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"The Shadow" - update?


makmak

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There was a blender magician on randr's page who made some fantastic ring/dagger/samurai for 'the shadow' - I forgot his name. I hope these models are not gone? That time I have tried to implement the rings but I failed miserable (and in the following I deleted the models, hoping someone else would be more succesful, then the site went down...). Anyone planning to update 'the shadow' ?

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I remember very well that Skitso did a very fine version of this machine. But, I also quite sure that there where resources readily made that was not included. Believe you're right about Dark was behind those prims; but, I'm not 100% sure. I'm sure that Bord said something about it, and now - well it is a thread, that is hard to find.

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Sit right down and I'll tell you the Shadow update story as I remember it:

 

Not long after Skitso released his mod (early 2019, I believe) I was contacted by a very gifted VP author asking if I would take over his scratch Shadow build. He had measured all sorts of stuff off a real machine that was getting stripped: ramp heights, metal guide positions, etc. I received a working barebones VPX file built on these measurements and a directory full of great reference photos. I couldn't say no to such an offer. The biggest limitations were the playfield and plastic resources but I figured those could be massaged or replaced.

 

image.thumb.png.dbc69ab9b7df76b11c568c180355fac0.png

 

Shortly after that I contacted Dark, one of the best model builders on the scene and asked him if he would consider modeling all the unique toys for The Shadow. He delivered in spades, modeling the rings, jewels, guards, and furbas as beautiful game assets. The guy is a really remarkable talent.

 

I set to work on modeling everything based on measurements from the VP file. The best achievement was the intricate network of wire ramps on the game.

 

all_wireforms.thumb.jpg.70bf3cba14fb79722042a000cbc0c732.jpg

 

But it became a procrastination project for me. Once every few months I would open up my Blender file and tinker with it for a week, then table it to try to track down better resources and work on other projects.

 

And then vpinball went down.

 

No problem. I have a copy of Dark's models, right?

 

Wrong.

 

I couldn't find a local copy of them anywhere. Thankfully, after the site was shut down randr let me go in and salvage what I needed. The last things I ever pulled from vpinball were a new copy of Dark's Shadow models.

 

So finally this year I reached the point where I couldn't put off the plastics any longer. Everything else was modeled and lit.

 

1688062949_render1copy.thumb.jpg.06c0ee19c4c29e9caefb4233ced0c94c.jpg

 

631622431_render2copy.thumb.jpg.e5c110ba134c0742a97d494dff4b127f.jpg

 

I asked a friend to help me purchase a set of Shadow plastics to scan and place in the game. He generously agreed and a week later I had everything I needed to complete the game... or so I thought.

 

The first plastic I brought in didn't seem to fit any of the places it should. Holes didn't line up and the overall curve didn't match those of the metal guides it was supposed to follow. What gives? The second plastic didn't fit, either. Not even close.

 

Any guesses?

 

image.png.454718e2bc2f8b49a06992b17f68b554.png

 

Could it be this entire thing was built on a shaky foundation? A couple Shadow owners confirmed: The Shadow's playfield is 46" long and the VP file was 42"!

 

So there it sits. No sense in continuing work on the existing version. It needs a rebuild built on a new, correct playfield asset.

 

Can anything good come from all this wasted time? Will this project be salvaged? Is it possible to have a new version of The Shadow within our lifetimes?

 

image.thumb.png.08667b7e1e3ab812ed5f63e37c65119f.png

 

The Shadow knows.

 

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  • 1 month later...

I remember playing the real table over 20 years ago. It was/is a fantastic table,

When playing the current VPX versions I did notice something was really off with this conversion as I remember the ramps to take more time for the ball roll through....they were simply longer.

So there it is , the playfield  should be longer. Great observations @bord.

 

I really hope someone will re-do the table with the right measurements!

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