claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025
Dead Flip showcases Good vs. Evil, a homebrew head-to-head pinball using FAST/MPF with attack/defend gameplay.
Good vs. Evil is a four-year homebrew project that took longer than expected because everything had to be built twice for the head-to-head format
high confidence · Jan directly states: 'It's our fourth year now' and explains the head-to-head design doubled the work
The game uses FAST boards and Mission Pinball Framework for hardware and software control
high confidence · Jack Danger confirms: 'And for hardware, you guys use the Fast system, correct?' and notes 'the MPF in there is handling a lot of crazy stuff' and mentions it could also run on P-ROC
The Evil side is harder to win on than the Good side due to playfield layout imbalance
medium confidence · Player Labea states: 'Playing the evil side is just harder. I don't know what it is' and another player notes 'the side that always loses' referring to Evil
Multiple balls on your side are detrimental; the goal is to have fewer balls than your opponent
high confidence · Jack Danger explains: 'Oh, so you just don't want to drain. Okay' and later 'on this game, you don't want balls. You want the fewest amount of balls possible on your side'
The game has a tilt mechanic for individual players and currently has 2 tilts built in
medium confidence · Jan discusses: 'he wants to play 2... Because theoretically he could shake the game and tilt you out also' and confirms 'we have 2 tilts in there'
The game includes a ball save called 'the Peter K.U. ball save' that lasts a few seconds
medium confidence · Jack Danger describes: 'There's a ball save. It's the Peter K.U. ball. It's the ball save just for a few seconds'
Drop targets can stack up to seven on the opponent's side and respawn when knocked down
high confidence · Jan states: 'You can stack them in there every slot' and 'You can stack them up to seven. Oh yeah. And respawn actually, so you drop it down, it comes up'
The game has a bug where unlimited points are awarded if a player doesn't get a bonus
“We had a beer and we decided, I mean he had an idea, and the next Larry Day we thought it was still a good idea and then we started ordering cards”
Jan@ 3:43 — Explains the origin of the Good vs. Evil project as a casual bar idea that evolved into a serious homebrew build
“It took every ounce of gear that I have, so the game will look good, my face camera looks a little crunchy”
Jack Danger@ 3:06 — Highlights the production effort and streaming constraints while covering the event
“On this game, you don't want balls. You want the fewest amount of balls possible on your side.”
Jack Danger@ 41:25 — Core game design principle that inverts traditional pinball goals and creates novel strategic tension
“Playing the evil side is just harder. I don't know what it is.”
Labea (player)@ 35:30 — Identifies a known balance issue with the Evil playfield layout acknowledged by developers
“Evil wins every time. Good game, brother.”
Jan (co-creator/player)@ 21:20 — Acknowledges that the Evil side appears overpowered despite being harder to play, suggesting intentional asymmetric balance
event_signal: Dutch Pinball Pinball Open serving as venue for showcasing innovative homebrew projects to live audience and streaming community; demonstrates platform value for indie designers
high · Stream conducted live at event venue 'We Are Pinball building' in Troonen, Netherlands; Jack mentions 'walked around the entire event' and 'posted some photos' that generated community excitement
design_philosophy: Evil side playfield layout demonstrably harder to win on than Good side, acknowledged by multiple players and co-creator; indicates balance tuning in progress
high · Labea: 'Playing the evil side is just harder.' Jan (co-creator) responds: 'Evil's the hard side, but we'll figure it out' and earlier Jan says 'Evil wins every time' suggesting over-tuned difficulty
design_philosophy: Head-to-head objective-based design inverts traditional pinball goals (fewer balls = better) and emphasizes player interaction over abstract scoring; represents alternative design paradigm in homebrew space
high · Jack Danger notes: 'points, honestly, don't really matter. You just need to take the life away from the other player. Yes, exactly.' and 'on this game, you don't want balls'
product_strategy: Ball detection/traction system accounts for temperature and ball condition; machine automatically compensates for weak ball throw by weakening opponent response proportionally
medium · Jan explains ball routing issue: 'it knows it breaks the throw of the touchdown. It was too cold for the ball to get it balanced. That's awesome'
product_concern: Known bugs in scoring system (unlimited points if no bonus achieved) and incomplete LED programming (some inserts lighting without game purpose); indicates work-in-progress status
youtube_groq_whisper · $0.230
high confidence · Jack Danger notes: 'There's a bug in there in the points. If you don't get a bonus, you will get nearly unlimited points'
high · Jack: 'There's a bug in there in the points. If you don't get a bonus, you will get nearly unlimited points' and Jan: 'There are some LEDs here in the middle. They don't do anything at the moment. We haven't programmed them'
technology_signal: FAST boards initially chosen, later switched to P-ROC due to a specific issue; developers pragmatic about hardware swaps within same software framework ecosystem
medium · Jan: 'we had it on the T-Roc earlier, so we'll go with... You just went fast because whatever. At that point we had a problem with the T-Roc and then we switched'
technology_signal: Good vs. Evil demonstrates Mission Pinball Framework maturity in supporting complex competitive multiplayer mechanics; shows feasibility of open-source MPF for full game design beyond simple mods
high · Game handles dual playfield control, attack/defend mode logic, individual player tilt, synchronized animations (pulsing inserts with triple LEDs), life meters, and objective tracking across 6 modes