Downing's Basement

Well Merry Christmas! Nearly two years to the day since the inspiration to take on a project like this first was ingrained, I’m finally calling this mini Air Hockey table “nearly” finished. And what a process this has been!

15 years ago, had someone told me I’d be even thinking of making something like this, much less actually pulling it off, I’d have looked at them sideways. But that’s what I love about this hobby. It allows even the craziest of ideas to actually stand a chance of becoming a reality.

The concept of the table is the same as real Air Hockey, however as is apparent, it is mini and is only about 1/5th the size of a normal Air Hockey table, and uses a 2.5″ puck vs the standard 3″.

Where things vary even more are its theme and play features. As you may have noticed, there are several references to the Doom Slayer all over the physical table as well as in the play features. So I guess you could call this a “DOOM” themed table.

The table operates in one of three play modes that are switched by the control panel on the side (seen below)

But we took this a bit further with the help of a composite video capture card, that not only grabs the screens output, but it also sends that signal down to the LED array on the table and recreates the video there…kind of.

So it should go without saying that this was probably one of my most ambitious projects I’ve ever taken on. Not just because I’d never attempted anything like it before, but also because I knew it wouldn’t be possible for me to do on my own.

That said though, aside from shelving the project for almost a full year, the way everything came together throughout the course of the build was, in my opinion, remarkable!

There were so many different types of materials, layers and fabrication methods used to make up the physical table, all of which would have to tie into one another perfectly. But knowing there would be soft automation, lighting and a physical/software combined user interface only added to the potential list of things that could go wrong. 

I had never really combined 3D Printing and CNC Machining the way I had to here. For example, when it came to mounting the side legs, the screws had to line up through 5 different parts and 4 different materials!

This made the 3D Modeling that much more imperative because being able to use the actual models to generate the cut paths for the CNC as well as the STL files for the 3D printed parts made life a great deal easier when it came to the physical assembly.

It was particularly handy when it came to parts like the table top that required actual printing as well. Having a defined cut path ahead of time gave me the boarders for the print so I wouldn’t cut anything off when I put the parent sheet on the CNC.

The Raspberry Pi was the second level of this build, which is pretty much where my usefulness ended. And as I mentioned in my video, I have to give a huge shout out my buddy CrashBash for taking the lead on this one, as his work not only brought the LED table to life but also gave the table its soft functionality for the score board and user interface.

And though the LED functions are awesome, the real benefit was the backend handling of the automation I wanted to include, like score detection/tracking and the play mode user interface. To make this work though, the Pi obviously needed some kind of way to receive input that either a goal was scored or the play mode changed. The play mode was pretty easy as they were just simple tact switches but the score detection was a bit more of a challenge.

I first had attempted to use simple lever arm limit switches for CNC machines, but getting them to trigger consistently in the puck traps was a bit of a problem. This is when I came across the IR LED Break Beam Sensors from Adafruit. These provided a more reliable solution, though is still not 100% as the traps were too wide for a single LED to cover. So two were wired up in parallel in each trap which I think sometimes causes a bit of confusion.

So that’s really just a taste of what went into this project and and I could go on and on about its features, but ultimately, I’m just amazed we were able to pull it off! Overall I’m very happy with how this came out especially with all the unknowns that both Crash and I were up against.

It’s still not perfect, we do have some emulation issues to work around and the score detection sometimes fails to count a goal which can be worked around easy enough, but other than that, I’m stoked to have this finally complete!

I’ve got several other projects well into development, so the first few months of 2024 are looking to be a good one! Thanks for checking this out and I’ll see you next time!

That’s right! For the first time ever, I will actually be giving away one of my portable console creations! This is a pretty big deal for me in many ways, but as thank you to all who have been supportive to the console modding community, you now have the chance to enter into the giveaway!

Check out the video above for all the rules and restrictions and as always, feel free to drop me a line with any questions!

Along with it, a new video I’ve been working on for a couple months now!

I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year and a half since I’ve released a proper video and though the content is similar to my last system, this video kind of combines both the remake of this system and the experiences of the Midwest Gaming Classic 2023.

Not a whole lot here to say that the video doesn’t cover so I’ll let that do the talking, but I just want to go on record that I’ve missed doing this kind of thing with a passion.

It’s coming up on that time of year again and for the first time ever, I’m making it out to two consecutive Midwest Gaming Classics in a row! I had such a blast last year and it would be so cool if I could do this annually but it is quite a haul and quite expensive for just the weekend. But getting to hang with my modding buddies like this really is worth it and gives me the chance to meet even more amazingly talented people.

That said, I’ll also be presenting again on the Bonus Stage, which last year was hosted by the awesome guys at “Hair of the Dogcast”. I learned a lot about what to expect for crowd and environment and this year will be tailoring the presentation to that. The main difference though is that I will not be solo presenting and talking to a room of roaming people who really were not paying attention. I will be joined on the stage by this year’s Bonus Stage host, Seth, from the TigerChainsaw You Tube channel.

Seth will be taking over for the Hair of the Dogcast crew this year as they could not make the show because they had to be good friends or something… But that’s ok, because they have been working with Seth to make sure the stage is run as smoothly as possible and from checking out Seth’s You Tube, I look forward to working with him!

So as I mentioned, unlike last year where I just monologued a story to a very passive crowd, this year I’ll be actually engaging with Seth about the early history of console modding. So I’m looking forward to this a great deal in many ways! And the stage is actually going to be located in a higher traffic area right next to the food court.

I’ll of course have a report on how this whole experience plays out but its already shaping up to be an amazing time! More to come soon!

As I sit here on a Thursday morning in mid-November, suddenly with a ton of unexpected free time thanks to a nearly undetectable trace of Covid, I came to realize it’s been 7 months since I last posted anything! This really got me thinking…what has kept me so busy that I haven’t had the time to make even a small update post, but it didn’t take much before I realized the better question to ask was what “didn’t” happen!

Since MGC, life has just been one big run-on sentence with the only break being “and then”…and then right into the next part! The pace is something akin to boot camp where once a chance to catch a breath happens, the program is over and you’re left dazed, broken and left in awe that 6 months of your life just disappeared.

In kind of a demented way, I’m thankful I came down with the “Rona” because it’s forced me to slow down, take time to myself and allows me to take the extra time to catch up on the blog and other things that haven’t just been pushed to the back burner, they’ve been put back in the fridge.

Big Changes Since MGC

DOOM Themed Air Hockey Table

So as far as projects go, after I got done with the Tiger Boy Advance, I started on a new project that I’d never done before. Wanting to get away from portables for a little bit, I decided I wanted to try and make a mini table top game, as for Christmas last year, I was gifted a very small, very cheap Air Hockey table from a drug store end cap. To my surprise though, the kids loved it and that’s when I decided to make my own!

This will eventually be getting its own video down the road once completed and all the details will be included in it, but lets just say this project has been quite the undertaking.

Since I started work at MegaPrint, I have had full access their 4′ x 8′ CNC Router as well limitless scrap material of all kinds, as well as their full custom digital printing capabilities. This in turn allowed me to design and produce a fully working 2ft x 3ft table complete with LED backlighting!

We unfortunately ended up having to move before the rest of the project could be completed which includes some very cool LED programming as well as custom scoreboards and game modes, but I hope by early next year I might be able to get this back on track!

New House – No Basement!

So by far, July 1st was the biggest change of the year as we finally got into our own place after nearly a year of crashing in my parent’s basement. And without a doubt, this is the most beautiful place we’ve ever lived and it’s only a mile from my parents house at that which is huge. Actually, funny story, my parents lived in this house for a short time while their new house was being constructed back in 2017. After they moved out it was sold and completely renovated from the ground up into what it is today which if you looked at it, you wouldn’t believe it was the same place.

That aside though, the biggest downside to me (aside from the rent being insanely expensive) is that there is no basement and no spare office. Right now I’m set up in the Den which suffices for a retro gaming area and my main PC set-up, but I have no workshop aside from an unheated set-up in the garage, and my 3D printers have taken up residence at MegaPrint, but that has been actually pretty helpful!

So needless to say, projects like the Air Hockey Table have been put on an indefinite hold until I can figure out some kind of workshop area.

Steam Deck

And as if I needed some other kind of distraction to stop me from working on older projects, about three weeks after we moved in, I got an email from Steam, saying that after over a year on reserve, my Steam Deck was finally ready! And though I was happy about this, I had totally forgotten that I’d even put a deposit on this! This also led to the question of “how much am I really going to use this?”, much to the point that for nearly two weeks after I got it I debated on breaking the seal and just flipping it.

But the curiosity ended up winning out and I was not disappointed in the least by the decision. Though I can’t say that I’ve been using it to its potential, as all I’ve done with it really is play the PC port of Final Fantasy VII, the time I have put into it has been a great deal of fun.

My main issue is that I don’t travel enough where I would find this beneficial to take my mind off the trip. Truth be told, 90% of its use has been sitting in the same chair that’s right in front of my PC anyway. So I’m kinda in the same boat as I was when I was debating on opening it in the first place and now that there’s no lead time on them, the window to flip for a profit has vanished. But, new events that were going to require travel were right around the corner so maybe it was going to start getting the use it deserved.

Kid’s Athletics

So as the Summer transitioned into the fall, my son started up flag football. Unbeknownst to me however, I did not know that the weekend game schedule was going to take us to all points of the state for 8AM games! This effectively killed off any hope of weekend progress for anything from September through October. And though I’m glad we did it, the time commitment was killer. Not to mention October is always an extremely busy month due to the number of Birthdays that are needed to be celebrated, but it wasn’t just any birthday this year, no no. This year I was hitting the big 4-0 and though I thought I did a pretty good job for my wife’s 40th that happened back in January, she was not going to be outdone and man did she deliver!

40th Birthday

So all I can really say here is that my wife knows me well! I mean she did a very good job of nearly convincing me that bringing my brother and his family up from Baltimore as a surprise was the surprise and after he and my brother-in-law took me out leaf peeping up in the North Woods of New Hampshire (I live there anyway, but ya know) and a few drinks, I certainly was not expecting what was parked at the house when we rolled in!

I’m not sure how in all my years of gaming did I not know this was a thing…literally a full pull behind trailer loaded with video games parked right outside my own house! And it wasn’t just that, but the fact she got nearly our whole core group of people together as well just made for one amazing afternoon!


New Dog

And the most recent event, we now have a new 4 legged member of the family, Maverick! He’s 3 month old French Bulldog and is probably the cutest animal I’ve ever seen! And though we weren’t planning on getting a new pup, it’s been over a year since we had to put our 14 year old lab down, and now that we’re finally in our own place, it was time to fill that gap.

So that is probably the most abridged way of covering the past 7 months, but it of course was far more hectic than I’m making it out to sound. There have been a ton of ups and downs, loads of stress and lots of uncertainty both at home and around the world…but I just have to remember to take it a day at a time and now that I’ve got a few days in a row where I don’t have to worry about the normal world, I can catch back up on a lot of projects that I’ve been slacking on.

I hope to be making more posts in the future, but again, can’t guarantee it as I’m sure as soon as this small Covid break is over, I’ll be right back in the same routine as before. We shall see though! Hope you enjoyed catching up as much as I have! Till next time!

The Midwest Gaming Classic. What an amazing experience this was the first time I went, which was back in 2018. And since that time, there seems to have been road block after road block to keep me from going back. But provided the piolets don’t quit and the nukes don’t fly within the next two weeks, I’ll finally be making it back!

Most don’t know that back in 2020, I was going to make my return to MGC as 2019 I had to miss due to my younger brother getting married. Little did we know that a few months later, the world would freaking stop. This turned out to be a pretty large bummer though because not only was I going to be returning to MGC, but I’d spent months preparing for an actual Panel about the history of portable console making and the goddamned rug was pulled right out from underneath me with the cancellation of the convention.

And what a freaking mess that followed and continues to unfold even today.

But if all goes well, not only will I finally be making it back to MGC this year, but the panel that seemed like it would be lost is finally scheduled to happen!

And not only will I be presenting on Saturday, 4/30 @ 4PM, but for the time before and after, I’ll have a seat at the BitBuilt Experience table along side friends and fellow modders like GMAN, Shank and CrashBash! So needless to say, I’m very much looking forward to that weekend!

Immediately following my panel, Ben Heck will be taking the stage with perhaps a continuation of the topic! So there should be some pretty interesting stuff happening on the Bonus Stage in that time frame!

The other thing that happened earlier this month was an awesome video posted by You Tuber C4ETech, who I had let borrow my G-Boy Wii Stoned for a test review. This process actually started almost 2 years ago as when he reached out to me, the portable wasn’t even finished yet!

After I completed it and finished my video on it, I sent it on it’s long journey to Dubai, where it stayed for nearly 6 months! But that was fine with me, because his videos about it did me some very nice favors with my You Tube Subscriber count, hitting over 250+ in one day, now over 350 at the time of this writing and still climbing.
So that was very cool and I’ll give a link to both his videos (two different languages) below.

That all said, I’m sure I’ll be making another post after my return and I plan on making a video of the presentation, so wish me luck there!