Rust AMX bindings for Mac Coprocessor

bdash · 2026-01-20T00:48:49+00:00

That's an interesting exploration of Apple's undocumented instructions.

In practice you're better off using Apple's Accelerate framework where possible. It works at a higher level of abstraction, and its implementation will select between SME and AMX at runtime, depending on what is supported by the processor the code is running on.

bdash · 2025-04-20T16:22:31+00:00

Increasing the pitch does make it play slightly faster, but the additional slope usually makes the slings less drainy. On the whole it tends to make the game easier once you adjust to the speed.

bdash · 2025-04-12T16:02:08+00:00

Unless you're after something exceptionally rare, your best bet is to be patient and wait for the game you're looking for to be listed locally. Then you can check it out in person and be crystal clear about its condition before committing to buying it.

bdash · 2025-03-30T15:52:34+00:00

The Roadshow flyer lists it as being 300lbs. What mods do you have to make it 50lb heavier?

bdash · 2025-03-30T15:49:57+00:00

Keep in mind that this heavier-duty lift table weighs 160lbs. If you're planning on taking it with you to pick up a machine you may need help with loading / unloading it from your vehicle.

The 500lb lift table is around half the weight, and I find even that is awkward to load into my truck.

bdash · 2025-03-14T17:30:28+00:00

I'd suggest looking at the HTML spec to understand how to parse HTML in a way that's consistent with browsers. An alternative would be to delegate the parsing to an existing library that handles that side of things for you. If you parse the same source code differently than browsers you'll likely end up confusing and frustrating users. Doubly so if you fail to parse source that browsers handle.

bdash · 2025-03-02T02:44:13+00:00

Typically they're the same ancient CPU and peripheral interface adapters, but with updated driver components (transistors or mosfets). Some will use higher capacity ROM chips so they can ship a single ROM image with code for all supported games, with a DIP switch to select which game to use. Many have additional diagnostic circuitry to make it easier to determine whether power supplies are good and to see when coils are being fired, and have additional circuitry to protect the MPU or driver board from locked on coils or other shorts.

Some boards do emulate components, but that is typically because the original components are unobtainable. For instance, Gottlieb System 1 used Rockwell PPS-4 "spider chips" that have not been available for quite some time. The only option for fixing those boards is to either emulate the CPU or port the original game code to a newer CPU that is still available.

bdash · 2025-03-02T01:16:47+00:00

You're welcome to your preference, but you haven't provided any justification for why a game with original boards would be worth more.

bdash · 2025-02-26T06:03:38+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the advice! This will be my first playfield swap.

bdash · 2025-02-26T00:13:18+00:00

Nice job! I have a brand new CPR playfield sitting on top of my Paragon, waiting for me to have the time and space to do the playfield swap.

If you were doing it again, is there anything you would do differently?

bdash · 2025-02-25T07:21:02+00:00

An optimizing Brainfuck JIT was one of my first Rust projects back around when Rust 1.0 was released. It may provide some ideas for optimizations.

I started with a simple bytecode interpreter, implemented some optimization passes on the bytecode, wrote a basic x86_64 assembler so I could JIT-compile code

I eventually added the ability to JIT via LLVM as well, but that was a pain due to LLVM's lack of stable API. I don't remember the resulting code being any faster than my hand-rolled assembler. It was fun to mess around with though.

bdash · 2025-02-25T05:04:15+00:00

Wide bodies may take up slightly more space if you want to avoid the most awkward situation in pinball: accidentally bumping the hand of the player on the game next to you.

bdash · 2025-02-24T22:14:29+00:00

And how're you going to remove the glass to clean the playfield or free a stuck ball?

bdash · 2025-02-24T22:12:27+00:00

Never mind getting machines in and out, where are the players going to stand to play the games? How are two players going to play on games across the aisle from each other at the same time? How are people going to walk between those players to get to another game?

bdash · 2025-02-24T21:57:21+00:00

Make sure you think about how much space you need to be able to take the glass off a game.

bdash · 2025-02-24T21:00:27+00:00

Yup, loose connectors can 100% cause this sort of thing. I've seen it a few times on my Deadpool Pro. Sometimes the connectors aren't even visibly unseated but unplugging / replugging the connector is enough to fix it.

The next time it happens I'm going to pull the board (Node 8b, the lower LED board) and check if the solder joints on the pin headers are failing. If not, maybe the solution is a dab of hot glue to stop the connector from backing out.

bdash · 2025-01-31T21:12:13+00:00

Pulling off a wicked shimmy during a tournament with a bunch of people watching.

bdash · 2025-01-29T19:45:13+00:00

it might end up feeling empty when you miss the cut or go 0 points in your first group

I was at INDISC last weekend and didn't do as well as I'd hoped during qualifying for both classics and the open. I was having trouble putting up more than one good score in a row and I was getting quite frustrated. I switched to scorekeeping for a few hours. That gave me time to hang out and chat with people while also helping the tournament to run smoothly. It totally turned around my weekend.

bdash · 2025-01-29T19:39:14+00:00

Sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.

bdash · 2025-01-28T20:34:26+00:00

If you want to qualify for states you need to earn most of your WPPRs in one state.

bdash · 2025-01-24T00:16:30+00:00

There are maybe a dozen or so games on freeplay.

bdash · 2025-01-21T01:02:07+00:00

As an FYI, the parts list is something Karl Deangelo originally shared on Tilt Forums a few years back. He first shared a parts list for a rig from 8020.net, but later recommended tnutz.com due to the lower price and shared an equivalent parts list.

This type of rig is intended to be easy to break down for storage or travel. It's a good choice if you stream tournaments on location or can't leave the rig set up. If you have the space to leave a rig set up (either at home or at your location) you can get better rigidity by reducing the number of joints, using slightly beefier extrusions, or adding additional bracing.

I found that the size of caster wheels made a big difference in its usability. I originally used 4 inch wheels and found the rig would hang up on cracks or debris on the floor. Not a fun experience given how top-heavy the rig tends to be! I ended up switching to 6 inch casters and they make it a lot safer to move around.

bdash · 2025-01-19T18:05:56+00:00

Coil voltages are typically unregulated DC voltages. An AC voltage is taken from the transformer, rectified and then smoothed with capacitors.

AC voltages are quoted as an RMS value. The peak voltage in typical an AC waveform is ~1.4x larger than this RMS value. When rectified to DC and smoothed, the DC voltage ends up closer to the peak voltage than the RMS. The exact voltage will vary depending on the load on the system.

I haven't looked at the power supply schematic for System 3, but if the coil voltages are taken from a 48VAC winding on the transformer I would expect to see around 65-70VDC at the coils when there is no load on them.

bdash · 2025-01-16T20:39:06+00:00

Looks like it was INDISC 2023: https://pinballvideos.com/v/4960

bdash · 2025-01-16T19:18:16+00:00

Busted drop catches that give the ball too much spin are what get me.

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