Modernizing Wikipedia's FP entry. [progress thread]

@Ike Savage
You are probably aware, but by using VPinMAME and a current ROM that is supported, there is a way to extract/capture the DMD Animations (Frame-by-Frame) through 'emulating' the respective "Switches" required - that result in the DMD animation being displayed etc. ** This can happen automatically when playing a VP/VPX table, as the switches are monitored/called through the script when setup to do so (@TerryRed perhaps this is similar to using DMDext for triggering PUP videos etc.?) ** This then creates / captures the information in an accompanying "dump.txt" file.

There is also a similar method for playing back and exporting; capturing, the Music/SFX in an accompanying *.mp3 file - although this is better done manually through a laborious process of locating, playing and recording the required elements (IMHO); although being honest - capturing "Any" Music / Sounds that you can play and/or hear on your PC is doable using Audacity and enabling the inbuilt 'Stereo Mixer' on your windows OS.

Then, using the "dump.txt" file it is possible to create Future Pinball DMD Animation *.dmdf files through the use of DMDPaint; although yet again - this can be quite time consuming, as there may be the requirement to amend/update each frame of an animation to remove the 'overlaid' text (i.e. score / timings etc.) to enable the games specific players score etc. to be used when playing in Future Pinball as an example (this is just my experience, and others may know of better/more efficient ways..?).
Wow, in fact I was barely aware of any of that. :o

It's been a long time since I was a dev, never really developed for the MAME side, and never properly transitioned to VP9 and VPX. Barely touched FP. (health issues have drastically curtailed my hobby-interactions, don't you know)

So for a long time, pinball was a very modest part of my hobby life, and I would mainly just drop by here from time to time to hang out with old friends. That all changed a lot for me when I joined the staff a year+ ago. Indeed, I hadn't been on a pinball-related staff since I was admin-ing at the original VPF... I guess it was 16 years ago(!)

Anyway, thanks, Gin!
 
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On Reddit the other day I noticed some people talking about how FP was a 'long dead' project. That spurred me to do some long-overdue work on the body of the WP entry. For example, here's a new paragraph I just added:
With the introduction of Better Arcade Mode, Dynamic Flippers and Shiva Flippers, the general physics and flipper-specific physics have since been greatly improved. BAM also adds many new features, such as dynamic light settings, enhanced camera settings, post-processing effects, a plug-in system, custom game rooms, balls, and animated mini-playfields. The mini-playfields allow for creation of a wide variety of games unrelated to pinball, such as billiards and BRIO's Labyrinth (marble game).

I made a point of mentioning @Gimli's games since they're such a great demonstration of some of the 'outside-the-box' capabilities that BAM now adds.

IMO it would also be helpful for someone to create a BAM entry on WP, allowing the project to be better-highlighted and more easily-linked from other Wikipedia pages. Guess I wouldn't mind taking a stab at that myself, except my grasp of what-all BAM does is still kinda noobie-ish. For example-- does it exclusively work with FP, or with non-FP generalised stuff too, like cabs and VR?

And once again, feel free to point out any errors or outdated info in the FP article. I feel more comfortable now in handling the FP editing myself as opposed to hoping others will do it.

Btw, one final thing I haven't figured out yet (even after some experimentation) is how to add Rafal's site right under "FP.com." (see attach)
 

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  • WP - FP capsule.jpg
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Okay, I've made a bunch more tweaks and updates to the WP preview:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Pinball (Future Pinball - Wikipedia)
Future Pinball
Developer(s)Christopher Leathley (FP core app), Rafal Janicki (BAM)
Stable releaseFP 1.9.1.20101231 + BAM v.1.5-337 / July 11, 2021; 29 days ago
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypePinball
LicenseFreeware
Websitewww.futurepinball.com

Future Pinball ("FP") is a freeware 3D pinball editing and gaming application for Microsoft Windows.[1] The software is similar to Visual Pinball ("VP") and other modern pinball simulation applications. Just as with VP's partnership with Visual_PinMAME, FP uses partner applications to emulate original pinball ROM code. In FP's case, the end results of ROM code are simulated by Better Arcade Mode ("BAM") and tools such as "Pinball Browser"[2] and dot-matrix display software plugins. Core FP development was discontinued in 2010, but resumed in 2013 via BAM. BAM features many new developments, such as enhanced physics, optics, and virtual reality support.[3]

Rafal @ravarcade, if you get a chance some time, please look over the text, then feel free to suggest any edits & improvements. Thanks.
 
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I still have a little difficulty with this statement:

"Just as with VP's partnership with Visual_PinMAME, FP uses partner applications to emulate original pinball ROM code."

Although BAM was changed not too long ago so it has the ability to use ROMs, there has never been a table that uses one. All the tables so far recreate tables using the script. I am not sure if any of the current table developers know how to access the data on a ROM. I don't.

I noticed that reference 2 has a dead link.
 
Thank you! That's exactly the kind of help I was hoping for... that we need.

Yeah, I'm pretty dicey on the whole "FP emulating ROM" area, myself. That's why I went on to point out that the "the end results of ROM code are simulated," but somehow, that whole bit of logic could be summed-up better, no?

To go back to start-- part of the reason I felt it necessary to explain it this way is because so many people over the years have unfortunately completely written-off FP, just assuming that it can't re-create any table past the late 70's or so (i.e. needing ROMs).

We need a way to say that it's just not so, Joe.

Not really sure about the references system, myself. I'll have to look in to that...
:salut:
 
Yeah, I'm pretty dicey on the whole "FP emulating ROM" area, myself. That's why I went on to point out that the "the end results of ROM code are simulated," but somehow, that whole bit of logic could be summed-up better, no?

Table developers sometimes extract content from ROMs like DMD fonts and audio. Otherwise, they are recreated from scratch based on rule sheets published on the internet.
 
Table developers sometimes extract content from ROMs like DMD fonts and audio. Otherwise, they are recreated from scratch based on rule sheets published on the internet.
I mean, ROMs emulated in FP are re-created via a gathering-spectrum of methods, no?

Like in VP-- one typically relies on the pinMAME project to handle all that.
But in FP and FP-BAM, documenting / helper programs are crucial, no?

If I have a point at the end of the day-- it's that VP completely relies on pinMAME to handle that (i.e. emulate ROMs), while FP does the same via various other methodology, as articulated earlier.

Agree / disagree?
 
I mean, ROMs emulated in FP are re-created via a gathering-spectrum of methods, no?

Like in VP-- one typically relies on the pinMAME project to handle all that.
But in FP and FP-BAM, documenting / helper programs are crucial, no?

If I have a point at the end of the day-- it's that VP completely relies on pinMAME to handle that (i.e. emulate ROMs), while FP does the same via various other methodology, as articulated earlier.

Agree / disagree?
When I think of "emulate" I think of I think of the ROM being connected to the program. I tend to think that recreated tables are reproduced on FP. ...But then maybe I don't understand the meaning of emulate.
 
When I think of "emulate" I think of I think of the ROM being connected to the program. I tend to think that recreated tables are reproduced on FP. ...But then maybe I don't understand the meaning of emulate.
I think it's fair to say "emulate" can certainly have a code-specific nuance down to the individual instructions & original data stored in IC's. (i.e. ROMs, processors and support chips)

But the word by definition also has a broader meaning, that of "matching by imitation," or even in computing terms, to "reproduce the end functions of."

As you well know, MAME has a very specific way of doing that, but there are indeed software / hardware emulators out there that emulate in the broader sense, such as discrete logic-emulators, handheld emulators, and so forth.

There are even famous computing cases in which various computer, board or software / hardware packages were either legally shut down because they emulated too exactly, or legally cleared, because they used different means to imitate the original. The old Apple ][ vs. the Franklin Ace case was one example, if you remember. Xerox Star vs. Apple Mac vs. MS Windows might qualify too, I suppose.

I was also reading about another case the other day, one that happened in Brasil. I think it was that a Brasilian startup emulated NES hardware, and Nintendo naturally took them to court. The firm prevailed in that case because IIRC they managed to reproduce all the behavior of the original hardware without stealing it directly. In some countries I believe that still wouldn't have flown, but Brasil law at the time evidently allowed it.

I also realise that some people are nevertheless going to assume "emulate" is only true in the "MAME" sense. That's why I'm certainly open for improved wording, and why I specifically said "the end results of ROM code are simulated" for the time being.
 
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Just noticed this article text:
Several game magazines published tutorials on how to build one's own tables, such as PCWorld, PC Format[5] and c't.[6]

And decided to add this:
"Starter tables" can also greatly aid the process, such as the powerful fpxEngine[7], specifically designed for non-coders.

Now to be fair, I should probably find a top-level starter table / system at both VPF & VPU, and included those too, yeah?


Hehe, also just noticed this in the article's revision history:
Figured something like this would eventually happen. Guess I better learn how to properly delineate the "successor" stuff in WP. Hmm...

BAM probably does need its own entry, though, as I was saying earlier.
 
Updated the WP article to reflect BAM's latest release of June 5th, '22.

Article could still use further development listing BAM's major advances, for those who want to try their hand. Cheers.
 
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