Suggestions for cabinets

[LoadedWeapon]

I use this in hyperpin with no problems and just set my magna save buttons to up and down and flippers to left and right so the menu is not a problem but I would like to see custom control support..
I think DMD support is the main request ATM from cab users all the other stuff has a workaround..
I would really like to launch tables directly tho

[Solitude]

Zen if you could post us with an update if any of these things are being worked on atm or planned for the near future I know we would love to know.. Thank you!

1. DMD move to a second screen/support for custom dmd sizes?
2. Key remap for custom controls?
3. Audio/Music menu options on/off control
4. Option to turn off the auto zoom/like plunger and back of the table or Cutscenes?
5. Tables with extra small games/videos cutscenes switched to a 2nd monitor?
6. Be able to launch/exit tables without going thru the main menu?
7. Ledwiz support?

Solitude any word on any of this stuff? just a simple yea they working on for future patches or no not right now maybe later...

I believe we're still working on game fixes at this point. Of that list I think 4, 5, and 7 will be the most difficult for us.

[LoadedWeapon]

I believe we're still working on game fixes at this point. Of that list I think 4, 5, and 7 will be the most difficult for us.

Thank you! as long as we could get DMD and control support I'm sure people will love you for it... I know I will

[Roo5676]

I believe we're still working on game fixes at this point. Of that list I think 4, 5, and 7 will be the most difficult for us.

I can see how evaluating/changing/testing all the different event cameras could be a pain, but if you could at least have an option to turn off the zoom to the plunger cameras, that would be great.

A few of them are actually borderline broken in portrait mode right now. The worst one I know of is the "max thrust" mode in the left plunger on Boba Fett. After you launch the ball, the camera stays zoomed in on the plunger for like a full second while the ball is loose on the playfield over by the right lanes and flipper (off the screen). I think there was one other one kind of like this, but I can't remember right now.

Then there are all the ones where you have to press a flipper to see which skillshot to hit (e.g. Death Race mission on Ghost Rider), which is kind of annoying when you would be able to see the whole table in portrait mode anyway. But on some of them (like Blade, I believe), that doesn't work (probably because you can see the skillshot targets from the plunger cam in a normal landscape view?), so there is no way to see which skillshot light is lit while stuck in the plunger cam.

The skillshot ones I can live with, but I hate it when it's stuck in the plunger cam while the ball is loose. It seems like disabling the plunger cam would be easier than trying to tweak them all for portrait?

[Zarquon]

I use this in hyperpin with no problems and just set my magna save buttons to up and down and flippers to left and right so the menu is not a problem but I would like to see custom control support..
I think DMD support is the main request ATM from cab users all the other stuff has a workaround..
I would really like to launch tables directly tho

Might be fine if you have magna save buttons, if you don't not so much. Also I would also argue it is not very intuitive to use buttons on the left and right of a cabinet for up and down. This is why I would like the navigation simplified to less buttons in a cabinet. Doesn't mean up and down have to be eliminated but would be nice if left and right were augmented.

[LoadedWeapon]

Might be fine if you have magna save buttons, if you don't not so much. Also I would also argue it is not very intuitive to use buttons on the left and right of a cabinet for up and down. This is why I would like the navigation simplified to less buttons in a cabinet. Doesn't mean up and down have to be eliminated but would be nice if left and right were augmented.

Yea and im sure it won't be to hard for them to add custom key controls.. And even better if we get to launch right into the table we want to play.

[markmon]

I believe we're still working on game fixes at this point. Of that list I think 4, 5, and 7 will be the most difficult for us.

And for #4, I think it's nice if launching in this manner bypasses all the logos and critical that exiting from the table exits the app. So it makes it more complicated I think.

[Dazz007]

Since your the best

Since your the best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPcXImThU5Q

thx

[DYSEQTA]

I'm guessing you've never owned or played a cabinet that has LEDWiz support. There's nothing silly about flashers (and strobes), which I might add from first hand experience are awesome, despite the fact that they aren't physically located on the table. You can't really emulate flashing lights properly on a TV screen/monitor. There is no substitute for the real thing. Having them adds an extra level of sensory feedback to the gameplay.

But LEDWiz support goes beyond just flashing lights. Force feedback would be an even bigger advantage of the LEDWiz support. Again, if you haven't played a full featured vpin with force feedback (I'm guessing you haven't based on the fact that you didn't even bring up force feedback when making your point), you won't be able to truly relate to how much it enhances the game play experience.

Also, I'm not sure I'd say 'very few' cabinet owners have a real DMD. Russ has sold hundreds of his PinDMD boards already. They have been selling so fast he hasn't been able to keep up with the demand thus far. He is already working with Zen on support, and I doubt it will be very difficult to implement. I think it will be an awesome addition.

I realize that the folks that don't have cabinets are probably the ones that will be quick to shoot down adding such features. It's natural I suppose. There's nothing in it for them. But as a cabinet owner, I welcome such support, and if they add it, I will be more than willing to reciprocate by using my cabinet to showcase their game. Win-win.

I recognize that cabinets, in the scheme of things, would still be considered a niche market. But Zen are already positioned for the masses. The niche markets are what remains, and oh, by the way, they are probably among the most passionate of all pin-heads and most apt to spread the word.

Pinball itself has become a niche and a dying one at that, for many years. Zen needs to take every angle possible to continue pinball's revitalization. No stone should be left unturned. Their mantra is 'pinball everywhere...' That definitely should include the cabinets that are purpose built for the job.

There's already tons of tables out, and Zen have obviously already promised more. Tables are a given. These extra things are what will take the game to another level, open it up to a new user base and drive interest in the game from a new angle. I think their tables running in their full glory with cabinet features would generate a lot of buzz. It's another marketing channel that is currently untapped.

Bottom line is, Zen to this point are receptive to adding cabinet support, and by golly I'm thrilled about that, and say more power to them! Sure, some of the features could be accomplished through 'hacks' and 3rd party tools, but we really don't need anymore software kludges do we? We already have too much of that in VP and FP, purely by necessity. I want a piece of pinball software that will 'just work' for a change, and if Zen are willing to provide that, I'm glad to accept it.

I certainly hope this 'Suggestions for Cabinets' thread doesn't veer too far off course and turn into an argument about why cabinet features should or should not be implemented. Zen has openly asked for our input on what cabinet features we'd like to see, and we're going to give it. It's up to them to sort through it and decide how much time they want to spend on implementation.

Hate me for it if you like but...QFT!

[DYSEQTA]

We're going to do as much as we can to make things easy, and stuff that's hard or impossible to work around is higher priority that stuff that is easier to work around.

But I don't think any of it is going to have a noticeable impact on sales. We just want to do it because pincabs are cool.

And with that you guys just became my new favourite software developers. All tables bought!

(so it did impact sales, even noticeably :P)

[Spektre]

Looks like I am a little late to the party, but here are my suggestions for modifying the software for cabinet users.

Absolute must, cannot imagine a satisfying cab experience without
1. Screen rotation with fit to monitor (no additional perspective.)
2. No screen scrolling or zooming (no special event cameras, including shooting)
3. Score/DMD able to be moved to reside on second screen

Changes that make a cabinet feel like a cabinet therefore a high priority
4. Feedback and event API. “Toys” as they are often called are the single biggest advance in cabinets in the last few years. Realism is significant increased with force feedback.
This is best handled through and API that raises events. In this manner, no matter what the target hardware evolves into there is a unified method of capturing your applications events. It would also allow Zen not to worry about the details of implementation as once the API is complete, the community can take the hooks form there.
5. Analog plunger and nudging support. As mention here already, using the joysticks analog X,Y axes for nudge and Z for the plunger is the current standard. It is a major killjoy to have a plunger sitting in your cabinet and using a button to launch the ball. Likewise, pressing a button to nudge that table is so 2010.

Changes that would be nice but could be handled by the community
6. Key remapping
7. Displaying a backglass image

A nice but not high priority change
8. The ability to "turn off" internal sounds for events raised in the API (If you have invested in a pop bumper solenoid to make the sound and force feedback for you, it would be nice to turn the software’s internal sound off for that)

Not necessary at all, but major “wow factor” for Zen.
9. Send the video for the tables to a double buffer and allow for 3D stereoscopic images. (If the game is being developed in a modern DirectX environment, this actually should not be too difficult.)

[ClarkKent]

All in all I think the most important things for the next version are moveable DMD and freely definable keys, maybe a backglass for each pinball.

It's certainly not wise to ask too much, small steps are faster to do...

[BarbieBobomb]

All in all I think the most important things for the next version are moveable DMD and freely definable keys, maybe a backglass for each pinball.

It's certainly not wise to ask too much, small steps are faster to do...

Agreed! I know the ability to remap keys is on the list.

[Imagamejunky]

I would personally really like to see the use of a second monitor as a backglass and/or an extension of playable table area. For example, it would be really awesome to have the haunted house on paranormal be up on my backglass screen. I would imagine that would be a pain to do for you programmers though.
Just a thought for the wishlist...

[ClarkKent]

Agreed! I know the ability to remap keys is on the list.

Moving a freely placeable DMD to another monitor would be important, too. It's just in the way on the playfield...

And please add a pro-player setting - especially the slingshots do absolutely not behave like on a real machine!