PastorLUL Posted January 15 Posted January 15 (edited) With several recent updates (and thanks to @freezy integrating the newer libserum concentrate) we’ve permanently transitioned to the .cROMc format. Why did we swap over to .cROMc? Since Serum for real pins was undergoing serious development through the PPUC/DMD project ( https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ppuc-dmd-a-new-color-display-alternative ), we needed to drastically reduce the RAM usage with the use of only a Pi Zero 2W (which runs on 512MB ram). So we had to come up with something that would eliminate the massive ram overhead while still keeping the color output and everything else that Serum brings. The older .cRZ format was extremely memory-hungry during gameplay. For example, Tron Legacy had a .cRZ file size of around 40MB, but once loaded, it expanded to nearly 400MB of RAM. That’s a massive overhead. It would cause crashes on vpx standalone for mobile and tablet users, the PPUC/DMD real pinball solution suffered from the same issue. With the new .cROMc format, RAM usage has been reduced by up to 90%. Using Tron Legacy again as an example, instead of ballooning to 400MB, it now uses only ~40MB of RAM—matching the .cROMc file size exactly. A huge improvement! A big thanks goes to @mk47 this transition wouldn’t have been possible without his work. How to update and take advantage of .cROMc? The following files need to be removed or replaced: - First, remove all zedmd dll / serum dll files from your VPinMame folder if there are any. - https://github.com/freezy/dmd-extensions/releases Install the x86 (32 bit) or x64 (64 bit) version depending on your setup, then replace the installed dmddevice dll file in your VPinMame folder with the new one. - https://github.com/PPUC/libserum/releases Install the x86 (32 bit) or x64 (64 bit) version depending on your setup, then place the newly installed serum dll file in your VPinMame folder. - https://github.com/vpinball/pinmame/releases before installing, check if it already works without getting the new VPinMame version. Otherwise get the latest one here (same process, overwrite existing VPinMame dll and insert new setup.exe) Edited January 18 by PastorLUL
PastorLUL Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 57 minutes ago, Miguelo said: Great!!! Is there a way of convert the existing files? If with existing files you mean a regular .cRZ: it will happen on it's own! If you run the latest DMDext version and latest Serum dll then .cROMc will magically appear in your colorization folders. latest serum dll: https://github.com/PPUC/libserum/releases
Cliffy Posted January 15 Posted January 15 1 hour ago, Miguelo said: Great!!! Is there a way of convert the existing files? As @PastorLUL said the first time you run a table with a crz it will take a few seconds longer for the table to finish starting up. This the the dll converting the crz in the background. The next time you start it up it will start as quickly as before. What I do afterwards is go into the altcolor folder and rename the leftover crz with a .hold on the end - just in case
CinnamonBun Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Is there a simple set of steps to follow to be able to take advantage of this? Naturally we would be taking a backup before making changes, but having some guidance rather than blindly replacing or removing files would be super useful 🙂
PastorLUL Posted January 18 Author Posted January 18 On 1/15/2026 at 10:55 PM, CinnamonBun said: Is there a simple set of steps to follow to be able to take advantage of this? Naturally we would be taking a backup before making changes, but having some guidance rather than blindly replacing or removing files would be super useful 🙂 Hi, I edited the first post with some comments on how to update.
Tikimaster Posted January 18 Posted January 18 What are the libserum files for? I updated freezy and vpinmame and it seems to be fine here on desktop..
PastorLUL Posted January 18 Author Posted January 18 (edited) 3 hours ago, Tikimaster said: What are the libserum files for? I updated freezy and vpinmame and it seems to be fine here on desktop.. Unfortunately 192x64 sega games were crashing on boot, so an extra libserum update was required. Hence the reason why I linked libserum too 😬 Edited January 18 by PastorLUL
Tikimaster Posted January 18 Posted January 18 Ah, thats for Sega. Thankyou very much for this Info. Now I understand and can handle it.
Spacegoogie Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Sorry, but how do I install this?: libserum-2.5.2-win-x64? Just dropping the files into the Vpin folder? Thanks!
Spacegoogie Posted January 19 Posted January 19 4 minutes ago, Spacegoogie said: Sorry, but how do I install this?: libserum-2.5.2-win-x64? Just dropping the files into the Vpin folder? Thanks! Never mind guys sorry. Don't wake & bake and start messing with files lol....
Tikimaster Posted January 19 Posted January 19 7 minutes ago, Spacegoogie said: Sorry, but how do I install this?: libserum-2.5.2-win-x64? Just dropping the files into the Vpin folder? VpinMame folder..
bigonia1 Posted February 15 Posted February 15 I have an issue that while using the new DmdDevice64.dll (v2.4.0), .cRomc works but older .pac files do not anymore. Is there a way to get both working?
Tikimaster Posted February 15 Posted February 15 15 minutes ago, bigonia1 said: Is there a way to get both working? check your dmddevice.ini for these lines: ; the key to decrypt PAC files, in hex. vni.key = f0ad135937ffa111c60b24d88ebb2e59
bigonia1 Posted February 15 Posted February 15 5 minutes ago, Tikimaster said: check your dmddevice.ini for these lines: ; the key to decrypt PAC files, in hex. vni.key = f0ad135937ffa111c60b24d88ebb2e59 Thank you very much, that fixed my problem. Hope you have a great day!
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