blinkenlights: - The Mission Pinball Framework (2024)

Valid in
machine config files	YES
mode config files	NO

The blinkenlights: section of your config file is used to definelights on your pinball machine that can be shared by multiple differentmodes at the same time. Blinkenlights work best with RGB LEDs, becauseeach mode that uses a blinkenlight can specify a color that theblinkenlight should flash for that mode. The blinkenlight will thenflash each of its colors in a cycle according to a given schedule.

Here's an example section:

#! lights:#! l_left_ramp_arrow:#! channels:#! red:#! number: 1#! green:#! number: 2#! blue:#! number: 3#! l_right_ramp_arrow:#! channels:#! red:#! number: 4#! green:#! number: 5#! blue:#! number: 6blinkenlights: blinkenlight_1: color_duration: 1s off_when_multiple: false light: l_left_ramp_arrow priority: 1000 blinkenlight_2: cycle_duration: 1s off_when_multiple: false light: l_right_ramp_arrow priority: 1000

With the above configuration, two blinkenlights are configured:blinkenlight_1 and blinkenlight_2. You can then use ablinkenlight_player to add or remove colors to these blinkenlights from withinyour modes.

The options are as follows:

Optional settings

The following sections are optional in the blinkenlights: section ofyour config. (If you don't include them, the default will be used).

color_duration:

Single value, type: time string (ms)(Instructions for entering time strings). Defaults to empty.

Either color_duration or cycle_duration (see below) must bespecified for each blinkenlight, but not both.

This specifies the amount of time that each of the blinkenlight'scolors will be turned on. For example, if this value is 1s, then eachof the blinkenlight's colors will be on for 1 second.

The more colors that are added to the blinkenlight when color_durationis specified, the longer it will take to cycle through all the colors.If you want the blinkenlight's cycle to always last the same amount oftime regardless of how many colors the blinkenlight has, then usecycle_duration instead (see below).

cycle_duration:

Single value, type: time string (ms)(Instructions for entering time strings). Defaults to empty.

Either cycle_duration or color_duration (see above) must bespecified for each blinkenlight, but not both.

This specifies the length of one cycle of the blinkenlight. Theblinkenlight will show all of its colors in one cycle. This includes the"off" color at the end of the cycle, if applicable (seeoff_when_multiple below). For example, if this value is 1s, and theblinkenlight has 2 colors in its list, and off_when_multiple isfalse, then each color will be displayed for 0.5 seconds. Ifoff_when_multiple is true, then the "off" color will count as acolor in the blinkenlight's cycle, and so the each color will only bedisplayed for 1/3 of a second.

The more colors that are added to the blinkenlight when cycle_durationis specified, the shorter each color will be displayed. If you want eachcolor to be displayed for a certain length of time regardless of thenumber of colors, then use color_duration instead (see above).

light:

Single value, type: string name of a lights: device. Defaults to empty.

This is the name of the light which this blinkenlight controls.

off_when_multiple:

Single value, type: boolean (true/false). Default: false

This specifies whether or not to include an "off" color at the end ofeach cycle when the blinkenlight has more than one color in its list.

For example, if the blinkenlight has 2 colors (red and green) andoff_when_multiple is False (the default value), then the cycles willbe red, green, red, green. However, if off_when_multiple is True,then the cycles will be red, green, off, red, green, off. The "off"color in this case is treated as another color for the purposes of thecolor_duration and cycle_duration settings above.

A blinkenlight that only has 1 color in its list will be off at the endof its cycle, regardless of whether off_when_multiple is True orFalse. For example, the cycles of a blinkenlight that has 1 color(red) will be red, off, red, off.

priority:

Single value, type: integer. Default: 0

The priority of the blinkenlight. If there is a show that uses thisblinkenlight's light, and the show and the blinkenlight are happeningat the same time, then the light will be controlled by whichever one hasthe highest priority.

console_log:

Single value, type: one of the following options: none, basic, full.Default: basic

Log level for the console log for this device.

debug:

Single value, type: boolean (true/false). Default: false

Set this to true to see additional debug output. This might impact theperformance of MPF.

file_log:

Single value, type: one of the following options: none, basic, full.Default: basic

Log level for the file log for this device.

label:

Single value, type: string. Default: %

Name of this device in service mode.

tags:

List of one (or more) values, each is a type: string. Defaults toempty.