OLED targets. We already have the technology in the form of WMS and Bally slot machines. If they stayed in the pinball biz we might already have had them. Just turn them sideways and make sure you have a thick enough clear surface to withstand ball impacts. Evolving video targets, maybe even spinners.

is this you again mr.Stern???
you dont fool me!

i will only tell you if you hire me!!!!

The technology in the slot machines by WMS and Bally are pretty amazing. Some screen illusions are really convincing. Its a shame that they're no longer in the business of pinball.

Any cell phone app integration. Connect the pinball machines to wifi or bluetooth and create an interface so that people can interact with the game from their phone. Maybe an achievement system, or a way to "save" your progress on the game to encourage repeat plays. Heck, maybe even integrate apple pay or android pay so that coinage doesn't have to be an issue.

Also, connecting the pinball machines to wifi could give them the capability of automatically alerting the operator via automatically generated email or text message that certain functions of the game need servicing (broken switch(es), solenoids, bookkeeping alerts, etc). I'm really surprised that hasn't made it's way into the software and hardware yet.

I wrote this stuff in another thread two years ago:

"The entire backglass is a 4k resolution screen. It has an HD camera with face recognition and a microphone with voice recognition. When you GC (or even put up a top score) it takes a picture of you celebrating.
I walk up to the pin and say "(Name of machine) ON" and the pin says:
"Welcome back Adam, are we feeling lucky this evening"
Me - "Not so much, I'm kind of tired"
Pin - "Well I'm sorry to hear that, would you like me to add a ball?"
Me - "No, standard three ball is fine"
Pin - "Very well, shall we begin"
Me - "Fire away"
Pin- "Ball launching in 3....2....1....launch"

"It could verbally tell you how your doing and how far along you are in the game.......or not, your choice. It could verbally tell you when a switch is going bad.....etc...."

I don't only want to talk back to me....I want it to mock me when I'm playing bad.
"Jesus, you just missed that same shot three times in a row.....have another"
"You keep playing like this and I'm shutting down"
"So...I bet you played a lot of video games growing up didn't you?"
"Those buttons on the side....yeah they make the flippers move"

Self cleaning playfield.

LTG : )™

instead of playfield toys, you use several mini led screens to show various animations when making certain shots. Of course keeping the toys would be good too but they can be enhanced by the screens.

Forget slot tech.
Pachinko tech is where it's at. Multi layered 3d HD screens, Animatronics. If you mixed that with Pinball and magnets. It would be absolutely an incredible experience

Self leveling PF...

A tilt that would shock the piss out of a player who mistreats a machine! Working on it now. 50amps at 240volts works. Been there, done that.

My wife and I were playing Metallica the other night and I had a multi ball mode going. It was chaotic as usual. She points to the apron as I am playing and says that there should be a screen in it that mimics the DMD so you can see what is going on at all times. I thought it was an excellent idea and would love to see that incorporated. Wonder how much it would cost?

Probably wouldn't cost as much as you might think. 5" TFT displays are only about $30. Some data conversion circuitry. Biggest cost would be paying for the development/firmware engineering. Could easily be viable for future games, possibly viable as a mod for existing games.
DMD Extemder was already working on similar items.

23d54ce306a93622a51349cf7e8304197afdb5e0_(resized).jpg

the p3 pinball has cool stuff.

Network access is dangerous just from a hacking stand point.

Payrange is 3rd party and makes so the op's just need to pay there fees and not apple pay or android pay fees + a fee to stern or others to just be on the pay network.

Payrange uses your phone for the network so the op's does not need to deal with wifi / pay for a cell link / run Ethernet to the game.

Great Thread! Gaz are you listening????

Well... none, if they are already innovated. Innovative idea is a combination mechanical lower playfield with a back glass electronic playfield. A vertical LCD playfield would take some getting use to, but programmers can accomplish things that are impossible to do with mechanical pins. I happen to be someone who likes both.

I'd say any innovation that can provide competitive play or rewarded play through phone apps (or even just a website with player profiles that connects directly to systems setup on pins) should be a top priority. Kids have their ticket reward systems (which are admittedly still fun as an adult), however, a more "adult" system that was geared toward competitive and single player "goal oriented" setups for teens and adults would be excellent.

I love playing the tournaments in the Pinball Arcade app - it's still competitive, but it's also much less intimidating than going to a real tournament. I think there's a great market for this with everyone who already likes pinball... But just as importantly, it would be a potentially exciting way to usher in new interest to pinball overall from the outside as well.

I think I've read a couple things on Pinside over the past year about people working on this already? If not, it really really really should be done.

If you could add bats to a game like they have on those pitch and bats, then a player would have more control over the ball and it wouldn't be so much a gambling machine. They could be called "flippers".

hmmm..sounds familiar

I thought it was a pretty innovated idea.

That's crazy talk.

Yep, and thanks to mass market devices like iPhones, accelerometers are really inexpensive.

I also think it would be cool to have SmartPinballs that can interact/communicate with the pin in some fashion.

Agreed, BUT... What if instead, we took a Lion, then added a Man to him? I feel as if the exclamations appearing after would practically birth themselves. The world or more importantly, Pinside itself, would forever be changed.

A music pin that lets you drop in your own theme. Thus, you can add any song, drop in artwork that you create. Toys that can be pulled and replaced with another toy. Meaning the the feed to the toy could be a lamp or a solenoid.

Modder's can go crazy to create custom toys.

Personally, I'd make a Florence + the Machine pin with Dog Days are Over multi-ball!

Just sayin.
faz

Which would be pulling up the rear?

I like it.

And actually, this could be something cool for large artists. I mean, it won't happen this way with a big company because it would take away the exclusivity of a being a band with a licensed pin... But, imagine an indie pin company coming along and making a "bare bones" pin specifically for customization that well known artists who otherwise wouldn't have a pin could license themselves to sell to their fans. Especially with 3D printing becoming more mainstream in the near future, this could be really cool.

So basically, your idea, but the bands are in control. Ryan Adams' would probably be amazing.

And this is what dreams are made of when all the recent music pins are themed after somebody's grandpa.

If the lead scientist is Tom Six, I don't really care to know the details on that.

What innovated ideas would you incorporate into a Pinball Machine?

A NEW LOWER PRICE !!!!!!!!!!!

Millenials love experiences. Amazing with all the super hero/ tv themes in the last few years we don't have a LCD on either side of cab walls (today it's Decals or Pin blades) this effect could simulate movement or simply enhance game including as scene changes but still not disrupt play field.
Add in ability to upload and personalize the same displays on the screen while you play, your favorite quotes, life's abilition blah blah blah and you sir have an audience.
Integrate a trendy micro brew or wine tap into the cabinet and you have an LE.

Getting LCD displays in all future production games and in Aprons would be great along as long as they are utilizing them to their potential with high graphic games in video modes that award and unlock different things during the game. This concept is nothing new, I just don't know that I've seen an updated version of it. WOZ had that incredible display in the back box, but it's really only used as a display. Heighway has two screens so I'm not sure if that has video modes??

That would be cool to see the whole back box used as a display/ video game in video mode like the virtual pins, but maybe cost prohibitive. It's still pinball, but I't would draw the younger generation and add depth..

Blue tooth connectivity so I can hook my wireless headphones up and swap pins easily...could also play on location finally with high volume..

Here's a similar thread with some very cool ideas

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/rfid-chips-in-pinballs

Original IP

Black Hole 3000: I would like to see a lower-level playfield with a transparent OLED Display.
When you are playing on the regular PF the glass acts as a LCD monitor - and the lower part is in the dark.
When you are playing the lower PF the monitor is off and the glass transparent enough to play. Might require stronger lightning - light transmission is not 100%.

Take advantage of the full LCD screen in the backbox (WoZ, TH...) to implement a video mode which would be a vertical virtual pinball, Banzai Run-like. This one is easy to implement.

How about an easier/automatic way for a game to be leveled?

I always find leveling games to be an incredible pain.

Make sure there's at least two.

Simple software based innovation I'd love to see:

The ability to select different game difficulties for multiplayer (to give the better player a handicap, and make the match more competitive).

It wouldn't be too hard to take this is step further and after it is base-leveled to a normal starting position, have the difficulty step up automatically by increasing the angle to speed up gameplay.

Serious about one music pin to rule them all. Honestly, it's an easy out for Stern to create yet another music pin that all have the same basic elements. Let's get back to original themes or at least more diverse licensed themes. Sure, a "The Who", "CCR" would be nice but do we really need a full production of Justin Bieber just because. Let the fans create their own one offs.

Given Stern has started creating layers of levels with optional mods and optional toppers it feels like they might be leaning that way too. Lots of mods, mix and match.

I guess it does not matter for me. I can't justify $8K for a machine.... I'm slowly getting priced out of the hobby.
faz

There's still plenty of $500 EM's out there...just sayin'

Multimorphic's P3 has this.

I always thought a variable pitch playfield during gameplay would be slick.

Totally want to get a few. But I need to thin the herd first.

Bally Star Trek and Catacomb are first on the block. Need to get some time to make sure both are 100% before I list them.
faz

I've written all of my ideas here:

http://www.pecos-softwareworks.com/OXO_and_XOX.shtml

My First Pinball Design, XOX – Part 2 of 2

No playfield switches - Real-time video pinball tracking
Standardization using PC to replace MPU, Sound Card and Power Supply and USB standardized parts.
Many more.

These are state of the art design changes that would save a lot of money in the manufacture of pinball machines.