373 replies to this topic

[Drybonz]

Well, the closest I could get was 59hz and 60hz because my backglass monitor won't seem to stay on 60... always sets at 59, even if I select 60.  So, at 59 and 60 it didn't seem to make much difference.  Most of my tables are smooth as butter... especially in VP9, but there are a few, in both VP9 and VPX that have stutter.  It does seem like if it was the monitor refresh rate causing the problem that it would affect all tables, but I really have no idea.

Edited by Drybonz, 22 May 2016 - 10:18 PM.

[Drybonz]

I have had some pretty good success in VPX with turning off the in-game anti-alias settings and letting the nvidia control panel handle those.  I have got really good improvements on the tables that had stutter.

 

Oddly, I'm having more trouble with the final older tables in VP9.  Most of my VP9 tables are super smooth, but there are a few (Scared Stiff and a few more) that are pretty stuttery.  I tried the same anti-alias trick but it doesn't work in VP9 for me.

 

Still testing.

[dyopp21]

Happy to have found this thread.  I haven't touched VP for a while because I've been restoring several real pinball machines as of late (I've gone from 0 real machines to 9 in the last two years, so it's kept me pretty busy).  Before I quit playing my virtual cab, I had just about given up because of the lag in windowed VPX and Aero on.  Hopefully I'll find something in this thread that will help minimize the lag (which never bothered me when we were on VP9).

 

Thanks all!

 

Yopp.

[Fulltilt]

 

As a workaround I created a simple AHK to add to the PinballX config for the Visual Pinball EXE.

 

It seems to work for me okay but I am by no means an expert in AHK so it might need changes or tweaking so please feel free to adapt it/upload a better version.

 

After launch it waits for the B2S to become active (with a timeout after 10 secs), and as soon as it does it waits for the 'Visual Pinball Player' to become active, and then maximises it.   I also added a timeout for the VP player of 30 secs.

 

If anyone wants to use it but has a slower computer you might need to increase the 2 timeouts.

 

bring_to_top.ahk

#SingleInstance force
DetectHiddenWindows, On

WinWaitActive, Form1,,10
WinWaitActive, Visual Pinball Player,,30
WinMaximize, Visual Pinball Player
ExitApp

Either compile the AHK script above, or use the one I have already done:

https://www.dropbox....to_top.exe?dl=0

 

 

 

Now configure in the PinballX.ini under your VP system as follows:

LaunchBeforeEnabled=true
LaunchBeforeWorkingPath=C:\HyperPin\Config
LaunchBeforeExecutable=bring_to_top.exe
LaunchBeforeParameters=
LaunchBeforeHideWindow=false
LaunchBeforeWaitForExit=false

You need to copy the bring_to_front.exe to the folder you specify in the LaunchBeforeWorkingPath above.

 

 

This tweak could probably be handled directly by PinballX, or who knows maybe from Visual Pinball directly by the code launching the controller.  Maybe one of the devs might know.

 

Cheers

 

Thanks, I finally found some free time to give this True Fullscreen a test. Using the latest VPX beta with PinballX and this AHK so far it's working fine for the few tables I have tried. I have had to tweak the DDRAW settings for those tables but loading and working just great now. I am not sure if the tables are running better but they just feel more snappy. Taking the time to read all the posts in this thread helped me solve the few problems I had when I decided to give this a try. 

 

I noticed and was wondering in Atarian's post #28 he has Alternative depth buffer processing checked ..but in HF's post #36 he does not have this checked. Just wondering what this setting does and do I need to have this checked too?

 

Thank you for all you do DEVs and Table Authors, it is appreciated

[hauntfreaks]

 

 

Thanks, I finally found some free time to give this True Fullscreen a test. Using the latest VPX beta with PinballX and this AHK so far it's working fine for the few tables I have tried. I have had to tweak the DDRAW settings for those tables but loading and working just great now. I am not sure if the tables are running better but they just feel more snappy. Taking the time to read all the posts in this thread helped me solve the few problems I had when I decided to give this a try. 

 

I noticed and was wondering in Atarian's post #28 he has Alternative depth buffer processing checked ..but in HF's post #36 he does not have this checked. Just wondering what this setting does and do I need to have this checked too?

 

Thank you for all you do DEVs and Table Authors, it is appreciated

 

 

I think this all has to do with different processors ... its works for some doesnt for others... I could tell right aways on my setup... checked was the right choice...

because were all not using say an xbox in our setups... but instead were running every known combo so everyone experience will be different
its funny sometime you will see someone say "there's something wrong with the software, it wont run right on my setup"... not realizing 1000/1 its working fine.... but they will insist its the software

anyway great to hear this is working for other people... i love it and hope to never have to go back to windowed FS ever again

[atarian]

Here is an explanation of Alternative depth buffer from toxie:
http://www.vpforums....=30418&p=323611

[Fulltilt]

Thanks for the replies, I will check that link and read up and test more ..but so far this is really great! 

[blashyrk]

When using the bring_to_top.exe through pinballX  I get an error message that the backglass cannot be found

[bord]

When using the bring_to_top.exe through pinballX  I get an error message that the backglass cannot be found

 

This happened to me, too. Broke my B2S even when loading directly from VPX. I ended up abandoning the whole thing.

[hauntfreaks]

When using the bring_to_top.exe through pinballX  I get an error message that the backglass cannot be found

hummm... thats one error i havent seen

 

are both the table and the b2s named exactly the same?

[blashyrk]

When using the bring_to_top.exe through pinballX  I get an error message that the backglass cannot be found

hummm... thats one error i havent seen
 
are both the table and the b2s named exactly the same?

Yes, exactly the same.

[Ben Logan]

Happy to have found this thread.  I haven't touched VP for a while because I've been restoring several real pinball machines as of late (I've gone from 0 real machines to 9 in the last two years, so it's kept me pretty busy).  Before I quit playing my virtual cab, I had just about given up because of the lag in windowed VPX and Aero on.  Hopefully I'll find something in this thread that will help minimize the lag (which never bothered me when we were on VP9).
 
Thanks all!
 
Yopp.

Agreed. Flipper lag is at the top of my wish list for VPX improvements currently. For a long while reigning in ball spin (which is amazing, but I thought too intense) was my most desired, but I've sorted that out for myself with friction, slope, and gravity tweaks. Thanks for the wonderfully flexible editor, fuzzel and Toxie.

On some tables I simply turn aero off and enjoy snappier flipper response. On others, table and ball tearing are distracting enough that I choose to switch aero back on and compensate for flipper lag manually by trying to flip a little earlier. Not an insurmountable challenge.

I am loving VPX. Every day a marvel at what you guys are creating (for free!). I am so thankful to you devs.

[blashyrk]

Got the bring_to_top.exe to work, turns out i had set VP back to windowed full screen, not true full screen.

It works but I have problems with Twilight zone (ninuzzu and crew) I get the same error that the backglass could not be found

[fuzzel]

It's kinda weird that forced fullscreen or true fullscreen actually works in VPX together with DB2S and VPM. It seems that todays graphics card drivers can handle such case in a different way like it was when DX9 was the latest DirectX version. On old systems you would get a lost device error message if you started an application in true fullscreen and do a task switch with Alt+Tab. When switching back to the full screen application the application itself has to handle that case otherwise you got a black screen.

Now with Win7 or higher and latest drivers this problem seems to be solved but I would say that it's more a coincidence If you do a task switch by pressing alt+tab you see that VPX is still the selected process. It looks like DB2S or the .NET framework that drives db2s "steals" the access to the frame buffer so it can render it's stuff to it. When switching the tasks back and forth you will notice that the system needs some time until you see the playfield again because the driver has to reinit the frame buffer for VPX again or handle the sharing between the different applications VPX, DB2S and VPM.

So a lot of guesses here but adding a simple focus switch like you would normaly do for windowed applications doesn't work here. The application still has the focus but not the access to the frame buffer while DB2S starts. I searched the net up and down for such case but couldn't find anything that is usefull for such case.

So you only have two options:

   1. don't use true fullscreen

   2. use it together with the AHK script and potential problems that might come up with different driver version and/or systems. There is nothing we can fix in VPX at the moment.

 

That might change if we add some kind of DB2S into VPX itself but definitly not for VP10.1

[Ben Logan]

Thanks for the excellent summary of the current state of development regarding true full screen, fuzzel. Much appreciated.

[Ben Logan]

So when you guys talk about changing the DDraw value to "0" for specific roms, are you using regedit? I want to experiment with true full screen, but I don't want to screw up my system (which I've done before -- nightmare!).

[blashyrk]

I'm using regedit, just go to HKEY_LOCAL_USER\Software\Freeware\Visual Pinmame\romname
There is a entry called ddraw, double click it and change the value to 0

[Ben Logan]

Thanks, blashyrk. Sounds straightforward enough. I'll try it.

[atarian]

Thanks fuzzel for the explanation. Mystery solved (well more understood at least )

[hauntfreaks]

for right now I think this is something Tom can add directly into PBX .... I've pointed him to this thread so he fulling understood the solution...

we as the user will still need to adjust the DDraw for each table we want to use in true full screen, .... but then can this be fixed in VPM?... doesn't seem to be a vpx problem , but more tho a VPM issue...