Building A Virtual Pinball Cabinet

[L33]

Yeah, you can always hope
The new UI was just the show stopper at the beginning, then I wasn't really interested in the season six tables so far. Just playing a lot of timeshock and VP lately.
As for the keyboard you can reassign the keys in the mods settings, so you don't necessarily need a numpad.

Ah right...didnt realise the keys could be changed Will have to have a look. Cheers mpad.

 

[L33]

I've been asked a few times how things are going with the cab now it's built...so I thought a quick post on here would be easier...

Cab is great...so glad I built it, it makes playing VP so much more fun. I have the games on iPad and ps4 but to me, it's so much more fun playing the games on the cab. The only real frustrating thing is the worry of the updates on some of the games...

Zen Pinball: This is the least stress full of the VP games. Zen have done a great job with their cabinet support. It's so easy to set up and if anything ever goes wrong or gets changed after Windows constantly needs to update itself, Zen is a breeze to get going again. Just wish Zen had the same physics as TPA...

Pinball Arcade: My favourite of all the VP games to play, but also the most frustrating of the games to set up. With no official cab support available the only way to play this currently on cab support is via Noex's mod. The mod is fantastic, and makes the difference between me playing TPA and not playing TPA. Farsight really are missing a trick by not having cab support, and I've no idea why they haven't followed everybody else. But whilst the mod is great, as soon as FS update the game, the mod needs uodating too. Sometimes you can be mid competition, have to restart for some reason and suddenly CS is gone because TPA has updated for whatever reason. If there was some way for the mod to automatically adjust to the new update that'd be great, but it currently doesn't. Im in no way moaning about the mod, the mod is a game changer and credit needs to go to Noex for providing the mod...without it TPA just isn't the same, but I just wish FS would provide official cab support like Zen have and take some of the stresses away from setting up the game.

ProPinball and Zaccaria Pinball: Haven't used these a great deal, but do have them. Hoping to play these more but most of my time is spent getting TPA to play correctly.

Virtual Pinball VPX: Not something I really play...looks complicated to set up and for what I've seen, isn't as good as the above...but I could be wrong

Stern Pinball: Not out yet, and no idea if CS would be available...but I sure hope it is. Why create a VP game and not have cab support for it...seems stupid. Fingers crossed.

Future add ons: I have plans for some future add ons but I'd like to see TPA add official cab support first as it just seems a waste of time trying to add all the bells and whistles and then have to spend every day trying to get everything running properly. The games all have the potential to make owning a cab worthwhile...And if Zen pinball is your favourite game then building a cab just for Zen seems worth while. And if Noex's mod is here to stay and continues to work with TPA, then that's definitely the icing on the cake as far as building a cab goes. And if Stern pinball provides CS...I may even just build another cab for the fun of it!

So at the moment, playing Zen Pinball and TPA with the mod is plenty for me. These 2 games alone are making having the cab worthwhile, especially with TPA comps etc, and again, only possible with the Mod, so every credit to Noex for creating that. I'm also in the middle of adding gameplay videos for All the games...not just requested games on my YouTube channel. These aren't how too videos, just videos showing how the games look if you own or are thinking about owning a cab. If these are of interest, just type Smugwood into YouTube and the videos will be there...they take a while to add but hopefully evergame should be up by the new year.

 

[L33]

Well...downloaded the new Stern Pinball game via Steam this afternoon...WTF? Perhaps it's me...perhaps my lack of computer skills have caused me to somehow mess up the way the game should be setup...but judging by the comments I've just seen on Steam I'm pretty sure I've done everything correct. The game is pants! That sounds harsh, I know, and Ive seen comments about the game being in its early stages so to speak...but I'm not buying that. Yes, the game is in its early stages, but Farsight have produced many many tables already and in theory, these should be easier to simulate and therefore should have a far better chance of being right first time then any other tables produced. Really disappointing stuff. Im not sure whats happened here, people saying perhaps its been rushed...I don't know...but it leaves me wondering what Stern think about all of this. This is the age of digital pinball and I feel this is one huge backwards step. Other companies are now producing tables and they are doing a fairly good job at it considering. Zen in particular seems to be growing in popularity and it's not surprising with the quality of tables they have produced recently and not to mention the ability to play on the cabinets. My only grumble would be the physics, and this is something I believe Farsight has the edge on. Perhaps Stern could have had Zen build the tables and have Farsight create the ball physics

But as disappointed as I am, Id like to see FS fix these issues because Im confident that with the issues all sorted, and combined with the excellent ball physics, these tables have the potential to be the best ever recreated digitally. I don't think there are any excuses for such a poor game launch, but that doesn't mean the issues can't and won't get sorted...how long that will take I'm not sure, but Im pretty sure it will get sorted. Ive always wanted to play ACDC pinball and with no chance of being able to buy the table, digital is the way forward for me...I know its not the same experience, but its the closest chance I'll have...so thats one table I'll be looking to purchase...but only when these tables are actually playable.

One thing I'd love to see is for Stern and Fs to bring out cab support for at least the stern tables. Cab support doesn't affect actual real table sales...if anything, people are more likely to buy a real table as a result of playing the digitised version. In fact, if anything, it would be the reverse. If I had the physical ACDC table, I wouldn't probably bother buying the digitised version. We are nearly hitting 2017, and I think 2017 needs to be the year of Cab Support from FS...pinball is really making a comeback and what better way to recreate the tables than allowing them to be played Fullscreen. iPad and tablets play in fullscreen portrait, so why not the same for TV's and cab monitors? Maybe I'll just have to wait for the day Apple bring out the 42" iPad!!!

Fingers crossed...all will be sorted soon.

 

[L33]

Im still struggling with the UI...its a nightmare, but having read a few posts on here Ive been able to at least try out a game or two. One thing that was mentioned was that the ACDC table works...once you're able to get onto it. So I decided to buy it...and it's actually pretty good. Hopefully FS will sort out the UI and other issue shortly, but putting that aside, once the table is loaded up its quite enjoyable to play. I haven't been able to suss out how the game works yet as there are 998 pages of instructions to read through...but sound quality is good...although a couple of times the sound ramped right up for no reason what so ever...and it was really loud! I also wasn't able to turn off the event camera but Ive since sorted that issue out.

For anyone wanting to know what it looks like, Ive uploaded a video (link below). Its in my usual format/style but please note...for effect I have copied the DMD to the DMD monitor on my cab so whilst it looks like cab support is available...its obviously not. (one can only dream)
https://youtu.be/jh1GL2JAN08

 

[codinghorror]

Oh you are smugwood! Your videos are great, though they do look a bit .. unnatural .. as the video seems to be superimposed over a static background?

 

[L33]

Oh you are smugwood! Your videos are great, though they do look a bit .. unnatural .. as the video seems to be superimposed over a static background?

HAHA...It's a question I get asked about all the time...

When filming a pinball game being played, it's virtually impossible to get a reasonable quality video...the machines are so big and what you see in real life doesn't seem to get captured so well by the camera. I looked at real machines being filmed and at times, the quality is so poor you can't make out whats going on. I noticed that the better quality videos had several cameras shooting, showing different angles. I tried something similar but wanted a way of having my videos look different than other videos. So I took footage at different angles, moving the pinball machine to different areas of my dining room to get the best shot possible, until I eventually came up with the angle you see in the videos...I also got a bit of guidance on here as to what the best angles may be. I used this to create the overlay seen in the video.

Then rather than have one camera film the game being played, I use several cameras at different angles and record the audio directly from the PC to give best quality, and eliminate any background interference. Every video is then placed over/under the overlay to create the videos seen on my channel. Im basically filming the game being played, masking out everything but the screens and placing a shiny new cover over the top to improve quality.

The videos show the game exactly as I see and play it and nothing is enhanced in anyway. Its the only way to get the best quality possible. And by using the same overlay everytime, my games are instantly recognisable and distinguishable from others...at the risk of it looking unnatural. I realise they may not be everybodys cup of tea, but if you look at some of my earlier videos, the quality just doesn't compare, and ultimately I believe that people (including myself) want to see the game in the best quality possible, and see how it looks playing on a cab. I get comments about the way I film all the time, but the alternative gives the exact same shot but with extremely poor quality.

I may at some point make a video explaining how and why I film like this, but Im not sure that'll be of interest to people. Ultimately its for giving the best quality shot possible and showing people what the game looks and plays like on a virtual cabinet. Unfortunately, the better the quality, the more questions I get asked about it being real...but at the end of the day, they are just gameplay videos and shouldn't be taken too seriously

Not sure if that makes sense or not...but Im always open to suggestions regarding my videos, and appreciate any feedback...good or bad

 

[L33]

Not been able to use the cab for a while...a small fire in my workshop meant I've had to make a few temporary changes...including borrowing a few bits from the cab. Finally getting things back to normal, putting the cab back together and find out Noex has now developed the mod for SPA...winner! Not a bad time really for people wanting to build a cab...quite a few options these days. Currently working on fitting some kind of controller to the side or top of mine...just to make things a little easier to navigate...

 

[L33]

Guys/Gals...this may come across as a shameless plug but please understand thats not meant to be the case and it's only because a few of you I know on here asked me to let you know once I'd done it...anyway...hopefully the following will make sense A few of you subscribed to my Youtube channel (the one that has all the videos linked on here) and it was mainly pinball related at the time, even though it was supposed to be a woodworking channel. As time has passed, its become more woodwork and less pinball...I didn't really want to fill a woodworking channel up with too many pinball related videos as you can imagine. So it made sense to have 2 separate channels. Therefore, I'm going to be moving some of my pinball videos across to a new channel which currently is dedicated to all things pinball fx3 and I'll be doing a similar one for TPA. I know some of you have posted comments and left me messages regarding my pinball videos so I thought it might be worth mentioning what I've done and placing a little link here for anyone who still wishes to see the videos that I've done and yet to do. It kind of feels like a shameless plug but I guess its a case of only clicking the link to the channel if its of interest anyway...hope that makes sense Anyway, its still work in progress but if its of interest to you, heres the link. And i realsise its FX3 not TPA...but I'm setting the TPA channel up as we speak and a link will be placed on the FX3 channel. Cheers...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-0UJi2EGodE0BEVdJWiHyw

 

[Jeff Strong]

Not shameless at all. Glad to see you branching out. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Heretic]

Sharing talent and ideas is always welcome

 

[L33]

Thanks Jeff / Heretic. Still hoping that one day Farsight will provide us with official cab support...I know there are many reasons why they don't but it would be a great addition to the games if they did. Also, a quick thanks for past help with setting up my cab. It still provides me with hours of enjoyment

 

[Rxd]

TPA without official cabinet support is a joke. Pinball FX2, Pinball FX3, Zaccaria Pinball and Pro Pinball blow TPA out of the water.

 

[L33]

TPA without official cabinet support is a joke. Pinball FX2, Pinball FX3, Zaccaria Pinball and Pro Pinball blow TPA out of the water.

When I was building my cabinet it was with the intention of playing PBA and FX. I received an email from Farsight that stated cabinet support was in progress and just a matter of time...after finishing the build FS indicated that CS was no longer being pursued and all was lost...almost...if it hadn't been for the NOex mod...that gave me an insight into how good things could be.

But many months have passed...and pinball seems to have moved on rapidly...at least for some. I always used to choose TPA over Zen...it just had a better feel to it. But lately, I feel its not only took a full reversal...i feel TPA doesn't even come close to Zen. What Zen have been doing recently is just awesome...and thats not a word i use much FX3 is just superb and the visuals/graphics are so clear and crisp. Ball control has improved massively and i don't think I've ever experienced a single crash yet. I now play FX3 on PS4 and on the cabinet...they both give different experiences. I like the fact that loading Zen onto the cab is so easy...it just simply works. I would love to see what Zen could do with a Real Table...even just that once.

I flick back here every once in a while to see if things have changed but i still see the same stories, same promises, same bugs...i just don't find that fun anymore...takes something away from the whole experience. I haven't bought a TPA table now for some time...but purchased every single Zen table on several platforms...

It would be nice to have TPA set up in the same way Zen have but i can't see that happening and i no longer hold onto that hope. Im having too much fun on FX3 to worry about this now...I'll flick back every now and again to check if progress on the Cab Support and to see if the many bugs have been fixed which have a tendency to crash my computer...but I'm not even sure now wether that would be enough for me. Im so used to the clarity and visuals on FX3 that i now find it very difficult to play on the TPA tables...they kind of look very dated...and I know some obviously are from many years ago...but you know what I mean

Anyway...im in no means slating...it's each to their own and i know many don't like FX3 for example...and i enjoy the real table format...i just feel that something is missing...and for me...it kind of takes the edge of playing sometimes...

 

[L33]

Intrigued to know more about the Arcooda cabinet support being offered...but at the same time I can’t help feeling it’s a little bit too late...and that it’s only because of unfortunate circumstances that it’s being offered. But that said, would certainly be a nice thing to have. After all...i, like most, have been asking for CS for ages now. So definitely intrigued. Might finally get to add another video to the build series ��. It’s been a while...

 

[shutyertrap]

Intrigued to know more about the Arcooda cabinet support being offered...but at the same time I can’t help feeling it’s a little bit too late...and that it’s only because of unfortunate circumstances that it’s being offered. But that said, would certainly be a nice thing to have. After all...i, like most, have been asking for CS for ages now. So definitely intrigued. Might finally get to add another video to the build series ��. It’s been a while...

Well it's $149 to get the cab version on your custom build. The $499 Arcooda version only works in the Arcooda cabinet, and since you already own all the tables there's no need to purchase the $499 standalone version, unless you wanted the offline play ability. If you haven't already, go to http://www.arcoodapinballarcade.com and watch the videos. With the 4 camera views you'll see that 3 alter the depth of the playfield while 1 is essentially the flat iPad version.

 

[L33]

Well it's $149 to get the cab version on your custom build. The $499 Arcooda version only works in the Arcooda cabinet, and since you already own all the tables there's no need to purchase the $499 standalone version, unless you wanted the offline play ability. If you haven't already, go to http://www.arcoodapinballarcade.com and watch the videos. With the 4 camera views you'll see that 3 alter the depth of the playfield while 1 is essentially the flat iPad version.

Yeah certainly something I’ll look into. Think I read somewhere that it’s only available end of the month? Keeping my eye on the other post for further details so we’ll see ����

 

[ATARI]

Arcooda Pinball Cabinet. How much is the cabinet, can't see any prices for this, all I find is prices for software, and how much shipping costs to the U.k

 

[shutyertrap]

They haven’t come out with the new cab yet, but it’s gonna probably be the same cost as most other high end models of other companies. So figure between 7 and 9 grand.

 

[chinzman93]

I wonder if Ravarcade can possibly get BAM working with the Arcooda steam version? He got it working with TPA...but I believe the DX9 version. Here is a quick video with TOTAN.

 

[L33]

Well...just purchased the Arcooda key. Couldn’t really not do after wanting cab support all this time. Pity it’s gone down like this but hopefully it’ll be a good purchase. Might even have to do another video haha. We’ll see...