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Wanted 4k Virtual Pinball Machine - Pick Holder build or equivalent quality

Lroy

Lroy

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Joined
Apr 25, 2019
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UK - West Midlands
This is gonna be a long one. Please indulge me.

I have wanted a decent Virtual Pinball Machine for a few years now. Avid fan of playing digital pinball on console. Specifically, recreations of real machines.

Have tried all the main games such as Pinball Arcade, Stern Pinball Arcade (both FarSight), Magic Pixel’s Zaccaria Pinball and of course Zen’s PBFX3 Williams tables on Nintendo Switch. The latter of which is in my opinion the best digital pinball experience I have had to date.

So naturally, I’ve been looking at ways in which I can enhance that experience by moving away from console to a dedicated cabinet. Plus of course, I keep being told how good Visual Pinball X is and how the tables coming out for that are not only far more comprehensive in terms of real machines but even supposedly rival PBFX3’s Williams tables in terms of realistic physics and performance.

Again, anything that can apparently compare or surpass the ‘deep’ developed ‘classic-Arcade’ pro physics offered in PBFX3 Williams tables and offer access to a wider library of real life machines is something I am desperate to experience.

Bottom line, I’m looking to buy a machine NOT build my own. I am more than aware of my own limitations: I could certainly have a go at learning the software at a basic level (E.g. how to add tables, fiddle with a few settings within the table editor software etc.). But build a cabinet and install the hardware, E.g. plunger, flipper buttons, force feedback et. al I cannot.

According to the forum community during the time I have been a member since Spring 2019 iirc - @Pick Holder ‘s builds are the one’s that again and again come the most recommended. Unfortunately, it’s taken me until late summer this year to get the required cash together. Sadly, I missed the last machine sold by @Pick Holder back in June/July? And as stated on this forum he has now decided to stop making VPins. Gutted.

In a bid to gratify my desire (oh er 😉) my wife was kind enough to throw caution to the wind and encouraged me to get one from a UK retailer for my recent b’day. So we lowered our budget and expectations and took a punt on a more modest spec machine. Just so we could try a cab running VPX. I’d never even seen a VPin in the wild.

This experiment has taught me two things:
I would play a VPin regularly enough to justify the cost of a better spec 4k build.
And, I’m still to get first-hand experience of Visual Pinball X running at a level that can compare to PBFX3 Williams tables. To date, on the spec machine I have played, I’m underwhelmed.

Therefore, I am looking to buy the best VPin I can find with the opportunity to try the machine in person and discuss with the builder/owner the best optimisation of the hardware/software to run VPX with all the bells and whistles I keep being told about but as yet have never seen or played with my own eyes.

So, if you have bought a machine built by @Pick Holder or have an equivalent in quality (spec, performance) and are looking to sell it on, now or in the future, please contact me. I would love the opportunity to come to you and play the machine first-hand. Budget is 3k-5k for the right machine.

Prepared to wait as long as it takes to get the best machine I can.

Thanks for sticking with this ad, know I can waffle on, lol! Cheers all.
 
Last edited:
LRoy,

If you would like to come and try out my machine, to help you choose what elements you like / are not so bothered about, and to see how vpx really plays (much bettter than fx3), you are moat welcome to visit me in Chesterfield. I also have a good friend in Stoke with an HD rig.
Whilst mine isn't for sale right now - might help you decide on 'must haves'.
Let me know!

Steve
 
Steve Hawley said:
LRoy,

If you would like to come and try out my machine, to help you choose what elements you like / are not so bothered about, and to see how vpx really plays (much bettter than fx3), you are moat welcome to visit me in Chesterfield. I also have a good friend in Stoke with an HD rig.
Whilst mine isn't for sale right now - might help you decide on 'must haves'.
Let me know!

Steve
Click to expand...
That’s really kind of you fella. Definitely, would like to take you up on that offer. I’ll shoot you a DM and we can arrange it.
 
VPX is much better than FX3. I like the FX3 tables as they have some fun additions....

BUT there is no reason why both can not run together in the same cabinet. Well - I know they can.

VPX allows ROM alterations, color displays and many other things like PUP packs.
 
Couple of tips.

If you are going 4k, get a OLED panel over a VA. viewing angles will be better. I would also thump out for 120hz over a 60hz panel.

Graphics card wise on eBay you can pickup a used 3060 for sub £300. This will have the horse power to drive 4k at 120FPS. More importantly it gives you the ability to go with Ray Tracing, which is real time dynamic lighting.

PinballFX uses this tech in their latest product. They made the move to Unreal Engine.

PinballFX3 and VPX don't use Ray Tracing.

It's going to be unlikely that any used pins in the UK have these features mind, but I could be wrong.
 
@Pick Holder @s000m Really appreciate the input fellas. Please keep the advice regarding optimal specs coming as it would be extremely helpful to have a shortlist together of all the hardware parts required for a super build. In case this, ultimately, is the route I need to go down should a pre-built machine not materialise.

Plus, if anyone knows of a cabinet for sale, preferably with the side rails, lockdown bar and other hardware included - appreciate legs and presumably glass (still?) can be bought separately at reasonable prices. I’d be interested.

Also, any guidance on what flipper buttons, plungers, tilt bops for VPins, speakers and other mechanisms and what not are the tried and tested ‘best’ types to price into a new build. Or I should be checking to see have been used in any machines I go and look at to buy.

Cheers.
 
If you want the best digital recreation of pinball, then do not overlook vpx in vr
it’s another level, and will cost a lot less than a full size 4K cabinet
i saw a guy selling pin sim, stubby cabinets on Facebook yesterday, it’s hardware only, just have to add vr headset, and add tables yourself
he’s in Spain though, so not sure on price
last night I was playing tron and walking dead on mine, and its just like having these machines right in front of you, with tactile feedback, and accelerometer, it’s mind blowing
 
Doggard said:
If you want the best digital recreation of pinball, then do not overlook vpx in vr
it’s another level, and will cost a lot less than a full size 4K cabinet
i saw a guy selling pin sim, stubby cabinets on Facebook yesterday, it’s hardware only, just have to add vr headset, and add tables yourself
he’s in Spain though, so not sure on price
last night I was playing tron and walking dead on mine, and its just like having these machines right in front of you, with tactile feedback, and accelerometer, it’s mind blowing
Click to expand...
Yeah. I really must try this PinSim VR thing out. Again, never see these things in the wild to try and I’d be concerned if I felt any dizziness from the VR.

Actually, my son recently got a Meta Quest 2 headset for gaming. So if he ever took the thing off, I could at least see what VR feels like, lol!
 
I've never played VR pinball but I know I can only play on PlayStation VR for short periods as it makes me feel a little unwell.

The space saved though would be a huge bonus.
 
How do you get the VPX software onto the Meta Quest 2? It’s a standalone VR kit without need for powerful PC. Doubt my son would entertain me fiddling with (likely messing up) his new toy in any case, lol! But I’d be interested to know how this all works in any case.
 
You have to hook the Quest 2 upto a PC which has Vpx running. I dabbled with it once, it's fiddly without a proper UI but I just wanted to see what it looked like.
It's not difficult to do there are guides online.
 
The quest links to the pc with a link cable, the headset is not being used to generate the graphics, the pc is
 
The quest can be connected to a pc, you can then play games on steam vr, which cannot be downloaded from the quest store
games like half life alyx, with far superior graphics
same principle for vpx vr, using the pc to run it, sending the images to the headset
 
Yeah, I haven’t been a PC gamer for over ten years. Pretty much went consoles only during that time and only have an old desktop and then some laptops for admin/work stuff.

We did get my son a small PC for his schoolwork (read, playing Roblox and Rec Room with his mates, lol!) - so I suspect I don’t have a PC powerful enough to run VPX in VR but good to know how it works in theory. At the very least my son will be happy to hear he can access his Steam library on his Quest 2. Albeit if he’d only be keen to try ‘Geometry Dash’? on the big screen mode or whatever it’s called.
 
I can vouch for Pick Holder's work, having bought the last VPin he put up for sale here. One of the main things I was looking for was one that was built from a real pin shell. A widebody was good as you can fit a bigger monitor in. Solenoids for force feedback was a must have too. When cash allows I would definitely replace the 4K 60hz monitor with a 4K 120hz monitor, which would also need a new GPU as mentioned above.

I've made a few additions in the meantime - mainly an LED matrix at the back for the playfield and two strips of LEDs down the sides. Can't emphasise enough how much these add to the experience. Really cool, especially with newer VPX tables and even Future Pinball tables (TerryRed ones). I've just added a monitor topper as well which is cool for the pup packs that support it. I also managed to get a second hand Oculus Rift S for £70 from eBay, so I've hooked that up as well for VR - best of both worlds!

Here's a quick demo of me playing Metallica (the LED reflections aren't as overwhelming in real life, although I acknowledge it'll be a bit OTT for some people!):


What's being done with VPX and FP is amazing and having one of these VPins is the best way to experience them. You've got to be prepared to spend a lot of time setting up the software and getting all the different add-ons talking to each other properly. It's part of the fun for me, but not at all fun if you're not into that kind of thing!
 
2huwman said:
I can vouch for Pick Holder's work, having bought the last VPin he put up for sale here. One of the main things I was looking for was one that was built from a real pin shell. A widebody was good as you can fit a bigger monitor in. Solenoids for force feedback was a must have too. When cash allows I would definitely replace the 4K 60hz monitor with a 4K 120hz monitor, which would also need a new GPU as mentioned above.

I've made a few additions in the meantime - mainly an LED matrix at the back for the playfield and two strips of LEDs down the sides. Can't emphasise enough how much these add to the experience. Really cool, especially with newer VPX tables and even Future Pinball tables (TerryRed ones). I've just added a monitor topper as well which is cool for the pup packs that support it. I also managed to get a second hand Oculus Rift S for £70 from eBay, so I've hooked that up as well for VR - best of both worlds!

Here's a quick demo of me playing Metallica (the LED reflections aren't as overwhelming in real life, although I acknowledge it'll be a bit OTT for some people!):


What's being done with VPX and FP is amazing and having one of these VPins is the best way to experience them. You've got to be prepared to spend a lot of time setting up the software and getting all the different add-ons talking to each other properly. It's part of the fun for me, but not at all fun if you're not into that kind of thing!
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing the video and your experiences with your machine. Looks stunning. The light show was a bit OTT ha! ha!
 
2huwman said:
I can vouch for Pick Holder's work, having bought the last VPin he put up for sale here. One of the main things I was looking for was one that was built from a real pin shell. A widebody was good as you can fit a bigger monitor in. Solenoids for force feedback was a must have too. When cash allows I would definitely replace the 4K 60hz monitor with a 4K 120hz monitor, which would also need a new GPU as mentioned above.

I've made a few additions in the meantime - mainly an LED matrix at the back for the playfield and two strips of LEDs down the sides. Can't emphasise enough how much these add to the experience. Really cool, especially with newer VPX tables and even Future Pinball tables (TerryRed ones). I've just added a monitor topper as well which is cool for the pup packs that support it. I also managed to get a second hand Oculus Rift S for £70 from eBay, so I've hooked that up as well for VR - best of both worlds!

Here's a quick demo of me playing Metallica (the LED reflections aren't as overwhelming in real life, although I acknowledge it'll be a bit OTT for some people!):


What's being done with VPX and FP is amazing and having one of these VPins is the best way to experience them. You've got to be prepared to spend a lot of time setting up the software and getting all the different add-ons talking to each other properly. It's part of the fun for me, but not at all fun if you're not into that kind of thing!
Click to expand...
There's a Colour DMD file if you weren't aware - https://vpuniverse.com/files/file/4592-metallica-170-le/
 
That Metallica table is awesome on vpx, they even got the sounds correct when the ball travels up the ramps, sounds just like the real table.
Digital pinball is not for everyone, and frowned upon by the purists. But it’s bloody impressive nowadays.

The fact that you have access to play 100s of machines, all beautifully created, is priceless

The way pinball prices are going, digital pinball can only get more popular, the future looks awesome
 
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