Visual Pinball X (Virtual Pinball with Thousands of Free Recreated Tables)

Gravy on 27/08/2021 - 11:51

I did a couple of searches and it seems this free pinball editor and it's related truckload of freely available pinball tables has gone under the radar at OzBargain for some reason? If you have any interest in pinball or like to tinker with stuff then this is for you.

The editor/engine has been in constant development for around 20 years and is constantly evolving. There are literally thousands of free realworld table recreations made by the community as well as some unique tables that never physically existed. Many users actually build freestanding dual/triple or even quad screen cabinets that look like a real pinball machine, complete with analog plungers, force feedback etc . There's also Future Pinball, which is similar but a much smaller community now.

Some good places to get started are www.vpforums.org , www.vpuniverse.com

A good installer to get things up and running including an amazing front end is Baller Installer. https://nailbuster.com/wikipinup/doku.php?id=install_guide

Here's an example of what's possible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni58zkD5oLs

and an example of a cabinet running VPX in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OE6wWCisNE

Anyone else into this stuff?

Free Software/Websites

Comments

  • Switchblade88 on 27/08/2021 - 12:04
    +1

    Do they have Space Cadet - the WinXP one??

    • Gravy on 27/08/2021 - 12:09
      +1

      Ha… funnily enough someone has recreated it yes. Here it is being played in desktop mode but you could also play it fullscreen rotated in cabinet mode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1HXqdGtBBo

      It's really not the best table to show off the power of VPX though.

      Edit: here's another version in fullscreen portrait rotation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez-g0yp4ndE

      • Switchblade88 on 27/08/2021 - 12:20

        This may have given me (yet another) lockdown project…

        Old 24" monitor, a couple of buttons into an Arduino or salvaged keyboard, and I'll have a mini pinball table to entertain the kids (and myself!)

        Hook up a vibration motor that is frequency-activated for genuine feedback underneath. Dunno about a plunger but I can make something similar…

        • Gravy on 27/08/2021 - 12:47

          A KL25Z board is a good buy for connecting up buttons/plungers/motion/nudge sensor. Some ideas for setting it up as a "pinscape" board here. http://mjrnet.org/pinscape/BuildGuideV2/BuildGuide.php?sid=k…

          Generally an exciter speaker is used for vibration and VPX is well made to accommodate that, although can also use electromechanical knockers. If I remember correctly, VPX supports a 7.1 sound system whereby some of the audio channels operate as vibration channels and can send signals to multiple exciter speakers within the cabinet which create vibration, if you have several exciters installed it can even mimic the general location of where on the table the vibrations are eminating from.

          Try and find an old 40 inch 1080P TV and lay it on its back on a desk, then use the 24 inch as a backglass. That creates an even better illusion of the real thing due to the physical size being close to a real pinball (for the playfield anyway).

          I have a 32 inch backglass TV and 39" 1080p tv for playfield.

    • Gravy on 29/08/2021 - 18:20

      Coincidentally, one of the scenes top table builders just released another version of Space Cadet, looks pretty good.

      https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=16…

      https://youtu.be/dRXFcPw_3jQ

  • Adredocto on 27/08/2021 - 13:34

    Pokemon pinball?

    • Gravy on 27/08/2021 - 13:38

      Yeah at least two different versions

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTU4aJ4ZP04

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1-icYd5rSw

      I think these are both fantasy tables that were never actually produced in physical form. Generally the remakes of original tables are the better designed but there are certainly some standout original designs though.

      Some tables are no longer available to download as a big site that used to host them closed down without notice due to some personal issues. Although if you reach out to the community someone will usually have a copy.

  • Chazzozz on 03/09/2021 - 12:18

    This has been one of the many side projects that I've been mentally listing for years. A long time ago when I was right into torrenting I used to have VPX ROMs on the regular list of torrents I was sharing (along with PinMAME and Future Pinball) but I just never got around to doing it. I did go as far as downloading a few plans for cabinet builds, but they ended up on the digitally dusty bookshelves next to the MAME cabinets that I promised myself I'd make 'one day'. (cue eyes rolling…)

    Maybe this is the impetus I need? Screens are cheap & processing power is easy to come by, the most expensive part of the build will likely be the controller hardware plus the materials for the cabinet. If anyone here has built a cabinet then I'd be keen to see it.

  • bazingaa on 11/04/2023 - 11:23

    hey mate! have you built a pin ball machine ? I am thinking about doing a project but costs of power tools sets me back :/
    I have couple of monitors laying by anyway.

    My plan is to use,
    $0 = 24" 1920 x 1080 monitor - table screen
    $0 = 19" 1280 x 1024 monitor - front screen
    $0 = Tiny PC with 6500T (like Dell Optiplex 3040/Lenovo M700 etc)
    $15 = Used 2.1 subwoofer
    $20 = USB Zero Delay Arcade Encoder
    $20 = Button set with LED

    MDF sheets for cabinet = https://www.bunnings.com.au/16mm-mdf-panel-standard-1200-x-9…
    Some Aluminum legs
    Some screws
    Some vinyl stickers printed

    Need Saw and Drill

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join