looking forward to getting homes so I can watch the videos!

Seems like a great price, I only wish I had the cash currently...
Any chance you want to put one on location in Madison ?

Looking really good Ben! (and crew of helpers)

Some fun thoughts on coding:
How about adding some easter eggs?

How about having a mode where you can hit switches to control the elevator? Something like hit the switch to bring it up, then load a ball and then hit a switch to move it down. The idea being that you are going down a few floors to the basement. Basically I think more ability for a player to control a game is always cool.

Would also love a mode where I can control the magnet at the ghost. I think you have some optos in the center ring that register the ball position? If so, then you could lock a ball behind the targets and then control the magnet to beat up the ghost?

A midnight madness mode that starts are 7:12 (i.e. 666) would be pretty cool also and different but a fun treat for a time when people will be more likely to be playing.

Also, what are the plans for the wizard mode? "demon battle" I think you called it?

pew pew pew pew pew super jets!!!!

Love it Ben! You could sell a bunch of those I bet.

correction, anyone SERIOUS about pin projects should be at MGC and Expo since they are premier spots for botique pins to be announced and played.

Hey, we get snow and cold for Fing ever and you get sun and warmth for days.

The midwest is the radiation of pinball and will always be. Don't try to take it away from us. Embrace it and come visit the mecca.

looks like pic #1 makes it official who printed the predator pfs???

I put on ~15 games over the past few days. AMH is the real deal.

Pros:
The theme integration is very fun, the shots are polished, the code is very deep, the game provides good challenge (and likely last-ability in a home environment), it has great humor, dots are nicely done and feel like they belong with the rest of the game. The call outs were also more polished, sounded better, and had better priority coding in place to not have the 'overlap' of previous iterations. The game is very fun and I want more time on it as I did not get deep enough to really get a full feel yet. The lighting effects, moving ghost, hellevator, and board design all seem very well thought out.

My constructive thoughts:
The game was set up a little floaty/springy/bouncy for my taste (and others I spoke with). The sling power should be turned up and set to a hair trigger. The pops also need a hair trigger to be more responsive > they are a very important feature to the game as they are used for a skill shot and to build towards some of the different modes from what I could tell. The left (edit: right) 'obrit' lane tend to return SDTM and needs a small adjustment. These are all easy to change tweaks that will greatly improve the play/feel of the final game.

I think the right side scoop kickback possibly needs a redesign or an additional post? It is a tough shot to hit and is a solid hunk of rectangle opening in metal to shoot for with exposed edges. (Hard to explain this without a good picture, but the design has some flaws that should be tweaked by looking at numerous other tried and true previous scoop hole and kick outs). This design also is very unpredictable and not much fun when kicking back. I did not see under the hood at what the design is, but the predictablity of the kick out may be a small tweak to setup. The entrance still needs the redesign IMHO in order o have some give on the scoop hood which helps to guide slightly imperfect shots into the hole.

Con > I hate the crappy led displays and blocks of led display look. Just a personal taste, but they look like junk and all I see are grid line when looking at these displays.

All in all AMH is really, really good. If I had the money I would be in for one ASAP. Alas, my funds are limited and hopefully a buddy is getting one.

LOL, that damn old Kelly keeps forgetting he is the one telling me how to restore games. Starting to worry he has been huffing too many paint fumes

Charlie > I would love to come down to Benton. Need a week to recover from MGC but Ben mentioned he would be heading down for a Saturday sometime soon? Just let me know a weekend day that works and I will be there.

I'm in!

I thought I called dibs at MGC while we were playing

You will not be disappointed. I am sure of it.

The sound package is VASTLY improved. If it is not to your liking it is the EASIEST thing to change. Pretty sure even a dummy like me could figure out how to do it and it is a perk of this game. If I was getting one, the first thing I would be tweaking is putting my own voice in for some call outs and making heckles for local friends when a ball drains.

Imagine how cool it will be to put in a call out for the right outlane switch that says " PLAY BETTER FLANKER" or "YOU SUCK MIKE" or "DAMMIT DAVE" Would be sweet to make the game more of your own.

I like video modes when done well and/or they have the option of skipping them.

I vote for thinking outside of the box for a video mode and incorporate all player controlled button by using the start button also.

You could incorporate a cool video mode that actually uses the plunger. Your skill shot variability is really cool so maybe have it be some sort of ghost hunting and shooting mode. You use the plunger to select your travel through the adventure. Understairs, ORBS, Pops or Left orbit will register by first switch hit to decide your path through an abandon house. All other action on the pf is killed for video mode.

Left button moves you to left, Right to right and start shoots your gun.

You see an image of a ghost running to one of the random plunger shots. You then need to hit that shot to chase it down. Hit the correct plunger shot and you folow the ghost.

Then you use the buttons to do...

you get the idea

I will say it again. AMH is the real deal!

It is a great theme and well executed. I can not imagine anyone that loves pinball not liking this game in the home environment!

looks pretty cool but too long at the start. 18 seconds to make it to the first difficult spot by my count. That should be shorter or speed the scroll up a little at the start.

This is super cool Ben!

captivate or camtasia should work well for what you want

really surprised that nobody mentioned the redesigned scoop area now....

Ben, do you like how it plays with the newly added post in front left side of scoop?
Did you try both the ring post and the sleeve post and curious what made you decide on the ring post?

looks like a nice improvement. can I get a credit in the liner notes for that one

Did they hire the local highschool football team to assemble the games over summer break

can I come? I'll be in town for PAPA!

JMHO, but let your work speak for itself. Great game and you guys have done amazing things so no need to give the back hand to others.

Making a dig at the timelines of other botique pin makers >> at least that is how it reads. No need to even make reference to others IMHO.

What Ben and Spooky have done is flat out amazing and there is no need for them to even make the comparisons as their game and ability to produce speak for themselves.

I am under the impression that almost all licensees are somewhat affordable for pinball?

I think I have heard $50 to $100 per game for many, especially if doing a limited run. I think the bigger issue is getting a company to give you artistic open range to make it cool.

Some licensed themes that would be great and sell well IMHO:

Goonies, Army of Darness, Spinal Tap, Fraggle ROCK, monty pyton, any hip-hop band from the 80s, Platoon, Beverly Hills Cop, Rodger Rabbit, A-team, Quantum Leap, Married w Children, Thundercats, Smurfs, Beetlejuice, Inspector Gadget, Captain Caveman, Heman, Cool Runnings, ANY 80s NES offshoot.

Basically, look at your market and the answer is dorks from the 1980s which have now become adult dorks with money. Now focus squarely on what we love... Cheese from the 80s!

You have shown that you can make a game that flips really well and is fun to play. That is the most important thing. Next step is to pick a theme that you are passionate about and go NERD out. You need to reabsorb all of it so you are able to incorporate all those nuances that will make the game really polished and make it a complete package.

Best idea is to pick something you really like already BUT it also needs to appeal to a slightly larger audience. Ben Heck super nerd needs to adapt to regular guy nerd level if you know what I mean.

Bonus if you can pick a theme which will allow you access to all the art and even better if the artist is now older and looking to be part of a fun project/ still has some passion about the theme.

Make it flip well and a good ruleset with the right risk/reward and it will work.

Unless there are plans to somehow ramp up production or farm out the work, I really do not see a need to make your focus any bigger that 250 machines per title.

IF you need to make more in order to get the profit margin you need then you are going to have to adapt your strategy and find out a way to make them quicker. (LIKE everyone but Stern who seems to have the speed thing figured out.)

***all just MHO***

Your best idea would be to just announce a limited run # from the beginning. Like it or not, people enjoy owning something special. By the sounds of it you guys are not selling as many AMH as you like.

If comparisons need to be made (OK for me, but still less than desirable for any desiner/manufacturer in a niche market IMHO)...

To Me (In general as I REALLY like both AMH and Predator):
AMH is the better shooting game, has a great ruleset, has BEN freaking HECK as a designer, has a fun non-liscensed theme, has OK art and cool toys with way better lighting combined with the backing of spooky.

Predator is the better overall ruleset with a more unique feel, captured the full immersion really well, has a relatively unknown designer and art guy, has great art, and the adult theme.

The main differences are theme (licensed vs non), cost (4750 vs 6k), the edition (250 vs as many as we can make in batches of 100).

Skit-B was able to sell out 250 and have a waiting list of another 150. Was it due to the theme? the cost difference? the limited edition vs open edition?

I can not speak for others but for me it was NOT the theme. I actually prefer AMH. Predator is cool but beyond the gore and adult nature it does nothing special for me as I am not really a movie guy.

Cost was definitely a factor but pretty minimal.

The biggest difference is that I had a 1 in 250 shot of getting predator and I can hypothetically get AMH at any point in the future.

Those are the main differences between AMH and Predator.

1 seems to be sold out and the other would like to generate more sales (for either this game or the next) presumably. Take it for what it is, but when I examine the market and pulse of the buyer, that is what I see.

would be better as a John T game since that is his dream theme.

The only one I even know from that list if Army of Darkness

this is the ONLY real answer to the nest great pinball!

I would guess you could get enough pretty easily, but a flipping whitewood would be needed in the current kickstarter mania/ presale chaos of pinball to bring in the moola.

Better off just making 100 LEs and having a 1k down payment committal from 100 people to fund the 100k.

I am in! You guarantee a limited run of 250 and something special for the first 100 made that put in a 1k down payment and I will send you 1k to reserve my build spot at #1.

Granted, I want to see that you have done the leg work and are able to secure the license and custom Bruce Campbell speech and Nick Bradshaw... I also want a committed timeline for art work, pf layout, toys, etc...

last I checked the liscence for futurama pinball was previously acquired...

That was a while back so maybe a company paid just to have it on hold? does that even happen?

I agree that Futurama is a no brainer and I woudl assume the liscense is relatively cheap. it also would come with art, tunes, and call outs. Perfect theme since Ben has already shown he can make a fun game and has great interactive toy ideas.

You never know until you ask. You may be surprised and You now have produced your 1st game, a second is coming, and you are Benjamin motherfin Heckendorn!

Spend a little time and reach out to see what comes back.

How many have currently shipped?

From pictures and account it seems liek 4-5 have shipped and another 4-5 very soon?

great stuff Chuck and Ben! Really cool seeing photos of these being built and going out the door!

agreed!

Ken, please share as much as you can! It will only help AMH. I have seen and played it enough to know it is the real deal, but many people have not had an opportunity to really get the details of the game.

I am a big believer that as soon as more people get to touch this game then they will want one.

I'll take #2 Eric!

nice review Ken!

now when can we come play ?

You should enjoy a frosty WI brewed beer to go along with it!

I have provided my feedback before, but will do it again.

AMH is a great game, great layout and design, fantastic ruleset with both things for the beginner and advance, and the real deal.

Ben and Charlie are dedicated to making quality pins and it shows.

I wish I had gotten on the list earlier and had one coming.

I like the rules already but would LOVE to help out.

I have a great new idea that has never been done in pinball (to my knowledge/experience) and should be relatively easy to implement. It is a new style of hurry up (kind of) and can lend some really cool risk/reward to a new mode. I do not want to share more in public but am happy to talk with you about it.

Shoot me a message for when and I can come on down to assist.

quick question form PAPA video>>> is the right kickout supposed to be so hard it bounces off right flipper enough to trigger full power pulse?

It appears that the EOS was not gapped properly so the ball would hit down the upright flipper just slightly and it would re-energize to cause a big 'bounce' off the flipper. I am not sure if this is intentional, just a simple EOS gap adjustment, or maybe a bug in code?

Actually I am not sure of the mechanics, code, or logic of the internal workings of AMH to be honest, but the symptoms are not what I am used to and just diagnosing from my B/W experience.

Thanks for the write up B!

Sweet!

Do you still want me to come down this weekend and tell you what sucks so you can fix it
I can also share my super cool super secret new mode that I think you could probably program in somehow.

really great that you are rejuvenated in AMH coding Ben!

Glad to see the initial games have made it into the hands of a variety of players that are all giving some great feedback and you are adjusting/making changes very quickly.

great stuff Ben and thanks for letting me come over and provide some suggestions! Glad others are liking them.

I played at expo and they are all great!!!

just so others know, this guy is attempting to build his own AMH.

Ben and Spooky removed the original files from online for good reason. This guy does not have a real game and his "experiment on my game" line shows his character as he is trying to bluff you to give him what he needs.

If you respect both Ben and Spooky then it would be cool of you not to help him. He specifically is trying to get the original art files to move forward. Scary part is based on the PMs I have received I get the impression he is attempting to build ones that he can pass off as early run originals in the future for profit.

I told him to reach out directly to Spooky/Ben but he has been turned down by them (I assume for good reason).

bump so other see what is going on here.