I honestly don’t know why people in the states aren’t buying from Noah/VirtuaPin... he said he’d do anything custom you wanted... what’s the hesitation? Cost? Can he actually be that much more than having to get one shipped literally half way around the world? He will get on the phone with you and literally walk you through the process of adding tables... this is more than any other fly by night company offers as far as I know and he’s been in business doing this for years and years. He’s in the same time zone +/- 3hrs ans answers emails? I drove 8hrs return just to buy parts from him when I built my table. (Okay I also got to play one of the worlds greatest pinball collections when I did that so maybe that’s a bad example )

Simple; many people really want a "ready to play when I get it home" solution. These are the same people who buy prebuilt desktop computers with shovelware installed. And the time to get it factors in as well... I'm sure the one local seller I've seen at the Pinball Showdown does get quite a few sales on the floor of machines he brings because it's almost instant gratification.

Hi hear you... but... From experience... it is my opinion... that buying from Virtuapin will result in a better, more long term experience as a buyer would actually know how to use the game they just bought.

VP’s are not set it and forget machines if you actually want to run the new VPX tables that get released.

If you literally never want to add another table I’d still recommend people in the states buy from VBCabs if they are still selling their builds with PinballFX preinstalled as that is the ‘easiest’ of the emulators to actually keep up to date.

Anyway... I know you’re skilled in the VP world, this isn’t a you challenge it is an a challenge for those looking for the easy way out when sometimes a little bit of effort will produce a better result.

I’d actually feel better if the answer was his cabs just cost too much, I just fear people buying these preinstalled cabs are being setup for disappointment in the long run.

He’s like 7k plus tax and plus shipping. Retro play over in Aus is $4200 US plus $850 shipping. I got a quote a few days ago. So yes, virtua pin is more expensive.

When waiting to get a pinstubby, there is always the Tankstick. Granted that it lacks the plunger and nudging sensors etc., but its a nice way to get to play the VR tables. One has to change the position of the flipper buttons though - for some reason they have put a lip to the Tankstick that covers a bit too much of the flipper buttons closest to the player. I think I would saw the lip off if I knew how to do it in an elegant way

Tankstick (resized).jpg

there you go... that is a factor I can get behind. Hope the saved cash is worth it and the Retro Play meets expectations and he supports you.

Nice! when you get your Pinstubby setup. please post a pic or vid. I heard thats the way to do it. supposedly the VP FSS look way better then playing on cab and you save some money.

Yeah, the Retro Play guy is definitely persona non grata in the visual pinball community. Don't count on support from others if you've purchased from him, which may or not matter to you.

The whole community is pretty dysfunctional, a lot of talent donating their time to make software and games and a lot of other people trying to profit from it. There are only a handful of folks actively making (interpreting? adapting?) games and a lot of them have quit recently as VP has been increasingly commercialized. Bit of a serpent eating it's tail. Hard to say where it'll end up, but for the end user just looking for a product to buy and play VPX is a pretty nice prospect and there's no shortage of people happy to download it for free and then sell it to you.

The thing with retro play builds is the cabs actually look like a real pin without all the wonky buttons on front and coin door etc... even utilizes the Stern fire button on lock bar along with many other features like knockers and em chime bells if you want them.

Only thing holding me back was the 18-20 week lead time, I just sent him a msg to see if any chance of it being sooner.

After watching all the vids on you tube just seems to be one of the better builds out there for the money.

There cabs really do look good, I agree very very stern like which is cool. I like the idea of bells and chimes, that adds a lot to the EM tables. I think an EM table really shines on VP, there is a really sweet Star Wars EM game, the creator made an EM styled wedge head cabinet for it too.

If anyone has any experience with the free cam mod for TBA I am having a little issue displaying the field straight down. I only have one monitor, so no dmd or back glass. I downloaded a couple of camera presets other people made that showed they had it set on a straight top view. No matter what I do it shows a zoomed in play field with the dmd and back glass. I know it’s something simple. I’m almost there. Any suggestions?

We're more than happy to put the same, subpar components in a cabinet, if you like. With VirtuaPin, our 4K screens are custom and commercial-grade, and the PCs are high-end gaming PCs. Of that '"7K", which is actually $6500, $3K of that is OUR cost on just the playfield monitor and PC.

If you'd like a Vizio and an off-lease PC, we can do that, too.

With every complete cabinet purchase, you also get me instructing you on how to add tables, tweak settings, and getting things up and running. Folks need to know how to operate their own expensive toys, imo.

Well pretty soon Stern or a big name is going to have a full size virtual pin hit the market and buy up many of the programs. The home builders better get used to the idea.

Are you familiar with their specs?

They claim to use Samsung 4K monitor with a high refresh rate.

In fact if you want to provide a side by side comparison using the actual facts from your and theirs I’d like to take a look.

One stop side by side so to speak, make it easy on us consumers who don’t know what we are talking about regarding computers.

I didn’t order from anyone yet.

I don't know what they put in theirs, but at $4200 USD, VirtuaPin is clearly well above that in quality and performance. Guaranteed. We're happy to use whatever components you like, but you have to accept, you get what you pay for. When I say our PC and playfield monitor total $3K, it's due to using nothing but the best components. Nothing cheap in our machines. Ever. (Unless you specify otherwise, of course. LOL)

I've been around this block for over ten years now, and I can say with the utmost confidence, nothing comes close to our build quality.

You are welcome to purchase from anyone, of course, but to reiterate on what has already been said, they are selling UNAUTHORIZED software. If you want to do business with dishonest companies, that's up to you. It would be a hard pass for me. Shady is shady in all aspects, not just on the surface. in most cases.

Here's just one review, and this happens to be someone from Australia, and he did have issues with his machine. We resolved them, of course, at our expense ...

https://virtuapin.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews_info&products_id=33&reviews_id=71

As for 'force feedback', don't let anyone tell you you NEED it. It's more for tinkerers than folks who just want to play pinball. The beauty of virtual is NO MAINTENANCE. Once you start adding moving parts, you may as well buy the real thing.

I agree, needs to have those features and Retro Play seems to offer all this as a standard feature which is why I’m interested.

Forget about the game being ready to roll when it shows up. I know people have biased opinion about that aspect.

What is lacking on their unit?

If they didn’t have a 5-6 month wait I already would have ordered so just considering others at this point.

I maintain all my machines so the no maintenance aspect has nothing to do with me wanting one.

It’s more about having access to many machines that I would never buy due to space constraints and also playing custom machines that you otherwise can’t play.

I’m kind of picky so I’d like it to play as close to the real thing as possible or I will likely be disappointed.

I've had a VP cabinet for over 10 years and have upgraded it several times. I disagree on the force feedback. To me a kick ass sub (external polk $100) and 5 flasher array (along with a fast computer with SSD and 8-16gb nVidia card) are good enough to give me the sensory details to make me feel like I am playing pinball. Try a solidly built cab without feedback before you dis it.

Exactly my opinion, as well. I have tried many cabs with 'solenoids', and they don't feel real, at all. Using audio feels more genuine and complete, imo. With solenoids, you only get a limited number of events, too. With audio, you get it all, including the ball falling off ramps and hitting pegs. There's no comparison. Add to that that many builders use tractor starters. Do I really need to say more? LOL

Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference, and I have to respect that. We do not, nor will we ever, install solenoids in any cab. Those systems are not UL/CE certified, and insurance isn't going to cover anyone, if something horrific were to happen. They're also a huge support nightmare, so I completely agree that, if you're going to purchase a cab from overseas, they better follow through with stellar support.

Sorry guys I disagree !force feedback adds so much also the clicking sound too. The flasher bar with all the lights
It’s the only way to go.

I put actual pinball mechs in mine for force feedback. Pretty realistic.

There are some good 3rd party options out there to easily add feedback devices to a cab that comes w/o any.

I agree that feedback is a must for virtual pinball.

SSF (Surround Sound Feedback) is a GREAT force feedback system. I scrapped the click/clack solenoids for SSF and it is GREAT. Easy to setup and configure, gives actual sounds of playfield objects (including ball rolling) that you can also feel and in a better "3D" space than solenoids. You can, of course, add SSF in conjunction with "traditional" force feedback as well and have the best of both worlds, so to speak.

I know that doesn't play totally in to the discussion at hand between pre-built brands though.

Insurance for solinoid risk??? Seriously??? Guess I better get rid of ALL of my traditional pinball machines too, shesh.....cmon, get real, just leave the debate at some prefer them and some don't, its not a high risk selling point, sorry.

found this site selling virtual pin with arcade controllers. plus games installed

https://www.inthenewage.com/PINBALL-MACHINES_c_406.html

This is from xtreme gaming cabinets, another Australian group: https://www.xtremegamingcabinets.com.au/

I would remove some of their arcade buttons and do a single monitor on the back box, but they seem to have a pretty good build also. You pay for the shipping, but the price with conversion is about 6200. I like the close to real machine look as possible.

GeForce RTX 2060 Super OC 8G
Ryzen 7 3700X CPU 8 Core
16 GB Hyper-X DDR4 3200Mhz RAM
1TB SSD Windows 10 pinball system
700 Watt Thermaltake PSU
Windows® 10 , 64bit with licence

vs

Intel Core i5-9600K 6 Core Unlocked LGA1151 300 Series 95W Desktop Processor
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory
EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SC Ultra GAMING, 06G-P4-2067-KR, 6GB GDDR6, Dual HDB Fans
CORSAIR RMi Series RM1000i 1000W 80 PLUS GOLD Haswell Ready Full Modular ATX12V & EPS12V SLI and Crossfire Ready Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache HDD

Pretty similar specs, you're right your pc is pretty good.

I agree, I don't have any affiliation with any of these companies, but I do like how much better they keep getting.

I too have a VP cab with dual sub/tweet setups with SSF and playing with solenoids is too much. As Noah states, it's a single event sound and not authentic. My mechanical sounds including it's subwoofer are turned very low and it's VERY real. The way Noah situates the tweeters is something only a vetted builder would know, and I cannot stress enough how much this guy knows his stuff.

Pinball machines and parts are all UL/CE certified. BIG difference. I've been in this business for over 10 years, and I've discussed it with insurance agents and attorneys. What do I know. LOL

If you've talked to as many folks as I have about this stuff, you'd know there's many more issues with virtual solenoid systems than real pins.

If audio can achieve what moving parts can, it just makes sense to go the audio route. a 1/10th of the price, virtually no configuration, and 100% safe.

Maybe used is the way to go on one of these.

Anyone looking to sell? Shoot me a msg and let me know what you got.

The trip down VP cabinet lane should be a solitary and personal experience of looking at about a billion webpages, watching a terabyte’s worth of YouTube videos, days of fence sitting (if not months or years), 3 bottles of anti-acid, and the total loss of all the skin on your hands from all the knuckle wringing and indecision. When you finally have spent about a years worth of angst worrying that the cabinet you are going to use will fit the monitor you bought on Craigslist, and wether the I5 CPU you kept from your last build can actually fit and work in a more modern motherboard, you finally calm down long enough to schedule a two week build period where you invite all your maker buddies over to “help” assemble and configure it. Now seeing as I have authored a bunch of VP recreations in the long long ago, I know my way around VP well enough to get a cabinet running and my final home brew cabinet works fine for me, I went with force feedback, but honestly, I have all the parts, but once the thing got playable with a subwoofer and back box speakers, I lost a lot of drive for all the toys and have been just playing the phuck out of it. YMMV....

Suggestion. post the same request in vpforums.org where thousands of members hang out.

Totally agree. The hardest part of my build was trying to decide my specs. I can't tell how much time & effort I put into just figuring out a hinged playfield mount that I could rotate 90' and now it turns out I haven't used it once.

Psw757 I'll sell you my Virtual Pin. goto page 47 and see some pics of it.

Just got my virtua pin delivered today while at work, sitting in my garage, can't wait to see what it has. Always wanted a Popeye, Diner, robocop etc, maybe I can just play those games on this machine and save the room!

Please report back on how you like it.

The Diner VPX is an incredible reproduction, top shelf. The Robocop is really great too... I don't remember a Popeye one.

I have had the 27" playfield mid-size kit from Gameroom Solutions sitting in its box in my living room for a couple weeks now. I keep installing new games on the computer and tweaking the screens while they are still sitting on a table in the living room and easy to get at. At some point I am going to have to break down and assemble the cabinet and get all the buttons and such wired up... but I find myself easily distracted by looking for more tables and further customizing the software on the PC.

It is definitely NOT the same as "real" pinball but I think it is a lot of fun in its own right. It's a nice complement to the 3 real games I have in my collection and hopefully something that will continue evolving as the software is updated.

I am very grateful to all the people who put in the long hours to create the simulation software and the amazing games that we can all enjoy for free.

https://vpinball.com/VPBdownloads/popeye-saves-the-earth-bally-1994/

I suggest anyone dipping their toes in VPX take a look at the latest Totan, CV, addams, world cup soccer. Many of the more recent recreations are using updated dynamic flipper physics. Check out ones by wrd1972 in particular as his recreations are incredible when it comes to physics.

Yeah, my next "toy" install (once our income stream is properly stabilized, which may be post-COVID at this point) is going to be the Surround Sound Feedback. The only four solenoids in the cabinet right now are the chimes and knocker, all of which have a particular "thud" and "ding" that's hard to recreate, but I don't think I really need any other solenoids right now.

We bought a pair of chairs from an arcade racing game (off a Ridge Racer V cabinet), and once I wired the speakers and subwoofers in those up to appropriate amps and tied it into the sound system of our Console Room, it changed the nature of arcade driving games for me, and showed me that even a basic Surround Sound Feedback setup will work wonders for the game.

Finally got my VP Cabs up and running. I think I have to checkout the cabinet carefully because it smells so bad, I hope there is nothing dead in it. Anyways took me hours to get it up and going. Overall its nice, .. would I prefer the real thing.. yes. The biggest thing for me lacking is depth.

Anyways, my VP Cabs came with a Vizio monitor, and it doesn't fit right, anyone else have one? It just sits lop sided in the main cabinet, any ideas?
Thanks

Look at the images on the site: https://virtualpinball.com/
Your machine should have the monitor placed level in the front and dipped in the back to give depth. Perhaps it shifted in transit.
Which model did you get?

I don't understand why folks are buying big bulky virtual pins when you can get a VR system and play vpx in virtual reality. Not only is it a space saver but you get the depth that the 2d virtual pins can't provide which is HUGE. Yes you need a strong PC but still, you can buy a VR and amazing pc system for much less.

IMO Big bulky virtual pins mimic the feeling I get from playing a real pinball (almost). I'm standing, hitting flippers and hearing tactile responses, seeing real flashers going off, hearing the thuds of the bumpers and rubbers, and seeing the backbox animations in real time.

But after a great game in VR, are your wrists sore, your back aching, and your flipper button fingers red and swollen from all the slap saves? I rest my case why I built a big old VP cab... just saying...

Can we come to the general consensus that VPin is NOT comparable to real pinballs and SHOULDN'T be compared.

They should stand side by side and have both their legitimation.

VR pinball is a whole other beast and imo another great option in the future, it is making huge steps

So far I’m not impressed but I’ll give it more time in all honestly feels cheaply built to me . CPU and gpu just laying around , monitor doesn’t even sit right in the cabinet , cheapo Vizio monitor . I have a feeling i won’t be holding on to this very long

I don't think you understand how VR works. The entire game is in front of you as if you're there. You see all of those things go off, backbox, dmd ,etc. in real time. The entire game is in front of you. It's in 3d. It's crazy.

The one thing that really closes the loop is having a pinsim or something to hold onto while in VR which has real flipper buttons, lockdown bar, plunger, etc AND force feedback inside so you feel it too. The guy in AUS is selling this exact thing. That in combination with VR absolutely blows away the cabinet approach.

See my post above. Pinsim would be the icing on the cake. The only downside is having something on your head. I just can't have it on my face more than an hour.