101 replies to this topic

[jimmyfingers]

Scared Stiff 8-step GI FS Lighting MOD



Version: 1.4.4.3
Category: VP 9.x MOD Cabinet Tables (FULL SCREEN)

Author(s): JPSalas, Rosve (B2S), JimmyFingers (Light MOD)

Description:
Based on Scared Stiff VP91x v1.4.4FS by JPSalas and Rosve's B2S MOD
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Update 1.4.4.3:
- Fixed graphic artifacts from pure black in main PF texture when all lights off
- Used higher quality base PF image, cleaned up numerous sections and re-generated all GI light levels with enhanced image (thanks JP for new image and PS tips)
- Tidied up rollover image boundaries / seams
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Update 1.4.4.2:
- Fixed Plunger visibility issues before first pull
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Update 1.4.4.1:
- Fixed right ramp not registering
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"Light" MOD:
- Added 8 step x 3 zone GI fading / levels utilizing the GICallBack2 function available for WPC tables
- Altered general lighting on PF, lights, plastics, and other objects (somewhat of a night MOD)
- Added new Boney Beast alpha flasher
- Enhanced Claw flasher ramps
- Added fading bumper flashers with alpha ramp halos (hybrid) in "Lab"

Thanks to JPSalas for giving me permission to post this MOD and his helpful correspondence
Thanks to UW and oooplayer1ooo for their lighting tables / examples / inspiration

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! This table is a real light show and the screen shot can't really tell the story - have to see it in action. Hope you like!

Important: A fairly decent machine is required, however, the total performance hit from all of the adjustments only seems to be about 20% less than the original / base table. Higher periods of performance hit may occur when the lighting is actually changing and a ball is in play. However, in general it plays quite well. A 1GB card is recommended. I use and did the most of the testing on Windows 7 systems, Windows XP set-ups, like most people have witnessed, will likely have higher FPS / smoother play.

Notes:
1) The table has been set-up with various elements carefully "stacked", if anything get's changed on or in the table, with respect to drawn in front or drawn in back changes, graphical problems / oddities may be observed
2) Sometimes the table failed to load or yielded a mostly black screen - retrying or restarting VP and retrying would generally resolve
3) I have added a delay to the B2S launch after noticing some issues when it was returning focus to the table while the table still seemed to be rendering / updating on screen (the table has several more high quality PNG PF images / objects because of the 8 step GI and pushes the limits for loading successfully)

I've done everything I can with my current knowledge and skill set to make the table as efficient and "runnable" as possible.


B2S: It uses the B2S system that Rosve added and works with the original file name "ScaredStiff_FS_B2S.exe"; You may have to make a copy and rename it to the table name depending on your set-up; The B2S .exe and b2s.vbs were not re-distributed with this release.


Performance Improvements - there are a couple things that can be changed to gain back some performance:
1) As usual, Alpha Ramp Accuracy sliders further to left (gains with no decrease in quality on square alpha flasher ramps)
2) Disable the modified "Lab" bumper alpha flashers by changing the fading lights calls at the end of the "UpdateLamps" sub and deleting the related objects (there are groups created to make this easier and are called !Bumper#_Halos (1-3) and the section of the script for the changes is commented with notes to assist)
3) Change the !TopRightRampSegment back to "solid" from "alpha"; It was this way originally to save on performance but, with the new lighting looks much nicer to be able to see the updates behind / beneath it which you won't be able to if it's set back to solid
4) There is a setting in the script under the "Options" called "GI4LevelsOnly", it is defaulted to false for 8 way but set to true to try 4 levels only; NOTE: the performance change does not seem to be perceivable but may be noticed on older systems when lighting sequences are occurring and a ball is in play
5) I had some sound issues / hick-ups when running the VP executable on a single core but were resolved when allowing VP to run on multiple cores - could be my set-up, sound card, or windows 7 thing
6) I observed on one of my systems that changing the max texture setting down below "unlimited" actually decreased FPS / performance, so, if possible keep / try at unlimited

View File

Submitted by jimmyfingers, on Oct 27 2011, 04:03 PM

Edited by jimmyfingers, 29 November 2011 - 08:03 PM.

[oooPLAYER1ooo]

Nice work !

[rosve]

Great update,
GI lights really makes the playing experience so much more exiting. Love it.

[DeeGor]

Nice Job.

Looking forward to playing this when I get home tonight.

[jimmyfingers]

Great update,
GI lights really makes the playing experience so much more exiting. Love it.

Thanks Rosve! Glad you like it Your last MOD really helped pave the way to attempt this as without that bit of performance gain, thanks to B2S, I don't think it would have remained quite as much in the realm of feasibility / fluidity after a GI8 retro-fit

Also, once you added that spinning spider to the back glass and with all of JP's fantastic talent for the foundation of this great recreation, this table became a bit of a flagship - I think - of what can now be done in VP. I chose this table because of this to try out some ideas I had for the 8 step lighting and felt if any table deserved the amount of time / effort on just lighting, it would be this one

JF

[unclewilly]

Awesome mod jimmy.
Can't wait to try it out and see how the dieing gi works. I hope its as good as totan with 8 steps

[numiah]

Looks sweet !
I'll give her a whirl tomorrow !

[settingsons]

Just tried it in my 3-screen setup and it is pretty amazing. Also no stuttering whatsoever . The lighting effects add so much - very impressive..... many thanks jimmy, JP and rosve

There are so many great ideas, so much creativity, WIPs, etc etc at the moment - this forum is cooking on gas!

[rcadefrk]

does this table have any of the following problems as noted by bolt in the WS thread?

1: Dragon Skull light: The left Eye and the nose does not light.
2: The right ramp does not count.

Anyone tried these features on the FS version yet?

[jimmyfingers]

does this table have any of the following problems as noted by bolt in the WS thread?

1: Dragon Skull light: The left Eye and the nose does not light.
2: The right ramp does not count.

Anyone tried these features on the FS version yet?

Yes, me

- The ramp works fine. You just have to go over it twice before it starts flashing (same in the other versions); Further the way it seems to work is the eyes flash differently depending on what stage you're on (left eye only = before any ramps made, right eye flash with left eye on before 2nd ramp made, and before the 3rd ramp is made it both eyes alternate and the flasher flashes repeatedly, after the 3rd the Boney Beast tale is complete and the eyes continue to alternate)
- The nose is also fine in the FS because it's transparent and you're looking more down and can see the flasher (that's what's really lighting it in real life as well as far as I can tell)
- The left eye was an error on the desktop version that came out of the B2S script cleaning to return to desktop mode, where I accidentally nabbed to Fade* lines, one of which was the left eye


JF

[thewool]

Cheers for the upload jimmyfingers, must have taken a quite a bit of work together but I think it's really paid off!!

I love the art on the original table but this provides a spooky alternative vibe!

Performance is excellent with no problems. Only minor niggle is the end of my plunger is missing until I start to pull it back, then it appears. You can see this in your FS screen shot, the black tip is missing.

All in all though, ace little mod Is this going to become a trend??

edit: I play my table with an inclination value of 14 and I was wondering if there is a way to get the flasher effects to appear outside of the table (in the black sections on the left/right side)? Checkpoint does this really well, you can see all the flasher effect, but in SS the flasher effect is cut off, strange...

Edited by thewool, 27 October 2011 - 09:47 PM.

[jimmyfingers]

Cheers for the upload jimmyfingers, must have taken a quite a bit of work together but I think it's really paid off!!

I love the art on the original table but this provides a spooky alternative vibe!

Performance is excellent with no problems. Only minor niggle is the end of my plunger is missing until I start to pull it back, then it appears. You can see this in your FS screen shot, the black tip is missing.

All in all though, ace little mod Is this going to become a trend??

edit: I play my table with an inclination value of 14 and I was wondering if there is a way to get the flasher effects to appear outside of the table (in the black sections on the left/right side)? Checkpoint does this really well, you can see all the flasher effect, but in SS the flasher effect is cut off, strange...

Hey wool, I had never noticed the plunger, but without being in front of my main rig, would have to guess that it maybe it's related to the light aspect as I beleive on this table it's done with lights. I 'll check it out later and see what can be done on that

The flashers are cut off strange because I manually clipped them to fit into the current view of the FS B2S table and have it look look like they should end where the sides of the table are. Plus, in my personal set-up I show rails to make the view a little thinner and because I'm in a pseudo cab with no rails anyway (I like the look). I add the rails on the backblass as it's quick and doesn't skew with the table angle but the flashers would flow over if the table is narrowed. Expanding it back out to the "normal" view was fine and even looks, I think, as it should with the current view settings, but yes, as you would change that you're going to likely notice some stuff. You could potentially extend the alpha ramps, their respective scipted redraw values, and use new images without the "trimming" for the FS cabinet sides on an adjusted view, to get it to stretch out over. It's interesting as that's exactly the spill over affect that I spent a bit of time on counteracting. I would have to go back several stages and edits on my revised claw flasher images to get ones that weren't trimmed and don't know if I could send them to you anyway as they're really JPs that I've just modded. Might have to keep this on in a view that still works with them for the moment at least.

This could be a trend, yes, as long as the tables were WPC and the author(s) gave me permission - but would be taking a breather already after having Elvira and Photoshop float around in my head for the last month while I slept. It was a lot of focus on one thing and I can see how authors need to rotate their projects (the hardest stretch was the last 10-15%) I actually did a test run the other night of modding another WPC table that was recently released and got an 8GI version essentially done that same night that was about 90% complete. I would likely try to stick more to the GI8 adding then too many other mods like with the alpha ramps which occupied a lot more time and I also have a technique now for quickly generating and placing the 8 levels / regions as well as doing the necessary masking.

Hope you get a view that works for you in your set-up

JF

[maceman]

Looking very forward to trying this tonight on the cab. Thanx Jimmy!!! Alot of work here for sure!!!

Maceman

[thewool]

Thanks for the in-depth reply dude!! I might tinker with the flashers but not too much, it's not a deal breaker and I certainly wouldn't expect you to change anything just for my set up. I appreciate the time and effort that's gone into this and I think you should be proud (and also sleep soundly!).

Will give you tips a go

Thanks mate, Wool

[jimmyfingers]

I've been tipped off about a ramp counting issue with the right ramp and think I've got the problem sorted. Will reupload hopefully in a matter of minutes. Might want to wait to download for a few. Cheers.

JF

[JAM0]

Fantastic mod Jimmy Thanks so much for the time end effort you put into this beauty. I guess it could be worse than having "Elvira floating around your head all night", like maybe freddie kruger.

Yes this table is a flagship example of what can be done -- amazing all the way around! I couldn't stop playing it until I got exhausted. Played it with the room lights out

I did have some stutter when I had 3 balls going and was hitting jackpots, but it was totally playable.

Of course big thanks again to JP for the phenomenal table and rosve for the fantastic back-glass

Edit: Moved the alpha slider to the left and now virtually no stutter

Edited by JAM0, 28 October 2011 - 12:12 AM.

[jimmyfingers]

UPDATE: Right ramp not registering has been fixed and table re-uploaded

[kevinleedrum]

This is incredible JF. Good work, my friend.

[CPSNine]

A very nice update to an already awesome table.
Thanks a lot guys.

[hogwild6161]

Lit my 46 inch up like a Christmas tree!!!!


Bravo, gentleman.


Bravo.