I’m the pinball fan in our house and my high school aged son is moderately interested. He’s really more of a computer guy and is most probably going to go into computer programming. I was thinking a retheme could be a cool father-son project. I floated the idea to him and he was interested. He would be interested in doing all the coding and it would be a great learning experience.

I’m a little hesitant to drop too much money into it knowing how fickle high schoolers can be and he may change his mind.

Would it be totally nuts to start off on a Fireball home edition? I know they are real weird when it come to how they are wired up but I was thinking we can probably get one for real cheap and we could work on swapping out a lot of the wiring for something more traditional and put in something like a FAST neuron.

I would first challenge him to re-create the original basic code for the game as-is and then we could see about slowly learning how to add new things.

Is this a completely nuts idea? Would it be more trouble than it is worth to start from that machine?

#2 28 days ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 221K 9,604 108

OP
Quoted from ArcadeRaid:
I’m the pinball fan in our house and my high school aged son is moderately interested. He’s really more of a computer guy and is most probably going to go into computer programming. I was thinking a retheme could be a cool father-son project. I floated the idea to him and he was interested. He would be interested in doing all the coding and it would be a great learning experience.
I’m a little hesitant to drop too much money into it knowing how fickle high schoolers can be and he may change his mind.
Would it be totally nuts to start off on a Fireball home edition? I know they are real weird when it come to how they are wired up but I was thinking we can probably get one for real cheap and we could work on swapping out a lot of the wiring for something more traditional and put in something like a FAST neuron.
I would first challenge him to re-create the original basic code for the game as-is and then we could see about slowly learning how to add new things.
Is this a completely nuts idea? Would it be more trouble than it is worth to start from that machine?

Sounds like a stellar idea! Those home games are crap anyway and are ideal for coding new rules and upgrading them to be decent little machines.

#3 28 days ago

TBP

tpetch

Pinside member

Chicago, IL

2y 24,650 45

I don't think this is the worst idea, but there will certainly be some challenges working with one, I think. Two alternatives to consider:

FAST Pinball has a series of retro controllers that directly replace the MPU for WPC or System 11 games. You can get a game like Jokerz! for under $1000, which would be a prime candidate for a new ruleset. These aren't directly available to the public yet, I don't believe, but you could always ask FAST directly if there was a good game available near you. These can be programmed with new rulesets with Mission Pinball or other software.

Similarly, there's a variety of LISY ( https://www.lisy.dev/ ) boards for Gottlieb System 1 and System 80 as well as some other systems. These also replace the original MPU. These run off of a Raspberry Pi, and can be also be programmed with new rulesets with Mission Pinball or other software.

The main issue with the Fireball Home is that, while it's a cheap game, I'm not sure you'd save money in the end by redoing it. These options are both non-destructive and focus on rewriting the rules for existing games. The games may be more expensive (although there's a number that can be had for under $1k), but the total cost would be similar, I think. If the project ended up gathering dust, you'd always be able to put back in the original hardware and sell the game as a normal game.

#4 28 days ago

EJS

Pinball Outpost

12y 223K 15,586

I remember you couldn’t give the home editions away. Apparently they are worth money now.

You both could build something from the ground up and could be made as an add on kit for others who have the game too!

#5 27 days ago

KCM

ArcadeRaid

Pinside member

Excelsior, MN

5y 47,300 302 4 7

Thanks for the comments. I can certainly see the appeal of something like a system 11 game where the boards would be more plug and play versus having to rewire everything on a home version to make it compatible. The other issue is that once you have finally done all that work, you are still stuck with the uninspired layout of Fireball Home. We could start to modify that as well and add to it but that's probably just making lots of unneeded work.

A game like Jokerz would be a ton of fun to make new rules for and retheme. The trick would be to find one with a really badly worn playfield and damaged boards. I'd hate to pay full price for a nice machine if we're only going to tear into it.

Any other machines ripe for a retheme like Jokerz that come to mind that won't break the bank?

#6 27 days ago

RPB

8bitrobo

RRBCRAFTS

Roseville, CA

6y 47,800 114 2

Drop a Cobrapin in it. Much cheaper than fast and you will get the same results.

https://pinside.com/pinball/shops/shop/1254-cobra-amusements/05162-cobrapin-pinball-controller

#7 27 days ago

KCM

ArcadeRaid

Pinside member

Excelsior, MN

5y 47,300 302 4 7

I’ll look into that option as well.

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