Looking for setup clarity on VPX 10.8.1 ( ColorROMs, and Video Settings)

[Spacegoogie]

Hey everyone,

I currently have most of my tables up and running ion BGFX 10.8.1. Everything looks amazing and runs very smooth when it does. I seem to have got it working with ColorROMs, with only a few exceptions. However, I have gone through so many trial and error combinations of settings that I am not 100% sure which options are doing the heavy lifting or why.

People have been asking me for help setting up their systems, and I want to make sure I give proper advice rather than just random trial combinations. I am hoping to get some solid technical insight on what specific 10.8.1 settings do and why certain choices are recommended.

Here are the main areas I am trying to get clear, definitive guidance on:

1. BGFX Video & Engine Settings

Video API Choice: Under the new BGFX engine, what are the exact trade offs between DirectX 11, DirectX 12, and Vulkan for stability vs performance?

Frame Pacing / VSync: How does BGFX handle frame presentation compared to legacy GL/DX9, and what is the optimal setup for smooth ball movement without introducing input lag?

Max Texture Dimension: What is the best standard setting to prevent running out of VRAM while keeping graphics looking sharp?

2. VPinMAME & ColorROM Setup

AltColor vs. Serum: What is the recommended configuration path and options that should and shouldn't be toggled in 10.8.1 for getting ColorROMs (cPAC, Serum, AltColor) running smoothly across all tables?

dmddevice.ini & DMD Extender: What core settings in dmddevice.ini need to be enabled or disabled to ensure proper rendering without crashing or dropping frames?

3. Controls & New Internal Systems

Nudge & Accelerometers: Since legacy nudge scripts are obsolete in 10.8.1, what is the proper way to calibrate native tilt and gain directly within VPX?

Global vs. Per-Table INIs: How do the new .ini files in %appdata%\VPinballX interact with per-table .ini files when troubleshooting a single broken table?

If anyone can share a breakdown of what these settings actually do under the hood in 10.8.1, or point toward a clear configuration reference, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks again!

Cheers!

[ejvfx]

I'm not an expert on 10.8.1 but I can share that I've successfully upgraded both my cabinets. Most of my tables looked wrong after the initial update due to my per-table .ini files and I've spent some time going through each table to correct them.

 

-First, I set up my global cabinet settings as precisely as I could. 

-Then I ran a simple script to strip all the old cabinet values baked in my old .ini files

-Then I loaded each table and tweaked the POV values to taste.

-Lastly, I once again stripped all the per-table ini files of the cabinet values (so the global values govern things)

 

The good news is that doing all this meant that when I copied the new ini files to my 2nd cabinet (which has a different size/resolution playfield) everything loads up perfectly and I haven't needed to change any POV values for the 2nd cab.

 

I also had a small number of tables that loaded very dark. I haven't completely figured out what causes it but it seems to be related to EmissionScale being set on certain tables. Changing those settings seems to resolve it.

 

I've also run across a few tables that load with errors in the new VPX version, which worked fine before. I need to spend some time sorting those out.

[Spacegoogie]

Thanks for the info. All and any helps. I have had some of the same issues, Dark tables (southpark) is one of them. I started a whole new setup. Took my 700 tables and pinmame folder and put them into the new 10.8.1 setup.

My setup is a VR so somethings might be a bit different. Also some tables just wont show a DMD. I make script adjustments, try multiple things but some tables no go, only a few.

 

Overall very happy with BGFX 10.8.1. It would just be nice if there was a breakdown of what all the setting are for and do, what to and not to use.

In VR I was so taken back by the performance and quality of 10.8.1 that I started doing clips of tables in VR to showcase the amazing work this community puts into these tables!

> https://www.youtube.com/@VPXVRC/shorts

 

 

Thanks again for the info!

Cheers!