Jack said on the google group that a standard version will be made without the powder coat, invisiglass and shaker. A price has not been determined yet.

I was so wrong.
It looks like it will play great but I'll be hopefully playing it on route or someone's home. I'll begin my wait for JJP #4

Since the leaker was 100% accurate, I'll start to believe him.
JJP #4 Toy Story sounds great and I'm hoping that I'm blown away. See you at Expo 2018 Toy Story

This is my first positive post for Dialed In. I like how PL setup Multi-Ball. Where the balls are locked and how they are released looks good. This Pin reminds me of Sunset Overdrive meets Watchdogs.

I remember when pinball cost a nickel and Mary Lou Butterbangher came running into town to tell us all that 'ole Charlie Wilson 3 towns down was charging a shiny dime to play his new flipper skill game.

The moral of this story:
Charge $2 a play
Buy two so you cAnz maKes MoAr moNieS

Duly noted.

Well, I'm feeling a bit more optimistic about the game after seeing some positive comments come out from people who played it. I'm glad to hear it's better than what the initial impression was.

Just goes to show that JJP (and stern) are purely pricing these things on what they think people will pay.... not based on BOM, labor, and a set margin.

Thanks for going scorched earth on the community, Jack!

Everyone seems to love the gameplay.

Too bad about the name. Change the name, tweak the art, and the game will be the monster hit it's supposed to be.

Only thing that I see as really too bad are it appears the arm chair QBs are out in full force. The resounding vibe at the show is that DI is fantastic. I sure hope JJP is ignoring the likes of you. They have bottled lightning and it does not need any of the changes you suggest.

I always find it a bit odd and sad when people not at a concert are sitting at home critique the show they are not even at. This seems to be the same way. Without a doubt, this game is VERY well recieved at the show. There is zero doubt in my mind this is JJPs best game to date. Pat Lawlors best game to date, will sell Very well, and would do amazing on route also.

I am not sure what to say but this is really a case of some people should probably just stop typing till they play it and experience it for themselves. After three years of development if you consider yourself a pinhead, then you own it to yourself to just calm down and find a way to lay hands out it yourself.

Bye. Going back down to find a way tomsneak in to the vendor hall early so i can play some more DI. Seriously, could not sleep and woke up excited like a kid on xmas morn to go play with the new toy. I have not felt like this and pinball since playing TAF and TZ for the first time 20 years ago!

Right behind you again, Hilton!

Since others have mentioned.

Wait and see about a Standard, with a lower
MSRP, and then our usual wheeling and dealing. We may be surprised to see the final cost of a Standard, being something to be happy about
Tossing away price for a moment, getting ready to line up and play all day!

What great fun this pin is!

Have FUN guys!

Good game, blast to play and excited to uncover all the modes and little things within it! Theme as many have said is EH but then I think about other games I love where the theme is horrible(Congo, Shadow and so many more) and remember that any game can still be great with average theme. I hope it does well as they took the chance on unlicensed theme and hope that many more will follow with the same efforts.

So true. If the game was $5million dollars each would people be allowed to complain that the price was too high? If so then there is reason to complain and we are just squabbling about price. The price is way too high for what you get. Period. And it pisses me off.

Yes, RBION, Congo, TS all have bad themes. But they are punished for it. They don't sell for what LotR (RBION), TS/Congo (TAF/CFTBL) games of similar quality but better themes.

I am not saying DI is a bad pin but that to be a $9K pin it needs to have a great theme (or at least not a theme about a cellphone).

Plays better then ghostbusters for sure

I suppose CFTBL could have been called 'Drive In Movie' I wonder how big a deal it is, but for sure CFTBL is a much better name for that pin.

I don't care so much about the name it's more about the focus on the phone, it's the center of the PF, the main toy, the side cab art. Plus ringing all the time and having to charge the phone. It's really a pin that is cell phone centric.

I was at the reveal. It seemed poorly prepared and executed and the audience's reaction that night and on this thread reflects that. In front of tough crowd of pre-determined fanboys or haters you need a well polished presentation.

I've since played the game and I'm neutral overall and definitely not interested in buying.

It has a lot of nice features (like the aforementioned magnets) but mobile phone theme is awful. I'm playing a game and don't want to be bothered with my phone (in game) ringing and listing an unknown number (an actual feature).

Here, DI has a theme that is partially hated ("what's popular with the kids today? Selfies, mobiles, drones, blue-tooth self lacing shoes!") and plays well - but the theme is a draw back.

Themes matter. SMVE was controversial (and punished here on the board for its looks) for cosmetic changes to a machine with the exact same gameplay. [I'm an owner of SMVE]

The pricing ($9k) is hard to swallow for a NIB machine, especially when competing with a $5k "pro" model NIB. Even $5k is embarrassing when a non-pinhead asks how much they cost.

I don't get $4k more in satisfaction from an LCD screen (vs. dots) since I'm watching the playfield during play. I don't need my StarTAC to interact with the game-- I'm playing the game to escape from the real world annoyances. I don't need a selfie because I'm ugly and don't want to look at myself. The DI glass helps reduce the glare but dimming the lights to see a "pro" better can buy me a whole bunch of extra electricity for $4k. The game appears to be fairly deep but not $4k more deep. At +$4k I'm more than halfway to having another "inferior", fun game.

DI is a case where giving a designer free reign didn't work out as expected. Jonathan Ive had/has and overlord and produced great products. "The Homer" or "The Car Built for Homer" was an extreme example of a failed, free-reign, design.

In the future collaboration on a unlicensed theme might be a better route.

I applaud the effort of the unlicensed theme. I hope more follow. Competition is good, it forces innovation.

I learned something new today: where the 'ignore user' function is found.

I'm really looking forward to playing this game. But first I still have a lot of pages of all sorts of expo-news to read and video's and pictures to see. Fortunately it's weekend right now

The most honest post in the thread.

Where I don't see any post about that on rgp

I was able to play this and I made it through everything currently in the code. A JJP guy standing there confirmed that for me. After that the only thing I could do was start multiballs. Sorry to everyone that was waiting in line behind me.

Currently the game has:

5-6 disaster modes. There will eventually be 11 total. You start these modes by powering the cell phone, either by hitting the robot on a stick toy or hitting the cell phone scoop (this takes a lot longer.)

1 multiball. After you have played 1 disaster mode you have to shoot each ramp once and then the side ramp is lit for a ball lock. After you lock one ball you can either start a 2 ball multiball at the cell phone scoop, or keep locking additional balls at the side ramp for a bigger multiball. During multiball two different shots (the theater or the target in the pop bumper area) start attacking you. If they make it to you your flippers go weak for a while. Not long enough to really mess you up, at least in this code. If you use your real cell phone to connect to the game you can change the weather which makes your multiball easier.

The three bob targets on the left light crazy bob modes which is where the selfie frenzy thing starts. This also lights the kickback.

The drone area has some crazy magnet action but the drones themselves don't appear to do much.

There is only 1 skill shot right now, but there are inserts for a bunch.

The game will have two wizard modes. The easier one is lit by just starting all 11 disaster modes. The harder one requires you to complete modes. Each time you complete a mode you light the sim chip insert which is the scoop shot only available from either the upper flipper or a lucky drone magnet hit. Each time you collect a sim chip you light 1 letter in "Dialed In". Collect all 8 for the uber wizard mode. You basically can mess up on 3 modes and still hit the uber wizard mode.

The shots are fun and flow well into each other nicely, especially criss-crossing the ramps and then nailing the side ramp.

The art isn't good. The center of the playfield just do anything for me. If it were me I'd put the focus more on the city and the disasters happening around it than the weird generic guy with the phone.

The real life phone connection is gimmicky and will get old fast.

The look of the sculpted toys doesn't hold up to Stern's custom toys as of late.

1) Change the name to actually reflect the theme "Disaster City" (Quantum City also tells you nothing)
2) Improve the voices
3) Win sauce.

It's a great game!

Sorry for not being clear. The WOZ owners google group.

What is a disaster mode? Something like giant spiders attack? Or invasion from space? Or earthquake? And what is the objective... As in are you trying to wreck havok, or save the city?

It could be the most amazing game ever, but at the end of the day it is a pinball machine. To stand there and say this one is 9k or 12.5k is the issue I have. Same goes for Stern and its little Batman retheme.

These companies want collectors to feel like they are friends of pinball, while they are pricing to suck all the money they can. They certainly aren't helping matters for people who are looking to operate a pin.

Then to hear that a price point in a cheaper version is being floated around?

I'm having a really hard time looking past the money grab and the massive increase in prices in just a year and a half.

Disaster modes are the things you see on the cell phone where you call a character and he/she tells you what to shoot for.

One is a roving shot where aliens are attacking - a Doc Brown looking scientist is on the phone.
One is a stand up target shot where meteors are striking - a drill sergeant looking guy is on the phone.
One is a mode where you have to hit the pops - i think this one might be a 70s looking dark skinned woman.

Your objective is to attack every part of the city, which I guess is being run by the evil corporation?

The voices on the cell phone modes were cheesy. They also didn't always sync with the facial animations very well.

I think that the prices alone are responsible for all the negative comments. People cant afford it and get all bent out of shape. Now if this had been a 6k game I don't think you would have heard as many complaints about it.

I just played the game using a cell phone. Flipper buttons, ball launch and a "big bang" button. Flippers were super smooth, no lag at all. I was live catching and post passing without touching the machine.

Of course I wouldn't really want to play the whole game like that (hard to nudge!) But if there's a mode or something, would be really fun.

IMAG1721 (resized).jpg

It would be awesome if you are playing with a couple friends who are linked to the game, and if they hit a shot that they are supposed to avoid, it allows a "security breach" or "firewall disabled" mode for X amount of seconds, and your friends can "hack" the game for a specific amount of time and mess with you. That would be awesome, allowing other players to look for cues on the big LCD and get the opportunity to play and effect the game while standing and watching their friends play.

Maybe even something like "Player 2 hack opportunity" and there is a mini game on their phone that pops up, and they need to quickly complete it to breach security and then allow a random player to screw with the machine.

Question for anyone who has played this game:

Are there any Easter eggs that pay homage to older Lawlor games? Especially with Youssi artwork, there's gotta be something in there.

I know software is probably in beta, but I feel like they had to have squeezed something in.

Weird, I loved the old Addams Family show, loved the movies and absolutely loved the theme when the pin came out. And still love the theme better than almost any other pin.

I think the innovations like it taking your picture and some of the play being via cellphone are a bit too much for a lot of pinheads to handle at first glance and might be part of the negative reaction. Like with all pins, I withhold judgement until I play them. I haven't liked the theme on half of the new Sterns, but some of them are great players. And I actually don't see anything wrong in this theme, it looks like it is funny and a more immersive game than most new pins.

Many of us just have zero interest in playing "real" pinball with our phones.

Right on, this is a great idea. This is exactly what the game designers need to make the bluetooth option more attractive. This could make the game more competitive / fun, especially on location.

Oh me too, it's a neat gimmick, but there is no way I want to stop mid game, pick up my phone, and play with that instead of real flipper buttons. I'm guessing you aren't forced to though, that it's more of a gimmick to draw in new players... if that's the case, I think it will work and appeal to a younger audience of new and more casual players. I employ a bunch of college kids, they spend an insane amount of time glued to their phones, I can see this gimmick as an attempt to lure some of them into playing pinball.

Personally I like innovation in pinball, even if it doesn't always hit the mark or isn't something I care about, because I know it appeals to others. When Dutch Pinball put in the WiFi connection in the Bride 2.0 kit I have I was like "Why haven't all manufacturers been doing this?" Golden Tees and Big Buck Hunters out in bars you log into and pull up all your scores and trophies and you can compete on things via their internet connection, having pinball do something similar and tracking your scores like Bride 2.0 does is totally cool and opens the door for more innovation and game play aspects.

Yep, I was never into Addams myself but it was a huge hit in 1991 and a very popular series before that. I don't know anyone (apart from myself) who doesn't love the theme and especially the iconic music.

That sounds fun as hell. Fwiw, they did say in a 4 player game, each player would sync their own phone on ball one and the game would swap connections as the ball starts.

My 2cents: I only watched the video of a game being played . So I haven't played it yet.

Game is pretty, nice light show , color changing LED always makes it cooler/ prettier to play., bright colors, nice open pf that I love . I love Lawlor games , would love to have this one from what I see so far . Lot of my collection is Lawlor .
I have read most of this thread, lots of haters here, don't understand the hate, we need to support the smaller pinball manufacturers to keep Stern in check with pricing.
About the Complaints:
The bell on my Taxi is sometimes annoying, but it's part of the game, I leave it turned on , so what? The soundtrack on my RS is annoying, don't really love the theme, but game plays great, had it for 15 years. I look at the positives vs the negatives, and love it for what it's good at.
Cost: I never regret paying more for something of better quality, but have regretted settling for something less expensive because I didn't buy what I really wanted due to price difference. It's an expensive hobby ,yes, but less than airplanes and boats , and you can play pinball on a rainy stormy day... The other two hobbies not so much
JP

Are we looking at the same machine? Not talking gameplay (though I do like GB), I think GB is one of the best looking pins out there. DI ... not so much. But hey, that's me.

Ok What's true is if 10,000 units were sold, this could be sold at $6995.
This is valid, and an opinion shared by decent conversation.
What my hope is, for the home user, is to remove the selfie camera, blue tooth, shaker, invisiglass, plastics, or to make those all a la carte, and get a Standard game out as low as possible, to watch this game take off.
In its form here, the extras work when group play.
But it has an insane amount of potential.
Say you add on later blue tooth.
Whysnow and I both have the game. We could theoretically play each other, couldn't We?

We are just scratching the surface of this vision.

Yes, for many the theme, flow, play won't work.
No problem.
Loved the respectful negative post.

Class 1 Bluetooth has a range of 100 metres. So, I guess if you lived within 100 metres of each other.

Does the game have WiFi enabled?

The "button" is on the back glass.

My apologies, WiFi needed....sorry..typing and eating a maple mustard pretzel pork chop and coopers hawk....good excuse

I look forward to exploring the possibilities this interface allows. Has anyone run Blue Auditor or btCrawler to see what it has to offer?

I am starting to get the impression that many of the guys here complaining about price are the same ones who buy NIB LE models and then post them on Ebay for a profit after LE are sold out.

9k is too much, but I will post my Metallica LE on ebay for 14k

Relax, if they don't sell they will cut corners and prices.

Pretty sure the Batman SLE all sold sight unseen and Stern makes you hang on to them. If there is big money to be made, it is only fair that the manufacturers make it. If you can't swallow that just stick to the classics.