jrx

Thank you very much. And yes, the learning aspect is part my the idea :) Unfortunately the counter is rising only very very slowly :/

Thanks a lot @Mikdun! Update on project: Yesterday I made a major update to the codebase. Most important change: From now on more than the first two games are supported. -> https://github.com/lc-jrx/PortaBrick_Arcade Besides this I'm really happy that the project reached the first milestone on LEGO Ideas. I would like to thank everyone who cast their vote.

Hey @howitzer, thx for the video! That machine is incredible! And the soundtrack is nice too :)

Thx a lot! I thought hard and long about it. Point is that the ColorLightMatrix modules are really expensive. Can't imagine that someone will buy them for more than a hundred bucks. The hub is not the point. We'll see. In my opinion it's maybe a set that's more appealing to young users than robots. It's computer gaming – with opportunity to create your own games with ease. That's a novelty in the LEGO universe for now.

The pics showing "P" and "S" are videos hosted at flickr. Or as @Davidz90 mentioned you'll see them at the ideas page. In a few days a more technical video will come where I share more insights.

Today I would like to introduce you to my latest MOC: The PortaBrick Arcade. It is a fully functional mobile arcade game console built entirely out of LEGO®. The PortaBrick Arcade consists of 432 parts and weighs about 520 grams including the battery. The software is based on the @Pybricks project. Quite unlike any other game console currently on the market from the Danish bricks, the PortaBrick Arcade is 100% functional. The whole thing came out of a university project and was supposed to be just a small demonstrator for driver development and as a tool to brush up my Python skills. But as it is sometimes, things turned out differently. So I had a lot of fun writing games for the demonstrator. Thus, it was quickly decided that I would build a nice case around the naked basic framework. And with this then complete game console the first "test persons" played, were quite excited and so it came that I threw all original plans overboard and concentrated completely on the game console. The result is now the PortaBrick Arcade. I created the console in Python/MicroPython. As software I had to resort to the source-open framework Pybricks, because LEGO software only recently started to support programming in Python again. If everything works out, I will (eventually) port the program code to the LEGO platform (LEGO Spike App). The heart of the PortaBrick Arcade is the Spike Prime Hub (nearly identical to the Mindstorms Hub from set 51515). The game console has two displays: Below a monochrome one with a resolution of 5x5 pixels. The upper display can show colors and has a resolution of 6x6 pixels. This upper display is also one of the special features of the MOC. It is composed of four single modules of the Spike ColorLightMatrix. For this I had to write my own driver to be able to control all four displays as one. When the first game ran, it quickly became apparent that the whole thing was nice, but poorly usable. While playing, it became evident that input via the two buttons was poorly recognized. The program's flow is to blame for this. All instructions are processed one after the other. And so that a human being can recognize and play something at all, I worked with a short pause in the program flow. Problem: During the pause and during the instructions, which have nothing to do with the input, no input is accepted. So I needed something like concurrent programming or a way to process instructions in parallel (called multi-threading). However, Micropython does not support this out of the box and the used framework Pybricks does not support it at all. I found the solution in the concept of so-called generators. If you want to read more about this, you can visit my blog. Enough of the technology, on to the content: Currently, the game console runs two games. One is the Nokia classic Snake, and the other is Pong, one of the arcade veterans of all time. Both are currently solo player games. If there should ever be a second console like this (who will have the heart to build the second one??), then Pong can be switched to multiplayer. Two players, double the fun! Also part of the project was a "Pixel Art Painter", a small application that allows you to paint pixel images for the PortaBrick Arcade and then transfer them to the program code. The source code of the whole project is available on Github for anyone interested. If you have any questions about the project, just ask! Otherwise I'm looking forward to your feedback. P.S. If you like the project, feel free to support me on LEGO Ideas. There I have posted the PortaBrick Arcade as a project and keep my fingers crossed. To all who support me and to those who supported me right after the start, thank you very much!

No, this one I own already

Would love to see a non-RC truck like 42043 - well designed and full of functions. Regarding the wheels: I think they'll use the big rims either with normal tread pattern or tractor tread pattern.

Beat you? No, he has just released it earlier :) So back to your brick table ;) And here back to the topic: I'm curious how TLG built the front of the Zetros. Will they use Control+? Which functions? Maybe pneumatics? Really looking forward that set.

Wow! That's a really beautiful Mog you've built. And it's really 18 month since your last MOC? Unbelievable. But when I'm looking on my brick table I see my latest MOC is also more than a year since. Good you finished the Unimog!

Sounds good

I think that's close enough: Oh come on! You're kidding me.

In real or as a MOC?

Or something like this or this … Hihi … Really looking forward how TLG has made it.

Wow! Very impressive build and research. Some extra for entertaining all those dogs so well

At the time of my test the volvo wasn't available so I couldn't test ist. If I can grab one I'll do it. I derived my considerations from my observations with the other engines. Me too :D

Specs (from Spike Prime Hub which seems to be technically identically): ARM Cortex-M4 (100 MHz) 320 kB RAM 1 MB Flash (Operating System) 32 MB memory (User Space)

I think TLG will take out 31313 from shops but is still supporting the old system as there's those huge user base. But for all new starters it will be the new system aka 51515. As far as I have tested and seen the motors differ only in color and ID. With my Spike Prime Hub I was able to drive all motors which where available at the time of my test in the default Spike Prime Test program. Those were: C+ XL C+ L WeDo 2.0 Medium But I wasn't able to use those motors from inside the Spike IDE. So I think it's the same with the large angular motor in combination with the 51515 Mindstorms Hub. You can see my test here (motor tests starting at ~1h15m) :

No, that's the right ratio. If you go from 8teeth gearwheel onto 24teeth it's 1:3, but in planetary gears it's different. The ratio depends on which part auf the construction is fixed. If the outer ring (ring gear) is fixed the ratio is 1:4. If the carrier is fixed it's 1:3.

That's right. Each XL is driving one wheel via 90 degree corner over knob wheels and planetary gears . Gear ratio is as suggested by yours 8 to 24 (or 1 to 4).

Indeed - same like when TLG switched from RXT to NXT

Thx Jim for your well review! But you're writing the new system is not a replacement for EV3. As here in Germany EV3 set 31313 is not longer on sale I understood 51515 as a replacement.

I was much more curious than anxious. So I tried it out and can confirm: You can swap firmware of the Spike Hub from Spike to Mindstorms and back :D

Thx @Gimmick Will try it maybe the next days

Thank you! Was hard and long trial and error to get there. But it's not as performant as in those video. The final truck managed still around 50 degree slope.