Vista Game Explorer Editor  

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If you run VGEE Beta 2.10 - you should see that an update is available. If you're at home please run VGEE Beta 2.10 to test this feature. If you're at work - then you can get it from my website.

I've fixed a bug in VGEE Beta 2.10 - in relation to the last bug I fixed (forgot to update a section of code). - Don't attempt to add a new game in the old version.

I've also added support for changing the icon - I expect big thanks for that :)

I'm looking for people to test this and leave feedback. My ToDo list is now empty concerning VGEE - which means it's almost time to release the FINAL VERSION!!! Deadline for any further suggestions is this Thursday 11:59pm (give or take a few hours for time difference).

If anyone is online right now - please let me know (my website now has a form that you can use to email me). There's a few specific things I'd like you to try out (take a few mins at most).

Regards,

Ryan R

Ryan,

I'm getting the following error when I attempt to load game information:

System.OutOfMemoryException: List box contains too many items.

at System.Windows.Forms.ListBox.NativeAdd(Object item)

at System.Windows.Forms.ListBox.OnHandleCreated(EventArgs e)

at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmCreate(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.ListBox.WndProc(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

I have 67 visible items in my VGE (some hidden). It happened with 2.09 and now 2.11. I tried to uninstall a game to reduce the list, but the error still occurs.

btw, thanks for working on this, I was using the DirectX SDK for a little while and this is much faster.

Hey Ryan, great work on VGEE!

I was just wondering: I'd like to add a NEW entry to my Games Explorer. I run a lot of older games (like MAME or CPS3), and I'd like to add an entry for my emulators. I know I can drag and drop shortcuts to VGE, but it adds the ugly small icon and no information on the Emulator, so I'd like to make a full blown entry, kind of like it was a full "game" with boxart and all.

Is there a way to do so right now? if so, how? If not, could you add that? Thanks a lot for your work!

Justin - send me an email and I'll try and work through it with you - I have seen that happen on my PC before - but it seemed to fix itself when I tested it before release.

Lino - you can add ANY program to your VGE. You could even add a shortcut to VGEE in your VGE if you want. (If you do want to add VGEE in there - this is the BoxArt that I use for it - r/click the link and choose Save Target As).

That said - you need to find or create your own BoxArt for the extra programs you add. I also have added emulators to my VGE (such as Project64 & ePSXe) - but I haven't really looked into making any BoxArt for them.

May I suggest that someone create a new thread here called 'VGE BoxArt & Icon Sharing' where we can all share custom-made stuff - others around here are very good at it.

Ryan, how would you go about adding a complete new entry that points to, say, a standalone .exe like some of my Emulators are? When I go to VGEE, the option to Add New Game (the first one on the menu) is greyed out. Any ideas?

Ryan, how would you go about adding a complete new entry that points to, say, a standalone .exe like some of my Emulators are? When I go to VGEE, the option to Add New Game (the first one on the menu) is greyed out. Any ideas?

You have to type something before you can click the "Add New Game" button.

Strange - I got an email from NeoWin about Codemasterflex's post - but not about yours Lino.

He's right - you type in all the details - then click Add New Game

For troubleshooting or problems with the app - I suggest you email them to me. The details for emailing me are here.

Ryan,

I got the too many items in the listbox error sorted out; although I don't have an exact fix or cause. It must have been related to icon-only entries in the VGE because the error disappeared when I went into the registry and deleted the only entries your app hadn't "converted" for boxart use.

FYI

Strange - I got an email from NeoWin about Codemasterflex's post - but not about yours Lino.

He's right - you type in all the details - then click Add New Game

For troubleshooting or problems with the app - I suggest you email them to me. The details for emailing me are here.

Alright, I'll give that a go!

What's the latest version and a link from where to grab this. Also, I hate this app for all the greivances it cost me. Reding all my game info and covers. Also, I keep getting crashes

See the end of this message for details on invoking

just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************

System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not find file 'C:\Users\Badhaso\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\GameExplorer\GamesBoxArt\{72E6C4D9-D64A-451F-A83D-DD81B397D89C}.jpg'.

File name: 'C:\Users\Badhaso\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\GameExplorer\GamesBoxArt\{72E6C4D9-D64A-451F-A83D-DD81B397D89C}.jpg'

at Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem.CopyOrMoveFile(CopyOrMove operation, String sourceFileName, String destinationFileName, Boolean overwrite, UIOptionInternal showUI, UICancelOption onUserCancel)

at Microsoft.VisualBasic.MyServices.FileSystemProxy.CopyFile(String sourceFileName, String destinationFileName)

at Games_Explorer_Editor.frmMain.AddNewGameToolStripMenuItem_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in G:\Users\Ryan Richter\Visual Basic Projects\Visual Studio 2005\Projects\Vista Game Explorer Editor\Vista Game Explorer Editor\frmMain.vb:line 542

at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.RaiseEvent(Object key, EventArgs e)

at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem.OnClick(EventArgs e)

at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.HandleClick(EventArgs e)

at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.HandleMouseUp(MouseEventArgs e)

at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.FireEventInteractive(EventArgs e, ToolStripItemEventType met)

at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.FireEvent(EventArgs e, ToolStripItemEventType met)

at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mea)

at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)

at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip.WndProc(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.MenuStrip.WndProc(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)

at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

************** Loaded Assemblies **************

mscorlib

Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)

CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll

----------------------------------------

Vista Game Explorer Editor

Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0

CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/Badhaso/Saved%20Games/VGEEBeta2.08/VGEE%20Beta%202.08/Vista%20Game%20Explorer%20Editor.exe

----------------------------------------

Microsoft.VisualBasic

Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 8.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)

CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualBasic/8.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll

----------------------------------------

System

Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)

CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll

----------------------------------------

System.Windows.Forms

Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)

CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll

----------------------------------------

System.Drawing

Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)

CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll

----------------------------------------

System.Runtime.Remoting

Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)

CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Runtime.Remoting/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Runtime.Remoting.dll

----------------------------------------

System.Configuration

Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)

CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Configuration/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Configuration.dll

----------------------------------------

System.Xml

Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)

CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Xml/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Xml.dll

----------------------------------------

Interop.IWshRuntimeLibrary

Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0

Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0

CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/Badhaso/Saved%20Games/VGEEBeta2.08/VGEE%20Beta%202.08/Interop.IWshRuntimeLibrary.DLL

----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************

To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this

application or computer (machine.config) must have the

jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.

The application must also be compiled with debugging

enabled.

For example:

<configuration>

<system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />

</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception

I posted a warning on my site that you should first try the application on a Windows profile other than your main one.

The latest version is Beta 2.11a from http://ryzza007.googlepages.com/vgee

On there is a form that you can use to email me so that I can help you out.

If you have manually changed things incorrectly in the registry or folder structure that the VGE uses - then it is likely that VGEE will have problems.

I would suggest that you use the 'Repair VGE' function in the latest version (it's on the Load Game screen) and start everything afresh. Keep a folder full of BoxArt images that you use and store it somewhere so that you don't have to goto allgame.com everytime.

You are the first person to have received that error - so I look forward to being able to work with you to find the cause and see if I need to fix anything. Thanks again.

Edited by Ryan R

Thanks. I upgraded the app and i still get problem,\. I used the fix function and lost all my reg files and everything. I started from scratch and completed all of my icons. One problem...I can't click the Load Game Info Button:

My%20Games%20Explorer%20(7).jpg

256x256 icons (Vista icons) don't work right when you edit them for some reason. They successfully appear when you first drag and drop the shortcuts to the Game Explorer, but once you edit them they revert back to the original .exe icon. And before you ask why I don't use box art, it's because they're JPG which doesn't support transparency.

Can we get someone to build a Games Icon Library consisting of 300x300 icons edited from posters or original boxarts. Also, sometimes, all my covers revert to the template cover and all my links get screwed. Is there a fix for this?

some question:

I had 2.08, just updated to 2.10

after some recent deletion of Civilization 4 and its reinstalation (including Civ4 expansion which is showing one extra icon so total 2 of them) - I do not see expansion icon.

Before deletion and reinstalation was OK (I was changing just graphics but now it's not visible at all)

and a question, after "repair" everything will vanish - how to recreate that automatically (the original ones) without reinstalling game ?

  • 2 weeks later...
some question:

I had 2.08, just updated to 2.10

after some recent deletion of Civilization 4 and its reinstalation (including Civ4 expansion which is showing one extra icon so total 2 of them) - I do not see expansion icon.

Before deletion and reinstalation was OK (I was changing just graphics but now it's not visible at all)

and a question, after "repair" everything will vanish - how to recreate that automatically (the original ones) without reinstalling game ?

The last version so far is 2.11a - The next version will be a few weeks away.

The 'Repair' function is supposed to delete all the games. The process to add Vista-supported games is as follow:

Goto where you intalled the game

Drag the game's .exe file into the VGE.

Right/click the game's .exe file and choose SendTo-->Desktop (Create Shortcut)

Wait for VGE to create a new icon for the game and download the BoxArt. Once the BoxArt is downloaded - r/click the old icon and choose Remove.

To everyone - please ignore completly the Icon editing function of VGEE 2.11 - it doesn't work.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
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