18 replies to this topic

[Rawd]

I remember stumbling upon this about a year ago, and from the documentation, this program looks to be about 4 years old. Does anyone know what happened to this? Is it possible to implement this software into tables for VP9? I think this would be the shiznit. I have the software if anyone wants to take a closer look..

EDIT: I found the website.... http://rich_gade.hom...net/~rich_gade/

Excerpt from docs:

Section 1 Introduction to vpPlus:


vpPlus is a continuing software project developed by the vpPlus Development
Team. The vpPlus project is a set of new extensions and enhancements to give
Randy Davis’s Visual Pinball editor/simulator some new added features. As a
plugin to Visual Pinball, vpPlus allows table authors to add extra useful features
not normally included with Visual Pinball.
Probably the most exciting of these features is the ability to design a network
play table. With built in network functions, a table author can create a table that
allows two players on different computers to compete against each other over a
LAN network or over the Internet. vpPlus also has built in Chat features so that
the two players can communicate with each other.
Graphic enhancements are another cool feature of vpPlus. Authors are no longer
limited to Visual Pinball’s two format limitations (BMP and JPG). vpPlus allows
many other image formats, including animated formats like GIF. In addition,
vpPlus adds the ability to move, resize, and read mouse clicks from these
images through script.

[Popotte]

For more informations, go to Pinball Originals and now go to Vpp forum. No news since one year and the v1.2.0 was the last release. Developpers are Rascal and rgade.

[yogiholzer]

As far as I know the developement of vpPlus is discontinued since long. I always tried to support it, because of it's potential, but it didn't manage to convince a majority to use/try/support it, most probably because it was only at it's initiation and didn't support a multiplicity of tables, but only the few ones, that were made for it.

I didn't use it for long now and I don't know if it would still work if installed.

Personally I had much fun to test and try it, especially with Steely on New Year's Eve some years ago, where we didn't have anything better to do else.

Maybe Steely and/or Rascal (vpPlus developers) can add some words. I don't remember to read any post from rgade ever.

[Bob5453]

It was perhaps the greatest VP concept ever, but for some reason only a couple of tables were made for it and there was never a site for hosting the games between players....

I also enjoyed playing a few games with Rascal and Steely and Nic.B in real time, while you watched the other person play his ball in VP and then you played your ball, taking turns, just like you would in an arcade. There was even a text chat included, but when I played Rascal and Steely, we used headphones to communicate with each other as we played.

It was really awesome.

[Rawd]

It was perhaps the greatest VP concept ever, but for some reason only a couple of tables were made for it and there was never a site for hosting the games between players....

I also enjoyed playing a few games with Rascal and Steely and Nic.B in real time, while you watched the other person play his ball in VP and then you played your ball, taking turns, just like you would in an arcade. There was even a text chat included, but when I played Rascal and Steely, we used headphones to communicate with each other as we played.

It was really awesome.

Cool! This is what I am talking about. Imagine playing online with text or voice chat while watching your competition playing on your cab from thousands of miles away. Tournaments and high scores database would be awesome.

[yogiholzer]

Yes, the additional chat was very nice. I didn't use the voice chat because I know I don't understand spoken English. I need to read and to translate and then I eventually can reply. I only used the text chat.

The available vpPlus tables weren't that impressive, but they were excellent to show the capabilities of vpPlus and they were much fun to play in arcade mode against a friend somewhere out there in the world.

I always wanted to challenge Bob too, but somehow we never meet online then. I made a few games with RolandScholz and Nic too.

Btw.: Where's Nic?

[computerfrk1]

As far as I know the developement of vpPlus is discontinued since long. I always tried to support it, because of it's potential, but it didn't manage to convince a majority to use/try/support it, most probably because it was only at it's initiation and didn't support a multiplicity of tables, but only the few ones, that were made for it.

I didn't use it for long now and I don't know if it would still work if installed.

Personally I had much fun to test and try it, especially with Steely on New Year's Eve some years ago, where we didn't have anything better to do else.

Maybe Steely and/or Rascal (vpPlus developers) can add some words. I don't remember to read any post from rgade ever.

I think it was a concept that is a little ahead of it's time perhaps when things slow down in VP land there will be more room for it.

[Noah Fentz]

After numerous discussions with rascal on this subject, I think it was the amount of extra work that was required for online play that was the problem.

He and I have played a game or two online, and I would be interested in perhaps modding a few of the tables I've done with UR, but the issue there is VPM is not supported in online play.

Maybe after I've updated The Four Horsemen, I'll give it a go.

[yogiholzer]

@ computerfrk1

I'm in doubt about. Internet/online play was already spreeded widely.

If we want to give it a new try, we first have to find out which versions of VP are supported. I don't remember that anymore.

@ Noah

I mean VPM support isn't really needed, because it's really fun on every simple table, but I admit, that it would attract much more people.

[rascal]

I must have missed this post, or I would have replied. I just recompiled vpPlus with Visual Studio 2008 and .NET framework 3.5. I played a couple of games with gaminglord, who is running Windows 7 64 bit and it worked pretty good. Of course this was with VP 8 as the demo table was developed with that version. I tried it with VP 9 with Noah not to long ago, and it had some wierd graphical artifacts. I would say that a table that is originally created with VP 9 would work with some revisions to the original vp+ script.

The vpPlus Development team (rgade, Steely, and myself) just found ourselves to busy with life, work, and family to keep this project moving forwards. Plus it didn't get the welcome that we were expecting, so we pretty much lost interest. Anyway, rather than let it collect more dust, we decided to let destruk be the new keeper of the code. That is if he wants it. He always showed an interest in it and wanted us to create a function for connecting through script. If anybody could make something out of it, he could.

If you see this destruk, PM me so that we can figure out how to get this to you.
Noah, I can upload the latest compile to you and you can share it on your site if you like. I'll talk to you.

I would like to thank Yogi, Bob, Anthias, Rockinghorse, Nic B., Destruk, and anyone else that supported this project from the beginning.

[KEG]

Thanks for not letting this wonderful piece of software just fade away. I have not been able to get this to work right with my computer, but I hear it's fantastic. It's in good hands with Destruk.

[Rawd]

Hey, thanks for the reply Rascal! Hoping that Destruk might show an interest in this.

Even if were only a select few tables, I think it would be a blast to have some online tournaments and such.

[Bob5453]

VPplus would currently work fantastic with EM's.

[pinball buzz]

Count me in guys with this one

[yogiholzer]

I just noticed that I didn't visit PO for long (sorry), but all the needed stuff should be available there in the vpp forum. Just in case it's not, I still have vpPlus_Setup_v1.2.0.exe and 3 additional tables (Chrono Crusade, Last Exile and The Pit) in my backups and could make them available if needed. I'm just not sure if I was really allowed to.

I actually run Win 7 and I'm unsure, if vp+ would work with Win 7 on my outdated hardware (using VP 8 ), but I'm interested to try that out more or less soon. Let me know if you are interested too. Then we most probably find a way and if all still works we will hopefully play against each other soon.

[richg]

I've got a bit more free time than I had back when the project folded, so I would be willing to look into specific vpPlus fixes if such things are needed. The graphics anomolies Rascal mentioned on v9 are due to the fact that the decal support we added is stupid - a transparent window set on top over the pinball table itself - but then that was the only way we could add decal animation without having access to the vpinball sources.

Of course, now that the vpinball sources are available, the animated decal support should be able to be coded directly in where it belongs. Unfortunately I've done exactly zero DirectX coding, so even though I plan to take a look, I ain't promising nothin'.

The network play will likely have to remain in a plugin like it is - which isn't that bad as it does work fairly well on a well scripted table (Rascal being the expert in that regard). Since vpinball was not written to support network play from the start, integrating net play directly into it would likely take a gigantic software engineering effort.

[Rawd]

I've got a bit more free time than I had back when the project folded, so I would be willing to look into specific vpPlus fixes if such things are needed. The graphics anomolies Rascal mentioned on v9 are due to the fact that the decal support we added is stupid - a transparent window set on top over the pinball table itself - but then that was the only way we could add decal animation without having access to the vpinball sources.

Of course, now that the vpinball sources are available, the animated decal support should be able to be coded directly in where it belongs. Unfortunately I've done exactly zero DirectX coding, so even though I plan to take a look, I ain't promising nothin'.

The network play will likely have to remain in a plugin like it is - which isn't that bad as it does work fairly well on a well scripted table (Rascal being the expert in that regard). Since vpinball was not written to support network play from the start, integrating net play directly into it would likely take a gigantic software engineering effort.

Good to hear from you on this!

Since making this post, Rascal and I have tried to connect a few times with no luck. A few others on here have been able to get it to work succesfully.

Thanks,
Rod.

[anthias]

I think its verry exciting to see vp plus gaining interest, the boys did amazing work and I allways thought it was THE greatest addon for vp EVER made.

and while the task of incorporating it into a table is not the easiest thing, its no harder than learning to script a table in the first palce so its not a huge stretch if you have to time to study it for a few days.

I have never regretted the tables I made for VPP and indeed one of those (chrono crusade) is still among my favorites of all my tables.

so huge thanks again to steely, rgade and rascal. it was an exciting time when this was being developed and the play we did have was allways exceptional fun. So if something can launch it into the forefront of the community again, thats the best news since vp went open source!

[rascal]

I've got a bit more free time than I had back when the project folded, so I would be willing to look into specific vpPlus fixes if such things are needed. The graphics anomolies Rascal mentioned on v9 are due to the fact that the decal support we added is stupid - a transparent window set on top over the pinball table itself - but then that was the only way we could add decal animation without having access to the vpinball sources.

Of course, now that the vpinball sources are available, the animated decal support should be able to be coded directly in where it belongs. Unfortunately I've done exactly zero DirectX coding, so even though I plan to take a look, I ain't promising nothin'.

The network play will likely have to remain in a plugin like it is - which isn't that bad as it does work fairly well on a well scripted table (Rascal being the expert in that regard). Since vpinball was not written to support network play from the start, integrating net play directly into it would likely take a gigantic software engineering effort.

Wow, one of my long lost brothers has returned. Where ya been brother and how is Mom?

No richg, the graphic problems were with the demo table and vp9 mainly. Like at one point only half the ball was showing. The icons on the control panel were ok. A lot of VP8 tables don't work right with VP9 and need to be converted. Our demo table is one, as I think we made it in VP7 anyway.

EDIT: No were not really brothers.