Road Girls

GeorgeH

Flippered Out
Site Supporters
Joined
May 3, 2016
Messages
2,599
Solutions
6
Reaction score
2,049
Points
145
Favorite Pinball Machine
Attack From Mars
I have decided to mod the DOFLinx MX version of Road Girls. My work list includes:

:check: 1) Duplicate the 2 segmented displays so that desk and cab users don't have to move them back and forth between 2 positions.
:check: 2) Save as 1) but with the overlay for the speedometer.
:check: 3) Add game room floor and backwall.
:check: 4) Change black on white instruction cards to other colors.
:check: 5) The usual physics and lighting mod.
:check: 6) Possibly mod table loading screen.
:check: 7) Possibly add menu system.
:check: 8. Add HUD Toggle Key.
:check: 9) Add message that looks at BAM version.
:check: 10) Possibly add a version with rock music.
:check: 11) Possible shadow maps.
:check: 12) Possible side rails.
:check: 13) possibly add multiplayer.
:check: 14) add overlays for scores of the 4 players.
Does anyone have any requests?
 
Last edited:
I have added 4 dynamic flippers to the script and added my XML template. Even at this stage it is amazing how these 2 things improve the table. I usually start will this because I make tweaks to it during the whole mod process.

I have been searching for rock music and I think I will be able to find music that matches the theme. Currently, I am thinking about just having the end user swap library files to switch between the rock and country versions. FP handles unused files differently depending on the type. FP does not load textures and models that are saved to the texture/model managers but are not used on table objects. This is why you have to save textures to objects on the table for the new BAM functions like texture swapping, bump maps and custom balls. It is because FP does not recognize textures that are only identified in the script. Unfortunately, FP loads all audio and DMD fonts that are saved to the table whether they are used or not. ...So separate libraries for rock and country music will save memory.
 
I have been searching for Rock music to use. I found most of it that I think will match the theme but I won't know for sure until I put it all together.

I finished items 1 and 2. The screenshot below shows the finished product for these two items. Of course, you won't ever actually view the table this way but it shows the 6 displays. I used the method described here to duplicate the displays:


The old method required copying the line of the code for the first display and pasting it on a new line. Then changing the name of the display on the new line to match the name of the new display. Then you have to repeat this process a few hundred times. The new process involves adding some new subroutines and a bunch of find and replacements. Even so, this table required 18 new subroutines.
```Road Girls V1.0  (DOFLinx MX)4.png
 
Last edited:
I changed the instruction cards to white text on a brown background. I have been making tweaks to the physics. Several vertical up kickers weren't strong enough so the ball partially make its way up the vertical part of the wire cage.

I found the Zed version of the table added multiplayer capability and the DOFLinx version only supports 1 player. I will attempt to copy the multiplayer code over to the DOFLinx version if I can figure it out.
 
American stripper babes! :D
 
I though this table was already great so whatever comes out is sure to impress.

My only request is the link :)
 
American stripper babes! :D

There is that aspect but it is a cool table to play. It has an interesting captive ball arrangement. You hit the captive ball to a kicker which sends it to 4 lanes and you use the flippers to move the lights to the lane where the ball goes. After it goes through the lanes, the ball drains and returns to the place where it can be hit again. I can't say I have seen another arrangement quite like it.
 
I though this table was already great so whatever comes out is sure to impress.

My only request is the link :)

There has always been a bit of struggle between the set up for pincabs and desktop. I think this version will resolve that. BTW, you can find your own links to stripper babes.
 
Bah. I'm a fan of being respectful and find, but sometimes one's doofus sense of humor (or lack of humor?) just pipes right on out there!
 
@Ike Savage Well there is some humor too. I have to laugh when I hit some drop targets with the ball and a girl calls out "Ouch!" like the ball hit her. ...And there is a one liner among other that says I'm busy as a one legged man in a but kicking contest.
 
There has always been a bit of struggle between the set up for pincabs and desktop. I think this version will resolve that. BTW, you can find your own links to stripper babes.
Damn. The one time I was actually talking about the table... :D
 
It was just a funny remark.
But I am curious about your changes because more often than not, I end up using mods instead of the originals.

I do have all those versions here and for some reason doflynx version is the one ready to play. Seems I need to revisit Zed's.
 
I managed to add multiplayer and have added the HUD Toggle Key. I added another display because the existing 2 displays are really crowded and it is nice to have the number of balls visible throughout the game. I am thinking I may add overlays around the scores. These are the screen shots so far:

This is the screenshot for the desktop user:
```Road Girls V1.0  (DOFLinx MX)2.png

This is the backglass with the HUD turned off which is what cabinet users will see:
```Road Girls V1.0  (DOFLinx MX)3.png

I might make all 4 score displays show 0 when you start multiplayer. The green "FOUR BALLS LEFT" display seems a little redundant to the upper display so I might remove it.
 
Last edited:
This is some nice work you are doing
Showing 0 for multiplayer would be good and maybe have the current player flash until they shoot the ball
I would think that's a good idea to have only one line saying how many balls are left
 
@outhere I appreciate your comments. It helps me make sure I am on the right track. There was only one brief point where "FOUR BALLS LEFT" was displayed at the beginning of the game. I removed it but decided to keep the display item that says "LAST BALL" when one ball is left. I will look at making the current player score flash longer but there might be a better way. We'll see. Of course, the red display does show the current player.
 
I guess when I wrote that I should have been paying better attention to the digital screen so flashing the next player is not needed
 
Last edited:
@outhere It doesn't hurt to have more than one way of identifying the player. ...But I am not sure what I will do yet.
 
@outhere I know you have a pincab. You have obviously played a version of this table and probably some of my other tables. I will add my lighting mod at some point and I normally use either the special 1 or 2 key to change the lighting modes. On this table, both the special 1 and 2 keys are used to advance the music selections forward and backward. It looks like I will have to use the "L" key to change light modes. Do you ever change the lighting once it is set up? I ask because you probably won't be able to use the "L" key on your pincab.

I am also curious how you add a table to your pincab. Do you set it up on a PC and copy the file over to the pincab? If that is the case, you could set the lighting up before you copy the file over. The setting is saved to the fpRam file. The same is true for the HUD toggle key which also saves its setting to the fpRam file. ...So you could set it all up the way you want on a PC and both the table and the fpRAM file over and have it work.
 
I usually don't mess with the lighting too much once I get it set the way I want it
I have a keyboard laying on my pin cab all the time.. it don't get used for player Pinball to often, I'm the only one using it
I just like messing around with this stuff
 
Thanks for the replay Outhere!

I found the model I used for the side rail on "Phantom of the Opera" also fits this table. I added it and created art for it that was adapted from the sides of the cabinet. It is the same girl but with some changes to make it fit. The model makes the texture appear as a mirror image on the opposite side of the table.

```Road Girls V1.0  (DOFLinx MX).png
 
I finished adding overlays to the segmented displays for the scores (see screenshot of the backglass below). It dresses up the backglass quite a bit. I illuminated the number for the current player while the other players are dimmed. I never liked the blinking display that used to identify the current player so I eliminated it after I illuminated the player number. I changed the color of the segmented display from the old green color to yellow so it matches the rest of the backglass better. When you press the start game key to add more players. the segmented display for that player turns on and is set to zero and a brief message is shown on the red display that says "Welcome Player 2 (or 3 or 4)". You don't see the message in the screen shots below but you can tell that there are 2 players because there are 2 score segments lit up.

```Road Girls V1.0  (DOFLinx MX)2.png

The screen shot below shows the HUD that works the same as the displays on the backglass except that I fade out the players not used. I didn't make a screenshot of the instruction cards I modified back on message 4 above but you can see them here.

Images on this forum have a handy feature. You can click on the images to enlarge and then click on the Magnify + button. Then you can click on the image with your mouse to move the large image around. Then click on the x button to return here.
```Road Girls V1.0  (DOFLinx MX)5.png
 
Last edited:
Looking mighty fine there GH looking forward to giving her a ride. My 6 year old rig seems to have no issues running these new bam FP tables, core i3 (3.4GHz/GTX660).
 
Wow it's coming together nice
 
Thanks guys! This table has really challenged my somewhat weak coding ability but I am making my way through it. I tend to work better on visual and physics changes. I thought I could just copy the multiplayer code from the Zed version but it has a number of bugs that I have manged to fix so far.

I just found a problem where I will probably have to make a small rule change. There are 3 drop targets to the right of the bumper. When you knock all of them down and hit the lane with another ball, the ball becomes captive, the 3 drop targets are raised and a new ball is launched. When you hit the 3 drop targets again and create a second captive ball, a 2 ball multiball starts. If you don't complete the sequence all the way to multiball when the ball drains, you can continue with the sequence on the next ball. This won't work on multiplayer. You shouldn't be able to continue the sequence that someone else started.

The only solution I can think of is to reset all of this when the ball drains and let the captive ball drain. ...So, the only way to get to multiball by this method would be to complete the entire sequence before the ball drains. I think I can probably make a single player work as it did and only do the reset when there is more than one player. I might be able to only require 2 drop targets be hit before the lane opens up. That would make the sequence a bit easier to complete with one ball.
 
Forum activity
Help Users
You can interact with the ChatGPT Bot in any Chat Room and there is a dedicated room. The command is /ai followed by a space and then your ? or inquiry.
ie: /ai What is a EM Pinball Machine?
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
      Mibs Mibs: Poor Man's Pinball Podcast has posted a new reply in the thread "Poor Man's Pinball Podcast".
      Back
      Top