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So I'm learning Captain America on FX2, I went from 20 mil to 52 mil yesterday at work, with 3 straight hours of play pretty much. I'm having trouble hitting the far right ramp (Red Skull Ramp) any time that I MEAN to, and other ramps/orbits seem to be impossible to hit when I mean to too, although I know for the most part it's me worrying about the timer and mis-flipping or whatever. But that drat Red Skull Ramp... 
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Jul 27, 2013 18:20
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I had to talk myself out of buying a Secret Service table for $750. So cheesy but it's cheap. My main consideration here is that if I get tired of it, I have a feeling I'd have a hard time unloading it on someone else. It's probably a better idea to get something a bit more spendy, but easy to swap or sell if need be.
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Jul 27, 2013 20:30
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Had not heard of Secret Service before but it has some cool artwork. Looks a lot like High Speed. Quick glance at previous sales and it seems that $700 is a fair price for it. Probably right though that for a little more you can find an early 90's B/W title or some Stern's from 5-10 years ago that would be easier to flip. Also likely to be a little deeper in terms of gameplay.
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Jul 27, 2013 22:22
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Parallax Scroll posted:I'm gonna check out Lyons Classic Pinball in Lyons CO next. Looks like a nice game selection. Just got back from here a few minutes ago. Great place and the tables are in good shape. First time I've been able to play real pinball in I dunno how long. New Metallica table really is fun and I actually had something approaching a decent score on Whirlwind (8M) and rolled Wizard once. Don't know enough about most the other tables to really gague where my scores stand. Took pics but I won't be able to get the pics out until next week.
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Jul 27, 2013 22:22
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Niwrad posted:Had not heard of Secret Service before but it has some cool artwork. Looks a lot like High Speed. Quick glance at previous sales and it seems that $700 is a fair price for it. Probably right though that for a little more you can find an early 90's B/W title or some Stern's from 5-10 years ago that would be easier to flip. Also likely to be a little deeper in terms of gameplay. It plays the music from Mission Impossible and the cabinet's side art looks like James Bond. It's not a deep machine. I was looking at a William's Comet, but the art style and simple playfield are a bit of a turn off. I wouldn't mind something like a Taxi though.
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Jul 27, 2013 23:07
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Microsoft has stated that while there is indeed a new indie program for the Xbox One, they will not confirm anything about such a program for the 360. So the 360 version may be permanently hosed after all.
BiggerJ fucked around with this message at 11:39 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 11:03
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Trip report: I happened to be in the Detroit area today and spent an hour this afternoon at Marvelous Marvin's Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills. They had a great array of pinball machines: Transformers, Funhouse, Theatre of Magic, Simpsons Pinball Party, Family Guy, Metallica, Tron, WoZ, LoR, Elvis, Addams Family. A couple of the older pins had slight maintenance issues: The trapdoor didn't seem to want to rise in Funhouse, and was stuck up in ToM. Addams Family got the ball stuck in a trapdoor in the lower right and essentially ate my credit. But the new pins were in great shape and it was great to get a chance to try them out. For me, the best machine far and away was Metallica - lots of fun shots and easily accessible multiballs. Ruleset seemed easy to understand. That electric chair is an easy and satisfying shot. Overall a very positive experience. I hope that we start seeing some of these newer Sterns on TPA soon. Worth noting that although their video game holdings are not what they once were, M4 still had the mainstay of my childhood, their copy of the Simpsons arcade beat-em-up.
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Jul 29, 2013 00:45
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Funktor posted:Trip report: Ha, I was at Marvins Saturday night and had to walk away from The Addams Family because I kept getting the ball stuck behind the target on the right just below the upper right flipper. I gave up after the 3rd time, told the attendant and moved to a different game. The color DMD on Addams family was really nice. The Metallica machine was always busy, and was the best machine in the lineup. Great shots great art and drat fast! Second best was Tron, hadn't played that before either and it was great, I can see why it's so popular. I played 3 games on Wizard of Oz and wondered why I'd wasted my money, god it was slow and painfully boring to me. I think someone earlier in the thread said it's like Jersey Jack threw everything into the game they could and they're right. WOZ is a pretty game, but I was just not into it. Several older people walked up and played WOZ, and a game later never came back, they seemed confused by it. I played Simpsons Pinball Party after WOZ and was struck that I had just played a similar layout, looked 2 machines down at WOZ and went, yep that's pretty much the same layout, course it's the same designer and programmer. It was a great time at Marvins and if your ever in the area well worth a trip, even to just gaze in wonder at everything, he needs to expand though as it's a bit cramped.
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Jul 29, 2013 02:38
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MarxCarl posted:Ha, I was at Marvins Saturday night and had to walk away from The Addams Family because I kept getting the ball stuck behind the target on the right just below the upper right flipper. I gave up after the 3rd time, told the attendant and moved to a different game. The color DMD on Addams family was really nice. The Metallica machine was always busy, and was the best machine in the lineup. Great shots great art and drat fast! Second best was Tron, hadn't played that before either and it was great, I can see why it's so popular. I played 3 games on Wizard of Oz and wondered why I'd wasted my money, god it was slow and painfully boring to me. I think someone earlier in the thread said it's like Jersey Jack threw everything into the game they could and they're right. WOZ is a pretty game, but I was just not into it. Several older people walked up and played WOZ, and a game later never came back, they seemed confused by it. I played Simpsons Pinball Party after WOZ and was struck that I had just played a similar layout, looked 2 machines down at WOZ and went, yep that's pretty much the same layout, course it's the same designer and programmer. It was a great time at Marvins and if your ever in the area well worth a trip, even to just gaze in wonder at everything, he needs to expand though as it's a bit cramped. I was actually over at Marvin's last Sunday. I felt the same way about WoO. In fact, my girlfriend was standing next to me and was talking about the display and how it was kinda cool, but you never really look up at it when you're playing, so it's almost a waste to have it like that. In fact, the display reminded me of newer slot machines. I thought it was an amazing looking table that I don't really want to play again. I love every other machine they have there, though.
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Jul 29, 2013 03:01
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MarxCarl posted:Ha, I was at Marvins Saturday night and had to walk away from The Addams Family because I kept getting the ball stuck behind the target on the right just below the upper right flipper. I gave up after the 3rd time, told the attendant and moved to a different game. The color DMD on Addams family was really nice. The Metallica machine was always busy, and was the best machine in the lineup. Great shots great art and drat fast! Second best was Tron, hadn't played that before either and it was great, I can see why it's so popular. I played 3 games on Wizard of Oz and wondered why I'd wasted my money, god it was slow and painfully boring to me. I think someone earlier in the thread said it's like Jersey Jack threw everything into the game they could and they're right. WOZ is a pretty game, but I was just not into it. Several older people walked up and played WOZ, and a game later never came back, they seemed confused by it. I played Simpsons Pinball Party after WOZ and was struck that I had just played a similar layout, looked 2 machines down at WOZ and went, yep that's pretty much the same layout, course it's the same designer and programmer. It was a great time at Marvins and if your ever in the area well worth a trip, even to just gaze in wonder at everything, he needs to expand though as it's a bit cramped. I also got a chance to play WOZ this weekend again. We're in agreement on that game. I think the first time I played it I was enamored by the look of the machine which is spectacular. But gameplay wise, it was kind of boring the more I played. No real signature shot and too much going on in the playfield. The game has no flow. But my biggest gripe was the lighting. Maybe it's something that will change down the road, but the GI is dark and the inserts are blinding (yellow brick road primarily). Game gave me a headache after awhile. Oh and the machine reset on me in the middle of a game for some reason. I'm also digging Metallica a lot. Real fun game once you start getting the shots down. Only played the Pro so far but there is a bar & grill in the suburbs that has a Master of Puppets LE that I might check out. Maybe Stern should keep kicking out rock machines because they are fun as hell to play. Saw the rumors which I hope are wrong that they have the license for Angry Birds and maybe Hunger Games. Think both of those would be a disaster. roffels posted:I wouldn't mind something like a Taxi though. Keep an eye out for a Diner. Basically the same game but I think a better theme and playfield. Around the same price too.
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Jul 29, 2013 06:22
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Why do you think they put the screen on the playfield in Pinball 2000? They knew from experience in the 80s that if people are playing pinball they don't want to take their eyes off the playfield to look at a video screen.
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Jul 29, 2013 09:00
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Luigi Thirty posted:Why do you think they put the screen on the playfield in Pinball 2000? They knew from experience in the 80s that if people are playing pinball they don't want to take their eyes off the playfield to look at a video screen. I didn't like Revenge From Mars at all when I played it at the museum in Baltimore (RIP) but Cirqus Voltaire has the screen down behind the playfield and it feels really natural
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Jul 29, 2013 15:05
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We talked about this earlier in the thread, but it's a tragedy that P2K never made it, and it never really got a great game. Revenge is fine, but it was just a simple proof of concept. SWEp1 is pretty crummy. I doubt it would have saved the platform, but it would have been nice if we got a game that really fulfilled the possibilities of it. Oh well! Maybe when the software is all done and set WOZ will be a great game. I'm not a huge fan of the design, and the use of rollovers on the playfield to light locks isn't my favorite design decision in a while, but maybe they'll pull something good out of it. I just hate the four split design of the screen, and am sort of confused how this system they've made which should make it a bit easier to communicate goals has managed to completely obscure them. Hopefully The Hobbit has a better roll out. Since it's not a first game for a new manufacturing enterprise under the weight of unbelievable expectations, it probably should be. I also found a Dark Knight machine in incredible shape near me in town, and man that game is fun as hell. That crane toy is one of my favorites. It had some LED work done too, so the lighting looked fantastic. Clouseau fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Jul 29, 2013 |
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Jul 29, 2013 15:47
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I played WoZ at Enchanted Castle in Lombard the other day, and despite the machine being set to PIERCINGLY loud, like loud enough to ring my eardrums every time it went through one of the top 3 skill shot lanes, yeah, it just seemed like a weird romhack board, if that makes sense. The lighting goes to black sometimes, or everything lights up at once, and either way it makes it difficult to see where the ball even is. The sound bytes are really cheesy and annoying, but maybe it was just the volume. And you can put a million HD screens up top, it doesn't make them easier to look at if I'm playing the game.
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Jul 29, 2013 22:22
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That's the one I played. It feels like a half-finished game which it might very well be. Just don't know why they'd ever release something like that to the public.
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Jul 30, 2013 04:12
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Clouseau posted:I also found a Dark Knight machine in incredible shape near me in town, and man that game is fun as hell. That crane toy is one of my favorites. It had some LED work done too, so the lighting looked fantastic. ). I think it took pity on me today too, I was playing horribly and got like three free match games out of maybe six plays? And that was on top of two earned free games scattered in there (the free game score is pretty low usually).Also the Joker multiball trigger is really really annoying. Not so much the requirement (hit to activate ball lock before locking the ball, do it three times) as much as the way it bounces off...seems like goes straight down the middle quite a bit off of that. At this point I'm just sort of trying to limit myself to going for it while the ball saver is on or when the Scarecrow multiball is going on (granted there's a lot of dumb luck when that's happening). Haven't been able to figure out a safe way of hitting it. I thought going off the left flipper might be safer so I tried that today, then bam, straight down the middle again 
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Jul 30, 2013 11:41
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Niwrad posted:That's the one I played. It feels like a half-finished game which it might very well be. Just don't know why they'd ever release something like that to the public. Enormous pressure from operators and distributors and a slow trickle of canceled preorders because it was already well behind schedule (a year I think - not sure). Given some of the rumors about Star Trek maybe they were worried they'd lose a first to market advantage on the screen. All that said its still admirable that WOZ even made it out. Considering that they're competing against a skilled entrenched company that has a quarter century of experience and the ability to do anything to survive. Back to the Dark Knight - I have had more success locking the ball with the left flipper but you are right that its still super risky. I just shoot and get ready to nudge the machine hard for a save. I get a bit anxious about trying to complete scarecrow first because those two center scarecrow shots are fairly dangerous. I usually try to stack in joker and complete scarecrow.
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Jul 30, 2013 13:31
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Clouseau posted:Enormous pressure from operators and distributors and a slow trickle of canceled preorders because it was already well behind schedule (a year I think - not sure). Given some of the rumors about Star Trek maybe they were worried they'd lose a first to market advantage on the screen. There are rumors of Star Trek having a WOZ style screen? Say it ain't so, it's one of the dumbest things about the machine and makes it look really cheap and silly despite what I am sure was the opposite intention. e: Also I played Centaur for the first time and, uh, that sure is interesting. I think I'll have nightmares for a week or so, but on the other hand I guess it's cool that someone at some point got the go ahead to model a pinball cabinet straight out of an H.R. Giger fever dream. Is there a feature on the table that pulls the balls in from the outlanes sometimes or is it just a really buggy table right now? Playing the PS3 version. Professor Beetus fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Jul 30, 2013 |
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Jul 30, 2013 16:29
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Rumors have been swirling around that Star Trek is going to have some sort of technological step forward for Stern. Keep in mind that these sort of rumors have existed since Transformers, so it's possible that nothing is going to happen. That said though, Stern has said that they're planning on adding new stuff for future tables, though the only thing they've specifically mentioned was wifi for updates and score challenges. I believe that the new boards that SAM 2 uses has an HDMI out, but I could be wrong on that. Niwrad, do you know if your AC/DC has SAM 1 or 2? Whatever the case, Star Trek is probably going to be a good table. It's got Ritchie revisiting one of his best themes, and after the huge success of AC/DC it looks like they're letting him take as much time as he needs. If they do end up adding in a LCD or something new, I imagine that they'll probably do a better job than Jersey Jack since I'm sure they're taking notes on what works and what doesn't with WOZ.
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Jul 30, 2013 17:41
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You mean the peg that bounces balls back in? The thing where the ball warps through the one-way gate is probably to fix physics engine weirdness.
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Jul 30, 2013 17:42
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Luigi Thirty posted:You mean the peg that bounces balls back in? The thing where the ball warps through the one-way gate is probably to fix physics engine weirdness. I didn't see a peg. I just know that every so often the ball just slides back into play in a very bizarre fashion. It kind of takes me out of the whole "real pinball" thing that TPA has going.
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Jul 30, 2013 18:52
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Centaur's outlanes have one way gates which can let the ball back in after a drain. You can see it here. The weird warping effect Luigi Thirty was referring to is that sometimes the ball will get caught halfway through, and the ball just warps into the inlane instead of being stuck.
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Jul 30, 2013 18:58
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Clouseau posted:Centaur's outlanes have one way gates which can let the ball back in after a drain. You can see it here. The weird warping effect Luigi Thirty was referring to is that sometimes the ball will get caught halfway through, and the ball just warps into the inlane instead of being stuck. Well, the more you know. Still gonna have nightmares though.
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Jul 30, 2013 19:45
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Clouseau posted:I believe that the new boards that SAM 2 uses has an HDMI out, but I could be wrong on that. Niwrad, do you know if your AC/DC has SAM 1 or 2? It has a USB port for updating so it's probably not the new one. I don't think Avengers or Metallica uses the new one either. My understanding is the only one that has used it may be "The Pin". Speaking of DMD vs LCD monitors, it's one area I don't care much about. I barely ever look up and when I do I'm just looking for a glimpse at the score. I like the idea of putting the monitor in the actual table where the player can see it. I guess at some point it becomes cheaper to use an LCD monitor, but I still don't think either company is really going to be able to fully utilize it. WOZ is nice I guess, but it didn't blow me away or anything. I think the best use of the monitor is for giving tutorials on how to play the game. That would be extremely helpful on some of the complex games they are putting out. Still have no clue what I'm doing half the time in Metallica. DrNutt posted:e: Also I played Centaur for the first time and, uh, that sure is interesting. I think I'll have nightmares for a week or so, but on the other hand I guess it's cool that someone at some point got the go ahead to model a pinball cabinet straight out of an H.R. Giger fever dream. Is there a feature on the table that pulls the balls in from the outlanes sometimes or is it just a really buggy table right now? Playing the PS3 version. I feel like the designers at that time were all on crazy drugs. The artwork is insane on some of those tables. Can't imagine how they came up with some of that stuff.
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Jul 30, 2013 23:12
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Niwrad posted:It has a USB port for updating so it's probably not the new one. I don't think Avengers or Metallica uses the new one either. My understanding is the only one that has used it may be "The Pin". I found a forum post where someone posts a picture of what's supposed to be The Pin's board from some Stern video and it has Atmel processor, an Ethernet port (presumably for tournaments) and an HDMI port. No idea how legit it is. The guy who did Centaur also did Future Spa. Future Spa supremacy.
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Jul 30, 2013 23:43
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Am I the only one who finds that last table pack on TPA horrible? Flight 2000 is fairly "meh" and I can see why Goin Nuts was never made.
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Jul 30, 2013 23:47
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Niwrad posted:SAM 2 stuff That's what I thought. To the best of my understanding though the Sterns out on test locations in Chicago (HQ, Emporium) do have the new hardware to stress test them. I think Gary mentioned that in a chat he gave months ago. I guess The Pin was a public beta of them as well. Too bad they couldn't crack that but 2k for a stripped machine is absurd when it can get you a ton of midrange full feature games from the 90s.
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Jul 30, 2013 23:51
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Niwrad posted:Am I the only one who finds that last table pack on TPA horrible? Flight 2000 is fairly "meh" and I can see why Goin Nuts was never made. I really like it, but you're definitely not the only one. I'm fairly sure I saw a good number complaining somewhere about this table pack having two pre-Space Shuttle tables.
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Jul 31, 2013 00:10
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I really enjoy Flight 2000. As a dude that grew up playing primarily DMD and late alphanumeric games I wasn't initially interested in games like it, but after having played a few late seventies and early eighties Sterns and Ballys I'm into it. Something about those machines is really fascinating and great to me. I would have rather we got Seawitch which has some interesting flow but Flight 2000 is pretty fun too. Goin' Nuts is kinda goofy and harmless. Not my favorite, but it's probably one I'll revisit every now and again.
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Jul 31, 2013 01:17
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Clouseau posted:The WOZ in Chicago is set similarly low and it doesn't increase after being exceeded. Not sure if that's not set by default or if they just didn't code it yet. Was talking to one of the guys working at The Coin Jam, a new barcade that opened up in Salem, Oregon... apparently they had set the replay value at 45,000, but it would end up decreasing on its own to something like 7,000 and wouldnt go back up. I asked if there was something in the options to auto-adjust the replay value but they couldn't seem to find it, so they just disabled the score replay entirely. Which really hurts considering the game costs $1 a play, but it seems to be doing well anyway...
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Jul 31, 2013 02:00
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Niwrad posted:Am I the only one who finds that last table pack on TPA horrible? Flight 2000 is fairly "meh" and I can see why Goin Nuts was never made. It wasn't really, wasn't it just a prototype?
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Jul 31, 2013 02:27
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FishBulb posted:It wasn't really, wasn't it just a prototype? They made 10 engineering samples and decided not to produce the game. Gottlieb did that a lot.
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Jul 31, 2013 02:32
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DrNutt posted:There are rumors of Star Trek having a WOZ style screen? Say it ain't so, it's one of the dumbest things about the machine and makes it look really cheap and silly despite what I am sure was the opposite intention. New Stern machines have some of the best DMD animations I've ever seen. WOZ has a junky LCD that looks like it came from the clearance bin at Best Buy five years ago. A lovely version of a technology people have daily interactions with isn't going to impress anyone. At least a DMD has retro charm and novelty going for it. As for the new Pinball Arcade table pack, I find it incredibly forgettable. Goin' Nuts is terrible and Flight 2000 feels like "a pinball table". I can't pinpoint a single interesting, unique or notable aspect of it.
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Jul 31, 2013 04:19
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sethsez posted:New Stern machines have some of the best DMD animations I've ever seen. WOZ has a junky LCD that looks like it came from the clearance bin at Best Buy five years ago. A lovely version of a technology people have daily interactions with isn't going to impress anyone. At least a DMD has retro charm and novelty going for it. That's one thing I've been thinking about. The DMD animations have been fantastic for the last couple games. If they do adopt a screen, I hope they don't put the dots dude out of a job. Dude does his job in Deluxe Paint for fucks sake!
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Jul 31, 2013 04:24
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I agree, the DMD adds charm to a pinball table, and WOZ LCD animations look like they belong in a DVD menu screen. On the other hand, a full screen backbox could be a real eyecatcher if done right, and it would work well with Star Trek.
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Jul 31, 2013 05:09
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This Stern Star Trek table, are we talking TOS, movies? Some other thing?
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Jul 31, 2013 05:20
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FishBulb posted:This Stern Star Trek table, are we talking TOS, movies? Some other thing? Almost certainly new abrams star trek.
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Jul 31, 2013 05:22
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Gann Jerrod posted:I agree, the DMD adds charm to a pinball table, and WOZ LCD animations look like they belong in a DVD menu screen. On the other hand, a full screen backbox could be a real eyecatcher if done right, and it would work well with Star Trek. http://www.pinballnews.com/learn/colordmd/
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Jul 31, 2013 05:36
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Authorman posted:Almost certainly new abrams star trek. The table gimmick is spotlights on the backbox that point down toward the table surface so they reflect off the glass and blind you with 'lens flares'.
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Jul 31, 2013 05:38
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biznatchio posted:The table gimmick is spotlights on the backbox that point down toward the table surface so they reflect off the glass and blind you with 'lens flares'. The worst part about this is that until the last two words I thought it was being deadly serious and my brain was trying to work out how this was a feature. You know what that could work on though? A prison themed pinball where the ball has some sort of...emitter in it and during multiball or something all the tablet lights go of and two spot lights start tracking the balls. Im not a pinball machine designer clearly.
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Jul 31, 2013 05:46
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