When they promise buyers repeatedly they will be consulting with a top player for the rules, yes I want to know immediately if that suddenly is no longer the case.

I get that a lot of y'all are not as much into the nuts and bolts of gameplay and buying more for the theme, but *I* was really looking forward to seeing Bowens influence on this game and feel duped that they've kicked him to the curb with basically no input. I even have a PM from Charlie stating Bowen and Bug are on the game, after I privately raised concerns about RZSI. Those assurances are a major reason I bought in.

Bowen said they're ignoring his suggestions. I am not happy with this but can't really do much except ride along and hope it turns out OK. Not exactly what I had in mind for my $9K.

Awesome, then don't buy one. Problem solved.

This entire conversation is a giant waste of time and thread space. If YOU really care about who's working on the code and it bothers you THAT much to have such a ridiculously elongated conversation then like I said, don't buy one.

Otherwise, love the new code update from what little I've seen of it. Does anyone have a feel for where we're at build number wise?

Thanks,
Jeff

Are you offering to buy my spot? Deposits are non-refundable.

Then you should have thought about that before you purchased one. Not my problem.

Jeff

I understand your concern, but I still don't think that is information that most companies are going to come out and share. I think there are a lot of assumptions being made at this point and I suspect that there will be some clarity added in the near future from Spooky and/or Bowen. I certainly could be wrong, but I doubt he was "kicked to the curb". My guess is still that they had to leave the coding with Fawzma while they kept the line moving during their staffing shortages. My guess is we'll see more influence from Bug (and perhaps even Bowen still) in the future code releases.

He did think about it before he purchased. The information at that time was that Bug and Fowzma would be doing the code, but they would be consulting Bowen. That seems to have changed and that's causing some concern. That's understandable. I'm not overly worried, but I get that others had more faith knowing that Bowen was involved.

Might not be yours, but It will be Spooky’s problem long term if they have a lot of disappointed customers who put faith in them with hard money based on reputation and statements like he would be involved. There are an awful lot of spots listed in the marketplace and not many buyers for them. I am glad you are enjoying your game and aren’t bothered by it, but other people are entitled to their opinion and no company is immune from criticism. 9k is a lot of money.

I did, and got assurances privately from Charlie that Bowen would be consulting on rules

You got some kind of problem?

This guy is TOUGH, I wouldn’t provoke him. He won’t abide by the reasonable concerns of others. No way.

I agree, and I just received word from David that they are working on it and gave me at least the next code update. I was chopping wood last night playing on the original first code...I used the time to polish my poor shooting skills..

I keep buying Spooky for their personal service and response and I am for sure buying TNA 2.0 making that my 3rd Spooky game.

As long as they keep up the top notch customer service I will keep investing in them.

With that being said I will not be some fanboy with blinders on and cast blasphemy on anybody who wants to come to the thread to post suggestions or concerns either.
I will put my fair share of my opinions to...I give high praise and I can also give concerns.

Sounds like a bunch of people with Buyers remorse. Most likely don't have the money to afford the game. They are looking for a excuse to bail and bitch about something.

I can tell someone what I think would be great in the game. Thus consulting, but if they don't want to use my idea. Its their game. I still call BS on anyone buying the game just because you thought Bowen was going to do rules.

The game and shots are good. the sound are great. Let them finish the game and make your judgement. You don't like it. Give up your deposit and never deal with it again. At least you didn't lose out as much money like the Raza, magic girl, predator.

I seriously doubt that anyone's going to be left holding the bag on either of these games at the end of the day.

I mean...people are still buying Barbed Wire and Lethal Weapon 3's for christ's sake.

No one ever claimed that the ONLY reason they bought the game was because of Bowen dude, c’mon. That’s ridiculous.

The artwork and theme will probably make this desirable on some level no matter how it ends up. There are a lot of pins out there with very few plays that function as a form of artwork.

If you expect me to believe that someone working or not working on code is going to impact Spooky's bottom line then I have a bridge to sell you...

That's a loaded question... Well for starters, I read these threads to know what's going on with the games and in this case where Spooky is at with production and what people can share about the current code version. I don't come here to read page(s) of whining about who is or isn't working on code as if that actually matters at this stage of development and production. Here's a nickels worth of free advice, things change and unless you're talking about contractual obligations, you better get over it sooner rather than later because guess what? Things will change again...

Jeff

Why would anyone give up their deposit? If you’re going to “lose money” on a game, might as well take delivery, flip it around for a while, then sell it.

You are wrong. Spooky can't afford to make many mistakes, nor can they promise "this or that" and then not deliver. I am not saying they are, but If this ends up being like RZ and possibly abandoned, that could be a huge issue(Same coder). This pin can make or break Spooky IMO and they have every opportunity to knock it out of the park. That's all we want to see and I don't consider this whining.

Man, you should quit while you are a dozen dislikes ahead of everyone on this thread..

Talk about digging a hole..

Playing it last night on the new code, it seemed like the knives were there to keep count of the shots you needed to complete modes. It was helpful I thought.

There is also a Laurie's Health bar and Michael's Health bar that shows up over the house mode. Although it is a little buggy, because once it shows up, it stays on the display until a new game starts.

I was able to see the new kid Michael Clown Costume clip by hitting the super secret skill shot too.

Caught the Benton shout out on a call out, and also a funny reference to Michael being taught to drive in the asylum.

LOL... I wasn't aware the acceptability of my opinions are something I should care about. I genuinely don't see why anyone cares who's coding what so long as the product is solid. By all indications, the code is maturing nicely and while certainly more work is needed and appears to be in progress, did we really need all of these posts to make a big deal about ONE person's involvement or lack thereof?

Jeff

Okay fine, I'm wrong and Spooky is going to fail because ONE person seemingly isn't involved... Really?

Jeff

Just an open question,

Do people see the difference in quality of the Ultraman animations vs Halloween?

I have not paid attention to the Ultraman stuff.

Not trying to be provocative it's just a question. There are 2 different people working on Ultraman vs Halloween.

Do you buy your music and movies from thrift store bins? Because who cares who the producers and performers are? Barry Manilow and gospel are solid examples of music, you should be happy with those!

The last 5 games we've gotten have been TWD, Maiden, JP2, R&M and AIQ. Lyman, Elwin, Elwin, Eric/Bowen and Elwin. Yes, I feel the rule designers are the most important aspect of game development and the removal of Bowen at this point is very disappointing.

Grow up lol.

Ultraman has fewer animations.

Ultraman doesn’t really have animation, it has clips from the series. There’s some custom art for transitions & scoring…but there’s nothing like the odd “Flash” animation in Hween.

I like turtles...

Sorry...just trying to change the tides..

Anyone get wizard mode yet? Do you have to complete all the modes in the jack-o-lantern? My high score on 1.01 was 52 million. How are the rest of you doing??

Yet you dump 5 posts of whining about people discussing who is or isn't working on code.

Zero consideration for the people that don't come here to read pages of people whining about what other people are whining about.

Sometimes it's great to play a Funhouse or Whirlwind and be 100% immersed in a world-under-glass without ever having to look at a screen to know what's going on.

Ultraman would be awesome to put next to a GZ, and the art is great, but the atmosphere, immersion, and under-the-glass presentation on Halloween is my preference.

I had issues with this as well, I even had it carry over into a new game. Thea health overlays remained in attract mode and when i started a new game. I believe the center ramp diverter was also in the wrong spot, finally had to power cycle the game to get it to go away.

I totally agree on that. The Ultraman theme for me is so out of my liking that I can't even be objective on the game..lol

Well, I was really hoping I would be wrong and you would be right…but alas

I was wrong about it taking months though…only 9 days lol
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It's been like two months. I still think most will end up loving this game. Though, I've said it many times that not every game needs to be for everyone. If it's not your cup of tea that's okay too. Nothing wrong with getting it into the hands of someone who will love it.

The high score on the Code before the most recent update was like 48 million, but that included some ramp spamming, which is now fixed.

I didn't love some of the animations before I got the game home, but also wasn't losing my mind about them either. I have to say, they have either improved, or I don't notice them as much because of gameplay, because they seem a lot better to me, and pretty appropriate. They certainly can't just repeat movie clips constantly, so it seems necessary.

I'm so happy to hear the single shot combos have been nerfed. That would have killed tournament play on this machine.

Kinda how I feel about Halloween, which is why I generally haven't commented on the modes and clips in HW. I barely know anything about the property. Totally agree that HW is more "atmospheric", but Ultraman is a killer theme for me, and the bright flashy upbeat feel really fits it well. The surf rock type music is TOTALLY up my alley too.

I mentioned before but these are the sort of changes I'm really liking. I think of all the code updates I've seen (from streams etc), there were 3 things I thought really stood out were:

- Adding the "leaves blowing animation" across the static screen
- Adding the blood splashes when you hit lit red targets
- Adding the knives to show shot count

These little things make a world of difference - they really give display/animations a great sheen of polish.

Bowen posted the same on Facebook. Sounds like he really wants everyone to know.

I am here! You guys have certainly laid out a tough one for me this time.

Nothing we do is ever intended to upset our customers or deceive them. The last thing we want to do is wake up and have people not like us or what we do. Bowen was consulted on multiple occasions about rules. Spooky Bug has pages of notes to show for it. We feel it is important to develope our in house team that work together on a daily basis. Our priority going forward are going to be staff that can be in the shop every day! So much behind the scenes that goes on that I wish I could show the whole picture.

A cool and exciting part as we progress with each game and sales is that money allows us to invest right back into our infrastructure and product. Now I could spend a week talking about the 1000 different directions capital gets pulled in pinball to create a great final project but I won't get into that.

I think we are coming along nicely on what is going to be a great game for you guys and our deepest code ever by the end. If you compare where ACNC was at this stage vs Halloween it's no contest!

A few weeks ago everyone was worried their would be no halloween assets at all and now we have 30+ approved clips. Also constantly adding real original audio and will continue to do so! Relax and enjoy the ride guys there are always good things coming!

I think these are so important as well. You will notice the windshield even gets cracks in it as you progress in sanitarium!

Bowen said you guys are not implementing his suggestions.

I know you didn't *intend* to deceive, but the end result is still the same. The aspect of this game I was looking forward to most is now gone. "We will have this talent help with the game." "Okay, maybe not..."

There are currently 30-some spots for sale across HWNCE and UMCE (didn't check standards or BSEs). Not going to fool with that market; I guess I just wait and hope it turns out OK.

Please do another TNA run !!! Will look excellent next to Halloween!!!

Someday if your time ever frees up, I think we would love to see you do a seminar at an Expo on this.

I am sure plenty of people would like to see what it takes to run a successful pinball company like yours.

Scott is doing his seminar at the Houston Expo Nov 12,13 on how to design a homebrew machine..It would be awesome to see you do a seminar afterwards.

I think we are adding a ton of things from a really great variety of peoples suggestions! I also think the game is way better than OK already!

So you are adding ‘Don’t fear the reaper’ then

People are taking, "we are consultanting with Bowen on the game" to, "Bowen is working on the game".

Some people seem to not understand the difference here. I never once thought Bowen was working on the game. On many podcast, Bug was mention to be working on the code. I remember on the TPN podcast, even Zach brought up given Bug a chance on the code. This Bowen thing was mostly twisted words from the forum that became fact when it wasn't.

wasn't he at Deeproot working on those games as well?

Kudos on jumping in, and speaks volumes to your commitment to the community as well as your game!!!! The "he said, I heard, he told me" means absolutely zero to me personally. None of my business as to why he posted, and is no longer with you in whatever capacity. The only thing I could gather from the post " not my decision" in no way minimizes your efforts, but possibly amplifies them. He seemed to say kind things about the company, so heard nothing negative. Have no opinion on the situation beyond it doesn't shine a negative light on either of you, period.

This (imho) is your biggest, baddest theme to date, and scrutinized since day 1 (which is ok...a public forum). To think however, you deliberately shoot yourself in the foot is absolutely insane however.

Pre-order spots being dumped and people bailing? Happens on every single game (even started a thread on it)...reasons vary but generally $$$ is always at the core. People have agendas, egos to pump, whatever...call me a fanboy as I'm buying the damn thing and very excited about it!!!! What I've seen progress wise has been stellar, and your engagement even exceeds that.

Great things await...stay the course!!!!..(you already know... ).....

already started on CCR LE

That's profit taking there