[RELEASE] Rom Collection Browser - Browse and launch emulator game ROMs - Printable Version

[RELEASE] Rom Collection Browser - Browse and launch emulator game ROMs - Printable Version

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+---- Thread: [RELEASE] Rom Collection Browser - Browse and launch emulator game ROMs (/showthread.php?tid=70115)

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- leorik - 2011-10-06

I've installed this on 2 different ubuntu boxes.

I must be doing something wrong, because I'm getting the same problem.

I've set up an NES importer.

At the spot where it should be scraping, mine just goes to the rom chooser screen with nothing in it. It never seems to go scrape. I turned on logging, and I dont see anything wrong.

I'm running .86 RCB with darma xbmc and ubuntu 11.04.

I tried hitting c, then import again, but still, nothing.

What am I doing wrong?

- malte - 2011-10-06

stress.t Wrote:Yes not fo me. I need cache list games... not build him all time.
Example:
1. We scan collection
2. rcb create list for xbmc
3. xbmc display list
4. quit

5. run xbmc
6. run rcb
7. rcb get cached list
8. xbmc display list

Sorry, I guess this will not possible without api changes in XBMC. Anyway, I don't think it would be a good solution as you always may want to add games or rescrape items that change the list again.

sunfizz98 Wrote:That's strange, because RCB was able to scrape a screenshot image from giantbomb but your response is saying otherwise. I am using RCB 9.1

Yes, you are right. I just disabled download of boxart images.

sunfizz98 Wrote:For sake of making things easy for me, I added all the games, info, screenshots, and fanart for the Touhou series into thegamesdb.net, since it was more organized and easier to maintain. I will most likely contribute most of my time to gamesdb for the above mentioned reasons.

I added download of screenshot images to thegamesdb scraper. It will take some more time until I have a new test version ready for release. In the meantime you can replace the file "02 - thegamesdb.xml" in RCBs install dir "script.games.rom.collection.browser\resources\scraper" with this one: link

' Wrote:Just a question, how safe are the other APIs?

Mobygames and thegamesdb have valid platform information and they are easy accessible via their api.

Giantbomb has platform information, too. But the api doesn't allow to search by platform. With my current scraper implementation this would be hard to implement. I want to change my implementation sometime in the future but this will take some time.

Maws is only providing MAME games, so this is safe, too.

thevideogamedb was platform safe. But this project seems to be dead so I disabled the scraper in RCB.

archive.vg also seems to be dead before it really started so I never enabled the scraper in RCB. Maybe one day...

leorik Wrote:At the spot where it should be scraping, mine just goes to the rom chooser screen with nothing in it. It never seems to go scrape. I turned on logging, and I dont see anything wrong.

What am I doing wrong?

I would guess it is a problem with a wrong path to your roms or a wrong file mask. You can show me the log (via pastebin) and I may be able to help you better.

- drabina - 2011-10-08

I have similar problem as leorik. I am running today's nightly build (Windows) and RCB 0.8.9. I have installed MAME and added few ROMS. All paths are directly off C: drive without any spaces or weird characters (C:\mame\mame.exe, C:\mame\roms\). I have few zipped ROMs in the C:\mame\roms\ folder and all is setup correctly in RCB (as far as I can tell). When I ask RCB to scan for ROMs, I can see it recognizing the ROM files and stating "scraping" but when it is all done, nothing displays on the screen.

Update: Log states that the ROM file name wasn't recognized. Here is the error line:

Code:
Parser complains about: No match found for "title</td>"

I guess there is a problem with the RCB and the way it submits the game title.

- malte - 2011-10-08

@drabina: You are right. I am not sure what happened to http://maws.mameworld.info. But when I go to the site and search for games the site seems to be empty. I don't find any single game. Not via the link that RCB uses (e.g. http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/romset/88games) and not not via the site search: http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/

I hope they are just mainaining the site.

- phsyraxion - 2011-10-08

Is it possible for me to add a line of code somewhere that can kill a process that is running when I launch a game?

I'm on WinXP and I am having an issue with Stella launching Atari roms. It works fine but I have a dual monitor setup and have a program called YATSE running on my touchscreen which when running causes the Stella application to minimize.

If the application is closed it works normal so i'd like to be able to add a TASKKILL command when launching. Don't care about reloading after really.

- malte - 2011-10-08

@phsyraxion: You could add a batch file to your launch process.

1. Write a simple batch file that kills YATSE at first and then starts your emulator. You can use "*%" (without "") to access the params passed by RCB.
2. Launch this batch file instead of the emulator from RCB.

- phsyraxion - 2011-10-09

malte Wrote:@phsyraxion: You could add a batch file to your launch process.

1. Write a simple batch file that kills YATSE at first and then starts your emulator. You can use "*%" (without "") to access the params passed by RCB.
2. Launch this batch file instead of the emulator from RCB.

Thanks for the reply

I thought about doing this but then wondered if I launched a batch script and used that to launch the emulator would the game be passed to the EMU?

Anyways, what I have tested is using the standalone emu mode (which uses the applaunch.bat file) and adding extra options in that and that works fine.... To a degree.

Here is the issue I have (small but annoying)

I would like to not have to close XBMC to play a game (happy to have it run in the background) and it all works fine with XBMC running in the background and I am passed straight back and all seems good (I disabled the code that kills XBMC)

I have the "screensaver" feature in XBMC active and it seems that when this kicks in it screws up the browser plugin. When I return from a game the games have no details and the navigation doesn't work properly. If I exit out of the script I cannot open it again and am forced to restart XBMC.

Is there any way to disable the screensaver of XBMC when in this plugin? I don't want to disable it completely in XBMC and i'd rather not have to close XBMC every time I launch a game but may have to...

EDIT: further to this I am unable to launch XBMC after it is closed by RCB.

I have found in this thread that I need to add EXPLORER to the start of the string, which I have and it"works" but I get the windows explorer file security dialogue popup. Now, I can disable this warning easy enough but then here is the next issue. I run XBMC in portable mode so I need the -p switch.

If I try:

EXPLORER "C:\Program Files\XBMC\xbmc.exe -p"
EXPLORER "C:\Program Files\XBMC\xbmc.exe" -p

It cannot find the path.

If I try and launch an AutoIT script to launch XBMC I get the cApplication error but launching the autoit script myself works just fine.

EDIT2: Further to this, when I have the option to load RCB on next XBMC load it is creating the autoexec.py file but on every load I get an error with this file and it doesn't open RCB.

The contents of the file are:

AUTOEXEC.PY:
#Rom Collection Browser autoexec
import xbmc
xbmc.executescript('C:\Program Files\xbmc\portable_data\Addons\script.games.rom.collection.browser\default.py')

LOG WHEN LOADING XBMC AND GETTING ERROR:
http://pastebin.com/PvctRFDJ

- phsyraxion - 2011-10-09

I may have found the cause of the autoexec.py error. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and I have managed to get the code from which one does and does not work:

THIS WORKS:

Code:
#Rom Collection Browser autoexec

import xbmc

xbmc.executescript('C:\Program Files\XBMC\portable_data\Addons\script.games.rom.collection.browser\default.py')

THIS FAILS:

Code:
#Rom Collection Browser autoexec

import xbmc

xbmc.executescript('C:\Program Files\xbmc\portable_data\Addons\script.games.rom.collection.browser\default.py')

At first both strings look exactly the same but there is only 1 difference. In the PATH to XBMC, after \Program Files\ one is in CAPS and one is in LOWERCASE. The actual path to my XBMC install has UPPERCASE for XBMC and that is the one that works.

So question is: Why does it sometimes use the lowercase XBMC? Is there a setting I have made somewhere? Certainly strange that this works sometimes and not others. For the record, I tested this launching the same game and it would work sometimes but not others.

- malte - 2011-10-09

phsyraxion Wrote:I thought about doing this but then wondered if I launched a batch script and used that to launch the emulator would the game be passed to the EMU?

If you use "*%", this should pass the game to the emu. So you don't have to use the solo mode option if you don't need it.

Quote:I have the "screensaver" feature in XBMC active and it seems that when this kicks in it screws up the browser plugin. When I return from a game the games have no details and the navigation doesn't work properly. If I exit out of the script I cannot open it again and am forced to restart XBMC.

Is there any way to disable the screensaver of XBMC when in this plugin? I don't want to disable it completely in XBMC and i'd rather not have to close XBMC every time I launch a game but may have to...

Good question. I have to check this. We started to rework the launching part with the next release. So this may be a good thing to test also.

Quote:I have found in this thread that I need to add EXPLORER to the start of the string, which I have and it"works" but I get the windows explorer file security dialogue popup. Now, I can disable this warning easy enough but then here is the next issue. I run XBMC in portable mode so I need the -p switch.

If I try:

EXPLORER "C:\Program Files\XBMC\xbmc.exe -p"
EXPLORER "C:\Program Files\XBMC\xbmc.exe" -p

It cannot find the path.

If I try and launch an AutoIT script to launch XBMC I get the cApplication error but launching the autoit script myself works just fine.

I guess that not all parameters are passed with the explorer command, so it will loose the -p option. But I am not sure.

These log file locking issues cause many problems on several (Windows) systems. For some users it works, for some not. It is hard to find out what is going on there. For me it works with the explorer hack and this is all I can test and reproduce here.

Maybe we just have to find a better way to close xbmc without the kill command. I will look into it. But this is one issue on a very long todo list and I really have little time these days...

Quote:So question is: Why does it sometimes use the lowercase XBMC? Is there a setting I have made somewhere? Certainly strange that this works sometimes and not others. For the record, I tested this launching the same game and it would work sometimes but not others.

Strange. No, there is no option to change this behaviour. The only difference in creating the path should be for Camelot and Dharma releases of XBMC. But I guess you try both ways with the same XBMC installation? Maybe there is an error while checking this and it sometimes thinks you are on Dharma and sometimes on Camelot. But if there would be an error this should cause other issues and more users should complain about misfunctions.

- TerranQ - 2011-10-09

I'm having an issue with RCB, and I'm completely stumped. I can't import anything. I have triple checked all my paths and file extensions, and everything is correct. However, when I try and import anything, it quickly flashes the "importing" screen then exits without importing anything. Also, if I exit RCB at this point, I am unable to open it again without first exiting XBMC. I can upload my log to pastebin later if needed (my son is watching cartoons on the HTPC at the moment), but the only error I saw was

Code:
ERROR: CLocalizeStrings::ClearBlock: Trying to clear non existent block

I used Advanced Launcher with the same paths, extensions, and arguments and it works fine, but I'd rather use RCB.

Any ideas?

- malte - 2011-10-09

@TerranQ: A log would be great. Otherwise it is hard to guess what is going on.

Main problem will be paths and file extensions but if you already checked this there may be another issue. I guess you know that RCB needs the "*" in file extension? So you have to set "*.zip", not only "zip" (without "" of course).

- TerranQ - 2011-10-09

malte Wrote:@TerranQ: A log would be great. Otherwise it is hard to guess what is going on.

Main problem will be paths and file extensions but if you already checked this there may be another issue. I guess you know that RCB needs the "*" in file extension? So you have to set "*.zip", not only "zip" (without "" of course).

wow, nope, I didn't know that. Sorry, I don't know how I missed that. Thanks for the quick response malte

EDIT: OK, fixed the scanning problem, yup I forgot the asterisk. I'm still having the issue that I can only enter RCB once without exiting XBMC. If I try to go back into it again, nothing happens.

- malte - 2011-10-09

Strange. Then I will need a log file and some more info about your system (OS, XBMC version, RCB version, skin).

This happens to me less than every 50th time I launch RCB and I never found out how to solve it. But if it happens every time there must be something else...

- TerranQ - 2011-10-10

Hi malte, sorry for the delay. Here's the pastebin link to my log:
http://pastebin.com/ZgTxzA3a

As for the info you requested, it's all in the log, but here you go:
OS-Windows 7 Ultimate x64
XBMC Version-October 3 nightly
RCB Version-0.91
skin-Cirrus Extended 2.05

I exited RCB after doing an import, browsed my games for a bit, then exited and tried to re-enter. I then navigated to the shutdown menu and exited XBMC. Hope this helps.

- Tomkun - 2011-10-10

malte Wrote:Strange. Then I will need a log file and some more info about your system (OS, XBMC version, RCB version, skin).

This happens to me less than every 50th time I launch RCB and I never found out how to solve it. But if it happens every time there must be something else...

I don't know if it's the same issue, but for me it depends how I exit RCB. If I use the esc key on the keyboard, I can reenter RCB with no issues. If however I use the 'home' button for example, I cannot reenter RCB without restarting XBMC.

As a feature request, is it possible to make the 'back' button on a remote quit RCB?