Updated EmulationStation for Windows

[mattrixk]

Is there a Windows version of ES with a working Grid View?

I'm also curious if there is a list of the capabilities of the most recent Windows version (custom carousel, video previews, custom collections, etc).

I've been away from this for a while, so I don't know exactly what can and can't be done.

[mitu]

@mattrixk @jdrassa's Windows builds are based on the latest -dev version, so they always have the latest features and fixes.

[mattrixk]

Awesome, thanks @mitu. How do I go about getting the latest Windows build? Can I just download it from git somewhere? Is it pre-compiled or do I have to do it myself?

(So, was that a "yes" to Grid View? I don't know if that's a normal ES function yet or not.)

[mitu]

@mattrixk Go to the first post of this topic, you have a download link. It's a precompiled binary.

[mattrixk]

Cheers @mitu. I'll have to try this out tonight (or over the weekend).

EDIT: I have a theme that I haven't worked on in over a year that I want to get back into.

[mattrixk]

I'll have to try this out tonight (or over the weekend)

I did and it is glorious. Huge thank you to @jdrassa for his outstanding work.

Now if I could just find instructions on how to code for the grid layout...

[mitu]

@mattrixk said in Updated EmulationStation for Windows:

Now if I could just find instructions on how to code for the grid layout...

The new grid options have been documented in the Wiki page and there are also a few topics on this:

• https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/17968/emulationstation-grid-view-v1-ready-for-wider-testing

[mattrixk]

Oh wow, you're a fount of knowledge. Thanks @mitu!

[UnluckyForSome]

Hi Guys, Any progress on fixing the UI sounds?

Currently, within a theme's .xml, only:

<sound name="launch">
	<path>./art/launch.wav</path>
</sound>

seems to be implemented. I read somewhere these were one of the last things that the original ES developer was working on before abandoning the project, so they never got round to adding the rest. Looking at old theme files, it looks like support was originally intended for the following:

<sound name="systemscroll">
	<path>./art/navigate.wav</path>
</sound>

<sound name="systemselect">
	<path>./art/systemselect.wav</path>
</sound>

<sound name="listscroll">
	<path>./art/navigate.wav</path>
</sound>

<sound name="back">
	<path>./art/back.wav</path>
</sound>

<sound name="launch">
	<path>./art/launch.wav</path>
</sound>

<sound name="menuopen">
	<path>./art/menu.wav</path>
</sound>

I know a scroll sound can be selected with:

<textlist name="gamelist">
	<scrollSound>./art/scrollsound.wav</scrollSound>
</textlist>

But I think that tag maybe old? and:

<sound name="systemscroll">
	<path>./art/navigate.wav</path>
</sound>

...was intended to replace it. The system launch sound:

<sound name="launch">
	<path>./art/launch.wav</path>
</sound>

Appears to be coded in and works, so perhaps adding the others wouldn't be so difficult?

Also, when looking at es_log.txt, I seem to get a similar error for every system;

lvl1: 	  Warning from theme "C:/Users/Joe/.emulationstation/themes/simple/psx/theme.xml"
        (from included file "C:/Users/Joe/.emulationstation/themes/simple/psx/../simple.xml")
        could not find file "./art/menu.wav" (which resolved to "C:/Users/Joe/.emulationstation/themes/simple/psx/../art/menu.wav") 

Which is weird because I can't fine "menu.wav" referenced anywhere else. Maybe another half-implamented sound file for music on a system screen?

Many thanks!

[mitu]

@unluckyforsome Why are you tagging me ?

[UnluckyForSome]

@mitu hahaha sorry, no idea. Think I thought you were a dev looking after ES

[mitu]

@unluckyforsome I'm not a dev. Regardless, you should open a separate topic with your question and not 'hijack' existing topics that have no relation to it.

[UnluckyForSome]

@mitu Lol, I'm not trying to hijack an existing topic. It's relevant to ES on Windows and if you read up you will see numerous other posts with feature discussion and bug reports. Thanks for your concern.

[mitu]

@unluckyforsome said in Updated EmulationStation for Windows:

Lol, I'm not trying to hijack an existing topic. It's relevant to ES on Windows

So the feature you're describing works on the PI and it doesn't work on Windows ?

[jero]

@mitu

yes it doesn't work on Windows

[mitu]

@jero said in Updated EmulationStation for Windows:

yes it doesn't work on Windows

And it works on the Pi ? What exactly are you referring to ?

[jero]

@mitu said in Updated EmulationStation for Windows:

And it works on the Pi ? What exactly are you referring to ?

I do not know if it works in pi, but in Windows the sounds do not work or at least I do not, it only works if I do not remember badly in the game selector screen only a sound effects

[ruckage]

@jero said in Updated EmulationStation for Windows:

I do not know if it works in pi, but in Windows the sounds do not work or at least I do not, it only works if I do not remember badly in the game selector screen only a sound effects

That's normal, there is only sound support in ES for the selector bar. The other sound effects I believe were either never implemented or removed in an earlier version of ES.

[AndrewH]

@mitu said in Updated EmulationStation for Windows:

@mattrixk Go to the first post of this topic, you have a download link. It's a precompiled binary.

I've recently acquired a GPD Win, running Windows 10. Since I like Retropie so much, I set up Retroarch and Emulationstation to try as near as possible to mirror the Retropie setup, but I used the original Emulationstation (from Aloshi), which is now quite old and lacking many of the great newer features.

It's only after putting a bunch of time into getting it working that I discovered your post and your windows binary of the latest version.

So, my question is if you know whether it should be reasonably straightforward to upgrade to your build. Can I just install or copy over what's already there, or is there much more to it?

[mitu]

@andrewh said in Updated EmulationStation for Windows:

your windows binary of the latest version.

It's not my build. Strangely how nobody reads the first post anymore ?
As for the upgrade, just give it a try, but move the existing es_config.txt out of the way (make a backup).