glossary - dekay/vpinball-wiki GitHub Wiki

Virtual Pinball is packed with unique terms that might seem puzzling at first. Consider this your secret decoder ring to understand the lingo and get the most out of your experience. Many entries also link to helpful channels on the Virtual Pinball Chat Discord — join the community if you haven’t yet!

AltSound enables alternate sound sample support for ROM-based tables in Visual Pinball. Support is provided by the libaltsound library that is built directly into VPinMame. This lets tables play different sound samples than the default ones, adding audio variety and realism.

From the b2s-backglass wiki:
"When a pinball table is run through Visual Pinball (VPX), the VBS script (included in the table) calls the B2S server... and displays the backglass specifically made for the selected pinball table. The backglass file (tablename.directb2s) is an XML file with images and instructions on when to display certain smaller images that simulate lamps behind the backglass. The trigger can come either from a pinball ROM via VPinMame or directly from commands in the table VB script."

• On Windows, B2S Server is a separate plugin (more info and downloads).
• On Linux, macOS, and mobile standalone builds, it’s included automatically.

Learn more on the b2s-backglass wiki.

DOF is a software framework that lets you control external hardware devices (like LEDs, motors, or solenoids) from Visual Pinball. It works through a controller connected to your PC running VPX. For example, it can drive addressable LEDs via a Teensy or ESP32 microcontroller or activate relays for motors.

Use the DOF Config Tool to customize your hardware setup.

• Official docs: DirectOutputWIP
• Join the discussion: DOF Discord Channel
• Learn from the pros: Way of the Wrench YouTube Tutorial

Fleep is a developer who recorded multiple real pinball machine sound samples — things like ball rolling, flippers, slingshots, and bumpers. Multiple versions of each sound are randomized during gameplay for a natural, realistic audio experience. Fleep also added positional audio support, enabling Surround Sound Feedback (SSF).

• Discussion: Reddit VP Terms
• Tutorial: Fleep YouTube Series

A table configuration that shows the playfield, DMD (Dot Matrix Display), and Backglass all together on a single screen. Great for setups with only one monitor or device.

Reference: Discord discussion

nFozzy is a developer who created a physics model widely considered the best starting point for Visual Pinball tables. This model powers VPW’s default physics and closely simulates real pinball ball movement and interactions.

• Read the whitepaper
• Reddit discussion: VP Terms
• Developer tutorial: YouTube

Serum is an open-source colorization format for pinball ROMs. It’s the only colorization format supported by the Standalone version of Visual Pinball.

SSF is a tactile feedback system that simulates physical sensations in your pinball cabinet using bass shakers and exciters. It works alongside or as an alternative to mechanical feedback like motors and solenoids. By using specialized audio hardware (7.1 channel sound cards, bass shakers, exciters, amplifiers), SSF can mimic the feel of a ball rolling, flipper hits, and other table effects through vibration.

• Facebook Group: SSFeedback
• Discord Channel: SSF Discussion

VPinballX.ini is the VPinball settings file. All of the user's settings for things like Display Configuration, Sound Setup, Point of View settings etc are stored within this file. Previous versions of VPinball stored its settings in the Windows Registry but that created a number of issues. The new approach

• allows per table override settings,
• allows easier editing (manually or by a third party application),
• allows the use of different settings by specifying a custom ini file on the command line (see CommandLineParameters.txt in the VPX documentation),
• provides settings that are the same and can be shared between Windows version of VPX and the Standalone version (Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, Raspberry Pi,...),
• allows one to see all the available settings at once
• allows easier collaboration by being able to share the setting file with bug reports.

When a property is not defined (nothing after the = sign, VPX will use a default value for it. Related settings are grouped together in sections with names surrounded by square brackets e.g. [Player].

If you need to reset all settings to their default, just delete the file and it will be recreated the next time it runs. This is often the case during development when large changes or new features are introduced that in turn introduce changes to the settings file. VPinball does not (yet) have the capabililty to migrate settings from an older version so if a new version can't find the setting it is looking for, it ends up using whatever its default value is.

VPX is the shorthand for Visual Pinball Version 10, the modern version of the pinball simulator. See the VPX GitHub repository for the latest source and releases.

VPX supports Virtual Reality gameplay! Originally maintained as a separate build, VR is now integrated into VPX since version 10.8. You can play any VPX table in VR, though tables optimized for VR (with a “VR Room”) will give a better experience, including backglass, cabinet, and DMD display. Note that VR is a Windows-only feature at this time.

VR mode is also useful on mobile devices (iOS, iPad, Android) to combine multiple display elements on one screen but this is not actual VR per se.

Note: This page is a work in progress with many terms still to add.
Feel free to contribute!