I’m starting to realize just how empty my playfield looks. Sure by early solid state standards it’s
probably pretty good, but by today’s standards it looks empty.
Upper playfield – I intend to fill the back with some sort of target system
(ideally drop targets), but the concept is to have the back wall “My never”
song which will be a photo of heaven, and you’re banging on the front gates
trying to get in.
Bottom Playfield – I figured I would simply have targets towards the back,
maybe split them up with a loop around.
I might even throw a pop bumper centered towards the back. With such a short playfield that should play
some havoc.
Main playfield – Beyond a spinning record and a waterfall ramp it’s
still pretty barren. Speaking of the record, I have a change in the design. Rather than rehash the same old design (posts on a carosal), I'm going in a new direction. One thing I hate on a playfield is
staticness. When things are moving around,
or moving because you did something (hence why drop targets are more fun than
standing target). Hobbyists like to call
them bash toys, so I’m going to make just that.
The record will now be motorized, but then I’m going to add an arm like
it’s a real record player. When the ball hits it, the arm will
swing back and activate a switch, which will cue a record scratching noise, and then change the song playing on the
main playfield.
I need to figure out what I want under the playfield, there’s lots of
un-used space there. I also want to build some sort of 3d landscape on the right. I need to just print out a 2d layout and start sketching over it to get some ideas.
The VUK on the left waterslide ramp seems to have no point other than to play a sound and perhaps collect some points (and return the ball to the flippers), but there's no reason to put it there in the first place. For now, I'm going to connect the upper playfield to this ramp (sort of a black knight meets whitewater), but now I need some way of getting back up to the upper playfield other than ball launch (maybe this is where the VUK comes in). Also the waterslide ramp will have gates which have jump ropes on them. I've also added the state of texas on the right sling since that is where the band hails from.
Misc features: Apron is going to be a concert platform (wood flooring),
then some speakers pointed towards playfield.
I need to hide the 3 flipper buttons now that the playfield is dropping
2-3 inches. Oh yea, I’ve also decided I’m not going to switch flippers with
relays. In a public environment I might
worry about someone hitting 6 flippers at once, I think most people that will
play it will get it (plus half the fun is figuring out which button to hit, why
should I make it easy?)
I hate making comments on layouts, but here they are.
ReplyDelete1. Really like the new bash toy, but what happens when the ball goes behind it? Moving it out a little further would allow a passage around the arm and beneath your waterfall ramp.
2. If always going to the balcony, there is a lot of space going into the shooter lane. It can be raised so more stuff could be over there, or even sunk below the playfield so that piece of the playfield could be utilized. If there is a skill shot, the plunger value can be read using a variable resistor and the VUK onto the balcony could be fired with the appropriate strength.
3. How do you get to the bottom playfield? Where does it go when it drains from the bottom playfield?
4. Flippers on the top playfield. Where are the solenoids to drive those? Are they on the bottom side of the balcony or do those go all the way through the balcony, through the playfield and end up being mounted on the bottom side of the playfield? If it is on the bottom of the playfield, it might make disassembly of the top balcony difficult.
5. Putting drop targets in the bottom playfield would be difficult to see if they are at the very back. Adding a mirror above those flippers might allow status lights, drop target status easier to see.
While the playfield might look empty, the new Star Trek playfield looks completely empty. The difference is the amount of different shots in the new star trek. Once more is fleshed out under the balcony and on the empty edge, your playfield will seem a lot less empty. It is definitely getting there.