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[anthias]

A new Anthias original theme WIP.

 

I took my Yuki table as a starting point (just as that one started from Road Train, which started from Test Pilots, so essentially this is from the same template as those three tables) and began working on a new layout.

 

The theme is a group os fearless daredevil racers, flying whatever old ship they can hot up, for a ruthless and high stakes race through the asteroid belt, dipping inside the rings of Saturn, and back to the starting line in orbit of Phobos.

 

While the race is not sanctioned by government, or even legal, it does garner immense interest in the illicit gambling dens of the system, and as such pulls some big name sponsorships, making the race lucrative for not just the winners, but any pilot and crew that survives the anything goes in flight battle that the race inevitably becomes.

 

Thinking of joining the fun? You better be able to fund some powerful weapons for your rocket powered death wish machine!

 

 rbrss1.jpg   956.28KB   2 downloads

[anthias]

I've made further layout changes and improvements and commenced FlexDMD implementation on this table. It's displaying the DMD, with title and four players, I don't have scoring or display frames to it yet but that will come. I figure using Flexdmd will overcome the trouble with b2s scoring on three screen cabs. If all goes smoothly, I'll implement the same on my "Titans of Magellan" table.

[anthias]

made some rapid progress getting scoring and a title to display in flexdmd! backglass is a preliminary version while I get stuff worked out, I'll improve on this low res one later.  IMG_20241112_223510~2.jpg   55.96KB   2 downloads

[anthias]

Made some layout tweaks, playing well now. Flexdmd is scoring well, but the message frames aren't pleasing me, so it needs work still. I'll get lights and lighting tackled soonish, but I am spending a lot of time on the DMD even though at this stage it's text only. If I can get images to work it will get interesting. At the moment my twenty something year old display thing is still there, but I will slowly dismantle things as I go most likely, and adapt it's basic structure to the DMD.
 PXL_20241116_132752253~2.jpg   171.61KB   1 downloads

[anthias]

This one has a good chunk of progress since I last posted here, mbut I have no internet currently available at home so I don't have a screenshot for you. It's playing well, and is largely down to cosmetics now, apart from a mode or two I wish to add.

It's using Flexdmd for score display, but taking some shortcuts like using Playfield lights to indicate bonus calculations but in the style of my other tables like this such as yuki. That is, a light says calculating, and another says this bonus, that bonus, total bonus etc, with this or that bonus flashing briefly each time you increment it in play. This replaces text messaging on the DMD. This design choice helps me avoid some functions I haven't been able to work out in flex yet, but also is in keeping with my design plan on this layout which was to imagine one of those spacey themed toy electric pinball games from the eighties beefed up into a chunky commercial machine, such a thing would keep some if the simple methods that the toy used while sacrificing some of the things in the bigger commercial tables. Limited DMD messaging with lots of easily manufactured Playfield lights is in keeping with that idea. The result so far is fun, but I need to tweak some lighting still to get the best effect on that plan. Obviously the toys weren't packed full of modes, but if they had a commercial table design budget, just imagine!

I'm playing this table a lot already, I hope when it's done you all enjoy it as much as me.

Edited by anthias, 07 January 2025 - 10:49 PM.

[anthias]

I've tried out something new on this. JPO over at vpu has made an app call Movies InBackglass, which he shared with me after he used it to make new b2s files for my Murray Leinster tables. His tool breaks a video into its frames and inserts them into a b2s to make animations. It's really easy and works very well.

I took a video on my cab showing what I did to this table with it.
https://youtube.com/...FVUN4KwsVFRcRZB

Edited by anthias, 09 January 2025 - 09:34 PM.

[anthias]

I've finished this and uploaded to the other sites but trying to upload here I get a file too large error (the included b2s is 130mb) - I will need to leave it till next weekend most likely before I can think about a solution to upload it here.