1. Can I run both sets of feedback in tandem or will there be an audible delay between the SSF and the rumble motors/solenoids?
2. If I can't, which would be preferable? The Surround Sound option or the rumble motor/solenoid option?
3. Has anyone used both options and if so, what is their preference and why?
1) one has nothing to do with the other
SSF is simply forcing the tables sound to vibrate the cab in a sort of localized fashion.
I dont think anyone puts rumble sound in their tables? so the speakers wouldnt know if its rumbling or not.
Sound is going to play regardless of DOF hardware and could care less about it.
You can set VPX not to play sounds associated with a given DOF toy type, if the author put the sounds in the right DOF category (ie dofflippers, dofcontactors etc) because it sounds kind of weird to have a real solenoid make one kind of clunk, and a wave file to make a totally different one
But i do not think i have even seen someone stick a rumble motor sound into a table, if they did, that would be the 1st thing in the table script getting modded, cause no one wants their pincab sounding like an xbox controller buzzing across the floor, and an exciter can not remotely mimick a rumble motors, it doesnt have that kind of ass behind it
Anyways, VPX, Prefs, DOF Nudge prefs
DOF effects
For every real toy you have represented, set dropdown to DOF, for every toy category you dont have, leave it at the default.
then when vpx has a 3d sound to play and it sees it is dofflippers category, it knows to just skil playing it and let your solenoids do their thing.
there wont be any delay if the sound doesnt have a long silent lead in
but you will get lots of CLUNK and WHACK happening at the same time due to the table author using a sound that sounds nothing like your solenoids etc.
You will some times get a table that plays a particular category of sound anyways because the author did not give it a DOF category
tell us which table or show us the table script, and we can tell you how to fix that easily.
2. what is preferrable is in the eyes of the beholder, though if one spends the money on DOF hardware, i would assume one wants to hear the DOF hardware since it cost a lot, and the exciters cost less than dinner for 3 at McDonalds
3. i can not answer, technically you could say i have SSF, except i have it via a full on 7.1 surround system with acoustic speakers and a 10" powered sub
and pinball can shake the walls and floor and everything else and probably makes more noise and vibration than 6 real pins running side by side, which is probably NOT what most people are going for.
I think normally most people use the settings i described above and have VPX not play sounds for the toy categories they have physically present in there DOF
and use the SSF for the sounds that DOF cannot recreate, like the ball rolling, ball hitting pegs, dropping on playfield, hitting the drain.
DOF has the following categories
Flipper (Needs no description)
Contactor (Solenoids)
Knocker (Still a Solenoid but it gets a separate category, because DOF considers it unique)
Chimes (typically 3 or more notes)
Bell (like a chime except only 1 note)
Gear (Electric motor, usualy driving some metal gears to simulate crain sounds etc)
Shaker (shaker motor, what you call rumble, dont think anyone puts that in as a sound)
Targets (the spring loaded hit targets, yea the technically dont have any electro mechanical sound but some people to trigger solenoids for them)
Droptargets (same deal as the hit targets, they just fall and on many tables they dont make much noise or vibration but people still trigger solenoids, then go thump when they reset, but thats a contactor(solenoid) doing it)
VPX will let you disable sounds that are marked in the script as being in one of those DOF categories.
So disable what you really have represented by setting it to DOF and leave the rest as default.
PS
If you are going to put a 10" powered sub inside your cab, make really darned sure that you fully enclose it, point it out the bottom of the cab, and give it at least a 1" port
otherwise, that 10" sub is going to turn all that hollow space inside the cab into one big hollow muddy rumble fest with no punch or definition
the enclosure can be ugly, no one sees it, just make it not leaky, and put some speaker batting or fiberglass batting in it.
It makes a world of difference.
If you wanna be anal, you can put the plastic enclosures on the 5" speakers for the backbox
You know, the ones you put behind them when mounting in car doors etc, just thin molded plastic things, mind you ROMS are not known for their clean sound to begin with
but some romless tables have some really pristine audio clips as compared to a real pin.
Believe it or not, it does make a decent amount of difference and we can stick audio systems in pinball machines that Stern can only dream about LOL
Top
are all trademarks of VPFORUMS.