Hello all. I'm officially starting a thread to dump all of my thoughts and progress pics and frustrations and inevitable banging my head against a wall while I try to troubleshoot this project that is probably wayyyy to big for me to take on! As the title says I am going to be retheming a game that I have into SLC Punk. For those of you that aren't familiar it's a really great indie film set in my home town of Salt Lake City about a group of punk kids. Matthew Lillard plays the lead and does a damn good job of it. It's a great movie with a great sound track if you are into punk music and a great overall theme of what it's like to grow up, lose faith, and sell out!

As you can tell by my user name I'm a big fan but also a big fan of punk music in general. Rather than wait until stern puts out a music pin that isn't the music that my father listened to I've decided to do it myself! I've already got the pinsound board and have been experimenting with the program. Going to be a lot of work but I'm excited to do the sound design myself!

I'm no artist but I have some friends that are unbelievably talented. I've got the vision but can't make pretty things happen with pen and paper. Rather than a whole lot of clip art from the movies I'm much more of a fan of original art on pins so we will take an illustrated approach. IF we end up using images from the movie we will incorporate them in a zine style aesthetic. Possibly some touches of graffiti. A lot of this is up to my artist so I'm just spit balling.

As far as the game we will be retheming.... drumroll...... Diner! Diner is a great game that is a lot of fun to play but if we are being honest the them isn't the best and the music and call outs are less than awesome. Before too many of you get your panties in a bunch I made sure I found one in pretty bad shape. Playfield is planking, several insert decals are worn off, multiple inserts are lifting out of the playfield. Broken ramps. Missing plastics. The whole nine yards. The back glass is in really good shape and we plan on reusing it. Perhaps building a light box for it and put a working clock inside. That's my intro. Will post some pics. Also post some ideas for how to make the rules work for this new them. I'd like to change code only slightly at first. Phase 2 I plan on recoding the whole game to make the rules deeper and modes more interesting but that will be another mountain to climb for another time!
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So what started as a simple retheme has developed into more. I spent a good amount of time playing diner and found a lot that I liked and plenty that I didn’t. And if I’m going to spend upwards of 10k on this project I might as well make the game exactly what I want.

Problem number first: this game has no orbit. The ramps are plenty satisfying but almost every other shot in the game either stops the ball or winds up In the pops. There is plenty other shots to fix but I decided to tackle this first. My main reasoning behind wanting to do a retheme rather than building from scratch was to have some shot geometry already worked out for me. So tackling the orbit issue first is important since I wouldn’t be changing any other game geometry.

Long story short, I changed the lock shot under the left ramp into a left orbit. The spinner shot that used to dead end in a saucer now serves as the left orbit entrance. I built a jump ramp so that the shooter lane would feed under the left ramp. Plan to use an up post so ball launch will feed roll overs or if you hold the left flipper on launch feed to left orbit for super skills shot options.

Now that I know the geometry of these shots work I’m going to move to white wood stage next.

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It's kind of a pain to get photos onto my computer in order to post them so I will probably make text post separate from my photo updates.

It's been quite a while since we last did an update. We've stripped the Diner completely built a rotisserie and started work on our first white wood. We used the Diner playfield as a template to mark and cut much of the playfield. After this version of tinkering we will build a cad file and plan on CNC for the next version of the playfield.

Things we are changing from the original:

Obviously as you see above we will be adding an orbit to this game. I cannot describe to you how much more fun just this shot makes this game to shoot. The Cup is being replaced by an upper playfield. The idea is that there will be a correct and incorrect way to leave the upper playfield. If you hit the correct exit you'll feed a ramp that will load a captive ball that serves as playfield multiplier. This feature will replace the three bank of drop targets in the center of the playfield. Lastly, the stand up target on the right will be changed to a scoop that will feed a subway that will feed to the gobble hole on the right. Also we are adding an up post to the orbit that will feed the roll overs when the post is up.

Rules are relatively flushed out. I will post them on another post when there are less gaps but essentially the framework will be like a mix between the Iron Maiden rule set and AFM/Stranger Things.

I've set up my rotisserie so that it will be playable. At this point our metal rail for the orbit is very rough but we will be modeling soon so that we can get some proper gauge stainless laser cut.

Photo dump:

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Those posted out of order and half of them are sideways. Apologies in advance for the crick in your neck.

Edit: was able to fix the orientation but not the order.

Thanks!

Indie classic with some heart. Helps if you live in Salt Lake City it helps you love it haha. Great performance from Mathew Lillard!

Will do. Some of my parts are in pretty bad shape so I'll let you know for sure!

I only made it about ten minutes into the sequel. Absolutely un-watchable. Only returning character was the ghost of Heroin Bob. Smdh.

Incorrect

So started wiring the P3-roc yesterday. Had my first big I want to bang my head against the wall moment when I plugged in for the moment of truth and my ATX power supply went up in smoke. I wired the ground incorrectly on my 48v power supply because the V- threw me off. Live and learn. Today I did some more physical work to the game. Finalizing the orbit and cutting a portion away for the jump ramp shooter lane feed. I’m getting more comfortable with metal work. The angle grinder is less scary now. Still looking forward to when a CNC and/or laser cutter does all this work for me.

Spent some time putting in posts and T nuts. Hammering on a version 1 white wood doesn’t feel right. Can’t imagine what a final playfield will be like.

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Alright it is 1 AM but I drank a Red Bull not long ago so it's time for an update!!!

Covid has slowed things down a bit. The team isn't able to meet up as consistently as we had hopped but progress has certainly been made. We have also flushed out rules and gameplay features relatively well so plenty to talk about. I blew up a power supply and possibly a power entry board on my first wiring attempt and haven't done much physical work since then but have been playing a lot of pin and figuring out game features that I want to include. Let's dive in:

For those of you that aren't familiar with the Diner layout you've got from left to right: Three Bank Drops. Left Ramp that lifts for a ball lock saucer. Stand up target. Three bank drop. Spinner that feeds a saucer that feeds the roll overs/pops. Right ramp with a diverter that feeds a whirlpool "the cup." Gobble hole that feeds a kicker that comes out through the shooter lane.

Our layout: Three Bank Drops. Left Ramp that lifts for left orbit. Drop Target/Scoop that leads to a subway that will feed shooter lane kick out. Stand up and captive ball (instead of center drops). Spinner/Right Orbit. Right Ramp that has a diverter to an Upper Playfield. Upper Playfield will feed either the roll overs/pops or will load the captive ball for 2X Playfield. Gobble Hole that feeds shooter lane kicker. We are also adding a kickback on the left outlane.

So basically the only things that we aren't changing is the left drop target bank and the ramps although the right ramp diverter will be feeding an upper playfield rather than a whirlpool.

Now for the rules: Basic rule structure is similar to Iron Maiden, Attack From Mars, and some Deadpool type features. Basically I wanted to make it so that there is plenty to work towards whether you are in a mode or not. I struggled with how to make an upper playfield "fun" or at least something that you want to play. I think the inherent problem with upper and lower playfields is that there isn't any risk of draining the ball. So if there isn't any risk the next best thing is to make it matter from a points perspective. Soooo the upper playfield (and shooting it correctly) is the only way that you will be able to load a ball into the captive ball mech that is in the center of the playfield. This captive ball will light the 2X (maybe 3X too) playfield multiplier. Hitting the captive ball will start the playfield multiplier and will also add an extra ball to whatever game state e.i. Add A Ball/Two ball multiball.

Here are the written out rules so far:

SLC Punk Pinball Rules
Begin the game by picking your SLC Punk avatar. Each avatar is associated with a different sub genre of punk music that will be the sound track to your game. The object of the game is to build your crew, your reputation, and earn cred in the punk scene in SLC. Main modes add characters from the movie to your crew. Cred is earned in several ways throughout the game and is calculated in end of ball bonus. Your reputation is increased by achieving particular events in the gameplay outside of the main character modes.

Character Modes: Light main modes by hitting lit shots to spell P-U-N-K. Start mode by hitting the left scoop.

Steve-O (Sex & Violence) Combo mode. Right orbit right ramp or left orbit left ramp.

Bob (Does This Look Infected?) Shoot lit shots to get Bob to the hospital to take care of his festering wound. He’s a moving target once he sees a needle. He hates Needles.

Mike (Punk Fucking Rock) Target Mode. Mike does his best talking with his fist. Drops/Stand ups/Captive ball

Sean (Acid Trip) You don’t really know what’s going on but it sure does look pretty. It’s okay you’re on acid. Just enjoy the ride. You ARE trying to hit certain shots but figuring out which one is the hard part. Try to figure out which shot you’re supposed to hit or just play. It’s whatever trip you want to be on man.

Trish (The Bohemian Queen) Spinner
Add all five punks to your crew for (We Are All We Need mini wizard here)

Reputation: Events that bolster your Reputation occur outside of the Character Modes and progress toward Bad Reputation mini wizard mode.

Nazi Punks Fuck Off! Pop bumpers equate to fist fights. Progress through fights with new wavers, hicks, and posers to fight the real enemy. Stupid fucking nazi scum. Nazi Punks Fuck Off is a two ball multiball that results in power pops for the rest of the game. Can be played more than once to continue to increase pop value.

Evade The Police You’re at a punk show minding your own damn business and the piggies show up to ruin the fun. Escape the show on the upper playfield but be careful. Only one of three paths gets you home safe and results in a playfield multiplier. The other two exits get you roughed up and thrown in jail by these wanna be fascists.

5 Way Combo It’s not all about getting fucked up and fighting red necks. If you’re going to be a real punk you’ve gotta be good at shit too. In this case pinball.

Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down Ramp shots > Super Ramps

Too Drunk To Fuck You got too spun. It happens to the best of us. You may not be getting lucky tonight but at least you started super spinners.

Complete all Reputation modes for Bad Reputation Multiball.

Punk’s Not Dead (Wizard Mode) You found your crew and built your reputation. You’re the punkest punk that ever punked a punk. Punk’s Not Dead and you fuckin proved it! Huzah!

Cred: Your cred is calculated at the end of each ball based on how you preformed during that ball. Cred is built by the following:
Fights Won Pop bumper hits progress you through fights.
Crew Size Complete modes to add members to your crew
Shows Attended Go to shows by spelling S-L-C with the roll overs to gain access to the upper playfield
Sharp Shooter Ramp and orbit combos
Reputation Increased Completed event that builds your reputation

Other Stuff:
Mystery: Mystery is lit by completing the three bank of drop targets on the left. Completing drop target bank multiple times before collecting the mystery reward will increase level of the reward. Mystery collects on the right scoop.

ACAB Multiball: Three Strikes Laws are bullshit but hear you are caught by the police three different times. You keep your head up. You fight like hell and with the help of some friends you manage to avoid the clink. NWA comes to mind…

Playfield Multiplier: Escaping from the police and laying low behind the captive ball until things calm down. Your 2X playfield is ready and waiting for whenever you choose to use it. Hit the captive ball to start 2X and add a ball to play. 2X ends when single ball play resumes.

Extra Ball: Extra ball is lit by completing three Character Modes. Extra ball can also be lit via upper tier Mystery Reward. Extra ball from (some number) of orbit shots.

Picture updates next!

Shooter lane jump ramp is now made of metal and not cardboard. Yay!

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Shot if the center captive ball mech. It has a kick out for end of game purposes or if a ball sneaks its way in somehow other than via the upper playfield. It will be paired with a stand up target that may interact with a toy above. Possibly something like little Deadpool.

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Also. Pinball tattoo!!! Right sling from TZ.

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My artist just sent over this concept drawing. I think it would look great on a sling plastic.

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Yeah. It will be much more of a punk music pin than a movie pin. You’re a punk in SLC and your interactions are with characters from the movie but you aren’t really living the movie.

Put in a good five hours of work on this thing today with little to show for it. Learned a lot though. Anyway officially Blood and Sweat into this project. No tears quite yet.

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Another decent day of work on him today and we’ve officially got brains in this machine. Few more days and we will give him thoughts and we can get out first flips in!

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Thanks! Love your project. Hope to flip it some day.

Waiting on some parts so that I could continue working on the wiring. But in the mean time I got bored and started thinking about insert layout. Did a bad job of drawing lightning bolts but you get it.

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I’m joining the rats nest club! Got everything wired that I need to get flipping so I can make sure the orbit feeds the way I want it to. After that we can start putting ramps on and wiring the rest of the game. Assuming my code works I should be flipping tomorrow!

Also had a router accident and has to use some wood filler to get things back to where I started. Really really looking forward to the next playfield being CNC’d.

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I know. I saw the struggle was real for you. I think the next playfield I will try and make a proper harness. This go around is just going to be messy. I’ve accepted it haha.

HUGE MILESTONE: It flips!!! Doesn’t do anything else yet but it flips! Was able to test the orbit shot a whole lot and I’m satisfied with it so I’ll be getting a final version of the guide laser cut. After that we can put ramps on.

Put 3/4 of the ramps on which gives a real good feeling of how it’s going to shoot. Only difference shot wise will be the left ramp when it isn’t an orbit and the upper playfield. Love the way it shoots. All I have to say is combos all day long. So excited to get everything wired and coded. Next big task is the subway and upper playfield.

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I haven’t updated in quite some time. Mostly because the things I’ve been working on aren’t hugely exciting. Lots of soldering, and wiring and stripping and crimping. Also trying to wrap my head around code a thing I don’t know how to do at all but I have help from someone who does it for a living although he doesn’t know much about pinball. Also trying to work on 3D model of the playfield so the next version will be CNCed. Another thing that I don’t know how to do.

Needless to say I’ve been feeling pretty inept and overwhelmed with the huge task ahead but today my artist sent sent some concept sketches for the back glass and cabinet! Really excited to share them with you! One side of the cabinet is the fight at the concert scene and the other is from Sean’s acid trip. Also the game is fun to shoot pre-code so that’s a plus!

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And an updated photo of the rats nest.

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Thanks! I worked real hard to get things this sloppy. White Wood 2.0 will have a proper harness.... maybe.

Sooo my plans for the upper playfield have changed quite a bit. I’m not able to fit a mini flipper up there like I had hoped without changing the roll overs at the top of the playfield. New plan has me waiting on parts but the overall concept is that the upper playfield is a circle pit at a concert. Will have a spinning disk and a magna flipper. Or at least that’s the plan for now.

In the mean time I’ve just been adding more switches and code. Bought some MRS switches from Sonic that I’ll be using for my ramps and toyotaboy 3D printer my jump ramp which is a huge upgrade. Had to sand it down a bit but not a bad fit for modeling it from just some pictures. Shouts out to both of these guys for doing good for the hobby!

Probably will work on modeling the subway while we wait for upper playfield parts.

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So today I told myself to stop overthinking everything and just tackle something that I had been avoiding because it will take some custom modeling and making. The subway. I have been planning on the subway from the beginning but have been putting it off. Let me just say, DON'T DO THAT. If I had done this before all the wiring it would have been easier or at least less annoying.

It took me a few tries to get things right. In the original version I had hoped that the ball would have enough momentum to handle some less than smooth/straight sections. I'm here to tell you that that isn't something you should hope for. I had to more around a bunch of existing things to clear a straight path for the ball but the final version works like a charm. The wide section at the start is because there is a single drop target that shields the hole so the ball has to go around that mech and there is another wide section at the end that combines the subway with the gobble hole on lower right of the playfield.

The one casualty is that my center stand up that is by the captive ball mech had to be nixed. I knew this wasn't going to work as far as spacing goes and I need to figure out an alternative. The stand up protects the optos that are needed for the captive ball mech and spots a top lane roll over needed to start the hurry up for the upper playfield. I'm surprised no one has done a top mounting stand up target. I'm going to play around with deconstructing a target and perhaps using a microswitch instead of a leaf switch.

I need to get a youtube channel and start loading videos of the build but just so ya know the subway feeds back to the kickout in the shooter lane. Same place that gobble hole/mystery shot feeds. Either of these shots will be used for mode starts. This shot will be the EB collect as well. For those of you familiar with Diner this lives where the grill bonus stand up was.

Did some more wiring and placed some more optos but I've rambled long enough.

Oh also, I came down the other day to find that the tension bolts that hold my rotisserie up had failed and the playfield had fallen. Luckily after some minor tweaks everything is still working fine but I didn't want that happening again so I drilled some holes in the steal and now I can put bolt stops in. on the player side of the pf I drilled holes for the flat playfield for work mode and 6.5 degrees for playing mode. Definitely an upgrade!

Photo Documentation:

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So the problem is that the captive ball has a kick out for the ball in case there is a ball locked there at game over or if there is some dirty pool. I do think I could fit the stand up if I could move it back slightly but then I’d have to get rid of the optos like you’re saying. I’m not sure if the proxy switch would work. It’s pretty tight in here. Lol.

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