131 replies to this topic

[freezy]

Is there a tweak or setting I can get Baywatch and Frankenstien DMDs to look better ?

 

I must admit that I haven't retested this, but there shouldn't have been any changes. Will test and fix if necessary, thanks for the report!

 

 

I found old post:

Does it work in 1.8 ? can we alter the look of the dmd?

 

I haven't merged that branch yet, mainly because I've noticed performance issues. It works fine if there aren't many active dots like scores, but if over 50% of the display is lit, it starts stuttering. Will need to see if there are hacks to make it faster, re-write it as a shader, or just merge it as-is.

 

 

OK did some testing last night.

My PinDMD1 works with Visual PinMAME 2.7 (Standalone DLL, PinDMD1) 2.7

I've tried VPinMame 2.8, 2.8b, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 they either crash or they update the DMD slowly

 

That's weird indeed. Maybe @toxie has an idea what changed after 2.7 that could cause this effect?

[freezy]

@HiRes00 So I did a test, this how it should look:

 

For reference, the original:

 

 

With a 128x32 display, it should look like that:

 

Mode stretch:

 

 

Mode fit:

 

 

Mode fill:

 

 

Granted, neither of them looks particularly good, but hey, you only have 33% of the dots needed to display full 192x64. How does yours look?

[freezy]

For the PinDMD3 patch, there was a misunderstanding about the revision. I was under the assumption that revision 1013 had the needed changes, but that's not the case. Revision 1014 is needed. So everybody with a PinDMD3 who upgrades to 1.8 must also upgrade the firmware.

 

If you don't care about coloring but you still want to upgrade to 1.8, please grab a snapshot of 1.8.1 here, otherwise dmdext might use a frame format your display doesn't support.

 

This concerns only PinDMD3 users of course.

Edited by freezy, 06 May 2020 - 11:16 AM.

[HiRez00]

@Freezy

 

Thanks for checking on the Sega DMDs for me.

 

The previous release using the color pal + vni and using stretched before - it looked "ok" and I mean just 'ok'.  With the new 1.8 the and the alt color - several sections of the screen are black as if the mattes are overlapping and not working correctly, but the 1.7.1 looked better - and I am sure it is something with the alt color and the way it was done.

 

I didn't try it without using the alt color ... but I will give it a go later today.

 

I realizes that it is impossible to make a 192x64 look good on a 128x32 dmd ... and if I have to go with the virtual for a couple games - that's ok with me. I ain't greedy.

 

Now - in regards to your post directly above ... are you saying that PinDMD3 users HAVE to upgrade the firmware if they want to use 1.8+ at all? or does the 1.8.1 release address this so we DON'T have to upgrade.

 

I have no problem with upgrading if it is required ... I just don't want to break anything + I can't seem to get my serial number to pass along to get the firmware upgrade made for my PinDMD3.

 

Just wanted to clarify things before I partake.

 

Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to bringing color DMD to all of us VP users!

[darthwhat]

I have a question about the custom Alpha-Numeric Displays. When I want to change a color of a particular game, when I hit save, it changes it for all other games that use this use the alpha display. I want to be able to choose a color for each game. What am I doing wrong? I've tried to follow this - https://github.com/f...al/AlphaNumeric

[freezy]

@HiRez00: A comparison screenshot between 1.7.1 and 1.8 would great to compare, so I can debug this.

 

About PinDMD3, it's like that: 1.8.0 checks for the firmware number, and if it's 1013 or above, it will use a more efficient frame format. However, the 1013 check is wrong, it should check against 1014. That means that if you have a 1013 firmware, and you're playing an altcolor ROM, frames will hang, since the firmware doesn't understand what's going on. This has been fixed in 1.8.1 (which isn't released yet, but you can grab a snapshot build). That means coloring works using the old inefficient format, but all the new features and bugfixes are there.

 

Long story short: If you have 1013 AND you play a lot of altcolor ROMS, grab 1.8.1 now and request a firmware upgrade from Russ. If you don't run any altcolor, 1.8.0 will work fine.

 

For the serial number: Download and run Putty, set connection type to "Serial", put "COM3" or the port where PinDMD3 sits into the "Serial line" field, and hit "Open". Then paste "AT+KUID"  (without the quotes) into the console, and you'll see your serial number. Note however that Russ said he'd provide a tool to do that more easily.

 

@darthwhat: What you need to do is to save your new color as a new style. So at the bottom of the config dialog, replace "default" with another name, let's say "newcolor", and hit save. Then, in DmdDevice.ini, create a section for your rom: "[romname]", and below a new line "alphanumeric style = newcolor". This will apply your new color only to that game.

[darthwhat]

@darthwhat: What you need to do is to save your new color as a new style. So at the bottom of the config dialog, replace "default" with another name, let's say "newcolor", and hit save. Then, in DmdDevice.ini, create a section for your rom: "[romname]", and below a new line "alphanumeric style = newcolor". This will apply your new color only to that game.

Hey thanks Freezy, so am I supposed to be able to just type in that box a new name and hit save? It wont let me type in at all.

[freezy]

Yes, just type and hit save. It's a combobox, which means you can select items but also type new values.

[darthwhat]

Yes, just type and hit save. It's a combobox, which means you can select items but also type new values.

okay well I can not type in it at all, I can pull the drop down and highlight default, but if I start typing, nothing happens. Would there be anything in the dmddevice.ini that could be missing that would cause this? When I installed freeze 1.8 I copied everything in the zip over except for the ini file to my vpinmame folder.

Edited by darthwhat, 08 May 2020 - 12:22 AM.

[HiRez00]

@Freezy

 

I'll take some snap shots of the DMD using 1.7.1 and then also 1.8+ and report back.

 

Not sure what happened - but the new 1.8+ broke my Pinball FX3 DMD. It is no longer mirroring on the PinDMD3. Did any of the parameters change? dmdext mirror --source=pinballfx3 --no-virtual

 

Is dmdext supposed to be running in administrator mod? When I installed it - I noticed it had the admin mod icon now.

Edited by HiRez00, 08 May 2020 - 05:10 PM.

[freezy]

@darthwhat: I just tested and I can edit the value of the combobox. Anyone else who can't edit?

 

@HiRez00: No admin mode necessary, you you're using source pinballfx2 while you said you were running FX3. Which one is it?

[doogie2301]

destination parameter is now required, so adding  -d pindmdv3 should resolve your issue.

 

by the way, @freezy, when I tried the new --use-ini option, it just spit out the usage information, as if it were an invalid parameter

[HiRez00]

@darthwhat: I just tested and I can edit the value of the combobox. Anyone else who can't edit?

 

@HiRez00: No admin mode necessary, you you're using source pinballfx2 while you said you were running FX3. Which one is it?

Sorry - I miss typed - should read: dmdext mirror --source=pinballfx3 --no-virtual

@doogie - ok - will try adding the -d param.

[darthwhat]

@darthwhat: I just tested and I can edit the value of the combobox. Anyone else who can't edit?

 

@HiRez00: No admin mode necessary, you you're using source pinballfx2 while you said you were running FX3. Which one is it?

okay so I also tested the "preview" font text box and I cant type in that either. Should it matter if I'm doing this while the game is running? is there a way to run this segment style GUI without being in game just to test it? Also what about just adding styles directly to the ini file? is that possible? I tried to just copy and paste the default one but that doesnt and it causes it to not work at all.

[freezy]

@doogie2301 / @HiRez00 Yes, and of course, add the -d parameter.

 

In general: Read the changelog before upgrading!

 

@darthwhat: Yes, you can edit the .ini file manually. For the UI you'll need to run a game. How have you been testing so far? Via VPM's setup.exe, or by launching a game in VPX?

[darthwhat]

@ Freezy
Ive been running it in VPX while the game is running , i tried VPM exe test rom but they dont load in that.

How would I add them manually in the ini?

[HiRez00]

Adding the -d pindmdv3 param to the launch script for Pinball FX3 worked just fine.

 

Thanks Freezy and Doogie2301.

 

Will send screen shots of Sega DMD later today comparing the the 1.7.1 to 1.8+.

[dstott]

 

For the serial number: Download and run Putty, set connection type to "Serial", put "COM3" or the port where PinDMD3 sits into the "Serial line" field, and hit "Open". Then paste "AT+KUID"  (without the quotes) into the console, and you'll see your serial number. Note however that Russ said he'd provide a tool to do that more easily.

I have installed PuTTY.  I opened the program and select "Serial."  I set it to "Com3."  I change the baud to "115200" and press the "Open" button.  A command box opens, but I cannot type, nor can I paste the command.   I've confirmed the Com Port is correct and if I'm running a PinDMD3 utility, PuTTY will give me a failed to connect error.  I must have missed something crucial, but, for the life of me, I can't figure out what it is. 

 

I would gladly download the "Serial Number for Dummies" utility, but it is not available on Russ's web site.

 

Thanks in advance for any tips on getting that elusive number out of the device.

Edited by dstott, 09 May 2020 - 06:36 PM.

[freezy]

@dstott I've just written a Wiki how to do all that here!

 

EDIT: So PinDMD3 users who are using color ROMS, you'll need to upgrade your firmware if you want to get rid of performance issues. Follow the wiki linked above, paste your KUID here, and wait for Russel to send you an updated firmware. You can probably also just PM him directly here at VPF.

Edited by freezy, 09 May 2020 - 09:03 PM.

[dstott]

Thanks, Freezy.  I was trying to Ctrl-V into that window, rather than the right-click.