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Yeah, I’m mostly just venting. I had a similar problem trying to set up a MAME machine on a Linux box… it seemed like pretty much 100% of the available front ends pretty much were, “you want it? COMPILE IT.” And no walk-through on how to do so.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
lol, I have problems trying to do anything on a Linux box.
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OK, so I have the light advances sorted – I think – regarding the upper rollovers and the tie in of the inlane to that. I still need to create and tie-in the bonus multiplier accrual feature – I’ll probably be displaying the number on the credit display for testing so I can at least verify that it’s actually working, but it should be easier now that I have all my events defined. And I also need to figure out how to get the drop target bank to do the advancement as well. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to set up a similar “advance this state” feature like I did with the inlane, I need to dig deeper into the documentation and see if I can suss it out. The lack of workable examples is definitely proving to be something of a hinderance right now as I replicate the old ruleset; it’s possible I’d have had an easier time if I had defined a new sort of ruleset, on the other side though much of the ruleset is silkscreened onto the playfield itself.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
OK, got the rest of the rollover stuff sorted out now. I also got the majority of the drop target shots set up – I can activate the special in the appropriate way, receive the extra ball by collecting it, and reset the bank with the kickers when they’re lit. I asked about integrating the “all drops, well, dropped” into the rollover advancement and if I can implement a second shot on the inlane rollover for another extra ball. It’s between those, implementing the actual bonus and multiplier, and then sussing out the high score entry system.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
OK, got the drop targets integrated into the multiplier advancement (I have a ton of shot profiles just for multiplier handling), and the multiplier itself is implemented. Now, I’m struggling to get the bonus count added in. I’ve been trying to use a logic block counter, and basically can’t get the value back out of it to add up for the left kicker or end of ball bonus collection, or even display it. I think there’s something not quite right with the documentation.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
OK, figured out what I wasn’t doing in terms of getting the bonus value. Still having issues with initial start on that, but past the first attempt to score it in a game I can score it correctly again and again. I need to figure out how to make sure the counter is correctly initialized at the start.
The Multiplier should now be completely finished. I’ve got 5-6 shot profiles running the whole multiplier multiplexing nightmare: one for the drop targets, THREE for the rollovers, and one for the inlane, all marching along in lockstep to keep everything on the same page.
I’ve got the “Extra Ball Is Lit” on the inlane working. I can now light the Special unlimited times and collect it unlimited times in one ball, basically ensuring that, if I get skilled, I can rack up the extra balls. Oh, and the knocker fires whenever a ball is awarded.
Now, I need to figure out how to get the game to award extra balls whenever someone exceeds a certain score. And tackle the “can’t enter initials” on the high score. And get the same “walking the ladder” bonus countdown I was able to get working in VPX.
Current ZIP file size is still less than 300k.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
And one of the biggest sticklers has now been tackled.
I NOW HAVE HIGH SCORE ABILITY!!
All I had to do was plug a variable set into the main config file, basically “filling out” the initials from the start to bypass the “no entry, erase” part of the routine:
player_vars:
initials:
value_type: str
initial_value: AAAGiven the nature of a System 1, I don’t want initials in all actuality, since I can’t actually display them reasonably anyway. This marks one of the bigger changes, though, since I will be storing four high scores, displaying from first to fourth on the appropriate displays.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
Interesting, I’ll have to remember that. You should be able to display them fine, it’s the entering them that gets complicated, since you really only have 1 button to use unless you rewire things.
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Yeah, at this point I’ve been trying to avoid anything that would imply “it would be better if you rewired this part of the machine”. Because, well, I’ll be very honest at this point with the project, if I ever get to the point “I’m rewiring a System 1 to make it easier to setup with Mission Pinball”, it will be with the intent of dropping something like OPP, FAST or PROC into it. Not that the LISY1 is a bad piece of kit, it’s just that if I’m going to the trouble of rewiring, I want out of the most of the limitations inherent in the System 1 design.
And technically, I do have TWO buttons I could use for input (since there’s an “add credit” button installed), but that’s really no less clunky than one button.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
Definitely stuck on the bonus ladder right now, in terms of implementing collection. I’m not getting it to collect right now, and worse, it seems like doing one of the recommended starting events for the mode flips the game over relay, but doesn’t advance the game, so it sits on Ball One with it stuck idle.
I’ll be sleeping on it, going to gaming tomorrow, and hopefully I can be back at it.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
OK, basically got it done. I have a “calculating bonus” synthsound placeholder for the ladder show I haven’t been able to get working yet.
I had to set the ARM frequency to 1000 and Turbo to on on the Pi Zero to get it to actually run without unacceptably slowing down as one plays, and even then, it starts lagging once one gets into the fifth ball. The default setting is pretty much unplayable. I’m not sure if I need to retrofit the connector for a Pi3 or not, but I may look into doing it, or snagging a computer from the thrift store to install Linux on and using that instead. It pretty much affirms my thought that it’s best used if you already have a System 1 with all the trimmings. If you’re doing a ground-up homebrew, or need to do significant board replacement and repair, it’s going to better to spend the cash to work with another platform in the MPF ecosystem. In other words, it’s a pretty niche thing.
I’m probably going to move on to something else for a bit before going back to working on the bonus ladder. I’m backing up the image right now in case I need to reimage the card later.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
hmmm, wonder why it would be slowing down as the game progresses…
I’ve started putting my sinbad kit together (got totally disassembled, and missing some pieces, from prior owner) and will start on the lisy once I get to that stage. I haven’t heard of any others totally MPFing their system 1 yet, so thanks for pioneering that. I’ll need to figure out the bonus stuff as well.
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Jan over in the MPF group has offered to look into what someone else has done implementing an EM bonus ladder, so I sent my config up there again.
I’m thinking part of the initial slow down problem is the software distribution may be based on an older Raspbian build; it literally won’t boot on the newest Pi3 we have in the house. Hence why I had to do a speed override to what’s supposed to be the default clock speed for the Zero.
I’ve also sent Ralf an update as to where I’m at with things.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
I follow along over on the mpf groups too. Looks like he is going to check with Jeremy on his Hot Rod. looking at the Hot Rod modes, his bonus countdown is all done in python code.
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And a nice, timely response from Jeremy, too. I’ll have to fiddle with getting it put into my config this week.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
I soldered up an unholy adapter to get the Pi3 in, which has helped a little in the speed department, although it still picks up increasing lag by the time I get to the fifth ball. I’ll be ordering/buying a new deeper connector to install on the LISY.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
Been working with Ralf to figure out what’s causing the lag. No luck tracking it down so far. I also found another issue I reported to him.
My extra ball on scoring configs and the high score “preentered initials” I figured out are now part of the documentation for MPF.
I did get one long standing issue fixed; I had rebuilt the tops of the pop bumpers, and replaced the switches, and couldn’t get the left and center working quite right, they’d always have a numb spot and lackluster pops. I’d ordered replacement switch skirts alongside the bodies and light sockets, then never used them because they sat differently and I wasn’t sure they would work. I put them on tonight (desoldering the lamp socket was the only bad part), and I was finally able to tune the switches and get the pops working correctly again. Having LISYControl available made all the difference in testing, I could activate the game relay, bang the ball into the pops to test them, and deactivate it again so I could fiddle with whatever switch was having issues.
Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
We’ve finally made some progress on getting the lag sorted. They’ve added poll_hz to the development branch, and Ralf provided me a new image that presents that parameter to me. I can now set the polling fast enough that things don’t get to 3-5 seconds of lag by the fifth ball. So I can start considering digging back in after the holidays to knock off all the rough edges in the config and get the bonus ladder working correctly.
Rough edges right now:
“Calculating Bonus” vocal callout is called twice when hitting the left kicker. This might get sorted doing the bonus ladder implementation, since the current sound is there for my development feedback purposes.
Extra Balls need some serious adjustment. I might have to put a limit on the ones earned via points, or revise the point tiers for the new unlimited system.
The “Shoot Again” light shows are really having issues. Once I get the flashing light at start of ball, it won’t stop until the game is over. And sometimes, the light doesn’t even come on.
Still considering whether or not to “break free” one of the “reset drop target” lights to come on when the center target is dropped before the bank is completed; I’d probably use the left kicker, since it takes more skill to hit it.Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
And Ralf and Jan found where the bug was hiding out, and squished it.
So now the only delay comes from getting a rapid succession of switch hits basically filling the queue faster than the system can tackle it, and of course it’ll eventually catch up, so I might fiddle with the polling parameter to see if it helps. This makes it much more playable right off the bat, and I can see if I can start working on it again after Thanksgiving.Creator of the first PinupPlayer PostDMD mods for VPX - PostDMD for Masters of the Universe VPX and Jaws VPX.
Head Proprietor of Pisces Pinball, a VPX table developer.
Lead Technician of MC Chase Amusements, a private arcade in our home basement.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
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