Install the reverse-engineered Space Cadet Pinball on Linux via Flatpak, optionally upgrading to Full Tilt assets for 1024x768 resolution.
Key Takeaways
Flatpak install: flatpak install com.github.k4zmu2a.spacecadetpinball – ships with original Windows XP game data bundled.
Full Tilt! Pinball assets from archive.org unlock higher resolution (1024x768) and different game rules, including lights that stay on rather than toggling.
Upgrading requires deleting the bundled data directory at $(flatpak info --show-location ...)/files/extra/Pinball so the game finds the new files first.
Full Tilt and 3DPB data can coexist; the game lets you toggle between them, but rule differences (bumper behavior, lane lights) are meaningful.
Author advocates a “source code escrow” model: proprietary software reverts to FOSS license when the original developer stops selling it.
Hacker News Comment Review
One of the original Cinematronics authors surfaced in the thread, confirming the reverse-engineered port’s fidelity was striking enough to forward to the original lead engineer and designer.
The decompile-only reconstruction approach drew attention: the port author had no access to original source, making the accuracy technically impressive.
Commenters flag that the Visual Pinball (vpinball) ecosystem offers far more tables and higher fidelity but is harder to set up on Linux/Mac, with reports of hangs and crashes outside Windows.
Notable Comments
@davidst: Original Space Cadet author, confirms forwarding the post to Cinematronics co-founders Mike Sandige and Kevin Gliner.
@unleaded: Full Tilt also adds multiball via wormhole ball-lock mechanic, absent from the Windows XP version.
@freeqaz: Visual Pinball “hangs and crashes no matter what” on Linux/Mac – still very Windows-oriented.
