[GUIDE] Setting up multiple Visual Pinball Versions (VP 10.8 +)

[Mike_da_Spike]

Starting from Visual Pinball 10.8, the settings from VP is moved from registry to INI file.

This make the flexibility of Visual Pinball easier during transfer, but you can also have more Visual Pinball systems on your system, and uses different settings files for this.

Start with some back ground :

To use Visual pinball, you need a complete setup of VP.
For the basic you need to have a working VpinMame and Directb2sserver (this can be accomplished by using the AIO installer from the Vpinball github )
if you want more advanced work, You properly will use DMDdevice.dll, FlexDMD, DOF and pinup player

If all is working for your desktop/cabinet/vr/head tracking environment, you can have add multiple versions to your system as well.
You can use this for testing a Beta, adding GL support or separate versions between 32 bit and 64 bit.

the issues with all versions before VP 10.8 was that when you launch any version of Vpinball in any location, it uses the registry and all has the same configuration.

From VP 10.8 the ini file is located in %appdata%\VpinballX and by default it uses VPinballX.ini
When this file is not present, it will check if there is any registry entry and will transform the registry keys into the VPinballX.ini file.
When file is present, all instances will use this file.

But if you want a different setting for a specific table, or even for a complete system, without changing registry (see for example my post over setting up VR https://forums.gameex.com/forums/topic/28465-pinballx-with-vr-on-oculusmeta-quest ), there will be an easy way now

When launching from the command line VpinballX.exe (Vpinball_gl.exe, vpinballX64.exe or Vpinball_gl64.exe) with the parameter -ini <Full path to ini file> it will creates a new INI file on the path you specified.

the INI file is directly created and contains the values which I have from my registry.
As I launched VpinballX, I can make a configuration changes and this will all be saved in the newly created file

When Launching the GL version of VpinballX, an extra option is available for VR. The VR settings will also be available in the INI file.
But, if you want to have different settings for VR as your normall version, just launch the GL version with a different setting :

(in my example I mixed VP 32 bit with GL 64 bit)

So now I got 2 settings files. 1 completely configured for VR and 1 for regular playing (this is just an example, you can also do it for tables with issues, head tracking, or even switching between desktop and cabinet.)

to use this file during game play ?

At the time this post was made, PinballX can only switch command line parameters via setting up a new system, or using a custom launcher (with a variable that can be set).

• launch Settings.exe and go to your Visual pinball system
• add to 'Parameters' the -ini option with the path to your ini

 

and for the 2nd system :

 

I showed just 1 example for different INI files, but it's up to you to use it for setting up different INI files for your system.

Having issues with 1 or 2 table with the performance, and don't want to set it for all tables, just create a INI file with a bit lower specs that runs the table fine and launch this table with it.

Make sure you make a backup of your ini file, in case something happen to your system !

Default file is %appdata%\Vpinball\VpinballX.ini (if you launch the VpinballX without the -INI parameter, it will use this file)

 

[Dacstyle]

Is the only possible way to have two .ini files for the same table to create another system? Is there no way to configure an "alternate launch" so that through the sub-menu you can choose to start the .ini configured for VR?

So that the tables do not duplicate in the menu.

[Mike_da_Spike]

Indeed !

Alternate exe is not to use via sub menu or what so ever.

If you have 2 differrent ini files for 1 system (let say VR and CAB),  you need 2 different systems. 

If you make it more complex to use 2 ini files for a single table, there isn't a way to switch between ini files.

An alternate way would be to build a program during launch before and do your magic to launch 1 of the 2 ini files. Another way is to make a pinballx plugin, that can switch the parameters of the ini file just before launch (justblike scutters his pinemhi plugin that will launch the correct table)

[Dacstyle]

Yes, maybe a plugin that does something like this:

 

https://www.nailbuster.com/wikipinup/doku.php?id=alt_mode

 

I used that method on pinup system and it is very good, because you can have only one table in the menú, but launch it as cabinet, VR, 3D just changing the .ini file command

[Mike_da_Spike]

Do you use pinup and pinballx?

Maybe this is nore for a pinballx feature request 

 

[Dacstyle]

No, I've tested Pinup and went back to PinballX because I like it better. However, that feature of Pinup seems very good and it would be great to incorporate it. I'm going to suggest it in that thread.