734 replies to this topic

[17Al3x17]

I use the VP plunger kit V2,and you'll need x360ce, and set the right Thumb as the axis 3, and program your buttons and nudge. It works pretty well for me.

Check my cabinet build thread and it goes over setup of pinball fx2.

 

I found the solution by x360ce against a I can not see both at the same time.

 

Be it the nudge, be the plunger because when I do a calibration windows, it's like that move all the time ... While on VP is perfect.

[frodus]

Set the deadzone higher.

Edited by frodus, 19 November 2014 - 08:15 PM.

[ViriiGuy]

Ok, I have my board setup. For the time being it is just sitting in the bottom of my cabinet.. Next to my shaker... Bad spot I have to find somewhere else to put it soon. But wow!! It works amazingly!

 

Thank you!

[cyril92]

Hello mjr,

I am on the way to finalize the french translation of your document about your pinscape controller.
Now I would like to have your permission to create a thread and put my translation on the french virtual pinball cabinet forum : www.pincabpassion.net
This is , I hope, the quite exact translation of your document. I can send it to you as soon as i have finished, if you prefer.
Your name will be mentionned of course in the thread, with the link on this thread and on your mbed project.

Thank you for what you did.

Cyril.

Edited by cyril92, 25 November 2014 - 10:09 PM.

[mjr]

Hello mjr,

I am on the way to finalize the french translation of your document about your pinscape controller.
Now I would like to have your permission to create a thread and put my translation on the french virtual pinball cabinet forum : www.pincabpassion.net

 

That's absolutely fine with me.  Thanks for doing the translation!

[cyril92]

Thanks mjr, FYI here is the link to your document translated in french : https://www.dropbox....DgdsrFNIXcQnG2t

 

Cyril

[mpad]

Hello mjr,

If I didn't already own a VP plunger v2 I would have gone for your solution. Great stuff!

I wanted to ask if there is a physmod5 version of the accelerometer test table?
I used the standard one to calibrate my cab setup for vp9. This was very handy!
So if you know where to find one or how to convert the old one it would be great.
Sadly I have 0.0 vp skills to do it myself.
Thanks!

[parabolic]

Then maps...your missing out!! This thing works flawlessly!! Thanks again MJR!!

[mpad]

Yeah... the plunger is only OKisch. But the nudging should be the same as it is the same board.
Still need that test table in pm5! Anyone ???

[17Al3x17]

Hi MJR,

 

I have a problem with your card (KL25Z) on a table Vp: Cirqus Voltaire (Platinum Edition). I am with VP 990, VPinMame is the last version, no problem on other tables.

 

At me Sunken do not want to start (it loads even in Vp) suddenly I'm Flush.

 

So I Flush the works but if my card (KL25Z) is connected, I have the error code (see photo below) by cons, if I run the table without the trendy card, it works perfectly but not nudge (necessarily! and even if I subtract the current Nothing, even after a reset)

 

In short it works without the card but if I start with the trendy card, the plant!

 

 

Have you any idea?

 

Thank you to you.

 

Alex

Edited by 17Al3x17, 06 December 2014 - 09:49 AM.

[parabolic]

Has anyone gotten this to work with FUTUREPINBALL??  I have a BAM setup and Id like to use it....

The plunger/nudging works SO WELL in Vpin - It was literally a set and forget - flawless....

Id like to be able to use it with FP as well.

[hauntfreaks]

Has anyone gotten this to work with FUTUREPINBALL??  I have a BAM setup and Id like to use it....

The plunger/nudging works SO WELL in Vpin - It was literally a set and forget - flawless....

Id like to be able to use it with FP as well.

 yep it works perfect in my cab for FP.... I did had to rotate the board 180deg ... but to use it in VP too,  in the keys tab you will have to set the accelerometer rotation to 180..... doing this you will be able to use it in FP and VP...... and the plunger works perfect as well....

Edited by hauntfreaks, 08 December 2014 - 09:26 PM.

[DJRobX]

Hi MJR -

 

I have a quick question about your nudge filter.    There's currently a bit of code that allows a sustained tilt:

 

       // More than 500 ms in motion with same sign - we must be
        // experiencing a gravitational acceleration due to a tilt
        // of the playfield

 

My cab has a Mot-ion board.  These accelerometers have an infamous problem of calibration drift as the cab warms up.    I've written my own filter that waits for sustained periods of inactivity and applies offsets to effectively auto-recalibrate.   I'm wondering, if I comment out that "else" block in your code, would your filter routine eliminate the need for center-calibration?

 

Being able to tilt the cab and see the ball "roll" is fun but not really necessary. 

Edited by DJRobX, 08 December 2014 - 04:36 PM.

[mjr]

Hi MJR -

 

I have a quick question about your nudge filter.    There's currently a bit of code that allows a sustained tilt:

 

       // More than 500 ms in motion with same sign - we must be
        // experiencing a gravitational acceleration due to a tilt
        // of the playfield

 

My cab has a Mot-ion board.  These accelerometers have an infamous problem of calibration drift as the cab warms up.    I've written my own filter that waits for sustained periods of inactivity and applies offsets to effectively auto-recalibrate.   I'm wondering, if I comment out that "else" block in your code, would your filter routine eliminate the need for center-calibration?

 

Being able to tilt the cab and see the ball "roll" is fun but not really necessary. 

 

You'd probably still want to keep the auto-centering code.  That's exactly what I do at the firmware level my Freescale code, too.  I think if you let the accelerometer calibration drift and get rid of the sustained tilt code you called out, the effect of the VP mod would be to continuously cancel out the bias (as the center point drifts) on the shorter (500ms) time scale - so I think you'd cancel out the *net* motion, but you'd see a lot of short time scale jitter instead.  Keeping the accelerometer centered is better since it'll let the ball sit motionless when the cabinet isn't being nudged.

[javier1515]

Hi guys!

Today I came mouser.com kit but am confused, Could someone tell me how to start programming the plate, the truth is I have no idea how to mount the plate in my pincab.

Thank you ..

[Aklaers]

I just set this up last night without the plunger and i am having a problem when i go to the window calibration area ( I am not calibrateing just testing) I pull up the properties to see the crosshairs and all i get is the y axis showing up.  some more info would be i fet the rubber feet on when mounting in cab and put 2 screws on the side with the usb hook up. the nudge seemed to work last night but turned the cab on today and when i shook the machine all the ball does on the test table is go straight up. any help please and thank you

[sliderpoint]

I recommend using all 4 screws. I left the rubber feet on mine too, but the tilt in vp didn't work well until I snugged it down pretty good, although the nudge was working ok before that. As for it not seeing the x/y cross hairs, I would just start over in the pdf instructions and re-download the software and recopy it to the freescale board.

-Mike

[javier1515]

MJR or anyone clarify me a question that I have for being ignorant in electronics ..

Needless to build the circuit Ledwwiz this in the pdf? or I can just use a pin for each button.

What I mean is .. the circuit is for toys or required for the function of Ledwiz.

 

I hope you understand what I mean .. My English is more than bad.

[mjr]

 

MJR or anyone clarify me a question that I have for being ignorant in electronics ..

Needless to build the circuit Ledwwiz this in the pdf? or I can just use a pin for each button.

What I mean is .. the circuit is for toys or required for the function of Ledwiz.

 

I hope you understand what I mean .. My English is more than bad.

 

I think you're talking about the extra circuitry described in the section "Build the LedWiz output drivers".  If so, you're correct - you do NOT need to build that circuit if you only want button inputs.  The circuitry is only needed if you want to drive motors or flashers or other feedback devices.

[Spektre]

One other little update, which might be of interest to anyone else developing a custom plunger device.  

 

I've been studying the VP code that handles the analog plunger motion, trying to understand how the timing of device reports affects the simulation response.  I noticed that a given pull distance could result in a range of energy being transferred to the ball on release, so I wanted to figure out how VP calculates the instantaneous velocity of the plunger.  I was concerned that my 25ms refresh rate was too slow, given that VP runs its physics simulation at a 100 Hz target rate (10ms updates).  Now that I see how this works, it turns out that my refresh rate is probably *too fast*.  The way VP handles analog plunger input is rather nicely thought out - particularly in terms of making a device work well with it.  VP has an internal model plunger, and does all of the velocity/acceleration/force simulation using the model.  The analog plunger readings aren't really involved in figuring the velocity.  Instead, VP continuously compares the model plunger position to the reported analog plunger position, and when they differ, it sets the model plunger in motion towards the position in the physical plunger reading.  The speed and acceleration are controlled by the model; VP doesn't attempt to calculate a first derivative (d/dt) of the analog position or anything like that.

 

This design is perfect for my sensor, and probably for just about anyone else building their own plunger device.  It means we don't have to collect or report readings fast enough to get accurate instantaneous velocity readings.  Accurate velocity readings would be quite difficult for most practical position sensors during the most important plunger motion of all, which is the very rapid acceleration (and subsequent rapid deceleration) when you release it from a retracted position.  I can conceive of a precise position sensor that could collect the data quickly enough, but as far as I can tell you can't just buy such a device off the shelf.  The device I can buy - the CCD array I'm using - collects very precise position data but is relatively slow at reporting it.

 

In fact, I believe I can attribute the inconsistencies I've been seeing in launch force to my reports being too *fast*, not too slow.  I think the 25 ms cycle time was sometimes, but not always, capturing intermediate positions in mid-release, which would give VP the idea that it should send the plunger moving towards a halfway position and stop, and then soon thereafter accelerate again from the halfway position to the rest position.  So I think the ideal way to feed plunger input to VP is to essentially debounce it - if the readings are changing rapidly (at the sub-human perception scale), wait for things to settle out.  So for a typical release motion, VP would see the retracted reading followed immediately by a rest reading - letting VP know that it should do the full swing between the two positions.  We want to set the time scale for the debouncing filter such that manual motions are *not* filtered out - I think that's straightforward since the human perception time scale is up in the 50-100ms range.

 

I'm experimenting with this now, so I'll report back when I know more.

Hi mjr.

 

Read thru the thread over the last few nights.  I'm not sure I understand this.  Why does the plunger model react badly if given more granular input information?  Is it a very poor model that does not keep cumulative track of where it is in relation to where the physical plunger is?