1. Starting
  1.1 On Linux/UNIX/Mac
  1.2 On MS Windows
  1.3 On other OS

2. First Steps
  2.1 Sample Database
  2.2 Install Database

3. Using jGameBase
  3.1 Games and Music
  3.2 Panel
  3.3 Playing Games
  3.4 Playing Music
  3.5 Running Extras

jGameBase Manual

1. Starting jGameBase

1.1 On Linux™/UNIX™ or Apple Macintosh™

On Linux™/UNIX™ or Apple Macintosh™ simply start the "jgamebase.sh".

1.2 On Microsoft Windows™

On MS Windows™ simply start the "jgamebase.bat".

There is a native frontend GameBase (without "j") for MS Windows™ - perhaps you want to try it.

1.3 On other operating systems

On other operating systems you have to start jGameBase by calling Java directly via
"java -jar jgamebase.jar".

2. First Steps

2.1 Sample Database

jGameBase includes a small demo database of C64 classics "C64lite" containing screenshots (from GameBase64) and music files (from High Voltage SID Collection).
For copyright reasons there are no games or extra files (game reviews, etc.) included.

2.2 Installing a Database

1. Download a game database e.g. GameBase64 or GameBase Amiga (there is a list of jGameBase projects on the GameBase64 Forum).
   
   
2. Extract the files to a subdirectory in the database directory. On Linux this is "~/.jgamebase", on MS Windows it is the jGameBase directory. During application start jGameBase prints the location of the database directory to the console and to the log file.
   
   Unfortunately some databases are only available as MS Windows installer; you can try to extract them using WINE.
   
   
3. Download additional files (screenshots, music, etc.). If possible put them in the default directories "Games", "Screenshots", "Extras", "Music", and "Photos".
   
   
4. Start jGameBase (not imported Access databases will be automatically discovered).
   
   
5. If necessary configure the paths to the downloaded files (Menu "Tools → Paths...").
   Files in the directories "Games", "Screenshots", "Extras", "Music", and "Photos" will be found without specifying a path.
   
   
   
   
   

   Double click	Edit
   	New
   	Remove
   	Up in search order
   	Down in search order

   
   
   
   
6. Now it is necessary to update the status of the files by verifying that the files can be found. This search is done case independent and files with wrong case will be corrected automatically. (Menu "Tools → Verify Available Files...").
   
   Select the type of files you want to check and click "Start"
   
   
   To know what files you are missing check the file "VerifyAvailableFiles.log" and the missing files lists (*.mfl) that were created in the database directory.
   
   
7. Configure the emulators (Menu "Emulators").
   
   
   
   
   
   

   Double click	Edit
   	New
   	Remove
   	Up in search order
   	Down in search order

   
   
   
   
   

   Emulator name	The name displayed for this emulator
   Supported extensions	A list of file extensions this emulator can handle, separated by semicolons. The use of "*" as wildcard is discouraged, because this emulator would be called for all files.
   Command to execute	The command to start the emulator. If no path is given the file is expected to be in the current databases script directory "Scripts".
   Configuration file	The configuration file for this emulator. The emulator command (s. above) can modify this file prior to starting the emulator.

   
   

3. Using jGameBase

3.1 Identifying Games and Music

Although it's name suggests that only games are supported, jGameBase also supports music. Due to the fact that many computer emulated music belongs to games but many does not (e.g. demo or intro music), jGameBase manages items in two main tables. Firstly there is a Games table, where all games and their respective info is stored (including the information which game and music files belong to this game). Secondly there is a Music table, where all pieces of music that do not belong to a game are stored.

In jGameBase you can view items from the Games and Music tables separately or together in the same list. Items in the list are identified by their icon:

	The item is a Game, and it has a game and a music file attached.
	The item is a Game, and it has only a game file attached.
	The item is a Game, and it has only a music file attached.
	The item is a piece of Music.
no icon	The item is a Game, neither a game file nor a music file is attached.

When you click on a Game item, the game's info will appear under the list of items in a tabbed display and any pictures will appear to the right of the list.

When you click on a Music item, the music's info will appear under the list of items and the music author's photo (if one exists) will appear to the right of the list.

3.2 The Panel

"..." button	View and Quickfilter Menu. Here you can modify views and set filters.
"View" list	Selection list of available Views.
"?" button	Select a random item.
"Play Game" button	Play the selected game.
"Play" button	Play the selected piece of music.
"Stop" button	Stop the currently playing music.
"Extras" button	Open extras for the selected game.
Folder button	Open the folder for additional extras for the selected game.

3.3 Playing Games

To play a game with the default emulator, left-click the "Play Game" button in the main jGameBase window. Right-clicking this button displays a list of available game emulators for you to choose from.

3.4 Playing Music

To play a piece of music with the default music player, left-click the "‣" button in the main jGameBase window. Right-clicking this button displays a list of available music players for you to choose from.

3.5 Running Extras

If there are Extras set up for the currently selected game, you can run them by clicking the "Extras" button in the main jGameBase window and selecting the desired Extra from the list.

 

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Page last updated: 15. November 2022.