Beyond testing the boards I bought, I want to start planning how I'm going to re-tackle blue october. I've been sketching some ideas, been testing some of those ideas in virtual pinball (got a great idea for a mini double orbit playfield). I bought a notebook so both me and my wife can start writing down ideas in it (and sketches). yes there are probably more hi-tech ways of doing it, but there's something to be said about a simple notebook for quickly capturing ideas.
The other thing I've been thinking about is redesigning the cabinet. Without going too JPOP (I don't want to reinvent the wheel), but at the same time my end goal is to have a cabinet I'm happy with and can swap playfields in and out easily. My ideal cabinet would be:
* All power supplies mounted to the bottom, power management, P3-roc control board, switch boards, driver boards, LED boards. This is assuming slightly longer cable lengths aren't going to affect voltage drop or cause interference. This way if I ever want to design another layout I'm not re-buying all the hardware. I'm literally plugging in a standardized wiring harness, with standard connections (IE flippers are always the same channel, slings are always the same channel, ball trough is always the same channel). Anything beyond that is simply going to have to get re-assigned in code, but at the very least I can have a blank flipping whitewood waiting to be populated that I can quickly plug in.
* I would like the cabinet to be light, I hate how heavy games are still. One way is to sort of steal Heighway's idea of hollowing out the sides for sliding new artwork in (which I also want for each table). I believe they slotted the cabinet in the center, but I want a nice system.. Maybe something that pops in with built-in lighting. I'd also like to build the cabinet using 1/2" plywood instead of 3/4. Even if that means re-enforcing it with aluminum framework inside, wood is pretty dense and can really add to the weight.
* I want a better way of sliding in a playfield easily, and locking down easily (have an idea that involves a tab that slides in from the coin door). I also want feet under the playfield so I can yank it out and set it on the floor without needing to rest it vertically. Most likely going to go with some 80/20 channels to act as legs
* I don't necessarily want a real coin door, but I DO want the action of a coin drop. I miss the days of hitting the start button, and having the machine insult you for not having any credits.. And then as you add coins having a sound play related to the theme. Also bringing a homebrew (or any pinball to a show), I don't like the idea of freeplay where ignorant people can put 4 credits in and hog the machine. I want the user to physically have to drop some sort of coin through a mechanism to add credits. I also like the idea of making custom tokens that represent the project, have a cup holder mounted to the leg with a giant cup of tokens, and a sign that says "If you really liked my game, please take a token as a souvenir... BUT ONLY ONE!"
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