BAM + Future Pinball = Egg-shaped ball?

DJM468 · May 8, 2024

So I never bothered with BAM in the past, as I never had a specific need that it would address. Then I tried out "Arcade Mode" and found that the default view of every table was scrunched up in the top corner. I resized and repositioned one table and realized there had to be a better way than to do that for every FPT.

I looked around the settings, browsed forums, etc., but nobody had an answer, other than the usual "Use BAM". Perhaps there is no other answer, as the development of FP was abandoned ages ago.

So I added BAM. I wasn't sure what it could do to "fix" the tables, as they apparently store the size and position of the playfield in the FPT file. But, sure enough, it did allow me to see every table, without doing much of anything. Great. Of course, it also added its fair share of complications that I've worked through and it seemed like the effort was worth it.

But then I noticed that the pinball was egg-shaped and that some tables appeared stretched or cropped and... right back where I started. Adjusting one table at a time "works" (though it is a fairly maddening process), but saving the result globally (by going back in the menus to find the "Save as Default" item) is not a solution, as it seems every table has its own sizing requirements.

I've read numerous threads about this on various forums and one example I found was for some "Star Wars Death Star Assault" table that supposedly would be a perfect layout to save globally and... no. That one had a slightly oblong pinball as well and adjusting it and saving globally caused other tables to get cropped.

So I've always been of the opinion that FP is relatively useless (certainly as compared to VP) and this BAM thing did make things a little easier to configure (and seems to have sane defaults that make the playfields visible), but I still have a pile of tables with egg-shaped pinballs and playfields that look suspiciously warped.

Is FP just a complete waste of time, or is it just me? I've got to missing something here.

Thanks in advance for any clues!

PS. Is there official documentation for BAM anywhere? I've read George's guides and found a bunch of links to videos (!), but just trying to track down the command line options has been a major pain. For example, the one that keeps the fploader in memory; it took me a while to track down an example of that in some random forum post and that one is crucial when launching from front-ends (at least from HS and I expect Popper too). So despite the much-appreciated efforts, setting this thing up is still a pain, even for the initiated.

Edited May 8, 2024 by DJM468

**TerryRed** · May 9, 2024

You have spent a long time learning how VPX works. Don't apply that to FP as it's a completely different app. It's not harder to use (its simpler tbh)... you just need to understand how it works... just like you did to get the many components of VP working.

FP and BAM Essentials AIO

Do yourself a favor and install a "fresh / new" and up to date install of FP and BAM "correctly" by installing the latest "FP and BAM Essentials AIO" (which has everything updated in one zip file). This will include the latest guides in PDF form for most of what you need to know. It's not hard and only takes minutes to install and setup. I also have videos that you can use to go along with each guide (but always follow the written guide!)

https://vpuniverse.com/files/file/14807-future-pinball-and-bam-essentials-all-in-one-complete/

Follow the included "Install Guide" exactly, and especially don't forget to install the BAM settings files (for the mode you use, desktop / cabinet), and to use the "required" FP video settings. (don't just do your own thing). This will install proper "default" BAM settings that will give you a good starting point to not have an egg shaped ball in cabinet mode. Each table run for the first time will use these new settings (and save them to the BAM \ CFG folder for each table). That said, depending on the table (they aren't all the same size) you may still need to slightly adjust some tables pov to your own preference for how they fit, etc.

Read the included Info Guide (and others as needed) for more info on how FP and BAM works, how to properly run it and close it (it matters), where to get tables, how to install them correctly, etc.

DO NOT go downloading all the exact same "real" pin recreations on FP (that you would have played on VP) assuming they are all up to date. Most of them are not! FP can still run all tables going back to 2005... so many ppl tend to download a bunch of tables not realizing they are very old! That is like trying to run a VP8 table on VPX! (VP has terrible backwards compatibility, so that's why you tend to only see newer tables uploaded for it, as VPX can't run older tables)

FP is more known for original tables, as they don't use roms like VP does.

"Start" with installing PinEvent tables first, as they are fully updated with modern (good) FizX physics, and lighting, and features, etc. If you like EM tables, Popotte has updated some of his as well for FizX. Stick with tables updated for FizX at first, as this means they are using newer physics closer to nFozzy physics on VPX. Other tables are a wild card (some good, some not complete, some a mess, etc) including some newer uploads.

All PinEvent tables come with their own BAM CFG files (that store the pov) which are copied to the BAM \ CFG folder (and need to be the same name as the table filename). This will ensure the table looks correct to start with (and you can still adjust if you want after). Each PinEvent table also has included Install Instructions that tell you everything you need to know for using / running the table correctly.

https://vpuniverse.com/profile/10155-terryred/?tab=node_filestabprofile_filesTab

1000's of people have been using FP correctly for years. They just needed to take the time to properly install and set it up, and to install and use tables, etc correctly. The included Guides should help you with that, if you follow them in order, and don't take shortcuts.

This is how FP tables should look when installed correctly (and using included CFG file for PinEvent tables). No egg shaped ball.