12 replies to this topic

[Marcel3571]

So recently, I've wanted to make my own ROM for my pinball table that I am working on. Therefore, I would like to know what programs or other helpful things I am going to need for that and possibly some templates to help me get started, as creating a ROM sounds very confusing for me as a fairly new member.  By the way, I am planning to make my ROM work with a 128x32 DMD, just like most old Williams pinball tables, but scripted with Lua programming language instead of binary code. If anyone could help, please let me know in this topic.

 

Thank you in advance.
Marcel3571

Pinball lover and rookie table designer

[Thalamus]

Hmm. How many years has pinmame been around ? 25-ish. How many custom roms do you find ? ZERO !

The closest you can get is probably spending time on https://github.com/f...lPinball.Engine

But, even that project has no plans to support a custom rom format.

[fhjui]

>>So recently, I've wanted to make my own ROM

IMHO that makes not great sense to me for an own DIY pinball.

The main task of pinmame is to emulate the CPU that is installed in a real pinball electronics. e.g. 6809 or Z80 etc.
You would first have to write a program in a high-level language or assembler, compile it, prepare it for a ROM format and then have pinmame emulate it.
This is more than ineffective. The usual way is to implement the logic and control using table script in VBS.

Edited by fhjui, 12 January 2025 - 09:44 AM.

[Itchigo]

Hmm. How many years has pinmame been around ? 25-ish. How many custom roms do you find ? ZERO !

The closest you can get is probably spending time on https://github.com/f...lPinball.Engine

But, even that project has no plans to support a custom rom format.

Beavis and Butthead uses a custom rom. As do a handful of other originals (Tom and Jerry).

Edited by Itchigo, 12 January 2025 - 12:01 PM.

[Thalamus]

@itchigo : I would not call those as custom roms.

All that has been done is change some bytes to change the display of the games name.

 

Custom roms are more like what Søren and other modders does when he "hacks" the code itself. But, that is also, is kind of not a new rom. It is a more advanced, modified one.

[unclewilly]

Why not just use mission pinball framework to create the code and go from there. Can be used in vpx or a real machine if I remember correctly

[Thalamus]

Valid point. But, mission pinball framework. Natively is Python, not Lua.

[Tesla]

So recently, I've wanted to make my own ROM for my pinball table that I am working on. 

 

As @Thalamus says :

 

Hmm. How many years has pinmame been around ? 25-ish. How many custom roms do you find ? ZERO !

The closest you can get is probably spending time on https://github.com/f...lPinball.Engine

But, even that project has no plans to support a custom rom format.

 

Personally, I suggest you re-visit (and explain to us) what you are really trying to do here.

 

I think we might be able to re-point you in a better direction ... one that might actually be obtainable (so can see the result one-day).

[Carny_Priest]

Off of the top of my head, there are at least a couple of projects based on freeWPC that rewrote table rules from the ground up for Demolition Man and Whitewater including new DMD scoring. These are supported in PinMAME. https://github.com/bcd/freewpc

 

Outside of PinMAME, a noteable project is Cactus Canyon Continued which is more than a mod as it greatly extends the rule set of the CC production table. Uses the P-ROC framework (skeletongame.com) which is the underlying framework for some production titles as well such Total Annihilation. There is also a project that works with Judge Dredd but it is more of a demo, really. Strictly speaking, this isn't PinMAME but there is a bridge for support within VPX.

 

I know that the upcoming Visual Pinball Engine for Unity has native support for P-ROC and Mission Pinball Framework.

 

There is BallySternOS for coding new rulesets from the ground up for early SS tables. It is extending features through hardware (Arduino mini PCs) as well as software so this is outside of PinMAME's mission. 

 

There are lots of examples to look at. 

[Marcel3571]

Well, the Mission Pinball framework is a good starting point! Despite it being in Python, I hopefully can still manage to make a good ROM for my game.

[jpsalas]

Well, the Mission Pinball framework is a good starting point! Despite it being in Python, I hopefully can still manage to make a good ROM for my game.

 

I just wonder, are you making a real/physical machine? or a virtual, pc, VP game?

[Marcel3571]

For now, I plan to make it a VP virtual game, but in the future, if I can, I'm probably going to remake it into a real/physical pinball table.

[jpsalas]

For now, I plan to make it a VP virtual game, but in the future, if I can, I'm probably going to remake it into a real/physical pinball table.

 

Thanks Now I understand why you want to make a rom I guess then the P-ROC framework is the best. But I recommend you first make the table in VPX, make the rules using the VPX script, and when you are happy with the rules, the sounds and music, and if the table is good, then make it physically and use the P-ROC system to make the rom for the physical table. I think this is the most logical way to do it.