(Topic ID: 130434)
Linked Games
Rob Zombie's Spookshow International
Spooky Pinball, 2016
Topic Gallery
Madison, WI
16" LED backlit LCD panel simulating 128x32 "pixels" at 256 colors. Uses a custom PCB and FPGA, connects to pinHeck system via standard DMD cable.
Animations now run at 30 FPS (instead of 15 FPS on AMH, now it has a smooth look like BOP 2.0) or the system can run (2) different video streams as transparency layers at 15 FPS (great for video modes)
There will not be an AMH conversion kit.
More info soon! Yes the livestream is in January, but the reveal is a lot sooner than that, I hear!
Quoted from benheck:16" LED backlit LCD panel simulating 128x32 "pixels" at 256 colors. Uses a custom PCB and FPGA, connects to pinHeck system via standard DMD cable.
Animations now run at 30 FPS (instead of 15 FPS on AMH, now it has a smooth look like BOP 2.0) or the system can run (2) different video streams as transparency layers at 15 FPS (great for video modes)
There will not be an AMH conversion kit.
More info soon! Yes the livestream is in January, but the reveal is a lot sooner than that, I hear!
Hot damn! On one hand I think I spend too much time on Pinside. On the other hand if I wasn't on here so much I never would've landed a spot for this pin.
Quoted from benheck:16" LED backlit LCD panel simulating 128x32 "pixels" at 256 colors. Uses a custom PCB and FPGA, connects to pinHeck system via standard DMD cable.
Animations now run at 30 FPS (instead of 15 FPS on AMH, now it has a smooth look like BOP 2.0) or the system can run (2) different video streams as transparency layers at 15 FPS (great for video modes)
There will not be an AMH conversion kit.
More info soon! Yes the livestream is in January, but the reveal is a lot sooner than that, I hear!
Awesome 
I think that's a good way to go for a DMD and much cheaper than a color DMD. Its like the DMD extender from Dr pinball.
Keep up the good work spooky 
Quoted from benheck:More info soon! Yes the livestream is in January, but the reveal is a lot sooner than that, I hear!
What did Ben hear? Sooner than January? A lot sooner? Well how soon could "a lot sooner" be? Why... that could mean December 31st or the day after tomorrow for all we know... come on Heck, WHEN?! 
Ben >> come on out to Pooleys for the monthly tonight and I will prime you with beer so you can start talking
I'm so excited, I just fell out of the bathtub.
Ugh....this is going to be awesome and We haven't even seen the reveal! Really stepping things up.
Quoted from 2Kaulitz:I think that's a good way to go for a DMD and much cheaper than a color DMD.
On the surface, it sounds like the hardware is virtually the same as that of the ColorDMD. A custom FPGA board driving an LCD.
Quoted from toyotaboy:Oh man, not complaining, but a 128 x 64 Sega display in color would have been over the top
Wouldn't the dots be oval if you double the vertical and not the horizontal? Doubling both would make more sense (like the color MMr resolution of 256x64).
Quoted from toyotaboy:Oh man, not complaining, but a 128 x 64 Sega display in color would have been over the top
The 4 large Sega displays were 192x64. Perhaps the CPU/MPU is at its limit so 128x32 in 256 colors will be the best of both worlds. Looking forward to seeing it. Great news indeed.
Quoted from SpookyCharlie:What did Ben hear? Sooner than January? A lot sooner? Well how soon could "a lot sooner" be? Why... that could mean December 31st or the day after tomorrow for all we know... come on Heck, WHEN?!
I'm spending my 45 minutes of prep time at school just watching this thread hoping for the next bit of reveal and all Charlie does is tease, so cruel. Can't wait to see more!
Quoted from foureyedcharlie:Can't wait to see it, but it's a real shame most people can't buy this game.
Don't know if I agree? 300 isn't really that low and it's not like there won't be some resold eventually. it's not a shame in any way. it's a blessing that it will exist at all!
Dunno, 300 is pretty low.. Sterns 'limited editions' of every game they make are double that. Not even going to talk about what JJP considers 'limited'. Certainly low enough to never expect to see one on route. So unless you have a friend thats getting one or go to pinball shows, prob not going to see it other than you tube.
Quoted from ATLpb:Don't know if I agree? 300 isn't really that low and it's not like there won't be some resold eventually. it's not a shame in any way. it's a blessing that it will exist at all!
Indeed 300 is double from there last game and that's the amount there comfortable at. I think spooky well keep getting bigger as there doing good pins the right way.
The entire A/V system of pinHeck runs on a 80MHz microcontroller with just 32K of RAM.
AMH was a 128x32 display with 16 shades. That means 4 bits per pixel, meaning 1 byte can hold 2 pixels. Total screen RAM is 2K.
BUT it needs double buffering, so a second 2K bank copies the first and that's actually what gets sent to the DMD. This way you don't "see" the display being drawn.
Rob Zombie in color:
256 colors requires 1 byte per pixel, "only" twice as much. So we have the 4K to build a frame (2K + 2K from before) but now lack a second 4k for the buffer.
The trick was to build the frame on the MCU RAM, then clock out the RAM using the DMD cable to the FPGA. The FPGA itself has 2 buffers, one is the frame being loaded in from MCU, the other is what's currently being drawn on the screen.
Once the MCU has clocked out all the data (4096 bytes) it pulses a line to set a flag on the FPGA. When the FPGA is done drawing a frame to the LCD, if it sees that flag, it swaps banks for the next draw, and we see the new frame.
Since this data transfers only requires 3 lines, we have 4 spare on the DMD cable to use (the other 7 are all ground) These can set parameters and load banks. Therefore, dot shape and brightness can be controlled via the in-game menu, rather than buttons on back on FPGA.
It may be possible to stretch pinHeck even further, either as more vertical dots to use up the screen, or double resolution like MMR. This would require scan-line double buffering and other tricks I'm not going to bother with for the time being. I'm not sure how far we can push it before it run into bottlenecks either with the MCU or the SD card (RZSI runs up to 7 streams at once already)
This display should be fine for RZSI, Domino's, the other game Chuck is working on, and maybe a few after that.
I have no interest in RZ but can understand why some are upset who missed out. But then again this is Pinside where entitlement takes over and people want what others can't have. Reminds me of all the bitching and moaning you hear from owners when a remake is discussed. So much of this hobby is a dick measuring contest and you see it in nearly every thread. Everyone knows spooky will not make anymore then 300 but it's amazing to see all the people on the preorder get defensive if anyone even brings it up. This type of attitude is why I have no sympathy for people who got screwed over by jpop.
Quoted from BoJo:So much of this hobby is a dick measuring contest
You just had to say that. Pretty soon Neo will be in here to give us his latest measurements.
Mad props to Charlie and the whole gang! Great to see the excitement build!
Quoted from benheck:The entire A/V system of pinHeck runs on a 80MHz microcontroller with just 32K of RAM.
AMH was a 128x32 display with 16 shades. That means 4 bits per pixel, meaning 1 byte can hold 2 pixels. Total screen RAM is 2K.
BUT it needs double buffering, so a second 2K bank copies the first and that's actually what gets sent to the DMD. This way you don't "see" the display being drawn.
Rob Zombie in color:
256 colors requires 1 byte per pixel, "only" twice as much. So we have the 4K to build a frame (2K + 2K from before) but now lack a second 4k for the buffer.
The trick was to build the frame on the MCU RAM, then clock out the RAM using the DMD cable to the FPGA. The FPGA itself has 2 buffers, one is the frame being loaded in from MCU, the other is what's currently being drawn on the screen.
Once the MCU has clocked out all the data (4096 bytes) it pulses a line to set a flag on the FPGA. When the FPGA is done drawing a frame to the LCD, if it sees that flag, it swaps banks for the next draw, and we see the new frame.
Since this data transfers only requires 3 lines, we have 4 spare on the DMD cable to use (the other 7 are all ground) These can set parameters and load banks. Therefore, dot shape and brightness can be controlled via the in-game menu, rather than buttons on back on FPGA.
It may be possible to stretch pinHeck even further, either as more vertical dots to use up the screen, or double resolution like MMR. This would require scan-line double buffering and other tricks I'm not going to bother with for the time being. I'm not sure how far we can push it before it run into bottlenecks either with the MCU or the SD card (RZSI runs up to 7 streams at once already)
This display should be fine for RZSI, Domino's, the other game Chuck is working on, and maybe a few after that.
Ben, you lost me at "The"
Some of us are not techinical, so just saying its going to be cool is good enough
Thanks
Quoted from sd_tom:Certainly low enough to never expect to see one on route.
I see 11 AMH on route and that is from a run of only 150 with probably only 120 currently built.
https://pinside.com/pinball/archive/americas_most_haunted/owners
We have one for people to play in Madison, WI.
Assuming we get a RZ, I see no reason it wont be out to play also.
Quoted from benheck:The entire A/V system of pinHeck runs on a 80MHz microcontroller with just 32K of RAM.
AMH was a 128x32 display with 16 shades. That means 4 bits per pixel, meaning 1 byte can hold 2 pixels. Total screen RAM is 2K.
BUT it needs double buffering, so a second 2K bank copies the first and that's actually what gets sent to the DMD. This way you don't "see" the display being drawn.
Rob Zombie in color:
256 colors requires 1 byte per pixel, "only" twice as much. So we have the 4K to build a frame (2K + 2K from before) but now lack a second 4k for the buffer.
The trick was to build the frame on the MCU RAM, then clock out the RAM using the DMD cable to the FPGA. The FPGA itself has 2 buffers, one is the frame being loaded in from MCU, the other is what's currently being drawn on the screen.
Once the MCU has clocked out all the data (4096 bytes) it pulses a line to set a flag on the FPGA. When the FPGA is done drawing a frame to the LCD, if it sees that flag, it swaps banks for the next draw, and we see the new frame.
Since this data transfers only requires 3 lines, we have 4 spare on the DMD cable to use (the other 7 are all ground) These can set parameters and load banks. Therefore, dot shape and brightness can be controlled via the in-game menu, rather than buttons on back on FPGA.
It may be possible to stretch pinHeck even further, either as more vertical dots to use up the screen, or double resolution like MMR. This would require scan-line double buffering and other tricks I'm not going to bother with for the time being. I'm not sure how far we can push it before it run into bottlenecks either with the MCU or the SD card (RZSI runs up to 7 streams at once already)
This display should be fine for RZSI, Domino's, the other game Chuck is working on, and maybe a few after that.
Quoted from cooked71:You Bentoners don't muck around - if I had to build a factory/warehouse in Australia it would take 6 months.
Outside of chicago and the chicago metropolitan area, there is a very strong work ethic in the midwest. Less bureaucracy and graft to muck up the works.
Remember, this isn't 'just' going to be on RZ, but this is a Spooky display going forward as well. It will be on the next title and the next title, until they want to move into something else. This is a big step and a good step. Congrats to all at Spooky for this.
Quoted from BoJo:I have no sympathy for people who got screwed over by jpop.
Real classy.
what the Ben Heck- who is Zeddex!? that looks legit! yes customer conquisition...I'm a customer and I've definitely been conquered!
Quoted from ATLpb:what the Ben Heck- who is Zeddex!? that looks legit! yes customer conquisition...I'm a customer and I've definitely been conquered!
Yup, it's legit. It was posted on spookys facebook page today.
Wellesley, ON
Quoted from Mitch:video modes confirmed in pic on Facebook
Where? Don't see it.
I may or may not find the video mode hilarious though.
Quoted from Aurich:Where? Don't see it.
I may or may not find the video mode hilarious though.
The pic above says "Use for Video Modes" right above instruction card placeholder.
Quoted from Whysnow:We have one for people to play in Madison, WI.
Yup, there's one out for play in Linfield, PA. We bang on it all the time, it's a big part of the reason we got on the 'interested' list for RZ.
Drooling, as I sit behind my keybpard typing. Counting my quarters .... 4000 of them should be enough for a downpayment. 
Quoted from PinCrush:The pic above says "Use for Video Modes" right above instruction card placeholder.
Derp. Well I'll deny anything else then!
Quoted from benheck:The entire A/V system of pinHeck runs on a 80MHz microcontroller with just 32K of RAM.
AMH was a 128x32 display with 16 shades. That means 4 bits per pixel, meaning 1 byte can hold 2 pixels. Total screen RAM is 2K.
BUT it needs double buffering, so a second 2K bank copies the first and that's actually what gets sent to the DMD. This way you don't "see" the display being drawn.
Rob Zombie in color:
256 colors requires 1 byte per pixel, "only" twice as much. So we have the 4K to build a frame (2K + 2K from before) but now lack a second 4k for the buffer.
The trick was to build the frame on the MCU RAM, then clock out the RAM using the DMD cable to the FPGA. The FPGA itself has 2 buffers, one is the frame being loaded in from MCU, the other is what's currently being drawn on the screen.
Once the MCU has clocked out all the data (4096 bytes) it pulses a line to set a flag on the FPGA. When the FPGA is done drawing a frame to the LCD, if it sees that flag, it swaps banks for the next draw, and we see the new frame.
Since this data transfers only requires 3 lines, we have 4 spare on the DMD cable to use (the other 7 are all ground) These can set parameters and load banks. Therefore, dot shape and brightness can be controlled via the in-game menu, rather than buttons on back on FPGA.
It may be possible to stretch pinHeck even further, either as more vertical dots to use up the screen, or double resolution like MMR. This would require scan-line double buffering and other tricks I'm not going to bother with for the time being. I'm not sure how far we can push it before it run into bottlenecks either with the MCU or the SD card (RZSI runs up to 7 streams at once already)
This display should be fine for RZSI, Domino's, the other game Chuck is working on, and maybe a few after that.
Am I the only one who feels Ben is a genius???? I normally ignore such nonsense, but whether it's on his show or in pinside, he just has a way with explaining things. Ben you rock brother! Now go make some more cool shit!
Quoted from PinCrush:The pic above says "Use for Video Modes" right above instruction card placeholder.
Am I the only one that is disappointed by reading that? I hope you can turn them off.
Quoted from Pimp77:Am I the only one that is disappointed by reading that? I hope you can turn them off.
I was hoping there would be a video mode, so thus far, yes
Aside from that, to dissect the image a bit further, it appears as though the ball save/extra ball insert reads as, "Rock Again."
Quoted from Pimp77:Am I the only one that is disappointed by reading that? I hope you can turn them off.
You can turn it off in AMH and I'd say there's a high chance you can turn them off in RZ as well.
Quoted from Pimp77:Am I the only one that is disappointed by reading that? I hope you can turn them off.
In general, I'm not a fan of video modes, either. I will reserve judgement until I play them, however. A few games actually have enjoyable ones. Fish Tales is about the only one I can think of that I would miss if it was removed from the game.
I don't love them, hopefully RZ brings one that's thoughtful, interesting, unique and fun.
Quoted from herg:In general, I'm not a fan of video modes, either.
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