Tales of the Arabian Nights (Williams, 1996) v1.9 BAM
IPD No. 3824
See the "Updates" tab for notes on versions 1_8 and 1.9.
Notes: Although I did not change the version number, this download includes the fix for the issue where the ball sinks through the flippers discussed here. I posted directions in the script on how other tables may be converted. Search for the "BOUNCE CONTROL" section in the script to find the directions. I also added some code in the script that adjusts ball brightness.
I remember when Smoke first posted this table and I couldn't believe that such an incredible table could be created on Future Pinball. At the time, I would never have thought I would be modifying it but here it is with lots of new features.
I set up the BAM lighting that I have been adding to all the recent tables I have modified. This is a three part process where I adjust the brightness of four flashers I added and change the brightness of the light inserts on the playfield. I also adjust the settings for the BAM lighting. You press the "Special 1" key repeatedly to cycle through the options. I have saved instructions on how to add your settings to the option for "End User" in the PDF "User Guide". The option, "FP Original Day", is intended to be only used on low end PCs that can't support "New Renderer". I also added shadow maps although they don't show up that well under the slingshots but add some nice lighting. The shadow maps on other parts of the table work well.
Smoke found a beautiful high resolution texture for the playfield. I don't like painting parts of the texture black to create fake shadows so I replaced the texture. Smoke did use a light hand on the black paint but I still prefer adding lighting that casts shadows on its own. You can however switch back to Smoke's painted playfield by changing the playfield texture from "zplayfield_lights" to "zpf".
The color of the texture on the backglass had too much red so I edited it to make it look like videos I had watched of the original table. I also changed the texture for the apron so the skin tone of the good genie matches her image on the playfield.
I found some nice art work that fits the theme. I used it to add 4 table loading textures and added a virtual game room. See the "Info" table on this posting for more information. Smoke's original table did not any cabinet art so I added it. This and the new game room should help those of you that use a virtual reality headset, like Oculus Rift.
Smoke must have been the first table developer to use a "bump map" and the lamp uses it on this table, although I think he used it first on his Independence Day (ID4) table. I added some new bump maps to the genie, plunger ramp and the cobra snake. I discovered Smoke's script for bump map coding and added to it. The bump map coding includes an option for lighting that can be used on objects that don't even have bump maps. I added this type of lighting for the Firewheel, Bandit, Carpet Rider and Flying Horse.
Smoke only coded one DMD for this table and end users used to have to swap the DMD between the translite and the Heads Up Display (HUD). For those of you that are used to swapping DMDs on Smoke's tables, don't do it on this version or you will get an error message when you play the table. I added two HUD DMDs and set the existing DMD on the translite. The first HUD DMD has an overlay and the second HUD DMD is larger with no overlay for those of us that have poor eyesight. You press the HUD toggle key repeatedly to cycle between the two HUD DMDs and turning the HUD off. It saves your last setting to the fpRam file so it will load the next time you play the table.
I had some difficulty with the kicker for the bazaar. The ball would often bounce out when it should enter the kicker. I discovered the problem was the scoop above the kicker. I replaced it with something different and it works quite well now. I also had trouble with the ball getting stuck at the first opening of the skill shot at the end of the plunger ramp. I replaced the bottom of the ramp with one that slopes more to the left so the ball rolls out of the skill shot alcove much better.
There is a "zip" file included in the download. It has a custom ball that Smoke created that I modified slightly. The custom ball is similar in appearance to the default ball so don't be confused. It has a small image of the playfield on it so it looks like a reflection though the effect is rather subtle. The ball is a bit darker than the default so you may want to make it brighter. The "zip" file also has a texture for the DMD that sets the unlit dots on all the DMDs to black instead of a dark gray. This makes it match the background color of the DMDs that I have set to near black in the script. I included directions in the script on how to change it if desired. Do not unzip the "zip" file. Save it with the table using the exact same name of the table. Note that the zip file does not contain an XML file. The XML has been added to the script.
Smoke added his ball rolling sounds to this table using an external script. I noticed that some end users have had difficulty figuring out what to do with the "VBS" file so I saved it into the script. The "VBS" file is not needed anymore.
As always, I added custom physics and dynamic flippers to this table. You can make changes to the flipper settings and many other settings in the script. The script has detailed instructions in the comments on how you can make changes in desired.
Future Pinball has a limit for the score of about 2 billion before the game produces the error message for overflow and stops all game play. Smoke added a BAM code to the script that extends the high score to 922 trillion. Note that you must use the new BAM high score screen in order to extend the high score overflow from 2 billion to 922 trillion. This option is installed by default so if you have never changed it, there is no need for any action. I have read that some pinball cabinet users set up the flippers to be operated by the left and right arrow keys. They then experience the cursor jumps 2 spaces when entering a high score. For this reason, they changed BAM to use the old high score screen. Using the old high score screen will result in the high score overflow reverting back to 2 billion points. Ravarcade posted a new version of BAM that fixes the issue for flippers being operated by the left and right arrow keys (BAM v1.5-282). Just replace the "PinballHighScore.dll" file in the BAM\Plugins directory with the one from the new version.
I added a version of the table that I call "rotated display". This is intended for those of us that has a desktop PC and can rotate the monitor so it is in portrait format. It improves the display if you are able to orient your monitor this way. There is a screen shot of on the Images tab of this posting. I recommend that pinball cabinet users use this version also although you should ignore the cfg files in the download and the instruction pdf file. Pincab users should just set the table up the way the normally would. This version has the HUD set up so it defaults to being turned off. The table loading texture is already set to one of the portrait versions.
NOTE: This table uses Dynamic Flippers and Lighting that require use of BAM v1.4-267 (or later) to be installed which was released on November 9, 2019. Part of the script requires version 290 although I have added some coding that will ignore this script if you don't have version 290 installed yet. It is very easy to upgrade. You can download the most current version at the following link. This installation file installs Future Pinball and BAM at the same time. If you have either Future Pinball or BAM already installed, you can still run it and it will bring everything up to date.
There is a feature I added that requires BAM v1.5-290 (or later). It is a ball configuration feature in the script. I have added some coding that will make BAM ignore it if you don't have version 290 installed. Also, pinball cabinet users need BAM v1.5-282 to fix the issue where the cursor jumps 2 spaces on the high score screen (discussed above). If you don't need these features, you can get by with using version 267. I have added coding that even allow you to play with versions of BAM older than 267 but I don't recommend it. It is possible that you may be using a version of BAM that is too old without realizing it. I added a message that will display if you are not using the recommended version of BAM. You can press a key to turn the message off and continue playing. If you play a game to completion, you won't see the message again. Of course, if you are using the recommended version of BAM, you won't see the message at all.
I took extra care to get everything just right on this incredible table. I took the time to set the brightness of all the lights inserts on the playfield so they have the same brightness. Plus, I adjusted all the lights on the table so they are all balanced and look their best. For those of you that like to tweak things, there are many settings near the beginning of the script and there are comments on how to make the changes. You can even add a new DMD if you would like. I added a section in the script named "ADD NEW DMDs". Those of you that don't like to tweak things, I have played this table many, many times and think I have everything adjusted just right. Perhaps you should tell your friends about the simulated pinball tables that can be downloaded here so that everyone has an enjoyable free pastime during the pandemic. If your friends say they are not "gamers", tell them that pinball is not like a video game. Video games repeat the exact same sequences over and over again. Pinball is different every game. I have never been much of a gamer but I like pinball. I hope you enjoy playing this table. I enjoyed playing it when I was testing it.
I added four table loading textures. Two of the textures that are saved to the table are oriented in landscape format and the other two are oriented in portrait. I recommend that a portrait version be used in pinball cabinets. All of the textures have been saved to both versions of the table.
George
Table Developer: Smoke
IPDB Link..
IPD No. 3824
See the "Updates" tab for notes on versions 1_8 and 1.9.
Notes: Although I did not change the version number, this download includes the fix for the issue where the ball sinks through the flippers discussed here. I posted directions in the script on how other tables may be converted. Search for the "BOUNCE CONTROL" section in the script to find the directions. I also added some code in the script that adjusts ball brightness.
I remember when Smoke first posted this table and I couldn't believe that such an incredible table could be created on Future Pinball. At the time, I would never have thought I would be modifying it but here it is with lots of new features.
I set up the BAM lighting that I have been adding to all the recent tables I have modified. This is a three part process where I adjust the brightness of four flashers I added and change the brightness of the light inserts on the playfield. I also adjust the settings for the BAM lighting. You press the "Special 1" key repeatedly to cycle through the options. I have saved instructions on how to add your settings to the option for "End User" in the PDF "User Guide". The option, "FP Original Day", is intended to be only used on low end PCs that can't support "New Renderer". I also added shadow maps although they don't show up that well under the slingshots but add some nice lighting. The shadow maps on other parts of the table work well.
Smoke found a beautiful high resolution texture for the playfield. I don't like painting parts of the texture black to create fake shadows so I replaced the texture. Smoke did use a light hand on the black paint but I still prefer adding lighting that casts shadows on its own. You can however switch back to Smoke's painted playfield by changing the playfield texture from "zplayfield_lights" to "zpf".
The color of the texture on the backglass had too much red so I edited it to make it look like videos I had watched of the original table. I also changed the texture for the apron so the skin tone of the good genie matches her image on the playfield.
I found some nice art work that fits the theme. I used it to add 4 table loading textures and added a virtual game room. See the "Info" table on this posting for more information. Smoke's original table did not any cabinet art so I added it. This and the new game room should help those of you that use a virtual reality headset, like Oculus Rift.
Smoke must have been the first table developer to use a "bump map" and the lamp uses it on this table, although I think he used it first on his Independence Day (ID4) table. I added some new bump maps to the genie, plunger ramp and the cobra snake. I discovered Smoke's script for bump map coding and added to it. The bump map coding includes an option for lighting that can be used on objects that don't even have bump maps. I added this type of lighting for the Firewheel, Bandit, Carpet Rider and Flying Horse.
Smoke only coded one DMD for this table and end users used to have to swap the DMD between the translite and the Heads Up Display (HUD). For those of you that are used to swapping DMDs on Smoke's tables, don't do it on this version or you will get an error message when you play the table. I added two HUD DMDs and set the existing DMD on the translite. The first HUD DMD has an overlay and the second HUD DMD is larger with no overlay for those of us that have poor eyesight. You press the HUD toggle key repeatedly to cycle between the two HUD DMDs and turning the HUD off. It saves your last setting to the fpRam file so it will load the next time you play the table.
I had some difficulty with the kicker for the bazaar. The ball would often bounce out when it should enter the kicker. I discovered the problem was the scoop above the kicker. I replaced it with something different and it works quite well now. I also had trouble with the ball getting stuck at the first opening of the skill shot at the end of the plunger ramp. I replaced the bottom of the ramp with one that slopes more to the left so the ball rolls out of the skill shot alcove much better.
There is a "zip" file included in the download. It has a custom ball that Smoke created that I modified slightly. The custom ball is similar in appearance to the default ball so don't be confused. It has a small image of the playfield on it so it looks like a reflection though the effect is rather subtle. The ball is a bit darker than the default so you may want to make it brighter. The "zip" file also has a texture for the DMD that sets the unlit dots on all the DMDs to black instead of a dark gray. This makes it match the background color of the DMDs that I have set to near black in the script. I included directions in the script on how to change it if desired. Do not unzip the "zip" file. Save it with the table using the exact same name of the table. Note that the zip file does not contain an XML file. The XML has been added to the script.
Smoke added his ball rolling sounds to this table using an external script. I noticed that some end users have had difficulty figuring out what to do with the "VBS" file so I saved it into the script. The "VBS" file is not needed anymore.
As always, I added custom physics and dynamic flippers to this table. You can make changes to the flipper settings and many other settings in the script. The script has detailed instructions in the comments on how you can make changes in desired.
Future Pinball has a limit for the score of about 2 billion before the game produces the error message for overflow and stops all game play. Smoke added a BAM code to the script that extends the high score to 922 trillion. Note that you must use the new BAM high score screen in order to extend the high score overflow from 2 billion to 922 trillion. This option is installed by default so if you have never changed it, there is no need for any action. I have read that some pinball cabinet users set up the flippers to be operated by the left and right arrow keys. They then experience the cursor jumps 2 spaces when entering a high score. For this reason, they changed BAM to use the old high score screen. Using the old high score screen will result in the high score overflow reverting back to 2 billion points. Ravarcade posted a new version of BAM that fixes the issue for flippers being operated by the left and right arrow keys (BAM v1.5-282). Just replace the "PinballHighScore.dll" file in the BAM\Plugins directory with the one from the new version.
I added a version of the table that I call "rotated display". This is intended for those of us that has a desktop PC and can rotate the monitor so it is in portrait format. It improves the display if you are able to orient your monitor this way. There is a screen shot of on the Images tab of this posting. I recommend that pinball cabinet users use this version also although you should ignore the cfg files in the download and the instruction pdf file. Pincab users should just set the table up the way the normally would. This version has the HUD set up so it defaults to being turned off. The table loading texture is already set to one of the portrait versions.
NOTE: This table uses Dynamic Flippers and Lighting that require use of BAM v1.4-267 (or later) to be installed which was released on November 9, 2019. Part of the script requires version 290 although I have added some coding that will ignore this script if you don't have version 290 installed yet. It is very easy to upgrade. You can download the most current version at the following link. This installation file installs Future Pinball and BAM at the same time. If you have either Future Pinball or BAM already installed, you can still run it and it will bring everything up to date.
There is a feature I added that requires BAM v1.5-290 (or later). It is a ball configuration feature in the script. I have added some coding that will make BAM ignore it if you don't have version 290 installed. Also, pinball cabinet users need BAM v1.5-282 to fix the issue where the cursor jumps 2 spaces on the high score screen (discussed above). If you don't need these features, you can get by with using version 267. I have added coding that even allow you to play with versions of BAM older than 267 but I don't recommend it. It is possible that you may be using a version of BAM that is too old without realizing it. I added a message that will display if you are not using the recommended version of BAM. You can press a key to turn the message off and continue playing. If you play a game to completion, you won't see the message again. Of course, if you are using the recommended version of BAM, you won't see the message at all.
I took extra care to get everything just right on this incredible table. I took the time to set the brightness of all the lights inserts on the playfield so they have the same brightness. Plus, I adjusted all the lights on the table so they are all balanced and look their best. For those of you that like to tweak things, there are many settings near the beginning of the script and there are comments on how to make the changes. You can even add a new DMD if you would like. I added a section in the script named "ADD NEW DMDs". Those of you that don't like to tweak things, I have played this table many, many times and think I have everything adjusted just right. Perhaps you should tell your friends about the simulated pinball tables that can be downloaded here so that everyone has an enjoyable free pastime during the pandemic. If your friends say they are not "gamers", tell them that pinball is not like a video game. Video games repeat the exact same sequences over and over again. Pinball is different every game. I have never been much of a gamer but I like pinball. I hope you enjoy playing this table. I enjoyed playing it when I was testing it.
I added four table loading textures. Two of the textures that are saved to the table are oriented in landscape format and the other two are oriented in portrait. I recommend that a portrait version be used in pinball cabinets. All of the textures have been saved to both versions of the table.
George
Table Developer: Smoke
IPDB Link..
