Round Rock, TX
Quoted from toyotaboy:However if you're going to optimize cost it's probably better to design your own board.
Please forgive my intrusion into this thread to discuss an off-topic point since Macrofab isn't owned by Spooky (please forgive and correct me if I'm wrong about that), but this is the biggest fallacy and mistake most new manufacturers make when deciding to use P-ROC or design their own. To be clear, the following is about new manufacturers without a control system solution. Spooky is not a new manufacturer anymore. They have done what many others have tried and failed to do... establish themselves as a successful and respected manufacturer of pinball machines.
Most look at BOM costs and ignore hardware R&D costs, software/framework R&D costs, availability of dev support and tools, and customer support costs. Almost every MFG who has designed their own system from scratch has spent quite a bit more money than they'd have spent adopting a boardset like the P-ROC/P3-ROC + PDBs and proven / feature-rich software framework like skeleton game. Anybody who tells you otherwise either had free/volunteer labor doing the R&D or isn't admitting the extent of their costs. Choosing to go with an established solution carries a lot of benefits that translate directly into shorter time-to-market and lower costs. Sure, if a MFG sells 10,000 machines, the amortized R&D and early/heavy support costs can eventually show you a net gain versus buying the established system, but there's a ton of risk to absorb on the journey to 10,000 machines, and that net gain isn't guaranteed even at those numbers.
Anyway, the numbers are different for Spooky and AC since they already have a solution and don't need to design one from scratch. We respect and support Spooky however they choose to move forward and have been happy to support their growth with P3-ROC and PDBs for TNA. I personally am looking forward to seeing AC just as much as many of you, regardless of which control system it uses. I've loved Alice Cooper's music ever since my brother introduced me to it in middle school.
- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com
Vancouver, BC
