312 replies to this topic

[freezy]

Version 1.0.0 released!

 

I've updated the first post. You can download it here. Also all future releases will be released through GitHub from now on and come with a proper changelog. You can subscribe to the repo if you want to get notified automatically.

 

1.0.0 contains a few optimizations and a new --quit-when-done option, which is useful if Pinball FX2 is started through PinballX. It will basically exit and free all resources when Pinball FX2 exits.

[atarian]

Thanks Xfactor/Freezy and update of .Net was needed, although I checked the registry and had 4.5.0 installed.  However I upgraded to 4.5.2 as freezy suggested and now it doesn't crash under Win7 .

It seems to mirror the screen correctly when I use the 'mirror -s screen' option, however when running with PinballFX, I get a corrupted graphics.

 

I followed the installation setup for the DMD config, etc.  Here is a screenshot showing the launch options I use, the DMD config, the Pinball FX window, and the reall DMD running with PinDMD1.  I Alt-tabbed to pause the game just to take the photo.  It looks like the DMD is only displaying some pixels I think - maybe I need to set another command-line param for the PinDMD1?

Thanks

 

Edited by atarian, 23 April 2016 - 09:38 PM.

[russdx]

Might not be corrupt graphics but due to pinDMD1 only supports 4 shades and pinballfx is 16? So will be losing a lot of shade data.
Can you take a short video? Ill be able to tell pretty quickly from that

[freezy]

I actually only counted 3 shades for Pinball FX2.

I'm pretty sure it's because your DMD is displayed in a bordered window. You can even see parts of the border on the DMD.

How did you manage to do that? I have a borderless unmovable DMD in PBFX2 (it's movable through in-game options).

Edited by freezy, 24 April 2016 - 08:52 AM.

[rockyrocket]

Now this is an exciting bit of software!, thanks for making it!.

 

I am another PindmdV1 owner and have just been playing with this and so far can not get the active FX2 dmd to display on my Pinled display.

Running the test flag will indeed get the test pattern to display on both my real dmd and also as the RGB virtual version.

If using the auto flag then the data is captured just fine from FX2 and displays on the virtual dmd but not on the real one?.

When using "-s pindmdv1" I still have no output on the real dmd?, not getting any errors that I can see.

 

Is this just an error in my cmd perhaps?

[freezy]

@rockyrocket, can you please paste the log? -s is for "source", so that's either "screen" or "pinballfx2". You probably meant -d for "destination". Nevertheless, a log would tell us more.

[rockyrocket]

@rockyrocket, can you please paste the log? -s is for "source", so that's either "screen" or "pinballfx2". You probably meant -d for "destination". Nevertheless, a log would tell us more.

Yes I did was working from a somewhat shakey memory, so the only log file in that dir is pinDMD_log.txt and that shows....

locating device:         FAIL ()
creating connection:     FAIL ()

This log is the same even when using the test pattern on my real dmd?, unless there is another debug mode I missed.

 

And for testing the cmd I have used is..

dmdext.exe mirror -s pinballfx2 -d auto -q

and
dmdext.exe mirror -s pinballfx2 -d pindmdv1 -q

 

the console output is in this screen grab if that helps?.

 Capture.PNG   24.68KB   10 downloads

[russdx]

That log is only useful for pinDMD3. Prob just been created when freezy checks to see if pinDMD3 exists.

[freezy]

Yes, by "log" I mean what's printed to the console. pinDMD_log.txt is from probing PinDMDv3 and can be ignored.

 

Could you post the everything that's displayed in the console, with the three modes:

 

1. test
2. mirror from screen (works?)
3. Pinball FX2

And to be sure, add -d pindmdv1 to all commands.

[rockyrocket]

Ok so here goes

 

When I issue "dmdext.exe test -d pindmdv1 -q" I do have the test pattern on my DMD and the console prints...

 

Spoiler

C:\Games\DMDEXT>dmdext.exe test -d pindmdv1 -q
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.035  INFO | Found PinDMDv1 device.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.035 DEBUG |    Device Index:  0
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.035 DEBUG |    Flags:         0
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.035 DEBUG |    Type:          FT_DEVICE_232R
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.035 DEBUG |    ID:            4036001
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.035 DEBUG |    Location ID:   534
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.035 DEBUG |    Serial Number: DMD1000
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.035 DEBUG |    Description:   FT232R USB UART
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.051  INFO | Connected to PinDMDv1.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.051  INFO | Added PinDMDv1 renderer.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.176  INFO | Exiting.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:55:56.176 DEBUG | Disposing render graph.

Now if I close the console down the test pattern persists and when I then run "dmdext.exe mirror -s pinballfx2 -d pindmdv1 -q" the DMD turns black so I guess that something is being sent to it?

Spoiler

C:\Games\DMDEXT>dmdext.exe mirror -s pinballfx2 -d pindmdv1 -q
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.455  INFO | Found PinDMDv1 device.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.455 DEBUG |    Device Index:  0
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.455 DEBUG |    Flags:         0
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.455 DEBUG |    Type:          FT_DEVICE_232R
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.455 DEBUG |    ID:            4036001
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.455 DEBUG |    Location ID:   534
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.455 DEBUG |    Serial Number: DMD1000
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.455 DEBUG |    Description:   FT232R USB UART
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.473  INFO | Connected to PinDMDv1.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.473  INFO | Added PinDMDv1 renderer.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.513  INFO | Waiting for Pinball FX2 to spawn...
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:37:35.534  INFO | Press CTRL+C to close.
 [4] 2016/04/24 13:37:55.558  INFO | Frames coming in from Pinball FX2.
 [4] 2016/04/24 13:38:42.826 DEBUG | Handle lost, stopping capture.
 [4] 2016/04/24 13:38:42.826  INFO | Frames stopped from Pinball FX2.
 [4] 2016/04/24 13:38:42.826  INFO | Exiting.
 [4] 2016/04/24 13:38:42.826 DEBUG | Disposing render graph.
 [4] 2016/04/24 13:38:42.831  INFO | Source for 1 renderer(s) stopped.

 

Testing with the screen option did work so I guess that is progress.

dmdext.exe mirror -s screen - 0 0 128 32-d pindmdv1 -q

Gave

Spoiler

C:\Games\DMDEXT>dmdext.exe mirror -s screen - 0 0 128 32-d pindmd
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.335  INFO | Found PinDMDv1 device.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.335 DEBUG |    Device Index:  0
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.349 DEBUG |    Flags:         0
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.349 DEBUG |    Type:          FT_DEVICE_
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.349 DEBUG |    ID:            4036001
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.349 DEBUG |    Location ID:   534
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.349 DEBUG |    Serial Number: DMD1000
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.349 DEBUG |    Description:   FT232R USB
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.369  INFO | Connected to PinDMDv1.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.419 DEBUG | PinDMDv2 device not found.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.429 DEBUG | PinDMDv3 device not found.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.448 DEBUG | PIN2DMD device not found.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.448  INFO | Added PinDMDv1 renderer.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.573  INFO | Added VirtualDMD renderer.
 [1] 2016/04/24 13:52:07.631  INFO | Press CTRL+C to close.

And just to be thorough I tested the gray4 flag

dmdext.exe mirror -s pinballfx2 -d pindmdv1  --use-gray4 -q

Spoiler

C:\Games\DMDEXT>dmdext.exe mirror -s pinballfx2 -d pindmdv1  --use-gray4
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.459  INFO | Found PinDMDv1 device.
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.475 DEBUG |    Device Index:  0
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.475 DEBUG |    Flags:         0
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.475 DEBUG |    Type:          FT_DEVICE_232R
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.475 DEBUG |    ID:            4036001
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.475 DEBUG |    Location ID:   534
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.475 DEBUG |    Serial Number: DMD1000
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.475 DEBUG |    Description:   FT232R USB UART
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.506  INFO | Connected to PinDMDv1.
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.506  INFO | Added PinDMDv1 renderer.
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.537  INFO | Waiting for Pinball FX2 to spawn...
 [1] 2016/04/24 14:02:04.553  INFO | Press CTRL+C to close.
 [5] 2016/04/24 14:02:14.561  INFO | Frames coming in from Pinball FX2.
 [4] 2016/04/24 14:03:19.150 DEBUG | Handle lost, stopping capture.
 [4] 2016/04/24 14:03:19.152  INFO | Frames stopped from Pinball FX2.
 [4] 2016/04/24 14:03:19.152  INFO | Exiting.
 [4] 2016/04/24 14:03:19.152 DEBUG | Disposing render graph.
 [4] 2016/04/24 14:03:19.152  INFO | Source for 1 renderer(s) stopped.

[atarian]

Thanks guys for the suggestions.

Although I still have problems my issues earlier should be ignored.  Apologies - I still had the old config file to position the DMD and it seemed to be using it as I had the window border.

 

----- PinDMD1 test -------

 

I therefore started again, and updated to the latest Pinball FX2.

 

Now if I set the dmd size in the game cabinet options to 1040 x 272, I get nothing on the DMD like rockyrocket.

I also tried the gray4 option.

The test image works for me, as does the screen mirroring.

 

 

However, if I change the DMD size in the game to 800 x 200, I get some graphics displaying but not fully.  I guess this is due to the window being the wrong size.  I experimented with a lot of values and sometimes needed to restart dmdext.  900 x 200 also displays something.  Here are some photos.

 

 

 

 

Behaviour with those settings (if video help I can do one)

 

 

Rocketrocket - it would be interesting to see if you get the same behaviour with settings for the DMD of 800 x 200?

 

 

Edit: Video added with the 800 x 200 DMD size (1040 x 272 doesn't show anything):

 

https://www.dropbox....1_Test.mp4?dl=0

 

Thanks

Edited by atarian, 24 April 2016 - 03:11 PM.

[bent98]

Is there any special settings in the command line for Pin2dmd to get 1 solid color instead of trying to mix rgb?

[rockyrocket]

Thanks guys for the suggestions.

Although I still have problems my issues earlier should be ignored.  Apologies - I still had the old config file to position the DMD and it seemed to be using it as I had the window border.

 

----- PinDMD1 test -------

 

I therefore started again, and updated to the latest Pinball FX2.

 

Now if I set the dmd size in the game cabinet options to 1040 x 272, I get nothing on the DMD like rockyrocket.

I also tried the gray4 option.

The test image works for me, as does the screen mirroring.

 

 

However, if I change the DMD size in the game to 800 x 200, I get some graphics displaying but not fully.  I guess this is due to the window being the wrong size.  I experimented with a lot of values and sometimes needed to restart dmdext.  900 x 200 also displays something.  Here are some photos.

 

 

 

 

Behaviour with those settings (if video help I can do one)

 

 

Rocketrocket - it would be interesting to see if you get the same behaviour with settings for the DMD of 800 x 200?

 

 

Edit: Video added with the 800 x 200 DMD size (1040 x 272 doesn't show anything):

 

https://www.dropbox....1_Test.mp4?dl=0

 

Thanks

 

Yes this is exactly what I get with 800 x 200, and running a virtual window alongside to compare it seems that all of the FX2 DMD is captured but not displayed correctly.

By this I mean nothing is chopped off just seems to not scale up?.

[CaptFlam]

Is there any special settings in the command line for Pin2dmd to get 1 solid color instead of trying to mix rgb?

Use the --use-gray4 option and set your color with pin2dmd.exe /p 1,2,3 etc

[Fuzion9]

Will this still work while playing in desktop mode? I have a PinDMD3. My pinball cab is still a work in progress around work & family so I still like to play desktop tables in the mean time.

[freezy]

@rockyrocket & @atarian: Interesting. So we all agree that on the virtual DMD it's chopped the same way it is on the real DMD?

 

@bent98: As CaptFlam said, --use-gray4 is the only way currently. I'll add an option to set the color directly in dmdext (even if not using gray4).

 

@Fuzion9: Not in the same way, because Pinball FX2 only renders the DMD on a separate window in cabinet mode (I think). Since we grab the whole window and don't really care about size and position, it's easy to parse the dots and send them to the real DMD. I'm not sure where Pinball FX2 renders the DMD in desktop mode, but theoretically you can use screen mode if  you know where the desktop DMD is displayed to mirror a visible section of the screen to the real DMD.

[Comicalman]

I am testing on a new machine with Pinballfx2.  However, I when I test virtual, the backglass from pinballfx2 covers up the virtual dmd. 

 

Is there a command (or can you make a switch) for the virtual DMD to 'stay on top'?

 

<edit> added to issues list as an enhancement.

Edited by Comicalman, 25 April 2016 - 11:01 AM.

[Fuzion9]

Thanks for the reply, It's really frustrating that Zen have not added official DMD support yet. I've spent a small fortune on tables through steam. I think it's the least they could do for us real DMD folk. I noticed  @freezy put a post on the Zen forums with his new project. Hopefully this will shift them to add it

[russdx]

Yeah especially since freezy has now done all the hard work, hes very neatly wrapped up 4 products into a nice api. All zen needs to do is include it and talk to one simple api.

[rockyrocket]

 Interesting. So we all agree that on the virtual DMD it's chopped the same way it is on the real DMD?

 

Yes it seems to map 1:1.

I do not know how well the area mirrored in the "screen" option maps onto the virtual DMD - guess that I could set everything to 128 x 32 and put a known 128 x 32 image under to test if needed?.