Left and right flippers are set to 23 and 22, respectively. I've not toyed with this setting since receiving the machine. What would you recommend?

I don't have a game to check. In the software, is there an adjustment in there for tilt settings. 1 warning to tilt, 2 warnings to tilt, no tilt ?

LTG : )

At least 22 and 21, if not 21 and 20. 23 is too much.

Are you on current 18.5.4 software? What is your playfield angle set to?

Didn't Josh say the tilt not working right was being fixed in the next update? I seem to remember a post about that...

I'll make those adjustments...and do my best to straighten the switch.

Yep, I'm on the 18.5.4 software, and I believe my angle is 6.5...the factory setting with all the levelers screwed all the way in (and a level floor).

Thank you for all your help!

We should have new software next week, so be on the lookout for that! Always exciting to get bugs fixed and see what's new!

My location got a new Houdini yesterday. Plays great out of the box except 2 things.

About 1/2 the time you lock a ball in the trunk you have to wait for a ball search. Maybe needs a switch adjustment.

No matter how much I raise the tilt bob and shake the game I cannot get a tilt warning. The only way it registers is when I have the coin door open and physically hold the bob against the ring. Anyone else have this problem? The bob appears to be steel as opposed to lead. Maybe less conductive? Not sure what the deal is.

Supposedly the next software release will address the tilt issues people are having. Likely just a software timing issue.

You definitely need to check the switch below the trunk. I think it's an opto under the PF.

I went back 5 pages and also did a search and didn't see anything. Could be before that.

I'm sure Josh will chime in.

LTG : )

Found one mention here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/american-pinball-houdini-thread/page/79#post-4403661

There's a more concrete one somewhere else, but I keyposted that mention so people having issues at least know it's being worked on.

Call Barry, he will explain what you need to do. It's a ball hang up in the subway.

It is a tough game with challenging shots but it really doesn't take that long to figure them out and have fun IMO. I also seriously doubt you were bricking off of posts because there are really only three of them on Houdini, there are the SEANCE targets that divide all the key shots in the middle so it was probably really them you were hitting, and they do get hit a lot. It lets you start SEANCE multiball though so it has a silver lining. The hardest shot is the Milkcan loop, but it's not that integral to really progressing in the game, if your a competitive player and going for max score every time as opposed to trying to complete modes, etc. then it's more important. The second hardest is the right inner loop but once you figure out how to backhand it and that it's on the sweet spot of the left flipper it's not that hard - in fact I find it harder to hit the ramp consistently than that shot.

I've had the game since April and it has relegated my other games to second place in what I walk up to play most often, even my GOTG Pro is getting little love from me lately (and it's letting me know it by kicking my ass whenever I do play it). It is a lot of fun and very challenging which I think is important for home use. It can be a little stop and go waiting for trunk locks (totally worth it) and such but since it rewards control and aimed shots so highly that makes sense to me. For $7K I don't think there is a better value in a new game out there and I certainly don't see it leaving my collection for years. There is some cool music, the Steampunk stuff is cool, good humor in taking some light-hearted jabs at other new games and I think Josh has done a really good job with the combos required for the modes. Trying to beat the fastest time to complete the Water Torture tank, etc. is just a little side jolt of adrenaline thrown in for good measure. If you want a game with lots of "flow" I'm not sure it's the best choice though there are good combos as I said, but if you want something that shoots very different than any other game (at least that I can think of) you can't lose with Houdini.

P.S. The rubber posts that replace the standard plastic star posts for the slingshots really make it play differently than most games too.

I kind of remember that too, mine certainly does not work except in test and even then I have to basically hold the bob against the ring to make it register. I've tested all the connections, cleaned the parts with alcohol, etc.

When game #2 ships, the whole team should do cartwheels in lederhosen.

The tilt issue is a code issue.... It will be fixed in a subsequent code release.

I dont think so. You can see tye ball. It just sits in the catapult below the chest

Well, that is the catapult switch.
Does the ball just sit there and wait till a ball search happens?
If so, check the switch under playfield. It's tight back in that lower left corner and if the table has been raised a few times you can easily pop a wire off switch. Ive Done it twice. Quick solder and i was up and running. The switch itself is new, so check that it isn't loose, ie the 2 screws holding on. Can get a little loose and lower a bit. Then there's the switch itself, check the micro black button on arm into white housing.

Is it the trunk switch after the ball lands in the trunk, or the catapult switch before it throws it? I had to bend my catapult switch up a bit to have it consistently detect the ball

@rosh, I have a wish list item. It's not a big deal but maybe nice to have. Please consider adding an option to flash the planchette lamp before a seance ball kickout. There is no warning that it is about to happen (on my game at least). I don't mind the element of surprise but family members that are casual players usually drain because they just don't know it's coming. I think ball save may be active but a quick heads-up in that direction would give them a fair chance. Thanks.

Its the catapult switch and its intermittent. I agree probably just needs an adjustment. Thanjs for the tips, guys. Overall, very impressed with this pin so far.

I've noticed that the ball occasionally gets hung up in the opening below the trunk on my game. It appears that the metal piece that slides to the right (to create the opening) doesn't always get retracted enough, but I need to check this out further.

Thanks very much, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain all that.

The current code has a few too many 'rules' around not triggering it, that are being tweaked. However, if you are never getting a warning, even when violent, and not near the start of ball, then something else could be going on. So, one thing to check is if you open the coin door during game play and hit the bob, does it warn? Since you can't do that for the several seconds at the start of a ball, you would need to this when in the scoop, stage, magic shop, etc. If it is still not registering pull the logs right after the test and send them to me.

If it is sitting on the upper catapult when this happens, then yes, likely an issue with that switch.

If balls appear to be getting stuck in the subway or not registering, then start by going into switch test, drop a ball down through the hole (need to hold diverter back) and see if you get the right sequence of switch hits. It will show the last switch and the five before that, so you should see Trunk, Stage Exit, Right Lock 3, Right Lock 2, Right lock 1 (depending on if any balls are in the lock already) in reverse order.

If all switches are registering, try to loosen very slightly the screws on the subway near the trunk, just a turn or two and pull down on the subway so t is not too tight to the palyfield, if they are too tight it can occasionally get hung up on the catapult mech. When it fires in ball save it will then release the ball down to the scoop. The production team has been pretty good about not over tightening those, since we have not really seen this for a long time.

Hmm, that would be hard to hang up, would mean the ball is getting wedged into the opening. Test it when you can get a closer look at to see if that is what is happening and check that the diverter moves smoothly when opening and that the bracket is proper attached to the plunger.

Magic is about surprise and there is the ball save, but I'll give some thought to a little bit of an indicator.

I think that is all the questions that have been asked of late, if I missed something, please re-post.

Yep - exactly. I need to check out the diverter's operation more closely. This wedging only happens occasionally and I've been having too much fun playing the game over the three days I've had it set up so far to take the time to do so yet!

the trunk can go two ways. If you have a film mode, it goes to the upper catapult. Otherwise, to the subway. If the upper catapult is the problem, it's easier than the subway, just adjust the switch leaf in the catapult.

Aaah, right

Just open the glass and bend it up a touch, it doesn’t need much st all. Wait, was this on location? They need to fix that

My shooter lane gate busted and while waiting for the new one I've seen the ball go back down the shooter lane a number of times. It might get kicked out by a ball search (I've not waited long enough to see), but seems to me it should just auto-launch if the ball ends up there during play. While in single ball play it is obvious to plunge it back out, but during multi-ball, if a ball goes airborne and lands in there will it auto-launch then? Seems like then it should auto-launch for sure. Can this be changed (or is it already in the next version) so it always gets auto-launched?

will autolaunch when in MB.

Does not in single ball play, and will sit there unless you have the setting to auto fire after X seconds (although not sure if that was in 18.5.4 or is in next release). There is a reason it does not auto-launch and someday that will make sense or maybe someday it will just start to autolaunch. Only time will tell.

Sure sounds like a cool new feature we REALLY hope to see! Don’t spend too much time on game 2 just yet )) please!

Anyone added a "hammered bronze" (or other color) Chrome Candy shooter rod to their Houdini and have a pic you can share?

I purchased Beatmasters shooter rod.
Like it a lot. Whole hand grasp feel.

20180327_140849 (resized).jpg

Just sold the last of my pins before I move. Houdini will be the first game in my new house.

Thanks - that does fit well with the look of the game, but I prefer the feel of spherical shooter knobs.

I'm thinking this one may match the armor best:

https://chromecandy.com/collections/all/products/pinball-shooter-rod-hammered-bronze

Chrome Candy hammered bronze (resized).jpg

That shooter rod looks great Tuna!!!!

TUNA- That shooter rod looks amazing. If I already didnt have one Id buy that today.

I've got a few questions / issues for rosh :
- You can start Escape hurry-up in a Film mode but not in Theater mode. Why / why not?

- When in Trunk MB if you drain the 2nd ball and hit the Magic target shortly after with the remaining ball there is no ball save if the magnet shoots it directly to the outlane. Had this happen the other day. The first 2 balls drained and played both of the callouts for the drain - then I hit the Magic target while trying to get control of the remaining ball and it went straight to the outlane - no ball save.

- The inlanes / outlanes should always show your FILM progress. Several times there are lighting effects that black out the FILM letters and the ball is heading to a dark inlane. I don't know what letter is lit and what is not or don't have time to line up the correct letter cause I'm waiting for the lights to come back on.

- Anytime after ball 1 - press and hold start for 5 seconds and my game will reboot. Any reason why there is no restart option in the menu?

I checked, and you are correct. Holding the start button will end the game in a one player game.

Why dont the ball save outlanes work during multiball?

I’m pretty sure they do for me. Can you specify a little more detail on what you’re seeing while in multiball? Which multiball? All of them? Is it when you have more than 1 multiball stacked? Do you have a mode started? Etc..

well you do want a do or die mode to start in multiball?

I seem to remember Josh saying that the game restart was something they were working on and that the problem is with making sure everything resets correctly, or something like that.

Its tight back there for sure.
See my post #4517, done it twice.
You can remove the switch to make it easier to solder. Only need metal on metal to make it work. I didnt think mine was fixable but i did make it work again.
You could ring Barry up and he probably could tell you where to source a new one.
Sorry Barry, bus was just sitting there.

Solder a little extension wire to the short wire to make it longer. Doesn't need to be pretty.

Just cover it with some heat- shrink tube before reattaching the newly extended wire back to the contact.

You can with the exception of Bullet Catch, and Straitjacket

The magic stand-ups -- FYI, no ball save at all if set to 'low'. They will only do a save if you are in one ball play, so it is likely the game had not yet finished 'processing' the second drain, so believe there was still another ball in play, even when that one hit the outlane.

Lightshows can impact all lamp and there would not be much of an effect if some lights did not change with it, but typically they should return to their current state quickly (e.g. within a second of the show completing), is there a particular time you are seeing a delay in it updating?

The five second restart is not yet reliable in making sure the game stops clean, at a minimum it is not properly stopping music and not starting the new game, however, it should not reboot. After it ends, a second press of the tart button should then start a game, but still needs further testing to be sure it is a clean start. It was not meant to be live in the 18.5.4 code.

I would think if you earned the ball save, it would function as a regular ball save during multiball. When i am in trunk multiball neither side will kick a ball back into play. When i see a ball save lit, i expect it to save a ball from draining, regardless if i am in a multiball or not. If i earned the save, why should i be punished for it not activating because i started a multiball?

Not sure if it works the same during other m-balls..

Magic standup targets don’t light the ballsave lamp. If the ballsave lamp is flashing you should get a save.

Has nothing to do with the magic targets, im talking about the two ball save modes, spelling seance with 30 flips and the other one...