Flickerin DMD with "Creature from the Black Lagoon"

[Calafati]

Hi there, after installing/playing the mentioned GREAT VPW-table I found that the display ist flickering nearly all the time and sometimes is "cut off" in the lower half. 

A little mysterious is, that I have this issue in other versions of this tablet too 🤔, its just that I discovered it after launching the VPW-version. I already de- and reinstalled the ROM but without an effect?

What can I do?

Thanks and greets

Klaus

[outhere]

You are on the Required Software (64-bit versions): in (About This File) on the download page for this game

[Tikimaster]

3 hours ago, Calafati said:

I already de- and reinstalled the ROM but without an effect?

Be sure to have the recommended Version of VPmame and latest flexdmd

[Calafati]

I confess I completely have overseen that new PinMame-Version, therefore it would be okay only for the VPW-table...

But what I am wondering about is that I also have that issue on an older CFTBL-Version, too?

And - to be honest - I cannot remember having that kind of flickering before?!

[Tikimaster]

2 hours ago, Calafati said:

But what I am wondering about is that I also have that issue on an older CFTBL-Version, too?

That means, your problem has nothing does not come from the table or from rom, if you use the same for both tables. Hope, its running again..

[Calafati]

Unfortunately not, both are still flickering. I set up my system based on the Baller Installer 2501 some days ago. It might be pure chance, that I discovered this after installing the VPW-table, but as it is one of my all time favourites, I also played my "older table" very often without recognizing that flickering, therefore it remains a little mysterious.

Strangely it is (respectively seems to be) only CFTBL in general, which ist affected by this flickering, all other tables with similar DMD (e.g. Monster Bash, Theater oM, Johnny M. or other tables) are running fine.

 

Edited June 6, 2025 by Calafati

[fudgeycaca]

I'm having this issue as well.  Just rebuilt my rig within the last week using the same Baller installer as you.  I also have the VPW and a Black & White mod of CFTBL loaded.  Initially, they both worked fine.  While playing the B&W Mod, the DMD started glitching out, lagging behind, overlaying frames etc....  I exited, rebooted the computer, tested again.... same problem.  I tested the VPW version, and the same thing was happening, so the issue appears to be following the ROM.  (And like you, this problem only affects CFTBL!)

 

I know you didn't have any luck replacing the ROM, but maybe the NVRAM is corrupted?

 

As for the root cause of the corrupted ROM\NVRAM, I suspect some part of the mandatory upgraded components don't match what we have installed after the fresh Baller Installer build, which led to unexpected handling of data that then affected data shared by all versions of the table.  The baller installer definitely only had a release candidate VPX 10.8 build and I'm not sure what version VPinMame or B2S are included.  Double check everything.

 

Required Software (64-bit versions):

VPX 10.8.0 or later: https://github.com/vpinball/vpinball/releases/tag/v10.8.0-2051-28dd6c3
VPinMame 3.7.0.43 or later recommended: https://github.com/vpinball/pinmame/actions/runs/15285924979

B2S Server 2.1.3 or later (if B2S used): https://github.com/vpinball/b2s-backglass/releases/tag/v2.1.3

Edited June 8, 2025 by fudgeycaca

[Tikimaster]

Did you update dmdext to v2.3.1? No clue, just a guess..

[Calafati]

As I said, it is very strange that even with the older table I have the same problem (even if not discovered before) and this makes me thinking, that the whole problem is not depending from the latest PinMame-Version.

But if I understood the whole thing right, out of the baller-package I cannot update a single part of it, therefore I fear I have simply to wait...

[fudgeycaca]

So I just used the online updater in the Pinup Popper Configuration app, it updated VPX, VPinMame, B2S Server etc... etc... but it's not fixing anything. 

 

Upon further testing, this problem is not isolated to just CFTBL.  Every table I'm testing is misbehaving, and it makes no sense based on the build steps I follower (detailed at the end).  I've built 3 vPIN environments with Baller Installer in the last 3 years, but this is the first one on WIN 11.  Every archive was unblocked before extraction, vPIN apps haven't been configured to Run As Admin, there is no Antivirus beyond Defender (which is disabled and has exceptions configured for Apps and Directories) the system was connected to the internet during Baller installation....... 

 

First I tested the Original title Clue w/ PuP Pack.  Standard targets and ramps worked as expected, callouts seemed to be correct, but then a mode lit and the DMD text was getting stuck on screen.  The DMD was displaying "feed the dogs 1" but it should have disappeared after the countdown completed.  After I successfully locked the ball to feed the dogs, the display updated to say "Feed the dogs 30" and counted down.  In the meantime, the ball drained, but the "feed the dogs" text remained stuck.  I then launched Atlantis. existing coins were present in my NVRAM as expected, so I started a brand new game and the immediate callout was "Go for level 3" and the playfield lights reflected that level 3 was in process, but levels 1 and 2 weren't illuminated solid like you'd expect at that game state.  The game is supposed to be initialized to Level 1 at game start.  I then launched AFM and a variety of lights were illuminated on the field that shouldn't be there for a fresh game.  Upon draining the ball a few seconds later, the score tally seemed suspiciously higher than expected.

 

TL;DR - Is something just seriously screwed up here?   I doubt it's just a DMD issue since it's affecting game states as though the emulation is screwed up, not merely an issue of bad data sent to DMD or displayed by DMD.  Should I reinstall vPinMAME?  Or completely reinstall Baller Installer???  

 

For background, I had a fully built out Win10 system since 2022 that was functional and backed up, but the motherboard died on me.  So this is a new build on a different computer:

1. Brand new SSD, WIN 11 Pro install
2. Defender Firewall & Antivirus disabled
3. All system firmware and drivers installed
4. Baller Installer latest release installed and configured https://popupdates.nailbuster.com/inst/PinUP_Popper_Baller_Installer_2501.exe
5. Exceptions entered into Defender Antivirus for Pinup folder on desktop, all of the .EXEs contained within, as well as the c:\vPinball folder and each of the subdirectories

 

After that, I went through to configure my audio, video, and input settings for VPX and Popper, copied over all my backed up data (good working ROMs, tables, B2S backglasses, script files, UltraDMD folders, Popper assets, PuP folders, VPMAlias file etc.....  Spent a couple days spot-testing some tables, they appeared to be working as expected and going through all modes completely.  Next I went through to re-build my popper playlists and scrape all the data (forgot to back those up.....).  Continued testing, everything working fine including PuP packs, the only sticking point was that I had to go through and disable External DMD for many tables, and adjust virtual DMD positioning for many others.  So I've been going through one by one to do so.....  And then suddenly I noticed the CFTBL DMD going on the fritz.....

 

Not sure where to go from here, except to start all over from scratch again.... But I'm not sure what went wrong to begin with............

 

EDIT:  Completed more testing

Renaming and regenerating the NVRAM files for AFM and Atlantis didn't fix it.  Really at a loss for what could be going on.  Even disconnected the USB connection to my AtGames Legends Pinball cabinet to rule out any form of interference from the USB data, but there was no change.  Disabled the Defender Antivirus feature that auto-reenables.... tested while it was disabled, no change.  The computer hardware isn't faulty, I made this post from the existing WIN11 partition on another drive...

Edited June 8, 2025 by fudgeycaca

[fudgeycaca]

3 hours ago, Calafati said:

As I said, it is very strange that even with the older table I have the same problem (even if not discovered before) and this makes me thinking, that the whole problem is not depending from the latest PinMame-Version.

But if I understood the whole thing right, out of the baller-package I cannot update a single part of it, therefore I fear I have simply to wait...

While the Nailbuster site does say on the Baller Installer page that you should not perform manual installations for updates, you can (and should) absolutely use the internet updater inside the Pinup Config app. 

 

Go to the section near the bottom "Installing the latest PinUP Updates (FINAL STEP)"

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

[Calafati]

"Go to the section near the bottom "Installing the latest PinUP Updates (FINAL STEP)"

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

 

Many thanks for this helpful information, thats great news I've completely overseen 🍻.

[fudgeycaca]

@Calafati I ended up fixing my issue.  Try testing your older CFTBL table in VPX10.8 directly, and without the B2S file.  This will test that the emulation is properly handling the ROM data.

 

On my system I noticed it was more than just a flickering DMD.... The game states were all screwy, modes not progressing normally etc.....  the one that stood out for me was Atlantis.  The game would immediately call-out "go for level 3" on start, when it should be initializing back to 1 every time.  Even when I tested without the B2s file, it persisted.   Turns out something fundamental was corrupted.  Can't say exactly (though I suspect something in vPINMAME....), but a re-install of Baller Installer fixed it for me.  

 

I re-tested after the fresh install and all was good.  Then I installed the web updates from the Popper Config, tested again and it was still good.

 

Warning: it's not recommended to merely run Baller Installer again, some config files and the entire Popper dB will be lost in the process.  Best practice is to do a clean install, but I've re-run the Installer before to successfully fix a botched install.

[Calafati]

Sorry for my late reply.

It is scary and funny at the same time: the flickering is gone! Don´t ask me why...

I just downloaded the last VPW-wonder "Scared Stiff" (recommending the same new PinMame version if I remember it correct). I already expected the same flickering for this reason but fortunately everything worked. Motivated through the same constellation as for CFTBL I started that table again and: flickering gone! This not only for the VPW-version but also on my older one I Had the Same issue with... 😊👍

To be honest at the moment I do not have the time to investigate deeper, but I am very happy with the given result.

 

@fudgeyaca: But nice to hear that also your issue on that table is fixed 👍

Time to go hunting for the next highscore!!!

🍻

Edited June 25, 2025 by Calafati