He got a 'thumbs up' and a star:
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So when the wizard mode code is finished, the game will end after this mode regardless of how many balls we have remaining at the end?

Ohhh, I see. I actually like that. The one time I "Conquered the Universe" in AFM, I thought things got kind of boring after that - no longer any point.

That is a really really good point - you kind of don’t know what to do. I hate leaving balls on a game but there’s almost no point. And getting master magician is SO hard it will be decades before this is a problem

I'll disagree on this one. It sounds like the opposite of fun to me. Why bother pressing start?

I got a "add-a-ball" during handcuff king mode. After one ball drained the other kept playing normally so the game "knew"
a second ball was added..don't think this was a intended action in the code but at least in didn't clobber my game...

I think of it this way: you have spent 30 minutes getting to the ultimate mode - like tackling pinball Everest Once that mountain is climbed, it’s time to take a break or nap and then hit start again once recuperated and ready to try another accent.

However, I’m old and funky, so I could see differing positions on this. But I do like it.

Well think of it this way... how could this game be used for any tournament given this limitation?

Go by the highest score, same as always?

BarryJ...bump.

Why not? Total Nuclear Annihilation has a similar rule (game ends after destroying reactor 9); like Houdini, that has also been used in a lot of tournaments.

In practice, it's pretty unlikely to come up... these are achievements that will rarely be reached by even strong players. But if they are... then yes, best score wins, as usual.

OK, I'm going to say that I am surprised that I am the only one with this sentiment about a pinball eating my balls after attaining wizard mode. Perhaps this is not the game for me.

Seriously though - after getting there, you will be exhausted. I got to SOTR on WOZ one time - and I was just every kind of done by then

Exactly! Just like in Revenge from Mars. You destroy the Giant Brain and blow up the red planet, and then you have to go back to earth and squish martians in the bar again. Dull and illogical.

Right? For home use I’ve got to have goals, and being a master magician is noble and lofty enough. For me this is all rather hypothetical since I kind of cheat. If not for setting everything to ludicrously easy levels and getting God only knows how many free balls, I would never get there.

My plan is to experience as many levels of the game as possible now and eventually dial it all back to intermediate player level. I’ve already vastly improved on hitting all the lanes and oddly have the hardest time hitting the easiest thing on the play field- the ramp. Makes no sense...

I get the idea that the game is ripping the player off for the remainder of unplayed balls, and that just comes down to a philosophical question that’s going to vary from owner to owner, so no wrong answer - just different answers.

Love this game. For me it’s a keeper.

Just had the magic shop end my ball.

It awarded an extra ball then ended ball 1.

Kinda odd. Bullet catch was pending but not activated.

Rebooted and the error didnt come back tonight.

You’ve beaten the game. Game over. I think it’s fine and a nice change up. It’s borderline impossible to get there, so i think it’s fitting.

I am glad to hear some of your opinions and I see your point. If this were an option personally I would set the game to continue playing.

Funny you should mention this game.
After finishing what I believe was the final mode the pin did what I expected and started back at the beginning. I'm thinking of a cool video I saw of a player from Belgium who finished the final mode on TWD. A humorous cut scene and the game starts again.

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woke up to see 22 new messages, was wondering what.

Obviously the majority have no issue with the game ending. My view on that is if you actually make it to it, especially if you have not set it up super easy to do, but even then, your game had to take a very, very, very long time, so you certainly got your money's worth (and I'm sure the operator would want you the he'll off the game). But the idea is that you have taken your final exam, you passed or you failed, after a final exam, you don't keep going, you are done. Keep in mind you also just played a mode with reversed and inverted flippers, with six balls and a sixty second ball save (and then another single ball for 60 seconds), so if you are not ready for a break then you are either a super hero with special powers and wrists of steel or a glutton for punishment.

I believe I now have this scenario fixed.

It should be borderline impossible but some people set the game up too easy. Everyone is different but if I beat a game I lose interest because that's how humans evolved. Our brain rewards us with happiness when we accomplish something difficult. Short circuit that process by cheating or drugs and that euphoria goes away. I learned my lesson when I beat RFM and quickly sold it.

What happens if you are in a multiplayer game and player 1 beats the wizard mode? Do all players end?

The majority are fine with the game ending for that player who just did master magician, hard to believe anyone would be okay with all players games ending.

if you beat a game on 'factory' (although Houdini factory was probably set too difficult, hey it is my first game), then you should feel that great sense of accomplishment and while I may not sell the game, I have certainly taken a break from playing a game for a long while after beating it. Although when I got my WH20, I got to vacation bonus the second game I played on it, but certainly did not take a break since I had just gotten the game, and it did take quite awhile before I did beat it again. Classic case of doing great on a game when you don't know the rules, etc. and are just shooting flashing lights.

I have a great solution to the game ending at the end:

Press Start.

LOL

Setting game up to easy....
I don't get it. I'm still on 3 ball 8 months in.
I like 3 ball and earn an extra ball or 2.
Ending the game, completely fine with that. I figure in a few years I might get there.

So I was running the newest beta and discovered a glitch. During the game it started scoring 50 points every time I hit a flipper no matter what was happening in the game. And each time I hit the flipper, it would make the same sound as when you hit the ESCAPE targets. Love the use of the knocker in Bullet Catch by the way.

Are you sure you don't just have an Escape target that's been bashed in and is now triggered too easily? Put the game in switch test and bang on the playfield and see if anything is registering.

Exactly 50? Regardless, as bobcat said, you likely have a switch that is not gapped quite right, and if you are hearing escape sounds that is likely where it is. Many of the 'switch points' are at slightly different values, e.g. not 50 but say 53, which can help trouble shoot these things. But a s he said, go into switch test and bang around the playfield. If that does not help you find it, you can send me a log and I can tell you which switch is (just be sure to do the flipper a bunch of times where this happens right before you pull the log)

I'm also a 3 ball player and like to earn extra balls. After this I will definitely kick up the difficulty for collecting letters. On the bright side since a couple of us set our games up easy enough to achieve wizard mode we found out the code was rebooting the game instead of ending it. Now when you reach the mode hopefully you won't get that nut kicker of a disappearing high score.

Yup, all on purpose, to keep you from being able to truly beat the game Plus everyone says the game is hard, and we all know it is not that hard, so I had to be sure it was living up to is reputation and kicking you all in the nuts on a regular basis, even when you do well. But as a holiday gift, I'll let you start to save those high scores when your reach the master magician mode.

Wow. Another gold star to Rosh for the Holiday gift - our collective nuts appreciate any reprieve or sense of achievement.

I've got the same plan as you, and same pain with that ramp.

I hear you about RFM But TOTAN does the same thing after you free Princess and take a long carpet ride with her. Most people wont part with that machine...

Agreed, TOTAN is a work of art. I have a Paragon that I'll be buried with. Not a deep game but so compelling in every way.

Well,I play 5 balls on factory settings! Have yet to get 1 Houdini letter,complete anything except mission 1,and handcuff and needles tricks,I also can't hit center ramp at will,and have never hit the Milkcan except by accident! So maybe this pin is to easy for some of you hot shots

Maybe try lowering the flipper angle 1/8", I did and the difference is like night and day.

Its a tiny change but makes the milkcan and scoop very accessible. The other shots are only slightly affected.

I can make the milkcan over and over again now.

Another popular adjustment is to move the "C" target for seance to the left 3/16"

Remove the target and widen or oblong the hole in its mounting bracket a bit, then reinstall it.

Now you can make the inner loop much easier.

Yes, do all this. The inner loop is tough, but I can now backhand it pretty consistently and almost always can hit it on a return from the ramp. I did move that target (I just bent mine over a bit, it did not need to be unscrewed), and pretty much have everything on factory coil settings now.

Moving the flippers down a touch is a major, important, change.

The ramp is definitely hard to get the timing on!

I had mine bent over for a day.

I decided I didnt like it being crooked in s new game.. possibly the OCD in me lol.

So I adjusted it properly.

I actually moved it left about 3/16" and the "E" target to the right about 1/16" to the right.

The extra 1/4" of room really opens up the game.

No way could you say the shot is too tight any more.

My game plays smooth as butter and is just a joy to play now.

I'm getting two balls kicking out of the scoop consistently - any ideas? It also 3 out of 5 times does not recognize a shot to the scoop and ends up going into ball search mode.

Loose opto....
Have you lifted playfield recently??
There are 3 sets of optos on the subway leading to scoop. Outside ones like to pop off if you lift playfield and accidently bump them.

Check the assembly that the balls queue up in before the scoop. The one here pulled away from the playfield, which mis-aligned the optos and created what we called "surprise multiball" very often until I figured it out.

based on the two different scenarios you describe, check the switch in the scoop

I think it would be cool to have the shaker go off on every jackpot you hit.

Paragon is gorgeous. Check out this Paul Faris poster...

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So I had a league night yesterday. Also Houdini was in the lineup.
And regardless Houdini was tweaked and had a variac for constant power the game had not enough power on the coils.

Ball one it was ok and all worked flawless but the next ball all horrible - It was not possible to shoot at the theater or up the ramp.
The people were very annoyed at some point... That's a pity, as it's a great device, but it's no fun without power on your Coils.

I hope the powersupplyfix for us european customers is ready to ship to our Distributors, so that we can enjoy this game!

Why don’t you have them increase the coil settings?

I also increased the coil settings first, but the coilstrength has changed significantly during each ball.
And I don't want to adjust the coils every 5 minutes...

Is it because of league play and other pins being turned on/off?