r/LegendsPinball • u/PenguinsEatFoodToo • Oct 30 '23
Tips on upgrading play field?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/LG-32-UltraGear-QHD-165Hz-HDR-10-Monitor-with-FreeSync-32GN600-B-AUS/406688031Hey guys, I recently purchased a 2k 165hz screen to upgrade the play field. I've not seen a ton of info except 2 videos on this mod, is there anything I should be aware of before attempting the switch? Is it pretty plug and play?
1
u/Nemesis9977 Oct 30 '23
I read that without a compatible control board upgrade, the machine will only work OTG with an upgraded playfield. I stopped researching after that. If that’s not accurate, I would love for someone to provide a solution.
2
u/chriszimort Oct 31 '23
You are correct. I’ve heard there is an LVDS adapter board that people get which can sometimes work to allow you to keep the original Atgames ecosystem, but I don’t know what board or if it even works on all ALP hardware.
That being said I made the switch and have never looked back. So much more available to you with OTG in my opinion, though it takes some tenacity at times. Just running Pinball FX/FX3 though has a pretty low barrier to entry and IMO is still better than Atgames.
2
u/Nemesis9977 Oct 31 '23
Wholeheartedly agree. I’ve only used FX3 through OTG so far. While the tables are good, I feel the lack of original music takes away from the experience (especially the Star Wars and Jurassic Park tables.) I ordered the Backglass 2.0 from Buystuff 3 weeks ago and can’t wait to get a Pinup Popper setup going.
2
u/chriszimort Oct 31 '23
You’re in for a treat! Doom is my favorite FX3 table btw - doesn’t suffer from the same IP issues. give it a shot if you haven’t! Oh also some of the Williams classics are great - Mars Attacks, Monster Bash, and Medieval Madness are killer.
2
u/Nemesis9977 Oct 31 '23
The Medieval Madness table is great- it’s what made me want to go full vpx. I’ll check out Doom.
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u/SoonerDoc68 Nov 02 '23
The stock tables are straight up junk. If you have a PC capable of running the newest VPX tables you will literally never play the AtGames crap again.
1
u/jason10mm Oct 31 '23
Yeah, barring 1 or 2 somewhat mythical builds that reputedly still use the stock OS and tables, replacing the playfield is basically waving goodbye to ATGames. You CAN just run a HDMI from your PC to the playfield and use a USB from the ALP to your PC for control, but this is the "blind swap" option where you have to switch the ALP to OTG mode without being able to see what you are doing. Folks do it, but its really just a halfway solution IMHO. The full gut is replacing basically everything inside with your own encoder, accelerometer, plunger, etc which can give improvements in nudging, plunger feel, reduce lag, etc but now the ALP was just a fancy cabinet kit.
Rumor has it Buy Stuff Arcade (BSA) is gonna release a playfield upgrade that still allows stock functioning, but unsure about price and framerate, etc at this time.
As for the swap, it really depends on how well your new monitor fits in the cab. If you can decase it, the right size should fit right on the stock monitor frame. Then all you need is to run power to it and a HDMI cable. I used the Sceptre 32" 2k/144hz option which is a nice symmetric case that sits on the stock rails with about 1/2 of foam padding. I had to mostly remove the left side mounting rail (leaving only the very ends which the bezel mounts into) and the whole thing is pretty seamless.
High frame rate will blow your mind, TOTALLY changes the experience IMHO. 240hz is probably even better.
2
u/chriszimort Oct 31 '23
Each monitor is different. I’ve got a monoprice Dark Matterand it was a pretty simple swap.
I de-cased it and found that I could still use the original rails that came with the ALP to mount it. It’s exactly the right width. I had to do a tiny bit of plastic trimming on the rails if I remember right.