<s>
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
is	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
and	O
source	B-License
available	I-License
video	O
game	O
engine	O
for	O
pinball	B-Application
tables	O
and	O
similar	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
pachinko	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
is	O
composed	O
of	O
an	O
editor	O
and	O
the	O
simulator	B-Application
part	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
runs	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
is	O
also	O
able	O
to	O
operate	O
with	O
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
,	O
an	O
emulator	B-Application
for	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
from	O
real	O
pinball	B-Application
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
huge	O
variety	O
of	O
user-created	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
tables	O
are	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
choose	O
between	O
faithful	O
recreations	O
of	O
existing	O
pinball	B-Application
machines	O
with	O
or	O
without	O
ROM	B-Device
emulation	B-Application
and	O
original	O
pinball	B-Application
simulations	O
based	O
on	O
licensed	O
themes	O
or	O
completely	O
self-designed	O
tables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
's	O
scripting	O
capabilities	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
pinball-like	O
games	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
pitch-and-bat	O
baseball	O
,	O
pinball	B-Application
bingo	O
,	O
bowling	B-Application
,	O
cue	O
sports	O
,	O
and	O
pachinko	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
play	O
the	O
simulations	O
on	O
a	O
common	O
desktop	O
PC	B-Device
and	O
monitor	B-Device
,	O
but	O
also	O
allows	O
for	O
cabinet	O
support	O
,	O
including	O
different	O
monitors	O
and	O
TVs	O
(	O
to	O
display	O
the	O
playfield	O
and	O
backbox	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
real	O
pinball	B-Application
machine	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
use	O
3D	B-Algorithm
televisions	I-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
giving	O
the	O
illusion	O
of	O
playing	O
real	O
pinball	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newer	O
versions	O
also	O
added	O
touch	O
controls	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
play	O
on	O
tablet	B-Device
computers	I-Device
and	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2010	O
,	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
was	O
released	O
under	O
a	O
license	B-License
that	O
allows	O
free	O
use	O
for	O
non-commercial	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Every	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
table	O
includes	O
two	O
main	O
parts	O
:	O
the	O
"	O
physical	O
"	O
playfield	O
design	O
and	O
the	O
script	B-Language
which	O
controls	O
the	O
table	O
gameplay	O
directly	O
,	O
or	O
establishes	O
the	O
wiring	O
of	O
the	O
emulation	B-Application
(	O
through	O
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
)	O
to	O
the	O
simulated	O
table	O
components	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
lamps	O
,	O
switches	O
and	O
the	O
flippers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
editor	O
uses	O
Microsoft	O
VBScript	B-Application
for	O
user	O
programming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
itself	O
is	O
written	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
with	O
the	O
Active	B-Language
Template	I-Language
Library	I-Language
for	O
making	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
DirectX	B-Application
and	O
thus	O
can	O
run	O
on	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
(	O
or	O
newer	O
)	O
,	O
although	O
its	O
newest	O
incarnations	O
require	O
at	O
least	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
due	O
to	O
modern	O
Microsoft	O
compilers	B-Language
abandoning	O
older	O
OS	B-General_Concept
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
on	O
December	O
19	O
,	O
2000	O
,	O
by	O
programmer	O
Randy	O
Davis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2005	O
,	O
David	O
R	O
.	O
Foley	O
purchased	O
the	O
rights	O
from	O
Davis	O
for	O
modification	O
of	O
the	O
suite	O
for	O
a	O
full-sized	O
pinball	B-Application
cabinet	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
team	O
and	O
the	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
development	O
community	O
also	O
joined	O
in	O
the	O
effort	O
to	O
produce	O
improvements	O
to	O
the	O
suite	O
product	O
and	O
a	O
few	O
tables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
project	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
UltraPin	B-Application
,	O
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Global	O
VR	O
following	O
the	O
acquisition	O
of	O
certain	O
assets	O
UltraCade	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2008	O
,	O
NanoTech	O
Entertainment	O
acquired	O
the	O
rights	O
from	O
Davis	O
for	O
the	O
use	O
&	O
distribution	O
of	O
the	O
engine	O
for	O
inclusion	O
with	O
its	O
Pinball	B-Application
Wizard	O
PC	B-Device
Controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
9	O
of	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
includes	O
some	O
major	O
improvements	O
,	O
but	O
no	O
full	O
backward	B-General_Concept
compatibility	I-General_Concept
,	O
therefore	O
some	O
older	O
tables	O
still	O
need	O
version	O
8	O
to	O
run	O
properly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
,	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
9.0.7	O
was	O
released	O
under	O
a	O
license	B-License
that	O
allows	O
free	O
use	O
for	O
non-commercial	O
purposes	O
like	O
the	O
original	O
MAME	B-Device
license	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
development	O
is	O
solely	O
driven	O
by	O
various	O
open-source	B-Application
contributors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
X	O
(	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
VPX	O
)	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
December	O
24	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
again	O
breaking	O
backward	B-General_Concept
compatibility	I-General_Concept
with	O
version	O
9	O
(	O
as	O
tables	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
loaded	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
played	O
directly	O
without	O
changes	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Current	O
efforts	O
include	O
the	O
VPVR	O
branch	O
which	O
adds	O
support	O
for	O
dynamic	O
virtual	O
camera	O
movement	O
,	O
including	O
Virtual	B-Device
reality	I-Device
headset	I-Device
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
simulation	O
of	O
most	O
modern	O
pinball	B-Application
machines	O
(	O
especially	O
those	O
made	O
after	O
1992	O
,	O
using	O
large	O
portions	O
of	O
DMD	B-General_Concept
animations	O
and	O
digital	O
sound	O
samples	O
)	O
require	O
the	O
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
(	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
VPinMAME	O
or	O
VPM	O
)	O
program	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
behave	O
as	O
close	O
to	O
the	O
physical	O
machine	O
as	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VPinMAME	O
adds	O
to	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
's	O
system	O
requirements	O
and	O
,	O
like	O
other	O
emulators	B-Application
,	O
uses	O
image	O
files	O
of	O
the	O
actual	O
ROMs	O
from	O
the	O
physical	O
pinball	B-Application
machines	O
,	O
executing	O
them	O
as	O
simulations	O
of	O
the	O
embedded	O
CPUs	B-General_Concept
,	O
sound	O
chips	O
,	O
and	O
displays	O
from	O
the	O
real	O
life	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
is	O
a	O
program	O
(	O
a	O
COM	B-Application
class	O
)	O
that	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
work	O
in	O
combination	O
with	O
Visual	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
(	O
or	O
nowadays	O
any	O
other	O
program	O
that	O
can	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
COM	B-Application
class	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Unit3D	O
Pinball	B-Application
)	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
3D	O
renderings	O
of	O
actual	O
pinball	B-Application
table	O
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
emulating	B-Application
CPUs	B-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
connected	O
ROMs	O
used	O
in	O
modern	O
pinball	B-Application
tables	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
tables	O
with	O
solid-state	O
electronics/electro	O
-mechanical	O
mechanisms	O
that	O
contain	O
no	O
ROMs	O
or	O
advanced	O
ICs	O
in	O
their	O
hardware	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
displays	O
the	O
LEDs	O
or	O
DMD	B-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
machines	O
in	O
a	O
separate	O
window	O
and	O
also	O
delivers	O
emulation	B-Application
of	O
the	O
integrated	O
sound	O
chips	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
for	O
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
to	O
work	O
properly	O
with	O
a	O
rendered	O
pinball	B-Application
table	O
,	O
it	O
requires	O
that	O
specific	O
table	O
's	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
underlying	O
PinMAME	O
core	O
,	O
that	O
drives	O
all	O
emulation	B-Application
components	O
and	O
is	O
also	O
responsible	O
for	O
the	O
rendering	O
and	O
output	O
of	O
LEDs	O
,	O
the	O
DMD	B-General_Concept
and	O
playback	O
of	O
the	O
emulated	B-Application
sound	O
and	O
music	O
,	O
was	O
already	O
started	O
in	O
April	O
,	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
is	O
named	O
after	O
the	O
original	O
MAME	B-Device
program	O
for	O
emulating	B-Application
arcade	O
games	O
and	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
some	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
MAME	B-Device
core	O
.7X	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
beginning	O
the	O
project	O
started	O
as	O
WPCMAMECOM	O
(	O
and	O
its	O
underlying	O
core	O
as	O
WPCMAME	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
WPC	B-Application
and	O
MAME	B-Device
acronyms	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	O
PinMAME	O
is	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
C++	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
whereas	O
PinMAME	O
is	O
still	O
based	O
on	O
C	B-Language
.	O
</s>
