Future Pinball ("FP") is a

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for t ...

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

editing and gaming application for Microsoft Windows.Future Pinball
— freewaregenius.com The software is similar to

Visual Pinball Visual Pinball is a freeware and source available video game engine for pinball tables and similar games such as pachinko machines. The software is composed of an editor and the simulator part itself. It runs on Microsoft Windows. The program ...

("VP") and other modern pinball simulation applications. Just as with VP's partnership with Visual PinMAME, FP uses partner applications to emulate original pinball ROM code. In FP's case, the end results of ROM code are simulated by Better Arcade Mode ("BAM") and tools such as "Pinball Browser"The Future of Pinball
from popbumper.com and

dot-matrix display A dot-matrix display is a low cost electronic digital display device that displays information on machines such as clocks, watches, calculators, and many other devices requiring a simple alphanumeric (and/or graphic) display device of limited res ...

software plugins. Core FP development was discontinued in 2010, but resumed in 2013 via BAM. BAM features many new developments, such as enhanced physics, optics, and virtual reality support.

Design

Future Pinball is a simulator and editor which indirectly emulates hardware found in physical pinball machines. Tables are designed using 3D models found within the editor, and rendered using a 3D

real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

engine. Pinball table layout, graphic design, and audio are provided by users during the construction and development of table design. Future Pinball allows users to create original tables based upon a default table which only contains flippers, slingshots, shooter lane, and shooter. Additional playfield components are added from a library containing surface, guide, objects, rubber, targets, lights, triggers, ramps, and displays. User-created artwork can be added to the playfield, plastics, and backglass translite. Game coding is required, and is accomplished through Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting (VBS) via an embedded script editor. The core FP program uses

Newton Game Dynamics Newton Game Dynamics is an open-source physics engine for realistically simulating rigid bodies in games and other real-time applications. Its solver is deterministic and not based on traditional LCP or iterative methods. Newton Game Dynamic ...

for physics.Future of Pinball
on mobygames With the introduction of Better Arcade Mode, Dynamic Flippers and Shiva Flippers, the general physics and flipper-specific physics have since been greatly improved. BAM also adds many new features, such as dynamic light settings, enhanced camera settings, post-processing effects, a plug-in system, custom game rooms, balls, and animated mini-playfields. The mini-playfields allow for creation of a wide variety of games unrelated to pinball, such as

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

and BRIO's

Labyrinth (marble game) ''Labyrinth'' is a game of physical skill consisting of a box with a maze on top with holes, and a steel marble. The object of the game is to try to tilt the playfield to guide the marble to the end of the maze, without letting it fall into any ...

. Several game magazines published tutorials on how to build one's own tables, such as

PCWorld ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...

PC Format ''PC Format'' was a computer magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc, and licensed to other publishers in countries around the world. In publication between 1991 and 2015, it was part of Future plc's ''Format'' series of magazines ...

and

c't ''c't'' – ' (''Magazine for Computer Technology'') is a German computer magazine, published by the Heinz Heise publishing house. The 5.71 meter high tower from the 587 published c't editions up to the 30th anniversary has been in the foyer ...

. "Starter tables" can also greatly aid the process, such as the powerful fpxEngine,PN's Resources / Future Pinball / FP Support Files section
/ref> specifically designed for non-coders.

Playing

Future Pinball completed tables can be downloaded and played in the same application. Standard computer keyboards are often used, although there are a growing number of custom pinball cabinet designs that interface buttons to the software.

History

Future Pinball 1.0 was first released to the public on October 22, 2005 by creator and programmer Christopher Leathley after 20 months of development. On July 17, 2008, NanoTech Entertainment entered into an agreement with Future Pinball to incorporate Future Pinball into a commercial product called MultiPin. The core FP application reached its final version in December 2010, and BAM picked up development in March 2013. BAM continues to be developed through 2023.

References

External links

Official Future Pinball Site - Future Pinball application

Official BAM (Better Arcade Mode) site - Future Pinball partner / development application

Future Pinball de facto community forums
*{{MobyGames, id=/future-pinball 2005 software Freeware games Pinball video games Video game level editors Windows-only freeware Freeware game engines

Design

Playing

History

See also

References

External links