Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter

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Laythe:

--- Quote from: javeryh on October 04, 2020, 04:43:41 pm ---I just can't get over the level of detail in this project. I am truly in awe every time you update this thread. :cheers:

I've never even messed around with virtual pinball before - where would be a good place to start? Is there one program like MAME that you can play all the tables on?

--- End quote ---

Hehe, thanks!

A good place to start, in my opinion, is VPX. There's a stack of software to get running - the backglass is one program, the vpinmame instance running the rom (if it's an emulated table) is another program, vpx is the physics simulator for the table itself... but a VPX install generally gets you all the pieces you need. I'd use something like https://vpinball.com/VPBdownloads/vpx-installer-10-6-0/ as a starting point.

You can get it running and play it with a keyboard and see if you like it enough to want to get involved. I got to play Malenko's "Gingerballs" at zapcon, and that got me hooked.

You can tinker with it a lot. It's much less "run the emulator and go" than Mame is - which is both good and bad. Good, in that you can physically go in and tinker on the table if there's something you think isn't right about it - I didn't like how the top of the Countdown table I got didn't act like I remember them acting, so I hacked on my version of it in the editor and made it work right - that's cool!. Bad, in that, you might well have to go in and tinker on stuff. :)

javeryh:
Thanks. Looks like I'll be headed down the rabbit hole. These things have always intrigued me even though I never really played pinball as a kid.

Laythe:
Have fun in the vpin rabbit hole! There's a learning curve, but it's interesting. Several forums will be very useful to you - vpforums.org, vpuniverse.com, etc.

I am in the same situation as far as personal history goes. As a kid I was a take-it-or-leave-it player of real pinball machines, I messed around a little, but they didn't grab me like arcade video games did. I think vpin cabinets might be more convincing for casuals like you and I as a result of that... if I'd had a burning passion for it back then, I can imagine where only a very high fidelity reproduction might scratch that nostalgia. As I am, I think fake pinball is really cool. I'm discovering a lot about the real machines while down in this particular rabbit hole.

Laythe:
The side skirts begin to become red.

Here's an early coat going in.

The aluminum rails will be gluing to the grooved section, so I'm leaving them bare wood - at least, as much as I can, they caught a little stray primer and paint, oops.

I have a ton of orange peel, of course - this needs a lot of sanding, a couple more coats of paint, a lot of sanding, then a polish, to match the rest. But, I couldn't resist dropping a flipper button into it and holding the fake side rail in place. It'll look something like this:

Looks a bit pinball-like.

Current status: Chuffed.

LTC:
Looking good. Love seeing the progress.

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