Carny_Priest

Yes, there is a sequence with a table's attract mode and sometimes the attract mode has lighting behavior that corresponds to information shown on the DMD. A tool like PBXRecorder is designed to do simultaneous captures of multiple screens. It's an attractive solution. I'm not sure about PinballX's native support for media generation. I haven't tested it.

Use the -ss (seeking parameter) after -i As long as your recording, the input file, is reasonable length than -ss 10 -to 1000 is fine. The numbers are the number of seconds to seek ahead. So, if your ensure that the initial recording is, say, 90 seconds. Then -ss 10 -to 1000 will retain all frames in your initial recording after the first 10 seconds and will complete when it reaches the end of the recording if it ends before 1000 seconds. Why ten seconds? It's time allowed to get past power up, any test screens/version screens on the scoring display. You only retain the table's main attract sequence. I coded the original script before the app had native cab support including its own backglasses. I just used static images before. Now that there is native cab support and backglasses and if those backglasses are animated, the method I prefer would enable simultaneous recording of the playfield and backglass. The transcode step would use the same seeking parameters such that the resulting videos would show lighting in the attract mode synchronized between playfield and backglass. It's a nice effect in PinballX.

Don't know much about producing output specifically for realDMD but I don't think that you need to crop the input with ffmpeg. You can just scale it down to 128x32. Looks like a snippit of one of my scripts. I have a p2k style cabinet which is why I use the vflip filter. The vast majority of cabinet designs don't need vflip. That should simply that transcode instruction.

Nice find. I just use unicodes to make sure values in the Description field matches the IPDB (colons, mid point for PinBot, trademark symbol, etc.)

mp4 and f4v are pretty much the same type of container. As I understand it, you could just rename the extension without a transcode and it will run as long as the player supports f4v names. You are probably seeing smaller file sizes in your bat file because of default ffmpeg parameters in your ffmpeg instruction and not from anything inherent in the container type. That said, I don't know what the PinballX recordering functions are like or if it is possible to change the defaults. PBX Recorder is a project that gives you some more presets and the source code is available if you need further customization. Of course, it is the older solution and it is not built in or plugged in to the core PinballX program. It can record videos for basically any front-end where the metadata is structured like PinballX, and most front-ends are.

No cash to replace a TV at the moment. And kind of lusting after a 4K set anyway which costs more $. So, yeah, it might be a while. I recall that the app has added some virtual titles that are modernized updates to some old EMs. If you need the machine type overwritten in the game's settings.xml as well as the table name then this can be done in a streamlined way. You would want to have your table name and type (SS or EM) defined correctly in the system database file, presumably you would still call this Zaccaria Pinball.xml. Then you could match your table selection to the database file to pick up the proper type value. A good example of how to do that would be in the source for PBXrecorder_1.5Zaccaria.ahk which has code that is scanning for information in the database file. It's looking for any xml file with 'Zaccaria' contained within the file name. Later about line 980, it is using the Loop, Read command to read the entire xml file into memory. From there, the file is reading line by line for value of the game name and description tags to do some error handling for special unicode characters. It wouldn't take much to collect the type tag, conditionally code to zero or one as appropriate and overwrite the fields in the games settings.xml. Sorry, this is more a hint than a solution. I've got about as much time as money right now.

Sorry, I'm interested in getting Zaccaria working but my cab has been down for months because the playfield TV is broken, so I no longer have a way to test anything. The script was built on workarounds that Gigalula found. It involves overwriting the last table loaded tag in the games settings.xml with the table selected in the PinballX menu. At least for me this requires the compiled executable of the script to be set to run as administrator. The fix could be easy. Maybe the name of the file or the tag is simply different now reflecting updates made to the game since I published the script. Someone interested enough is free to delve into the code and publish a new script. If the game fundamentally changed how it loads the last game played or if the game now requires going through the main menu then it's not like I know an alternative. Again, there's no way for me to test anything. When I get my cab back up and running, I'll eventually get around to making it work if I can, but I'm also behind on every other bit of software. Don't bother with PMs. That doesn't get my cab back up and running any faster.

System enabled in PinballX configuration settings?

The compiled script will need to have read/write access to the Zaccaria settings.xml file in order to fool the application to automatically open the last table played. The script is just swapping out the last table played to the table that you want to launch. The executable must be enabled to run as administrator so that it can write to and save the settings file.

My opinion, I would not automate submissions to the FTP. If you are actually creating your own wheels and instruction cards or whatever, fine. It is easy enough to upload and share your work with the community on the FTP via Windows Explorer or any FTP client. If it is automated it is too easy to inadvertently upload someone else's hard work that you had no hand in producing. That behavior tends to be frowned upon.

I don't think so. But user can get B2S Designer, export the unilluminated image and brighten it up in Photoshop or GIMP, and import back in. Someone with OCD will want to get familiar with the software to get every aspect of a table tailored to their specific preferences.

That's fine, but does this have anything to do with OP's issue with recording Future Pinball? No? If you have your own issue then start a new thread.

Is there a modern table list in PinballX now? News to me. It's whatever you consider modern. I'm not aware of any consensus on what is a modern pinball. So, pick whatever you want. Some might say SS, others a real dot matrix display, still others anything after collapse of Williams/Bally, still others full video score display (Stern Spike II, Woz, i.e., today's stuff). The type tag in the xml holds SS or EM but I don't know that there are any built-in lists based on the type tag. Maybe there is but I disable the default filters in the Settings wizard so that I can manage clutter in the main menu.

In the settings wizard, disable file matching Then make sure the media/wheel image file name is identical to the value of the description tag in the xml/Game Manager. I don't use Game Manager. I'm fine editing the database directly with Notepad. But it would be easy enough to Copy + Paste the file name from Windows Explorer to the field in Game Manage or vice-versa.

I have not yet tried to use PinballX's integrated recording. I use an external Autohotkey script. It's a port of PBXRecorder that supports using OBS as the capture engine.

ffmpeg gdigrab does not support opengl. You will need to use another recorder option like OBS.

In Settings Wizard you can go to the Text screen and clear all the fields. Then it should say "Featuring 57". If for whatever reason, this isn't working then you can edit config.ini directly in Notepad or any other text editor.

Is this an integrated VP support thing? If so, disable it. Run PinballX as Windowed, Full Screen then configure VPX to run exclusive full screen. Problem solved. Integrated support copies over certain PinballX settings for use in VPX. It makes it easier to get beginners up-and-running, but after a while I think it gets in the way and creates problems as it is literally overwriting screenres.txt and registry keys. At some point to enable your customizations or other advanced features you must take the training wheels off and learn how the software functions. Often getting certain Stern S.A.M. system games running or enabling full colorizations on DMD requires directly editing the Windows registry. PinballX and VPX are two different programs. You do want to run VPX as exclusive, full screen. You don't need to run PinballX as exclusive, full screen, It is recommended that you don't. But even well prior to v2.91 I found that PinballX just operates more smoothly windowed.

Why do you need full screen exclusive? I've always run PinballX full screen windowed with no problems.

There's always a bit of customization that must be done if you have your own particular way of wanting to organize your tables, databases, and media. I use a custom AutoHotkey-based launcher with a single custom xml. I use something like the the alternateexe tag to indicate which executable should run. I don't use Game Manager. I'm fine with using Notepad to edit the xml. I'm not sure why you would want to share media files for the same table across different systems. If you have a VP9 and a VPX version of the same table would they not look different in appearance? I tend to just keep the latest and greatest and drop the older version of a table. But if you were to organize by system and you don't want multiple media folders (I agree that maintaining multiple folders across multiple systems would be tougher to do housekeeping), you would use symbolic links to a set of master folders that hold all of your VP media: wheel images, playfield videos, etc. If you are talking about flyers, instruction cards. Those already go into common folders.

What's wrong with using Custom system with VP system type?

If interest is just about the Arcooda tables then you don't have to buy Season 7 and I understand that the key will unlock cab support for standard versions of the tables. That knocks about $100 off the total and makes the pill a little less bitter to swallow. NoEx has definitely not said that he is retiring the FCM. He's holding out to see how the Arcooda upgrades perform. http://pinballarcadefans.com/showthread.php/10120-Discussion-thread-about-the-FreeCamera-Mod?p=272406&viewfull=1#post272406

Ugh, won't even ship until after the June 30 deadline. So shitty. caveat emptor

It's highly doubtful that the license owners would just turn their backs on the virtual pinball market (not just cabs but all of the console and mobile platforms) and leave good money sitting on the table. Probably somebody else in the pipeline with a new product. Looking at the Arcooda website, it appears that such features as Kinect support, touchscreens, and feedback/lighting are only for proprietary hardware included only in their cabinets. So, no support for DOF-based controllers. And no one is talking about integrated support for real DMD. So, for the money you get some sort of integrated cab support, some camera angles, some changes to physics, lighting, and shaders. There are some videos but no way to try before you buy to determine what exactly has been improved with graphics or gameplay. I don't have any skin in this game, so if I were to go in on this using Steam I'd have to buy all the DLC (assuming Pro versions) plus $149 (coming from the states, I see the prices quoted at Arcooda as US dollars). That's about $430. And hope that some future automatic TPA update doesn't inadvertently wipe out my investment. Or get the standalone and wait for physical media from Australia for $499. No future updates, no DOF, no real DMD. It would have to be a whole lot better than VPX for me to bite. Might be an easier decision if I were already heavily invested in TPA. Still a rotten situation to be compelled to rush for a deadline.