(Topic ID: 80899)

Should I Buy a Virtual Pin?

By Pinfidel

10 years ago


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  • 180 posts
  • 60 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 9 years ago by Pinfidel
  • Topic is favorited by 9 Pinsiders

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    There are 180 posts in this topic. You are on page 3 of 4.
    #101 10 years ago

    Well... bad news..... well... for show attendees... anyway... Literally right after I posted this pic someone bought it and it has just been picked up a moment ago. Guy was so excited I thought he was gonna splooge on the screens. LOL. I will still be bringing a 24" model if anyone is interested. I have a couple of other 32" cabs I am working on, but don't have them ready enough to be done before Thursday come setup time.

    #102 10 years ago
    Quoted from CaptainNeo:

    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.

    Really glad to hear your praise of this product because I'm thinking it's probably in my future. Neo, had you played a Standard Extreme before you chose the big guy? I don't think I'll have the space for the wide, not sure what I'd be missing.

    #103 10 years ago

    I played both side by side. I just took the widebody for widebody games. I think the ratios are better, but either are just fine.

    #104 10 years ago

    Thanks for the reply. Did you play any widebodies on the standard? Does it look weird? I mean, do they have to "letterbox" the field or something?

    #105 10 years ago

    no. they look fine, jsut like normal bodies look fine on the widebody machine. No letterbox, just skewed. slightly, but it's so slight you don't notice.

    #106 10 years ago

    A 16:9 ratio is gonna be a 16:9 ratio if it's a 37" or a 47".
    Most HQ tables (widebody or standard) are usually angled and skewed so that you get a portion of the back splash wall or maybe less of the apron as needed, so that it is asetically correct.

    IMO, the widebody looks nicest, because it can have larger monitors, thus making the filler smaller if any.
    The Mini-cabs and the PK2K cabs can also have that filled look.
    A standard cab can fit 37" internal, or 40" routed out, or inside the rails.
    A widebody cab can fit 42" internal, or 47" routed out, or inside the rails.
    Any real cab (*See Below) with a 42" or less will have a frame matte, or filler, since even a 42" will not be the full length of the playfield.
    A 46"/47" will fill the entire playfield from the lockbar to the back - if done properly, you can use a filler and NO frame matte. I used a custom light bar to fill that gap in the back - the monitor filled the length, but it was recessed, and needed some kinda filler.

    *Custom cabinets can be made to the monitor sizing. This makes it look alot nicer from a player perspective, but definately looks smaller when put next to another machine.

    #107 10 years ago
    Quoted from boogies:

    I used a custom light bar to fill that gap in the back - the monitor filled the length, but it was recessed, and needed some kinda filler.

    I'm having trouble visualizing this.. mind elaborating or providing some pics?

    #108 10 years ago

    We will have quite a few ready for the Ohio and Louisville Shows.

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    #109 10 years ago
    Quoted from Deaconblooze:

    I'm having trouble visualizing this.. mind elaborating or providing some pics?

    On this vid, at the beginning ~ 0:42, you can see the light bar.
    It's a piece of steel that I cut to size, drilled 42 holes for the leds, grinded a diamond plate kinda pattern on prior to bonding my 7 CREE RGB's. I then used frosted mini-bulb covers to cover them. It's a PIA, but it's very rewarding.

    BTW, In Brad's VPCab last picture directly above this post, you can see his light bar as well. His cab features a 39" recessed monitor, and doesn't have a frame matte, which is a perfect example of nicer looking individually. The con to it, is it'll look a bit smaller than a real pin. IMO, that's OK, just figured it'll be better to be informed. Just like my vid, I was initially disappointed by alpha-numeric games on my DMD ~ 13:00. It just took a minute to warm up to it.

    Oh yeah, in another plug for VPcabs, his backbox is nicer looking than any of the other commercial builders that I've seen.
    I custom made my backbox for a 32", and it's about 2" wider than a standard backbox. IMO, it looks good since it's on the widebody cab. People usually forget than widebody's have standard backboxes, so most people wouldn't even have noticed, since it's overhang is actually less than a standard body.

    #110 10 years ago
    Quoted from bub2010:

    Well... bad news..... well... for show attendees... anyway... Literally right after I posted this pic someone bought it and it has just been picked up a moment ago. Guy was so excited I thought he was gonna splooge on the screens. LOL. I will still be bringing a 24" model if anyone is interested. I have a couple of other 32" cabs I am working on, but don't have them ready enough to be done before Thursday come setup time.

    Hey that's awesome! Congrats on the sale.

    #111 10 years ago
    Quoted from boogies:

    On this vid, at the beginning ~ 0:42, you can see the light bar.
    It's a piece of steel that I cut to size, drilled 42 holes for the leds, grinded a diamond plate kinda pattern on prior to bonding my 7 CREE RGB's
    » YouTube video

    Great work and set up boogies. I saw your YT vids before. Their what really got me started thinking about getting one. I LOVE the light in the back, esp the advert one. WAY Cool!

    -4
    #112 10 years ago

    NO! Get a REAL pin!!!

    #113 10 years ago

    Bowling Jim.. my machine's little brother will be making an appearance at the show. His name.. is the Executive. I'll be wearing a gray and neon green hat Thursday and Friday and a Tye Dye shirt at least on Thursday if you wanna flag me down. It'll be in the booth with all of the new arcade machines.

    #114 10 years ago

    For anyone interested the model I call "The Executive" is still available and I'll honor my final show price of $1500 if any pinsider wants him. It is a natural stained machine with a 24" playfield and plays super smooth. Got nothing but compliments of how well it played all weekend. Here is a pic of it. Since this pic was taken I changed the speakers to a better set.

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    #115 10 years ago

    I have one and it is not bad. That said I am looking to sell it as I would rather just buy a real pin and use the space for that...

    #117 10 years ago

    I don't put "plungers" on any of mine. I typically use the Johnny Mnemonic, Monster Bash, X-files etc..... "Launch Ball" style button... Since this one was more of a low key unit I decided to not put any LED buttons on it...

    #118 10 years ago

    I love the plunger, really adds to the feel of a machine. Especially when playing EM tables.

    #119 10 years ago

    Forgive my ignorance, but...

    1) Where does the 'code' and 'art' come from for licensed tables? I'm assuming the art is re-created in a digital photo program by some member of the community? How does someone go through all the painstaking work that the original designers, engineers, coders to re-create a digital version of the table? It seems like it would be a huge effort to match the physical games play.

    2) How close do these virtual pins match the physical pins? I have some idea of how Arcade ROM emulators work, and they run an actual copy of the software that has been physically copied from the memory on the arcade machines. I know some sites carry ROM dumps for pinball machines. Are those ROMs used by the Virtual Pin programs? How much do they use? Can they read and utilize the original "rules", animations or sound files? Or are the Virtual Pin versions of a table, re-created entirely "by hand"? That seems like it would almost be as much work as physically creating the pins!?

    I played the Farsight games on my Android phone and my PS3/XBOX, and while they're OK... nothing beats the ACTUAL F#CKING PHYSICS of bashing a metal ball with plastic flippers.

    Call me when you get a 3rd dimension on your playfield!

    #120 10 years ago

    they arn't licensed tables. They are created by an open source community. Nobody really cares they are made. Sterns only requirement is that they don't make games from the current boardset they are on. Since they are on the SAM boardset. You cannot use the table roms to make machines for this era. Have to wait until the boardset is retired before using the game rooms to virtually create tables.

    #121 10 years ago
    Quoted from guyincognito:

    2) How close do these virtual pins match the physical pins?

    Long answer short. The games in Visual Pin tables are 2D rendered to look 3D. If you are hoping for super close physics, then this will disappoint. They are working on making Visual Pinball truly 3D: http://www.unit3dpinball.net/

    They use pinmame to emulate the software, so that is pretty spot on. Making everything work in unison so you have the ultimate pinball experience is not there yet, but they are fun to play. I like playing Zen and VP on my arcade cabinet. I just take it for what it is; a fun video game of pinball.

    The closest to blending video pinball to the real thing will probably be the game be Timeshock! which is a recreation of an old table. It is being built with them thinking about how it will play in cabinets. Here is a sample picture.

    timeshock.jpgtimeshock.jpg

    #122 10 years ago

    Visual pinball's physics are pretty close. If you know how to setup your tables and tweek them, it can be damn close to the real thing.

    Future pinballs physics are terrible. There is a big difference between VP and FP.

    And what the hell is Time Shock? Looking at it, I thought it looks like some euro game I've never heard of. I'm intrigued.

    #123 10 years ago
    Quoted from CaptainNeo:

    And what the hell is Time Shock? Looking at it, I thought it looks like some euro game I've never heard of. I'm intrigued.

    It was an older pc game that the creators, Barnstorm, are recreating using today's computers. They did a kickstarter and I believe from one of their posts they have a cab to test it in, so it should be awesome. The lighting, textures, and physics from reports they send out to Kickstarter backers really take things to the next level. Just look at the reflections on the playfield and side panels. Looks like it will be out before summer with other tables in the works.

    Besides Timeshock, Virtual pins are getting better and better with Zen pinball, Farsight's Pinball HD which is getting cab support, and Unit3d new VP engine.

    #124 10 years ago

    I believe Lawlor is working with them? I'm not sure in what capacity. I've never played the original games, but I'm definitely excited to play the new versions - they look incredible!

    #125 10 years ago

    From my experience with those prefabricated VP manufacturers, is that you can't tweek anything. And most of the time their settings are a little off, but you can't do anything about it. Least with the free downloads, you can change every little detail so it plays like the real thing.

    #126 10 years ago
    Quoted from CaptainNeo:

    From my experience with those prefabricated VP manufacturers, is that you can't tweek anything. And most of the time their settings are a little off, but you can't do anything about it. Least with the free downloads, you can change every little detail so it plays like the real thing.

    Any cabinet that runs Visual Pinball or Future Pinball you can tweak... that is if you know how to edit a script. That being said.. anything can be configured or changed. You could put plugs directly over the outlanes if you wanted to and save it as a modified table if you so desired. Personally I don't touch them, but some people do.

    #127 10 years ago
    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..

    Never saw an answer to this so I will post my specs. I went a bit overboard but I have 0 issues running any of the tables.

    Just a quick video of my first hyperpin build. Specs:

    PC:
    - Playfield tv - 46 inch LED
    - Backglass - 32 inch LED
    - DMD - 19 inch LED

    Computer:
    - Windows 7 64 bit OS
    - Intel I5 Processor OC to 4.4 ghz
    - 16 gig Ram
    - (2) GTX 460 Video Cards both OC
    - SSD HD

    Stereo:
    - 5 1/4 Polk 3 way speakers on backglass
    - 8 inch polk sub
    - Polk 4 way amp

    Running a 32 input LEDWIZ for feedback and the IPAC for my key encoder. Feedback is:
    - Shaker motor
    - Gear motor
    - 7 Semiens contactors
    - Replay Knocker
    - 2 strobes
    - 3 light housings with red, green and blue LED's
    - 3 tilt bobs for nudge ability. One for left, right and forward.

    Also running cointaker LED flipper buttons.

    #128 10 years ago

    Also, if you haven't tried VP in a while give the Direct X9 beta version 7 a try. This guy finally took care of one of the pains of VP and do some work to the flipper physics. I can now shoot exactly where I want to.

    If anyone considering one lives close to Austin TX I will offer my cab up for you to test out. Just PM me. My cab isn't the best out there but it's also not the worst. Should give you a good feel for what they have to offer.

    #129 10 years ago

    This has been a really great topic for someone like myself. I'm going to try and get to the show in Louisville this weekend and check out any Virtual Pinball machines they have. As I'll never have room for more than one or two pins in my home, this would make a great alternative. Not to mention, I don't think I'll ever be able to convince my wife to allow me to grab something like a Tron LE that I would love! Playing it in a virtual environment with accurate nudge and forced feedback would be a great substitute considering I could get that same experience on other crazy expensive tables that I would never be able to own.

    Really, I'd LOVE to make my own, but I haven't found a good tutorial that explains it all to me in a way that doesn't make my head hurt.

    #130 10 years ago

    Sounds like a great set-up Vett. May I ask what all that cost you?

    #131 10 years ago
    Quoted from Pinfidel:

    Sounds like a great set-up Vett. May I ask what all that cost you?

    I've got about $4K into it.

    I built the cab 2 years ago and LED TV's were a lot more expensive. I went with LED's for the power consumption purposes but could have saved a lot of money going LCD.

    I have several videos of it on youtube and a couple of tables I built. Here's one of those videos -

    #132 10 years ago

    Hey Vett, congrats on a great job. That came our super nice!

    Samsung makes great TV's. Nice crisp pictures all around.

    I'm surprised you didn't put some LED's in the speakers.

    #133 10 years ago

    Deacon--- I don't believe you ever mentioned what you actually have... what are your machine specs?

    ----SALE PENDING ON "THE EXECUTIVE" VIRTUAL PIN----

    #134 10 years ago

    The PC I'd probably be connecting this to would have:

    i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz
    Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-Bit
    8gb Ram (could up this, easily)

    #135 10 years ago

    I found one benchmark comparison here that shows a HUGE range of cards.... that card should be more than powerful enough to run it well... however that being said some folks may or may not have video card issues running the ATI cards. I personally have only used Nvidia stuff, but have heard of others having issues. Try it out and see what happens. Also.. your system would probably perform the same with 4 gigs as it does with 8... so the ram is fine. If you don't have an SSD they are faster though. Processor is more than adequate. Here is the link to the benchmarks I found.

    http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

    #136 10 years ago

    Cool Link bub.

    How the hec can a Video Card cost $5K!?

    #137 10 years ago

    Quaddro's are for business design - CAD architects are there main "selling audience". Businesses look at this stuff as a requirement for CAD, not looking at gaming video cards.
    I am using a 480GTX ~ roughly a $200 card. It has 1.5gb VRam - runs everything great. The higher end cards run HOT! Touching the heatsinks can be as hot as a pan on the oven

    I'm using an 2 LED TVs, and an LED DMD - they runs pretty dang cool, but you gotta keep the heat in mind. The CPU, GPU, and my polk sub(and amp) are all inside there ready to warm things up.
    I have 6 - 200mm fans, + 1 - 120mm fan (with a thermostat display) so it' doesn't get too hot inside my cab.
    Without enough cooling, you can easily fry components.

    #138 10 years ago

    That GTX 750 for only $119 looks like a good deal.

    #139 10 years ago
    Quoted from boogies:

    Quaddro's are for business design

    Thanks for clearing that up.

    #140 10 years ago

    What's generally considered the best pre-built nudge mechanism right now? I was planning on ordering one of these, eventually: http://virtuapin.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=105

    #141 10 years ago
    Quoted from Grendel:

    What's generally considered the best pre-built nudge mechanism right now? I was planning on ordering one of these, eventually: http://virtuapin.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=105

    Id check the discussion forum at vpforums before ordering one... theres been a lot of reported issues with them and the lead time to get them resolved has been poor...

    http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=25885&page=1

    #142 10 years ago

    That is one of these marked up $20.

    http://nanotechent.com/mot-ionkit.php

    #143 10 years ago

    Actually bub I don't think it is. I believe it is an Arduino based controller. If he can work out the kinks it should be real nice.

    #144 10 years ago

    Cool link, I'll definitely be using that with future PC builds. Thanks!

    #145 10 years ago

    I bought a vp from vpcabs with full force feedback and have a lot of fun with it,I love playing all the w/b classics like taf,tz,cc,totan ect,I was thinking about buying a Elvis a while ago and never played one before so I flipped on the vp and was banging away on Elvis with all the clicks and clacks from the force feedback and after I played a few games I decided that I am having enough fun with the vp Elvis and was satisfied so am not looking for the real game now,it satisfies me and has slowed down my buying of real games

    #146 10 years ago

    I sent you a PM with a few quick questions rockrand.

    I'm looking forward to trying out the VPcabs machine on Saturday. I wish it were the LE with shakers and such, but at least getting to feel and see the difference will help me decide if it's worth the investment or not.

    #147 10 years ago
    Quoted from shakenbake:

    Actually bub I don't think it is. I believe it is an Arduino based controller. If he can work out the kinks it should be real nice.

    What kinks are you talking about? Never heard of any issues with the mot-ion's. Actually Virtua Pin (Noah) I believe said himself they were using those. Either that.. or maybe Nanotech said that they were out due to supplying a vendor that built virtual pinballs...

    #148 10 years ago
    Quoted from rockrand:

    I decided that I am having enough fun with the vp Elvis and was satisfied so am not looking for the real game now,it satisfies me and has slowed down my buying of real games

    Speaking of which.. have you played tables that you like better in the VP world than real life? I have a real Avatar machine... and honestly once they tweak the flipper response on it I may like it better than the real deal. The sound and video on it are already pretty awesome plus it has the color extra DMD with video clips is really cool. I know some tables go for literal exact duplication and some do not. Avatar is a good example of one that used really good music choices... better than in the real Pin IMO.

    #149 10 years ago
    Quoted from bub2010:

    What kinks are you talking about? Never heard of any issues with the mot-ion's. Actually Virtua Pin (Noah) I believe said himself they were using those. Either that.. or maybe Nanotech said that they were out due to supplying a vendor that built virtual pinballs...

    I posted a link to the thread on his webiste above..

    Many of us had/have issues with the new kit. That aside the other issue they purportedly developed this for was to improve upon the sketchy delivery times for the nanotech version. Ironically, availability had been as bad or worse for these new ones....

    #150 10 years ago

    The mention of Avatar also reminds me of this, head tracking:

    Pretty exciting stuff. I plan on looking into it after I get my cab assembled.

    There are 180 posts in this topic. You are on page 3 of 4.

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