diff --git a/FAQ.md b/FAQ.md index bd2a7c301..d69a2a15a 100644 --- a/FAQ.md +++ b/FAQ.md @@ -56,6 +56,10 @@ Yes, as from version 1.2.3 there is support to display such games as single entr See the question above for a possible solution. Another approach would be to hide the game files you don't want to see using the metadata editor. Yet another solution which is actually recommended is to convert your games to the .chd format. This combines the .bin/.cue files into a single file that is also compressed, leading to space savings. A custom systems configuration entry could also be created, but that is not really recommended or required due to the solutions just mentioned. The reason why .bin files are included in the first place is that some emulators can launch these files directly, and some users have game collections comprised of such files. If the .bin files were filtered out in the bundled configuration, then all these users would have their games removed from within ES-DE next time they upgrade the application. +## Can I "flatten" directories to not show them as folders inside ES-DE? + +No. + ## When I hide a game using the metadata editor it's not really getting hidden, is this a bug? No, by default games are not removed from the gamelists when they are hidden and are instead only marked with a much lower text opacity. You need to disable the setting _Show hidden games (requires restart)_ from the _Other settings_ menu to make them disappear entirely. The reason this option is not disabled by default is that new users could very easily make a mistake by hiding some files accidentally without realizing it, only to have the entries being immediately removed from the gamelist view. It's also good practice to hide all your games with this option enabled and verify that it's all correct before going ahead and disabling it. @@ -82,7 +86,7 @@ ES-DE uses the RetroPie naming conventions. In most cases the ROM directories ar ## Can ES-DE update itself automatically when a new release becomes available? -This functionality is planned but not yet implemented. It will probably be rolled out in two steps, with the first step being a notitication that a new release is available, and at a later stage adding complete in-application update support. For the time being you therefore need to regularly check the https://es-de.org website or join the ES-DE [Discord](https://discord.gg/EVVX4DqWAP) server or [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/EmulationStation_DE/) where new releases are announced. +This functionality is planned but not yet implemented. It will probably be rolled out in two steps, with the first step being a notitication that a new release is available, and at a later stage adding complete in-application update support. For the time being you therefore need to regularly check the https://es-de.org website or join the ES-DE [Discord](https://discord.gg/EVVX4DqWAP) server or [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/EmulationStation_DE/) where new releases are announced. The process to manually upgrade ES-DE is covered in the _Upgrading to a newer release_ section of the [User guide](USERGUIDE.md#upgrading-to-a-newer-release). ## I can't find any game media links in the gamelist.xml files, where is this data stored? diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 4b3471510..656cd3aae 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ YouTube channel with installation instruction videos:\ Discord server:\ [https://discord.gg/EVVX4DqWAP](https://discord.gg/EVVX4DqWAP) +Reddit (r/EmulationStation_DE):\ +[https://www.reddit.com/r/EmulationStation_DE](https://www.reddit.com/r/EmulationStation_DE) + Although there are multiple forks of EmulationStation in existence, the goal of this edition is to make the software as easy as possible to install and use as a standalone application, and to support the major desktop operating systems, i.e. Windows, macOS and Unix/Linux. Since it's intended to be used as a desktop application rather than as the primary interface for the computer, there are no plans to provide system administration utilities or control over emulator settings from within ES-DE. The software comes preconfigured for use primarily with [RetroArch](https://www.retroarch.com), although this can be changed as all emulator settings are fully configurable, even on a per-game basis. @@ -22,7 +25,7 @@ The following operating systems have been tested (all for the x86 architecture u * Windows 11, 10 and 8.1 * macOS 10.14 "Mojave" to 12 "Monterey" (M1 and Intel) * macOS 10.11 "El Capitan" (legacy release) -* Ubuntu 20.04 to 21.10 +* Ubuntu 20.04 to 22.04 * Linux Mint 20 * Manjaro 21 * Fedora 35 Workstation @@ -43,7 +46,7 @@ The latest version is 1.2.3 (released 2022-05-04) | Windows portable | Windows 11, 10 and 8.1 | x64 (x86) | [EmulationStation-DE-1.2.3-x64_Portable.zip](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/package_files/36880305/download)| | macOS DMG installer | macOS 10.14 "Mojave" to 12 "Monterey" | x64 (x86) | [EmulationStation-DE-1.2.3-x64.dmg](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/package_files/36880259/download)| | macOS DMG installer | macOS 11 "Big Sur" to 12 "Monterey" | arm64 (M1) | [EmulationStation-DE-1.2.3-arm64.dmg](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/package_files/36880205/download)| -| Debian DEB package | Ubuntu 20.04 to 21.10, Linux Mint 20, possibly others | x64 (x86) | [emulationstation-de-1.2.3-x64.deb](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/package_files/36880232/download)| +| Debian DEB package | Ubuntu 20.04 to 22.04, Linux Mint 20, possibly others | x64 (x86) | [emulationstation-de-1.2.3-x64.deb](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/package_files/36880232/download)| | Fedora RPM package | Fedora Workstation 35, possibly others | x64 (x86) | [emulationstation-de-1.2.3-x64.rpm](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/package_files/36880315/download)| | Arch User Repository | Arch Linux, Manjaro, possibly others | x64 (x86) | [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/emulationstation-de](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/emulationstation-de)| | Linux AppImage | Most Linux distributions | x64 (x86) | [EmulationStation-DE-x64.AppImage](https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/package_files/36880344/download)| diff --git a/USERGUIDE-DEV.md b/USERGUIDE-DEV.md index d3684caee..abfd745bc 100644 --- a/USERGUIDE-DEV.md +++ b/USERGUIDE-DEV.md @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ The following operating systems have been tested (all for the x86 architecture u * Windows 11, 10 and 8.1 * macOS 10.14 "Mojave" to 12 "Monterey" (M1 and Intel) * macOS 10.11 "El Capitan" (legacy release) -* Ubuntu 20.04 to 21.10 +* Ubuntu 20.04 to 22.04 * Linux Mint 20 * Manjaro 21 * Fedora 35 Workstation @@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ For a better desktop integration it's recommended to install [AppImageLauncher]( **Installing on macOS and Windows** -There's not really much to say about these operating systems, just install ES-DE as you would any other application. On macOS it's via the .dmg drag-and-drop installer, and on Windows via the normal application installer. +There's not really much to say about these operating systems, just install ES-DE as you would any other application. On macOS it's via the .dmg drag-and-drop installer, and on Windows via the normal application installer or by unpacking the portable zip file somewhere on your filesystem. **On first application startup** @@ -153,6 +153,34 @@ There will be a lot of directories created if using the es_systems.xml file bund ![alt text](images/es-de_ui_easy_setup.png "ES-DE Easy Setup") _This is the dialog shown if no game files were found. It lets you configure the ROM directory if you don't want to use the default one, and you can also generate the game systems directory structure. Note that the directory is the physical path, and that your operating system may present this as a localized path if you are using a language other than English._ +## Upgrading to a newer release + +**Note:** Before upgrading ES-DE, make sure that you have not made any system customizations anywhere in the installation directory structure as these files will be overwritten during the upgrade process. All customizations should go into ~/.emulationstation/custom_systems/ as described elsewhere in this guide. None of the upgrade methods mentioned below will ever touch any files inside your .emulationstation directory. + +**Linux .deb and .rpm packages** + +Upgrading ES-DE using these packages is very straightforward, just run them through the package manager of your operating system and the process should be entirely automatic. Note that you need to manually download the packages from [https://es-de.org](https://es-de.org) as ES-DE is not currently included in any operating system repositories. + +**Linux AUR** + +AUR upgrades should be automatically handled via your package manager and it should be a completely automatic process. When a new release is available you should be notified of this. + +**Linux AppImage** + +As the ES-DE AppImages always retain their filenames between releases you only need to replace the previous AppImage with the new one and you're done. Just make sure to set the new AppImage as executable so it can be launched. + +**macOS** + +Open _Applications_ in Finder and right click on _EmulationStation Desktop Edition_ and choose _Move to Trash_. Then simply install the new release using the .dmg drag-and-drop installer. + +**Windows installer** + +Just run the installer for the new release. A question will be asked whether you would like to uninstall the old version first. Say yes to this question and then proceed with running through the installer. + +**Windows portable** + +When upgrading the portable release it's recommended to not overwrite the contents by unpacking on top of the old release but instead to rename the old _EmulationStation-DE_ directory to something else, such as _EmulationStation-DE_OLD_ and then unpack the new release next to it. Following this, move over the contents inside _Emulators_, _ROMs_, _themes_ and _.emulationstation_ from the old to the new directory. That's the safest way to make the upgrade. + ## Placing games into non-standard directories As explained above, the basic logic for how ES-DE works is that it expects game files to be placed into a standardized directory structure under the ROMs directory. The location of this directory is configurable so it could for instance be placed on an external storage device or on a file share served by a NAS. The way it's implemented is via the %ROMPATH% variable in the es_systems.xml file which will always point to this ROM directory. For example this is an entry for the Super Nintendo system: diff --git a/USERGUIDE.md b/USERGUIDE.md index f52fc7183..a1b87b9b7 100644 --- a/USERGUIDE.md +++ b/USERGUIDE.md @@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ The following operating systems have been tested (all for the x86 architecture u * Windows 11, 10 and 8.1 * macOS 10.14 "Mojave" to 12 "Monterey" (M1 and Intel) * macOS 10.11 "El Capitan" (legacy release) -* Ubuntu 20.04 to 21.10 +* Ubuntu 20.04 to 22.04 * Linux Mint 20 * Manjaro 21 * Fedora 35 Workstation @@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ For a better desktop integration it's recommended to install [AppImageLauncher]( **Installing on macOS and Windows** -There's not really much to say about these operating systems, just install ES-DE as you would any other application. On macOS it's via the .dmg drag-and-drop installer, and on Windows via the normal application installer. +There's not really much to say about these operating systems, just install ES-DE as you would any other application. On macOS it's via the .dmg drag-and-drop installer, and on Windows via the normal application installer or by unpacking the portable zip file somewhere on your filesystem. **On first application startup** @@ -151,6 +151,34 @@ There will be a lot of directories created if using the es_systems.xml file bund ![alt text](images/es-de_ui_easy_setup.png "ES-DE Easy Setup") _This is the dialog shown if no game files were found. It lets you configure the ROM directory if you don't want to use the default one, and you can also generate the game systems directory structure. Note that the directory is the physical path, and that your operating system may present this as a localized path if you are using a language other than English._ +## Upgrading to a newer release + +**Note:** Before upgrading ES-DE, make sure that you have not made any system customizations anywhere in the installation directory structure as these files will be overwritten during the upgrade process. All customizations should go into ~/.emulationstation/custom_systems/ as described elsewhere in this guide. None of the upgrade methods mentioned below will ever touch any files inside your .emulationstation directory. + +**Linux .deb and .rpm packages** + +Upgrading ES-DE using these packages is very straightforward, just run them through the package manager of your operating system and the process should be entirely automatic. Note that you need to manually download the packages from [https://es-de.org](https://es-de.org) as ES-DE is not currently included in any operating system repositories. + +**Linux AUR** + +AUR upgrades should be automatically handled via your package manager and it should be a completely automatic process. When a new release is available you should be notified of this. + +**Linux AppImage** + +As the ES-DE AppImages always retain their filenames between releases you only need to replace the previous AppImage with the new one and you're done. Just make sure to set the new AppImage as executable so it can be launched. + +**macOS** + +Open _Applications_ in Finder and right click on _EmulationStation Desktop Edition_ and choose _Move to Trash_. Then simply install the new release using the .dmg drag-and-drop installer. + +**Windows installer** + +Just run the installer for the new release. A question will be asked whether you would like to uninstall the old version first. Say yes to this question and then proceed with running through the installer. + +**Windows portable** + +When upgrading the portable release it's recommended to not overwrite the contents by unpacking on top of the old release but instead to rename the old _EmulationStation-DE_ directory to something else, such as _EmulationStation-DE_OLD_ and then unpack the new release next to it. Following this, move over the contents inside _Emulators_, _ROMs_, _themes_ and _.emulationstation_ from the old to the new directory. That's the safest way to make the upgrade. + ## Placing games into non-standard directories As explained above, the basic logic for how ES-DE works is that it expects game files to be placed into a standardized directory structure under the ROMs directory. The location of this directory is configurable so it could for instance be placed on an external storage device or on a file share served by a NAS. The way it's implemented is via the %ROMPATH% variable in the es_systems.xml file which will always point to this ROM directory. For example this is an entry for the Super Nintendo system: