My lower flippers were both set to 35 when I was experiencing the flipper fade. I'm lowering them to 30 (the default).

This is one of the obvious complications of testing code with "knobs"...testing all permutations is obviously more complex.

That's not my experience. I have no flipper fade (or other gotcha's) on my Sterns. Not saying Stern's don't/can't have this, but I've never experienced it.

You obviously don't have Stranger Things. The TK lock is unhittable after 30+ minutes and almost everyone in the thread experiences it.

Wait til you right right ramp, left ramp, loop, garage to new dimension to ramp collect mega seed, to scoop/adventure multiballs(all over your face)
THAT'S the shot

Correct...no experience with Stranger Things. The most recent Stern that gets played a ton is Jurassic Park, and it shoots strong. No fade that I can discern.

I have not noticed it on JP or seen a lot said about it in that club thread. For me personally, I usually bounce between games enough that fade has not been an issue for me, even on R&M.

So Spooky‘s problem is this and they can never fix it;

They made an amazing pinball machine that’s so addictive; that everyone cannot stop hitting the damn start button on it and playing it for hours on end!

Causing the flippers to heat up and malfunction.

Ha ha, well I’m confident at least of the part about it being amazing and addictive is accurate...

I have American Pinball's Hot Wheels which, to my knowledge, has the same P-ROC hardware as Rick and Morty (Blood Sucker Edition) and Total Nuclear Annihilation. All three games have completely different flipper "feels". To me, the Hot Wheels implementation feels the best and most balanced. (My preference...no knock on Spooky games)

There is one interesting detail in the Hot Wheels implementation which neither of the Spooky games have. It has a large inline capacitor for the flippers. I had some initial issues with my Hot Wheels and ended up talking with Dave B. at American who had said that he was able to get a better flipper experience when running the power through that large cap.

On Total Nuclear Annihilation (which also has a fairly nice flipper implementation) I don't even see EOS switches. I think TheNoTrashCougar wrote some kind of code to remove the requirement of a physical switch. (Don't quote me on this ).

I am not an electrical engineer, nor am I implying that there is anything wrong with the existing set-up of any of these games. I am a computer programmer and I really appreciate @epthegeek's comments as I believe these situations are a bit of a nightmare in terms of writing the "right" code. If you really look at the entire "problem" you quickly realize that there is technically no solution. We have no defined flipper standard. Although I agree that Stern's implementation typically feels good for 60-90 minutes of continuous play, I can also tell you that I have a Firepower, Cirqus Voltaire, Scorpion and Pinbot which all play perfectly and feel completely different than my Stern machines.

Considering the solution is probably a hybrid of user feedback, hardware type and game layout I feel like you would have to deploy multiple code packages and have end users cycle through them and report on their experience. I would be happy to help test if Spooky feels that would assist in solving the current problems.

NBAFan mentioned a hardware solution whereas the flippers were not seated on the bushings correctly? I'm not sure what exactly to look for there but I can attest that my flippers seem really high off the playfield compared to every other game I own. Perhaps there is something to that as well?

I was going to comment on that regarding the bushings. It has already been discussed and being addressed by Spooky at some point. The bushings are standard Williams(?) size and the actual pf is thinner, thus they stick through more. Some people have ground down the bushings, some are waiting for Spooky's solution. What was interesting about NBAFan 's comment was he claims it was having resistance because of it and that the flipper bat wasn't seated properly if I understood correctly? So I'm not even sure if what he's talking about is the same thing.

I see a pcb with a bunch of giant caps in the back right corner of the lower cabinet of R&M, pretty sure those are for all the coils. Not having caps on the flippers would be very bad design not having something to buffer a giant surge of power.

Combos score points and have a display effect and sound effect ... they just don't have as much visibility because there is a lot else going on. Look for the Rickombo ... left ramp to upper loop to garage

Comparable to Whirlwind 3 WAY

HEY, put the whirlwind 3 way combo tunes in!! LOL

This actually isn't quite right. The 'Rickombo' is if you finish a combo by hitting the right drop target. There's also Mortombo and Noobombo. We don't have "named combos" (Bowen's decision there) just the finishers - which can happen after any valid chain. Of course, you can get a REALLY long combo if you hit the right shots.

A valid combo chain is hitting certain main shots after others, so:

"Right Orbit" is a valid combo continuance after: Right Orbit, Garage, Either direction through the horse-shoe.
"Loopback" is a valid combo continuance after: Right Orbit, Garage, Either direction through the horse-shoe.
"Right Ramp" is a valid combo continuance after: Right Orbit, Garage, Either direction through the horse-shoe.
"Inner Orbit" is a valid combo continuance after: Left ramp, Loopback, Diverted Right Orbit
"Left Ramp" is a valid combo continuance after: Right Ramp, Inner Oribt, Either direction through the horse-shoe.
"Garage" is a valid combo continuance after: Left Ramp, Loopback, Inner Orbit, Diverted Right Orbit
"Left side of Horse Shoe" is a valid combo continuance after: Right Ramp, Right Orbit, Garage, Either direction through the horse-shoe.
"Right side of Horse Shoe" is a valid combo continuance after: Right Ramp, Right Orbit, Garage, Either direction through the horse-shoe.
- Finishers are valid after a chain of at least 2 -
The NOOBOMBO finisher is valid after: Left Ramp, Loopback, Left Orbit, Diverted Right Orbit
The RICKOMBO finisher is valid after: Right Orbit, Garage
The MORTOMBO finisher is valid after: Right Ramp

Continued combo chains appear in the upper right-ish corner as text. Each continued shot in the chain scores an increasing value. The finisher awards the total value thus far, and any finisher amount awarded on the same finisher within the same ball - so like, the second RICKOMBO is worth much more than the first one. There isn't really a timer on the combos, it's just made shots. If you make an 'invalid' shot the chain breaks, and other game events like starting an adventure reset the chains as well.

I realize none of this is very well indicated, especially on the playfield, but we didn't really have the inserts for a combo rule, unfortunately. Trying to stack indications in on top of everything else would just get too confusing.

I have been trying to push my Flow Mobius into double digit territory...still stuck at 9.

Love this fucking game.

This actually isn't quite right.

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Thanks for response, Bowen...very useful (along with epthegeeks response). I just noticed the "Rickombo" on the screen!...really subtle but sweet

Seems like NOOBOMBO/RICKOMBO/MORTOMBO callouts might be a nice touch for the finishers.

Another idea is to tally the combo points either before or after tallying the Megaseed points. Would be useful to know how many points are being awarded for combos.

Not saying combos need huge visibility (given everything else going on), but a little more visibility would help bring attention to the cool support that appears to already be in the code! All this is (good) news to me...had no idea.

I can promise everyone that I have absolutely zero issues hitting the left ramp (with a clean shot) every single time, and my flipper power is, and has always been at, the default of 30.

Doesn't mean I make the left ramp every time, because I definitely don't. It's a somewhat difficult shot for a ramp because it's near the end of the flipper. But a lack of power is definitely not an issue. My pitch is 6.9

Mine works great out of the box too. I haven't touched my flipper power and as long as I make a clean shot, all the shots go. Except there is an issue with the switch on the right orbit stopping the ball occasionally. But I have an MRS coming that will fix that. Adjustments have been futile.

It seems no one responded, so I'll jump in. I'm on the beta and did extensive, extensive testing for the Meeseeks mania scoring attributes a few codes back (multipliers, dividers, timing, adding new Meeseeks etc), and heres a quick summary from what I recollect...

Meeseeks Mania can be very lucrative, there are 3 scoring things happening:
1. Meeseeks Jackpots. Hitting Meeseeks grants a jackpot, they grow overtime.
2. A more generous scoring multiplier... Generous in that any Meeseeks will multiply shots. And that there are lots more of them, and the multiplier grows as long as you keep hitting shots to keep the multiplier up (it will reduce over time and go negative). This is where the points are, try to get Meeseeks Mania stacked on top of the standard multiball and a mode.
3. Once Meeseeks mania ends, there is a Jerry Jackpot (which the score I think equals the total number of Meeseeks Jackpots hit, but my memory could be wrong on that).

As for part 2:
-Meeseeks Mania starts, and shots are lit. Any shot hit will multiply the shot (as per standard Meeseeks), AND it will grow the multiplier in the inserts.
-As Meeseeks shots are hit in a quicker speed, the Multipleir will grow to 4X. Compare this with standard Meeseeks, which will use the multiplier shot and reduce the overall #X.
-Not collecting a Meeseeks will reduce the multiplier.
-When time passes, Meeseeks start going purple, multiplier becomes a divider (by the number of purple Meeseeks), until there are no purple Meeseeks left.
-Hitting the Meeseeks box will cast multiple Meeseeks on the playfield or turn any purple Meeseeks blue, and adding 15 seconds.

Care Bears

Substitute phrase for a curse word coined by brash player Eric Molina at the 2006 World Series of Poker.

In the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, 21 year-old waif, Eric Molina, made a name for himself by gambling his way to 32nd place finish and by being arguably the most obnoxious player in the tournament. As Shane Schleger put it in his blog, "It was like he arrived fresh from Central Casting for 'Super-bratty poker kid.'"

On Day Five of the tournament, the floor was called in response to Molina's foul mouth, although in this specific case, all he said was "hell." Molina was outraged and decided that from then on, instead of swearing, he would utter the phrase, "Care Bears," probably because Care Bears are on the complete opposite end of the vulgarity spectrum from curse words.

Josh Kugler is a steely eved code man...

New issue just started and I am not sure what to adjust to get rid of it. Maybe someone here has seen it and can give some advice.. My drop targets will no longer drop if there is a ball behind them. It started with the right drop target occasionally, but now it is the left drop target and the right usually drops. Basically, when multiball starts, it only released the right and the center scoop, while the left drop target stays up and flickers, but will not drop.

I have tested the drop targets in the service menu and they work fine with no ball behind them. But when I put a ball behind the left, it clicks as it attempts to drop, but will not drop. And occasionally I get 2 balls on one side and then no matter which side that is, there is too much weight to drop that target. If I wait for the ball search to kick in and if I jostle the machine during the ball search, I can usually get it to free up, but then I have found that there is only 1 ball search? After the first ball search, the game just sits and does not activate a second search.

Anyway, I vaguely recall something like this being addressed in the past? But I searched the thread for drop target and did not see anything and there is nothing in the Spooky YouTube videos addressing it either.

Thanks!

My drops went wonky a few weeks ago. Interested in this topic as I haven’t found a solution either.

Hey Gerry, nice to see you here. I don't have my R&M yet, so all of these discussions are theoretical to me, but as an electrical engineer, software developer, and end user, I may be able to provide some perspective.

Firstly, as far as I can tell, everything that you have said is correct and you have every right to defend it. Despite providing both the hardware and the FPGA HDL (one layer of "software"), ultimately your platform becomes a tool / library for manufacturers to interface with. Even though your FPGA is controlling the mosfets that control the flippers (assuming the manufacturer is using hardware control and wired in a traditional fashion), you have given the manufacturers the hooks to determine the timing of said hardware control, and therefore have a legitimate argument that the end result is going to be a combination of the coil and software decisions of the manufacturer, along with the physical realities of heating. And even that is over simplifying the situation as the playfield layout decisions will also affect the strength at which a ball hits a flipper from another mech. And likely there are another dozen variables on top of all that.

However, expecting an average end user to understand all of this and being surprised when they get confused about which component is responsible for what, may be expecting too much. There are a number of abstraction layers that end users didn't sign up to understand. From their perspective, they see that one machine performs one way and another machine performs a different way. And although they shouldn't make assumptions about why that is happening, in my opinion we shouldn't be surprised to see them questioning a machine's performance, even if their words aren't entirely accurate. At the end of the day, one might argue that a measure of success of an engineering task is how successfully it takes a complex idea and reduces it to a simple product that few people need to fully understand.

I hope my words came out positive, I truly intended nothing less. Everything that I've read over these last several pages tells me that you, Spooky, and the end users all just want to make and play awesome pinball.

Cory

My left drop target did this. I lifted the playfield and checked it out and compared it to my still working right drop target. If you look at the drop target assemblies you'll see a little coil that pulls in a small metal finger that contacts the drop target in order to knock the drop target down. On my left drop target, this finger would often miss contacting the drop target, and it would sail right through the very top of the central slot in the drop target. Meanwhile, the finger on working right drop target would make contact with the drop target every time, just above that central slot. I just bent the little metal finger up slightly on the left side, until it made consistent contact with the drop target just a hair above the central slot, and that solved the issue with mine.

Note that if you lift the drop target all the way up off its support ledge, by fully extending it, I think you want that little finger to be able to go clear through the top of the central slot, so don't bend the little metal finger too far up.

I hope that's not too confusing.

I GOT NOOBOMBO'D

Well said, Cory. Thanks.

I definitely don't expect end users to know (or need to know) the details of the hardware and how it can be used to control flippers, but I'm happy to answer questions about it. It's only public claims that the P-ROC is the source of issues that are problematic and damaging, especially when those claims aren't backed by real data. (You can replace P-ROC with any vendor supplied product.)

Everybody can and should expect their machines to be as perfect as possible from every manufacturer. If they aren't working, talk to the manufacturer and let them work with their supplies to find the root cause of any issues. Spooky and Multimorphic have an interesting relationship because Multimorphic provides Spooky their control system boards, and Spooky provides Multimorphic things like printed plastics. So we're both suppliers and customers to each other.

If anybody thinks there's an issue with a printed plastic on their P3 machine, please report it to Multimorphic. We'll figure out if we handled and installed it properly and consult with Spooky if necessary. We'll also make things right with the P3 customer. If you think there's an issue with your R&M flippers, talk to Spooky. They know the most about the flippers, coils, wiring, etc in their machines, and they'll consult with us if necessary.

- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com

Yep. Flippers are such a complex area, since mechanical issues will effect the electrical issues & performance.

For example, my left flipper binds ever so slightly, which *could* effect power/heat (fortunately, it doesn't effect gameplay at all, since the power requirements aren't as intense as the right flipper, which deals with the left ramp shot). If you look closely at the photo below, the left flipper is at a very slight angle (not 100% parallel with the PF). Both bushings on my lower flippers are prototype lowered bushings provided by Spooky months ago (not filed by me). I've been anxiously awaiting the final/level bushings since there is a chance it will fix this problem and solve the minor flipper binding that is occurring.
IMG_3437 (resized).jpeg

Thanks, I will look at this tonight when I get home from work and see if this helps. Its a little confusing reading just the words but I'm sure it will make perfect sense when I'm looking at the drops.

Yeah, I wish I had taken pics when I fixed mine, but I didn't. I'm also at my office, away from my R&M for 12 hours, so I can't easily get to my gameroom and take pics. I think once you get in there and look at each drop target assembly, and you start actuating things with your hands (power off of course ), you'll see the design and function intent of the system. It's not bad.

Ha ha!

Hey Bowen, any chance we’ll see a tutorial video from you on this great game?

Finally getting mine delivered this Sunday #503!

So, #533 was delivered last week, and I'm about 300 games in.

I'm a noob pin owner, but from my perspective everything has gone so much better than I could have expected (especially after reading this thread religiously for the last year). Anyone worried by the internet asshattery, please don't be. Spooky is, as advertised, really responsive to questions and the game plays amazing out of the box.

Previously I'd been playing the game a lot at Barcade down the street here in Jersey City. They have #25, I believe, and it's notoriously clunky and maligned by the pinheads there. I've always liked it, despite the clunkiness.... but when I played my first game on my machine the muscle memory had me ripping shot after shot and it felt fantastic.

Updated to 1.05.21. A couple fiddly lighting connections needed securing, no big. Flippers were running great out of the box (I tweaked to get the right side staging).

The drop target problem people are mentioning has been a small issue on the Morty side. I couldn't really see a difference in how the two mechanisms looked, so I waited a few days and... I'm not alone! (A well-timed humping does the job, for the record u guys.)

For those keeping track. #543 Butter Cab ships today. Wubba lubba dub dub!

I think people sometimes forget how many people unbox the game and love it! 0 issues and you never hear another word from them because they are happily playing their game! I am certainly not claiming it is a perfect build but I sincerely believe we are shipping a good product. The comparing between companies is a rough topic. We do many things better than any other company in pinball. Other companies also do many things better than we do. No one pinball company is perfect and that is because this industry is so complex. Sometimes we all just need to take a breath and look at the positives.

This just happened during 2nd stage of scary Terry and a multiball start, game froze when I hit a ball in the scoop. TV and everything..
Not sure if for the second hour, but it just stopped, leaving the ball in the scoop..Couldn't hit the buttons in the menu. Turned off the game and back on, shot the ball outta the scoop. And got right back into it. Anyone else experience this? First time I have. First time the game froze after 600some odd games..

Edit: possibly started a meeseeks mania as well. I do remember hearing boxes open I believe..

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#463 in the house today ! oooowweeeeee
Thank you so much Spooky ! Definitely a blast !
Top quality !Play very good out of the box too...
It s a tuff game , quickly understand you have to control the ball and adjust your shoot ...
But a hard game is ten thousand times better , than one you ll finish in 2 weeks ..
So happy , get back playing !
Cheers !

I have it on good authority that Pinball is : "Easy".

Perhaps I was mislead?

You guys are killing it.

Yes, I've seen this a couple times (where the ball is in the scoop and the game freezes). Like you, I rebooted and things went back to normal. Not unique to your game!

I had it happen once during a multi ball. Reset game and back to normal.

Great advice Luke, but it's also important to note that it's possible to take a breath, look at the positives, love the game, and still offer advice & constructive criticism. The number of issues that have been raised & resolved in this thread is impressive. For me, the biggest positive is having the community come together and collectively solve problems. People can rag on the Internet, but without it (and Pinside), this wouldn't easily be possible. Competition is good for both the industry and it's customers, and it's natural to compare the strengths and weaknesses of the products we own (not just pinball machines).

Tomorrow, I'm going to play a marathon 90 minutes session using virelands flipper thermometers and get some interesting data on flipper temps.

This happened twice in 6 games. I thought the wire had come loose again on the mech but rebooting kicked it out. Never had an issue like that before. I have the new code on there. Will keep an eye on it and get the log if it happens again.

Ok, so then my other question is a rules question for extra balls. I know once I go to three dimensions it unlocks an extra ball, is there any other way to get more extra balls? I've been to 11 dimensions and I think I only saw it come up once, after the initial 3...is there a manual online I'm missing? Thanks

I have my replay set to an EB. It’s a dynamic score that changes as scores hit the board. It stated at probably 6 mil. Now my fuckin replay is 14.25 mil. I need my kids to play a bit and bring the number down ! Lol

For anyone interested, I just listed several figurine mods for Rick and Morty in the marketplace. One listing is for four figures (Rick, Morty, Summer, Tiny Rick). Another listing is for two figures (Rick, Morty). Then there are listings for individual figures (one for Rick and one for Tiny Rick). All of these are brand new items in original packaging. Here are a couple pics of these figures on my machine for reference.

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Ahhhh! Yeah forget that replay reward. So that's 2, I have the limit for extra balls set at 10 in the menu...

Indeed... it's been filmed. Might need to be refilmed due to a recording issue. I hope not, I got pretty deep into Love Potion.

So I took the flipper bushing thing into my own hands and printed 3 versions of a shorter bush that I will try out this weekend.

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