Pinball FX2 VR + VR pin cabinet = best virtual pinball experience ever!

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • PanzerFreak
    Junior Member
    • Jan 2017
    • 1

    Pinball FX2 VR + VR pin cabinet = best virtual pinball experience ever!

    So for the past month or so I've been tinkering around with building a VR pinball (+ mame) cabinet controller. The cabinet was made locally by someone who makes professional grade restoration pinball and MAME cabinets, it's made exactly to the specs of the first 10" of a real pinball cabinet. I primed the cabinet, sprayed it a metallic blue color and then clear coated it. Wiring up the buttons wasn't too difficult and thanks to the Teency-LC with PinSim software installed the whole thing is plug and play once everything is wired up. Below are links for the cabinet instructions (thanks Jeremy @ Tested.com!), the buttons I used (recommended by cabinet maker, they work great) and the type of wired I used for wiring up the buttons.

    I did add a few more items to make the cabinet feel more like a real pinball machine. I added a real lockdown bar and coin door. I also plan to add side rails using some old side rails off of one of my real pinball machines.

    This morning I was able to give the cabinet a try in Pinball FX2 VR. Just wow. Pinball FX2 with a VR cabinet controller is easily the best virtual pinball experience I've had. I can't wait to try more tables once they are released.

    Instructions



    Buttons

    Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Goldleaf Pushbuttons - a Mame(tm) Must Have by Ultimarc 1 Year Warr at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!


    Wire




    pinsim123.jpg
    Last edited by PanzerFreak; 01-08-2017, 05:52 PM.
  • hunter328
    Pinball Wizard
    • Apr 2012
    • 364

    #2
    That's really, really cool! I'm curious, would it be possible to rig up an actual plunger that could mimic the in game plunger's movement?
    sigpic

    Comment

    • SpieleNerd
      Junior Member
      • Nov 2010
      • 23

      #3
      What an absolutely fantastic idea, I am jealous of you guys.. with your building skills!

      Comment

      • Cornholio
        Banned
        • Feb 2017
        • 83

        #4
        My Playstation Version

        With the help of a very good friend, and quite by accident*, I've (he's) built a Playstation version of this using a Brook PS4+ Audio Fighting board. That was the only board that let us attach a real analogue plunger.

        There were a few technical issues, but now we're ready to build the final controller. At the moment it's just a test rig that sits on a bench (see below).

        As soon as he's over his injury, it will be built:





        * By "by accident" i mean I was asking around about an analogue Hand Brake to use with a PS4 and found one, but when asking on the forums whether it was the right one, one user mentioned that it looks like they used a Brook fighting board for the internals. When looking at the brook site I noticed the PS4+ Audio board had connections for R3, which is used for the analogue plunger in PBFX. So I asked my friend whether we could use it to build a PS Pinsim and he said "sure, why not? wouldn't hurt to try". He's now in a mental institution and the rest is history.

        Comment

        • Cornholio
          Banned
          • Feb 2017
          • 83

          #5
          Originally posted by Cornholio
          With the help of a very good friend, and quite by accident*, I've (he's) built a Playstation version of this using a Brook PS4+ Audio Fighting board. ...
          It's finally finished (99% - just have to put in a pink button instead of the white one, and hook up mercury switches for nudging) (sticker on coin door blurred out because I didn't like how it turned out. Updated sticker below).



          Came out amazing. We used the first 15 inches (instead of the usual 8-10) of a flintstones cabinet I had for stability. Using an existing pinball cabinet also added extra weight by use of the leg bolt plates, lockdown bar and mechanism and coin door. Here it is lined up with normal machines.





          Here's how we tackled the side rails as they're normally bolted/glued to the side of the cab. They're glued on top as the top can be opened for easy access.

          Closed


          Open


          The coin door had a few holes in it which we patched up and will be putting this sticker on.



          The rest of the artwork.







          Here's the wiring all nice and neat



          It has a fully working plunger thanks to this module from OzStick in Australia http://www.ozstick.com.au/product/plunger-module/. A lot of R&D went into getting it to work with/as the right R3 stick, but it fully works now.

          As far as I know it's the first and possibly only Playstation compatible Pinsim primarily built for VR but can also be used on all other Pinball games on the PS3/4 or PC. Happy Days!

          Zen, please bring on more VR tables!!
          Last edited by Cornholio; 05-01-2018, 04:29 AM. Reason: fix image links

          Comment

          • hajdu
            Community Representative
            • Nov 2017
            • 237

            #6
            Guys,
            these are amazing! :O
            I'm honestly shocked in a good way by these :O
            Congratulations for these awesome cabinets!

            Comment

            • Cornholio
              Banned
              • Feb 2017
              • 83

              #7
              Originally posted by hajdu
              Guys,
              these are amazing! :O
              I'm honestly shocked in a good way by these :O
              Congratulations for these awesome cabinets!
              Thanks Hadju. You can thank us by making more VR tables

              Comment

              • warlock7
                Member
                • Jul 2012
                • 44

                #8
                Any chance we’re going to get new tables ported? This is by far the best thing Zen has done. To just stop supporting it is insulting to your loyal customers. Put a big label on the title on PSN which states that there will be no more support if that’s th companies business decision. Otherwise Zen is just misleading people in the store.
                Stay sane inside insanity.

                Comment

                • Cornholio
                  Banned
                  • Feb 2017
                  • 83

                  #9
                  It doesn't even have to be a brand new table. I'd be happy even it was an existing FX3 table (pssst: Son of Zeus or Aliens!!). I'd obviously even pay again for the same tables VR version.

                  Comment

                  • hajdu
                    Community Representative
                    • Nov 2017
                    • 237

                    #10
                    Hey,
                    as I mentioned in another topic, the VR library will be expanded for sure!
                    I'm not allowed to tell an exact release date but they are coming!

                    Comment

                    • wobbleboxx
                      Junior Member
                      • Mar 2018
                      • 2

                      #11
                      Originally posted by hajdu
                      Hey,
                      as I mentioned in another topic, the VR library will be expanded for sure!
                      I'm not allowed to tell an exact release date but they are coming!
                      That's the best news I read after finishing my cabinet

                      Here's my build


                      Door underneath to hide the cables and to have some space for the keyboard


                      The guts


                      Doesn't look as pro as Cornholio's (props dude!) and I have no plunger, but the dimensions are right and I can't see it anyways while playing.

                      Material cost was about 50€ including the fabric.

                      I'm currently using Joy2Key to map the buttons. Unfortunately Pinball FX2 VR does not recognize the buttons on it's own. Also I have to start the game using a touch controller. But when everything is set up this is an amazing experience!

                      Comment

                      Working...