10 replies to this topic

[wolis]

Hi,

 

I am struggling with the screen selection in b2s_setup.exe - and VPX v10.7 

 

I understand Windows is probably part of the problem but any useful insights would be good.

 

My setup:

One notebook with two screens.. so according to windows its:

1 = notebook screen

2 = small screen

3 = big screen

 

In VPX I see:

1 = notebook screen

2 = big screen

3 = small screen

 

In B2S_SetUp.exe it does not matter which screen (1, 2 or 3) the screen only shows on 1 = notebook screen.

 

However, After a reboot and without changing any settings, the screen shows on my small screen!

 

But after another reboot, we are back to the same as above, 

 

 

I have seen that Windows can add screens randomly but its not clear why/how

a) VPX and B2S_SetUp.exe report different screens

b) Changing screens in B2S_SetUp.exe does not change which screen its shown on.

c) If I want to sometimes play on notebook (on lap in living room) and sometimes use two screens (on desk in study), do I need a complete copy of the tables and apps to they are configured to each layout separately or can they switch?

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wiesshund]

Ok 1st thing
Open regedit and delete the following keys, yes the whole key

 

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Connectivity
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\ScaleFactors

 

then reboot

 

This will let windows pick up the monitors fresh, and only once per monitor

 

If you plug and unplug monitors, you may have to repeat that as windows tends to create monitor entries like they were candy

 

Now as for B2S

 

set B2S monitor to the display your playfield is on

in windows, left to right, it has to be playfield(set as primary) backglass, DMD
And all monitor tops must be even

 

Ok now obviously set playfield resolution appropriately

Now set the Backglass monitor's resolution

next set the Backglass X pos to be playfield +1
So if playfield res is 1920x1080, set the backglass X pos to 1921

 

OK now for the DMD

1st off, DMD needs to be based on 128x32 as that is the ratio most b2s DMD components are designed around

So, here is what you do
Open MS Paint
resize the blank image to 128 x 32 pixels (you have to uncheck maintain aspect ration)

ok, now click resize again

This time leave maintain aspect ration checked

and change the width to your 3rd screens width

It will auto change the height

 

THAT is your LED resolution to put into B2S setup

So put that in for LED size

For LED X offset, put in backglass width +1, like you did above for the playfield

 

Now keep in mind, that is ONLY for a b2s DMD, and it has nothing to do with a VPM or DMD Extensions DMD
Those you just drag where ever you want and size how ever you feel like.

 

If after plugging and unplugging monitors windows again seems to forget about where the monitors are
just purge the reg keys and reboot, then arrange the monitors quick, and you are ready to go again

 

Setting B2S to playfield with an offset helps alleviate the issue some.

Cause if you can at least get the playfield right, the rest is simply counting pixels to the right

And no, you do not need to do anything to go play on the laptop by itself

the backglass and DMD will just run XXXX pixels to the right in no man's land

they technically wont know nor care that the monitor is not plugged in

 

But you will find that you do have to purge the reg entries on a regular basis

so you may with to write a batch file to do it

 

 

reg del HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration /f
reg del HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Connectivity /f
reg del HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\ScaleFactors /f
shutdown /r /t 10

[wolis]

Excellent and clear advice, thanks!

 

Now to see if I can get it al working.

[wolis]

First question.. after deleting reg settings and reboot I have:

in Win 10 display settings:

1 = notebook screen

2 = small screen

3 = big screen

 

And in VPX:

1 = notebook screen

2 = big screen

3 = small screen

 

So VPX is displaying the playfield on #2 as far as Windows things and #3 as far as VPX thinks.

 

 

I tried both in the B2S_SetUp (no difference -backglass shows on screen #1)

 

I tried re-arranging my windows in Windows Display Settings so they all line up (slight pixels out as its snapping for me).

 

3-2-1

3-1-2

1-3-2

1-2-3

 

No change to any of the B2S or Display settings make a difference for me.. this is most odd.

 

Any other advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[wiesshund]

what x display pos did you put in?

and is playfield screen set as primary?

Edited by wiesshund, 08 May 2021 - 01:24 AM.

[Outhere]

Whatever screen you want the playfield to be on that needs to be default in windows
https://www.vpforums...e=7#entry346276

[wolis]

Success!

 

I was getting caught up with screen numbers (they are different in Windows as compared to VPX so got very confused by that)

 

Then I was making the assumption B2S_SetUp.exe actually used my choice of screen.. it always uses my Notebooks screen no matter what I change (Razer Blade PRO 2019 with an HDMI and a USB-C monitors connected).

 

Makes no difference if I set my largest screen (the HDMI) to be primary or not.

 

It was the fact we set the display offset that made it all click for me.. I set both offsets to just 100 each and sure enough the backglass was offset by 100px on my notebook display so..

 

I setup my monitors in Windows as:

 

(Big HDML the table shows on #3) - (Notebook primary #1) - (Small USB #2)

 

I entered my notebooks screen res in B2S_SetUp.exe in the top two fields and that same with +1 in the Backglass x Pos.

 

So for me making reference to the playfield screen in the settings was irrelevant.

 

Now for the kicker..

 

B2S_SetUp.exe allows negative offsets so I can position my small screen above my primary screen:

 

                                                          (Small USB #2)

(Big HDML the table shows on #3) - (Notebook primary #1)

 

And I set the Backglass Y Pos to negative from my #1 monitor for it to works!

 

Only problem is trying to position it 100% within the #2 monitor fails to show it.. as it at least one pixel must remain on the primary display.

 

Well this is manageable for now.. and would be a whole lot easier when working with a PC dedicated as cabinet PC.

 

 

Might be worth hinting in the B2S_SetUp.exe that negatives are allowed and that in some setups the choice of screen is irrelevant and primary screen is not always the one the user gets to choose :-)

Edited by wolis, 09 May 2021 - 02:08 AM.

[wiesshund]

negatives are not the norm

USB video adapters though, tend to do weird things to monitor denomination and geometry

 

But, as most consumer model laptops do not have docking stations and are not really made to work with them, and usually only have one video out anymore, you do what you gotta do

and since they took VGA outputs off all newer laptops, there went the native monitor 3 output.

 

with a desktop PC you wont have that issue.

 

laptop screen is always screen 1 on a laptop, and the HDMI is screen 2

but the USB adapter is the guy playing hokey pokey with you

 

 

Just a heads up, you may find that you have a near impossible time setting up Future Pinball, if you install it

It is less flexible when it comes to display weirdness

 

If you run into that, unplug the USB display, and it should function as expected.

 

You also may (or may not) find that the USB display seems to drag down performance depending on the table

in VPX

 

If so, you can always unplug it and run it as a 2 screen
Nearly all backglasses have a 2 screen mode which gives a place to park the DMD screen
and also draws a nice speaker grill etc

 

My laptop will run 4 screens natively when docked
but the downside is, that is because it is a business laptop

 

which means it doesnt have a GPU

 

which means it is 4 screens worth of SUCKS as far as VPX is concerned LOL

 

I am not sure why they dont put at least 2 external video outs on consumer laptops as a general rule
1 HDMI and 1 Display Port would be fine

[wolis]

So its all making sense.. sort-of... good to know its my setup and not bugs in the software :-)

 

Can you clarify what you mean by "Nearly all backglasses have a 2 screen mode"

 

And do you know why Future Pinball still in use, isn't it superseded by VPX?

[wiesshund]

 

Can you clarify what you mean by "Nearly all backglasses have a 2 screen mode"

 

And do you know why Future Pinball still in use, isn't it superseded by VPX?

I will just take attack from mars for example

 

In a 2 screen setup, the backglass looks like this

 

And in a 3 screen, the entire speaker grill area vanishes, and you just drag the DMD off to what ever screen it belongs on

 

 

Now for a NON DMD table, like what you are referring to

in 2 screen it would be similar to the above, and in 3 screen the dmd area component would pop off the backglass, the grill would hide
and it would look like this (going to use an image of all 3 parts on same screen)

 

Future pinball is not superseded by anything, because it did not come from something else, and never turned into something else (It may or may not share some original parentage with VPX in some way)

 

It is not a derivative of anything else nor is anything a derivative of it, it is simply itself, and therefore can not be superseded.

 

Future Pinball ceased development a long time ago
It is what it is, and how it always will be, as it is not open source, so no one can further develop it.
What ever BAM can not achieve externally, simply will never be.

 

As for why is it around?
Because it existed, and this is the internet, and that which has existed can never unexist.

Why are games from 1981 around?

Why can people download oregon trail? castle wolfenstien (not wolf 3d by iD software)

or a ton of tandy CoCo games and such?

 

because on the internet, things can exist forever

Edited by wiesshund, 10 May 2021 - 12:51 AM.

[wolis]

Thanks for your patience in explaining these.. all makes perfect sense.

 

Now to sum up what I learned about backglass setup for anyone wanting to know the answer:

 

• If you have a notebook, it will always be display #1 regardless all other settings.
• In Windows display settings, position your display #2 (or #3 etc..) for backglasses next to display #1
• In B2S_SetUp.exe set the X and or Y Pos offsets relative to display #1 top left corner
• These offsets can be negative but you may need to keep at least one pixel on display #1