I played Houdini at Pinball Shows and I thought it was beautiful and feature packed. It wasnt until I had the opportunity to own one that this game truly shines. The build quality is fantastic, its on par with JJP build quality. Its built like a tank. I have not had to fix anything substantial on mine at all... Tweak it here and there, sure.. but its pinball.

There is no question there are tight shots here, but they are findable and rewarding when you do. There have not been many made, more than 500 less then 1000..

Funny finding all this activity on the Houdini thread this morning, first the Memory that FB highlighted from two years ago was of Houdini the day I got it then my Gmail has a message from Michael Grant the new head of sales and marketing at API thanking me for being a customer (yes I registered my game).

I agree with all the comments about how good the game is so I won't reiterate them here but I do highly recommend the game and think it's a comparative bargain especially the HUO prices for used ones. Here's why I think the game wasn't a hit:

1) New company that a lot of operators probably didn't seriously consider or trust.
2) Theme, I love it but many don't or are ho-hum about it.
3) Art and animations: It's difficult to say if Houdini's art was more harshly criticized here than other new games because the art critics are rampant and vocal here and at least one will point out the minute "flaws" in every game. I don't notice those things so as long as something looks cohesively pleasant to me I'm good with it. Personally I think Houdini is beautiful, especially the playfield which is where I'm always looking anyway. Animations could be better but they fit the theme and time frame of the theme so I think they are completely acceptable.
4) "Shots are too tight" and "they didn't do a white wood so geometry is broken" - Joe Balcer should never have told people about skipping the white wood as some nay-sayers latched onto it like it's some kind of smoking gun. I appreciate why he said it but at least on Pinside that kind of transparency will just be used against you by the haters. As others have said the shots are tight but not overly so, especially in a home game where they become extremely satisfying when you find them.

At the risk of repeating myself though the biggest issues I've had with this game have been persistent since day one - intermittent weak / half flips during Seance MB and worse when stacked with other MBs, and ball-tracking issues. The first I can attribute to the magnets and how much else is all going on at the same time but the second is more frustrating and can completely hose up league / tournament / competitive games.

I basically sent a response to Michael Grant saying almost the same stuff - I think the ball tracking issue is far more important to fix overall than the flipper issue in general, and as you said I don't think the art is as important as others

I've played 4 games of Houdini with the released 12/2019 BETA code and I haven't had any issues yet. To me it's been more reliable than the last official released code from 4/19.

Well I mean, if you played 4 games and it looks good then the code must be solid. The rest of us with ball tracking issues must have loose optos from opening the door to install beta code.

sorry couldn't resist.

The ball tracking issue only appears under certain circumstances, so.....

Maybe they were four 45 minute long games??

I actually had some ball tracking issues before this BETA release. Now I don't. (so far)..I know 4 games isn't enough.
One of the things I noticed on the official 4/19 code was when Seance Mutliball started it took 5-10 seconds for the other two balls to get into play. Now within a few seconds all 3 balls get going.

Just to clarify.... I didn't want to be a jerk about it, just thought to post what came to mind for a laugh. I'm the opposite, had not seen tracking issues with last official code release (assuming I left the backboard dimming off, there is a known bug with that). I think there is just a little something that needs to be worked out code wise and I really hope AP follows through on it. I feel the game deserves it- this is an overlooked gem.

No offense meant to you Cujo.

The stage curtain on my Houdini has quit opening and closing. I can manually move it, the curtain test causes the ball drop mech to operate, and the opto still detects curtain hits, but the curtain itself is dead.

I have now opened a service request online with API and performed searches on this thread which have turned up one other owner having this issue in past, but limited info at best.

So ... FWIW, anybody else have this issue in past and have any info to offer re: the fix that was required? Thanks in advance!

Mine failed quite a while ago and they shipped me a new assembly at no cost, I just had to return the old one. Based on the troubleshooting I did on mine I'm pretty sure the actual motor had failed, the whole assembly looks pretty hard to take apart and I suspect that even if you can find the motor elsewhere it needs to be programmed or calibrated in some way but I don't know that for certain. Bad time to have such a major failure on such a great game, hopefully API can find a way to get you fixed quickly.

Its the programmable servo.

Sometimes they die.

Sometimes the servo cable comes loose.

API should have them for you.

https://store.american-pinball.com/products/hh-stage-motor

Like others have said, likely the servo. I had one go out too, even tho it was calibrated correctly.

I do want to add that I also had a weld break on the round part of the stage assembly from the circular base, causing it to bind. Under warranty and Barry sent a new one out pronto. So make sure the stage moves freely.

Thanks all for the info!

Just had an error where I was putting in a GC score put in my initials NJC after pressing start on J the cursor went to end, I moved across to C pressed start the announcer said C so I moved to end and it deleted C and put in =. The ball got lost a couple of times on ball end too

rosh I’ve sent you the game logs

Anyone know if they are reading/answering support emails right now? I sent an email asking about getting the skill shot fix kit a couple days ago but I haven't heard anything.

I believe they are, when they can.

Illinois is still on lockdown. So their committee rosh mentioned, are probably doing the best they can from home.

Shipping parts is probably slow right now too.

LTG : )

Yeah. I was thinking about ordering the shaker motor but I guess that can wait until this lockdown subsides.

If you want it, may as well order now. So you are in line to get it when they can ship.

LTG : )

Right now I'd say you are better off opening a service ticket vs sending an email.

My understanding is they are trying to ship things out once a week or so.

Just joined the club and my NIB power supply looks just like the above.
I just wanted to confirm that I do not need the additional power supply.

Thanks

Is the power supply a silver rectangle? or does it look like a fight bell? If it is the rectangle you are golden.

That looks kickass. How is the loudness on that? The replacement I got on credit is a bit on the loud side. I'd love to replace them both and with the new model if possible.

The big advantage to the original, is zero noise from the power supply. For someone like me, with steady power, it is nice to have just the original power supply.

Higher voltage switching power supplies, with sufficient power, have fans, except some that are quite expensive in relative terms. Some fans are quieter than others.

The new 'all in one' power supply, is actually three switching power supplies, 5v, 12v and 48V, the 48V is the same as the upgrade power supply, so it has a fan. I believe the 5 and 12 do not have fans. So from a noise level, don't think there is any real difference. The main advantage of the new supply is that the wiring in the machine is simpler as there is just a set of connectors to easily connect power for, cabinet, playfield and backbox.

My house was built in the 30's... nothing electrical too steady over here. Construction otherwise is like a tank.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Finally got around to replacing the knicked up original Houdini side art decals today with new decals from API. I installed them very carefully and Murphy’s Law the playfield caught the brand new left decal and ripped it right in half. Boy was I pissed at myself! Well, at least the right side decal is perfect now. I went ahead and ordered another set from API for $110. Maybe third time’s a charm.

After that mishap, I readjusted the left side playfield support bracket and moved the plastic in slightly. Will be ultra careful going forward and use the Pinball Universe side art protectors I have sitting around that I haven’t tried yet. I also ordered a knocker from API. Looking forward to playing the game with a real knocker to complement the shaker.

Get the side protectors from Pinball Life.
I was told AP uses them.

I f#cked mine up day 2 on a NIB machine...

https://www.pinballlife.com/interior-cabinet-protector-blade-set.html

Get these and dont raise a playfield without them.
I have 2 sets.

Here is a picture of my power supply. Looks rectangular so I hope I am golden.
Now I just need to adjust the catapult. It is hitting the front of the trunk.
The game is awesome!

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Yeah, the irony is I just bought them and forgot to use them like a complete idiot! I won’t be making that mistake again. Same thing happened with my POTC inner side art decals and a few other games. I think these protectors will end up paying for themselves.

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I have to admit that I had sort of a poor impression of this game because it seemed like people sold them quickly after buying them, the prices kept falling, and I used to listen to that idiot kaneda trash it all the time... But I've had it a little over a week now and it's amazing. I'm glad I took a chance on it.

Ordering my NIB today! My understanding is the speakers are set up differently. Can I still hook up an external sub? Do you owners find an external sub helps on this machine?

yes and yes

Sorry you had that impression - there's a WHOLE bunch of us who have had it for years now. Every game gets passed around a bit after it's been out a while. It doesn't get boring, that's for sure!

Precisely why I don’t care about someone else’s opinion of a game.. play and buy what you love. Look how wrong Kaneda was on JJP POC lol

He’s been wrong about pretty much every recent game in the last 2 or 3 years

Ten days ago or so there was a lot of activity on the thread regarding the beta code. Not so much since. Any updated thoughts from those of you that are trying the new code?

Mine is still running strong!

I'm waiting until the bugs are worked out to try the new code. It doesn't matter how much great new content is in a code update. One serious bug can ruin it. When they finally updated the Ghostbusters code, they left a game breaking bug in the code where it couldn't find the ball during a certain mode if it went into the scoop. If that happened, the game could not continue. They never fixed it.

I look forward to the official release.

Runs quite nicely. Better light show. Far fewer random, errant two ball (one extra) multi-balls - very rare now. Once in a while the game seems to need to pause and get caught up, maybe 15 seconds. Ultimately, much less quirky. I know some or all of this has been reported to Josh, so I suspect it will be gone in the general release. I rarely had flipper issues, and I think I see far less of that now, but it was rare to begin with, so who knows...

If you value your side art, regardless of machine/title...I would highly recommend picking up those side art protectors from Pinball Life...they are well worth the investment.

I've been running the beta code for a few weeks now. No issues to report so far but the ball seems to eject from the scoop with less delay (which is good). Also, the light show is fantastic!

And overall the beta code is MUCH more responsive. You can skip animations quicker, the game doesn't pause for long periods of time. Great update

Happy to report no issues since my first game. Sad to report those other games were all pretty terrible and low scoring.

NIB headed my way! Coin taker has an incredible price on these.

Finally!
Dialed in the trunk. Easy- Perfect.

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Glad I read this thread! Didn't even know they made those! Ordering for Oktoberfest!

Congrats. Sleeper of a game.