New person experience

[lostkid0]

I recently got into pinball, and I love the idea that we can enjoy some of these tables that we love right at home. I started looking into what exists for it, and found this site.

 

My background - electronics technician for 20 years, been using computers since I had to boot to DOS 6.2 in order to save the 4MB of RAM on my 486 to play games. I've used computers every day of my life.

 

I head into this place and I want to see how to play. I see a tutorial section. The tutorial section does not show how to make something run. I see a table section, I get a couple tables. I have no idea why some are 1.6Gb, some are 80Mb. I don't know what a Pupack is. Sometimes I get an external site. I realize I need a platform and go to download that and am presented with 20 different releases of VPinball, each with 8 different versions for debug and x64 x86 etc. I get one. I try to run it and it looks like windows 3.1 software. I have no idea how to run it. I try a table, error line 254, SpBall. Error line 3732 objrtx1. Table doesn't work. Try another table. I finally get James Bond to start. Several minutes later, I've managed to add credits, still can't get the game to actually start.

 

I don't get it. Man, I want to put in the effort, but literally nothing is out there to show someone how to do the very basics. The UI itself is unintuitive. The formats appear to be completely random with no standardization. It wasn't until I'd been on the site for an hour before I even realized that it wasn't a platform similar to PinballFX, but actually something to lay a screen down and treat as an actual table, during a 23 minute installation instruction video. I haven't even tried doing any dot matrix or fancy physics packages that people mention on the comments. I have a VR headset, and I love the idea of doing it in there. But I can't even manage to get the desktop working at all. 

 

How can you get people to get started with your community when the gatekeeping is so high? I swear I'm a pretty bright guy, and very experienced. I've spent plenty of time looking for codecs once upon a time. But there's zero effort to let people in.

 

It's so clear that there are a ton of dedicated people putting in a ton of work to make brilliant tables and not asking for anything in return and god bless them for that. And I feel pretty bad that I'm just shut out from it. 

 

[Dazz]

Hello @lostkid0 and welcome to the deepest rabbit hole on the interwebs... 

 

Our #1 rule of this hobby is that you DO NOT DOWNLOAD any packs that include tables, roms, or other media.  DO NOT PURCHASE or pay for any links to download, or pre-loaded hard drives.  These are against the hobby rules and are outdated before you even receive it.  It is recommended to just start out and download only what files you need for that specific game.  Don't download tons of games as it only causes confusion when starting out. 

There is a lot to the hobby of digital pinball simulation.  Many different setups, from single screen and Virtual Reality, to full-sized cabinets with multiple screens and full force feedback systems.  It can be very daunting to a new person just looking to get setup...  Personally I'd start with the Pinup Popper Baller Installer.  Pinup Popper is a frontend for navigating your games to play, but it installs and helps setup the necessary MULTIPLE pieces of software needed.  This page should have everything you need to get installed and running quickly.

https://www.nailbuster.com/wikipinup/doku.php?id=baller_installer

 

Understand that MOST tables require multiple files to be downloaded... 

Table / .VPX file - this is the main table
PinMAME Roms - For MOST tables you will also need the ROM.  The ROM is the software that is dumped from the original game boards from the machines.

B2S / DirectB2S - These are the backglass files for the individual game.

I highly suggest watching some of the videos on the linked page above.  Also, Youtube is an excellent source of information.  We have some amazing creators in this hobby.
 

[TerryRed]

On the other side of the fence... if you want to try Future Pinball and its newest (updated) tables... everything you need (not including the table themselves) is all in one package, with Install, Setup, Help and FAQ, VR and other guides all packaged together to have everything you need in one folder. This gets updated regularly.

 

Get the Future Pinball and BAM Essentials AIO here:

 

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

 

For a small selection of updated tables, start with PinEvent tables here, then go with other tables that are updated for FizX physics:

 

https://vpuniverse.com/profile/10155-terryred/content/?type=downloads_file&change_section=1

 

Edited September 21, 2024 by TerryRed

[Supergibson]

Seconding what both Dazz and Terry posted here. If you don't want to tinker and get into the nuts and bolts of it manually, Baller Installer and/or FP All in One are the way to go. Understand that most of the functionality of these amazing platforms was built by the community, piece by piece, adding more and more to the experience of virtual pinball. In turn, the pieces need to be assemble, carefully like a flat pack piece of furniture. Miss one step and you might have to take it all apart and start over. Those installers do most of the heavy lifting for you.

 

Here's my top 4 recommendations:

 

#1 = Take it slow. There are so many variables in people's setups and configurations and this is first and foremost a creator's program. But the packaged installs make things easier.

 

#2 - Take is slow again - Those really long install videos and detailed step by step instructions are key to being successful. Don't rush, don't try to take shortcuts. Follow every step carefully.

 

#3 - Don't struggle alone (unless you want to). This community, through VPUniverse, VPForums and the plethora of social media groups is incredibly welcoming. I have always been blown away with the amount of time that other people are willing to dedicate to helping others. This supportive nature extends into becoming a creator if you ever want to go down that path. Super generous people giving their time left and right.

 

#4 - For tables, understand that some may not have been kept up to date and may be lagging in compatibility. Start with some of the latest releases before expanding beyond. Build your collection slowly and intentionally. Don't just try to hoover the internet for each and every table. Understand that each table will need tweaking and adjusting based on your particular setup and screen configuration.

 

So with that I will repeat #3 in saying, ask questions, get support. So many of us are here to help.

 

Good luck on your journey down the VPin rabbit hole, as Dazz mentioned above. It's a wild ride but it's worth it!

 

 

[Jeffexit7]

Supergibson, thank you for this. I just started with an ATGames pinball and recently added a VIBS board, gaming computer and use Steam/Pinball FX3. I would love to get into some of the tables on this awesome site. Would your suggestions above apply to get started? Thank you!

[luckyarmpit]

I also started with what I call the "poor man's cab", at legends hd machine.  Bought when they first came out from Sam's Club.  If I remember correctly, paid a little over $400 for it

(sams ran a special).  But, have been playing virtual pinball for a long time on a pc.  In april of this year, decided to add vibs board and gaming pc to the cabinet.  After a week of messing around

with pinup popper baller installer, got things figured out and the front end is fantastic!!!!  Best thing to add to your legends cabinet, get rid of the flipper micro switches and get a pair of

leaf switches!  Makes playing pinball a real treat in that there is hardly any lag whatsoever when using flippers.  Leaf switches are cheap and easy to install on your at legends machine.

I used you tube videos for help installing all kinds of stuff for my virtual pinball machine.  I like my tables to look like from what I remember playing them years ago.  I like late 70's and 80's machine.

Buddies will come over and all they want to play is pinball....( i have a man cave with pool table, darts, shuffleboard, 2 arcade machines and 2 real pinball machines)  they like the virtual pinball better because

I have pinbot, xenon and playboy tables installed.  We have a blast playing those!

It took me a long time to get my tables looking how I like (stretching, lighting, etc.).  Also, learned quite a bit in the process.  So, take it slowly....build your collection and most of all, have a blast in your endeavor!

 

Lucky....

[Tikimaster]

On 9/20/2024 at 9:58 PM, lostkid0 said:

but literally nothing is out there to show someone how to do the very basics.

1. Install Visual Pinball with the installer found at the top of this page:
https://github.com/vpinball/vpinball/releases/tag/10.7.3

2. Read this page. Watch the video to get an idea how to update and register the components. check for newest update files
https://github.com/vpinball/b2s-backglass/wiki/64bit-VPX-Pincab-Setup-Guide
3. Follow the instructions ...

ask questions if you have problems..
The whole system with all components is not easy to understand. Take time. Read a lot.

Edited October 2, 2024 by Tikimaster