[tillaz87]

How hard is it make skins use there views in AEL?
Anyone have an idea

[Wintermute0110]

How hard is it make skins use there views in AEL?
Anyone have an idea

It's not rocket science but it is tedious work for beginners (I guess you can say the same of any programming language, Kodi skin XML code is not strictly a programming language but shares many similarities with one). There are no good tutorials about Kodi skinning (in my opinion) so you will have to look into the code of other skins and then do trial and error. Also, it depends greatly on what you want to do: if you only want to change one view to display the boxfront instead of an icon you only need to change one word in an XML file. However, if you want to create a new view in the skin then you have to change several XML files, etc. Kodi skinning engine allows to declare variables, this means some skins code are "easy" to read but other skins are more complicated because they use a lot of definitions and macros.

I recommend you have a look to Estuary AEL. I made the code of my skin mod simple and with a lot of comments. Learn how to use Github so you can see the differences I did compared with the original code, then you will have an idea about what you need to do.

Last but not least, creating a skin from scratch is a titanic task, we are talking about hundredths of hours work. I strongly recommend you pick a skin you like. Then start modding to introduce a small change. Then create a completely new simple view, and so on. I also recommend to use a control version like Git, so you can always see the changes you do and revert them if necessary. Skinning is a lot about trial and error. Also, create a custom keyboard.xml and map the key F5 to reload the skin. This way, you can edit the code of the skin, press F5 and changes are loading instantly and you can test you changes.

[eirrocmh]

My computer crashed when I pressed update all databases recently, and it appears that i have lost all my launchers, the error given is launcher.id is not found is self.launchers. The weird thing is that all my games in the AEL favorites folder remain and can be launched, so that leads me to believe the launchers are still there but just corrupted now or something? Is there any way to fix this or recover my launchers or do i have to start completely from scratch again? Im also unsure as to why pressing update all databases caused it to crash in the first place, i pressed it and my screen immediately turned green, which is something that happens often with amd graphics cards, i just dont know how the two relate lol.. maybe it was coincidence idk

AEL Favourites and ROM Collections are kept in separate databases so they will work as usual. This is on purpose so in case of database corruption, which is what seems happened to you, you won't loose your carefully crafted Favourites and Collections.

If your computer crashed when updating the databases they could be a database corruption. If your launchers.xml is corrupt the ROMs databases are still there, however you cannot access them. If you want me to have a look at what happened I will need a debug log (follow the instructions in the first thread) OR make a ZIP file with the contents of special://home/userdata/addon_data/plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher/ (see here to know where special://home is located in your computer) and upload to wetransfer or similar so I can have a look.

The easiest thing to do is to rebuild your setup. Did you have XML files with your config OR an XML with a backup of your config? Once you rebuild your launchers, make sure you select in the options use local artwork and NFO files if you created them, the scanning process will be nearly instantaneous because you don't have to redownload artwork and/or metadata. Also, you will need to relink your Favourite and ROM Collection ROMs (this is done automatically by AEL in the context menu).

You are the first user that reports a database corruption in more than 4 years AEL has been in the wild, and the cause seems to be a computer crash and not an AEL crash. If you want to create the ZIP file I would like to have a look to track down what happened.

Really sorry for the late reply, it turns out the crash was totally unrelated to AEL and it was a coincidence that i happened to be messing with the settings at the time it happened. I do have a totally unrelated question now though, im wanting to add my collection of OG xbox games to AEL but cant figure out how to do it. The first xbox had game files labeled "Default XBE," so the roms didnt contain the name of the game at all. Is there a way to add and scrape according to the title of folders instead of rom file name?

[theBorgMorgue]

Hi @Wintermute0110. Below is a token of gratitude, some suggestions, and finally a question.

GRATITUDE:
Thank you. This plugin is versatile, thoughtful, and well loved. I'd like to throw you some cash (AUD) to show my appreciation and to say Merry Christmas for 2020. What's your crypto-wallet hash?

SUGGESTION:
I scraped all my roms using skraper.net and I suggest it be spruiked in the first post of this thread. That would've saved me a ton of time. That particular scraper is
simple to use and is good for every asset-type except the individual game metadata xml files (./$rom$.nfo). The scraper does in fact facilitate metadata, but only for EmulationStation (gamelist.xml), Launchbox (platform.xml), or LOGIQX management file format (.dat file). I've reached out to them, suggesting an AEL implementation in their so-called "Gamelist Type", but as it stands right now I had to let AEL scrape metadata one by one. It eventually got there.

QUESTION:
How can I set the assets for the addon's own entries, i.e., Utilities, Most Played, Recently Played, Favourites, etc. I'd like my skin to adjust how they appear in the menu, just as it does for a Launchers using its assets.

[Wintermute0110]

Really sorry for the late reply, it turns out the crash was totally unrelated to AEL and it was a coincidence that i happened to be messing with the settings at the time it happened. I do have a totally unrelated question now though, im wanting to add my collection of OG xbox games to AEL but cant figure out how to do it. The first xbox had game files labeled "Default XBE," so the roms didnt contain the name of the game at all. Is there a way to add and scrape according to the title of folders instead of rom file name?

Follow these steps:

1) Create you launcher as usual (I recommend using an XML file). Go to AEL settings, ROM scraping tab, make sure "Metadata scan policy" is None and "Asset scan policy" is "Local images".

2) Rescan your launcher. If you already have the ROMs in your launcher is OK.

3) Open the context menu of your launcher, select "Edit Launcher", then "Manage ROMs", then "Export ROMs metadata to NFO files". This will create a XML NFO file next to each ROM.

4) Edit the NFO files and set the <title> tag to the name you wish. You may also change the other metadata. If you want titles with special characters be aware than some characters must be escaped in XML. The NFO XML files must be encoded in UTF-8 if your language is not English. I recommend you use NotePad++ to edit the NFO files if you use Windows, in Linux any editor will do.

5) Open the context menu of your launcher, select "Edit Launcher, then "Manage ROMs", then "Import ROMs metadata from NFO files."

6) You can repeat the command "Import ROMs metadata from NFO files" as many times as necessary. Each time, all the NFO files will be read and AEL database updated. Be careful, if you execute "Export ROMs metadata to NFO files" all the NFO files will be overwritten with the current contents of AEL database.

[Wintermute0110]

Hi @Wintermute0110. Below is a token of gratitude, some suggestions, and finally a question.

GRATITUDE:
Thank you. This plugin is versatile, thoughtful, and well loved. I'd like to throw you some cash (AUD) to show my appreciation and to say Merry Christmas for 2020. What's your crypto-wallet hash?

SUGGESTION:
I scraped all my roms using skraper.net and I suggest it be spruiked in the first post of this thread. That would've saved me a ton of time. That particular scraper is
simple to use and is good for every asset-type except the individual game metadata xml files (./$rom$.nfo). The scraper does in fact facilitate metadata, but only for EmulationStation (gamelist.xml), Launchbox (platform.xml), or LOGIQX management file format (.dat file). I've reached out to them, suggesting an AEL implementation in their so-called "Gamelist Type", but as it stands right now I had to let AEL scrape metadata one by one. It eventually got there.

QUESTION:
How can I set the assets for the addon's own entries, i.e., Utilities, Most Played, Recently Played, Favourites, etc. I'd like my skin to adjust how they appear in the menu, just as it does for a Launchers using its assets.

Hi, thank you very much for your kind words and for your willingness to donate. I do not have any crypto-wallet, Patreon or similar and have never accepted any donation. I have incurred some expenses in the projects I develop but it's OK. If you wish to donate, please do so to the Kodi project or to the Internet Archive (for storing vasts collections of ROMs and artwork for everybody to use).

Regarding your suggestion, it is very easy to do in Python an utility to read the EmulationStation gamelist.xml and then create the ROMs NFO files. Some other users in this thread have done similar things to import other front-end databases into AEL. In any case, it seems that EmulationStation is supported by other scrapers so I will consider adding support to read and generate gamelist.xml files in AEL.

Regarding your question; currently the assets for the Utilities, Most Played, etc., are hard coded in AEL's Python code. If you want to change those assets you will need to edit AEL's code. However, I do not recommend this because then you will have trouble when AEL's is updated (unless you use Git or any other version control system).

Currently I am thinking about the next-generation AEL and a way to standardize the Platform information and the AEL custom metadata/assets, in a similar fashion to the themes of EmulationStation. It is going to take some time, the priority right now is to get a Python 3 version of AEL working.

[theBorgMorgue]

Hi @Wintermute0110. Below is a token of gratitude, some suggestions, and finally a question.

GRATITUDE:
Thank you. This plugin is versatile, thoughtful, and well loved. I'd like to throw you some cash (AUD) to show my appreciation and to say Merry Christmas for 2020. What's your crypto-wallet hash?

SUGGESTION:
I scraped all my roms using skraper.net and I suggest it be spruiked in the first post of this thread. That would've saved me a ton of time. That particular scraper is
simple to use and is good for every asset-type except the individual game metadata xml files (./$rom$.nfo). The scraper does in fact facilitate metadata, but only for EmulationStation (gamelist.xml), Launchbox (platform.xml), or LOGIQX management file format (.dat file). I've reached out to them, suggesting an AEL implementation in their so-called "Gamelist Type", but as it stands right now I had to let AEL scrape metadata one by one. It eventually got there.

QUESTION:
How can I set the assets for the addon's own entries, i.e., Utilities, Most Played, Recently Played, Favourites, etc. I'd like my skin to adjust how they appear in the menu, just as it does for a Launchers using its assets.

Hi, thank you very much for your kind words and for your willingness to donate. I do not have any crypto-wallet, Patreon or similar and have never accepted any donation. I have incurred some expenses in the projects I develop but it's OK. If you wish to donate, please do so to the Kodi project or to the Internet Archive (for storing vasts collections of ROMs and artwork for everybody to use).

Regarding your suggestion, it is very easy to do in Python an utility to read the EmulationStation gamelist.xml and then create the ROMs NFO files. Some other users in this thread have done similar things to import other front-end databases into AEL. In any case, it seems that EmulationStation is supported by other scrapers so I will consider adding support to read and generate gamelist.xml files in AEL.

Regarding your question; currently the assets for the Utilities, Most Played, etc., are hard coded in AEL's Python code. If you want to change those assets you will need to edit AEL's code. However, I do not recommend this because then you will have trouble when AEL's is updated (unless you use Git or any other version control system).

Currently I am thinking about the next-generation AEL and a way to standardize the Platform information and the AEL custom metadata/assets, in a similar fashion to the themes of EmulationStation. It is going to take some time, the priority right now is to get a Python 3 version of AEL working.

No problem. Thanks for that. If I end up writing an emulation station converter I'll share it here. I have one more question if you don't mind. How does the multi disc support work? Is there a particular string AEL is looking for with respect to multi disc games? i.e., DISC1, DISC 1, (DISC1), CD1, Disk 1, or something similar? My apologies if this has been answered a thousand times before, I've checked the git wiki fairly thoroughly and have searched through here less thoroughly.

Once again thanks for your hard work on this project. You've really built something cool!

[rickplayer85]

Guys, what about new games released in 2020? To be specific, I'm interested in Zelda and Cyberpunk 2077. Are these games available for PS4 emulators or for PC? I used to download some games for my console and emulators here link removed but at the moment I cant find new games at removed. And nobody could help me as my friends are not gamers.
Could anybody share with me?

[Wintermute0110]

No problem. Thanks for that. If I end up writing an emulation station converter I'll share it here. I have one more question if you don't mind. How does the multi disc support work? Is there a particular string AEL is looking for with respect to multi disc games? i.e., DISC1, DISC 1, (DISC1), CD1, Disk 1, or something similar? My apologies if this has been answered a thousand times before, I've checked the git wiki fairly thoroughly and have searched through here less thoroughly.

Once again thanks for your hard work on this project. You've really built something cool!

Thanks again for your kind words.

Multidisc support in AEL is kind of buggy but I think usable. AEL supports Redump and Trurip multidisc tags as described next

python:


matchObj = re.match(r'\(Dis[ck] ([0-9]+)\)', token)



matchObj = re.match(r'\(Dis[ck] ([0-9]+) of ([0-9]+)\)', token)

Redump tags are like (Disc 1), (Disk 1), etc. Trurip tags are like (Disc 1 of 9), (Disk 1 of 9), etc.

[DarrenHill]

Guys, what about new games released in 2020? To be specific, I'm interested in Zelda and Cyberpunk 2077. Are these games available for PS4 emulators or for PC? I used to download some games for my console and emulators here link removed but at the moment I cant find new games at removed. And nobody could help me as my friends are not gamers.
Could anybody share with me?

@rickplayer85 - our piracy policy (wiki) applies equally to games used through Kodi.

If you want to get games to run, go and buy them or otherwise legally source them.

And your link has been removed for a similar reason.

[rickplayer85]

Guys, what about new games released in 2020? To be specific, I'm interested in Zelda and Cyberpunk 2077. Are these games available for PS4 emulators or for PC? I used to download some games for my console and emulators here link removed but at the moment I cant find new games at removed. And nobody could help me as my friends are not gamers.
Could anybody share with me?

@rickplayer85 - our piracy policy (wiki) applies equally to games used through Kodi.

If you want to get games to run, go and buy them or otherwise legally source them.

And your link has been removed for a similar reason.

thanks. i've already bought it.

[eirrocmh]

Is it possible to use AHK scripts with AEL? I'm using an emulator called Xemu and I can't figure out the arguments needed to launch the iso's directly. Would I have to ask the Xemu Dev for arguments or where do you even find that info? Are arguments the same thing as AHK?

[Wintermute0110]

Is it possible to use AHK scripts with AEL? I'm using an emulator called Xemu and I can't figure out the arguments needed to launch the iso's directly. Would I have to ask the Xemu Dev for arguments or where do you even find that info? Are arguments the same thing as AHK?

I am assuming that AHK is AutoHotkey.

It is possible. As the program executable you set the path of the AHK interpreter and I guess the ROMs of your launcher will be the *.ahk files with the launching scripts.

[mechevarria]

How hard is it make skins use there views in AEL?
Anyone have an idea

Like @Wintermute0110 said, making a skin from scratch is a huge effort. I went the route of adding views to another skin by using Estuary AEL as an example. Specifically I added them Arctic Zephyr 2 (make sure to install using the repo by @drinfernoo, the github releases are way out of date). It was my first attempt at any type of kodi addon work. You will spend the majority of the time by far just trying to understand the skin xml layout and probably spend your first day just trying to make a change anywhere

But once you get past day one things get alot easier. The skin development documentation isn't that great but it gives you just enough of a hint. Just don't get discouraged. This is a video of how things came out

[programmkino]

Hi all,

I'm new to AEL. I'd like to use it for launching firefox on OSMC.
I've configured a simple launcher with the name and path to firefox (which is installed, of course).

When starting that launcher following error is shown in the log.

Launching blocking process subprocess.call()
Process retcode = 1
(see https://paste.kodi.tv/evudicecay.kodi for more lines)

Do you have any idea about it? Googling about it didn't really help.
Thanks a lot.