What is everyone’s stance on virtual pinball these days? I happen to think it’s developed quite well over the years and its increased immersion has made vast improvements with the introduction of high-end GPUs and 120 fps that pretty much depletes all sense of latency/input lag. Here is a video of my virtual pinball machine running Addams Family (one of the most graphic-intensive releases to date) running in native 4k 120 hz with maxed settings, powered by an RTX 3090. It has full force feedback including Siemens contactors for the flippers, slingshots and bumpers, a Stern shaker motor, a Data East replay knocker, RGB flashers, strobes, beacons, a fan, a gear motor, RGB underglow, a real plunger with analog nudging, a color display, 7.1 surround sound feedback with accurate ball tracking to emulate the psycho acoustics of a rolling ball and a real working coin door. Let me know your thoughts and opinions on virtual pinball as a whole. Enjoy!
5BB460F9-57E1-4FB2-8080-CE7A3A6062E3 (resized).jpegDD4F9090-D9EA-4229-A02F-E80B96C50426 (resized).jpegF1BA55A5-F717-43C0-9A42-56AED5F035D8 (resized).jpegFE5ACDE0-29CF-4D05-B109-BBE5C0A7A9D7 (resized).jpeg

BAM is more of a novelty than anything, but virtual reality pinball with a Rift S (soon to be the upcoming Reverb G2) coupled with full mechanical force feedback, surround sound tactile feedback and full cabinet nudging starts blurring the line between fiction and fantasy. The more immersion you have with an expanded feature set, the more convincing it gets. Did you install DOF force feedback on the machine that you built?

I just got in the Asus Rog Strix XG438Q 4k 120 hz G Sync display and was benchmarking it last night. I decased it this morning and will be installing it into my cabinet soon. Here are some pics of the new display!

3F24EDDD-2F57-4755-88D9-06D143EE7626 (resized).jpeg

CEA9CE9F-7711-45C4-9A3A-387923C44427 (resized).jpeg

FB87FBC8-86AD-4E84-9246-26B3DAB11734 (resized).jpeg

Nobody?

I definitely agree that it can never replace real pinball and I will always keep a real machine around. Sounds like a cool build! Have you tried out VR on it yet?

Even a 3080 is pretty hard to find right now. They look very powerful. The 3090 has ample power and headroom for laying on heavy effects and post-processing that really increase the realism. That looks like a super cool VR pinsim! I typically use my full size cab in VR with force feedback, but I love the idea of having a smaller, dedicated VR machine.

I know a lot of people hate virtual pinball but it’s because a lot of v-pins are cheaply made. When you put some serious tech inside it can make a world of difference with tricking your mind into forgetting it’s not real.

Thanks for the heads up! Mine actually stays much cooler than my RTX 2080ti used to. It still gets toasty but can stay on for many hours with no issues. I have airflow in the cab to help with this!

Here is a new video for Attack From Mars! If you pay close attention to the lighting and strobe multiball mode, you’ll see just how smooth gameplay remains in the most demanding scenes. Also, make sure to check out the way the lights reflect on the ball itself as it rolls over inserts. It’s pretty incredible!

Thank you! A lot of thought and creativity has gone into this build, but it’s definitely not perfect. We’re always learning through our mistakes! I wish I could let you guys try it in person because videos don’t really do it justice when it comes to the actual experience!

Yes I use A Rift S currently and I plan to upgrade to the HP Reverb G2 when it releases! The 3090 in VR is pretty incredible with all the force feedback. It is a pretty indescribable experience!

I have close to 10k in this machine and it’s worth every penny. It’s one of the most expensive in the world and really pushes the limits of what is possible with virtual pinball at this state of its development. I’m always adding to it. I have a ramp diverter for Addams Family I need to add to it eventually. The cabinet came from Virtuapin and it runs Windows 10. The display is 43.”

You can do a pretty nice build for around $4000-5000, but I have spent a lot over the years on upgrades and add-ons that have pushed that price way up!

Thank you! If you’re ever in Denver feel free to hit me up and come check it out! It’s meant to be played, not to keep a secret.

The video itself is in 4k 60 hz due to limitations of the camera, but it captures the smoothness of 4k 120 hz pretty well. Initially I wanted to film in 4k 1/0 hz but my camera forces it to wide zoom for that mode, which stretches everything out, so it was less than ideal.

Yeah I really wanted to capture at 4k 120 hz because it’s really hard to really show what’s happening in-person through a video. I hope the message got through anyway!

Haha I traded my 2080ti and some cash for one that I found on the local marketplace. I overpaid but I am impatient!

You should install VPX and give it a shot! Another guy from Reddit saw my post and tried it last night. He was blown away by the results and you would be too!

How do you like the Vertigo? I always thought it was a great idea in concept. I’ve owned a VP Cabs Wizard in the past and was pretty disappointed in its overall quality. The cabinet was built well but the electronics left a lot to be desired.

My setup stems from playing virtual pinball and hating it. Most are pretty terrible and it’s understandable why people have a general consensus of distaste for the hobby. But like anything it’s all about what you put into it. If you do a budget build you’ll love it at first, but its novelty will wear off quickly and you’ll quickly find yourself wanting more.

I’d really like a pinsim also, but I already have VR support on my full size v-pin with full force feedback, so it doesn’t really make sense for me to do at this point. I wish VP Cabs had taken a higher-quality approach with their stock systems. Their high-end products are definitely not the highest quality, comparing closely to a sub-par home build, at best. They don’t even use 24v for contactors and a knocker. It is 12v throughout, which gives it a cheap, novelty feeling instead of something more convincing. I think they are a great solution for someone who doesn’t know better. I’m hoping someone comes out with a commercial pinsim controller with high quality force feedback. It seems like it would be very simple to do with only a kl25z and a pc!

It would be so easy to wire a few 24v contactors inside for force feedback, etc. Typically pinsims have the first 10-12” of a pinball machine, complete with lockdown bar, glass and side rails.

That sounds like a cool machine! You’ll have to let me know what you think when you get it. I’ve seen a few of that guy’s videos online. I will say that if you got solenoids they are likely 12v, which are not as good as 24v contactors in terms of punch and depth for the flippers, slings and bumpers. They are more clicky (think a weaker knocker). The solenoids sound cool at first but the novelty wears off quickly. Most “high-end” manufacturers (including VP Cabs and Retro Play) do this so they only have to worry about a single voltage instead. It won’t be hard to add a 24v psu and swap the wiring on the relays or mosfets to accommodate contactors. But these are all upgrades worth considering in the future. It’s important to understand that these machines will not be perfect when you get them. There is plenty of room for vast improvement and if you’ve spent that kind of money on a machine of that caliber, you definitely will want the electronics to match for the best possible experience. Do you have any videos of your machine? I’d love to check it out.

I can’t say that I’m surprised this is happening. There is another Australian v-pin company who takes the tables and sells them as part of the machine, which a lot of table authors feel is selling their work that they give us for free. They have been asked to stop doing this many times, but continue to do it secretively. These two competitors often put Youtube videos up claiming to be the best virtual pinball in Australia to “one-up” each other. It’s a bit ridiculous.

I’m going to be shooting another video tonight for Cirqus Voltaire. It’s another graphic-intensive game that needs a lot of horsepower to run properly. If anyone has a game title in mind that they’d like to see stacked up against its real-life counterpart let me know and I’ll see what I can do!

I don’t have much time these days to build anymore machines, but it’s a perfect way to learn a great hobby!

I can do that! I’ll let you know once it’s published.