Ball Shooting Game DYI at home

[puffyeye]

Hi guys

I wanted to create my own Bball shooting arcade game style at home. I have to hoops attached on the wall rather than being contained in a box..

I need help on the electronic component linked to a computer if need be (I will link a small TV as the screen for scores and time).

What software do I need. And also I need to attach something on the ring to count the score everytime it goes through the hoop like a small laser maybe or a type of pin maybe.

I hope that makes sense. I guess its like DYI basketball shooting system.


Has anyone attempted this.


thanks heaps for your help

[keilmillerjr]

Maybe you could use a raspberry pi and attach a the switches for inputs and led and sound for output.?

[JimmyU]

I would look at thatpurplestuff's skeeball build for ideas on how to do this. I know it's a different game, but you probably could use some of the same concepts.

[PL1]

I would look at thatpurplestuff's skeeball build for ideas on how to do this. I know it's a different game, but you probably could use some of the same concepts.

I agree that you can probably draw some ideas from skee-ball builds for this.

You may also want to consider fabricating a lever arm with a wide bent end that does double-duty as a ball return and actuator for the microswitch. (red)

Not sure whether a wire-arm microswitch, a flat lever-arm microswitch, or a roller-lever-arm microswitch would be better for this application.   

You may also want to add springs to counter-balance the ball return arm and/or a block to prevent the ball return arm from damaging the microswitch.


Scott

[puffyeye]

wow what a great build

and thanks for the idea on the hoop as a counter...


definitely things to work on...


attached the mini hoops i need to attach the counter on and the tv i want to display the time and score...

mancave is work in progress will cover the electricity box

[liquid134]

the arcade basketball games (like the Skeeball Super Shot you posted a pic of) use a reflective sensor for scoring. infrared i believe. i just think, unless its really heavy duty, a switch style will break rather easily with basketballs constantly hitting it

[puffyeye]

thats a good point ...

the balls on this are rubber ones too not plastic

thanks

[nitrogen_widget]

We used to have one of those home indoor basketball games.
The ones with the cheap metal frame and cheap webbing all around.
Those used a string attached to the net on one side and what looked like a leaf switch on the back of the backboard.
 
So, every time the ball went through the hoop the net moved and registered a score.

[puffyeye]

oh thats a cool idea might save dollars if i go that way thanks again

[puffyeye]

ok

i have an idea on the hoop trigger - check
i download an interface to record the score and time

im missing one more

the connection or software that would allow the trigger for every basket that goes in

anyone have an idea that would do this process?

thanks

[PL1]

the arcade basketball games (like the Skeeball Super Shot you posted a pic of) use a reflective sensor for scoring. infrared i believe. i just think, unless its really heavy duty, a switch style will break rather easily with basketballs constantly hitting it

Many of the games did use an IR reflector, but those might be tricky to set up, align, and test.

Any half-way decent switch won't break if there is a block (green) that prevents the arm from slamming into it.

The only downside I see to the diagram I posted above is false positives when someone misses the hoop but hits the ball return arm.

The revised design attached has a fixed ball return ramp (gray) and a bottom-heavy lever arm (black) that pivots on the blue dot to press the microswitch. (red)


Scott

[PL1]

i download an interface to record the score and time

im missing one more

the connection or software that would allow the trigger for every basket that goes in

The software that records the score and time is the difficult part.

The item you connect to the microswitch is called an encoder.

When the microswitch closes, the encoder translates that connection into a keystroke -- just like pressing a key on a keyboard.

You'll probably want/need a few other buttons to tell the software to start a game, reset, etc.


Scott

[SavannahLion]

the connection or software that would allow the trigger for every basket that goes in

anyone have an idea that would do this process?

thanks

For your setup I would suggest a USB keyboard type.

To help save you a search,
Groovy Game Gear
Ultimarc
KADE Devices which is an open source offering.

There are a couple of others I didn't mention, but I'm not sure if they're still selling boards or not. If they are, I'll let them chime in.

There are other offerings but as the number of inputs goes up so does the cost. I myself personally use the boards by MattairTech or PJRC but these are PURE DIY solutions.

Under no circumstance should you buy your board off of eBay. Really, don't do it even if it's 1/3 the price of anything I mentioned. You'll be sorry.

That said, take full advantage of the number of inputs there. You can have buttons that reset the game, toggle between player, control menu options on the PC, etc. All of the boards I mention above will require some sort of software on the host PC to decide what to do. With the rest of the components off the shelf, that might be the most difficult to get together for you.

[puffyeye]

thank you guys heaps

this have been a very good learning exercise for me...

so much thing i wnt to do now haha

[yotsuya]

I was going to help you....



....until I saw the Lakers sign on your wall. 

[keilmillerjr]

If u use a raspberry pi or beagle bone, you done need an encoder.

The basketball hoop switch image was exactly what I was thinking.

[thatpurplestuff]

I've actually considered building a 2-player basketball game like this at some point.  Like others have said, you have a decent selection of input devices although personally I would go with a USB keyboard type like SavannahLion suggested.

I'd imagine that the hardest part of all of this would be to find software that would do what you want it to.  I may be able to help in that regard... I've written quite a few Skeeball games and converting one of them to a simple 2-player shoot-off game probably wouldn't take too much time.  Ideally the game would allow users to supply their own graphics/sounds and specify game length.  I will look into it.

[puffyeye]

  that would be awesome ... 👍


this is an interesting project .. 😁

[Well Fed Games]

there might be a simpler solution, but for software you could always check out the free version of GameMaker: Studio (https://www.yoyogames.com/studio) as you're essentially building a 2-input pc game. Would easily handle timers, score, graphics and sound, etc. with the drag-and-drop interface option (as in you wouldn't need to code unless you want to).

[SavannahLion]

there might be a simpler solution, but for software you could always check out the free version of GameMaker: Studio (https://www.yoyogames.com/studio) as you're essentially building a 2-input pc game. Would easily handle timers, score, graphics and sound, etc. with the drag-and-drop interface option (as in you wouldn't need to code unless you want to).

I would say more than that. One input for each basket. A start/reset button and a game mode select button. Minimum.....

[puffyeye]

even if i run it through a computer?

[yotsuya]

In all seriousness,  this could be a cool project. If I had the room, I'd  do it myself. WellFedGames is on to something there.

[thatpurplestuff]

First of all, not meaning the hijack this thread but I figured this will be directly relevant to this project so here it goes...

After looking into it (and knowing that a machine like this is in my future at some point after Skeeball is put to bed) I will definitely be releasing software that will work for this purpose soon.  While I've gotta be careful to not overpromise anything, I spent some time today mashing together some code and I've got a very basic functional game that allows users to modify the input keys, change default game time, add/configure a debounce delay, and change sound effects and music via text file.  Not going to add any crazy complicated game modes like I have for Skeeball, but it has basic 1p/2p games and I figured an option to make baskets scored in the last 10 seconds of every game worth more might be fun so I'm going to add that option in the menu.

While the software will come with a default visual theme and basic sound effects, the goal is to have it pull all game data from folders so users can create their own graphics, sound effects, music, and high scores if they want to.  Since I've already got a functional beta working, I pretty much just need to have it dynamically load the images for themes and it will be ready for release.  I will post a thread in the software forum and make a note here when I have everything done.

[puffyeye]

it's alright no hijacking...

id like to encourage more discussion and sharing of ideas... 😃


sounds like a good amount of work amd effort.. wow

[DaOld Man]

I would think a keyboard hack would work well for this situation.
I have a keyboard hacked that I did when I built my first cabinet, but I decide to go with a keywiz instead.
It is a PS2 though, that may be a drawback for you.
You can have it if you want it, free. Just pm me your address if interested.

You can see on the pic I have a bunch of wires attached to the terminal block, you can just remove what you don't need.

[bfauska]

I would think a keyboard hack would work well for this situation.
I have a keyboard hacked that I did when I built my first cabinet, but I decide to go with a keywiz instead.
It is a PS2 though, that may be a drawback for you.
You can have it if you want it, free. Just pm me your address if interested.

You can see on the pic I have a bunch of wires attached to the terminal block, you can just remove what you don't need.

I'm somehow always surprised by how many good folks are on here. You'd think we'd be used to it by now but I guess I frequent enough other forums that generosity doesn't seem to be the norm.
Edited to add that I only quoted daoldman but the software contribution is amazing as well.

[puffyeye]

thank you so much.... you are very kind yayyy 😁👍

Im a newbie.. soaking in as much as I can

Im still trying to understsnd the basics of the function of such games.

[DaOld Man]

bfauska: Thanks for the kind words my man! I just believe that we all help each other on here whenever we can, and I like giving back a little of what I have gained from the community.

puffyeye: If you use a "regular" computer, you will need a way to interface the buttons, switches, or sensors to your PC.
The easiest way is to order a keyboard encoder, which takes switch inputs, converts them to certain keys being pressed on the keyboard, and sends them to the pc. Examples would be keywiz, ipac, etc.
But with a project like this, that wont have over 4 or 5 inputs to deal with (unless im missing something here), so a paid for keyboard encoder might be a bit of a overkill.
On a keyboard hack, you remove the "brain" of the keyboard (usually a small circuit board with copper contacts.)
You use the keyboard hack by shorting two of the copper contacts to simulate a certain key being pressed. (The keys connect in a pattern called a matrix, there is no common like there would be on a keywiz, etc.)
Now there are some major drawbacks to doing this. First, it is rather difficult to construct (but Ive already done that), and if a bunch of keys are pressed at once, the computer might receive false key presses. (This is called ghosting.).
You can solve most ghosting issues by using diodes to block certain parts of the matrix.
 Also you have to run two wires to each switch, since there is no common you cant daisy chain the switches, but I don't see this being a problem on this project.
After I studied up on keyboard hacking I decided to use a keywiz, since I had 2 joysticks and 16 buttons, and I figured that would be a ghosting nightmare.
Of course I had already done what I do best, jumped the gun and hacked a keyboard.
Don't know why I held on to this hack for so many years, I am a bit of a hoarder I guess.
Anyway, if you want it, and you can tell me what inputs (keyboard keys) you want to use, I will connect wires for those inputs.
If you don't know but still want it, that's fine. You can hook it to a pc, open notepad, and start shorting the terminals until you find the keys you want. (I had the terminals mapped out on a piece of paper, but its gone.)
Only drawback is that this was hacked from a PS2 keyboard, so the PC has to have the PS2 keyboard connector (round). If not it may be possible to use a USB to PS2 adapter.

[Well Fed Games]

even if i run it through a computer?

Yeah, I mean, just to be clear, I imagine you would need to build software to "run" the game, basically start a timer, score hits, output sounds to speakers and visuals to a screen. So you will need a computer of some sort (like an old PC) to act as the game "brain." Software-wise, it is essentially a program that counts how many times a player can press a button in, say, two minutes. But in this case, "pressing a button" means hitting a basket. Excited that thatpurplestuff is making his project adaptable, might be just what you need.

But yeah, you will probably want some sort of control to start a countdown to begin the game, or select different rules. Still dealing with fewer inputs than the typical arcade control panel though.

Sorry if I am covering obvious stuff, I've thought about it a bit before... my daughter's school has a fundraising carnival each year and I'd love to build a simple mascot-themed target game for it. But at the rate I get projects done she'll be graduated by then...

[thatpurplestuff]

So the "Free Hoops" software (yeah, clever name, I know) is pretty much fully functional now, I just need to clean out some of the unnecessary code left over from the Skeeball game that I cannibalized and finalize all the default sound effects and music before I call it done.  Like I said earlier, it is very customizable in both appearance and gameplay and users will be able to replace all images and sounds as well as configure a "score blitz" feature that adds bonus point(s) to each shot made within a certain amount of time of the game ending.

I'm thinking I will have a thread up in the Software section with a download link sometime this week.  Some teasers:







This means that puffyeye has to get this build going so we can all see the software in action!  No pressure!

[puffyeye]

I was going to help you....



....until I saw the Lakers sign on your wall. 

hahaha not a laker fan i see

[yotsuya]

I was going to help you....



....until I saw the Lakers sign on your wall. 

hahaha not a laker fan i see

I was happy to see my Suns smoke them last night. 

That looks great, thatpurplestuff. If I had the room, I'd do the same. Good luck with this build, puffyeye.

[DaOld Man]

thatpurplestuff: great job! (Not to derail this thread, but what program language are you using to make these incredible games?)

[thatpurplestuff]

thatpurplestuff: great job! (Not to derail this thread, but what program language are you using to make these incredible games?)

Thanks man, and thanks yotsuya!  Both Free Skee and Free Hoops are written in Flash (ActionScript 2.0), then I just compile them into the built-in projector to create the .exe file.  I literally taught myself ActionScript just so I could create my Skeeball software, so my coding usually isn't very pretty but it seems to work haha.  I realize that it's a pretty outdated and limited language, but I'm just a weekend warrior when it comes to programming and I can't seem to find the time/patience to learn something more current.  One day!

[puffyeye]

thats amazing thatpurple stuff... my motivation is stronger than ever haha


ok trying to sum up how it should operate and start purchasing what I need to make this happen


can u guys have a look and see if I am missing something here...

[PL1]

Looks like you're pretty much on target.   

Arcade buttons usually come with microswitches, so that lowers the number of microswitches to order separately to 2.

For those, you might want to look for lever microswitches, probably with a roller or curve. (or get a long-lever version and curve it yourself  )

   

Two considerations as you design the lever arm/return ramp assembly to prevent false scores:

  1. Put the lever arm high enough that a shot that falls short of the rim doesn't hit the upper part of the arm.

  2. Put the lower part of the arm behind the ball return so a shot that falls short of the rim doesn't hit the lower part of the arm.


Scott

[thatpurplestuff]

Looks good to me, the only minor thing is that the 3 buttons you'll want are Up, Down, and Start if you are going to use the Free Hoops software.

[puffyeye]

Looks good to me, the only minor thing is that the 3 buttons you'll want are Up, Down, and Start if you are going to use the Free Hoops software.

ok

thats no problems...


how would i direct the up down start button to the encoder? and then the computer?

[puffyeye]

thanks for the tip PL1... awesome stuff

where do you guys purchase the buttons from.... ?

[PL1]

where do you guys purchase the buttons from.... ?

There are many vendors, depending on the exact style you want -- check out the "Retail Vendors" sub-forum and build threads in "Project Announcements" for more options.

In no particular order, four of the most frequently recommended vendors are:
Paradise Arcade (armi0024)
GroovyGameGear (RandyT)
ArcadeEmulator.net (Divemaster127)
Ultimarc (AndyWarne)

You can also print customized inserts for LED pushbuttons like these.

how would i direct the up down start button to the encoder? and then the computer?

Here's a diagram that may help with understanding matix encoders like DaOld Man's keyboard hack.

The Row and Column wires connect to the green terminal strip in the picture which connects via the yellow wires to the encoder board (left) that translates the button presses into keystrokes that are sent to the computer via the PS/2 cable. (purple end)



When you press SW4 (upper right) it connects the Row 1 wire to the Column 4 wire, which this diagram's encoder translates into "3" and sends that keystroke to the computer.

When you press SW13 (lower left) it connects the Row 4 wire to the Column 1 wire, which the encoder translates into "C" and sends that keystroke to the computer.

By chosing the correct combination of row and column wires for your encoder, you can send any desired keystroke to the software.




Scott