ECHO Haven & Gambling Hall Cash Set (2 Viewers)

[ChipperMarten]

A blurb of information about ECHO Haven and Gambling Hall
Situated between a coin operated laundromat and a noodle house, a single door with a metal outer cage serves as the entrance to the District 18 Station of the ECHO Haven and Gambling Hall. It is not among the nicer venues in the district, as the rooms are cheap and the alcohol is cheaper. But it is a highly affordable bed for the night, and home to all of the table games you could ever want to play with the last remaining dollars of your bankroll. So whether you’re a local who’s tired of the opulence of card rooms like The Magellan and Gates of Gold, or a wanderer needing somewhere to crash for the night, welcome to ECHO.

About the design / Inspirations
I have fallen in love with this logo and ‘neon’ aesthetic and I’m wanting to put together a whole set of chips, cut cards, playing cards, (maybe even dice and table toppers if I am able to go that far someday) as a creative/portfolio project. The logo admittedly originated from a family of bases I’d build in every Minecraft world, and has spiraled into its own story and lore. I am still nailing the details of the world around it, so I don’t imagine ‘District 18, Neon’ is going to remain as ECHO’s location.
The bear claw edge spot pattern is my favorite, and I was inspired to do a ubiquitous edge spot pattern by The Nuts set by @Himewad . I used Bosco’s illustrator file to grab the base chip, but the inlay design is mine. The prospect of picking individual edge spot colors scared me so I employed an algorithmic approach which has resulted in some really pleasurable edge spot combinations (I am a particular fan of the 25¢, 50¢, and $500 denominations). However if there are potential issues with using these combinations, I would be open for suggestions on other edge spot colorings.
My reasoning for having denominations ranging from 25¢ to $1K is simply, as I saw it put in another thread which made me laugh, “MOAR CHIPES”.
The goal is to have all required artwork done for this set by the time the next Tina’s GB rolls around. I’ve been wanting to acquire a set of 1,000 chips for personal use that are a little more custom and stylized than my 200 Scroll ceramics. The fact that this set is within reach for less than $750 is incredibly exciting to me.

Some concerns I have for this set
1 - Dirty Stacks. I think the differentiation would be okay given that the edge spot pattern leaves a large stripe for easily telling chips apart, and the combination of colors are different for each denomination of chip. I am not sure how to simulate this outside of a chip designer like those that exist for CPC but I don’t think it is too much of an issue. Still interested to hear your thoughts.
2 - Pantone Color Compatibility. I utilized the Pantone color references provided by @Kid_Eastwood and uploaded by @QuailValley for selecting the colors for this set. However, I know there’s discrepancies when converting RGB to Pantone and vice versa. I have never put together a true design proof and I don’t know what color information is needed for the manufacturer to work with. Any information regarding this would be greatly appreciated!

Ideas for potential changes or concepts (More ideas are welcome!)
1 - I’ve considered coming up with a unique currency symbol for the world this takes place in, but I lack experience with custom fonts and symbols so I don’t know how feasible this would be for my current design experience. This is (hopefully) not going to be my last set design so maybe I could explore that in future concepts.
2 - A ‘High Roller’ set of chips to add to this one including denoms from $5k to $100k for fun and further variation is an idea I’ve been kicking around. Additionally, a tournament set is in the works with a different inlay design, though I am stuck on edge spots (both design and coloring).

Thank you! For taking the time to check out my design and read through the info and backstory. Again, I’m new to designing this stuff so I’m open to any comments, suggestions, or critiques. There’s tons of expertise on this forum I would love to learn from! I’m already stoked for this set and the next GB, and I can’t wait to see what level it can be elevated to with the help of the community.

(Please forgive the excessive watermarks, I’ve heard of designs getting stolen by companies so I’m just making sure my bases are covered).

 

[bernielomax]

Designing a set addictive, isn’t it? Very nice story and I like your inlay design. Your chip colors and bear claw spots also fit well with the theme.

The only two things I would change:

-Ditch the 50 cent chip, you don’t need it. I know you said you wanted more chips, but perhaps you could replace this denomination with a bounty chip or something clever like “free laundry” or “free bowl of noodles” from the neighboring venues.

-Your 1K chip just looks off to me. Maybe too busy? It almost looks a little blurry.

 

[ChipperMarten]

Thanks for your input! I think the yellow plays differently with the blur settings, so I adjusted it a little bit and it looks much cleaner.

Now the noodle bowl idea, I am absolutely in love with. I wanted to maintain the white/orange/blue as a cash chip, but I think this is my new favorite chip of the set! I might even develop a few other 'fun' chips to go along with the worldbuilding, thank you so much for the idea!

 

[NotDunric]

These are cool!

@TheLemursReturn recently shared his chip visualizer tool which will let you add a chip's face as well as the edge files you have and then move chips around to simulate dirty stacks and see how the colors all play together.

 

[ChipperMarten]

These are cool!

@TheLemursReturn recently shared his chip visualizer tool which will let you add a chip's face as well as the edge files you have and then move chips around to simulate dirty stacks and see how the colors all play together.

Hey, I'm glad you like them! And thank you for the link to the tool, this clears up my worries since my main concern was between the orange, blue, and white chips. But I think the color trifectas make them stand out in dirty stacks so I'm not too concerned anymore.

 

[FordPickup92]

Well I dig it. And the design work is solid. Nice job!

 

[NotDunric]

I think both of the orange and blue base chips get too lost in the white base chip stack (I was initially only commenting on the orange one and didn't even notice the blue one in there at first).
The white in the other two less of an issue.

 

[bernielomax]

I really like the way your set is developing. It reminds me of something in between Tron Legacy and Bladrunner. Very nice. That noodles chip looks awesome! You must be a designer because you came up with that really fast. What other worldbuilding ideas do you have?

I have been saving this idea and was planning on implementing it when I am done with my set. But I think it will work perfect for your set down the road: If you construct a case, have an experienced woodworker use a router tool to carve out the Echo Haven + Hall image on the top. Then have the woodworker do a colored resin pour. That could look amazing

 

[ChipperMarten]

I think both of the orange and blue base chips get too lost in the white base chip stack (I was initially only commenting on the orange one and didn't even notice the blue one in there at first).
The white in the other two less of an issue.

I think you're right about the orange getting lost, but alas, I think the yellow doesn't stand out quite as much as I'd like. I am not sure it's a deal-breaker, since I only plan to have a barrel or two of noodle chips in the set, and I don't imagine they'd be mixed in with all the other cash chips. I'll think on other solutions to it though and see if I can come up with something.

As for the blue chip, the red pips stood out in the white stack to me, but then again I might have a varying visual frame of reference. I'll give this a think too. Thank you for the input, I appreciate it!

I really like the way your set is developing. It reminds me of something in between Tron Legacy and Bladrunner. Very nice. That noodles chip looks awesome! You must be a designer because you came up with that really fast. What other worldbuilding ideas do you have?

I have been saving this idea and was planning on implementing it when I am done with my set. But I think it will work perfect for your set down the road: If you construct a case, have an experienced woodworker use a router tool to carve out the Echo Haven + Hall image on the top. Then have the woodworker do a colored resin pour. That could look amazing

View attachment 1008316

The TRON Legacy vibe has been a favorite of mine for years, I didn't think it would manifest itself in a chip design project. I'm happy you think I'm quick, I'm just a nerd with tons of random skills, one of which happens to be Illustrator (though I wouldn't consider myself nearly at the professional level, I just dabble).

Now a resin and wood case sounds like a must-do if I manage to get the resources for it down the road. I have access to some woodshop equipment, but that seems like an entire project in itself. I might laser cut something once the set comes in, but I'm absolutely tucking this idea away for later. Thank you for sharing!

EDIT: I'm still fleshing out additional ideas, but something I've come up with since I posted the Noodle Chip is as follows: It's common courtesy to give your opponent a noodle chip if you beat them in a casino game. So if you're in a poker cash game and wipe out five of your opponents, you better have some on hand!

ADD. EDIT: The Noodle Chip is seen as a professional courtesy. "I recognize I took your money, but I am at least not letting you go hungry tonight". Now, that applies to chips given after the game. But if you give someone a Noodle Chip before it's begun, well, that's a high form of smack-talk showing serious doubt in the skill of your opponent...

 

[ChipperMarten]

Alright I've plonked through some design work and I think I've got a decent set. After looking at some other cards mold images it appears the inlay is printed right onto the chip so I had to make sure everything in the inlay was also Pantone compliant. As a result, I think I learned more about all the different kinds of blacks in design than I think I ever wanted to know.

Honestly the more time I spend on here looking at chips the more I want to maybe take another crack at it from base zero. Kind of loving the edge spot progression on the Bellagio and Mirage tribute sets in the most recent cards mold GB. Also noticing that the edges on those sets have the compression "Imperfections" designed into them which makes complete sense as the ceramic chips are printed, so if the edge spots are designed to be perfect they're probably going to come out that way.

I might take a crack at this set with varied edge spot 'wobblyness' and maybe some better edge spot progression. (I also need to come up with a new location rather than District 18. Leaning between "Carbon District, Neon" but I don't know if it's perfect yet. For now, the current version of the set is:

Still very much open to thoughts and suggestions as this is my first design, and I might start implementing things to give the set more character. Oh, also spun off the 'free noodles' chip into a logo: the Neon Neko Noodle House.

Probably not going to be cash or tourney but a set of novelty chips which can be used as 'free sushi roll' or 'free dessert'. And of course the free load of laundry as suggested by @bernielomax ...

Thanks for joining me for this design journey, hopefully more iterations to follow! (Also might be looking at getting this set on a ceramic RHC mold if such a thing comes to fruition and is of decent quality. I gather that might ruffle a few feathers but I just love the RHC mold and I'm willing to trade off from true clay chips to ceramics if I can have a custom set with it.)

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

I really like the way your set is developing. It reminds me of something in between Tron Legacy and Bladrunner. Very nice. That noodles chip looks awesome! You must be a designer because you came up with that really fast. What other worldbuilding ideas do you have?

I have been saving this idea and was planning on implementing it when I am done with my set. But I think it will work perfect for your set down the road: If you construct a case, have an experienced woodworker use a router tool to carve out the Echo Haven + Hall image on the top. Then have the woodworker do a colored resin pour. That could look amazing

View attachment 1008316

Looks like a job for @alecnetwoodworks

Check out his latest chip box.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/poker-chip-boxes.64488/post-1989288

 

[bernielomax]

I think your choice of the neon bearclaws works for your set and theme. But I don't think there is anything wrong with doing another mock up with a spot progression just to see what you like best.

There is no reason to rush this. One thing I have learned when doing this is that everything moves very slow and you will change your mind 80 times.

If you are looking for additional ideas novelty chips, maybe you could post some screenshots and see if any of us can help you out with ideas.

Couple of things related to Tron Legacy I thought of, but may not work for your theme:

When a player busts: "End of the Line" based on the End of the Line club owned by Zuse
Neon District, The Grid

 

[warma]

Two thoughts:

First- black tends to bleed in sublimation printing. That black inlay and thin white font are trouble. The producer will guide you and potentially thicken things up a bit.

Second- with ceramics, you aren’t constrained to traditional spot patterns. There have been some really cool designs that take max advantage of the blank canvas. No reason you can’t, for example, wrap the neon name around the chip.

 

[stefalopod]

This is cool in general but I'm wondering about the cross-bar on the H. Is there a reason that it's so much thicker than the rest? Kinda jumps out at me as the main noticeable element, so if you want that then it's great.

 

[ChipperMarten]

I think your choice of the neon bearclaws works for your set and theme. But I don't think there is anything wrong with doing another mock up with a spot progression just to see what you like best.

There is no reason to rush this. One thing I have learned when doing this is that everything moves very slow and you will change your mind 80 times.

If you are looking for additional ideas novelty chips, maybe you could post some screenshots and see if any of us can help you out with ideas.

Couple of things related to Tron Legacy I thought of, but may not work for your theme:

When a player busts: "End of the Line" based on the End of the Line club owned by Zuse
Neon District, The Grid

Absolutely! I do like the bearclaws but the more chips I look at the more I'm finding other spot patterns that seem pretty cool... I thought I had my final design but this is quickly spiraling into more of a creative process than I thought possible!

Two thoughts:

First- black tends to bleed in sublimation printing. That black inlay and thin white font are trouble. The producer will guide you and potentially thicken things up a bit.

Second- with ceramics, you aren’t constrained to traditional spot patterns. There have been some really cool designs that take max advantage of the blank canvas. No reason you can’t, for example, wrap the neon name around the chip.

This is incredibly helpful insight, and you are right. I think I'm going to play around with options for edge spots / maybe a totally unique system for numbering the chips or something similar. I see many different mockups in the future...

This is cool in general but I'm wondering about the cross-bar on the H. Is there a reason that it's so much thicker than the rest? Kinda jumps out at me as the main noticeable element, so if you want that then it's great.

Mainly to stay faithful to the original design but you have a fair point. I might throw together a set with the thinner crossbar to see how it works with the design!

I'm going to go back to the drawing board with my newfound knowledge. Again, thank you all for the feedback! This set is gonna be awesome once I finally end up with an iteration I'm fully happy with!

I leave you with a meme:

 

[ChipperMarten]

Hello again! I took the suggestions and a couple ideas into account and designed a new iteration of the Echo Haven + Hall cash set.

1 - The Logo
I made a quick mockup of the logo with thinner crossbar on the H just to see how it looks in the grand scheme of things.

Everyone's opinions will differ but personally, I am more of a fan of the original. It just adds a little uniqueness and 'flavor'. It catches the eye and jives with the negative space in the C and O on either side. I could be wrong and given the evolution of the chip design over the last couple weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if my opinion continues to change.

2 - Inlay Tweaks
Love the idea of The Grid being the location, but I don't want to go full Tron on this set (already have ideas for a tron-themed set should I ever want to pursue such an idea). The biggest change is beefing up the text a little bit to hopefully overcome any dye-sublimation issues that arise from the black/grey in the background. Attached are a few new location/bottom text ideas for consideration.

3 - Edge Spots
I did as suggested and drafted a set with new edge spot patterns, part inspired by my favorite casino chips, part slight modification to existing themes, and part screwing around. And the more I played, the more I fell in love with the set. The final evidence I needed to prove that I loved these edge spots was the aforementioned chip visualization tool:

I wanted to stick with the 3mm edge spots since they absolutely fit the entire neon theme, but I already love the variety offered by giving each chip it's own edge spot pattern. To answer the question posed in the meme, I suppose edge spot files can be made with math. And even though I was doing some generous rounding from my calculations, I ended up with very even edge spot files! I do still want to see if I jive with a clay-molding imitation or whether I should stick to 'precision' spots, or maybe even somewhere in between, but that's a project for when I don't have midterms on the horizon.

Current Design
I feel like I am inching ever closer to the final design, and hopefully owning a set of these is within the near future! Plus I finally have some cards mold chips coming my way from a fellow PCFer so I will know for sure if they are the right choice for this project!

Thank you!
As always, I am open to thoughts and suggestions! Thanks for taking the time to read through these posts, it's certainly been an interesting process for me to learn!

As a bonus, here's a random idea that popped out of some experimenting with new tools in Illustrator. I don't know how it would look as a chip quite yet, but it's something to keep toying around with for sure.

 

[allforcharity]

Don't have numerical and text denom values on the same side, to save yourself some space. Keep each to one side only, and play with the sizing of the other elements to balance out the blank spaces.

 

[ChipperMarten]

Hi! I have returned from the design cave with a new iteration and a dilemma.

1 - Inlay Tweaks

Don't have numerical and text denom values on the same side, to save yourself some space. Keep each to one side only, and play with the sizing of the other elements to balance out the blank spaces.

This was perfect advice. Bolder text and larger logo? What's not to love? Plus the face looks a lot less cluttered. 10/10, thank you for your input!

Additionally I think I've nailed down the location as "Neon City, Ekova", since the lore continues to evolve past what I had originally planned. Plus, it looks nice and clean printed on the bottom.

2 - Updated Illustrator File / Slight Size Tweaks
I finally got my hands on some Tina's and yes, I absolutely love how they feel and how colorful they are. I struggled for a bit to find a clean 'scan' of a CM chip, but now that I have one, I was able to get what I needed. This resulted in a very slight change to the inlay size on the chip, and the addition of a layer to help visualize how these will look once printed.

3 - The Dilemma of Edge Spots
So yes, I did draft up the previous iteration with varying edge spot designs. I thought I was happy with them, because I love 1/8" edge spots. But once I got these Aria's T100k chips, I found myself wanting more variety than I had in the set. Something about having larger 'blocks' of color in a stack of chips really pleases me, something that isn't achieved by having varying spacing of 1/8" spots.

So I played around some more, and now I'm stuck because I have two sets, both with their own unique looks. One is unified and nice with 1/8" edge spots, the other is varied and exciting with all sorts of patterns. I think both would make good sets but I am having a difficult time deciding.

The noodle chip in this set is quite nice. I like the face of the $100 but staring at the edges of the barrel is a little jarring? I just don't like how all of the edge spots are basically polka dots from the side. I could use a little more variety.

I love the $100 side view in this set, and the face is a favorite but I don't like it as much as the 1/8" edge spot face. I'm a huge fan of the split triangle edge spots on the $1 chip, and they look very nice on the face of the $1k. I don't like the noodle chip as much here, but I used the pattern I did since I wanted a degree of balance in the set with 2 chips having split triangles, 2 chips having 1/8" spots, 2 chips having a pair of 1/8" spots, and two chips having the set of 3 1/4" spots. The good news is I think both of these designs are fairly immune to dirty stack issues.

The beauty of PCF that I've seen from my time here is the huge spread of varying preferences in chip design, so I know there's not an absolute correct answer here. I am leaning towards the second set a little more but I'm just not satisfied with the noodle chip. Or maybe it hasn't had time to grow on me just yet. Maybe there's a spot pattern I have yet to find that I really enjoy (Like the Rainbow Casino $5 chip). Maybe I am overthinking the whole 'balance' thing more than I need.

I'm going to continue experimenting and hope I can nail something down by the next custom cards mold GB, but knowing me, as I see more and more chips on this site my tastes will continue to evolve, and this set along with them. I feel close to a final design, I just know it! Thanks to everyone who has suggested things and offered input, or is just keeping up with the development of this design! I appreciate you all!

 

[SeanGecko]

Hi! I have returned from the design cave with a new iteration and a dilemma.

1 - Inlay Tweaks

This was perfect advice. Bolder text and larger logo? What's not to love? Plus the face looks a lot less cluttered. 10/10, thank you for your input!

Additionally I think I've nailed down the location as "Neon City, Ekova", since the lore continues to evolve past what I had originally planned. Plus, it looks nice and clean printed on the bottom.
View attachment 1018118

2 - Updated Illustrator File / Slight Size Tweaks
I finally got my hands on some Tina's and yes, I absolutely love how they feel and how colorful they are. I struggled for a bit to find a clean 'scan' of a CM chip, but now that I have one, I was able to get what I needed. This resulted in a very slight change to the inlay size on the chip, and the addition of a layer to help visualize how these will look once printed.
View attachment 1018122

3 - The Dilemma of Edge Spots
So yes, I did draft up the previous iteration with varying edge spot designs. I thought I was happy with them, because I love 1/8" edge spots. But once I got these Aria's T100k chips, I found myself wanting more variety than I had in the set. Something about having larger 'blocks' of color in a stack of chips really pleases me, something that isn't achieved by having varying spacing of 1/8" spots.

So I played around some more, and now I'm stuck because I have two sets, both with their own unique looks. One is unified and nice with 1/8" edge spots, the other is varied and exciting with all sorts of patterns. I think both would make good sets but I am having a difficult time deciding.
View attachment 1018124
The noodle chip in this set is quite nice. I like the face of the $100 but staring at the edges of the barrel is a little jarring? I just don't like how all of the edge spots are basically polka dots from the side. I could use a little more variety.
View attachment 1018134
I love the $100 side view in this set, and the face is a favorite but I don't like it as much as the 1/8" edge spot face. I'm a huge fan of the split triangle edge spots on the $1 chip, and they look very nice on the face of the $1k. I don't like the noodle chip as much here, but I used the pattern I did since I wanted a degree of balance in the set with 2 chips having split triangles, 2 chips having 1/8" spots, 2 chips having a pair of 1/8" spots, and two chips having the set of 3 1/4" spots. The good news is I think both of these designs are fairly immune to dirty stack issues.

The beauty of PCF that I've seen from my time here is the huge spread of varying preferences in chip design, so I know there's not an absolute correct answer here. I am leaning towards the second set a little more but I'm just not satisfied with the noodle chip. Or maybe it hasn't had time to grow on me just yet. Maybe there's a spot pattern I have yet to find that I really enjoy (Like the Rainbow Casino $5 chip). Maybe I am overthinking the whole 'balance' thing more than I need.

I'm going to continue experimenting and hope I can nail something down by the next custom cards mold GB, but knowing me, as I see more and more chips on this site my tastes will continue to evolve, and this set along with them. I feel close to a final design, I just know it! Thanks to everyone who has suggested things and offered input, or is just keeping up with the development of this design! I appreciate you all!

Once you figure out exactly what you want take a week and wait. You will come up with stuff as soon as you submit it or a day after.

Whatever chip you use the most you might want it to be more intricate.

 

[Johnblue]

“dirty laundry” would be a “show em” or “ rabbit hunt” chip.

Cool vibes.

 

[ChipperMarten]

With any luck, this may be the last major update to the set before I can get myself a nice poker set in a group buy!

1 - Responding to comments because I love conversation and everyone has had amazing ideas so far!

Once you figure out exactly what you want take a week and wait. You will come up with stuff as soon as you submit it or a day after.

Whatever chip you use the most you might want it to be more intricate.

It never ends @SeanGecko , it never ends [There is no upside-down smiley emoji here, how sad].

“dirty laundry” would be a “show em” or “ rabbit hunt” chip.

Cool vibes.

There are other chips I very much wish to include like bounty chips, and this is a really epic idea for a 'show-em' chip. I will have to look up how rabbit hunt works, I'm actually not well versed in poker (I find myself at the blackjack tables more often than not, I just like chips).

2 - State of the Set
In addition to being way too similar to each other, I just hated the $1 edge spots and noodle edge spots. They did not look good. And while I quick-fixed the noodle chip using the same edge pattern as the Rainbow Casino $5 chip, the quest for a good $1 chip was on. I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to make a $1 chip that I liked and fit the theme of the set, while also avoiding dirty stack issues, etc. A number of attempts were made. None of them stuck.

At the end of the day I couldn't find a scheme I liked with the colors in my palette. So, I added brown. Changed my life. And after a little tweaking and the abandonment of the split triangle marking, behold, what I think is very close to the final version of the Haven and Hall set.

A couple things were changed since last set update. I made the edge spot triangles a little different to try and improve on the design, and I think this may be the one I'm happy with.

This has been (and continues to be) a heck of a journey. Thanks to everyone who has made and will continue to make suggestions! I cannot wait to get my hands on some of these chips!!!

 

[DontKnowWhen]

Loving how this set is coming together!

 

[ChipperMarten]

Hi! It's me again! My time on PCF continues to change my opinions. I can now understand how much of a money sink this hobby can be...

Comments

Loving how this set is coming together!

Thank you! I am really falling in love with this set the more I work on it, and I am incredibly excited to have the chips in my hands (and on the table in play!)

The 5¢ Debacle
So I keep seeing these awesome sets roll by in the Cards Mold GBs. And I finally caved and decided I wanted to pick up some Mirage tribute chips, and initially considered acquiring a 200 chip micro stakes set centered around the 5¢ chip. And after some thinking, I decided I wanted a 5¢ chip in my set too...

The pink and black half and half Bellagio chip is really quite nice, and it's one of the edge spot patterns that's really starting to stick as far as favorites go. But that pattern didn't really fit this particular set, so I mucked about and I though I had stumbled across the perfect 5¢ chip! In fact, I thought it was a very pretty chip and I wanted it purely because of that fact.

However, I plunked that chip into my export file and sent a screenshot to a friend, and it was mere seconds before I realized that it was a dirty stack issue just waiting to happen. Even the denominations could be confusing in the right circumstances.

I must just have a thing for black and white edge spots because dang it, they're just such nice looking chips! Something in my brain has fallen in love with the cohesion of there only being (basically) three colors on the entire chip. But cohesion can come at a cost sometimes, and so I set off on my usual adventure of changing colors and patterns without finding anything that I particularly liked. I worried about color, dirty stacks, even the balance of edge spot varieties in the set (I didn't want too many 4-spots, if that makes sense). And so, after awhile, I finally found something I think I am happy with.

And yes, I mourn the loss of the quasi-industrial pink/white/black vibe that I had going on, but at the end of the day I do want this to be a fairly functional set, and I can see occasional situations where a $5 would be felted with a 5¢ (though that's pretty much all speculation. I have never actually played a 'proper' game of poker before). I do worry slightly about dirty stack issues between it and a $500 chip, but I see no reasonable circumstances where a denomination spread of 1:10,000 would naturally occur.

I loaded all of the denomination chips into the visualizer to check things out, and I think I am indeed satisfied with the result. (And don't worry, the noodle chip is absolutely still making it into the final set. I just wanted to compare all the chips that will be out in play at any given time.

So there we have it! I had to update the overall spread with a new layout but my desire for this set to be in my hands and on my table grows with each passing day! Hoping someone gets a custom Cards Mold GB in ASAP! (But not before I've had at least a couple days to ponder this set and make sure I'm truly happy with it).

I've also got oodles of ideas soon to come for other sets. I have a tribute set I want to attempt to tackle, and an original concept I might explore a little. But for now, I am ready to plow through finals and hope that I can soon have my very own set of ECHO chips! Thanks again for everyone who has offered input! The set wouldn't be where it is today without you!

 

[SeanGecko]

Hi! It's me again! My time on PCF continues to change my opinions. I can now understand how much of a money sink this hobby can be...

Comments

Thank you! I am really falling in love with this set the more I work on it, and I am incredibly excited to have the chips in my hands (and on the table in play!)

The 5¢ Debacle
So I keep seeing these awesome sets roll by in the Cards Mold GBs. And I finally caved and decided I wanted to pick up some Mirage tribute chips, and initially considered acquiring a 200 chip micro stakes set centered around the 5¢ chip. And after some thinking, I decided I wanted a 5¢ chip in my set too...

The pink and black half and half Bellagio chip is really quite nice, and it's one of the edge spot patterns that's really starting to stick as far as favorites go. But that pattern didn't really fit this particular set, so I mucked about and I though I had stumbled across the perfect 5¢ chip! In fact, I thought it was a very pretty chip and I wanted it purely because of that fact.
View attachment 1035254
However, I plunked that chip into my export file and sent a screenshot to a friend, and it was mere seconds before I realized that it was a dirty stack issue just waiting to happen. Even the denominations could be confusing in the right circumstances.
View attachment 1035255
I must just have a thing for black and white edge spots because dang it, they're just such nice looking chips! Something in my brain has fallen in love with the cohesion of there only being (basically) three colors on the entire chip. But cohesion can come at a cost sometimes, and so I set off on my usual adventure of changing colors and patterns without finding anything that I particularly liked. I worried about color, dirty stacks, even the balance of edge spot varieties in the set (I didn't want too many 4-spots, if that makes sense). And so, after awhile, I finally found something I think I am happy with.
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And yes, I mourn the loss of the quasi-industrial pink/white/black vibe that I had going on, but at the end of the day I do want this to be a fairly functional set, and I can see occasional situations where a $5 would be felted with a 5¢ (though that's pretty much all speculation. I have never actually played a 'proper' game of poker before). I do worry slightly about dirty stack issues between it and a $500 chip, but I see no reasonable circumstances where a denomination spread of 1:10,000 would naturally occur.
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I loaded all of the denomination chips into the visualizer to check things out, and I think I am indeed satisfied with the result. (And don't worry, the noodle chip is absolutely still making it into the final set. I just wanted to compare all the chips that will be out in play at any given time.

So there we have it! I had to update the overall spread with a new layout but my desire for this set to be in my hands and on my table grows with each passing day! Hoping someone gets a custom Cards Mold GB in ASAP! (But not before I've had at least a couple days to ponder this set and make sure I'm truly happy with it).
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I've also got oodles of ideas soon to come for other sets. I have a tribute set I want to attempt to tackle, and an original concept I might explore a little. But for now, I am ready to plow through finals and hope that I can soon have my very own set of ECHO chips! Thanks again for everyone who has offered input! The set wouldn't be where it is today without you!

You might go for a solid 5¢ or the most minimal as you can be for the nickel.

 

[ChipperMarten]

You might go for a solid 5¢ or the most minimal as you can be for the nickel.

...

Not gonna lie, I forgot I could make chips without edge spots for a second. I think this may be the better plan of attack for the nickel!

 

[SeanGecko]

...

Not gonna lie, I forgot I could make chips without edge spots for a second. I think this may be the better plan of attack for the nickel!

Simple is also what I was suggested from other designers as well.

 

[ChipperMarten]

It's an engineering thing too, the best solution is the solution with the least moving parts.

Split between 0 edge spots and one edge spot now. I do like the simplicity of none, but miss the variety of one.

I think the set fits best with the single edge spot but also I don't hate the no spot chip. That is another one of my opinions that has drastically changed as I see more solid sets. Like there's a really nice progression with 0, but nice cohesion with 1.

 

[SeanGecko]

It's an engineering thing too, the best solution is the solution with the least moving parts.

Split between 0 edge spots and one edge spot now. I do like the simplicity of none, but miss the variety of one.
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I think the set fits best with the single edge spot but also I don't hate the no spot chip. That is another one of my opinions that has drastically changed as I see more solid sets. Like there's a really nice progression with 0, but nice cohesion with 1.
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Do both

Half and half

 

[ChipperMarten]

Home stretch for this set! Gotta get this prepped so if a cards mold GB pops up I can pick up a set (or, if we end up with a new mold I can order that too!)

Comments

Do both

Half and half

This is a very good solution to the problem. I fear I would panic if I had two different edge varieties of the same chip in play I would slowly go insane... That being said, I find my opinions shifting slightly with each set I see on this website so I will take this into consideration!

The Elephant in the Cardroom
It's time we talk about a couple chips that, while they were great in the first varieties of the set, stand out in the latest lineup and not in a good way.

The dollar chip's three-colored edge spots were very fun in the beginning, but now that I'm looking at them in the context of the set, they look completely out of place. And the $1k's triangles? Totally against the rest of the set. I'm not opposed to unique chips in sets, but for this particular group I want more cohesiveness.

So I gave it a lot of thought and looked at the problem from multiple angles: The 25¢ needs to be more intricate than the 5¢, but not more complex than the $1. The $1k needs to maintain black and red, but how can I work an edge spot pattern into it? How do I balance the set with even numbers of edge patterns? (not counting the holy noodles chip because it's special). Which color do I keep for my $1 edge spots if I do maintain the 3x1/8 pattern?

I messed about for a bit. Tried some stuff. Looked through Chip DB. I now present the next lineup:

Why the green edge spots? Because green only shows up on the $25 chip and I need more green in the set. Blue and red both have plenty of representation in other spots. And I decided to mimic the 6x3x1/4 spots on the $1k chip that I have on the hundred, with a descending 'brightness' pattern from black to white. I know white gets representation on almost every chip but I am honestly alright with that. These edge spots also introduce some nice symmetry between the denominations in the set:

So, hopefully this is the last update before I can get in on a GB to have this set in my hands. In other news, I just got my custom cut cards from the latest group buy, and I mentioned in another thread that I want to design a whole bunch of other game-related stuff for the ECHO Haven + Hall, I'd really like to get some decks of cards made, along with a custom blackjack felt fitting the 'neon' vibe. I don't know if I will own a gaming table at any point in the near future, but it's fun to dream! And just more design work to sharpen my illustrator skills.

Thank you again for keeping up with the set! Hopefully I can get these chips in my hand very soon! And keep an eye out, I've got a couple ideas for other sets since I want a tournament set I can play casually with friends. I would be afraid to felt cash chips in a 'play' scenario since I do want these to be valid chips for future table games.

 

[ChipperMarten]

Welcome back to another exciting update where I take everything I did and throw it out the window. This is an exaggeration but I thought it'd be fun.

Ceramics
In the wise words of Ben Folds, even things that seem still are still changing. And my taste in chips continues to follow this pattern. For this set, I wanted edge spots. I was dead-set on edge spots. I wanted something that looked good when the chips were all racked up and the previous $100 design is testament to that.

Of course, I was planning to get this set through Tina. And I finally acquired some sample sets of various Tina chips but the longer I shuffled them and let them stick around, the less I was a fan of the cards mold. I don't hate it, as it still offers a really good option for a fully-custom, molded chip, but I think my preference was guided by the scroll ceramic set that I've had for a long time. The textured, no-mold scrolls felt blurry to me, and I was a fan of the printing quality on the cards mold. However, I have since received both a set of 43mm textured ceramics from Tina, and a sample set from BRProPoker of a different design for something else I'm working on.

I must say, I am really quite happy with the quality of the BRProPoker customs. Even though I only ordered sample chips without the edge printing, I am a fan of how they feel, sound, and shuffle. And while I understand they can do aligned edges, and I plan to use them for one project, I was starting to wonder if there was something I could do to bring the cost down and try to make these chips unique. I played around with a few ideas and settled on one that I'm really starting to like.

So, I offer ECHO as a non-edge aligned ceramic set. I think I'm going to order a sample set of these chips from BRProPoker before I make any final decisions, but I just wanted to keep everyone up to date on how things are looking!

MVP of this set design is is the chip simulator, I don't think I would've been willing to even entertain this idea without it. I think I chose a decent edge 'spot' progression, monochromatic for fracs especially makes me happy. I'm hoping to see what everyone thinks of this as I continue to develop the set. Thanks for everyone's feedback so far!