(Topic ID: 269461)
Linked Games
Maverick
Data East, 1994-
Simpsons, The
Data East, 1990
-
Star Wars
Data East, 1992
Topic Gallery
's-hertogenbosch
Reichenau Im Mühlkreis
Thanks Stefan 
Now i'm this far i'm gonna have to take it up another level I guess.
I have been thinking a lot about the next steps
regarding the arduino controller i'm thinking about leaving it like this for now, the arduino programming stuff isn't really the most fun part about it for me and since it needs alot of work getting some nice game modes in i think it'll be better to start with a MPF setup, still alot of work but i guess it makes it a whole load easier than the arduino route. I need to get read a more info on which system setup would be best though, also following the new OPP CobraPin, might be a good starting point when that one is available.
Playfield and theme.
I recently picked up another playfield which had quite some nice features for the stargate theme, integrating them into this one is an option but i'm at the moment still convinced that i shouldn't make it more difficult than it already is. So at the moment i'm more inclined to keep working on my current playfield as a more simple startup game, and when i get it all up and running to make a second playfield which is a bit more challenging. Making playfields swappable shouldn't be a problem. The second playfield is going to be Stargate, this simpeler first playfield will get another theme. Which will be revealed later
Graphics and lighting
I'll need to make some tests with drilling some insert holes and printing some brackets for the WS2812 lights, then i can start to make a lighting plan/layout and start thinking about artwork and game modes.
Sound/LCD screen/cabinet will come when i've proceeded further with the control boards
Quoted from MeesterPieter:Thanks Stefan
Now i'm this far i'm gonna have to take it up another level I guess.
I have been thinking a lot about the next steps
regarding the arduino controller i'm thinking about leaving it like this for now, the arduino programming stuff isn't really the most fun part about it for me and since it needs alot of work getting some nice game modes in i think it'll be better to start with a MPF setup, still alot of work but i guess it makes it a whole load easier than the arduino route. I need to get read a more info on which system setup would be best though, also following the new OPP CobraPin, might be a good starting point when that one is available.
Playfield and theme.
I recently picked up another playfield which had quite some nice features for the stargate theme, integrating them into this one is an option but i'm at the moment still convinced that i shouldn't make it more difficult than it already is. So at the moment i'm more inclined to keep working on my current playfield as a more simple startup game, and when i get it all up and running to make a second playfield which is a bit more challenging. Making playfields swappable shouldn't be a problem. The second playfield is going to be Stargate, this simpeler first playfield will get another theme. Which will be revealed later
Graphics and lighting
I'll need to make some tests with drilling some insert holes and printing some brackets for the WS2812 lights, then i can start to make a lighting plan/layout and start thinking about artwork and game modes.
Sound/LCD screen/cabinet will come when i've proceeded further with the control boards
i use MPF with the multimorphic Boards (P3-Roc, PD-16, PD-LED, SW-16, Powerentry), i really love MPF, once you get the hang of it you can just add more and more to your game.
With the multimorphic Boards i couldn't be happier, but other people love to use FAST, maybe someone knows the differences?! i only know the multimorphic boards and have no intention to switch.
The CobraPin however would be very interesting, i would love to try that sometime
Your project is really cool!
Seattle, WA
Mpf is amazing!! If you aren’t quite proficient at python, or just want to jump start a ton of work MPF Is the way to go I would say. It’s a learning curve but once it starts to make sense, I see it saving huge amounts of time.
I use FAST - honestly I think PROC or fast are both great. Depending on the number of switches or drivers you need, one or the other might make more cost sense. One Main difference seems to be that fast is locked in at 256 serial LEDs unless you use fade candy (to add more), whereas PROC can be a mix of serial and parallel LEDs, but I believe you pay by the board to add LEDs vs having 256 channels built into the main fast board.
Cobrapin looks like a really great cheaper option, almost grabbed one on the Kickstarter.
Quoted from Mbecker:Mpf is amazing!! If you aren’t quite proficient at python, or just want to jump start a ton of work MPF Is the way to go I would say. It’s a learning curve but once it starts to make sense, I see it saving huge amounts of time.
I use FAST - honestly I think PROC or fast are both great. Depending on the number of switches or drivers you need, one or the other might make more cost sense. One Main difference seems to be that fast is locked in at 256 serial LEDs unless you use fade candy (to add more), whereas PROC can be a mix of serial and parallel LEDs, but I believe you pay by the board to add LEDs vs having 256 channels built into the main fast board.
Cobrapin looks like a really great cheaper option, almost grabbed one on the Kickstarter.
yes with PROC you can add PD-LED boards if you need more LEDs.
Yeah ill need to read a little more about the differences but i'm also not afraid to make some own boards. The cobrapin looks very promising though and that it allready has the neopixel option for the ws2812 leds seems handy. Unfortunately i missed the kickstarter. Ill Just have to understand the pro's and con of each system a little better i guess.
I think ill start first with the virtual MPF route, just to get an idea how steep that learning curve really is 
4 weeks later
I started with the MPF tutorial and have made a very basic setup for my game. I'm really impressed by the MPF framework.
i'm lacking interface hardware to wire my machine to a mpf setup, will start with cobrapin when those will become available for sale
But for now i can start building the game more and test it virtually
Untitled (resized).png
Mpf is really cool, once you get the hang of it, and have a working solution for a couple of things, your code will grow fast, because you can just copy your own code pieces
Yeah i still need to figure out a lot 
I've drawn some inserts as well , i made them as close to the original dimensions as possible, so its easy to switch from the printed ones to original ones when my prototype is finished.
When finished i'll post them on my thingiverse
Quoted from MeesterPieter:Yeah i still need to figure out a lot
I've drawn some inserts as well , i made them as close to the original dimensions as possible, so its easy to switch from the printed ones to original ones when my prototype is finished.
When finished i'll post them on my thingiverse
[quoted image]
Looks great
3 weeks later
made some test pieces of wood for the inserts and to try different colours.
to make the round holes i used 2 different sized forstner drills, works for now.
the other shaped inserts i'm trying to find a decent way to use a router of dremel to make decent fitting holes. ordered some new shanks since they have to be pretty small sized to make the small rounded corners of the inserts.
2021-07-16 13.31.50 (resized).jpg2021-07-16 13.32.11 (resized).jpg2021-07-16 13.32.19 (resized).jpg2021-07-16 13.32.22 (resized).jpg2021-07-16 13.34.10 (resized).jpg2021-07-16 13.36.33 (resized).jpgQuoted from Mbecker:Looks good. 3D print Router guides based off your inserts, should work perfect.
yea if i get small enough shanks that should work i hope
while working with the led stuff i also worked some more on my wall-art idea for my old starwars playfield
printed some more brackets for the ws2811's and experimented some more with the arduino stuff
2021-07-20 21.36.45 (resized).jpg2021-07-20 21.47.32 (resized).jpg2021-07-20 21.47.35 (resized).jpgthe light show is still very basic, and added an arduino mp3 player with the original SWDE sounds on random on a little laptop speaker but i like where its going.
still a lot to do but im starting to like the result already
yeah now i got this far i got a lot more idea's , perhaps a second speaker so i can play background music and sound effects at the same time, then perhaps its also possible to make a show where the sound effect match the lights that are flashing, that would be really nice offcourse.
also im thinking about making a 3d printed transparant R2 and deathstar for some more lighting on the top, and perhaps some bumpercaps to cover the bumperholes.
Quoted from MeesterPieter:yeah now i got this far i got a lot more idea's , perhaps a second speaker so i can play background music and sound effects at the same time, then perhaps its also possible to make a show where the sound effect match the lights that are flashing, that would be really nice offcourse.
also im thinking about making a 3d printed transparant R2 and deathstar for some more lighting on the top, and perhaps some bumpercaps to cover the bumperholes.
That sounds cool! I tried once to make lights that react to sound with an arduino, but the microphone was just to sensitive, it didn 't work how it should..
1 week later
Pretty close fit! But man those router holes suck by hand though.. I think I have over 100 inserts on my game and I did every one by hand for the white wood. Hoping to use a template next time.. it was impossible to use a template the way I did it because I had the PF partially populated while routing. Of course CNC is really teh way to go if you can make it happen for a final version..
yeah template is really the way to go, i already planned on taking everything off again sometime, either that or i'm just going to have to make another playfield . i wont be doing them all by hand indeed
haha oh yes cutting it all by hand is hell. on my first playfield i used a dremel... boy i nearly died of the smoke it created.
and with a good router it's always exciting if maybe after 2 hours of cutting you might just slip off and ruin everything.
1 week later
Quite the journey so far. I don't have the courage to do a fresh white board project. Looking good so far.
Quoted from legtod2:Quite the journey so far. I don't have the courage to do a fresh white board project. Looking good so far.
probably also not the easiest start, but hey, its all about having fun and learning some stuff in the end, i think your way of getting there is just as nice
Nice job with the inserts. Can you put up a picture of the guide you are using for cutting the triangles?
Quoted from Cmartin1235:Nice job with the inserts. Can you put up a picture of the guide you are using for cutting the triangles?
The last picture with all the different inserts in the wood is the guide, made them so they are a really tight fit.
haha oh yes cutting it all by hand is hell. on my first playfield i used a dremel... boy i nearly died of the smoke it created.
and with a good router it's always exciting if maybe after 2 hours of cutting you might just slip off and ruin everything.
Quoted from Cmartin1235:How do you accurately cut the triangles with a router?
and how does your guide look like?
the guide
2021-08-18 11.32.03 (resized).jpg
the test piece has some clear space under it to make cutting easier, also some clear space between the guide since i cant use a router with a bearing and i need to be able to adjust the height for the outer edge
2021-08-18 09.14.28 (resized).jpg
starting with a hole because the small 4x6mm router doesnt like to cut holes
2021-08-18 09.14.21 (resized).jpg
the 4x6mm goes fully through
2021-08-18 09.16.46 (resized).jpg
first hole about 2mm smaller than the guide
2021-08-18 09.18.40 (resized).jpg
then switching the router to 6x6mm and setting the correct depth (about 6mm)
2021-08-18 09.21.26 (resized).jpg
this makes the hole same shape as the guide at the set depth, and the result
2021-08-18 09.23.11 (resized).jpg
2021-08-18 09.22.30 (resized).jpgYou're welcome
also, it would be even better to make the guide from a metal plate or something, but thats a bit much fur me, and it works like this as well
i just set the machine on the lowest speed setting because the shank does get hot, and when going along the edges at to high rpm or to long in 1 place, the guide starts to damage. On the low speed that goes much easier without damaging it.
once you've made a hole and its not perfect or anything its very hard to correct your mistake, so i think i'll still use the dremel with the router attachment for those mistakes
Thanks for the explanation as to how you cut your inserts accurately using a wooden template. I did something similar except I 3-D printed my templates proportionally larger than the inserts. Then, I used a base plate on my router that has a collar which fits into the template. I’ll see if I can come up with a couple pictures.
One thing to be wary of when using a 3-D printer template is heat buildup. The plastic goes soft at about 200 C so you have to make your cuts shallow, about 2mm per pass.
Nice. looks like a decent setup. i tried making a simple guide with my 3d printer but because of the direct contact with the shank it startet melting pretty soon, your method seems decent though, less chance of ruining the guide also.
I am using a 1/8 inch bit which helps. As do the vent holes blowing air down into the cut. Also, between passes, I pull off the trim router and blow out the hole to get out retained chips which caused air not to circulate and heat build. Certainly it is an imperfect solution But it beats trying to get the playfield on a CNC table after prototyping has already started.
yeah definitely, but i'm planning to clear the playfield anyways since i still have to do all the inserts, btw u dont make a ridge for the inserts?
In my case when cutting non circular inserts I use two templates. One for the larger partial thickness (outer) hole one for the smaller through hole. The templates can either be lined up by eye or be printed to snap into a larger mount that tapes to the playfield.
1 week later
Quoted from Cmartin1235:In my case when cutting non circular inserts I use two templates. One for the larger partial thickness (outer) hole one for the smaller through hole. The templates can either be lined up by eye or be printed to snap into a larger mount that tapes to the playfield.
i tried your method, mounted the standard hole thingy on the router, and made a precise template for the rectangle piece to fit with it. 2nd try did fit very well. i will be using only 1 template and switch out the 6mm and 4mm shanks as i did on the other. but as long as i can make a nice template it seems to be working better this way. Just making the template is a bit harder to account for the offset. anyway, thanks for the help .
2021-08-25 11.16.32 (resized).jpg2021-08-25 11.35.02 (resized).jpg 3 weeks later
2021-09-21 11.58.49 (resized).jpgUnfortunately my playfield got a bit wet due to some water leak in my storage. the wood is a bit stained but still straight,i will need to restore lots of metal parts though. I'll still have to test my transformers though, i hope those didnt get damaged.
2021-09-20 10.43.29 (resized).jpg2021-09-20 10.43.43 (resized).jpg
anyways, i was almost ready to start with the inserts, but i didn't want to take the whole playfield apart for it, well now i had to anyways so i'm busy making a first layout for the inserts, and since the playfield already has some damage now i wont have to worry as much about being super precise with the routing.
been making a new guide as i will be using the round baseplate adapter since that seems to work nicely
2021-09-15 10.08.25 (resized).jpg
also making a layout where to put inserts.
2021-09-21 11.58.49 (resized).jpg
i'm just looking to see what looks nice and i will see later on which ones i will be using
also, my cobrapin has finally arrived, thanks Thomas.
slight issue with customs here but it got fixed (they wanted me to pay 4800 euro custom taxes, but after realising their mistake it was 21 euro)
Quoted from stefanmader:Oh no, was the water damage because of the weather?
well not really extreme weather, just something came loose above in the wall of the storage so some water could come in with the wind, and offcourse thats exactly where my project was parked in the corner 
ah well, nothing major, just bad luck
Promoted items from Pinside Marketplace and Pinside Shops!
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
