claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.038
Fan-built Batman '66 VPX table reveal with 27K lines of code, detailed turntable, 1.0 beta ready for testing.
The VPX Batman '66 table contains 27,000 lines of VB/VBScript code
high confidence · DeFishbowl states: 'oh man let me check what the latest is here i think we're at 27 000 lines of code'
Mr. H began modeling the turntable 3-4 years ago while on holiday in Vietnam
high confidence · Mr. H: 'I started that like three or four years ago when I was on holidays in Vietnam I uh I took my laptop and because I work for myself so I took my laptop but just while I was over there had some downtime I'm like I just kind of start modeling this table'
The development team collaboration began last year when Mr. H and DeFishbowl connected
high confidence · Jon Hey mentions the turntable work started years ago, then 'last year when me and the fishbowl hooked up Guardians happened I might have tried to suggest Batman 66 as a table to create'
DeFishbowl's previous VPX project was Guardians of the Galaxy, which was built primarily by Mr. H and DeFishbowl only
high confidence · Ken Swift: 'this is the fishbowl second game his first one was uh guardians of the galaxy' and 'guardians was really Mr. H and the fishbowl only'
Batman '66 is described as 'ridiculously deep' with complex rulesets requiring knowledge to play effectively
high confidence · Every physical pinballer mentioned says 'You picked like the most Ridiculously deep game ever' and the team notes it's not a pick-up-and-play table
A previous Ghostbusters VPX project used Sam Stern ROMs and Pinball Arcade DLL, resulting in takedown action
high confidence · Jon Hey: 'Ghostbusters used Sam Stern ROMs' and 'Ghostbusters used the ROMs there was a there was a guy who was had a Patreon who had actually broken Spike 2 emulation' with someone receiving 'a cease and desist from Sam Stern'
The Batman '66 VPX table is being handled to Terry for polishing after beta phase
high confidence · Jon Hey: 'the goal is once you know we get out all the kinks we're gonna give uh it over to terry and terry is going to polish the hell out of this thing'
“There are absolutely no Sam Stern ROMs in here. There are no – this entire table was created out of pixels”
Jon Hey@ 6:22 — Clarifies the legal/technical distinction from ROM-based projects; emphasizes fully custom code implementation
“27,000 lines of code of just shoot myself in the head visual BASIC or VB script”
DeFishbowl@ 7:15 — Emphasizes scale and complexity of custom VPX coding work; expresses fatigue with project scope
“I started that like three or four years ago when I was on holidays in Vietnam I uh I took my laptop and just kind of start modeling this table because I'd love to see this table in vpx one day”
Mr. H@ 14:58 — Reveals long development timeline and personal motivation for undertaking massive modeling task
“It's like every Every pinballer Like physical pinballer that I talk to Yeah Me and my team we did Batman 66 And they said You picked like the most Ridiculously deep game ever And decided to do that one”
Ken Swift@ 26:01 — Highlights the challenge of recreating one of the most complex pinball rulesets ever designed
“This is an especially deep table... if you're thinking to pick up and just start flipping it, you're not going to get anywhere and you might not enjoy the table, you have to know what you're doing”
Jon Hey@ 34:07 — Sets expectations for players: Batman '66 requires rules knowledge and practice; not casual-friendly
“The short answer is nothing does, But the longer answer is, I think there are about 400 or 500 pinball machines that are ahead of this one on the list if Sam Stern wants to do anything about”
community_signal: Multiple VPX developer/designer contributions from established community (Nail Buster framework, VPW physics team, Flipstream moderation); demonstrates active collaborative ecosystem
high · Credits include: 'Nail Buster's framework', 'VPW team', 'Flipstream', 'Eight Ball', 'Mr Rick', 'Decoy', and 'dozens of alpha testers' listed in opening discussion
community_signal: Substantial community engagement demonstrated by large tip donations (2,000 bits from anonymous supporter) and active participation from established VPX community members
high · Anonymous viewer sent 2,000 bits with appreciation; Ken Swift, Mr. H actively participating; chat engagement evident throughout
design_philosophy: VPX development team prioritizes comprehensive ruleset recreation and mechanical fidelity over time constraints; explicitly rejecting rushed timelines seen in prior projects
high · Jon Hey references Harry Potter being rushed and commits to giving Terry adequate time: 'we're not gonna rush him... we're gonna give him his time to do his thing'
event_signal: Live stream reveal format with simultaneous participation from core development team (DeFishbowl, Mr. H, Ken Swift) and community Q&A
high · Stream structure includes live gameplay, direct developer commentary, real-time chat interaction, and explicit invitations for team members to explain their contributions
licensing_signal: Stern Pinball enforced IP protection against Ghostbusters VPX which used proprietary ROMs/code; Batman 66 VPX avoids this by creating entirely custom code implementation
youtube_groq_whisper · $0.238
Mr. H contributed modeling work to Pizza Time, Harry Potter, and other unreleased VPX tables
high confidence · Mr. H discusses work on 'Pizza Time. Did the pizza model and then maybe the plastic ramps. I kind of helped out on the dragon on Harry Potter'
Jon Hey@ 27:09 — References licensing/legal backlog preventing Stern from pursuing VPX projects; implies resource prioritization
“We're gonna give him his time to do his thing and it's gonna be amazing... like has happened sometimes to him in the past harry potter uh we're gonna give him we're gonna give him his time to do his thing”
Jon Hey@ 32:04 — Implies Harry Potter VPX project was rushed; team committed to not repeating that mistake with Terry's polish pass
“I think every table he does he realizes what he's capable of and it's scary every time we come up against a hurdle in this table uh he'd figure it out and work his way through”
Ken Swift@ 25:10 — Characterizes DeFishbowl as exceptionally talented problem-solver; 'Michael Jordan of VP' according to Ken
high · Jon Hey discusses Ghostbusters receiving cease and desist from Stern for using their ROMs and Pinball Arcade DLL; contrasts with Batman 66's fully custom approach
market_signal: VPX fan projects creating comprehensive recreations of licensed commercial pinball machines; suggests strong demand for deep ruleset digital versions not available from manufacturers
medium · Batman 66 VPX described as deliberately recreating 'ridiculously deep game' with 27,000 lines of code to capture all rules; implies gap in official digital offerings
personnel_signal: Mr. H transitioned from occasional VPX modeling contributions (Pizza Time, Harry Potter) to co-lead role on Batman 66; multi-year commitment to single project
medium · Mr. H describes starting turntable work 3-4 years ago solo, then 'last year when me and the fishbowl hooked up' - indicates formalization of development partnership
announcement: Official reveal of Batman 66 VPX table at 1.0 beta stage with timeline for community beta testing and polish phase
high · Jon Hey and team publicly presenting functional beta build on livestream; explicit statement 'We have... officially Nail Buster's work' and commitment to opening beta to more testers
product_strategy: Batman 66 VPX planned release after beta phase and final polish; intended for broader community distribution through VPX platform
high · Jon Hey: 'We wouldn't be showing you if it wasn't so close' and 'the goal is once you know we get out all the kinks we're gonna give uh it over to terry and terry is going to polish'
product_concern: Harry Potter VPX experienced quality/completion issues from rushed timeline; team learning from this to protect Batman 66 VPX quality during polish phase
medium · Jon Hey: 'like has happened sometimes to him in the past harry potter uh we're gonna give him we're gonna give him his time' - implies Harry Potter suffered from insufficient polish time
technology_signal: Batman 66 VPX developed entirely on custom framework with minimal reliance on existing code; represents comprehensive reverse-engineering of Stern Spike 2 ruleset outside proprietary systems
high · Jon Hey: 'There are absolutely no Sam Stern ROMs in here... this entire table was created out of pixels' and 'all visual pinball it's all visual pinball all pup pack'