33 replies to this topic

[CYBERYOGI CO Windler]

For test, in the script of the "Boomerang" table I have inserted after "option explicit" these 2 lines:

 

dim lightStateOff
dim lightStateOn

 

Now the game indeed does start and seems to play correctly, but all lights stay off! When I quit and reload, it still only draws the blank background without playfield, but the crazy thing is that the rest still seems to work in the background, i.e. I can hear all the sounds and even the reel counters run when I hit something, i.e. most of the VB script is executed properly. Apparently the scripts only fails to communicate with the lamp control part.

 

Also some playfield objects have a little uglier pixelish dark borders than on Win98SE, but this nuisance is minor.

[wiesshund]

in the script look for an execute line

what external scripts is the table to be executing?
is this a rom or script driven table?

[CYBERYOGI CO Windler]

Nope. The whole vpt is self-contained. The EM emulation happens inside its internal VB script (the one that the editor opens). There are no external parts beside a font.

[wiesshund]

Man you got me, i am not sure
Something with the way wine is handling the vbs script?

 

As you say, in windows it is fine.

[Wizball]

instead of

dim lightStateOff
dim lightStateOn

try this

const lightStateOff = 0
const lightStateOn = 1
const lightStateBlinking = 2

I also like that you seem to have every VP6 table except the one I made, which I do not mind being lost to time

Edited by Wizball, 23 June 2023 - 05:20 PM.

[CYBERYOGI CO Windler]

 

try this

const lightStateOff = 0
const lightStateOn = 1
const lightStateBlinking = 2

I also like that you seem to have every VP6 table except the one I made, which I do not mind being lost to to time

 

Thanks! This indeed displays the lights correctly in my 2 pinballs, and even fullscreen mode works! But this can't be the intended solution to hack every vpt file to make it run. Likely somekind of include file with constant definitions is not loaded by VP8 when running on WINE. Does anybody know where the Visual Basic file is located in the file system? PlayOnLinux also warned not to install programs outside the Windows "programs" folder, which however is necessary for Visual Pinball due to write protections (mine is in the equivalent of "c:\Visual Pinball").

 

Also returning to editor and restarting the game still draws no playfield, so I have to quit and restart VP to play again e.g. after editing.

 

I have submitted the VP8 bug report and workaround to the WineHQ site.

Edited by CYBERYOGI CO Windler, 24 June 2023 - 02:48 AM.

[wiesshund]

drive\vpx_folder\scripts normally

[CYBERYOGI CO Windler]

drive\vpx_folder\scripts normally

VP8 and VP6 does not come with any scripts preinstalled in its directory. The default constants definition seem to be hidden inside the EXE. I have sent a bug report to WineHQ because VP fails to execute that VBScript(?) include file.

[wiesshund]

 

drive\vpx_folder\scripts normally

VP8 and VP6 does not come with any scripts preinstalled in its directory. The default constants definition seem to be hidden inside the EXE. I have sent a bug report to WineHQ because VP fails to execute that VBScript(?) include file.

 

it would seem so
i just have no idea why

[CYBERYOGI CO Windler]

 

Ah, that is a bummer

though i have to wonder, how many vp6 tables are there that do not exist in vp8 or vp9 ?

I would say there are not many VP6 tables, that have not been upgraded to VP8, VP9, or VPX.
Just because there are new or better versions, does not mean we throw out the old versions.

These versions were top of the line back then!

It helps to give people a peek back into the history of Visual Pinball.

These older tables and exes are the foundation of Visual Pinball!

 

At least  I managed to get VP8.1.1 with VPinMAME 2.3+scripts vpvbs310 to work reasonably on the Win98SE mainboard again. VPinMAME stuff with pixel display, complex multiball traps or captive balls tend to be jerky, but many tables play sufficiently even in 1280*1024 resolution. So I am happy to hear those freakish 1980th William GWave program loop synth sounds again. VP6 tables run well on VP8 (if any fail, I added a VP6.1 fixed exe).

 

But I do have lost plenty of early VP games those I apparently did never save before the file system crash in 2008 happened. E.g. Pinbot, Fire!, Old Faithfull, Heatwave, Glockenbomber etc. disappeared in a (data) cloud. (Many were flipperless tables those barely have a strong lobby.) And I guess why I never tried to reinstall what I still had. It is not only complicated to find still working EXEs. (Who came up with the pervert Idea to infest a MAME variant with a shareware timer?!? That's crime against the human right of culture preservation!) VP also has the nasty habit to compile every played table into often several 10MB huge .vpcache files in the tables directory, those rapidly consume lots of harddisk space. (Why is there no menu option to turn this off!? I now wrote a .bat file to simply delete all off them with one mouse click.)

Edited by CYBERYOGI CO Windler, 27 June 2023 - 05:56 AM.

[Ike Savage]

Jimmy das Gummipferd (Mün-Ma, 1950's)

Dude, I always thought that one was AMAZING!

You still alive there, CyberYogi?

[CYBERYOGI CO Windler]

 

Jimmy das Gummipferd (Mün-Ma, 1950's)

Dude, I always thought that one was AMAZING!

You still alive there, CyberYogi?

 

alive? - well, sort-of.

 

Sometimes there are dead-ends in technological development those lead to exciting singletons those went into nowhere. E.g. early compact tube synthesizers like Jörgensen's Clavioline or Tuttivox had a bizarre metal case shape because they were intended to be screwed under the keyboard part of an actual acoustic piano. The first digital driving simulator Foerst Nürburgring in 1980th had a version that was drawing zoomable big flat sprites with very low memory demand from a sequence of curves and lines decoded in hardware, which gave it a unique graphics style without grainy pixels.

 

Or Atari's arcade videogame "I Robot" with first accelerated polygon 3D and its viewer killer missile attacking the camera when not switching perspective, and scoring increased with how far down (i.e. difficult) the player's perspective was. The gameplay of Jimmy is similarly unique - like a predecessor of Japanese pachinko - but with much more skill than chance elements. In hardware it certainly got stuck very easy if not perfectly adjusted and may burn a solenoid despite protective bimetal/serial lightbulb tricks used in 1950th. I remember that the even finetuning of the VP version was hard to get the "jackpot when lit" hole kicker stuff respond properly. If the actual machine stood on an uneven floor or ate dirt, it was certainly a nightmare to service. This was not really a flipperless - rather a less flipperless or whatever, but not what got later used to be a pinball playfield. "Humpty Dumpty" had a strange layout either.

 

I wonder if EM pinball emulation really hasn't got any further. The schematics of most models still exist, and using the wiring diagram with score motor, state wheels and individual relays gives much more accurate timing and sound atmosphere. EM sound is like a drum solo. It belongs to be there, and when omitted it is as dumb as making a silent simulated steam locomotive.

Edited by CYBERYOGI CO Windler, 28 June 2023 - 04:55 AM.

[CYBERYOGI CO Windler]

 

though i have to wonder, how many vp6 tables are there that do not exist in vp8 or vp9 ?

I would say there are not many VP6 tables, that have not been upgraded to VP8, VP9, or VPX.
Just because there are new or better versions, does not mean we throw out the old versions.

These versions were top of the line back then!

It helps to give people a peek back into the history of Visual Pinball.

These older tables and exes are the foundation of Visual Pinball!

 

I finally found a backup site with plenty of old versions of VP tables:

https://archive.org/...all_2020-06-20/

[CYBERYOGI CO Windler]

Apparently the annoying LightState constants bug can be avoided by adding the DLL "oleaut32" in WINE (so you won't need to patch every pinball table). But this still does not fix this disappearing playfield when returning to editor and back to play mode. See here:

 

https://forum.winehq...pic.php?t=37788