1630 replies to this topic

[JLPicard001]

The FX2 backglass image is the PNG image designated as the menu backglass that's only visible during game selection.  It should disappear once a game is selected and FX2 blacks out the BS monitor and the DMD.

I am using a third party program to simply rotate the image when a FX2 game is launched so I can play it in portrait, and I another third party program (360ce) to emulate the controller and allow me to use the KL25Z with Pinscape.  Those are the only programs running.

I haven't looked at Task Manager yet.

 

The PNG backglass image remaining on my BS monitor instead of disappearing is just the first indication that something's amiss.

Edited by JLPicard001, 06 April 2019 - 12:18 AM.

[mjr]

> The FX2 backglass image is the PNG image designated as the menu

> backglass that's only visible during game selection.  

 

Sorry for being obtuse, but I'm still not clear on where that PNG is coming from - it *sounds* like you're saying it's coming from FX2, but I just want to be sure I'm not missing something.  I don't have FX2 installed myself so there's a big element of guesswork here for me trying to help troubleshoot it.

 

> I am using a third party program to simply rotate the image when a FX2 game is launched

 

Where's that getting launched?  E.g., from "Run Before", a .bat file, something else?

[Outhere]

You must be using a version of FX2 that don't have Cabinet mode?

The FX2 backglass image is the PNG image designated as the menu backglass that's only visible during game selection.  It should disappear once a game is selected and FX2 blacks out the BS monitor and the DMD.

I am using a third party program to simply rotate the image when a FX2 game is launched so I can play it in portrait, and I another third party program (360ce) to emulate the controller and allow me to use the KL25Z with Pinscape.  Those are the only programs running.

I haven't looked at Task Manager yet.

 

The PNG backglass image remaining on my BS monitor instead of disappearing is just the first indication that something's amiss.

[randr]

Has anyone got addressable rgb's working in pby frontend? i added the globalpinbally.xml but still not working. all "normal" feedback in front end is working fine. I also hooked up my old 5 bar and that does work in pinbally just fine

[mjr]

Has anyone got addressable rgb's working in pby frontend? i added the globalpinbally.xml but still not working. all "normal" feedback in front end is working fine. I also hooked up my old 5 bar and that does work in pinbally just fine

 

I'm afraid I don't have any new ideas for you, but for the sake of crossing t's and dotting i's, here are some old ideas to double-check, just in case:

 

1. When you say you added the file globalpinbally.xml, you're approximating reality, right?  Because that's not the actual exact name the file needs, and I'm sure you know how picky Windows is about every little underscore being in the right place.

 

2. And the contents of that file match the contents of your existing <direct output>\config\GlobalConfig_B2SServer.xml?

 

3. You've probably already examined your DirectOutput.log (the one that should be showing up in the PinballY folder after a session), right?  And everything looks good there?  No error messages about failing to load the cabinet config, syntax errors in file reads, or anything like that?

 

4. Did you check the DOF Config Tool settings against your physical device set, to make sure effects are actually programmed for the devices you have?  Looking at the PinballY entry on the Config Tool database, the default configuration has effects programmed for "PF Left Flashers MX", "PF Back Flashers MX", "PF Right Flashers MX", and the flipper/magnasave MX.  I particularly want to call your attention here to the absence of any effects programmed for PF Left Effects MX, PF Back Effects MX, and PF Right Effects MX.  So for example, if you have a "PF Left Effects" strip configured but not a "PF Left Flashers" strip, there are no effects programmed for your left strip.  My limited understanding of the intended setup is that if you have just one strip, you're supposed to use the "combine toys" feature in the Config Tool to map "Left Flashers" and "Left Effects" to the same physical strip, which you've probably already done.  But maybe it's another thing to double-check.

[randr]

Yes the file is named correctly I was just lazy typing it.
I’ll keep looking but so far refuses to work in pby but of course it works in vp.

[rothbauerw]

Randr convinced me to try PinballY.  First off, thank you mjr, it's absolutely amazing.  I love it!

 

Things I really like:

• Very easy to configure new tables.  The built in "Capture" functionality is game changing for me.  I now have backglass and playfield videos for all my tables.
• Super fast and smooth when scrolling through tables.
• I love the way it pulls up the wheels while loading the tables.
• The real dmd, pulling up the high score for rom tables is way cool!
• Super easy setup and very configurable without too many bells and whistles that only confuse.

A couple of things I'm seeing:

• I'm on Windows 10.  PinballY is creating a job in the task scheduler to launch on start-up.  I can't get it to give PinballY focus on load.  I've solved for this by using a batch file in the start-up folder.  Maybe I'm missing something, but if not, just an FYI for you.
• Second, I'm seeing a small fps impact in vp.  If I run vp as administrator and PinballY in admin mode, it goes away.  It's very reproducible.  I'd prefer not to run either as administrator.  To clarify, vp runs fine outside of PinballY.  Only when run with PinballY do I see an fps drop.  Any ideas?

Again, thank you for PinballY.  BTW, I'm also a big fan you your Pinscape project.  You do great work and it's much appreciated.

Edited by rothbauerw, 15 April 2019 - 11:09 PM.

[STV]

...

 

Again, thank you for PinballY.  BTW, I'm also a big fan you your Pinscape project.  You do great work and it's much appreciated.

 

Hear! Hear!  

 

 

I solved this focus problem by running this in the command for the scheduled task:   

 

C:\WINDOWS\System32\cmd.exe /c start "" "c:\pinbally\pinbally.exe"

[rothbauerw]

Upon some additional testing, here's what I'm seeing.  For the particular table in question, with vpx in non-admin, I see a gpu of 99%-100%.  No frame drops, smooth play.  Running through PinballY, both in non-admin mode, the gpu pegs at 100%, frame rates drop by a couple here and there, but there is very noticeable stutter throughout game play.  If I run vpx as administrator and PinballY in admin mode, I get the same results as running vpx alone in non-admin.

[rothbauerw]

I see what's going on.  When I run vpx as administrator, I gain a small amount of GPU performance.  Enough that when I run PinballY, the results are very similar to when I run vpx non-admin.  PinballY must be adding just enough overhead to push this table over the top.  Interestingly, I don't see the same performance impact when running PinballX.  I'd be interested in mjr's thoughts here.  I'm going to test some other tables to see what I can find, but my solution for now will be to do some tuning on the table in question.

[mjr]

I'm on Windows 10.  PinballY is creating a job in the task scheduler to launch on start-up.  I can't get it to give PinballY focus on load.  I've solved for this by using a batch file in the start-up folder.  

 

If the batch file works, I'd stick with that.  Another thing you might try is adding a delay to the launch - on the Startup options page, fill in the box "After logon, pause before starting PinballY (seconds)". 

 

From what other people have found, it seems that any startup focus issue usually comes from Windows processing other startup tasks after PinballY gets started.  If another program gets launched after PinballY, Windows will give focus preference to the new program; and if the program doesn't end up opening a window, focus gets sent back to the desktop window.  The delay time approach has solved it for some people by trying to make sure PBY gets launched last, so that nothing else comes up and steals focus away.  

 

 

I see what's going on.  When I run vpx as administrator, I gain a small amount of GPU performance.  Enough that when I run PinballY, the results are very similar to when I run vpx non-admin.  PinballY must be adding just enough overhead to push this table over the top.  Interestingly, I don't see the same performance impact when running PinballX.  I'd be interested in mjr's thoughts here.  I'm going to test some other tables to see what I can find, but my solution for now will be to do some tuning on the table in question.

 

Yeah, it sounds like you're right at the GPU's limits with this particular game, so even a small bit of overhead from a background task is pushing it over the edge and showing up as stutter.

 

One thing you might try on the PinballY side is to go to the Audio/Video options page and check the box "Lock frame rate to monitor refresh rate".  This will throttle PinballY's redraw rate.  PBY always tries to minimize its GPU usage when it's in the background regardless of this setting, but it's easy to try it to see if it helps.  Other than that, I'd probably focus on seeing if you can get VP to stop saturating the GPU so completely for that game - maybe try the similar vsync settings in the VP options.

 

Would you consider your video card low-end, high-end, or somewhere in between?

[rothbauerw]

My card is a 960 GTX.  I do run brute force in exclusive full screen.  I just can't live without the quality it gives me.

 

Checking the "Lock frame rate to monitor refresh rate" doesn't seem to help.  It's still pegs out and I get stutter.

 

I tried the delay setting for startup.  It doesn't seem to have any impact, but it's also not saving from PinballY.  I can change it in the settings file, but I'm guessing it's not doing what it's supposed to when I change it there.  I don't see anywhere in the task scheduler that allows a delay setting.  Is that something that's handled inside PinballY in the task scheduler?

[mjr]

I tried the delay setting for startup.  It doesn't seem to have any impact, but it's also not saving from PinballY.  I can change it in the settings file, but I'm guessing it's not doing what it's supposed to when I change it there.  I don't see anywhere in the task scheduler that allows a delay setting.  Is that something that's handled inside PinballY in the task scheduler?

 

It's a native Task Scheduler feature.  If you got to the Triggers page of the task, and open the "At log on" trigger, look for the "Delay task for:" item.

 

When you say "it's not saving", what does it do instead?  Error message, no effect, something else?

 

 

My card is a 960 GTX.  I do run brute force in exclusive full screen.  I just can't live without the quality it gives me.

 

I suppose the exclusive full screen setting might be an issue, but I don't know of any reason off-hand it would cause a problem, or if it does, what could be done about it.  If you wanted to experiment with going back to windowed mode in VP to see if you see the same frame rate impact, it could be a useful data point.

[randr]

Maybe i am missing something for getting addressable(non standard toys) working in pby but here is my GlobalConfig_Pinbally.xml maybe its not what PBY is needing?

The log shows no errors and all "standard" dof toys work in PBY 

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<!--Global configuration for the DirectOutput framework.-->

<!--Saved by DirectOutput Version 3.1.7011.27968: 2019-04-13 21-23-27-->

<GlobalConfig>

  <LedWizDefaultMinCommandIntervalMs>3</LedWizDefaultMinCommandIntervalMs>

  <LedControlMinimumEffectDurationMs>60</LedControlMinimumEffectDurationMs>

  <LedControlMinimumRGBEffectDurationMs>120</LedControlMinimumRGBEffectDurationMs>

  <PacLedDefaultMinCommandIntervalMs>10</PacLedDefaultMinCommandIntervalMs>

  <IniFilesPath />

  <ShapeDefintionFilePattern>C:\DIRECTOUTPUT\config\DirectOutputShapes.xml</ShapeDefintionFilePattern>

  <CabinetConfigFilePattern>C:\DIRECTOUTPUT\config\Cabinet.xml</CabinetConfigFilePattern>

  <TableConfigFilePatterns />

  <EnableLogging>true</EnableLogging>

  <ClearLogOnSessionStart>true</ClearLogOnSessionStart>

  <LogFilePattern>C:\DIRECTOUTPUT\DirectOutput.log</LogFilePattern>

</GlobalConfig>

 

Others must have this working i would think? so maybe i am missing a line in this config that PBY needs i dont know but everything works fine in all the tables.

[mjr]

Maybe i am missing something for getting addressable(non standard toys) working in pby but here is my GlobalConfig_Pinbally.xml maybe its not what PBY is needing?

 

Just to be clear, PinballY doesn't use this file - it's a DOF file.  It works exactly like any other DOF global config file, so it should look exactly like your other DOF global config files.  As long as it's an exact copy, and it's in the same location as your other DOF global configs, DOF should be reading it. 

 

You've confirmed from ethe log that DOF actually is reading it, right?  You should see some lines near the top of the log like this:

 

2019.04.15 19:43:35.590 Global config filename is "C:\DirectOutput\config\GlobalConfig_PinballY.xml"

2019.04.15 19:43:35.621 Global config loaded from: C:\DirectOutput\config\GlobalConfig_PinballY.xml

[Carny_Priest]

Instead of Brute Force AA. Try enabling NVidia's DSR setting and run downsampled 4K. 

[Thalamus]

I agree with Carny here. Nvidia DSR is something overseen by too many. 4x and no smoothing, then add lesser GPU intensive AA in VP if you still ain't happy. It was a jaw dropping experience for my 750ti and I kept running it until I invested in a nvidia 1080 and went true 4k.

 

And to you MJR. Now I've tested you 1.7.1 version of freezy dmd extensivly. And it does wonders for my stability. I used to have loading problem and crashes on mostly stern tables if I did anything "extra" like recording the table and even running it through a frontend. I know that VP has got many new fixes, but, it was a clear change the moment I started using your version. So, I'm having hard time believing that it isn't related.

 

Huge thank you for pby and the fixes you did to dmddevice ! <3 <3

 

oh ... and pinvol and cpuaffinity tool - too.

Edited by Thalamus, 16 April 2019 - 05:16 AM.

[rothbauerw]

 

 

It's a native Task Scheduler feature.  If you got to the Triggers page of the task, and open the "At log on" trigger, look for the "Delay task for:" item.

 

When you say "it's not saving", what does it do instead?  Error message, no effect, something else?

 

I suppose the exclusive full screen setting might be an issue, but I don't know of any reason off-hand it would cause a problem, or if it does, what could be done about it.  If you wanted to experiment with going back to windowed mode in VP to see if you see the same frame rate impact, it could be a useful data point.

 

 

No error that I can see.  If I try to set the delay to '10', exit PinballY and come back in, it's still set to zero.  In addition, no matter how big I make the delay, it's starting right away when I log into windows.

 

I'll try to gather a few more data points tomorrow night on the frame rates.

Instead of Brute Force AA. Try enabling NVidia's DSR setting and run downsampled 4K. 

 

I have tried DSR with no smoothing and no AA.  The quality appears very similar to Brute Force, but Brute Force performed better in my testing.  That said, I didn't touch any of the settings in VP after making the change, so maybe I should go back and try again while fiddling with max prerendered frames and the like.

[rothbauerw]

Just gave DSR another quick try.  Set it to 4x, smoothing to zero.  Turned off all AA in VP, set my resolution with exclusive fullscreen to 3840x2160.  GPU pegs on table load.  If you have any suggestions, I'd love to try them.

[Thalamus]

You're not giving dsr a unfair comparison now by changing your resolution too high compared to what you had it at ?