Williams Whirlwind 2.0 Pinball is Being Created

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Mar 17, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.016

TL;DR

Whirlwind 2.0 upgrade kit in 7-year development by applejuice with 20 beta machines active

Summary

A custom Whirlwind 2.0 upgrade kit is in active development by UK-based community member Jim (applejuice), featuring seven years of coding work. The project currently has 20 machines running beta code, with at least one appearing at Louisville Arcade Expo. The author speculates whether a manufacturer like Planetary Pinball might eventually commercialize the upgrade.

Key Claims

Jim (applejuice) from the UK has been working on Whirlwind 2.0 code for seven years
high confidence · Direct information from Jeffrey Jones via Facebook conversation, confirmed by Pinside forum activity
Whirlwind 2.0 beta code is currently running on 20 machines owned by testers
high confidence · Author citing information from applejuice's Pinside forum thread
A Whirlwind 2.0 machine appeared at Louisville Arcade Expo
high confidence · Author's direct statement about recent event attendance
Whirlwind is 'one of the later pre-DMD pinball machines' and 'an amazing game'
medium confidence · Author's opinion on the classic title's design quality and technical position in Williams history

Notable Quotes

“I was like 'WHAT?!' when told Whirlwind 2.0 was already being worked on”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Expresses surprise at discovery of existing multi-year development project
“Applejuice currently has the 2.0 code out there on 20 Whirlwinds being Beta tested by owners”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Key fact establishing scope and current status of beta program
“Hopefully it's awesome and a manufacturer picks up the rights to make it into an official Planetary Pinball-sanctioned kit”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Author's speculation about potential commercial licensing pathway through Planetary Pinball

Entities

Jim / applejuicepersonJeffrey JonespersonWhirlwind 2.0productWhirlwindgame Planetary PinballcompanyLouisville Arcade ExpoeventPinsideorganization Knapp Arcadeperson

Signals

?
event_signal: Whirlwind 2.0 beta machine showcased at Louisville Arcade Expo, signaling visibility and interest within competitive/enthusiast community
medium · Author mentions machine appearance at recent expo and solicits feedback/photos from attendees
?
licensing_signal: Potential path to commercialization through Planetary Pinball licensing agreement for official kit release
medium · Author expresses hope that Planetary Pinball (who holds Bally/Williams IP licenses) might sanction and release official kit version
?
product_strategy: Multiple Williams game upgrade kits in pipeline (FunHouse, TOTAN established; Whirlwind 2.0 in active development)
high · Author references FunHouse and TOTAN kits as existing projects and notes Whirlwind 2.0 as logical continuation of upgrade trend
?
technology_signal: Community-driven code modernization of pre-DMD classic machines gaining traction with multi-year development cycles and organized beta testing programs
high · Whirlwind 2.0 represents seven years of dedicated development by applejuice with 20 active beta machines; demonstrates viable path for extending life of 1990s-era hardware

Topics

Upgrade kits for classic Williams gamesprimaryCommunity-driven pinball code development and moddingprimaryWhirlwind pinball machine design and legacyprimaryBeta testing and community feedback on pinball projectssecondaryPotential commercialization of homebrew pinball upgradessecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Author expresses enthusiasm and excitement about the Whirlwind 2.0 project; optimistic about potential commercial release; appreciative of community development effort

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

All of this talk about upgrade kits for Williams pinball machines lately (FunHouse and TOTAN) got me to thinking about what other games might get one. My leading candidate has been Williams Whirlwind, A) because it’s an amazing game and B) it’s one of the later pre-DMD pinball machines. When I mentioned that this might be next up in a conversation on Facebook, Jeffrey Hilton Jones chimed in and told me that a Whirlwind 2.0 is already being worked on. I was like “WHAT?!” He directed me to a thread on Pinside that talks about how a gentleman from the UK named Jim aka applejuice, who is well-known in the pinball community for his coding prowess, has been working on an update to the iconic Whirlwind pin for seven years. Applejuice currently has the 2.0 code out there on 20 Whirlwinds being Beta tested by owners. In fact, one of these machines even made an appearance at last weekend’s Louisville Arcade Expo. Did anyone out there get a chance to play it? If so, what did you think? I would LOVE it if someone has pictures or video of it from the show that they’d be willing to share. I need to see what this game is like. Hopefully it’s awesome and a manufacturer picks up the rights to make it into an official Planetary Pinball-sanctioned kit. Below I have shared videos of the DMD in action, an installed kit, a few pictures of the game and boards and a link to the discussion about Whirlwind 2.0 on Pinside: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/whirlwind-software-rewrite-the-journey UPDATE: Here’s a picture of the machine that was recently at the Louisville Show: