(Topic ID: 50742)

Pinball-Browser : Customize your game !

By oga83

10 years ago


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17 key posts have been marked in this topic, showing the first 10 items. (Show topic index)

There are 5,560 posts in this topic. You are on page 29 of 112.
#1401 9 years ago

Has anyone updated the WPT roms with new music and have an image they wish to share? I can't take much more of the shit music in that machine.

#1402 9 years ago
Quoted from Elwood_BE:

Thank you. Here is the result:

Untitled-352.jpg 11 KB

Your work is looking good so far.

Seeing this Dazzler frame makes me think of what an annoying oversight in the game that is. You get an extra ball, Dazzler skates by with a giant pinball. The DMD animation go in for a close up of Dazzler with her microphone and then you hear.....a deep gravelly Wolverine voice say "Shoot Again"! WTF?!? She's there...she had a microphone in her hand...why couldn't they have had a Dazzler voice in there saying "shoot gain"???

#1403 9 years ago
Quoted from jamieflowers:

Any chance you can share this when you are done with Xmen? If I havent sold my game I would love to convert it to color.

I think that Oga said that it's possible to make macros that include all changes done. If it's true, yes, I will release them but it's not for tomorrow.
I defined a palette in greyscale as default one to have a usable result even all frames are not yet colorized.

#1404 9 years ago
Quoted from Elwood_BE:

1°) It seems that there is a problem of refresh of the display for pictures of type "Motion" with a palette attached.
Picture "n+1" is displayed without clean-up of "n" one. See hand or ball on the attached picture.

Well done ! I'm surprised that we did not see this earlier.
This is one of the most complicated part in Pinball Browser. The issue is not in the rendering but rather in the frame compression once it has been edited. Motion frames are stacked on top of a key frame. When a frame is edited, it is compared to the key frame (and also the previous frames) to determine the changes. This obviously needs to be improved; I'll work on this soon.

Quoted from Elwood_BE:

2°) In X-Men firmware, some pictures have a very small width. In fact, less that the number of pixels used by PB to store the palette. If you try to attach a palette, an 'Unhanded exception occurs'.

I will be corrected in the next version.

Quoted from Elwood_BE:

Is it not possible in this case to store the palette in multiple lines ?

Unfortunately no, because SmartDmd needs to know the palette to use before displaying a frame.
As a frame is displayed line-by-line, this information has to be stored in the first line.

Be aware that these kind of animations inherits the palette of the frame they are being played over.
A final DMD frame is often made of a background frame and one or more animation frames.
SmartDmd will display the composite frame (without knowing how it has been built); thus, it will use the palette that is stored in the composite frame; most of the time it is the background frame (not the animation).

#1405 9 years ago
Quoted from Elwood_BE:

I think that Oga said that it's possible to make macros that include all changes done. If it's true, yes, I will release them but it's not for tomorrow.
I defined a palette in greyscale as default one to have a usable result even all frames are not yet colorized.

Yes, macros are mainly made for this

#1406 9 years ago
Quoted from oga83:

Be aware that these kind of animations inherits the palette of the frame they are being played over.
A final DMD frame is often made of a background frame and one or more animation frames.
SmartDmd will display the composite frame (without knowing how it has been built); thus, it will use the palette that is stored in the composite frame; most of the time it is the background frame (not the animation).

Your explanation is logic but quite annoying. it means we haven't any certainty of used palette for all frames with a transparency (typically the ones that will be displayed above another) and a single "foreground" frame can be displayed with multiple different palettes depending the background one.
Thus, the only solution to have full control of what is displayed is to use a unique palette for all frames but in this case, 16 colors is not enough. Is it a choice or is it a technical limitation to allow only 16 colors for each palette ?

#1407 9 years ago
Quoted from luvthatapex2:

I was watching the first stern Metallica pinball making of.
Seems that Stern creates their DMD animations in color and then drops them down to 16 shades of gray to display on the red dmd. Here is a frame of the Metallica making of pinball. Notice the dmd frames are in color. At 0:53 you can see the pallette in the lower right... Hmm
» YouTube video

that's because stern uses the electronic arts program 'Deluxe Paint Animation' to create the DMD animations (I posted this information about a year ago).

deluxe paint animation has not been commerically available for over 10 years (and may possibly be "freeware" now, but I'm not sure)

here's some information about the program: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluxe_Paint_Animation

#1408 9 years ago
Quoted from Elwood_BE:

Your explanation is logic but quite annoying. it means we haven't any certainty of used palette for all frames with a transparency (typically the ones that will be displayed above another) and a single "foreground" frame can be displayed with multiple different palettes depending the background one.
Thus, the only solution to have full control of what is displayed is to use a unique palette for all frames but in this case, 16 colors is not enough. Is it a choice or is it a technical limitation to allow only 16 colors for each palette ?

Most of the time, a given set of animation frames is always played over the same background : setting the palette into this background should work fine.
16 colors / palette is a technical limitation : A dmd frame on the pinball only has 16 grey levels.

#1409 9 years ago
Quoted from j_m_:

that's because stern uses the electronic arts program 'Deluxe Paint Animation' to create the DMD animations

Now, they are using Pinball Browser editor

#1410 9 years ago
Quoted from oga83:

Most likely, you song has been correctly imported with 4.0 but the message can be confusing : More information here

Using v2 has corrupted your firmware crc, but this is not an issue : More information here

If you have ever used some older v3 versions in the past, the "Auto install communication patch" option is probably enabled (advanced tab). Pinball Browser v4.00 (communication patch 2.09) is not compatible with ac/dc v1.68... and your pinball will not boot with it.
More information here

Use v4.01, start with a stock firmware again, and everything should be fine
See here

You were right about #1......even after the error, it imported fine

In v.4, I unchecked the auto install patch, made my text changes, then saved out......loaded it up to ACDC and boom....still nothing (just has a blank DMD). I made sure to download a fresh copy of the ROM from Stern and tried one more time...still no luck. For now I have the 2.0 version running which has everything other than changing the high score text since thats not possible in 2.

#1411 9 years ago
Quoted from Max_Badazz:

In v.4, I unchecked the auto install patch, made my text changes, then saved out......loaded it up to ACDC and boom....still nothing (just has a blank DMD). I made sure to download a fresh copy of the ROM from Stern and tried one more time...still no luck

Did you disable the "Auto install communication patch" option before loading a stock firmware ? (the patch is applied at the time you load a firmware, not when you save it).
Can you PM me a macro for the changes you made ?

#1412 9 years ago
Quoted from oga83:

Most of the time, a given set of animation frames is always played over the same background : setting the palette into this background should work fine.
16 colors / palette is a technical limitation : A dmd frame on the pinball only has 16 grey levels.

Thank you Oga for your answer. When I will receive my Pi, I will take a look at which frames are displayed together and thus for which i must merge palettes in a single one.

Not really urgent but a kind of enhancement request for the future: We have the possibility to export multiple frames with one action but the import must be done frame by frame. It will be useful when a new firmware will be delivered (?) to be able to import multiple frames.

#1413 9 years ago
Quoted from oga83:

Did you disable the "Auto install communication patch" option before loading a stock firmware ? (the patch is applied at the time you load a firmware, not when you save it).
Can you PM me a macro for the changes you made ?

Ooohhhh, I am not sure...... I'll try that tonight

#1414 9 years ago
Quoted from Elwood_BE:

It will be useful when a new firmware will be delivered (?) to be able to import multiple frames.

The macros are made for this !
When a new firmware is released, it is rather easy to adjust the frame ids that are listed in a macro (in case a new frame is added in the middle).
Imo, It would be more difficult with a bulk-import feature.

#1415 9 years ago

I too would be interested in loading a complete X-men package once you finish. Even willing to compensate you for your troubles.

#1416 9 years ago

Having issues using Crossover and the Pinball browser on my mac? I can get the program to load fine but when I try to load the .bin file it just sits there and won't open it? Anybody having this issue or can help.....

#1417 9 years ago
Quoted from Elwood_BE:

1°) It seems that there is a problem of refresh of the display for pictures of type "Motion" with a palette attached.
Picture "n+1" is displayed without clean-up of "n" one. See hand or ball on the attached picture.

Quoted from Elwood_BE:

2°) In X-Men firmware, some pictures have a very small width. In fact, less that the number of pixels used by PB to store the palette. If you try to attach a palette, an 'Unhanded exception occurs'

Both issues have been corrected in v4.02

#1418 9 years ago

Thank you Oga.

#1419 9 years ago

Must I reimport "Motion" frames from original firmware for which I already set a palette or the bug didn't alter the frame and it was just a problem of display ?

#1420 9 years ago
Quoted from Aurium:

Having issues using Crossover and the Pinball browser on my mac? I can get the program to load fine but when I try to load the .bin file it just sits there and won't open it? Anybody having this issue or can help.....

I don't have any mac, so I can't test it

Could you try the following things ?
- open a file that is not a valid firmware (any .txt or .doc file will do the trick). Depending on what you get, it will help to see where it hangs;
- In the "Advanced" tab, disable the "Check for upgrades at startup" and "Auto install communication patch" options;
- In the "Advanced" tab, select the "Legacy" sound engine.
And let me know what are the results.

#1421 9 years ago
Quoted from Elwood_BE:

Must I reimport "Motion" frames from original firmware for which I already set a palette or the bug didn't alter the frame and it was just a problem of display ?

The issue was in the editor, not in the display engine : the frames have been altered...
You can either :
- import the bad frames from a stock firmware
- play your whole macro on a stock firmware (this will also improve the available free memory)
- edit the first frame that has an issue and erase the wrong pixels with transparent ones (these modifications will be inherited in the following frames).

#1422 9 years ago
Quoted from Max_Badazz:

Ooohhhh, I am not sure...... I'll try that tonight

It worked

Thanks for the help!

#1423 9 years ago

hi

have today problems to flash the firmware

1. try this morning was ok and running with no update error

since the
i used 3 different mod fw all have update error

also when i try the version from this morning !?!?!?

ERROR 8

?
When i ignore the error ist the firmware def. running
or will start the old one ?

try now the original fw

can i display my own version nr?

thx
tom

#1424 9 years ago

ok

must just ignore the error

#1425 9 years ago

Ver. 4.02 I cannot import 24khz mono wav files and I exported an original wav from the BIN which also doesn't let me reimport. I also tried wav's from the forum that others say worked. Capture.JPGCapture.JPG

#1426 9 years ago

JimB - you should be able to continue past that dialogue. Just click OK. At the next dialogue box, make sure you click the button with the green label to import your sound. I have tried this with 4.02 and it works fine with my 24kHz mono sounds.

#1427 9 years ago
Quoted from JimB:

Ver. 4.02 I cannot import 24khz mono wav files and I exported an original wav from the BIN which also doesn't let me reimport. I also tried wav's from the forum that others say worked.

This message is only a warning to remind you some limitations of the free version (in particular : no sound editor - 24kHz-wav only - see OP for a full list).
It does not mean that your file cannot be imported (as long as it is in the correct format).
If your file is not a 24kHz-wav file, you'll have the message "File has a bad format !"

I admit that it can be confusing and I'll add "if your file is a 24kHz-Wav, it will be imported with this version" in the next version.

#1428 9 years ago

this is a great product.

i tested a lot at the Weekend and colrized about may be 10-20 % of ST LE

but now i have the Problem

"not enough Memory"

so i think there is no way to colrize a complete game

#1429 9 years ago

The new 'image' created after you color is stored in memory as it's own image if it's 'compressed'..so it uses memory. Raster images are not handled this way..there is no additional memory need to color a raster image

Make sure you are using the latest version of PB. OGA greatly changed the compression of the 'saved' images a few revs back and it made a HUGE difference on the number of frames that could be colored. I did the math on Xmen (which has the most compressed images I've seen) and you could probably custom color 90% of the images before you ran out of memory

The upper right corner of the editor has the memory usage\availability.

If you using a early version of PB you can just export the images.. and re-import the images you colored using the updated PB. I think appling the macro would work also

Quoted from kapsreiter:

this is a great product.
i tested a lot at the Weekend and colrized about may be 10-20 % of ST LE
but now i have the Problem
"not enough Memory"
so i think there is no way to colrize a complete game

#1430 9 years ago
Quoted from kapsreiter:

this is a great product.
i tested a lot at the Weekend and colrized about may be 10-20 % of ST LE
but now i have the Problem
"not enough Memory"
so i think there is no way to colrize a complete game

When you modify a compressed or motion frame, it can be moved toward free memory (this happens when the compression yields a larger chunk of memory than the original one)
When you do it several times, the free memory becomes fragmented.
The only way to recover some free memory is to :
- rearrange your macros so that all the modifications for one specific frame are grouped together
- then play your macro again on a stock firmware
The amount of memory that is recovered with this procedure can be important but keep in mind that the total free memory has a limit :-; (this limit depends on the game)

That's another reason why it's important to keep and maintain your macros !

#1431 9 years ago

dont realy understand "the macro function"

coul i upload my latest fw

with the macro Infos and you take a look at it?

#1432 9 years ago
Quoted from kapsreiter:

dont realy understand "the macro function"
coul i upload my latest fw
with the macro Infos and you take a look at it?

Each time you modify something with Pinball Browser, a macro is logged (in the "Macros" tab).
Your macros can be shared so that others can apply the same modifications.
This way, you don't have to share files on which you don't have copyrights.

These macros can also be used to recover some free memory in case of fragmentation (see this post).

For example, on AC/DC, imagine that you modify the Stern logo frame as follow :

1 - you decide to add a black pixel on the dot of the letter 'i' in the world "Pinball" , the following macro will be generated :

-- Pinball-Browser Macro for AC/DC v1.65
CheckVersion,"AC/DC",0x165
EditImage,0x5A5
{
Pen,58,59,0,0,1,0,15
}

2- Later (after you have closed the editor), you decide to replace a color by another one in the same frame.
Another macro will be added at the end :

-- Pinball-Browser Macro for AC/DC v1.65
CheckVersion,"AC/DC",0x165
EditImage,0x5A5
{
Pen,58,59,0,0,1,0,15
}
EditImage,0x5A5
{
ReplaceColor,28,49,0,0,1,15,15
}

4- Now, someone can load a stock firmware and play you macros. By doing so, he'll apply all your modifications on a stock firmware. No need to share binaries

5- Clearly, the above macros are not optimized (2 modifications for the same frame) and can lead to fragmented memory (and a loss of usable memory for your modifications).
If you need to recover some free memory, you can group all the modifications of a specific frame as follow :

-- Pinball-Browser Macro for AC/DC v1.65
CheckVersion,"AC/DC",0x165
EditImage,0x5A5
{
Pen,58,59,0,0,1,0,15
ReplaceColor,28,49,0,0,1,15,15
}

6- Now, if you play your optimized macros on a stock firmware, you will unfragment the memory and recover some free memory

#1433 9 years ago

ok i understand this

but my problem now is

i have imported some images in the firmware

the source directory of the png is not longer available

so i cannot run the macro on a stock firmware ?!?!

#1434 9 years ago

i don't see a possible way now

i cannot modify 100 of macro lines

idea:

could i export all 8500 images from the last fw
and import it to a original fw (there is no import function for more frames at 1 time)

would this save memory ?!?

#1435 9 years ago

Kapsreiter

I wrote a very poorly written python script to do just what you need. It groups all macros per frame into one frame, allows you to renumber macros and also goes through and consolidate, orders and removes duplicate entries. Oh, it also allows you to strip palette information from a frame or add/change it.

I wrote this to handle the metallica scripts I was working on. I've been extremely busy working on a different project so haven't had time to finish it.

However, if you want I could process the macros for you, and renumber the ones that need it. I just need those macros, the old frame numbers and the new frame number starting point

#1436 9 years ago

Does this not work with the new Metallica code, or is it just me

#1437 9 years ago
Quoted from He-Man40:

Does this not work with the new Metallica code, or is it just me

Not working for me either

#1438 9 years ago
Quoted from He-Man40:

Does this not work with the new Metallica code, or is it just me

There will be a new version soon for MTL163

#1439 9 years ago

hi!

i have
Total Free memory : 180721

but cannot write more lines into the macro section ?!?!?

most of my macros are like

EditImage,0x91f
{
Palette,14
}
EditImage,0x920
{
Palette,14
}
EditImage,0x921
{
Palette,14
}
EditImage,0x922
{
Palette,14
}
EditImage,0x923
{
Palette,14
}
EditImage,0x924
{
Palette,14
}

or

Image,0x0cea,"\\psf\Home\Desktop\stbilder\Image-0x0cea.PNG"

any ideas?

thx
tom

#1440 9 years ago
Quoted from kapsreiter:

hi!
but cannot write more lines into the macro section ?!?!?

What do you mean ? You can't enter text anymore ?
Send me your macro if you want me to have a look on this.

#1441 9 years ago
Quoted from He-Man40:

Does this not work with the new Metallica code, or is it just me

Fixed in v4.03
See OP for download link.

#1442 9 years ago
Quoted from oga83:

What do you mean ? You can't enter text anymore ?
Send me your macro if you want me to have a look on this.

sent email

have only 2 free lines at the macro section

but enough free space in the firmware

!?!?!

thx
tom

#1443 9 years ago
Quoted from kapsreiter:

sent email
have only 2 free lines at the macro section
but enough free space in the firmware
!?!?!
thx
tom

I think there is a 32k size limit for the macros. I have to investigate on this.
In the meantime, you can split you macros in 2 and play them separately.

#1444 9 years ago

i will try it

thx

#1445 9 years ago

I'm having an issue with Pinball Browser 4.02 and 4.03 with STLE1.5. I'm getting two errors, as can be seen from the attached images. Pinball Browser 4.00 loads the file with no errors.

Also, thanks so much for making and supporting such an awesome program!

error1-899.jpgerror1-899.jpg

error2-904.jpgerror2-904.jpg

#1446 9 years ago
Quoted from malcor:

I'm having an issue with Pinball Browser 4.02 and 4.03 with STLE1.5. I'm getting two errors, as can be seen from the attached images. Pinball Browser 4.00 loads the file with no errors.
Also, thanks so much for making and supporting such an awesome program!

First message : the communication patch is probably not compatible with STLE1.5.
Second message : Pinball Browser has detected that the communication patch was not compatible and has removed it, so that the firmware will not crash when you upgrade your pinball.

v4.00 was not able to detect this : that's why you didn't have these messages (the patch was loaded but the modified firmware would not work).

Disable the option "Auto install communication patch" in the advanced tab. This way, Pinball Browser will not try to load the patch and you won't have these messages anymore.

#1447 9 years ago

Duplicate

#1448 9 years ago

Thanks.

#1449 9 years ago
Quoted from oga83:

Fixed in v4.03
See OP for download link.

Awesome! Thanks

#1450 9 years ago
Quoted from oga83:

I think there is a 32k size limit for the macros. I have to investigate on this.
In the meantime, you can split you macros in 2 and play them separately.

yes this is working!

i am confused why my macro runs un my latest .bin version
i saved the executed macro in different version
for example i am now at tom v20
i can execute all macros without a error on this

but not longer on the original file = no free space

also at both

when i run the macro i have always to answer some questions" weird to define a palette for not full screen image"
but this images will be shown in color only when i color it on ST ?!

so what can be the reason why i cannot longer run the macros on a original firmware?

thx
tom

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