[FRONTEND] Simplelauncher 4.9.0 13/01/2026

RetroAchievements Enhancements

• Emulator Auto-Configuration: Streamlined setup process with automatic configuration for retroarch
• UI Localization: Comprehensive localization support across all RetroAchievements interfaces
• Messaging: Enhanced error and success feedback for better user experience

Microsoft Store Game Scanning

• User Verification Window: New interface for confirming detected games

Error Handling & Robustness

• Win32Exception Handling: Improved support for application control policies
• PowerShell Restrictions: Better handling of execution policy limitations
• File Lock Management: User-friendly prompts for locked file scenarios
• Download Resilience: Enhanced retry mechanisms for download and extraction operations

Localization & UI Improvements

• Full Localization: Extended support across multiple windows:
  • GlobalStatsWindow
  • RetroAchievementsForAGameWindow
  • FavoritesWindow
  • FilterMenu
• Dynamic Resources: Refactored UI text to use dynamic resource binding
• Consistent Styling: Updated button styles in EasyModeWindow

Performance & Thread Safety

• Cancellation Tokens: Integrated across asynchronous operations for better responsiveness
• Thread Safety: Added explicit locks to critical sections (SettingsManager, search results)

Major Overhaul: Microsoft Windows Game Scanning & Enhanced Error Handling

Introduces a major overhaul of Microsoft Windows Game scanning, significantly enhancing error handling, and refining the user interface.

Key Changes

1. Game Scanning Refactoring & Expansion

The monolithic GameScannerService was broken down into modular, platform-specific classes:

• ScanSteamGames
• ScanEpicGames
• ScanGogGames
• ScanMicrosoftStoreGames
• ScanAmazonGames
• ScanBattleNetGames
• ScanHumbleGames
• ScanItchioGames
• ScanRockstarGames
• ScanUplayGames

This adds support for new platforms and improves existing scanning logic with:

• Better filtering
• DLC detection
• Executable identification
• Icon extraction heuristics

2. API-based Artwork Download

A new API integration (GameImageClient) was added to download game artwork for Microsoft Windows Games, with robust fallback mechanisms to local icon extraction if the API fails.

3. Enhanced Error Handling & Robustness

• Long path support: Implemented ? prefix for reliable file and directory operations across services
• Download and extraction error handling: Including retry logic, disk space checks, user cancellation management, and a new ShowExtractionFailedMessageBoxAsync for manual intervention
• Game launching error handling: Refined in GameLauncher, adding .URL validation, protocol checks, and a new ShowCustomMessageBox for detailed notifications
• UIPI exceptions: Gracefully handled in GamePadController with refined error logging

4. UI/UX Improvements

• Introduced a new global RetroAchievementsWindow for user profiles and unlocks
• Automated first-run game scanning for Microsoft Windows games
• Updated menu structures, replacing dynamic headers with static strings for consistency
• Added a new SupportOptionWindow for AI-based troubleshooting and developer contact

5. Binary & Dependency Updates

Updated various external tools:

• RetroGameCoverDownloader
• GameCoverScraper
• BatchConvertToCHD

6. Code Cleanup & Localization

• Cleaned up unused code
• Updated localization strings across all supported languages

 Simplelauncher 4.6.0 31.10.2025

Simplelauncher 4.5.0 11.10.2025

Simplelauncher 4.4.2 29.09.2025

Simplelauncher 4.4.1 20.09.2025

Bug Fixes

• Improvements to error handling, parameter validation, and user experience across the SimpleLauncher application.
• Fix the Supermodel emulator link.

Simplelauncher 4.4.0 18.09.2025

Simplelauncher 4.3.0 27.07.2025

Major Feature: Multi-Folder Support

• Multiple System Folders: The core logic has been refactored to allow each system to scan for games across multiple folders instead of just one.

UI & UX Enhancements

• Improved Button Styles: Game and system buttons now feature refined 3D styles with hover and press animations for a more dynamic user experience.

Stability Improvements

• Improved Mounting Logic: The on-the-fly mounting for ZIP and XISO files no longer uses fixed delays. It now uses a more robust polling mechanism that actively checks for successful mounts, improving reliability and reducing unnecessary waiting.

Tooling

• New Tool Integration: A new RomValidator tool has been added. This tool can compare user game files with No-Intro dat files.

Other Enhancements

• Emulator Updates: Documentation and help files have been updated with information for new emulators (Gopher64, Hades, VisualBoy Advance M, Retroarch SwanStation).
• Emulator Updates: Emulators from Easy Mode have been updated to the latest versions.
• MAME Database Update: The mame.dat file has been updated to MAME 0.278.
• History Database Update: The history.xml file has been updated to the latest version.

Core Feature Enhancements: On-the-Fly File Mounting

The most significant change is the introduction of on-the-fly file mounting, which allows users to launch games directly from compressed or disk image files without needing to manually extract them first.

Note: You need to install the Dokan from GitHub for ZIP and XISO file mounting.

• ISO & ZIP Mounting for RPCS3: The launcher can now mount .iso and .zip files for the PlayStation 3 emulator (RPCS3). It uses PowerShell for native ISO mounting and a new SimpleZipDrive.exe tool for ZIP files. After mounting, it automatically finds and launches the required EBOOT.BIN file.
• XISO Mounting for Cxbx-Reloaded: Support has been added to mount Xbox ISO (.xiso) files for the Cxbx-Reloaded emulator. This is handled by a new MountXisoFiles service that uses the xbox-iso-vfs.exe tool to create a virtual drive and launch the default.xbe file.
• XBLA ZIP Mounting: The system can now mount .zip files for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) games, searching for a specific nested file structure required to launch them.
• ScummVM ZIP Mounting: The system can now mount .zip files for ScummVM games and automatically launch the game.

Major Refactoring & Dependency Changes

The project's core dependencies and internal logic for handling files have been substantially overhauled to improve robustness and unify functionality.

• Unified Archive Handling: The application has migrated away from using multiple libraries and external executables for file extraction. It now primarily uses Squid-Box.SevenZipSharp and ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib, providing a more integrated and reliable way to handle .zip, .7z, and .rar files. The ExtractCompressedFile service was refactored to use these new libraries.
• Removal of Caching System: The CacheManager has been completely removed. The previous system of caching game lists for each system has been replaced with a more direct, on-demand file scanning approach. This simplifies the application's logic, eliminates the cache directory, and ensures the game list is always up to date.

Update Tools

• BatchConvertToCHD: Improved UI. Added the ability to check the integrity of CHD files and convert CSO files to CHD.
• BatchConvertToCompressedFile: Improved UI. Added the ability to verify the integrity of compressed files.
• BatchConvertIsoToXiso: Improved UI. Added the ability to verify the integrity of XISO files.
• BatchConvertToRvz: Improved UI. Added the ability to test the integrity of the RVZ files.

Bug Fixes and Other Enhancements

• Fixed Threading Issue: The PlayTimeWindow and FavoritesWindow have been refactored to handle file operations and UI updates more safely across different threads, preventing crashes and ensuring a smoother user experience.
• UI Consistency: The system selection screen now limits the maximum size of system thumbnails to 100 px to prevent oversized images from distorting the layout and to ensure a consistent look.

• Added a Sound Configuration feature allowing customizable notification sounds.
• Implemented a Debug Logger with a dedicated UI window for enhanced logging.
• Major overhaul and standardization of path resolution and handling, including support for placeholders %BASEFOLDER%, %SYSTEMFOLDER% and %EMULATORFOLDER%.
• Refactored Parameter Validation logic for clarity and robustness, particularly concerning paths.
• Improved Error Handling, Logging, and messaging across various components (GameLauncher, Services, Managers), replacing Debug.WriteLine with the new DebugLogger.
• Added Status Bar updates to show current actions (e.g., game launched).
• Introduced 3D button styles for navigation buttons.
• Updated Tray Icon messaging and functionality (including Debug Window access).
• Refactored Edit System Window logic and validation for better user feedback on paths.

Bug Fix Version

• Parameter Handling Overhaul (ParameterValidator.cs, GameLauncher.cs): Paths within parameters are converted to absolute paths.

• File Path Standardization (GameLauncher.cs, GameButtonFactory.cs, GameListFactory.cs): File paths used for launching games and creating UI elements are consistently resolved to absolute paths relative to the application directory, improving reliability.

• UI Enhancements (MainWindow.xaml): A new custom-styled GridSplitter has been added to the list view in the main window, allowing for better resizing of the game list and preview areas.

• Improved Window Closing (DownloadImagePackWindow.xaml.cs, EasyModeWindow.xaml.cs): Added logic to the CloseWindowRoutine in DownloadImagePackWindow and EasyModeWindow to stop any ongoing operations (like downloads) before the window closes, preventing potential errors.

• Configuration Change (SystemManager.cs): The default value for ReceiveANotificationOnEmulatorError in system configurations has been changed from false to true, meaning users will now receive error notifications by default.