Felsir Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I'm working on Star Gazer. It will be my first scratch build table. After some experiments with the VPX editor, I think I'm ready for the real work. The artwork will be 4K, so I'm busy cleaning up and recreating the graphics in vector format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalamus Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 That looks amazing. Building a table from scratch is no small task. Especially if you are redoing the whole pf in vector. Please, keep us updated ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonLaw Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Looking forward to this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted August 17, 2021 Author Share Posted August 17, 2021 Thank you! I am quite aware that this will take a lot of time 🙂 So far I am enjoying the ride. The vectorisation progress is done by hand- I have done a lot of arcade sideart in the past- but this one has quite a few intricate color and shapes in it. I hope I can get closte to the image I have in my mind for the final product. For constructing the table, I'm a rookie, so I may have some questions or need advice along the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalamus Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 Yepp. No one is born as a vp author. First, you play, then you mod - then you author ... and evolves, getting better at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted August 29, 2021 Author Share Posted August 29, 2021 Quick update- did some additional vector work, but my spare time is limited over the next few weeks. Did also some table tests in 10.7; so I'm slowly getting there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted September 11, 2021 Author Share Posted September 11, 2021 Playing around with the layout. Based on images from Pinside forum topic gallery I think I have the playfield layout done. Large part of the girl is vectorised so I can vary the colors and style. I want to provide the option in the script to have the authentic playfield or my own "remastered" version. Not sure how easy that probably means I need to flip a lot of texture references around. Looking forward to hear some thoughts on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalamus Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Only way to change the playfield would be to make a mesh and change the texture for that mesh. playfield mesh is a thing, but, the current implementation doesn't really support swapping textures for it. It could be done by not putting the mesh at 0 height, but, there is this problem that mesh's physics isn't great in all cases. I've seen balls going the opposite way that you expect and odd things like that. It is probably better to consider making two versions, or provide a second image that can be used for those that know how to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted September 18, 2021 Author Share Posted September 18, 2021 I have all the light elements in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalamus Posted September 19, 2021 Share Posted September 19, 2021 Well done. I would however, at this point take a small break and open up a vpw created table. Look at how they do the pf lights. This because you're doing a re-draw, you will, IF you want to, be able to create those lights with less effort than having to start from a scanned resource. Just a suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 Thank you for the advise. I was figuring if I have the lights and most of the elements in the playfield in place, I can start modelling the table. The rest of the graphic details will follow later. I have attached an animated GIF what I have done in VPX 10.7. I have added the light setting I've used. The environment light is the default still. It is a bit "greyish" that I do not yet know how to tweak. What do you think of the light effect so far? Any table that you suggest looking at for a better effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalamus Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 I would experiment with a few different env files. The default one is ok I guess, but, often replaced on my end. Depends a lot on what I want to accomplish really. If you look at pr. example BSD, it was suggested by @robertmsto use for the table and I liked it right away. I would however NOT use it for every table. Overhead is one I like, same is the one that Hauntfreaks created. Don't remember the name of it - very often used and has something with "blur" in its name. This is your creation, experiment until you find something that YOU like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 I may need some help with this. I tried the JP's Arcade Physics v3.01 Rubber objects table and placed my playfield texture on it. It looked way better so I tried to figure out what influences this. So, as per @Thalamus post, I checked the used env file- exported it, and imported into my table. Next I copied the values under the Table->Lights panel and set it to the imported env file. The results are below: left is the JP example- right is mine. Note how the blues closer to the outlanes is more greyish. What should I change as well to get the same effect? My aplologies if I asking something obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuntcat Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 Played the real version of this table recently , loved it , looking forward to seeing this come to life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 Still working on this- I've been checking many VPX scripts so far to figure out some of the inner workings. So far I have the pinmame controller working, flippers and plunger react when I insert the coin. I'm learning a lot from the Scooby Doo/Kiss table by @hauntfreaks. I am however struggeling with the table editor so I'm thinking of converting an old table I found (by @allknowing2012) to the new 10.7. I couldn't get the old table to run with a backglass and it kept crashing at some point during gameplay. It does look like a solid base though. The script, plastics, physics, lighting etc. will be redone from scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 Made a lot of progress! The table is getting close to a playable state. Most of the components are hooked up and interact with the rom- which felt like an accomplishment the first time 🙂 In all, it is a time-consuming and precise process. So far thanks to all those who build tables- there was a lot to learn here. So far, I managed to get the ball rolling sound and other effects working. On the graphics side- the girl on the playfield is almost done. I've finished the apron, the plunger-cover, most of the element graphics. The sword, torches, closeup of her eyes and the crow are on the to-do list. The plastics are placeholders for now- oh and it needs more stars ofcourse! Soon I hope the table is ready for some play-testing. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted November 27, 2021 Author Share Posted November 27, 2021 Another update: I have updated the plastics, tweaked the lighting (thank to the recent tables by @bord I am enjoying, these are amazing- and a great learning resource!). Graphics wise I'm adding the constellations and stars to the playfield and plastics, further work continues with drawing the other elements (sword, torch etc.) Table is playable, but for some reason some lights don't react to the switches- so I need to hunt down the right codes for those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted December 22, 2021 Author Share Posted December 22, 2021 Almost done! Added the torches, swords and the crow. Now fleshing out the playfield with the constellations. Gameplaywise the table works; just need a few tweaks here and there such as adding sound effects to the flippers and tuning some lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted December 26, 2021 Author Share Posted December 26, 2021 Submitted v1.0 of the table - next stop create the backglass that matches the style of the artwork. In the meantime, a suitable backglass based on the original is available by @Wildman here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 Backglass Work-in-progess. All elements are now vectorised- adjusted the layout to fit my 16:9 backglass screen. The original would be squashed too much. I'll make sure the backglass will also look nice for people with other display ratios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalamus Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Nice one. I've been a bit sick this x-mas, got the flu and low of energy. So, I've left out a few feed backs here and there. Happy to see that you continue making this a much better looking re-creation. I've only played a few games on it yet; but, I enjoyed it. Hope to feel better soon so I'm able to play this an a few other updates. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felsir Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share Posted January 2, 2022 5 hours ago, Thalamus said: Nice one. I've been a bit sick this x-mas, got the flu and low of energy. So, I've left out a few feed backs here and there. Happy to see that you continue making this a much better looking re-creation. I've only played a few games on it yet; but, I enjoyed it. Hope to feel better soon so I'm able to play this an a few other updates. 👍 Get well soon! I'm happy to hear your feedback 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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