Announcment: New Visual Pinball Wrapper coming....

[dna disturber]

Unfortunately it doesn't work with loading and saving the nvrams.
After you end a game it takes a couple of bytes out of the nvram (before and after image to check if a game has been played) , translates the bytes into a score and sends that to a php page that inserts the score with a username and passcode
Also the name of the tables should be as you download them to have a clean competition and database.
There is also a check on tablename before entering the score.

The application is a mix of Visual basic , autohotkey, php and mysql.

You can't load the scores into your vpinball , it's just oneway...you can look at the scores using a php page (using query's)
It's more like a frontend for vpm games at the moment with an online database behind it (with a twitterfunction).

[Howard_Casto]

It sounds to me like it could though....  You've already figured out how to extract the scores from the games correct?  So you've managed to figure out where in the nvram file the scores are stored right?  It should be possible to inject the top 10 from the database to the nvram prior to launch then.  Likewise it should be possible to auto-submit scores if the user name and password is pre-stored. 

The launcher is essentially done atm... it'll be released this weekend.  I would be willing to work with you on this though for a future version.

[dna disturber]

Extracting is no problem but injecting is difficult as there are checksums in most nvrams, it wil reset to default when checksum isn't right...
Maybe phoenix is something that already comes close to the idea
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14705

[Howard_Casto]

Sorry I had some real world concerns the past couple of days... didn't get a chance to work on this any. 

DNA.... the first post says:  "Removed by user" 

I'm guessing this is something related to the scoreboard, but if I can't dl it then I dunno what I can do. 


I managed to work on this a little more today.  To make things easier when running from a frontend, I smartened up the launch commands a bit.  Now you can either pass the full path to the table or just the vpt name.  If you pass the latter the launcher will look for the table first in the current directory, and then in the "tables" folder.  So like mame, you should now just be able to pass the file name and it'll just work. 

I also added a new transparent background mode for the DMD.  Originally, it just turned the dmd's background transparent.  This looked good for true dmd's but the segmented displays looked a little nasty because the "off" led segments are so large.  So now you have the option to make the "off" leds/segments transparent as well.  This looks really good on the segmented displays.... because they are so thin you can just stick em right in the middle of the table without any translucency and they don't get in the way at all!

I need to add three more global options, which might take and hour at the most.  Then I want to add a warning message or two for the onscreen menu and I think I'm done. 

Everything should be out sunday or monday night depending on if I get time. 

I apologize for the severe delay.  This was going to be one of those "quick" projects but several things in the real world outside my control prevented me from getting it out in a timely manner.  I set my own release schedule on these things, but when I say it'll be out at a certain time, I like to get it out there.  I'm not one of those "when it's done it's done"  devs...

[Howard_Casto]

Worked on this a little more.  I added some more dmd positioning macros to support spanned tables. 

I also did a little cleanup. 

I think the next thing I need to do is add a option to block the renaming of the title bar on the DMD.  Why table author's want to do this is beyond me, afterall, nobody plays v pinball with the title bar showing.  It causes issues with rom lookup.  Nothing major, but it is annoying.

[Howard_Casto]

Ok.... I added in the global options and they are working just fine. I see no reason why I can't release this tomorrow, barring any bugs I might find between now and then.

[BobA]

Looking forward to seeing this. Thanks Howard

[TopJimmyCooks]

I finally DL'd VP last night and tried out a few VP 9 tables on my new-ish win 7 notebook. With a few adjustments, I got harlem globetrotters to play somewhat like the real thing- scores in the same range anyway.  I really understand now about the comments that VP doesn't give the experience of an old, worn table.  I felt like it was playing laser sharp, factory fresh, or like a new dmd pin.  I had to keep reminding myself not to try to tap pass or post pass, not that I'm much good at those.  any trigger of the flipper bangs the ball off the arch rail.  The real 30 y/o game is creaky, soft and worn in like an old shoe.  Maybe one of your upcoming mods could be a simulation of the effect of cupped inserts on the ball travel, Howard.

Hopefully If VP works smoothly at all on my crappy old cab PC, I'll be looking forward to trying the wrapper and going to the table itself rather than the editor window, and adding VP to Mala.   

[Howard_Casto]

UGH!   The fates just aren't with us on this one.  Had a minor mouse problem (the furry kind) to deal with.  It took up my entire afternoon.  The wrapper is ready, it just isn't ready for me to release yet.  I've still got to write the docs and prepare the website.  I'm hoping I can get it done tonight (working on it atm) but no promises. 


Jimmy.... that sounds like table editing to me, you couldn't do that on the fly.  Regardless vp's physics engine isn't that sophisticated..... the ball is actually a cube!  The things you are talking about is the table's physics though.... things like flipper strength and ect can be altered in the game's script to adjust such things.  I've gotta be honest, I'd rather play a factory fresh table myself.  In real life we are stuck with a worn out table because all the old tables are worn out. 

[Howard_Casto]

Ok FINALLY!

The new wrapper is up.  Unfortunately my win xp boxes are having issues so it's untested on xp..... run fantastic on vista/win7 though.

Enjoy!

http://dragonking.arcadecontrols.com/index.php

[Loafmeister]

Thanks Howard, I'll give this a try, by the weekend (real life stuff in the way right now). Looks great!

[Howard_Casto]

Crap well I did forget something.....

I didn't include the font that I use in the menu.  You'll need it for vp anyway so you might already have it installed.  Download the font pack from vpforums.org and you are good to go.    It'll work without it, but it will be ugly. 

[headkaze]

Have you checked out FPLaunch?

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah I've seen it.  It doesn't have the features I need and it's basically a hyperpin-centric launcher.  I like it a lot, but it's decidedly geared towards dedicated pinball cabs.  Mines for desktop/mamecab use.

[ratsflif]

Just set this up on my Naomi Universal launching from hyperspin.  Works great man, thanks.

[Wade007]

I just got this wrapper set up and working with Mala. Great work Howard. Thanks for your time and skill.

One question..I'd like to use a two-key Exit combo instead of ESC to quit. How can I set this up using your wrapper? is it possible?
I tried to set it up by inputing 50+52 in the 'Exit Keycode' instead of 27 but that didn't seem to work.

I'd like to set it up so that if I press the 2 and the 4 key at the same time it will exit Visual Pinball and kick me immediately back to Mala. Reason is I have all my other emulators starting with MAME set up this way and I'd like to keep things consistent for cabinet users.

Any help or advice? Thanks so much!!

[Howard_Casto]

There isn't a direct way to do this no. 

You could make a little ahk script that presses Escape or the button of your choice when 2 and 4 and pressed though.  That would probably do it. 

[Wade007]

OK. That was the solution I had come up with as well.

In that case, I suppose I would have to create a script that would set up the keys I wanted, THEN launched your vp-launcher program. I'd point Mala to that script instead of your launcher program. Does that sound about right?

Thanks again for your response, and excellent work on that script. Really...great stuff.

[Wade007]

By the way...

Just for fun I created a new "Loading" screen complete with a re-envisioned Visual Pinball logo I found.

See attached for the 4:3 ratio (1024 x 768 resolution) version.

If you (Howard) would like to include this screen in your set-up files, I'd be more than happy to create the slightly larger 4:3 version that you already had as well as a 16:9 ratio version. 

[Wade007]

Would anyone know how I might be able to run an AHK script along with Howard_Casto's excellent Visual Pinball Wrapper (vp-launch6.exe)?

The only reason I need to run an additional script is so I can map a 2-button exit combo to escape (ESC key) and map the Mouse 1 and Mouse 2 buttons (LButton & RButton). Everything else that the vp-launcher6.exe does is great.

I'm using Mala. I tried to create an executable from AHK which would IN TURN launch vp-launcher6.exe and set up the new key mapping, but I can't get it to work. I'm trying to pass the same table name info to vp-launch6.exe as before but I must be missing something.

Below is my AHK code. Any help?:

___________________________________

#NoEnv
SendMode Input 
SetWorkingDir, C:\Arcade\Visual Pinball\
#SingleInstance force

Run, "vp-launch6.exe" /open "C:\Arcade\Visual Pinball\Tables\%1% /play /exit

LButton:
RButton::G

~2 & ~4::
Send {Esc}

ExitAPP
return

___________________________________


In Mala's settings I just tried to point it to the new executable (VP Table Launcher.exe) I created (using above non-working code) instead of vp-launch6.exe. All other settings are the same. So essentially I have an .exe launching another .exe. Will that work?

Executable:
C:\Arcade\Visual Pinball\VP Table Launcher.exe

Rom Path:
C:\Arcade\Visual Pinball\Tables

Rom Extensions:
vpt

Execution/Command Line:
"%rom%.%ext%"

Maybe there's another way to do this and I'm just making it more complicated than it needs to be? 

Thanks in advance for any help.


[EDIT] Solved this issue on this thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130016.msg1329961.html#msg1329961

[Howard_Casto]

Well you don't really have to launch it with vp-launch.  You coudl leave this script on all the time and have it press a useless key (like right bracket or something) that wouldn't interfere with operation of other emulators. 

Honestly I'm not sure what your setup is hardware-wise, but if you are using a ipac or keywiz you should be able to setup the shift functions so that when you press 2 and 4, the esc key is pressed.  That's why I didn't add support for exit key combos.   

[Clavius]

I'm in the process of updating lots of stuff on my cabinet, and I just switched to using vp-launch and so far it's working great.  Thanks for the awesome utility! 

One thing I need help with, though, is when I use vp-launch it is showing two windows for a few seconds each.  I'm not sure why.  Here are some pictures I took to show what's happening, and I highlighted the windows with green circles to point them out:
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3641/launcherwindow1.jpg
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8650/launcherwindow2.jpg

I'm using MaLa 1.7.4 and Visual Pinball 9.0.5, with Windows XP SP2 32bit, ArcadeVGA (gen 1), and a Betson Multisync 2914.

[Howard_Casto]

That's not vp launch, that's visual pinball.  Not much I can do unfortuanately... depending upon your setup you might sometimes get errant window while loading. 

[Clavius]

Hmmm... yeah, you're right those are visual pinball windows popping up.  I was previously using something called "PinballWrapper.exe" that was made a long time ago (around 2004 by someone named John according to the readme file) but I have no idea where I found it or if there's an updated version.  When I upgraded MaLa and Visual Pinball to more recent versions it stopped launching a few of the tables in my list but not all of them.  Somehow it was able to hide those windows that are now popping up.  They appear to be *almost* offscreen, maybe they actually were just offscreen before?  Or is there a setting in visual pinball that got changed that allows me to hide those windows?

[Gray_Area]

AHA. That's what I was talking about - those windows - splash screens actually - I assumed the wrapper would *not allow*. So I'm not the only one hosed. Good.

@Clavius: no, the VP devs seem not to really care about the desktop build, so it's stuck in 1999.

[Gray_Area]

So I tried this again, and it's loading the table first, then the 'loading' screen pops in for a microsecond, then the table shows again.

[Wade007]

Grey_Area,
I watched your videos and can see what you were trying to show...table, "Loading", then table.

That is a bit odd.

I don't get that issue at all on my setup. I get "Loading" then Table. Done.

I've testing via VP Launcher and via Mala. Same result.

Maybe there is a setting within VPLauncher that needs to be tweaked? Try running it Windowed mode first..... 

I can send you my settings if that helps.

[Howard_Casto]

It could be a myriad of things.  The table is loading and exiting properly, so be thankful and use it. 

I don't think people understand what a cluster******  visual pinball/pinmame is.  Some table authors write code to change the window focus/position from within their table's script, so authors rename the dmd window, causing hooking errors, ect....  It's more of a game maker engine than a simulator/emulator and thus it's constantly doing unexpected things. 

It could be the setup, it could be the wrapper itself, it could be the os, it could be the vp version, it could be the fe, ect...

I got it to work right on my pcs, and that's really all I can do.  There are too many variables to get the loading routine to look beautiful for everyone, unfortunately.

[spoot]

I don't think people understand what a cluster******  visual pinball/pinmame is.

AHMEN!  Writing up a program to match roms/tables to make hyperpin xml atm and set registry settings last few days on and off.  Certain things have filled me with rage.