I wonder if they lowered resolution on purpose to save ram or something because they must have a clean source of clips from a DVD or Bluray.

But then again maybe they went all goriila sytle and set up a tripod filming a vhs off of an old tv.

As a horror/pinball fan I was really interested in Halloween. My previous experience owning RZ killed my enthusiasm for future Spooky titles. I never bought a NIB or even used game that had so many issues and it just burned me out for a while.

That being said I was extremely interested in Halloween but didn't pull the trigger. The art is phenomenal like all pins from Spooky. From manadams gameplay vid it looks like the code is night day beyond what it shipped with and can really appreciate how the modes walk you through the movie. That's a really nice touch. The gameplay and playfield layout takes advantage of the entire playfield. Charlie hates fan layouts and you can definitely see it in his designs. Its not a perfect game but if your a fan, have room, and cash then go for it. I agree that its a diamond in the rough and with a little more polishing could be a cult favorite down the road as someone mentioned already .

Oh, the diffusers are there. But from 3'-6' away, it's true that the light is very bright. I rarely play standing 3'-6' away, so I'm good.

There is shadow plastic that covers all the exposed LEDs and diffuses them. They are meant to work for folks near the machine or playing the game, as when you actually are standing at the machine and playing, the shadow plastics hide the LED strips from view and lessen the brightness. If you are standing far away or at other angles, then yes you can see the LED's, but this is no different from exposed LEDs on essentially any pin. I can see the explosed LEDs on my Godzilla when at a distance or at an angle, but not when im in front of it.

The difference is of course is Halloween has a TON of LED's, it's got a lot of lighting going on and play.

Folks saw pics and vids showing angles that highlight those LED strips, but when you are in front of the machine playing it, those strips are well hidden cause of the shadow plastics that hang over them.

I also stopped buying Spooky games after my experiences with RZ. The gameplay left me cold almost immediately and it just wasn't worth dealing with the tech issues to keep it going. The Halloween theme pulled me back in and I'm glad I stuck with it. Despite some rough edges, Halloween definitely does not suck. I was skeptical before, but now I think it could even end up becoming a sleeper hit.

It is a great mystery why the video clips are so low grade. The hardware is more than capable of displaying high definition.

The quality of the vids is consistently the same, so it's likely not a ram or hardware issue, as some clips are also in perfectly good shape and don't have issue. It's the same exact pixilation/compression artifacts each time which means it's something wrong with the actual video clips themselves. If there was issue with hardware the clips would be playing differently and you would see performance variations on the video, but it's clearly a problem with certain clips. For example many of the pumpkin mode clips load and play perfectly fine quality. But the hedge clips always got the same issue in same spots.

OR if people were not so quick to jump on the FOMO train .... blame is on buyers not Spooky
People need to take responsibility for their actions - nobody was forced to buy and put a deposit down

There was an option ..... not buying it is still an option even if you want it.
There are plenty of things that I really want, but choose not to buy for various reasons ... you still have free will

I really needed one. The f/x they can generate with leds on the pf can be stunning. I've only played a few game on it on location, but I suspect it is outstanding in a home environment. Halloween is a great theme.

RZ was god awful

There's one where I play league and some tournaments. I rather lose than play it

If it wasn't for Thunderbirds, it's possibly the worst mass produced game in the last several years.

Anyway...Halloween/Ultraman are ok at best to me. More power to those who really like it. I really wanted an Ultraman till I played a Halloween... I just had a lot of issues with the layout and code. I like playfields that do weird things, but nothing on Halloween interests me that much. Reaffirms my general notion that upper playfields look cool till you played them a couple times. It's hard to make a really good one, let alone 2 (3?)

I'd give it a C-, mostly curving it up for at least trying to do something different.

Nice!!! Picking one up Saturday

Definitely fun to shoot. When people were trying to unload them at 4k or 4.5K I wish I would snapped one up. Definitely very basic but still a fun game. I think the biggest knock would be the display graphics. I wouldn’t pay 9k for one but 4k all day long.

The display graphics were rough, but they were trying. I had one and loved it. I had to make the pf a bit brighter with some DIY mods, but the ruleset is great. Right orbit was tough, but satisfying. Quality call-outs, excellent sound. I don't know why people hated on it so much. I eventually sold it, and have been hesitant to get a Spooky pin since. People can be so negative and hateful towards pinball. I was finally able to play a number of games on ACNC. WOW! Tight shots I don't mind, and that game is fun. Halloween and Ultraman are getting a lot of negativity, and I don't know why. Sometimes I think the vocal part of the pinball community are just a bunch of Karens. I suspect many have forgotten or weren't around in the 2000s during the Dark Days of pinball.

Sleeper hit for sure. I own a LOT of pins and this is my favourite!

I think there is some fair complaints that a raw led strip "looks cheap" also there is the fact that they can break when the ball hits just right.

Haha nothing truer has been said!

Karens. And Sheeple. God forbid you don’t go with “the herd” ….

In saying that - I like RZ!

Never had any problems with my one. Tough game for most players due to stupidly tight orbits, particularly the left orbit - most can’t even shoot it, and if you can’t shoot it, you can’t start any of the modes. So I can see why some people think it’s crap, if they can’t even start a mode.

Re the display - put in context, it’s fine. Remember, Stern were still rocking red DMDs at the time. And it’s got boobs.

rd

Gladly take RBION, monopoly, LOTR, Nascar, sopranos, T3,& even TSPP over RZ
to each their own.

Funny - I’ve had all of those titles (every one) and the only one left is RZ.

rd

I'd only keep RBION myself

Hmmmm … maybe I miss LOTR a little.

But 45 minute games then not being able to shoot the ring (yes - upgraded flippers) made me dislike that game.

rd

Way too long no doubt.

Im guessing they have to recreate some actual movie scenes with graphics instead, per the licensor? Hopefully those graphics are just placeholders and are replaced with actual movie footage. Unlikely though at this point.

Just picked up CE920 and am blown away!!!!

Make a great game, greater!

I'm guessing it has something to do with the looping required in those scenes while the mode is playing. The film footage would be next to impossible to loop like that without it being distracting. But I agree, the animated art is pretty jarring. Especially since the playfield and cab art is SO nice.

Yea i thought about the looping, after I hit send lol.

They are definitely the weak spot in an otherwise stellar game.