Thunderbirds original 2022

I would like to present to you an original take on the Homepin, Thunderbirds pinball game.

I was going to build from scratch a Thunderbird themed table until I saw Wildman produced a backglass which alerted me to an actual table made to tribute the 60's TV series.

This table is ROM free and an original take to that Homepin table. I have used the Homepin backglass (thanks Wildman) and the playfield but it is not identical to their table or how I see a "re-skin".

I am not a graphic designer so you will see some discrepancies. I am using the original light labels on the playfield but re-purposed for my needs.

I welcome any graphics designers to help by amending the playfield to better align with the tables gameplay or even upscale the graphics.

I would like to thank the VPW group for their excellent example table which I used as the base to build this table and the flexDMD elements.
A big thanks to Rawd for helping me solve the table crashing so frequently once the file was > 500MB (was due to the large number of images with high resolution !!) .
A general thanks to all authors in the community as there are elements from all that make up this table.

This table was made in 10.6 VPVR and works in 10.7 VPX (for desktop/cabinet only). 10.7 VPVR crashes due to flexDMD so please do not use that for this table.

To make the table more interesting, in VR, I have added some interesting video modes paying tribute to some old classical games.

- The TB1 mission is inspired by prop cycle.
- The TB3 mission is inspired by lunar lander
- The TB4 mission is inspired by the Indiana Jones mine shaft video mode.

I think this is quite unique to have a pinball game break out to an immersive video mode but happy to be corrected.

There are 4 main gamemodes:

- gamemode 1 - VR
- gamemode 2 - cabinet
- gamemode 3 - desktop
- gamemode 4 - video game only (VR only)

General options

BallsPerGame  - set to 3 or 5
Replay1, 2, 3, 4 - set to whatever score desired
FlexDMD needs to be on to display scores. It can be disabled if required.

For gamemode 1 - VR options

videomission = 1 (enable breakout video modes when ball is captured. set to 0 to disable these breakout missions)
Change the playfield image to "clear"
Change DT image to <none> (not mandatory but just removes backglass image when transitioning games)

There is a difficulty setting for the TB1 & TB4 mission should you want to make it more challenging

If you choose not to have the breakout video modes,
- videomission = 0
- Change the playfield image to "PF-hirez" and
- I suggest you change playfieldmesh.visible to off

For gamemode 2 - cabinet

Use provided directb2s for a backglass. Two are provided - 2 screen and 3 screen variants. You will need to tweak the DMD location to suit your set up.

Change the playfield image to "PF-hirez" and I suggest you change playfieldmesh.visible to off

For gamemode 3 - desktop

Change the playfield image to "PF-hirez" and I suggest you change playfieldmesh.visible to off

For gamemode 4 - video game only (VR only)

Change DT image to <none> (not mandatory but just removes backglass image when transitioning games)
Change the playfield image to "clear"

There is a difficulty setting for the TB1 & TB4 mission should you want to make it more challenging

If you like the game, please give it a like on the web site,

If you have any issues, please raise a comment and I will try to help

If you are happy to write a review, please do. Any feedback and constructive criticism is welcome.

I hope you enjoy 🙂