Section Sidebar Cannot Be Shown or Hidden

Status: Known Issue Affects: LaunchBox for Windows 13.25 Summary The section sidebar cannot be toggled on or off using the menu option or the Ctrl + S shortcut. Details In LaunchBox 13.25, the option to show or hide the section sidebar no longer responds when triggered via: The menu option The Ctrl + S keyboard shortcut As a result: Users who previously had the sidebar hidden are unable to turn it back on Users who always had the sidebar enabled may not notice the issue Other similar UI toggles (such as the Game Details pane) continue to work as expected The issue is reproducible on the 13.25 release and does not occur in 13.25 Beta 3. The root cause has been identified as an internal logic error introduced during code cleanup work prior to release. 🔧 Temporary Workaround (Advanced Users) If you are currently stuck without a sidebar, you can force it back on by manually editing the LaunchBox settings file. Close LaunchBox completely Navigate to your LaunchBox folder Open Settings.xml Locate the following line: false ensure it is set to true Save the file and relaunch LaunchBox ⚠️ Only edit this file if you’re comfortable making manual changes. We recommend backing up the file first. Next Steps The issue has already been fixed internally and is going through code review. The fix is planned to be included in the next hotfix or hotfix beta.

AstroBob 1 day ago

1

Known Issue

🐛

Bug Report

Big Box Platform Wheel Not Rendering Until Scrolling

Status: Known Issue Affects: Big Box, LaunchBox 13.25 Workaround: Scrolling forces the wheel to render Summary In some Big Box themes, the platform wheel may not appear when entering Platform View and only becomes visible after scrolling. Details This issue: Only affects older vertical coverflow style wheels Does not affect horizontal wheels Does not affect the newer styled coverflow wheels The issue occurs during initial view load and impacts how these legacy wheel elements initialise. Next Steps We’re actively testing a fix and expect this issue to be resolved alongside the background image fix in an upcoming hotfix.

AstroBob 2 days ago

Known Issue

🐛

Bug Report

Big Box Background Images Not Appearing in Platform View

Status: Known Issue Affects: Big Box, LaunchBox 13.25 Summary In Platform View, some Big Box themes may display no background image where one is expected. Details This issue affects themes that rely on a specific background element used in Platform View. That element supports multiple media priorities depending on user settings, including: Platform Theme Videos Random Game Videos Platform Background Fanart images Random Game Background Fanart images In LaunchBox 13.25, this element may fail to display background images, resulting in a black background. Important notes: Background videos still play correctly Background images do not render Modern themes can still be affected when using this element, but are less impacted if they use multiple layered backgrounds with fallbacks Older themes that rely solely on this single background element are impacted the most Next Steps A fix has been identified and is currently being tested for inclusion in an upcoming hotfix.

AstroBob 2 days ago

Known Issue

🐛

Bug Report

Steam Trailers Unavailable Due to New Steam API Changes

Status: Known Issue Affects: LaunchBox 13.25 Workaround: None currently Summary Steam trailers are currently unavailable to download due to new changes on Steam’s side, separate from the Steam trailer issue addressed earlier in the 13.25 beta cycle. Details Earlier in 2025, Steam made changes to their trailer API which caused Steam trailers to fail in LaunchBox. That issue was addressed and fixed during the 13.25 beta cycle (around Beta 3). However, since then, Steam has made additional sweeping changes, fully removing access to direct trailer video files and replacing them with streaming only formats (such as DASH, HLS, and microtrailers). As a result: LaunchBox no longer detects any downloadable Steam trailers Steam Trailers may not appear as an available media type Bulk imports may still show the option, but no trailers will be downloaded This is not a regression caused by new LaunchBox code, but the result of further changes introduced by Steam after beta testing concluded. Next Steps Restoring Steam trailer support will require a more significant redesign of how LaunchBox retrieves and processes Steam trailers. This will be addressed in a future update rather than a hotfix.

AstroBob 2 days ago

Known Issue

🐛

Bug Report

Smooth Momentum Scrolling for 3D Box Rotation

📋 Summary Add an optional smooth momentum effect specifically for scrolling or rotating 3D box models, so box rotation eases out naturally instead of stopping abruptly. ❗ Problem When rotating 3D box models, the motion can feel too rigid: Rotation stops instantly when input stops Fast scrolling can feel jerky and less natural Flipping between front and back covers feels less satisfying than it could This is most noticeable when users browse 3D boxes frequently in Big Box themes. 💡 Proposal Introduce a “Smooth Rotation Momentum” option for 3D boxes: Rotation continues briefly after input, then gradually slows to a stop Applies only to 3D box rotation, not general list scrolling Works for mouse wheel, drag, and controller input where supported Optional strength setting (Low, Medium, High) 📦 Benefits Makes 3D box rotation feel smoother and more realistic Improves the feel of browsing 3D boxes in Big Box Reduces harsh starts and stops during rotation Adds polish without changing existing behavior by default 💡 Notes Should be optional, with current rotation behavior as default Momentum should not make front/back viewing less precise Consider respecting “Reduce Motion” style preferences

AstroBob 3 days ago

1

LaunchBox for Windows

Add the Tatung Einstein platform

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatung_Einstein This was one of the early retro computers in the 80s like the TRS or the Commodore 64. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP6VpWBwPR4 Had a decent game library and would like to be able to add them. Thank you!

Ellimist 3 days ago

LaunchBox Games Database

WebP Image Format Support

📋 Summary Add support in LaunchBox and Big Box for the WebP image format so users can store and display artwork using the.webp extension. ❗ Problem Large collections can require a huge amount of storage for images: PNG and high quality JPG libraries take up significant disk space Many users manage thousands of images, making media folders difficult to store and back up WebP has been widely supported by modern operating systems and browsers for years, but LaunchBox media workflows are still largely focused on older formats 💡 Proposal Introduce.webp support across LaunchBox and Big Box: Allow WebP images to be imported, displayed, and used anywhere images are supported Treat WebP like existing formats in: Image selection and download Theme and media loading Image caching and optimization workflows 📦 Benefits Reduces storage footprint for large artwork libraries Allows higher quality images at smaller file sizes Makes LaunchBox media management more modern and flexible 💡 Notes Should support both lossy and lossless WebP Existing PNG and JPG workflows should remain unchanged

Pinky! 5 days ago

1

LaunchBox for Windows

RetroAchievements Multi-Set Support

NOTE: This is likely blocked by the implementation of: @Add RetroAchievements Game Page ID to LaunchBox Games Database 📋 Summary Add support in LaunchBox for RetroAchievements multi-sets, allowing a single ROM to display and track the base achievement set and any available subsets without requiring separate game entries. ❗ Problem RetroAchievements recently introduced multi-set support, which allows players to earn subset achievements without patched ROMs. 🔗 https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/34021 Currently in LaunchBox: Only the achievement set tied to the ROM hash (base set) is shown Subsets must be tracked as separate game entries to get their own achievement badge This leads to duplicate games and fragmented achievement tracking Subsets are not visible in key areas such as the game details pane or pause menus This workflow no longer aligns with how RetroAchievements now functions. 💡 Proposal Enhance RetroAchievements integration to support multi-sets: Detect all available achievement sets (base and subsets) for a single ROM Display all sets within the Game Details view Allow users to view progress per set without duplicating the game Possibly introduce different badges to indicate the presence of multiple sets Surface multi-set achievements consistently across: Game details Pause menus Achievement views and stats 📦 Benefits Eliminates duplicate game entries for subsets Aligns LaunchBox with current RetroAchievements functionality Provides a clearer and more complete achievement overview Improves usability for challenge and specialty achievement sets 💡 Notes Base set behavior should remain unchanged Subset visibility could be toggleable per game or globally This builds on existing RetroAchievements integration

AstroBob 9 days ago

LaunchBox for Windows

Physical Console Collection Tracking

Related to @Physical Game Collection Tracking Feature-set 📋 Summary Add support in LaunchBox for tracking physical console ownership, allowing users to catalogue consoles they own or previously owned, link them to platforms, and attach personal media such as photos and memories. ⸻ ❗ Problem Many LaunchBox users collect physical hardware alongside games, but currently: There is no built in way to track console ownership Ownership history is lost when consoles are sold or replaced Consoles cannot be meaningfully linked to platform data Personal photos or hardware memories have no place in LaunchBox Collectors must rely on external spreadsheets or apps to track their hardware. ⸻ 💡 Proposal Introduce a Physical Console Collection feature with: Console Records Track individual physical consoles per platform Support multiple consoles per platform Metadata Fields Platform (linked to existing platforms) Edition, color, region Purchase date and price paid Status (Owned, Sold, Traded, Broken) Notes Ownership Timeline View currently owned and previously owned consoles Timeline showing console history over time ⸻ 🖼 Media and Platform Integration Link consoles to existing platform pages and documents Add new media types for console photos and personal memories Allow themes to surface console media in Big Box ⸻ 📦 Benefits Gives hardware collectors first class support in LaunchBox Preserves console ownership history Reduces reliance on external tracking tools Enables more personal and customized Big Box themes ⸻ 💡 Notes Console tracking would be fully optional Complements physical game tracking without overlapping Could later expand to accessories and peripherals

AstroBob 19 days ago

LaunchBox for Windows

Default Directories for additional apps

I typically add games one at a time and then I’ll add manuals, readme’s, etc as additional apps within LaunchBox. Those documents are located in unique folders based on the system the game is associated with. When adding Additional Apps, LaunchBox will bring me back to the roms folder where I most recently imported a rom from. It would be helpful if I could designate a default starting folder when adding roms and a separate default starting folder when adding media (additional apps) so I don’t have to navigate through several folders every time I want to add a document. Thank you for your time.

Special-T 19 days ago

LaunchBox for Windows

Screensaver Filter By Star Rating

📋 Summary Add options to control which games Big Box includes when Screensaver mode is active. Currently, the screensaver cycles randomly through every game in the library, but many users want to limit the pool of games it pulls from. ❗ Problem When the screensaver pulls from the entire library, it can surface games users do not want showcased, such as low rated titles, unfinished imports, test entries, duplicates, or junk from storefront syncing. This makes Screensaver mode less useful as a curated attract mode. 💡 Proposal Add configurable screensaver filters, starting with: Minimum Star Rating Example setting: “Only show games with a star rating of 3.0+ during screensaver” Optional extensions (same system, more filters): Minimum “My Star Rating” vs Community Rating (choose which rating to use) Include or exclude Favorites only Include or exclude Hidden and Broken games Limit to specific platforms or playlists Exclude games missing required media (e.g. no video) 🛠 Example Use Case A user sets their screensaver to only show games rated 3 stars or higher, so Big Box becomes a curated showcase of games they actually like and would want to see highlighted on a TV, arcade cabinet, or living room setup. 📦 Benefits Turns Screensaver into a curated attract mode instead of a random library dump Helps avoid showcasing unwanted entries (low quality, duplicates, test imports) Makes Big Box feel more polished for couch setups, cabinets, and shared spaces

fursphere 20 days ago

2

LaunchBox for Windows

Custom Quotes in LaunchBox

Instead of hard-coding Bible verses (or any fixed content), LaunchBox could support a Custom Quotes system that users fully control. A new custom quotes option in LaunchBox settings No religious or ideological content is forced on anyone Users who want Bible verses can add them back themselves Others can use: Motivational quotes Retro gaming trivia Personal messages Quotes from favorite games or developers Keeps LaunchBox neutral, customizable, and community-friendly

Kdye25 21 days ago

4

LaunchBox for Windows

Skip Mechanical Games Appears Twice on MAME Import ROMs Wizard

Extremely minor issue while importing MAME roms. The “Skip mechanical games” checkbox appears twice.

VodkaParalyzer 26 days ago

2

Known Issue

🐛

Bug Report

Explanation For Each Type of Games to Skip For MAME Import

A minor suggestion. When importing your MAME games and you have the option to skip various types of roms, having something like a tooltip to explain what each of these types are, would be nice to have, to know exactly what you’re skipping. Further to this, having the option to delete these types of games afterwards, would make it easy to undo things you imported and then changed your mind.

VodkaParalyzer 26 days ago

1

LaunchBox for Windows

User-Created Game Discovery Playlists

📋 Summary Allow users to create and manage their own Game Discovery Playlists that appear in the Game Discovery Center in Big Box, instead of limiting these playlists to ones manually curated and published by the LaunchBox team. ❗ Problem Currently, Game Discovery Playlists in Big Box are: Curated and created exclusively by the LaunchBox team Not user-creatable Static from the user’s perspective This limits experimentation, personalization, and community-driven discovery. Users who enjoy curating collections, themes, or recommendations cannot surface their own discovery-style playlists in the same prominent, discovery-focused UI. 💡 Proposal Enable user-created Game Discovery Playlists, with the following capabilities: Allow users to flag an existing playlist as a Game Discovery Playlist Or provide a dedicated option to create a new playlist specifically for discovery Discovery playlists could be built from: The user’s local collection The LaunchBox Games Database Or a combination of both Optional extensions: Allow users to publish discovery playlists for others to browse Allow other users to subscribe to or import shared discovery playlists into their own libraries Include basic metadata for shared playlists: Description Curator name Tags (e.g. “Hidden Gems”, “Beginner Friendly”, “Couch Co-op”) 🧩 Example Use Cases A user creates a “Hidden Gems of the PS2” discovery playlist using games from their library and flags it to appear in the Discovery Center. A community member creates a “Best Local Multiplayer Games” discovery playlist sourced from the Games Database and shares it publicly. Another user browses shared discovery playlists and adds one directly into their own Big Box setup. 📦 Benefits Empowers the community to curate and share recommendations. Makes the Game Discovery Center more dynamic and personalized. Encourages exploration beyond a single, centrally curated list. Creates a foundation for community-driven discovery similar to playlists, collections, or guides on other platforms. 💡 Notes Initial implementation could be local-only (user-created discovery playlists visible only to the user). Community sharing could be an optional second phase, leveraging existing Games Database infrastructure. Permissions and moderation could mirror existing database submission workflows if public sharing is enabled.

AstroBob 27 days ago

LaunchBox for Windows

Ability to Specify Order of Preference in Game Media for Downloading and Clean up

Have ability to manage and clean up/delete unwanted game media. When I first started importing games, I ticked off most media options. But now that I have tons of games, I’m realizing that many of the media files, I don’t look at and are just taking up space. I mostly just want what, I consider as, the best media available for each game. I see this taking form in two ways. One, similar to a previous post I made, have the abiliity to define an order of preference for what to download. ie) where possible, I want a gameplay video snap. When not available, then I want a gameplay snap and MP3. When not available, then I want something else. I think this would go a long way in eliminating a lot of media that might not be used/wanted. Second, be able to use the same order of preference to clean up any media that you’ve already downloaded. ie) If I have a gameplay video snap, then purge MP3s and these other media types. This could even be merged into a single process, in that you define your order of preference, and then download any new media available or media for new games that you’ve since added, and then purge any media that you might no longer need or want, based on what new media that you’ve added.

VodkaParalyzer 29 days ago

LaunchBox for Windows

Ability to search or filter on combined rom.

I like to have the ability to use ROM in different languages, I’ve noticed that the filter options don’t search or filter on combined ROMs. The issue is that when the ROMs are combined, clones from regions other than the main one are no longer recognized correctly by the filters, they seem completely excluded from the filter. It would be nice to be able to filter on those combined ROM or have the ability, when creating a playlist, to get access to that Field in the Additional Apps.

Megadan About 1 month ago

1

LaunchBox for Windows

Enable Achievements Bindings in Big Box Root Game Views

Summary Allow Achievements-related bindings to be accessible in Big Box Root Game Views, enabling theme creators to display achievement progress directly in game lists and main views. Current Limitation At the moment, Achievements bindings (such as earned count, total count, and completion percentage) are only available in limited contexts and not accessible in Root Game Views (e.g., Wall Games, CoverFlow, Text Lists, etc.). This prevents themes from displaying achievement progress alongside games during normal navigation. Requested Functionality Expose the following Achievements-related properties to Big Box Root Game Views: Total achievements for the game Achievements earned by the player Completion percentage Optional: Platform-specific achievement sources (Steam, RetroAchievements, etc.) Use Cases for Theme Creators This would allow themes to: Show achievement completion percentage per game Display earned / total achievements (e.g. 18 / 42) Render progress bars indicating completion Highlight completed or near-complete games Create achievement-focused browsing experiences Benefits Enhances Big Box’s modern UI capabilities Encourages deeper engagement with achievements Aligns Big Box with features seen in modern launchers Gives theme creators more expressive tools No impact on users who don’t use achievements Additional Notes Read-only bindings would be sufficient Backwards compatible (themes without these bindings won’t be affected) Especially valuable for Steam and RetroAchievements users Conclusion Exposing Achievements bindings in Root Game Views would significantly expand what Big Box themes can display, enabling richer, more informative, and more engaging game browsing experiences.

Shimazu About 1 month ago

LaunchBox for Windows

Known Issue: Big Box Startup Videos Not Playing Reliably

Overview Some users are experiencing an issue where Big Box startup videos do not play consistently, or are skipped entirely, when launching Big Box. Reports began around LaunchBox 13.19–13.20 and continue through recent builds. Symptoms You may see one or more of the following: Startup video plays only on first launch, then gets skipped on subsequent launches Restarting Windows may allow the video to play once, then it stops again Startup video plays intermittently (for example, around 1 in 3 launches) Big Box skips the splash screen, but the startup video also fails to play Occurs on fresh installs as well as upgraded builds Reproduced across both low end and high end systems Happens with both FFMPEG and Windows Media Player Affected Versions Reported from approximately 13.19–13.20 onward Confirmed by users in 13.24 Reproduced internally in 13.25 beta Expected Behavior When a startup video is present in LaunchBox/Videos/Startup, Big Box should: Reliably play the startup video on every launch Allow users to skip the video via controller, keyboard, or mouse Transition smoothly into Big Box after playback or skip What This Is Not This issue is not typically caused by: Incorrect folder structure Correct path is LaunchBox/Videos/Startup A specific video file, format, or number of videos System performance alone Current Understanding Based on community reports and internal investigation: The issue is real but highly inconsistent, which made it difficult to diagnose The problem appears tied to startup video changes introduced when Big Box moved away from the legacy VLC based playback system Startup video playback now relies on FFMPEG or Windows Media Player, depending on user settings The behaviour suggests a timing or initialization issue in certain Windows or machine environments What We’re Doing We’ve now identified machines internally that reproduce the issue The startup video system has been rebuilt from the ground up in a test branch Early testing shows strong improvements, including: Startup videos playing reliably across repeated launches Proper skipping via controller, keyboard, or mouse Improved transitions into Big Box during or after playback What Happens Next Continued testing across a wider range of systems and configurations Once validated, the fix will be included in a future LaunchBox update Progress updates will be shared as testing continues How You Can Help If you’re affected and willing to share details, the following are especially helpful: Windows version CPU and GPU details, integrated vs dedicated How Big Box is launched Playback engine selected, FFMPEG or Windows Media Player Startup video file details and how many videos are present Thank you for your patience and for the detailed reports. Your feedback directly helped us identify and rebuild this system.

AstroBob About 1 month ago

2

Known Issue

🐛

Bug Report

Seamless Switching Between LaunchBox and Big Box When Launching Executables

📋 Summary Improve the experience of switching between LaunchBox and Big Box by allowing either application to gracefully close the other when launched directly via its executable. This would remove errors caused by overlapping instances and make switching between desktop and full-screen modes more seamless and user-friendly. ❗ Problem LaunchBox and Big Box cannot run at the same time. Currently, users have two ways to switch: Use the built-in menu options Big Box from within LaunchBox Switch to Desktop from within Big Box Manually close one application and open the other The second approach often leads to problems. If a user manually closes LaunchBox and immediately opens BigBox.exe (or vice versa), the background shutdown and cleanup processes can cause errors where the app reports that another instance is still running. This becomes especially frustrating for users who: Launch Big Box from Steam, Sunshine/Moonlight, or other external launchers Have LaunchBox set to start with Windows Regularly switch between desktop and full-screen experiences 💡 Proposal Add automatic detection and graceful handoff behavior when launching either application directly: If LaunchBox is running and the user launches BigBox.exe: Prompt the user to: Close LaunchBox and open Big Box Cancel the action If Big Box is running and the user launches LaunchBox.exe: Apply the same logic in reverse The shutdown should be handled the same way as the existing in-app switch options, ensuring a clean exit and startup without instance conflicts. ⚙️ Additional Options Optional setting to: Always auto-close the other app without prompting Always prompt before switching Ensure all edits, metadata changes, and state are safely saved before closing either application 🧩 Use Cases Launching Big Box directly from Steam as a non-Steam game Streaming Big Box over Sunshine or Moonlight Using LaunchBox as a desktop manager and Big Box as a couch or arcade-mode frontend Quickly switching interfaces without worrying about shutdown timing or error dialogs 📦 Benefits Eliminates “instance already running” errors Makes executable-based launching behave as intuitively as in-app switching Improves reliability for streaming, automation, and external launcher workflows Creates a smoother, more polished transition between LaunchBox and Big Box

AstroBob About 1 month ago

4

LaunchBox for Windows