Future Pinball
Future Pinball is a pinball simulator, written for Windows, and running in Batocera Linux through WINE. That's a reason why it is only available for Batocera PC.
It's a simulator for both original tables and re-creations of existing physical pinball tables, using Microsoft Visual Basic to implement all the table logic. The physics and overall graphics of Future Pinball make it feel closer to a physical pinball than an arcade game, as it's usually the case with pinball games that are available with console emulators.
All 3D graphics objects are rendered in real time, and you can change the view point at any given time (see controls below). As a consequence, it requires a PC with sufficient GPU power. It can still run well on recent Intel integrated GPUs.
It is recommended to use btrfs or ext4 for /userdata/ as WINE explains on their FAQ that some games won't run on a non-Linux native file system.
In Batocera v32 and higher there is a bug where WINE cannot run applications/games stored on a NAS. This can be worked around by not using a NAS for your saves folder.
This system scrapes metadata for the “fpinball” group(s) and loads the fpinball set from the currently selected theme, if available.
Quick reference
- Emulator: fpinball
- Folder:
/userdata/roms/fpinball - Accepted ROM formats:
.fpt
BIOS
| MD5 checksum | Share file path | Description |
|---|---|---|
65a8ebf870420316a939ac44fd4c731d | bios/wsh57/scripten.exe |
Tables
Future Pinball tables are distributed as .fpt files. In many cases, a pinball table is fully contained in the .fpt file. These kinds of tables can simply be placed in /userdata/roms/fpinball/.
roms/ └─ fpinball/ └─ my-cool-table.fpt
For some other tables, additional files (fonts, music) are required, which are distributed as side .fpl files. These tables must have their .fpt and all other associated files in a subfolder of their own, separate from the other tables. For example, roms/fpinball/my-cool-table/ which contains all the files.
roms/
└─ fpinball/
└─ my-cool-table/
├─ custom-font.font
├─ my-cool-table.fpt
└─ background-music.mp3
The .fpt file is the main one that is loaded by Batocera to start your pinball game. It will decide the name that appears in EmulationStation.
Configuration
Standardized features available to all cores of this emulator: fpinball.videomode, fpinball.videomode, fpinball.ratio, fpinball.bezel, fpinball.bezel_stretch, fpinball.hud, fpinball.bezel.tattoo, fpinball.bezel.tattoo_corner, fpinball.bezel.tattoo_file, fpinball.bezel.resize_tattoo
Controls
Here are the default Future Pinball's controls shown on a Batocera Retropad:
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Select | insert coin |
| Start | start game / add player |
| L1 | left flipper |
| R1 | right flipper |
| South | ball launcher |
| West | change camera view |
| East | Look up to the backglass |
| North | Pause / High scores |
| D-Pad | Shake the pinball (left, right, up/front) |
[HOTKEY] + [START] | Quit, as usual |
Controls can be manually configured from the config app. Press [F1] on the system list and navigate to Applications > fpinball-config.
Troubleshooting
Future Pinball fails to launch
The quickest way to debug is to try launching the table in the standalone config app. Press [F1] on the system list and navigate to Applications > fpinball-config. A more descriptive error message may appear.
Some tables may require certain system libraries to exist in the main folder, similar to some other applications running under WINE.
If the solution is not obvious, maybe the files for the table have become corrupted over time. Try deleting saves/fpinball and then launch the table again to regenerate them.
My controls have issues
Open the config app and on the top right, disable all but the first controller. Then try again.
Further troubleshooting
As this is an application running under WINE, its troubleshooting section and the Proton troubleshooting section can apply here too.
For further troubleshooting, refer to the generic support pages.
- systems/fpinball.txt
- Last modified: 3 years ago
- by atari