96 replies to this topic

[TerryRed]

 

WORK IN PROGRESS

 

New Man-E Mode : TRI-STOP (Tri-Klops)

 

=================================

 

I just completed creating an all new Man-E Mode bringing MOTU CE up to 13 modes now. This new mode is called TRI-STOP.

 

Tri-Klops appears through a portal as a BumperHead toy. He is trying to stop you from escaping. He has 3 types of vision. His main vision (square eye) searches for you all over the playfield as a spot light eye. Anything that is red won't advance you. If you hit him directly at this time, he will see you and shoot away your ball!

 

 

 

After making a couple of shots, Tri-Klops visor rotates to change to his Gamma Vision (triangle eye). The colour of the playfield will change to black and white except for the Tri-Klops spotlight triangle eye and the mirror.

 

 

 

After making a couple of shots, Evil-Lynn yells at Tri-Klops to change to his Dista Vision. His visor rotates to his circular eye which changes the colour back again. Now when you make any shot, he will track your ball and fire some laser blasts at you!

 

 

 

After making a couple of shots, now you must hit Tri-Klops directly in the BumperHead. When you hit him, it makes his visor spin rapidly, and non-stop which make it so he can't see you! Now you need to make the last shot in the He-Man kicker to complete the mode and collect the Tri-Klops action figure!

 

More Man-E Modes are coming!

Edited by TerryRed, 08 May 2024 - 06:08 AM.

[TerryRed]

Finally did something I've wanted for a while now. The table has two falcon toys, one for Zoar (the Sorceress), and the other is Screech which is the same toy with different colours and it was never really used much in the shows. I wanted to replace Screech with something different for variety... and I finally added The Evil Horde crest from Hordak's arm (on the toy). I think it gives the table a bit more Horde visuals, and balances the variety a bit better.

 

[TerryRed]

WORK IN PROGRESS (New Man-E Mode)

 

KHAN ARTIST (Kobra Khan)

 

=================================

 

I just completed creating the newest Man-E Mode bringing MOTU CE up to 14 modes now. This new mode is called KHAN ARTIST.

 

Kobra Khan appears through a portal as a BumperHead toy. He is trying to set you up for a crime you didn't commit.

 

Kobra Khan, has 3 attacks you must pass through to progress.

 

Snake Tongue - Kobra Khan will rotate back and forth while lashing out his long tongue, making it hard to pass him and make shots. If your ball hits his tongue at all, he will suck the ball into his mouth and spit it out elsewhere! Once you make two lit shots, then he begins his next attack.

 

Venom Mist - Kobra Khan rotates back and forth spraying his deadly venom mist. If you get caught in the mist, your ball will be frozen / paralyzed in place... and then dropped! After you make two lit shots then he will being his final attack.

 

Kobra Trance - Kobra Khan rotates back and forth with his snake eyes trying to catch you in his glance! If you fall within his line of sight, then your ball will freeze in place. Kobra Khan will spray sleep gas at you to tire you out! This makes all the table lights dim out over and over... and the worst part? Your flippers controls are reversed! This will continue for a short time until you recover. Each time you get caught in his gaze this repeats! Make two last lit shots to complete the mode and collect the Kobra Khan action figure!

 

This mode is very neat, but can be very challenging! You really need to keep the ball under control! Your Orko Shots can be VERY helpful here... but they can also fire your ball into a deadly attack as well! Be careful!

 

This game is getting HUGE... and I love it!

 

More to come!

 

 

 

[TerryRed]

 

WORK IN PROGRESS (New Man-E Mode)

 

DIAMOND RAY DILEMMA

 

=================================

 

I just completed creating the newest Man-E Mode bringing MOTU CE up to 15 modes now. This new mode is called DIAMOND RAY DILEMMA.

 

Skeletor has found the lost Diamond Ray of Disappearance! Anyone who gazes at it's rays for too long is transported to another dimension! While progressing through the mode battling Skeletor, he makes the diamond appear through a portal as a bumperhead toy, and uses it on Man at Arms and Zoar (the Sorceress) to make them disappear from the playfield!

 

He then tries to use it on you! You must progress to deflect it away from you towards Skeletor, causing him to drop the diamond! Now you must go after the diamond by hitting the bumperhead toy, as the Sorceress has told you the only way to save everyone is to crush the Diamond of Disappearance!

 

Every shot you make into the Diamond / Bumperhead toy progresses you farther, but there is one problem. Each time you do so you drift farther away into another dimension, and it makes your ball more and more transparent, making it harder to see it!

 

After you hit enough shots to the diamond... He-Man disappears!

 

To finish the mode, you must press the Action button to crush the Diamond! After you do so, the diamond shatters, and everyone returns safely back to Eternia! For completing the mode, you are rewarded with the Moss Man action figure!

 

Not sure how many more modes I'll be adding... I have a few more ideas... but I'm getting closer.

 

... and yes, the ball is a new He-Man ball! You now will get to choose between a He-Man / Skeletor / Hordak ball, or a chrome version of each.... or just a normal chrome ball.

 

 

More to come!

 

 

 

 

Edited by TerryRed, 26 May 2024 - 09:21 PM.

[anthias]

Terry, your work is simply phenomenal. Please keep it up! The life you have breathed into FP is a fantastic gift to the virtual pinball community. The more tables that are made as fizx or pinevent, the better.

[GHOSTfaceKILLr7]

WORK IN PROGRESS (New Man-E Mode)
 
DIAMOND RAY DILEMMA
 
=================================
 
I just completed creating the newest Man-E Mode bringing MOTU CE up to 15 modes now. This new mode is called DIAMOND RAY DILEMMA.
 
Skeletor has found the lost Diamond Ray of Disappearance! Anyone who gazes at it's rays for too long is transported to another dimension! While progressing through the mode battling Skeletor, he makes the diamond appear through a portal as a bumperhead toy, and uses it on Man at Arms and Zoar (the Sorceress) to make them disappear from the playfield!
 
He then tries to use it on you! You must progress to deflect it away from you towards Skeletor, causing him to drop the diamond! Now you must go after the diamond by hitting the bumperhead toy, as the Sorceress has told you the only way to save everyone is to crush the Diamond of Disappearance!
 
Every shot you make into the Diamond / Bumperhead toy progresses you farther, but there is one problem. Each time you do so you drift farther away into another dimension, and it makes your ball more and more transparent, making it harder to see it!
 
After you hit enough shots to the diamond... He-Man disappears!
 
To finish the mode, you must press the Action button to crush the Diamond! After you do so, the diamond shatters, and everyone returns safely back to Eternia! For completing the mode, you are rewarded with the Moss Man action figure!
 
Not sure how many more modes I'll be adding... I have a few more ideas... but I'm getting closer.
 
... and yes, the ball is a new He-Man ball! You now will get to choose between a He-Man / Skeletor / Hordak ball, or a chrome version of each.... or just a normal chrome ball.
 
 
More to come!
 
 

 
 

Your next table should be something Canadian.
How about a Strang Brew table!

[TerryRed]

 

WORK IN PROGRESS

 

New - Mekaneck toy, and other cool new features!

 

=================================

 

New Mekaneck toy!

 

I added Mekaneck to the playfield. He will raise his robotic / periscope long neck whenever the ball goes down the castle ramp, and follows the ball a bit.

 

I may add a new feature called "Mekaneck Mystery" which will either give you a random Mystery reward, or may enable / start something new on the playfield.

 

 

 

============================

 

Launch Perks

 

Another new feature I've added (but can't really show yet) are Launch Perks. When you start a new ball, similar to Sonic Pinball Mania, you see perks randomly cycle. When you press the action / launch button, whichever perk is highlighted is what you get as the ball launches. This really allows for more dynamic gameplay, as this means that some modes can be instantly "ready" and active, waiting for one more shot to start them. Or you could get possible rewards such as more Orko shots, an Extra Ball, etc.

 

It was tricky to do, but I made sure that the order of the random perks doesn't repeat, but it's still random each time it cycles through all options.

 

The other thing I did was make sure that if a mode has been completed, then that perk will no longer be one of the options, so as to not waste a perk for each ball, and to narrow down the options, etc. This makes for great gameplay progression.

 

============================

 

Choose your Faction

 

At the start of the game... you get to choose what faction you get to play. The options are:

 

HEROIC WARRIORS (He-Man, etc)

EVIL WARRIORS (Skeletor, etc)

THE EVIL HORDE (Hordak, etc)

 

What faction you choose will determine the following (so far):

 

- what characters you get to choose for your player

- the appearance of your ball (this can be overridden in TABLE OPTIONS, and you can have whatever you want, no matter the faction)

- some changes to the playfield appearance

 

============================

 

Choose your character

 

- whatever faction you choose will determine what character you can choose for your player

- game is single player only (very complex table to add more players to), but if that ever changes this would be add some fun to that

- this is more for fun currently, but I hope to add some perks or one time bonus for each character

 

============================

 

This all really adds so much more to the game for fun and visually (when I'm done)... so expect to see even more cool stuff coming!

 

 

https://i.imgur.com/52950e6.mp4

Edited by TerryRed, 09 June 2024 - 04:38 PM.

[TerryRed]

Oh boy....

 

I've been busy the last month. So there has been MANY updates and new features added in that time. So this next post will have lots of pictures, info, maybe a few videos. I may have to split it up.... but needless to say... progress has come along VERY nicely!

 

Here we go. This will be a BIG post.

 

 

=================================================================

 

 

New: plastics models, art, weapons and character models

 

So, I've been hard at work finalizing the last bits of the playfield. I needed to wait until this was done before I could finish certain things, but man did this all turn out great!

 

 

Plastics (art and new clear models)

 

Since I had to rebuild most of the table's layout (after adding new physics and new items, etc), this meant I had to make new artwork for the plastics. Half of the original plastics art is still there, but the rest is new.

 

After this was done, I decided to finally try to make new "clear plastics models". On previous tables, I would just add a new FP surface layer on top and add some reflective looking sphere maps. This worked ok but didn't give the look I wanted (looking like real pin plastics)

 

So, to create better looking clear plastics, this needed to be done in Blender. First I export the FP table's surface plastics into Blender as a model. Then I made the plastics model slightly larger than the FP surface art. Then I would add a bevel to the top edges. I could leave this as a sharp bevel, or add smooth shading. Both give a nice result in FP. I decided to go with smooth shading, as it looks better from a real gameplay view. Then I separate the flat top portion and the edges into separate models. This way I can use separate settings and textures for them in FP.

 

Now I import these new clear plastics models back into FP as "fp ramp models", since this will allow both sides of the edge models to be rendered through the top layer (normally models only render one side). I then apply some nice semi transparent sphere maps (based on the playfield art) to the side models, and then use a separate sphere map for the top flat model. Both of these models are placed on top of the thin FP plastics art surface.

 

When combined correctly, this makes the plastics look SO much nicer, and almost gives a similar look to a refracted clear plastic. During gameplay, if you play in a moving FP camera view, or especially in VR this really looks stunning, as the still pics don't do it justice.

 

 

 

New Weapons models

 

- I always wanted to add more motu weapons to the playfield

- I made an Evil-Lyn magic staff that is positioned near the kickback. The sphere / orb is a FP flasher and will light up when you ball gets kicked back into play

- I added a new Sorceress staff in a similar location on the right side outer lane

- I added new motu mace weapon models on both flipper guide plastics to replace the older swords (we have a newer sword model with He-Man)

- I previously added a new Havoc Staff (Skeletor) and He-Man axe, sword and shield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New character models

 

- new Hordak and Roboto models (to replace the much older Webstor and Man-E Faces models)

- new Mekaneck model (for the new Mystery feature)

- He-Man, Skeletor, Man-At Arms, Orko models and many others are all new models (that I added long ago)

- the vr / game room will have lots of new models

 

The only models left from the original table are the Zoar falcon, the Castle pop up toy, the clear ramps (which have been remodeled partially for the new table), spotlights, and the two signs (castle prison and banner).

 

 

 

 

 

Ramps

 

- new art created for both ramps

- new art for both ramp covers

 

 

 

 

=================================================================

 

 

New: AutoPlunger and Balls (based on your faction choice)

 

The new "Choose Your Faction" feature I've added will change some things in the game based on the faction you have chosen. Two of them are the autoplunger models, and the ball.

 

Autoplunger

 

Heroes = Fisto fist

Evil = Clawful claw

Horde = Leech suction hand

 

Balls

 

Heroes = He-Man chest plate

Evil = Skeletor chest plate

Horde = Hordak chest plate

 

You can force what ball you want to use (no matter the faction) in the TABLE OPTIONS in the table script. you can also choose to use a standard chrome ball instead.

 

This can also be toggled during attract mode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

=================================================================

 

 

New: CHOOSE YOUR FACTION

 

 

The new "Choose Your Faction" feature I've added will change some things in the game based on the faction you have chosen.

Two of them are the playfield art and bonus multiplier characters.

 

The many changes and new items I added to the table required that I make new art for the playfield. The parts of the playfield art that remain the same are still new as I sourced new higher resolution art to composite it all together.

 

There is lots of new art for the heroes playfield, but the evil and horde playfields are pretty much all new.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=================================================================

 

 

New: CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER

 

The new "Choose Your Faction" feature I've added will change some things in the game based on the faction you have chosen such as the playfield art, the autoplunger model, and the ball (all to match the faction you choose).

 

However, the faction you choose will also give you one more option. The ability to Choose your Character. The characters you can choose from are specific to your faction. Your character will simply appear on the mirror display on the playfield during the game. The idea was more for fun, but also may be handy if I'm able to add multiplayer support in the future (so each player can see their character during their turn, etc).

 

I won't have "every" character, but I included the more common ones from the 80's toys and cartoons, etc. This is the list of characters:

 

Heroic Warriors

 

He-Man

Orko

Man-at-Arms

Ram Man

Teela

Sorceress

She-ra

Buzz-off

Moss Man

Mekaneck

Man-e Faces

Stratos

Roboto

Fisto

Clamp Champ

Snout Spout

Zodac

 

Evil Warriors

 

Skeletor

Beast Man

Mer-Man

Trap Jaw

Tri-Klops

Evil-Lyn

Webstor

Kobra Khan

Stinkor

Scare Glow

Whiplash

Clawful

Spikor

Two Bad

 

The Evil Horde

 

Hordak

Imp

Grizzlor

Mantenna

modulok

Leech

Shadow Weaver

Catra

Scorpia

Trooper

Mosquitor

Octavia

 

 

 

 

=================================================================

 

 

New: MEKANECK MYSTERY

 

A new feature I've just added is Mekanack Mystery.

 

To enable it you must make a number shots to either the left orbit or the upper right inner loop and have the ball travel down past He-Man where the new Mystery insert and Mekaneck toy are located. This must be done when not in a mode. The number of shots required can be set in TABLE OPTIONS.

 

Once enabled Mekaneck will say something and raise his neck all the way up. Then you can trigger Mystery by hitting the He-Man kicker (when not in a mode).

 

Mystery will cycle through numerous rewards and eventually stop and reward you with whatever it ends up with (it's always random). Currently this can be the following (but may change):

 

- increase Orko Shots (+5 for now)

- extra ball

- bonus multipliers x2,x3,x4,x5,x6

- award big points

- enable Battlecat Bumpers

- award action figure

- award vehicle

- award playset

 

I've coded this so that the Mystery will only offer and cycle through options that are of a greater value than what you have, or something you can still acquire. So if you already have Bonus Multipliers x4, then it won't allow x2 or x3 to be an option. This makes it so it won't waste your mystery reward on something you already have. (if you have all action figures, then it won't offer that, etc) Other variables can change what's offered as well such as game progress, how many balls left, or how many Orko shots you have, etc. These are the kind of things I need to eventually iron out after the game is close to done and tested a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

=================================================================

 

 

New: LAUNCH PERKS and Mirror Display

 

 

LAUNCH PERKS

 

Another new feature I've just added are Launch Perks. This is similar to what I added to Sonic Pinball Mania, but with some changes.

 

At the start of each ball, the mirror display that is positioned over the plunger lane area will quickly cycle through many "perks" (random order). When you launch the ball whatever perk is shown will be applied. The duration of the cycle time can be set in TABLE OPTIONS (to make it really easy for kids or bad players, etc).

 

These are some of the perks (but may change):

 

- increase Orko Shots (+5 for now)

- extra ball

- Mystery is Ready

- Man-E Modes is Ready

- Hordak is Horrible is Ready

- Sorceress Struggles is Ready

- She-Ra Slingshots is Ready

- Teela's Training is Ready

- He-Man MB is Ready

- Skeletor MB is Ready

- Castle MB is Ready

- Ripper MB is Ready

- Shot Unlocked (to instantly allow progression on all shots)

 

This allows you to get into modes quickly without having to progress through their shots to make them "ready". Since this is random, it makes for unpredictable gameplay with each ball launch and makes for fast action and fun. With each new ball it can narrow down what perks you have so you can have a better chance at start new modes more quickly the better you play.

 

I've coded this so that the Launch Perks will only offer and cycle through options for modes that are not "completed" or not already "ready", etc . So if you already completed a few modes (you can't replay any mode after completing them) then the Launch Perks will no longer include those modes. This makes it so it won't waste your Launch Perk on something you already have completed.

 

 

 

MIRROR DISPLAY

 

I've now fully utilized the mirror display I created. Now it will show the following:

 

- what player is playing and what faction they are from

- what mode you are playing in

- splash images of characters (with a callout) when their mode is ready, or another mode is progressing

- ball saves

- battlecat bumpers

- bonus multipliers

- rewards for things like action figure, vehicles, playsets

- mystery rewards

- launch perks

 

There could be more things added later on. I'm really happy how this turned out as its surprisingly effective at giving you helpful visual feedback without needing to look at the DMD display.

 

 

 

 

=================================================================

 

 

PHEW!

 

This new table is becoming a massive game. The table file is by far the largest FP table (and larger than most new VP tables) at around 435 MB... so far. I could reduce that a bit with some texture optimizations.

 

The table... visually... is pretty locked down now and won't be changing much. The VR room still needs to be completed (and could be big)... and other bits here and there.

 

The content in this table for an original is just getting crazy. 15+ modes and many new features.

 

The hard part for me now.... is stopping myself from adding more new features and modes.

[TerryRed]

TILT

 

It's not something most people even think about, but something as simple a TILT can be a huge endeavor to implement correctly on a table like this.

 

With now 16 modes (yes I'm making a new one as we speak), you have to think of everything that could go wrong, and I have MANY staged events that play out through gameplay that need to be sorted and correctly stopped / hidden / animated if you tilt. You also have to properly deal with balls draining, as some may be hidden or destroyed during staged events.

I have it so that you can't tilt during many events since you aren't actually playing during those moments.... or times like when you get to choose a Man-E mode, etc. Lots to think about... as you never know when someone does a drunken shake of the machine during silly times, etc.

 

You also have to think about ball recovery options as well.

 

 

Multiplayer

 

This table is only single player right now... but god help me if I try to implement multiplayer.

 

It would be very cool as each player can be a different faction and character, etc....

 

...but... not only would I have to keep track of every players mode completion progress, but I would also have to keep track of every players progress to make the mode "ready", as well. That's 16 modes, and then the "ready" progress for each. Then there's the rest of the playfield shots that have their own settings and progress as well. (which includes setting the correct colour and blink state, etc)

 

This table doesn't reset "any" progress as you play.  So your next ball continues where you left off. (it does reset the mode progress if you fail though). So that would be a monster task to figure out.

 

It would require recoding much of the game in respect to no longer using light states for logic (right now, if you clear a mode, the light state is on, etc).

 

I would also have to track what each player "collects" as well for modes completed, figures, vehicles, playsets. I also would have to change the playfield / visuals for each player's new ball, etc. Yah... this is a BIG game.

 

I REALLY want to do that, but that may be a bonus to try to tackle when I'm basically "done" (enough).

 

 

Biggest table?

 

Dang... this table is 450 MB so far, lol (and I'll still need to finish the VR room). This may well be the biggest standalone table file size ever when its done.... for both VP and FP.

 

That's not including a pup-pack.

[TerryRed]

 

 

SKELETOR IS STUNNING!

 

(new Man-E Mode)

 

=================================

 

I've just completed creating the 8th Man-E Mode, making a total of 16 modes now for MOTU CE!

 

In this mode, Skeletor has transported Castle Grayskull to another dimension! You need to defeat him and return it to Eternia. Only one problem, He-Man's strength isn't the same as it is in Eternia!

 

Skeletor will randomly fire his stun ray from his havoc staff at He-Man. This will freeze your ball instantly in it's spot for 2 seconds, then it will be released. This can be tricky as you never know where your ball will get stunned and dropped! It could be stunned over a desired flipper, or stunned over the drain and when released could be straight down the middle. This is where an Orko Shot can be very helpful!

 

After a couple of shots the Sorceress offers her help. She will use her powers to stop Skeletor from firing. Now He-Man must ask for the Castle's secret powers to help him lift Castle Grayskull, then throw it back through the White Hole, and back to Eternia!

 

Skeletor will break free. You must try to stop him, but he'll get away, again!

 

=================================

 

This may "possibly" be the last Man-E Mode (never say never, as I still have ideas). This was actually the first idea I had for a new mode when I started making this game. Diamond Ray Dilemma was the second. Yet they were both the last ones to be made

 

If I can stop myself from adding more modes, I can focus on the remaining features and the boring stuff to round out the entire game.

 

Getting closer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TerryRed]

WORK IN PROGRESS

 

New: Evil Voice-over Dude, Lighting and effects, DMD / Display images

 

=================================

 

New Custom Voice Overs

 

I decided to add a bunch of new custom voice overs for things like choosing faction / characters, new ball / stats, ball lost, high scores, etc. I created these using an online Voice Generator using a Villainous voice. I'm surprised how well it turned out... even when he calls you a Royal Boob for getting the highest score!

 

We've come a long way with voice generators. In the days of my youth in the 80's, we would type a bunch of endless naughty words into the Radio Shack store's Tandy computer running a text to speech demo.... and it would play endlessly and the store worker couldn't stop it unless they turned of the computer

 

I also added some new evil music cues that work really well with the new callouts.

 

=================================

 

Lighting and Effects

 

I added some new dynamic lightings effects the follow your ball at different moments. These really look great, as they show off FP-BAM's lighting nicely as the lighting passes by all items and shows of their details and normal maps, etc. You can choose to turn these off in TABLE OPTIONS.

 

I added some spotlights that hover over He-Man / Skeletor / Hordak depending on the faction you choose, etc.... as well as some other lighting effects.

 

=================================

 

DMD and Display Images

 

I've completely updated the FP DMD to display lots of info and to change what it shows depending on what mode you are playing in. It now includes showing what faction the player belongs to.

 

I've made it so that the game keeps track of how many times each faction has been chosen, so it can show this during attract mode and which faction was played the most. I also show the maximum number of toys that have been collected during a game.

 

I created many new cool video images for the DMD / score display that splash during many more events now. These are all internally part of the table itself (not using an external app like flexdmd or pup), and are all preloaded into ram when the table loads. This is why some FP tables take longer to load compared to VP tables which must rely on external apps to be able to do this. The PinEvent pup features / pup-pack / videos are separate and I create those last.

 

=================================

 

I'm extremely happy to say the table is at a really solid point now with all current content running perfect with everything I've wanted to add (I've had to stop myself from adding many more modes). It really is a massive game, and may be one of the largest tables (on VP or FP) when it's done. So far it's table file size alone is 463 MB, without a completed VR room.

 

These are some of the last things I may or may not be adding:

 

- end of game mini-game / mode, or something else

- "game completed" mode or animated sequence

- VR / Game room completed

- multiplayer support (this requires MASSIVE work and may not happen)

- DOF

- PinEvent features

 

It feels good to be at this point, as the game is close to a "complete" game... but there is still MUCH more work to do. It's getting there!

[TerryRed]

 

WORK IN PROGRESS

 

New feature: POWER PERKS and POWER POINTS

 

=================================

 

I added a VERY cool new feature! At the end of your game, if you have done well enough, you are given a choice to trade any collections you have been awarded for PERKS or POINTS.

 

POWER PERKS

 

These are special high value reward perks that can only be traded for at the END of a game. The Power Perks you have are shown on the inserts at the bottom of the playfield.

 

- collect as many Power Perks as you want (there are 6)

- you can only trade for ONE Power Perk at the end of your game!

- use Power Perks however you want during any follow up games

- they don't have to be used in the next game because your Power Perks are saved to the fpRAM file! (same as your High Scores)

- this means they are always available to use as you please, even if you exit FP!

- each Power Perk can be used only once during a game (but you can use as many as you have)

- once a Power Perk is used, to get it again, you can trade for more Power Perks at the end of a game

 

HOW TO USE A POWER PERK:

 

Press START during gameplay.

 

- the apron light must be lit (only if you have any available)

- Orko will trap the ball in place with a magic circle

- the Power Perks menu will appear

- choose your available Power Perk with flippers

- activate your selected Power Perk with action / plunger

- all the listed perks will instantly take affect

- the spell will flash red and release your ball in a few seconds (usually after a callout)

 

Activating a Power Perk will NOT save your ball from a drain, etc. It will be released in the same spot it started!

 

Power Perks can NOT be used:

 

- during multiball (when more than one ball is in play)

- during timed events

- when a ball is in a kicker or in the Bumperhead, etc

- when an Orko Shot is active

 

Note: if you don't have enough Collections for the Power Perks that are "available", you will not be given the choice for a Power Perk! Instead the game will automatically trade what Collections you have for Power Points!

 

=================================

 

POWER POINTS

 

These are extra points awarded at the end of a game, based on what Collections you have.

 

- if you have chosen to trade for Power Perks, you get no Power Points!

- if you have no Collections you get no Power Points

- your Power Points are awarded based on how many of each Collection type you have (Figures, Vehicles, Playsets)

- Action Figures give less points (but you can collect more of them), Vehicles give more, and Playsets give the most

 

Power Points are added to your FINAL SCORE.

 

=================================

 

We've seen other FP tables use an end of game reward before (Star Wars DSA, Blade Runner), but those rewards were always applied only to the next game, they removed points from your score to use them, and would be lost if you exited FP.

 

With Power Perks, you keep them however long you want and you get to use them on any game you want, and can activate them when you want. This allows for real rewards for playing a great game, and adds some strategy on when to use a Power Perk.

 

Oh, and I also updated the Apron to better reflect the new features, and how to use them!

 

So... lets just say... this is the last big feature I wanted to add. Now, it's on to creating the final VR / game room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jdv]

Love the idea of power perks... Can't wait!

[TerryRed]

New! VR Game rooms and Toppers!

 

Here are some pics of the new VR Rooms and topper options I created for MOTU CE. All of it was created in Blender. Most models were very high poly (between 1 to 20 million each), and were converted / remeshed down dramatically. Most of the models were scans of the original 80's toys, but many (in the vr room and the game) didn't have any textures, so I had to create new uvwraps and painted them by hand to match as best I could (Blender's paint tools are minimal but they did the job).

 

The castle walls and towers were all separate pieces. They needed to be assembled and have new textures created (they originally use a tiled approach for textures, which meant they couldn't be baked without remapping and creating new textures). Combined with normal maps, the castle alone ended up being 130 MB added to the table! I created some poster frames and added posters on all the walls for the older cartoons and movies as well as the newer shows on Netflix. The torches are a bunch of Overlays playing an animation.

 

Both the Granamyr (big red dragon) and the Skeletor bone throne models can be displayed in either the VR room at full size, or they can be used as a topper on top of the backbox!

 

The whole room had lighting added for the torches and main lighting. Everything was ray traced / baked, and used with the in-game models, and turned out great! Combined with FP-BAM's dynamic lighting... all I can say is this looks VERY cool in VR!

 

I also added 2 other VR room options. A minimal room (with just a wall and a floor), and a MR room to be used with mixed reality VR headsets (you can choose a colour of white, green, magenta, blue, and black in the table script TABLE OPTIONS).

 

All 3 VR room options can be toggled on the fly (and so can the topper options), or you can have the game switch them automatically to whichever rooms you want during attract mode and during gameplay. The idea behind this is because the Mega VR room is so detailed, it may be too demanding for some PC's and drop their fps during gameplay in VR. So you can choose to have the Mega VR room in attract mode to look at... but when the game starts it can switch to the minimal room and keep your fps high during gameplay.

 

The table without the VR room was already massive at around 430 MB... but with the VR room, the table file is currently now at around 780 MB! The table uses around 5.2 GB vram on your GPU... so everyone will need a 6 GB GPU... or you can enable Texture compression in FP video settings and reduce that to around 3.2 GB vram used (looks the same, just takes a little longer to load).

 

Yes... all these pics are from in-game... not from a Blender render. If you have a fast PC... this looks very cool in VR. The combination of ray traced / baked textures and FP's dynamic lighting makes for an amazing combo in any mode... but in VR there is nothing else that looks quite like it! In MR, its crazy seeing something I've been working on for over 1 year appear in the middle of my basement! I'm amazed at how well that works!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[telmoabff]

Oooh... this is biiig!

[TerryRed]

WORK IN PROGRESS

 

New! MULTIPLAYER! (finally!)

 

=================================

 

I wasn't sure if it was going to happen... but after many days, I've finally got complete multiplayer support added to MOTU CE! This required me to redo all my code for the entire table, as your typical cookie-cutter pinball logic / code won't work with this table for multiplayer. This table is VERY big, and with all the modes and features it has, this was a daunting task... but luckily the many updates and changes I've done over the last few months made that process much easier than it would have been.

 

Now you can choose to have up to 3 players. One for each faction! Player 1 gets to choose from all 3 factions, then player 2 gets to choose from the 2 remaining factions, and player 3 gets the last faction. The character you get to choose depends on your faction. Each player makes these choices at the start of their first ball.

 

When each player starts a new ball, the game will change the appearance of everything on the playfield to match the faction and character they have chosen!

 

There are no "Shoot Again" events (typically from getting an extra ball) which normally has a player continue after they drain. In MOTU CE there are many ways each player can acquire extra balls. So it's one ball per player per turn. The game will continue on until each player has no balls left.

 

At the end of the game... you will find out who "The Winner is..." with a lightshow and music sequence. Then if anyone beat the Highest Score, you get another lightshow sequence for that. I added lots of new custom "villain" callouts for all the new functions.

 

The DMD has been updated to show the results of the game for each player (Last Hero/Evil/Horde Score and Collections, etc).

 

Power Perks are normally disabled during multiplayer to make it fair for everyone (as Power Perks only apply to the current player)... but I did add options to allow you to enable / disable Power Perks for both single player and multiplayer (in TABLE OPTIONS in script, or with one of your Special buttons, etc). This can be good if you don't want someone using your Power Perks, or if you want to allow your kids to use them for one game, etc.

 

=================================

 

This is the big milestone I was hoping for. It really allows the extra features I added to be fun when playing with friends.

 

Now I have the following left to finish:

 

- a "Game Completed" sequence (not sure what to do here yet)

- DOF

- PUP DMD, PuP Videos

- PinEvent features

- docs, manual etc

 

I am extremely happy with this game at this point. I could add so many more modes and features, but this table is already one of the biggest tables made... and I have to stop somewhere 

 

I won't say when it will be done (cabinet is not running yet, family / health issues). I will say this. If it's not done before Oct 6th... even if it was at 98 % done on Oct 5th... come Oct 6th I'll be taking time off to absorb myself into the new Silent Hill 2 Remake. After that, I'll for sure finish this up.

[TerryRed]

So, after taking a lot of time getting to know the new pupdmd framework and pup 1.5 features... I spent a lot of time updating parts of it and adapting it for my PinEvent tables (on Future Pinball-BAM) . MOTU CE finally has the bare essentials for pupdmd running and looking great. I don't have any new videos, etc done yet... but I do have some PNG images that move / animate on the screen for some things... such as Ball Saver and Ram Man bouncing up and flying across the screen.... or Mekaneck raising his neck across the screen. I also have some png image labels for text to fade in and out or flash on screen. All of this is super easy to do with pup 1.5. Also... we can now use gradients for all text combined with outlines, etc. This looks so much nicer! I have everything working and running much more efficiently than in the past with the new updated framework.

 

So... with the new Silent Hill 2 Remake about to come out on Oct 6th (for early adopters), I won't be touching MOTU CE for probably at least 2 weeks. After that, I'll get back to it and I'm hoping to see it get to the finish line in early to mid November. The table is mostly done. It's mostly the PinEvent / PUPDMD / Videos, etc that needs to be finished and the time needed for that is unpredictable. In the meantime... here is an image of how the PUP DMD display is looking so far for MOTU CE.

 

[TerryRed]

Good news! I am almost done the PinEvent / PUP portion of MOTU CE (for Future Pinball-BAM) and getting close to the final stretch. My "hope" is to have the game mostly complete before I leave to visit family for the holidays next week. When I come back, I hope to finalize things and have it ready for release before XMAS, or at the very latest before New Years! Keep an eye out for a full update coming soon!

Yes, you are seeing that right... the playfield art and RAM-IT! insert had a major update, again.

 

[hitman2304]

Unfortunately i don't use anymore FP, is there any chance to recreate this table in VPE when will be ready?

[TerryRed]

Unfortunately i don't use anymore FP, is there any chance to recreate this table in VPE when will be ready?

 

Your loss. The days of old FP physics are long gone... and it's basically on par with VPX now for physics thanks to JLou's excellent work with FizX (maybe not quite up to the best of nFozzy physics, but close enough for most people who try it).

 

VPX isn't capable of making this table (there would need to be compromises / removed features)... and VPE is a long ways from being possible. I don't care what I create on, as long as it does what I need it to... and FP-BAM is the only pinball app that even comes close right now. Making original tables like this is very complex.... and making it for another app isn't as simple as "copy and paste". There's a reason why most tables on VP are rom based. Not many people are willing to put in 1.5 years (or more) into one original table by themselves (assuming they even have the knowledge / skills to do so).

 

All I can say is... you will be really missing out on a massive / unique game you won't find anywhere else.

Edited by TerryRed, 04 December 2024 - 04:43 PM.