29 replies to this topic

[MrMoose74]

After many hours of testing, late hours rewriting, tweaking and whatnot's - It's finally ready, the new FutureDMD+ Beta!

 

It's available from my Google Drive:

 

https://drive.google...toAYuOskbF9KmQW

 

NEW UPDATE: a version 2 of the Beta is now available at:

https://drive.google...wk9?usp=sharing

 

• Now, by default, any changes made to Window Size, Location or Rotation will be saved instantly to the settings xml and to the ini for the Classic mode as well.
• Some issues have been fixed, like having to apply extra times.

The Beta 2 is a more stable release, if you've downloaded the first beta remove the settings xml and ini and replace all the files, or if you're feeling brave just the exe and pdb file but that might cause issues :-)

 

IMPORTANT: There is help available inside the options. There is also a help menu alternative, which have some additional info. My suggestion is to read the help text and use the presets as starters or to go back to if something goes wrong.

 

There is a setting that is enabled that will save any new table if FutureDMD+ is started with a table startup argument, i.e. "FutureDMD.exe table=sometable" -> will lead to there being a new entry in the FutureDMD.xml.

This could easily be turned off, and if you don't want it enabled also make sure to save.

 

NOTE:

• Presets reside in the options menu alternative.
• You can add own presets by using the buttons for it in the presets menu. That will make a new preset from the current table or current active rendering options. Presets do not affect Window size or placement etc, only what is inside the Options part for each profile.
• All settings and options should use the same names for tags and atttributes in both the settings xml and the presets xml, as they use in the options editor (Tags are case sensitive but attributes should not be...!).
• A table profile is only visible in the options editor if the table was loaded with it as a startup argument. But, you could add a tag <SomeTableName/> to the settings xml and then use the menu alternative "Change table profile" to access other table profiles while running FutureDMD+.
• IMPORTANT: Do not edit the presets or setting xml:s while FutureDMD+ is running. If you do, the changes you make might not be persisted and it can potentially lead to problems. Choose either to edit the xml:s manually with FutureDMD+ turned off or to edit them from within the options editor (which is started form the menu alternative Options)

Have fun!

 

If you run into problems, please PM me at the Discord Virtuall Pinball Chat or here. I'll try to answer as soon as possible. (PS: There is a Preset and a setting to log crashes, I might need that info to fix bugs...).

 

Regards

/Micke

Edited by MrMoose74, 05 April 2021 - 06:53 PM.

[MrMoose74]

Swapped out filehosting.org for Google Drive (couldn't find a better alternative to host the file that didn't cost money had no expiration time).

No email-registration required anymore :-)

[Outhere]

Swapped out filehosting.org for Google Drive (couldn't find a better alternative to host the file that didn't cost money had no expiration time).

No email-registration required anymore :-)

The new link takes me to  -- https://www.filehosting.org/

[MrMoose74]

Sorry, now it should be corrected... the link was still lurking in the background.

Try downloading it again. I've tested it and it now points to Google as it should have in the first place. Sorry

Edited by MrMoose74, 02 March 2021 - 08:15 PM.

[MrMoose74]

There are serious bugs in this release. The panel will not retain or save Its position, at least not for me.

Im speechless 😶 I cant get it to stay in place, it was working fine. This is super annoying, Im sorry everyone. Ill try to fix this. Something is very off in the release build compared to the debug builds Ive tested with.

[MrMoose74]

There will be an updated, corrected version very soon. Im sorry for any inconvenience and confusion.

[MrMoose74]

Now there is an updated version (2.0 pre-beta 2) in the topic. It has a lot of fixes and some minor adjustments, it should now work much better.

[e51v50h]

Thanks for the hard work. Can't wait to give it a go.

[MrMoose74]

Very soon there will be a new release of FutureDMD+ Beta which will be the new name instead Future DMD 2.0. This was suggested to me because its not much left of the old code, most of the program is rewritten and the majority of features are completely new. There will be a classic mode, but it might probably be cut out in the final release.

Meanwhile, heres a teaser trailer for whats coming 🤓

[GeorgeH]

It would be nice if something were available to do the same thing as Future DMD for segmented displays.  I had a pinball  cabinet guy get really mad at me because I updated a table that had 3 segmented displays and he couldn't run them on Future DMD.  I told him that the only option I knew would work is for him to move the displays so they are visible on his backglass.  He was not happy.  There may be a way of doing it with pinup but I am not sure how many are using it.  

[TerryRed]

It would be nice if something were available to do the same thing as Future DMD for segmented displays.  I had a pinball  cabinet guy get really mad at me because I updated a table that had 3 segmented displays and he couldn't run them on Future DMD.  I told him that the only option I knew would work is for him to move the displays so they are visible on his backglass.  He was not happy.  There may be a way of doing it with pinup but I am not sure how many are using it.  

 

You can tell that ungrateful cabinet guy to respectfully fuck off. Guys like that don't deserve the rewards of your work or anyone else's for that matter. Luckily, guys like that are not the majority here and on other sites / groups.

 

PuP has its own text and display system that needs to be added to the table code, just like you would with the FP DMD or alpha numeric code,etc.. The real DMD pup support on PinEvent tables is literally just mirroring the pupdmd display to a real DMD. It doesn't mirror anything from FP itself at all. That's why great apps like FutureDMD and now FutureDMD+ was needed for DMD based tables.

Edited by TerryRed, 03 April 2021 - 10:57 AM.

[wiesshund]

It would be nice if something were available to do the same thing as Future DMD for segmented displays.  I had a pinball  cabinet guy get really mad at me because I updated a table that had 3 segmented displays and he couldn't run them on Future DMD.  I told him that the only option I knew would work is for him to move the displays so they are visible on his backglass.  He was not happy.  There may be a way of doing it with pinup but I am not sure how many are using it.  

Considering that is where the segmented LEDs are on 99% of non DMD display tables, i think the guy needs some preparation H

 

I dont even think they are drawn in FP in such a way as to easily capture them and send them out via futureDMD

 

I'd tell the guy, if it bothers him so much, go and learn how to change the table scrip to put that into out to a backbox DMD panel instead of a segmented display.

[MrMoose74]

Well, now it's available.... FutureDMD+ Beta 

[MrMoose74]

Ive got some feedback regarding it being hard to position the dmd, getting it to stay in place. Im guessing it is caused by the classic mode interfering with its ini settings for positioning and that needs to be addressed. Im sorry for any inconvenience and it will be fixed promptly.

[Outhere]

Ive got some feedback regarding it being hard to position the dmd, getting it to stay in place. Im guessing it is caused by the classic mode interfering with its ini settings for positioning and that needs to be addressed. Im sorry for any inconvenience and it will be fixed promptly.

You have nothing to be sorry about this is part of updating The software And thank you for doing that

[MrMoose74]

For anyone following this thread: There's now a v2 of the Beta ready for download at:

 

https://drive.google...wk9?usp=sharing

 

(Read more in the first post above...)

[MrMoose74]

Some news:
Recently collaborated with freezy on dmdext.exe on adding FP support to it.

In the current dmdext beta (1.9x) theres now an addition making it possible to use dmdext.exe with Future Pinball.

As a result, theres no longer any need for real dmd support in FutureDMD+. The implementation of devices is also much better in freezy.

Thats why Ive decided to rewrite FutureDMD+ removing the classic mode so that it may finally become open source.

This will be a big programming effort for me, refactoring lots of code. And, at the same time, Ive come to the conclusion that the settings and options are far too complex and confusing so its needing a rewrite too, to become more user friendly.

FutureDMD+ might still have its uses, but with the added support for FP in dmdext it makes for a great alternative and/or replacement of FutureDMD altogether. So, any final release of FutureDMD+ will probably take a while longer.

That said, I might do small tweaks and bug fixes to the current beta 2.

[TerryRed]

To illustrate the excellent work from MrMoose74 and freezy..... yes, we finally have Future Pinball working with dmdext.exe!

 

The styles and glow look nice with a quick test.

 

 

 

 

This not only allows for LCD DMD users to have a much nicer looking DMD (and only using dmdext.exe) but it also allows for real DMD users to have the benefits of dmdext.exe with FP as well.

 

Thanks gents!

[cv2065]

Looks great!  I went to github where the dmdext 1.9 version was, and it says it was updated on 3/5/21. Is this the correct version to work with FP? Also, do the dmdext files go anywhere differently when working with FP?  Thanks again!

[Outhere]

Looks great!  I went to github where the dmdext 1.9 version was, and it says it was updated on 3/5/21. Is this the correct version to work with FP? Also, do the dmdext files go anywhere differently when working with FP?  Thanks again!

Info - https://github.com/f...#future-pinball
DownLoad - dmdext-1.9.0-FUTUREDMDPLUSPLUS-r16-x86-Release.zip  ----- > (** Use latest dmdext.exe File** )
https://ci.appveyor....tjbqq/artifacts

You will need this fill OpenGL.Dll
 

Attached Files

•  OpenGL.zip   217.9KB   32 downloads