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> > — You are certainly onto something big here. Yes, there is plenty work to be done to get some things right but very commendable efforts. I have tried the editor and I like the direction the project is taking. This is an excellent project. Don't stop!

> >

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> Thanks- I am excited about this project and see some real potential. I am amazed at how many websites and forums are dedicated to Pinball both traditional and video and there are lots of people that I think would like this sandbox creator. Not hard to learn and you can design your own game playfield in a few minutes or create your own assets for hardcore game designers.

>

> I am designing ramps and chutes today which will really add to the affect.

>

congrats lamar

i believe last year some time ago. i made a comment in the forum that a good pinball template would be a gold mine for 2d game devs and artists. i think pinball has as much room for expression, mood and artistic interpretation as platformers. especially when unique elements to digital pinball are incorporated.

Thanks Hario- yes getting the physics working and the feel of a real pinball game has been a real struggle. The physics in C2 are pretty good but because the computer is off doing other things it sometimes misses a collision or jumps a ball when it shouldn't and is always playing catchup with controls.

I had to do a lot of tweaking with the physics settings for velocity and iterations to get it to work and the C2 tutorials do a terrible job of explaining how those effect objects in motion and collision especially in fast action moving games like pinball with both a ball and flippers moving at the same time.

That is why most high quality video games are designed for dedicated game machines like PS4 and Xbox because the processor only has one task .

I noticed improvement when I shut down all other webpages and anything that is running that might distract the computer. It works better in the stand alone game but I think with a little more tweaking I can get an acceptable video pinball game that real pinballers will enjoy.

The editor is still in early draft stage as I am designing assets and playfields right now but I have the concept and controls for how I want the user to be able to modify and create their own games.

I just watched "Special When Lit" a documentary on Pinball which was interesting:

https://twomovies.net/watch_movie/Special_When_Lit

I am really getting into the Pinball history and online culture that I did not know was still very popular so I can make my own creations better and also develop some marketing channels for when I have a completed project.

Anyway, glad you are enjoying it and I will be updating about every day now as I add new features and I appreciate the feedback.

That may be a limitation of your website host and page parameters.

Some hosts do not allow very large games that eat up lots of bandwidth.

You can host it on the C2 arcade or on Kongregate and call it up on your own website and that saves your bandwidth.

Use a Global Variable to determine what animation is being played as a trigger/

Global Variable: Player.Action

Add that as a condition to your event:

if sees enemy: play animation running

if does not see enemy: play animation idle

Set Player.Action to 1

If player is running: play animation running

if player is not running: play animation idle

Set Player.Action to 2

Now you can define which action is happening for other events.

Yeah, I figured as much, but I wanted to put it out there anyways since you asked for feedback on the editor. I'm sure it's going to turn out amazing. As usual if you need any help just let me know.

Thanks for the offer Burvey and you have been great help with feedback.

You catch and remember the bugs I keep forgetting to fix lol!

I think I can make the editor seamless with the game but I will have to turn off the mouse unless the editor is running other wise people switch stuff in the middle of a game and throws all the scoring and ball count out of whack.

I am doing this all in one event sheet and one layout believe it or not

The game mechanics part are great for the most part, barring the few bugs which you already know about. The editor part will need some work if you're planning on charging for it.

Thanks- that editor is just a rough draft to get an idea of what I want to do with each component and it will be cleaned up. Some good ideas you gave me. I am trying to make it function easily for people with few computer skills.

I am hoping to figure out how to allow people to create and upload their own assets to the editor but that may be a bridge too far lol!

Yeah, that's really cool. Some of the sounds take me back to my poker days in the casino (hearing all the slots in the background). The ball is still slipping past/through the flipper sometimes even with the CTRL key. Some things are just a pain to get rid of haha. Also, the LED display was showing game over while I still had a ball in play. The red text (game over) didn't show up until after I had actually lost though.

Yup just like a slot machine and I borrowed some of those sound effects lol!

At least with video pinball you don't waste your money.

Here is a discussion of what I have planned for this:

https://www.scirra.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=159&t=185945

I still have some bug issues with the ball count because of multiple balls I need to work on. Just have my count wrong somewhere.

The flippers are still not picking up the ball at certain angles. I will work on that in a future update. Only happens at certain angles when the ball is at a certain speed the iterations ignore the collision. Same with two balls meeting. Not sure it can be fixed but I will play with it.

I tried your demo. The gameplay is actually quite good.

But I think you will need to improve the artwork. It is just not good visually..

Also visual effects like flashing lights and stuff.

Here ya go. I added in some dynamic lighting, a ramp and more sounds and special effects. These will be available in the editor later and a whole lot more lighting and special effects coming.

https://www.scirra.com/arcade/tutorial-games/pinball-physics-sandbox-demo-13984?action=updated

It's a good first step for the editor. Once it gets all polished up it should be awesome. I'm looking forward to new ramps and chutes. Have you considered adding some dynamic lighting effects based on collisions/scores/player actions etc?

Thanks Burvey!

I am uploading a new version with dynamic lighting and special effects and I will do a lot more with lights. buzzers, bells and whistles and special effects as I progress so it looks and sounds more like arcade pinball.

This one has the ramp and lights:

https://www.scirra.com/arcade/action-games/pinball-sandbox-demo-14053?action=updated

Eventually I will have a backlight top with working GIF screen that you can scroll up to watch but that is down the road. Lots of fun stuff coming.

I get bored working on one section so I go work on another and today it is all that fun stuff to make it exciting to play.

Go check out the new version:

I tried your demo. The gameplay is actually quite good.

But I think you will need to improve the artwork. It is just not good visually..

Also visual effects like flashing lights and stuff.

Well as I said I am designing the assets now and you are looking at basic assets you will color and modify and move where you want.

The artistic talent is what you will provide and I provide the canvas.

Updated Pinball Sandbox with Simpson's Theme Fan Game:

https://www.scirra.com/arcade/tutorial-games/pinball-sandbox-demo-13984

I also tweaked the flipper and ball for better finite control and added some grit to the ball so you can aim it very accurately. You can really control the ball about as well as in real pinball now with a little practice.

The game scoring and missions are still in development but you can see where I am headed.

I am working on the editor and also a mobile version and flat screen editor version for people that want to design their own games.

I have a website set up now so I can start promoting the game and sandbox editor when it is finished:

http://pinball-sandbox.comli.com/

The plan:

When I get this finished the user will be able to choose between several themes I create which will be different playfield layouts from easy to extreme and several fun sport themes including soccer, baseball, ice hockey (puck instead of a ball), football, golf, and bowling and others I come up with.

The user can also create their own playfields using the components I create and drag and drop them in place and change their colors and sizes. Assets will include everything found in a traditional pinball layout with lots of lights and bumpers and buzzers for affect plus specialty assets like sport players, zombies and chutes and ramps.

I will also include lots of decals so the user can personalize their games and choices of room wall and floor and other ambiance assets.

This is designed so anyone with no design skills can easily create a pinball game layout in minutes so they can play and share their games with their friends or for an advanced user that wants to design their own assets to be uploaded to the game.

I plan to have a free demo version available that will allow only one pinball creation to be saved and limited assets to wet the users appetite.

The full version will include many more assets and 6 save slots and the ability to lock a design so your kid brother can't edit it later and other features.

This will be a stand alone game and also considering HTML5 version for online play and a mobile version and of course make it available on Kongregate and C2 arcade directing people to my website.

After I get both free and full versions complete (about a month from now) I will set up a website where I will have both available and advertise the heck out of them on all the many pinball forums and I will have free online play of the many theme games I create and maybe a forum so people can share their theme designs.

I am not trying to get rich off this game and I think $5 is a fair price for the full version and I will sell it from my website and make it available through other sources like Amazon games and maybe Steam but those sources take more of the money and I have experience and accounts set up for selling and promoting my own stuff already.

I also think I will create videos (I have experience) that demonstrate how to create playfields for best affect and introducing new themes I and users create and new assets as they are designed. Videos are another stream of revenue and I can also sell new asset PAK files I create.

So that is my game design and marketing strategy.

Would you pay $5 for a full blown pinball sandbox editor with those features?

— You are certainly onto something big here. Yes, there is plenty work to be done to get some things right but very commendable efforts. I have tried the editor and I like the direction the project is taking. This is an excellent project. Don't stop!

Thanks- I am excited about this project and see some real potential. I am amazed at how many websites and forums are dedicated to Pinball both traditional and video and there are lots of people that I think would like this sandbox creator. Not hard to learn and you can design your own game playfield in a few minutes or create your own assets for hardcore game designers.

I am designing ramps and chutes today which will really add to the affect.

awesome man!:D i like how it feel now its more stable.

Edited: editor is ok, its buggy though, mouse gets stuck when you create objects, also im not entirely sure if i can create new objects, if i change the theme, theme button doesn't toggle from original default to football theme and back,

color works, background floor wall changing is a nice addition, everything that are in editor option are a good addition to the gameplay and the customization ability, it only needs to be fixed so no glitches appear. a bit more polishing details and its the best pinball i seen on scirra arcade.

Thanks- Yes quite a few bugs in the editor I need to fix. I am getting all the playfields and assets designed right now and then I will have to tweak controls and scoring for each playfield.

Lots of work still to do but I think I have a handle on how I want the game to function and to make it as easy as possible for other people to design a playfield and game of their own.

This is kind of in between the hardcore visual pinball creator programs and windows pinball creator that is just flat screen. Feels like a real pinball game and plays enough like one to give people a real challenge.

At least I hope so!