MEEP: A Minimal Mini-VPin Project [Completed!]

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jeremymtc:
Except for a couple of minor parts that will never be seen, it's finished! Here's some pics:

Playfield glare is not as bad as it appears in photos, but maybe I'll take some nighttime pics soon.

Functional lockplate with updated control panel

Volume control at top, AC cord exit at bottom, both finished with 35mm desk grommets

I've really enjoyed this build, even though it has been frustrating at times. It's a ton of fun in action.

Thanks for following along!

javeryh:
This is beautiful. It's a really compact design too - perfect if you don't have room for a full sized machine. How does it feel to play?

You have to post a video of it in action - boot up, game select and some demos! :cheers:

minorhero:

--- Quote from: jeremymtc on October 13, 2024, 02:40:16 pm ---Thanks, minorhero! Very kind.

My number one tip for a vpin would be to use Windows instead of Linux. My #2 tip would be to plan your build around standard PC parts with a discrete GPU instead of a mini-PC. Basically, do everything exactly opposite to what I've done and you should be golden :laugh2:

I had asked a similar question here in the software forum when I was in the planning stages for this one, but it ended up more a monologue in which I answered my own question and gave some reasoning for it.

Why use Windows? Because 97% of the visual pinball speaking world is pretty sure that you're using Windows, and that's where all of the software, utilities, features and toys are located.

Why use standard PC components? Because you won't be artificially constrained by hardware and have greater upgrade potential.

A third consideration would be to have clear target for your goals before budgeting for a machine. A 4K resolution build will cost (at least) an order of magnitude more than a 1440 or 1080p build due to the PC hardware and display required, and for that reason it doesn't really make a lot of sense to try to build a 4K mini - you're much better off going full size at that point.

I don't regret the hardware or software choices made for this build one bit, and quite the contrary, I'm really stoked on this machine. But, it was more an exercise in learning and hacking which I find to be enjoyable in a kind of masochistic way, and it enabled me to build the machine for astonishingly little cost (less than $75 USD in direct costs, and well under $200 in total if repurposed existing parts are taken into account).

Hope this helps in some way! :cheers:

--- End quote ---

This is super helpful! Thank you! The final pictures look great, congratulations on an awesome build!

jeremymtc:
Thanks fellas :cheers:

Yes, will try to get some decent video footage up soon.

jeremymtc:
Heya folks. Here's some video footage of the cab in operation. Sorry for the long delay in getting this up - got called out of town and then broke the screen my phone, and I'm sure that the video quality hasn't been improved by the fact that I couldn't really see what I was recording.

YouTube Video

Cold bootup time is right about 40 seconds. Entering and resuming from suspend only takes a couple of seconds and is the normal mode of operation; it only needs a cold boot after it's been unplugged from the wall. All in all the machine is pretty snappy and runs well.

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