Recent Update vs release5.2.0

[Maximus734]

Hello,
Couple of issues I've experience with the latest release that worked with 5.2.0

1. Receive error message for Emualtor Path when using a bat file.
   In 5.2.0 I was able to add a bat for emulator path without any issue but now will always receive error to fix it as its
   looking for exe only. I'm able to launch games using a bat file, but the main problem is when I'm using
   a controller and the error shows up, I have to use either a mouse or keyborad to click okay. Any fix would be appreciated as I need to use a bat file to launch certain emulators like openmsx to be portable as well as Commander Genius as the launcher doesn't provide romfilename without extension.

2. %SYSTEMFOLDER% Doesn't work in the recent version:
   Dosbox-Staging, Dosbox-X, and MAME emulators all share the same problem so I'll be using MAME for the example
   I have the parameters as: -rompath %SYSTEMFOLDER% -skip_gameinfo
   In 5.2.0 it launches the game but with latest version I obtained a error log: Calling parameters: -rompath "%SYSTEMFOLDER%" -skip_gameinfo "pulstar"
   Instead of the actual rompath it's %SYSTEMFOLDER% when launching for both mame and dosbox emulators
   Mame does work with these parameters in both 5.2.0 and latest version: -rompath "%EMULATORFOLDER%\roms;%EMULATORFOLDER%\bios;%SYSTEMFOLDER%" -skip_gameinfo

3. Continuation from SimpleLauncher - Some Ideas for Enhancements #2, Additional system folders, neither works correctly in 5.2.0 or latest release:
   This pertains to emulators that requires rompath in the parameters like mame, dosbox-staging, dosbox-x, bstone, nblood, eduke, scummvm, etc. in order to launch the game
   using mame as an example I have the system folder (Required): %BASEFOLDER%\roms\Arcade which will launch mame.
   When adding more rom folder like cps1 cps2 cps3 snk, the roms zip or 7z will populate but will not launch correctly because it uses "system folder (Required)" for some reason
   example: launching sf2.zip, should be -rompath %BASEFOLDER%\roms\cps1 not %BASEFOLDER%\roms\Arcade.
   Basically, %SYSTEMFOLDER% needs to function correctly overall — it should expand as expected and dynamically resolve to the appropriate system folder per game, not always fall back to the primary system folder.

[drpetersonfernandes]

Thank you for pointing the bugs.
I will fix it today.

[drpetersonfernandes]

I am working to fix it today

[Maximus734]

Thanks for the quick response and for working on a fix — I look forward to the next update.

[drpetersonfernandes]

Question 1: .bat Files in Emulator Path

I have enabled support for .bat files in the emulator path. Here is how Simple Launcher handles them:

When you set "Extension to Search in the System Folder" to bat, the launcher runs the .bat file directly. In this case, you can leave the emulator path empty, because the launch logic does not use the emulator path at all when running a .bat file.

For OpenMSX

You can create .bat files if you want, but there is no need to. Instead, you can use:

• Extension to Search in the System Folder: zip
• Extract File Before Launch: true
• Extension to Launch After Extraction: rom, ri, mx1, mx2, col, dsk, cas, sg, sc, m3u

This will work without .bat files, but you can still use them if you prefer.

For Commander Genius

You can create .bat files and place them all inside the System Folder.

• Extension to Search in the System Folder: bat
• Emulator path: can be left empty

As long as the .bat file is valid, it will load and launch correctly in Simple Launcher.

---

[drpetersonfernandes]

Question 2: %SYSTEMFOLDER% Not Working

Sorry for the bug — that was my fault. It has now been fixed.

[drpetersonfernandes]

Question 3: Multiple System Folders

Sorry for the bug — that was my fault. It has now been fixed.

I have improved the logic so that %SYSTEMFOLDER% expands correctly. You only need to enter %SYSTEMFOLDER% in your parameters, and the logic will now expand it to include all configured system folders, separated by ;.

[drpetersonfernandes]

I am performing tests right now.
I will release it tonight.

If any bugs remain, I will fix them right away.

[Maximus734]

Question 1: .bat Files in Emulator Path

I have enabled support for .bat files in the emulator path. Here is how Simple Launcher handles them:

When you set "Extension to Search in the System Folder" to bat, the launcher runs the .bat file directly. In this case, you can leave the emulator path empty, because the launch logic does not use the emulator path at all when running a .bat file.

For OpenMSX

You can create .bat files if you want, but there is no need to. Instead, you can use:

* **Extension to Search in the System Folder:** `zip`

* **Extract File Before Launch:** `true`

* **Extension to Launch After Extraction:** `rom, ri, mx1, mx2, col, dsk, cas, sg, sc, m3u`

This will work without .bat files, but you can still use them if you prefer.

For Commander Genius

You can create .bat files and place them all inside the System Folder.

* **Extension to Search in the System Folder:** `bat`

* **Emulator path:** can be left empty

As long as the .bat file is valid, it will load and launch correctly in Simple Launcher.

Hi again,

I just want to clarify the use of .bat files in the emulator path, using OpenMSX and Commander Genius (CGenius.exe) as examples.

Commander Genius:
The typical launch format is:
CGenius.exe dir="games/%NAME%"

So when launching a game, it should resolve to something like:
CGenius.exe dir="games/Cosmos Cosmic Adventure 1"

Similar to how MAME works (e.g., mame.exe sf2), but CGenius requires quotes around the path.

I noticed %ROM% was added in the recent update — if it’s possible to also have something like %NAME% (display name) available for parameters, I wouldn’t need to rely on a .bat file for CGenius.

OpenMSX:
My main reason for using a .bat file here is portability. I prefer keeping all emulator files in the same folder as the executable. From what I’ve found, OpenMSX requires a .bat setup to avoid creating files in the Documents folder.

Thanks again for the update — I really appreciate the dedication.

[drpetersonfernandes]

https://github.com/drpetersonfernandes/SimpleLauncher/releases/tag/release5.3.3

[drpetersonfernandes]

I will perform an investigation to see if I can launch Commander Genius games without the need for a bat file

[Maximus734]

Update to recent release:

Question 1: .bat Files in Emulator Path - Works

Question 2: %SYSTEMFOLDER% Not Working - Works

Question 3: Multiple System Folders - Doesn’t work as expected

Thank you for fixing the %SYSTEMFOLDER% expansion issue — it is now expanding correctly.

However, I believe there may have been a misunderstanding regarding multiple system folders. The current behavior expands %SYSTEMFOLDER% to include all configured system folders separated by ;, but this causes issues with emulators like MAME.

What is needed instead is for %SYSTEMFOLDER% to resolve dynamically to the specific system folder where the selected ROM is located, rather than a combined list of all folders.

Setup:
-rompath "%SYSTEMFOLDER%\bios;%SYSTEMFOLDER%" -skip_gameinfo

Current behavior:
Calling parameters: -rompath "D:\roms\mame;D:\roms\fbneo;D:\roms\cps1;D:\roms\cps2;D:\roms\cps3\bios;D:\roms\mame;D:\roms\fbneo;D:\roms\cps1;D:\roms\cps2;D:\roms\cps3" -skip_gameinfo "hsf2"

Emulator output:
Emulator error: dl-1425.bin NOT FOUND (tried in qsound_hle qsound hsf2)
Fatal error: Required files are missing, the machine cannot be run.

Expected behavior:
If launching hsf2.zip from the cps2 folder, it should resolve to:
-rompath "D:\roms\cps2;D:\roms\cps2\bios" "hsf2"

So %SYSTEMFOLDER% should match the folder of the selected ROM, rather than include every configured system folder.

I’ve also observed this issue with MS-DOS configurations, where adding multiple rom paths causes incorrect launching due to %SYSTEMFOLDER% resolving to all system folders instead of the one containing the game.

[drpetersonfernandes]

Regarding MAME: You can add as many ROM paths as you want. MAME will search for the ROMs in all the provided paths. Could you launch that specific game in MAME outside of Simple Launcher? Maybe there is a mismatch between your romset and the MAME version you are using.

[Maximus734]

Hi,

Yes — I can confirm the game launches correctly in MAME outside of Simple Launcher using the expected rompath:

via bat script
D:\emulators\Mame>"mame.exe" -rp "D:\roms\cps2;D:\roms\cps2\bios" "hsf2"

So the romset and MAME version are working correctly.

The issue seems to come from how %SYSTEMFOLDER% is being expanded in Simple Launcher. Right now it expands to all configured system folders, and when combined with \bios, it creates an incorrect structure.

For example:
%SYSTEMFOLDER%\bios;%SYSTEMFOLDER% becomes a mixed list where \bios is not correctly paired with each individual system folder.

What’s needed is for %SYSTEMFOLDER% to resolve to the specific folder of the selected ROM (e.g., cps2 for hsf2), so that the rompath becomes:

-rompath "D:\roms\cps2;D:\roms\cps2\bios"

instead of combining all folders together:

Current behavior:
Calling parameters: -rompath "D:\roms\mame;D:\roms\fbneo;D:\roms\cps1;D:\roms\cps2;D:\roms\cps3\bios;D:\roms\mame;D:\roms\fbneo;D:\roms\cps1;D:\roms\cps2;D:\roms\cps3" -skip_gameinfo "hsf2"

Additionally, %SYSTEMFOLDER%\bios is being applied incorrectly — for example, it results in paths like "D:\roms\cps3\bios", even when launching a CPS2 game (hsf2).

This is invalid, as the BIOS path should correspond to the same system folder as the selected ROM (in this case, cps2\bios).

This is why it works outside the launcher but fails inside it.

I’ve also noticed this affects other emulators that rely on a correct rompath (such as Dosbox-Staging), where combining multiple system folders prevents games from launching properly.

[drpetersonfernandes]

Hi Maximus734,

Thank you for the detailed report and for helping identify this issue. I've implemented a new placeholder that addresses the core problem you described.

New Placeholder: %ROMSYSTEMFOLDER%

A new %ROMSYSTEMFOLDER% placeholder is now available. Unlike %SYSTEMFOLDER% (which expands to all configured system folders joined by ;), %ROMSYSTEMFOLDER% resolves dynamically to the specific system folder where the selected ROM is located.

Example with MAME

Given this setup:

• System folders: D:\roms\mame, D:\roms\fbneo, D:\roms\cps1, D:\roms\cps2, D:\roms\cps3
• Launching hsf2.zip from the cps2 folder
• Parameters: -rompath "%ROMSYSTEMFOLDER%;%ROMSYSTEMFOLDER%\bios" -skip_gameinfo

Result:

-rompath "D:\roms\cps2;D:\roms\cps2\bios" -skip_gameinfo "hsf2"

The placeholder resolves to the folder that actually contains the ROM being launched, so \bios is correctly paired with the same system folder.

Example with DOSBox-Staging

Same principle applies. If your DOS games are spread across multiple system folders, %ROMSYSTEMFOLDER% will always point to the folder containing the game you're launching, ensuring the correct path is passed to the emulator.

How It Works Internally

The launcher determines which configured system folder contains the selected ROM file (by checking if the ROM path starts with each configured folder path), and uses that specific folder for the replacement. If no match is found, it falls back to the primary (first) system folder.

Existing Placeholders (unchanged)

Placeholder	Description
%BASEFOLDER%	The Simple Launcher application path
%SYSTEMFOLDER%	All configured system folders, joined by ;
%EMULATORFOLDER%	The emulator executable's directory
%ROM%	The full path to the selected ROM file
%ROMSYSTEMFOLDER%	NEW - The specific system folder containing the selected ROM

The %SYSTEMFOLDER% behavior remains unchanged to avoid breaking existing configurations. Use %ROMSYSTEMFOLDER% when you need the per-ROM dynamic resolution.

Please let me know if this works for your MAME, DOSBox-Staging, and other emulator setups.

[drpetersonfernandes]

I will try to release it today