Skateball¶

VLM development project featuring insert implementation, VR room creation, and nestmap troubleshooting.

3D & Art¶

Clear Inserts with Visible Bulbs Implementation¶

Transparent amber shoot again insert technique: - Transparent insert plastic with visible bulb below - Real machines: Some use yoppsicles + wheel bearing to mask bulb - VLM: Cut holes in playfield for insert opening - Use 3D bake target below with bulb geometry - Distinct bulb visibility matches real appearance - Works well for clear colored inserts (amber, red, clear)

Reference Clytor on Pinside for yoppsicle mod photos.

Contributors: mcarter78, friscopinball (2024-07-03 to 2024-07-12)

Shooter Lane Groove Creation Methods¶

Shooter lane groove methods:

Boolean Method: Long cylinder rotated almost horizontal along Y-axis (slightly angled up), boolean cut PF mesh. Requires extruding mesh to make room for groove.
Knife Tool + Bevel: Cut square first (prevents shader issues), stretched cone for groove, then bevel
Extrude entire playfield mesh to add depth before cutting

Contributors: apophis79, bord1947, gedankekojote97 (2024-07-11 to 2024-07-12)

Venice Beach VR Room Creation¶

Venice Beach themed VR room: - Ground, water, buildings, palm trees, skater props - Silhouette figures watching (mannequins controversial - prefer empty or avoid static people) - Totem poles, seagulls for atmosphere - Sky/horizon for mega room - Conditional lighting for sunset progression (bake shadows separate, swap sky textures) - Audio ambience for mega room

Authentic details: Head shops, boardwalk vibe, salt air atmosphere.

Contributors: mcarter78, dardog81, cyberpez (2024-07-10 to 2024-08-02)

Troubleshooting¶

Layer Separator Material Corruption¶

Layer separators rendering visible or not working. Issue: Material node setup wrong or corrupted. When joining plastics, can stack multiple decal materials in one object - remove extras, keep one. Append from known-working blend file safer than copying: File > Append > (navigate to blend) > Materials > layer.sep

Layer separator node setup critical - check against reference screenshot or working file.

Contributors: mcarter78, retroritchie, apophis79 (2024-07-05 to 2024-07-08)

Gate Physics and Sound Implementation¶

Gates missing sound when hit from closed direction. Missing bounce when ball hits from wrong side. Solutions: - Add triggers for gate hit sounds from both directions - Increase gate bounciness (especially top gate) - Test with plunge - should bounce not drop dead

Gates need hit events for both swing-through and bounce-back directions.

Contributors: mcarter78, studly_do_right (2024-07-15)

Bumper Light Assignment Discovery¶

Bumper lights not part of GI but separately controlled. Unknown lamp numbers. Solution: All-in-1 Visual B2S tool (https://vpuniverse.com/files/file/4829-all-id-in-1-visual-b2s/). Run as normal backglass, watch lights flicker during gameplay to deduce lamp assignments. Great detective tool for lights and solenoids.

Contributors: mcarter78, apophis79 (2024-08-21)

Lamp Assignment Verification Methods¶

Manual lamp assignments sometimes wrong. Verification methods:

Watch attract mode light show videos, match animation patterns
Swap left/right switches and lights to test directionality
Use All-in-1 B2S to watch ROM behavior live
Compare gameplay videos to table behavior

Manuals can have errors - rely on multiple sources. Early table builders had no clear assignments - owed much to pioneers who figured them out.

Contributors: apophis79, mcarter78, thalamus (2024-08-06 to 2024-08-21)

Indirect Light Clamping Zero Overexposure¶

Renders showing crazy overexposure (no light in inserts/posts, everything glowing). Cause: Indirect Light Clamping in render settings zeroed out. Reset to 1.0 or higher. Zero = fireflies and extreme overexposure everywhere. Common accidental setting change.

Contributors: mcarter78, apophis79 (2024-08-23)

Nestmap Memory Exhaustion Solutions¶

Nestmap stage failing with "expected 'Image' type found 'Image' instead" = out of memory. Solutions:

Reduce nestmap size (8k to 4k)
Close ALL other applications (Discord, Chrome, File Explorer)
Chrome extremely memory hungry - close first
Re-run meshes and nestmaps together if changing resolution
Check Task Manager during process

Large blend files (>500MB) and 8k nestmaps require significant RAM. Packed blend files consume more memory during processing.

Contributors: mcarter78, apophis79, cyberpez (2024-08-24 to 2024-08-26)