PC - Request If you build it, they will come ... If you come, I will build it ...

[RetroBlast]

I have been considered making a VP Pinball Cab but find VP to be confusing from intall to putting tables in, to figuring out how to do just about anything. Sure its doable, I would just need to spend a lot of time figuring it all out.

One thing I can assure you about is if you make your PC Version of The Pinball Arcade support 2 screens, a DMD, solinoids, coin slot activation, and flipper button control .... not only will I build a Pinball Arcade Cabinet, but you can be assured I will buy each and every single table you release.

I am sure there are others out there that feel the same. VP pinball is great but the quality on your tables surpasses VP. Considering you are going through the effort to convert your game to PC, why not put in the extra effort and provide all the features PC players really want. This would only help to ensure future sales of tables.

I for one would be very happy with a pinball cab that only has THE PINBALL ARCADE tables in it. All I ask is that you do not make the mistake of leaving out key features ... having the best features from the get go will ensure sales and I am sure it will inspire many here to build cabs, especailly those disenchanted by VPs lack of user friendliness.

 

[Rooter]

A DMD would be incredible. I'm waiting to buy one, there are none available at the moment. I already have the controller board for it.

Solenoids would be triggered most likely by a LED-Wiz, which could also trigger motors, a knocker, LED's and whatever else you can think of. If the game had an API or even could just output to a text file, I am sure someone in the pinball cabinet community would crank out the code to make that work in no time.

Coin slots are flippers are just triggered by keyboard buttons. You can hack a keyboard for that if you want to be cheap. I went with a Key-Wiz.

The only feature that I can think of that you left out is the ability to open the game from the command line. That way we could include all the Pinball Arcade games in our existing menu systems (Hyperpin) that show our Visual and Future Pinball tables.

To be honest, I would be happy with just two screens; a playfield, and a backglass with a DMD animation it. However, if Farsight went all out, they would have truly created the best pinball simulator ever. I think they should make a kickstarter project for the cabinet version. I would definitely put a lot more money toward that than just the Twilight Zone table. And yes, I would also buy every single table they ever released, even Black Hole and Funhouse, blech.

 

[RetroDude]

Very much so!

I like the whole concept and idea of a full-size pinball cabinet with the playfield screen, backglass screen and all the rest of the works.

What I like better is the thought of having good, licensed content to use it with.
I dearly would love to build one of these systems, but I also need to respect intellectual property rights.

Since FarSight is going all the way to GET the proper licenses and rights, for a LOT of awesome games... that's most of the way there!

I'd be willing to pay a significant premium price for each pinball game if it was made in such a way to allow the things mentioned here and elsewhere..

It would have to support
configurable inputs and outputs, via USB, etc.
multiple monitors
output triggers for the various events such as flippers, bumpers, anything mechanical... light events,
real DMD display support would be awesome.
support for devices like real plumb bobs, etc.

All the things that the VP people use with their non-licensed games.

I'd be cool with a standard PC release that had some of these features at one price and a "pro" version with the inputs and outputs available for a cabinet build at a premium price.

Think about it.. if someone is going to spend potentially thousands of dollars building a fully working and full size virtual pinball machine, throwing down a bit more for each properly licensed games is a no-brainer!

...except for some of the hard-core VP folks that want everything free.

I hope they are just a LOUD minority of that group, but I'm not sure.
The cabinet builders among them would more likely pay for the licensed content than the pure "just on the PC" crowd though.

Even if it's an entirely different method of purchase for the games, with different prices, support mechanisms, etc. ...

heck, a kick-start to get FarSight to build all that into all of the released and future tables would probably go over well.

 

[RetroBlast]

I am with all of you on this and yes, I would pay a premium for a table that supports a cab and I would contribute to a kickstart program. I hope Farsight is reading this .... your fan base is speaking out and we are willing to pay for what we are asking for ...

 

[Brian C Hayes]

Man i have a 32 inch table with a 20 inch Backglass, and about 30 excellent Future Pinball tables on it .... I would happily use Pinball Arcade as my os system, I am would be happy to pay for it, whatever the price

 

[countcb]

I too would love a virtual pinball table... but I don't want to start buying/building one now because the specs for the TPA PC version aren't out yet.
Don't want to have a virtual table that for some reason doesn't work with TPA...

It would be amazing if some info were avaialbe so that one could start getting the proper virtual table ready until TPA for PC gets released!

 

[Carl Spiby]

Would be pretty cool to have it built into a lightweight linux distro.

 

[sammycasey]

Count me in. I would definitely pay a premium for Cabinet versions of these awesome tables.

 

[superballs]

I hope they go whole hog with that.

RetroBlast how have you been, it's been a while good to see all the familiar faces still posting.
VP is like Linux. It's a total pain to learn and configure, but the more you do it the easier and more....well for lack of a better phrase "second nature" it will become.
It's convoluted but once the applications are all configured all you have to do is be organized.

I actually use a folder on my desktop called "Pinball Files" and in there i keep shortcuts to my Tables folder, Roms folder and all the important folders I will frequently add files to. Then i just download all the necessary files to the "Pinball Files" folder and drop them from there to the appropriate locations after unzipping them and everything. Once youget something down it's really not that painful.