v2.0

There are two major additions, which made me bump the version to 2.0. As always, it can be downloaded here.

ZeDMD Support

First announced in December last year, ZeDMD is a new type of DMD based on the ESP32, and it's very low-cost to produce (around $70 in total).

It's got all the features you'd expect, like RGB support, and the device code is open source. You can't buy it anywhere yet, because it's a DIY project, but I'm sure there will be sellers soon.

Serum Support

Serum is a new file format created by @zedrummer, who also created ZeDMD. Check it out here.

It works quite differently than PIN2DMD colorizations, and it comes with a new editor. It has innovative features like animated color rotations, which give a surprisingly nice effect when used discreetly.

Serum has been developed in collaboration with several coloring authors, so while it's still young, it's a proven system. There is a full tutorial how to use it here.

Personally, I am really happy about Serum, because it's fully open source, allowing others to contribute, and doesn't come with licensing issues like PAC does.

There is already one fully finished colorization (Scared Stiff by @dtatane), with a few more on the way. If you're an author interested in this new tech and you'd like to convert your existing PIN2DMD colorization to Serum, convince @zedrummer that you're actually the author, and you'll get help converting your project (it's semi-automated).

There are also people actively working on getting Serum to run on real pins, so stay tuned about that.

Finally, if you're interested, jump on their Discord server here.

64-bit Compatibility

@vbousquet added a fix that makes dmdext play nicely with the other 64-bit version of the ecosystem. As far as I know, this was the last piece needed for people who are running the entire vpin stack on 64 bit.

v1.10.2

We're approaching something stable here.. ;)

Changes

• Fix bug in coloring animation code.
• The --position falls back to default behavior instead of crashing, should you use negative values.
• Fixed scaling 128x16 games that have 128x32 color content.
• Fix artifacts when outputting scaled to video.
• Don't crash when getting weird segment data from PinMAME.
• Elimination of a few false positive error reports.

Impacted Games

Iron Man, TMNT.

v1.10.1

This is a bugfix release. Thanks to @lucky01 and @mista-funky as well to all testers.

v1.10.0

Upgrade Instructions

• If in the past you've used the installer, uninstall old version, and install new version.
• If in the past you've used the zip file, overwrite the old files (DmdDevice.dll and dmdext.exe) with the new ones
• If you're not sure, use the installer.
• Open DmdDevice.ini and add the two new settings, both under [global]:
  • scalermode = scale2x
  • scaletohd = false

Changes

• Finally, we got 64 color support, thanks to @mista-funky and @lucky01.
• They also added proper upscaling support.
• There were about a dozen bug fixes, mostly crashes.
• Bug in --virtual-position where it wouldn't set the outer borders instead of width and height.

v1.9.0

New

• Awesomely enhanced virtual DMD renderer (thanks @vbousquet)
• Support for Future Pinball (#281, thanks @MrMoose74)
• Support for multiple output (#272, thanks @vbousquet)

v1.8.2

We've skipped v1.8.1, mainly because it was already being distributed with a different branch.

Fixes

• Firmware check for PinDMD3 devices
• Fixed a crash in alphanumeric renderer
• Websockets are now re-tried (#243, thanks @markadr)

v1.8.0

New

• High resolution rendering for alpha-numeric displays (#152)
• Remodel configuration. .ini files can now be used for console config, allowing to keep one central configuration.
• The project is now automatically built on each commit. You can get the latest builds here.
• We now have an installer which is somewhat intelligent and finds all the right install locations (we will still provide a ZIP file for more advanced users)
• Browser stream enhancements (thanks @vbousquet!)
• Use default position for unknown game names (thanks @djrobx!)
• Virtual DMD can now save position to .ini by right-clicking on it.
• New hardware: Added support for Pixelcade displays.
• Experimental support for client/server network streaming (details).
• Updated coloring support for LCM, RSM and RMM (thanks @djrobx!)
• PinDMD3: Add support for colored 4-bit frames (needs firmware upgrade)

Changes

• Grip on virtual DMD is now always hidden and only shows when hovering over the display.
• Hardware displays are now disabled per default.

Fixes

• Fixed Pinball Arcade grabber
• Fixed grabber for Pinball FX3's Williams games (thanks NoEx!)
• Fixed color parsing for TPA's Stern games
• Fixed issue with .vni files (#143)
• Fixed issue with sound (#124)
• Fixed issued with alphanumeric ROMs (#149)
• Fixed 2-bit rendering for PinDMD2 (#148)
• Fixed USB problem (#169, thanks @mjrgh!)
• Tweaks for Pinball FX grabber (thanks @Jseph!)
• Make .ini values culture-independent
• Many stability fixes

v1.7.2

Features

• PIN2DMD users should now get faster load times for colored games with many palettes (#132)
• Memory grabbers now don't need to be run in admin mode anymore (thanks @mjrgh)

Fixes

• Update Pinball FX3 memory grabber to work with latest release (thanks NoEx)
• Refactor memory grabbers to use a common base (thanks @mjrgh)
• Fix crash when colorization is on but no game is set (#125)
• Some crash fixes when using with PinballY (thanks @mjrgh)

Developers, please update Visual Studio 2017 since there were a few compiler issues fixed that break older versions.

v1.7.1

Features

• New Pinball FX3 grabber - reads DMD from memory, much faster and more stable (thanks NoEx!)
• Timing improvements when reading colored animations (thanks @djrobx)
• Properly upscale 128x16 games when using VNI (thanks @djrobx)
• Location of dmddevice.ini can now be set via environment variable
• Print warning when dmddevice.ini not found

Fixes

• Don't crash when PinUP enabled but no DLL found
• Don't crash when outputting to video file with weird resolution
• Don't crash when serial port disconnects

Breaking Changes

• Must execute dmdext as Administrator for Pinball FX3 in order to gain access to FX3's memory. You can fall back to the previous grabber by using the --fx3-legacy flag.

v1.7.0

Features

• Added VNI coloring support with help from @luck01 and @djrobx (#102)
• Added coloring support for other resolutions (192x64)
• Added support for XDMD and thus UltraDMD
• Added support for TPA's cabinet build
• PinUP support is now built-in. However note that you'll still need dmddevicePUP.dll installed. Also, the syntax changed, instead of -o PINUP, use the new --pinup option (#104).

Fixes

• Be sure to display the DMD on top of DirectB2S (#72)
• Don't mistakenly use PinDMD2 when there isn't on.
• Fixed some bugs in the PIN2DMD driver (thanks @lucky01)

Breaking Changes

• Due to the new animations, we log (a lot) more, which impacts performance. In order to keep dmdext smooth, change the log level to Info. If you haven't touched your log config before, just copy the new DmdDevice.log.config over the old one. Otherwise, change

   <logger name="*" minlevel="Trace" writeTo="file" />

  to

   <logger name="*" minlevel="Info" writeTo="file" />

• If you were previously using PinUP, settings have changed. It doesn't use the file output parameter anymore, but has its own setting.
  • If you're using PinUP in VPM with dmddevice.dll, change:

    [video]
    ; if enabled, writes frames to an .avi file
    enabled = true
    ; path to folder or .avi file. if folder, gamename.avi is used.
    path = PINUP

    to:

    [video]
    ; if enabled, writes frames to an .avi file
    enabled = false
    ; path to folder or .avi file. if folder, gamename.avi is used.
    path =
    
    [pinup]
    enabled = true

  • For other games like Pinball FX3, change the command line parameter from:

    -o PINUP\<gamename>
    

    to

    --pinup PINUP\<gamename>
    

  • If you have LibDmd.dll in your VPM path, remove it.