10 replies to this topic

[somnia]

Hi everyone,
Im currently working on a VPX recreation of The Pinball Circus(WIP the pinball circus, thankyou flexDMD). Its a fascinating and unique machine, and Im trying my best to make this version as authentic as possible.
Progress is going well, but Ive hit a roadblock regarding the Video Mode assets. Specifically, I am looking for high-quality references or footage for:

• The Mechanical Giraffe video mode
• Pinbo video mode

I have searched extensively and only managed to find a partial clip of the Giraffe's video mode in this YouTube video at 8:37 (Pinball Circus PHOF - Game play 1 - YouTube). Unfortunately, I haven't found any clear footage of Pinbo yet.
Since this is such a rare prototype machine, I was wondering if anyone in the community happens to have high-quality recordings, raw assets, or perhaps knows someone who owns the physical machine and might be willing to capture some footage?
Any help, information, or leads would be greatly appreciated. Im excited to bring this rare gem to the VPX community!

Thanks in advance,
Somnia

Edited by somnia, Today, 12:14 PM.

[jpsalas]

I started with this table too, but it soon evolved into Gargamel Park You may use any part of my table if you want. Good luck!

[scutters]

This might help;https://web.archive....s/doho/pbc.html

 

(seems like for me at least not all gifs load with different ones showing each time so you might need to reload the page a few times to see everything)

 

Good luck!

[somnia]

I started with this table too, but it soon evolved into Gargamel Park You may use any part of my table if you want. Good luck!

Oh, the legendary JP! I have played many of the VPX tables you created. It’s an honor to receive your reply, and thank you very much for your support. I’ve also been playing your Gargamel Park.

This might help;https://web.archive....s/doho/pbc.html

 

(seems like for me at least not all gifs load with different ones showing each time so you might need to reload the page a few times to see everything)

 

Good luck!

Thank you, this is exactly the time machine website I didn’t know how to use! I asked an AI and it also mentioned this site, but I didn’t understand how to operate it. Thank you so much for helping me find it for real.

[BostonBuckeye]

Wow! This can’t be an easy table to create. I don’t think anyone has done it yet. Were you able to get a hold of the rom? 

[somnia]

Wow! This can’t be an easy table to create. I don’t think anyone has done it yet. Were you able to get a hold of the rom?

I haven’t been able to find the ROM for The Pinball Circus, and there’s no news that these two pinball machines will ever be freely duplicated. I’ll have to watch countless playthroughs myself in order to recreate the DMD animations and logic.

[htamas]

Hats off to you for even trying to recreate this. I'm curious how this will go, it must be surely difficult.

There are only two of these in existence as far as I'm aware, so it wouldn't be easy to get a ROM drop. One is in a private collection, the other one is in the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, where it is playable by anyone. It's a fun game, I dropped quite a few quarters into it

[somnia]

Hats off to you for even trying to recreate this. I'm curious how this will go, it must be surely difficult.
There are only two of these in existence as far as I'm aware, so it wouldn't be easy to get a ROM drop. One is in a private collection, the other one is in the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, where it is playable by anyone. It's a fun game, I dropped quite a few quarters into it

The whole playfield isnt that hard, the 3D mesh isnt hard either since AI can help with the artwork. But the toughest part is I dont want to come up with PINBOs video mode myself, because I feel it wouldnt be faithful to the original. Also, the video mode of the mechanical giraffe only shows the animation of eating bad apples, but its missing the animation of eating good apples. So I really want to see the real deal for both the mechanical giraffe and PINBOs video modes.

[Fusionwerks]

Have you tried contacting the owner of The Pinball hall of fame in Vegas? He MIGHT just help you get a rom dump. Or a good video of what you need. You never know...

Edited by Fusionwerks, 22 March 2026 - 03:39 PM.

[somnia]

Have you tried contacting the owner of The Pinball hall of fame in Vegas? He MIGHT just help you get a rom dump. Or a good video of what you need. You never know...

That rom has remained unreleased since 1993, and the DMD animations have never been completely captured. Being a newcomer to VPX, I wonder if it’s truly possible for me to obtain it? I’m going to try and see.

Edited by somnia, 23 March 2026 - 02:07 AM.

[fourbanks]

The address is here to contact Tim. If the rom were to be released to us, we would have to pay a substantial amount. I have previously contacted other manufacturers, but the response has consistently been no.

 

Since it would take a long time to manufacture the table without the rom, it would be ideal if someone who lived nearby could visit the showroom. At best, this would require quality video footage and still images, from a skilled player so that we could see the table in action.

 

Support Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame Pinball Museum, Nevada NV, Tim Arnold

 

 

Arcade Holy Grail: The Pinball Circus – The Arcade Blogger

Edited by fourbanks, Today, 03:38 PM.