Building A Virtual Pinball Cabinet

[L33]

you will need a free program called joytokey to convert the accelerometer analog nudge to keyboard inputs for TPA and PFX2

Ah right, I shall look into it. Thanks for that.

 

[mpad]

This can be tricky, and I think I posted a guide long time ago, but I fear it wasn't on this forum. Maybe Google is your friend.
If you want the analog function of the plunger then you need to emulate the stick or analogue button of a controller with x360ce.
For normal buttons you can use joytokey as suggested, I prefer xpadder. There is also another great free tool called antimicro, which I would probably use if I had to start over.

 

[pthrossell]

I use x360ce with my vpin controller, I get analog nudge and plunger. Works great!

 

[L33]

I was kinda hoping it would just be a case of screwing two wires into the ipac.

 

[mpad]

no
ipac? dont connect anything to it!!!! just plug in the usb and forget about all the wires...those would go to your buttons if you donn't have an ipac.
darn, now you have a somewhat redundant input device. the virtuapin plunger features 15 joypad buttons for INPUT (which can be remapped by xpadder to keyboard keys).
but a lot of people find the ipac more reliable and you are good if you have it already configured.
so you wont need to mess with xpadder & co to remap your joypad buttons.
if you need the plunger just for plunge and nudge you only need x360ce (32 bit version is more stable).
this is because FS only support x360 controller input at the moment.

 

[L33]

no
ipac? dont connect anything to it!!!! just plug in the usb and forget about all the wires...those would go to your buttons if you donn't have an ipac.
darn, now you have a somewhat redundant input device. the virtuapin plunger features 15 joypad buttons for INPUT (which can be remapped by xpadder to keyboard keys).
but a lot of people find the ipac more reliable and you are good if you have it already configured.
so you wont need to mess with xpadder & co to remap your joypad buttons.
if you need the plunger just for plunge and nudge you only need x360ce (32 bit version is more stable).
this is because FS only support x360 controller input at the moment.

I'll have a play later and see if I can get it working before I start drilling holes in the cab! I'll be videoing it all as part of the TPA setup so I can't afford to mess it up or I'll look a right amateur.

 

[L33]

no
ipac? dont connect anything to it!!!! just plug in the usb and forget about all the wires...those would go to your buttons if you donn't have an ipac.
darn, now you have a somewhat redundant input device. the virtuapin plunger features 15 joypad buttons for INPUT (which can be remapped by xpadder to keyboard keys).
but a lot of people find the ipac more reliable and you are good if you have it already configured.
so you wont need to mess with xpadder & co to remap your joypad buttons.
if you need the plunger just for plunge and nudge you only need x360ce (32 bit version is more stable).
this is because FS only support x360 controller input at the moment.

I downloaded the x360ce and plugged in the plunger. At first I was getting missing .dll messages but googled and found I had to install some visual studio program or something. Did that and now the x360 program works. However, I have absolutely no idea how to set them up.

I have deleted all setting on the x360 so I can simply use it for the plunger and/or nudge....but mainly just plunger.

You don't happen to know the setting you need to get this working do you...or how to get TPA to recognise it etc??

 

[mpad]

I think I can send you a Screenshot later, but I am too tired today to write a lot just had a 12 hour meeting day.

 

[L33]

I think I can send you a Screenshot later, but I am too tired today to write a lot just had a 12 hour meeting day.

No worries... It seems to work on the x360ce setup screen but nothing happens when I try it on TPA. Nothing's ever easy!!!

 

[mpad]

TPA - use right stick (inverted axis3) for plunger, left tick for nudging. you won't need (have) any of the buttons, you got the ipac.
Second page is to set deadzone etc. (sensitivity). five % is a good start, just play araound with this until you are happy.
dont forget to save.
only copy the two files it creates to the tpa folder.
You have to configure the buttons / sticks you want to use in the controller settings in TPA. works parallel to keyboard inputs.

Fx2 - has a pre configured layout. here the right trigger is used for plunger, left stick for nudge.

 

[L33]

TPA - use right stick (inverted axis3) for plunger, left tick for nudging. you won't need (have) any of the buttons, you got the ipac.
Second page is to set deadzone etc. (sensitivity). five % is a good start, just play araound with this until you are happy.
dont forget to save.
only copy the two files it creates to the tpa folder.
You have to configure the buttons / sticks you want to use in the controller settings in TPA. works parallel to keyboard inputs.

Well...after spending what must have been all day trying to suss this out I've finally got it working. Big thanks mpad...my settings were quite similar to yours, but what I didn't realise until you said, was to place the two files into the TPA folder. Once I copied them over it worked straight away...although there is a bit of fine tuning to do. Once I'm happy with it I'll drill the relevant holes and fix it to the cab.

Really appreciate the help you gave on this...I was getting nowhere fast as they say. Cheers for that. Nervous about drilling a hole in the cab, but also looking forward to getting the plunger fixed permanently.

 

[mpad]

Great it worked.
I got it way more complicated. I translate some of the joypad buttons to keyboard buttons with xpadder so I can simultaneously use them as a button or key. But then I had to manage this for both fx2 and TPA, and VP, pinballx, all requiring different configs.
Took me several days, diagrams, spreadsheets... Nearly drove me mad

 

[L33]

Thanks everyone for the help with getting the VP plunger to work with TPA. I recorded the install as part of my build videos and I couldn't have done it without you guys. I'll place the link below for anyone who might wanna have a look. Ive tried to keep it short and to the point!
https://youtu.be/nKEfDLle5r4

 

[SilverBalls]

Thanks everyone for the help with getting the VP plunger to work with TPA. I recorded the install as part of my build videos and I couldn't have done it without you guys. I'll place the link below for anyone who might wanna have a look. Ive tried to keep it short and to the point!
https://youtu.be/nKEfDLle5r4

I only just caught up with your last video. The plunger looks pretty good. I originally had the Nanotech plunger in my cabinet, but ended up breaking it during some cab maintenance some years ago, so use a Launcher button nowadays. However I am tempted to get one of these now, although it is another hefty outlay .

I highly recommend you install the absolutely superb Camera Mod with the latest Cab Mode implemented by NoEx and Robert. It is really easy to install and all the backglasses and Cam files have kindly been created by Robert for all tables. It is almost perfect I would say, and the best we are likely to get now that Farsight have pulled the cabinet rug from under our feet.

You need DX11 TPA and an Aero theme selected in your Windows themes:

http://digitalpinballfans.com/forumdisplay.php/112-FreeCamera-Mod

 

[L33]

I only just caught up with your last video. The plunger looks pretty good. I originally had the Nanotech plunger in my cabinet, but ended up breaking it during some cab maintenance some years ago, so use a Launcher button nowadays. However I am tempted to get one of these now, although it is another hefty outlay .

I highly recommend you install the absolutely superb Camera Mod with the latest Cab Mode implemented by NoEx and Robert. It is really easy to install and all the backglasses and Cam files have kindly been created by Robert for all tables. It is almost perfect I would say, and the best we are likely to get now that Farsight have pulled the cabinet rug from under our feet.

You need DX11 TPA and an Aero theme selected in your Windows themes:

http://digitalpinballfans.com/forumdisplay.php/112-FreeCamera-Mod

Yesterday was Dx11 day for me... Finally upgraded...the laptop I was using just wouldn't play the new TPA games, even on dx9 with low settings.

I got pfx2 working perfectly last night...using their new cab mode. Almost finished making my own backglass images and the whole setup works a treat.

I then tried setting up for TPA. But struggled. Not sure if the mod had an affect on the reliability, but I tried playing in the tournament and it kept crashing when launching the ball on one of the games...can't remember the name...the one with the Harley. I tried setting it up after playing a few tournament games but struggled again. I've not given up just yet, so I'll have another go later because it does look quite good. Be great to have both these games running well...makes having the cab all worth while.

 

[KBJAXMAN]

I got pfx2 working perfectly last night...using their new cab mode.

L33, what values did you plug into the PFX2 cab support panel for it to work?

 

[L33]

L33, what values did you plug into the PFX2 cab support panel for it to work?

This did take some sussing out...

First off I have a 3 monitor setup...I went into my grafics card setup to see where the values should roughly be...problem was negative values were needed and for some reason Pfx setup wouldn't allow a negative number, though I'm led to believe you can if you have a numerical pad. Anyway, I simply swapped the monitors round in the card setup. But I still couldn't see anything. So for the input figures for the dmd, I inputted ridiculous values like 10000 for the dmd size. Eventually it appears as a huge blur across all 3 screens. Now I could see it, i simply adjusted those figures until it fitted properly. Essential I made the dmd massive so it was visible.

For the 3rd monitor backglass...I did the same, and it was easier to setup having done the dmd this way. You'll just see a black screen with a file name, as you have to add your own images (jpg with the same name as the file shown) but once you've set it up, you can add the images at any time.

It had me going nuts for ages...but once I sussed it out I realised it was actually quite simple.

 

[SilverBalls]

[MENTION=3865]KBJAXMAN[/MENTION] - I hardly play PBFX2 however I had a go at setting it up. It took a fair bit of time to work out. I needed to enter negative numbers to shift the BG and DMD to the backgkass monitor and initially I couldn't enter minus, until I realised you need to use the minus on the numpad for it to accept minus numbers . I found it easier to put the PBFX playfield into windowed and resize it small just while setting up the BG/DMD for the first time. Remember you need to copy your own backgkass images into the PBFX folder. Robert created a set in the cabinet thread I think.

[MENTION=4681]L33[/MENTION] -If you have any issues getting the CamMod/CabMod going, then try posting your issue in the Issues thread as someone should be able to help.

Glad to hear you got DX11 finally. Did you try turning the room light down to about 0 -5% in the table options? It totally transforms the tables

 

[L33]

[MENTION=3865]KBJAXMAN[/MENTION] - I hardly play PBFX2 however I had a go at setting it up. It took a fair bit of time to work out. I needed to enter negative numbers to shift the BG and DMD to the backgkass monitor and entering minus didn't work, until I realised you need to use - on the numpad . Remember you need to copy your own backgkass images into the PBFX folder. Robert created a set in the cabinet thread I think.
[MENTION=4681]L33[/MENTION] -If you have any issues getting the CamMod/CabMod going, then try posting your issue in the Issues thread as someone should be able to help.

Glad to hear you got DX11 finally. Did you try turn the room light down to about 0 -5% in the table options? It totally transforms the tables

Ive not messed with any table settings yet...didnt realise you could Im just working through all the back glasses for PFX and once Ive finished them Im gonna have another go at setting the mod up etc. Ive also just bought a cheapy keyboard with numerical pad just incase i ever need to input the - sign again so I may have to alter the PFX setup which may also make TPA easier to setup too. It seems like you have to stretch the play field to get the dmd onto the next monitor...not sure if that'll work on mine as the monitor it'll go on in my setup is the backglass monitor so I'm not sure i'll be able to bypass the dmd monitor. Ive gotta make sure that PFX and TPA work with the same graphics card settings, so it may take a bit of setting up.

 

[SilverBalls]

Ive not messed with any table settings yet...didnt realise you could Im just working through all the back glasses for PFX and once Ive finished them Im gonna have another go at setting the mod up etc. Ive also just bought a cheapy keyboard with numerical pad just incase i ever need to input the - sign again so I may have to alter the PFX setup which may also make TPA easier to setup too. It seems like you have to stretch the play field to get the dmd onto the next monitor...not sure if that'll work on mine as the monitor it'll go on in my setup is the backglass monitor so I'm not sure i'll be able to bypass the dmd monitor. Ive gotta make sure that PFX and TPA work with the same graphics card settings, so it may take a bit of setting up.

You should be able to support all configurations with your setup by just ordering the screens correctly in the nVidia setup. Might need a bit of experiementation though.
To change the table lighting, just hit Esc/Exit whilst playing a table, the menu will appear, scroll down to Options and in there are lighting sliders for the room brightness and bulb brightness. It remembers the settings for each table. The transformation particularly when playing in the dark is incredible.

I just posted some photos of the Cam/Cab Mod runnning in my cabinet here:

http://digitalpinballfans.com/showt...FreeCamera-Mod?p=222824&viewfull=1#post222824