[GUIDE] Setup Zen Pinball FX Classic and Pinball FX Midnight in PinballX (steam version)

[DakotaPinball]

11 hours ago, Mike_da_Spike said:

Edit the post and delete my previous response

I tested it again, but now with correct parameters :

As you can see in the video, it is launching for 2 players

Did you enable cabinet mode In Pinball M ?

I would say yes, I have it activated because the menu appears and when I play without pinball X I can even choose the number of players and everything.
And what are your correct parameters? They are like the ones in my PinballFX3Launcher.ini file.

PinballFX3Launcher.ini

[Mike_da_Spike]

I reviewed your initialization file this morning, and it appeared correct.

Please follow the procedure demonstrated in the video: open a command prompt, navigate to your Steam directory, and execute steam.exe using the parameters shown in the video.

This should resolve the issue. If the problem persists, a malfunction with your pinball machine is suspected.

[DakotaPinball]

3 hours ago, Mike_da_Spike said:

I reviewed your initialization file this morning, and it appeared correct.

Please follow the procedure demonstrated in the video: open a command prompt, navigate to your Steam directory, and execute steam.exe using the parameters shown in the video.

This should resolve the issue. If the problem persists, a malfunction with your pinball machine is suspected.

I found the error in my .ini file.
Wrong
TEXT=2 Players (Hotseat)
ENABLED=1
PARAM=-gamemode hotseat_2

Correct
TEXT=2 Players (Hotseat)
ENABLED=1
PARAM=-hotseat_2

Thanks for your help again @Mike_da_Spike

[Mike_da_Spike]

6 hours ago, DakotaPinball said:

I found the error in my .ini file.
Wrong
TEXT=2 Players (Hotseat)
ENABLED=1
PARAM=-gamemode hotseat_2

Correct
TEXT=2 Players (Hotseat)
ENABLED=1
PARAM=-hotseat_2

Thanks for your help again @Mike_da_Spike

That's odd, as the parameter should be "-gamemode hotseat_2" instead of "-hotseat_2"
same as the other parameters,

I see i your INI file as well "-class -hotseat_2", this doesn't make sense as classic mode doesn't have players selection, thats only hotseat
the other parameters that Pinball FX has (like "-gamemode Challenge_BallLimited") should also work.
There are more mode's especially for PinballM, but couldn't find the parameter of it)

[DakotaPinball]

11 hours ago, Mike_da_Spike said:

That's odd, as the parameter should be "-gamemode hotseat_2" instead of "-hotseat_2"
same as the other parameters,

I see i your INI file as well "-class -hotseat_2", this doesn't make sense as classic mode doesn't have players selection, thats only hotseat
the other parameters that Pinball FX has (like "-gamemode Challenge_BallLimited") should also work.
There are more mode's especially for PinballM, but couldn't find the parameter of it)

Don't download the zip here, I don't know the ways if they are good or not the truth.
Could you pass me your ahk from your launcher?

[Mike_da_Spike]

10 hours ago, DakotaPinball said:

Don't download the zip here, I don't know the ways if they are good or not the truth.
Could you pass me your ahk from your launcher?

Check the first post in this thread; that's where my files are.

[DakotaPinball]

On 22/4/2025 at 3:54, Mike_da_Spike said:

Revisa la primera publicación en este hilo; ahí es donde están mis archivos.

 

PinballFX3Launcher.ini

[pindapoe]

Hello, 

I noticed that Pinball FX added some more Williams tables some days ago, anyone has a database updated? 

Thanks!

[Mike_da_Spike]

7 hours ago, pindapoe said:

Hello, 

I noticed that Pinball FX added some more Williams tables some days ago, anyone has a database updated? 

Thanks!

I don't have a full XML for you, but the tableID's are listed here : https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3024571947 

maybe with this list, you can add them and post them to the community
 

[pindapoe]

Thanks for that tableID, here you are

Pinball FX.xml

[DakotaPinball]

Sorry for the delay, but I'm only getting around to it in my spare time; work takes up what little free time I have. PinballFXLauncherV10 still works with Pinball FX Midnight, but since I updated it a few days ago (yes, I know it changed its name months ago, but I couldn't update until recently), it stopped working. I imagine it's because the name changed from PinballM to Pinball FX Midnight.

I asked chatgpt and gemini, but after several hours of trying everything and it just kept stopping, I had to uninstall and reinstall Pinball FX Midnight. That's why I'm asking here now. I don't mean to bother anyone, but I don't know what else to do. I downloaded PinballFXLauncherV10 again and deleted everything because the AI messed it all up, and there's no solution (yes, my mistake for not making a backup). Could someone share their AHK file with me? I'll change the directory where I have Steam with Pinball FX Midnight.

[Mike_da_Spike]

You don't need the ahk file, but the exe file and setup all in the ini

[Mike_da_Spike]

 

On 7/15/2026 at 1:53 AM, DakotaPinball said:

I asked chatgpt and gemini, but after several hours of trying everything and it just kept stopping, I had to uninstall and reinstall Pinball FX Midnight. That's why I'm asking here now. I don't mean to bother anyone, but I don't know what else to do. I downloaded PinballFXLauncherV10 again and deleted everything because the AI messed it all up, and there's no solution (yes, my mistake for not making a backup). Could someone share their AHK file with me? I'll change the directory where I have Steam with Pinball FX Midnight.

Not sure what you mean by PinballFXLauncherV10. Is that the very old AHK‑based launcher that relied on key presses?
If you’re still using that version, I strongly recommend switching to Joyrider’s PinballX Launcher instead. It’s not an AHK script but a proper Pascal application, and it launches Pinball FX Midnight directly through Steam’s APPID, that ID did not change when the game was renamed.

You can download the latest version here: https://github.com/joyrider3774/PinballX_Launcher_app

The only thing that changed is the executable name in and you need to adjust that within PinballX. Under Process to Monitor, make sure it is set to: Pinball FX Midnight.exe
EDIT: incorrect. the Process to Monitor still stays PinballM-Win64-Shipping.exe

At the moment it’s difficult to understand what your exact issue is, especially since you mentioned spending several hours trying things with AI. To help you properly, we’ll need some concrete information.

If you launch tables directly through PinballX (without extra tools), please attach:

• your PinballX log showing an attempted launch of a Pinball FX Midnight table

• your pinballx.ini

If you are using Joyrider’s launcher and it still doesn’t work, take the parameters you configured and test them first by launching Steam from the command line.
Make sure the command line correctly starts Pinball FX Midnight.
If that works, migrate those parameters into Joyrider’s launcher and test the launcher itself from the command line with a table name.
Once that works, you can add the launcher back into PinballX.

Right now there’s not enough detail to see what’s going wrong.
It would really help if you open a new thread in the General section with all relevant details, your logs, and your configuration files, so we can follow the issue step‑by‑step.

Please also describe exactly what is going wrong, what you click, what you expect to happen, and what actually happens.
Without that information, a log file alone won’t tell us whether the problem is in PinballX, the launcher configuration, Steam parameters, or something else entirely.

Edited 14 hours ago by Mike_da_Spike
updeted incorrect text

[Mike_da_Spike]

@DakotaPinball I updated my previous message, as it was a bit short

Edit :
I did a test on my laptop
I added Pinball M as described in the first post
Steam gave me a hardtime as it stayed in the following :

A reboot fixed the issue.
I needed to launch it once from Steam completely, so all the screens and other prompts were completed.
After that, I was able to launch tables from the attached XML file in post1 from PinballX.

[DakotaPinball]

Hace 54 minutos, Mike_da_Spike dijo:

 

No estoy seguro de lo que quieres decir con PinballFXLauncherV10. ¿Es ese el antiguo lanzador basado en AHK que se basaba en las pulsaciones de teclas?
Si todavía estás usando esa versión, te recomiendo encarecidamente que cambies a PinballX Launcher de Joyrider. No es un script AHK, sino una aplicación Pascal adecuada, y lanza Pinball FX Midnight directamente a través de APPID de Steam, ese ID no cambió cuando se cambió el nombre del juego.

Puedes descargar la última versión aquí: https://github.com/joyrider3774/PinballX_Launcher_app

Lo único que cambió es el nombre ejecutable y necesita ajustarlo dentro de PinballX. En Proceso a monitorear, asegúrese de que esté configurado en: Pinball FX Midnight.exe
EDITAR: incorrecto. El proceso a monitorear sigue siendo PinballM-Win64-Shipping.exe

En este momento es difícil entender cuál es tu problema exacto, especialmente porque mencionaste pasar varias horas probando cosas con IA. Para ayudarte adecuadamente, necesitaremos información concreta.

Si lanzas tablas directamente a través de PinballX (sin herramientas adicionales), adjunta:

• su registro de PinballX que muestra un intento de lanzamiento de una tabla Pinball FX Midnight

• Tu pinballx.ini

Si estás usando el lanzador de Joyrider y sigue sin funcionar, toma los parámetros que configuraste y pruébalos primero iniciando Steam desde la línea de comandos.
Asegúrese de que la línea de comandos inicie correctamente Pinball FX Midnight.
Si eso funciona, migre esos parámetros al lanzador de Joyrider y pruebe el propio lanzador desde la línea de comandos con un nombre de tabla.
Una vez que eso funcione, puedes añadir el lanzador de nuevo a PinballX.

En este momento no hay suficientes detalles para ver qué va mal.
Realmente ayudaría si abrieras un nuevo hilo en la sección General con todos los detalles relevantes, tus registros y tus archivos de configuración, para que podamos seguir el problema paso a paso.

Por favor, describa también exactamente lo que está mal, en qué hace clic, lo que espera que suceda y lo que realmente sucede.
Sin esa información, un archivo de registro por sí solo no nos dirá si el problema está en PinballX, la configuración del lanzador, los parámetros de Steam o algo completamente diferente.

Thanks, I'll try it. I'll let you know how it goes tonight and attach the files you mentioned if it doesn't work.

[Mike_da_Spike]

7 minutes ago, DakotaPinball said:

Thanks, I'll try it. I'll let you know how it goes tonight and attach the files you mentioned if it doesn't work.

no rush. 
it will work, if you have the official Steam files, and follow the procedure from post #1
if that works, you can go a step further and use Joyrider his launcher

[DakotaPinball]

Hace 8 horas, Mike_da_Spike dijo:

No hay prisa. 
Funcionará si tienes los archivos oficiales de Steam y sigues el procedimiento del mensaje n.° 1.
Si funciona, puedes ir un paso más allá y usar Joyrider, su lanzador.

Si me funciona, ahora abre la tabla seleccionada.

Como dices, para llevar Joyrider un paso más allá y poder seleccionar el modo de juego o varios jugadores, imagino que esto es Joyrider.
Pero, ¿cómo lo ejecuto?
Lo siento, pero estaba acostumbrado a PinballFX.
Launcher

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eARxxlZ0Jyr5pB1LnPMZM8jr4PWGrGk3/view?usp=sharing
I've included a video; it takes a while to load, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. What I don't know is how to set up the DMD, since it changes size when there are two or more players.