Hobbyist Is Recreating Microsoft 3D Pinball: Space Cadet As A Real Table
Another hobbyist is attempting to recreate the classic free Windows game, 3D Pinball For Windows: Space Cadet, better known as Space Cadet 3D Pinball, and since that hobbyist is CNCDan, who is known for actually completing his projects, tech press and the Internet at large is standing at attention.
Some initial coverage of CNCDan's project implies that the project is already complete. Per the original video that CNCDan uploaded to YouTube, this is not actually the case. However, the full video does reveal that much of the project is already finished or close to it, including pretty much all of the key parts, custom circuit boards from PCBWay, bumpers, and so forth.
What isn't yet completed is the playfield artwork, flippers, and the table itself. The biggest challenge is the artwork, since the original art from Space Cadet Pinball or the complete Full Tilt! Pinball (more on that below) is too low-resolution to be used for a physical table. This may be the reason why previous efforts at recreating Space Cadet Pinball as a physical pinball table, like another one started and abandoned in 2012, never came to fruition. CNCDan's proposed solution is to commission a professional artist to polish up the Space Cadet Pinball visuals for a real table, but time will tell how that pans out.
There's a lot worth talking about here. First is the brief history lesson that Space Cadet Pinball as you know it is actually a demo for a full game released under the name of Full Tilt! Pinball, with that version of the game released on both Windows and Mac OS.
Besides the previous failed attempt at a physical Space Cadet Pinball table done by an obscure WordPress blogger in 2012, there have been other efforts to preserve this classic for the modern age. This includes a gorgeous, detailed Blender-made Space Cadet pinball table dropped on the r/Pinball subreddit in December 2022, and various ports including a browser-playable version at ClassicReload (the DOSZone version based on an open-source port is more popular, but didn't work in my testing.)
Should CNCDan's Space Cadet recreation be the first to finally come to fruition, it'll be a unique milestone for both video game preservation and arcade nostalgia alike. Modern pinball tables haven't gone anywhere, with hobbyists making Raspberry Pi-based tables and brands releasing unexpected tie-ins like John Wick Pinball in the past few years, but a true Space Cadet pinball table would fill a void left in gamers' hearts since the 90s. Best of luck, CNCDan—I'll be monitoring your progress intently.
Image Credit: u/veazix on Reddit (Blender Space Cadet Pinball recreation used for thumbnail/header)
