X-bEnCH - The Amiga Game Launcher (Whdload, exe, ..) and more official topic.

[Wachi]

sorry, I did not see that he had uploaded it to his folder on ftp ..
I'm getting old.
Thanks again

[Puggsy]

I'm having issues with xbench and my CD32 setup. It seems to me that xbench is ignoring all the options for whdload set in s:whdload.prefs
I set the SplashDelay to 0 in there so it doesn't show a splash, yet every game launched from xbench shows a splash. If I launch from shell, it does not show a splash. Quirtkey also not working.

I really want to love xbench but there's still so m,any little problems like these that get n the way. I wish it would run a bit smoother and one update a year is barely quenching our thirst for a proper launcher.

Oh I also never get a random tune played on the launcher. Seems to work under emulation but not on my machine, always plays the same tune on reboot.

[Dopefish]

I made a custom playlist for the launcher, if anyone would like to use some new tunes for it.
Just unzip it to the xbench/datas/ folder, and switch the playlist in the settings.

Xbench_Custom_Playlist.zip

Abyss1.mod
amegas_remix.mod
Anthrox9.mod
Bamiga_Sector_1_Quaram1.mod
Black_Monks1.mod
Blizzard1.mod
Company2.mod
gods17.mod
heatbeat-nintendo.mod
jerry-feed_it_back.mod
Lightforce1.mod
lotus2-title.mod
Paradox3.mod
pink-classic_tunes.mod
pink-kunitokys_theme.mod
Prodigy5.mod
random_voice_-_monday.mod
technix-back_in_64.mod
tempest-acidjazz_evening.mod

[ransom1122]

Once you select the new playlist, I see no change in the music? Am I doing something wrong?

[spudje]

Are you running the latest version? There was some bug in earlier versions always playing the same song from the playlist.

[ransom1122]

Yes... 1.1 Final Public Release

[digger1]

Hi, I am very new to the Amiga having by passed it back in the day. I am currently having issues with whdload and Xbench. I can start my games manually and all works well but when using Xbench and scrolling through the Launcher I get crashes which display a core dump of some sort with the EXC4 code. Configuration of the system is A500, Chip Mem Mod, ACA 500 plus, Gotek, I also have the latest Hyperion ROM and OS, I have tested with the previous workbench and get the same error. Any help with this would be appreciated.

[ransom1122]

Anyone know how to remove games off th last played list?

[Wachi]

There is something new about this launcher?

[Bren McGuire]

how in the hell are you supposed to use this thing? it's ultra buggy.

Tried to scan directories: says either there's nothing (lies, it's a retroplay whdload collection filled directory), or that "the path is not valid".

if i try to make my own list, the program GURUes indifenitly. I have to reinstall it and start over.

is this really how this is? it's total crap. how did anyone get it to run?

also someone mentioned same song being played constantly? I get that too. and i have 1.1 (I downloaded it today)

[Twiggy]

Yeah, works fine for me. Didn't have to do anything special to get it running either.

[Bren McGuire]

wouldnt it be great the creator of this would come here answer questions and actually update the program, its been years.

Originally Posted by twiggy

Yeah, works fine for me. Didn't have to do anything special to get it running either.

[JimNeray]

Hello Amiga fans.

As you may have noticed, it's been a long time since there has been a public x-bench update.

I have good news and bad news: The good news is that development is still in progress. It has been much slower in the last two years for many reasons but it has never totally stopped. Last year a first internal alpha of release 1.2 was diffused to registered users.

The bad news is that the second alpha version of this 1.2 release is in progress but is far from being finished. I was planning to finish this second alpha and release it to registered users before a fixed release can be diffused to public but it would still take some time.

Considering that the 1.2 alpha2 version I'm currently working on is globally quite stable and good, I'll try to finish it quickly enough to release it publicly these days. It won't include everything I thought I would include in this 1.2 version but it will allow everyone to have a much better version than the old 1.1. And all the not finished features will be for the next 1.3 release.

Thanks for your support.

@Bren McGuire : Do you use some kind of tuned workbench distribution ?

@All : x-b seems to have issues with ACA500Plus ... This is in he todo but will not be fixed for this incoming 1.2 release sadly ...

[Bren McGuire]

i figured out the problem with my scanning and it's really ridiculous, should be more explained: if you dont have the exact same dir, info, list and sort commands that come with the distribution,. all this process fails with those fake error messages. The very least you can do is expleain that these need to be in the xb: path and they need to be exactly the ones you distributed with the program.

still, absolutely any modification i do to the list files by hand, like correcting a title, make xbench guru. why the hell is this?

Originally Posted by JimNeray

@Bren McGuire : Do you use some kind of tuned workbench distribution ?

[IanS]

Originally Posted by Bren McGuire

i figured out the problem with my scanning and it's really ridiculous, should be more explained: if you dont have the exact same dir, info, list and sort commands that come with the distribution,. all this process fails with those fake error messages. The very least you can do is expleain that these need to be in the xb: path and they need to be exactly the ones you distributed with the program.

still, absolutely any modification i do to the list files by hand, like correcting a title, make xbench guru. why the hell is this?

Don't you think you're being overly aggressive? This is a piece of software, so it may well have some issues, it may also be user error... but ranting and raving is hardly likely to get you any help from the author. How much did you pay for the software? What kind of warranty does the author promise users? What exactly do you think you're entitled to?

[Storm]

I'm a registered user of X-Bench and it works great on my lower end Amigas. I highly recommend giving it a go, if you haven't already.

[Bren McGuire]

no i am not, i am trying to help with clearly bad documentation/setup problems.
this program has a lot of issues and if we dont report them how is the author going to know whats going on?

Originally Posted by IanS

Don't you think you're being overly aggressive? This is a piece of software, so it may well have some issues, it may also be user error... but ranting and raving is hardly likely to get you any help from the author. How much did you pay for the software? What kind of warranty does the author promise users? What exactly do you think you're entitled to?

[Wachi]

Waiting for version 1.2 alpha 2 to be able to test it, thanks for your effort. A greeting.

[Bren McGuire]

I have BetterWB, which replaces some commands. I didn't keep anything in C because I thought it was redundant. If I knew that these commands were necessary for the software to run, I would not have deleted them.
The problem is the software giving wrong errors when they are not present, like "empty list" or "path not found". It should say "these commands have not been found"or something. Make it more clear.

@Bren McGuire : Do you use some kind of tuned workbench distribution ?

Any ETA on this? It's been a while

Originally Posted by JimNeray

Considering that the 1.2 alpha2 version I'm currently working on is globally quite stable and good, I'll try to finish it quickly enough to release it publicly these days. It won't include everything I thought I would include in this 1.2 version but it will allow everyone to have a much better version than the old 1.1. And all the not finished features will be for the next 1.3 release.

[Cego]

I have installed XBench 1.1 on my A1200 with AmigaOS 3.1.4 and Vampire1200.
XBench will freeze after entering and exiting after 2 or 3 games.
Some Games wont start from XBench, while they're running fine when started from Workbench.
I have tried the red and green button options (CD32 pad), the behaviour is still the same.

Nonetheless it is a very sophisticated gamelauncher. Thanks for your hard work @jimneray !!!