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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 - Cloud_13 - 2017-06-21

Hi Wintermute0110, thank for the reply,

I have two configuration, one for the user machine and one for the tests and configuration :
  • User Machine : Windows 10 Family 64 Bits + Kodi 17.3 Arctic:Zephyr+ skin and AEL 9.6 final
  • Test & Configuration Machine : Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bits + Kodi 17.3 Arctic:Zephyr+ skin and AEL 9.6 final
The notification does not bother me, I kept it because it helps me to know if the game has started well.

I changed the duration "After / before launch delay (ms)" to 100ms as you asked me it is great, I tried 0ms but that bug with UPLAY.

The I / O menu of the add-on has an "Import AL launcher.xml" function, I do not know what this is, but can it help me realize what I want?

As you asked me to test what you advised me, I wanted to know a thing in my turn.

In the next version, will you integrate a function that is in KODI for movies, the option "edit sort on the title", which allows to sort the names in order because as you can see in my screenshot AC brotherhood is between AC 1 and AC 2 while it is released after AC2.

Thank for helping me.

Cloud_13

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2017-06-21

(2017-06-21, 14:37)Cloud_13 Wrote: Hi Wintermute0110, thank for the reply,

I have two configuration, one for the user machine and one for the tests and configuration :
  • User Machine : Windows 10 Family 64 Bits + Kodi 17.3 Arctic:Zephyr+ skin and AEL 9.6 final
  • Test & Configuration Machine : Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bits + Kodi 17.3 Arctic:Zephyr+ skin and AEL 9.6 final
The notification does not bother me, I kept it because it helps me to know if the game has started well.

I changed the duration "After / before launch delay (ms)" to 100ms as you asked me it is great, I tried 0ms but that bug with UPLAY.

Good it works OK with 100 ms delay.

What is UPLAY?

(2017-06-21, 14:37)Cloud_13 Wrote: The I / O menu of the add-on has an "Import AL launcher.xml" function, I do not know what this is, but can it help me realize what I want?

That imports Advanced Launcher launchers.xml into Advanced Emulator Launcher, so if you are an AL user you can start using AEL right away. However, I do not recommend using it particularly for big setups with many launchers any more.

(2017-06-21, 14:37)Cloud_13 Wrote: As you asked me to test what you advised me, I wanted to know a thing in my turn.

In the next version, will you integrate a function that is in KODI for movies, the option "edit sort on the title", which allows to sort the names in order because as you can see in my screenshot AC brotherhood is between AC 1 and AC 2 while it is released after AC2.

Thank for helping me.

Are you using Standalone Launchers for your games or a ROM LNK launcher where each game is a LNK file? In any case, you can sort the standalone launcher inside a category or the LNK "ROMs" inside a LNK launcher by Name, Year, Studio, Genre and Default. Default means the order AEL inserts the items into Kodi which is determined by the alphabetical order yielded by the Python function sort(). If you choose Name then Kodi sorts alphabetically the items and the results may differ from AEL's Default if the Title contains non alphabetical characters like numbers or symbols. In ROM Collections the item order is determined by the user via the context menu.

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2017-06-21

(2017-06-20, 08:00)Wintermute0110 Wrote:
(2017-06-19, 20:08)MKANET Wrote: Thanks so much! I just cleanly installed 0.9.6 from zip.

I just created a LNK launcher (pointing to the Windows directory with working Windows shortcuts to all my steam games). I also pointed the LNK launcher to an empty Artwork directory (for it to download scraped fanart for all my games).

However, when I "Search ROMs in Launcher" via context menu (after creating my LNK launcher correctly), AEL, says "Launcher KSON not found. Add ROMs to Launcher".

Is there a step I'm missing? I did notice there's an update available for download for 0.9.6. However, I'm not sure if that would fix the issue I'm having ...or, maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Thanks again for your help,
MKANET

Currently there are no significant updates over 0.9.6 in Github. I did some work to test a new offline scraper based on Launchbox database and a couple of fixes but nothing more. 0.9.6 should be fine for you.

Tomorrow I will post a step by step tutorial about LNK launchers.

OK, here we go. Follow these steps to create the LNK launcher:

1) Create two directories

Code:
C:\AEL-ROMs\LNK --> Place the LNK files here
C:\AEL-assets\LNK --> This will be the AEL asset/artwork directory for the LNK launcher

This directory layout will be convenient if you later decide to create more launchers. Always place your ROMs in a directory inside C:\AEL-ROMs\ and your assets in a directory with same name inside C:\AEL-assets\. As you add more launchers it is important to be organised Wink

2) Test the LNK files by clicking on one of them. The application pointed by the LNK file should launch after the double click.

3) In AEL root window open the context menu, select "Add New Launcher". If you see the dialog "Choose Launcher category" select "Create launcher in addon root".

4) In "Create New Launcher" dialog select "LNK Launcher (Windows only)".

5) In "Select the LNKs path" browse to the directory C:\AEL-ROMs\LNK inside the directory press "OK". Note that you won't see any LNK file inside the directory and that's the expected behavior.

6) Write down the Title of the launcher in "Set the title of the launcher" window.

7) In "Select the platform" dialog choose "Microsoft Windows" or "Unknown". The platform is used only by the scrapers.

8) In "Select asset/artwork directory" browse to C:\AEL-assets\LNK and once you are inside the directory click "OK".

9) Your launcher will be created now. Note that now your launcher is empty of LNK/ROM files and hence if you enter the launcher AEL will notify "Launcher XML/JSON not found. Add ROMs to launcher". Also, note that AEL creates the following directories automatically to store assets

Code:
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\banners\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\boxback\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\boxfront\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\cartridges\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\clearlogos\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\fanarts\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\flyers\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\manuals\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\maps\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\snaps\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\titles\
C:\AEL-assets\LNK\trailers\

10) Select the new LNK launcher, bring the context menu up, and click on "Add ROMs". Then, select "Scan for New ROMs". After the scanning is finished AEL will report "Added nn ROMs to launcher"

11) Now your launcher is populated with your LNK files and you can launch any of them!

Note that the current version in Github has a bug due to some function renaming and the ROM scanner will crash. 0.9.6 doesn't have this bug and should work OK.

12) In case of trouble (for example, your launcher is empty after the scanner) then open the launcher context menu, select "View Launcher", then "View Launcher scanner report". You should see something like this

Code:
*** Starting ROM scanner ... ***
  Launcher name "LNK test launcher"
  launcher ID   "6e8b34f612cf45d233318634338a731a"
  ROM path      "E:\AEL-stuff\AEL-ROMs\lnk-files\"
  ROM ext       "lnk"
  Platform      "Microsoft Windows"
Loading launcher ROMs ...
  0 ROMs currently in database
Removing dead ROMs ...
Scanning files ...
  Directory E:\AEL-stuff\AEL-ROMs\lnk-files\
  Found 2 files
Processing files ...
>>> E:\AEL-stuff\AEL-ROMs\lnk-files\mame64.lnk
  Expected 'lnk' extension detected
  ROM does not belong to a multidisc set.
  File not in launcher ROM list. Processing it ...
********** ROM scanner finished **********
Removed dead ROMs      0
Files checked          2
New added ROMs         2
No No-Intro/Redump DAT configured. Do not audit ROMs.
*** END of the ROM scanner report ***

Make sure all parameters, especially the ROM path, are correct. Edit them using the launcher context menu if necessary and then repeat the ROM scanning again.

13) If you remove or add LNK files to the "C:\AEL-ROMs\LNK" directory then execute the ROM scanner again to bring your launcher up to date. The ROM scanner first removes dead ROMs (LNK files that cannot be found because they were deleted) and then scans for new LNK files added.

I hope this helps.

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - lordashram - 2017-06-22

I am trying to get this plugin to work but on a clean install of Kodi 17.3 (everything at default settings) with only installing skin.estuary.AEL + plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher-0.9.6 I am getting the following error when I try to launch a game:
https://pastebin.com/VnF5NY18

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2017-06-22

(2017-06-22, 02:01)lordashram Wrote: I am trying to get this plugin to work but on a clean install of Kodi 17.3 (everything at default settings) with only installing skin.estuary.AEL + plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher-0.9.6 I am getting the following error when I try to launch a game:
https://pastebin.com/VnF5NY18

A bug in the BAT file launcher slipped into 0.9.6-beta1. I will fix ASAP in Github. In the mean time, you can bypass the bug launching an EXE file instead of a BAT file for Dolphin emulator.

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - lordashram - 2017-06-23

Thanks for the fast reply, since I need bat support for non-RetroArch emus to map the Guide/Home button on my gamepads to exit the emus via joy2key because surprisingly nearly all lack this basic option, I will wait for the fix to show up on git and patch my copy of the stable release.

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - sagrath - 2017-06-23

(2017-06-23, 08:12)lordashram Wrote: Thanks for the fast reply, since I need bat support for non-RetroArch emus to map the Guide/Home button on my gamepads to exit the emus via joy2key because surprisingly nearly all lack this basic option, I will wait for the fix to show up on git and patch my copy of the stable release.

Hello!! Just a quick tip:
To bypass this issue, you can use a Bat2Exe... it works perfect...
here's the link:

http://www.f2ko.de/en/b2e.php

Cheer's

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2017-06-24

(2017-06-23, 08:12)lordashram Wrote: Thanks for the fast reply, since I need bat support for non-RetroArch emus to map the Guide/Home button on my gamepads to exit the emus via joy2key because surprisingly nearly all lack this basic option, I will wait for the fix to show up on git and patch my copy of the stable release.

Launching of BAT files should be working now for AEL in Github dev version. Follow the instruction on Github to install it. I have also fixed the ROM scanner crash.

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Mysticalp - 2017-06-25

Hi Wintermute0110,

I'm trying to make trailers work but I can't get them to display. I have tried mp4, avi and mpg videos in the last stable version with no luck. Is there anything necessary to do for them to work?

By the way, another temporary fix you can do for making BAT files to work is to rename them to .bAt

Thanks!

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2017-06-26

(2017-06-25, 22:05)Mysticalp Wrote: Hi Wintermute0110,

I'm trying to make trailers work but I can't get them to display. I have tried mp4, avi and mpg videos in the last stable version with no luck. Is there anything necessary to do for them to work?

What skin and view are you using? I do not use trailers myself so I haven't tested them in a long time. Last time I checked trailers worked on Confluence AEL MOD debug view (with some issues like trailer was played in the trailer small window as well as in the background substituting the fanart). Estuary AEL MOD does not include code to show up trailers yet, so even if you have configured them it won't be rendered. I have no idea about trailer status in Arctic Zephyr Plus but I believe KODser made trailers working on his skin.

(2017-06-25, 22:05)Mysticalp Wrote: By the way, another temporary fix you can do for making BAT files to work is to rename them to .bAt

Yeah... current AEL code searches for BAT or bat file extensions, so bAT (or anything not BAT or bat) will be treated as a normal executable.

With the new launching mechanism based on the subprocess module all launching code is basically the same for all executable types and platforms (except LNK files in Windows which still are special). The difference for BAT files compared to normal EXE executable files is that the settings "Close file descriptors (Windows only)" and "CD into aplication dir (Windows only)" are ignored (both "Close file descriptors (Windows only)" and "CD into aplication dir (Windows only)" must be True for BAT files) and setting "Show batch command window (Windows only)" is honoured.

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Cloud_13 - 2017-06-26

Hi Wintermute,

Thanks for your reply, UPLAY is the platform of games for Ubisoft, like Steam or Origin (Electronic Arts).

I use the standalone launcher, but I tried with the LNK.

Same problem, actually the worry comes from the fact that the names of Assassin's Creed games, mix numbers and letters.

Sorry I do not have access to my machines, I will try to explain it, instead of doing screens.

Here is the list of my Assassin's Creed games in their KODi order by Name (I wrote the release year for it to be more comprehensible) :
  • Assassin's Creed (2007)
  • Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (2010)
  • Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry (2013)
  • Assassin's Creed Liberation HD (2012)
  • Assassin's Creed Revelations (2011)
  • Assassin's Creed Rogue (2014)
  • Assassin's Creed Unity (2014)
  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015)
  • Assassin's Creed II (2009)
  • Assassin's Creed III (2012)
  • Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (2013)

This list is the same as either a standalone launcher or an LNK.

That's why a feature, "Sort by Title", as for movies, allows me without changing the names of the games, creates an organization as follows:
  • AC01
  • AC02
  • AC03
  • AC04
  • Etc....

But do not worry, this is not vital and AEL works perfectly, it would be really just really cool that in a future maj you integrate this.

There are other sets of games with this problem, that's why I anticipate.

Thank you for the reply and again congratulations because without people like you KODI would not be what it is today.

Cloud_13

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Lusil - 2017-06-27

One of my favorite emulators, well known from childhood, is the Pokemon, undoubtedly the best thing that has a Gameboy https://romsmania.com/roms/gameboy-advance/pokemon-emerald-version-225038 ) If you have not downloaded the EMERALD VERSION you have lost a lot) Therefore, I advise you to try it immediately.

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Wintermute0110 - 2017-06-27

(2017-06-26, 22:36)Cloud_13 Wrote: Hi Wintermute,

Thanks for your reply, UPLAY is the platform of games for Ubisoft, like Steam or Origin (Electronic Arts).

I use the standalone launcher, but I tried with the LNK.

Same problem, actually the worry comes from the fact that the names of Assassin's Creed games, mix numbers and letters.

Sorry I do not have access to my machines, I will try to explain it, instead of doing screens.

Here is the list of my Assassin's Creed games in their KODi order by Name (I wrote the release year for it to be more comprehensible) :
  • Assassin's Creed (2007)
  • Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (2010)
  • Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry (2013)
  • Assassin's Creed Liberation HD (2012)
  • Assassin's Creed Revelations (2011)
  • Assassin's Creed Rogue (2014)
  • Assassin's Creed Unity (2014)
  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015)
  • Assassin's Creed II (2009)
  • Assassin's Creed III (2012)
  • Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (2013)

This list is the same as either a standalone launcher or an LNK.

That's why a feature, "Sort by Title", as for movies, allows me without changing the names of the games, creates an organization as follows:
  • AC01
  • AC02
  • AC03
  • AC04
  • Etc....

But do not worry, this is not vital and AEL works perfectly, it would be really just really cool that in a future maj you integrate this.

There are other sets of games with this problem, that's why I anticipate.

Thank you for the reply and again congratulations because without people like you KODI would not be what it is today.

Cloud_13

These are the sorting methods Kodi supports (scroll down till the end of the page). On the other hand, AEL sets these sorting methods for both categories/launchers and ROM lists:

Code:
def _misc_set_all_sorting_methods(self):
        # >> This must be called only if self.addon_handle > 0, otherwise Kodi will complain in the log.
        if self.addon_handle < 0: return
        xbmcplugin.addSortMethod(handle = self.addon_handle, sortMethod = xbmcplugin.SORT_METHOD_LABEL_IGNORE_FOLDERS)
        xbmcplugin.addSortMethod(handle = self.addon_handle, sortMethod = xbmcplugin.SORT_METHOD_VIDEO_YEAR)
        xbmcplugin.addSortMethod(handle = self.addon_handle, sortMethod = xbmcplugin.SORT_METHOD_STUDIO)
        xbmcplugin.addSortMethod(handle = self.addon_handle, sortMethod = xbmcplugin.SORT_METHOD_GENRE)
        xbmcplugin.addSortMethod(handle = self.addon_handle, sortMethod = xbmcplugin.SORT_METHOD_UNSORTED)

Also, the listitem label is the same as the title:

Code:
listitem = xbmcgui.ListItem(rom_name)
            listitem.setInfo('video', {'title'   : rom_name,         'year'    : rom['m_year'],
                                       'genre'   : rom['m_genre'],   'plot'    : rom['m_plot'],
                                       'studio'  : rom['m_studio'],  'rating'  : rom['m_rating'],
                                       'trailer' : rom['s_trailer'], 'overlay' : ICON_OVERLAY })

In my understanding SORT_METHOD_LABEL and SORT_METHOD_TITLE must produce identical results because the listitem label is the same as the title (same string called rom_name in the code).

I believe AEL is already sorting by Title, besides you can see see "Sort by Name" in AEL as opposed to "Sort by Title" in movies. Any ideas?

Another option for you is to create a LNK launcher and then your LNK files became "ROMs", so you can use Favourites and ROM Collections. You can then create your Assasins Creed ROM Collection and there the order of the items is set in the context menu, so any arbitrary order you set will be kept.

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - Mysticalp - 2017-07-01

(2017-06-26, 11:47)Wintermute0110 Wrote: [quote='Mysticalp' pid='2608744' dateline='1498421108']
Hi Wintermute0110,

I'm trying to make trailers work but I can't get them to display. I have tried mp4, avi and mpg videos in the last stable version with no luck. Is there anything necessary to do for them to work?

What skin and view are you using? I do not use trailers myself so I haven't tested them in a long time. Last time I checked trailers worked on Confluence AEL MOD debug view (with some issues like trailer was played in the trailer small window as well as in the background substituting the fanart). Estuary AEL MOD does not include code to show up trailers yet, so even if you have configured them it won't be rendered. I have no idea about trailer status in Arctic Zephyr Plus but I believe KODser made trailers working on his skin.


Thanks a lot. I'm using Estuary AEL MOD in Kodi Kripton so it looks like I'm out of luck. I will try Arctic Zephyr Plus just in case

RE: Advanced Emulator Launcher - Multi-emulator frontend for Kodi - budtz - 2017-07-12

I thought I'd point out that the application sepparates capital letters from non-capital. So for example ZELDA.gba gets added but not if it is called ZELDA.GBA