Quoted from PinballMikeD:Here's a sneak peek at the board. I'll have another video up tonight with all the new game features. So close now
I know a Raspberri Pi when i see one 
AWESOME!
(Topic ID: 25775)
Linked Games
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Bally, 1992
Topic Gallery
Redwood City, CA
Quoted from yzfguy:very cool! I wish there was an option to use all of the features, but use the emulated original hologram instead of the movie version when in creech mode.
With a computer driving the system that would be easy to change.
Quoted from PinballMikeD:With a computer driving the system that would be easy to change.
Hey Mike,
Im not sure what mech you are using with the PI for displaying the videos/images but if you are firing up X for any reason i can cut that out and slice your boot time in half with a custom frame buffer removing the need to fire it up.
I already wrote one for WoZ so let me know if you want a command line vid/image display mech.
Abbotsford, BC
Quoted from yzfguy:very cool! I wish there was an option to use all of the features, but use the emulated original hologram instead of the movie version when in creech mode.
I would like this as well. Best of both worlds.
Looks great! What is the final price?
When can I get it?
Am I already on the list? >> pretty sure I PM'd a long time ago when things were early on in the process.
thanks again for the hard work!!! VERY cool mod!
Quoted from Rascal_H:Love it all! Well, maybe all except the font and creature hand during "shoot the left ramp and "shoot the right ramp"... Doesn't quite match.
Nice work!
I agree>> that is the only thing I find to be a bit cheesy
Absolutely fantastic! Your hard work on this is really paying off. I can't believe how well the hologram translated to video. One little nag... is the cursor that keeps popping up on the black screen, something that we can get rid of in the final setup?
Quoted from Whysnow:I agree>> that is the only thing I find to be a bit cheesy
I think it looks awesome. The game is cheesy!
Quoted from jkdblaze:Absolutely fantastic! Your hard work on this is really paying off. I can't believe how well the hologram translated to video. One little nag... is the cursor that keeps popping up on the black screen, something that we can get rid of in the final setup?
I thought I mentioned that in the video? If I didn't, then don't worry about that. It was only present because the mouse and keyboard where plugged in when we shot the video. The finished product will boot up when you turn the game on and the mouse cursor will not be present.
Quoted from Whysnow:Looks great! What is the final price?
When can I get it?
Am I already on the list? >> pretty sure I PM'd a long time ago when things were early on in the process.
thanks again for the hard work!!! VERY cool mod!
Pricing is covered on page 5 of this thread. Yes, I'm pretty sure you are on the list. Oh, and thanks for the words of encouragement. Many hours went into the design of the circuit, artwork, and programming.
Quoted from Rascal_H:Love it all! Well, maybe all except the font and creature hand during "shoot the left ramp and "shoot the right ramp"... Doesn't quite match.
Nice work!
Artwork is subjective for sure. What some people love others will hate and vise versa. If the interest is there (after we've already produced and sold some units) we'll continue to work on updates for this MOD. Our primary goal would be to develop custom video editing software, allowing the end user to create their own video files (positioning, sizing, and placing the black bezel on top of the source file) for everything displayed on the monitor. This makes it 100% user adjustable, but you would have to have some computer aptitude in order to do this. So, if you like one thing and not another you could change it as desired. For us to try and customize every unit to the specific likes and dislikes of each potential customer would be really tough. That would require custom programming per unit, which would delay our shipping/manufacturing.
I'll talk with Rusty and see what we can come up with (maybe a few simple options). Maybe a YouTube video that would walk folks through how to change videos etc.
I would love if I could learn to make and implement my own video clips. Would be a great feature!!!
Maybe get photos of the creature with some scantily dressed ladies to pop up when you do certain things?
or an image to make fun of people when they side drain to go along with 'focus'
FYI - for those interested in purchasing please email me directly at [email protected]
This looks really good! I like all you've done. My only question (and not nick picking!) is when using the original hologram, I don't see the creatures hand opening and closing but perhaps that's the tweaks you're talking about?
Great job; seriously!
Quoted from dmacy:This looks really good! I like all you've done. My only question (and not nick picking!) is when using the original hologram, I don't see the creatures hand opening and closing but perhaps that's the tweaks you're talking about?
Great job; seriously!
No we are only tweaking the size and position of the image on the screen. Remember, this is a 2D version of the creature. Nothing will replace the original 3D hologram, but ours woln't fade or turn blue 
Quoted from rvdv:Great job mike
My name on the list for this one
Time start on sexy girl now !
Yes. I no longer have a creature to put this in , but am ready to adapt two of these into a pair of Sexy Girls. Definitely need the option to customize what pictures/videos display for that one!
Quoted from PinballMikeD:I thought I mentioned that in the video? If I didn't, then don't worry about that. It was only present because the mouse and keyboard where plugged in when we shot the video. The finished product will boot up when you turn the game on and the mouse cursor will not be present.
Ahh, I probably zoned out on that part. Email sent.
Quoted from jkdblaze:Ahh, I probably zoned out on that part. Email sent.
Yeah, it's not the most exciting video to watch
Quoted from PinballMikeD:I can’t speak for anyone else regarding what they are doing. All I know is that I have taken the appropriate steps with the USPTO to protect my intellectual property (programming, PCB interface, etc.). I have spoken with Rick regarding the usage of the creature (both the game’s hologram as well as various CG enhanced clips from the original 1950’s movie) and we are working with Universal to ensure that everything is legit (this process takes time). I want to produce a plug and play system that already has what you (the customer) wants installed. Sure I could sell a system and force you to put the files on there, but I’d rather pay the royalties and use the “actual” Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The system we are working on will utilize a large HD monitor that is fed 1080 video files via an HDMI cable from our system’s micro processing unit. We have the ability to interface with the pinball machine several different ways via a custom PCB and that provides the ability to play different media files (different strokes for different folks) at various times during the game. We feel this will utilize the creature's window to its fullest extent. I don’t want to give away too much at this point, but you will see everything before the product is made available for sale. I want to make sure people know exactly what they are getting before they purchase our system. I’ll post updates in the upcoming weeks for those interested.
Cool/Cool/Cool. Please dont forget me
Just let me know when you want the bucks.
I don't know how to thank you for this.
How about a night with my wife?
No?
How about a year?
Kenny from the Black Lagoon.
Quoted from stifflip6544:Just let me know when you want the bucks.
I don't know how to thank you for this.
How about a night with my wife?
No?
How about a year?
Kenny from the Black Lagoon.
Gonna need a picture of the wife...
Quoted from stifflip6544:Just let me know when you want the bucks.
I don't know how to thank you for this.
How about a night with my wife?
No?
How about a year?
Kenny from the Black Lagoon.
This sounds like a trap to me
Quoted from stifflip6544:Just let me know when you want the bucks.
I don't know how to thank you for this.
How about a night with my wife?
No?
How about a year?
Kenny from the Black Lagoon.
I bet she's a sweet heart. She lets him have a pinball and thats a sweet heart to me.
Quoted from PinballMikeD:With a computer driving the system that would be easy to change.
Actually, that is something I would like to be able to do as well. I would like to see the "hologram" whenever the game would have normally shown it. But, I like the extra video as well. So, I'm not really a "purist", since I like the "screensaver" and other mode stuff. But, I would like to see the hologram instead of the other clips.
FYI, if it's just going in and renaming video files or something on the SD card, that's no problem. In fact, it would be really cool if the video files are something we can replace with our own as we wish! *EDIT* Nevermind, I saw the "mode 3" now...
Jaz
*EDIT* - What I'd like to know is where does the LCD mount? Is the bracket and LCD mounted to the base of the cabinet or does the LCD actually mount to the bottom of the playfield? Can you post a pic of how this is installed?
Quoted from Jazman:Actually, that is something I would like to be able to do as well. I would like to see the "hologram" whenever the game would have normally shown it. But, I like the extra video as well. So, I'm not really a "purist", since I like the "screensaver" and other mode stuff. But, I would like to see the hologram instead of the other clips.
FYI, if it's just going in and renaming video files or something on the SD card, that's no problem. In fact, it would be really cool if the video files are something we can replace with our own as we wish! *EDIT* Nevermind, I saw the "mode 3" now...
Jaz
*EDIT* - What I'd like to know is where does the LCD mount? Is the bracket and LCD mounted to the base of the cabinet or does the LCD actually mount to the bottom of the playfield? Can you post a pic of how this is installed?
Let me clarify, so there is no confusion:
1. The SD card is partitioned into 2 separate sections. One section is for the higher level stuff (OS, code, etc.) and the other section is for the media files (images and videos). The original intent was to provide a custom software utility that would enable you to make your own videos (these would only replace the existing videos we created - not new video feature), placing them in the second partitioned area of the SD card. This feature has not been fully developed (DEPENDING ON CUSTOMER INTEREST WE WILL ADRESS THIS IN THE FUTURE).
2. The program will run on boot up and cannot be interrupted.
3. Our OS in Linux. If you are computer savvy you can modify videos names as you see fit, but then you are responsible for the results (good or bad).
4. The TV is not mounted to the playfield. It is mounted to the cabinet
Making your own videos would be tough (which is why we looked at what it would take to program a custom software utility), because the TV is mounted vertically and the videos use a black bezel overlay. You’d need to rotate your video footage 90 degrees counter clockwise, resize it, position it in the correct area of the screen, and place the bezel on top of every frame. In addition, there would be video length and size requirements/limitations as well.
Through the development of our own videos we created python programs to do some of these editing tricks for us. However, there was still a lot of trial and error involved. To develop a polished user friendly software package that people could use to edit stock video footage would take a considerable amount of time.
I’m not ruling anything out, but I think most folks just want a plug and play system.
Love this mod....
my 2 cents...regarding the shoot left ramp, shoot right ramp graphics. I think whoever put that together is very talented. However, after seeing the video with the cars in the drive in movie watching the creature swim....Would it be difficult to just use the footage you already have. Having the Creature swimming the the left where it said shoot left ramp, and then flip the image where he is swimming to the right and it says shoot right ramp.....it was just a thought. Love the snackbar footage as well.
So, the wife was asking me about this mod this weekend. I asked her why she was interested in it because she is not normally interested in things like this....her reply was, "fathers day is coming up"
Woooohoooo! JACKPOT!
Hey Mike - Is it possible for you to add a pic showing how this is mounted in the cabinet (both with the playfield raised and a shot looking straight in through the coin door with the playfield down)? I am really interested, but at this price point I'm very apprehensive at ordering sight-unseen. If it was mounted to the playfield, I think my worries would be minimized. It has to do with how well this looks from anywhere but the optimal view position. The closer the screen is to the playfield, the less effect there will be to off-axis. It's very hard to show this with a video camera I would suspect.
And yes, I agree that most people want plug-and-play... provided play-and-play does what they want it to do. 
Jaz
I'd like to thank all of the individuals that replied to our confirmation email, reaffirming their commitments to purchasing our Creature MOD. As of 8:20 EST 6/3/13, all units in the first batch run have now been spoken for. If you are interested in the MOD and would like to be placed on the waiting list for the second run please email me at [email protected].
The wait is ALMOST OVER
I received the two prototype boards from Tony today and they look fantastic. More importantly, they work as designed. I'll shoot a "How to Install" video later this week (might take me a few days to edit the video though).
Oh, and we should be getting the remaining boards some time next week. Then we will proceed with production and start contacting folks. In the mean time here are some pics of the MOD installed.
Picture 1 - This shows the boards installed (the old triac board is sitting on the cabinet floor)
Picture 2 - This shows the interface harness installed
Quoted from PinballMikeD:More Pics
Here is the TV installed in the cabinet.
Mike does that insignia TV have a USB port on it? A lot of new ones do. If it doesn't you may be able to find one that does have a usb service port or "smart" tv that you can power the Pi off of.
I have my Pi double stick taped to the back of my TV hooked up to HDMI 3 and powered via the USB port normally used for tech service. No need for any type of usb power wiring hack
Quoted from Pinchroma:Mike does that insignia TV have a USB port on it? A lot of new ones do. If it doesn't you may be able to find one that does have a usb service port or "smart" tv that you can power the Pi off of.
I have my Pi double stick taped to the back of my TV hooked up to HDMI 3 and powered via the USB port normally used for tech service. No need for any type of usb power wiring hack
Too much power draw for the 12VDC circuit.
Quoted from PinballMikeD:Too much power draw for the 12VDC circuit.
The daughter card is pulling that much additional? Ahh.. I guess it has to read the inputs to know when to fire.
Does the LCD just lay on the bottom of the cabinet or mount closer to where the creech hologram is mounted? Also where does everything get 12v from and where is it plugged in? Does this pull from the driver board? I have the tail light mod in now pulling from 12v from the powder driver board.
Looks great cant wait to see the full install video and get mine
The TV is mounted on a stand. The stand mounts to the cabinet floor using the mirror motor mounting holes. The stand was designed to provide the optimal viewing angle, placing the TV below the window in the playfield. This will all be covered inthe video. The TV draws its power from the 12vdc circuit. I doubt the tail light mod is pulling many amps, but might be worth putting a meter on it. Can it be powered from a separate circuit, 5 amp?
Quoted from PinballMikeD:I doubt the tail light mod is pulling many amps, but might be worth putting a meter on it. Can it be powered from a separate circuit, 5 amp?
Not sure, but I am sure it does not pull to much. Mounting the LCD seems easy. The grey wires that run up do they attach to the switches for the triggered events. Is there any soldering? Looking forward to the vid.
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