possible cabinet mode in Pinball Arcade

[Carny_Priest]

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.

[Carny_Priest]

36 minutes ago, Draco1962 said:

Advanced purchasing now available. 

Shipping schedule per the Arcooda site:

• Cabinet Support Unlock Key (starts shipping approximately 30th May, or earlier)
• Standalone Generic 76 Game Software Kit (starts shipping approximately 30th June)
• Standalone Arcooda Cabinet 76 Game Software Kit (starts shipping approximately 30th June)

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

caveat emptor

[Tom Speirs]

I guess we will see. Personally I am happy to invest in the steam version for the purpose of enhancing PinballX for the community. Based on what I have read it seems feasible the steam version could also be available in the future if it just "unlocks" cabinet mode.

$500 is too much to spend but happy to see what I can do with the help of others.

I did just lay out for all the seasons I didn't have too and that was over $100.

[Draco1962]

I am hopeful that the menu system will work better in portrait mode. Using it outside of PinballX to access the tables below the bottom of the screen as it just scrolls back to the top. $149 seems to be a bit of a gamble for something untried.

[Tom Speirs]

For the love

[Draco1962]

Link to the Steam PC Unlock Code FAQ on the Arcooda site. 

 

[Draco1962]

Well, I guess I will see as well as I ended up laying out just over $152 USD but only after my bank rejecting the initial attempts - note to all, do not attempt it if it fails the first time! All should be fine. Now we wait.

[Draco1962]

List of 18 TPA Tables I am assuming, based upon the FAQ, that will NOT have Arcooda Pinball Arcade support for any of the 3 packages, includling Steam:

Table	Type	Manufacturer	Year
Banzai Run	Solid State (Alphanumeric)	Williams	1988
Fathom	Solid State (Numeric)	Bally	1981
Firepower II	Solid State (Numeric)	Williams	1983
Flight 2000	Solid State (Numeric)	Stern	1980
Ghostbusters	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Stern	2016
Harley-Davidson, 3rd Edition	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Stern (Originally Sega Pinball)	2004 (1999)
High Roller Casino	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Stern	2001
Last Action Hero	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Data East	1993
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Sega Pinball	1995
Paragon	Solid State (Numeric)	Bally	1979
Phantom of the Opera	Solid State (Alphanumeric)	Data East	1990
Pistol Poker	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Alvin G. and Co.	1993
Sorcerer	Solid State (Numeric)	Williams	1985
Spanish Eyes	Electro-Mechanical	Williams	1972
Starship Troopers	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Sega Pinball	1997
Wild Card	Electro-Mechanical	Williams	1977
Wipe Out	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Gottlieb	1993
World Champion Soccer	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Bally	1994

[Draco1962]

12 hours ago, Draco1962 said:

List of 18 TPA Tables I am assuming, based upon the FAQ, that will NOT have Arcooda Pinball Arcade support for any of the 3 packages, includling Steam:

Table	Type	Manufacturer	Year
Banzai Run	Solid State (Alphanumeric)	Williams	1988
Fathom	Solid State (Numeric)	Bally	1981
Firepower II	Solid State (Numeric)	Williams	1983
Flight 2000	Solid State (Numeric)	Stern	1980
Ghostbusters	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Stern	2016
Harley-Davidson, 3rd Edition	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Stern (Originally Sega Pinball)	2004 (1999)
High Roller Casino	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Stern	2001
Last Action Hero	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Data East	1993
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Sega Pinball	1995
Paragon	Solid State (Numeric)	Bally	1979
Phantom of the Opera	Solid State (Alphanumeric)	Data East	1990
Pistol Poker	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Alvin G. and Co.	1993
Sorcerer	Solid State (Numeric)	Williams	1985
Spanish Eyes	Electro-Mechanical	Williams	1972
Starship Troopers	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Sega Pinball	1997
Wild Card	Electro-Mechanical	Williams	1977
Wipe Out	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Gottlieb	1993
World Champion Soccer	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Bally	1994

2

I received the following response from Arcooda Sales regarding these tables:

Valentina Josifovski
9:31 PM (59 minutes ago)
to me 
Dear Michael,

In reply to your email.  

We only have the license for 76 tables and whatever tables we had planned previously (total 86) has now been abandoned and all developed work has been lost due to the expiry of the license. 

In the future there maybe an opportunity to offer an additional game pack/cabinet support but it will depend on a case by case basis, based on license holders.

As long as you have purchase them on steam they will be available for you, but with regards to the level of support please work directly with FarSight as we have no control over this.

If we can help you further please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards,
Valentina Josifovski

****************************************************************
Arcooda
44-48 Maitland Rd, Ground Floor (Entry via Myola St), 
Mayfield East 2304, NSW, Australia

Tel: +612 4968 9313
Fax: +612 4968 9314
Date: 23rd May, 2018
****************************************************************

The long and the short of this is that Arcooda is unable to complete any work they may have started on these tables due to the non-renewal of the licenses. They are only packaging the 3 purchasing options.  In the event you are curious, this is the list of 10 tables that represent what is available in the Stern Pinball Arcade (of which 7 are part of The Pinball Arcade offerings) and may/may not represent the tables that cabinet compatibility work was dropped:

Table	Type	Manufacturer	Year
AC/DC (Premium/Let There Be Rock and Back in Black Limited Editions)	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Stern	2012
Harley-Davidson, 3rd Edition	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Stern (Originally Sega Pinball)	2004 (1999)
High Roller Casino	Solid State (Dot Matrix)	Stern	2001
Last Action Hero	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Data East	1993
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Sega	1995
Mustang (Premium "Boss")	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Stern	2014
Phantom of the Opera	Solid State (Alphanumeric)	Data East	1990
Ripley's Believe It or Not!	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Stern	2004
Star Trek (Vengeance Premium/Enterprise Limited Edition)	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Stern	2013
Starship Troopers	Solid State (Dot-Matrix)	Sega	1997

 

Farsight will still be accountable for the support of any tables purchased prior to 30 June. My guess is that any support will be minimal.  It will be interesting to see if the remaining 18 tables will load via TPA without the Arcooda cab support and still require 3rd party assists, via an FE and/or FreeCameraMod.

[Draco1962]

A lively discussion can be found here.  I note the cost breakdown as noted by Narc0lep5y:

"...$149 for steam key to unlock cabinet mode
7 * $40 for 7 seasons worth of tables (including the missing 11 tables) = $280
That's $430 vs $500 for the unlocked pro versions app."

So you save $70 by purchasing all 7 of the non-Pro version seasons (for ALL of the tables via Steam, not just the 76 Arcooda Cabinet unlock supports) for $280 and $149 for the key via Steam, but $500 for all 7 seasons PRO tables  (76 Arcooda can support via cabinet mode + 11 non-supported) OR $500 for only the 76 tables (non-Steam) Arcooda can support via cabinet mode.  

[captaincroutons]

I'm personally pretty excited about this. I know a lot of people have ill will towards Farsight(understandably so), but I'm happy to pay for legit software when possible. Bought every season and the Arcooda key, can't wait to try it out.

[DrEvil]

+1

[Carny_Priest]

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

[Draco1962]

FCM may still be useful for the tables that Arcooda doesn't cover, including the last season tables.

[BrandonLaw]

I'm also all for purchasing software that's 'completed' and working well, but without full support, that's the pill that's tough to swallow here.  Knowing there are tables that are unsupported breaks my heart and I would feel this punch every time I touched the cab.  (Just think if steam rolls out an api in 2 years that breaks this software and there's crickets in their office.)  I'm curious to see the workablity and will wait with bells on to see how y'all feel.

[Draco1962]

There is also the VP versions of some of the same tables to be considered.

[BrandonLaw]

25 minutes ago, Draco1962 said:

There is also the VP versions of some of the same tables to be considered.

Absolutely something to keep considered here in the way of a few attributes.  One largely in the case of an actual pinDMD.  Arcooda states there is no 'current' support for a real DMD as their cabs only carry lcd's hence the restricted support.  VP has wild support for this hardware especially if the table is popular.  I don't mind customizing each table, (realistically, I enjoy it) if it means consistency. 

 

[Draco1962]

My rig has 4 LCD monitors with a USB LCD for the DMD so should work. I get where you are coming from - if you have the kit it is great if it can all be supported. 

[GAH1068]

I have a PinDMD3 but think we are going to be fine with the Arcooda Steam version.    The screen prints of the config screen show how they are setting up the DMD display window sizing.   With that it looks like there will be static positions so at the very worst if Freezy doesn't add a Arcooda switch to DMDExt the -screen switch should work.   I was able to get Pinball Wicked working easy enough and it doesn't have direct DMD support so I don't see any problems getting Arcooda working either.

I am excited for this version.   I don't find myself playing the Pinball Arcade tables much because I am so spoiled by real cabinet mode on Zen and VPX.   Even with FCM it still doesn't feel right but makes it so much better.

[BrandonLaw]

Looking forward to your prompt review:)

[GAH1068]

I will be sure to do so!

[hlr53]

Slight delay

Arcoodia Facebook:
Arcooda Pinball Arcade Steam unlock is slightly delayed and will be available on 1st June. We are working together with FarSight to add balance requests (such as 2 monitor support) into a new version build and current testing is underway.

[Draco1962]

 

[BrandonLaw]

 

On 5/27/2018 at 9:55 AM, captaincroutons said:

I'm personally pretty excited about this. I know a lot of people have ill will towards Farsight(understandably so), but I'm happy to pay for legit software when possible. Bought every season and the Arcooda key, can't wait to try it out.

Pulled the trigger.  Couldn't wait for reviews.  3rd time watching the previews of those working backglasses sold me.  I repeat...WORKING BACKGLASSES IN TPA, FOLKS.  I have a feeling its not all the supported tables, though.  

On another note...It's 10am June 1st in Australia, currently.  If the devs are sitting down at their desks...key may make it out before we fall asleep after our 4 beers.

[hlr53]

16 minutes ago, BrandonLaw said:

 

 

On another note...It's 10am June 1st in Australia, currently.  If the devs are sitting down at their desks...key may make it out before we fall asleep after our 4 beers.

Slight correction. It's the 31st 10:20 AM