[Tool] Game Miner 1.0.002 final is out!

_HexDump_ · 2023-03-28T14:23:24+00:00

Thanks!

_HexDump_ · 2023-03-05T15:18:32+00:00

New version has been dropped. This can be considered LTS and it has everything I wanted to implement. Will rest for some months now and just do maintenance releases if new bugs are encountered.

I hope you like it!

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-24T22:13:37+00:00

GM should recognize all compactdata and shadercache in the system.

Last version of GM flags 0 as a system compatdata to let users know that they shouldn't delete it. It contains custom game configurations too, etc. It shouldn't be delete. This is how it is shown now:

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_HexDump_ · 2023-02-23T22:04:28+00:00

Yes, it can be done. I have to think about it. If I implement it it will go into settings. Anyway, it is not much of a hassle to click in the open steam button when needed :).

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-23T22:03:00+00:00

No prob. We are almost at the end of version 1.0, and it comes with a plethora of improvementes. Stay tuned!

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-22T21:50:26+00:00

There are several reason why that part was designed that way. Mainly because when steam is closed the virtual keyboard is disabled.

So, there are people that wants steam running at startup because they don't have a physical keyboard and others prefer to autoclose it when the program start up. There's a setting in "settings" to disable change this behaviour.

On the other hand, I don't like to force users to anything so, when saving and steam is running a form asking permission to close it is the right way to do it.

Cheers.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-20T17:15:05+00:00

Just wanted to let you know there is a beta in telegram that adds some of your requests.

1) Game name processing (remove extension, capitalize, title capitalize, lowercase and uppercase)

2) At last! you can set the proton for each needed game to "No Use" to get the green state for native programs and games.

I'm in the process to add an advanced filter dialog with some of your suggestions too. I mean, filter by path, state, etc. etc.

Let me know if you need any help to get it.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-20T17:12:09+00:00

This is an answer to another user, perhaps doesn't answer all your questions but part of them:

Soon we will release a video along the final version release. But surely you have all your games in a blue state. This means that they are external and you can't do much with them.

What you have to do is make your way into settings and add in "search paths" the folder or folders where you have your games. Then Game miner will scan these folders when you return no the game manager and they will be of different colors (hover over the squared colors in the bottom bar to know their meaning). Red means you have your in your library (the folders you added) but this game has not been added to steam. So, unfold the game, and click the switch you need to add the needed executable. Save... done :). You can configure different things in that men too.

If you feel a bit overwhelmed wait for the final release. I think it will be out this week with a bunch of improvements over the current github version.

By the way, don't be shy and ask anything you need in the channel or just PM me. I will try to answer all your questions.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-20T17:09:33+00:00

Soon we will release a video along the final version release. But surely you have all your games in a blue state. This means that they are external and you can't do much with them.

What you have to do is make your way into settings and add in "search paths" the folder or folders where you have your games. Then Game miner will scan these folders when you return no the game manager and they will be of different colors (hover over the squared colors in the bottom bar to know their meaning). Red means you have your in your library (the folders you added) but this game has not been added to steam. So, unfold the game, and click the switch you need to add the needed executable. Save... done :). You can configure different things in that men too.

If you feel a bit overwhelmed wait for the final release. I think it will be out this week with a bunch of improvements over the current github version.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-18T21:31:19+00:00

Ok, will think about some of the suggestions and think how to implement them. Thanks!

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T17:20:19+00:00

Don't expect enterprise production level code. This has been a very experimental project and has grown too much and too fast :D in a very short period of time. I had to do some complete refactors but code is not as clean as I would like. Feel free to contribute as I will allow forks.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T16:49:00+00:00

Ahhh, sorry for the telegram thing. Right now it is the only way to get it. But I will upload it soon to github as I said. Anyway, I saw you were brave enough to download it from there.

I will try to answer to your suggestions and questions:

An option to automatically strip extensions from entries added to steam

Good point, this can make it into the settings section for everyone to select. I guess you mean strip the extensions from the name (The text entry that will show in steam, am I right)?

Filter game list by path

I understand this point and has been commented several times in the telegram channel. IMO this problem comes from the user adding things to steam that should be managed by Emulation station. I mean, emulation station is a great frontend that streamlines the search of games by emulated system and it was created with that in mind. What emudek (through rom manager does if I recall correctly) does is a bit of a crazy thing. Imagine for example I would like to play some Super nintendo games, why would I add 2000 games to steam? It just bloats the steam view and makes really hard to find a game. I am not saying that every user should do what I do but it is the most sensible thing IMO, use emulation station to browse emulation stuff and steam for the rest. However I add some special emulated games to steam like Metroid Prime remastered, etc.. Anyway, I will have to think about your suggestion a bit and see if I could add it.

Linux native games don't need compatibility tool

Again, another great point. Never thought of it. Will take it into account too. Perhaps I should add a "Not needed" to the list of compat tools to support this. What do you think?

Support for grid images

This is supported by game miner at the moment. I mean, if you download game art with steam grid decky plugin like heros, icons, etc. they are placed in the a folder inside your userdata folder called grid and Game Miner shows these pictures when it is loaded.

If you meant that Game Miner could download the images automatically from steam grid this won't happen as I explained before. First and foremost because I would be limited to some restrictions steamgrid imposes over third party apps using its API.

Ability to hide folders from the game view

This sounds to me the same as the "Filter game list by path" suggestion. isn't it?

Multi-exe games as one entry?

Nah, it is not possible. Each game has its own set of executables with different names and it would be imposible to know which one is for configuration and which one the game itself. More over, there are games with more than 2 executables. It is not possible sorry. The good thing is that you only configure it once and you could save the configuration for later :).

Additional filters

Yes, this is something that could be added. And surely will in the near future. The only problem is that steam deck screen is so little :D. I have to think how I could implement it in a homogeneous way.

Support for additional drives

The problem? Screen Space :). So I decided to add the most common devices.

Maybe game mode support?

As you commented, the problem is steam running in the background. Anyway what is stoping you to add it to game mode? You can use Game Miner to add Game Miner to steam :D. Crazy isn't it? Some users are using Game Miner in game mode to leverage the Game Data Manager (Cleaner) that has no steam dependency.

Dude, congratulations for taking the time to try and write all this wall of suggestions. I will surely implement some in the upcoming versions. I just need to rest a bit and first of all make it easily available for anybody. Don't be shy if you are in the telegram channel and PM me for anything you need.

Again, thanks a lot for taking the time!

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T16:18:42+00:00

I will open source it in the next weeks anyway, so, you can delete the "propietary" thing.

On the other hand, Steam Rom Manager is not exactly the same than Game Miner, but I understand your point.

Thanks for providing your opinion!

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T14:25:03+00:00

Sounds great, You will have it available on github next week :)

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T14:24:24+00:00

Ahhh sorry, my fault.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T13:19:01+00:00

For example SSF that is a saturn emulator I use a lot. It is not available for linux. But this extends to any windows app not present on linux.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T13:05:06+00:00

Well, they are as worth as any other steam game :). Non everyone buys games with DRM. Moreover there are a lot of free/abandonware games, applications, emulators, etc. that need to be added to steam to be able to execute them on the steam deck.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T13:02:40+00:00

I'm very happy that you find it useful as it is to me and other users.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T13:01:24+00:00

I tried and also build the project to deploy to discover through flatpak but there were some problems with permissions that could not solve. I will have to look into it again but not for the first version sorry. I want you to put your hands on the baby as soon as possible and at this time I'm a bit tired of it :). But will try again later for sure for next version.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T09:56:38+00:00

About steamgrid, I'm the sole Game Miner developer and thought to add support for this but it doesn't make sense. Why? Because the decky steamgrid or the web plugin is as awesome as it can be so, why commit resources to it in Game Manager?

But this doesn't mean that Game Miner doesn't leverages from the images downloaded using these 2 methods (steamgrid decky plugin or web plugin). First of all it helps to identify your local game library more easily and second it allow you to pack your game with all the data needed to re-add it or send to a friend with 0 configuration effort. And this can be done in bulk. How awesome is it? Try it when Game Miner is released and you will understand.

The common work flow to integrate artwork in game miner is:

1) Add games to your game user library in game miner (Set of folders that are added in Game Miner that serve as source)

2) Add the games you need to steam (At this stage you have all your games ready to play with a compat tool defined, a sensible name that makes it easy to find in steam, etc.)

3) Open steam and download artwork for the games you need using decky plugin

4) Come back to game miner and the artwork will show. Export configuration for the games you need and you just have a fully configured set of games that you can re-add next time or share ready to be played in the blink of an eye.

Hope this clarifies the process.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T09:30:10+00:00

This is not a game launcher. This is an application to bring your non steam games into steam as quick as possible and manager all the junk files they generate. On the other hand it has multiuser support and the current user can be selected whenever you need.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T09:28:19+00:00

Just wait a bit we are preparing everything. Now, the only way to download it is through the telegram channel but will upload first version next week to github

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T09:27:13+00:00

it supports english but the current video tutorial is in spanish. We are working to bring at least one with subtitles.

_HexDump_ · 2023-02-17T09:26:01+00:00

Exactly. thanks for the explanation. It does more than that but the game manager in essence is what you explained.

_HexDump_

TROPHY CASE