Hamilton, OH
Quoted from thedarkknight77:Some food for thought, if you virtual pin makers put MAME in the pin cabinets and wired up a joystick with buttons i would buy one in a heart beat.
PM sent. Piece of cake!!
(Topic ID: 80899)
Quoted from shakenbake:We both can run the exact same systems.
Thanks. We'll talk. I just wish I had the chance to play one. As I said above, I was less than impressed with the ones I played a year ago, but I have an open mind about it, especially if it doesn't take up a slot that can be devoted to a full-sized pin. (Which is not to say that I have figured out where even a mini-cab would fit, but I am willing to give it a serious look.) I definitely like the idea of being able to play pins that I will never buy but which I am curious to try.
Quoted from Aurich:That's the funny thing, when I was building all the virtual guys were scrambling to run real DMDs to make their cabs feel authentic (I know I did) and the people with real pins can't wait for ColorDMD to let them stick an LCD screen in instead of a plasma or LED display.
I brought that up in the Hyper-pin forums in a post about how they are putting the plasma or LED DMD's in there cabs to emulate real pinball, when "real" pinball is switching over to LCD technology that they do not want to use.
When I suggested to my buddy to keep an LCD in his cab to be ahead of the curve, he told me that he wanted to be authentic. I explained in 5 years it will be as I see all manufacturers going to LCD technology for color and expense.
Quoted from jimjim66:I brought that up in the Hyper-pin forums in a post about how they are putting the plasma or LED DMD's in there cabs to emulate real pinball, when "real" pinball is switching over to LCD technology that they do not want to use.
When I suggested to my buddy to keep an LCD in his cab to be ahead of the curve, he told me that he wanted to be authentic. I explained in 5 years it will be as I see all manufacturers going to LCD technology for color and expense.
It's one of those catch 22 - grass is greener on other side kinda things...
Real pins want to be newer, different, refreshed.
Virtual pins want to look real.
It makes logical sense to me.
I've had the real LED DMD for a about a year. I love it, but I miss being able to have TS in green, TSPP in Yellow, etc.... I liked the colors of the LCD, but the brightness of the LED DMD. I guess you can't have it all 
Quoted from jimjim66:I brought that up in the Hyper-pin forums in a post about how they are putting the plasma or LED DMD's in there cabs to emulate real pinball, when "real" pinball is switching over to LCD technology that they do not want to use.
When I suggested to my buddy to keep an LCD in his cab to be ahead of the curve, he told me that he wanted to be authentic. I explained in 5 years it will be as I see all manufacturers going to LCD technology for color and expense.
I agree with you. While we do offer the real DMD my preference is the full color LED. It will be very useful with what we are about to see from Pinball FX2 
Below are couple of pics of ones like I build and they are $2300-2500 +shipping which is usually about $230-$270 anywhere in the USA and they are all setup and ready to play. I use bigger monitors than virtualpin or vpcabs. Mine have a 32" playfield monitor and a 23-24" backbox. That being said I do not use a 3rd monitor for a DMD... it is a 2 monitor setup.
Having been a PC repair person and builder for almost 20 years now I've used a lot of different processors over the years. Since building virtual pins these past couple of years I've tested out a lot of equipment... dual core, quad core, and 6 cores on the latest ones. Personally the fastest GHZ quads seem to do the best since these games don't really take advantage of multiple core technology. I believe if it existed a 6ghz single core CPU would kill a 6 or 8 core 3.5ghz CPU.
By default on mine there is no tilt mechanism in them... they have the dual buttons on the side for left and right tilt and magnasave options. (I'm not a big fan of tilting in real pins anyway) If you wanted to add it a nanotech mot-ion controller can be added to it for a $100 upgrade that simply plugs into a usb port which is easily accessible behind the coin door.
Overall the units I build are a balance between features people need to have a good experience versus things that they may not.. and find too costly and over the top. Anyone that has ever purchased a unit has loved them.
I've done some that are just painted black or with no finish for the person that wants to install their own vinyl. With virtual pins everyone likes something different since there are so many home brew options with things that you need to play versus things that you might want to have if you want to pay 4-8k for a "does everything BUT launch REAL steel balls" type of machine
Here is a pic of one next to a full sized pinball and a full sized arcade cabinet as well as a couple of other pics. I will have at least one at the Ohio Pinball show in a couple of weeks... possibly 1 smaller 24" playfield unit one also.
Quoted from shakenbake:It will be very useful with what we are about to see from Pinball FX2
When is that coming out? I am anxious for it, I am also excited about Pinball HD getting a cabinet setting and Timeshock coming out. I donated on the Kickstarter for the Timeshock, but haven't heard about that in a while. I know you had Pinball FX2 running on your machine at ComicCon, so I figured you might have a time frame.
Quoted from jimjim66:When is that coming out? I am anxious for it, I am also excited about Pinball HD getting a cabinet setting and Timeshock coming out. I donated on the Kickstarter for the Timeshock, but haven't heard about that in a while. I know you had Pinball FX2 running on your machine at ComicCon, so I figured you might have a time frame.
I can't give an exact date but it should be soon. They have one of our machines at their US office for R & D!!
I was off the grid till all day yesterday, finally coming in here late last night. I read half of what everyone said and the other half just now.
First off, I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who posted to my thread. I can't believe all the great words, suggestions and ideas you all had. Also seems like I wasn't the only one with this idea. I'm happy this has been a thread that has helped others as well.
Second, I love the suggestion of adding MAME onto a machine. With that, you've now done 2 things. 1 - given people the ability to have hundreds of pinballs at their disposal that they'd otherwise might never have been able to play. 2 - Now you can take your virtual pin unit and add all the great video games to it that we know and love. I mean, imagine playing TZ one minute, TOTAN the next and then Miss Pac Man or Asteroids after that! UNBELIEVABLE.
The thing with this is, sure, the pinball may be just a cheap rendition of the real thing to some, (and I understand that) but the video game side can be exactly like playing the real thing we all know, love and grew up with. That's a HUGE plus for me.
This is definitely the way that I would want to go if I were to do this. I prefer a 3 LED version myself and that's the way that I would prefer to go. But we'll see. I'm still on the fence with this because I just LOVE real pinball SOOOOO much. I have some real thinking to do.
Again, thank you to all of you who took the time to add a response to my thread. It's much appreciated.
Quoted from Craig:A potential selling point for me would be having a smaller machine that I could fit in a space that won't accommodate a full-sized pin. Does anyone have experience with one of the compact models? If (and I know that's a big "if") all else is the same, a smaller table might just be the thing that tips the balance the other way.
I know people that bought the smaller ones, and they are exactly like the large ones, just smaller. Take up less space than a SMBMW, and they are great for putting on a table or something. Same exact experience.
Quoted from Craig:Thanks, Neo. I am going to get the dimensions for this thing and give it a serious look.
I've played them and they are about 2 ' X 4'
Quoted from shakenbake:It will be very useful with what we are about to see from Pinball FX2
What does this mean, do tell!
Okotoks, AB
Quoted from bub2010:Below are couple of pics of ones like I build and they are $2300-2500 +shipping which is usually about $230-$270 anywhere in the USA and they are all setup and ready to play. I use bigger monitors than virtualpin or vpcabs. Mine have a 32" playfield monitor and a 23-24" backbox. That being said I do not use a 3rd monitor for a DMD...
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BUB, did you ever post a utube vid of this in action? if its the vid i saw these are nice machines
I have a floating home in Portland, the world's worst place to own a pinball machine or pool table. When the boats are running the house pitches and sways, makes for good sleeping though. This may be what I've been looking for, lag or not. I'm going to keep an eye on this thread for sure.
Don PDX 029.jpg
Quoted from BALL_LESS1:I have a floating home in Portland, the world's worst place to own a pinball machine or pool table. When the boats are running the house pitches and sways, makes for good sleeping though. This may be what I've been looking for, lag or not. I'm going to keep an eye on this thread for sure.
I just saw one of those floating homes on Epic Homes. It was really nice. $2M!
Nice VP Bub. I'm still undecided. I'm going to be going over to a friends house in the Spring to check his out. After he shows me what it does and I try out how it plays, then I'll decide.
Till then, I've passed up a lot of great deals on some wish list pins. There's even a Shadow for sale for $2,300 that I'm teetering on. So tempting and NOT on my wish list. But only because I have never played it. I just wish I had room for 10 more pins. 12 pins is a nice amount. An even dozen. Maybe even a Baker's dozen.
Norra Strö
I was in the same spot a while ago.
I decided to build my own VP and I don´t regret it at all.
When you decided on the hardware and measurements the build is easily done and completed in a weekend.
I built mine of MDF with white high gloss laminate on the sides. (It still got the protections plastic on on the pictures)
46", 32", 19"
(I ended up building 1 black matte version for my friend also)
Here are my 2 machines:
Quoted from pale:I decided to build my own VP and I don´t regret it at all.
When you decided on the hardware and measurements the build is easily done and completed in a weekend.
I built mine of MDF with white high gloss laminate on the sides
Came out nice. Great job. If I was more technical and could figure out how to wire everything up, I would take the project on. But I don't think I can do all the computer stuff as well as wiring up the flipper buttons and the shaker motor etc.
I wish I could though. I could probably save myself half the cost of buying it pre made.
I will be trying one out in the near future. A GREAT fellow Pinsider named Robert lives less than a half hour away. He was nice enough to get in touch with me and invite me down to play his cab and go over it with him. How nice is that!? Only on Pinside. You guys are ALL awesome. I appreciate you all.
The work part of it is a lot of the small finishing details and if you aren't what I'd call a PC person then you'll pull you hair out trying to figure it all out... unless your plans are just to run Pinball Arcade or Pinball FX. That makes the pc software part 80% out of the equation. The ones I build are relatively inexpensive, nice, and PC spec'd decent or better than quite a lot of them out there.
Quoted from Av8:Play one first. One word. LAG.
Only if you own a shitty one or don't know what the hell your doing and can't tweak worth a shit.
I don't have any lag...not one millisecond of lag. not even on monopoly which is a resource hog.
Quoted from CaptainNeo:Only if you own a shitty one or don't know what the hell your doing and can't tweak worth a shit.
I don't have any lag...not one millisecond of lag. not even on Monopoly which is a resource hog.
Agreed. If you have the proper equipment and settings, it will work. Again, this is not the real deal. It never will be. However, for what it is and what it does. It is phenomenal and it just keeps getting better.
Agreed... if there is lag then you don't have something configured properly or the TV is dragging you down with buffer settings. Or.... it is entirely possible that the hardware is totally under spec, but usually even a slow PC does not have flipper lag... it is more likely to just have slow FPS and look choppy.
Quoted from alexanr1:The thread initiator should do a pole to vote yea or nea.
You know, when I wrote this thread, I wanted to do a poll. But I couldn't figure out how to add it while I was writing it up. After I added it to the forum I saw the "Add Poll" at the top of the page. So I added the poll and submitted it. Well, it didn't just add the poll onto my thread, it created a duplicate thread. One had the poll this one didn't.
That poll was split right down the middle with 24 yea and 24 nah votes. All in all, I love the idea of this and the consensus on both sides was basically that I shouldn't buy before I try. Well, a great guy named Robert hit me up and invited me to his house to try out his. So, sometime in the near future I'll be headed to his place to check out his awesome VP. He's just doing some work at his place right now and has to get that squared away first. So hopefully in a month or 2 I'll check it out.
Thanks to everyone for all their help, tips, encouragement and advice.
I think for the poll to be useful- you'd almost have to phrase it:
"For those that have ACTUALLY PLAYED a virtual cabinet, would you recommend one"
Otherwise you get a lot of misinformation from people who've simple not actually played one and/or extrapolating their experience playing on their (possibly misconfigured) desktop PC to what they "think" a cabinet would be like....
Of those that have experienced it, what is your opinion on the value of paying up for one with full forced feedback vs. a plain jane model?
Currently thinking about this one on eBay (would love to hear if anyone is familiar with this model)
It has 8 solenoids + shaker motor + knocker
Nothing beats the real thing, but I value the opportunity to play 200+ tables I would not have the opportunity to play and use the VP to decide whether I enjoy a game enough to buy the actual machine.
Quoted from lowepg:"For those that have ACTUALLY PLAYED a virtual cabinet, would you recommend one"
Yeah, but then you have people that tryed a UltraPin when it first came out 
Quoted from Multiball1:Of those that have experienced it, what is your opinion on the value of paying up for one with full forced feedback vs. a plain jane model?
I love having the full blown experience - It fells more like you are playing pinball, basically enhancing the whole experience. 
My stern games have knockers, and most of my games have shaker motors hooked into something - so it's kinda better than the real thing I suppose there are a few people that don't like shaker motors or knockers 
IMO, I like Jack's (ebay link) specs - bang for buck they are the cheapest. I really hate his backbox appearance. His DMD/speaker grill is also his trim piece around the front monitor 
IMO, these are more valuable to a pinhead with smaller collections. With more than 10 real machines, I would imagine the apreciation of this might be a little less 
Quoted from Multiball1:Of those that have experienced it, what is your opinion on the value of paying up for one with full forced feedback vs. a plain jane model?
Currently thinking about this one on eBay (would love to hear if anyone is familiar with this model)
It has 8 solenoids + shaker motor + knocker
ebay.com link
Nothing beats the real thing, but I value the opportunity to play 200+ tables I would not have the opportunity to play and use the VP to decide whether I enjoy a game enough to buy the actual machine.
Although we are direct competitors, Jack(eBay link) makes a great machine and is by far one of the nicest people you will ever deal with. He has gone out of his way to get me parts when I've needed them and even sent me a few customers because they were close to my shop.
Quoted from lowepg:I think for the poll to be useful- you'd almost have to phrase it:
"For those that have ACTUALLY PLAYED a virtual cabinet, would you recommend one"
Otherwise you get a lot of misinformation from people who've simple not actually played one and/or extrapolating their experience playing on their (possibly misconfigured) desktop PC to what they "think" a cabinet would be like....
I would even add the clause (if you only played ultrapin, you do not count and have not experienced a real virtual pin)
Ultrapin is a first attempt "Toy" that sucked horribly. If that is the info your going by, you might as well say, you played a Zizzle and now you know all about how pinball machines feel.
Quoted from CaptainNeo:I would even add the clause (if you only played ultrapin, you do not count and have not experienced a real virtual pin)
Ultrapin is a first attempt "Toy" that sucked horribly. If that is the info your going by, you might as well say, you played a Zizzle and now you know all about how pinball machines feel.
Lol... good point...
I was thinking of the analogy, "Hey I was thinking of buying an ACDC Premium, but tried The PIN the other day and decided I probably wont like ACDC either...."
I've never played an ultrapin, but have seen them and they even look kind of goofy the way they did the whole backbox.. I got into it just a couple of years ago and loved it from the get go. I've now owned 4 real pins, but love playing the stuff I don't have or can't afford on it. (not to mention I don't have much space)
I've never seen shakenbake or multiball's in person, but they look like nice units.
Hi guys.
For me, a shaker is a must. I've read that the sensors will make the shaker vibrate for multiple things. Like when you plunge the ball or the pop bumpers are going off or when the ball hits the flippers and at other various points of gameplay. It just adds to the realism.
Neo - what kind of PC specs are you running? I'm wondering if my current setup would be sufficient to run my mini cab once I finally get it together..
Quoted from Deaconblooze:Neo - what kind of PC specs are you running? I'm wondering if my current setup would be sufficient to run my mini cab once I finally get it together..
You know, I couldn't tell you.
This is where I got mine and what it is.
http://virtuapin.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=33
has all the specs for everything I have.
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