Pocket Launcher

Unpack and run. Full changelog in the README inside the LHA (also on Aminet).

This release: v33.339 (2026-11-02, 1,204,217 bytes, with the translation catalogs). Already have it? It updates itself: Pocket Launcher → Check for updates...

Older releases: v33.338 (2026-11-01) · v33.337 (2026-10-30) · v33.336 (2026-10-23) · v33.335 (2026-10-11) · v33.327 (2026-10-06) · v33.326 (2026-10-04) · v33.325 (2026-10-03) · v33.324 (2026-10-03) · v33.323 (2026-09-07) · v33.310 (2026-08-16) · v33.288 (2026-08-09) · v33.286 (2026-07-31) · v33.285 (2026-07-30) · v33.284 (2026-07-21).

New in 33.339 — PCMCIA network cards and WHDLoad startup scripts

• Fixed: freeze with a PCMCIA network card when the network is started by a WHDLoad startup script (ExecuteStartup)
• System requesters: WHDLoad now runs with system requesters like when started from Workbench (games launched from the phone still run without them)
• Debug log: saved to disk before each game

Also new in 33.338 — sturdier on real hardware

Three fixes that came from your reports.

• No more “Runtime error” windows from disk errors: if the game list cannot be saved (disk full, write-protected or damaged) you get a message and the old list stays; a read error no longer stops the program
• PCMCIA network cards: on the A600/A1200 a network card in the slot no longer freezes games. Its interrupts are switched off while the game runs and restored after it; storage and memory cards are never touched. Tooltypes PCMCIA=KEEP (never touch the card) and PCMCIA=FORCE (also a card whose driver it does not know)
• Bonus on NTSC Amigas: the animation no longer stops on the first frame and Esc quits again. Bonus! → Download / repair surprises... gets the new one

And in 33.337 — native menus and a list that flies

Menus that look like the rest of your Workbench, and a list you can race through with the arrows without ever waiting for a cover.

Native menus — the same look as Workbench and Prefs: system font, pens and the Amiga-key glyph. Shortcuts work with either Amiga key.

Smooth arrows — hold an arrow to glide through the list; the cover loads once you stop. Shift+arrow pages, Alt+arrow goes to the top or the bottom.

In your language — the native menus are translated too (here German on Workbench 3.2).

• Native menus: GadTools “NewLook” menus with the system font, pens and Amiga-key glyph, like Workbench and Prefs (2.04, 3.x and MagicMenu). Every shortcut also works with the left Amiga key; new item Iconify (Amiga+W)
• Smooth arrows: hold an arrow and the list scrolls at a steady pace, one row at a time, and stops exactly where you let go. Shift+arrow pages, Alt+arrow jumps to the top or the bottom. The joystick moves the same way
• Faster covers: 68000 assembler for decoding and scaling, a cache for recently seen covers, and covers load only once you stop — a cover being read is dropped as soon as you move on
• Lotus 2 and friends: with Roadshow the network stack is shut down again before the game, as in 33.335 (tooltypes NETSTOP=INTERFACE / NETSTOP=FULL to choose)
• Smoother start: the network check and the cover index wait until you stop using the keyboard

Also new in 33.336 — the release you asked for

Every feature here came from users. Thank you for writing in.

Font sensitive — the window, the list, the menus and every gadget follow the screen font of Font prefs. If it would not fit your screen, topaz 8 is used.

Remembers its window — size and position are kept between sessions, on native and RTG screens.

Speaks your language — picked from your Locale prefs. Ten languages built into the program, nothing to install.

External catalogs — a .catalog in LOCALE:Catalogs/<language>/ wins over the built-in text. The .cd and .ct files are in the archive.

A proper $VER — C:Version PocketLauncher FULL shows the right date, also on OS 3.0 and 3.1.

• Font sensitive: topaz, helvetica, times, courier, XEN, XHelvetica… on PAL, NTSC, interlaced, SuperHiRes and RTG screens
• 10 languages: Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Português, Nederlands, Svenska, Dansk, Norsk and Suomi (locale.library, OS 2.1+). For other languages it uses your next preferred language, or English. Corrections by native speakers are welcome: edit the .ct and send it
• A proper $VER: C:Version PocketLauncher FULL says PocketLauncher 33.336 with the right date (OS 2.04 to 3.2)
• Remembers the window size and position between sessions — great on RTG. If the screen changes, the window is kept fully visible
• Sturdier: Remote Launcher copes better with Roadshow (with a single interface only the interface goes offline during the game; the whole stack is still shut down when RAM is tight), and search takes accented letters (über finds Über)

Also new in 33.335 — made for networked Amigas

With a PiStorm, a network card or a PCMCIA adapter, your Amiga is online. Pocket Launcher now makes the most of it — and stays rock solid when the network misbehaves.

Covers for your games — one click gets box art and gameplay shots for the games you have. Resumable, ESC stops it. Here on a PiStorm at 1366×768.

Remote Launcher — your WHDLoad collection on the phone, served by the Amiga itself over your LAN. Instant search, categories, favourites.

Tap Launch — the game starts on the Amiga. Box art comes straight from the internet to the phone, never through the Amiga.

• Remote Launcher that always comes back: after every game it reconnects by itself, also when Pocket Launcher is iconified
• Any TCP/IP stack: Roadshow, Miami, AmiTCP, Genesis. The network is stopped before a game and brought back after (plipbox and friends no longer go deaf); tooltype NETWORKDURINGGAMES=YES keeps it up if you prefer
• WHDLoad, every version: the slave's icon tooltypes are honoured and only the options your WHDLoad understands are passed
• Covers that never hang: downloads resume where they stopped, show progress and stop with ESC; long names work on plain FFS disks
• Online updater: signed updates with progress, one menu item away; now a single file to copy
• New Bonus! menu — and a few easter eggs for the curious :)
• Optional debug log you can send from the program if something goes wrong

Also new since 33.327

Remote Launcher — scan the QR and browse your whole collection on your phone or PC: instant search, box art and gameplay shots, tap to launch on the Amiga. Works offline once loaded and reconnects by itself.

From the couch — box, gameplay and title screens straight from the internet, never through the Amiga's network.

Ready-made covers — just the ones for your games, single packs or the whole set. Signed, resumable, checks free space, never touches covers of your own. Each image tells you if it is yours or downloaded.

Pick covers one by one — browse the list and grab only what you want, or press one key for the game you are on.

Knows your machine — tells you what your Amiga can handle and suggests LOW-RAM mode (no network at all, minimum memory) when it fits better.

Also on the desktop — same catalog in any browser on your network.

• Lighter and faster: about 1.5 MB less RAM used all the time (game data no longer copied to RAM:), ~0% CPU while idle, starts up to 3x faster on a 68000
• Safe on small machines: never crashes when memory runs out — it loads what fits and tells you; zero memory leaks
• Updates with progress and signed files; secure HTTPS built in (no AmiSSL), loaded only when needed and tuned for your CPU
• Runs on Kickstart 2.04/2.05 (A500+, A600) as well as 3.x
• Gameplay videos on the phone: about 1,500 games show a 10-second clip in the Remote Launcher detail, streamed from the internet to the phone
• Cover online: a game with no image tells you when the server has one, and one key (Amiga+E) fetches it

What it does

• No libraries needed: one binary, ROM libraries only — no MUI, no datatypes. Bare WB 2.04+, CD32, 1–4 MB machines
• Smart cataloging: reads the slave name and igame.data (title, genre, year, players, chipset), tells games from demos, up to 16 sources, incremental updates, keeps games on unplugged volumes
• Covers: native IFF (no datatypes), several images per game, TinyLauncher/iGame packs and .run packs recognised, fill or pixel-sharp scaling
• Find fast: type to search, filter by language, platform and type, favourites, remembered filters
• Resizable window or fullscreen, iconify with hotkeys, run at startup, built-in tooltype editor

Screenshots

Windowed on the Workbench

Filters — language, platform, type

Sources — folders and volumes

Tooltype editor

• The update check and the covers list carry a short line of anonymous stats (random install id, version, CPU, chipset, Kickstart/Workbench, RAM, screen mode, games count in hundreds, load times, and what it was doing if the last session crashed). No extra connection, nothing in LOW-RAM mode
• Never names, paths, game titles or files. Country is worked out from the IP on our server and the IP is not stored. Full list in the README
• Asked once before the first send; switch it off any time in Preferences → Send anonymous stats and crash info