200% screen causes dmddevice settings to be halved when saved and doubled when read.

[ivo71]

I initially reported this on vpx github, but someone suggested to post it here.

Describe the bug
I am not sure if this is a bug or if this is just supposed to be different in vpx 10.8 vs 10.7.
When leaving the playfield screen accidentally at 200%, versions before 10.8 save the settings of the external dmd correctly in dmddevice.ini. When at 200% and starting 10.8 and saving the position of the external dmd, the saved settings are halved and when loading a table with the correct dmd position settings, the value is doubled before it is displayed. For example when the dmd position is saved at x=4400, then 10.8 will display it on x=8800, which then results in seeing only the dmd window (using alt-tab) with a pinballX logo in it. When positioning the virtual dmd on 0,0 and dragging it to the right place on the backscreen and saving the settings while vpx 10.8 is loaded at 200% playfield screen setting, the saved settings will be halved (x=2200 instead of 4400, etc.).

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

set windows playfield screen at 200%
start vpx 10.8 and load a pinball machine.
save correct settings of external dmd.
check dmddevice.ini and notice that the saved settings will be half of the actual setting.
Or, when loading a pinball machine in vpx 10.8 while playfield screen is at 200%, the dmd will not be shown and alt-tab will show a windows with the vpx 10 logo instead of the virtual dmd.

Expected behavior
Position of DMD correctly saved and displayed without being affected b the 200% setting.

[freezy]

Sorry, missed this one.

I've just tested this with the latest VPX (10.8 RC5) and latest dmdext (2.3.0) at 200% screen density, saved the DMD position for a given game, restarted the game, and the DMD appeared at the position it was saved to.

Is this still a problem?

[ivo71]

Sorry, missed this one.

I've just tested this with the latest VPX (10.8 RC5) and latest dmdext (2.3.0) at 200% screen density, saved the DMD position for a given game, restarted the game, and the DMD appeared at the position it was saved to.

Is this still a problem?

My main problem at the time was that the dmd disappeared from the screen when using a 10.8 table and not having switched the playfield to 100%. When I wrote about this a year ago, I noticed the following:

When using vpx 10.7 with playfield accidentally left on 200%:

• The b2s and 3rd dmd screen were still shown correctly
• the dmdext was also shown correctly (It didn't matter if I set the playfield at 100% or 200%, both were shown the same)
  Note: when using pups which showed scores, the text of the scores would still be larger than at 100%)

When using vpx 10.8 with playfield accidentally left on 200%:

• The b2s and 3rd dmd screen were still shown correctly
• However, he dmd was not shown, but by using alt-tab I could see there was a dmd window open showing the vpx logo).

Now I upgraded to the latest test version (see github action list) of b2s and dmd 2.30 and the latest vpx versions, I experience the following:

When using the latest vpx 10.74 now with playfield accidentally left on 200%:

• The b2s and 3rd dmd screen are still shown correctly
• the dmdext is now also not visible, but is running (just like how it was in 2023 with vpx 10.8)

When using vpx 10.8 now with playfield accidentally left on 200%:

• The b2s and its dmd screen are now also not shown (not visible on the screen, but alt-tab shows it is running)
• The dmd is also not shown, but by using alt-tab I could see there was a dmd window open showing the vpx logo).

Summary:
Now the b2s and the dmdext are both not visible when using vpx 10.8 and the playfield is accidentally left at 200%.
This is not a problem for me anymore because I now leave the screen always at 100%.
However, it is my understanding from the developer of vpx 10.8 that the programs should be aware of the screen settings and adapt accordingly. I am also not sure if the cause is in vpx or in b2s and/or dmdext.
I hope this info is of help to you.

Edit:
I tested the settings in the ini and I found that I still need to half all the settings for the dmd to get the dmdext shown at 200% playfield setting in the same position as when setting the playfield is set at 100%.
So that is the same as I explained before.
You are correct though, if you save the position at the 200% playfield setting, it will work at the 200% setting, but when you set the playfield to 100% again, the dmdext position setting needs to be doubled to show it in the same position again as before.