Meh.....virtual pinball is ok for game consoles and computers but i would never ever buy a virtual pinball machine like that ever.

It would nice to play the FX tables in full form but none of the older BW or Stern pins, after playing it, owning them for real it kinda sucks.

Someone I met the other day said they played a virtual machine at Logan arcade in Chicago. Maybe a test unit? They said it played pinball fx.

I don't have a VP, but am contemplating building one. The software appears to be really coming along. My problem is that I haven't worked on it in a year or two now, and don't know what to update at this point for the "latest and greatest".

Regarding comparisons to actual pinball, the problem is that most contrast them to an actual pinball machine. This is not comparable at all, and virtual will always fall flat against real. The fun in these is playing them for what they are... a video game. I.e., I don't play Lethal Enforcers to compare with really shooting a Colt 1911 at some bank robbers, but that doesn't make the game any less fun.

I built one years ago. Top of the line at the time - force feedback throughout, real DMD, shaker/motor, tilt accelerometer, etc. Based on BW widebody cabinet (helpful to have a Twilight Zone sitting right outside my workshop for measurements, etc.). Right when VPX was coming out of gate.

Thought I’d use it to play FX tables. ended up using it more for rare older pins I’ll never likely own (CCr, BBB, CV, Safecracker, etc.).

That said, it rarely gets played. Even during parties when I’ll just load up TAF or Ghostbusters and have it sitting in the middle of the lineup. (The menu system is intimidating to newbies, even with Hyperpin <which is awesome>.

Love the fact that I built it (turned out pretty great; and: the story is always a good one). Requires much less maintenance than a genuine table (though: some maintenance still required; it’s got enough “pinball” in it to keep that adage true). I genuinely enjoy it when I occasionally play it. But: the joy/pride of building it is likely a strong factor in that. Not sure if feeling would hold if you buy one NIB (even a nice one, which this seems to be).

The FX2 StarWars tables would be worth for me alone at a reasonable price. they play great. I mean you can't go in expecting an experience like that of the real thing but I have a good time playing them and some of the Marvel tables a few of the OGs. I'm all for it.

Before I got into pinball a couple of years ago, I was sold on the idea of buying/building a virutual pin. I read everything about it, watched videos, priced it out, etc. Then I went to TPF for the first time and actually played real pins along with several virtual pins. What I realized is that the experience with the two are nowhere close to each other, and from that point on I had no interest whatsoever in VP.

I'm not saying that VP is bad and that you can't get enjoyment from and be entertained by it. However, VP does not truly simulate real pinball. If you are into video pinball, then I say go for it but be sure to actually spend time on one in person before jumping in. If you think that a VP pin will fill that desire to experience pinball as a substitute to a real machine, I'm not so sure you will ever be satisfied with just having a VP system.

I built one for the fun of it some years ago when buying another machine was not possible. It's fun for what it is. It's not meant to replace pinball. It does allow you to play games you probably will never see. There are some really good original tables out there as well. That being said I haven't kept up with the software for a few years and barely use it now.

I think the real fun is if you enjoy tinkering, it is fun to build, and set up, and collect/configure all the tables.

I also assembled a virtual pin several years ago, and came away feeling very “meh” in the end. The worst part for me was the letdown I felt after spending so much time pulling my hair out getting PinMAME configured; it was the most tedious, mind-numbing thing I’ve ever done on a computer other than editing metadata and downloading album art when I ripped my CD and LP collection years ago, and the end product was still glitchy and tweaky, and not nearly as enjoyable as the real thing. I would have MUCH rather spent those seemingly endless hours I wasted at the command prompt with some good old-fashioned hand tools, a soldering iron, and a VOM giving new life to some cool old machine!

On the other hand, if someone makes a truly turnkey, fully-baked virtual pin based upon some of those great Zen or other video games (that are either impossible or prohibitively costly to render as physical machines), I’d certainly think about giving the virtual pin idea a second look.

I am really excited about virtual pinball.... it was visual pinball a long time ago that helped me get back into this hobby. I know this will be unpopular opinion here, but it really is just a matter of time before the physics in visual pinball equal real pinball machines.... and once they are close... the reality is you can do some really cool virtual stuff.

I made a virtual pinball machine that had a CRT in the cabinet (it was before flat TV's were even close to affordable). Good concept... but the stuff they are doing now is just amazing.

Someone here was selling a cab with a 4k display in it and I have to say it looked really impressive (at least over video). That got me back in the mood to build one for real this time.

the Zen Williams tables are pretty good on the XBOX One. It would be so nice if they allowed a vertical mode for the XBOX.... could start building a pretty reasonable cost virtual cabinet if it was based on an XBOX ONE and nice TV.

It’s not just the physics that’s an issue though. I’d be interested to see someone incorporate 3d glasses into the mix and see if it made it feel any more real. Anyone here played pinball using vr headset?

Building a VP cabinet with a console sounds like an interesting idea. The only trouble would be getting force feedback.

Maybe someone from Zen can weigh in on if they would ever enable vertical mode for consoles here.

Xbox makes the adaptive controller which allows interesting ways to hook things up...
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/collections/xboxadaptivecontrolleraccessories

I would think there would be a way to give some sort of feedback as the normal controllers all give feedback.

I would totally build a cabinet if we could do one console based...

I think you would want to keep it an economy build though as there is no potential for two monitors.... so no live active backglass which would be a bummer.
Hmmm... maybe scrap that idea, if I am going to trouble to build a cabinet, it has to have a backglass.

Maybe just make a custom pinball controller for the xbox instead....

3D has been done . Playstation 3 has pinball in 3d you can play, pretty cool, I tried that at pinnburgh a year or so ago and it was pretty cool. I think the 3DS has some pinball, but I have not tried. And then there is BAM for visual pinball (I think that is what it was called, it did not look simple to set up though).

same

Yes fx tables do work on vp setup. Have them on my table i think around 30 or so fx2 tables. Around 200 vp tables, i do not put future pinball tables on my machine. They look good but, do not play as well as vp tables do.

The 4k might have been mine. I miss it too bc it was such a beast and these new tables work really well and look great. I would suggest getting one but make sure it's powerful enough that can handle 4k bc 4k is a must

The real intrinsic problem you're going to get with a homemade bigass virtual cab is no how matter how 'good' or 'natural' the physics get, the display latency on your average 4K screen is JUST enough to throw off your aim in an inconsistent and unpredictable way, on a game where pinpoint muscle-memory timing is crucial.

You learn to adjust the ms of delay you get. I have. I play my real games and the vpin when I play pinball each night. Of course since all of the tables are made by hobbiests some have excellent physics, others have to be tweaked a bit.

The key to having lag free (or not enough to see) is NOT to buy a 4k tv but a 4k monitor.

There are a lot of tests out there on these and the one I ended up getting was amazing where I didn't notice any lag. That's the way it needs to be. You shouldn't have to compensate for anything otherwise it wouldn't be worth it to me

The day I made the decision to simply not care anymore about album art in my MP3s was a great day in life.

Do you have a link to what you bought? I have a virtual machine as well, but still have a 1080p TV, looking to add 4k this fall.

Like others have said for VPX lag, graphics, playability have come a long way in the last little while. Still i think of them as a video game as emulating real pinball, not the same as real but still can be very fun. The FX3 Williams tables have come along nicely, I tried some beta testing and tables physics are getting better IMO.

I really tried hard to force myself to be OK with skipping it, but my OCD traits ultimately got the upper hand! I had about 4000 CDs and 250 LPs at the time, so it was a fairly monumental task.

Also, I did the bulk of my ripping in the early 2000s when the capability of displaying art was still a novel idea and I sort of felt as if I would be missing out by skipping it.

A while back I thought since I could only squeeze one more pin into my game room, then why not make it a virtual pin that could simulate lots of pins I would otherwise never get to own? But instead I bought the real pin I most wanted. And I'd do it again if I could squeeze in another.

Metallica looks great in your video showing it on a 4K screen. The playfield is bright and the colors pop. The best example I've seen. And no need to add Pinstadiums to a virtual pin.

One real pinball machine is better than 1000 emulated ones.

VP is a stage many go through and then move onto real pinball - just matter of time. I love tech but VP has so many drawbacks that you will learn about in time. You think you are bypassing all the hastle and cost of real pinball but in the end a very limp experience.

VP is the blow-up-doll of the real pinball dating world.

My proof is that no one in the pinball hobby who has owned a few real games will go out and buy one.

My advice, buy a real pin and the largest tablet to play VP on. I’m not saying VP isn’t fun by the way just saying that it’s not pinball.

If they make a great palying stand alone VP with the FX2 games that will change cause I'll buy one. I said earlier I wouldn't play any actual pins in virtual mode but there are some fantastic FX2 tables which could only be played that way and it would be a much better experience on a high res monitor with a authentic feeling cab and buttons. Price will be the issue here as I won't pay anywhere near as close to a Stern pro for it, then I'm buying a Stern Pro. so time will tell.

This is a pretty interesting take, which probebly will be refined over the years to Come....

It must be really wierd for spectators though.

You are completely missing the mark on this. Most people build them themselves. Additionally you are very incorrect regarding people who own real pins as many who already own pins do build them.

So your "proof" of why virtual isn't good is bc no one that has owned a few real ones never bought a virtual.... Remember that proof? Well kiss it goodbye bc I've done that multiple times.

Thanks

I still have mine, think it was my third machine almost 4 years ago... doesn't get played much, but still happy to have it. Good tool to learn rules on, or check out games. Doubt physics will ever emulate real pinball, but you can get it somewhat close nowadays. It's the nudging that sucks or lack there of (with a cab). It does the opposite of what you intend on some moves you do by second nature ( it moves the ball instead of the table). As long as your cool with those limitations, it's all good. Also I'm referring to VPX not TPA or FX2 those are more for eye candy. Still all are great, as they lead more people in to the ranks.

Yes they can be good for learning rules and checking out other machines. I guess I’m just trying to save those entering the hobby from the hastle of learning that a real pinball machine is not really anything like a VP cab.

I play on my ipad and think it’s great so my point is not that it doesn’t have any worth. I guess it’s just hard to explain. But keep on flipping everyone - it’s all good and if it gets new players in hobby down the road then I’m all for it. Go build yourself or buy the best VP cab ever.

Still have my vp cab after 6-7 yrs I love the stranger things table they did and much of the new videos now incorporated in the back glass of so many tables
Doesn’t play exact as real but. My real alien plays waaaaayyy different that my real Swle so enjoy them all I say.

I built my VP Cab, which of course led me into real pinball as a natural progression. My logic was build one and play 200 for the price of less than a Stern pro. Well that logic fell apart, however every pin I have ever bought was because I enjoyed the virtual version first. I don't play the virtual as much as I once did but I still like to keep up to date with the latest goings on.

I still use VP as a bona-fide design tool, you know.

https://pinballfactory.com/details/

This is who Pinball FX is contracted with. It looks like a newer version of the pinballfactory machine. The one I linked to is FX2, the one your playing is FX3. They had a price on them at one point, maybe call and see if they are still selling them.

I have this and all the other star wars fx2 tables, these are playing in cabinet mode. I will take a pic and post it. For the guy that says this is for people getting into the hobby. Not my case i built mine a couple years back and already own the real things. Great way to learn the machines rules and hear call outs. For future purchases or not. As these do run the game roms of said machine.

I built a mini (24" play field , 19" 4:3 backglass, and a pin2dmd for the DMD) Despite this ones size, I did cram in a Sainsmart and solenoids and stuff inside.
20190308_221825 (resized).jpg

Its worth it to play the fantasy tables on, and to play pins I might not otherwise ever get to play. Its obviously not the same as having a real pin but it's neat! I played enough ACDC on it to learn a good portion of the rules and shots, so when I played the real thing at Zapcon, I wasnt terrible. No I don't think 41m is good.
20190128_200427 (resized).jpg

Its a mini "bartop" size, but I built a "pinball table table" out of some 2x4s and data east legs for it to sit on. Lets the cab's under-lighting shine through. However I do agree that I'd probably never buy one, but I do plan to eventually build a "real sized" one; and I do own multiple real pins and plan to get more as well.

20181204_195515 (resized).jpg

I'm a real pin guy but do plan on adding one of these. I mainly want it to get rules experience/knowledge on games I don't normally get to see for tournaments.

Are those machines only going to be sold to companies? I’d love one to add to my small collection. Think it would add some diversity as my collection grows. Plus I do enjoy the fantasy tables.

I think these are a fun novelty and would appreciate one in my game room. I would never really compare them to the real thing. I personally would get a great deal of satisfaction building one ... I am just not ready to sink the kind of money into building one in order to make it what I think it should be.

Here was my build. Such a beast.

4K 43" ACER Monitor (top of the line/rated by VP forums - ACER ET430)
- 32 inch backglass monitor
-3.6ghz CPU (i5 3570k)
-1070 ti GPU - faster than you'll ever need BUT it gives you 4k 60fps gameplay
-Pin2dmd which features COLOR DMD quality.
- 8+ solenoids
- LED Flashers on each side.
- 5 RGB lights in the back
- Nudge reader so you can physically move table which moves the ball!
- Shaker
- Gear Mechanism that mimics real games (like ghostbusters slimer)
- Real plunger that reacts real time with movement

What do the solenoids and the gear mech do?

Provide force feedback which imo is imperative in these to convince you