Just got the pre-registration packet in the mail a few days ago. You should be able to register on their website as well. You can register the day of the show too, but I think you get the t-shirts at half price for pre-registering (I could be wrong).

http://www.caextreme.org/

I will be there the weekend (July 17th and 18th), if pinsiders' decide on going. I'm still trying to figure out what time slot I will be working the load-in dock on Friday. I'll have to get one of those "Hi My Name Is..." for pinsiders to find me. I'll be the pinhead getting a chain of free games off of Monster Bash.

Overall, its a great yearly show (pinball & classic-arcade video games on free play). Lots of very tough to find machines ("Medeival Madness", "Cirqus Voltaire", Capcom's "Kingpin" & "Big Bang Bar"). Fun-loving pinheads from all over the west coast to boot. You can't go wrong for the price.

CAX is taking place inside the Hyatt again. It's important to note that just outside the show doors is the hotel lobby, which has a fully working bar. Get tipsy and then hobble back to the showroom to play some pinball. Fun times. It's like playing at my house.

Your going to have a blast Letter_K.

The highlights last year was the double/triple Star Trek TNG, Black Knight, Shadow, and Medieval Madness machines that were fully working.

A local pinhead also is a hardcore collector and is known to bring a Big Bang Bar & Kingpin yearly. I'm dying to try Kingpin again, IF the machine is available for play (gets lots of play by show pinheads).

There is a super market about a freeway exit away if memory serves correct. Stock up on beers there. Parking for the event is free...or at least, it was last year.

If I were you guys, I would order a T-shirt before the event (they can be ordered during the pre-registration process). Last year they were sold out right off the bat, and I really wanted one (Rudy was on the front).

When I find out when I'm available to assist the showroom floor setup machines on that Friday (before the show weekend), I'll let pinsiders know. They are opening up the loading dock in the morning, and are allowing owners to bring in their games all day till about 1130PM or so.

I'll see where I can find a nametag so people can find me at the show.

Hoping to God the blessed individual from 2 years ago, brings in their Monster Bash machine (it wasn't there last year). I have an itch to fire up the Monsters of Rock again. Hoping to also find a Johnny Mnemonic. Currently on my wish list, to be my last addition to my pinball collection.

I will be loading games on Friday. Doing so should get me free admission to the weekend show. I'll be boozing it up during the weekend.

Forgot to mention. Spent last afternoon at a friend's place, updating his Stern "Batman Dark Knight" to the latest 2.94 software revision. Good God, it rocks!!!

Hoping people at CAX bring their BDK machines with the latest revision.

I'll try to get some pics during setup on Friday (possibly tomorrow), autumnfade. I'll try to post what games I see during the load-in tomorrow night, and toward the end of the evening on Friday.

Hoping to Gorgar (pinball god), that we see a Monster Bash this weekend. MB was sorely missed last year.

If Letter K and Jonnyo are out there I am desperately hoping someone brings Batman Forever, so we can do some doubles! Player 1/3 & Player 2/4 have their scores totalled together. I suppose Players 1/2 play as Batman, and Players 3/4 play as Robin.

I'm actually more curious to find out which pins will be for sale at the show. Currently, from people posting on RGP, it looks like:

Jurassic Park [HUO]
South Park [Really nice]
High Speed [Really nice]
Firepower [Just shopped]
Orbit (Gottlieb)
Black Rose

Also of interest is classic coin-op video games. Currently being tracked for sale at CAX:

Discs of Tron (x2)
Tron
Mappy

I'll let you know what they got Letter K. Sounds like its going to be a long night.

Looooong day. Sigh.
Really tired, but I wanted to post this for my local pinhead buds.
I'll try to collect photos tomorrow night. Too tired right now.

Steve Ritchie is going to be at the show. Was a last minute addition to the speakers. Hes doing a speal about his adventures in the pinball industry. Its probably the same one he gave at Pacific Pinball Expo last year. Some extremely funny stories. Steve is a very friendly and funny guy. Don't miss your chance to meet a legend.

Only had one machine DOA so far, which was Lethal Weapon 3.

Tourney machines:
TSPP, FGY, & Taxi.

On the floor (not all of them, just for Thursday's load):
MM, TOTAN, Scared Stiff, TSPP, Monopoly, LOTR, IJ-93(Williams), Centaur, Firepower, AFM, WCS, CC, Hook, AP, TZ, CP, Space Shuttle, Diner, BK, BK2K, BOP, HSII, WW, WH2O, Surf N Safari, RG, Spectrum, Spy Hunter, KISS, Future Spa, Fathom, EBD, Taxi, Vector, Galaxy, Silverball Mania, Black Hole, Dr Dude, Mata Hari, Time Machine, F14. Tons of EM's.

Haven't seen Hyperball yet, but they did have Rapid Fire & an Ultrapin

There was a Roadshow, but I think its a raffle prize.

I'll be updating tomorrow after another night of helping setup. I'll probably need a beer too. Sigh.

Here is a pic of one of the Whirlwind pins, where its fan topper has been modded via leafblower. Yes, you heard right. This pin makes its glorious return. I did not see the TAF machine hooked up to a bicycle (from the Prop Cycle video game) for power source yet.

modded_WW.jpg

Hoping to collect pics tomorrow from the event. Was busy running around today playing pinball.

Especially want pics of the Funhouse someone wanted to sell for $1450. I haven't had a good laugh all week, working my butt off setting up the vent, and I got one after playing that particular Funhouse.

The FH machine was simply in awful shape. Its a project pin in its most extreme state. Poor Rudy's face is falling off the animatronic skull. Looks scary as hell. He looks kinda like Uncle Frank from the Hellraiser movie, with his face not on straight (his skin hanging off). He always glances to the left and to the right, with no feed from the sensors, to track the ball. Looks like hes being a sneaky guy, making sure no one sees him doing something naughty. Hitting his mouth (open or closed) does nothing usually. The playfield is down to the bare wood. The ball sometimes gets caught up on the grooves where the paint and wood meet. The scoop fails to fire. The trough likes to keep balls in there and not launch the next ball. The funniest thing......the seller only lists the broken alphanumeric display as the problem. Good stuff.

There was a decent Funhouse at the show Letter_K. It was over near the back by IJ, CP, SS, and AP (aka Iron Man 1.0). Rudy's eyes weren't closing on it. Solenoids went bad and weren't changed before the show. The game played well though compared to the other failsauce Funhouse for sale.

I was telling jon [jonnyo], that Kingpin (designed by Mark Ritchie) sort of reminds me of Mark Ritchie's other game, Fish Tales. Probably more like the bastard child of Fish Tales & Diner (Mark designed both games).

Its got like a figure 8 ramp shot pattern, like the boat shot from Fish Tales. Main difference is the mouth of the ramp sometimes comes up and reveals a trap door ala Mark Ritchies' other game, Diner.

It was actually pretty fun. Jon was saying he liked it better than BBB. I would probably agree. Shame that they never got to do repro runs of Kingpin. The DMD animations of the gangsters are pretty funny. Reminds me of Dick Tracy with the goofball characters.

My fav game of the show by far was Cactus Canyon. The game is incredibly fun! The gun showdown sequence is really cool! I have never played it until at the show. Amazing game overall. Very similar to my all time fav Monster Bash, but with more ramps. The stereotypical drunk mexican bandito stuff is hilarious. Probably a funnier game than its WPC-95 brothers MM or AFM.

Ultrapin seemed to work better last year. Either way, to me...pinball and virtual pinball....its not the same thing either way (maybe one day with virtual reality and precise tactile force feedback).

The reason for making Ultrapin...I "get it", but I won't play it. Pinball is meant to be a physical game. Your supposed to be bumping, shaking, and nudging the machine. Ultrapin detects nudging, but it doesn't calculate angled bumps or degree of force. Flipping is only part of the experience, and thats what I think video game designers don't get about trying to emulate pinball. I talked to Steve Ritchie and he might be doing virtual pinball projects. Maybe he knows how to pull off the concept.

Ultrapin.JPG

There was an incredible video version of pinball done years ago in 1990, on the 8-bit Nintendo called "Pinball Quest". In it's "RPG Mode", they were telling a video game narrative, but the character was the pinball. You were manuevering your character around (the pinball) with traditional flippers, and interacting with NPC's. There was a story being told, and almost traditional video game progression; completing goals, purchasing upgrades (for your flippers), and fighting bosses. Video pinball should be going in this direction, as opposed to Ultrapin, mainly because pinball players will always make comparisons and thats the crowd you want to draw in. No one has tried it since then.