That thing is sweet

I remember when I was working on my Helen mod for ACDC, and right in the middle of it Stern announced Luci. Killed me, because it was gonna look like I was ripping them off. I almost just trashed the whole project.

Then I decided I'd done the work, and to not worry about what anyone else was doing. You should do the same. Clearly you've been doing your own thing, take it to the conclusion, it looks really nice.

How much

Dang you guys are talented! That mod is freaking sweet!!!

Nice!

What are you thinking as far as what will trigger the gate to open/close?

Will you tie in the lamps to the regular gate lamps?

If I end up taking a stab at making my own gate (won't plan to sell), I was thinking of using a PIG2 since it can drive a servo and sense the game's switches.

Personally, I think trying to link it to the ramp switch or motion sensor is not the best idea. The ball will be long past the ramp by the time the gate opens and you'll have a million false positives on a motion sensor. I'm thinking ideally you'd want it to open when you want to hit the ramp - bone busting, jackpot, etc. Obviously, that seems to be a bit of a code integration issue, unless you could tie it to the insert lights somehow (then there's attract mode issues?). Otherwise even something like open after starting a game and closing at game over ("The park is closed!") would be cool.

Another cool gate mod, like the doors functionality. I have not figured out our servo operations yet.

Agree with this - I'm a huge fan of overcomplicated things for the sake of overcomplicated things, but this makes the most sense in my head.

nice work outcida, I have been asked to create these gate mods just recently but looks like you are on to it - and very nice work.

my understanding is the lights on top only come on during 2 modes so a bit of a wait, so I was going to link to the ramp switch to activate lighting which you could also link to the gates.

I agree, gate on start of a game and close at the end would be fine. If it did it every time you hit that ramp that may get a little repetitive and put more strain on the mechanism than needed. Now if it opened during bone busting and closed when that mode ended, THAT would be next level.

To answer your question in case some one did not, the lights turn on during bone busting when you have to hit the ramp 3 times in a row. That is the only time they come on as far as I know.

I wonder if there is room for 2 gates on JP...

I think the gate lights also flash for victory laps after you achieve a replay.

I've done microcontroller projects from scratch, but am not sure how to tap into the switch or lamp matrix to sense existing switches. Have you figured something out for that? It could be a matter of sensing the gate switch to trigger whatever you need the servo to do and ignore further switch hits during that time.

What about if the gate was closed during attract mode and slowly opened during the intro sequence "welcome to Jurassic park" and then closed at the end of the game.

Id go flicker on all the time. Looks great well played!

I'd agree. No reason to have them if you're not using them.

In fact... If the original lights are only on at certain times, maybe you can use that logic for the door opening!

PIG2 is the only product I've come across meant for driving pinball mods with integration into the lamp and switch matrix. I have no experience with one, but what I've read makes me think it would be well suited for driving the servo and torch lamps on a gate mod. Probably could go cheaper with a diy circuit if you could figure it all out. Basically, I think the microcontroller needs to be independently powered and just take inputs from a combination of switches and lamps. For example if the gate light from the lamp matrix is on and the ramp switch is hit, maybe the gate opens for 30 seconds and the flames flicker (though only as long as the lamp matrix indicates) and inputs are ignored during this time. From what I gather, a PIG2 could potentially be configured and programmed to do this.

Maybe this... keep lamps on and flickering, but when the lamp matrix would have lit the gate lamps, trigger the servo animation to open gates for a period, delay, check if still on, keep open if so and close when off. Maybe make it configurable with a dip switch? Lamps always flicker or only flicker when the lamp matrix would be lighting it...

Nice! Once I get a JP, I'll probably be adding something like this.

Side note. It's funny how your memory can trick you. After playing this machine a lot when it was new, over the years my mind kept thinking that the gate was interactive. And after 20 years, I finally got to play one again, and was shocked to see that the gate didn't actually open. I could have sworn it was closed, and wouldn't allow balls up the ramp until you opened it. Much like how the bank vault works on Monopoly. All these years I thought I played the game that way, and after playing JP recently, I had to look it up to see if there ever was a version that opened the gates.

Funny how you can trick yourself into believing something.

looks good, nice work

aaaaaand done. lol.

nice work man this looks awesome.

Beautiful!! I've thought of making something very similar. What type of lights are you using?

Keep in mind that hidden directly behind the gate is a spotlight. So if you want to have a gate opening up to show the ramp, then you are probably going to want to remove/relocate the spot light as well.

If you make the right mod that's well integrated, people will pay what it's worth.

In my opinion the gate should open outward. Doesn't it do that in the movie? Would it be to difficult to change now?

Are we seeing an early prototype? How flexible are you on aesthetic changes at this point? I have some feedback I can give (privately if desired). I found posting the stages of the t-rex mod to be beneficial so I could best gauge if I'm meeting expectations, but sometimes it can get overwhelming. Hang in there.

I like it opening inward fwiw. Also hides the mechanism that way.

You're totally right! I don't know why I was remembering it differently... Ignore my comment about that. You're good to go there.

Well the only thing I can think to mention is that the movie version of the gate seems to have a stepped structure. You can see in the still of the video you posted above. One of the steps ends right at the top of the wooden gate. The 2nd set of flames from the top are right above the divide. I think the original gate plastic captures this, though with the trees in the way of the one in the movie, it's hard to tell if it's 3 steps or just 2.

Here is an example of the power of the PIG 2...

The problem with the lamps on the JP gate are that they are off all the time. The only time they ever come on is to flash with Bone Busting mode and with Victory mode. Other than that, they are off. Even in attract mode, they stay off.

Here's where the PIG 2 comes in. The PIG is highly customizable. One of the functions it can do is "invert" an output. This means that when something is on, it is inverted to be off... and when something is off, it is inverted to be on.

This is PERFECT for the JP gate lamps. Now, instead of the lamps always being off, they are on... and when the Bone Busting or Victory mode are played, they flash off and on (instead of on and off, but same result).

And this is just using one of the INs and one of the OUTs of the PIG 2. There are three more INs and three more OUTs plus two servo controllers (perfect for controlling the door) for other mods.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing this gate mod come to completion. Keep us updated.

I agree - the steps would look good.

I watched the clip again, and when the camera is looking down on the gate, you can tell it's 3. It looks like the first step ends right above the lowest torch. It looks like the original gate plastic captures this, but I don't think the angles of the steps are accurate.

Is your gate 3D printed? I guess while I'm mentioning my wish list on what an ideal gate mod would contain, I'd also suggest adding more detail to the wood doors if possible. The movie version shows vertical planks as well.

I agree with the gates in that it needs that plank look and fairly easy to achieve, simple draw in a few impressions whether straight or curved to simulate end grain and timber splits etc.

Below is what I did for the AC/DC bell mod blocks.

158884-i.jpeg

Assuming the logic of the servo controls are pretty customizable based on inputs the PIG2 receives, and assuming the torches are inverted from what the torch lamps would be doing, maybe the gate should open when the lamp matrix indicates ON, ignoring inputs for the duration of opening, it checks for flashing and only once the lamp is enirely OFF does the gate close. So basically when the torch lamps would be flashing is when the gate is open to indicate that the ramp should be hit. However, maybe it could also trigger the gate with the red arrow insert lamp in front of the ramp, because do the torch lamps light during the beginning of tri-ball?

yes all 3D printed copper coloured filament, then recess pattern in the side and end grain for the timber look, then a timber looking brown paint brushed into the cracks to add to the realism.

I played a few games the other day specifically watching the gate lights but they were all terrible because I was constantly looking at the gate lights ☺! I didn't notice any lights that are fully on during those modes that wouldn't be at many other times in the game. I did notice that the gate lights flash briefly when you pickup an extra ball via the dock shot though.

During "Bone Busting" mode it stays on requiring you to constantly hit the ramp.