a fresh install with default settings. The prior video was my normal install but using the default theme. But reiterating this is not theme dependent, it happens on anyone I have tried on the fresh troubleshooting install or my normal install. 

 

 

 

On 8/22/2025 at 1:07 PM, skizzosjt said:

Windows 11
on the official 13.23 release FFMPEG is working much better! especially in Windows 11 since all video formats I have are playing in Windows 11. There are some issues though in Windows 11 regarding audio for webm format videos that also happen to occur in Windows 10. Seems I find a pattern with webm if they are having audio issues they are using Vorbis. It is not 100% throughout the entire video. Might be sounding crackly or like milliseconds of audio drop out for a few secs, then plays ok for 10 secs, then the next 4 secs sound bad. But it's always the same spots in every video. The issues do not move around, always consistent when played in LaunchBox or Big Box. webm files using Opus sound OK though. I can also take these files using Vorbis, re-encode in Handbrake changing only audio codec to Opus and now the audio plays OK in LaunchBox and Big Box. 

I've encountered likely the same crash a couple other users have mentioned in LaunchBox. When a video is playing in LaunchBox in Windows 11 and I click on something else in LaunchBox, sometimes, it hard crashes. No error report window. Attempts to reproduce it are not consistent. This has not happened to me on Windows 10 though. 

 

Windows 10
Windows 10 is much better too for FFMPEG. Really good job on fixing the previous problems so quickly. But I do notice webm format videos are problematic. And only some webm videos. I start to notice a pattern between ones that do or do not play at all due to mostly older videos, games released in 2020 or prior do play, while newer ones do not. I started looking at video's properties and there is a pattern where every single webm video that does not play in LaunchBox or Big Box in Windows 10 is using V9 video codec. I can take these webm files using V9 codec, re-encode them using Handbrake using V8 codec, and changing nothing else, and now they play in LaunchBox and Big Box on Windows 10. Going in opposite direction, I can take a working webm file using V8 codec, re-encode using V9, and now it doesn't work in LaunchBox or Big Box. Opus audio codec seems to work better too. Vorbis will still work in the sense the file will play in LaunchBox and Big Box, but there is usually some audio issue going on like I mentioned above. So, I found the best recipe for settings was to use V8 and Opus passthrough if file was already using Opus, or changing it to Opus if it was using Vorbis. AV1 codec works too. The only webm video codec I can encode through Handbrake and the file will not play in LaunchBox or Big Box in Windows 10 is V9. For webm videos that play in LaunchBox and Big Box in Windows 10 since they are using V8, but are using Vorbis for audio, if I re-encode them changing just Vorbis to Opus, audio now sounds OK. 

 

To clarify all these webm format videos play fine in Windows 10 and 11 through any media player. It's just in LaunchBox and Big Box the problems exist.
 

Windows 10 & 11
In LaunchBox and Big Box, using FFMPEG, viewing any video fullscreen regardless of its format, the frame rate looks worse when viewing it normally. Sort of like the video is dropping frames or something. 

 

Update regarding Windows 10 not playing many webm format videos with FFmpeg in Big Box and LaunchBox (as previously noted seemed to be related to ones using V9 video codec), but having no issue playing them in any media player in Windows. I no longer have this issue. All videos of webm format play video OK now in LaunchBox and Big Box. I didn't update K-lite since last post....same 13.24 beta 1 version of the frontend. I'm not sure exactly what the heck happened between point A and B other than I did allow Windows 10 to run an update in this time frame. Reading on what it contained I'm not wholly convinced that is what resolved it but it's my best guesstimate of what fixed it for me right now.

Still though, webm videos with Vorbis audio codec have audio issues only in LaunchBox and Big Box on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Hence why I said only video is OK now. 

 

 

 

 

I've also found another issue using FFmpeg

Letting certain videos loop, as in just watching them long enough to see them play again, the frontend Big Box will freeze up. I find zero pattern so far though as it happens on different video formats such as both mp4 and webm. Might freeze on a mp4 video looping from SNES platform or a webm video looping from Windows platform for ex but then another webm video in Windows platform loops fine or a mp4 video from Arcade platform loops fine. It's random as if if I check 20 games from a platform maybe 2 freeze. The same videos will always freeze on loop though, so that part of it is repeatable. Task Manager doesn't say Big Box is actually unresponsive though when it happens, but everything freezes, like notes stop scrolling and video/audio stops and no inputs are detected. A couple times this was not recoverable and I had to kill the process with Task Manager. Other times I noticed I could hit the Windows key on my keyboard and this would somehow magically make Big Box usable again. When it was unrecoverable this seemed to happen when I would try to ALT + TAB to another window and then back to Big Box. If I tried hitting the Windows key after that, Big Box remained unresponsive to inputs indefinitely. 

[The Papaw]

After using the "Welcome Wizard" with a folder for 360 games that wasn't the default path, the wizard found the games and installed as expected.

After changing the default path folder path manually to where the roms are on the dame HDD, then adding more games, then running a scan for new games or letting LB search on its own on that plaform, it is finding the games, but naming the game (displaying) with the entire file name (sorta). 

Edited yesterday at 12:36 PM by The Papaw

[JoeViking245]

19 minutes ago, The Papaw said:

finding the games, but naming the game (displaying) with the entire file name (sorta). 

It's showing the version.  View < Show / Hide < Versions (Ctrl+R)

[The Papaw]

Started fresh again and also found that some games are not displaying badges correct. Game  is found, adds 2nd disc as additional app, but doesn't show multiple disc badge.

[The Papaw]

13 minutes ago, JoeViking245 said:

It's showing the version.  View < Show / Hide < Versions (Ctrl+R)

I kept copy of data folder, will check it in a few

[The Papaw]

10 minutes ago, The Papaw said:

I kept copy of data folder, will check it in a few

Okay @JoeViking245 Joe, that did un-show (is that a word?) them, but when I turn it back on, it only shows them for 2nd batch of games. The wizard import doesn't show any of those, only my manual scanned games. Maybe it will be fixed when they change the wizard changing to the new folder path per @faeran

Edited 23 hours ago by The Papaw

[JoeViking245]

3 minutes ago, The Papaw said:

Okay @JoeViking245 Joe, that did un-show (is that a word?) them, but when I turn it back on, it only shows them for 2nd batch of games. The wizard iport doesn't show any of those, on'y my manual scanned games. Maybe it will be fixed when they change the wizard changing to the new folder path per @faeran

Of course it hid them.  

Edit a game that was imported by the Welcome Wizard.  Verify that the ROM has (version)(information) in its filename. If so, check that the (version)(information) got added to the Version field.

Assuming Star Wars was one imported via the Welcome Wizard, it does seem that it's not importing the version info.  Which would also, most likely, be why the multi-disc badge isn't showing.  (it didn't catch (Disc 1) and (Disc 2) along with any of the version info)

[The Papaw]

3 minutes ago, JoeViking245 said:

Of course it hid them.  

Edit a game that was imported by the Welcome Wizard.  Verify that the ROM has (version)(information) in its filename. If so, check that the (version)(information) got added to the Version field.

Assuming Star Wars was one imported via the Welcome Wizard, it does seem that it's not importing the version info.  Which would also, most likely, be why the multi-disc badge isn't showing.  (it didn't catch (Disc 1) and (Disc 2) along with any of the version info)

Star Wars game in question was imported by the Welcome Wizard on 2nd attempt. Every single rom file I am using has (something in it, such as USA World, REV1, etc.) all using ()'s and not []'s The Star Wars game in question has 2 versions it should br trying to import:

Star Wars - The Force Unleashed (World) (En,Fr,De,Es,It).iso

Star Wars - The Force Unleashed - Ultimate Sith Edition (USA, Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It) (Disc 1).iso
Star Wars - The Force Unleashed - Ultimate Sith Edition (USA, Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It) (Disc 2).iso

I would assume it should it should be importing the 2 versions as one game with 3 items listed in the addition apps

 

[The Papaw]

Just test Wizard in v13.23. It doesn't import 2nd disc correctly either

[The Papaw]

28 minutes ago, The Papaw said:

Just test Wizard in v13.23. It doesn't import 2nd disc correctly either

v13.21 does import correctly, sorta. Imports the 2 disc set correct but see's the 2 versions as 2 different games (kinda understandable due to the file names). Gonna try v13.23 without the Wizard

UPDATE: v13.23 did same as v13.21 without wizard.

Edited 22 hours ago by The Papaw

[drtechnolust]

On 13.24.1 Beta, running Scan for Added/Removed ROMs on the Sony PSP platform never advances after adding ~2,000 .iso/.cso files it sits at “Searching for Sony PSP Roms…” for over an hour with no visible progress. If I delete the platform and re-import the same folder via the normal Import wizard, it completes successfully in less than 20 minutes, so the issue seems specific to the delta scan. I’m on Windows 11, default theme, debug logging is enabled and I can share logs. Is this a known issue or is there a fix/workaround to get the scan to complete faster or see progression without re-importing?