131 replies to this topic

[numiah]

Hey peeps. I'm getting confused here.

FlexDMD has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for Ultra DMD as Diablo)
VpinSPa has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for Stern like GB)
Freezy has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for the rest)

This way it's getting confusing more and more. For me that is.
I'm pretty lost why it's the way it is, but all works
But if I delete the .ini file in Flex or Vpinspa they don't work and preferred settings are lost for those particular tables.
Most likely I am doing something wrong? I'd like to use only one dmddevice.ini in one location.

[LynnInDenver]

Unfortunately, I think it's related to having to have the dll files in the three separate locations - XDMD (Ultra/Flex), VPinSPA (GB LE) and VPinMAME (Freezy). While it might be possible to use shortcuts and relative links to point two of the locations at the final location, I wouldn't want to try it because it might get broken by Windows at some point.

 

TL:DR It related to the fact that you're dealing with three different pieces of software, each of one is used with a different type of VPX table, and there's no way around it without two of the three being rewritten slightly to change where they're expected to be.

[sneakily1]

Hey peeps. I'm getting confused here.

FlexDMD has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for Ultra DMD as Diablo)
VpinSPa has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for Stern like GB)
Freezy has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for the rest)

This way it's getting confusing more and more. For me that is.
I'm pretty lost why it's the way it is, but all works
But if I delete the .ini file in Flex or Vpinspa they don't work and preferred settings are lost for those particular tables.
Most likely I am doing something wrong? I'd like to use only one dmddevice.ini in one location.

FlexDMD should be installed in your VPinMame folder and thus can use the "normal" freezy .ini and .dll so no worries there (you don't need the special INI, just use the Freezy one), for VPinSPA I didn't update anything in it...I believe it's still using 1.71 and everything works just fine (no flicker issues like others are reporting after updating it's files). I can't say this will work for everyone...but it works fine for me using an LCD DMD. 

Edited by sneakily1, 17 May 2020 - 01:31 PM.

[markdr]

I am very new to all of this, only recently discovered the world of virtual pinball and have started building a prototype desktop type setup. 

 

Having a 3rd screen for the DMD looks worthwhile and playing with dmdext provides a lot of additional flexibility. I was intrigued by the new Network Streaming options in 1.8 and since I have a bunch of old Android phones kicking around from upgrades/hand-me-downs, using them for the 3rd screen would be a good option for me as they are compact and the screens make a good display.

 

I built a prototype Android app that can act as a WebSocket server/DMD display, added a basic LED matrix effect to make it look a little more genuine, so far happy with the results. The code from dmdext was a great resource for how the image data is sent/structured. I have only loaded a few VPX tables so far, Attack from Mars is cool and with the altcolor addon, looks really neat on the DMD. 

 

What are some other table examples that really push the limits of the DMD that I can experiment with?

[blade11034]

Has the thread been closed to the PinMDM3 display firmware upgrade to 1014??? I posted my KUID 3 days ago and still nothing?????

[Slydog43]

Found some strange behavior with the dmddevice.ini.

 

I know what I do is strange but this should still work.

 

1) I use dmddevice.ini instead of registry as I think its easy to move to new machines

2) my main machine has 4 screens, 4k playfield and 3 other 1080

3) other pincabs have only 1080 screen(s), depends if they have backboxes or not

 

because of this I decided to turn off PinDMD Displays by default in dmddevice.ini with

  [virtualdmd]

enabled = false

 

and turn on tables that have a real DMD or Alphanumeric as most tables have directb2s with scoring reels, etc.  

 

No problem and the positioning is easy when I move my ini to other machines I just chance the top part of the dmddevice ini like

 

; x-axis of the window position

;5772 is for 100%scaling on 4k monitor

left = 5772

 

;4625 is for 125%scaling on 4k monitor

;left = 4625

;3845 is for 100% scaling on 1080 HyperPin-Mini

;left = 3845

;0 is for 1080p Desktop

;left = 0

;2400 is for 1080p BarTop with 1 Backglass Monitor

;left = 2400

; y-axis of the window position

;top = 0

;top = 580 is for 100% scaling on 4k Monitor

top = 580

 

;top = 470 is for 125% scaling on 4k Monitor

;top = 470

;top = 600 is for 100% scaling on 1080 HyperPin-Mini

;top = 600

 ;top = 0 is for 1080p Desktop

 ;top = 0

 ;840 is for 1080p BarTop with 1 Backglass Monitor

 ;top = 840

 ; width of the dmd in monitor pixels

 ;width = 1890 is for 100% scaling on 4k Monitor

 width = 1890

 

 

This works great until I found out about the new 1.8.x feature (I'm not sure when it started) using alphanumeric displays instead of dots.  Great stuff, actually incredible.

Problem is when I try to set "globals" at the top of the ini for positioning of alpha displays as in

 

[alphanumeric]

enabled = false

 

;Pincab with 4k playfield and 1080 back and 1080 dmd

pos.0.left = 5789

pos.0.top = 469

pos.0.height = 292

pos.1.left = 5789

pos.1.top = 764

pos.1.height = 291

pos.2.left = 5275

pos.2.top = 938

pos.2.height = 120

 

 

but when I run FunHouse it adds this to the [fh_905h] section

alphanumeric pos.0.left = 5789

alphanumeric pos.0.top = 469

alphanumeric pos.0.height = 292

alphanumeric pos.1.left = 5789

alphanumeric pos.1.top = 764

alphanumeric pos.1.height = 291

 

 

forgot to mention that I add 

 

alphanumeric enabled = true

 to that section, that works but why does it add the positioning stuff?

 

I don't want to change positioning for each ROM on other machines, I only want to change the "main" section at the top.  I think its a bug kinda by adding the parameters in each rom even if it exists at the top.

 

THANKS

 

Sorry if this is confusing, drinking a bit

boy does it look incredible though, THANK YOU!!!!!!

Edited by Slydog43, 19 May 2020 - 01:25 AM.

[ashleyb]

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

[Outhere]

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

Did you try adding in the dmddevice.ini and see what happens?

[ashleyb]

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

Did you try adding in the dmddevice.ini and see what happens?

Yeah, it just seems to ignore the setting when set to true in the dmddevice.ini now.

[Outhere]

 

 

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

Did you try adding in the dmddevice.ini and see what happens?

Yeah, it just seems to ignore the setting when set to true in the dmddevice.ini now.

 

Wonder why your mouse is ending up on the 3rd screen
 

[freezy]

Hey peeps. I'm getting confused here.

FlexDMD has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for Ultra DMD as Diablo)
VpinSPa has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for Stern like GB)
Freezy has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for the rest)
 

 

I'm not aware of any other software than dmdext using a dmddevice.ini. So I think you might be having three different inis for the same thing. That's of course possible, but probably not what you want. If you've used the new installer, it automatically added a DMDDEVICE_CONFIG environment variable pointing to the ini sitting besides DmdDevice.dll (i.e. your VPM folder). If not, you can easy add it yourself, and all host programs using DmdDevice.dll (like the ones you've mentioned above) will use the same ini.

 

 

I built a prototype Android app that can act as a WebSocket server/DMD display, added a basic LED matrix effect to make it look a little more genuine, so far happy with the results.

 

Cool! Did you / can you open source it? Also, video please!

 

 

Has the thread been closed to the PinMDM3 display firmware upgrade to 1014??? I posted my KUID 3 days ago and still nothing?????

 

Try shouting louder /s

 

 

I don't want to change positioning for each ROM on other machines, I only want to change the "main" section at the top.  I think its a bug kinda by adding the parameters in each rom even if it exists at the top.

 

Interesting, I was assuming that you would need different positions for every game anyway, since it depends on the backglass and how the segment boxes are split up. So if you move any box, it would automatically save the positions (but only for that game). Did you try removing the fh_905h section? Was it re-added even though you didn't reposition anyting? How it should work is that if there's no game entry, it would just take the global position and that's it, however if you reposition it'll write it back.

 

 

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

Weird use case, but yes, I should be able to bring that setting back

Edited by freezy, 19 May 2020 - 08:17 PM.

[ashleyb]

Hey peeps. I'm getting confused here.

FlexDMD has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for Ultra DMD as Diablo)
VpinSPa has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for Stern like GB)
Freezy has it's own dmddevice.ini (needed for the rest)

 
I'm not aware of any other software than dmdext using a dmddevice.ini. So I think you might be having three different inis for the same thing. That's of course possible, but probably not what you want. If you've used the new installer, it automatically added a DMDDEVICE_CONFIG environment variable pointing to the ini sitting besides DmdDevice.dll (i.e. your VPM folder). If not, you can easy add it yourself, and all host programs using DmdDevice.dll (like the ones you've mentioned above) will use the same ini.
 
 

I built a prototype Android app that can act as a WebSocket server/DMD display, added a basic LED matrix effect to make it look a little more genuine, so far happy with the results.

 
Cool! Did you / can you open source it? Also, video please!
 
 

Has the thread been closed to the PinMDM3 display firmware upgrade to 1014??? I posted my KUID 3 days ago and still nothing?????

 
Try shouting louder /s
 
 

I don't want to change positioning for each ROM on other machines, I only want to change the "main" section at the top.  I think its a bug kinda by adding the parameters in each rom even if it exists at the top.

 
Interesting, I was assuming that you would need different positions for every game anyway, since it depends on the backglass and how the segment boxes are split up. So if you move any box, it would automatically save the positions (but only for that game). Did you try removing the fh_905h section? Was it re-added even though you didn't reposition anyting? How it should work is that if there's no game entry, it would just take the global position and that's it, however if you reposition it'll write it back.
 
 

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

Weird use case, but yes, I should be able to bring that setting back

Thanks @freezy the issue has only become apparent today. I’ve had to swap the positions of my backglass and dmd monitors around in Windows display settings to get Future Pinball working correctly as it wanted the backglass screen in the second position after the playfield to get it to position the backglass graphics correctly. Before this the dmd screen was in the middle position and I’m guessing the mouse pointer was somewhere hidden on the backglass screen which wasn’t an issue.

[markdr]

 

I built a prototype Android app that can act as a WebSocket server/DMD display, added a basic LED matrix effect to make it look a little more genuine, so far happy with the results.

 

Cool! Did you / can you open source it? Also, video please!

 

I would be happy to make it available when I have tested it against some more tables and cleaned up the control UI a little, not a UI guy by trade so that is always an area for improvement. Here is an example of it running, taken as a screen recording of the app on my phone rather than a video of the whole setup - https://photos.app.goo.gl/KkZnkt2Bwz8L6Qto9

 

Still keen to get some feedback of other challenging table/dmd combinations I can test it with.

[KABS]

the whole setup - https://photos.app.goo.gl/KkZnkt2Bwz8L6Qto9

 

Still keen to get some feedback of other challenging table/dmd combinations I can test it with

.

 

Maybe give baywatch or  apollo13  a try (sega) different sizing to the majority of roms? go to vpuniverse and check out the colorized dmd files and see what interests you also

[ashleyb]

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

Found this great little utility that solves this, if anyone else has this issue, https://download.cne...4-75878300.html

[freezy]

I would be happy to make it available when I have tested it against some more tables and cleaned up the control UI a little, not a UI guy by trade so that is always an area for improvement. Here is an example of it running, taken as a screen recording of the app on my phone rather than a video of the whole setup - https://photos.app.goo.gl/KkZnkt2Bwz8L6Qto9

 

Excellent!

[vothar]

 

....

 

 

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

Weird use case, but yes, I should be able to bring that setting back

 

 

Not so weird... my case is the same... same setup.... the mouse cursor stay on the third screen aka the 'DMD' at vpx startup, so the grip is always visible. And i think it's the case for all users with a 3 screens setup , with the DMD as third screen in the row.. (playfield -- backglass -- DMD) as it's the standard recommended settings  that you can find anywhere...

Edited by vothar, 20 May 2020 - 04:59 PM.

[ashleyb]

....

 
 

@freezy Is it possible to reinstate the hidgegrip option n the dmddevice.ini? I'm finding the grip is now always visible when playing as my DMD screen is the third and final monitor of my 3 screen cab and the mouse cursor seems to always now land and stay active on that screen, even though it's not visible until mouse movement, therefore activating the grip.  Any alternate solutions welcome.

Weird use case, but yes, I should be able to bring that setting back

 
Not so weird... my case is the same... same setup.... the mouse cursor stay on the third screen aka the 'DMD' at vpx startup, so the grip is always visible. And i think it's the case for all users with a 3 screens setup , with the DMD as third screen in the row.. (playfield -- backglass -- DMD) as it's the standard recommended settings  that you can find anywhere...

@vothar try this, https://download.cne...4-75878300.html I keep the mouse locked to screen 1 now and it’s solved this issue for me.

[HiRez00]

@@freezy:

 

I was able to update my PinDMD3 with Russ's 1014R update and everything appears to be working well - thus far.

 

Question for you - since I have now updated to 1014R - should I be using dmddevice 1.8 or 1.8.1?

 

Prior to the update of the firmware I was using your snapshot of 1.8.1 - but was unclear that now since I am running the latest / newest firmware - which dmddevice should I be using for the best results?

 

Thank you in advance.

[freezy]

@Hirez00: With 01014, 1.8.0 should work fine!