[GUIDE] How to add PC Games to your pincab using PinballX & MultiMonitorTool (2-screen config and above only)

[tabascoman77]

Do you have a pincab that isn't exclusive to pinball? Do you emulate console games with it, too? Ever wondered how to put PC games on there as well?

Now you can.

(QUICK NOTE: This is for a 2-screen setup and above. You can still use this guide if you have three or four screens but you just have to make sure that your backglass and playfield screens are monitors 1 and 2 for this to work. If you run PBX on a single screen, this isn't you're guide. I will do a guide for that later. Also, I know this is a lot and seems convoluted but it works.)

Ready? Then...

 

1) Download the "ConfigFiles.zip file below the guide. This contains two files: PCLauncher.ahk and ScreenAndKillLaunchBefore.bat. Put the files where you'd like, but make sure they're both in the same place. More on those in a bit.

2) Since you're gonna want the game on your backglass monitor (most, if not all, PC games start on the main playfield monitor by default) you're gonna need the MultiMonitorTool. You can get it here. Place that where ever you'd like on your drive.

3) Grab AutoHotKey as well. Install it where you'd like.

4) Open the MMT. You're going to create two config files. The first will be your "normal" config. This is how you have your monitors set when you aren't playing anything on your cab. Just go into File and save the config. Call it "normal" (without the quotes, obviously. Save it directly to your MMT root folder. The output should be "normal.cfg". Keep MMT open. On your desktop, right click to open your Windows Display Properties. Make it so your backglass monitor is your "main display" and then hit Apply. All your icons should shift to that monitor after you do this. Go back to MMT and save another config file and call this one "gaming". Save it to the MMT root and the output should be "gaming.cfg". Close out MMT, then make sure to switch your monitors back to normal using the Display Properties. Once you've reset your main monitor to be your playfield monitor, close out the Display Properties.

5) Using Notepad, edit the BAT file ("ScreenAndKillLaunchBefore"). All you need to do is change the MMT_PATH and GAMING_CONFIG path to match yours as they're currently set to mine as an example. Once you've corrected the paths to the MMT exe and the path to the gaming.cfg file, SAVE and exit.

6) Using Notepad, edit the AHK file. Just like the last script, CAREFULLY edit each path to point to where your MMT file is on your drive as well as the normal.cfg file. ONLY CHANGE WHAT'S IN THE PATH QUOTES. Nothing else. Save and exit.

7) Go into the AutoHotKey folder and look for the "compiler" folder. Launch that and then use the top "browse" line to pick out your PCLauncher.ahk script. For the line below it, hit browse, and then tell it to save the file as PCLauncher. MAKE SURE TO SAVE THAT FILE IN THE SAME FOLDER AS THE AHK SCRIPT. It will automatically put ".exe" on the end of it. Compile the script.

8 - Install your PC games where ever you'd like. Then, find the EXE file for each game and make a shortcut of each of them. When you're done, go to where ever you keep your rom files and make a folder for your PC Game shortcuts. I just call mine "PC Games". Place each and every shortcut inside that folder.

9) Open up your PBX Setup Wizard and enter the following config:

 

10) Change the four fields containing "C:\" paths to match your system (Working Path, Table Path, Executable, and Launch Before Working Path). The Working Path and Table Path are where your game shortcuts live, so point your computer to that folder. Then point the Executable at your compiled PCLauncher.exe file. Point the Launch Before Working Path at the folder containing the Before BAT file. Close out the Wizard.

11) Open up PBX's Game Manager. You should now have "PC Games" as one of your entries from the pull down menu. Select that entry. Add your games (they're pulled from the Shortcuts folder you created earlier). You can call the games what you'd like in the second field of each entry but the top has to match your shortcut file name. eg: if your shortcut for Batman: Arkham Asylum is "bmanAA", then that's the file name you choose (or Batman is finally getting help for his alcohol addiction, ba-dum-tish). You can put whatever you'd like in the second field. And, of course, you can add your wheels and whatever other info and media you'd like to add. Close out GM when you've entered everything to your liking.

Lastly, go into PBX and make sure it's all working. If you did everything correctly, the game should launch on your backglass and should exit completely when you hit "escape". Your monitors should be normal when you quit PBX back to the desktop as well.

That should do it. 

Enjoy, and happy gaming!

(I'd like to thank @Draco1962, @Mike_da_Spike, and @scutters for their help in getting this working and all their suggestions. Thanks, guys!)

 

ConfigFiles.zip

[Mike_da_Spike]

should the 2 batch files not be added as well ?
And the gif linked from Yarn (YARN | Let's do this thing! | Ratatouille (2007) | Video gifs by quotes | 5c91296f | 紗) is not showing for me. Better to download the gif and add it to the form.
@admins This message van be deleted after the fixes

[tabascoman77]

51 minutes ago, Mike_da_Spike said:

should the 2 batch files not be added as well ?
And the gif linked from Yarn (YARN | Let's do this thing! | Ratatouille (2007) | Video gifs by quotes | 5c91296f | 紗) is not showing for me. Better to download the gif and add it to the form.
@admins This message van be deleted after the fixes

The BAT files should be within the guide. They WERE at the bottom of the guide but it looks like they went bye bye along with the gif. Weird.

[Mike_da_Spike]

add them to  zip and maybe @Draco1962 can add them to the first post as well

[tabascoman77]

1 minute ago, Mike_da_Spike said:

add them to  zip and maybe @Draco1962 can add them to the first post as well

I just discovered a major issue with this "fix". Games quit after 30 seconds. I am trying to resolve it. As of now, this guide is broken until I do.

[tabascoman77]

Issue fixed and guide updated.