197 replies to this topic

[jevansoh]

yes, but I'll go check again right now.

If they were blocked, it would show under the properties/security tab, right?  I see nothing on any dll or exe that says anything about blocking on the security tab or anywhere else.

There are no files in the config directory (no dll or exe files) and in fact the only file that exists in the config directory is the one xml file.

[DDH69]

Correct, that is where you would see it blocked.  Also, have you updated VP versions / EXE file?  It would be worth checking that VPinball.exe and all DLLs in your \VP folder are unblocked  (I fell for this one again myself the other day!)

[jevansoh]

I haven't made any changes there, but I'll go look.

I just verified and they are all unblocked.

[DDH69]

So, if we take stock of the current situation (please correct and expand as required);

 

- DOF R3 is installed

- VPinMAME ROM tester will activate outputs

- VP version ? table name ? will not activate devices

- DOFLinx installed but not running yet

- DirectOutputConfigxx.ini file is the original file ?

- You do not yet have a map of devices connected to PacLED64 ports

- B2S backglass is appearing when table is run through VP ?

[Outhere]

Your config directory under your DirectOutput directory should look something like this

Good night and I hope you get it running

 

 DOF-3.jpg   54.76KB   4 downloads

yes, but I'll go check again right now.

If they were blocked, it would show under the properties/security tab, right?  I see nothing on any dll or exe that says anything about blocking on the security tab or anywhere else.

There are no files in the config directory (no dll or exe files) and in fact the only file that exists in the config directory is the one xml file.

Edited by Outhere, 10 August 2017 - 02:00 AM.

[jevansoh]

That is all correct except doflinx does run, according to taskmgr but when I go to a command prompt and change directory to the directoutput directory then run doflinx debug=1 no window pops up but it starts running in the taskmgr.

 

Everything else is as you state.

And I don't know if directoutputxx.ini is the original file but I do have a few of those that were on the drive but they only reference colors and no outputs or toys of any kind.

I do NOT have a cabinet.xml  - Is that the file I need to make things work?  How do I make that file?

The only xml files in my config directory are directoutputtestersettings and tablemappings...I have no other xml files in the config directory.

[DDH69]

Things will run without a cabinet.xml - I don't have one on my configuration.

 

The files in your \DirectOutput\config folder are essential for DOF working with VP.  They map your toys to ports, etc.  For DOFLinx the DirectOutputConfigxx.ini is used only for colours, toy mapping occurs via the DOFLinx.INI file.  You can create your own configuration files using an on-line tool at another site, of course to do this you need to know which port is connected to what.

 

While having never used TeamViewer, I'm happy to hop on and try and help.  Its 11:40am an Adelaide at present, unless my wife has plans that I don't yet know about, I could help somewhere between about 7pm and 9pm today if that would work in your time zone.  Let me know.  I have to head off monitoring this thread for now as I've got some paid work that needs doing - I'll check in again later.

[jevansoh]

contact me at [email protected] when you have time and I'll set you up with teamviewer.  THANK YOU.

so you're saying the doflinx.ini file, even just for dof for visual pinball, that is the file that should contain the toy mappings to make visual pinball work?

[DDH69]

Unless you want some quite specific functionality, DOFLinx has nothing to do with VP and its force feedback.

[jevansoh]

ok, you mentioned above the doflinx.ini is where the toys are mapped.  I must be misunderstanding what you meant by that, then.  I thought that meant that was the file that's missing that I need to generate to get my toys working with visual pinball.  so what file am I missing?  What do I need to do?  I'm totally lost at this point.

Somewhere, there has to be some file, and I don't know what it is or what it is called and that's what I'm trying to figure out, that tells visual pinball how to interact with my toys on my cabinet.  That's what I need help figuring out and generating.  Am I right?

[jevansoh]

Ok, I took my time.  I read everything.  I used the Dof configuration tool that's on another forum and since I haven’t yet made a map of what’s what, just to see if I could get something working, I picked left flipper then right flipper and then left flipper and right flipper, over and over, for every port, that way no matter what port the left flipper and right flipper was actually on, at least those would work.  In theory. 

 

I saved the configuration.  I generated the files.  I unzipped the files into the config directory.  I launched Visual Pinball and it doesn’t work.  Still doesn’t work.  I’m totally frustrated now because I have no clue what else to try.

 

I can go into LED Blinky and test each function and they all work.  But after generating the file with only trying to get the flippers to work, I still get nothing.

 

I don’t know where to go from here.

[Outhere]

Which type of installation did they use in your cab? A or B

-

Installation

Hosting applications which can use the DirectOutput framework, implement plugin interfaces which will automatically detect, load and use the library if it is correctly installed.

The DirectOutput framework can be installed in two ways:

• Directly within the directory structure of the hosting application (e.g. B2S.Server). This will require only minimal effort when installing, but it might lead to duplicate installations if DOF is used in more than one hosting application.
• In any other directory of your system. This will require a little more work during installation, because shortcuts from the hosting applications plugin directory to the directoy containg DOF have to be added. This installation pattern will all all applications which support DOF to use the same installation, so no duplicate installtions are required. This is the recommanded installtion pattern.

A - Installation within hosting application directory structure

To install DOF withing the directory structure of the application using the framework (e.g. B2S.Server), please do the following:

• In the installation directory of the hosting application, create a directoy called plugins.
• Inside the newly created plugins directory, create a subdirectory called DirectOutput (any other name will be ok as well).
• Unzip the contents of the zip-file containg the framework to the newly created DirectOutput directory.
• If using platforms like Vista or Win7, the installed files might be blocked by UAC. To unblock the files please read: Unblock the DLLs

If this has been done correctly, the hosting application will automatically detect, load and use the framework.

Example: A typical installation of the framework for the B2S.Server (provided that B2S.Server is installed in the VP tables directory) will have to following directory and file structure:

Installation in hosting application directory structure

Note: Depending on the DirectOutput framework version, more files might exist in the installation.

-

B - Installation in own directory (Recommended)

To avoid duplicate installations of the DirectOutput framework, the applications using the framework as a plugin can follow windows shortcuts to the directory containging DOF.

To install DirectOutput like this, please do the following:

• Create a directory for you DirectOutput installtion (e.g. C:\DirectOutput). The name and the path to this directory can be anything you like, but it might be a clever idea to have DirectOutput in the directory name.
• Unzip the contents of the zip-file containg the framework to the newly created directory.
• If using platforms like Vista or Win7, the installed files might be blocked by UAC. To unblock the files please read: Unblock the DLLs

To allow the hosting application (e.g. B2S.Server) to detect the DirectOutput framework, do the following:

• Go to the directory containing the files of the hosting application (For B2S.Server this is typically the VP tables folder).
• In this directory create a subdirectory named plugins.
• In the newly created plugins directory, create a windows shortcut pointing to the directory containg the DirectOutput framework. This can be done by right clicking in the plugins directory and selecting New -> Shortcut in the context menu.

Example: A typical installation of the framework in its own directory might resemble the following file and directory structure:

DirectOutput installtion in own directory

Note: Depending on the DirectOutput framework version, more files might exist in the installation.

If the framework is used with a B2S.Server installtion (which normaly reside in the VP table folder), you should have the following directory structure and shortcut (pointing to the directory containg the DirectOutput framework):

Shortcut pinting to the DirectOutput installation directory

Edited by Outhere, 10 August 2017 - 07:44 AM.

[jevansoh]

I have B and followed those instructions.  I don't know what I'm missing here.

[Outhere]

Have you looked in your DirectOutput.log

[Outhere]

Looks like somebody started the post with the same problem you're having

http://www.vpforums....topic=38465&hl=

[Outhere]

I found this

http://www.vpforums....=36936&p=369791

[Thalamus]

@Outhere : Wow, impressed by your helpfulness.

[jevansoh]

I want to thank Outthere and DDH69 for all their help.  I'm up and running again with DOF and am ready to tackle DofLinx again, now.

 

I found the original ini file and everything is working again, but I also made a map to the best of my ability.

 

I don’t know about two things, though.  I had a very hard time pinpointing what was what. There is one device in the very back of the cabinet that makes the biggest and loudest “knocking” sound and I don’t know what to call it. There’s another device that when it’s activated it spins around. I don’t know what that is, either.

 

Once I make my map using the Dof config tool, I don’t know exactly how to proceed with DofLinx in order to get Future Pinball and Pinball FX2 to work, either.

I’m also having another problem.  Some Visual Pinball tables (about half so far) have sticky flippers.  I’ll press the flipper and it’s either slow to respond or stays in the up position until I press the flipper button again.

 

This is also happening on the one Future Pinball table I loaded.  Those flippers (and the ball on that one) are slow to respond and jerky.

 

I don’t know what’s causing this but it makes it pretty much unplayable.  A lot of tables do it and some don’t.  All of the Pinball FX2 tables are fine, though.

[DDH69]

Hey, it was a fun night.  My wife will talk to me again soon I'm sure!

 

The thing that knocks really loudly is most likely the "knocker".  Knockers are used in some game play, but most often when free plays or extra credits are assigned.  My favourite is the double knock in Indiana Jones.

 

For DOFLinx you now need to edit the DOFLinx.INI file and set the device and port of your toys o correspond to your setup.  While VP uses the directoutputconfig*.ini DOFLinx uses its own INI.  In the DOFLinx.INI (and line by line explained in the guide), you will find things like:

 

L_FLIPPER_OUTPUT=  For you these will all start with 2 for the second DOFLinx device being your PacLED64, then combined with the port number its connected to (hence the map you made).  So if your left flipper noise maker is connected to output #7 you will want L_FLIPPER_OUTPUT=207

 

Continue like the above for everything else you've got.  If you don't have a particular toy comment out the line with a #.  There is a whole section in the INI file of thing like LINK_LS=  this is the device / port for the Left Slingshot (again all detailed in the guide).  So once again, if your left slingshot noise toy was connected to port #45 you would have LINK_LS=245

 

The RGB LEDs follow the same pattern, just use the port # of the RED output.  So if your Outer Left Flasher is connected as Red port #61, Green port #62 and Blue port #63, then LINK_FLOL=261

[jevansoh]

So do I do as the guide says and Set the properties of the DOFLinx start-up shortcut to have “PATH_INI=C:\DirectOutput\DOFLinx_INI\” as a command line argument or do I change that to PACLED64=1 or do I add both?

The link in the ini file for keycodes links to something that gives keycodes in a format that doesn't match the text document.

 

I use left and right ctrl for the flippers and don't know what those keycodes are.