G'day all from OZ

[Patch]

Been missing in action here for seven or so years
Good to see Nirvana still going & some familiar characters still here
Maybe long overdue, but have just updated El Dorado in VP8
I've tweaked it more to the real game play, added hex dome nuts, screw heads etc.,
Gotta' find out how to deal with rar. & other files - yeah, I'm way behind,
but enjoy putting a table together, or updating one more so than playing them
Just got Gimp 2.8 recently - real handy
Still only interested in pre SS tables, so don't have/need Mame etc.
Will put up El Dorado screenshot from Photobucket?* & upload update shortly

*what's best now days?

Cheers all

 

[Patch]

El Dorado update VP8

...

 

[sleepy]

Hi Patch. I seem to remember you. :)

*what's best now days?

Watch it now. That is easily a very dangerous question around these parts.

We still have VP8.1.

We have VP9+

And currently there is work being done with beta versions released frequently, for instance VPinballrev417.exe, which is available by following username Koadic's signature over at www.vpforums.org

Now, over there the interest in VP is geared toward the new and also virtual pinball cabs, not a bad thing, but I'll let you know that there has been much
debate by a few people over the continued support of VP8.1

VP9 has some really nice upgrades regarding video card performance and VP8.1 tables are usually not compatible for play on VP9.

Now, the betas like VPinballrev417.exe also have a 3d Primitive Object which for the first time allows the movement and rotation of a VP Object, but for now it has no collision detection coded to it, so for now the Primitive is good for toys with Images attached to them and there are workarounds for the missing collision detection.
I like it.

Any questions?

 

[sleepy]

Your table looks great. :)

 

[Patch]

Your table looks great. :)

Cheers Sleepy :)

Dangerous - oops - was only asking about Photobucket, re: putting up images?
Yes, I really like what I've seen in VP9, but haven't been able to get those tables working yet - I'll get there :)

 

[sleepy]

I think Photobucket is about the best out there right now.

And I like Gimp2.8, but you might be interested in knowing that Adobe has released Photoshop CS2 for FREE. It's a large 300+ Mb. download and if you want more, they've also released the complete CS2 which *I think* includes
both Photoshop CS2 AND Adobe Illustrator, again FREE.
And they are also releasing Audition 3.0 (an audio editor) on the same page.
As Yogiholzer mentioned at www.roguepinball.com (Thanks Yogi! :) ) make note of the serial number and version if and when you download these as the number is needed to install the programs, so save the serial numbers in a safe place:

This is the Adobe page:

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/

 

[faralos]

there are a few other pin sites already up since you were last on the pin scene
http://www.vpforums.org/
http://roguepinball.com/index.php
http://vpuniverse.com/forums/index.php/forums/
vpf.org deals with everything and went up about the same time that the old vpf.com crashed
we discuss and build for others to use; 4:3's (desktop pins)
WS (widescreens)
FS (rotated and full screen pins for the cab users)
and everything in between (active back glasses, real plungers for the cabs, etc.)
we talk about how to use art and sound programs for building pins
problems anyone may have and the heartaches/joys of owning real pins too
Rogue Pinball was created by Itchigo a fellow pinner and often seen here
his site is relatively new
Vp universe is mostly about cabs but also talks of regular pins too
and is also a newer site
now back to vp9
vp9 has had many upgrades to it the past two years or so
since it is open source we have a few pinball gurus
over at vpf who are always thinking of new options to add to it
but again most pins made with vp9 do NOT run in vp8
so be real careful on which version you download
and there are always the originals which are made using both versions
and are usually but not always made for the 4:3 crowd
but the cab owner numbers are increasing on a daily basis
which may mean bad things for us 4:3 users/builders
but I'll always make 4:3's as will a few other builders
since I like my desktop and will continue to play ONLY 4:3's (desktops)
have fun though checking out all you have been missing out on these past few years!
and any questions you know to just post and someone will help ya'

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

that's a boss-looking layout in el dorado. as in... the way you work to get the ball to the top, giving you a chance to slowly complete the top bank. most tables of that era didn't make much use of that top space as i recall.

welcome back. :)

 

[Patch]

Gotta' admit, I'm lost in it all
Cannot get VP9 to work. I'm feeling I'm stuck with VP8
but would be willing to sadly scrap VP8 in order to keep up with the times
& try getting VP9 on it's own, as I've tried the parallel thing & just end up in a mess.
I've attempted to install both from IRPinball & have read the getting started notes at VPF over & over
I've got Vista home basic & 3:2 monitor
Have found Windows restore points just don't work
I've never used torrents, but now downloads are appearing with UTorrent icons
I see it pointless making new tables in VP8 if no one wants them

 

[sleepy]

Make Sure to download VP version 914 and For Sure avoid any "9" version
earlier than version 9.12 because they were WIPs that were often very buggy.

Right-Click on the Installer and check to see if the file is Blocked for "coming from another Microsoft computer". If so, then click the Unblock, click O.K., then run it to install Visual Pinball.

On Vista, Win 7 or 8, be sure to Right-Click on the Shortcut or the vpinball9.xx.exe and choose Run as Administrator. Else VP will freeze and close or otherwise refuse to run correctly.

Any other problems, then feel free to baffle us.

 

[Patch]

Decided to uninstall & delete everything & start afresh ...
Now have 914 up & running fine, so far :D

 

[Itchigo]

Hi Patch, I don't know you but hi just the same. I have a tutorial for installing vp9, but it looks like you already have it going.

VP8 is still useful for older computers, I have a cab, but I use vp8 on my laptop at work all the time. I'm a latecomer to the scene, but have picked things up rather quickly, to say the least.

If you want to make tables, or make better tables, come see me. I have some demos at my site and I link back here for anything I don't have. Love to have you there, and here.

 

[Patch]

Cheers also, Faralos, Ike & Itchigo

I lost the El Dorado update & other work in the process, but pleased to see I can run it & update in VP9 :)
Trying to run VP8 & Vp9 parallel, I guess was where I came unstuck

So far in VP9, I've got this going ...

 

[StevOz]

AA Patch yes?

Either way to have multiple versions of VP setup should be no problem at all I have at least 7+ different versions I can run here, just have them named differently with the same setup. Select whatever version all the rest is the same.

 

[Patch]

AA Patch yes?

AA ??? what's that ... Another Aussie?

 

[Liteuser.]

Welcome Back Patch! :)

I remember building a VP table using your table template years ago. Thanks

 

[StevOz]

AA ??? what's that ... Another Aussie?

Nice one. :)

Although I thought I may have read posts by you before elsewhere, maybe @ Aussie Arcade but I guess not.

http://www.aussiearcade.com.au/

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

i was thinking "AA" must have been a clever and humorous national / regional comment from oz.


dang... expectation gets whomped once again by cruel reality.

 

[Patch]

maybe @ Aussie Arcade
http://www.aussiearcade.com.au/

No Steve, haven't had VP itself, or involved in any related forums since '05
A whole bunch of reasons - mostly PC & connection related, other hobbies etc.

 

[StevOz]

OK, in that case I'll just have to pimp my tables for VP9 :)

TMNT

http://www.pinballnirvana.com/UpDownload-req-viewdownloaddetails-lid-2121.html

and TheGyruss

http://www.pinballnirvana.com/UpDownload-req-viewdownloaddetails-lid-2146.html

 

[Patch]

OK, in that case I'll just have to pimp my tables for VP9 :)
http://www.pinballnirvana.com/UpDownload-req-viewdownloaddetails-lid-2146.html

Yep

Having trouble with connection here atm, due to rain all night - still got copper wire phone lines here

 

[sleepy]

Copper wires and a wall phone jack?

I had some improvement with my connection by replacing the 40 year old phone jack in the wall. The old conductors in the jack looked like pewter, not at all like a high grade metal conductor, but like a low grade pewter metal suitable for 1 Khz. voice service.

The wall plate with jack is only a couple of bucks, but if you do replace it, then make sure to observe the wiring before disconnecting the wires and be sure to follow the correct pattern to jack terminals when connecting those wires to a new phone jack. Do it wrong and you lose the connection. Something I found out is that a dial-up modem and likely also a DSL modem depend on a three wire system, not the same as a two wire landline telephone, so be aware, and that sometimes the 3rd wire is dropped as it was installed for landphones, not for modems.

I would Google for "phone wiring for modems" or something like that.

EDIT: I wouldn't want to have to pay a phone repairman for any blunders,
unless the repair is at no charge.

 

[faralos]

keep on making vp8's!
there are still some of us who play vp8 pins
I am actually still building one wip in vp8 since it seems to not work at all in vp9
also any ideas you may have for a vp8 pin post on it
cause maybe one of us can help you convert it over into a vp9 one?
and if you like original tables try out the ones made with both vp8 and vp9
since they don't need pinmame maybe you can get some building ideas from them?
Have fun and I'll see ya' around either here or over at itchigos or Dazz's places

 

[Patch]

Phone lines are fixed, sort of
Being rural here, lines have yet to be upgraded to optic fibre ...

 

[sleepy]

I live on the Hollywood, Ca. border and we don't even have fiber optic.
We do have Cable, but it is common wire.
In the States, 20% of Internet users are on dial-up, largely rural users.
The phone companies still haven't gotten around to covering the areas affected.
There is satellite Internet service available, but it is way too expensive for most folks.