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Beta Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Printable Version

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RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Jachin99 - 2020-02-22

(2020-02-22, 09:57)garbear Wrote:
(2020-02-21, 01:47)Jachin99 Wrote: Is there a way to instruct retroplayer to use a given emulator core when launching a game to avoid having to select my preferred emulator each time?  I know you cant select a default in kodi itself but one thing I like about IAGL is that I can pick a default emulator for a given list, and just open games directly from the launch button.  Thanks.

Add-ons such as AEL can bypass the emulator core selection dialog by settings the ListItem.GameClient property to the core's add-on ID. See: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=336876 
I'm still not sure I would entirely understand how to construct the exact command for something like AEL.  Is the gameclient ID the name of the assembly for a given libretro core, or is it numerical?  How would I find it.  I can swear I found reference to calling out game core assemblies by name via the command line somewhere on these forums or in this thread.


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2020-02-23

(2020-02-22, 21:33)Jachin99 Wrote: I'm still not sure I would entirely understand how to construct the exact command for something like AEL.  Is the gameclient ID the name of the assembly for a given libretro core, or is it numerical?  How would I find it.  I can swear I found reference to calling out game core assemblies by name via the command line somewhere on these forums or in this thread.

The command line arguments you use in AEL are arguments for launching external applications. The method proposed by @garbear requires changes in AEL's Python code when using Retroarch as launcher. Currently AEL supports the special launcher Retroarch but is kind of a workaround an some things are missing. Proper support for Retroarch and other special launcher will be implemented in 0.10.0.


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - misterright1 - 2020-03-06

How do I remove the "(Std)" next to my launcher names?


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2020-03-06

(2020-03-06, 10:27)misterright1 Wrote: How do I remove the "(Std)" next to my launcher names?

Open AEL addon settings, go to Display tab, turn off "Display number of ROMs in launchers."


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2020-03-06

Announcement of release 0.9.9-beta

The code in branch release-0.9.8 in Github contains now release 0.9.9-beta. You can see the changes (and plans for the future) in the changelog.txt file in Github. If you want to test this beta version install it following the instructions on the first post.

As usual, after the upgrade execute Utilities, then Check/Update all databases. The database upgrade process is not reversible, make a backup of the AEL addon data directory first if you plan to roll back to 0.9.8. Release 0.9.9-beta is pretty stable but as usual new features introduce new bugs here and there. I always try to test AEL as much as possible but the addon is huge and it is impossible to test every combination of settings and configuration in one go.

If you find a bug remember to provide a debug log following the instructions of the first post.


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Zastava - 2020-03-11

(2020-03-06, 16:57)Wintermute0110 Wrote: Announcement of release 0.9.9-beta

The code in branch release-0.9.8 in Github contains now release 0.9.9-beta. You can see the changes (and plans for the future) in the changelog.txt file in Github. If you want to test this beta version install it following the instructions on the first post.

As usual, after the upgrade execute Utilities, then Check/Update all databases. The database upgrade process is not reversible, make a backup of the AEL addon data directory first if you plan to roll back to 0.9.8. Release 0.9.9-beta is pretty stable but as usual new features introduce new bugs here and there. I always try to test AEL as much as possible but the addon is huge and it is impossible to test every combination of settings and configuration in one go.

If you find a bug remember to provide a debug log following the instructions of the first post.
Thank you so much!
Just did the update and everything seems to be working very well.

Two short questions:

Is there way to change AEL default label when showing number of roms in launchers? For example, "GAMES" instead of "ROMs"

How about the default color of the same label? Can we change that somewhere, even if code or inside a AEL file?


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2020-03-11

(2020-03-11, 09:40)Zastava Wrote: Thank you so much!
Just did the update and everything seems to be working very well.

Two short questions:

Is there way to change AEL default label when showing number of roms in launchers? For example, "GAMES" instead of "ROMs"

How about the default color of the same label? Can we change that somewhere, even if code or inside a AEL file?

There is no easy way to change that. You need to modify the Python code of function _gui_render_launcher_row() in resources/main.py. Have a look here.


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Zastava - 2020-03-11

(2020-03-11, 11:57)Wintermute0110 Wrote:
(2020-03-11, 09:40)Zastava Wrote: Thank you so much!
Just did the update and everything seems to be working very well.

Two short questions:

Is there way to change AEL default label when showing number of roms in launchers? For example, "GAMES" instead of "ROMs"

How about the default color of the same label? Can we change that somewhere, even if code or inside a AEL file?

There is no easy way to change that. You need to modify the Python code of function _gui_render_launcher_row() in resources/main.py. Have a look here.  
Thank you again so much!

That did it, changing values below # Non-audited ROM launcher.


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2020-03-13

New AEL release 0.9.9

This release comes just in time for those of you that must stay at home Big Grin

Release notes

In this version a lot of new platforms have been added. ROM Collections have been improved a lot; now artwork is stored on a separate folder and does not include the ROM ID on the filename which simplifies a lot building the artwork for the collections. The Offline Scraper has been improved and the MAME database upgraded to version 0.219. Also, MAME BIOSes, Devices and Mechanical machines are properly filtered out. For people who use No-Intro/Redump auditing, the audit process has been simplified and AEL is able to choose the DAT file for every platform automatically.

For a full list of features and bug fixes have a look at the changelog.

Upgrading from 0.9.8 to 0.9.9

Follow these steps:

1. Install 0.9.9.

2. Upgrade your database with Utilities, Check/Update all databases. It is safe to execute Check/Update all databases at any time.

3. Done!

Advanced Emulator Launcher | version 0.9.9 | 13 March 2020

Code:
FEATURE  [COLLECTIONS] When exporting ROM Collections assets are always exported. The option
         to export only metadata has been removed. When importing assets are also always
         imported to the ROM Collection asset directory.

FEATURE  [COLLECTIONS] Current way of storing the collection artwork, in a unified JSON file,
         is not good. Think of a good way to exporting collections (for example, store the
         artwork in a subdirectory).

FEATURE  [COLLECTIONS] Do not consolidate Collection artwork before exporting. Also, when
         importing always import to the Collection artwork directory. Exported artwork
         collection filenames in the JSON file must be relative, not absolute paths.

FEATURE  [COLLECTIONS] Store Collection ROMs artwork as filename_platformCompactName_assetType.png
         and not filename_ROMID_assetType.png. This solves a lot of problems of duplicate
         artwork. ROMs with same name are allowed on different platforms but not on the
         same platform, which makes sense. Collection own artwork use the special
         platform name 'collection'.

FEATURE  [CORE] Rename offline scraper XML databases to use new platform name.

FEATURE  [CORE] Changed the Offline Scraper XML fields. Now the XML files are not compatible
         with HyperSpin but they make more sense.

FEATURE  [CORE] Update the platform icons. Github issue #112.

FEATURE  [SCRAPERS] MAME offline scraper: include NPlayers field. Take it from nplayers.ini

FEATURE  [SCRAPERS] Store when there is a bad JSON from the scrapers for further
         analysis. Working for ScreenScraper scraper.

FEATURE  [SCRAPERS] Update MAME Offline Scraper database to version latest version 0.219.

FEATURE  [SCRAPERS] Include isBIOS, isDevice, isMechanical in AOL MAME database. This is
         required to filter BIOSes and Devices in MAME launchers.

FEATURE  [SCRAPERS] Filter MAME BIOSes, Devices and Mechanical machines with the new
         Offline Scraper JSON databases. Use the offline scraper DB to determine what
         is a BIOS/Device/Mechanical in MAME.
         See https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=287826&pid=2697000#pid2697000

FEATURE  [SCRAPERS] Add a delay of 1200 ms between downloads to ScreenScraper scraper
         to avoid scraper overloading. This is configurable in the scraper object.
         See https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=287826&pid=2923181#pid2923181

FEATURE  [CORE] New Utility "Check Launcher ROMs sync status"

FEATURE  [CORE] New Utility "Check ROMs artwork image integrity"
         Sometimes the scrapers download wrong/corrupt data, or produce 0 sized files
         if a file is open() and there is an exception. Sometimes a JPG image is renamed
         as PNG, etc. Check that all artwork have correct file extensions, etc.

FEATURE  [CORE] Extra ROMs directory. Extra ROMs are not audited. The extra ROMs directory
         is intended for ROM translations and hacks that should not be taken into account
         in the ROM audit.

FEATURE  [CORE] New Utility "Show detected No-Intro/Redump DATs"
         This utility shows the automatically detected No-Intro/Redump DATs.
         Create addon settings for the No-Intro DAT directory and the Redump DAT directory.

FEATURE  [CORE] New Utility "Check Retroarch Launchers" This utility checks all Retroarch
         launchers to verify if the core set with -L exists.

FEATURE  [CORE] Remove the LAUNCHER_DMODE_1G1R Launcher display mode. The Launcher display
         modes will be LAUNCHER_DMODE_FLAT and LAUNCHER_DMODE_PCLONE, like AML.

FEATURE  [ROM AUDIT] Current way of doing the ROM audit is inconvenient. User has to set a DAT
         file. Create two new settings: a) directory for No-Intro DATs, b) directory for Redump
         DATs. AEL must be able to choose the DAT file according to the platform.
         Some fields in categories.xml have been changed.

FEATURE  [ROM AUDIT] Create a tool to select the No-Intro/Redump DAT file automatically for
         each platform. This will be very useful for the new Offline Scraper database and
         for the ROM tag histogram.

FEATURE  [CORE] In the "Global ROM Audit statistics" report show only the audited launchers.

FEATURE  [CORE] Increase the number of platforms to include all No-Intro, Redump and
         Libretro platforms. This is in preparation of the Kodi Games Database.

FEATURE  [CORE] Settings to hide Utilities and Global Reports from root window.

FEATURE  [CORE] Setting for skin kiosk mode. See pull request in Github.

FIX      Fixed crash when setting display_launcher_roms was True.

FIX      When fixing ROM Collections the order of the ROM list is lost. Repaired items are
         placed at the end of the list and the original order is lost.
         This was a very long standing bug.

FIX      Fix crash when using "Export ROM metadata to NFO files"
         Crash was related to the deprecated kodi_busydialog_ON()

FIX      TheGamesDB URL API has changed. Verify that the scraper is working OK. Github issue #109.
         See https://forums.thegamesdb.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&p=2228

FIX      ScreenScraper crashes for aliased platforms. Github issue #113.



RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Hudson_Hawk04 - 2020-03-18

is there an updated list of skins that are compatible with AEL? If so could you kindly point me in their direction? Thanks


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Jachin99 - 2020-03-18

There might be one more skin to add to the list in a week or two but I don't want to speak for any other developers until they have posted their work.


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2020-03-18

(2020-03-18, 02:00)Hudson_Hawk04 Wrote: is there an updated list of skins that are compatible with AEL? If so could you kindly point me in their direction? Thanks

Many skins now have some support for AEL. I recommend you install them all and try.

In any case, enabling views for AEL in the program or games section is easy. Please tell the authors to do so if your favourite skin has a low number of views in the programs/games section.


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Hudson_Hawk04 - 2020-03-18

for the time being I went with your estuary mod, I noticed it has an advanced doom launcher tab. I was able to find the addon, is it still functional and how exactly do i go about setting it up on libreelec if it is?


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2020-03-19

(2020-03-18, 17:08)Hudson_Hawk04 Wrote: for the time being I went with your estuary mod, I noticed it has an advanced doom launcher tab. I was able to find the addon, is it still functional and how exactly do i go about setting it up on libreelec if it is?

Advanced DOOM Launcher should be functional but it is still in early development. If you want to try, configure the path to Chocolate Doom or Crispy Doom executable, the WAD directory and the Artwork directory. Place your WADs like this in your WAD directory:

Code:
/WAD_dir/doom.wad
/WAD_dir/doom2.wad
/WAD_dir/PWADs/
/WAD_dir/PWADs/aliens.wad
...

The idea is that the IWADs must be in the WAD directory and any PWAD in any subdirectory (or several). For every PWAD, ADL will create a Poster and Fanart, the poster containing information of your PWAD like the number of levels and the Fanart a plot of the first map in the PWAD. The Fanart maps generated by ADL are very similar to this example from the Doom Wiki.

Note that development of ADL stalled in 2017. I discover how to create PNG images with PIL (Python Image Library) and used first in ADL. Then, I used this technology to create composite Fanart and 3D boxes in AML, which took me most part of 2018 and half year in 2019 (of course other features were also added to AML like full ROM set audit). In Q3 2019 I switched development to AEL and a lot of technologies present in AML must be ported to AEL yet. However, I am focusing now in improving the AEL database model and the platform information directory which will serve as a prototype for the Kodi games database. I promised Chrisism that the fancy AML features like Fanart and 3D box generation in AEL will be part of the 0.10.0 release, which will be Python 3 compatible and out once Kodi Matrix reaches the release candidate cycle. Once AEL has been improved maybe I will continue the development of ADL.

Also, two years ago the PrBoom Libretro core was not very good and hence I did not support it in ADL. This core has improved a lot in 2019 thanks to developer Ferk. However, it is still difficult to launch PWADs with PrBoom Libretro and I am thinking in a solution to fix this (which also will affect Kodi).

Finally, using the Advanced Launchers in LibreELEC could be complicated. First thing, you must run Kodi with a window manager, otherwise you will get a lot of problems like Kodi staying on top of the launcher app, Kodi getting the joystick input instead of the launched app, etc. TTBOMK, LibreELEC does not use a window manager to run Kodi, which is beneficial on low-end devices like the Pi. Second, LibreELEC does not include external emulators like MAME or Retroarch or ports like Chocolate/Crispy doom nor does include the development tools and libraries necessary to compile them. Some users have created custom versions of LibreELEC that include emulators and ports, you should use one of those if you want to use the Advanced Launchers. Note that my HTPC and development machines use Ubuntu. Using a generic Linux distribution you have easy access to thousands of packages and the compiler in case you want to use an app not included in the distribution as an official package. LibreELEC is convenient because it includes everything you need to use Kodi but if you want to launch external applications it could be quite a challenge. On the other hand, if you use a generic Linux distribution you have to do more configuration (which in LibreELEC has already been done for you) but you have more flexibility.


RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - dmakk - 2020-03-24

(2020-03-13, 08:49)Wintermute0110 Wrote:
Code:
FEATURE [CORE] Remove the LAUNCHER_DMODE_1G1R Launcher display mode. The Launcher display
modes will be LAUNCHER_DMODE_FLAT and LAUNCHER_DMODE_PCLONE, like AML.
I just installed the update, and I assume the 1G1R mode is what allowed me to click on a parent and view the parent and all of the clones, because the PCLONE mode just launches the parent. Is this mode or some substitute coming back at some point, or is it permanently gone? I personally used the 1G1R mode to treat parents like game collection, and I'd have the games in a series listed as clones. It'd be pretty disappointing if that functionality stays gone.