How to Add Shaker DOF Effect via Impactor to an SSF/Thump Setup

[ryguy417]

While SSF Impactor has largely been replaced by Thump, there is one thing that Thump can’t replace: shaker effect when triggered by a DOF call.

If you don’t want to invest in a shaker, SSF Impactor is a great solution.

A few steps to get this to work.

First, the guide that @MasterKai put together is excellent (as it should be, since he created Impactor):

https://vpinball.com/forums/topic/ssfimpactor-user-guide/

Second, a few modifications/notes:

1. Make sure that you grab the bass.dll file from https://www.un4seen.com/ and add it to your DirectOutput folder (you probably already have it in your VPX folder too)
2. Make sure you use the .dll files that Kai has provided: the new versions from a DOF install (if you already have DOF) will not work for anything other than flippers. And there’s no reason to use Impactor for flippers–Thump is better (sorry, Kai)
3. Use DOF config to create a .ini file that only has “Shaker” for port 12. Follow the guide for the details on how to select an LEDWiz device in the DOF config utility.
4. You can still use the cabinet.xml file that Kai provides–I ended up not modifying it at all.
5. I also left all DOF options in VPX as “both,” since I didn’t want to lose awesome shaker files like you find on the AC-DC table.

Once you follow the guide with the notes above, open the DOF Test Table (https://vpinball.com/VPBdownloads/dof-test-table-vpx/) and press “s” to see if it’s working. With a nice bass shaker and a good amp, you can feel a strong shaker effect. You can also use the DirectOutput tester, but I find this to be an easier way of testing the exact element you’re looking to assess.

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[topper-2k]

Cool. Thanks for this. I’ve got my bass shaker installed and triggering when the DOF command fires off a shaker motor.

But the bass shaker is triggering for other, non-DOF stuff to, like pop bumpers. It feels weird. To get a good shaker motor effect, I need to turn the bass shaker up pretty loud. But then it’s like my pop bumpers are vibrating the whole cab.

Is something off in my config, or is that normal?

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[ryguy417]

@topper-2k what did you put in your dofconfig settings? Do you have entries for everything, or just shaker?

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[topper-2k]

ryguy417 wrote:

@topper-2k what did you put in your dofconfig settings? Do you have entries for everything, or just shaker?

Just the shaker.

I think the primary issue is that I need to turn the volume of the shaker “motor” up and the volume of the bass shaker (for table sounds) down. Is there a way to control the shaker motor volume in the DOF config tool? Real shaker motors don’t have such a thing as volume, so I’m really sure whether that’s possible.

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[ryguy417]

Ah! Yes, that is possible. In your cabinet.xml file, you’ll see something like “shaker impact” and a setting of 100. Try changing this to 200 or higher and use the DOF test table to see if you like it. I think I have mine set to 350 for the issues you cite.

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[topper-2k]

ryguy417 wrote:

Ah! Yes, that is possible. In your cabinet.xml file, you’ll see something like “shaker impact” and a setting of 100. Try changing this to 200 or higher and use the DOF test table to see if you like it. I think I have mine set to 350 for the issues you cite.

Thanks. That at least inspired me to try a few new things that seem to be helping. Oddly, upping the shaker impact made things worse on my system. 90-100 seems to be my sweet spot.

While testing things out, this time I noticed I had a bass boost applied to my exciters via the graphic eq in PeaceUI. EQ Boost + Impactor + Thump was just too much. And it was causing Thump to distort at all but the lowest settings. So I flattened that EQ out and was able turn Thump up a bit and things seem a little more balanced now.

90-100 still seems to be the sweet spot on the shaker impact setting for me. Higher than that and it doesn’t sound like a shaker motor, just a sort of buzzing.

I think I might try moving my bass shaker from the middle of the floor of the cab to the front wall to enhance the shaker motor effect while maybe being able to turn everything else down. I’m a little worried that will have a negative effect on the position of the sounds coming from the side exciters, but it’s an easy enough thing to try out and undo if I don’t like it.

Thanks for all your help.

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