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New Project : Electronic PC Darts Game

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v0dka:
Hello,

That's the begining ! I've just started my new project : a pc based DART game.

I've found a Arachnid dart board on Ebay. The porject has several steps :
1. Electronic to handle dart board through USB (2 days for the microcontroller firmware)
2. Graphics for games (7 days of photoshop)
3. Software to display the graphics and the control the game (15 days of software)

(In the first time, i would like to implement cricket game (with cut-throat and wild&Crazy variation), classic 301 and 321 Zap). The the software would be a kind of framework to make easy the developement of future game
4. Some woodworking to make a pretty cabinet around my target board. (4 days of woodworking)

I hope to have a working prototype within 10 or 12 days ...

Let's see....

Jigenjuke:
Hey there, v0dka.  Sounds like a nice project, it will be interesting to see where this goes.  There is a similar product already being offered here in Japan.

http://tv-darts.epoch.jp/pc/

I assume that you are going to keep the microcontroller and the web matrix from the dart head of the Arachnid.  By the way what model of Arachnid did you get your hands on?  Galaxy? Super Six + 2? Blacck Widow? 

Keep us updated with plenty of pics.

v0dka:
the dart board seems to come from an old galaxy game. I say "old" becuse the missed dart detector is still the old one (replaced 10 years ago by a piezo detector).

Actually, I'm going to replace the microcontroller to use an USB one. My plan is to implement an HID (USB Human Interface Device) device to just get the hit value and the multiplier. By this way, i will be easily compatible with windows and Linux.

I would prefer to use linux instead Windows (only because it's free, otherwise i don't especially like linux) ... But for the software, i've already a good knowlege about Directx and not OpenGL.

I don't want a think to connect to an external PC ... the PC will be include in the cabinet, and the 15" TFT monitor too (I've an old one i don't use anymore ... it will be good for that) ... The best way would be to add a touchscreen film on the screen (it isn't too much expensive (+/- 40$)).

The biggest work is to make all graphic resources for the user interface ... but i'm motivated :D

SithMaster:
Will you make any software available to the BYOAC community?  These dart boards sound fun.

v0dka:
Sorry, not especially , because two reasons :
1. I use a hardware board developed in the scope of my job
2. The microcontroller present on the electronic board is only available on SMD package ... So it's difficult to use it on prototyping board.

But maybe someone would interest to buy it (i need to see with my bosses) ... but it's a general purpose IO board seen as HID device ... So I can provide firmware to make it see as a keyboard, or directly a joystick. If someone would be interested, let me know.

By the way, if i have some time, i will make some R&D to make the same software on a through-hole PIC device (easy to get free as sample, and easy to use on a prototyping board .... Just the microcontroller, a crystal, some resistors and capacitors and a few connectors) ...

So, at this time I've already finished the dartboard matrix scanning, but i still to implement the missed dart detector. I've some beginning of screenshot (made in photoshop) about what it should look like ... I'll post them certainly this week.

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