- Joined
- Oct 3, 2004
- Messages
- 1,462
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- 2
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- 1,055
- Points
- 132
- Favorite Pinball Machine
- Trigon
We at Pinball Nirvana understand that to most people who join the community, they may not have the technical skills to get vpx or even fp working without a bit of help, so we have been considering looking at several programs aimed at getting more people to play our games. After some discussion, we have decided to also look and review the non-commercial programs that include games with their download. As a Author, I don't like these programs any more than anyone else, but, as much as we try to sweep these programs under the carpet and pretend they don't exist, the truth is a lot of new users do in fact use these programs, because it is such a pain in the ass to not only set-up vpx and FP sometimes, but also the many hours needed to download and get each table to work.
So instead of sweeping things under the rug, and having people use out of date software with very old versions of tables that make the authors look bad (like me, I found a table of mine that was a older version that wont even play in BAM because it was that old) maybe we could do a better job of this. As far as I am concerned, it doesn't matter what people use to become part of our community, all that matters is that they are a part of our community.
If we can steer them to a modern up to date program with current tables, ( instead of wagging our finger at people for doing something we don't approve off and then have them download some old obsolete program that makes the authors look bad), then at least we can make it better for everyone. As a community, we have done a piss poor job of this, and certainly haven't made things easier for new users who want to play pinball. As a example, I'm setting up a cabinet, and started to download and install and setup tables for that, and it has taken hours just for a bunch of games. Some people forget that, it can take a long time to get a decent collection up and running, and most new users have no idea where to start, where to find the tables from multiple sources (there are 3 main and 2 small sites just for vpx) how to get them setup properly, or what to do if something doesn't work.
After going through all of that, I really can't blame new people for using these things, but I also want to make sure they use the proper programs, or at least the right programs to get them started. Since I have a brand new computer to set-up, I decided to have a look at some of these programs, as well as spotlight projects from some of our community members, just to see what works, what doesn't, and which program(s) are the ones I would use if I was a "newbie". I'm tired of looking bad if someone plays a old out of date table I did, and it's a bad reflection on the entire community. I would rather just look at all of these programs, give my impressions, and give new people a informed opinion. We can always wriggle our fingers at them later if they download and use them.
I won't be looking at products that are part of a commercial package like pre-built cabinets that "includes" tables without the permission of the authors, those are scum and people know exactly how I feel about those. I also will occasionally look at other licensed products, starting with the AtGames Legends Gamer Pro controller, which should be on my doorstep in a couple weeks, as well as anything else I buy/sent to me/borrow.
There are quite a few packages out there, CoinOps Next2, Pinball Emporium, and others, as well as installers like the new "baller" just released, so if people have suggests or know of others, just comment here.
So instead of sweeping things under the rug, and having people use out of date software with very old versions of tables that make the authors look bad (like me, I found a table of mine that was a older version that wont even play in BAM because it was that old) maybe we could do a better job of this. As far as I am concerned, it doesn't matter what people use to become part of our community, all that matters is that they are a part of our community.
If we can steer them to a modern up to date program with current tables, ( instead of wagging our finger at people for doing something we don't approve off and then have them download some old obsolete program that makes the authors look bad), then at least we can make it better for everyone. As a community, we have done a piss poor job of this, and certainly haven't made things easier for new users who want to play pinball. As a example, I'm setting up a cabinet, and started to download and install and setup tables for that, and it has taken hours just for a bunch of games. Some people forget that, it can take a long time to get a decent collection up and running, and most new users have no idea where to start, where to find the tables from multiple sources (there are 3 main and 2 small sites just for vpx) how to get them setup properly, or what to do if something doesn't work.
After going through all of that, I really can't blame new people for using these things, but I also want to make sure they use the proper programs, or at least the right programs to get them started. Since I have a brand new computer to set-up, I decided to have a look at some of these programs, as well as spotlight projects from some of our community members, just to see what works, what doesn't, and which program(s) are the ones I would use if I was a "newbie". I'm tired of looking bad if someone plays a old out of date table I did, and it's a bad reflection on the entire community. I would rather just look at all of these programs, give my impressions, and give new people a informed opinion. We can always wriggle our fingers at them later if they download and use them.
I won't be looking at products that are part of a commercial package like pre-built cabinets that "includes" tables without the permission of the authors, those are scum and people know exactly how I feel about those. I also will occasionally look at other licensed products, starting with the AtGames Legends Gamer Pro controller, which should be on my doorstep in a couple weeks, as well as anything else I buy/sent to me/borrow.
There are quite a few packages out there, CoinOps Next2, Pinball Emporium, and others, as well as installers like the new "baller" just released, so if people have suggests or know of others, just comment here.
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