AFM - Need help using VP8 backdrops in VP9!!!

[Tiger-Heli]

This should be a simple question - but maybe not.
<o></o>
I played around a bit more, and I like JP-Salas AFM VP9 table a bit better than the VP8 version. Nothing I can really nail down - but I can use a full size, properly positioned DMD with the same viewpoint as PacDude’s tables - without losing much perceived screen area. The lighting effects seem much better as well.
<o></o>
However - I don’t like the backdrop that JP is using for his VP9 tables.
<o></o>
JP said in another thread that it is easy to export the VP8 backdrop if someone prefers it - and that is somewhat true.
<o></o>
I opened the VP8 table in VP9, and used the image editor to export the Backdrop2009.jpg file. Then I opened the VP9 table and imported the file, however, I couldn’t get it to display until I renamed Backdrop to Backdrop_orig and Backdrop2009 to backdrop in the image editor. That worked great, except Backdrop 2009 had the table backwall where the DMD display needs to go, so the table speakers are gone.
<o></o>
I also exported the Backdrop_orig (VP9) file to an image which was saved as Backdrop_VP9_JP_4x3_Wide & DMD.jpg
<o></o>
I suspect what I need to do is erase everything except the machine from the VP9 backdrop, save that in a layer and past the VP8 backdrop behind it - I played a bit with that in Paint.net, and it ALMOST works, but the side rails are also part of the image, and they are wider in VP8, so I would have to erase them and redraw some of the missing martian from the backdrop and that is beyond my skill level.

BTW - I realize I can change the table orientation in VP9 to match what VP8 was using and the backdrop would work, but I might as well stick with VP8 if I were going to do that!!!

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[robert kundrat]

Hi! Maybe this is what you want.

 

[Tiger-Heli]

Thanks - looks like we think alike on this - I actually figured it out and created basically the same effect.

Not sure what the rules on this are (and I'm not good at image editing), so what I did was:

Opened the new VP9 backdrop files from JP's backdrops (used the blackwood one).

Edited it in Paint.net to make everything but the table and backboard speakers transparent. (Magic Wand - delete selection, and then clean up with eraser tool) (I find Paint handles this better than Gimp.

Save this as a .png file so the transparency is saved.

Open this in Gimp (I find Gimp works better in layers).

Duplicate the layer (layers dialog) so the cabinet is raised and the backdrop can go behind it.

Paste the backdrop from AFM V8 into this (open file - select all - copy - paste into).

Make this into a new layer.

Move this layer below the cabinet and duplicate it.

(I ended up erasing the right side of the upper layer so I could manipulate them independently).

I then used Layer - Scale Layer to stretch the layer so the original rails were hidden behind the new rails.

Then I found out under backdrop - Options in VP, you can import any image without renaming anything.

For MM, (this is the VP8 version), I used Flying Dutchman's backglass and dropped the brightness so it didn't take away focus from the table.

It wasn't as much work as I thought it would be, but the same steps were involved.

Thanks again for the help!!!

 

[robert kundrat]

I was do it with gimp too. With layers, the work much easier. :)

 

[bob]

Not sure what the rules on this are (and I'm not good at image editing), so what I did was:

If you are wondering what the community rules are/were for creating a backdrop and sharing it with the community.... They are as follows.... You can create a backdrop and share it (backdrop only) with anyone and everyone by uploading it or posting it. The thing you have to remember is.... If you use someone else's graphics that they have worked on, obviously you can use the same original source material to do whatever you want, but if you export someone's reworked graphic from the table (.vpt file) then.... You need to ask that person's permission to share it with others and it's always nice to give them credit. We do this in an effort to keep peace in the community and to avoid hissy fits by authors. :) But anymore, there are really only a few rules written down, so who knows what is acceptable on this or other sites anymore since the original VPF is gone forever.

 

[Tiger-Heli]

Thanks - that helps a lot. I've been away from the community for a long time, but I remember the days of locked tables and expiration dates on emulators, so I didn't want to step on any toes.

I think there were probably times when just posting screenshots like I did would have caused a firestorm.

Could you clarify the VPF comments. vpforums.com shut down, but vpforums.org was up for about a year and then last week they had an announcement page that they were suddenly switching servers and would be back soon and now you just get an IPS server error - ???

I'm not going to get into a this forum vs. that forum - but they had a very complete repository of older tables although newer tables were sometimes only here and not there.

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[bob]

Thanks - that helps a lot. I've been away from the community for a long time, but I remember the days of locked tables and expiration dates on emulators, so I didn't want to step on any toes.

I think there were probably times when just posting screenshots like I did would have caused a firestorm.

Could you clarify the VPF comments. vpforums.com shut down, but vpforums.org was up for about a year and then last week they had an announcement page that they were suddenly switching servers and would be back soon and now you just get an IPS server error - ???

I'm not going to get into a this forum vs. that forum - but they had a very complete repository of older tables although newer tables were sometimes only here and not there.

Thanks in advance!!!!

VPF.Org is just changing servers and will be back as soon as possible.

VPF.com just disappeared in a cloud of dust and no one knows anything as the site owner is impossible to find and really had no interest in the site for years.

The reason new tables were posted here in the past, there was a size limit set at the old VPForums, so most of the new tables were too big of a file to upload. The last few months that VPF.com was up, no tables could be uploaded, because the site owner screwed something up and never came back to fix it.

The new VPF.Org is ran by a different person who wasn't creative enough to think of a new name for his site.

 

[Tiger-Heli]

VPF.Org is just changing servers and will be back as soon as possible.

Thanks - no disrespect for PN, but there were probably as many VP8 tables starting with R on VPF.org as there are in the entire VP8 section here. (Some exclusive content on both sites, though). Helpful forums on both sites, but different attitudes - enough said.

The new VPF.Org is ran by a different person who wasn't creative enough to think of a new name for his site.

Probably not that simplistic. I've been out of the scene for what - five years, seven years? - but Pinball Nirvana was new to me, but I remembered VPForums and would have assumed they just changed domain names (for cost reasons, probably) without knowing about the whole re-structuring.

Also - I might be wrong, but since I think the VPForums.org forums carried over all of the VPForums.com content, it would be confusing to have threads that were older than the site under a different name.

Thanks for the info!!!

 

[TheMcD]

Also - I might be wrong, but since I think the VPForums.org forums carried over all of the VPForums.com content, it would be confusing to have threads that were older than the site under a different name.

Can't carry over what disappeared without a trace. All the old threads were lost.

The McD

 

[bob]

Thanks - no disrespect for PN, but there were probably as many VP8 tables starting with R on VPF.org as there are in the entire VP8 section here. (Some exclusive content on both sites, though). Helpful forums on both sites, but different attitudes - enough said.

This forums doesn't try to be a full fledged VPM site. The guy that runs this forum is more laid back and into the older pinball tables. The attitudes here aren't the site owners attitudes, he is a free spirit, so you can voice your opinions here.

Probably not that simplistic. I've been out of the scene for what - five years, seven years? - but Pinball Nirvana was new to me, but I remembered VPForums and would have assumed they just changed domain names (for cost reasons, probably) without knowing about the whole re-structuring.

The old forums just disappeared. I was on their staff at the time and it just went poof.

Also - I might be wrong, but since I think the VPForums.org forums carried over all of the VPForums.com content, it would be confusing to have threads that were older than the site under a different name.

Thanks for the info!!!

The only connection to the two sites is that they bought the domain name of VPF.org and VPF.net before the other site vanished as they wanted to create their own VPforum that worked properly. It is an excellent site and is suppose to be up tonight. All old threads at VPF.com are gone.

Welcome back and enjoy all the Visual Pinball Forums, we are all here for the same thing.

 

[JonPurpleHaze]

Thanks - no disrespect for PN, but there were probably as many VP8 tables starting with R on VPF.org as there are in the entire VP8 section here. (Some exclusive content on both sites, though). Helpful forums on both sites, but different attitudes - enough said.

Since vpforums.com went down, I've been working on and off for months trying to replace the current downloads section and adding some tables that used to be there with help from some uploaders, here is a link to the wip new downloads section:
http://www.pinballnirvana.com/forums/downloads.php

Some related posts:
Pinball Nirvana Forums - View Single Post - Our New Frontpage

Help Wanted.. - Pinball Nirvana Forums

Pinball Nirvana Forums - View Single Post - Missing VPM Tables

 

[Tiger-Heli]

Hi JPH - like I said, I didn't mean any disrespect.

Question - if I look at the tree here, there are 629 tables in the VPM section. I think that's a big increase from a month or so ago when I found PN, and I realize it is a lot of work, but again, that is probably R-Z on VPF.com. Is the intent to eventually host everything that is on VPF.com here also and it's just a matter of not having time/manpower to transfer it all over, or is there some resistance to having tables on both sites (loss of downloads and traffic if more than one site has them).

More curiosity on my part than anything else involved.

 

[JonPurpleHaze]

No problem Tiger-Heli, those 629 were primarily ftp uploaded by destruk (in March and April) along with over 100 16-9 cabinet tables. As mentioned in a different thread, I didn't have a collection of vpforums.com VPM Tables and many of these had changed since VPF.com went down. It's primarily a problem of time and it's important to note that no work has been done in attempting to transfer the existing downloads from the current UpDownloads section. This is actually just the first phase of a time consuming process.

 

[Tiger-Heli]

With JP's assistance and support, I plan to develop backdrops for the 4:3 versions of his VP9 tables (and other tables) (no timeline, though) and JP suggested I post them here for others to use and enjoy.

I have two questions related to doing that:

• Would it be preferable to have all the downloads in one .zip file (all the backgrounds), or would it be better to do one file per table.
• Where should I upload these - on VPForums.org there is a VPM Mods section which seems appropriate (although they might tend to be less obvious there), but I don't see anything similar here.

Thanks!!!

 

[Phoenixx]

The Resources & Tutorials Forum would probably be a good idea, and i would say individual ZIPs so that users (especially those who are still on DialUp) can get only what they need.

 

[Tiger-Heli]

Okay, I was still thinking in terms of the downloads page rather than as forum posts, but whatever the site prefers ...

 

[Phoenixx]

Sorry, my goof. I didnt realize you were talking about the download section.

And youre right, there currently is no suitable category for that sort of thing. But Jon (JonPurpleHaze) is already working on a new download section, so you could simply send him a PM and ask him where to put your backdrops. If he hasnt already created the proper category i am sure he will do it after your request,...

 

[Tiger-Heli]

PM sent - thanks!

 

[Phoenixx]

Thank You!

 

[Tiger-Heli]

You might want to wait until you actually see them to decide if thanks are warranted - I'm by no means skilled in image editing, but the screenshots above will give you an idea what I am shooting for ...