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spinners:

This is a config file reference. Click for instructions.

This page is reference material which explains every setting and option for this section of an MPF yaml config file. See the instructions for config files for formatting and other details. See our guide to config file examples for more examples of real configs in action.

Valid in
machine config files YES ✅
mode config files NO 🚫

Spinner devices provide accruals for switches that are hit in rapid succession, and post events based on timeouts after switch hits.

#! switches:
#!   s_orbit_spinner:
#!     number:
#!   s_top_loop_left:
#!     number:
#!   s_top_loop_right:
#!     number:
spinners:
  basic_spinner:
    switch: s_orbit_spinner
    active_ms: 500
  dual_spinner:
    switches: s_top_loop_left, s_top_loop_right
    labels: left, right
    active_ms: 1200
    idle_ms: 2400

A spinner becomes "active" when a switch: or switches: is hit, and remains active as long as switch hits continue. The time specified by active_ms: determines how long the spinner will wait after the last hit before it is no longer active.

If an idle_ms: time is specified, the spinner will move from "active" to "inactive" for that duration, before finally settling on "idle". If a switch is hit while idle, the spinner will become active again. If no idle_ms: time is specified, the spinner will go directly from active to idle.

The basic flow:

  1. Spinner sits in idle state

  2. A spinner switch is hit i. The spinner becomes "active" and sets a timeout for active_ms: duration ii. The spinner posts spinner_(name)_active event iii. The spinner posts spinner_(name)_hit event

  3. Additional switch hits occur i. The spinner resets the timeout for another active_ms: duration ii. The spinner posts a spinner_(name)_hit event for each hit

  4. Switch hits stop and the active delay timer expires i. The spinner switches to "inactive" state ii. The spinner posts spinner_(name)_inactive event iii. (Optional) If idle_ms: is defined, the spinner sets a timeout for idle_ms duration

  5. (Optional) No switch hits occur and the idle delay timer expires i. The spinner posts spinner_(name)_idle event ii. The spinner switches to "idle" state

Optional settings

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

active_ms:

Single value, type: time string (ms) (Instructions for entering time strings). Default: 1000ms

How long the spinner should stay active after the last switch hit. The hit count resets each time the spinner becomes active, so this value determines when one group of spins ends and the next begins.

disable_events:

List of one (or more) device control events (Instructions for entering device control events). Defaults to empty.

Default: None

Events in this list, when posted, disable this spinner. If a spinner is disabled, then hits to it have no effect.

enable_events:

List of one (or more) device control events (Instructions for entering device control events). Defaults to empty.

Default: None

Events in this list, when posted, enable this spinner. If a spinner is not enabled, then hits to it have no effect.

idle_ms:

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

How long the spinner should stay inactive before going idle. This time is counted after the active_ms: has expired, and is useful for displaying slides or widgets for a while after switch hits stop.

labels:

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

A list of labels to apply to the switches in the spinner. If used, the number of labels should equal the number of switches.

When a spinner switch is hit and labels: are defined, additional events will be posted with spinner_(name)_(label)_active and spinner_(name)_(label)_hit. This allows the game to trigger different behavior based on which spinner switch is hit first or spins more times.

playfield:

Single value, type: string name of a playfields: device. Default: playfield

The name of the playfield that this spinner is on. The default setting is "playfield", so you only have to change this value if you have more than one playfield and you're managing them separately.

reset_when_inactive:

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

When true, the spinners hit count will reset when the spinner goes inactive (after the active_ms: expires).

When false, the spinner's hit count will reset when the spinner goes idle (after the idle_ms: expires)

This value has no effect if idle_ms: is not set.

switch:

List of one (or more) values, each is a type: string name of a switches: device. Defaults to empty.

The name of the switch (or a list of switches) for this spinner. You can use multiple switches if the playfield has a series of spinners that work together (for example at both ends of a horseshoe loop).

switches:

List of one (or more) values, each is a type: string name of a switches: device. Defaults to empty.

This setting is the same as the switch: setting above. You can technically enter a single switch or a list of switches in either the switch: setting or the switches: setting, but we include both since it was confusing to be able to enter multiple switches for a singlular "switch" setting and vice versa.

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

See the documentation on the debug setting for details.

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 to empty.

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