DOF Events
If DOF is installed on your system, PinballY will generate
DOF events to trigger effects from your feedback devices (such as
solenoids and flasher lights). This will fire flashers and other
devices on certain events, such as when you switch between
tables in the table list.
DOF integration is automatic.
To take advantage of it, just make sure that DOF is installed
and that your .ini files from the
DOF Config Tool
are up to date. The PinballY definitions were added to the
Config Tool database in late July 2018, so you'll need to generate
and download fresh copies if your current .ini files are older
than that.
You can disable PinballY's DOF usage entirely via the
DOF Options page in the Settings
dialog.
Customizing DOF effects
You can customize all of PinballY's DOF effects via the
DOF Config Tool.
The Config Tool's database includes a predefined set of
effects for PinballY, so you don't have to do anything to use
the standard effects other than making sure your .ini files are
up-to-date. If you want to customize anything, though, the
Config Tool lets you override any of the default effects with
your own custom settings.
Here's how you can access the PinballY settings in the Config Tool:
- In your Web browser, open the DOF Config Tool
- Log in
- Click Table Configs in the top navigation bar
- Select PinballY from the Table Names drop list
All of the PinballY DOF effects are defined under this
"PinballY" pseudo-table. As far as DOF is concerned, PinballY is
just another pinball table.
PinballY's entries in the Config Tool follow the standard format
defined by DOF. That standard format is unfortunately rather obtuse
and difficult to read, and it's beyond the scope of what we can explain here, but you can find
documentation on it in the DOF user guide. What we will give you is a
list of the special event names and state names that PinballY generates.
Note that all named effects in the Config Tool are specified with
a $ prefix, so remember to add that to the names in the lists below.
For example, you'd write $PBYWheelNext in the Config Tool
field if you want something to trigger on a "wheel next" event.
@allrgb@: There's one special bit of Config Tool syntax that's
worth mentioning, because it's a special Config Tool feature that
isn't part of DOF. If you put @allrgb@ in one of the toy
fields, the Config Tool expands this to a list of the settings for
that toy for all of the individual tables throughout the rest of
the database. This translates to showing the same colors on
that device that would be shown if you were actually playing
the game. For example, putting @allrgb@ in the "RGB
Flippers" field makes the flipper buttons light up in the colors
for whichever table is currently selected in the PinballY wheel
display. This only applies to RGB toys.
Events
Each time something DOF-worthy happens in the PinballY user
interface, PinballY fires a named DOF event. For example, when
you press the Next button (usually the right flipper button) to
switch to the next game, PinballY fires a PBYWheelNext event.
Here's a list of the events that PinballY fires:
- PBYAttractA1 through PBYAttractA5: When attract mode is
running, these events are fired in order (1 through 5) at 1-second
intervals. After reaching 5, the counter loops back to 1. This can
be used to create a series of events that runs on a 5-second loop.
- PBYAttractB1 through PBYAttractB60: When attract
mode is running, these events fire in order (1 through 60) at 1-second
intervals, looping back to 1 after reaching the last event. This can
be used to create a series of events that runs on a 60-second loop.
- PBYAttractR1 through PBYAttractR5: When attract mode
is running, these events fire in random sequence and at random intervals.
These can be used for effects that you want to fire randomly when
attract mode is active.
- PBYAttractWheelNext: Attract mode is running and automatically
switched to a new game
- PBYEndGame: The current running game has ended
- PBYFlipperLeft: The left flipper button (or whichever key
is assigned as the Previous button) was pressed
- PBYFlipperRight: The right flipper button (or whichever
key is assigned as the Next button) was pressed
- PBYFlyer: The Flyer command was selected, to display the
current game's flyer as a popup window
- PBYGameInfo: The Information command was selected, to display
the pop-up information box for the current game
- PBYGameSelect: A new game was selected
- PBYHighScores: The High Scores command was selected, to display
the pop-up high score box for the current game
- PBYInstructions: The Instructions command was selected, to
display the current game's instruction card as a popup window
- PBYMagnaRight: The right MagnaSave button (or whichever key
is assigned as the Next Page button) was pressed
- PBYMagnaLeft: The left MagnaSave button (or whichever key
is assigned as the Previous Page button) was pressed
- PBYMenuDown: The user navigated to the next item in a menu
- PBYMenuOpen: A new menu was opened
- PBYMenuSelect: A command was selected in a menu (this usually
means that the "Start" button, or whichever key is assigned as the
Enter/Select command key, was pressed)
- PBYMenuUp: The user navigated to the previous item in a menu
- PBYQuit: A menu was closed
- PBYScreenSaverStart: Attract mode (the "screen saver" mode)
is starting
- PBYScreenSaverQuit: Attract mode is exiting
- PBYWheelNext: The user navigated to the next game in the wheel
- PBYWheelNextPage: The user navigated to the next "page" (the next
alphabetical letter group) in the wheel
- PBYWheelPrev: The user navigated to the previous game in the wheel
- PBYWheelPrevPage: The user navigated to the previous "page" (the
previous alphabetical letter group) in the wheel
States
In addition to events, PinballY has "states". These differ from
events only in that states are long-lasting. An event fires
briefly, usually triggering a quick event in DOF, such as flashing
the flashers or firing a flipper solenoid. A state turns on and
stays on for an extended period. States tell DOF the current
context in the UI: showing a game in the wheel interface, showing
a menu, running the "attract mode" screen saver, and so on.
- PBYMenu: A menu is being displayed
- PBYScreenSaver: Attract mode is active
- PBYWheel: This is the default state, where the "wheel"
interface is displayed with no menus or popups active
- ROM name: In addition to the PBYxxx states, PinballY also
turns on a named event with the same name as the ROM for the table
currently selected in the wheel display. For example,
PinballY turns on the named effect MM when Medieval
Madness is currently selected in the wheel. This lets you trigger
effects that depend on which table is selected. The @allrgb@
syntax described above uses this to select device colors according
to the selected table, but you can also use it explicitly
for individual effects. The ROM names match the names in the
Config Tool, which you can see listed on the Table Config page
(look for "Rom: XXX" near the top of the page).