I am a huge fan of the game, but I am not a fan of the cabinet and the artwork. I mean no disrespect to spooky or Scott in doing this project. I am creating new artwork for the cabinet including porting it over to a Stern cabinet in the process. We will see how this goes, but I have a great local artist that painted my machines cabinet from sketches I provided her. (Example of her work in pictures below). I am creating a different backstory for Scarlet. In this art she is going through a time device as seen in first sketch. I am not altering the backglass or playfield artwork. The triangle on the backglass is staying and I thought I would mirror that image into a framework with time travel equations around the structure. Its hard to illustrate, but the two triangles will be 3d and look like an hour glass. Scarlet will have color bleeding into the device, also hard to illustrate. The lower matrix is a colection of cooling rods. The sections are time windows and will have bright colors dividing them. I have a spare Stern cabinet, a great artist and a desire to see what happens. If you think I am am crazy or dumb I totally understand! I measured both Spooky and Stern cabinets and I think it will work. If not I will be redoing the Spooky cabinet. I have a new set of decals coming, so it can be undone if I go that route. The artist is great, so if it fails it is on me. The Discovery was done by her a few months ago.
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Proof of concept!.. I am swapping the head over to the Stern cabinet. It will work!. It is such a visual change for the better. It looks like a modern pinball. My game the ball hit the glass like crazy every play, it has room to breathe now. My wife has a great idea for the back area that I wont spoil. The playfield is shorter than a Stern, but it goes right to where the backpanel is. We are going to make a panel (just like modern Sterns) with artwork and lighting. Scott if you ever read this I would consider doing tna in this style of cabinet. You could add to the back playfield. Ramps or mechs would be where my head would be. Even wireforms. Crank it up a bit. The game is great, tweak it and I think it would be an all timer.

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Stripped out. Have to fill some spots, sand and send to artist. Still working on sketches, but not much else to do for now. Just happy to see it is doable.

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I say convert the two destroy targets by the orbit shots into ramps that feed back to the flippers and put those switches in them. They are in perfect alignment for that. I can do wireforms so I will be attempting this on this game. Forgive the lame mark up on photo, but you can see it. It would add some good flow if you got the timing down between them. Basic route, can be more creative it just shows the thinking.

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I feel like a jerk messing with this playfield at all. That being said look at the cardboard mock ups of ramps in place. It looks doable. Look at the shots. I think it would be something that could be a great addition. I am going to make some this weekend just to sit in those spots without attatching to playfield just to see if it is possible without destroying the playfield. The right side is more tricky because of the opto sensor in stand up lane. The ramps will be clear. I am not able to make the start reactor shot easily with the flippers and I always kick it up top and let it drain into vuk to start them. The shot would still be makeable from right. If the ramps are viable I will make a set of wireforms and see.

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The ramps are sticking out farther than needed as I did not remove plastics. I believe they need to be shorter, I just wanted to see it. The left will be easier to shorten. The right has the opto. Will know more this weekend. This was another I want to see if its worth exploring.

Thanks. The left ramp would be way further back as there is room under the plastics. I agree that would need to be moved back as far as possible just for that reason. The right is more trouble as the opto is right behind stand up. Theres another possibility over wireforms. I made a turn around ramp assembly for my Discovery machine. I could also make one like in my picture but with two ramps feeding it with a pathed loop in between. Gravity would do the rest. The one I made works great and the ball flies around it.

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I only planned on doing the lower cabinet swap. I am 6’6 and the spooky cabinet just feels silly to me as a result. I also am not a fan of the older machines with playfields so close to the glass. The artwork on the cabinet also did nothing for me. I figured I had a cabinet and a artist, so why not try? Seeing the playfield in a modern cabinet it just looks better to my eye. It looks like a modern game with the lcd in backbox. I walked by it and saw the amount of room to do cosmetic stuff in back and I saw the two destroy targets and my head sees possible ramps back to flippers. I then see combos, ramps orbit, ramps etc.. I really think this game is amazing as it sits. I feel very weird even tweaking the cabinet. The two destroy targets are just hit and forget. If the ramps work I think it would just be fun and it will fill the space I created moving it over to the Stern. I understand some people will think I am just stupid to mess with the game. I cant argue that. Purists will hate this for sure. I just want to enjoy this game. If it doesnt work I lose nothing. If it does work all that will happen is I will have a alternate art cabinet and modded playfield in the end.

I picked up 36 feet of stainless rod, a back up bottle of argon and some tungsten rods today. I think the same thing about that being fun to put something that basic. I will try my best. I am not going to destroy this playfield in the attempt is my only restriction. The plastics are no problem. I will cut out new blanks and adjust. I made a starship wireform and made it into something functional for my game that I really liked and now I want to try and figure out something for these. The fbi will be knocking on my door soon as I googled nuclear reactors overloading, failing, and the locations of power plants in us that are nuclear. All for ideas.. game related I swear!

I will try horseshoe style first. Hard to explain with my cheap mock up and drawing, but here it goes. A poly floor with a matrix of stainless rods (not sockets)
as the cooling rods rising up from the core. Two wire form rails from outer ramp edge to the opposite ramp. One as a guide and one higher up and inclined to capture momentum and stop ball from flying out. The inner ramp edges will have partial guides. And they will allow the ball to have two out comes. A good shot should just go right around and exit. A weaker shot would fall short and fall into the rod chamber and the ball would plinko down the rods and then fall to a drainhole that drops the ball by the upper flipper. I think this is more in the spirit of just hammering the ball back at player. Either route I try I will make a reactor chamber with stainless steel rods to fill the space. Just enough for a good visual effect. It is hard to eyeball that.

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My game is perfectly level and pitched. My ball locks and all of them go right down the drain right now when released. If I raise a flipper and slap the cabinet is the only way they dont just drain. I get that some people love brutal games. I am not attempting this to make it easier. I am trying to fill an area with the reactor as I now have space to fill. If the ramps are no good, it is simple they go in the scrap pile. As I said before I will make a upper reactor either way just for cosmetics. Scotts game is perfect as is. This is just a dumb attempt at a mod for my own personal game nothing more. If the angles and velocity are good enough the ball should fly around the half loop back at flippers. If it works I think it will be fun and thats the point. I think I can get the ramps on it where they dont cause shot issues. Wont know for sure until I make them. We will see. I also agree with some of the points, if the wireforms went to return lanes I think that would be making it a little easier. That to is why I am trying the horseshoe first.

Let see where this goes. I believe I have a good way to transition to ramps.

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Tig welding is the way to go, mig looks rough and you spend more time cleaning. A 220 tig welder is best. Stainless steel is a bit harder as when you hit a certain temp it will just fall apart. Wireforms I buy stainless steel rods from grainger 1/16th size and they work great. I bought some from a local metal shop and they just were terrible to weld. If you tig weld stainless you should also use 100 percent argon. Machines are different, but heres a shot of the settings for my tig and these rods. I would suggest buying a bunch of rods and get to a point where your good before you make something. I made wireforms as I learned and I blew through the rods and that really sucked. I made a discovery ship for my machine that came out great. I wish I could be more creative then this for tna. My discovery rails launch, drop ball, catch ball from a vuk and have a 4 ball lock with alternating returns. I really tried to figure out something as good as that for this.

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Taking out the plinko idea as I think wireform horse shoe will be better for speed. Lunch break. Just need to add upper wireform on the shoe. I will also need to convert the two stand up targets to a wireform mountable switch.

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Cage is done. I am still tweaking last opto area. It is unscrewed as I did not want to break it. The left ramp is coming out easy. I just need it above the flipper bat and so far looks good. Now I have to try the transition ramps to wireforms. That is the biggest thing as the wireform will jump the ball. (I learned from discovery). I am trying polycarbonate in a wedge and a v. Wiill keep updating as it goes. I think it will work! And the ramp shots are no gimmies, they are tight. After all this I will make plastics to cover things back up.

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I am open to any suggestions or better ideas to connect wireforms to ramps. Feel free to assist!
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Its the first thing I checked with my wife assisting. Both ramps hit the left and right flippers.