Ball Shooting Game DYI at home

[DaOld Man]

Puffyeye wants the keyboard hack and I told him I would set up the wires he needs on the so he wont have to.

Thatpurplestuff, I need the keys your software is using.

I take it:

Up= arrow up
Down= arrow down
Start= 1
Hoop 1 input= ??
Hoop 2 input= ??

Is ESC going to be used to quit the game?
Of course he can probably use an attached usb keyboard to esc, but it would be easy to cheat with that too.

[thatpurplestuff]

Puffyeye wants the keyboard hack and I told him I would set up the wires he needs on the so he wont have to.

Thatpurplestuff, I need the keys your software is using.

I take it:

Up= arrow up
Down= arrow down
Start= 1
Hoop 1 input= ??
Hoop 2 input= ??

Is ESC going to be used to quit the game?
Of course he can probably use an attached usb keyboard to esc, but it would be easy to cheat with that too.

Very cool of you to be offering your parts for this project!  I remember making a keyboard hack back around 2000 and it took me FOREVER to map out the key matrix, figure out the best layout, etc... it worked great for a few months and then I ended up accidentally cracking the damn thing when I was opening the CP haha.  Anyway, on to your questions...

All of the inputs are configurable, but the default settings are as follows:
Up=Up Arrow
Down=Down Arrow
Start=Right Arrow
Hoop 1=a
Hoop 2=s

Changing the key inputs is as easy as opening a text document and entering in new values, so I wouldn't worry about messing with any wires or anything.  I've also configured it so that combinations of menu keys do different things.  Holding both Up and Down at the same time for a specific duration quits out of a game (you can configure how long the buttons need to be held), and pressing Up and Start at the same time turns the background music on and off (again, this is configurable and you can actually disable this feature via the options if you want).  The escape key takes the game out of fullscreen and you can close the window from there.  Let me know if you have any other questions!

[DaOld Man]

Thanks. I will go ahead and leave the wires on the strip that match your inputs. He can always add wires later if he needs to.
Thats some nice looking software you created.

[thatpurplestuff]

Thanks. I will go ahead and leave the wires on the strip that match your inputs. He can always add wires later if he needs to.
Thats some nice looking software you created.

Thanks!  To be honest, it's literally just a stripped down version of my Free Skee software that I haven't released yet.  That's my real baby... it's got 19 (and counting!) different game modes, each with it's own graphic theme and music.  It's very close to being able to be released as well, the main thing stopping me is that I haven't had a chance to put it in my machine and try out most of the new game modes yet since I am converting over to optical switches and have no idea what I'm doing haha.  One day!

[SavannahLion]

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!

What real world 7-segment part is segmented like that?

[puffyeye]

thanks guys... thats awesome

[DaOld Man]

Puffyeye, the package is on the way.
I didn't put wires on the terminal strip for ESC, but you can pretty easily. (You will have to add another button for this).
I don't remember which two terminals escape was, but you can short out terminals till you find it.
Or you can use the SPACEBAR key, which is terminals 5 and 6 (why I wrote down this and not the ESC button terminals the world may never know. LOL)
You will then have to change the programs configuration file to see SPACE as the quit key and not ESC.
Or maybe you can combine two of the other buttons to escape the program?
Or you can plug in a USB keyboard and use the ESC button on it to quit the program.

[puffyeye]

ok thanks ill work through that one...

[thatpurplestuff]

Just released Free Hoops v1.0 here -> http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,143722.0.html

Hope people find some use for it... would love to see some arcade basketball projects get going!

[puffyeye]

got it

thanks so much...

working out components for the lever


... what do u guys think.. should i build the lever inside the green or the blue area..

if i use the green area... i will need to build a pretty long lever system

if i use the blue area... the space might be too limited for the springs and microchip components

[DaOld Man]

What sort of microchip components?

[matty_g_8]

looks awesome!

would love to get a detailed component list once ya done

[puffyeye]

still a bit unsure whether to go laser or a mechanical system to count the ball coming through the hoop.

will the laser option have a longer life span than a mechanical system as it will constantly be abused by the banging of the ball.

i understand that one of the challenges is setting the range for the laser.

my other challenge is... sourcing a laser for this purpose

reached out to a couple of local arcade part supplier and even they are unable to recommend places who sells the laser.

do you guys know of any online distributors who might be able to ship the part internationally?

[thatpurplestuff]

still a bit unsure whether to go laser or a mechanical system to count the ball coming through the hoop.

will the laser option have a longer life span than a mechanical system as it will constantly be abused by the banging of the ball.

i understand that one of the challenges is setting the range for the laser.

my other challenge is... sourcing a laser for this purpose

reached out to a couple of local arcade part supplier and even they are unable to recommend places who sells the laser.

do you guys know of any online distributors who might be able to ship the part internationally?

I am in the process of trying to set up some beam break sensors for my Skeeball machine.  I just purchased 10 of these > http://www.adafruit.com/products/2168 the other day, and theoretically they should work great for your purpose as well.  Since I have no experience with actually using them, I can't provide any more info until I have tried them out but I figured I would at least mention them as an option.

[matty_g_8]

I was just thinking using a micro switch with a long lever would be fine

[PL1]

I was just thinking using a micro switch with a long lever would be fine

Seems like the lever connected to the microswitch (red) would bend too easily if you don't use something like a stronger lever (black) and stop-block (green) to protect it.




Scott

[chalfin]

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!

An chance of making an option for one player only.  I was thinking about building a single player model to fit in between some games.

[DaOld Man]

How about something like this for a ball sensor? (HUH HUH HUH he said ball sensor).

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/electrical/Safety-Switches/General-Duty-Safety-Switches/171077-lsps-limit-switch-cats-whisker-3nc-12npt?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CO6DqerF4cMCFSRo7AodpG0AAg

(Sorry about long link).
This is a little pricey (around 25 dollars), but I think it would be very simple and probably easy to mount.
Search ebay for cat whisker limit switch. You can probably find some cheaper.

EDIT: cheapest I found on ebay at this time (right at 20 shucks)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUNS-AZ-8169-Cat-Whisker-Compact-Limit-Switch-SZL-VL-G-XCE-106-/121352668369?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c412ec4d1

One more edit:
Here is a shamelessly stolen pic from PL1, modified to show possible mounting scheme for the switch:

[DaOld Man]

*BUMP*
Any progress on this project?

[puffyeye]

I've only picked up a few pieces for the lever

I need to cut a chunk of wood into shape to hold these pieces...

[mmenard0313]

Wow that looks great!! Hows the most recent progress?

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

[mmenard0313]

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!

@purpstuff

That is a sick set up! I had started a separate thread yesterday and thankfully got pointed to this one by PL1!
What I'm doing is having 3 sports(football,basketball, and baseball) life size arcades (28'x8-10' frames) set up next to each other with small TVs as their scoreboard.

 I'm really excited about it but this is my first time really getting involved in creation. I went and checked out a bunch of the the skee-ball creations and they look amazing! I'm going to probably base the form on something similar to those because they look really good. I've been researching and learning and am thankful I found this forum. It has been a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders so far.

With that said though about the 3 sports next to one another, I have a few questions. 

1) Each game would be separate to the next in scoring and starting. Would that mean that I need 3 different setups and computers to make them work correctly??
2) I want there to be a gate that releases the balls in each sport, do you have any suggestions or insight on how to construct that? (like maybe a diagram)
3) I would like to be able to start the game for each sport from one central area, not on the actual game.

I attached a very simple diagram I made on my phone, lol.

Any suggestions or information would be amazing. Thanks!!

[matty_g_8]

Did anything else ever happen with this?

[puffyeye]

my tv broke.. so it annoyed me and put it on hold for a while

i will continue to work on it

Im stuck .. Im working on the best option for lever mechanics


i hope to get some progress in the next month

[bfauska]

DaOldMan mentioned a switch earlier that I think could save you a lot of headache. Maybe take a look at this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEMCo-Plastic-Spring-Rod-Limit-Switch-NC-NO-CNC-Mill-Plasma-Router-Lathe-home/400418206998?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D30542%26meid%3Db7b179955df948008e9d98edcc0599be%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D370764791415&rt=nc

No crazy bracket needed.

[puffyeye]

yes ok... thanks guys.

ill investigate further