LaunchBox 14.1.0 Beta Thread

[MysterNybble]

On 10/2/2026 at 8:14 PM, SqHd said:

Follow up: The eXoPlugin was the culprit. I'm to check the eXo packs for the latest version and see if that still causes issues.

Thanks - and if you want me to help poke at it, DM me the exo plugin you are using, and I might be able to see if it's us or them :).

[MysterNybble]

On 10/2/2026 at 10:57 PM, crusadeRGP said:

I switched back to default theme and pause screen. When you try to view a game with achievements pause screen will crash and return to the emulator window which is now unresponsive and have to be force closed. It also seems to be an issue viewing achievements in the game details screen in BigBox as well.

I think I've already got the achievement issue fixed for the next beta, so stay tuned for that.

For the stuck emulator it's possible that it's related to the achievement issue. Since when we "pause" the game we literally suspend the process and if BB crashes before it has a chance to resume it, it may not recover. So hopefully beta 2 fixes that for you as well, If you think it's something else, debug logs *might* help, maybe.

[Jabb3rJaw]

Just downloaded the beta finally. Seems faster again! Only thing I noticed is when launching a game after the loading screens it looks like the game is ready to launch then it sits at a black screen for about 10 seconds. Everything else seems smooth again so thanks everyone!  No crashes yet but early in testing. 

[Jabb3rJaw]

Spoke to soon. It didn’t crash to desktop like before but the video just froze and controls do nothing. Have to alt tab to get get out 

[crusadeRGP]

I'm not sure what version it started but Dolphin and Duckstation both say up to date in manage emulators but if i check for updates in the emulator itself there is a new version.

[JoeViking245]

23 minutes ago, crusadeRGP said:

I'm not sure what version it started but Dolphin and Duckstation both say up to date in manage emulators but if i check for updates in the emulator itself there is a new version.

What updates do you have them setup to check for?  (I think they're both similar)

[crusadeRGP]

38 minutes ago, JoeViking245 said:

What updates do you have them setup to check for?  (I think they're both similar)

Nightly for both systems

[JoeViking245]

17 minutes ago, crusadeRGP said:

Nightly for both systems

That's why. LaunchBox only downloads the official releases.

[MysterNybble]

Beta 2 is here!

Thanks to everyone who poked at Beta 1. A large portion of what's in this one came straight from your reports and feedback. The overall focus was making Beta 1's big changes behave better, plus a few things I was unable to finish up for that.

tl;dr; reconnect your games database account once (it's an Unbroken Account sign-in now, keep an eye out for wizzy), LaunchBox and Big Box start and close hopefully a bit faster, less crashing/leaving things running, MAME high scores got a big upgrade, and the usual pile of fixes

HIGHLIGHTS

• LaunchBox Games Database features (cloud sync, ratings, and MAME high scores) now sign in with your Unbroken Account (basically your GamesDB account but differently named). You will need to reconnect once after upgrading since we moved to OAuth.
• LaunchBox and Big Box start, save, and close faster. Hopefully with less memory (especially on larger libraries) and I removed a bunch of redundant file writes. Closing now waits for saves and cleanup instead of crashing or lingering and handle problems during close more gracefully (especially for your controller only setups).
• Introducing LaunchBox Game Pulse our modern replacement for hi2txt, with almost a thousand more games supported, leaderboards for a bunch of clones/regional versions, and all while running a fair bit faster. It also moved to the Plugin Manager so we can update game definitions without having to release a new version of LaunchBox. Leaderboards card has a new My High Scores link as well.
• EmuMovies added to automatic imports. Options > Automated Imports Media, pick the EmuMovies images, videos, manuals, and music you want downloaded for automatically imported games. Existing media is left alone.
• Games whose files are unavailable now show as Missing instead of Installed, and the Game Details button sends you to Steam to install or repair them.
• Smoother Big Box wheel animations and leaving game lists, Discovery pages, or videos is a bit tidier and doesn't leave as much stuff running in the background.

Please retest any issue you saw in beta 1 as well as these new features. The full testing list and changelog are in the Beta Spotlight (and I'll update the original post as well.

Same rules as before. Read, follow instructions, provide DETAILS. MORE DETAILS MEANS MORE FIXES :).

Thanks so much for the beta 1 testing, hopefully beta 2 goes just as well. Beta 3 will be limited to related issues you report, small fixes, small QoL improvements, and some more minor performance tweaks. If that goes well, we might do a full release or a small beta 4.

[crusadeRGP]

2 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

That's why. LaunchBox only downloads the official releases.

Maybe someone can confirm but PCSX2 seems to update to the nightly in LaunchBox because when I set it to stable in the emulator and check in LaunchBox again for updates it says there is an update and downloads a newer version. 

[crusadeRGP]

On 10/4/2026 at 3:11 AM, MysterNybble said:

I think I've already got the achievement issue fixed for the next beta, so stay tuned for that.

For the stuck emulator it's possible that it's related to the achievement issue. Since when we "pause" the game we literally suspend the process and if BB crashes before it has a chance to resume it, it may not recover. So hopefully beta 2 fixes that for you as well, If you think it's something else, debug logs *might* help, maybe.

Everything working again for me with the new beta.

[MysterNybble]

31 minutes ago, crusadeRGP said:

Maybe someone can confirm but PCSX2 seems to update to the nightly in LaunchBox because when I set it to stable in the emulator and check in LaunchBox again for updates it says there is an update and downloads a newer version. 

You are correct, I think when we wrote that plugin they didn't have a stable release or strongly discouraged people from using it so we went with nightly. Probably time to revisit and use the 2.x stable. I did add the plumbing to support configurable release channels for these just didn't have enough time to finish and make it usable for this release.

28 minutes ago, crusadeRGP said:

Everything working again for me with the new beta.

Great to hear!

[MysterNybble]

On 10/4/2026 at 7:42 PM, Jabb3rJaw said:

Spoke to soon. It didn’t crash to desktop like before but the video just froze and controls do nothing. Have to alt tab to get get out 

I didn't get a chance to reply as I was focused on getting the beta done. If you are still seeing this in beta 2 please send me the debug logs so I can dive in.

[crusadeRGP]

Huge improvement on shutdown times!

[crusadeRGP]

48 minutes ago, MysterNybble said:

You are correct, I think when we wrote that plugin they didn't have a stable release or strongly discouraged people from using it so we went with nightly. Probably time to revisit and use the 2.x stable. I did add the plumbing to support configurable release channels for these just didn't have enough time to finish and make it usable for this release.

Great to hear!

Being able to choose what release channel in the plugins would be a great addition.

[xmas]

Hello,

First off, I want to say a huge thank you toUnbroken Software team for the incredible work on LaunchBox 14! The new features and updates in this version have been fantastic to use.

Since the formal bug submission form is currently closed, I wanted to share a few bugs and UI suggestions I’ve run into while using LaunchBox 14 Beta 2. Hopefully, this feedback is helpful for the upcoming polish!

🐞 Bug Reports

1. Inconsistent Target Platform Behavior During Import
When dragging and dropping ROMs into a custom-titled platform (for example, Nintendo Game Boy Advance (JP)), the Import Wizard often defaults the target platform to the "Scrape As" title instead of maintaining the custom platform name. This requires manually changing it back every time.

Interestingly, this doesn't happen across all custom platforms—for instance, 'Play Station (KR)' retains its custom title without any issue. In earlier versions, target platforms were consistently preserved during drag-and-drop imports.

2. Long Delay ("Saving Game") on First Import Batch Per Session (Present since v14.0)

Whenever I launch LaunchBox and run my first ROM import batch, it takes around 5 to 10 minutes to finish right before the media download stage starts. The status bar at the bottom right gets stuck animating "Saving Game."

Once that initial import finishes, all subsequent imports within the same session complete quickly without delay. However, restarting LaunchBox brings back the delay on the next first import.

3. File Access Error in Edit Game > Alternate Names (Present since v13.x)

After modifying or adding an entry under Edit Game > Alternate Names and clicking OK, the following error pops up:

The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.

 

💡 Suggestions & UI Improvements

1. Smoother Workflow in Alternate Names Field
When typing a name in Edit Game > Alternate Names and pressing Enter, it inserts a line break. To click 'Set Selected Name as Title', you currently have to press the Up Arrow key to return the cursor to the text line. It would feel much smoother if pressing Enter completed the entry and automatically highlighted the Set Selected Name as Title option for quick activation.

2. Keyboard Shortcuts for Game Editing Navigation
When processing multiple games sequentially, having keyboard shortcuts inside the Edit Game window would be a huge quality-of-life upgrade.

A shortcut (e.g., Shift + Arrow Keys) to move to the Next/Previous game.

A dedicated shortcut for 'Set Selected Name as Title' as well.

3. Move "LaunchBox DB ID" Column in Audit Window
In the Audit Window, the LaunchBox Games Database ID column is currently located on the far right. Moving it to the far left by default (right next to the Title column, similar to the layout in the Edit Game window) would make scanning database matches much easier.

Thanks again to the team for all the hard work! Looking forward to the stable release.

[JoeViking245]

4 hours ago, xmas said:

1. Inconsistent Target Platform Behavior During Import
When dragging and dropping ROMs into a custom-titled platform (for example, Nintendo Game Boy Advance (JP)), the Import Wizard often defaults the target platform to the "Scrape As" title instead of maintaining the custom platform name. This requires manually changing it back every time.

Interestingly, this doesn't happen across all custom platforms—for instance, 'Play Station (KR)' retains its custom title without any issue. In earlier versions, target platforms were consistently preserved during drag-and-drop imports.

(this is more of a comment than anything)
Bug aside, is it possible that you have previously had a platform named "Play Station (KR)"?  As in you imported games into a platform using that name and subsequently deleted all games in that platform.  vs. deleting the platform.

If you drag & drop ROMs and by default, "Play Station (KR)" is the 'selected' platform, my guess is that if you cancel that import and go to Tools-Manage Platforms, you'll have a platform with that name showing 0 (zero) games.

 

4 hours ago, xmas said:

2. Long Delay ("Saving Game") on First Import Batch Per Session (Present since v14.0)

Whenever I launch LaunchBox and run my first ROM import batch, it takes around 5 to 10 minutes to finish right before the media download stage starts. The status bar at the bottom right gets stuck animating "Saving Game."

Once that initial import finishes, all subsequent imports within the same session complete quickly without delay. However, restarting LaunchBox brings back the delay on the next first import.

(note to the developers)
I've experienced this as well and have heard at least one other report regarding this.  I did not test the "restarting LaunchBox brings back the delay on the next first import."

My test on this, "Saving Games" (drag & drop 4 ROMS) took a solid 2 minutes. Which I can see feels like 5 to 10 minutes.  

Edit: Windows 11 (26H2)  Did not test on Win 10 cab.

[Rlad]

Startup/Shutdown: FAST!

Wheels: SMOOTH!

Not specific to this Beta but got me to notice it, i'd expect the platform view font to change when changing the game details title font.

 

[MysterNybble]

11 hours ago, crusadeRGP said:

Huge improvement on shutdown times!

Great to hear. Selfishly this speeds up all my testing :-P.

11 hours ago, crusadeRGP said:

Being able to choose what release channel in the plugins would be a great addition.

I'll try to get this in for the 14.1 release as it should be a relatively small one now that I got the rest in place. Stay tuned!

[MysterNybble]

9 hours ago, xmas said:

Since the formal bug submission form is currently closed

First off thanks for all the details :). That said, not sure what you mean by this? https://feedback.launchbox-app.com/ is the official bug reporting form for live builds.

I can take note of them from this thread as well (though if I don't get it addressed, please submit something official).

9 hours ago, xmas said:

1. Inconsistent Target Platform Behavior During Import

Can you confirm Joe's suggestion, I think he's right. If that doesn't pan out, do you recall when this last seemed to work ok so I can compare the code?

9 hours ago, xmas said:

2. Long Delay ("Saving Game") on First Import Batch Per Session (Present since v14.0)

I shall take a look; debug logs might be useful here if you can provide them. Might point me to where the time goes.

9 hours ago, xmas said:

3. File Access Error in Edit Game > Alternate Names (Present since v13.x)

Debug logs most likely will help me here, if you can provide them that would help.

9 hours ago, xmas said:

💡 Suggestions & UI Improvements

1. Smoother Workflow in Alternate Names Field
When typing a name in Edit Game > Alternate Names and pressing Enter, it inserts a line break. To click 'Set Selected Name as Title', you currently have to press the Up Arrow key to return the cursor to the text line. It would feel much smoother if pressing Enter completed the entry and automatically highlighted the Set Selected Name as Title option for quick activation.

2. Keyboard Shortcuts for Game Editing Navigation
When processing multiple games sequentially, having keyboard shortcuts inside the Edit Game window would be a huge quality-of-life upgrade.

A shortcut (e.g., Shift + Arrow Keys) to move to the Next/Previous game.

A dedicated shortcut for 'Set Selected Name as Title' as well.

3. Move "LaunchBox DB ID" Column in Audit Window
In the Audit Window, the LaunchBox Games Database ID column is currently located on the far right. Moving it to the far left by default (right next to the Title column, similar to the layout in the Edit Game window) would make scanning database matches much easier.

Thanks again to the team for all the hard work! Looking forward to the stable release.

I'll ruminate on these and if any make sense for this next beta I'll see what I can do.