Reporting back for duty....

1. Added the following:
- knocker
- shaker
- side art
- Cliffies
2. Adjustments:
- adjusted 3 switch ball lock. Just had to bend a little. At first, I pushed whole unit towards the pop bumpers and that restricted the pops. Move back and just bent individual switches to get right contact.
- Seance scoop. After playing with power and getting no change, I just used 3 thin washers on one side and now it works 100%. So, rather than bending the scoop, you might want to try using different number of washers to adjust.
3. Complaints:
- Sound seems to be a bit muffled. Not sure I can adjust or if installing a better sub would help.
- I have updated power supply, but like others, the flippers don't seem "snappy" like Stern games. My Willy Wonka also has relatively weak flippers, but not as bad as Houdini

Overall, I'm very pleased and this pin will be staying a long time. I'm leaving room for one more pin.....Jersey Jack...

IMG_2284 (resized).jpeg

and this is what happened with mine. I got to the point it was so annoying I sold it! I liked the game a lot but with AP not knowing what the flipper issue is and pointing towards different things (my favorite is the voltage in your house! I say this as anyone that has Houdini and has the flipper issue probably has more then one machine and it seems Houdini is the only affected by the voltage coming into the house ) I sold it and bought another game. This also steered me away from buying a Oktoberfest for my local German Club.

Before anyone thinks I am bashing AP I am not. In my opinion Houdini is a great game. I actually like the game a lot but the flipper issue just annoyed the hell out of me. If/when they get this resolved I wouldn't mind getting another one down the road but for now there's too many machines out there that I would prefer over a machine that has a flaw like Houdini does!

I don't see 30" of space left for another.

Agree. Ap is the best. Night and day compared to a modern day Stern. And I must admit, Houdini does it for me... great game/really enjoyable to play. The difficult shots make it for me. If you want long, flowing, easy shots then go buy Ironman. You will be bored of it in a week.

Strange... my game plays a great. 5 new sterns and Houdini. No issues. ..... and I’m very observant. Just had to adjust the height of the wire form ramp with1/4 inch nylon spacers so the upper catapult would make it very time.

for 3.1 --> Add a cheap passiv subwoofer, adjust the sound from the lepai amp and will blown away
for 3.2 --> Fix is on the way - and we all get finger crossed that it will be the solution.

Looks really good. My Houdini isn’t leaving. I agree with you on the flippers but all shots can be made. Just broke 2 million on Houdini with factory settings. You just need the flippers I’m mid 20’s power range, not maximum not factory setting. Makes the shots a bit easier so that the ball isn’t flying around.

That's because there isn't a sub!

Seriously tho...add an external sub and you'll hear a lot of new low end you never knew was there. Really adds a lot to the experience.

I run around 3-4 pins on a single active sub thru a mixer. But I only play one pin at a time.

We need a mod maker to make a kick-ass 3d-molded... or some sort of metal/faux metal replacement for the American Pinball sticker on the upper part of the backbox. That's just begging for something that doesn't look so cheap. Actually, that's the only part of the two AP games that I'd change (physically speaking).

https://themodcouplepinball.com/collections/api-houdini-custom-mods-collection/products/copy-of-api-houdini-planchette-houdini-version-custom-3d-engraved-mod

Something exactly like that... but says American Pinball (to be used on all 3 games)

Gatcha....the problem.
Getting American Pinball's permission.

It's a little surprising that they went to such great lengths with the build quality, but opted for a cheap bubble sticker. Ultimately, doesn't matter. But you'd think someone in the design or marketing department would have put their foot down.

I've been saying this for 3 years and 6 months since i first received my Houdini. So I made this mod to cover it up.

Can you make one to cover Oktoberfest too??

Beta Testers -- Please let me know, yes or no, if you are seeing any issue with the animations during attract (or game play for that matter). Specifically take note of the logo screen, the Houdini moving hands screen or the credits screen.

THE PUBLIC WANTS TO KNOW...

During the Illusion Mode "STRAIGHT JACKET", when I play with the flippers inverted, I will often hold the flippers down and release to launch the shots.
When I do this successfully, and keep the balls in play for a while, there are a variety of sassy call-outs. Some question my pinball pride, my manhood, and my obviously questionable morals. It's all good, fun smacktalk, as only the Houdini pin can deliver. However, one call-out threatens to take POINTS away...

That's my question: if you hold both flippers down for an extended amount time, will the programming take points away?!
I haven't seen it yet, but I remain spooked... cause, the points on this game are EARNED.

BTW, I absolutely love this pin, and I'm having a great experience with it. Kudos and thanks, American Pinball.

I do believe there's a penalty (or maybe the multiplier is lowered) for "chimp flipping"

Search Rosh's posts in here but if you press both buttons together repeatedly you'll be penalised.

it is not holding them in that will penalize you, since that is the right way to play it, 'hold and release to flip', you get penalized if firing both flippers at the same time repeatedly. So for those who don't cross arms and just flip both flippers on every flip, the jackpots will drop in value.

Of course playing inverted is not only far more lucrative, it helps prepare your skills for master magician.

You will get a warning, the monkey will appear banging cymbals, and then the next time he will penalize you and will be banging the cymbals faster.

That particular mode and the need to cross your arms, was a real stroke of genius.
Very clever and creative game-player integration. Always gets a smile from folks new to the game, and a hearty "No way! That's so cool!"

Thanks for the clarification and reply, Rosh.

except for us ol fat bastards.

This and the one-handed flip on Oktoberfest - and the engine revving on HW are some of the things that really set AP games apart!

I was going to give the Beta (yet) another try, is 19.23 still the most current beta version?

yes, and let me know what issues you run into.

You won't have to wait long apparently, first ball of first game double ball release from the right lock - hasn't happened once since I went back to production code. I forgot I still had the game code on the stick though so when I inserted it the game is re-installing the code again instead of saving the logs to it.

Flipper power upgrade must be coming soon! Can't wait

the logs will be on the stick after the update. Don't re-pull logs, they will be gone.

I play inverted all the time and I use to get the 'warning' sometimes (during seance multiball?) when I'm really just working the flippers a lot to keep all 6 balls in play as much as possible (I don't cradle any balls). So what I do when I have a free second, I make sure I cycle one flipper at a time as much as possible to help the machine realize I'm not using two flippers excessively. I assume there's some sort of counter in code that spots both flippers being used all the time. What I'm trying to do is reset the "both flippers' counter to avoid the warning. Don't know if that's what Josh is looking for.

I sort of recall Josh was going to look at this many moons ago, but I don't know if he every got around to it. Plus it's a habit now, so maybe it's not needed as much with newer code. Inverted is a killer mode - lots of fun.

The only thing I noticed is a slight jitter in the credit roll that is so slight, I’m not convinced I’m not imagining it. I would have never noticed it had you not asked me to gaze at the attract animation. Otherwise, nothing.

That’s normal and not what I am concerned about. Thanks

I finally installed my knocker kit today.

Its easy and only takes about 25 mins to install maybe less.

However the kit (as noted here before) is still missing the required fuse to make it actually work.

Its an obscure size locally 5mm × 20mm 4 amp slow blow.

Its ok, i got some coming monday.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B075SN7CQK

Secondly, CATASTROPHE AVERTED! :

When i picked up the Wago wall-nuts from my upgraded power supply kit, 3 wires just fell out in my hand!

I hadnt lifted the playfield in a year or more.

They were making a connection just sitting in their holes, but in time they loosen up completely.

So, as others gave said:

Please remove these terrible connectors from your game.

Something bad is bound to happen, especially if you up-end the game to move it.

Wago wall-nuts are really for romex or solid core wire, not stranded wire.

Install these ( as recommended by another pinsider):
20200813_160012 (resized).jpg20200813_160052 (resized).jpg

https://www.amazon.sg/Keadic-Compact-Connector-Assortment-Brackets/dp/B081RLLV4V

They are called lever nuts.
They work really well.

You can even install them one handed (I did, it was easy).

Try that with a regular wire nut!

I tested one by trying to rip a piece of wire out with pliers, it held really well.

I think they are as good as a soldered connection, and vibration resistant, unlike solder.

There are a few brands out there, im sure they are all similar.

I just posted what i bought.

So I finally did some much needed final tweaking on my Houdini. I adjusted the "Magic" targets and made them more sensitive, and did some other stuff like that, but the big thing was dropping the flippers back a tiny bit. Oh wow, what a difference. I mean a big difference. I was pretty good at hitting the milk can and other shots, but now - much much more reliable at hitting that guy. But the big bonus was the other shots. I dropped both flippers and now the Stage Alley shot is a hundred times more likely to shoot like a hot knife through butter to the stage. Also, much easier to complete ramp shots and the inner loop seems to reject fewer shots. I was always pretty happy with my ability to hit these shots before, but now they are acting more like how I imagine they were designed. Really something everyone should do. I also noticed that the flippers were not really evenly set at the factory, so a good thing to check regardless. So my takeaway is that when leveling, adjusting and generally tweaking, you should try this flipper adjustment to see if it is for you too.

Yes, drooping the flippers 2mm is like night and day.

I was a bit surprised that they didnt catch this during play testing.

Its a geometry thing.

I figured it out by using a small square againt the flippers to see where the ball would potentially go.

Only a small adjustment is needed!

My game plays perfectly.

I revisited the flipper power recently and no longer think the ramp is there just as a decoration lol.

I can make tbe ramp from a cradled left flipper consistently if tbe power is correct.

Too much though and you get stage rejects.

With the few adjustments i posted, the game is just a joy to play.

Can we get some pics of the dropped flippers ?

https://store.american-pinball.com/products/kit0006-00 Anyone tried this yet? "coil performance improvement kit"

This is probably the best I can do. You can see that the pin alignment hole that’s usually at the tip of the flipper is now just in front of the flipper. It’s a very small drop. I hope this helps, and that it makes sense

E733133E-ADC9-45DD-896C-7502CC5F803C (resized).jpeg

That’s new. Is this the “flipper fix” that was being discussed?

That's what I was thinking but wasn't sure if it was something I just missed.

Yes. Several of us are beta testing it

Do tell. Is there a difference, or too soon to tell?

Happy to provide a full report when I can; want to check with AP first. I haven’t received the kit yet

Cool. Interested to hear. Looks like a big ass capacitor. That seems logical based on my rudimentary understanding of electronics and the issue.

Thats how williams did it for years!

A giant 1/4 or half farad capacitor.

Would be great if it fixes it. Then I can get back to playing

rosh
Yes, I just installed the beta yesterday and immediately noticed that the credits animation stutters. In the last stable version this animation was smooth.
I think that you can see this stuttering in other animations, too. But it is obvious when the credits are scrolling up the screen in attract mode.

rosh
Two more things I noticed but I'm not sure if they are related to the beta or something else.
The catapult to trunk shot doesn't succeed anymore. I allways had to have the setting increased to 27. But now the shot is too short and hits the front of the trunk. If I now increase the setting to 28, the shot is way to strong and fires the ball to the left corner of the back plate. So with 28 the shot is to far and - surprisingly - not centered anymore as it passed the trunk on the left. If I reduce the setting to 27 again, the shot is centered but hits the front of the trunk. So there's not sweet spot anymore!
Could this be caused by not having set a default value before the update?

Another thing I noticed two times is that the game didn't detect a ball drain to the center between the flipper fingers. In one case it started a ball search and throwed a ball off the scoop. The second time I just had to wait for a longer time before the end of ball proceedure started and I got a new ball to launch.
I had been able to reproduce that behaviour one time by holding a ball on the left flipper finger for 10 seconds and then simply release the flipper button to drop the flipper finger and let the ball drain to the center.

Just contact me if you want to get more information or ask me to do or test anything.

I had that problem at one stage with the trunk shot. I corrected it by lifting the machine in the back a half inch or so and then retuning the power on the catapult.

result is back to 99% hits and the game plays better a little faster too.