834 replies to this topic

[bent98]

Curious, how long before the initial vp 10 release? Are we talking 6 month, a year, longer?

[fuzzel]

infinity serious we don't know...but I would say we need some more months it all depends how much spare time we have

[Nealtron]

I think it's great that you're developing VP10! A new version is overdue. I'm not exactly a seasoned author here, but I do have a wishlist of features that would steamline the table development process! I'd like to see some features, (in some future update), that could save us a lot of time in writing script and editing images in photoshop. I see a lot of cool new features being discussed, but don't see much that's going to make the table development process take any "less" time. Feel free to say "dream on, Nealtron!"

 

• "Redo" button
• Description next to "Undo"/"Redo", ie. "Redo delete Wall156"
• "Display image in Editor" w/o slowing the program to a crawl! (My computer can play any new game at max graphics! Why does this slow me down?)
• Translate "ALL" objects by __ (X,Y,Z) (Ignoring, of course, targets & kickers when translating by X)
• "Quick Preview" mode- to see graphical changes w/o loading PinMame, or having to remove PinMame from the script
• Built-in library of primitives, (bumpers, targets, plastic cones, etc.), w/ color options
• Wall and Ramp reflection options. ie. Reflects (playfield/ wall217, etc.), blur amount, light level (how cool would it be if the ramps that are used as the sides on desktop tables could reflect the entire playfield, including flashers, GI, the ball, etc.?)
• Built-in slingshots animation
• Built-in library of flippers, (different styles, logos that rotate automatically)- easy to script, sure, but why not integrate?
• Give walls an "is primitive" option. That way we could script walls to move like primitives w/o using "can drop" for everything
• Built in library of sounds for kickers, targets, plungers, spinners, etc.- again, easy to script, but why not add this?)- and a drop-down menu option. ie. checkbox "playsound when hit: Kicker Hole 3"
• Built in ball collision sound effects (one that does not trigger the sound effect when a ball passes over another on a ramp, etc.)
• Built-in fading lights effects. Let's agree that we all like using JP's fading lights- how about an "is fading light" option for lights? Then we can select up to 8 or 10 images for each stage, and put a check mark "is on" next to the fully-illuminated image
• Built-in GI (same as above but with walls)
• Built-in version identifier, only takes a second to script, but few seem to bother. ("Warning: This table was designed for VP 10.02", etc.)
• 3D light objects, (such as bumpers used as lights), casts light on neighboring objects
• "Use VP9 Physics" option for backwards-compatability
• Built in script error checker. (Incomplete script is automatically "red" until it "makes sense")
• Option for .B2S files as backdrop on desktop tables (I think that would be pretty cool, personally)
• Option for "Max heights (top/bottom) don't affect table angles display" (It's annoying when I get the angle just right, but then adding an object that's higher than anything else on the table changes the entire perspective!
• Ability to select objects/ pixels at full zoom (I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed issues with this! It doesn't always work for some reason)

 

These features would save me, personally, a lot of time when building and scripting new tables. It would be nice to see some of this integrated.

I haven't read all 22 pages of this thread, so if I'm requesting features that are already implemented, excuse me!

Edited by Nealtron, 24 September 2014 - 07:35 PM.

[J3SteR]

Amazing work guys! With out you, there would be no vp community. Keep up the great work!

[fuzzel]

Well there is already a wishlist thread http://www.vpforums....=27215&p=258960

and a summarize thread http://www.vpforums....=27864&p=267235

 

Some of your wishes are already in but for others I fear you won't see it in VP10 any time soon (e.g. "Wall and Ramp reflection options."). VP10 won't be backwards compatible neither the physics will be. Though you can load VP9 tables into VP10 but you will get errors if you want to play them (depending on the table). Even if some tables are playable they will look strange and the physics must be changed too.

A rough road-map for VP10.0 from my point of view is the following:

• new physics engine (improved physmod5 engine)
• completely shader based rendering
• correct global lighting (no dynamic shadows)
• fading light inserts and bulb lighting (no dynamic shadows)
• material library support
• mesh library support
• embedded DMD handling/displaying
• built-in meshes for some elements (e.g. bumpers)

The editor needs improvements that's right but the truth is: if we touch this and change it to some other gui library we could rewrite half of VP maybe more. The topics I listed above take a lot of time. But once you can play around with these you will see that it will speed up table creation a lot.

Edited by fuzzel, 24 September 2014 - 07:43 PM.

[Nealtron]

Well there is already a wishlist thread http://www.vpforums....=27215&p=258960

and a summarize thread http://www.vpforums....=27864&p=267235

 

Some of your wishes are already in but for others I fear you won't see it in VP10 any time soon (e.g. "Wall and Ramp reflection options."). VP10 won't be backwards compatible neither the physics will be. Though you can load VP9 tables into VP10 but you will get errors if you want to play them (depending on the table). Even if some tables are playable they will look strange and the physics must be changed too.

A rough road-map for VP10.0 from my point of view is the following:

• new physics engine (improved physmod5 engine)
• completely shader based rendering
• correct global lighting (no dynamic shadows)
• fading light inserts and bulb lighting (no dynamic shadows)
• material library support
• mesh library support
• embedded DMD handling/displaying
• built-in meshes for some elements (e.g. bumpers)

The editor needs improvements that's right but the truth is: if we touch this and change it to some other gui library we could rewrite half of VP maybe more. The topics I listed above take a lot of time. But once you can play around with these you will see that it will speed up table creation a lot.

 

Ah, I didn't know there was a wishlist thread, but consider this my wishlist!

[BananaBoat]

Guys has mukuste given up on development?

[toxie]

Seems like it.. Maybe he pops up later-on again though, who knows.. Sometimes real life is more important..

[dyopp21]

Hey Toxie!  Not to hijack this thread but I just noticed you live in Berlin.  I lived in Berlin from 85-88 in Zehlendorf dist. near Oskar-Helene-Heim U-bahn.  Awesome city (The city that never sleeps!)  And thanks for all your hard work on the upcoming versions of VP!  It wouldn't be what it is today without all of your hard work and that of the the other devs.

 

On the Mukuste front, whether or not he left the project, I hope he'll drop in at some point and at least let the community know that he's o.k.

[The Loafer]

Agreed and I will say that if he has decided to hang up the vp programming gig, I wish him the best and can say he's earned his retirement; even when one considers although his gig was quite short, it sure as heck was fruitful. So thanks Mukuste, your gifts as well as those provided by the other awesome Devs sure are being appreciated by many of us! My most sincere hopes are that life has you relaxing on a nice beach right now enjoying a brew and thinking "man, life is awesome!"

[dark]

My gut tells me we haven't seen the last of Mukuste but as toxie put it best, some times real life is more important.

 

...emphasis on some times.....lol.

 

He was always an integral part of the community and quick to help anyone he could, so I too wish him all the best in his endeavors.

[jpsalas]

While waiting for a newer "demo" or "beta" of VP10, I thought to see what I could do with the some of the new objects from the latest VPX_RubberDemo4.rar from 21.april this year (edit: here it is from 7/21 http://www.vpforums....=27604&p=273142, thanks freneticamnesic for finding the right link )

 

So I thought to make a "demo" table, and, what have I used in this table?

 

- rubber objects, with a slingshot animation
- new lights, using just the playfield and the new kind of light
- bulb lights
- transparent walls on the plastics, mostly to show that you can see through it, for example you can see the animation of the slingshot
- cool rotating ball I used colors like the smurfs should have painted by them self. Did I say smurfs?

I have added just a few primitives, mostly the pegs and screws.

 

The table is the result of countless hours trying to make a "new" layout with ramps and several levels and complicated rules, with modes, and sounds and music... and in the end I though "but what I really like are the sounds of a EM table, the chimes, the ball hitting everything making a lot of noise...". And I decided to make it simple. There is no story, but if you need a story then "You are Papa Smurf, and your mission is to have fun, collect smurfberries, and run in front of Gargamel and Azrael hiting targets and scoring points"

 

So the table is very simple, if you know or have played "Surfer" by Gottlieb, then you know how to play this table Same rules (more or less ), and the same layout.

Here you have "Papa Smurf"

 

 

Remember it is just a test of the new features so far. I guess I'll update the table when newer demo versions of VP10 comes out. Hint, hint

 

JP

Edited by jpsalas, 14 October 2014 - 02:23 PM.

[mfuegemann]

Hi,

 

JP, Your table looks really nice! I am waiting for the rubber objects too. For the moment I use 1wire ramps without the HIT event.

So, Fuzzel and Toxie, as soon as You are comfortable, release 10.0 and we will us the amazing features, You have implemented so far. You guys rock!

Greetings to mukuste, who reads this posts for sure :-)

 

Regards

Michael

[LoadedWeapon]

lol thanks JP I love the ball

[mfuegemann]

Hi JP,

 

was it a misspelling by Gottlieb? They released the table "Smurfer" without the "m" . . .

 

Michael

[freneticamnesic]

While waiting for a newer "demo" or "beta" of VP10, I thought to see what I could do with the some of the new objects from the latest VPX_RubberDemo4.rar from 21.april this year (go back in this thread and you'll find the demo)

 

So I thought to make a "demo" table, and, what have I used in this table?

 

- rubber objects, with a slingshot animation
- new lights, using just the playfield and the new kind of light
- bulb lights
- transparent walls on the plastics, mostly to show that you can see through it, for example you can see the animation of the slingshot
- cool rotating ball I used colors like the smurfs should have painted by them self. Did I say smurfs?

I have added just a few primitives, mostly the pegs and screws.

 

The table is the result of countless hours trying to make a "new" layout with ramps and several levels and complicated rules, with modes, and sounds and music... and in the end I though "but what I really like are the sounds of a EM table, the chimes, the ball hitting everything making a lot of noise...".

 

So the table is very simple, if you know or have played "Surfer" by Gottlieb, then you know how to play this table Same rules (more or less ), and the same layout.

Here you have "Papa Smurf"

 

Papa_Smurf_demo_pre-VP10.jpg

Papa_Smurf_demo_pre-VP10.zip

 

Remember it is just a test of the new features so far. I guess I'll update the table when newer demo versions of VP10 comes out. Hint, hint

 

JP

 

this thread was started after april 21st though

 

edit: here it is from 7/21 http://www.vpforums....=27604&p=273142

Edited by freneticamnesic, 12 October 2014 - 10:02 PM.

[GRONI]

It´s a reminiscence to his Nickname Papa Smurf

[gtxjoe]

I was thinking about the "embedded DMD handling/displaying"...   Will this work with the existing directB2S server (does dB2S also launch vPinMame?), or is this intended mainly for desktop/single mointor mode use only?

[toxie]

currently VP is still using only the "main" monitor, so so far the DMD is still bound to this.  :/

but the long-term plan is to extend the rendering area of VP, so that it could also use the other monitors (if wanted).

 

then, one could basically also do all backglass effects directly in VP, too, without the need for additional software like B2S (which hopefully could mean a very very slight performance increase over the current solutions).

 

but i guess for a start (e.g. VP10 timeframe) the most useful setup for this will be desktop-only, and maybe if i get around to implement multi-monitor support for the backdrop, then also for all users running three monitors, as it then wouldn't conflict with the backglass stuff anyway.

[fuzzel]

I just want to give you an update of the current work on VP10. We started a small closed alpha test phase to get the first feedback and bug reports while we are adding more and more features. The screenshot I attached shows some new/updated features. This "table" was done in around 2-3 minutes no 3D modelling tool or photoshop magic was used. What you see here are: Bumper(animated if ball hits it), gate(animated), bulb lights and triggers (again animated). The whole shading/coloring is done with the new material/lighting engine.

I can't give you a time schedule when we can start an official beta test phase but we get closer and closer

Attached Files

•  VP10_teaser.jpg   85.69KB   49 downloads