[BUG] Issues Related to Emulator Groups, Custom Menu, and Favorites +1 Request (Attn: Tom)

[Gildahl]

I was just going through my GameEx configuration in an attempt to fix an inconsistency that has been around for a while.  In one of my submenus I list all my console emulators.  However, I had noticed that when I pick an emulator and go into its game list, I only ever see a title at the top of the screen for my Atari 2600 and Sega Genesis game lists.  I looked into this today and discovered that out of all the emulators, these are the only two assigned to emulator groups (since I use two different emulators for these systems).  The following shows the configuration for the menu, and you will notice that the two that work are item type 32 while the rest are item type 1.  I would really like for all the menus to put the system name in the title (i.e. for type 1 menu items to use the Title Text from the Emulator Setup screen, just as type 32 menu items use the Title Text from the Emulator Groups screen).

[MENU_1]
Title=Video Game Consoles
Item_1=1,Fairchild Channel F (1st Gen. 1976),17
Item_2=1,Bally Professional Arcade (1st Gen. 1977),19
Item_3=32,Atari 2600 (1st Gen. 1977),5,
Item_4=1,Magnavox Odyssey 2 (1st Gen. 1978), 4,
Item_5=1,Mattel Intellivision (1st Gen. 1980),5,
Item_6=1,Emerson Arcadia 2001 (1st Gen. 1982),18,
Item_7=1,ColecoVision (2nd Gen. 1982),6,
Item_8=1,Atari 5200 (2nd Gen. 1982),12,
Item_9=1,GCE Vectrex (2nd Gen. 1982),7,
Item_10=1,Nintendo Entertainment System (3rd Gen. 1983/1985),8,
Item_11=1,Atari 7800 (3rd Gen. 1984/1986),13,
Item_12=1,Sega Master System (3rd Gen. 1985),24,
Item_13=1,NEC TurboGrafix-16 (4th Gen. 1987/1989),25,
Item_14=32,Sega Genesis (4th Gen. 1989),6,
Item_15=1,Super Nintendo (4th Gen. 1991),9,
Item_16=1,Atari Jaguar (5th Gen. 1993),21,
Item_17=1,3DO Interactive Multiplayer (5th Gen. 1993),34
Item_18=1,Sony Playstation (5th Gen. 1995),20,
Item_19=1,Sega Saturn (5th Gen. 1995),23,
Item_20=1,Nintendo 64 (5th Gen. 1996),10,
Item_21=1,Sega Dreamcast (6th Gen. 1999),31,
Item_22=1,Nintendo GameCube (6th Gen. 2001),48

 

EDIT (RedDog): Tom, please jump to this post for the explanation of the issues found by Gildahl and myself

[RedDog]

I have a feeling there is no bug here since you are referring to two different functions, but it is difficult to see what you are referring to with the limited information you have provided. The excerpt from the custom menu really isn't enough to go on.

However, you would likely be better served by making a feature request since not everyone will prefer the same thing you do.

[Gildahl]

I'll try to attach some screenshots when I get a chance, but it is pretty straightforward.  For emulator groups the Title Text appears at the top of the screen as expected; for emulators, no text at all appears at the top of the screen at all whereas it seems logical that the Title Text should also appear.  If you create a custom menu like mine containing, say one emulator and one emulator group it should be easy to duplicate.  Anyway, I can't think of a reason why anyone wouldn't want the Title Text for an emulator to appear as the Title since that is presumably what the Title Text is for, and hence why this feels more like a bug than a feature.

[RedDog]

Some screenshots would probably be a good idea. Post your GameEx.ini file as well. I have to wonder how much your configuration is affecting how things are being displayed. It is possible that what you have come across is a bug; it certainly happens; but depending on what it is you are seeing, it is also likely that what you are seeing is intended.

I don't use title text in my theme at all. I have it disabled. The only purpose it serves in my setup is to identify the emulator in the Emulator Setup of the Setup Wizard. For most themes, the title text of the emulator is displayed when you go into the module.

[Gildahl]

Ok, here are some screenshots of what my emulator lists look like.  Note how the lists created using emulator groups (Atari 2600 & Sega Genesis) have titles but those created using just a single emulator (Intellivision & Odyssey 2) just show an empty title.

 

[RedDog]

...and the GameEx.ini please.

[Gildahl]

Ah, yes.  Of course.

GameEx.ini

[RedDog]

Gildahl,

It looks like you are using a custom theme, Dave's Deep Purple? Could you post the theme if it is not too big? If it is too big, how about posting the theme.ini from the theme's folder? It may be enough for me to go on.

[Gildahl]

I'm not at the machine right now, but the issue is also present in the standard Deep Purple theme that I used as a basis for mine.  In fact, that was where I originally noticed it.

[RedDog]

I checked the theme download page before posting to see if there was something similar, but there is no Deep Purple available for download now. I shouldn't need the whole theme, but if it's not a bother, I figured I might as well. Really, I need to know what version it is and the theme.ini will give me that. There are different theme versions and some of them display information differently than the others.

[Gildahl]

The issue happens with basically every theme I've tried, including the default ones (Default - Default, Default - New, Default - Animated, and Default - V1).  Here's the theme.ini for Default - Default since you are likely to already have that one, and it should avoid the variable of needing to consider whether any of my theme customizations caused this.  I'm also attaching my CustomMenu.ini and custom Deep Purple theme though I wouldn't think these should matter. 

Theme.ini

CustomMenu.ini

 

Dave's Deep Purple.zip

[RedDog]

@Gildahl Hey. I am traveling today. I had hoped to look at this again before I left, but I ran out of time. I should be able to check it out no later than this weekend. 

[Gildahl]

That's cool.  Thanks!

[RedDog]

OK. I've done some testing, but I am not getting the results I am expecting. Because of it, I do think that there is something wrong with the way emulator groups and the emulators that compose those groups are being displayed. There appears to be more off than the titles. I don't think it is related to the custom menu, but since you can't test emulator groups without custom menus, it's hard to say. I have been busier than expected, so I have not had as much time as I have wanted to test it more thoroughly. Sorry for the wait.

As soon as I can run through a few more scenarios, I will likely post a new topic with examples for Tom to review.

[Gildahl]

Thanks for looking into this.  You are correct that there is more "off" than just the titles.  There is a second issue I have that is closely related to this.  If I get a chance, I'll try posting some screen shots tonight to see if you are seeing the same thing.   

[Gildahl]

Here are some screenshots of an issue that seems closely related.  If so, then perhaps this can be looked into along with the one discussed above.

In this issue, when one highlights a menu item that has an underlying list, the SelectLine1 theme element (which should show a count of the items in that list), only shows the suffix "Items" after the count if the list is a single emulator (Item Type 1), but not if the list is an emulator group (Item Type 32).  Additionally, if the underlying list is the Favorites list or another menu, neither the count nor the word "Items" is shown (i.e. SelectLine1 is empty). 

The screenshots here are based on the CustomMenu.ini file uploaded earlier (look at the second line from the bottom of the screen for comparisons).

[RedDog]

I was able to see the isues you pointed out with the 'items' description for the emulator groups and favorites, however there is an additional issue I came across with the emulator groups. Your gamex.ini is pretty involved, so I have been working on a more simplified example to give to Tom for review. I should be able to post it in the next day or two assuming we do not uncover any other issues.  

[Gildahl]

Ok thanks.  Sounds great.

[RedDog]

@Tom Speirs: While looking at an issue reported by Gildahl, a few other issues (posible bugs) came up regardling Emulator Groups, Custom Menus, Favorites, and SelectList1.

ATTACHED FILES:
In the attached gameex.ini, I set up three Emulators and two Emulator Groups utilizing those emulators. The CustomMenu.ini contains all the emulators and emulator groups. I've also included a 7-zip file that contains a set of dummy folders, dummy emulators, and dummy roms that can be extracted to the C drive that will work with the included gameex.ini. Again, these are dummy files (empty txt files with the names and extensions changed to rom names). No actual roms are included. Hopefully this will make it an easy example to review.

ISSUE #1: Emulators not displaying correct contents when Emulator Groups are used with Custom Menus
In the attached example, the CustomMenu.ini contains the three emulators, two blank lines, two Emulator Groups. Once you are in GameEx, if you navigate to any of the emulators and enter, instead of displaying the content for the emulator, it instead displays content on an Emulator Group. If you enter into one of the Emulator Groups, the content there looks to be correct.

I find it odd that this has not been reported before, but as I am have been unable to have emulators and emulator groups in the same menu while testing, I have to assume there is some sor tof issue. I did clear my cache during troubleshooting to make sure that was not the cause.

ISSUE #2: The SelectList1 object does not display the word "Items" when navigating the parent menu
In the attached example, after starting GameEx, navigate through the home screen to the NES emulator. Note how the SelectList1 object will display "5 Items.". If you then navigate to the NES/SNES Emulator Group, notice that the SelectList1 displays "10." instead of "10 Items." It is a minor oversight, but the word "Items" should be present. I tested on v3 and v4 themes (in case it is relevant).

ISSUE #3: The SelectList1 object does not display an item count for the Favorites when navigating the parent menu
This may be more of an oversight than a bug. If you navigate to the Favorites, notice that the SelectList1 does not display the number of items in the Favorite list at all. It would make sense to display the count.

REQUEST: When navigating the list of games inside an Emulator Group, can the title on the screen be made to reflect the emulator the game comes from?
This is the main request made by Gildahl when the thread began. Currently, the Title Text that is displayed comes from the Title Text of the Emulator Group in the Setup Wizard. I do not see any parameter that overwrites that value. Gildahl would like the to have an option in Emulator Groups where the Title Text that is displayed is based on the game that is currently high-lighted. This is to show the user what emulator or game system the currently high-lighted game is from. Note that some users may not want th etitle to change, so if this is done, I think the best bet is to add a parameter in the Emulator Group section.

GameEx.ini : This is a setup I specifically set up to test these issues

CustomMenu.ini

log.txt : I navigated and entered each of the emulators and emulator groups when capturing this log.

Emulation.7z : If you extract this pack of dummy files file to your C drive, the resulting emulator directory will work with the attached gameex.ini.

[RedDog]

@Gildahl Would you please review the summary in the post above to make sure I am explaining the issues you found as well as you initial request properly. These are the issues I have been able to replicate and have created examples files for the devs to review. I just want to be sure I did not miss or misinterpret what you have said thus far. If it looks good, I will report the post for Tom to review. Thanks for waiting on me to get through these tests.

[Gildahl]

Well, this is very interesting.  Thanks for working up this demo.

Issue #1:  For some reason I do not seem to experience this.  However, I downloaded (on a separate machine) a brand new copy of GameEx and used your examples and was able to duplicate what you are seeing.  I also duplicated this myself using the default GameEx.ini.  I have no idea why I don't see this on my arcade machine, but if I were a new user trying to use custom menus and saw this I would conclude that groups are broken.  Basically (as you are also seeing), as soon as you enable groups in the wizard, the emulator lists start to behave as though they are groups.  If you disable groups the single emulator lists go back to normal.  Totally weird.

Issue #2:  Yes you are seeing what I am seeing and would love to see this addressed.

Issue #3:  I wasn't actually asking for the title to show the *game* title, but rather for it to show the title text for the *emulator* (like "Mattel Intellivision" or "Atari 5200" etc.).  I wouldn't think this needs to be an option since it seems like the expected value (since it is blank today, and that's what the emulator's title text is supposed to be for presumably).  I personally wouldn't want the game name to show as the title since they would often be too long for the space.  [Edit:  Not sure if you edited or I read wrong, but after re-reading your post I see that you say to "show the user what emulator or game system the currently high-lighted game is from"...which is correct, so what you wrote is fine]

[RedDog]

@Gildahl We are on the same page then. It certainly was odd that I encountered the first issue during my testing; It is likely some odd combination of things that makes it happen.

@Tom Speirs Could you take a look at the issues and request noted in this post above. Thanks.

[RedDog]

@Tom Speirs  I came across this bug again as I was working on my own setup. Just wanted to give it a bump. The concise explanation can be found on my first April 17 post above. Thanks.