I've always wanted a VPin but lack the space. I'd never use an actual pinball space for a VPin and can only fit 6 pins anyway. I bought a cheapo ToyShock 12-1 table on mega sale before XMas just for shits and giggles. Couldn't believe how much it lagged and sucked but I did like the size of it. Had a bunch of used plywood that I could recycle so decided to make a mini VPin around the same size. Not done yet but getting there. By next weekend I will be ready to make it look good. My son (who I gave the ToyShock game to) is finishing his welding program in school so he was able to make me a mini lockdown bar from a full sized but damaged one, and also a frame for the pf monitor.

I have limited wood working skills. Did everything on the fly and essentially built the cab around the hardware I had.

Screens:
24" 1080p PF
13.3" 1366 X 768 BG
7" 1024 x 600 DMD (only showing/using 1024 x 310 to keep aspect ratio "normal")

Computer:
i7-12700KF
ASUS STRIX B660 mini-ITX
Radeon RX 6650 XT
32Gb DDR5
850W fully modular PS

ZEBSBOARDS Plunger V5 interface

Looks like crap now (wood) but I will fill, sand, and paint everything in the next few weeks. Should look OK.

My son test playing with the metal PF frame and lockbar:

Picture of where I am at. Next one should be the cosmetically pleasing version lol.
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And the guts(with previous non-modular PS). Oh and I HATE the RGB fans but it's all I had lying around. I need to find how to turn off the RGBs:
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hey looks awesome!
what kind of lockbar is that? is it metal? it looks smaller than standard pinball size.

It *was* a 70’s Gtb lockdown bar with what looks like a bullet hole in the middle. I got my son to cut the damaged section out and re-weld together at the correct size for my project. It was chrome plated but it got sandblasted for the welding. I was planning on painting it anyway so removed plating doesn’t matter to me.

I don’t have a good pic of the bar prior but here’s one anyway.
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What a story , that is really cool!

IIRC There was gummed up residue on it which is why it got sandblasted completely. Here’s a few more pics from my son that show what was done:
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This Friday we will be hosting a very special release party for TimeLord 2.0. We begin at 7PMPST/10PM EST with the creative team joining us live, and also, the release of the VPX update for YOU to enjoy during the show!

Join myself, RusstyT, Crackers, Oqqsan, and many more special guests as we celebrate this unexpected enhancement that brings TimeLord into the "future". Come and see what getting a VPW helpshop can do for your project.

Nice!

Saturday evening at 9:30 EST we are holding a special multi-streamer show sharing our Top 10 picks for vpin tables in 2022. Join myself, PaladinArcade, and PiratePwnsNinja for an incredible showcase of many of the top talents in Virtual Pinball. It's the VpinHub 2022 Top 10 show!

https://www.twitch.tv/gameclubcentral

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If you missed our live show, it is now on YouTube. Join myself, PaladinArcade, and PiratePwnsNinja on a table adventure through our 2022 favorites!

Behold, my Jank VPin version 1.0.

Started 2 months ago not knowing much about the vpx software, slowly figured it all out, was surprised that it even ran to a playable version on my old pc and laptops. Almost convinced myself that the experience was good enough like that, then tried lying one of my tvs down flat and was surprised that it made the experience almost 10 times better just doing that. Just used stuff I already had, but did buy a $320(CAD) graphics card to get better performance and VR to work.

The playfield screen is about the size of a real pinball machine, so that's cool, the screen definitely needs to be raised a bit. The keyboard was immediately uncomfortable so I used two arcade stick controllers, not ideal(mainly due to button placement), but not bad for now. Ironing board came in clutch also. In theory a third screen would make sense, but I feel all the DMD and Video stuff should be on the bottom screen, so adding a monitor just for a backglass doesn't make too much sense to me right now.

While it may look like a mess I honestly think the only thing I am missing right now is feedback for the machine(solenoids, etc.) and a accelerometer. Which definitely wouldn't justify paying 9 grand for a fully pre-built machine. I am definitely going to finish building this thing myself, only thing I can't do, because I don't have the space, is the cabinet. Have to figure out how to get a wide body cabinet without paying too much.

As for VR, honestly, it may actually be the ideal way to play virtual pinball, but it suffers from the, "I am wearing a headset!" problem.

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Looks great! I hope you don't have any pets. How are you controlling the pin?

JP has re-created Banzai Run and it is a blast to explore and learn!

No pets, just a 4 year old little girl. The arcade sticks are the controllers bottom far left and right buttons are the flippers, the button above the right flipper button is the plunger. Middle bottom button is fire. There are nudge buttons configured but that feels, far lack of a better word, stupid. It may not be overly complicated to take the controllers apart to create the right pinball setup, haven't looked into that at all yet.

Just saw this. Thank you for the kind words and I am glad you are enjoying the streams!

Getting close to the end result I want!

Now I have to figure out artwork and who can print it.

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So what's the best keyboard encoder to go with? I'm looking to just get an external controller together to plug into my PC and set my monitor to portrait.

Most folks will probably tell you any of the “Zero delay” encoders on Amazon or Ebay are the way to go. I have not had the best luck with em. Some don’t remember settings and some seem to have a delay.

Im a fan of the Ultimarc minipac or the LED-Wiz… which will allow for some expansion down the road.

Really any of them will work. My experience is spend a few more $$ and dont cheap out on the encoder.

Good luck!

Matt

** Ultimarc is based in England I believe but has some US sellers.

Thanks for the advice! I went with the ipac2. I thought about opting for a cheap option for my sim golf box I was going to build, and then I thought I might actually be able to dual purpose my pinball controller into a sim golf button box as well. Going with the good option makes a lot of sense if I can make that work in both use cases. I'll post updates as I have them!

You‘re definitely in for a lot of fun, building your own vpin. I‘ve attached a pic of my first prototype. I went early on for a joystick controller and flipper buttons, but I needed a few tries to get the holes for the buttons right.

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Join us each week for a casual competition kicking off every Thursday, and this week is WWF Royal Rumble from Hauntfreaks. Winner will select the next week from a table list, and we have a lot of fun seeing who comes out on top. Will your name appear on the score list?

Need to know more on how TimeLord works, or finally get to the Glory (Wizard) mode? We made a VPX tutorial on that a little while back, and I updated it for 2.0 and posted to YouTube if it helps anyone out there.

This week Uncle Paulie treated us to a classic gem with LaserCue. Have you ever wanted to play pool in space?

Actually decided to add adjustable levellers since I never have a perfectly flat surface to play on. Might paint the leveller holders purple as well but for now just enjoying the setup

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My rig is portable, meant for parties. It's made of cardboard and hot glue.

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I thought this was different. I like the height adjusting mech.

Tried TimeLord for the first time yesterday, pretty cool original table. I think He-Man is still my favorite original table, but it's impressive what some people are doing. Wonder how hard it is to make one of these things. I mean a good one. Anyone can technically go into the editor and add a couple ramps I guess or reskin an old thing. Though I do have a soft spot for some of the low effort Disney tables made, since my daughter loves them. Some of my other favorite originals are Harry Potter(even though I hate the theme, but it's the closest thing to a Jersey Jack style table that I've played on VPX) and Star Wars Death Star Assault(though I hate the loading).

Between needing to learn a whole lot more about the process and not actually having much time to learn and work on it, getting to a real table will take a looong time, but I'll get there. But I can definitely see how it can be more satisfying building the thing. Anyways what I have already is a blast.

We are developing resources to help new developers get started, but it is a little bit of work. Remdwaas and I have started a document for this, and there are various YT tutorials out there to help get you started too. The best method is to learn from the videos, and then seek out guidance from groups like VPW. At least my impression, I am no creator, just a guy that loves this hobby and wants to share it with anyone that listens

Glad you liked TimeLord, it was made by guys that had not yet played pinball before they started.

Steampunk from Onevox,Oqqsan, and Joey Beaulieu is on the horizon. It will be here soon, and I don't think any of you are prepared for this level of gorgeous detail in a pin. I am NOT underselling this one, Volkan is purely amazing, and I cannot wait for you guys to get your hands on it. Until then, a preview.....

I liked the Kinect effect so I went and hauled mine off the shelf it’s been sitting on for 8 years lol.

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And now, like me.....You are a part of this place. Cling to hope, it's all you have! Please note, this is a early WIP table from H3rbski, and has a ways to go. Enjoy this exclusive first look at the Darkest Dungeon.

Such a tease! Lol! Looks great! Can't wait for that one and Volkan!!

Such creativity!
Can't wait!!!

VPX WORLD PREMIERE TOMORROW NIGHT - 2/5/23 @ 9PM CST

Bookmark this link - https://www.twitch.tv/friscopinball

Come join me live with @chugalaefoo as we debut his latest VPX creation live on Twitch! You won't want to miss all the hilarious action.

Chug will be live in the studio discussing his newest table and taking your questions!

Get your TP ready

Ultra rare Gottlieb recreation from our friend Rascal is available today to add to your collection. Get your Glaive cleaned up folks!

Direct table link: https://vpuniverse.com/files/file/13107-krull-gottlieb-1983-108/

You've got some skills producing trailers... they're better than the games!

New Beavis and Butthead VPX gameplay video along with an interview with the author

It is always inspiring to see one of our own members try their hand at table creation. Today I take a quick look at one such offering from one of my own viewers, Joust7800 AKA VonKrafte with the original VPX table, Forge.

Join me in encouraging his efforts, as I am seeing some incredible improvements on his second table compared to the first. Someone to watch out for!

I have spent MANY hours learning video, streaming, and other development. I really appreciate the kind words, and hope they only get better from here. I am going to work on a PUP next, then maybe a table later this year and see what I can do there.

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Got a legends micro in November and I love it.
Never thought I wanted a virtual pin until I saw pics of this one.

Guess that answers the age old question. "Why can't I play pinball while shaving"?

Congrats

If you would like to join in our weekly VPX tournament in the comfort of your own home, we would love to have you! This week we are playing a classic Gottlieb table in honor of the Super bowl, Gridiron.

Play as many times as you like, and posting scores is easy!

MrMikeman Kudos for what looks like a well stocked workshop there my friend

Thanks! We typically have way more space for such things on this side of the Atlantic...

The workshop is still a total disaster area since I finished the VPin. I need to make the time this weekend and clean things up. Put tools away. Clean up the sawdust all over the place. Etc.

Beavis and Butthead in Pinball Stupidity by chugalaefoo is out! Trust me and go download this one.

It is a winner!

https://vpuniverse.com/files/file/13191-beavis-and-butthead-pinball-stupidity-nfozzy-physics-fleep-sounds-lut-dof/

I'm in. I think I posted it correctly on your youtube link. I'm CPO on your site . Fun game. These scores won't hold but hopefully gets people interested for some low stress comp.
Thanks for making it easy to join and not having to be logged on socials or whatnot. My kind of tourney.
Your video graphics and trailers are top notch.
r/
Mike

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The weekly competitions on the VP Discord and worldofvirtualpinball.com add a lot, I'll take all the weekly comps I can get, even though I don't tend to post top scores.

So someone decided to overwrite my high score which is possible as I've overwritten my own, twice.
So much for friendly competition and fair play.

Exactly why I don't care about online play.

That's a particularly odd platform, not sure why you can't sign up without paying to prevent that.