Further to Sparky's post in the No Fear thread, how do you think pins could evolve further (Pin2K aside)?

I mean realistically... not ball teleporters or anything silly like that.  

I'd love to see an LCD screen in place of the DMD.  That's the biggest improvement I think they could make right now.  I mean really, DMD's and LCD's have to be close in price by now...

What else?  What other current technologies could be implemented?

My guess is if LCDs were cheap back when they designed p2k, it would have turned out different. Popadiuk's design ( display in the backbox) may have won out.

I'm guessing the reason Stern hasn't made the change is two fold. They can't afford a hardware platform change, they can barely afford to produce machines in the short tem (and in the long run, they probably won't be able to stay open). They should have planned this upgrade years ago, now it's too late.

The second reason is that it costs a lot more money to produce colourful animated content for an LCD than for a DMD. It was this reason that pin2k machines took longer to design and cost more. Williams changed their schedule with pin2k because of the amount of animations needed for the display.

Another suggestion:
Add a computer controlled opponent. It would work by using a camera that monitors the ball's position. There are freely available libraries for object tracking. It would be fun to try to nudge the table to screw up a computer opponent. The computer would have the advantage of being really good, so nudging is your best weapon against it

It would obviously cost a lot to develop, but once the system is designed, it wouldn't cost much for each additional game. The system can just learn what shots work for each game.

Start with a generic cabinet with an lcd backbox installed. Use a nice IPS or VA lcd panel as the playfield with a plexi cover and the ramps and habitrails would sit on top. Flippers, kickers and pop-bumbers would have to be re-engineered to 'float' above the playfield as well. New game = new 'ROM' program and new ramp/flipper/pop-bumper/toys skeleton placed on top.

New pinball machines could be modular DIY kits. Video playfields could be open-source programming. Imagine the playfield graphics shifting to suit the 'mood' of each mode? Download programmed game with graphics, buy specific playfield structures that link together or attach to the sides/back = new game!

Pros: kinetics are still there. Playfield will always be fast and easily replaced.
Con: no more screen printed glass or playfields.

Make it so, k'thanx.  

Quoted from OTTOgd

Start with a generic cabinet with an lcd backbox installed. Use a nice IPS or VA lcd panel as the playfield with a plexi cover and the ramps and habitrails would sit on top. Flippers, kickers and pop-bumbers would have to be re-engineered to 'float' above the playfield as well. New game = new 'ROM' program and new ramp/flipper/pop-bumper/toys skeleton placed on top.

New pinball machines could be modular DIY kits. Video playfields could open-source programming. Imagine the playfield graphics shifting to suit the 'mood' of each mode? Con: no more screen printed glass or playfields.

Make it so, k'thanx.  

That's a great idea. And the flipper mechanics can be located under the apron. It could work! Of course, there'd be no death saves or bang backs.

Eliminate the huge web of under playfield wiring. Put everyuthing in series with addressable nodes. Also, make it possible to have a single controller (replace the MPU pcb) that can wire to several machines via USB or similar . This would make the software much more easily manipulated and one controller could run a wall of machines, with a pc type setup.

Make a playfield that can be reconfigured (ramps and all) via a modular system. Upgrades, add-ons and mods could then be sold as a package or separately without a complete playfield swap, sort of an evolved P2K.  The customer could almost design their own playfield. A software package could be available to do a sort of white board test and then order the ramp, kicker, loop or whatever they offer.

Of course LCD needs to replace DMD and is way overdue.  To me, was just an evolution of digital scoring displays to begin with.

That could work, except you're forgetting the mechanics that make things like pop bumpers and kickers work, which is usually housed under the PF.. unless there's a different way to make the balls fly without using coils (maybe magnets?)

I think it could work. However, a new playfield components system would have to engineered to be as flexible as possible. Like a Thomas the Train track. I would imagine slotted surrounds to fix components.

Community, open-source, pinball game making on a more physical level could be wild. Custom Visual/Future/Pinmame tables taken to the next level. Could be huge. Those with ADD could go nuts.  

Quoted from machine.slave

That could work, except you're forgetting the mechanics that make things like pop bumpers and kickers work, which is usually housed under the PF.. unless there's a different way to make the balls fly without using coils (maybe magnets?)

I didn't forget; powered from below but make them work from above ... somehow.

The slingshot/pop bumpers can be turned upside down. The coil can be above the playfield, housed in some kind of tower. I'm thinking of something like the pop bumpers on TSPP (how they look).

PM sent to Gary Stern

Some of the things I've thought of over the past little while...

-Small OLED displays integrated into the PF, either as inserts or behind drops etc.  You can change the insert based on gameplay / mode / progress etc.  Could also display video on them  (You could probably have them on drop targets themselves but they probably wouldn't take the punishment)
-Better use of magnets
-Continuing what P2K started, because they just barely scratched the surface
-LCD display in the head and a mode in the game where a PF mounted camera is enabled and you need to shoot the ball at targets w/ the camera (or something like that)
-More tournament play

Just some of them off the top of my head...

D