scutters

I may have misunderstood.. Is the B2S running when VPX is launched from pinballx but hidden behind the pinballx black backglass screen, or is it not launching at all?

Check @Outhere's post for that B2S Server https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=41903#entry424768 The key bit is in the middle "In the table folder you will find this file B2STableSettings.xml Make a backup of the file 1st Add this to the bottom of the top section in the File - <FormToFront>1</FormToFront> and it will become part of the default"

@Slashbot Out of interest what are your VPX graphic settings, are you running exclusive full screen?

I've created a simple WMP skin for use with this plugin to display track information - scrolling artist, track & album information in a more backglass friendly way than the WMP default skin. It is text only with no video or visualisation area so that is all it will display regardless of whether playing a video or music file, although video/visualisation can be made visible by selecting Full Screen in the plugin (which in turn will hide the track information bar of the skin). Example; I'll add the download zip to the first post. To install you'll need to unzip the 'WMP Backglass Skin.zip' file and then install the Digirtu_.ttf font file (used by the skin) - double click that and then click install. Next step is to install the WMP skin by double clicking the Backglass LED.wmz file, that should bring up a View Now option which will open WMP and allow you to position the track info bar on screen by dragging it to position. Close WMP and then select to use a visible player in the plugin via plugin manager. Depending on how you have the plugin configured the track information should be visible on top of the backglass video either when you next start pinballx, or when it enters attract mode. I'm open to suggestions on tweaks to the skin if you have any.. splitting track, band, album details out to separate boxes, different font etc. EDIT 16/06/2019 This version of the WMP skin is now superseded by new version https://www.gameex.info/forums/topic/22325-plugin-pinballx-media-player/?do=findComment&comment=187384, i'll remove from the 1st post and attach it here instead so still it's available if for some reason you prefer it to the new one! WMP Backglass Skin.zip

Ok, but.. Are the videos recorded on your machine or downloaded media, and what is their native resolution (your backglass would appear to be HD 1080*1920 from the ini) ? Also, when you tried different formats did you remove the older format file first (i.e. if you copied the files directly you could have the same filename with two different format extensions in the media\..\backglass videos\ folder in which case i don't know which pinballx would pick up)? Post one of your videos and i'll try it Make sure you update to pinballx v3.42 too. Edit - Afterthought, but please also try swapping a backglass and a playfield video over in pinballx\nadia\systemname\table videos & backglass videos. Does the backglass video work ok as a playfield video resolution wise, but the playfield video now look washed out on the backglass?

So I received a virtuapin digital plunger kit V3 as a gift, time to move away from using magna save buttons for nudging!. Here's a quick reference of how i configured the software for nudges & tilts with visual pinball 10 (VPX), as i struggled to find information on a lot of this. I don't cover the installation or much to do with the plunger setup as the document you receive with the kit pretty much covers that off. The goal for me was to get nudging working without having to bash the table and to tilt easily if it was hit hard. Note, in my setup i have 4 exciters fitted to the cabinet but no sub woofer and i also tend to play SS rather than EM tables, different setups may need drastically different final settings (especially if you're using DOF). There's probably other ways to do the setup, but this way worked for me. Step 1 Install & Plunger Install the virtuapin digital plunger kit V3 and controller software (https://www.virtuapincontroller.com/), and configure following instructions detailed in pdf https://virtuapin.net/docs/Manuals/Plunger Kit Guide v3.1.pdf Note a couple of things in the pdf; ⦁ Screenshot is VP9 not VPX for button setup, so nudge gains are set higher. ⦁ Screenshot has incorrect Right Magna save button mapped, shown as 5 when it should be 3 ⦁ Document doesn't tell you that if you push the plunger it can as act as a button (16) so can also be used to launch a ball on tables which use a launch button (so you don't need to have a dedicated launch button as well as the plunger). Also note that you may need to edit individual VPX table plunger settings as recommended in the pdf. Step 2 LED Nudge Threshold Open VirtuaPin controller sofware , change to the Controller Settings View and lower the LED Nudge Threshold to 0. Open a table in visual pinball editor (AC/DC is a good one for this test). Select Table -> Sound Manager, scroll down to the flipper sounds and click play whilst viewing the controller board, the LED will probably be lit or will light when you click play. Raise the LED Nudge Threshold value until the LED does not light when the flipper sound is played. If the table you selected has 'loud' bumpers try the bumper sounds too, probably raising the LED NudgeThreshold further. For bumpers i raised the value until i got an occasional blink of the LED when the sound was played repeatedly, whilst flipper sounds did not light the LED, which i think is about right. I could still tap the table fairly lightly after the adjustment to simulate a 'soft' nudge and have it registered by the LED. If you cannot see the boards LED indicator then you can alternatively monitor the Tilt X and Tilt Y values in the controller software to give an idea of the numbers to use. Step 3 Nudge Threshold When happy with the LED Threshold set the Nudge Threshold to match the LED Threshold in the controller software. This will stop a lot of noise being sent from the accelerometer on the board to Visual Pinball as false nudges. Step 4 Visual Pinball Visual Nudge To avoid a visible 'shake' on the screen when using anolgue nudging go into Visual Pinball -> Preferences -> Video / Graphic Options and set Visual Nudge Strength to 0. This is optional, if you decide to leave this on then it may assist with some of the steps that follow and you can always disable it later. Step 5 Visual Pinball Core.vbs I dabbled for some time trying to get the same settings to work across different tables but some seemed really hard to tilt. The reason for that is in the table scripts with vpmNudge.Sensitivity explicitly being set, others using a default value of 5 (can be 0-10 with 10 most senstive). Rather than test and update individual table scripts i wanted to set a global value (to an easy tilt setting) which luckily can be done in Visual Pinball\Scripts\Core.vbs... Open core.vbs in notepad and look for this line; Public Property Let Sensitivity(aSens) : mSensitivity = (10-aSens)+1 : End property Comment that line and replace like; 'Public Property Let Sensitivity(aSens) : mSensitivity = (10-aSens)+1 : End property Public Property Let Sensitivity(aSens) : mSensitivity = 1 : End property Note - I use mSensitivity = 1 which is the most sensitive value in this script (unlike in the table script where 1 would be insensitive), this change will force all tables to use the same sensitive tilt setting. Also note if you change core.vbs you'll need to remember to update this again if it's updated as part of future visual pinball releases. Step 6 Visual Pinball Nudge Settings So now all tables should have the same scripted sensitivity and virtuapin should be filtering out background vibrations. Go to Visual Pinball key preferences, default values are; First thing to do here if not done already is check Enable Nudge Filter, Enable Analog Nudge & Tilit Sensitivity Then start a Visual Pinball table, trap the ball on a flipper and try nudging the table. You should see an effect. Raise the X-Gain and Y-Gain values to increase the sensitivity of the nudge as required. I.e how hard you want to tap the cabinet for the table to register a nudge. Note - close and re-open visual pinball after making changes to any of the nudge settings in order for them to take effect, otherwise you'll still be testing the old settings. A side effect of increasing the Gain values does mean that although nudging is easier, that the affect on the ball is also greater - nudging the ball further. When happy with the impact required to register a nudge you then adjust the X & Y Max values, reducing them to limit the maximum affect on a ball nudging will have. Dead Zone - leave this seting at 0. Changing it would only duplicate the controllers nudge threshold settings we've already done, but without having an LED to assist us in tuning the setting. Nudging should now be setup Step 7 Visual Pinball Tilt Settings The final step is Tilting. As we have set a global sensitivity for all tables in core.vbs all we have to do now is set the Tilt Sensitivity in Visual Pinball Key Prefs, start with a value around 900 and run a table, can you tilt it with a few nudges? -if not raise the value to increase sensitivity, if the table bumpers set off a tilt warning then you probably want to lower this value to decrease sensitivity. Note - if you want to nudge more for less tilts then try an increased hardcoded value for mSensitivity in core.vbs like = 6 instead of 1 (up to 11). But this'll likely require you to revisit the Tilt Sensitity Setting in Visual Pinball Key Prefs My Final settings (for ref only, as stated previously settings required will vary as for different builds) Controller Visual Pinball Note - i used the plunger pushed = button 16 as a buyin button for pinmame as i already had a launch button (1). Which in my setup then map to PinballX as; And that's it... i now have a consistent nudge & tilt across VPX tables that don't need me to whack the table to get an effect. The plunger kit is working great and has added a lot to the virtual pinball experience, more than i thought it would in fact, would recommend! One final note for DOF users, if you're struggling with solenoid vibrations causing false nudges have a look at wrd1972's info here - https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=38357

I guess the test of dates might come in a couple of weeks, is 01/06/19 the 6th of Jan or the 1st of June?!, I'll keep a close on it things around then. Regarding the documentation, don't think there's a problem with it. Problem was just with me not reading it!

All working now thanks. For info, both my vpx databases are under other systems, the in built visual pinball system is not used. I'll add it to PinballX to run as an Exit Program (with wait for exit - true), the list may be slightly out of date at times, but it'll save me having to remember to run it manually. Very happy with this, thanks again!

@Mike_da_Spike Re-read your post... i'd added the databse xml names to the ini rather than system_2 & system_3 I've updated the ini file and it now works like a charm!, updated a table and re-ran it - the table is picked up and added on the recently added list. Excellent!, thanks a lot for this Will post back if i notice any issues.

Here ya go.. GenerateUpdatedTables.ini PinballX.ini

Not a problem, especially for a feature i'm going to use! Ok so tried it again, but doesn't seem to be picking up file dates. I ran it once, then updated a table (big buck hunter) and ran it again but the updated table did not appear on recent tables. Had a dig round and found the registry entries, all dates are set to 199-01-01 so it seems like it isn't picking up date stamps on my system for some reason. My date format is dd/mm/yyyy if that helps. Here's a verbose log... let me know if you need any other files. GenerateUpdateTables.log

@Mike_da_Spike First issue i'm afraid, but the error makes perfect sense when you look at my database xml as I use unicode characters in the game description field. Put this error down to my non standard xml files, but if you can get a workaround so i can keep the characters that'd be great. Thanks 5/19/2019 10:54:47 AM ERROR Error reading XML file object [c:\PinballX\Databases\Visual Pinball X Pinsound\Visual Pinball X Pinsound.xml] reason [Invalid unicode character. Visual Pinball X Pinsound.xml GenerateUpdateTables.log

Thanks.. makes sense. I'll run it once later, do some of those pesky table updates and then run it again. Should be a good test.

@Mike_da_Spike This sounds great!, I guess i could just add it as startup program in pinballx rather than launch manually and it'll keep the list up to date automatically? How does it work out the what the new tables are? Anyway, i'll definitely give it a go later on...

Suppose we can't all be lucky enough to be from Yorkshire! I'm looking forward to playing a few of the newer pins in the flesh, sadly the days of just finding them by chance in random pubs seems to have gone

Have you tried PBXRecorder?

I can't be the only one on here surely?! Anyone near Leeds will have to check this place out https://www.facebook.com/ArcadeClubLeeds/ Address for the new venue is: Arcade Club Unit 3 Abbey Retail Park, Savins Mill Way, Leeds LS5 3RP Opening Hours: Thursday 6pm - 11pm Friday 6pm - 12am (Thurs/Fri are adults only as Bury 16+ welcome with an adult) Saturday 11am - 11pm Sunday 11am - 8pm (All ages welcome, children must be supervised by an adult at all times ) Prices: £16.00 for Adults £8.00 for Children (15 and under) All 3 floors are available for these prices there are no separately priced floors. Stay as long as you like and all machines are of course set to Free Play. No need to book, just turn up! Parking is available for free, passes available from the box office. Monthly passes are valid across BOTH venues! For any queries please get in touch at: Phone: 0161 464 9796 Email: [email protected] www.arcadeclub.co.uk

@wrd1972 I think previously it was suspected that it was the longer loading time tables that had the issue with the B2S not loading from PinballX (it is now all tables for you?). I notice you have Texture Compression checked in VPX, that'll slow down load times a bit.. it might be worth unchecking that and testing (although i appreciate you have it checked for a reason so it wouldn't be a solution, but might help to show it is a timing issue somehow if the loading problem goes away) (oh, and now i'm starting to see egg balls where before i was totally oblivious... aaaarrrgh!! More stuff to tweak, when will it end? )

I'd have thought it would work with that, but i use videos so maybe i missed something with the setup for pinmame in pbx. For PBX reecorder if you had issues check screenres.txt as it uses that, from the download page https://www.gameex.info/forums/files/file/535-pbx-recorder-captures-playfield-backglass-and-dmd-videos-and-images/NOTE: PBX Recorder uses the DirectB2S screenres.txt to figure out how to record the Playfield, Backglass and DMD. (If the DMD portion of screenres.txt is not filled in correctly, you will have trouble with DMD video or screenshot capture. Try the included ScreenResCheck utility, to see exactly what PBX Recorder will record) 

Ok, go to Game Manager, as you have use pinmame selected in settings.exe / pinballx.ini you should have a ROM box next to the hide backglass checkbox, click that scroll to the ROM for that game. This should update the vpx.xml rom field. Hopefully that'll do it... I would recommend videos though!, I use PBX recorder for them rather than game manager, but that's just preference.

Sorry, wrong xml file, needs to be for the system being used, so vpx.xml in this case. The reason for videos is that the pinballx wheel will rotate a lot smoother than if it's trying to load the roms for each table as you go round. I think it's fair to say most people use videos for dmd's and backglass.

Please attach a log file after you've started and exited a table, along with your pinballx.ini file and visual pinball.xml file. Will give us more to go on. Also, did the feature use to work or is this a brand new install?, in which case from memory i think you may need to open a table twice for the link to pinmame to work (pinballx working out the rom name to table mapping), my memory might be wrong on that though, sorry!. Thanks Edit - i was wrong, must have been thinking about something else entirely

You should be able to reinstall straight over the top, but just not select the 64bit option in the installer. It's always nice to have backups handy just in case though, if you have space you could just copy the entire pinballx folder off somewhere. If not just copy the pinballx.ini file.

Something else to check from an old post, registry entry;

Pinballx, use settings.exe in pinballx folder. Btw, the doh was not aimed at you - just me slapping my head when i realised there could be a lot easier way of achieving your goal.