King Kong -proto (Data East 1990)

[cyberpez]

https://vpinball.com/?post_type=cmdm_page&p=206198

The 8th wonder of the world… RaaarRrrrrRrrrrrr

Fun fact I’ve absolutely fallen in love with this table. Javiar was nice enough to let me help out with his version and I became obsessed. His version used what I like to call the King Sized Ramp. But turns out there was also a VUK version with drop targets (think exactly the same as bttf). So I had originally set out to MOD his version to include that.. While researching the table I was able to find enough good pics to start a playfield redraw.. and that snowballed into what you all get to try today.

So… there were 9 prototypes of King Kong made. I have seen pictures of 4 or 5 different prototypes, and been in contact with the owner of prototype #9…. I have used my best guess work to put what I have seen into some sort of chronological order, then filled in the blanks.. so aside from proto #9 the different versions may or may not be accurate..

Stuck ball disclaimer…. I whole heartily believe the reason this table never made it to production is there would have been wayyyy to may stuck or lost balls to ever route the table… almost every tweak to the table between prototypes was to fix areas where a ball might have been stuck. I’ve done my best to recreate this.. so in proto 1… you will probably get a ball stuck under the plastic by the ball lock.. or around the top left bumper.. Proto 2 they tried to fix this.. ext ext.. Thamulas and I worked pretty hard to eliminate the ones that were my fault, but left in the ones that should technically be there.

So I set the table up so you can choose your prototype by cycling your manga save buttons… or you can choose it via the script. I also added two versions by my own liking. or you can set it up to be customizable to your own liking. Honestly I could wright a 20 page manual with all the different things but your time is better spend just getting in and playing it. Try the default manga save swapping first then by all means dig into the options.

For options… there are a lot.. but a lot of it has to do with the different prototypes.. but some can be set like say the ramp “black ramp” colors.. or a custom ball, or colored gi.. or flipper colors.. some things need a “default override” check… VR related things (cab backglass and the sort) Most all options should have descriptions or be fairly self explanatory.. good luck

Table is a complete scratch build. Playfields, plastics, decals, and the sort re-drawn by me. everything was done as accurately as I could come up with. Best of all it plays pretty decent if you ask me.

I have a gut feeling there is probably an updated rom than what we have. The sw# for the “Millions Bananas” target is correct, but I don’t think it does anything. There is also a gate with a switch on proto 9 at the lower entrance of the “black ramp”… I don’t know what its tied to, but its also only on proto 9 to my knowledge.. so enjoy the table for what it is.

Thanks and credits…

First off thanks to anyone that has ever had any sort of involvement with this table in the past. People I know about… Dazz, dup3d, gtxjoe, Javier and I’m sure others. Following Dazz/gtxjoe’s original wip thread is a whirlwind of excitement!!!!

Second thanks again to Javier for his vpx version. Had he not done that, I would have not known about this table, nor dug this deep into it!!

Third thanks to the usual folk that help me along the way.
Wrd1972: for all the Wrd sorta stuff he does. physics (via Roth’s implementation of nFozzy’s physics) fine tuning object placement. ext ext ext ext.
rothbauerw: for being a stand up guy and a code wizard.
Flupper: for help with the “black ramp” it looks so much better now than I ever hoped for!! Flasher domes are his too. Some PF inserts borrowed.
schreibi34: Metal wall reflections and some PF inserts
nFozzy: for his lighting script and physics.
Arconovum: FSS code to get backglass working for FSS and VR
DJRobX: SSF code
Thamulas: for playtesting. the only bugs left are the ones we decided to keep, otherwise blame him :P
BrandonLaw: for playtesting early on.
Wildman: for his updated backglass, grab the latest if you have not already.
Dark: I know there nuts bolts and other random bits here and there.
Bord: same – random bits here and there.
Sixtoe: for some VR testing and tweaking
Benji and iaakki for their insert tutorial and a few borrowed inserts

Last but not least the developers and other table authors. This community is nothing without everyone doing their part!!!!!!

 

-cp

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Total of 78 users thanked author for this post. Here are last 20 listed.

Roosta, Vladaymir, Bald Eagle, Holybuhjeezus, yogevsho, fings1, lagunasunrise, xenonph, Marcio, davadruix, ashleyb, TUTE_PRIMUS, cfhdrew, Bladeof, freezermeat, Boris, STAT, Shark's Mouth, crutch, eMBee

[DeathInc]

Thank you brother, can’t wait to try it.

 

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[Thalamus]

I’m very happy to see the release come to life to the community. It is really a special machine in that there were only prototypes avail and you’ve created 9 of them in one download. Man, that is something ! I told you over and over, you’re not sane  – you stubborn … you ;) 

Not only that, it plays great, and I want to thank you for getting to know you through the wip’s – it has been a pleasure working with you from day one, and I hope and believe that the end result has some “oddities” that should be kept there, just because of what you mentioned. I just love to see stuck balls on vp where the real machines have the same issues. Here, well, it is more of a guess. But, leaving, what we believe could happen, just adds to the feeling of being what it ended up as. Several prototypes, unfortunately, not released. Absolutely a top notch release in my eyes my friend. Thank you very much !

( uh. I should of course have added flupper, bord – you all know that when you are asked an contribute, it just gets better – often forgotten in the thank you thread *guilty* )

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3 users thanked author for this post.

KrakenByte, robertms, cyberpez

[JR]

Rushing home!!

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[bord]

Haven’t opened it yet and I already know what I’m in store for: early Christmas. So glad this project was in the absolute best hands. Thanks for the countless hours you poured into it.

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[rothbauerw]

I’ve played this one in VR.  Absolutely amazing. Of particular note on this table is the insert lighting. Unlike anything I’ve seen to date. Very realistic!

Current Project: Perpetual updates of VPX physics.

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[tomate]

Thanks man, what a good table! I can’t wait to try it in my cabinet

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[JR]

Wow!  Hadn’t spent much time with the version I have so barely know the table but have a feeling I’ll be pretty familiar with it by Monday!  All these options will take some time to go through.  Love the clear ramp!!  And I really appreciate when someone like roth points out things like the inserts.  Look fantastic even on a non-4k!!

Thanks @cyberpez and all the unusual suspects both prior and current that helped with this.  What a gift to this community!

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[robertms]

Wow, @cyberpez what you have done here is extraordinary. Who knew you could change the layout on the fly like that? You’re right about the scripted options, it’s not for the faint-hearted, but holy s**t that’s amazing stuff! So many quirky features.. A real hoot to play with those giant flippers, btw plays fantastic (thanks wrd, roth and thal). Beautiful to look at and excellent overall, thanks for the huge effort preserving this great piece of pinball history!

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[JR]

What Rob said!  Embarrassed to say that I somehow missed/forgot? the part about DE never producing this table.  Only 9 prototypes?  Bringing rare (never made!) tables like this to life is a real treat for us out here.  First Cue now Kong this week?  This passion you guys have is mind blowing.

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[KrakenByte]

Amazing work made here so thank you very much!

Now i’m feel tied to this one

KrakenByte Kraken

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[BazzaLB]

Thanks for including VR support out of the box. :D

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[marie]

Your table description already made my day elaborating on the history and different prototypes.

I am sure I will see this TLC back in the table as well!

Thanks all involved!

On to the cab now!

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[kds70]

Many many thanks for this very rare table release; great STUFF …

VPin: Williams Time Warp Cabinet (1979), 4K playfield: 40" Iiyama X4071UHSU, backglass: 32" LG. Pin2DMD, Pincontrol 1, LEDWiz, nudging, tilt, plunger, 10 big siemens contactors, Shaker, Strobo, Gear, Beacon, RGB Flasher 5x, Knocker, PC: Intel i5 2500k@4.5Ghz, 8 GB Ram, Zotac GTX 1070 Mini, Win10

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[32assassin]

JR wrote:

What Rob said! Embarrassed to say that I somehow missed/forgot? the part about DE never producing this table. Only 9 prototypes? Bringing rare (never made!) tables like this to life is a real treat for us out here. First Cue now Kong this week? This passion you guys have is mind blowing.

I saw a post on pinside  of someone offering  a few thousand (more then 1)   for information leading to the purchase of one of this

one sold on fleebay for  $20K

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/king-kong-on-ebay

see a table you like help me find the resources so that I can finish it
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7qtake9whi5ium2/AAB4K4W78oMVlqSxTzKtGHTHa?dl=0

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[0Cool]

One word…GREAT! The looks, details and playability are superb! I liked the original but this version has it own unique feeling and I really like the story behind it. Thanks for sharing this gem, CP.

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[Friffy1]

What a neat project to tackle!

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[joeplainfield]

Wow. So different than the production machine. Them are some big ass flippers. Thank you all for the attention you put into this. This is some serious dedication and great to see some of the really rare machines show up lately none of us would ever get to play otherwise..

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[Manolo / ICE]

Thank you for your awesome work on this proto9 version.

So much different than the 1.03 version i had.

This one with the big ass flippers is much more fun, very original and those graphics are very good.

There are so much options in the script.. Too much for me. lol :)

Thank you all for this piece of unique pinball.

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[JR]

@32assassin wrote – “one sold on fleebay for  $20K”

That thread on pinside is a fun read.

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