*UPDATED 18-9-2011* Yet another new version :-) (1 Viewer)

[guardianbs]

By design, hmm, I'm obviously missing something. In the unlikely event that a Game name should change, under the old system this involved changing the name of the Game file, changing the name of the associated artwork jpg file and updating the database, which under the new system could be amended to changing the name of the Game file, changing the name of the associated artwork DIRECTORY (same as Game name) and updating the database.

Instead under the new system if you change the name of the Game and update the database the amended Game name is picked up as a new Game and inserted in the database with a NEW record number and therefore associated with a NEW artwork directory. There is no way to know the GAME_ID of the old artwork directory and searching through the filesystem doesn't help as the artwork has generic names under a NUMBERED directory structure.

Likewise when adding a new Game there is no way of knowing where to put the artwork until the database is updated and you 'drop' artwork into the configuration program and then hunt to see what new NUMBERED directory has been created !

As Game names are unique (they have to be, they are filenames) I can see no problem in using them to link the artwork to the Games as it was in the previous version of MyEmulators; this should be the default. If you wanted to go a stage further you could make the artwork directory name user selectable, but then you would need to store it in the database.

The minimum required to make the new version more usable would be to at least display the database record number / Game Id. in the database list screen, although the previous method (Game name as link to artwork) would be preferable.

If I am missing something obvious then I apologise for my criticism but as far as I can see, with the exception of the expanded artwork, the new version is unnecessarily more complicated than the previous version.

 

[jdoo]

While we're asking for things, it would be nice to have the option to add additional scrapers. I have noticed that mobygames sometimes gives weird results. I toyed around with "advanced program launcher" in xbmc and for game it also supports thegamesdb.com, allgame.com, gamefaqs, and a few others. As far as I am aware, these scraper definitions are contained in the xml files which come with advanced program launcher so maybe you can draw some inspiration from them?

Thanks for your efforts really looking fwd to the new release!

 

[Brownard]

guardianbs
Renaming folders from code is inherently unreliable, it could fail for a multitude of reasons including security, locked files etc - if it was to fail then your thumbs would be in limbo - this is why we removed all references to names in the folder structure (By game name I meant the title stored in the DB not filename btw).

We chose to reference Id's over filenames as they are easier to handle in code and using filenames could potentially break things in the future e.g If (when!) we support multiple discs we will need to have multiple files linked to one DB entry.

I do see your point about it being difficult to match up thumbs from a previous version to a new DB however this is the only time I envisage a problem - apart from this when would you ever need to manually move artwork to the correct folder and further when would you do this before a game has been inserted in the DB? That's why we've got the drag n drop panels in the config and we can also convert/resize images automatically this way too. Incidentally the DB Id's for games is displayed in the config screen in the new version.

jdoo
The next version supports multiple scrapers , thanks for the heads up I was looking for some more good sources of online info

 

[jdoo]

Glad I could help. Here is a link to the scrapers python scripts that Advanced Launcher uses -> / - xbmc-advanced-launcher - XBMC Applications Launcher - Google Project Hosting

 

[guardianbs]

Ok, I'm not going to labour the point. It's your code and you can design it how you like. However, I do not understand your argument about using the Game database record number (GAME_ID) as opposed to the Game Title (which is derived from the Game filename) as the directory name for the artwork, it's just a filename after all, just a string of characters, be it '21' (a Game_Id number) or 'Shoot em Up' (a Game Title). There is no difference. Both pieces of information are held on the Game database, only one is slightly more meaningful.

With regards to renaming folders from code, the Configuration program does not allow the Game filename to be changed within the database so any renaming is done manually outside of the program and anyway the same logic about directory filenames in the paragraph above applies.

It's good to hear that the next version will at least expose the Game_Id.

 

[Brownard]

Ids are integers - the can only consist of 10 possible characters (0-9) all of which are valid in a DB field and they are never likely to exceed 3 or 4 chars in length.
Filenames read exact opposite of above

It's also possible that you could have 2 games with the same filename (but in different dirs) in the DB, you would then need to have some way of resolving the naming conflict.

I'm sure we could have this debate for days, I'll be happy to consider any patch you submit on this issue but it's unlikely that I will be altering the thumb structure myself I'm afraid.

 

[guardianbs]

You're right, enough said on the topic. By way of conclusion, just to comment on your last two points.

With regard to using Integers Ids because they are valid filenames, the Game Title is derived from the Game rom FILENAME and is therefore safe to use as the Artwork directory filename without further validation or modification (pretty much as it was used as the icon filename in the previous version of MyEmulators).

With regard to duplicate Game filenames in different directories, the Configuration program only allows the association of ONE directory with each Emulator and the Artwork directory filenames only need to be unique within Emulators (as indeed do the Game rom filenames).

I can see the benefit of divorcing the Artwork directory filename from the Game rom filename and a good way would be to link it to the database by a unique primary key (logical) within the database (which could be the unique Emulator/Game combination . . .) rather than linking it to the database record number (physical) , which depending on the database could easily change .during reorganisation.

Anyway, keep up the good work. I look forward to further improvements.

P.S. Some confusion could be avoided if the Documentation in the Configuration program (FAQs) was updated to give the correct current structure for the location of the Artwork.

 

[Brownard]

The plugin scans all sub-folders as well and in the next version you can manually add a game from outside the rom dir so there is always the potential for duplicate filenames - separating thumbs by emulator leads you back to the issue of having to rename folders if the user decides to change the name of an emulator.

Not sure what version you are using but The game Id is the primary key and bears no relevance to the order in the DB, except that the 2 are obviously in sync until you remove a record from the DB. The game title is also not linked to the filename (except when 1st determined), I was referring to filenames not being valid in SQL (and all the overheads that escaping them creates) not folder names btw

Edit: I think I misunderstood your point on the primary key - your suggestion won't work because we can't guarantee filenames or emu's are unique, there's no reason why a user couldn't have 3 emu's with the same name and same configured exe (it would be very confusing but still possible ), they could all have roms with the same file name in different dirs (or in sub-dirs as stated above)

 

[xavi]

hi guys .
i have a problem with m emulators 4.0.1.15 2rc. i install and configure well. But when i open mediaportal i have a black screen with no emulators.
(i try to put i 3 emulators. pc, nintendo 64 and mame) but the screen don´t show anithing.
Can anyone help me????
im using mediaportal 1.2.2. and streamedmp 1.7.6

 

[Brownard]

Try re-running the plugin installer, StreamedMP may have overwritten the required skin files