312 replies to this topic

[roar]

thanks freezy for the update... awesome stuff!

Too many sporting things to watch last night so I didn't see the update until this morning, I'll give it a go tonight.

 

howlingmad, would you share the string you have your launch before?

[Comicalman]

Gave this a try today, with different FPS's.  Here is what I am finding.

 

Using the same FX2 (avengers) as a baseline, anything < 5 FPS or > 31 FPS and nothing displays.

My best FPS is ~20 FPS, however still getting similar flashing to original version (not consistent either, it is intermittent).

 

I see you have what may be a log file (pindmd_log.txt).  Nothing is being written to it.  Could you add another switch to log some vital info.  That way we can at least compare logs and see if we notice anything out of the ordinary with my setup.

 

Other than that, I am open to any suggestions at this point...

Edited by Comicalman, 22 April 2016 - 03:10 PM.

[freezy]

pin_dmd.log is not written by the app, that's probably Russell's DLL, that is supposed to contain data if logging is enabled. It probably won't even be created if you run the app with -d pin2dmd, because then we don't even try to init anything else. If you have NLog.config in the same folder, you should see a log in the console.

 

Which Pinball FX2 version are you using? PC or Steam? Do you get the flickering also on the virtual DMD?

[russdx]

pinDMD_log.txt is create by the pinDMD.dll (this is not used by pin2dmd, only pinDMD3) and for any debugging info to be logged you need to add a pinDMD.ini to folder with debug=true added.
 

http://54.148.129.10...ebug/pinDMD.ini

 

Pretty much what freezy just said

[Comicalman]

"Which Pinball FX2 version am I using? PC or Steam"

AFAIK, these are one in the same.  I don't think there is a standalone PC version of FX2.

 

As for a 'Virtual' DMD goes, are you talking FX2's?  I have no flickering issues with FX2's DMD.

 

I notice there are multiple destinations (virtual?) - I can try this later today...

[freezy]

Hmm at Zen they have Pinball FX2 for Windows and Pinball FX2 for Steam boards, that's why I think there are different versions.

 

I mean the virtual DMD that dmdext renders when you choose "auto" (or don't provide a destination). If the virtual DMD works ok, then there's a problem with outputting to PIN2DMD. If the virtual DMD flickers as well, then the problem is probably somewhere at screen capturing level...

[Comicalman]

For pinball FX2 - Oh yes, that is right.  They did come out with a Windows 8 -10 version.  And no, I am not using that version .  I am using the Steam version...

Edited by Comicalman, 22 April 2016 - 03:33 PM.

[howlingmad]

howlingmad, would you share the string you have your launch before?

Shure.

Launch before Working path:   C:\games\DMDext   (Path to commandline-tool)

Launch before Executable:  dmdext.exe

Launch before Parameters: morror -s pinballfx2 --no-virtual    (and maybe additional parameters  according documentation)

[Comicalman]

.... If the virtual DMD flickers as well, then the problem is probably somewhere at screen capturing level...

Hey Freezy-

  Just did a test of sending output ONLY to virtual.  I am getting the exact results as when sending to the PIN2DMD (flickering of the DMD - where it goes blank quite a bit).  

Let me know if I can help test this further.

Edited by Comicalman, 22 April 2016 - 10:07 PM.

[freezy]

Do you run FX2 in full screen mode or full screen overlay? There's a setting in Pinball FX2 somewhere. Which graphic card and OS?

[Comicalman]

I have tried windowed and fullscreen.  Seems to not make a difference.

 

Here are me specs:

Graphic card: nVidia 9500GT, Windows 7, Quad Core 2.66Ghz with 6GB memory.

[paymaster]

PinDMDv2 support is working great!  I love it!

[TerryRed]

I have tried windowed and fullscreen.  Seems to not make a difference.

 

Here are me specs:

Graphic card: nVidia 9500GT, Windows 7, Quad Core 2.66Ghz with 6GB memory.

 

Not meaning to sound rude, but honestly, I'm surprised you've had no other problems with a 9500GT up until now. That's an older low-spec video card...

[atarian]

Thanks Freezy for adding PinDMD1 support.  I just managed to test it and here is what happened:

 

In Windows 7, if I run dmdext with the test parameter, the console shows that the PinDMD is successfully detected and it gets to the line that says 'Ctrl-C' to stop.  The image appears on the DMD for 7 seconds, and then the console crashes with the following error:

 

 

It is strange that it consistency sits there for 7-secs before crashing.  I also tried the screen mirroring parameter and it crashes after a few seconds as well.

 

On the same PC, I can also boot a second 'test' drive with Windows 10 installed and it works great with the test image and also with the screen mirroring if I move something on the screen I see it show in the DMD (very impressive!).  I have yet to install Steam/Pinball FX2 on this drive but it should work.

 

Cheers

Edited by atarian, 23 April 2016 - 02:47 PM.

[Comicalman]

 

I have tried windowed and fullscreen.  Seems to not make a difference.

 

Here are me specs:

Graphic card: nVidia 9500GT, Windows 7, Quad Core 2.66Ghz with 6GB memory.

 

Not meaning to sound rude, but honestly, I'm surprised you've had no other problems with a 9500GT up until now. That's an older low-spec video card...

 

 

 

Just tried a nVidia 710GT with DDR3, with pretty much the same results.  I am thinking of trying an nVidia 730GT (which is at least DDR5).  

 

What kind of vid-card is everyone else using?

Edited by Comicalman, 23 April 2016 - 05:31 PM.

[gtxjoe]

Finally tried this out, Freezy.  Works great on my PIN2DMD setup (  think I am running firmware 2.07 or later)

 

 

I tested both the dmd-extensions 0.3 from the 1st post and then the dmdext.exe command line and both are working.

 

I have Pinball FX2 steam version with the cabinet support enabled.  DMD location is set to 3840 so it off-screen, not visible on playfield or backglass.  DMD size is the recommended 1040 x 272.

 

I am not running Pinball FX2 inside of PinballX so here is the autohotkey script I am working with to launch the dmdext.exe and pinball fx2 and then close dmdext.exe when Pinball FX2 is closed

Run, "%A_ScriptDir%\dmdext.exe" mirror -s pinballfx2,,Hide
Process, wait, dmdext.exe
Sleep, 5000

Run, "%A_ScriptDir%\Pinball FX2.exe",,UseErrorLevel
Process, wait, Pinball FX2.exe
Sleep, 20000

;Wait for Pinball FX to be closed then kill dmdext.exe
Process, waitclose, Pinball FX2.exe
Run, taskkill /T /IM dmdext.exe,,UseErrorLevel

Thanks!!!

Edited by gtxjoe, 23 April 2016 - 06:16 PM.

[TerryRed]

 

 

I have tried windowed and fullscreen.  Seems to not make a difference.

 

Here are me specs:

Graphic card: nVidia 9500GT, Windows 7, Quad Core 2.66Ghz with 6GB memory.

 

Not meaning to sound rude, but honestly, I'm surprised you've had no other problems with a 9500GT up until now. That's an older low-spec video card...

 

 

 

Just tried a nVidia 710GT with DDR3, with pretty much the same results.  I am thinking of trying an nVidia 730GT (which is at least DDR5).  

 

What kind of vid-card is everyone else using?

 

 

I'm not the best example for reference, but I'm using a GTX960 which is probably overkill for PFX2, TPA, VP, and normal FP.... but FP with BAM "new renderer", its needed for a lot of tables when they are all decked out.

 

I however also use my cabinet for PC gaming which includes newer games like Mortal Kombat X which is way more demanding than pinball.

 

 

 

gtxjoe.... that looks sweet! Any chance of someone getting TPA working yet?

Edited by TerryRed, 23 April 2016 - 06:25 PM.

[xfactor]

Thanks Freezy for adding PinDMD1 support.  I just managed to test it and here is what happened:

 

In Windows 7, if I run dmdext with the test parameter, the console shows that the PinDMD is successfully detected and it gets to the line that says 'Ctrl-C' to stop.  The image appears on the DMD for 7 seconds, and then the console crashes with the following error:

 

 

It is strange that it consistency sits there for 7-secs before crashing.  I also tried the screen mirroring parameter and it crashes after a few seconds as well.

 

On the same PC, I can also boot a second 'test' drive with Windows 10 installed and it works great with the test image and also with the screen mirroring if I move something on the screen I see it show in the DMD (very impressive!).  I have yet to install Steam/Pinball FX2 on this drive but it should work.

 

Cheers

 

Looks like a .net issue, make sure you've got the version 4.5 of the framework installed

[freezy]

Cool, so we have at least one positive report for each display type, hehe.

 

NoEx managed to get a proof of concept working with TPA, which is pretty sweet. We'll start integration hopefully soon.

 

@Comicalman: Is there a way you could create a GitHub issue containing all the information so far? It's getting difficult to follow up in here. I have a GTX-560 in my cab and a GTX-970 in my desktop.

 

@atarian: Like xfactor said, it's probably a .NET compatibility issue. That would also explain why it works on Win10, which has this stuff preinstalled. Try installing .NET 4.5.2 to be sure...

 

@gtxjoe: Sweet! Always nice to see it running on someone's cab! The next version will have a --quit-when-done option, which exits the program when you exit the table. And there's no need to wait 5s, the start order shouldn't matter.

[bent98]

anyone add this to the Hyperpin fplaunch?