Here's a playlist of videos in which other members of our Tested family share what THEY have been up to in quarantine! czcams.com/play/PLJtitKU0CAeis5tGOMSRFZGVspLm0AIsq.html
I always appreciate Jeremys honest and straight forward communication. Seems like such a cool guy to know- the dude made 3 variations of a physical interface for virtual pinball- what!?
I love that PinSim Mini. When I built my first arcade stick, I put the standard start and select buttons left and right on purpose, so that I could map them as flipper buttons.
My wife and I have done 3 of the LEGO ideas houses (they look like they belong in San Francisco or something) a theater, a book store, and a restaurant. It's been delightful to rediscover LEGO , the elements and the details have evolved SO MUCH!
Try adding a bluetooth conduction speaker in there and set the mechanical sounds in visual pinball 10 to come from that. Then you got a nice force feeback addition for $20. Even add another for $40.
"but you need to be a carpenter, to cut the wood basically" - shows laser cutter alternative... Never thought that laser cutter is cheaper than circular saw or even table saw 🤪
Totally agree, you could easily make the reverse argument. However, 1) you can order laser cuts from services like Ponoko, and 2) there are a rising number of people with laser cutters and no woodworking experience, me included.
@@JeremyWilliams1 I see this as the meaning of the phrase. Just made me chuckle the way it was presented. I am handy person (or rather people say that, maybe because I remodeled my house) and have both circular saw and table saw, no way near getting laser cutter ;-)
@@JeremyWilliams1 Of course, depending on exactly what you need, you can also go to your local hardware/lumber store and have them cut the pieces you need. This never occurred to me as anything but a convenience for fitting plywood into a compact car until I was waiting for assistance at Home Depot one day and the young, apartment-dweller-looking person in front of me started reading off precise dimensions for seven or eight pieces to be cut out of a sheet of ply using the store's panel saw. They had made their plans including a cut diagram, and all they needed was someone to do the cuts for them. Eye-opening.
I'm so giddy with excitement right now. I just bought my first house and it has a 2 car garage. I cannot wait to get in there an start making.This project has just been added to my list.
Whenever someone says IR sensor, I always think of some linear actuator working on Current and Resistance. Probably looked at V=IR too much back in Uni.
@@timlorakatryan I love it all. Star Wars, Star Trek, anything scifi that is good. I never understood the star trek star wars feud. They are both fantastic.
I am so jealous. Star Trek TNG is the best pinball machine ever made. I get so excited when I find a machine in the wild to play and you have one in your house. First thing I check for at Pacific Pinball in Alameda. Bravo Sir!
UPDATE FOR PEOPLE MAKING THIS PROJECT USING THE PINSIM PCB -- the PCB tilt sensor is designed for the ADXL345 accelerometer chip that comes on a smaller PCB that used 9 contact points. The most common small boards for the ADXL345 now use 8 contact points and require some tweaking to use with the PINSIM PCB (the contact points for the ground and positive power are no longer in the right position for the 8-hole versions of the ADXL345). Maybe someone can update the design at Oshpark for the PINSIM pcb.
I'm in the middle of building a pinsim myself and noticed the same thing. Did the 8 contact point accelerometer work for you? If so, do you know exactly which one you used?
@@tropicaltexan1 I got it to work by using a socket for the ADXL345 chip and cutting off the socket pins for the power and ground, and then running wires from the power and ground pins to the right connection points on the pin sim board. with that taken care of, the accelerometer works great. good luck!
@@szfinland Finally finishing my pinsim build and adding an accelerometer. I've wired it up as you mentioned, and checked continuity to the pinsim PCB, all seems good. Is the accelerometer disabled by default or something?
@@tropicaltexan1 have you programmed the software for the pinsim from github? my recollection is that you needed a specific version. you can run the game controller setup in windows to see if you are getting output from the button presses. there is software that will show if you are getting input from the accelerometer but I do not recall the name for it right now --- it is used in vpinball setups to calibrate some of the settings.
I made basically one of these, 29" wide and about 9" front to back. I gave it the side buttons and a flipper button. On top I have the trackball, spinner and a two player 6 button setup. I REALLY wish I would have made mine with the angled top surface, I made mine a basic rectangle. Luckily, I'm in the middle of making one for a buddy, his is going to have the angled top for sure, so will my next one
Woooow 🙄😉 Jeremy hats off 💪 and what a place...👍 almost all the items remind me the time I was young 😉 many thanks- this was priceless 👍 thumbs up and see ya at my travel chanel 👍👍 you are always more than welcome to come by and express your feelings about it 🤩 every fan of lego as well 💪💪💪
Hi Jeremy, Could you please reply to this post with a link for the buttons encoder kit you used on your mini build as I’ve recently been going down the pc pinball hole and would love to build one myself. Thanks you for your time in advance and awesome work too.
Hey Jeremy, On the final shot (7:20) looks like you have a lot of close proximity water pipes? to the pinball games, I do not how long each game is kept there, but pipes and connections are bound to fail at a certain point, just saying, I'd be wary of that.. Cool video, thanks for the updates, and stories about pinball machines
Hi Jeremy, first of all, thanks for the initial Pinsim project. Personally, I'm in the middle of building one right now. Recently I soldered the board and put the software on it. Arduino was a first for me so that was fun. Right now I'm awaiting delivery of some buttons and I am trying to work out what joystick and buttons to put on top.
I'd really appreciate a little advice regarding the programming of the Teensy LC. When i try to verify the code (PINSIM .ino)in teensy arduino i get an error message. I read in the guide obviously but parts of it are confusing for me... ""XInput Game Controller for PC Pinball Games Based on the excellent MSF_FightStick XINPUT project by Zack "Reaper" Littell The complete project build guide, along with PCB links, wiring schematics, and 3D STL files, is hosted at Tested. This code is designed to run on Teensy LC and requires the following libraries: MSF-XInput Adafruit Sensor Adafruit ADXL345 Bounce Average EEPROMex Please note the instructions for the MSF-XInput library, which requires some Teensyduino files to be overwritten in order to add support for a new USB device type. I have included compiled code that can be installed on a Teensy LC using the Teensy Loader application. The code will compile for Teensy 3.2 but, besides being more expensive, that board lacks sufficient current output on the LED pins."" Any info would be greatly appreciated... Many thanks.
I see your a Keith Elwin fan! I took delivery of my JP Pro last week, first pin too. Love your delivery and kind honest nature. Question: does any of your pinsim's work on the Quest?
I'm a year late, but currently building the original PinSim. I'd like to buy the PinSim Mini for my dad, but don't see it on eBay. Has this moved to another platform like etsy, or do I need to convince my wife that I really need a laser cutter?
Bother great video. Your so smart and creative. But do us a favor, build something! That's what we really enjoy. Great to see what you have done and listen to you talk about projects. But building it and seeing you work is the cherry on top ! Stay safe ! From Albuquerque nm have a great day.
I'm less interested in the laser cut wood enclosure, and more interested in those pinball paddle controls. I have an arcade stick, and would love to modify it to have alternative arcade controller parts, like a those paddle buttons. I also want a analogue spinner style controller too, but I've recently discovered just how expensive they are.
Trying to build a PinSim myself but am lost on the process of installing necessary files on the Teensy LC. Hope someone can provide step by step instructions.
Hi Jeremy, I asked a looking laser cutting company to make what you posted on Thingiverse for the mini pinsim mini, but they came back with the following, have I missed something: From the file it looks like it is supposed to be approx 320mm wide and in 6mm plywood, but the slots are 4,8mm deep. Do you know what size the holes should be? I can adjust it to make it work. Thanks, Gary.
I converted an old Super8 projector into a frame by frame capture device using an RC server motor,arduino,relays ect so you could hook up a DSLR camera and convert old footage... and now I am adding a port to it so you can plug a raspberry pi 3b+ into the projector and use a PI cam instead of the DSLR... also made an IR remote converter(using an arduino) to the TV to get some added controls like a/b swapping fav channels... added room tracking ta a modded PSVR helmet using a pingpong ball with a 12v light inside and made it compatible with the game engine Godot running on Linux Ubuntu.... managed to fix memory leakage in my own lossless compression algorithm using Valgrind so I can start again on my own VST drumkit plugin where the whole kit is going to be sampled in my wardrobe closet.... Oh... and this is normal days since I am unemployed at the moment by will and like to be anti-social anyway... ;)
Is there a way to use bigger rumble motors with external power supply? Which board do u guys use? Still teensy lc best choice in 2020? Any help appreciated
I'm a big fan of the pin sim, but instead of going without tilt and a plunger, why not go without the typical 6 button arcade layout. Am I missing something or wouldn't you just need 2 flippers, a plunger, start and coin as far as physical buttons go. Maybe a magna save button too, idk.
Pinball and VR pinball leave me cold-- but I like you and I am surprised at how much space you have allocated as a workshop. You're the quiet one-- and the driest-humored one...
My favourite definition of an engineer is someone who can make something for £5 that everyone else would make for £10. Feel free to adjust for inflation.
The frame!! cool!. The Pinball Arcades = DROOLING and crying : ' ( . I didn't have the time to move from my depto to my new house (because my auto-sheltering in place [and then mandatory]) to search and look for somewhere to buy one of those pinball machines. But, well, safety is first. Thumbs up!
This guy may be my long lost brother. He has most of the same hobbies I’ve had. I’m a little nuttier and more diverse but he’s close. I just picked up an X Arcade to do Pinball with when not playing the real deal.
@@fabienlelaurin7760 Merci beaucoup de votre reponse rapide. 🙂 Qui, je peut parler un peu francais. Looks like the board is the one I need. Merci encore!
Why would the Pinsim controller need any GitHub software, If you are using a standard controller PCB(PS3,4 or Xbox controller board) and distance sensor is simply read as a Z axis analog system, Steam should be able to read and assign it properly through the control panel as Pinball FX2 VR and even regular Pinball FX2/3 uses Steam with Open VR. Seems like its making things a bit more overcomplex than it has to be. Edit : after a small amount of research you can buy a complete system that uses an optical Ipac, which is expensive but shouldn't really require anything special beyond whatever you are using as a mapper, depending on the software sometimes you need to create and move the .dll file with some software like Xinput and such, otherwise most people should be fine.
Why are you putting a joystick with a full array of buttons on it??? Are you playing pinball or Streetfighter? lol HADOUKEN!!!! The basic and only buttons you should have are Flipper's, Magnasave's, Start, Coin, Plunger. That's it. Should cost well under a hundred bucks:)
Here's a playlist of videos in which other members of our Tested family share what THEY have been up to in quarantine! czcams.com/play/PLJtitKU0CAeis5tGOMSRFZGVspLm0AIsq.html
What is the source for the mentioned plywood? Thanks!
I always appreciate Jeremys honest and straight forward communication. Seems like such a cool guy to know- the dude made 3 variations of a physical interface for virtual pinball- what!?
Could not agree with you more. I knew he was a pinball fan but now I can see he's REALLY a pinball fan heh
Jeremy always seems like one of those 'real' makers, sharing solely for the passion of making. Hope to see more like this on CZcams and Tested
I really appreciate this comment. Thank you.
Hey! I worked on those games. Just shared with the Stern folks.
Jeremy should have his own show/tested channel. He always does really cool builds
I love that PinSim Mini. When I built my first arcade stick, I put the standard start and select buttons left and right on purpose, so that I could map them as flipper buttons.
Thanks for the tip on the adhesive masking paper. I'd been using 6" blue tape.
Nothing beats a real pinball machine.
Uhhhhhh what is that awesome touchscreen mod for your Prusa at 3:55 ?????? I need this in my life!
Yes! Recommended. Links in the Twitter comments here: twitter.com/jerware/status/1215443927802597381?s=20
Loved your video, Jeremy! I always appreciate your builds and creativity.
My wife and I have done 3 of the LEGO ideas houses (they look like they belong in San Francisco or something) a theater, a book store, and a restaurant. It's been delightful to rediscover LEGO , the elements and the details have evolved SO MUCH!
Laser cutting is way crazier than cutting plywood.
Try adding a bluetooth conduction speaker in there and set the mechanical sounds in visual pinball 10 to come from that. Then you got a nice force feeback addition for $20. Even add another for $40.
"but you need to be a carpenter, to cut the wood basically" - shows laser cutter alternative... Never thought that laser cutter is cheaper than circular saw or even table saw 🤪
Totally agree, you could easily make the reverse argument. However, 1) you can order laser cuts from services like Ponoko, and 2) there are a rising number of people with laser cutters and no woodworking experience, me included.
@@JeremyWilliams1 I see this as the meaning of the phrase. Just made me chuckle the way it was presented. I am handy person (or rather people say that, maybe because I remodeled my house) and have both circular saw and table saw, no way near getting laser cutter ;-)
Yeah that part was confusing ha
@@JeremyWilliams1 Of course, depending on exactly what you need, you can also go to your local hardware/lumber store and have them cut the pieces you need. This never occurred to me as anything but a convenience for fitting plywood into a compact car until I was waiting for assistance at Home Depot one day and the young, apartment-dweller-looking person in front of me started reading off precise dimensions for seven or eight pieces to be cut out of a sheet of ply using the store's panel saw. They had made their plans including a cut diagram, and all they needed was someone to do the cuts for them. Eye-opening.
I think bars should have a virtual pinball machine that can load multiple different levels to play in one
I'm so giddy with excitement right now. I just bought my first house and it has a 2 car garage. I cannot wait to get in there an start making.This project has just been added to my list.
Whenever someone says IR sensor, I always think of some linear actuator working on Current and Resistance. Probably looked at V=IR too much back in Uni.
I... must... have... star trek TNG pinball machine. I didn't know that they exist. I have never seen one before. Awesome.
It is the best pinball machine I have ever played. And I am a Star Wars guy.
@@timlorakatryan I love it all. Star Wars, Star Trek, anything scifi that is good. I never understood the star trek star wars feud. They are both fantastic.
I am so jealous. Star Trek TNG is the best pinball machine ever made. I get so excited when I find a machine in the wild to play and you have one in your house. First thing I check for at Pacific Pinball in Alameda. Bravo Sir!
I've owned that for 8 years, and it's my second one! It takes me back to college whenever I play.
UPDATE FOR PEOPLE MAKING THIS PROJECT USING THE PINSIM PCB -- the PCB tilt sensor is designed for the ADXL345 accelerometer chip that comes on a smaller PCB that used 9 contact points. The most common small boards for the ADXL345 now use 8 contact points and require some tweaking to use with the PINSIM PCB (the contact points for the ground and positive power are no longer in the right position for the 8-hole versions of the ADXL345). Maybe someone can update the design at Oshpark for the PINSIM pcb.
I'm in the middle of building a pinsim myself and noticed the same thing. Did the 8 contact point accelerometer work for you? If so, do you know exactly which one you used?
@@tropicaltexan1 I got it to work by using a socket for the ADXL345 chip and cutting off the socket pins for the power and ground, and then running wires from the power and ground pins to the right connection points on the pin sim board. with that taken care of, the accelerometer works great. good luck!
@@szfinland Finally finishing my pinsim build and adding an accelerometer. I've wired it up as you mentioned, and checked continuity to the pinsim PCB, all seems good. Is the accelerometer disabled by default or something?
@@tropicaltexan1 have you programmed the software for the pinsim from github? my recollection is that you needed a specific version. you can run the game controller setup in windows to see if you are getting output from the button presses. there is software that will show if you are getting input from the accelerometer but I do not recall the name for it right now --- it is used in vpinball setups to calibrate some of the settings.
great little controller to play pinball. thats awesome
I've been playing a lot of my NES Mini system. Loving those classic games
You should name like USB.... Pinsim Mini and Pinsim Micro :D
I made basically one of these, 29" wide and about 9" front to back. I gave it the side buttons and a flipper button. On top I have the trackball, spinner and a two player 6 button setup. I REALLY wish I would have made mine with the angled top surface, I made mine a basic rectangle.
Luckily, I'm in the middle of making one for a buddy, his is going to have the angled top for sure, so will my next one
Would love a link to that 12 inch roll of masking tape. Having a hard time finding it.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191054310176 I don’t know if your uk based etc but that’s what I’ve used in the past 👍
I have that exact same Outrun Tapestry in my room, it's perfect!!!
Woooow 🙄😉 Jeremy hats off 💪 and what a place...👍 almost all the items remind me the time I was young 😉 many thanks- this was priceless 👍 thumbs up and see ya at my travel chanel 👍👍 you are always more than welcome to come by and express your feelings about it 🤩 every fan of lego as well 💪💪💪
Hi Jeremy,
Could you please reply to this post with a link for the buttons encoder kit you used on your mini build as I’ve recently been going down the pc pinball hole and would love to build one myself. Thanks you for your time in advance and awesome work too.
So jealous of that star trek pinball machine.
As someone who built a Virtual pinball cabinet I can assure you, you don't need a plunger. But you definitely need an accelerometer for nudging.
Hey Jeremy, On the final shot (7:20) looks like you have a lot of close proximity water pipes? to the pinball games,
I do not how long each game is kept there, but pipes and connections are bound to fail at a certain point, just saying, I'd be wary of that..
Cool video, thanks for the updates, and stories about pinball machines
if there's a flood, at least he'll have a couple of paddles
Jeremy is a brave man having his next gen under the hot water service.
Hi Jeremy, first of all, thanks for the initial Pinsim project. Personally, I'm in the middle of building one right now. Recently I soldered the board and put the software on it. Arduino was a first for me so that was fun.
Right now I'm awaiting delivery of some buttons and I am trying to work out what joystick and buttons to put on top.
Awesome!
I'd really appreciate a little advice regarding the programming of the Teensy LC. When i try to verify the code (PINSIM .ino)in teensy arduino i get an error message. I read in the guide obviously but parts of it are confusing for me...
""XInput Game Controller for PC Pinball Games
Based on the excellent MSF_FightStick XINPUT project by Zack "Reaper" Littell
The complete project build guide, along with PCB links, wiring schematics, and 3D STL files, is hosted at Tested.
This code is designed to run on Teensy LC and requires the following libraries:
MSF-XInput
Adafruit Sensor
Adafruit ADXL345
Bounce
Average
EEPROMex
Please note the instructions for the MSF-XInput library, which requires some Teensyduino files to be overwritten in order to add support for a new USB device type.
I have included compiled code that can be installed on a Teensy LC using the Teensy Loader application. The code will compile for Teensy 3.2 but, besides being more expensive, that board lacks sufficient current output on the LED pins.""
Any info would be greatly appreciated...
Many thanks.
Awesome work!
Patent and sell it
Life shouldn't be too short for pinball, or virtual pinball for that matter :)
Is that a lithography press tucked into the corner?
I see your a Keith Elwin fan! I took delivery of my JP Pro last week, first pin too. Love your delivery and kind honest nature. Question: does any of your pinsim's work on the Quest?
That pong clock concept is awesome
cool stuff!
love those pinball machines ;D
Ohhhh man this is perfect now my only dilemma is can one be built for the Nintendo Switch???????
I'm a year late, but currently building the original PinSim. I'd like to buy the PinSim Mini for my dad, but don't see it on eBay. Has this moved to another platform like etsy, or do I need to convince my wife that I really need a laser cutter?
Bother great video. Your so smart and creative. But do us a favor, build something! That's what we really enjoy. Great to see what you have done and listen to you talk about projects. But building it and seeing you work is the cherry on top ! Stay safe ! From Albuquerque nm have a great day.
What he really enjoys is Pinball ....
looks like the build guide for this on the Tested website was removed? Where can I track down the build guide?
So super nice
I'm less interested in the laser cut wood enclosure, and more interested in those pinball paddle controls. I have an arcade stick, and would love to modify it to have alternative arcade controller parts, like a those paddle buttons. I also want a analogue spinner style controller too, but I've recently discovered just how expensive they are.
Cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trying to build a PinSim myself but am lost on the process of installing necessary files on the Teensy LC. Hope someone can provide step by step instructions.
I would say more people have woodworking skills than access to a laser cutter.
Yea, and if they have their own laser cutter, I doubt the price is much of an issue...
Love that star trek machine
Hi Jeremy, Would love to buy one (PinSim). Are they still available? Ebay link does not work? Thanks Ed
Pinball... fond memories of a misspent youth.
Hi Jeremy, I asked a looking laser cutting company to make what you posted on Thingiverse for the mini pinsim mini, but they came back with the following, have I missed something:
From the file it looks like it is supposed to be approx 320mm wide and in 6mm plywood, but the slots are 4,8mm deep.
Do you know what size the holes should be? I can adjust it to make it work.
Thanks,
Gary.
For people who don't have a $100 circular saw but do have a $4000 laser cutter. WTF?
Jeremy, Those pipes next to your STTNG worry me! All copper water pipes eventually leak burst or get pinholes that shoot water all over!
Awesome! Creative juices following again and all it took was... After this page in history i hope to see more folks get back into hm wk shops.
Sweet build! Where do you get your wood from?
+90 pts respect....Iron Maiden Pinball machine....
I converted an old Super8 projector into a frame by frame capture device using an RC server motor,arduino,relays ect so you could hook up a DSLR camera and convert old footage... and now I am adding a port to it so you can plug a raspberry pi 3b+ into the projector and use a PI cam instead of the DSLR... also made an IR remote converter(using an arduino) to the TV to get some added controls like a/b swapping fav channels... added room tracking ta a modded PSVR helmet using a pingpong ball with a 12v light inside and made it compatible with the game engine Godot running on Linux Ubuntu.... managed to fix memory leakage in my own lossless compression algorithm using Valgrind so I can start again on my own VST drumkit plugin where the whole kit is going to be sampled in my wardrobe closet.... Oh... and this is normal days since I am unemployed at the moment by will and like to be anti-social anyway... ;)
Is there a way to use bigger rumble motors with external power supply? Which board do u guys use? Still teensy lc best choice in 2020? Any help appreciated
Where did you wire the extra 2 buttons? I thought there was only a spot for 4 xbox buttons?
May I suggest rather than the pinsim mini-mini how about the pinsim micro?
I'm a big fan of the pin sim, but instead of going without tilt and a plunger, why not go without the typical 6 button arcade layout. Am I missing something or wouldn't you just need 2 flippers, a plunger, start and coin as far as physical buttons go. Maybe a magna save button too, idk.
my daughter and i have been having a blast playing minecraft dungeons.
One could devise a wooden equivalent plunger....
Where do you buy your 1/4" walnut plywood from? is it somewhere local or online?
Pinball and VR pinball leave me cold-- but I like you and I am surprised at how much space you have allocated as a workshop. You're the quiet one-- and the driest-humored one...
Avaliable for uk ?
Was the Rc car an associated B4? Kinda looks like the one I have on my wall.
will it work with a tilt5? or are you going to make a version that does?
He somehow looks like he's simultaneously 25 and 55 years old
Amazingly true! YES.
Oooo how retro 👌
Expecting Adam Savage. What the hell???
My favourite definition of an engineer is someone who can make something for £5 that everyone else would make for £10. Feel free to adjust for inflation.
That's like putting £10 in a £5 bag!
can i still buy one of these?
i neeeeed one!
Are you no longer selling these?
Can you buy one?
The frame!! cool!. The Pinball Arcades = DROOLING and crying : ' ( . I didn't have the time to move from my depto to my new house (because my auto-sheltering in place [and then mandatory]) to search and look for somewhere to buy one of those pinball machines. But, well, safety is first. Thumbs up!
Nice! Does it have a TILT feature?
Yes, the PinSim board has an accelerometer that supports direction accurate nudging.
Come on, do another game frame run!
What became of the starlords(?) project?
interesting guy cool info
Where's the podcast this week!!!???
It's coming! Stay tuned -- it's going up at noon PT today.
This guy may be my long lost brother. He has most of the same hobbies I’ve had. I’m a little nuttier and more diverse but he’s close.
I just picked up an X Arcade to do Pinball with when not playing the real deal.
Do try pinball in VR if you have not already! It's awesome
gear323 I have. I have a Vive.
Pinsim 'nano'
Watching the vid, seeing the first machines come up on screen...while wearing my Iron Maiden trooper shirt. It's kismet.
Yeahhh boy! Just in time for my toilet break 🤣
Hi there is it possible to buy your pinsim Controller ? Your Ebay links doesnt work 😞
Hi
Use a kl25z with a linear potentiometer and a plunger, it s cheaper !
Salut, can the kl25z also be used for pinball fx2vr and zaccaria?
speedofsilence of course ! Kl25z with pinscape is a controller for Windows ( accellometer in it)
speedofsilence j ai vu "Salut" je vais peut être parler en français, regarde sur pincabpassion.net pour un tuto sur la kl25z.
@@fabienlelaurin7760 Merci beaucoup de votre reponse rapide. 🙂 Qui, je peut parler un peu francais. Looks like the board is the one I need. Merci encore!
speedofsilence you are welcome, the board can be use with any pinball game that use a 360 controller with the x360ce program.
Why would the Pinsim controller need any GitHub software, If you are using a standard controller PCB(PS3,4 or Xbox controller board) and distance sensor is simply read as a Z axis analog system, Steam should be able to read and assign it properly through the control panel as Pinball FX2 VR and even regular Pinball FX2/3 uses Steam with Open VR. Seems like its making things a bit more overcomplex than it has to be.
Edit : after a small amount of research you can buy a complete system that uses an optical Ipac, which is expensive but shouldn't really require anything special beyond whatever you are using as a mapper, depending on the software sometimes you need to create and move the .dll file with some software like Xinput and such, otherwise most people should be fine.
Why are you putting a joystick with a full array of buttons on it??? Are you playing pinball or Streetfighter? lol HADOUKEN!!!! The basic and only buttons you should have are Flipper's, Magnasave's, Start, Coin, Plunger. That's it. Should cost well under a hundred bucks:)
🍇Grape
No real coin acceptor???? Sorry, you lost me ;)
7th
What happened to Adam Savage?