This script is designed specifically for LaunchBox. For similar functionality (extracting compressed files temporarily before passing onto an emulator) using a different front-end and even different game types, try my 7zEmuPrepper.
Currently the way LaunchBox works, when "Extract ROM archives before running" is ticked, the archives are extracted and then LaunchBox tries to run the extracted files with the emulator. Unfortunately, if there are multiple files extracted, LaunchBox will look for and prioritise a .CUE file, which PCSX2 does not support. This will result in PCSX2 not functioning.
I compress all of my PlayStation 2 games (I have a full set so must do this to fit them on my disk) - which saves a lot of space, but means I have to use the "Extract ROM archives before running" option in LaunchBox. If you have a large set of compressed PlayStation 2 games matched to something like Redump as I do, you will notice some games use just a .ISO, whereas others use .BIN and .CUE. PCSX2 does not need a .CUE file to play the games, but removing all the .CUE files from each archive in a PlayStation 2 set would take forever, and would ruin the verification against Redump's PS2 database.
When put as the intermediary between LaunchBox and PCSX2, this script will find the PCSX2-friendly file which needs to be forwarded to the emulator, by first looking for a .ISO, and then if not found, looking for a .BIN
This PowerShell script has been converted into a .exe for usage. You can use the .exe provided here, but if you don't trust me (and why would you?) then I have also included "ps2exe.ps1", which is the tool I used that converts PowerShell scripts to .exe files. Using this, you can review the LB2PCSX2.ps1 code, and compile your own .exe file. If you open up a PowerShell window, navigate to the directory "ps2exe.ps1" and LB2PCSX2 are both in, and type ./ps2exe.ps1 ./LB2PCSX2.ps1 ./LB2PCSX2.exe -noconfig then your own .exe file will be compiled. See the Microsoft PS2EXE Download Page for more information on how to use this (it's super easy).
Once you have the .exe file ready, all that’s left to do is set up the command-line arguments in the "Edit Emulator" options in LaunchBox, which will link everything together. Firstly, select the new .exe you compiled (or downloaded, thanks for trusting me!) as the "Emulator Application Path". Then, this script needs the following as arguments in the "Default Command-Line Parameters" section:
- Path to folder where files are being extracted. (Usually
X:/Your/Path/To/LaunchBox/7-Zip/Temp) - Path to the PCSX2
.exe. (X:/Your/Path/To/PCSX2/pcsx2.exe) - Emulator arguments in triple-quotes. If you have multiple emulator arguments to pass, you need to surround these in ANOTHER pair of quotes. For example, for a single argument:
"""--no-gui"""and for a double argument:""""--no-gui""" """--fullscreen""""
Lastly, remove anything in LaunchBox's "AutoHotkey Script", as this can cause files to be left behind when exiting PCSX2.
Emulator Application Path: ..\..\..\Program Files (x86)\PCSX2\PCSX2Prepper.exe
Default Command-Line Parameters: "C:\Users\Joe\LaunchBox\7-Zip\Temp" "C:\Program Files (x86)\PCSX2\pcsx2.exe" """"--nogui""" """--fullscreen""""
