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Hello,
I'm having a go at another project this year...
.....with a planned end date of August 2014
Here are some photos of the playfield layout, the LCD screen and Holographic display
......hoping to do the theme justice
MARVIN
Quoted from Shoot_Again:Some cool stuff especially the hologram.
Could probably get it to really pop if plastic was tinted.
Will be RGB underlit
Quoted from 320Gigabytes:I love the theme! Please tell me there will be an "Infinite Improbability Drive" target or scoop that gives awards!
The IID will be the main mystery system...
Quoted from jibmums:A suggestion: award a "match" credit anytime your final score has a 42 somewhere in it, i.e. 3,425,600 ..... 10,964,200 ..... you get the idea.
I like it !
Quoted from pezpunk:best theme ever.
if you collect the Ultimate Question jackpot and Ultimate Answer jackpot on the same ball the game should tilt and reset.
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
There is a ball killer planned for the Magrathea missile sequence.....but that is interesting
Quoted from Atomicboy:Wow, impressive. I thought that movie was good, a little silly, but fun. Why so symmetrical though in the layout?
No-one seems to have made one of late ...?
Quoted from Gov:I enjoyed the movie, but had I not read the book first I doubt I would have liked it as much. The book is fantastic and a quick read. I recommend it.
A mate of mine has been downloading the talking books + lovin them
Quoted from cambarej:Love the idea.
There should be an outlane-saver feature like Toto in WOZ where hitting a (group of) target(s) in the outlane will "distract" you from draining and thus enable you to "miss" the "ground"/trough. While in the "flying" state, you'd have to hit shots to keep your mind off of falling - otherwise you fall and the flippers die.
That's cool ....!
Quoted from alveolus:Agreed. Brilliant theme. Why hasn't someone made this before? However, I'm also not a fan of symmetrical layouts.
There does seem to be a nudge in that direction (AC/DC , Metallica ). I feel a little boxed in by some
asymmetrical games( Addams Family X-men )and the last game I made was asymmetrical so...you know...?
Symmetry = speed on this build , its a really fast table .
MARVIN , The Paranoid Android
As it happens ( or just cause I think it will be the most fun ) Marvin will be made first.
He is sure to inspire me through the rest of the project.
One could expect a circuit diagram and video post very soon .
On that note... I will at this point... ask for requests ,.......
Marvin gets to say 10 things when his target is dropped ? ( They must be recorded grabs )
I for example would love the poem.....
Night time comes
but Darkness won't fill my head
I can see by infra red
How I hate the night
But I don't know of it ever being recorded....?
If any-one has a request or knowledge of rare recordings or can mimic Marvin....?
1 # "...and then of course I've got this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left hand side..."
"I mean I've asked for them to be replaced but no one ever listens."
Quoted from dendoc:Brilliant project, well done. Love to see the final thing, and good luck with it. There is so much material in the books to draw from , a truly funny author. Once done, speak to the rights owners, and see if they would let a commercial release happen - I'll be in for one!
Comments like this one and all the above are inspirational....keep the feature suggestions coming they've already got me thinking....
Quoted from Buffpac5:Are you drawing more from the recent movie, or the books?
Marvin Multiball
Pan-Galactic Gargle blaster mode - Shoot different shots to make the drink.
Escape the Vogon ship mode
That's all I got right now!
Little of both
Quoted from seatownpinhead:Is this a one off, or is this going to be sold to the public? I might finally make a NIB purchase.
Just a one off at this stage...
Quoted from CaptainNeo:hey, look there are 42 posts in this thread.
Oh wait..now 43...i ruined it.
Why is it all of you guys over seas do all this great cool shit?
Yeah come on USA....!
Just so there is less doubling up....
Features shall be;
Multiballs... Marvin...Vogshere...Eddie the ship board computer...Vogon poem....Hyperspace
Features for points....Galaxy ( which will lite I I D) ....Babel fish.... Dolphins....Arthur, Ford, Zaphod ,Trillian advances for points , extra ball Special
Infinite Improbability Drive.....Various characters and destinations for Jackpots, ball saving and other rewards.
RGB LIGHTING
Animated playfield and backglass
2 player
Upto 4 Ball multiball...
Quoted from donjagra:Don't panic. Time for some pan dimensional gargle blasters.
All the cheese and the sweaking it's just A front...!
Quoted from chadderack:How do the little white mice figure in?
Frankie and Benji ( mouse )
multiball part of Deep Thoughts Program
Quoted from mab487:42 ball multi ball!
No No... 42 Multiballs ( 4 ball multiball with 42 balls returned to play ). sorry
Quoted from Billy16:Will there be any Vogon poetry reading?
I,ll Keep posting this from time to time ,
Features so far ...
Multiballs... Marvin(3)...Vogshere(2)...Eddie( the ship board computer )(3)..Vogon poem(4)....Hyperspace(2)... Deep Thought (42)
( Incorporating sub Multiball stacking or Add a Balls ).
Features for points....Galaxy Jackpot Multiplier , which will also lite the Infinite Improbability Drive for
Various characters and destinations for Jackpots, ball saving and other rewards or hinderence
....Babel fish.... Dolphin....Vogons... challenges etc
Arthur, Ford, Zaphod ,Trillian advance for points , extra ball Special etc
In line Targets Bonus Multiplier 2x 3x 5x
Interstellar Pocket Billiards ...30 points
RGB LIGHTING
Animated playfield and backglass
Playfield Magnets
Upto 4 Ball multiball.
2 players
Toys
Quoted from donjagra:Don't panic ball saver?
Milliway's mulitiball?
Disaster Area captive ball?
Ford's Frenzy?
Disaster Area is definitely in.
Don't > < panic are the Sling Shots
Quoted from devils4ever:Loved the books. Hated the movie. Base the pin on the books and don't look back!
I know where your coming from however
The Vogons in the movie were sooo... cool
The Factory Floor of Magrathea just Epic ! ! !
Plus the guys who made that movie were all fans they
all wanted to be true to the origins.
Quoted from jayhawkai:I want to buy one and install a towel rack on the side.
You sir are a Genius
Quoted from Tomcat:I've got a CD from a reading by Douglas Adams in Göttingen, 1994. One of the passages he reads is 'Marvin and the machine' from the Restaurant-book.
So far I've haven't made the effort to convert my CDs to Mp3 (there's so many of them...), but that would make a start...
There's also 6 CDs with recordings of the original radio show. A friend of mine found some tapes while cleaning up an attic in England. They're really poor sound quality though.
That would be awesome , keep me posted
Quoted from Tomcat:Any audio format you'd prefer?
And is there a sound engineer on pinside? The radio show recordings would really benefit if someone knew how to polish them up. Radio broadcast -> RTR tape -> 20 years in the attic -> CD-R -> another 15 years of storage doesn't really improve the quality.
Mp3 256kb and I'm a sound engineer
Thanks Mate !
Quoted from deadzebra:Are you running it off a P-ROC? Curious as to the internals!
Not P-roc you could consider the internals as multiple solid state EMs .
Old verses New ,
I fully expected division
For me it's simple....
Marvin , Arthur , Zaphod , Deep Thought , Eddie , Slarty Bardfast , Hyperintelligent Pan-Dimensional Beings
..... from the TV series
Trillian , Ford
......from the radio show
Vogons , Heart of Gold
..... from the Movie
The Guide itself
......a mix of all the above
" Ten out of Ten for style but minus several million for good thinking " maybe ...?
Quoted from gweempose:All I know is you have to have the call out, "Your plastic pal who's fun to be with!"
Yes ! there's a Jingle in the BBC TV series When the Guide is Describing the CCC
Quoted from dendoc:At the risk of a derail, if this thing works out, any chance of chatting to Mike (homepin) about reproductions? No for USA of course (it's a joke, really, it's all sorted out now, you guys will be getting the puppets too!), But really, i don't know about licencing, and I know it's all good just for your own home project, but it's such a beloved theme, I think it'd sell like hot cakes.
I agree, I think it would be worth asking the question but Disney owns the rights...?
Quoted from jellikit:Nice work, thanks for sharing! It brings me back to my youth and hearing this song on Dr. Demento:
Brad
» YouTube video
I've never heard it ... WOW that is Dodgy ....
LCD display which will be used for scoring and cutaway videos during gameplay.
Just a bit of a teaser of a few videos the LCD ( not DMD ) will play. At this stage
7 videos and the home scoring screen.
Quoted from Muppet_Man:I've just discovered this post and it's very exciting. I have the original recordings off the radio, plus I have them on Vinyl (one of these was different to the radio show and CD version) and if you need it, I have the entire radio series on CD and on downloadable Flac file.
Also have books, Videos, DVD's of TV series (much better than the movie), computer game, Movie, scripts, T-shirt and have seen the play with original Radio & TV cast.
We won't discuss where I have the tattoo of the total perspective vortex, but needless to say, it's pretty scary.
If you need anything, let me know.
Douglas Adams was a genius of the first order and I remain a huge fan (just based on weight alone).
I wish you the very best of luck in your endeavours to make what deserves to be a great pin.
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
I might can I message you off the wall....?
Quoted from Amarillopinball:hmm. I think the don't panic ball saver was the best idea i had read so far
Dont panic has kind of evolved a bit . I'm thinking because it will be a video cut away now it will be used on a host of features (ball save included).
The game start ,Ball sequencer , Match , 1 or 2 player Start and Game Over
( sorry the posts are a bit dull at the moment....but soon we shall have gameplay )
First third of the video shows 1 Player mode
Sequence 1 ;GAME OVER ,P1 BALL 1, SKIP , P1 BALL 2 , SKIP , P1 BALL 3 , SKIP , MATCH , GAME OVER .
Last part showing 2 Player mode
Sequence 2 ;GAME OVER ,P1 BALL 1 ,P2 BALL 1,P1 BALL 2 , P2 BALL 2 , P1 BALL 3 , P2 BALL 3 , MATCH , GAME OVER .
VIDEO SCORING first look
Put together scoring module for Player 1
Not too much fuss hope to have a full status display to wrap up the weekend
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I Have set up a facebook site for this build which is much easier to view progress.
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Hitchhikers-GUIDE-to-the-Galaxy-Pinball-a-work-in-progress/845939408818989
and a link to the Aussie Arcade site
http://www.aussiearcade.com.au/showthread.php/64378-15-03-14-The-Hitchhikers-Guide-to-the-Galaxy-10
Quoted from PinballDame:Are you married.. do you want to be..
I have a old em I bought that I am also going to retheme into a hitchhikers guide..
Looks like the weekend commute could be a bit of a problem...?
Would love to see the plan / donor
THE ONE SHOT TIMER BOARDS
After a bit of buggerizing around this is the circuit Ive settled on ,
capable delivering a single pulse regardless of the switch being held
or bouncing.
A couple here I made with 60Watt buffer transistors attached.
Low to trigger , Normally open going low and normally low going high outputs
Quoted from Jackontherocks:Please don't do JJP pinball extremely low scoring system. I just can't bite into it and miss the scoring for as strange as it sounds from 90's area games.
I agree,
If you'll note the post a couple above," New and Improved Mega scoring".
Being all scores will be referred to during the game as Millions , Billions and Trillions , the lowest actual score for a pop
bumper or sling shot being !0,000,000 with 6 zeros not displayed eg MEGA POINTS.
A Jackpot may be as high as 250 Billion displayed as 250,000 MEGA POINTS.
I was watching a Metallica being played and noticed the last 3 digits counting could only be described as randomized . It does look good to have all those digits though.
TARGETS ADVANCE CHARACTERS
Targets are collected and advance Characters to Zaphod ( lites extra ball / mid playfield kickout hole )
Then round again latching each character in place when all collected ( lites special on outlanes - toggles with bumpers and slings )
During play the lit character will speak when hit , when more than one character is lit a conversation between characters will play
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MAIN FEATURE SCORING AND ADVANCE
-----------------------------------------------------------
RAMPS, LOOPS , LANE TARGETS , RETURN LANES
using 4 different scoring devices displayed on one 6 way lighting tree
The six units in the display advance 4 areas of scoring
a collection of any six in any area ( say ramps ,loops,targets, return lanes) are held in memory until all are complete
( collecting 5/6 will not be saved from ball to ball )
They also make up the end of ball bonus ,which is scanned at the end of each ball
Bonus is not saved on previously collected units.
NOTE these do not have to be done in any order , but six increments
from each of the four areas must be recieved before adv will occur
Adv Level , collect bonus , reset all devices , increase Jackpot value
playfield changes colour on advance
SKY Blue - EARTH
GREEN - VOGONS
YELLOW - HEART OF GOLD
BLUE - MAGRATHEA
PINK - MILLIWAYS
RED - DISASTER AREA
WHITE - TOTAL PERSPECTIVE VORTEX ( wizard mode )
SEEN ON THIS VIDEO GOING FROM VOGONS TO HEART OF GOLD
Quoted from Pinballocks:No Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster? This looks very cool.
Not so far the PGGB has got me stumped?
If anyone can think of a realistic way to use that theme...
Do tell.
So what a mystery feature? Sounds cool, already got two flipper features , guess a back to front one as well couln't hurt.
Those kinds of mods are pretty simple to implement.
Quoted from PinballKen:Similar to drunk multi-ball on CCC?
Quoted from Pinballocks:No Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster? This looks very cool.
Been thinking.... PGGB when activated the hologram changes to a Thirty Tonne Mega Elephant you have to shoot for Jackpots ( via the centre loop target ) until its bronchial pneumonia is cured .
THHGTTG Infinite Improbability Drive Pt 1
1.collect -GALAXY (raises post)
2.shoot left or right loop
GAMEPLAY
Just a minute or so of gameplay to show the dynamic of the game
( and to relieve the boredom )
Quoted from aobrien5:This is still amazing. You think some of those quotes may be too long during gameplay where a lot more sounds will be triggering?
Your exactly right the HHGTTG is really wordy
I'll have to be careful which phases are allowed to run at the same time
Marvin Multiball
Knock down target ( which resets in 5 seconds )
and lock ball in kickout hole behind X 4
done with a helping hand returning the ball to the flipper ( it's not this easy )
Infinite Improbability Drive , part 2
Missile challenge
1. 2 balls are put in play
2. For the first 30 seconds Eddie the ship board computer will control
the flippers
3. After that the flippers are handed back over
4. A shot on each ramp will need to be made in the next 40 seconds
or the machine shuts down ( Tilts )
5. further than necessary shots on ramps award Jackpot values
6. moves on to falling sperm whale until one ball is left in play
Eddie the ship board computer
This is the the flipper sequencer for the missile challenge where Eddie will take control of the flippers for 30 seconds
This is a two ball multiball where the ball save will run for 70 seconds
Q and A
When the missiles are first fired at the Heart of Gold Eddie is flying the ship before he says " something seems to be jamming my guidance system" when Eddie hands over manual control you get flipper control back.The upshot is Eddie is playing a 2 ball Multiball on his own for 30 seconds.Ball save is engaged thru Eddies 30 seconds and the further 40 seconds where the player has to complete both ramps or the machine tilts.
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HYPERSPACE MULTIBALL
Starting at the ramp with a flashing arrow
Collecting 7 ramps in a row starts the feature ( very hard , may have to cut in down to 5 ) EDY I need you !
Hyperspace Multiball intro
DEEP THOUGHT part 1
This is the locking location for the Deep Thought Multiball
The inline targets which will score 2X for the first time thru , 3X for the second and then 5X
After that the targets and lock will adv Deep Thought , unlike Marvin ,the destruction of Earth and hyperspace Multiballs ,
Deep Thought will carry over thru the whole game along with the Character challenges.
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DISASTER AREA
started on this this afternoon
This is a mystery challenge which goes for one minute in that time
You will have ball save
The playfield will go dark ( still some lites to deal with per the video )
The score will roll backwards to the value of 100 billion , unless all six arrows are
collected ( but there will be no arrows lit to guide you )
Collecting all arrows will enable arrow lites and jackpots of 50 billion
LANE CHANGE - CAPTIVE BALL - BONUS MULTIPLIER
Return Lanes
Collecting return lanes with lane change advances lighting on captive ball
White , yellow , green ,aqua ,blue , pink ,red .
Once passing red will adv bonus multiplier by 10X]
Second passing 100X
Third passing 1000X
Fourth the destruction of the Earth
Captive ball
Has two targets which are in Parallel with the return lanes
The Insert the captive sits on displays the progress
The bonus multiplier is displayed by 3 inserts in the centre of the playfield
The comparative size of the captive ball
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SPACE COPS
Once again the lighting for the Bumpers follows a
White , yellow , green ,aqua ,blue , pink ,red sequence
The scores per Bumper hit rise by a factor of ten
1 million w,y - 10 million g,a - 100 million b - 1 billion p - 10 billion r
mega scoring - 1 million being the lowest score 999 999 999 million the highest
VOGON POEM
A mash up video of the movie video and double LP relaese of the early 80's soundtrack
A feature of the IID the Vogon poem will be a 45 second challenge to stay alive,
scores will rise except when a ball is in a return cycle.
Trapping the ball will be made impossible with timed reversed flippers
( push flipper button; on for .5 second , player must then release button to reactivate )
Quoted from mima:I have an idea of a ´first off´ that would fit the theme perfectly.....
What about:
At end of game one additional ball is put out in the shooter lane with a special (and very difficult) skill-shot to the
"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" hole/subway/lock/rollover target.. whatever...
If unsuccessful to make that skill-shot the game tilts and you receive the final score. If successful you get to play that additional ball as a part of your initial game-play and receives the final score after that (this could of course be extended to a full 3-ball extra game but I think that would be way too much).
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe -additional skill-shot only gets activated once per game (as if a The Restaurant at the End of the Universe-ball is drained there will not be a second ball, the final score stands).
Cheers
/mima
P.S.
Awesome theme,idea and build.
I would love to be able to visit and check it out first hand/help out
Yeah I'm with you like WOZ and the TOTO outlane
could work I think youd have to earn it ,maybe even the IID could award it as a mystery prize
It is planned to have it at Pinfest in Newcastle this year 27/28 of September if you can make it
I think it will be still at its core feature wise ( much like a Stern release ) basically concentrating on the Multiballs
and core scoring because of time restaints.
But more than happy for some help / players down the track
cheers Kressy
Quoted from Linolium:I like the 2 sized captured balls. You just need to make sure they don't get stuck and become unhittable. Maybe make the oversized ball a newton ball to prevent that?
I only put the smaller ( standard ) ball in with the captive ball for a size comparison.
Yes you are right ... they dont work in there together.
Quoted from Zitt:Why do you have both kinds of Marvins in it?
Seems counter intuitive to have the old bbc Marvin and the new Movie Marvin in the same game.
I guess if you've been into THHGTTG as long as I have
you have seen so many incarnations they all sort of roll into one.
Using that idea the character challenges will be Arthur vs Arthur
Zaphod vs Zaphod etc using the same quotes but from radio, LP, Tv and Movie.
Besides all that the old Marvin is in the movie : )
Quoted from Shoot_Again:Progress looking good so far. Very cool project IMO.
I was curious on your captive ball arrangement. The larger ball is not held stationary? Does the posts that hold the large ball also hold the small ball or is there no room for them to pass each other in the target area. I like the idea similar to IJ4. Just possible trouble spot unless dimmensions are right. I am sure you are on top of it but was worth mentioning.
Diggin the fish
I knew I shouldn't have posted that photo
Only the large ball is in there the photo is just to show the size difference.
Finally over the shock of accidentally plugging my soldering iron into a non isolated supply and blowing up all the soundcards : (
$400 and 10 hours later I'm now back to where I was 2 weeks ago.....
So any Aussies out there who are going to PINFEST NEWCASTLE 2014 will get to see the
Hitchhikers Pinball ( it may only have three legs but it will be there)
27th and 28th of September at the Caves Beachside hotel.
A Little gameplay ( hyperspace Multiball )
the game still has a long way to go
I will get a camera man or another player for a better video
see back soon
Gameplay with the Aussie No1 's first game ( marvin multiball )
plus progression of Deep thought
End of ball sequence (as requested)
Quoted from zaphod:Any updates on this beautiful project! The wait is starting to hurt my heads -- and yes I know exactly what I mean. -- the Big Z
Work will recommence again in a couple of months after the project spent a year dead for tax purposes.
Work to recommence on this project from the 1st of October 2015 sorry for any inconvenience you may have during construction.
Quoted from PinballKen:Mini playfield looks great. Love the shots!
Is there a pinball expo,fest. .. Thingo within driving distance of you guys?
Quoted from aobrien5:I don't get it. What's the point? Just to prevent a ball from rolling up the outlane?
To allow one extra return lane.... Space...man
Quoted from aobrien5:Ahh, cool. What are the chances of it bouncing out and over into the inlane at speed?
So far it jumps at speed back into the main shooter lane and back into play but not always.All will become a little clearer ( for me too) when its finalised.
Quoted from LarryMac:Just read through this all. Awesome stuff. One thing I haven't seen suggested -- for tilt, a bowl of petunias appears on the screen and says "oh no, not again."
TILT
Quoted from CaptainNeo:interesting idea. you think it will move enough on it's own in a natural setting or you think it will have to be motorized like Nags?
Yep Motor like Nags.
Rotating Pop Bumpers V2
Crude controller ATM ...
Modes
NOT LIT
0 ...passive movement
WHEN LIT
1 ...spin left
2 ...spin right
3 ...hits on multiple Pops stall for shout out
Quoted from Zitt:Is it theft if I steal this bumper configuration for Borderlands: Pinball?
Nice work.
I wouldn't call it stealing.
Go for it !
Quoted from lachied:Those rotating pop bumpers are really cool!!
Do you have a video of them from underneath in action? Would love to see how you have handled the wiring. Some kind of slip ring?
Thanks mate,yes... slip rings, 80vAC pops with thermal fuses, +/ - 12V motor drive and an optical data out....more will be revealed shortly after a bit of cleaning up.
The joys of an analogue pinball. Rear of head with sectional panels and beefed up head mounting. Sega hardware put in the bin.. Now front hinged with 14mm t nuts and overkill reinforcement.
...there was a greater joy of an analogue machine in a recent electrical storm.The computer dead - pinball AOK.
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DSC_0186_(resized).JPG
Quoted from desertT1:That's really clever. Might have some hangups if you drain at the same time a ball is launching and you have a collision that doesn't send a ball into the shooter lane. You could just have a switch in the shooter and the trough kicks every second until a ball makes it.
Yes you are spot on...the troff shooter will recycle until it activates the (point of no return) switch in the shooter lane.
Quoted from PinballKen:Great to see after 2 years you are still plugging away at this!! I think when you are done you will be VERY HAPPY! It looks great!!
A USA trip has been suggested for an EXPO when this thing is completed.There is some intention of help at this end with $$$ which is really cool. When it does make the trip it will be coming to a location near you.
Thanks for all your support.. its much appreciated.
Quoted from CaptainNeo:is that a zaccaria drop target?
I believe so, it came in a box of spares.
Quoted from Pinballlew:Very cool idea on that pass target would be cool to use to activate a ramp blocking target or the like. You hit it to pass to the left flipper and it blocks a ramp or shot on the right of the playfield...could be fun
The initial idea was to utilise a shot most players are making.As far as rules go... Modes which require 2 or 4 or 6 shots without hitting another switch.
Lane changing shots in play.
Starting a combo shot for the opposite flipper.
Powering up the value of a shot ( not passing).
Actually making a noise and light show when you do it.
Another way to lose the ball when you stuff up.
Quoted from CaptainNeo:do you have dividers between each letter? seems your getting bleed over between letters. Might help cut down on that if you have a spacer between each light.
I haven't had it set up for a while... But when the camera transfers the image to the rear playfield monitor it becomes less of an issue.Due to the 30' angle and another sheet of perspex over the entire playfield.
However if it looks bad, your exactly right. It will have to have shields installed.
Quoted from ForceFlow:For the animations, do you plan on fading them out so when they cut out, it isn't so abrupt?
The plan was for still images( which were going to flash) until I tried some animation.I think I may mix it up at the ends with explosions, bug blatter feasts and text...etc.
Quoted from pinballwil:Looks great, any date when completed.
Why? because i want to see the graphics.
It was " completed " in 2014 for an Australian pinball show.But as things usually go I wasn't content with the result. The project then had to be shelved for 12 months due to work commitments.
Pinfest is rolling around again mid September, so if your looking for a date it's the 23rd.
I don't like the idea of taking a whiteboard so it will have playfield and cabinet art by then.
Lockdown Bar Press Button
I must say installing one of these when the hardware was not designed to do it( which it isn't) is painful.
This switch will activate the up post when lit ( a short burst say two seconds to inhibit ball drains),restart some Multiballs and be used to select this or that in the guides menu.
Quoted from zaphod:IMHO the radio plays are the best iteration. Twenty-six half hour shows produced by the BBC. The first twelve can be obtained here: http://radionouspace.net/index.php/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-episodes/
Share and Enjoy.
-- The Big Z
The best incarnation of Trillian... the TV and movie versions didn't stack up.Zoe ain't no astrophysicist.
Various shots
that will have to be collected in standard play
Ramps ,loops ,captive ball [counting to ten]
Quoted from aobrien5:Is the planet supposed to be turned 90 degrees?
Ha ha ...i didnt notice.
Its ok Arthur has his towel to keep warm.
Still there's no right way up in space.
Quoted from rubberducks:Any video?
The final playfield art was not done in time so it had a v1 temp vinyl.
upshot i didn't want a video of it.
One will be posted shortly when it's complete. 
Quoted from rubberducks:are you intending to try to get this manufactured? Homepin perhaps? I think Mike said they'd do contract work some time ago.
So much work seems to have gone into this.
There is a plan in the works to make 5 machines ( a little pulled back hardware wise )but no-one has been lined up to code the game....anyone interested?
Quoted from zacaj:I've programmed simple games with just a pinmame style grid output and it's not fun
yes sorry... Australian coder otherwise its just silly.
Animation for basic Multiball
shots 1 towel,2 bugblatter,3 babel fish,4 cup of tea,
All shots require 7 activations to light
rules
stage 1 , collect any 1 of 4 to light multiball [ more maybe collected ]
stage 2 , collect any 2 of 4 to light multiball [ more maybe collected ]
stage 3 , collect any 3 of 4 to light multiball [ more maybe collected ]
stage 4 , collect all 4 to light multiball
stage 5 , collect all 4 mini wizard mode>scoring multiplied.
depending on how many shots are collected depends on how many balls
qualify for multiball and which animation plays.
think of this as an extension of Medieval Madness
Thanks guys 
I tried it the other way and it looked backwards like it wasn't showing you where the shot is.
I will check with some locals and see if in the flesh they don't get it.
Quoted from aobrien5:I don't know how you are able to keep adding more stuff to this game! Can we get an under side pic to see how crammed it is?
Naa there's next to nothing under there 
Quoted from aobrien5:I don't know how you are able to keep adding more stuff to this game! Can we get an under side pic to see how crammed it is?
Here you go.
END OF BALL
Painful but now working.
VIDEO DISPLAY OF BONUS AND BONUS X
Bonus count
As bonus counts....
progression increases the multiplier.
When the ball ends bonus count is reset
but the multiplier stays intact.
It is therefore possible to have 400x multiplier
and only 1 bonus point.
STATUS MONITOR ( the Guide )
a,will constantly revert back to a different guide entry when idle
b,display all scores above standard play
c,display updates of progress thru features
d,show bonus advances / end of ball / player up
oh yeah and this....
Survived Pinfest.
2 stuck balls had the glass off.
Otherwise all good, the game powered through
the 4 sessions of play.
I had " dumbed down the game" for the event so more of the features of the game would activate but this didn't help a lot festival attendees.
I'll post a proper video very soon showing all... standard play,modes,multiballs,challenges and wizard
If you want see someone nailing the spinner over and over for no points...
here you go.
or this
V
https://www.facebook.com/100010442866941/videos/504883129869778/
THHGTTG 2019 FINAL RE-BUILD
Restarting the build today with some slight modifications
This is a year long project to rebuild the playfield and consolidate the Electronics
and the rule set.
More on the video projection later for now
A Little teaser of whats coming...
The monitor isn't placed correctly
...and I'm just mucking around here.
But its pretty obvious this is gunna be fun.
Spent a couple of days formatting how the Head on this game is going to sit / function / service / transport.
The Structure and aspect of the screen are good.
I put some paint on it for the photos and mocked the location of the Backglass area.
IMG_20191006_170850 (resized).jpgIMG_20191006_170704 (resized).jpgIMG_20191006_170812 (resized).jpgIMG_20191006_172411376 (resized).jpgIMG_20191006_172413471 (resized).jpg- So it might be time to explain myself here -
This has been a long project , 5 years so far , 3 years on / 2 years off .
I have had to take regular breaks from this project , if I didn't I would have fallen out of
love with the THHGTTG itself and I didn't want that ( hats off to designers who have to work on a theme they don't like to start with ).
I made some other games in those yearly breaks - Lawman & Airplane! some very popular games with players especially Lawman
...a simple game ,with simple objectives but a long winded game that's not stingy with Multiball.
THHGTTG when standing in a room next to Lawman didn't get the #1vote
Anyone who's tried knows "Making a Pinball is hard" and making it fun is even harder.
For three years this Pin went to Aus Pinfest and I learnt - what people liked - and did - and looked at - when they played the game.
For a start THEY DONT LOOK UP !!! The rear Backglass Monitor is a FAIL .
I found even with a ball locked in sight players would look into the
trough rather than look at the animation on the rear screen.
The rules were great for a Pinball however not great for this Pinball , I had lost sight of telling the Story - Just tell the story!
The Playfield is -toast- it suffered a major structural fracture and whilst it has been repaired I cant live with it.
There is also the matter of the flipper and sling geometry that I've never been completely content with.
So Bear with me...hopefully we shall see the completion for Pinfest 2020 in September
and a USA visit 2021 
IMG_20191007_075806076 (resized).jpgYep Still going...Long weekend in Oz today
First crack at stop frame animation today.
Here's the result of my first go @Marvin
Quoted from aobrien5:How many balls do you have in this thing that it needs 2 troughs?!
It will have 8 balls but all the balls wont be used in general.
In some MULTIBALLS the balls may only return on the left for example
or a flipper hit will change which side the ball returns.
There will need to be spares in the trough to accommodate this as major shots
in the game drop into a subway and return to the trough (I should have a video posted in a day or 2)
Active post
This is something that's been on my list for a while now.
Behold the first attempt is a winner!
Quoted from zacaj:Like rolling stones?
I've never looked at that Mech but yeah that's the idea, mine will cover exposed ramp walls and Loop/lane guides.
Every game seems to have a 'JACKPOT POST' that post you always hit when shooting for & missing a Jackpot.
(TMNT I'm looking your way)
While I would normally place skinny standup target in these locations, they always seem to drift left & right messing up
the trajectory of the ball through loops/ramps...and Air Balls.
I can't see why a Post cant be a Super Double Jackpot
THE SUBWAYS!
The playfield is taking shape despite the hot weather .
I am deliberately distorting the videos to create a air of 'suspense' in regards
to the remainder of the game.Colour shall return soon enough
A little excited about this dual trough system.
The way it's setup it will allow for an actual challenge mode (there's 6) think like Gallager....
*Challenge example;
A shot is lit / you have to make it 4 times.
Only the relevant flipper works.
Balls constantly feed that flipper only.
Points for completing all balls launched.
Quoted from aobrien5:Is the original game still playable or did you sacrifice it to make v2?
Gone I'm afraid, it became a space issue.I have made 7 pinball machines since 2013 and I'm running out of room.
Definitely a 1st world problem
Quoted from kaboom:Gone I'm afraid, it became a space issue.I have made 7 pinball machines since 2013 & with 3 factory pins, I'm running out of room.
Definitely a 1st world problem, The original playfield with be a wall hanger
Quoted from Mbecker:What are the other 6? You did airplane! I think? Are the others documented?
2013 - Color demon
2013 - Tumbleweed / pinside
2015 - Lawman / pinside
2016 - *Last Lap/Electric Road /pinside
2018 - Airplane! /pinside
2019 - Voyager 1 /pinside
2019 - *Grand tour / pinside
2014,2016,2017,2020, - Hitchhikers Guide
*indicates they were made around an existing playfield
Most of them are here https://www.aussiearcade.com/forum/pinball/pinball-restoration-s/home-brew-pinball-projects
THE LOOPS
This is the main feature of this game the two diverters which enable 4 lanes
to become *10 different shots
* 2x centre horse shoe shots not shown in the video.
Very pleased at this point with the flow
P.S. It's actually 11 shots forgot the Right Loop into what will be the Pops
Quoted from Mbecker:That is so cool! Had to watch it five or six times— really neat to see all the different paths
Thanks man The geometry of getting shots to cross a void in both directions is really tricky
but it seems to have worked out pretty well.
The second shot in the video which is the lock/multiball to the upper scoop (to subway) is really satisfying.
Feeling sorry for anyone working with standard pinball formats today 
Every animation has bang for buck (the poor player has to watch all of my shi++y videos)
The Speakers
* from my other life as a PA speaker builder *
The speakers utilises the shape of the glass & the LCD screen - making this the drive point of
a horn loaded speaker.
THICK
From drive output
IMG_20200202_105255 (resized).jpg
Speaker driver enclosure
IMG_20200202_105212 (resized).jpg
Driver enclosure front plate removed
IMG_20200202_105123 (resized).jpg
Quoted from swinks:real nice work...
is that screen on the playfield resting on the playfield or under a insert? - hard to tell...
Above, I'm just getting layouts done 
Into the build box it goes...
Ah...the wires, switches, solenoids, monitors, lights etc etc
IMG_20200315_173243 (resized).jpgIMG_20200315_172549496 (resized).jpgIMG_20200315_173038 (resized).jpgIMG_20200315_172645385 (resized).jpgIMG_20200315_172824 (resized).jpgIMG_20200315_172945 (resized).jpgIMG_20200315_172900 (resized).jpg
IMG_20200315_173137 (resized).jpgELECTROSAVE
As with anything it's timing
Here's me getting used to this super fun mech
It's so satisfying when you nail it
As far as the code goes for this thing -
It's player activated with the action button (DON'T PANIC)
- First press allows a pulse press or press & hold (one second time out)
- Then three more pulse only presses
- Then deactivates
In play it means you can try & bounce the ball back
or
Catch & throw the ball
Bounce
Catch & throw
Subway
This is first cab off the rank (mainly so I can start flipping again).
2 x Subways & 2 x Troughs & 8 balls in total.
The Subway is going to be a sub Routine running at all times to make sure any Ball that falls into the subway is returned to play to the Flipper of the players choice.
To the subway a ball goes, from the trough a ball is returned to play, after the point of no return switch is activated the subways Ball returned back to the trough...X2
Easy
Subway with magnetic switch
As usual I'm just spit Ballin' here but once placed it's reliable - the code is just looking for a pulse from this switch.
Do I trust a leaf switch for such an important task?
I will try an opto as well, perhaps the magnetic switch is better suited to a roll by activation in the subway.
Magnetic Drop target
OK this is Awesome!
As the video shows this is a Bally single Drop Target from the 80s it electrically went up only.
What I have done is -
Mount a coil from an old EM motor board on the rear of the unit -
Mount some Ferris material on the arm of the drop target peg -
Applied power -
It is now is able to Auto Drop
The advantages -
No additional moving parts
It didn't cost me much <$1 - two screws, two washers & an old otherwise redundant coil
It solves a rather clunky design issue
IMG_20200425_102723 (resized).jpgIMG_20200425_102937 (resized).jpgIMG_20200425_102809 (resized).jpg
Quoted from aobrien5:Looks like it could be a bad ball trap though.
It certainly is - it will have a perspex plate above it to stop ball launches, it will also be part of the ball
search program.
My thinking, consider it mostly be in the 'down' position , consider it 'up' during the combo timer.
During modes the outer loops will trigger it to be 'up' just before the ball gets there and 'down' moments later
based on the timing of a 'successful shot'
So popping 'up' only for the time the ball is expected to be going past it.
Quoted from Zitt:Are these Classic Bally Drop ledge targets?
http://pinball.click/ClrDropTarget
They look like it... Just wondering out loud if the "frosted" clear drops would look better than the white targets especially if you can back light them with some leds and/or control the LED color via the computer.
Yep they are 80s drops & I totally agree it would look cool
Quoted from aobrien5:Thinking in 3 dimensions! Awesome!
there-was-one-planet-off-in-the-seventh-dimension-that-got-used (resized).jpgWrapping up hoping all had a good weekend, thankyou to all who continue offering encouragement
on this rather long winded project, it's always it's appreciated.
These are the two Playfield monitors -
the smaller of the two is a clone of the Backglass monitor.
Quoted from Zitt:Do you have a part number of the original?
I've ordered a bunch of these " classic Bally " to try out, thanks man.
Lower Playfield Attract
The camera to tv - tv to camera - to youtube is degrading the look of it a bit but hey -
Quoted from EasternBloc:Your lighting and effects are amazing, but my favorite thing I've seen is the towel spinner. Love the steady updates, still excitedly following!
It's always the simple things
First Flips with code and animation, no backing track or mode track as that comes from the main processor.
It's really hard to video this thing btw but this gives you the idea
With backing track added
Without backing track
IMG_20200720_054640 (resized).jpgIMG_20200720_054559 (resized).jpgIMG_20200720_054715 (resized).jpgIMG_20200720_054505 (resized).jpgIMG_20200720_054410 (resized).jpg
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8dZCaMiZ-qUdbhkFvdwiVg? for progress
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