161 replies to this topic

[bpjacobsen]

Forgive the dup posting here but I figured since this is for future dmd specifically maybe someone can chime in here? I need the proper settings to get fp working in PBY with future dmd. Can anyone provide a screenshot of their FP settings in PBY using future DMD (close on exit) The settings differs from pbx and I'm not sure what to input where per attached.

Attached Files

•  fp settings in pby.png   23.36KB   1 downloads
•  future dmd guide.png   18.18KB   2 downloads

[bpjacobsen]

NVM, got this working. via other thread and fp group

[bpjacobsen]

Why does future dmd load in the background? I have to hit alt-tab to bring it forward. Not sure if this is being caused by pby front end stealing focus but is there any way to force this to always load on top? Not seeing a parameter for this in the ini file like there is in the dmddevice.ini file for freezy's dmd.

 

Also, some tables are not showing a dmd display and based on the script, there should be one (Star Wars is an example) the dmd box is there but no display, just a dark barely visible box as if it is shut off. Anyone know if there is a line in the fp table scripts I should check that might be disabling the dmd?

Edited by bpjacobsen, 10 December 2020 - 02:17 PM.

[Outhere]

Why does future dmd load in the background? I have to hit alt-tab to bring it forward. Not sure if this is being caused by pby front end stealing focus but is there any way to force this to always load on top? Not seeing a parameter for this in the ini file like there is in the dmddevice.ini file for freezy's dmd.

 

Also, some tables are not showing a dmd display and based on the script, there should be one (Star Wars is an example) the dmd box is there but no display, just a dark barely visible box as if it is shut off. Anyone know if there is a line in the fp table scripts I should check that might be disabling the dmd?

Did you set the game up according to the PDF file that came with futureDMD
 

[bpjacobsen]

 

Why does future dmd load in the background? I have to hit alt-tab to bring it forward. Not sure if this is being caused by pby front end stealing focus but is there any way to force this to always load on top? Not seeing a parameter for this in the ini file like there is in the dmddevice.ini file for freezy's dmd.

 

Also, some tables are not showing a dmd display and based on the script, there should be one (Star Wars is an example) the dmd box is there but no display, just a dark barely visible box as if it is shut off. Anyone know if there is a line in the fp table scripts I should check that might be disabling the dmd?

Did you set the game up according to the PDF file that came with futureDMD
 

 

Yes sir. It works if I run it manually but somehow when launching tables in PBY, it is jumping to the background. Also, some of them are not even displaying a dmd display. I think that must be a setting in the table script?

[bpjacobsen]

I'm trying to experiment with changing dmd color for select tables but it's not working. Still pulls the default orange. If you follow the suggestion in the future dmd guide then run the dmd, it has to be resized/positioned again as it messes that up. No biggie. Then the ini file automatically updates and this is what it looks like but again, running Aliens Legacy, it still pulls the default color. If I change the default color, it will change but for all tables. It's not working for individual tables: (fyi, I also tried adding the .fpt in the table name to no avail)

 

[default]

red=245

green=100

blue=50

highscore_1_1=" is #1|"

highscore_1_2=" Rules|"

highscore_1_3="HIGH SCORE|"

highscore_1_3_2=" "

highscore_1_4="Can you beat|"

highscore_1_4_2=" ?"

avg_time_1_1="Average Game Length.."

avg_time_1_2="Average|Survival Time.."

avg_time_1_3="Most Balls Drained in.."

avg_time_1_4="Can you last longer than?.."

PosScreen=0

PosX=3364

PosY=370

SizeW=896

SizeH=224

Orientation=0

Mirror=0

Shades=0000000000000000

 

[Aliens Legacy]

red=0

green=255

blue=0

 

highscore_1_1=" is #1|"

highscore_1_2=" Rules|"

highscore_1_3="HIGH SCORE|"

highscore_1_3_2=" "

highscore_1_4="Can you beat|"

highscore_1_4_2=" ?"

avg_time_1_1="Average Game Length.."

avg_time_1_2="Average|Survival Time.."

avg_time_1_3="Most Balls Drained in.."

avg_time_1_4="Can you last longer than?.."

PosScreen=0

PosX=3367

PosY=374

SizeW=896

SizeH=224

Orientation=0

Mirror=0

Shades=0000000000000000

Edited by bpjacobsen, 12 December 2020 - 01:56 AM.

[TerryRed]

As stated in the FutureDMD guide.... you can only change DMD colour when using FutureDMD from a front-end. The guide tells you what command you need to use.

[bpjacobsen]

As stated in the FutureDMD guide.... you can only change DMD colour when using FutureDMD from a front-end. The guide tells you what command you need to use.

 

I did follow the guide. I posted my ini above. I'm running this from PBY and it is only pulling the default color. This is what the guide says:

 

"Custom Game Colors

You can specify what color you want each of your tables dmd displays to be using the FutureDMD.ini.

located in you Future Pinball directory. The ini file will be created for you when you first run

FutureDMD. The format is very simple:

[default]

red= 255

green= 85

blue= 20

[The name of your table here]

red= 10

green= 185

blue= 255

[The name of your next table here]

red= 100

green= 100

blue= 100

All entries must be in this format. If you choose to only use the default color you do not need to make

any additions to this file. The table name must match the name of your future pinball table "fpt" file

that you are loading. If your table name contains [ or ] you will need to remove them or substitute them

with regular brackets. If you rename them don't forget to update your front end with the new name as

well. The Red, Green, Blue settings may not appear exactly as they appear in your graphics program

because of the way FutureDMD calculates different shades of the color. You may need to make minor

adjustments to get the color exactly as you like."

 

Keep in mind that I followed the guide exactly and by the time I ran Aliens Legacy, the ini file changed and shows exactly what I posted above. So it copied all the other settings and replicated them below my custom color entry. But it does not pull the color which should be green. Is there some other command not mentioned in this guide? It's the one included with the download.

[wiesshund]

If you leave futureDMD always running

 

Hyperpin

Run, "%emuPath%\FutureDMD_Relay.exe" table="%tableName%",,hide UseErrorLevel

 

PinballX (PinballY you will base the script off of this)

LaunchBeforeEnabled=True

LaunchBeforeWorkingPath=: C:\emulators\Future Pinball

LaunchBeforeExecutable=FutureDMD_Relay.exe

LaunchBeforeParameters=table="[TABLEFILE]"

 

 

If you launch futureDMD at table launch and exit at table exit

 

 "%emuPath%\FutureDMD.exe" close=1 table="%tableName%",,hide UseErrorLevel

 

LaunchBeforeEnabled=True

LaunchBeforeWorkingPath= C:\emulators\Future Pinball

LaunchBeforeExecutable=FutureDMD.exe

LaunchBeforeParameters=table="[TABLEFILE]" close=1

 

 

If you are not starting it in some fashion like that, it wont change any colours, because it has no idea what table is playing, no one told it.

[bpjacobsen]

See attached. This is what I was instructed to set for future dmd in pby settings and it works fine. It's just not recognizing the color. Is it because it still has no clue what table I'm running? pby is quite different from pbx in this area. Anyone know how I can change the command I have so it knows what table I'm running?

[wiesshund]

? i just showed you how, and told you why yours is not listening

[bpjacobsen]

ignore

Edited by bpjacobsen, 16 December 2020 - 01:38 AM.

[bpjacobsen]

For anyone like myself that would prefer to see samples of various future dmd colors to get a better idea of what they would look like, See attached screenshot. I did this in PowerPoint today. The included pdf guide in the Fdmd download tells you how to add entries in the .ini for table specific colors. I used the following site to get various color settings: https://www.colorsch...VJcNysQ8Pg7vIBk.

 

Hope this helps someone.

Attached Files

•  Future DMD color samples.png   905.43KB   0 downloads

[wiesshund]

That is pretty nifty, it would even apply to VPM dmd colors also

[GeorgeH]

Is there an advantage to changing the DMD color on Future Dmd instead of just changing it in the FP editor?

[bpjacobsen]

Is there an advantage to changing the DMD color on Future Dmd instead of just changing it in the FP editor?

not sure since I'm not really familiar with how the built in FP dmd works. I know future dmd essentially mirrors the dmd in the translite/HUD but not sure how the color change works there or if it would pull into the table when launching from the front end. Just had not thought of it.

[wiesshund]

 

Is there an advantage to changing the DMD color on Future Dmd instead of just changing it in the FP editor?

not sure since I'm not really familiar with how the built in FP dmd works. I know future dmd essentially mirrors the dmd in the translite/HUD but not sure how the color change works there or if it would pull into the table when launching from the front end. Just had not thought of it.

 

 

futureDMD only displays what dots are lit and at what brightness
it does not take any color information as far as i can tell

So all DMD's will be red orange no matter what the table says, if you leave futureDMD in it's default setting

 

So yes, if you are using futureDMD there seems to be a big advantage in that, it does not care what the table thinks

[bpjacobsen]

Got another dilema. How do I prevent the futuredmd from loading in a turned off state and blocking my dmd image on tables that don't have dmd? Even with the setting to keep dmd display on when launching table, the future dmd box is loading and staying on top of my dmd image. I don't think PBY has an option to turn dmd off. Only the option to display it on game launch for when you don't have dmd on a table. How can I tell it to not load the dmd for these tables? I'm assuming it would have to be a command in the ini file? 

 

I tried adding the following in the ini file but it still won't go away:

 

[Gladiator]

PosScreen=1

PosX=0

PosY=0

SizeW=0

SizeH=0

 

I have to believe there is a way to hide the dmd for tables that don't even display one or that have the scoring in the BG. This appears to happen on all tables that I'm using a DMD image for. UGH!

Edited by bpjacobsen, 20 December 2020 - 03:47 AM.

[TerryRed]

Maybe you should start posting your PBY specific problems in the PBY thread. You would probably get a better chance of someone who uses it helping you there.

[bpjacobsen]

Maybe you should start posting your PBY specific problems in the PBY thread. You would probably get a better chance of someone who uses it helping you there.

Well, this is more of a future dmd question though. PBY is just doing what it is being told. I doubt there would be a way to put a command in fp setup in pby that would know to turn off the future dmd only for certain tables. It would have to be programmed somehow within the futuredmd.ini file I would think? My batch file that pby runs from the run before field runs future dmd. But the table specific settings come from the ini.