Following, and definitely interested in beta testing for you when the time comes. I have a ROM burner and was also able to help debug some nuances with Slochar's Flight2K rewrite when that was underway.

I'd almost suggest trying to use the trashcan "lock" for a multiball enhancement BUT I presume that is far too ambitious! I think your listed enhancements are a great starting point toward getting this game some increased love.

Well to be fair that's why I conceded it would be "ambitious" and no harm no foul, ha ha.

I totally get where you're coming from and previously pondered some of those points... but stranger things have been done on other games so I figured what the hey not trying to force you. But I did always find it odd that BC was a rare single-ball game for the era, even though two "locks" were available via trashcan and/or doghouse (granted, other hardware & logic would be needed to implement either but you get my drift).

As for potential MB rules, given its relative simplicity BC seems more inclined to the classic "2X scoring!" bit and that would be easiest to implement. But in trying to imagine the balls as cats I couldn't help comparing them to my own pair of furred morons, and their odd behaviors such as "chase zoomies" and stalk-attacking each other, among other things. So I thought it would be fun if you had timed shots during MB such as: one ball enters the trash lock, and the other ball / next switch hit immediately is the fish-target for "stalk jackpot". Send one per each ramp in succession for "zoomie award". Send both into the doghouse to "hide from the owner". Etc etc... so you could flail around for 2X scoring, BUT if you pull off some fancy feline flipper skills, you could get hidden timed awards.

Again I realize this is all super ambitious and a LOT to chew and execute, with a ton of logic to recode, so no judgement at all. Just fun to imagine is all. Grateful to have any enhancements w/o MB!

You should add Diner to your list: it specifies three balls and even has extra switches in the subway lock, but one is never used. In addition to trying to crack a 3B mode, you could also look into things like only qualifying full drop banks if you first hit the specific items each character requests (and/or add more callouts so the characters all ask for different things instead of the same ones each time).

Buuuuut only after Bad Cats of course!

Yeah that's the real mountain in the concept. It's not like how you re-did F2K by re-using existing speech-synth code and signals, and plugged into available ROM space. I'm sure the "other foods by other voices" callouts probably don't exist, so you'd have to create them, hope there's rom space for them, and then remap the logic to those addresses, hand in hand with rules. A big task for sure! But that lack of randomess and importance of the requests is Diner's biggest weakness, moreso than "they didn't use the 3rd ball" IMO. If the characters asked for random stuff it would open the challenge/rules/modes quite a bit. As it is, the callouts mean nothing: doesn't matter that they asked for (the always same) anything or even what's lit: you clear the banks to progress either way.

Anyway, much as I love chewing on this prospect for Diner's future, don't mean to clutter a BC thread with it, oops.