Trident 2020 - a rewrite of Stern Trident (1979)

Excellent work!

BTW, have you got a hidden magnet on the right outlane where the play more gap is?

#5 3 years ago

CAE

play_pinball

Pinside+ Frequent

6y 131K 2,071 38 34

Amazing, I want to give this a go. I love Trident and think it’s extremely underrated. It’s usually my dad’s go-to game and I bet he’d love the Rescue From The Deep feature lol

#6 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from Quench:
Excellent work!
BTW, have you got a hidden magnet on the right outlane where the play more gap is?

My nephew calls it "pay more."
That thing eats balls.
My machine is level, but the ball often gets stuck atop the "Play More" post. You can see me slamming the machine to knock it off in this video. Have you ever seen that? I might have to bend the post or put a bigger donut on there.

#7 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from play_pinball:
Amazing, I want to give this a go. I love Trident and think it’s extremely underrated. It’s usually my dad’s go-to game and I bet he’d love the Rescue From The Deep feature lol

If you're handy with a soldering iron, it's a pretty easy (and cheap) board to build.
If you want to use the original sounds from the SB-100, you will have to build the version with the 74125 chip so it can pass signals to the SB-100.

Wiring rev5 (resized).png

#8 3 years ago

PIP

Quench

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from DickHamill:
My machine is level, but the ball often gets stuck atop the "Play More" post. You can see me slamming the machine to knock it off in this video. Have you ever seen that?

Can't say I remember my Trident doing that but I sold it a long long time ago. Looks like you've got a 27/64" rubber on it, try a slightly smaller 23/64" mini post rubber (could've been what mine had).

#9 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

I loved my Trident and it was my favorite game for almost 10 years.

#10 3 years ago

REO

29REO

Pinside+ Addict

6y 63,050 319

Trident is by far the most underrated early Stern and one of my favorite machines. Thanks to DickHamill for doing this and what a great job, makes collecting and restoring more exciting. That background audio and speech is way sweet!
"Rescue From The Deep" equals a mulligan! This might be the first application of this feature in the history of pinball!

3 weeks later

#11 3 years ago

BEV

RoyGBev

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1304-roygbev-pinball/04736-arduino-nano-adapter-for-classic-bally-stern

Here's a compact PCB I just made that implement's Dick's adapter wiring and works on -17, -35, MPU-100 and MPU-200 boards:

rgb_bally_stern_arduino_kit_small (resized).png

rgb_bally_stern_arduino_installed_small (resized).png Added over 3 years ago:

implements not implement's. D'oh!

Post last edited 3 years ago: “typo correction”

1 week later

#12 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

Just got my kit, Roy! Thanks! Can't wait to try it out!

#13 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

I am so close to done! Uploaded the code to the nano (took a bit of this and that), built Roy's board, and jumpered it in. I have an MPU 100. Booted right up with light show and everything... but no sound! Any ideas?

Plays like it has new rules going on, but i can't tell what to do without sound or talking. Is there a rule book so I can tell what's going on with stock sound?
Also how do I adjust settings for the new features?

I'm pretty stoked about this...

Thanks

mark

#14 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
I am so close to done! Uploaded the code to the nano (took a bit of this and that), built Roy's board, and jumpered it in. I have an MPU 100. Booted right up with light show and everything... but no sound! Any ideas?
Plays like it has new rules going on, but i can't tell what to do without sound or talking. Is there a rule book so I can tell what's going on with stock sound?
Also how do I adjust settings for the new features?
I'm pretty stoked about this...
Thanks
mark

Hi Mark,
At the top of Trident2020.ino, you'll see some lines like this:

// The defines for sound can be used separately or in combination
//#define USE_WAV_TRIGGER
//#define USE_WAV_TRIGGER_1p3
#define USE_SB100

The default version up on GitHub uses the SB100 sound card that came with Trident (assuming you plugged your SB100 into the piggyback connector on the top of your daughter card).
It may be a challenge to understand exactly what the goals are without speech, but I tried to always flash the lights whenever there's something important to hit. I haven't finished full documentation on the rules, but here's a quick idea:

The game starts in unstructured play, which means that scoring is pretty much as before (with a couple of differences).
1) The value of the saucer is progressive. It starts at 5k, and increases to 10, 20, 30 the more times you hit it.
2) Standups still increase the value of the spinners, but you get an additional hurry-up bonus if you hit the spinner within 5 seconds of the standup.
3) There's a skillshot at the beginning of the ball.

There are also three mini-games to activate:
1) Sharp shooter - qualifies when you earn 3x from the drops. It will put up one target at a time (for 5 seconds). If you hit that, you get a reward.
2) Feeding Frenzy - if you hit alternating spinners 4 times, it qualifies the spinners for feeding frenzy awards.
3) Explore the Depths - light all standups once to qualify.
Once a mini-game is qualified, it is started by landing in the top saucer. Mini-games can be stacked for 2x or 3x scoring.

If all three mini-games are finished with at least one hit to each goal, Deep Blue Sea begins. In that mode, the saucer collects a jackpot based on your progress through each mode.

If you want to implement digital sound, Roy has provided a WavTrigger port on the board, and you can turn on that compiler switch to communicate with it.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

#15 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
Also how do I adjust settings for the new features?

Adjustments are through the self-test button behind the coin door (and the credit/reset button). Here's a quick list:

Tests (credits:ball in play)
00:01 - Lamps
XX:XX - Displays
00:03 - Solenoids
00:04 - Switches
00:05 - Sound

Scores
01 - Award Score Level 1
02 - Award Score Level 2
03 - Award Score Level 3
04 - High Score
05 - Credits
06 - Total Plays (Audit)
07 - Total replays (Audit)
08 - Total times high score was beaten (Audit)
09 - Chute #2 coins (Audit)
10 - Chute #1 coins (Audit)
11 - Chute #3 coins (Audit)

Features
13 - Freeplay (0 - off, 1 - on)
14 - Ball save num seconds
15 - Music level
16 - Tournament scoring
17 - Number of tilt warnings
18 - Award scores (extra balls / credits)
19 - Number of balls
20 - Scrolling scores (for more than 999,999)
21 - Extra ball award (for tournament scoring)
22 - Special award (for tournament scoring)
23 - Dim level

#16 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

Thanks Dick! The new rules look killer. I can see the light indicators now that I know what I'm looking for.
Yep I did the commenting/uncommenting correctly when I loaded it. But I still don't have sound.

Upon further investigation, I found that pin #10 on the 34 pin pin connector that goes to the sb100 didn't have thru continuity to the add-on board. I jumpered it, and now all pins connect to the original connector properly, but I still don't have sound. Even when I leave the board plugged in and remove the r134 jumper so the machine boots to the original mpu, there's no sound.

I suspect there's still an issue with pin 10. It seems from your diagram that I should have a connection between pin 10 on the 34 pin connector and pin 6 on the 74125. Is that right?

It seems like there might be a trace that's broken or melted or something... Still poking.

Thanks for all the help!

#17 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
I suspect there's still an issue with pin 10. It seems from your diagram that I should have a connection between pin 10 on the 34 pin connector and pin 6 on the 74125. Is that right?

Sounds like you're on the right track. Yes - all the pins on Roy's board should have connectivity between the top header and 2nd one. Then, when the switch is closed on Roy's J3 you should boot to the Arduino. When not closed at J3, it should boot to the original code. (You don't have to mess with R134 to boot to old code, just the J3 switch)

Am I reading correctly that your original code is booting, but just without sound?
Can you post a photo of your MPU with the new board plugged in?
Thanks!

#18 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

FIXED! The jumper for the pin worked, but I still didn't have sound.
Finally I went to the self-test button and found #15 for sound level! It was at 0!!

I am back, baby!

Works killer! Can't wait to start setting new high scores!

Thanks to Dick for all the hard work programming and designing and to Roy for the board kit!

Stoked to add these features to an already fun game!

#19 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

I have the switch closed at j3 but still need the r134 jumper to boot to Arduino, it hangs and shows 0's in the displays when I don't jumper there. Ain't no thing to me! It works, Daddio!

#20 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

Dick, do you have a list of point values for the new shots? For example, the skill shot or the hurry up bonus for spinners... I want to add the key things to a rules card!

So killer. Like your light shows. Motivates me to fix the 2 or 3 janky lamps!

#21 3 years ago

ADS

EalaDubhSidhe

Pinside member

Merthyr Tydfil

11y 58,050 1,212

I wonder if this kit would also work with a Stern Cosmic Princess? Both games apparently use the same rom.

#22 3 years ago

PIP

Quench

Pinside member

Quoted from EalaDubhSidhe:
I wonder if this kit would also work with a Stern Cosmic Princess? Both games apparently use the same rom.

Cosmic Princess uses the same code as Magic. The code is a little different to Trident. Differences are:

Saucer:
- Magic / Cosmic Princess collects bonus
- Trident scores 5k, 10k, 20k or 30k (advanced by Drop Targets)

Drop Target completion:
- Magic / Cosmic Princess advances Bonus Multiplier and scores 5k, 10k, 20k or 30k
- Trident advances Bonus Multiplier and advances Saucer value

#23 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

This is a really fun (and easily reversible) mod for Trident!
Next I'm go for the wav trigger!

Dick do you have a library of the wav files you used?

#24 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

https://unclepinball.buzzsprout.com/

In my Uncle Pinball's Podcast #65, I talk glowingly about this project (among other things).

Thanks again, Dick and Roy!

Available now on my site and soon, Grasshopper soon, everywhere else.

#25 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
Dick do you have a library of the wav files you used?

Yes - I've posted a zip file on Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kFE97fg0SsAZb8K-F-PURkWhEmwNQXq8/view?usp=sharing

You just unzip that to a MicroSD and plug it into a WavTrigger. I also recommend you re-flash your WavTrigger to 1.3 or better:
https://robertsonics.com/wav-trigger-downloads/

and then use the
#define USE_WAV_TRIGGER_1p3
define so it can loop the background music properly.

#26 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from EalaDubhSidhe:
I wonder if this kit would also work with a Stern Cosmic Princess? Both games apparently use the same rom.

As Quench mentioned, there are some differences. That said, I have run this code on a Magic. You would want to make some changes to the code for it to really make sense. It should be easy enough. Unfortunately, the Magic passed through my friend's garage too quickly and I wasn't able to work on it.

If you want to give it a try, I'm always available to answer questions.

#27 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
In my Uncle Pinball's Podcast #65, I talk glowingly about this project (among other things).

Thanks for the shout in the podcast!
Very cool.

#28 3 years ago

BEV

RoyGBev

OP
Quoted from DickHamill:
Thanks for the shout in the podcast!
Very cool.

Yes, thank you!

#29 3 years ago

BEV

RoyGBev

Quoted from fireball2:
In my Uncle Pinball's Podcast #65, I talk glowingly about this project (among other things).

Yes, thank you so much for the mention!

#30 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

Now i am going to have to buy trident again !
Thanks! ( said in a sarcastic teenage girl type voice)

#31 3 years ago

DAP

67cutlass

Pinside member

Racine, WI

10y 52,900 372 4

This is fantastic. Trident holds a special place with me and it's great to see it getting some attention.

I've been looking for a better example of the machine then I currently have. Haven't been able to find one locally. I may have to look at getting mine worked on so I can play this.

#32 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

Ok...I've really been playing this game a lot. Love the skill shot! Looks like the best payoff is to soft plunge, hope the ball doesn't trigger that upper sling on the way down, catch with your right flipper, and shoot for the drops. 15k + you go straight to 2x bonus. Unless it bricks or miss and hit a pop. The standups skillshot is harder, but i THINK it starts a mode? Dick? Is that right? I can't remember the payout for hitting the left spinner first. 15k?

One question I have for you Dick. When I start a mode, the sound for the thing(s) I'm trying to hit stops. They keep scoring like they should, but no sound. When I start sharpshooter mode, and I hit the 1 drop, it scores, but it doesn't make a sound. If I'm in the Explore the Depths mode the stand ups stop making sound. Is that a feature or a bug or just my machine? It took me awhile to notice because the game plays so fast and everything else makes so much noise.

Thanks again for this. I am having a lot of fun.

#33 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
Ok...I've really been playing this game a lot. Love the skill shot! Looks like the best payoff is to soft plunge, hope the ball doesn't trigger that upper sling on the way down, catch with your right flipper, and shoot for the drops. 15k + you go straight to 2x bonus. Unless it bricks or miss and hit a pop. The standups skillshot is harder, but i THINK it starts a mode? Dick? Is that right? I can't remember the payout for hitting the left spinner first. 15k?
One question I have for you Dick. When I start a mode, the sound for the thing(s) I'm trying to hit stops. They keep scoring like they should, but no sound. When I start sharpshooter mode, and I hit the 1 drop, it scores, but it doesn't make a sound. If I'm in the Explore the Depths mode the stand ups stop making sound. Is that a feature or a bug or just my machine? It took me awhile to notice because the game plays so fast and everything else makes so much noise.
Thanks again for this. I am having a lot of fun.

I have to admit - I did the digital sounds for my machine when the mode code was still in the works. There are probably some sounds in the different modes that I haven't translated over to the bleep/blorp card (SB100). I just overhauled an SB100, so I'll have to install it and finish up some of those callouts.

I will document all the scoring and put out a PDF in the near future.

#34 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from DickHamill:
I have to admit - I did the digital sounds for my machine when the mode code was still in the works. There are probably some sounds in the different modes that I haven't translated over to the bleep/blorp card (SB100).

No worries. I just ordered a wavtrigger board, so...

But, i was looking at the code in the Arduino IDE, and I had an idea. I don't know from code, but what if in this line:
#define SOUND_EFFECT_FEEDING_FRENZY 16
I replaced the 16 with either a 4 or a 5 which are the sound effects defined earlier for the spinners? Would that make the the bleep bork noises for the spinners during feeding frenzy? Ditto for the lines about defining the sounds for hitting the standups in explore the depths and the drop sounds in sharpshooter?

Then I could just put the correct numbers back when my wav board gets here.

#35 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

Quoted from fireball2:
but what if in this line:
#define SOUND_EFFECT_FEEDING_FRENZY 16
I replaced the 16 with either a 4 or a 5 which are the sound effects defined earlier for the spinners? Would that make the the bleep bork noises for the spinners during feeding frenzy?

It worked! I now have full bleep/bork sounds for all modes!
Loving this game!

#36 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
It worked! I now have full bleep/bork sounds for all modes!
Loving this game!

Yes, you're exactly right. The defines at the top tell the game which sounds to use for different situations. If you're inclined to go one step farther, the "tunes" are listed in the PlaySoundEffect function, like this:

case SOUND_EFFECT_GAME_OVER:
AddToSoundQueue(0x08, CurrentTime);
AddToSoundQueue(0x04, CurrentTime+75);
AddToSoundQueue(0x02, CurrentTime+150);
AddToSoundQueue(0x01, CurrentTime+225);
AddToSoundQueue(0x08, CurrentTime+325);
AddToSoundQueue(0x04, CurrentTime+400);
AddToSoundQueue(0x02, CurrentTime+475);
AddToSoundQueue(0x01, CurrentTime+550);
AddToSoundQueue(0x00, CurrentTime+650);
break;

the SB100 can understand 0x01, 0x02, 0x04, 0x05, 0x08, 0x10, and 0x20 (thanks to Quench for talking me through how this works). CurrentTime is right now, and all the constants after that (+75, etc.) are in ms. On the original game, sounds were either played for 75ms or 100ms. I've implemented the original tunes/effects in there, and tried to make up a few, but much more could be done.

I turned my attention to the WavTrigger pretty early, so I didn't exhaust all the possibilities. With some creativity, it would be interesting to see what else the SB100 is capable of producing.

#37 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

How many different single sounds does the sb100 make?

#38 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
How many different single sounds does the sb100 make?

Four square-wave tones and two sound effects (like a siren & and pew). But sounds 1&4 can be combined to make a fifth tone also. Sending out a 0x00 stops the sound.

#39 3 years ago

PIP

Quench

Pinside member

Actually you can combine any/all of the four tones to play simultaneously. They're separately gated.
So if you write 0x06 to the sound board it will play the 100 and 1000 point sounds simultaneously. The challenge is to get polyphonic melodies with the limited notes to sound good

#40 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from Quench:
Actually you can combine any/all of the four tones to play simultaneously. They're separately gated.
So if you write 0x06 to the sound board it will play the 100 and 1000 point sounds simultaneously. The challenge is to get polyphonic melodies with the limited notes to sound good

Yes, definitely.
Thanks for all your help figuring this stuff out, by the way.
The 0x05 is the only one I found where the combined notes didn't cause too much distortion, and it's the only polyphonic tone used by Trident.

#41 3 years ago

DRT

pins4life33

Pinside member

Sherwood Park, AB

11y 87,550 2,184 104 18

Wow can't believe I just stumbled across this love the Stars programming can't wait to try this on our Trident that we have. Unfortunately we have to do a playfield swap first so this might motivate us to get that done a little more quicker. Thanks again for the awesome code can't wait till we see your next project.

#42 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from pins4life33:
Wow can't believe I just stumbled across this love the Stars programming can't wait to try this on our Trident that we have. Unfortunately we have to do a playfield swap first so this might motivate us to get that done a little more quicker. Thanks again for the awesome code can't wait till we see your next project.

Hope you post a video when you get your Trident up. Wav Trigger is not required for this one, but definitely recommended.
Next projects are Meteor (wrapping up code now) and Supersonic.

#43 3 years ago

DRT

pins4life33

Pinside member

Sherwood Park, AB

11y 87,550 2,184 104 18

Yep for sure, currently have a Meteor at home so I can bring to arcade and shoot video on that as well when your code is ready and have access to a Supersonic so very existing stuff. We just purchased two more boards in advance keep them coming huge asset to the community!!!

OP
Quoted from DickHamill:
Hope you post a video when you get your Trident up. Wav Trigger is not required for this one, but definitely recommended.
Next projects are Meteor (wrapping up code now) and Supersonic.

#44 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

Ok. I got my wav trigger board, and I'm trying to figure it connects to Roy's 6 pin out.
Do i go into those six pins called the ftdi port on the wav board? With #1 on Roy's going to ground?
It looks like only 3 pins actually get used, right? Which 3 would those be on Roy's board?

so close!

#45 3 years ago

???

RonSS

Pinside member

6y 91,050 3,841 1 1

I dig it.

#46 3 years ago

BEV

RoyGBev

Quoted from fireball2:
Ok. I got my wav trigger board, and I'm trying to figure it connects to Roy's 6 pin out.
Do i go into those six pins called the ftdi port on the wav board? With #1 on Roy's going to ground?
It looks like only 3 pins actually get used, right? Which 3 would those be on Roy's board?
so close!

Pins 1, 3, and 4 connect straight across between the two boards. You can use a 6-pin straight cable to connect them.

#47 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

Thanks Roy! I kinda thought that, but didn't want to screw it up.

#48 3 years ago

IKE

DickHamill

Pinside+ Pro!

Quoted from fireball2:
Thanks Roy! I kinda thought that, but didn't want to screw it up.

One note about the Wav Trigger - there's a solder pad you have to connect if you want to power it from that header. The documentation is here:
https://robertsonics.com/help/

I put a note somewhere, but I'm not sure if that note is in the Trident doc.

I'm having difficulty keeping up with all the docs right now!

WTrig_Jumper001 (resized).jpg

#49 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member

OK Daddio. here's where I am. I got everything working, but only with headphones. If I hook up my cab speaker to the speaker pins, I get no sound and the lower pop bumper fires the knocker. If I don't connect to the speaker and just listen thru the headphone jack, all works fine.

Any ideas?

Also, I used a wall wart (in the courtesy outlet in the cab) to power the wav trigger. If I close that jumper, then I don't need the wall wart?

#50 3 years ago

fireball2

Pinside member