Tag Archives: bill paxton

Benheck.com Podcast Episode 99

Almost to 100! It only took us 11 years… Joining us once again is Parker Dillmann from Macrofab!

Topics include:

Bill Paxton Tribute
- His early days. Parker likes him because he’s a Texan.
- Greatest hits! Our best Bill Paxton impressions!
- Some of his lesser-known movies, like Traveller and Next of Kin, includes how to spell Traveller.
- Ben keeps talking about Indian Summer for some reason, and calls Paxton “a progenitor of an archetype”.
Battlefield 1 – Best Battlefield since Bad Company 2?
- Real locations, instead of tunnels and gas factories. Cities feel like actual places, not just corridors.
- Meaningful destruction and more squad focus.
- Fewer overpowered vehicles, more infantry action.
- Satisfying guns in all classes, but game takes about 20 hours of play to become fun. Don’t give up!
Ben’s Never Played Mass Effect – Jones / Parker react!
- Can they convince him to give it a try?
- How Jones/Parker feel about the original trilogy.
- Choice Matters, plus great story and characters.
- Andromeda? Is it Road House in space?
Nintendo Switch Week!
- Is it just a Zelda adapter?
- Can Nintendo survive another generation without 3rd party?
- What if Microsoft bought Nintendo?

Enjoy!

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Ben Heck Show, Video Games

Midwest Gaming Classic 2012

February 16, 2012 benheck Leave a comment

It’s almost that time of year again – time for the Midwest Gaming Classic!

Aside from classic gaming they also have lots and lots of Pinball! Enjoy homebrew games from Team Heck and Spooky Pinball such as:

1) Lost – hopefully with the final playfield installed!

2) Godzilla – now with sound!

3) Bill Paxton Pinball – with an improved shooter lane and a Start button that actually adds players the right way.

Hope to see you there!

Video Games

Bill Paxton Pinball

March 16, 2010 benheck 101 Comments

Click here for large version

Since 2005 I have been working on building my own custom pinball machine and now it is finally finished. It is based off the endlessly quotable films of Bill Paxton and thus is called… get this… Bill Paxton Pinball. (Very creative, I know)

Aside from “stock” items such as flippers and solenoids it has been completely manufactured from scratch. Most of the artwork is from his movies and has been assembled in stylized montage form as is typical for a pinball machine. It is controlled by a single Parallax Propeller CPU which runs PCM audio music & voice clips as well as handling game logic, I/O and driving the custom LED display. I did the mechanical design, layout, construction & programming all myself, except for the sound player libraries that I got off the Parallax Object exchange website.

I’ve prepared all sorts of stuff for people to check out, so please check out the links below. Also, I did consider creating a “Virtual Pinball” version of this machine but ultimately didn’t have the time. If anyone is well versed in that tool and wants to take a crack at it, let me know, I can supply with you specifications.

“Making Of” Story
A four part article that describes the making of the machine in great detail. Includes photos of the guts, making of video links and source code.

Bill Paxton Pinball Photo Gallery
Contains lots of photos of the machine and its various parts (finished condition).

Demonstration Videos
See the machine in action, and check out descriptions / demos of the specific modes and toys.

Bill Paxton Pinball Evolution
A downloadable video demonstrating the process from start to finish.

Notice: Bill Paxton Pinball is a personal project and therefore is not for sale or duplication. All music / images / audio used on it are owned by their respective copyright holders.

Video Games

Hold Flipper for Status Update 4

March 1, 2010 benheck 8 Comments

These are just the ramps that DIDN’T make it into the game! (I think I ended up making every ramp at least 3 times)

Wow it’s been a couple months since the last official Bill Paxton Pinball update! The playfield is complete, the code is less buggy and it will definitely be done in time for the 2010 Midwest Gaming Classic.

The full, final reveal of the machine on this site will likely be around March 17th. You can keep up with the progress by subscribing to my YouTube channel or Twitter feed. (Warning: Twitter feed also contains a lot of non-work-related ramblings, usually about beer, the weather or waiting in lines)

For a sneak peek at the vector drawing of the final board, hit the rest of the story after the bump. We’ll see you soon!

Continue reading Hold Flipper for Status Update 4 →

Video Games

Hold Flipper for Status Update 3

December 10, 2009 benheck 10 Comments

The finest in American engineering and pinball amusements.

Been kind of slow lately (could the recession be catching up to me?) so I’ve made a lot of progress on Bill Paxton Pinball. Features now include:

Up to 4 players per game – Modes are shared between players so it’s a race to see who can activate the big point bonus first.
High score save – Saved in the unused top half of EEPROM so it’s there forever, unless specifically wiped or of course beaten.
Animation – Using a separate program from the main kernel, Windows bitmaps are pre-loaded off SD onto the EEPROM for faster access during play.
Non-buggy sound playback – Sounds can interrupt each other without chance of lockup, thanks to a system of flags that properly closes any playing file before opening a new one.

In some sad news, there will come a point where updates on BPP come to a stop as the unit nears completion and I’ll want to keep its final look a secret until the reveal. This will probably happen when I put the main artwork on the playfield. However the goal still is to have this done in time for the Midwest Gaming Classic 2010 in Milwaukee Wisconsin, so it’s playable at our booth.

Again, this is being done as a personal “fun” project and is not for resale, however if you’d like your own custom pinball made I would be willing to discuss ideas. I may create a “kit” of the circuitry when it’s all said and done.

Hold Flipper for Status Update 2

October 9, 2009 benheck 22 Comments

Work continues on Bill Paxton Pinball – the longest suffering Ben Heckendorn project of all time. The unit now has legs, a functioning input/output controller, tilt sensor, power supplies, fuses, front coin door panel, plunger assembly, start button, sound amplifier and some temporary targets.

Check out the video after the break!

Continue reading Hold Flipper for Status Update 2 →

Video Games

Washington Post interview RE Bill Paxton Pinball

August 19, 2009 benheck 4 Comments

Did an interview for their celebrity column, you can check it out below:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2009/08/going_full_tilt_for_bill_paxto.html

Definitely a nice change of pace from the usual interviews I do!

Fear not though – I am working on other, non-Paxton pay projects, including a new Atari 800 laptop that I hope to make look even more retro than the recent C64 project. There’s other stuff too but I can’t talk about it yet.

Remember you can browse my work and that of the Benheck.com forum members by visiting our Showcase.