I’d also highly recommend Future Pinball (http://futurepinball.com/). Not as many tables out there, but there are some great ones, and the tool set is fantastic. I’m currently working on my own table, and it really only took a couple of afternoons to put most of the pieces together.
Yeah, that’s a spin off of Visual Pinball IIRC. I haven’t tinkered with that.
A friend of mine built a pinball table with an HDTV as the playfield and a monitor as the backglass running from a PC. I’m going over there to see it soon and will have pictures. I’d actually like to write an article about it but really have nowhere to go with it. There are only about 20 people who have done the same.
The photos he sent me are incredible.
Please follow up on this when you can. I really want to see how this looks / plays.
I still plan to go over and get all the details, but my friend Joe Ricards has posted photos at Arcade Crusade.
http://www.arcadecrusade.com/gallery/v/minimarquees/Minis+and+Lables/hyperpin/construct/
The ones toward the bottom show a joystick on the unit. He added that allowing for vertical shooters in MAME, etc.
Here are a couple photos from there…
This shows the TV before it was mounted, but already hooked up.
Before painting, finished backglass and graphics application…
Finished product including added joystick.
Want.
Holy shit, I need that.
That is really, really excellent. A buddy of mine built a full-on MAME arcade cabinet and we frequently have “game nights” where each person pays in $5 and the total high score at the end of evening walks away with the cash. Now I’m going to have to convince him to build one of these… for ME!!
What are the specs on that thing? Is that a 32" LCD for the playing surface and a 17" LCD for the scoreboard? What’s controlling it?
37 inch LCD and I think a 17 or 19 inch LCD. All run by one PC, though I don’t know what yet. Again, I hope to write something up on the whole layout with better photos and maybe video too.
… and plans for the cabinet itself? :)
…and how much he’d charge to make more?
Yes, I highly recommend this visit as well. Last time we went to Vegas, I killed almost 3 hours in there without even realizing it.
Just about all the machines were in top working condition when I went, and many had cards attached with the history of the machine and other interesting tidbits. The owner was running around that day, too, so I even had chance to chat with him for a few minutes.
Oh, and if you like Cuban food there’s a small restaurant in that same strip center (or at least, it was there in the fall.) I guess it’s actually more of a take-out place than a restaurant, but the sandwiches were fantastic. I love Cuban food, so that discovery was an unexpectedly nice bonus.
Joe has never really thought about turning this kind of thing into a business. He has restored and reconfigured countless arcade machines now. He’s actually quite good at it. He also puts those graphics together himself.
In the last year, I’ve helped him snag a massive cabinet from a guy who had a whole barn full of old arcade machines in various states of disrepair in the Lancaster area. He did an unbelievable job rebuilding that one. It now serves as a MAME/Neo Geo cab. He has a Neo Geo Big Red that he did some minor restoration work on.
At one time he owned many cabs and a few pins. We played all kinds of stuff in the JAMMA cab he owned as he’d have a revolving door of PCBs buying and selling.
He was the best man at my wedding. Great guy. We met when I worked at EB and he was one or our regular customers.
Oh, and the Neo fighter fests when I go over there are legendary. Took my oldest along last time and he was a chip off the old block. :)
Ok, got it in today. Man this is so addicting. Only done all the basic goals for Gorgar so far. Thank you very much for the heads up on this fine game!
When I finished the basic goals for Gorgar it said I could select a table to unlock freeplay on. Some of the tables had lock icons next to them, others did not. I selected Jive Time. It seemed to take it, but when I went to Jive Time the table was locked (turns out that you have to finish the Williams Challenge to unlock it). Did I waste my choice? Or once it is unlocked via the challenge do you have to pay to unlock freeplay and therefore I didn’t waste my unlock? So confused! Are credits used for anything else other than unlocking freeplays on the tables that don’t have it unlocked from the start? If not then I guess I shouldn’t worry about my supply of credits at all?
You need to beat all the tables in the Challenge to unlock Jive Time. I’ve had 999 credits after my first week with the game; there’s really no use for them. That’s my only problem with the game - the pinball is great, the wrapping is sloppy garbage. I guess the “goals” achievements are something else to do if you’re going for something beyond points. I still can’t get that “1-2-3” Gorgar special, or whatever that is.
Only some tables are open for freeplay at the start. The others require 100 credits (earned from beating goals or at the end of the game mashing the button at the right time) or beating the basic goals of another table, at which time it appears you can select another table to unlock freeplay for. I chose “Jive Time”, not realizing that wasn’t open at all – so did I waste my pick? Though hearing that you have 999 credits already makes me think that getting the 100 credits to unlock other tables isn’t that big of a deal afterall, thanks!
Agreed 100%. Especially the leaderboard support (or lack thereof)! Friends filter, please!
I’m not at home so can’t be certain, but I believe that what you have to do is hit all four targets (1 on the left, below the extra ball indicator, 2, 3, and 4 on the right) three times. Once you do that the light in front of the target will flash, hit it again for the special (and the goal unlock) – I think?
You guys just sold another copy of this via Amazon. Looking forward to it.
Other pinball tables I loved to play at Pinball Pete’s in Ann Arbor -
Whirlwind (loved the fan blowing in my face on multi-ball)
Taxi
Earthquake (Earthshake?)
Anyone know if Pinball Pete’s still has two locations in A2? That was my second home during undergrad.
EDIT: Okaaay. So Whirlwind and Taxi are in this collection. LOVING IT.
Gotta say this game surpasses expectations by a long shot. The graphics quality make standing in front of a big screen TV like actually being in the arcade (almost).
Adding achievements as a reason to learn the rules of each table? Brilliant.
That’s fucking genius.
My wife grew up around there and she says there’s only one location, but it goes under the street downtown so there are two signs for it. We hit up the Pinball Pete’s in East Lansing sometimes, if that might be the other location you’re thinking of.
edit okay, so with some research, there was another Pete’s location in Ann Arbor but it closed, and the building later burned down.