Updated EmulationStation for Windows

DavidinCT

Got a question here and a problem.

So I have installed from Emulationstation.org version (Windows version)... I have it running great for the most part(was working on this for months to get it just right). I have all my games in it (8 systems setup including Wii) with images and meta data for everything including a few custom ones. I've got it configured for a wireless Xbox 360 controller for all the emulators. It works great, when in a game, I have it set to hit power and select to exit back to the main menu. All is good. BUT, of course there are bugs along the way. This is why I wanted to try this branch.

So I downloaded the newest version, "unblocked" it in Windows, Extracted it to the root of C: and ran it the EXE. I noticed that it seemed to keep all my settings for the most part, through the systems I have setup, the games are listed with meta data and images that I have setup. Cool so far...

Now the big problem...It didn't ask me to re-configure my controller but, it's all screwed up. The controls move around but, hitting any button does nothing (A does nothing). and if it hit a combo of something it's like select.

Is there a way to FORCE this version ONLY to reset the controller for it, treating it as separate one or is there a way to import my controller settings from the other one (like move a file or something like that). Remember, I cant hit any keys, so I need to reset a file outside of it...

Any idea on this one ?

jdrassa

@davidinct You should still be able to use a keyboard to enter the menu and choose the configure input option. If for some reason that doesn't work, the input config is stored at ~/.emulationstation/es_input.cfg. You should be able to back up that file to preserve it, then delete it. When you restart ES, it should detect your controller as new and let you reconfigure it.

EctoOne

Normally I don't ask for updates on something but is there a chance to get at least a build of the 2.6.0 version in the near feature? I'm struggling with some positions on a theme I'm working on and having the new origin support would really help to align things correctly faster.
Although being able to test out the new carousel enhancements would be nice too. ;)

jdrassa

@ectoone Use the link in my signature. That release gets continuously updated with automated builds.

EctoOne

@jdrassa Ohhhh, i thought it was an older version because it says: jrassa released this on 13 Jul · 26 commits to 230c6e4a97bbfa022ca7d4f8a6beb296b1a2c1b6 since this release

jdrassa

@ectoone That was the date that I setup the continuous release. The auto build process doesn't update the description, but the actual downloads should be for the latest version.

NoP

Thank you for your work, it's really nice to have all these updates for EmulationStation.

EctoOne

@jdrassa Heya, regarding the crash bug on the windows build. I was about to report it on GitHub, but the same day it got fixed and was removed from the issue tracker, so i kinda forgot...
And when i click on the "XX commits to a7e32119966bc81493a773f7c3e59db76df83ade since this release" link on the download page, there is no green tick on the blackscreen fix commit (which i guess was the right fix, because that's the one from that particular day).
But good to know that disabling the on-screen help fixes the issue as of now.

Edit: I just updated to the latest version and the bug seems to be fixed and it feels overall faster now. So nevermind.

elcaverao

Thanks for this, it helps me a lot! I have a question, is there any way to add add an intro (splashscreen) when starting ES for windows? I've been looking for this for a long time, thanks for the attention!

jdrassa

@elcaverao There is not. RetroPie itself has a way to do this regardless of which frontend the user is using, so there are no current plans to implement this in EmulationStation.

elcaverao

@jdrassa
Thanks for answering.

hi-ban

Grid view PR for emulationstation is already approved, but not merged yet:
https://github.com/RetroPie/EmulationStation/pull/203

Can't wait to have a windows build of this one, so we can start tinkering with it and doing cool stuff with themes.

jdrassa

@hi-ban grid view isn't actually approved yet. That label appears simply because some requested changes were approved.

ango

Just build a windows one of the retropie version 2.6.3.
Source: https://github.com/RetroPie/EmulationStation

(Download)
Have fun ...

ruckage

@ango
@jdrassa has an automated continuous build setup so the latest version is always available for Windows by visiting the link in his signature.

ango

@ruckage
sorry, I did not see that

wwsnkneo

Is it possible to put musics in this version? Or in all Windows versions the musics do not work?

ango

@jdrassa
Would it be possible to add additional command line parameters into metadata of the gamelist.xml?

For example an entry of my gamelist.xml:

<game>
	<path>./psx2game.iso</path>
	<name>psx2gamename</name>
	<image>./images/psx2game.png</image>
</game>

Great would be an additional metadata like:

<game>
	<path>./psx2game.iso</path>
	<name>psx2gamename</name>
	<image>./images/psx2game.png</image>
        <additionalcommand>--cfg=CFGFile</additionalcommand>
</game>

This is the corresponding entry in my es_systems.cfg:

<system>
<name>ps2</name>
<fullname>Playstation 2</fullname>
<path>~.emulationstation\roms\ps2</path>
<extension>.bin .cue .iso .mds .BIN .CUE .ISO .MDS</extension>
<command>%HOME%.emulationstation\systems\pcsx2\pcsx2.exe --fullscreen --nogui --fullboot "%ROM_RAW%"</command>
<platform>ps2</platform>
<theme>ps2</theme>
</system>

Standard command is:
%HOME%.emulationstation\systems\pcsx2\pcsx2.exe --fullscreen --nogui --fullboot "%ROM_RAW%"
But some games need additional command line parameters like:
%HOME%.emulationstation\systems\pcsx2\pcsx2.exe --fullscreen --nogui --fullboot --cfg=CFGFile "%ROM_RAW%"

I think this would be a useful extension for the future.

ango

I´ve downloaded jdrassa´s new "Continuous Build". Do I need the /plugin folder? What is he used for?

jdrassa

@ango The plugins folder contains plugins used by VLC for rendering videos. I didn't really pay much attention to the actually contents when setting this up. Looking at it now, there are likely plugins in there that are not needed and could probably be removed, but without testing it out first, I can't say for certain.