"SafeCracker" Escape Room Puzzle Tutorial

[@bobbybain2576]

I love the idea of the transducer to make a quiet noise that needs to be heard. Instead of the dial to change numbers, i wonder if I could build a fake combination lock with a rotary encoder that would act as the input instead.

[@jaycee1980]

Regarding logic levels.. a lot of stuff generally has CMOS inputs, where there is a threshold for logic 1 and 0 that is typically some percentage of Vcc. The MAX7219 is definitely only specced at 4V minimum with a Vih of 3.5V, but i suspect it has a fair bit of tolerance. It could also be a clone chip on there which works perfectly well at 3.3v!

[@ssskids123]

I love this series! Thank you so much. It is so helpful and oddly difficult to find content like this!

[@iantcroft]

Brilliant tutorial as always, the detailed code explanation really helps me try to understand this stuff. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos 👍🏻

[@PlayfulTechnology]

Thankyou for taking the time to write that kind comment, and I'm glad you find the videos helpful! :)

[@iantcroft]

@@PlayfulTechnology My pleasure

[@Dabaiko]

You are the best, very creative idea as always. Thank you for sharing it with us, you truly are an inspiration. It's a shame I didn't succeed in setting up node red in an ubuntu environment because I really liked everything that could be done with it. It was the main reason why I switched from the vanilla arduino to the esp32. One day... Thank you as always!

[@robertedlund6357]

Absolutely stunning idea I’ll do it with an Arduino! Thanks again.

[@zuprazazel4380]

I love this series! You should check resident evil puzzles! They are awesome and most of them are doable with tech you made before.

[@Martin-delta]

28:30 just to clarify, this scramble function only randomizes the input code, not the solution code, right? The solution will be the same when the safe is re-locked?

[@PlayfulTechnology]

You're absolutely right - sorry, I didn't explain that very well! So, if you can't see the LED display, then scrambling either the input code or the solution code largely has the same effect - in that it assigns a random "distance" between each digit and the correct digit it should be. If you _can_ see the LED display, then you have the choice to scramble either the input code (which has the benefit of you being able to check the input against the fixed solution, should you want to) or the solution code (should you intentionally not want to know the solution code you're working towards). It all depends on how you want to use the puzzle in a game.

[@Martin-delta]

@@PlayfulTechnology That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification. It is a really cool puzzle, which can fit in many themes.

[@lifeai1889]

you can install a smartphone vibration motor on the knob and use encoder with allot more step but with no physical detent, so you can do all the haptic feedback in software

[@dlepierres]

another great project

[@PlayfulTechnology]

Glad you like it!

[@stevenq4859]

love your stuff

[@HeyThisIsBrian]

Also hey kind of unrelated, the escape room I work at has a few of this kind of safe. Do you happen to know if there's any easy way to disable the lock out feature after too many failed attempts? It's something we have to warn everyone about, and have to ask them to confirm with us their code before entering it, which is both awkward and groups often won't listen anyway.

[@jaycee1980]

What are you using for ESP32 development? I'll probably end up using vscode but wondered if theres anything else. Probably wont use platformIO or anything like that though!

[@HeyThisIsBrian]

Hi I recently started working at an escape room and I love all of these. My boss is pretty adverse to learning Arduino though which has made me consider giving it a shot. I have a bit of programming experience, so I'm more intimidated by the hardware than the software. Is there a project you would recommend for someone starting out with it?

[@PlayfulTechnology]

When it comes down to it, pretty much all escape room projects (and, for that matter, all systems in general!) can be reduced to Input -> Logic -> Output. So, the simplest starter project is one where the inputs, logic, and output, are all themselves straightforward. That's why the normal "Hello World" starter project for Arduino is to press a button to make an LED turn on: Button=Input, "Is it Pressed?"=Logic, LED turning on=Output. Start with that, and then you can change each component in turn: - Instead of a single button input, have multiple buttons, or a rotary dial, or an RFID reader, or a magnetic sensor. - Instead of simple "Is It Pressed?" logic, consider a pattern of inputs, or several inputs held simultaneously, or depressed for a certain amount of time. - Instead of an LED, have an audio output, a motor, or a relay that can trigger any other electronic device. I _try_ to make all my projects as accessible as possible, and they all follow that same basic model. So, pick one that seems appropriate to the interaction method and theme of your room, and give it a try!

[@lwo7736]

What would be really cool is if you had a stethescope in the room where they had to place it on a space that has a relay bolted to the inside and all you had to do was turn the relay on and off to trigger the 'click'. Not audible enough to listen to on it's own, but the relay click would pick up on a stethescope through the metal wall The big issue with this is that stethescopes are not toys, you can actually damage someones hearing by misusing them. There's ways around it like getting a cheaper one or putting a bit of blu tac in the holes where the ears go, but it probably would be unsafe for your average customer. Edit: also... kinda gross, you'd have to clean it every time

[@Dabaiko]

That's an interesting idea. A drilled rigid plastic cup could be glued to a stethoscope after cutting the earpiece, and then it would go over the ear, solving the need to clean it every time and reducing audio levels considerably.

[@lwo7736]

@@Dabaiko yes! and I've also just seen something called a "pinard stethoscope" which is basically just a posh version of 'cup on wall to listen to neightbours'. You could use one of those too. Maybe even epoxy the cup to each earhole so that two players could listen in at the same time

[@OtakuHighlights0]

Love the series hey guys im trying to make puzzle when u have to pull ropes in order and i was thinking about using strain guage but dont know how to atache or is it a good sensore

[@PlayfulTechnology]

I'd use an industrial limit switch for that.

[@OtakuHighlights0]

@@PlayfulTechnology Thank u very much for help ;-)

[@ajking5789]

Hi Alistair, Happy Tuesday! I rcently found your channel. I appreciate your conent a lot, if possible how would one get in contact with you? Thanks in advance mate cheer!

[@PlayfulTechnology]

I mostly hang around the Facebook "escape room tech" group: facebook.com/groups/EscapeRoomTECH