Advice on building a tabletop Virtual Pin?

HotHamBoy

New member
Aug 2, 2014
773
0
Hey guys, something I've been wanting to do for awhile now is build a mini VP cab. I wanna run TPA (DX11) and Zen on max settings, don't care about THE Virtual Pin software.

Can someone hit me with ideal specs/graphics card? Best version of Windows for the job? For the monitor- What has more overhead: resolution or anti-aliasing? I'd like the sharpest picture I can get. One thing I don't like on a lot of the virtual pins I've seen is the terrible aliasing. I'm thinking 19-22" diagonal, might make more sense to just get the screen instead of an entire monitor. Good response time is obviously important but so is good viewing angles since the screen will be tilted. A lot of VP's look pretty washed out, too.

At the very least, I'd like to set up a DMD screen. Backglass screen seems unnecessary but an illuminated translite would be nice.

I'm going to give it 4 side buttons and I'm thinking for plunger/nudge a single analog stick. Would an xbox 360 PCB be the best way to go for wiring the buttons/stick? Where to buy the best pushbuttons? The pushbuttons I bought for my modded arcade stick aren't responsive enough.

I'm gonna get a genuine auto-plunge button for the front side and have the analog stick on top for thumb access.

I'm also thinking a small SS drive for quick boot-up into hyperpin and no moving parts...

I'd also like to install external speakers on either side of the DMD screen. Am I gonna need to install a fan and ventilation, too? Probably.

Last but not least, are there some good blueprints for building the cabinet? Or maybe an online store selling pre-fab cabinet parts? I'm also looking to install a lockdown bar and backglass. I could probably figure it out on my own but tried and true is nice.

I'm going to tackle it in chunks. So building the main playfield area first (computer, screen), until that's up and running, then base cabinet, buttons wiring, then add the backglass and DMD as a second unit. I expect it to take me a few months of messing around.

Whew. So, anyone have experience with this kind of project?
 
Last edited:

L33

New member
Aug 20, 2014
418
0
Hey guys, something I've been wanting to do for awhile now is build a mini VP cab. I wanna run TPA (DX11) and Zen on max settings, don't care about THE Virtual Pin software.

Can someone hit me with ideal specs/graphics card? Best version of Windows for the job? For the monitor- What has more overhead: resolution or anti-aliasing? I'd like the sharpest picture I can get. One thing I don't like on a lot of the virtual pins I've seen is the terrible aliasing. I'm thinking 19-22" diagonal, might make more sense to just get the screen instead of an entire monitor. Good response time is obviously important but so is good viewing angles since the screen will be tilted. A lot of VP's look pretty washed out, too.

At the very least, I'd like to set up a DMD screen. Backglass screen seems unnecessary but an illuminated translite would be nice.

I'm going to give it 4 side buttons and I'm thinking for plunger/nudge a single analog stick. Would an xbox 360 PCB be the best way to go for wiring the buttons/stick? Where to buy the best pushbuttons? The pushbuttons I bought for my modded arcade stick aren't responsive enough.

I'm gonna get a genuine auto-plunge button for the front side and have the analog stick on top for thumb access.

I'm also thinking a small SS drive for quick boot-up into hyperpin and no moving parts...

I'd also like to install external speakers on either side of the DMD screen. Am I gonna need to install a fan and ventilation, too? Probably.

Last but not least, are there some good blueprints for building the cabinet? Or maybe an online store selling pre-fab cabinet parts? I'm also looking to install a lockdown bar and backglass. I could probably figure it out on my own but tried and true is nice.

I'm going to tackle it in chunks. So building the main playfield area first (computer, screen), until that's up and running, then base cabinet, buttons wiring, then add the backglass and DMD as a second unit. I expect it to take me a few months of messing around.

Whew. So, anyone have experience with this kind of project?

I never really like to plug my own threads...but if you haven't seen it the thread may be of some help to you. I had millions of questions when I started and got loads of good responses in here...the thread is good reference and I made a while video series on my progress...and as these things are always progressing...I've even got a few more vids I'm working on. My machine is basic as far as machines go, but because it's basic, I don't need things like fans etc so it kind of looks after itself :)

If you havent seen the thread, it's on the forum under PC section, Building a Virtual Pinball Cabinet...or something along those lines.

Hope it helps in some way :)

L33.
 

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