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Virtual newbie


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OK, I have a dilemma. I want a Pin in the house again. I stumbled onto this virtual thing and thought this was the way to go. multiple tables on one machine.

I played a Chinese import and was disappointed with the visual and the lag. I am aware their are people making a better built option but wont commit to one now unless I can see one and start flipping.

 

I talked myself out of it and thought I would buy a real Pin again. Budget was $5k. Have been looking and cannot find a game I want for that price. Yes, i'm hard to please.

 

Right now I'm back in the Virtual world again. This time thinking of buying the hardware and building one myself. 4K screen with some extras. I know it is going to cost some serious money.

 

Now, here's the thing, I have no idea about the components that make up a running system or how to put it together, just a shoppinglist from the site here. The only thing I have confidence in is building a cabinet.

Am I fcuking mad to even think about going down this road?

 

Dont hold back

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Give me a call - we can have a chat about Virtual Pins and hopefully sorted out the best way for you to go. I can help you with anything from components such as buttons, interfaces, wiring, DMD all the way up to a fully functioning cabinet, or if you're better suited to getting a cab from elsewhere I can suggest who to approach.

 

Look up my website for my number, feel free to call me any time Mon-Sat between 10am and 7pm.

 

Cheers,

Chris

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... I have no idea about the components that make up a running system or how to put it together, just a shoppinglist from the site here. The only thing I have confidence in is building a cabinet. Am I fcuking mad to even think about going down this road?

 

If (like me) you only have space for one machine, then a vpin is really the only practical way to go ... if you buy a real pin you'll tire of it and forever be craving to swap it out for another and another! The tech you can put in a vpin now will get them pretty darn close to feeling real, and the reproductions of tables that talented authors create now are just stunning, so vpins aren't the compromise in realism that they were a few years ago.

 

Personally I reckon building it yourself is better in every way ... you learn new skills, you know exactly what's inside the cab and how it was put together for future repairs/upgrades, and you get a real sense of achievement from following it through. And I suspect you'll play it more at the end because of the time you invested in creating it in the first place! It has more value to you than a unit you simply bought.

 

What a vpin can require though is a heap of time to make. I was the opposite to you: I figured I'd be fine with the computer/software side of a vpin, but I had no space/tools/experience with constructing the physical cab. That lack of confidence caused innumerable delays every step of the way for me while I researched doing things I'd never done before, found alternative ways to get around my lack of tools, practiced steps on a mock-up and discovered all the gotchas I'd never even considered, and so on. From buying the first parts to being 99% finished took 3½ years for me, just working around everything else going on in my family life at the same time.

 

Also, you probably shouldn't assume you'll be saving a packet by building it yourself instead of just buying something pre-constructed. If you want the cab to feel as real as possible (which I assume you will since you said you're hard to please ;)) then you'll be sourcing decent components and original trim parts and so on, and the dollars can add up real fast. If you still have a budget of $5K though then you'll be about on track for a very nice vpin.

 

Are you mad to think of attempting it? Nope! It's a fulfilling project, gives you a talking point when mates drop over, and provdes endless entertainment for years to come as you can upgrade/add features in the future. The communities here and on most other vpin sites are awesome, really knowledgable and helpful. And OzStick is every bit as helpful as he seems ... just set aside 5 hours for the conversation :blink::) Read everything you can find for stuff you wish to know about and figure out what makes sense to you, and ask questions if you genuinely can't find answers. I'd say go for it!

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@wassa Yeah wow Vpin. One of my best experiences and hardest projects. I’ve now built 2 and a half myself from scratch myself. If you want the story pm me for my number, I’m happy to share. Read up at vpiball.com, VPUniverse or VPForums. Forget the cheap imports, they just look pretty.

 

Basically I built mine for realism, what was that? For me it meant looks like a pin, feels like a pin and play like a pin. It’s a lot of work, trial and error on so many things, a lot of reading online. A lot of fun, frustration and tears. The results can be great. It’s not real pinball by any means, but you get sucked in all the same. I’m not much into the toys you can add, but realism. Art work plays a role here. I do have real pins too, this complements my setup and reduces my wants for yet another machine.

 

My first build 4 years ago was a 75% of standard size cab, virtual pinball 9, 3 screen unit (32", 22", 10"), a very basic build, it worked, but as the forums on these evolved and went KAPBOOM with new stuff and so did my vpin dreams and ideas.

 

This all lead to my wide body cab MKII Pinball Unverse, which took twice as long to build and I dragged my ass doing it, much new stuff, including analogue inputs for plunger and nudging, gold leaf buttons (no-click when pressed), led matrix DMD and forced feedback using 4 vibration sound speakers & 2 subs, 42", 26" & Pin2DMD. It’s not the 4K ducks guts version, but does use a commercial display for playfield (amazing viewing angle and colour) I love it, it’s better in every way and the budget was right.

 

Cost wise, it depends on what you want in it, PC, graphics card, cab materials, real pin bits (coin door), buying second hand parts, new parts, decal art etc. If you are smart and shop around you can build a scratch machine for $1200 to $1500, even using a second hand commercial monitor as the playfield. This is with the fun bits above.

 

The half, well that’s the rebuild of my first vpin, uplifting to be like the wide body, analogue nudging & plunger inputs, with sound forced feedback for mechanical feels. I aim to move that one on soon, to get space back in the garage. I couldn’t bear to junk it, too much time in it to just break it down.

 

Drop me a line sometime I’m happy to help, Chris at Ozistick is a knowledgeable resource and the stuff he sells is good quality, at a more than fair price. I’ve bought arcade stuff from him for nearly 2 decades now.

 

This is the half re-build below

 

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IMG_8826.thumb.jpg.a24c25cc01694826fc41dcea7afd75c4.jpg

Edited by DallasJ
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