Author Topic: Encom Prototype (Read 35129 times)

rikitiki · « **on:** July 01, 2010, 10:00:08 am »

I recently had the oportunity to sit down and talk with former Encom employee and game designer Steve Smith.
Where we discussed Encoms first video game which ironicly was never released and now we know the real reasons why.

TOG: Theres been alot of rumors and debates over the years, so I have to ask what really was Encoms first video game?

SS: Yeah long before Space Paranoids and Matrix Blaster it was supose to be Video Pinball 2.0
which people will finally get to see and play for the first time in over 30 years at this years California Extreme.

TOG: So why was it never released?

SS: Ok, well set the way back machine for 1979.
I along with Kevin Flynn set out to design some video games for Encom. Problem was we loved video games and could play them better than anybody but knew very little about gaming programing so we decided to visit Ataris main frame and take a look around.

TOG: Wait a minite! are you saying you hacked into Atari!?

SS: Well thats one way to put it, yes. Once Encom had developed the MCP it was actually quite easy.
So we started poking around and found a program called Solar War which was going to be a follow up to Ataris Video Pinball but it was dropped and never released. So I thought we could take a look at that program change it around enough by rom hacking it alittle with some addtional graphics and sounds so we could call it our own and get Encoms foot in the door into the new growing gaming industry.

TOG: So what happen?

SS: Tron. We had the VP2.0 protoype completly built
and had been approved for production of 2,000 units
when it was uncovered by that damm Tron program!
Which had reported back to Atari a breach which
lead them back to us and Encom.
Atari threaten lawsuits and it was later settle out of court with the case dropped.
But VP2.0 along with all video game related projects were dropped and I was let go.

TOG: But Flynn was allowed to stay?

SS: Yeah, I took the fall and Flynn had continued to work on games on his own time.
Once he had those codes there was just no stopping him and the rest is gaming history.

A special thanks to Steve for a little insite on this project, and for letting me bring this out to CAX this year
Ive requested some pics of the cabinet building and art design which I will continue to post

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #1 on:** July 01, 2010, 12:21:16 pm »

Very clever project announcement. Looking forward to the update.

rikitiki · « **Reply #2 on:** July 04, 2010, 04:20:22 pm »

Though this project is bassically finished and complete Im not ready to let this cat out of the bag quite yet
it will be unvieled at CAX in just a few weeks
For those that know my mad skills this will not disapoint and for those that dont be warned...
this is a project like no other and has been in devolpment for the past 2 years.

Now Im no Bob Villia but for my latest and greatest project Im startin from scratch and cuttin it old skool
and I'll start with sharing some of the cabinet building highlights.
So for starters its a complete cabinet replica build, which I started with from a paper pencil trace of the orginal cabinets side.

Once I had one nice clean cut side, sanded edge straight and smooth then routed the other side with a flush trim bit for a perfect duplicate matching set

Pinball Wizard · « **Reply #3 on:** July 04, 2010, 07:58:22 pm »

After CAX you gotta show us the rest of the project since not all of us are going to CAX. I do love the project intro though, at first you had me going with the interview.

rikitiki · « **Reply #4 on:** July 05, 2010, 12:29:15 pm »

Ill continue to post ALL of the project from its beginnings just in smaller unrevealing portions Pre-CAX.

then Ill get fully into the graphic designs, the software mods, etc.

rikitiki · « **Reply #5 on:** July 12, 2010, 09:30:02 pm »

After Paint its vinyl time I wont get into all the details of my methods of maddness but you can catch my tutorials on vinyl applications on COSP
http://www.coinopspace.com/profiles/blogs/vinyling-a-cab-101part-1
http://www.coinopspace.com/profiles/blogs/vinyling-a-cab-101-part-2

but I will post some pic highlights and the only thing I did differently was use a ROLLER instead of a squeegee
LOVED IT
Things to always have on hand

The vinyl is from Happ Black Pica slight textured very close match to Ataris Starship1 of the same period.

I perfer the roll and tuck method, the trick here is to heat and stretch the vinyl around the front edge
slowly the corners or sharp edges/curves will "bottlecap" as long as all the folds and crease lines are
below you tmold cut your good to go. razor blade down the Tmold slot and remove the excess insert tmolding

Yvan256 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2010, 12:48:37 am »

Quote from: rikitiki on July 12, 2010, 09:30:02 pm

Quick note for those scratching their heads... The album on the left is the original soundtrack of the movie Tron (duh) and the one on the right is
Escape (Journey).

rikitiki · « **Reply #7 on:** July 22, 2010, 12:14:21 pm »

Well its official Ataris Video Pinball has now been TRON-itized by Encom.

Now for the real progress...

rikitiki · « **Reply #8 on:** July 24, 2010, 03:25:15 pm »

CAX was a blast and a pretty good first time out fro Video Pinball 2.0
a few technical issues to address but Ill continue to post the project build and updates along the way

So now that its been unvieled...Back to the build

A note on the interior:
the orginal is pretty plain jane

So the inside would need some attention and used the existing available Tron art repros from PhoenixArcade
for 2 reasons lack of time and it was a perfect fit and with it reflecting on the mirror
gives it a completly differnt look

the back will use the original Tron Shroud art also available from PhoenixArcade which will replace that star background.

Later I have plans to mount an LCD which will link and playback video connected to the game play.

jasonbar · « **Reply #9 on:** July 25, 2010, 08:29:04 pm »

I enjoyed playing this at CAX--thanks for bringing it!

-Jason

rikitiki · « **Reply #10 on:** July 26, 2010, 01:14:06 pm »

Now for the good stuff
For those not familar. The basic anatomy of the original Atari Video Pinball

rikitiki · « **Reply #11 on:** July 27, 2010, 08:40:20 pm »

THE CONTROL PANEL
The hardest thing I think for this cabinet and anyone consdiering a scratch build is the control panel.
For starters they're not that easy to come buy the shape is unquie and specffic for the wood cuts
and monunts since its spring loaded then theres plastic molded side pieces, the plunger and opti board.
I got lucky and won an ebay auction a while back that was for the complete cp
though the back needed some reworking, but most importantly it was complete
so alittle rewood working and it would be ready for install

rikitiki · « **Reply #12 on:** July 28, 2010, 12:57:03 pm »

It wouldnt be a "Tron-itized" cab if it didnt have some glowing blue button goodness
so I picked these little guys up from Nicemite.com to do the trick

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTERDARK

Im also condidering another mod for the plunger but need to verify it can be worked into the orginal assembly and optical board from Pinbits.com looks like it would be a neat add on

rikitiki · « **Reply #13 on:** July 30, 2010, 01:08:30 pm »

nothing to special here the orginal VP cp is screenprinted directly to the metals surface.
so with a little paint stripper, sanding, and priming the prep for a new cpo was minimal.

Disclaimer for the purists I currently have the orginal Atari films for both the control panel and the bezel
which I plan to screen/reproduce for those in need including myself.
As my next project is a full on restore of the orginal Video Pinball as well.

So with the cab and its parts completed the ART DESIGN and Prinitng is next on the list.

rikitiki · « **Reply #14 on:** July 30, 2010, 01:23:25 pm »

Early on I had set out to do a variation of the art from the orginal VP and DOT.
including the same color palletes of the 2.
my first piece and test print of the cpo

and the Bezel

but was convinced early on to take a different approach with the art and more speffic the color pallete.

and it seemed once I did that the changes and revisions that would follow not only made it more unique
But gave it, its own idenity something that could in fact stand up next to a Tron or DOT
Where Tron had Red, Blue, and Green for its primary pallete, and DOT had Blue, Purple and Pink

The Choice of Blue, Lt Blue, and Yellow which were very much Tron colors
seemed like a natural choice and it would be these light traces that would replace most of the border
work as seen on the original 78 VP art.

rikitiki · « **Reply #15 on:** July 31, 2010, 12:05:08 pm »

So when redesigning the cpo I used these elements along with inspiration from the game that Encom
had claimed to use Solar War, The Atari Protype followup

and the final design

it wouldnt be "Tron" without a flourescent blacklight inks on the cpo so this will have to be silkscreened

rikitiki · « **Reply #16 on:** July 31, 2010, 12:10:59 pm »

The CPo was the easiest install Ive had to do. No joystick or button holes to align just taped in place to "hinge"
the art and viola, peel and press.

on a side note I generally when redoing cpos like to use a white primer on the metal cps
when ever possible mainly due to the fact the most SCREENPRINTED cpos are somewhat transparent
and the white tends to keep them looking brighter than laying it down on say black.

The first art piece of the project complete

emphatic · « **Reply #17 on:** July 31, 2010, 07:02:06 pm »

That CPO is simply breathtaking!

Pinball Wizard · « **Reply #18 on:** August 01, 2010, 01:58:28 am »

On a not so related question what playfield is that sitting on? The artwork looks amazing, who printed it?

rikitiki · « **Reply #19 on:** August 01, 2010, 03:30:47 pm »

Quote from: Pinball Wizard on August 01, 2010, 01:58:28 am

On a not so related question what playfield is that sitting on? The artwork looks amazing, who printed it?

The cpo application? Superman

I did all the printing myself of course
www.ThisOldGame.com

rikitiki · « **Reply #20 on:** August 07, 2010, 01:27:37 pm »

With revisions on the cpo complete it was time to refine the bezel.
I probably worked through over 20 variations of designs
orginally starting with something more like the original but ending up with something completly different
now that I had starting reworking that color palete and using yellow and blue "light traces " for borders
things really started to come together.
Heres a little WIP

rikitiki · « **Reply #21 on:** August 07, 2010, 01:51:24 pm »

WHAT THE FONT!?
But as it started to take shape there was something about the "TRON FONT" that just wasnt working right.
there were 2 reasons for this
Reason #1 I made the first letters V and P larger since there were no uppercases and had the lettering stacked as the orginal VP.
and once I started opening the can of worms for the problems of those font issues there was no turning back.
As reason #2 was the more significant problem the online free fan made "TRON FONT" was not very accurate
the letter thickness and center cutaways had alot to do with some of the problems
not to mention the font wasnt originally designed to spell VIDEO PINBALL
but that was all about to change

I had a man on the inside with group 7 access who would confirm this lettering dilema with its orginal 1980
model sheet though I cant disclose all the details without putting lives at risk and being De-Rezzed.
I can say this was accidentally confirmed later when I was working on the vectoring for the DOT cpo
you can clearly see there are no solid shapes in the letters A-V and the cut for the E is completely different

Which then lead me to rework the entire "TRON FONT"

also noted were letters and numbers in alot of the background shots of the film which were also referenced
and worked in so the letters would be more consistent throughout.
Im still tweaking this a bit and will have this new font available to download soon.

Youll also see the differnce in how the #2 looks between the fonts
The final version ready for print

rikitiki · « **Reply #22 on:** August 07, 2010, 02:13:46 pm »

This was then SILKSCREENED on the reverse side of 1/4 tempured GLASS
A test print was done and fitted to make sure all was good to go

I also screened the MCP seperatly its the only section that had a different color
and there were 3 color setups to do in a 1" area!

The screen inks used to screen on glass are enamels and take a min of 24hours to dry bewtween each color.
so screening this one piece took almost 2 weeks but totally worth it

taylormadelv · « **Reply #23 on:** August 07, 2010, 02:19:00 pm »

Simply a work of ART!

Bender · « **Reply #24 on:** August 07, 2010, 11:33:04 pm »

That is just awesome!!!!!!

shrunkenmaster · « **Reply #25 on:** August 08, 2010, 06:32:31 am »

Beautiful artwork, outstanding implementation

danny_galaga · « **Reply #26 on:** August 08, 2010, 06:38:48 am »

I actually have no idea what this is, but it looks awesome!

ckong · « **Reply #27 on:** August 08, 2010, 06:04:05 pm »

This really is awesome. Breaths professionalism all the way.

rikitiki · « **Reply #28 on:** August 09, 2010, 12:31:53 pm »

Quote from: danny_galaga on August 08, 2010, 06:38:48 am

I actually have no idea what this is, but it looks awesome!

This is a complete reworking and replica build based of the 1978 Atari Video Pinball
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10313

One more art post and then onto the techincals
so if it still dosnt make sense it should soon.

IG-88 · « **Reply #29 on:** August 09, 2010, 04:39:32 pm »

Quote from: danny_galaga on August 08, 2010, 06:38:48 am

I actually have no idea what this is, but it looks awesome!

I don't know why, but that is hilarious!

Looking good rikitiki

danny_galaga · « **Reply #30 on:** August 10, 2010, 04:41:34 am »

Well, you learn something new every day! I had no idea Atari did something like this. Until now, I only knew about that giant pinball table they did...

opt2not · « **Reply #31 on:** September 17, 2010, 02:19:35 pm »

I wanna see more.

What happened next?

shrunkenmaster · « **Reply #32 on:** September 17, 2010, 02:42:07 pm »

Me too.

KagatoAMV · « **Reply #33 on:** September 17, 2010, 04:30:10 pm »

The art design really feels consistent with the other Tron video games, nicely done.

EvilNuff · « **Reply #34 on:** September 17, 2010, 05:10:16 pm »

I would really dig that new font available for dowload as mentioned...if at all possible.

mgb · « **Reply #35 on:** September 19, 2010, 06:43:59 pm »

This project is looking great.

vintagegamer · « **Reply #36 on:** September 20, 2010, 02:37:03 pm »

Quote from: rikitiki on July 22, 2010, 12:14:21 pm

Well its official Ataris Video Pinball has now been TRON-itized by Encom.

Now for the real progress...

Prob not a big deal but 'exclusively' is spelled wrong on the flyer..

Havok · « **Reply #37 on:** September 21, 2010, 12:27:07 pm »

There rikitiki goes again with the the spelling errors...

rikitiki · « **Reply #38 on:** October 01, 2010, 10:37:48 am »

LOL

luckily that was caught and a few other revsions were made before going to print

I had some of the offset printed up on postcards to hand out at the show and they go along nicley with the other Encom viral marketing postcards.

rikitiki · « **Reply #39 on:** October 01, 2010, 11:04:59 am »

Next up SIDE ART I went through alot of variations on the side art as well
mostly circuit lines/border designs to mimic the orginal VP

but in the end droped the lightcycle as the MCP became more of the focal point
for both the playfield and throghout the art.

rikitiki · « **Reply #40 on:** October 01, 2010, 11:09:15 am »

Because of the size this was the only piece not SCREENPRINTED, but was Solvent Inkjet and plotter cut
and ran I dont know how many color tests and variations on the red before getting the balance just like goldilocks likes, Just right.
Having a color profile really helps in that area

I printed this on some very special and very expensive 3M light reflective vinyl
same stuff used on Police cars to make them illuminate at night.
The result is spectacular and pics just dont do it justice, the colors change in the light and angle as well as illuminate.

rikitiki · « **Reply #41 on:** October 01, 2010, 11:21:12 am »

Time to install I didnt do alot of tutorial type pics on this but do have one trick up my sleeve to share

After you squeegee on ANY sideart with premask mist the premask with a little water and squeegee again.
this will make it easier to see and feel if you have any bubbles in your art and make it much easier to remove the premask.

rikitiki · « **Reply #42 on:** October 01, 2010, 11:24:29 am »

Next up the hardware hack and playfield design.

shrunkenmaster · « **Reply #43 on:** October 01, 2010, 01:47:01 pm »

Beautiful, just beautiful. Your artwork is truly something rikitiki. I am a fiend for detail (especially in artwork) and am blown away by your efforts

Looking forward to the next update!

JustMichael · « **Reply #44 on:** October 01, 2010, 04:45:17 pm »

That is some SWEET sideart just in the pics! If it looks even better in person, it truly must be incredible!!

RetroBorg · « **Reply #45 on:** October 04, 2010, 04:59:05 am »

The whole project is awesome, the artwork just blows me away.

I love anything to do with Tron.

BadMouth · « **Reply #46 on:** October 05, 2010, 01:08:47 pm »

This thing belongs at shows with a velvet rope and security around it.
I don't think it's possible to take it to any higher level.

Rick · « **Reply #47 on:** October 05, 2010, 01:28:55 pm »

This is one of the reasons I'm making my cab the way it is, and a hallmark of execution. I read this thread (as well as others) repeatedly, if for no other reason, than to see the amazing work that is being done.

thatitalian · « **Reply #48 on:** October 06, 2010, 08:23:25 am »

Awesome stuff there! I can't believe how "old skool" it looks. Great effort!

On a side note, did anyone recognise the resemblance to Moses?

javeryh · « **Reply #49 on:** October 06, 2010, 11:27:47 am »

Wow - don't know how I missed this thread but this thing is freaking beautiful. I love the art!!

r32 · « **Reply #50 on:** October 06, 2010, 12:05:43 pm »

Another incredible build! I am so impressed by the level of talent, imagination and skill out there. Thanks for taking the time to document such an amazing and unique build. I added this one to the list for future builds.

Any idea how much this project has cost so far, and also how much was the fancy vinyl graphics to get printed? Sounds like you might have access to special printers?

rikitiki · « **Reply #51 on:** December 15, 2010, 10:32:09 pm »

I run an operate ThisOldGame.com so yeah do all my own printing.

I have lots more to post on the progress, getting some software upgrades and will be posting the in n outs of the hardware and software hacking soon. along with the playfield graphics.

But in the meantime VP2.0 got some recent attention and made an appearence in Tron Betrayal
back up behind Tron creator Mr Alan Bradley

mgb · « **Reply #52 on:** December 15, 2010, 11:53:36 pm »

This is one awesome project. Its familiar with its Tron inspiration but at the same time, completely original.
I love it.
Great job.

jipp · « **Reply #53 on:** December 16, 2010, 01:49:32 pm »

very cool project. entertaining read too. especially after watching the original tron movie just few days ago.

ooo the flash backs.

chris.

opt2not · « **Reply #54 on:** December 16, 2010, 02:28:48 pm »

Quote from: rikitiki on December 15, 2010, 10:32:09 pm

But in the meantime VP2.0 got some recent attention and made an appearence in Tron Betrayal
back up behind Tron creator Mr Alan Bradley

Very cool. Looks like Space Paranoids is in there too!

Sadly I missed out on CAX 2010, but I saw that you had your cabinet in the picture archive this year.

That thing looks gorgeous!

jipp · « **Reply #55 on:** December 16, 2010, 07:36:41 pm »

ooo man, i want a 3" spinner with the swirl pattern thats in that picture.. id like it to be translucence and be back lit with a black light. that would rock.. with a blue/green/white glow swirl pattern. hah id probably just play with the trackball than pay attention to the game on the monitor tho.

can dream. but then if i did have such a cool spinner replacement ball. i doubt i could do it justice with a cab to equal its coolness. heh.

chris.

P.S

well hell if these kids can have their tron half pipe, i should be able to get my custom tron trackball.. yeah!!

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/17872715" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="">Tron Legacy Premiere - A Light Session</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/eness">ENESS</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/16/tron-legacy-gets-its-very-own-interactive-halfpipe-video/

rikitiki · « **Reply #56 on:** June 20, 2011, 12:53:53 pm »

BUMP
been awhile since I updated this thread Ive been buzy working out the bugs which had more than a bait store.
and recently took it out for another show a few weeks ago http://www.nwpinballshow.com/ show in Seattle.
It was a blast a still have a few minor techincal corrections to be made before bringing it out to the next show
California Extreme July 9th-10th 2011

I will start posting the techincals of the rom hacks, mame testing, and the blacklight physical playfield designs next
along with some extra bells and whistles Ive added and modified along the way.

Walter Day asked me at the show when I die if Id donate to his museum in Iowa

Dazz · « **Reply #57 on:** June 20, 2011, 03:16:23 pm »

Yea! I'm definitely going to have a go at this at CAX.

Encryptor · « **Reply #58 on:** June 20, 2011, 08:11:46 pm »

That is truly an amazing piece of art/ingenuity/skill all combined into a beautiful arcade machine! Absolutely amazing!

rikitiki · « **Reply #59 on:** June 29, 2011, 08:33:47 pm »

So heres where the fun begins The art and creative design was one thing
but with some help from ArcadeHacking.com this project was taken to the next level.
So for the basics:
First the game runs on the original Atari Hardware, with an addtional rom expansion

that controls 2 seperarte audio boards one for basic Tron sampled sounds triggered within the game code
for example when you lose a ball it will play sound sample "The Death of Tron" from the orginal Aracde Game.
and a 2nd board primialry used for MCP speech. (more on sound later)
Only the first board hooked up shown here.

rikitiki · « **Reply #60 on:** June 29, 2011, 08:56:47 pm »

So Going from this

to this would be no easy task.

The game has changed
We were able to design a playfield editor that could not only help generate some of the new code needed
but allow us to design and redesign then Mame Test those game play results before burning new roms.
and proably went through well over a hundred of gameplay deisgns and changes.
there were just soo many possibilties.

rikitiki · « **Reply #61 on:** June 29, 2011, 09:11:08 pm »

The Mame testing was fun and the emulation was pretty good.
We dont get the sampled sounds though Id imagine with some addtional hacking in Mame
Im sure it could be done.

The sizing differed quite abit as I found out later when design and printing the physical playfield
(more on that to come).
and the speed was a little faster in Mame as well compared to the original Hardware.

Cabinet testing new roms on the Atari Hardware. The red leds are original and what you see is that being reflected in the mirror over the monitor and the playfield Blacklights are turned off.

Encryptor · « **Reply #62 on:** June 30, 2011, 05:28:19 am »

WOW! Simply WOW! That's taking dedication to a whole new level.

rikitiki · « **Reply #63 on:** July 13, 2011, 01:29:15 pm »

Just getting this back from California Extreme and hope to have some video of game play posted soon.
VideoPinball 2.0 got lots of play all weekend.
Sounds may have been alittle hard to here just due to the amount of volume in that place
but would love to hear from anybody that got to see or play it.
There were 2 other slight problems early Sat the game would lock up for reasons unknown
and after switching out the board with a spare played fine the rest of the weekend.

Also pointed out by our own FrizzFried was something I hadnt noticed and that the monitor image "floated"
above the physical playfield where in the orginal VP it embeds into it.
which may be the mirror not being installed correctly, but something I definatly want to look into.

some pics from the show

The Money shot

I think I covered this in the art section of the sideart design but this was printed on a night reflective vinyl so when light reflects off it illuminates.

opt2not · « **Reply #64 on:** July 13, 2011, 02:47:27 pm »

If this isn't in the Hall of Fame thread, it damn well should be!

ark_ader · « **Reply #65 on:** July 13, 2011, 02:54:30 pm »

Gives you goosebumps just looking at it.

Great job!

Generic Eric · « **Reply #66 on:** July 13, 2011, 05:11:29 pm »

That side art is excellent. Imagine an arcade full of games with side art printed like that...

mebronx2000 · « **Reply #67 on:** August 30, 2011, 03:07:49 am »

I LOVE THIS WILL YOU BE WILLING TO SELL IT ? PLEASE LET ME KNOW THANKS

rikitiki · « **Reply #68 on:** November 19, 2011, 04:39:17 pm »

Quote from: mebronx2000 on August 30, 2011, 03:07:49 am

I LOVE THIS WILL YOU BE WILLING TO SELL IT ? PLEASE LET ME KNOW THANKS

LOL no its not for sale. Ive had lots of inquires especially at the shows.
but hard to put a proce tag on something like this countless hours in development and work make it impossible to out a price tag on or at least a price someone could afford.
Truly a labor of love project that will proably never end.

More updates soon.

mebronx2000 · « **Reply #69 on:** November 19, 2011, 07:45:42 pm »

Kman-Sweden · « **Reply #70 on:** November 21, 2011, 04:27:16 am »

Sweet, dude.


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