Main Procedure

 Below is information about the main procedure, its stages and any useful info.

 User Prompts and Update Messages

The Boot profile will determine what will happen during execution of the main process. Messages just display an update box requiring no user interaction. Prompts require user input - in the main process this is just confirming via OK. Prompt is useful to step through the process for any debugging (watching folders as you go). The different possible end experiences below:

Prompts/Updates

Update True

Update False

Prompt true

Prompt Box

Prompt box

Prompt false

Update Box

None

1. Check Quicklaunch Folder

If it exists or not. If settings indicate - will create one.

2. Unzip file specified in Game Profile to Quicklaunch folder

7-Zip Operation

What the user sees is dependent upon the User Prompt and Update settings in the boot profile. This will either be the 7-Zip Gui (showing a progress bar) or 'silent' operation (no communication of unzip progress at all). Combos below:

7-Zip Operation

Update True

Update False

Prompt true

Gui 7z

Gui 7z

Prompt false

Gui 7z

Silent 7z

 

3. Process any ECM or APE files

Useful for Playstation titles. Automatically checks for these and processes accordingly.

4. Load any per-game settings using Settings Script

If previously saved settings exist - load these. If not - loads default for emulator.

5. Launch any support apps

With additional command parameters if set.

6. Mount Image

If setting up for an emulator/system that doesn't use Daemon tools then you can skip this stage via the Boot Profile Settings.

EmVoy determines which file to mount within the quicklaunch folder via the Determine File procedure. Basically this iterates through all of the files in the quicklaunch folder, pulling out any files that end in the file extensions set in the Emulator Profile. In the Emulator extensions array, it will then set the final file to be mounted as the 'rightmost' extension.

For example, let's say you have the following in a quicklaunch folder:

pong.meh
pong.bin
pong.cue
pong.cdi

If your Emulator extension array is: mdf,cdi,iso,cue,gdi

Then the final file would be: pong.cue

If it was: mdf,cdi,iso,cue,meh

The final file would be: pong.meh

This essentially means that EmVoy doesn't have to know the filename of the unzipped files. It sets this via the extension.

This helps where you have mixed gamefile sets which may contain different file types for different games (for the same system). For e.g. One playstation game may contain .bin and .cue; whilst another may contain .mdf and .mds.

7. Start Emulator

Step 1

The final command line used to boot the emulator is constructed in several stages.

Firstly, a variable called launchfile2 is determined via the same procedure within mount image. It uses the extension array specified in the Emulator Profile (same one as for DT) to pick the file from the Quicklaunch folder to go into launchfile2.

You can then reference launchfile2 within any command line parameters entered into the Emulator Profile using the special format. See Emulator Command Lines for further info.

Step 2

Emvoy determines which cmd line parameters to use. If specified in the GameProfile, then this is used. or it will use the Full Boot cmd line or the Setup Mode cmd line, depending on which boot option chosen from main menu.

Step 3

Boots Emulator with final command line. Envoy then waits for the Emulator to close....

8. Unmount Image

from Daemon Tools

9. End Support Apps

All apps killed via TaskKill and tskill.

10. Save any Game Specific Settings via Settings Script.

 

11. Determine whether to keep or discard Quickalunch folder

Either automatic through the settings, or prompt user to choose. Within the prompt, you can also choose "Keep and continue keeping" or "delete and continue deleting." This means that on your full-boot profiles, you could select "ask" so that when the game is launched for the first time, the user will be prompted only once if they want to keep/discard Qlaunch folder (if they select one of the aforementioned options). This can be changed back at a later date via the Game Profile settings.

12. Either quit Emvoy or return to Admin Menu

Determined by Boot Profile.