Looking for game room side art and a how to question

[Pinball Monk]

Hi Folks,

Is there any VP side art that looks like a game room? Maybe two pinball machines on either side of the table you're playing? I really like the simple brick wall back room I've seen on various tables, however, I haven't figured out how to import files between tables. I'm on the lookout for pictures online but the few straight on shots of pins I've tried in VP and V PinMAME came out too fuzzy in game. Thanks very much for helping the newbie.

Dave

 

[bob]

OK, If you click on the HERE in my signature, you'll see a tutorial for changing backdrops. You can import any backdrop you want, but you can't export a backdrop from a table to use in another table. I've made a few gameroom backdrops, but I never made one with tables on each side, but I have seen them. You could search for "gameroom" here and at VPF and probably find a few gameroom jpgs, but I don't remember anyone sharing one with tables on each side. It would have to be edited or redone anyway as the backdrop would have to match the table inclination that you were using it with. Here's one I made that use to look good with PD's older tables, but it probably wouldn't look very good with JPSalas' new wider looking tables as his background image also contains the cabinet and rails of the table.

 

[Pinball Monk]

Thanks Bob. I've already seen your tutorial, that's how I was able to add the images I've already tried. Thanks again. I've searched for backdrops here with no luck. I'm registered at VPF, but I haven't been able to download from there. For whatever reason, when I go to the download section, it says I'm not logged in any longer. I e-mailed them about the problem, but anyway, I think I'm going to try again to make my own back room. What resolution is best for images? Thanks again for your help. Who knows? I might have something to contribute pretty soon.

All the best,
Dave

P.S.

I like the background. :)

 

[bob]

If you found any backdrops at VPF, they would be in the forums and not on AJ's table page. I wish I could help you with your VPF download problem, but I'm not very techy. You should be able to post at VPF and if you post something in the FAQ forums, there are a few people that are very helpful in solving problems. Emailing the site owner probably won't get you any results, he rarely posts in the forums, but he'll take your donation and give you supporting member status.

I make my backdrops 1000 x 750. The important thing to remember is to keep them at a 4x3 ratio. The newer version of VP allows for larger images, but the older versions had a maximum of 1024x1024, so that's why I never made anything with a higher resolution.

Is there a particular table you want to use for this gameroom? If so, then tell me what the tablename is and the author and the version number and then maybe I can give you some better tips. It would be easy to make a backdrop with other tables in it, you just need to load tables with the same inclination and then take a screenshot and then a little photoshop and you're in business.

 

[bob]

Here's a site you might be interested in... These are unauthorised mods, so it will be edited by me after you respond :)

I removed the link....

 

[Pinball Monk]

Bob,

Cirqus Voltaire is my favorite table. I'm playing CirqusVoltaire_1-4 PacDude's Table. JP's is very nice, but runs a little slow on my poor little PC.

I'll try the FAQ forums at VPF. Thanks again for the advice and info.

Dave

P.S.

Yep...I've got a few of Stu's mods. Nice even if the tables are on the small side. It is what I have in mind though. He didn't mod Voltaire however...oh well.

 

[Pinball Monk]

I found this resource in the VP Forums from Fatdog2.

http://www.esnips.com/web/Fatdog?docsPage=2#files

I going to try to make something like The Room Arcade.jpg but with the adjacent machines lit up, like so... http://z.about.com/d/inventors/1/0/6/x/SupermanPinball.jpg

Wish me luck!

 

[bob]

Keep us posted.... I downloaded that table and looked at it. Do you want more room (a smaller table) for your gameroom backdrop? Nicky really pushes the table down to gain more room. There's a simple way to that. The tallest wall I could see on the table is 270 units high, as an experiment for you, click on "wall" in the options and then add a wall offscreen (not on the table) then make the wall invisible with no shadows and then make the wall 450 units high or experiment with different numbers. You do this by clicking on Options on the left and then changing it's properties on the right. This will push the table down, making the table appear smaller.... Try it, it's fun. :) You can also do this in reverse to make tables larger, to do this, you just eliminate the tallest walls, that's why JPSalas puts his cabinet and rails on the backdrop, then he has no really high walls to push the table down. Let me know what you learn. :)

 

[bob]

I imported one of my backdrops into CV..... Here's a pic of what it looks like. I'll also include the gameroom jpg. You can do whatever you want with this pic (permission to mod it) as it's was created 100% by me.

 

[Pinball Monk]

Thanks again Bob. I’ll start fooling around and see what I can come up with. Might be a few days. First I need to see a dentist about a toothache. These things always seem to happen on the weekend when no one’s available.

 

[bob]

Here's one of my early versions of the Three Stooges and then what the table looks like today.... To accomplish this, you just push the table down with a wall and then change the inclination and field of view (located on the backdrop page of the editor) Of course, nowadays, I just want the table to be rendered as large as possible as it's more fun for me to play them that way. The main thing is that I'd like people to know that it's not that hard to change stuff in the VP editor, but most people need to start off doing little things and then slowly learn how to make a table. I'm sure that just about everyone looks at the editor and is overwhelmed, but believe me, I knew nothing about graphics when I discovered VP and now I can change a photo into just about anything I want with photoshop, but it was a slow process for me as I'm not a kid and I don't really "want" to go to school anymore.

 

[Pinball Monk]

Hi Bob,

I found working on this to be nice distraction from the toothache, so here's my first draft. Just a picture to give myself something to work from, not set up for VP yet of course.

 

[Pinball Monk]

The above doesn't look half bad in game. I just need to find some pictures of some well lit machines from a straight on view so I can center everything. I blurred the pins slightly on purpose. I like the groovy effect. Now that I said that, you can probably guess my age. The edges are a little ruff but that can be fixed. Now I'll need to find those pictures.

 

[bob]

I'm 55, so I've had a few groovy moments in my life too. :)

If you loaded a table into the editor that had no reels on the backdrop part of the table you can change the inclination to zero and maybe play around with the field of view, and that will produce a table with a straight view. One table that I know that should work is Black Knight by Lio as he likes tables to be angle independent (meaning you can adjust those settings I mentioned) Then you just screen capture it and it should be easier to keep it looking normal as you change it's perspective or skew or whatever you're doing to it.

 

[bob]

If you loaded a table into the editor that had no reels on the backdrop part of the table you can change the inclination to zero and maybe play around with the field of view, and that will produce a table with a straight view. One table that I know that should work is Black Knight by Lio as he likes tables to be angle independent (meaning you can adjust those settings I mentioned) Then you just screen capture it and it should be easier to keep it looking normal as you change it's perspective or skew or whatever you're doing to it.

Here's what I meant or the result of doing what I said above....

I would create a blank cabinet on each side of your gameroom backdrop and then you could just change playfield images for a little variety.

 

[Pinball Monk]

Hi Bob,
<O</O
Thanks again for the info. I did the attached before I saw your latest posts. It’s best to look at it with Cirqus Voltaire 1.4 PD. I set the inclination and field of view at 38. It works with some tables and not others. Sorry I haven’t had the time or the clear head to put the info you gave me to good use yet – I improvised this without knowing what I was doing. One question: I noticed that images tend to bend outward when viewing the room in the game. The machines in my jpg are straight up and down, but they look curved in the game. No big deal, it looks fine as is, but I was just wondering why this happens? It’s probably because I haven’t messed around with walls like you told me to. Don’t worry, I’m hooked. I think I’ll be designing a pinball machine before long. Well, tell me what you think. Thanks again for all the help.
<O</O

Dave

 

[bob]

They need a lot of work :) You're going to have to include the side of the cabinet to make your effect look real. Your backdrop will need to look more like those XF versions of Nicky Special to look right.

VP renders the playing table depending on the inclination and field of view, but the backdrop just gets displayed behind them, so you'll have to adjust the backdrop to a screenshot of table after it is rendered.

 

[bob]

Here's a little more of an example of what I mean.... :) I used a pic of a real table and then adjusted it to the view of CV

 

[bob]

OK, I took the above jpg and copied the left cabinet and then flipped it horizontally and moved it to the other side, I changed the hue of the flipper button to red. Then I erased the side art and then I took that Black Knight jpg from an earlier post and used it for the playfield, searched for a Black Knight backbox and threw that on top, I didn't look for side cabinet art. Here it is.... Remember I made this for CV version 1.4 and it would need adjusted or remade for other tables or other views of this table even. You can use this gameroom or mod it if you wish. It would probably look better using 2 real playfields or 2 rendered playfields, but this will do as an example of what I was talking about.

 

[TheHermit]

Looks good Bob, but the tables are a little too close to each other... Barely enough room to get your hand/fingers to the flipper buttons, especially if the table next to you had someone playing also!

 

[bob]

Looks good Bob, but the tables are a little too close to each other... Barely enough room to get your hand/fingers to the flipper buttons, especially if the table next to you had someone playing also!

That's why I play them with my keyboard.

Of course, this would be easy to change, but then you wouldn't see those cute flipper buttons.

 

[Pinball Monk]

They need a lot of work :) You're going to have to include the side of the cabinet to make your effect look real.

Bob,
<O</O
Please don’t hold back, tell me how you really feel. :) Reality is overrated anyway. Besides; Groovy tables don’t have sides. They just kind of float there in the ether.


Seriously, I know I’ve got a lot to learn and I really appreciate the info advice and examples. I’m going to give this reality thing you speak of a shot over the weekend.
<O</O

Thanks again,
<O</O

Dave