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Virtual Pinball What Do I Need To Know.


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Hi all, was going to wait till i got to Pinfest to see what it's all about and pick some brains.

However, i think that having some basic knowledge first is going to help me have a proper discussion about it as i know bugger all so far. I don't even know what a mame is.

 

My interest is in using it to try tables that i may be interested in or don't have rather than it being my one in all pinball machine. I do know from reading a post here and there that a home built machine with proper solenoids etc is going to be a much better machine and i don't have the time, skills or energy to build one, but don't know what i am after or what the price ranges should be.

 

If someone can point me to some threads (must have been discussed before) where i can start my study it would be welcomed.

 

Saw this so thought it a good time to ask.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1509832829325245/permalink/2070304813278041/?sale_post_id=2070304813278041

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Ok, i'm not interested in buying, but thanks for the heads up. Sure i would have found out if i researched them if i was interested.

 

I'm after a conversation and some links to start learning about what these machines are all about.

 

I'm positive if i do buy one it's more than likely going to built by someone here.

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Hi all, was going to wait till i got to Pinfest to see what it's all about and pick some brains.

However, i think that having some basic knowledge first is going to help me have a proper discussion about it as i know bugger all so far. I don't even know what a mame is.

 

My interest is in using it to try tables that i may be interested in or don't have rather than it being my one in all pinball machine. I do know from reading a post here and there that a home built machine with proper solenoids etc is going to be a much better machine and i don't have the time, skills or energy to build one, but don't know what i am after or what the price ranges should be.

 

If someone can point me to some threads (must have been discussed before) where i can start my study it would be welcomed.

 

Saw this so thought it a good time to ask.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1509832829325245/permalink/2070304813278041/?sale_post_id=2070304813278041

 

 

 

M.A.M.E. = Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator = Emulator upon which you can run ROMs from a file of the original video game ROM.

 

PinMAME = As above, but for running Pinball ROMs as a file in a virtual environment, either for Virtual Pinball or for real pinballs as an alternative to the OEM hardware. The latter it seems has become somewhat redundant with the rise of such things as Rottendog, Altek, Pascal and P-roc.

 

Could well be less than 100% correct, but that is the way I understand it. I got into pinball through Virtual Pinball, but after finding my first real Pin I never could handle going back. My VP stuff is long since gone, and I couldn't even give it away. I don't miss it at all, it simply is not like pinball, the ball is Not wild .... to me just a glorified video game nowdays. However, it still has it's place, more for some than others. Individual preference. :)

 

Imho watching gameplay videos of a game that interests you is probably as useful as trying it on VP, watching vids actually I think is More useful. But playing the real pin somewhere will always give the best indication.

 

Having said all that, if you like the feel of virtual when you try it somewhere, might as well go for it.

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M.A.M.E. = Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator = Emulator upon which you can run ROMs from a file of the original video game ROM.

 

PinMAME = As above, but for running Pinball ROMs as a file in a virtual environment, either for Virtual Pinball or for real pinballs as an alternative to the OEM hardware. The latter it seems has become somewhat redundant with the rise of such things as Rottendog, Altek, Pascal and P-roc.

 

Could well be less than 100% correct, but that is the way I understand it. I got into pinball through Virtual Pinball, but after finding my first real Pin I never could handle going back. My VP stuff is long since gone, and I couldn't even give it away. I don't miss it at all, it simply is not like pinball, the ball is Not wild .... to me just a glorified video game nowdays. However, it still has it's place, more for some than others. Individual preference. :)

 

Imho watching gameplay videos of a game that interests you is probably as useful as trying it on VP, watching vids actually I think is More useful. But playing the real pin somewhere will always give the best indication.

 

Having said all that, if you like the feel of virtual when you try it somewhere, might as well go for it.

 

Thank you mate. One of the young guys who comes to our comps plays an Ipad thingo and does most of his pinball like that, although he still plays any machine he sees.

 

Good tip to watch youtube, just never done that or thought about it as i didn't see the value for that purpose until it was pointed out.

 

I'll wait till i feel one, meantime any other opinions or info is always appreciated.

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I've had both vp and real pinballs and all i have left is my vp. Built it about 5 years ago.

 

While it's true that vp can never be as good as real pinball, the latest games coming out are amazing and FREE.

 

It's a steep learning curve with different apps to learn about if you want to play multi screen in a full pinball cab. But worth it. There really isn't any better way to learn real machines than being able to play absolutely anything - including the most rare machines like Krull.

 

One thing i found really cool about going to my first Pinfest years ago was all the machines there I'd already played in VP. And it really helps with having a good game.

 

There's a section for VP on AA where you can mine for lots of info.

@JustAnotherRat will have his vp at pinfest this year again so maybe word him up!

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Thank you mate. One of the young guys who comes to our comps plays an Ipad thingo and does most of his pinball like that, although he still plays any machine he sees.

 

Good tip to watch youtube, just never done that or thought about it as i didn't see the value for that purpose until it was pointed out.

 

I'll wait till i feel one, meantime any other opinions or info is always appreciated.

 

Cool!

 

Another way VP is good for some, is for learning rules or strategies. I can't help have the feeling though, that this could possibly counter or undermine the good it would do by getting one in a different groove (eg. on an ipad you are using different finger muscles, and what about the triceps? lol ).... might it be better to just watch PAPA tutorials at the gym? :unsure

 

Anyway, all still interesting none the less. On a slight tangent (which there's another thread for) I'm thinking more and more about p3-MM ... :060: ... :075: ..... :blink:

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

I've had both vp and real pinballs and all i have left is my vp. Built it about 5 years ago.

 

While it's true that vp can never be as good as real pinball, the latest games coming out are amazing and FREE.

 

It's a steep learning curve with different apps to learn about if you want to play multi screen in a full pinball cab. But worth it. There really isn't any better way to learn real machines than being able to play absolutely anything - including the most rare machines like Krull.

 

One thing i found really cool about going to my first Pinfest years ago was all the machines there I'd already played in VP. And it really helps with having a good game.

 

There's a section for VP on AA where you can mine for lots of info.

@JustAnotherRat will have his vp at pinfest this year again so maybe word him up!

 

Sounds pretty cool! :)

 

I know things have come a long way just in the 3-4 years since I was playing. I always thought it would be awesome, when I first heard of them, to have VP in your cabinet on one of those Holo Sandtable displays... 3D! That would take some crazy silicone and code to run that s#**!! :o . Now VR headset looks interesting as well, and only need a console that is the lockdown section of the pin? Big space savings, true VR . :unsure

 

Ultimately I am drawn to physical pinball I guess because I am a mechanic and fitter/machinist. I like the mechanical things. VP is still cool, but I found it a challenge switching to and fro, and other personal preferences. :D

 

The next few years in All things pinball is going to be pretty interesting I think... and Big.

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Thanks @Jed . Can you link me to the section as the terms are really confusing for me so far.

 

The pie wheel of games that would be at Pinfest got me interested i think it was like 4 or 8% of games would be virtual.

 

Have to say i'm not much good at youtube, bores me pretty quick. I don't want a virtual machine to replace my machines, just for learning.

 

I have read about the slide/nudges work somehow backwards and move the ball rather than the table and wouldn't buy a notebook to play one. Still i'm interested.

 

edit; my mate said that some of the games he plays have dodgy weak flippers etc, said he played virtual Hurricane and it was nowhere near as crisp as my machine. Is this because they are modelled on worn out machines?

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Now VR headset looks interesting as well, and only need a console that is the lockdown section of the pin? Big space savings, true VR . :unsure

 

TILGaM0.png

 

https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread.php/85565-Virtual-Reality-(VR)-Pinball-is-the-missing-link-between-Virtual-Pinball-amp-Real-Pins?highlight=

 

This will be showcased again at @Cursed's meet in November in Melbourne if you're in the area and interested ;).

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Since @Jed mentioned me I'll chime in.

 

As Jed said, the VP section of Aussie Arcade could answer heaps of your questions and also as he said, I'll have my Virtual Pinball at Pinfest so I'll be happy to chat to you there if you like.

 

My VP isn't as fancy as others so it'll give you an idea of a pretty basic (but I think nice looking) build. I only have a 1080p playfield not 4K like many others these days. I don't have DOF like others do with solenoids etc. firing, I have exciter speakers (used to be known as Poor Man's DOF but is now called SSF (Surround Sounds Feedback)).

 

I enjoy playing VP, I love real pinball but I can lose myself playing VP and essentially forget that it's VP and lose myself into the game. Some say they can't but usually do if they give it a couple of games. People talk of the flipper lag, but on a decent build there is very little there.

@Dedrok might like to chime in with some of his thoughts so I won't speak on his behalf but his input is definitely worth listening to.

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Thanks @Jed . Can you link me to the section as the terms are really confusing for me so far.

 

The pie wheel of games that would be at Pinfest got me interested i think it was like 4 or 8% of games would be virtual.

 

Have to say i'm not much good at youtube, bores me pretty quick. I don't want a virtual machine to replace my machines, just for learning.

 

I have read about the slide/nudges work somehow backwards and move the ball rather than the table and wouldn't buy a notebook to play one. Still i'm interested.

 

edit; my mate said that some of the games he plays have dodgy weak flippers etc, said he played virtual Hurricane and it was nowhere near as crisp as my machine. Is this because they are modelled on worn out machines?

 

In the past there's been justanotherrat's VP and I think Highway also brought theirs, so max 2 there but i don't know if Highway's commercial VP project has got off the ground.

 

Most of us that play VP have built our own machines. There is a youtube link in the thread a couple messages above this with possibly the worst looking VP cabinet I have ever seen, pretty much no VP cabs look like that. People ususally build by modelling after real machines from williams plans, or like i did buy an empty shell real pinball and fit it out. I found a Judge Dredd that had been gutted and built mine in that.

 

In regards to how machines play it is infinitely tweakable. for eg you can faithfully recreate an old 60's or 70's EM with weak flippers, loud coils, etc. Or it can recreate newer sterns with powerful flippers and all the big lightshows. You'll even find stuff from spooky pinball like America's Most Haunted. The physics and graphics have come on a long way in recent years to the extent that the latest releases play very realistically.

 

Being able to play pins i will never own but lust after (MM, Tron, AFM, Star Trek, TOM, etc etc) is really good. Visual Pinball is still the best pinball sim out there, with a huge community of users, developers, and artists who all do it for the love of pinball. VP is free and all games are free.

 

Like JAR said i also find it easy to get lost in the game while playing, and you don't think of it as a virtual game, cause it feels and looks like pinball.

 

If I had the choice would i fill my house with the real versions of all the games i love, hell yes i would, but i'll never have that kind of cash to burn doing that. so VP is one way of getting it. Just like a MAME cab gives you all those arcade machines that you used to love in the one cab.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Oh one other thing. The make up of Pinfest's virtual pinball's will be mine and a couple of Arcooda's from Highway Entertainment. They'll have Pinball FX and Pinball Arcade most likely with VR on Pinball FX.

 

Cool! i'll be keen to try VR pinball :)

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Hey @punkin, feel free to give me a call. I can fill you in on whatever you need to know so have a decent idea of what's out there and what can be done with Virtual Pinball. It's definitely a growth area in the hobby with an increasing number of pinball collectors starting to see the value in adding a VP Cab to their stable for the very reasons you've stated.

 

Give yourself some time if you do call me and have a notepad handy, as I tend to go on a bit.........

 

Cheers,

Chris

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Sorry John, haven't got past the first 5 mins of that boring prick rambling into his intro but i'll give the video another shot after some coffee.

 

Thanks everyone for the info where to start looking at least i'm starting to learn which terms to search now. I'll read up and be sure to catch you guys at Pinfest. I'll be the ugly fat bastard with all the tatt's.

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Since @Jed mentioned me I'll chime in.

 

As Jed said, the VP section of Aussie Arcade could answer heaps of your questions and also as he said, I'll have my Virtual Pinball at Pinfest so I'll be happy to chat to you there if you like.

 

My VP isn't as fancy as others so it'll give you an idea of a pretty basic (but I think nice looking) build. I only have a 1080p playfield not 4K like many others these days. I don't have DOF like others do with solenoids etc. firing, I have exciter speakers (used to be known as Poor Man's DOF but is now called SSF (Surround Sounds Feedback)).

 

I enjoy playing VP, I love real pinball but I can lose myself playing VP and essentially forget that it's VP and lose myself into the game. Some say they can't but usually do if they give it a couple of games. People talk of the flipper lag, but on a decent build there is very little there.

@Dedrok might like to chime in with some of his thoughts so I won't speak on his behalf but his input is definitely worth listening to.

 

I was going to say there should be a wealth of info on here already.

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I'm betting there is, i just don't know enough about the terms yet to know what info to look for or where to look for it. That's why i first asked the question.

 

Made it through to the end of that vid with the help of my second cup too.

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Oh one other thing. The make up of Pinfest's virtual pinball's will be mine and a couple of Arcooda's from Highway Entertainment. They'll have Pinball FX and Pinball Arcade most likely with VR on Pinball FX.

 

I probably should have said that I will only be running Visual Pinball X on mine (at least for Pinfest).

 

There are so many parts to VP and so many options it can be confusing. I personally don't have interest in Future Pinball as I didn't like the way it played when I tested it. I tried to play it for a while but the physics were not good enough. I've heard that it's improved but I haven't gone back. Pinball Arcade doesn't have a true cabinet mode (unless you have the Arcooda software package which I don't believe is available anymore) and Pinball FX 2 for me was boring as the game times were super long so I haven't really tried Pinball FX 3 although it is apparently much better. For me, Visual Pinball, particularly Visual Pinball X (VPX) is the best choice. It can be a pain to set up but once you do have it running its heaps of fun.

 

If you want to give Visual Pinball a try, there is an All In One installer that is a massive help (before it, installing was an absolute nightmare). It will set up for you Visual Pinball for the tables, B2S server for the backglasses and VPinMAME which runs the ROMS. Depending on what you want to do, the more difficult stuff comes after that.

Edited by JustAnotherRat
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Thanks mate, i very much doubt that i will build my own. I'm more likely to buy a home made machine that has all the bell's and whistles than a retail machine too if i end up going this way.

 

In that case, you should definitely speak to @OzStick.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

I'm betting there is, i just don't know enough about the terms yet to know what info to look for or where to look for it. That's why i first asked the question.

 

Made it through to the end of that vid with the help of my second cup too.

 

You're already in the right section mate, you posted in the right place. (Virtual Pinball Projects and discussion)

 

https://www.aussiearcade.com/forumdisplay.php/171-Virtual-Pinball-Projects-and-Discussion

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