Filtering or portable mode?

[Dunuin]

Hi,

I spend some time the last days setting up RetroFE 0.8.0 RC1 with rocketlauncher on my Win10 machine and of the dozen FEs I tried this one suits best. But I'm missing some features or don't understand to configure them.

1.) Is it possible to use RetroFE as an portable app? All my ROMs and emulators like MAME, Retroarch, rocketlauncher and so on are able to use relative paths so I'm able to switch between multiple computers. I tried the same thing with RetroFE but it didn't work. Absolute paths in the main settings.conf like "baseItemPath=D:\ROMs" are working but as soon as I try relative paths like "baseItemPath=..\ROMs" (RetroFE root is "D:\RetroFE") I get errors like:

Code: [Select]

2017-04-14 22:48:25] [INFO] [Layout] Initialized
[2017-04-14 22:48:25] [INFO] [CollectionInfoBuilder] Checking for "D:\RetroFE\collections\Main\include.txt"
[2017-04-14 22:48:25] [INFO] [CollectionInfoBuilder] Scanning directory "D:\RetroFE\..\ROMs\Main"
[2017-04-14 22:48:25] [INFO] [CollectionInfoBuilder] Could not read directory "D:\RetroFE\..\ROMs\Main". Ignore if this is a menu.
[2017-04-14 22:48:25] [INFO] [Menu] Found: "D:\RetroFE\collections\Main\menu.txt"
2.) Is it possible to somehow filter out or categorize ROMs in a collection? MAME for example uses thousends of ROMs and it's really a pain to scroll through it. Even after removing clones and unwanted machines with ROMlister and clrmamepro. I would really like to filter out Games by the number of supported players and by genre within a collection.
At this time, it is the only option to create countless of sub-collections by creating a master collection with all games and artwork, hide all games inside it via exclude.txt, link to other sub-collection via menu.txt which then will list picked out games defined by a name_of_master_collection.sub?

Greetings

Dunuin

[Agent47]

Welcome

I use relative paths for my base Item and Media paths and although I do get the same incorrect path in the log, the game list and media load fine.

There's not currently any way to dynamically filter collections that I'm aware of. An alternative to using subcollections would be to use playlists instead. The only (potential) downside with the playlist method is you have to navigate through the lists by using the next/prev playlist buttons, there's not a menu of the playlists.

[Dunuin]

Welcome

I use relative paths for my base Item and Media paths and although I do get the same incorrect path in the log, the game list and media load fine.

Your right. It's working with relative paths now. So I did some other mistake earlier.

There's not currently any way to dynamically filter collections that I'm aware of. An alternative to using subcollections would be to use playlists instead. The only (potential) downside with the playlist method is you have to navigate through the lists by using the next/prev playlist buttons, there's not a menu of the playlists.

That workaround should be ok. In that case I only have to create 5 subcollections per system (Singleplayer, 2P Multiplayer, 2+P Multiplayer, Hacks&Translation, Foreign Games) and switch between genres by playlists.

But how to create a playlist-file? I've read somewhere that only one playlist (favorites) is supported yet.

[Agent47]

Multiple playlist support was added a little while ago, so you're good to go. To create a playlist you'll need to create a "playlist" directory in your collection directory if it doesn't exist already, then add text files listing rom names.

So for example, you would create a "RetroFE/collections/MAME/playlists/Beat-'Em-Up.txt" containing the rom names for the beat-em-ups, a "Single Player.txt" listing 1P games, etc.

[Dunuin]

Is it possible to show no ROMs in a collection, so only the sub-collections are listed, other then adding all games in the exclude.txt?
And what happens if I exclude all games and reference them in a sub-collection? Is that possible?

[Pieter Hulshoff]

Can you specify an example of what you're trying to accomplish?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Dunuin]

Sorry for my bad english.

Right now I'm emulating 40 systems on my windows 10 machine using the build in GUIs of the different emulators (Arcade, hbmame, FS-UAE, D-Fend, Citra, Retroarch, PCSX2, Dolphin,...) which works fine, as long as I'm sitting alone in front of my computer with mouse and keyboard.
My plan is to setup RetroFE as frontend with rocketlauncher in the middle to run all of that emulators, so I could sit with friends on the couch, only using the xbox360 controllers to zap through the romsets and explore new interesting games.
I'm not using the hyperlist romsets,  because if avaible I prefere German and Europe region ROMs over the US ones and that makes it hard to find artwork and game infos.
I built most of my romsets with clrmamepro based on no-intro parent-clone DATs and G1R1-option active, so only 1 ROM per Game will be kept. The preferred regions are "Ger->Eur->US->Aus->Can->Jap->all other regions", so if a german version is avaible it will keep the german clone and delete the  US version etc. If a game wasn't released in europe/us, like many japanese games, 1 version will also be kept.
 
My games are stored on a usb-hdd like "root\ROMs\SYSTEMNAME\Subfolder" where subfolders are "BIOS"  (containing all BIOS-ROMs),  "HACK" (containing all hacked and translated ROMs) , "NATIVE" (containing all Ger/Eur/Us/Aus/Can region ROMs) , "FOREIGN" (containing all ROMs not released in German/English and I can not understand) and "SELECTED" (containing various picked out ROMs).

There are often over 1000 ROMs per system, so I don't want to have one big collection per system containing all ROMs.
Instead I want to have these 7 sub-collections per system:
1) "Singleplayer Ger/Eng" -> all singleplayer ROMs in the "NATIVE" subfolder
2) "Multiplayer Ger/Eng" -> all 2+ Player ROMs in the "NATIVE" subfolder
3) "Selected" -> all ROMs in "SELECTED" subfolder
4) "Singleplayer International" -> all singleplayer ROMs in the "FOREIGN" subfolder
5) "Multiplayer International" -> all 2+ Player ROMs in the "FOREIGN" subfolder
6) "Hacks"-> all ROMs in "HACK" subfolder
7) "All" -> all ROMs in the "HACK", "SELECTED", "NATIVE" and "FOREIGN" subfolder (but not the "BIOS" subfolder)

So I can easily select the type of game I'm looking for.
And often I don't want to play a specific game and would like to just select the supported number of players (alone or guests visiting)  and the genre and zap through the games.
If no filtering is supported yet, I will try to create genre-playlists for every sub-collection.

Also I wasn't able to find a hyperlist with all no-intro roms nor a crawler script to make my own hyperlist-db-file.

So I'm considering to code my own crawler to generate complete international hyperlists and genre-playlists.


In short:
I'm just looking for a way to group/filter games by system, genre and number of supported players, so it's easier to find what I'm looking for.

[Agent47]

Your English is perfectly fine.

In regards to creating an xml file for your lists you'll likely have to do that manually and/or with third party apps. You may want to check the German section of the HS forum, I know some of the guys in there were making xml files giving precedence to German/PAL versions over US. I'm not sure how many there are but that may be able to save you some time.

If you already have your roms divided into directories for the different categories you want to use you can just create collections for each of those and set the rom path to the specific directory. You would then create a collection to act as your menu. You wouldn't have to change any settings for that collection, just list your subcollections in the menu.txt for that system.

[Pieter Hulshoff]

Since RetroFE only uses the XML to create the meta.db, you won't need to create separate XML files. You can have multiple collections use the same XML without issues.

There are two ways you can currently set up what you want. Both need you to create a single collection with all the art and rom files in it. You can then choose between:
1. Create a playlist for each of your lists.
2. Create a subcollection for each of your lists.

While using a playlist, you can simply step to the next playlist, and display the playlist via any graphic you define in the layout.
While using subcollections, simply create a new collection with a menu.txt to list these subcollections so you can select which one you want.

[Dunuin]

Is it possible to use playlists inside of a sub collection?
I have created some playlists but unlike with the "Arcade" collection no playlists are showing up.

Code: [Select]

[2017-04-19 02:54:38] [INFO] [Layout] Initializing E:\RetroFE\layouts\Aeon Nox\collections\Arcade MP\layout\layout.xml
[2017-04-19 02:54:38] [INFO] [Layout] could not find layout file: E:\RetroFE\layouts\Aeon Nox\collections\Arcade MP\layout\layout.xml
[2017-04-19 02:54:38] [INFO] [CollectionInfoBuilder] Checking for "E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade MP\include.txt"
[2017-04-19 02:54:38] [INFO] [CollectionInfoBuilder] Scanning directory "E:\RetroFE\..\ROMs\Arcade MP"
[2017-04-19 02:54:38] [INFO] [CollectionInfoBuilder] Could not read directory "E:\RetroFE\..\ROMs\Arcade MP". Ignore if this is a menu.
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading subcollection into menu: Arcade
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [CollectionInfoBuilder] Checking for "E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade MP\Arcade.sub"
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [Menu] File does not exist: "E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade MP\menu.txt"
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 02_All No Clones
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 03_Shooter Flying Horizontal
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 04_Shooter Flying Vertical
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 05_Shooter Scrolling
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 06_Shooter Rest
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 07_Fighter 2.5D
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 08_Fighter Versus
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 09_Fighter Scrolling
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 10_Fighter Rest
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 11_Driving
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 12_Platform
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 13_Breakout
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 14_Pinball & PinMAME
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 15_Wrestling
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 16_Sports
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 17_Rhythm
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 18_Puzzle
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 19_Maze
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 20_Multiplay
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 21_Mini Games
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 22_Mature
[2017-04-19 02:54:39] [INFO] [RetroFE] Loading playlist: 23_Misc
[2017-04-19 02:55:17] [INFO] [SDL] DeInitializing
[2017-04-19 02:55:17] [INFO] [RetroFE] Exiting

And I read somewhere that only games will show up in subcollections, if the ROM file is avaible in the parent collection to prevent double games and it is not enough to list the games in the include.txt. I have a merged MAME romset, so is it possible at all to use sub collections?

[Agent47]

You can definitely use playlists in subcollections. Listing games in the include.txt is fine but if you don't have a rom path set, or don't have files for them like when using a merged set, you just need to make sure to enable the list.includeMissingItems option in the settings for that collection.

[Dunuin]

E:\RetroFE\collections\settings.conf:

Code: [Select]

fullscreen = yes
horizontal = stretch
vertical = stretch
layout = Aeon Nox
hideMouse = yes
showParenthesis = yes
showSquareBrackets = yes
firstCollection = Main
autoFavorites = true
videoEnable = yes
videoLoop = 0
exitOnFirstPageBack = yes
attractModeTime = 0
rememberMenu = yes
collectionInputClear = false
baseItemPath = ..\ROMs

E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade\settings.conf:

Code: [Select]

list.path = ..\ARCADE\PD\ROMs #merged ROMs are located like "E:\ARCADE\PD\ROMs\1on1gov.zip"
list.includeMissingItems = true
list.extensions = zip
list.menuSort = true
launcher = rocketlauncher
metadata.type = MAME

E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade\include.txt:

Code: [Select]

005
1on1gov
10yard
1292apvs
progolf
#... and so on

"E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade\exclude.txt" is empty.
Artwork is located in "E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade\medium_artwork".
There are many playlists like the following one which are working all fine:

E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade\playlists\04_Shooter Flying Vertical.txt:

Code: [Select]

1941
pc_1942
1942
1943kai
1943

But no playlists in the "Arcade MP" sub collection are working:

E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade MP\settings.conf:

Code: [Select]

list.includeMissingItems = true
list.extensions = zip
list.menuSort = true
launcher = rocketlauncher
metadata.type = MAME

E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade MP\Arcade.sub:

Code: [Select]

1on1gov
1941
1943kai
1943
1943mii
1944
1945kiii
19xx
# ... and so on

Many playlists like:

E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade MP\playlists\04_Shooter Flying Vertical.txt:

Code: [Select]

1941
1943kai
1943
1943mii
1944
1945kiii
19xx

No include.txt and no exclude.txt.


So what am I doing wrong? Within the Arcade MP sub collection I can't switch between playlists. There is just that "AllGames" Picture.

As soon as I add the file "E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade MP\include.txt" with all games in it I am able to switch between playlists but  these playlists don't use artwork. Artwork is only used in the "AllGames" icon playlist.

[Agent47]

I think I see your problem. You need to preface the rom names in the playlists with the name of the sub file since that's what you're using to populate the game list for the collection.

So your E:\RetroFE\collections\Arcade MP\playlists\04_Shooter Flying Vertical.txt should look like:

Code: [Select]

_Arcade:1941
_Arcade:1943kai
_Arcade:1943
_Arcade:1943mii
_Arcade:1944
_Arcade:1945kiii
_Arcade:19xx

[Dunuin]

You are right. With the "_Arcade:" in front of every name it is working.

Thank you very much 

[Dunuin]

I've got some new problems...

I tried to create different sub collections to filter my games, so I could select them like...

Main -> Bandai WonderSwan -> 1 Player (Bandai WonderSwan) -> Action (1P Bandai Wonderswan)

"Bandai WonderSwan" is the collection with all roms and artwork.
"1 Player (Bandai WonderSwan)" is a empty collection and displays only the other sub collections listed in its menu.txt
"Action (1P Bandai Wonderswan)" is a sub collection without roms and artwork and should show all the Action titles listet in the "Bandai WonderSwan.sub"

Now the problems
1.) I'm neither able to get the game infos from the meta DB to show up nor the snap of the games in my "Action (1P Bandai Wonderswan)" collection. I can see the boxart at the bottom and switch between the games listet in the "Bandai WonderSwan.sub", but the upper half of the screen is just empty.
2.) I can not exit the sub collection. I can press ESC to go back to the Main screen but the sub collection keeps be open atop of it (see attachment).
3.) sometimes RetroFE is randomly crashing while starting

But the log is only showing DEBUG and INFO messages and nothing tagged as error.