Linux Dosbox Scraping

[Leecher]

I compiled attract-mode and installed dosbox in Linux Mint.

Install first game, Dune II. Just use the main exe name as the game name, dune2.bat; from dune2.exe.

It's now running with no issues. The problem is scraping. the title dune2 is not recognized by thegamesdb.

I could rename the bat file to "Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty.bat",  yes, that would scrape info from thegamesdb; but dosbox doesn't like spaces, the moment dosbox calls the bat file, it only sees the first word, Dune, an unknown command, and then returns an error.

The only other related thread I can find is this.
http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=503.msg4231#msg4231
The example it provide is Wolfenstein3D, no space in between. I doubt it will scrape, but I just might not be seeing something crucial here. Please help.

[progets]

I don't use DosBox but here are a few ideas.

1. Keep the original romname inside the .bat but rename the .bat file to the full name. This will scrape on the full game name and pass the short game name to DoxBox.
2. Use quotes in your DosBox emulator configuration file. Something like "[romfilename]" in the arg field. This will help AttractMode but I'm not sure about DosBox.
3. Like I said, I don't use DosBox but I did use DOS for years. The original DOS was limited to 8+3 characters in file names. Consider this in your troubleshooting.
4. Scrape/download your artwork from somewhere else and rename if needed. Emumovies.com might be an option. They let you download 200 MB a day for free without a paid membership.
5. Make sure you're using the latest version of DosBox.
6. Use shortcuts (.lnk files) that point to the .bat files. This will allow your .bat files to match you romname files but scrape based on the shortcut (.lnk) files.

Good luck. Let us know what you come up with.

 

[Leecher]

1. Keep the original romname inside the .bat but rename the .bat file to the full name. This will scrape on the full game name and pass the short game name to DoxBox.
2. Use quotes in your DosBox emulator configuration file. Something like "[romfilename]" in the arg field. This will help AttractMode but I'm not sure about DosBox.
3. Like I said, I don't use DosBox but I did use DOS for years. The original DOS was limited to 8+3 characters in file names. Consider this in your troubleshooting.

Yeah. That's what I've been doing, that doesn't work. I think it has something to do with spaces in the file name as you said.

4. Scrape/download your artwork from somewhere else and rename if needed. Emumovies.com might be an option. They let you download 200 MB a day for free without a paid membership.

Cool. I'll try this in the future. For now, I'll just stick to using speedrun clips.

5. Make sure you're using the latest version of DosBox.

Just checked. That's the latest version.

6. Use shortcuts (.lnk files) that point to the .bat files. This will allow your .bat files to match you romname files but scrape based on the shortcut (.lnk) files.

This is a linux mint build, so I use a "Launcher", I think that's the windows shortcut equivalent. Remove all the dosbox settings, just call the exe file directly, and it works. Here's the command for future users. Launchers have a hidden ".desktop" extension, so use that as the romext.

Code: [Select]

dosbox "/home/even more directories/game.exe"


[Leecher]

I just realize it doesn't work.

The launcher "Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty.desktop" works on its own. And Attract-mode can scrap it.

But attract-mode can't run it.

I guess I need to use the linux equivalent of cmd for this to work.

I'm gonna try what this thread with no replies said.
http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=2460.0

[Leecher]

This is interesting. gtk-launch have never been mentioned in this forum. So, here's what I found:

You can use /bin/gtk-launch + .desktop, instead of /bin/bash + .sh. I'm gonna assume .sh is like .bat. I like .desktop more because you can just double click it, just like a windows shortcut.

So, here's my settings.

Code: [Select]

Emulator Name                     dosbox
Executable                         /bin/gtk-launch
command arguments               "[name]"
rom path(s)                        /home/even more directories/launcher folder
rom extension(s)                  .desktop
Non-blocking Mode Wait          1

This is the command of the launcher

Code: [Select]

dosbox "/home/even more directories/game folder/game.exe"

I don't know how non-blocking mode really works. But without it, the game only runs if I ALT+TAB. Maybe it's better to give it more seconds, I don't know.

Also, if you create a new launcher, Linux Mint will ask if you want to add it to the menu. You need to add it to the menu for gtk-launch to see it. I like it this way because it makes the games kind of like actual linux games. This might be a bad idea for other people. But I'm only planning to install old RTS games in this machine, so it works for me. If that ever change in the future, I'll switch to /bin/bash + .sh.

[progets]

You should give "Non-blocking Mode Wait" the least amount of seconds that solves your issue otherwise you're just adding more wait time for the game to load.

If you're happy with your setup that's great. If not here are couple of other post I found.
http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=2966.msg21248#msg21248
http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=3583.msg25031#msg25031

[Leecher]

Thanks progets.

I've already tinker with /bin/bash + .sh and made it work just in case. I like /bin/gtk-launch + .desktop more just because of my original plan for this machine, a Linux PC with mouse-centric games (mostly dos games. And maybe Wine in the future).

[akafox]

You have already made a romlist within AM correct?

Thus the games name (bat file) and a long name?

if so you can make fake game names..build your list on that..and THEN let the scrapper chew on that instead...(these games names are just empty txt files nothing more)

So I have to ask you could you provide me with a partial current AM list and part of your file tree of your DOS games please....

If I recall you are using the batch (.bat) files to be used as "roms" (i.e. say a mame setup)