Topsham, ME
Quoted from gdonovan:I'm considering trying to pickup this route and do code and wave trigger for Star Trek.
Very cool!
(Topic ID: 269190)
Linked Games
Stars
Stern Electronics, 1978
Topic Gallery
1 week later
I've added a new version (Stars2021) to the repository:
https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020-21
Documentation is scant at the moment, but there are some basic instructions in the readme in that repository.
This new version only supports Wav Trigger (there's no version for chimes), since it leans on the voice prompts in order to indicate certain things.
New features:
* Award shot at the beginning of a ball, or at the completion of a level of stars gives Holdover BonusX, Holdover Bonus, Holdover Stars, Holdover Spinner, or Holdover Pop Bumper
* 5 goals to achieve (max BonusX, max Bonus, max Stars, max Spinner, and max Pop)
* Wizard mode on completion of 5 goals
* Spinner frenzy based on completion of a timed combo (inlane, right spinner, left spinner)
* Pop bumper frenzy (stackable with spinner frenzy)
* Drop Target frenzy (stackable with other two)
* New light displays
Here's a video showing the new code
Quoted from DickHamill:Here's a video showing the new code
Great work on this project, @dickhamill! I am truly amazed by your work.
On a side note, I have made a few plug and play kits. I wanted to offer it to the group if anyone wants one. Kits comes assembled with the newest firmware/code. Plug into J5 add a speaker and you are ready to play.
With the new code can you disable the initial skill shot? That's the one thing I didn't like with the previous code. I felt it was such a valuable shot and hitting the roaming target often felt like it was more luck then skill.
Quoted from lpeters82:With the new code can you disable the initial skill shot? That's the one thing I didn't like with the previous code. I felt it was such a valuable shot and hitting the roaming target often felt like it was more luck then skill.
It's a different shot with this version, focused on holdover award instead of points. It gives 10k for hitting a star in the first 30 seconds after the first switch is hit, but then gives one of 5 holdover awards depending on which star was hit first.
Quoted from troxel:Great work on this project, DickHamill! I am truly amazed by your work.
On a side note, I have made a few plug and play kits. I wanted to offer it to the group if anyone wants one. Kits comes assembled with the newest firmware/code. Plug into J5 add a speaker and you are ready to play.
Do you happen to have one for Meteor 2021? I made my own for Stars, but would love to provide one to a buddy for Meteor. I just don't have the time to make one at the current time.
Quoted from lpeters82:Do you happen to have one for Meteor 2021? I made my own for Stars, but would love to provide one to a buddy for Meteor. I just don't have the time to make one at the current time.
I would need to order some parts for it (WAV trigger and adapter), but would get them out has quickly as I get the parts. I have made a couple Meteor 2021 kits for other members.
Quoted from lpeters82:With the new code can you disable the initial skill shot? That's the one thing I didn't like with the previous code. I felt it was such a valuable shot and hitting the roaming target often felt like it was more luck then skill.
By the way, if this is something you're interested in changing in Stars2020, it's relatively easy.
Search the Stars2020.ino for this line:
CurrentScores[CurrentPlayer] += 25000;
and then change the 25000 to whatever score you'd like.
Quoted from lpeters82:I assume you feel all of the holdovers are relatively balanced.
No 
They're imbalanced on purpose. The most valuable one is the Stars Holdover, which lets you keep your lit stars from ball to ball. To get that, you have to hit the Orange star first and within 30 seconds of the first switch hit.
The next most valuable is Bonus Holdover, which I put on Green.
On my machine, White gets hit most often at random, so that's BonusX Holdover, which then requires you to hit drop targets to make it worth anything.
The stars closest to the flippers give you holds on spinners & pop, but those only matter for people who keep the ball alive a decent amount of time.
So, I did put a lot of thought into it and played it, but I would say they're balanced relative to the way I play the game (and a few people who I've played with).
4 months later
Anybody have a line on a Stars for sale … I ve neen looking for one for over 10 years … pm me if you know of one PLEASE !!!
I just got Stars 2021 working tonight after fighting a bad Arduino nano, but I’m not getting the background music as shown in the video. I’ll re-download the sound pack and throw it on the SD card to see if that fixes it. Also, I can’t enable free play…possibly due to the Alltek board?
Quoted from ThatGuyChad:I just got Stars 2021 working tonight after fighting a bad Arduino nano, but I’m not getting the background music as shown in the video. I’ll re-download the sound pack and throw it on the SD card to see if that fixes it. Also, I can’t enable free play…possibly due to the Alltek board?
Did you modify the WAVtrigger or using as delivered? At the very least you need to add a solder bridge across a couple pads so it can be powered through the cable from the Arduino. I’m not sure the requirement for Stars but on Meteor the WAVtrigger needed updated firmware too. You need another adapter to flash that.
Quoted from ThatGuyChad:I just got Stars 2021 working tonight after fighting a bad Arduino nano, but I’m not getting the background music as shown in the video. I’ll re-download the sound pack and throw it on the SD card to see if that fixes it. Also, I can’t enable free play…possibly due to the Alltek board?
Yeah, as Robotworkshop mentioned, there are a couple of steps to do on the WAV trigger. His notes are at the bottom of this page:
https://ballysternos.github.io/install.html
Also, be sure to go through the coin door adjustments. I'm not sure the 2021 version is fully documented, but here's a list:
5 test modes (lamps, solenoids, etc.)
11 audits (award scores, high score, etc.)
12 = freeplay
13 = ball save
14 = sound effects & music control
15 = tournament scoring
16 = tilt warnings
17 = award score payouts
18 = number of balls
19 = scrolling scores
20 = tournament extra ball award
21 = tournament special award
22 = dim level
23 = background music volume
24 = holdover stars on with single hit
So, you'll also want to make sure that adjustment 14 is set to "3". You can see the Stars2020 documentation to get an idea of how to check this if it's not clear. You basically hit the coin door adjustment button until there's a 14 in the credits display, and then the Credit/Reset until Player 1 score reads "3".
Quoted from Robotworkshop:Did you modify the WAVtrigger or using as delivered? At the very least you need to add a solder bridge across a couple pads so it can be powered through the cable from the Arduino. I’m not sure the requirement for Stars but on Meteor the WAVtrigger needed updated firmware too. You need another adapter to flash that.
I know I added the solder bridge for 5v power, but I'm not sure if I flashed it (I've had the board assembled for about 2 months, waiting to install.) I'll assume that I didn't flash the WAV trigger board and also verify the sound settings that Ike mentioned. Thanks for the help!
Quoted from ThatGuyChad:I know I added the solder bridge for 5v power, but I'm not sure if I flashed it (I've had the board assembled for about 2 months, waiting to install.) I'll assume that I didn't flash the WAV trigger board and also verify the sound settings that Ike mentioned. Thanks for the help!
Hope that solves it. Let me know if it doesn't.
Quoted from DickHamill:Hope that solves it. Let me know if it doesn't.
Update (copypasta from the Reddit thread):
Well I went to permanently install the modification today and for whatever reason, free play was there. I re-flashed anyways (surprised that it seems the settings were saved) and changed parameter 14 to 3.
I was also able to flash the WAV trigger board to current firmware without an FTDI basic; luckily I was able to use my CH341 programmer in serial mode to get it done. The background music plays, but I wish it was louder. If it’s loud enough to hear the background music, the sound effects are way too loud. I don’t know if it’s the speaker setup I’m using (3.5” car audio speakers - no enclosure) or something else.
Thanks for the help!
Quoted from ThatGuyChad:I was able to use my CH341 programmer in serial mode to get it done.
I would like to hear more about this. Robert's flashing tool is currently broken on the Mac, so I have to wait for when my Nephew comes to visit so I can flash a bunch of boards. I would love to have a way to do it when he's not around
Quoted from ThatGuyChad:If it’s loud enough to hear the background music, the sound effects are way too loud.
What is the value of setting 23?
I made a list here for you: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stars-2020-new-code-for-stern-stars-1978/page/10#post-6660668
Setting 23 controls the relative music volume.
Quoted from DickHamill:I would like to hear more about this. Robert's flashing tool is currently broken on the Mac, so I have to wait for when my Nephew comes to visit so I can flash a bunch of boards. I would love to have a way to do it when he's not around
I used an older 11" MacBook Air (mid-2012) since I know the utility and drivers won't work on my M1 MacBook Pro. I had a cheap CH341A mini programmer from another project laying around and it's able to go into a SPI mode that can be used to program the WAV trigger by moving the jumper to pins 2-3 of CH341 (mine is labeled TTL with some Chinese characters). I've attached an image an image of my programmer hooked up to the WAV trigger with some DuPont connectors. Of course, make sure your tx/rx wires are swapped on the WAV trigger side. Drivers for the CH341 can be found here: http://www.wch.cn/downloads/CH341SER_EXE.html
CH341a SPI mode to WAV trigger (resized).pngWAV trigger programmer (resized).JPGProgramming in progress
Quoted from DickHamill:What is the value of setting 23?
I made a list here for you: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stars-2020-new-code-for-stern-stars-1978/page/10#post-6660668
Setting 23 controls the relative music volume.
Yep, I'm an idiot. I even *read* that, but in my excitement to get the game playing and my haste, my brain was looking for "background". Thank you.
Edit: My parameters end at 22.
Quoted from ThatGuyChad:I used an older 11" MacBook Air (mid-2012) since I know the utility and drivers won't work on my M1 MacBook Pro. I had a cheap CH341A mini programmer from another project laying around and it's able to go into a SPI mode that can be used to program the WAV trigger by moving the jumper to pins 2-3 of CH341 (mine is labeled TTL with some Chinese characters). I've attached an image an image of my programmer hooked up to the WAV trigger with some DuPont connectors. Of course, make sure your tx/rx wires are swapped on the WAV trigger side. Drivers for the CH341 can be found here: http://www.wch.cn/downloads/CH341SER_EXE.html
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]Yep, I'm an idiot. I even *read* that, but in my excitement to get the game playing and my haste, my brain was looking for "background". Thank you.
Edit: My parameters end at 22.
Thanks for all the info about your flashing setup. When I open the flashing utility, I don't see my FTDI serial port as an option, even though I can see it under /dev . Maybe I'll try to retrace your steps on my Mac, but from what Robert said the utility broke when Catalina came out and it looks like you're using an older OS.
Sorry about the old code you have - someone alerted me 3 days ago that I hadn't pushed the update with the music volume control. It's available on GitHub now if you fetch latest.
https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020-21
don't forget to remove Stars2020.ino after you download.
Quoted from DickHamill:Thanks for all the info about your flashing setup. When I open the flashing utility, I don't see my FTDI serial port as an option, even though I can see it under /dev . Maybe I'll try to retrace your steps on my Mac, but from what Robert said the utility broke when Catalina came out and it looks like you're using an older OS.
Yeah, I maintain a growing fleet of deprecated hardware and software for my weird hobbies. 
This laptop is running Mojave.
Quoted from DickHamill:Sorry about the old code you have - someone alerted me 3 days ago that I hadn't pushed the update with the music volume control. It's available on GitHub now if you fetch latest.
https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020-21
don't forget to remove Stars2020.ino after you download.
No worries, I pulled it down and it’s working great now, thanks!
Quoted from ThatGuyChad:No worries, I pulled it down and it’s working great now, thanks!
Perfect! Post a video if you can.
I've got a short video of ThatGuyChad playing, but I can't post video files here. He recently mounted a toggle switch under the head, through the grill just above the playfield. Nice and hidden. I'm glad he didn't blow up my Stars game.
1 week later
Quoted from Boise_D:I'm glad he didn't blow up my Stars game.
Me too, I didn't want to buy new parts.
4 months later
Sherwood Park, AB
Without reading hundreds of threads what is the best speaker to purchase for the arduino .wav trigger board. Thanks!
Quoted from pins4life33:Without reading hundreds of threads what is the best speaker to purchase for the arduino .wav trigger board. Thanks!
I just used a sound bar and put in on top the machine. i don't think there is any preferred speaker setup.
Quoted from pins4life33:Without reading hundreds of threads what is the best speaker to purchase for the arduino .wav trigger board. Thanks!
Lately, I really like these speakers:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011O613W2/
Although I liked them a lot more when they were $99. They sound great and have a remote "puck" that you can put in your coin box area for easy adjustment.
I mount the L & R inside the head, near the top.
1 month later
Do you have the updated manual for Stars2021?
are 25 - 33 the same as 2020 or not used at all?
Is there an explanation of how 24 works now?
So used to playing 2020 this seems a lot different got the new kit with WAV board and just trying to figure out how to set this up for tournament play now.
Quoted from DickHamill:Yeah, as Robotworkshop mentioned, there are a couple of steps to do on the WAV trigger. His notes are at the bottom of this page:
https://ballysternos.github.io/install.html
Also, be sure to go through the coin door adjustments. I'm not sure the 2021 version is fully documented, but here's a list:
5 test modes (lamps, solenoids, etc.)
11 audits (award scores, high score, etc.)
12 = freeplay
13 = ball save
14 = sound effects & music control
15 = tournament scoring
16 = tilt warnings
17 = award score payouts
18 = number of balls
19 = scrolling scores
20 = tournament extra ball award
21 = tournament special award
22 = dim level
23 = background music volume
24 = holdover stars on with single hit
So, you'll also want to make sure that adjustment 14 is set to "3". You can see the Stars2020 documentation to get an idea of how to check this if it's not clear. You basically hit the coin door adjustment button until there's a 14 in the credits display, and then the Credit/Reset until Player 1 score reads "3".
Quoted from pins4life33:Do you have the updated manual for Stars2021?
are 25 - 33 the same as 2020 or not used at all?
Is there an explanation of how 24 works now?
So used to playing 2020 this seems a lot different got the new kit with WAV board and just trying to figure out how to set this up for tournament play now.
Shoot - I don't think I ever finished the doc for 2021. It's very different from 2020. I'll see if I can pull a doc together (I don't own Stars anymore, so let me know if I get something wrong).
Here are the adjustments:
12 - freeplay
13 - ball save (seconds)
14 - music level (0 nothing, 1-2 sfx, 3 sfx & music)
15 - tourney scoring
16 - tilt warnings
17 - award override (0 is EB for all three scores, 7 is special for all scores, etc.)
18 - number of balls per game
19 - scrolling scores
20 - EB award (for tourney)
21 - special award (for tourney)
22 - dim level (2 = 50%, 3 = 33%, 4 = flashing stars)
23 - background music level (0 - 9)
24 - holdover stars on (makes orange star level up during award shot)
If there adjustments past 24, then I have a bug I'm not aware of.
For adjustment 24, I think setting it to "1" will make the game always holdover star progress.
In general, during the skill shot (the red special moves around), the first star you hit will grant either:
1) holdover stars
2) holdover bonus
3) holdover bonusX
4) holdover spinner progress
5) holdover pop progress
The video here:
shows how that works.
Awesome less adjustments for sure then 2020, I noticed a roaming star skill shot is 30k I am assuming no adjustment for that in this version. 10k is you hit the unlit star I believe. Are there any specific drop target rules other than the normal multipliers (watched video and no they go to 8X nice). I also noticed that you do get bonus for spinners now. Yes, you are correct 25 and above as not selectable anymore.
Quoted from DickHamill:Shoot - I don't think I ever finished the doc for 2021. It's very different from 2020. I'll see if I can pull a doc together (I don't own Stars anymore, so let me know if I get something wrong).
Here are the adjustments:
12 - freeplay
13 - ball save (seconds)
14 - music level (0 nothing, 1-2 sfx, 3 sfx & music)
15 - tourney scoring
16 - tilt warnings
17 - award override (0 is EB for all three scores, 7 is special for all scores, etc.)
18 - number of balls per game
19 - scrolling scores
20 - EB award (for tourney)
21 - special award (for tourney)
22 - dim level (2 = 50%, 3 = 33%, 4 = flashing stars)
23 - background music level (0 - 9)
24 - holdover stars on (makes orange star level up during award shot)
If there adjustments past 24, then I have a bug I'm not aware of.
For adjustment 24, I think setting it to "1" will make the game always holdover star progress.
In general, during the skill shot (the red special moves around), the first star you hit will grant either:
1) holdover stars
2) holdover bonus
3) holdover bonusX
4) holdover spinner progress
5) holdover pop progress
The video here:
shows how that works.
Quoted from pins4life33:This is what I have been able to gather so far....[quoted image]
(Hamill is one M and two LLs for me, by the way)
I started a document about rules/scoring and put it here: https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020-21
(Stars2021Rules.pdf)
Formatting will suck here because I don't want to sort it out, but here are the rules:
Stars 2021 - Rules
Skill Shot
After the ball is plunged, the player has 30 seconds to collect an “Award Shot” by hitting one of the star stand-up targets. The color of star target hit determines the award.
White Star Target - BonusX progress is held between balls
Green Star Target - Bonus is held
Amber Star Target - Accumulated Stars are held
Purple Star Target - Pop Bumper progress is held
Yellow Star Target - Spinner progress is held
After 30 seconds, if no star target is hit, the game will proceed to normal play.
Normal Play
During normal play, the player can work to achieve the following goals:
Advance Star Level
Accumulate Bonus Points
Increase the Bonus Multiplier
Achieve super spinners status
Achieve super pop bumper status
Advancing Star Level
The current star progress is shown on the 5 star lights under the right spinner. When all five star targets have been hit at the current level, the level will increase. Bringing all the stars up to level three will complete the star goal. Each time a new level is reached, the player will have 30 seconds to collect an “Award Shot” (see Skill Shot for a description).
Accumulate Bonus Points
Various rollovers on the playfield will advance the end of ball bonus (shown on the bonus ladder in the center of the playfield). Additionally, hitting drop targets, every 5th spinner turn, and every 5th pop bumper hit will increase bonus. The bonus maximum is 55k. If bonus is reaches the maximum value, the bonus goal will be completed.
Increase the Bonus Multiplier
Bonus multiplier is increased by completing drop target banks. The maximum bonus X is 8. When Bonus X reaches 8, the bonus multiplier goal is completed.
Achieve Super Spinners
When 100 spins have been collected, the player will have completed the super spinner goal.
Achieve Super Pop Bumper
When the Pop bumper has been hit 75 times, the player will have completed the super pop bumper goal.
Spinner Frenzy
When the ball activates an in-lane rollover, the opposite spinner will begin a combo. For example, if the ball travels down the left in-lane, the player has 2 seconds to hit the right spinner to begin a combo. If the player achieves that, they then have 15 seconds to hit the other spinner to begin a spinner frenzy (for 25 seconds).
During spinner frenzy, the player receives an extra 5k points per spin, and 3x spins towards their Super Spinner status.
Pop Bumper Frenzy
Each time the pop bumper is hit, the player advances towards the pop bumper rewards.
25 Pops - lights rollover buttons for bonus
50 Lights in-lanes
75 Stars Pop Bumper Frenzy for 25 seconds (and collects Pop Bumper Goal)
Drop Target Frenzy
When the player achieves a Bonus X of 4, they will start a 25 second drop target frenzy. During a frenzy, all drop targets are worth their regular value plus an additional 7k points. Hitting a drop target during the frenzy will reset all targets after 2 seconds.
Wizard Mode
When all 5 goals have been achieved, a 39 second wizard mode begins and the player earns a reward of 250k points. In wizard mode, all switches earn their regular value plus an additional 5k points. All progress and goals (aside from bonus and bonus X) are reset by wizard mode.
Scoring
Any of the frenzy modes increases the playfield multiplier. For example, having one frenzy mode running increases all scores to 2x their lit value. Two simultaneous frenzies will increase the playfield to 3x.
The rollovers, pops, spinners, stand-ups, and drop targets are score as follows:
10-point switch - 10 points x playfield multiplier
Star Stand-up - normal play = 500 points x star level
Skill Shot = 30,000
Completing Star Level = 20,000
Award Shot (after completing star level) = 10,000
Out Lane - unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 3,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
In Lane - unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 3,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
during pop bumper frenzy = 5,000 x playfield multiplier & 6k bonus
Rollover Buttons (2) unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 500 x playfield multiplier & 1k bonus
during pop bumper frenzy = 1,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
Left Spinner - (200 + 400 for each center target down) x playfield multiplier
1k bonus every 5th spin
during spinner frenzy = additional 5,000 per spin
Right Spinner - 200 for each lit star x playfield multiplier
1,000 for each star level x playfield multiplier
during spinner frenzy = additional 5,000 per spin
Drop Target - default score = 500
center target alone = 7,000
bank completed from left to right = 15,000
Completing either bank awards Bonus X = 2,
after that, both banks have to be completed to increase Bonus X
Pop Bumper - 100 points
during pop bumper frenzy = 500 x playfield multiplier
Slingshots - 10 points
So awesome thanks for the full explanation of the rules!
Quoted from DickHamill:(Hamill is one M and two LLs for me, by the way)
I started a document about rules/scoring and put it here: https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020-21
(Stars2021Rules.pdf)
Formatting will suck here because I don't want to sort it out, but here are the rules:
Stars 2021 - Rules
Skill Shot
After the ball is plunged, the player has 30 seconds to collect an “Award Shot” by hitting one of the star stand-up targets. The color of star target hit determines the award.
White Star Target - BonusX progress is held between balls
Green Star Target - Bonus is held
Amber Star Target - Accumulated Stars are held
Purple Star Target - Pop Bumper progress is held
Yellow Star Target - Spinner progress is held
After 30 seconds, if no star target is hit, the game will proceed to normal play.
Normal Play
During normal play, the player can work to achieve the following goals:
Advance Star Level
Accumulate Bonus Points
Increase the Bonus Multiplier
Achieve super spinners status
Achieve super pop bumper status
Advancing Star Level
The current star progress is shown on the 5 star lights under the right spinner. When all five star targets have been hit at the current level, the level will increase. Bringing all the stars up to level three will complete the star goal. Each time a new level is reached, the player will have 30 seconds to collect an “Award Shot” (see Skill Shot for a description).
Accumulate Bonus Points
Various rollovers on the playfield will advance the end of ball bonus (shown on the bonus ladder in the center of the playfield). Additionally, hitting drop targets, every 5th spinner turn, and every 5th pop bumper hit will increase bonus. The bonus maximum is 55k. If bonus is reaches the maximum value, the bonus goal will be completed.
Increase the Bonus Multiplier
Bonus multiplier is increased by completing drop target banks. The maximum bonus X is 8. When Bonus X reaches 8, the bonus multiplier goal is completed.
Achieve Super Spinners
When 100 spins have been collected, the player will have completed the super spinner goal.
Achieve Super Pop Bumper
When the Pop bumper has been hit 75 times, the player will have completed the super pop bumper goal.
Spinner Frenzy
When the ball activates an in-lane rollover, the opposite spinner will begin a combo. For example, if the ball travels down the left in-lane, the player has 2 seconds to hit the right spinner to begin a combo. If the player achieves that, they then have 15 seconds to hit the other spinner to begin a spinner frenzy (for 25 seconds).
During spinner frenzy, the player receives an extra 5k points per spin, and 3x spins towards their Super Spinner status.
Pop Bumper Frenzy
Each time the pop bumper is hit, the player advances towards the pop bumper rewards.
25 Pops - lights rollover buttons for bonus
50 Lights in-lanes
75 Stars Pop Bumper Frenzy for 25 seconds (and collects Pop Bumper Goal)
Drop Target Frenzy
When the player achieves a Bonus X of 4, they will start a 25 second drop target frenzy. During a frenzy, all drop targets are worth their regular value plus an additional 7k points. Hitting a drop target during the frenzy will reset all targets after 2 seconds.
Wizard Mode
When all 5 goals have been achieved, a 39 second wizard mode begins and the player earns a reward of 250k points. In wizard mode, all switches earn their regular value plus an additional 5k points. All progress and goals (aside from bonus and bonus X) are reset by wizard mode.
Scoring
Any of the frenzy modes increases the playfield multiplier. For example, having one frenzy mode running increases all scores to 2x their lit value. Two simultaneous frenzies will increase the playfield to 3x.
The rollovers, pops, spinners, stand-ups, and drop targets are score as follows:
10-point switch - 10 points x playfield multiplier
Star Stand-up - normal play = 500 points x star level
Skill Shot = 30,000
Completing Star Level = 20,000
Award Shot (after completing star level) = 10,000
Out Lane - unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 3,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
In Lane - unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 3,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
during pop bumper frenzy = 5,000 x playfield multiplier & 6k bonus
Rollover Buttons (2) unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 500 x playfield multiplier & 1k bonus
during pop bumper frenzy = 1,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
Left Spinner - (200 + 400 for each center target down) x playfield multiplier
1k bonus every 5th spin
during spinner frenzy = additional 5,000 per spin
Right Spinner - 200 for each lit star x playfield multiplier
1,000 for each star level x playfield multiplier
during spinner frenzy = additional 5,000 per spin
Drop Target - default score = 500
center target alone = 7,000
bank completed from left to right = 15,000
Completing either bank awards Bonus X = 2,
after that, both banks have to be completed to increase Bonus X
Pop Bumper - 100 points
during pop bumper frenzy = 500 x playfield multiplier
Slingshots - 10 points
Quoted from pins4life33:So awesome thanks for the full explanation of the rules!
I put these together from scrolling through the code, so please let me know if I got anything wrong.
I'll reach out to sethbenjamin to proof my new doc as well. He as the most hours on this game AFAIK.
2 weeks later
We just interviewed a person who installed both the new code and the Beehive Pinball playfield in our latest podcast. Please join us in exploring this unique machine.
The Classic Pinball Podcast
Downloadable here:
http://pinballdoctor.com/the-classic-pinball-podcast/
https://podbay.fm/podcast/1469743456
Accessible to stream via any of the links below:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-classic-pinball-podcast/id1469743456
https://www.breaker.audio/the-classic-pinball-podcast
https://open.spotify.com/show/6JGvAzDFwCSJUwwWgBMCDd
https://radiopublic.com/the-classic-pinball-podcast-WR95kj
https://overcast.fm/itunes1469743456/the-classic-pinball-podcast
614CF2ED-B46E-4A7A-BA95-4E55D4EACFE7 (resized).jpeg 1 week later
Quoted from Nhpolarbear:We just interviewed a person who installed both the new code and the Beehive Pinball playfield in our latest podcast.
Ha, man I’m sitting on one of those playfields myself (he did a beautiful job.) But I’ve been too busy working on everybody ELSE’s machines to do the swap!
Something to look forward to.
FWIW, I still find the 2021 rule set hard to follow, and have been contemplating putting incandescent bulbs in the Star inserts by the spinner. The blinking setting is there at my suggestion for LED users, but mostly it seems to just confuse people, myself included.
I think the rules themselves are AWESOME, and applaud Dick’s work for sure. But the concept of the Stars getting brighter as you clear the levels really is clever, and I’m betting that the new rule set will be more fun and more comprehensible when the lighting cues are clearer - dim to bright vs. blinking.
I would be very interested in the potential for using full spectrum LEDs Ok these machines, or some other means of controlling a fade - slow fade on and off for level one, fade for level two, solid lights for level 3? Something along those lines?
Just spitballin’ here, lol.
3 weeks later
Hey all, can someone explain how to adjust settings? I can enter the settings menu via the coin door button and cycle through, but how do you actually change the settings? It doesn’t seem like the credit or flipper buttons do it
Thanks!
Quoted from Bospins:Hey all, can someone explain how to adjust settings? I can enter the settings menu via the coin door button and cycle through, but how do you actually change the settings? It doesn’t seem like the credit or flipper buttons do it
Thanks!
You change the settings with the Credit/Reset button. When you hit the coin door button the first time, you should see 99 in the P1 display and all the lamps flash. Hitting Credit/Reset should cycle through the lamps one by one. After the first five tests there are a bunch of audits and then I think 12 (freeplay) is the next one that's adjustable.
Here's a doc for 2020 that's *mostly* the same for 2021.
https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020-21/blob/master/Stars2020%20One%20Sheet.pdf
Quoted from pins4life33:Okay now was finally able to get to updating all the rules on our machine at the arcade so people can figure it out. I am sure there may need to be edits, feel free to correct me wherever I have made mistakes. [quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
That's awesome!
Notes:
1) under normal play, you mention advancing star level twice
2) to advance to the next star level, there's a lock-in shot where you have to hit the star with the red "special" lamp
3) you mention spinner progress under "increase bonus multiplier"
Quoted from DickHamill:You change the settings with the Credit/Reset button. When you hit the coin door button the first time, you should see 99 in the P1 display and all the lamps flash. Hitting Credit/Reset should cycle through the lamps one by one. After the first five tests there are a bunch of audits and then I think 12 (freeplay) is the next one that's adjustable.
Here's a doc for 2020 that's *mostly* the same for 2021.
https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020-21/blob/master/Stars2020%20One%20Sheet.pdf
Got it! Loose wire
2 weeks later
Suggestion re:2021 rule set -
Hitting the Orange star first and advancing a level is too much of a giveaway. Not like you *owe* anybody going back to this code for yet another revision, but if you were ever inclined to, my suggestion would be that hitting the Orange star lights all the others and takes you to the moving red shot to clear the level. Keep that much challenge in place. On my machine, too often I just get a lucky bounce right off the plunger and advance just by luck, sometimes more than once in a game.
I also really like baking able to adjust settings - the 2020 rules had a lot of those, whereas 2021 has only a few. Things like being able to choose which awards correspond to each star could be a nice feature. But, again, this is the sort of conversation you’d have at a company where everyone is getting paid to try out different ideas and refine the rules…
Lastly, it still seems to me like the sound FX are consistently louder than the background music. I remember this being something we discussed maybe a year ago? Not a deal breaker at all, but the effects can sometimes be pretty bracingly loud, vs music that can be a little drowned out.
Still, love the code, it’s fun and infuriating and a great counterpart to the chimes of the original (which I also still enjoy!)
5 months later
I finally did my Beehive playfield swap, and made some long overdue upgrades while I was at it - stronger flipper coils, cleaned and rebuilt all mechanisms, installed Swinks targets. This thing plays like a dream, and the new flipper coils make it play more like a “modern” game.
Dick’s new code feels right at home with this new playfield graphic. Really reinvents the machine amazingly.
Quoted from sethbenjamin:I finally did my Beehive playfield swap, and made some long overdue upgrades while I was at it - stronger flipper coils, cleaned and rebuilt all mechanisms, installed Swinks targets. This thing plays like a dream, and the new flipper coils make it play more like a “modern” game.
Dick’s new code feels right at home with this new playfield graphic. Really reinvents the machine amazingly.
Beautiful! Thanks for posting the vid. I miss that game!
Quoted from Bospins:Hey all, can someone explain how to adjust settings? I can enter the settings menu via the coin door button and cycle through, but how do you actually change the settings? It doesn’t seem like the credit or flipper buttons do it
Thanks!
I created the Test/Audit document for Stars2021 based on the code, this would be the equivalent of the Stars2020 one-pager PDF file. Using the door test switch, cycle through the codes as show on the CREDIT/BALL COUNT display. Use the credit button to change the values stored in the eeprom.
STARS2021 Adjustment Options:
00:01 - Lamps
XX:XX - Displays
00:03 - Solenoids
00:04 - Switches
00:05 - Sound
01 - Award Score Level 1
02 - Award Score Level 2
03 - Award Score Level 3
04 - High Score to Date
05 - Current Credits
06 - Total plays (Audit)
07 - Total replays (Audit)
08 - Total times high score beaten (Audit)
09 - Chute #2 coins (Audit)
10 - Chute #1 coins (Audit)
11 - Chute #3 coins (Audit)
12 - Free play off/on (0, 1)
13 - Ball Save Num Seconds (0, 5, 10, 15, 20)
14 - Music Level (0, 1, 2, 3, 99) [if WAV Trigger is enabled in the build]
15 - Tournament Scoring (0-no, 1-yes)
16 - Tilt Warning (0, 1, 2)
17 - Award Score Override (0 - 7, 99)
18 - Balls per game Override (3, 5, 99)
19 - Scrolling Scores (0-no, 1-yes)
20 - Extra Ball Award (0 - 100,000) [only used for Tournament Scoring]
21 - Special Award (0 - 100,000) [only used for Tournament Scoring]
22 - Dim Level (2=50%, 3=33%)
23 - Background Music level (0-9)
24 - Hold over stars (0,1)
1 week later
I created a fork of Stars2020-21, added the reference sheet for paraments and added enhancements per Dick's suggestion on another thread regarding the PlaySoundEffects() function to add gain control as a parameter. This is now Stars2021 Parameter 25 in the version I updated which I copied from Dick's other code from Galaxy. It really helps to balance the background music vs the sound effects/call-outs. I set it initially to 1, was good when no other pins running near it, however 5 was the sweet spot for now given my speakers and amp setup.
I initiated a pull request, which I assume rolls up to Dick, I am a GitHub novice. DickHamill all the changes I made have comments "// Stemple - Add Sound FX Volume" so you can check my work if you decide to consider merging my contributions.
I really like how Galaxy (I don't have this pin) code matured over Stars, was a lot easier to figure out how parameters work vs what I struggled with initially on Stars.
As mentioned before I love this project, been really cool working with it, and I really hope I can give something back - even if just taking Dicks other work and merging it back - nothing original is coming from me.
Here is the fork and enhancements -- https://github.com/stempilegh/Stars2020-21/tree/patch-1
My Stars2021 Sound system setup, I tired a few different speakers and amps. This setup seems most friendly for the next person. I did flash the Wave trigger board to 1.34 version of the firmware. Also the sizing of the speaker mount fits in the backbox existing slot. Tried with a sub given the amp supports it, however was over kill and didn't want to modify the cabinet. Once the speakers were mounted, they sound great and have decent full range response; was pleasantly surprised!
AMAZON:
3" Speakers - https://a.co/d/dCrWQRq
Amplifier with power supply - https://a.co/d/9ErIFPh
1/8" to RCA cable - https://a.co/d/7Cb8BYQ
WAVE Trigger board - https://a.co/d/64CjYAY
2GB SD Micro - https://a.co/d/5VAk5ud
CUSTOM:
Dual speaker mount laser cut from 1/8 clear acrylic
I mounted some cardboard between the amp and backbox door given it covers some LED back glass bare wires. The Amp power supply A/C is soldered on to the line in with the game switched transformer.
If anyone is interested in the custom speaker mount, PM me.
StempleLABS - Stars 2021 BSOS Sound system (resized).pngQuoted from Stempile:This setup seems most friendly for the next person.
This is a nice setup. I’m always interested in making the cleanest install I can when adding or modding things. And the price point is bang on, I’m pretty psyched to try out that speaker setup, will get some for Meteor and Galaxy eventually as well. Thanks for sharing the specs!
Quoted from Stempile:I created a fork of Stars2020-21, added the reference sheet for paraments and added enhancements per Dick's suggestion on another thread regarding the PlaySoundEffects() function to add gain control as a parameter. This is now Stars2021 Parameter 25 in the version I updated which I copied from Dick's other code from Galaxy. It really helps to balance the background music vs the sound effects/call-outs. I set it initially to 1, was good when no other pins running near it, however 5 was the sweet spot for now given my speakers and amp setup.
I initiated a pull request, which I assume rolls up to Dick, I am a GitHub novice. DickHamill all the changes I made have comments "// Stemple - Add Sound FX Volume" so you can check my work if you decide to consider merging my contributions.
I really like how Galaxy (I don't have this pin) code matured over Stars, was a lot easier to figure out how parameters work vs what I struggled with initially on Stars.
As mentioned before I love this project, been really cool working with it, and I really hope I can give something back - even if just taking Dicks other work and merging it back - nothing original is coming from me.
Here is the fork and enhancements -- https://github.com/stempilegh/Stars2020-21/tree/patch-1
Excellent! I see the pull request and I'll merge it in. Does this still fit on a Nano, or should I make a new version that's MEGA only?
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+!
