El Cerrito, CA
SO amazing, you really should be proud. Maybe I will get around to my retheme and finally make my Bettie Page pinball machine.
(Topic ID: 13392)
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Flash Gordon
Bally, 1981
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I did every aspect of the game in a fairly low-tech way with great results. It should be fairly straightforward for someone else to retheme their own game. I am planning to ultimately put up a webpage that will have all the information.
As for the audio, that has been my most closely guarded secret throughout the production. It was somewhat experimental and I didn't really know for sure how it would work until the end. It's so simple that I am sure others will use it to retheme games. I have next to zero programming knowledge and no sophisticated equipment. I used two mp3 microcontrollers working in tandem which are fed into a mixer. One primarily drives the music and track changes while the other primarily handles sound effects and callouts. I used two so that I would be able to overlap the sounds with the music being played (this seemed to be a big shortcoming with previous methods I had heard of). The microcontrollers are activated by separate switches which piggyback existing switches, targets and assemblies in the game.
Kamloops, BC
Quoted from Betelgeuse:I used two mp3 microcontrollers working in tandem which are fed into a mixer
I'm going to guess you used this:
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10628
If so, that makes it pretty straight forward for sounds (switches are hit, press a button on the board to play a sound). I'm curious how you handle the music. Seems like it changes music for each ball, then also changes when the game is over. How do you tell it which ball your on?
He already did...
Quoted from Betelgeuse:Here's a short gameplay video that shows a little of where I am at with the audio in the game. I didn't want to post on youtube or anywhere else as there is still some work to be done. Some of the finishing touches are taking longer than expected, so I wanted to show some of the progress and start answering some questions just for the pinsiders...
http://tristatechapter.com/arcade/alving/GB2.mp4
Quoted from toyotaboy:I'm going to guess you used this:
No, but you've got the right idea. 
Quoted from toyotaboy:I'm curious how you handle the music. Seems like it changes music for each ball, then also changes when the game is over. How do you tell it which ball your on?
It doesn't exactly know which ball you are on, but it knows when a ball is ejected to the shooter lane or if it's sitting in the ball trough. The microcontroller can have a set output, a sequential output, or even a random output.
I put you up to "Atari 2600" status BG... 
Thanks for the video, you have a well rounded soundtrack and nice callouts too!
I just love the Proton Pack firing up, one of my favorite movie sounds ever!
Pour this man a drink!
Quoted from Betelgeuse:The microcontroller can have a set output, a sequential output, or even a random output.
Ahh.. So if you have a set number of balls (3), you could always have the same sequence (as long as your on a pin that doesn't have ball save for non-score). Since this is a re-themed early solid state, it wouldn't have that.
Makes me want to find a working pin with a trashed playfield now 
Very nice work. I understand those that don't agree with rethemes, but in cases where the finished product is complete, and something special, its a major positive for pinball.
Two questions, not that it will matter, but do you have photos of the machine before the work, and have you uploaded yet to IPDB?
Truly impressed! Iwhen you get tired of it or want to make another I have a stack of cash I would trade
Quoted from NimblePin:I put you up to "Atari 2600" status BG... [
Thanks for the video, you have a well rounded soundtrack and nice callouts too!
Thanks! There is actually much more audio in the game than what is shown in the video. There are several additional music tracks and nearly 50 quotes from the movie at this point! There's still much more to see.
Quoted from Atomicboy:Two questions, not that it will matter, but do you have photos of the machine before the work, and have you uploaded yet to IPDB?
Yes, I do have some progress photos of the cabinet and the playfield. I am planning to make those available shortly. I have not yet submitted anything about the game anywhere but right here and I hope to keep it all right here until it's completed.
Quoted from toyotaboy:Ahh.. So if you have a set number of balls (3), you could always have the same sequence (as long as your on a pin that doesn't have ball save for non-score). Since this is a re-themed early solid state, it wouldn't have that.
You could do that, but that's not how I did it. This game does actually have a ball saver. The main gameplay tune is always the same. The different music tracks are triggered by completing objectives in the game. In the video you can see that completing the lower left bank of drop targets changes the music and the microcontroller just picks from a bank of random quotes and music tracks. The end of game tune is triggered when the ball remains in the trough for more than a few seconds and if left there will play some attract mode tunes and quotes every few minutes.
Very awesome, Betelgeuse! Just curious - do you have any background education that helped you complete this project?
Larodde
All my congratulations . I am currently looking for a cabinet , thinking how to print the playfield, how to connect the sound systeme to the lamp circuit,...and having some doubt between finish my own project or switch to a classic restoration ..(no i will finish for sure).
So i know it"s HARD to support.
So all my respect for your job
Well, i'm not an electronics engineer or anything. I did focus in graphic design back in school. I got pretty good with Photoshop and I have done countless pro-bono flyer, signage, newsletter and website jobs over the years (including for the Pittsburgh Pinball League). Aside from that I have just been fixing and maintaining my own collection of games for the last 6+ years. Currently I work as a full time bean counter for a bank, so if anyone knows of any cool jobs...
Got a chance to play the pin tonight. Betelgeuse did a really nice job with it. The sounds and music go hand in hand with no delays or issues. The artwork is spot on. The machine got a ton of plays on it and everything held up really well. Awesome job indeed.
Quoted from exflexer:Got a chance to play the pin tonight. Betelgeuse did a really nice job with it. The sounds and music go hand in hand with no delays or issues. The artwork is spot on. The machine got a ton of plays on it and everything held up really well. Awesome job indeed.
I agree, it is MUCH better live!
Super Effin cool!
LEE
Thanks for the help with 'beta testing', guys! Someone else commented that they didn't even realize it wasn't a factory built pin until 5 games in. I couldn't have hoped for a better showing.
3 weeks later
Quoted from Betelgeuse:Here's a short gameplay video that shows a little of where I am at with the audio in the game. I didn't want to post on youtube or anywhere else as there is still some work to be done. Some of the finishing touches are taking longer than expected, so I wanted to show some of the progress and start answering some questions just for the pinsiders...
http://tristatechapter.com/arcade/alving/GB2.mp4
Your video doesn't work, can you post an update please.
Sorry, I actually took the video down. There will be a new, higher quality video as soon as the plastics are completed and the lighting for the Ecto-1 is wired in. One thing I can say for certain about this project is that every step of the operation takes longer than my worst case scenario estimates. 
For those in the northeast, I plan to exhibit Ghostbusters at the Pittsburgh Pinball Open at the end of the month. The game will likely still be somewhat beta, but if you're interested, come check it out!
I also did the flyer for the event.
No plans to make additional games for sale at this point. Many have cautioned me against attempting to do so for copyright reasons. It was never my intention to make more than one.
Whoa! That is awesome! Sorry, but this is my first time seeing this thread. It's almost unbelievably cool that you made that.
One day I'd like to get out to Pittsburgh for one of the PAPA warehouse events just to see all the pins, but I don't see that happening in 2012. Do you think you'd ever bring it there to exhibit? Actually I know pretty much nothing about PAPA, so maybe exhibiting rare/unique pins isn't even something that's done there.
Ha, I just bet my son today that there wasn't a Ghostbusters pin, and up pops this thread! Looks like I'll have to pay up after all.
2 weeks later
For those within a reasonable distance, just a reminder that Ghostbusters will be available for play at the Pittsburgh Pinball Open this weekend...
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/3rd-annual-pittsburgh-pinball-open-june-22-24
The game is now officially 'complete' aside from some potential future modding. I have also put together a website that details every aspect of the build which will be available shortly.
-Brian
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