Hi all,

I’m in the process of planning to upgrade my cab to 4K. Has anyone used an Intel NUC with an eGPU in their cabs?

Hi all,

I have an empty Bally Black Pyramid pinball cabinet that I started to clean up to create my virtual pinball machine. I ended up going with a widebody cabinet instead so I have some additional standard body parts available as well (see below). This is a good way to kick start your virtual pinball cabinet project for cheap.

I am located north of Boston, MA and local pickup is preferred. PM if you are interested or want additional pictures

Empty Black Pyramid Cabinet (1984) - FREE
- plenty of finish work still required to bring this back to life; additional wood filler/bondo/sanding to bring this cab back to life
- Back of the cabinet has been cut with a hinge for easy access to the back
- Also Includes the following:
- Backbox with brace to mount a backbone monitor with a VESA mount
- We created a custom speaker panel with brackets to fit a 15.6” LCD screen as the DMD; it slots into the backbox and just needs to be painted
- The back of the backbox is precut to fit the included piano hinge for easy access to the back
- Two monitor rail mounts are inside; these will need to be adjusted based on the monitor you choose
- Coin door, three front buttons (counter sunk), plunger slot, and launch button cut out

(NEW) Standard Lockdown Bar & Assembly - $110 for both (normally $140)
- New lockdown bar assembly from pinball life (Williams/Bally #A-16773-1 & A-9174-4); this has been on the cabinet stored in our basement so it has some markings on it
- New standard lockdown bar from pinball life (Williams/Bally reference numbers D-12615 & A-18240)

(NEW) Never opened standard width tempered playfield glass (Bally #G-409) from pinball life I’m including the rear plastic channel (Williams/Bally reference #03-8091) - $35 (normally $56)

(LIKE NEW) Zebsboards 5 flasher LED light bar with separate strobes - $70 (normally $100)
- I hooked these up with my Zeb PacLED 64 VOK so they are tested and work great. I upgraded to a full LED matrix so I don’t need these anymore.

(NEW) Pinball Knocker AE-23-800 (Williams/Bally knocker assembly reference #B-10686-1) - $10 (normally $25)
- Order from pinball life I opened it but never installed as I learned that my Zeb board should use the AE-23-1200 model instead

(NEW) Set of 2 Stainless steel side rails from pinball life (Bally reference number A-12359-1) - $60 (normally $90)
- These side rails are 51 5/8” and longer than the standard side rails (A-12359-3)
- They do NOT fit the Black Pyramid cabinet mentioned above but will work for other late 80s/early 90s games - yes I bought the wrong ones

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One other important note is that this is site is highly frowned upon by almost every original table author. Whether folks agree with that or not, their time and efforts should be more respected. Without them this hobby ceases to exist. The main site I use is vpuniverse as almost every top author (i.e. tables worth downloading IMO) posts there.

There have also been some incredible original tables that are super fun. The new Cheech & Chong table, Cuphead Pro, and any table by ScottyWic (Oribital Pinball) come to mind. For the recreations, check out any table by the VPW group and daphishbowl. Daphishbowl and that team essentially coded Batman 66 from scratch (since there is no emulation of the Spike) and it is incredible.

I have learned that too many tables is a bad thing as I was spending more time configuring than playing. Pick and choose some great authors, thank them, donate and follow them. There are still more than enough tables to enjoy IMO. I am no longer a digital hoarder lol.

Edit: I’m ashamed that I did not mention the grandmaster himself JPSalas (https://sofie40.no/jpsalas/) and the amazing SLAMT1LT (https://speak1970.wixsite.com/slamspinballemporium) who uses Future Pinball to make original tables but also takes real tables and updates their rules and even creates new modes. These guys are incredible.

Ha! This is so true. For reference for those just starting out, I’m at around 300 and slowed waaaay down as they were coming too fast to keep up. I’m working on getting these setup to perfection and are planning to add only key tables from my favorite authors for a while. I have seen some YouTube videos that show over 1000 tables…that is another level of hoarding that my OCD mind sees no enjoyment in. Plus, odds are high that many of those setups came from bulk table downloads which (a) do not actually have the latest and greatest versions of the tables and (b) will have significant more config/setup issues.

I started in virtual pinball years ago since I couldn’t really afford any of the real machine(s) I wanted. And with all the bells and whistles to aid in the illusion, it has evolved into an amazing supplement to the few real machines I can now fit. The virtual machine will never replace the real thing but it lets me experience tables I know I will never get to play in real life, not to mention the amazing original tables. And as others have said, it is a great way to learn rules and strategies if you like digging in.

This makes perfect sense for the casual vpinball fan (which I realize is the majority of users), but what those casual people don’t realize is the only reason why this entire hobby exists at all is because of all of the tables (and backglasses, alt sound/altcolor packages, front end art etc. ) that are painstakingly recreated by very talented table authors and are available to download for free from a few key sites. Obviously you have things like Pinball FX3 with fully licensed real and fantasy tables, but the hundreds and hundreds of free other tables are what really drives the innovation of the hobby. Due to these commercial vendors who often bulk scrape sites and are more than happy to pass the support strain off to others, you have started seeing key sites shut down and some amazing authors stop making tables (or they have gone further underground and are only sharing it with a few trusted folks, if any at all). Such is the nature when hobbies typically turn into a more commercial enterprise for some, but I think it’s important to realize the future and lifeblood of the hobby are those content creators whose simple ask of NOT being included in commercial products is being ignored. Whatever people’s opinion are on these types of things, biting the hand that feeds is rarely a good idea.

That is great news. Talented individuals like you are why these tables are getting better and better. And you are right, if folks are getting into this for reasons other than the love of the pinball, then its probably the wrong reason as people will continue to do what they do. And to be clear, none of the table artists (that I know of) make money from their work as all the reputable VP sites are free. Some site donations are needed to help with site costs but the money being made is from the commercial sellers who shouldn’t be packaging all the tables IMO.

This is the monitor I ended up getting. My justification was that this is the most important part of the machine. My video card is a 2070super that I purchased several Black Fridays ago. It goes without saying that going from 1080p 60Hz to 4K 120Hz was night and day.

For beginners, start with the baller installer and simply get one or two tables working (.vpx file is the table, .directB2S file is the backglass, and the .zip file is the ROM). Those are the 3 core files that make up most tables. Don’t worry about all the bells and whistles just yet or be distracted by things like DOF or other funny acronyms. Once you know how one or two work and certain variations, it’s just a matter of knowing which folder to put certain files. It sounds daunting but I can say that now I know how it works, I know that I have actually saved a ton time as I’m pretty self-sufficient with troubleshooting. I would be 10x more frustrated if I was wholly dependent on others for support for everything and/or knowing I wasn’t getting the best experience or latest tables.

Check out the homebrew thread with some of the same talented guys who did the VPX version. It’s still one of my go to original EM tables on my vpin.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cuphead-home-brew-pinball

Thanks Frisco for these fantastic streams! Your idea for Tribute Tuesdays to honor so many key and amazing members of this hobby is genius. The authors and content creators are what makes this whole thing run and you have found a respectful and fun way to shed more light on the personalities behind all the great work.

Like real pinball, virtual pinball has its share of drama and stories so your streams are such a welcome breath of fresh air and puts the focus where it belongs.

Of course, it goes without saying but THANK YOU to all authors and creators! Because of their work, my vpin has given me just as many memories with friends and family as my real pins and the future looks even brighter!