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alt_mode

PinUP Popper Alt-Mode Option

Starting in v1.4 there's an easy method to allow one-wheel (one game) to have an alternate launch/run mode.

How it works is that for each game in GamesManager you can specifiy in the “Alternate Run Modes” field a list of comma separated values that the Front-End will display inside the GamesMenu. So on the front-end you can start the table directly which will make the altmode value empty, or you can press the Menu select key See Controller setup (bringinup that games menu with all other options), and you will see each Alt-Mode Launch option as a separate wheel.


Also, by default the launch icons will be the default 'Launch' wheel.
if you'd like to use your own wheel for an altmode. Then do the following:

Global Settings/Script add a new custom option: useAltWheels=1

then make a wheel.png named exactly same as altmode.
So if one of your altmodes is “classic” then create/copy classic.png
into the POPMEDIA/default/system folder.


Pinball FX3

This new optional variable for individual games presents alternative launch modes selectable from within Popper. Here are a few examples of how this can be used with a few different emulators:

Then in launch script you can do things depending on the value of [ALTMODE]. best to see example below for FX3.

AltRunModes: For each of your FX3 tables, you want to put in the Alternate Run Modes : classic,hotseat2,hotseat3,hotseat4

Then in Popper, instead of directly starting the wheel, you press the “Menu Select Key” to get to the game menu and launch the Alt-Mode Wheel from there.

You need to change your FX3 Launch script to something like this: remember this is just an example, you will need to keep your dmdext and other commands from before.

START "" "[STARTDIR]Launch\VPXSTARTER.exe" 5 10 20 "Pinball FX3"

SET ALTPARAM=
if "[ALTMODE]"=="classic"  (SET ALTPARAM=-class )
if "[ALTMODE]"=="hotseat2" (SET ALTPARAM=-hotseat_2 )
if "[ALTMODE]"=="hotseat3" (SET ALTPARAM=-hotseat_3 )
if "[ALTMODE]"=="hotseat4" (SET ALTPARAM=-hotseat_4 )

START "" "[DIREMU]\steam.exe" -applaunch 442120 %ALTPARAM% -table_[GAMENAME]

Visual Pinball

AltRunMode origsound: launches VP tables with internal rom sounds, as an alternative to altsound/pinsound default

Launch script:

if "[ALTMODE]"=="origsound" (
    REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v sound_mode /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
    REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v resampling_quality /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
)

Close script:
REM Reset sound mode
IF "[ALTMODE]"=="origsound" (
    REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v resampling_quality /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
    IF "[CUSTOM1]"=="pinsound" (
                REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v sound_mode /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f
    )
    IF "[CUSTOM1]"=="altsound" (
                REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v sound_mode /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
    )
)

AltRunMode origdmd: launches VP tables with default DMD settings (monochrome, orange)

launch script:
if "[ALTMODE]"=="origdmd" (
    REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v dmd_colorize /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
)

Close script:
if "[ALTMODE]"=="origdmd" (
    REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v dmd_colorize /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
)

AltRunMode modBG: launches alternative backglass file for a given table. If the backglass requires scoring to be moved to DMD for an SS table (eg. Robocop Fantasy BG), it does so.

Launch script:
if "[ALTMODE]"=="modBG" (
    copy "[DIRGAME]\[GAMENAME].directb2s.modBG" "[DIRGAME]\[GAMENAME].directb2s" /Y
    timeout /T 1
     IF "[?GameType?]"=="SSDMD" (
    REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v showpindmd /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
     )
)

Close script:
REM Reset Mods adjustments
if "[ALTMODE]"=="modBG" (
    timeout /T 1
    copy "[DIRGAME]\[GAMENAME].directb2s.origBG" "[DIRGAME]\[GAMENAME].directb2s" /Y
    IF "[?GameType?]"=="SSDMD" (
    REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Freeware\Visual PinMame\[?ROM?]" /v showpindmd /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
    )
)

Future Pinball:

AltRunMode: “static” launches Future Pinball/BAM, but disables head tracking. Usefull when playing with spectators. Note: as of 1/2/19 this functionality is still in Beta. Look for a BAM release past this date.

START "" "[STARTDIR]Launch\VPXSTARTER.exe" 5 5 20 "Future Pinball"
rem          This will load Future Pinball and your selected table using BAM (Better Arcade Mode).
if "[ALTMODE]"=="static" (
    START "" "[DIREMU]\FPLoader.exe" /open "[GAMEFULLNAME]" /play /exit /arcaderender /STAYINRAM /disableheadtracking
    )
else (
    START "" "[DIREMU]\FPLoader.exe" /open "[GAMEFULLNAME]" /play /exit /arcaderender /STAYINRAM
)

Prevent auto exit table:

if you'd like to launch a table and prevent the system to automatically exit to popper (eg for a Jukebox table, single table demo?party, etc). you can add the “noexit” AltRunMode and launch the nosleep.exe tool before launching the table

Launch script:

if "[ALTMODE]"=="noexit" (
start "" "c:\Pinball\PinupSystem\Support Files\nosleep.exe" 30000 u
)

Close script:

if "[ALTMODE]"=="noexit" (
Taskkill.exe /IM "nosleep.exe" /F
)

grab nosleep here: https://www.nailbuster.com/uploads/nosleep.zip

nosleep.exe source code: AHK

#Persistent
SetTimer, PressTheKey, %1%
Return

PressTheKey:
Send, {%2%}
Return

First parameter is a timer in miliseconds (should be smaller than your autoexit value), second parameter is a alowercase character not used by your emulators or Popper

alt_mode.txt · Last modified: 2021/05/25 18:15 by outhere