Game not shown in Kids mode, while Hidden + Kidgame tags are ON

thelostsoul

I don't know if this is a problem with RetroPie, EmulationStation or with the webpage sentence. Me and someone else confirmed that the behavior described in the page is just not true. So, basically someone asked if this is normal and I tested it quickly.

Items which are set to be both hidden and kidgame, will be visible while in UI mode kid, but not while in UI mode Kiosk.

Source: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Child-friendly-EmulationStation/

If I set a games flag to Hidden=ON and Kidgame=ON, then the game should be visible in Mode=KID, as described in the webpage. But on my system and someone else's it is not shown, contrary to the site. Here my quick test with its results:
Ok, I just tested it. My system is RetroPie 4.4.4 (updated yesterday). Here the results:

Adventure=Hidden + Kidgame
Asteroid=Hidden
Atlantis=Kidgame

MODE: FULL

ALL games are shown.

MODE: KIOSK

Adventure=NO
Asteroid=NO
Atlantis=YES
ALL other games=YES

MODE: KID

Adventure=NO
Asteroid=NO
Atlantis=YES
ALL other games=NO

mitu

Yes, I briefly tested this with the -dev branch and I see the same behavior. Looking at the history of the page, it seems that the description was changed to the current version by @Zigurana after github.com/retropie/Emulationstation/pull/252. Before, it read

This mode has all the restrictions of Kiosk mode, but in addition -only- lists games which are explicitly white-listed. This can be done by setting the metadata-tag Kid-game to true.

which is more in-line with the behavior you're seeing.

thelostsoul

Ok then, it is just a false information on the webpage and not a bug in RetroPie, right? So, this would be easy to fix.

mitu

@thelostsoul Can't really say - I'll have to look in the code. The PR does say

Kiosk, where only specific items are hidden, and all else is shown.

Kid, where only specific items are shown, and all else is hidden.

so is more or less what the docs say, making the wiki page ok, but wondering if the bug is not in the code.

mitu

Looks like a bug in the code (here):

if (!ViewController::get()->isUIModeFull())
	{
		filterByHidden = true;
		std::vector<std::string> val = { "FALSE" };
		setFilter(HIDDEN_FILTER, &val);
	}
	if (ViewController::get()->isUIModeKid())
	{
		filterByKidGame = true;
		std::vector<std::string> val = { "TRUE" };
		setFilter(KIDGAME_FILTER, &val);
	}

Looks like the hidden games filter is applied both in Kid and Kiosk UI modes. We have the option to either correct the code or the documentation :).

thelostsoul

@mitu This is awesome! ... I mean, didn't expect it so soon. So, it turns out to be a trivial bug... or is it a feature? ;-) From logical standpoint hidden means hidden and this is a bug, but thats only my opinion. I am not sure if this have some practical usefulness to somebody. On the contrary side it could break some configuration of people who set their settings like this.

mitu

@thelostsoul Since this is - seemingly - the 2nd report about this bug, it doesn't seem to affect a lot of people.

thelostsoul

@mitu You should not underestimate a bug, just because it did not get reported (although in this case it is really harmless and easy to work with). In example that guy in Reddit didn't report it and I can only assume many people reading this (including me since long time) thought this is something wrong with the personal setup or get confused and just ignore it. I think the easiest and most secure way would be to correct the webpage. That is not a suggestion, so don't take my word for it. In the end it is just a very unimportant detail.

Silent

I think it makes sense to correct this behaviour, because then it allows for more configuration permutations than the current behaviour. That is:

Show in Normal and Kiosk mode - no attribs
Show in Normal, Kiosk and Kid mode - kidgame
Show in Normal, but not Kiosk nor Kid - hidden
Show in Normal and Kid, but not Kiosk - hidden kidgame

Notice that with current behaviour the last case is not possible. Meanwhile, if you want to retain current behaviour of hidden kidgame, just switch it to hidden and it's done.

In other words, current behaviour doesn't allow for "kid only" games. While it's probably marginally useful, it's better to have an option than not to have it.

glastonberry

I would like to second the suggestion to correct this in the code although @silent has put it better than I could.

I raised this originally on the retropie subreddit as I thought perhaps I was just misunderstanding the system. Just registered here for this and future queries.

Whilst I understand the different modes limiting the available options, I am not completely clear on the rationale for the ROM management side. For my set up, there are games which I won't necessarily want in my "short list" (kiosk) but would be good for the kids to play, hence the enquiry.

Thanks all!

mitu

@glastonberry I only jokingly added the suggestion to add a fix just be modifying the docs. Of course the code has to be corrected - a patch has been submitted for this.

thelostsoul

@mitu Seriously, I took it seriously.

mitu

@thelostsoul Gotcha. Sadly, I've seen this approach in other part of the code world.

mitu

Just to let you know, the patch that corrects this problem has been added to the -dev branch of Emulationstation. Which will probably become the -stable branch in the near future, so it will be available in an update.

mitu

Since the new stable branch has now incorporated the latest developments, you can now update normally your Emulationstation package and get the fix committed on the dev branch.
A minor glitch with the new version - if you're pictures/videos don't seem to show after the update, check if your GameList view style option in the Emulationstation's UI Settings menu are set to detailed/video.

thelostsoul

@mitu Hey thank you for the update. :-) Next time I update my RetroPie, I will check it out.