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Documentation update.

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Leon Styhre 2022-05-16 20:09:43 +02:00
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3
CHANGELOG.md
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@ -156,11 +156,13 @@ v1.2 maintenance release.
* Changed the default emulator for the gamegear system from Gearsystem to Genesis Plus GX
* Changed the default emulator for the dos and pc systems from DOSBox-Core to DOSBox-Pure
* Changed the default emulator for the mame system from MAME 2003-Plus to MAME - Current
* Added the Gearcoleco RetroArch core for the colecovision system and set it as the default emulator
* Added DOSBox-X standalone as an alternative emulator for the dos and pc systems
* Added AetherSX2 standalone as an alternative emulator for the ps2 system on macOS
* Changed the steam platform to use the ScreenScraper "PC Windows" platform ID
* Added a new pcwindows platform for scraping PC (Windows) games
* Changed the platform to pcwindows for the epic system
* Enabled screensaver controls when running in Kid UI mode
* Added an Xbox Kinect controller badge icon
* (macOS) Categorized the application as a game so it shows up in the Launchpad games section
* Replaced the explicit shell commands in es_systems.xml with %EMULATOR_OS-SHELL% find rules
@ -174,6 +176,7 @@ v1.2 maintenance release.
* Chinese characters would sometimes not render correctly
* The "Jump to.." quick selector didn't work correctly with multi-byte Unicode characters
* All games were included in the video and slideshow screeensavers when in Kid UI mode
* (Linux) Flatpak directories were missing for user installations of the standalone emulators BlastEm, Play! and Snes9x
* (Windows) Fixed an issue where symlinking game media directories would crash the application
* (Windows) Scripts and links executed using cmd.exe could not contain the special characters &()^=;,

6
FAQ.md
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@ -90,12 +90,16 @@ This functionality is planned but not yet implemented. It will probably be rolle
## I can't find any game media links in the gamelist.xml files, where is this data stored?
ES-DE works very differently compared to all other EmulationStation forks when it comes to handling of game media. There are no links in the gamelist.xml files, instead media files are simply matched against the ROM/game file names which makes for a much simpler, faster and completely portable setup. Migrating game media from other EmulationStation forks (and potentially from other frontends as well) can be accomplished quite easily. See the next question below for more information.
ES-DE works very differently compared to all other EmulationStation forks when it comes to handling of game media. There are no links in the gamelist.xml files, instead media files are simply matched against the ROM/game file names which makes for a much simpler, faster and completely portable setup. Migrating game media from other EmulationStation forks (and potentially from other frontends as well) can be accomplished quite easily. See the next question below for more information. Make sure to also read the _Migrating from other EmulationStation forks_ section of the [User guide](USERGUIDE.md#migrating-from-other-emulationstation-forks) to avoid data loss if running ES-DE with existing data from another EmulationStation fork.
## Can I use an external scraper application instead of the built-in scraper?
Yes to a certain extent this is supported and at least [Skraper](https://www.skraper.net) and [Skyscraper](https://github.com/muldjord/skyscraper) have been used by some people. Few if any dedicated scraper applications are yet updated specifically to support ES-DE though, so you may need to do some manual renaming and moving of files and directories. See the _Manually copying game media files_ section of the [User guide](USERGUIDE.md#manually-copying-game-media-files) for more details about this.
## My controller isn't working in ES-DE, is there a way to fix this?
If the controller works in other applications and games but not in ES-DE, then you may be able to get it to run in ES-DE as well. The required setup is described in detail in the _Adding custom controller profiles_ section of the [Building and advanced configuration](INSTALL.md#adding-custom-controller-profiles) document.
## I'm missing a feature, how can I make a request to have it added?
First check the project [Kanban](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/boards/1823720) board which contains an overview of planned future features and changes and search for the functionality you would like to see added. Chances are there is already a card on the board describing precisely what you intended to request. You can also check the [Release roadmap](CONTRIBUTING.md) which includes the planned implementation of major features. If you can't find the feature you're looking for, you can request it either via adding an issue directly to the Kanban board, or by asking for it in our [Discord](https://discord.gg/EVVX4DqWAP) server or [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/EmulationStation_DE/).

25
INSTALL-DEV.md
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@ -1737,6 +1737,31 @@ This will reload either a single gamelist or all gamelists depending on where yo
By default all controller input (keyboard and controller button presses) will be logged when the --debug flag has been passed. To disable the input logging, the setting DebugSkipInputLogging kan be set to false in the es_settings.xml file. There is no menu entry to change this as it's intended for developers and not for end users.
## Adding custom controller profiles
Before attempting to add a custom profile for your controller you need to check whether there is device driver support for it in your operating system. If the controller works in other applications and games, then proceed with the instructions below, but if it doesn't work anywhere else then chances are very low that you can get it to work in ES-DE.
ES-DE uses the [SDL](https://www.libsdl.org) (Simple DirectMedia Layer) library to handle controller input, so in order for a controller to work in ES-DE, it has to be supported by SDL. There is however a possibility to add custom controller profiles to SDL which in some cases could enable devices in ES-DE that would otherwise not be supported. This is generally a temporary solution though, as controller support is constantly getting improved natively in SDL. As a first step it's therefore recommended to open a request at the SDL [issue tracker](https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/issues) to have your specific controller added to a future SDL release.
Assuming the controller works in other applications than ES-DE, you can attempt to add a custom profile by creating the file `~/.emulationstation/es_controller_mappings.cfg` and enter the appropriate configuration inside this file.
The required format is described here:\
https://github.com/gabomdq/SDL_GameControllerDB
The really blunt approach is to copy the entire content of the following file into es_controller_mappings.cfg: \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gabomdq/SDL_GameControllerDB/master/gamecontrollerdb.txt
But just do this as a first step to see whether you controller gets enabled. If it does, then you should remove all entries that are not relevant. That is important as this file will take precedence over the built-in controller profiles in the SDL library, so any future controller bug fixes and similar would not apply. In the past the gamecontrollerdb.txt file has also included some invalid configuration entries, so even though it may make your controller work, it could actually break some other controllers that you may want to use now or in the future.
Therefore only keep the entries in the es_controller_mappings.cfg file that are relevant for your devices. You can find each relevant controller GUID by starting ES-DE and then looking in the ~/.emulationstation/es_log.txt file. You should see entries such as the following:
```
May 16 18:26:17 Info: Added controller with custom configuration: "X360 Controller" (GUID: 030000005e0400008e02000010010000, instance ID: 0, device index: 0)
```
It's the GUID that is the key, and it's the lines matching these IDs that you want to retain inside the es_controller_mappings.cfg file. All other rows can be deleted.
Even if pasting the entire content of gamecontrollerdb.txt into the es_controller_mappings.cfg file did not enable your controller, all hope is not lost. You may still be able to create your own custom controller entry, but doing that is beyond the scope of this document and you would have to look into the instructions at the SDL_GameControllerDB URL mentioned above.
## Portable installation on Windows
_As there is a preconfigured portable release available for Windows, this section is mostly relevant for understanding how the setup works, as well as to provide information on how to make customizations._

25
INSTALL.md
View file

@ -2005,6 +2005,31 @@ This will reload either a single gamelist or all gamelists depending on where yo
By default all controller input (keyboard and controller button presses) will be logged when the --debug flag has been passed. To disable the input logging, the setting DebugSkipInputLogging kan be set to false in the es_settings.xml file. There is no menu entry to change this as it's intended for developers and not for end users.
## Adding custom controller profiles
Before attempting to add a custom profile for your controller you need to check whether there is device driver support for it in your operating system. If the controller works in other applications and games, then proceed with the instructions below, but if it doesn't work anywhere else then chances are very low that you can get it to work in ES-DE.
ES-DE uses the [SDL](https://www.libsdl.org) (Simple DirectMedia Layer) library to handle controller input, so in order for a controller to work in ES-DE, it has to be supported by SDL. There is however a possibility to add custom controller profiles to SDL which in some cases could enable devices in ES-DE that would otherwise not be supported. This is generally a temporary solution though, as controller support is constantly getting improved natively in SDL. As a first step it's therefore recommended to open a request at the SDL [issue tracker](https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/issues) to have your specific controller added to a future SDL release.
Assuming the controller works in other applications than ES-DE, you can attempt to add a custom profile by creating the file `~/.emulationstation/es_controller_mappings.cfg` and enter the appropriate configuration inside this file.
The required format is described here:\
https://github.com/gabomdq/SDL_GameControllerDB
The really blunt approach is to copy the entire content of the following file into es_controller_mappings.cfg: \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gabomdq/SDL_GameControllerDB/master/gamecontrollerdb.txt
But just do this as a first step to see whether you controller gets enabled. If it does, then you should remove all entries that are not relevant. That is important as this file will take precedence over the built-in controller profiles in the SDL library, so any future controller bug fixes and similar would not apply. In the past the gamecontrollerdb.txt file has also included some invalid configuration entries, so even though it may make your controller work, it could actually break some other controllers that you may want to use now or in the future.
Therefore only keep the entries in the es_controller_mappings.cfg file that are relevant for your devices. You can find each relevant controller GUID by starting ES-DE and then looking in the ~/.emulationstation/es_log.txt file. You should see entries such as the following:
```
May 16 18:26:17 Info: Added controller with custom configuration: "X360 Controller" (GUID: 030000005e0400008e02000010010000, instance ID: 0, device index: 0)
```
It's the GUID that is the key, and it's the lines matching these IDs that you want to retain inside the es_controller_mappings.cfg file. All other rows can be deleted.
Even if pasting the entire content of gamecontrollerdb.txt into the es_controller_mappings.cfg file did not enable your controller, all hope is not lost. You may still be able to create your own custom controller entry, but doing that is beyond the scope of this document and you would have to look into the instructions at the SDL_GameControllerDB URL mentioned above.
## Portable installation on Windows
_As there is a preconfigured portable release available for Windows, this section is mostly relevant for understanding how the setup works, as well as to provide information on how to make customizations._

14
USERGUIDE-DEV.md
View file

@ -360,6 +360,10 @@ Due to this, always make backups of at least the following directories before te
~/.emulationstation/collections/
```
Also note that if you have gamelist.xml files in your ROMs directory tree then ES-DE will be able to use those as well, so make sure to make backups of these files too.
It's however recommended to move all such files to the ~/.emulationstation/gamelists/ tree as any new system you add to ES-DE will have its gamelist.xml file created there. The ability to read gamelist.xml files from the ROMs directory tree is only a backward compatibility feature and/or functionality for the few people who insist on keeping their existing gamelist.xml files there.
It's also strongly adviced to not rename an old es_settings.cfg file to es_settings.xml for use in ES-DE. Although this has been tested to some extent, it may cause undefined behavior.
If migrating from Batocera or Recalbox, be aware that ES-DE follows the RetroPie naming conventions for game systems. This means that your game files may not be found unless the folders are renamed accordingly. Such an example is the Sega SG-1000 system which in Batocera and Recalbox has the _sg1000_ system name, but is _sg-1000_ in RetroPie and ES-DE. See the [Supported game systems](USERGUIDE-DEV.md#supported-game-systems) table at the bottom of this guide for the correct system names in ES-DE. This issue also means that theme sets that were written or adapted specifically for Batocera or Recalbox may display unthemed systems in ES-DE. All RetroPie theme sets should however work fine (of course assuming that all your systems are actually supported by the theme set).
@ -425,7 +429,7 @@ These modes mandate the functionalty provided by the application in the followin
* Full - This is the default mode which enables all functionality.
* Kiosk - The main menu will be severely restricted, only displaying the entry to change the audio volume. The game options menu will be restricted as well, removing the metadata editor and the ability to modify custom game collections. And finally the ability to flag or unflag games as favorites will be removed. Apart from this all games will be playable.
* Kid - Only games marked as being suitable for children will be displayed (this flag is set manually per game using the metadata editor). Additionally, the game options menu is disabled, as well as the screensaver controls and the ability to flag and unflag games as favorites. There is also a separate option available to enable or disable the main menu when in Kid mode, see _Enable menu in kid mode_ for additional information.
* Kid - Only games marked as being suitable for children will be displayed (this flag is set manually per game using the metadata editor). Additionally, the game options menu is disabled as is the ability to flag and unflag games as favorites. There is also a separate option available to enable or disable the main menu when in Kid mode, see _Enable menu in kid mode_ for additional information.
There is an unlock code available to revert to the Full mode from the Kiosk or Kid mode, as is described when changing this setting from the main menu. By default the button sequence is **Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A** (or equivalent buttons if an Xbox controller is not used). Either the keyboard or a controller can be used to input the passkey sequence, but it can't be entered when a menu is open.
@ -769,14 +773,14 @@ This is required by the TheGamesDB scraper where the expanded filenames are used
**Bally Astrocade:**
Place the ROMs in the astrocde directory, the files must have the short MAME names such as _astrobat.zip_ and _conan.zip_. If using MAME standalone then no further setup is required and the games should just launch. But if using the _MAME - Current_ RetroArch core, then a hash file must be added to the RetroArch system directory at this location:
Place the ROMs in the astrocde directory, the files must have the short MAME names such as _astrobat.zip_ and _conan.zip_. If using MAME standalone then no further setup is required and the games should just launch. But if using the _MAME - Current_ RetroArch core, then a hash file must be added inside the RetroArch system directory at this location:
```
mame/hash/astrocde.xml
```
The file is available from the MAME GitHub repository (make sure to save it as a raw file): \
https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/hash/astrocde.xml
The hash file is available from the MAME GitHub repository: \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mamedev/mame/master/hash/astrocde.xml
#### Nintendo Switch
@ -2335,7 +2339,7 @@ The **@** symbol indicates that the emulator is _deprecated_ and will be removed
| chailove | ChaiLove Game Engine | ChaiLove | | | |
| channelf | Fairchild Channel F | FreeChaF | | | |
| coco | Tandy Color Computer | _Placeholder_ | | | |
| colecovision | ColecoVision | blueMSX | | | |
| colecovision | ColecoVision | Gearcoleco | blueMSX | | |
| daphne | Daphne Arcade LaserDisc Emulator | _Placeholder_ | | | |
| desktop | Desktop Applications | N/A | | No | |
| doom | Doom | PrBoom | | | |

6
USERGUIDE.md
View file

@ -358,6 +358,10 @@ Due to this, always make backups of at least the following directories before te
~/.emulationstation/collections/
```
Also note that if you have gamelist.xml files in your ROMs directory tree then ES-DE will be able to use those as well, so make sure to make backups of these files too.
It's however recommended to move all such files to the ~/.emulationstation/gamelists/ tree as any new system you add to ES-DE will have its gamelist.xml file created there. The ability to read gamelist.xml files from the ROMs directory tree is only a backward compatibility feature and/or functionality for the few people who insist on keeping their existing gamelist.xml files there.
It's also strongly adviced to not rename an old es_settings.cfg file to es_settings.xml for use in ES-DE. Although this has been tested to some extent, it may cause undefined behavior.
If migrating from Batocera or Recalbox, be aware that ES-DE follows the RetroPie naming conventions for game systems. This means that your game files may not be found unless the folders are renamed accordingly. Such an example is the Sega SG-1000 system which in Batocera and Recalbox has the _sg1000_ system name, but is _sg-1000_ in RetroPie and ES-DE. See the [Supported game systems](USERGUIDE.md#supported-game-systems) table at the bottom of this guide for the correct system names in ES-DE. This issue also means that theme sets that were written or adapted specifically for Batocera or Recalbox may display unthemed systems in ES-DE. All RetroPie theme sets should however work fine (of course assuming that all your systems are actually supported by the theme set).
@ -423,7 +427,7 @@ These modes mandate the functionalty provided by the application in the followin
* Full - This is the default mode which enables all functionality.
* Kiosk - The main menu will be severely restricted, only displaying the entry to change the audio volume. The game options menu will be restricted as well, removing the metadata editor and the ability to modify custom game collections. And finally the ability to flag or unflag games as favorites will be removed. Apart from this all games will be playable.
* Kid - Only games marked as being suitable for children will be displayed (this flag is set manually per game using the metadata editor). Additionally, the game options menu is disabled, as well as the screensaver controls and the ability to flag and unflag games as favorites. There is also a separate option available to enable or disable the main menu when in Kid mode, see _Enable menu in kid mode_ for additional information.
* Kid - Only games marked as being suitable for children will be displayed (this flag is set manually per game using the metadata editor). Additionally, the game options menu is disabled as is the ability to flag and unflag games as favorites. There is also a separate option available to enable or disable the main menu when in Kid mode, see _Enable menu in kid mode_ for additional information.
There is an unlock code available to revert to the Full mode from the Kiosk or Kid mode, as is described when changing this setting from the main menu. By default the button sequence is **Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A** (or equivalent buttons if an Xbox controller is not used). Either the keyboard or a controller can be used to input the passkey sequence, but it can't be entered when a menu is open.