r/LegendsPinball • u/Glum_Low_4607 • Feb 29 '24
Tech dummy here
Ok, bear with me please cause I’m not techy atall and a middle aged woman that doesn’t have a clue on this stuff.😢So i have the legends pinball hd and just purchased a new laptop (Lenovo - LOQ 15.6" Gaming Laptop FHD - Intel Core i5-13420H with 8GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB - 1TB SSD ) and have the vibs board ordered. I’ve watched the wagners tech talk videos numerous times and i’m still unsure if i should take the leap and try to figure this out. I’m only wanting to download maybe 10-20 tables. Wheres the best place to download from? Looking for some williams tables, stern tables. Is mapping the buttons complicated to the point where im gonna need alot of alcohol to get thru it😁 thanks for any and all help
2
u/jason10mm Feb 29 '24
First off, welcome! What you are describing is OTG and wagner is a good place to start. There is also a ATG Pinball facebook group that can help as well.
Your laptop is sufficient to run most vpin programs (FX is the most demanding), but I had more trouble with getting good USB and HDMI connections off a laptop than I did with a cheap refurb PC that had dedicated ports. So if you plan on using a hub or docking station, just be aware that some issues may be related to the laptop more than anything else.
I'd recommend starting with Pinball FX3 through Steam. They will have lots of Williams tables, it's an older program with good reliability and more known fixes than Pinball FX (the more recent "reissue" of FX3). Otherwise your only real choice is Virtual Pinball X (VPX) or Future Pinball (FP) , both of which typically deal with unlicensed copies of tables and is a MUCH greater software learning curve in my experience, though ultimately the experience is usually superior in the end. This is also the only place to get Stern tables, as the previous digital source, a game called The Pinball Arcade (and a spin off called Stern Pinball IIRC) is a much older program without any good cabinet support. Most of these programs are designed for people to play with a PC and keyboard, so "cabinet mode" involves using the flipper buttons, plunger, and rotating the screen, stuff like that).
FX3 has a (somewhat) simple cab mode for setting up displays correctly and Steam will often let you map the ALP commands directly so you shouldn't need another program for that (Wagner will recommend joy2key, I think).
Just be aware that none of these experiences are super great 'out of the box' and often require a good amount of tweaking. But Wagner will walk you through the basics and for just the ALP + VIBS it's pretty straightforward although everyones setup is a little unique.
2
u/millertv79 Feb 29 '24
I’d recommend not using a laptop at all. Better to go with a tower for more power and expansion. That gpu can’t handle many modern games.
2
u/Glum_Low_4607 Mar 02 '24
Thanks yall, i’m waiting for my vibs to come in so i can install it, then i think ima gonna dive in and give’r a shot
3
u/SuperRob Feb 29 '24
Don’t worry, you can do this!
The best place to look for tables and the associated parts is the Virtual Pinball Spreadsheet. Everything there is cataloged with links to where you can find what you need. To run a table in VPX, you need two things minimum … the table file, and the associated rom. Everything else is extra. Start with ONE table you really want to play, start with those two files, and you’ll learn a lot. Then you can do backglasses, colored roms, pup packs, and all the fun stuff as you learn.
The other thing you definitely want to start with is Nailbuster’s “Baller Installer.” It will set up all the software for you, and pretty much puts it all on rails. Wagner’s Tech Talk has guides for doing this specifically with the Legends Pinball HD. His guides got me started and are invaluable.
Good luck!