TerryRed

Alright... DOFLinx: more info is here: http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=35852 and DDH69 is the guy who made it. Led-Wiz: a controller board that you use to turn on / off leds and other devices in a pinball or arcade cabinet Sainsmart USB: a relay board that you use to turn on / off higher powered devices like solenoids, motors, etc PACLED 64: similar to LED-Wiz, only its used for just lights with 64 outputs KL25Z: a great all in one controller for lights, buttons, inputs, accelerator,etc... A really great inexpensive all in one controller for pincabs. DOF: Direct Output Framework: software most commonly used for Visual Pinball to manage and control feedback and lighting in a pinball cabinet VB script: Visual Basic script: The scripting language used to program Visual Pinball and Future Pinball tables How's that....

Video plays fine for me and others so far.... it is in 1080p 60fps on Youtube, so that could be an issue if your PC doesn't like that in certain browsers. I know some browsers don't handle 60 fps videos too well. Most of my other videos are also in 1080p 60fps. As for acronyms... I'm in the military, and at work "acronym" is the official language we speak. I can only imagine what we must sound like to other people at times...

Here is a demo of the new program DOFLinx (formerly DOFFX2) by DDH69. I've been beta testing it for a while now. This program has many more features and now provides full true feedback for Future Pinball using DOF. This means support for all of the modern pinball cabinet toys, lighting and feedback for Led-Wiz, Sainsmart USB, PACLED64, and KL25Z. This is my first attempt at doing anything with VB script and adding feedback to a table. I modded Star Trek (Stern) Ultimate Edition by SLAMT1LT to include animated lighting effects and feedback. Here is a video demo of DOFLinx running on my cabinet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkjZit5dMWY

I actually have Pinball X load DOFLinx when PBX first loads, and then I have PBX msg DOFLinx to "quit" when PBX exits. I just find it easier to have PBX start up everything I need in a BAT file instead of having to deal with Windows startup issues with Win 10. Just always make sure all programs run as admin, and make sure all BAT files have a shorcut to run as admin as well. I have DOFLinx always running , and then I MSG a SUP config file for each system that I use for DOFLinx, when I launch a table. This allows for a different setup for each system.

I have DOFLinxMsg running in my Quicklaunch for "Launch Before", and I have the dmdext_delay.exe running with the normal "Launch Before". Quicklaunch has a bug that doesn't save everything that you enter using the gui (at least for me ), so I just enter everything in the config file manually, and it all works great.

I find I have to both run PFX2 as an "other system"... AND I also have to run an exe file (converted from an AHK) that will run dmdext, then delay the launching of PFX2, so dmdext will work. I also have DOFLinx running in quicklauch. Here is what I use in my AHK file: Run, "c:\zip\dmdext\dmdext.exe" mirror --source=pinballfx2 -q -d virtual --virtual-stay-on-top --virtual-hide-grip --virtual-position 2234 1528 1280,,Hide Process, wait, dmdext.exe Sleep, 5000 I have the above code complied into a "dmdext_delay.exe" in my normal "Launch before" for PFX2. Just make sure to try PFX2 as an "other system". Have the "dmdext_delay.exe" run as admin.

Is your "other system" for vp9 set to system type "custom" or "Visual Pinball"? Try setting it to custom. I myself would prefer for all of the "fixes" to have the option to be disabled, as its very frustrating to setup something in PBX, only to find that a workaround for another problem (that you don't need) is causing you issues. Future Pinball, for me, is the only system that uses built-in support. All others are "other system" and set to "custom". This eliminated a lot of problems I had.

I have a custom "other" system for VPX, PM5, and VP 9 tables. Then you can combine each of those into one menu using the "manage groups" in Game Manager.

I've had alot of people ask for my Future Pinball media for Pinball X from my cabinet PinKadia. Well I finally got it up on the GAMEEX FTP. Since I have to re-edit all of my Future Pinball tables to match my new middle screen bezel (which is 16x9 now), I'll be re-organizing my tables by physics,etc.. as well. I figured I'd upload my current media before that happens. The DMD / Marquee middle screen media was made specifically for my cabinet, and may not be good for anyone else...but its there if you want it. The backglass is a mix of images and videos. there may be some sizing / element changes from the original tables as they were also changed for my cabinet's layout. The playfield videos are normal and can be used by anyone. Most of them have the original audio in the video. I originally recorded all 3 screens at the same time to sync them all up for the nicer light show,etc... Here's a video that shows what they will look like (in my cabinet). I have media for almost 170 Future Pinball tables. They were all up to date tables for the most part. I have two folders. One for Future Pinball tables (with DMDs) and another for Future Pinball tables with No DMD. Hope they can be useful. Enjoy. They are located here: /-PinballX-/Other Uploads/TerryRed

Thanks guys. I know I've always liked it when someone would give lots of details and pics while they build their projects. I also like being able to have a record of how things progress for myself. It helps to answer alot of questions for others interested in doing their own project.

To top it all off: Well, I never really liked the way the strobes and beacon looked on top, just all plain looking. So I decided to make some sort of topper for them that would match the style of the rest of the cabinet. Nothing fancy...but I like it much better than the plain look... and the black & chrome really helps to isolate the strobes from the wall behind and makes their light much more concentrated and bright. Here's some pics:

For me, I got around most of this problem by setting up VPX in a custom system instead of a VP system in Pinball X. Now, only two of my db2s files won't load with full screen, but all the other work fine!

Well how about that... SLAMT1LT, better known for creating some of the best Future Pinball tables out there (original, recreation, modded, etc) has mentioned my pinball cabinet (saying "this is how his games should be played, etc...") on his website's main page, and linked one of my videos at the bottom where you see the featured videos. Link to his website is here. Keep in mind that the main page changes all the time, so you may not see "the mention" anymore depending on how long its been. Either way, it's worth checking his page out, as its where you will see the newest versions of his fantastic tables. http://speak1970.wixsite.com/slamspinballemporium

Visual Pinball Addressable LED Matrix Gameplay Videos! Well, after a few distractions: my middle screen dying, creating a new bezel, getting VPX running in exclusive fullscreen issues, etc.... They are finally here! I said a while back I would get around to showing some videos of VP gameplay and effects from addressable leds through DOF....so here they are! Unlike the rolling effects while browsing in Pinball X, these are different things that occur from various tiggers throughout gameplay. Explosions, looping effects, rocket trails, sparkles, symbols, shapes....all sorts of things. Please note: this was the best angle I could get that would still show all 3 sections of the addressable LEDS. The brightness of the LEDs can also be adjusted...so you don't need to worry about being blinded while playing! I apologize if I seem to repeat myself a few times....the damn power kept going out while I was recording, so I lost track of what I said in earlier videos. This first video shows Bride of Pinbot and Attack From Mars. Lots of different types of effects shown.... I continued to make other videos, even after the power goes out at the end of this video! This second video shows off some explosion effects, trail effects, and more. Tables shown are Medieval Madness, and Monster Bash. This third video shows some cool looping effects from The Getaway, as well as the neat effects in Star Trek and Circus Voltaire! This last video show ALOT more tables, and demonstrates how the various lighting toys in a pinball cabinet can be replicated by the back matrix! Also shows some other effects. Tables shown are NBA Fastbreak, Jurassic Park, Scared Stiff, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Transformers, Twilight Zone, and Star Wars. I hope these videos do justice in showing off the hard work from everyone involved in making these effects possible! If there is something specific you want to see, let me know and maybe I can put up more videos!

I still can't this sorted out.... I hope someone can chime in. This issue literally only happens with VPX tables in exclusive full screen. It's not that the B2S backglass is hidden behind either PBX or VPX.... its simply not getting loaded. Even if I enable B2S in PBX....it will load up the B2S files and display them in Pinball X....but they still won't load after launching a table. I don't understand why some will load fine and others won't. I tried setting them to EXE and STANDARD with no change.

Are you by chance running VPX in exclusive fullscreen mode instead of windowed fullscreen. I just started running VPX in exclusive fullscreen mode and have started getting this problem with about 50% of the VPX tables. Some b2S files load up fine...others don't. Yet if I run them in VPX directly, there's no problems. If I run VPX in windowed fullscreen its fine....but I need to run VPX in exclusive fullscreen to get smooth stutter-free performance.

After I finished my new middle "dual" screen and bezel setup, I wanted to setup just a few DMD screen media videos so I would have something that looked better than the squished images from my old setup.....and I wanted it for doing a video of gameplay for VP and the LED matrix. It also occurred to me that alot of people don't actually understand what my setup is really like and how the media and middle screen setup actually works. Also, alot of people think Future Pinball just plays looped videos from Pinball X for example, which it doesn't. I get alot of people asking me how I get the media for my middle screen, and how I got the "videos" from Future Pinball showing on FutureDMD (which it isn't), etc So while making a quick video to show the new bezel and flashers, I thought I would show how I make my media for my middle screen, also how I setup Future Pinball to work with that. So to answer a bunch of questions, here is a video demonstration of Part 1 of my NEW dual screen / Bezel setup, and media creation This one focuses on Visual Pinball: ...and Part 2 focuses on Pinball FX2 and how to setup Future Pinball for a "dual" middle screen: ....now with that out of the way.... on to getting some VP LED Matrix gameplay videos!.... unless something ELSE happens...

I use Pinnacle Game Profiler to map my xbox 360 gamepad controls to keys. There is an OVERRIDE feature that allows you to either block or override specific controls being sent to the game. This way it will only send a mapped keystroke instead of buttons and keystrokes at the same time, etc... sometimes, the OVERRIDE feature is necessary for some games to work at all (ie, XINPUT OVERRIDE) There's also XPadder, but I have never used it with TPA.

Disaster strikes.... a new look emerges! Dead middle screen: OK....so my middle "dual" screen which was a 5:4 monitor died on me (after 10 years of service). I now needed to get a new middle screen, and I had to re-build my bezel and speaker arrangement to accommodate it. I didn't want to bother with another 5:4 monitor, because they are all old now, and I wanted to have something that could easily be replaced in the future. I really wanted to keep the "dual" screen function and I didn't have anough room for both a real DMD and a small screen (of decent size) in the space I had. (and it would look silly with only a DMD in there with lots of unused space) I decided to go with a 19 inch 16:9 TV. It fit nicely and was the widest I could go....the colours were really nice....it was only $80 CDN new...and unlike the previous monitor which was a ---smurfette--- mount, this had a standard vesa mount. It also had 1:1 pixel mapping which made for a perfect crisp image. After a bit of work, I was able to get to get it mounted in a way that could easily be adjusted in the future if I had to replaced this one. I now had a little bit of space above and below the TV since this is a widescreen monitor. New Bezel, new function: For the bezel, I now had a wider screen space, but that also meant that my speakers would have to be mounted to the farthest sides of the backbox. My "dual" screens would be closer together, and the top half a little bit smaller. Since I had my RGB "flashers" inside my two speaker holes before and really liked how it worked, I wanted to still have that.... but I didn't like having 2 "flashers" within the same speaker hole. It would end up blending colours and not be distinctive enough. I wanted 4 separate "flashers". I figured, since my left and right speakers each have 2 smaller speakers...then why not have 4 speaker holes in the bezel! The RGB speaker holes! Below is a 2 inch PVC coupler fitting (I think). I got one for each speaker. I cut a notch out at the bottom and put in a strip of RGB LEDs all around then inside.... ....then I cut the bezel out of thin backboard, and hot-glued a RGB LED speaker spacer at each hole (after putting on carbon fibre vinyl wrap and automotive car trim in each hole). ....then I put speaker cloth on the back of each hole with an elastic band... ....and voila! Let there be discrete 4 RGB "flasher" lights! Each speaker hole is now the Outer Left, Left, Right, Outer Right RGB flasher (center flasher is backbox backlighting). You'll notice that the LED matrix below has 5 shapes. These are actually the equivalent of the 5 RGB flashers that is displayed for this table. (the shapes can be anything, I was just testing) Notice they are matching in colour with the speaker holes. Tables and media need to be re-done: You'll have to excuse the squished Visual Pinball logo. Since all of my Pinball X "dual middle screen" media (which is one single picture or video) was created with a 5:4 ratio, it now all has to be re-done to look proper with a 16:9 ratio. If Pinball X had a separate "default DMD video / picture" for each system, this would make my job much easier... Future Pinball: Future Pinball tables will all have to be re-edited again, to have all the elements (movie clips, scores, gadgets, etc) to fit the top of the middle screen. What you have seen in my Future Pinball videos in Pinball X for that section is not looping videos. Its all bits from actual gameplay within Future Pinball. Here are some picture examples of Future Pinball with the new bezel: At first, I thought the 4 holes looked a little weird, but after seeing the lights in use, I love it! The only thing I hate is the fact that I couldn't get the chrome trim to make a perfect circle. ....and it sounds better too!

It's actually either all one image, or all one video with a bezel that "splits" the two. When a pinball table is launched, that image / video remains and the DMD plays on top of the bottom half. The exception is Future Pinball. My backglass / translite extends beyond the second screen on to the top half of the third screen (This must be configured in the registry). You can see my previous monitor arrangement in windows here: The top half of the middle screen is elements of the backglass / translite (movie clips, extra menus, gadgets, scores,, etc) re-loacated to that top half, while the bottom half is FutureDMD. So what you see In Pinball X for Future Pinball for my cabinet is not just some looping video... its bits from actual gameplay that appear there. I'll have to put up a video sometime to show how it looks. If I had used a 16:9 screen to begin with for that middle screen, then my Pinball X media would fit no problem. Since all the images and video are 5:4, it won't stretch or fit correctly no matter what.

Yah, after looking at my online options as well as local options....I actually settled for a 19 inch widescreen TV. It was the biggest I could go with the space I had, and it was only $80, and the picture and colour is excellent. It has 1:1 pixel mapping and a great viewing angle which were my priorities. Any screen I would have purchased still required me to re-do my bezel no matter what.

AAAAAAH! Disaster has struck. My center "DMD" / Marquee / extra display" monitor has died on me. I can't complain, it was 10 years old after all.... However, that means I have to replace it with a new monitor / TV. The bad news, is: I have to figure out how to mount this new screen. Old one was a 5:4 monitor with no vesa mount at all, new one is a 16:9 TV. I have to make a new bezel to fit this new screen. I have to re-do all my media to fit the new bezel. New bezel will be a tad bit shorter on the 4th display Future Pinball tables all have to be re-edited to fit the new bezel's 4th display area. Good news: The screen quality and colours will look much nicer. (You guys can't tell how dim and faded it was looking by my pics or videos) I may re-do the speakers into 4 holes to better accommodate my RGB "flashers". I'll have a monitor that will be much easier to remove. I can hear you guys screaming.... "Dude, get a real DMD!" If I put a real DMD into the back of my cabinet, there would be ALOT of unused space left as I can't fit another screen and a DMD into there. It really would look odd, and I'd hate it. Also, I really like having that extra "display area". Especially for MAME and Future Pinball. Also, the cost of a DMD even with DIY would cost alot more than this new screen which was real cheap and looks great. Alot of work to do now....but once its installed I WILL show some gameplay footage of VP with the addressable LEDS and matrix, before re-doing all the other stuff.

Pinball FX2 and The Pinball Arcade (and other pinball games) now have DOF feedback for flipper solenoids (NOT slingshots or bumpers!), RGB lighting and more thanks to a new program called DOFFX2 made by DDH69. It basically maps keyboard keys to trigger Led-Wiz or Sainsmart outputs! It also has some other cool features like RGB lighting control, flipper solenoid timers, and more. Here are videos that demo both Pinball FX2 and The Pinball Arcade on my cabinet running with DOFFX2 (1.3 beta). I have the program set to be always on and active the whole time, and you can see it doesn't interfere with Pinball X running the DOF plug-in. Flipper buttons triggering my solenoids. Center RGB led strip "flasher" set to random flipper triggered RGB lighting. Flippers set to turn on a left flasher as green, and a right flasher as blue. I have the beacon, blower fan, and strobes set to go off during certain moments.... including an appearance from Scotty of Star trek! ...and other things too. It's a simple demo of the kind of thing that can be done so far... Here's a video demo of Pinball FX2: Here's a video demo of The Pinball Arcade: No more octo coupler circuits needed! This can be used for MAME, PC Games, etc... Here's a link to the program's thread: http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=35349 Now if only someone can figure out how to convert force feedback for gamepads into keyboard keys via software, to trigger the slingshots and bumpers....

While I certainly intended to get another video that showed off the addressable led matrix in action..... I got distracted by a couple of things. First...I updated to the newest VPX, and the newest UltraDMD. Then I realised that I had been missing out on a bunch of VPX tables that came out in the last few months! ....but then as I'm about to make a video, my eye caught a great new little program that's a little bit of a game changer.... Pinball FX2 and The Pinball Arcade now have DOF feedback for flipper solenoids (NOT slingshots or bumpers!), RGB lighting and more thanks to a new program called DOFFX2. It basically maps keyboard keys to trigger Led-Wiz or sainsmart outputs! It also has some other cool features like RGB lighting control, flipper solenoid timers, and more. Here are videos that demo both Pinball FX2 and The Pinball Arcade on my cabinet running with DOFFX2 (1.3 beta). I have the program set to be always on and active the whole time, and you can see it doesn't interfere with Pinball X running the DOF plug-in. I have the flipper buttons triggering my solenoids. I have the center RGB led strip "flasher" set to random flipper triggered RGB lighting. I have the flippers set to turn on a left flasher as green, and a right flasher as blue. I have the beacon, blower fan, and strobes set to go off during certain moments.... including an appearance from Scotty of Star trek! ...and other things too. It's a simple demo of the kind of thing that can be done so far... Here's a video demo of Pinball FX2: Here's a video demo of The Pinball Arcade: No more octo coupler circuits needed! This can be used for MAME, PC Games, etc... Here's a link to the program's thread: http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=35349

I did see those. However my DMD / Visual Pinball marquee display is not a still image. Its actually a video clip of the DMD and the marquee composited together that still plays when a table is launched. pinmame displays on top of that video after launching. This is also the case for PFX2 and TPA Its a different video for each table, and a lot of work to update change for all tables, so I decided early on, to use just one logo. That way when I get a VPX version of a table I don't have to go back and recreate videos for all those tables again.