Implementing DMD support for Pinball FX running under Batocera (Linux)

[dannn-o]

I have a 64-bit system running Batocera (based on Linux) with a Pixelcade LED DMD.
Several years ago, Batocera added support for Visual Pinball that included native
support for external DMDs. Recently, I set up Pinball FX (v1.0.17) within Batocera,
running under WINE, and have been investigating whether there is a way to get PFX to
also support the Pixelcade DMD.

When activating the "DotMatrix Window" within the PFX Cabinet Support menu, the
standard window appears stating the Freezy/DMD-Extensions need to be installed
(see attached screenshot). I am opening this issue to be tagged as a question,
to ask if DmdDevice64.dll supports execution under WINE, and possibly get some
guidance regarding installation/setup, if so. Thanks in advance.

[dannn-o]

I went ahead and tried copying DmdDevice64.dll along with the other DmdDevice files into the folder containing the
Pinball FX executable. Then, when scrolling through the "Dotmatrix Window" options, the above 'External DMD Device' window no longer displays, but the whole system instead freezes up. Eventually, the attached error is displayed, and appears to be the only way to exit completely out.

[freezy]

I have never tried this and I'm not sure this will work. @jsm174 you're working on a dmdext replacement for VP standalone, no?

[jsm174]

batocera is running dmdserver which is a part of libdmdutil. I know nothing about PinballFX, but it would need to send it's frames to dmdserver just like it does for dmdext. Since that probably would never happen, I'm guessing @dannn-o you're just wanting to run dmdext via wine?

[dannn-o]

@jsm174 - I believe that is right. Pinball FX seems to rely on Freezy for external DMD, so I figured that meant the DMDSERVER interface in Batocera couldn't be leveraged. My hope was that there might be some way to install/configure the Freezy DmdDevice64.dll for FX to use under WINE (the 'emulator' for FX in Batocera).

If there is some other approach (installing VPinMAME so WINE/FX can "see" it, for example?), I'd be willing to test things out if I can get some guidance.

[jsm174]

i'd probably ask around on the batocera discord. I know there were people running vpx with wine in the past. Standalone doesn't use wine, just a little bit of source for the vbscript engine.

[dannn-o]

Thanks. I've DM'd a few users on Discord that I know run with Pixelcade, but only 1 has FX running and he has an LCD Pixelcade (I run with an actual LED DMD - 128x32). BTW - thanks for all of the hard work you and the others have done to get VPX working with Pixelcade under Batocera!

@freezy - With your knowledge of Pinball FX internals, if you have any suggestions on things that might be worthy trying, I'd be eager to give it a go.

[freezy]

I don't have much knowledge of PFX internals. They basically load DmdDevice64.dll and use our API. How that translates into WINE, I don't know. What's for sure is that although dmdext is written in .NET, it uses Windows APIs and third party libs, which aren't easily portable to Linux.

[dannn-o]

Thanks for the reply. Well, it may be, then, that the answer (at least at this point) is 'no', dmdext isn't supported for Pinball FX under Batocera. I had opened this issue to be tagged as a question, if you want to make that adjustment (I don't think I'm able to).