Yeah I'm thinking if I sold a couple 6K pins I could fed ex the guy a printed manual, a couple score cards and a coin box for his games... it's kinda bush league to not include them.

Still doesn't seem like something to get online and put the company on blast for tho. Especially if it's something they just don't include.

EVERYONE IS WRONG.

We do our best to keep costs down and put the money where it matters... if asked for coin mechs, bill acceptor doors, coin boxes, etc... we can provide them, but it's silly to put the money where most people will never see a benefit. We will be very clear with all games going forward that these items are per request only.

JJP was lucky enough early on that a great guy (Butch Peel) stepped up at the last minute to get a manual together. The logistics and expense of this are enormous for a team our size. We're doing our best to get more on line documentation, more support videos, and even added our first official service tech to the team a few months ago. Again, there's a reason others charge $100 for a manual... they are crazy expensive to produce, (and massively time consuming) especially when you are making 100 games and not thousands of them like that huge company does.

Score cards for Jetson's were just put together recently by artist Jon Chad. We'll make them available asap (I am admittedly behind on Jetson's documentation)... Domino's rules are still getting some upgrades so those cards exist but aren't finalized. Honestly, 5 minutes after we make them someone on-line makes better versions we wish we had come up with anyway!

Apologies if we didn't relay this info properly or you didn't know going into the purchase. We do our absolute best to be honest, upfront, and take care of everyone to the best of our abilities.

Glad for that.

LTG : )

Hey... we are at fault here as well sir. Sometimes we just assume everyone understands who we are, what they're getting, etc... and that's not always the case. We're very proud to be where we are today, but only a fool thinks there isn't ALWAYS room to get better!

I don't mind when someone points out things we've done wrong... do I like getting ripped apart for subjective things like art and game play? Hell no... nobody would. But if it's aimed at things we can do better from a business standpoint, I'm all ears. Rob Anthony has no problem telling me we do things wrong once in a while, but he also supports us when and where he can. Plus Taro is awesome so we tolerate him to get time with his dog.

As we grow, we keep making every possible part of our games better... I fully understand we need to get better at the communication and business side as well. WE WILL!

I don't pretend to know everything... we just do the best we can today. Hence my being in here on a Sunday.

Hope dad is enjoying the games anyway! Hope to be playing and buying games at his age myself.

Well this thread turned into a dud
Only joking, nice to see a company explain and a customer understand for once.
Btw, cash boxes are missed by nearly any pin owner when they are absent, where else you gonna put spare parts and shit? Bugs me when they are missing on a used game even.

Taro is a gangster!

Hey all. I'll post the old apron cards tomorrow but like Charlie said, these are outdated and code will also get another update in the near future. We will get these updated even further as soon as code is locked.

Glad you thought the game shot well. There is a thread and also the main Domino's thread that has a current rule summary. Might help.

-Adam

I created apron card rules and gave them to Nic several weeks ago. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to send a set of them.

And for the record, Jetsons DOES have 2 key fobs!

I wish my dad was around to complain about, well really, anything.

RIP

Any single one of you that had the too bad attitude about this 83 year old pinball collector trying to get the things he thought he should have gotten with his new machines ought to have your damn heads examined. Christ, if that happened to my Dad, the BOTH of us would be salty as hell. All of us have older relatives that have no clue how to navigate a computer, let alone the internet. Sure, the son could have done any of this for him, but that was NOT the point.

I am happy Spooky came on here and said they made a mistake.

Any of us should be happy as hell to have an active 83 year old father that takes his pinball seriously. My Dad is 75 and plays my machines at the shop regularly. My Dad is the reason I love pinball, why I love and played hockey, play poker and bet on footba......oh nevermind.

i think a manual is required any version. its knowlege that lives beyond the life of the maker. your dad understands that value. what parts are used where, how they are supposed to be assembled and how to get to test menus. at some point something is going to break. a manual is needed.

hope to see one in the future

Great to see Spooky stepping up! Only one thing to say - Scooby Doo!

Many things can be learned from the past, and why they are important.
But first, a person has to be interested to know what they were and why it changed.

FB_IMG_1502681702775.jpg

TZ Manuals.jpg

"TOO"

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Lol - glad to see I wasn't the only one that was driving nuts, even out in Duvall there's someone representing the grammar police

To be fair, I have to guess/hope op is non-native speaker.., which if that's the case no worries -- kudos to anyone that speaks more than 1 language. Otherwise if that's not the case it just kinda makes me sad

Great to see the black knight back here. You really make pinside a better place.

I will agree a bit with DNO in that (new or used) having no coin box is annoying. Even for home use with no mechs, who doesn't use the boxes for parts etc if nothing else.

Personally I like using coins and/or tokens at home as I like the coin op experience feel even at home.

I have bought many used games all across the price map where operators kept the buckets...I swear somewhere there must be a warehouse (comically) overflowing with them!

I do respect that Spooky is active and noticed this thread and comment very politely about it.
I understand every dollar counts.

My overall two cents :

- Having blank spots for apron cards when setting up a new machine probably wouldn't make me thrilled (even if it a simple game name/company logo or something). I am unsure what spooky includes for this, but sounds like none currently. My apologies if I am incorrect.

- If I am purchasing a 6K+ machine, and I know ahead of time that that price does not include locks, coin bucket, mechs, etc....well the jump from 6000 to 6100 to include those parts from factory as an option would be perfectly fine. Even if it had to be a little more to include a manual (printed or CD option). These small items at a small additional cost would most likely be very welcomed as an optional package.

Charlie and the team are always great people to talk with and I honesty believe take comments to heart and consider all opinions.

I agree with this comment 110%. Respect your elders. Always.
It's very common for older people to not understand a damn thing about computers. Give them a break. They brought us into this world.

Here are the cards from the initial code launch. Currently a bit out of date with the new code from FawzmaGames and we will get them updated when code is close to done.

-Adam

Instruction-Card-Template----Final-Mockup-w-0.25-in.-Bleed (resized).jpg

While it started off a little rough, threads like this really show you that we DO have some great people in this community!

It's not only a respect your elders deal, it's respect for a customer and hearing their needs. .

I own a RZ and printed off the rule cards for completeness. The cards are smaller than the typical card and I unless you have 20/20 or better you wont be able to read it. The rules are still being tweaked anyway.

Yes RZ score cards are lacking. Would be nice to have some nice custom cards.

No manuel???? Well, maybe this one:

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I created these as mine will be going on site at some point and I needed something to go there. The Free Play will change when it goes onsite.

DOM Rules Card.pdf

I'll custom make you some score cards for the games if you truly want them. PM me if it's something you really want

I just worked on my first Spooky machine (Dominos) about a month ago. It came into the shop for repairs. I was sure surprised to open it up and NOT find a manual in it. Plus it sure looked funny with no score/instruction/pricing cards in the apron. Heck, it doesn't even have a service outlet to plug in a soldering iron. I can see why the OP would be pissed at not getting the items commonly found in other manufacturer's machines.

Can someone please show me where on Spooky's website is a link to download a manual, schematics, and score cards? I would happily download a manual and get it printed out at Kinko's. Williams manuals were pretty detailed with game software settings/adjustments, schematics, part lists, drawings, etc. Pretty much everything a tech needed whether repairing the machine on location or in the shop or in a private home.

BTW Whitey, I used to live in San Mateo in the early 1970's.

Yes, if anyone knows of a link, I would like to know as well.

There are no manuals or schematics with Spooky games.

Go here https://www.spookypinball.com/game-support/

There are lamp/switch matrix docs and wiring/board charts.

Thank you. For identifying yourself as someone who makes threats and can't spell for shit!

Yeah even by the generally mid-elementary-school literacy standards of Pinside, those posts are horrifying!

Thank you, but I already know about those single page documents. Where's the most important one like the coils chart? Where's the 120 volt AC power wiring diagram? Where's the coin door wiring diagram? Where's the board schematics?

Those are in ben hecks secret vault

You wont find them in a Spooky pin.

Oak Island....

Man , if there are no service manuals available I don't know if I would ever be a prospective buyer for any pinball machine.

Where do you find them?

I will take the heat here. This is something that I have been working on (very slowly) since I took the position of tech support for spooky. I (as a route guy, technician, collector, etc) use manuals and schematics daily.

I am NOT a manual designer, but I am a tech. please let me know what you are specifically trying to do and I will do my best to facilitate.

I am trying to make at least wiring diagrams (which I will admit look very poor compared to JJP manuals, but I am not Butch) for the switches, rgb lighting, and coils. When I have to the time I will go back and do a coil chart, simply wiring diagram, parts, etc. That being said, tech support for Spooky is a part-time job for me and I am doing my best to keep up with support questions, my day job (buy, repairing, refinishing and selling of coin-op equipment), my 2.5 and 1-year-old, my home life and just life in general.

I apologize for the slowness in getting to this and wish I could even give a timeline for completion. Right now my focus is on TNA and ACNC as they are the two on the line (and with the largest production numbers, therefore the largest number of people to support).

Thank you for your patience with me on this.

which coils do you need to be identified?

what part of the 120v AC power do you need?

coin door wiring is part of the switch wiring is documented on the wire-to-board pdf.

Board schematics are/will be difficult to come by. to my knowledge the schematics were never given to us for either the PinHeck system or for any of the P-Roc boards.

let me know how i can assist.

MEH.. You can't even plug a Mac from 1998 in correctly; I wouldn't trust you at a Kinko's.

Don't mess with success. He's an internet tough guy.

what constitutes a "service manual?"

gameplay? shot layout? parts identification? accurate bolt sizes?

I am not being sarcastic, just curious what it is (other than wiring diagrams) that people are looking for?

From my perspective I think any good manual should follow a similar template to what we are used to with classic 90s Bally/Williams.
Intro
1.General logic of game function (i.e. switching power supply, line voltages, general large scale component diagram)
2. Settings, Options, and what they mean
3. Rubber chart w/ diagram/labels
4. Coil chart w diagram/label
5. Switch chart w diagram/labels
6. Switch matrix
7. Lamp matrix
8. Schematics/ Wire color/ connectors/etc
9. Common troubleshooting
10. Blow up of main mechs with part numbers/ etc

Rules and shots, play stuff is all online in various format now a days. I would not worry about that stuff.

Worry about the things that are useful for troubleshooting, ordering parts, understanding what to test/where when diagnosing an issue.

The critical content IMO:

- Setup and adjustments: especially tuning the tilt settings and the audio levels. It's far more complex to tune the audio levels in TNA due to there being adjustments in 3 different locations that all need to be set correctly: on the System settings, LCD backpanel, and the external amp in the cabinet. Saying "it was set at the factory don't touch it" is completely unacceptable. The external amp sub volume can be off a hair and have a very significant and negative impact on the games overall sound, for example.
- Rubber rings map and sizes
- Mechanical assembly diagrams with corresponding part #s so replacements can be purchased as needed (for all targets, drop targets, trough, scoops, etc.).
- Wiring diagrams - which leds, coils, switches go to which boards, where are they located, etc.
- In a perfect world, schematics for the boards themselves (maybe available from Multimorphic?)

I would argue this is not true, b/c with code updates the rules do in fact change (or are never complete).
I'm not saying they shouldn't be online... I'm saying they aren't online, or if they are they are out of date.

Also, it should all be centralized. Having to go out to Ben Heck or Scott's website to get documentation for that particular game is silly.
Spooky should host it all.