Quoted from Pinkitten:3 days a week is standard in the pinball industry unless their contract is set to 5. Extra days can also be earned.
I sooooooo want to downvote their dad joke! Pindad joke? Lol
(Topic ID: 300250)
Linked Games
Halloween (Blood Sucker Edition)
Spooky Pinball, 2021-
Halloween (Collectors Edition)
Spooky Pinball, 2021
-
Halloween (Standard Edition)
Spooky Pinball, 2021
Topic Gallery
Quoted from PanzerKraken:Halloween ruined, lets just cancel the holiday
Boooooo! Saturday the 14th is a thing, maybe we can rally for All Hallow’s Eve … Day. Um. Yeah
Oakville, MO
Right now,today,I feel like Halloween is one of the best games I’ve ever had at home and it’s not close
Man this game is so different yet fits right in with my B/W games so well
Quoted from Spacemanratso09:Right now,today,I feel like Halloween is one of the best games I’ve ever had at home and it’s not close
Man this game is so different yet fits right in with my B/W games so well
It is currently pissing me off!! One step closer to the wood pile! LOL
Quoted from SLAMT1LT:Helluva job stepping in at this stage and taking over coding duties on this classic. First, you must be a MASSIVE Halloween fan. Second, you need to have the creative genius to create an immersive and 'spooky' gameplay experience.
A coder with 22 years' experience means diddly squat, unless they have creative flair.
This is the world of entertainment; expectations are sky high.
Seems a little concerning to me, but Im sure it will be fine.
Quoted from riggy469:Anyone else run into an unlimited ball save bug during House Attack multiball?
Sure, several times. It's very exciting the first couple of minutes. The first time.
Quoted from waletboy:Why are some standards being delivered before BSE editions?
Could have to do with butter cabs maybe?
There are many reasons to be “irked” in the modern era, this…is not really one of them.
Quoted from BlueRiverLore:Kinda irks me that we hear of the delay second-hand through a Pinside member and not from someone from Spooky posting on here.
Quoted from SLAMT1LT:Helluva job stepping in at this stage and taking over coding duties on this classic. First, you must be a MASSIVE Halloween fan. Second, you need to have the creative genius to create an immersive and 'spooky' gameplay experience.
A coder with 22 years' experience means diddly squat, unless they have creative flair.
This is the world of entertainment; expectations are sky high.
Depends if he's actually part of the creative part of the coding. Lot of programmers working on games have no actual design input or it's very minimal, their job is often the execution of the designers. At this point especially the big update to come has likely already been in the work for a while and he's just jumping in to help get it done and to further work on it.
Quoted from PanzerKraken:Depends if he's actually part of the creative part of the coding. Lot of programmers working on games have no actual design input or it's very minimal, their job is often the execution of the designers. At this point especially the big update to come has likely already been in the work for a while and he's just jumping in to help get it done and to further work on it.
Yeah in my experience coders just take requirements and then program the software to satisfy them. They don't typically have any input on functionality.
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:Tons of 90s games have them, but since moving to the 'sled' model (not sure who did this first - Stern? JJP? Pin2K? ) they don't seem to be included
Pin2K has a sled and a prop rod. First one I can remember with a sled though
Sydney
Quoted from Spacemanratso09:Right now,today,I feel like Halloween is one of the best games I’ve ever had at home and it’s not close
Man this game is so different yet fits right in with my B/W games so well
I've only had my CE for 3 days, so I'm still firmly in the honeymoon period, but I've been lucky enough to acquire some pretty amazing machines this year, (BKSOR, Elvira HoH, Alien LV, R&M) - and Halloween truly does stand out. So glad I took the plunge on this one, I couldn't be happier with it. 
Quoted from Deez:Yeah in my experience coders just take requirements and then program the software to satisfy them. They don't typically have any input on functionality.
Huuuuuuuuuugely depends on the company, the developer, the circumstance. There is no “one size fits all” situation, especially nowadays
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:There are many reasons to be “irked” in the modern era, this…is not really one of them.
I'm certainly glad you are here to let me know when I should or shouldn't be irked.
Quoted from Spacemanratso09:Right now,today,I feel like Halloween is one of the best games I’ve ever had at home and it’s not close
Man this game is so different yet fits right in with my B/W games so well
My Halloween is being delivered Halloween day. I hope I like it as much as you. Lol. I Haven't even played a Halloween yet.
You can feel any way you like sir. But I would ask if you might be more irked if bombs were falling over head into your neighborhood or more irked if you found out about a new coder being added to the production team of a small pinball company an entire 3 minutes after the official announcement? Honest question.
Quoted from BlueRiverLore:I'm certainly glad you are here to let me know when I should or shouldn't be irked.
Quoted from Deez:Yeah in my experience coders just take requirements and then program the software to satisfy them. They don't typically have any input on functionality.
So you've never played a Keefer or Lyman game?
Quoted from Beechwood:I had to turn my sub WAY down from factory setting. It sounds great now.
I had to do that too and it sounded better as driven less but the cone cannot move freely as it is hard against the grill and maybe even the cab.
Pretty sure when I fit a spacer there will be a big difference as the cone can move and do it’s thing.
Will be fitting an anti speaker thump too as the thump at turn on isn’t nice.
Saying all that I’m loving the game and playing great, backbox speakers are the best I’ve heard.
I’m confused. Sure I’m down with a new programmer but the code update we were informed of regarding new assets and animations - certainly that isn’t this guys responsibility now to start fresh and won’t take a year to receive right? I’m reading this as further updates after that big update is with him?
We’re not saying the asset and animation update is now a year out right? If not what is the ETA on just the animation and assets enhancements for the current rule set (which I enjoy).
Quoted from delt31:I’m confused. Sure I’m down with a new programmer but the code update we were informed of regarding new assets and animations - certainly that isn’t this guys responsibility now to start fresh and won’t take a year to receive right? I’m reading this as further updates after that big update is with him?
We’re not saying the asset and animation update is now a year out right? If not what is the ETA on just the animation and assets enhancements for the current rule set (which I enjoy).
I suspect the big code release everyone was waiting for, and assumed it would be released on Halloween, is still coming very soon. Spooky has gotten roasted for “releasing it too soon” in the past, and I think they pumped the brakes because it’s not quite there. The “will be working on it for the next year”, is just that. I read it as saying they have committed a programmer(s), to continue to update and improve Halloween for at least another year. Quite the big commitment on Spooky’s part, since the pin is already sold out. Kudos to Spooky making this commitment. Anxiously awaiting the code drop, but willing to wait. 
Quoted from delt31:I’m confused. Sure I’m down with a new programmer but the code update we were informed of regarding new assets and animations - certainly that isn’t this guys responsibility now to start fresh and won’t take a year to receive right? I’m reading this as further updates after that big update is with him?
We’re not saying the asset and animation update is now a year out right? If not what is the ETA on just the animation and assets enhancements for the current rule set (which I enjoy).
No, it looks like Spooky intends for Fawzma (and Bug, I think?) will continue working on Halloween for approx. the next year. This is according to some posts Luke made earlier in this thread. Things could change, of course, but it's super counterproductive to pull someone from an existing project and start on a new one. I'm sure the new guy is going to help out where he can, but the last plan they indicated was to keep on HWN/UM for the next year with the same crew.
Has anyone finely tuned their sound somehow to cut down on the bass coming from the Loomis voice? The sound and music are excellent but I am getting bass thumps from the voiceover, like it wasn’t recorded cleanly. I have the vocals down at 25%.
Quoted from Lostcause:I had to do that too and it sounded better as driven less but the cone cannot move freely as it is hard against the grill and maybe even the cab.
Pretty sure when I fit a spacer there will be a big difference as the cone can move and do it’s thing.
Will be fitting an anti speaker thump too as the thump at turn on isn’t nice.
Saying all that I’m loving the game and playing great, backbox speakers are the best I’ve heard.
Keep us in the loop on this stuff; I'd like to try some of that myself.
RM
Quoted from AndHart120:Has anyone finely tuned their sound somehow to cut down on the bass coming from the Loomis voice? The sound and music are excellent but I am getting bass thumps from the voiceover, like it wasn’t recorded cleanly. I have the vocals down at 25%.
I turned machines volume up, adjusted the amp volume down, then I found I could find the sweet spot adjustingg the sub on the amp. Its barely above 0 or 1 (hard to see) and it got rid of that thump. The sub dial is closest to you on right side of amp if you reach in from the coin door.
Quoted from rotordave:Yes I do. It was on my recommendation that they contacted Matt and ultimately took him on board.
Matt is a wiz with C++ and Csharp or whatever it is (I ain’t no coder lol) and is an avid pinballer, owning 5 pins currently and playing competitively at my NZ events. In fact, he just played for 3 days straight at last weekends Southern Hemisphere Champs at my place.
I have been working with Matt for a while on my own new pin down here. Hence I know his work and skills.
Danni and I will assist him down here with code testing and rules ideas for all the titles he does going forward. Including HW and UM.
So rest assured Spooky fans!
Your code is in good hands.
rd
This is great news, Dave. Since you are an avid tournament player, your input should help Halloween and Ultraman get options like a tournament mode, etc to help bring game times down in a tournament setting.
They have been hiring programmers and other new employees the entire time. Fawmza is still leading a programming team for HWN/UM. Its not the wild curveball everyone is making it out to be.
Quoted from Agent_Hero:Why make such a move this late in the product’s life cycle?
Quoted from Ty-Arnold:My Halloween is being delivered Halloween day. I hope I like it as much as you. Lol. I Haven't even played a Halloween yet.
Your going to love it!
Quoted from metallik:So you've never played a Keefer or Lyman game?
Good point..I stand corrected.
Quoted from AndHart120:Has anyone finely tuned their sound somehow to cut down on the bass coming from the Loomis voice? The sound and music are excellent but I am getting bass thumps from the voiceover, like it wasn’t recorded cleanly. I have the vocals down at 25%.
I asked them to fix this 9 months ago:
Quoted from metallik:- Audio is very good in content but needs work in execution. Specifically, too much bass and mic 'thump' in the Pleasance vocal callouts... meanwhile the Asylum music has a drumbeat that has no bass whatsoever. Need to remix this stuff, filter the bass from vocals and clean up levels.
and again 7 months ago:
Quoted from metallik:They need to run a lot of the Loomis dialog through a high-pass filter to eliminate the mic thump as well, especially the attract mode stuff.
...maybe hopefully they'll listen to you? Why ship a game with such good audio hardware with the dialog was recorded with a $5 PC microphone? Turning down the bass to fix voices also kills bass for the music and SFX, not a good solution.
Essen
Quoted from Svente69:Nice one……..
You have a link for this?
I put a Spirit Halloween mat on top of my Titan pinball mat.
Quoted from Ty-Arnold:My Halloween is being delivered Halloween day. I hope I like it as much as you. Lol. I Haven't even played a Halloween yet.
You will for sure
Quoted from Ceemunkey:I've only had my CE for 3 days, so I'm still firmly in the honeymoon period, but I've been lucky enough to acquire some pretty amazing machines this year, (BKSOR, Elvira HoH, Alien LV, R&M) - and Halloween truly does stand out. So glad I took the plunge on this one, I couldn't be happier with it.
I play it the most im telling you man forget the “honeymoon “ being over don’t worry the game stands up and fits right in with the classics
Quoted from PinCrush:Mine has this same ball trap problem and my gap is pretty large as well. I confirmed with the ball stuck that I could reach around from the right side and press the post (and thus the ramp) down and the ball was freed... so thats the issue. However, despite really working this thing over, I can't get enough bend for the ramp for to stay low enough to fix the trap. I'm pushing hard enough that I'm afraid something is going to break.
I feel like I'm going to need to pull the ramp out to properly fix this. Anyone been down that path? Tips before I start?
I finally had some time to fix this. Not too difficult a fix, but getting to it was a pain. Had to remove the house crossover ramp in order to get to the screws holding the back crossover to the backboard. Just two of them, but kinda hard to get to. Once the ramp was out and I could get it in my table vise, it was really easy to bend it.
Working perfectly now.
There is a lot of talk on this thread about how great Halloween is and why it isn't rated higher. I like my game too but it isn't my go to or my favorite game in my collection. So I started to formulate why. All my games are high end except one or two. This kinda levels the playing field by making Halloween not the shiny "look at me" thing in my game room.
Games I play more:
The Shadow, Star Gazer, Sacred Stiff, Bride of Pinbot and Twilight Zone.
Games I like better but play less for some reason: Elvira House of Horrors and Haunted House
This puts Halloween kinda in the middle of my 14 pin collection. I think the biggest reason for this is because it is soooooo task oriented. The flip it around just for fun factor isn't there. When I walk up to Halloween, I get the feeling like it is time to go to work and stop Michael Myers. It is fun and stressful at the same time. That is what Spooky was going for and that is what they did. I also think Halloween is Spooky's best game so I am not knocking it in any way. I was curious where others put Halloween in their collection if they had to rack and stack their personal pins.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:There is a lot of talk on this thread about how great Halloween is and why it isn't rated higher. I like my game too but it isn't my go to or my favorite game in my collection. So I started to formulate why. All my games are high end except one ore two. This kinda levels the playing field by making Halloween not the shiny "look at me" thing in my game room.
Games I play more:
The Shadow, Star Gazer, Sacred Stiff, Bride of Pinbot and Twilight Zone.
Games I like better but play less for some reason: Elvira House of Horrors and Haunted House
This puts Halloween kinda in the middle of my 14 pin collection. I think the biggest reason for this is because it is soooooo task oriented. The flip it around for fun factor isn't there. When I walk up to Halloween, I get the feeling like it is time to go to work and stop Michael Myers. It is fun and stressful at the same time. That is what Spooky was going for and that is what they did. I also think Halloween is Spooky's best game so I am not knocking it in any way. I was curious where others put Halloween in there collection if they had to rack and stack thier personal pin collection.
It's a collectors thread so not going to get a ton of criticism whether justified or not. It's a good game as it stands and is not finished so kind of pointless to give it a final assessment, been holding off playing it waiting for the next big update but the urge to play it is strong compared to others in my collection.
I somewhat agree - why I like it so much is how different it is in a large collection. I’m similar in a way to your collection - completely agree with it being task oriented. But I like it for that reason. Godzilla you can just flayle around and get a bunch of points… you can’t do that with Halloween and score points. That’s the differentiator - and why I love it in a larger collection.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:There is a lot of talk on this thread about how great Halloween is and why it isn't rated higher. I like my game too but it isn't my go to or my favorite game in my collection. So I started to formulate why. All my games are high end except one ore two. This kinda levels the playing field by making Halloween not the shiny "look at me" thing in my game room.
Games I play more:
The Shadow, Star Gazer, Sacred Stiff, Bride of Pinbot and Twilight Zone.
Games I like better but play less for some reason: Elvira House of Horrors and Haunted House
This puts Halloween kinda in the middle of my 14 pin collection. I think the biggest reason for this is because it is soooooo task oriented. The flip it around just for fun factor isn't there. When I walk up to Halloween, I get the feeling like it is time to go to work and stop Michael Myers. It is fun and stressful at the same time. That is what Spooky was going for and that is what they did. I also think Halloween is Spooky's best game so I am not knocking it in any way. I was curious where others put Halloween in there collection if they had to rack and stack thier personal pins.
Quoted from manadams:It's a collectors thread so not going to get a ton of criticism whether justified or not. It's a good game as it stands and is not finished so kind of pointless to give it a final assessment, been holding off playing it waiting for the next big update but the urge to play it is strong compared to others in my collection.
I agree it is a good game where it stands but the new code isn't going too transform the game into something else. It will add content and smooth out some ruff patches. At this point we all have a pretty good feeling what the end product will be. Most of the owners of Halloween also own other games. I don't think anyone would have trouble saying they own something they like more than Halloween if that was indeed the case. As is, Halloween has already made the Mad Dog Team. It won't be cut from the lineup.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:I agree it is a good game where it stands but the new code isn't going too transform the game into something else.
Depends on how much they tweak, change or add. New animations, additional movie clips, added callouts, more use of the middle playfield and how good the final wizard mode is a bunch to take in.
100% best case scenario. They say 1 year but divided by 2 games are we realistically looking at 6 months? And can they do that all in 6 months with licensing etc…. Sure hope so
Quoted from manadams:Depends on how much they tweak, change or add. New animations, additional movie clips, added callouts, more use of the middle playfield and how good the final wizard mode is a bunch to take in.
Quoted from metallik:I asked them to fix this 9 months ago:
and again 7 months ago:
...maybe hopefully they'll listen to you? Why ship a game with such good audio hardware with the dialog was recorded with a $5 PC microphone? Turning down the bass to fix voices also kills bass for the music and SFX, not a good solution.
I’m an audio engineer by trade and would be happy to EQ and limit these clips for them. Maybe I’ll reach out… 
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:There is a lot of talk on this thread about how great Halloween is and why it isn't rated higher. I like my game too but it isn't my go to or my favorite game in my collection. So I started to formulate why. All my games are high end except one ore two. This kinda levels the playing field by making Halloween not the shiny "look at me" thing in my game room.
Games I play more:
The Shadow, Star Gazer, Sacred Stiff, Bride of Pinbot and Twilight Zone.
Games I like better but play less for some reason: Elvira House of Horrors and Haunted House
This puts Halloween kinda in the middle of my 14 pin collection. I think the biggest reason for this is because it is soooooo task oriented. The flip it around just for fun factor isn't there. When I walk up to Halloween, I get the feeling like it is time to go to work and stop Michael Myers. It is fun and stressful at the same time. That is what Spooky was going for and that is what they did. I also think Halloween is Spooky's best game so I am not knocking it in any way. I was curious where others put Halloween in there collection if they had to rack and stack thier personal pins.
I feel pretty much the same way about my Halloween. I have go-to pins I love to flip regardless of score or how far I get. I tend to play TZ, FT, TOTAN, GB and EHoH. I also really enjoy shooting The Shadow, CV, SS and BSD. For goal-oriented challenges, Halloween requires the most focus. LOTR and Tron are goal oriented, but less intense. It’s a solid entry for sure, but the theme is the draw for me, being one of my very fav movies. For me, the theme, art, music and immersion make it a keeper.
Quoted from Beechwood:I agree with all the above. But there's this...
We need moments. Big, "you did this" moments. You just passed this mode and it's a big deal.
That's what I'm looking for.
I have said this before, we need a Horde like tense mode. This game deserves that, if we have one I’ve not seen it yet.
Never seen anything that builds tension like that mode.
It does build some tension but if they can get it up to Horde levels that would be the icing on the cake 
Am I missing a lighting or sound cue that the ball is on one of the upper levels? I just got the game set up last night and there's no way I would bother putting this out for random neighborhood Halloween festivities because walking up to it with no knowledge of where the ball goes--forget it, it's in the drain before you see it. I'm familiar with the lifter audio cues and those take practice too, but the game has zero approachability for casuals. It's fun to shoot and yes, the code is on its way, but I can't imagine how it's been for those who have owned this game for the past year waiting for all of these rough spots to be fixed.
Quoted from Pinkitten:I feel pretty much the same way about my Halloween. I have go-to pins I love to flip regardless of score or how far I get. I tend to play TZ, FT, TOTAN, GB and EHoH. I also really enjoy shooting The Shadow, CV, SS and BSD. For goal-oriented challenges, Halloween requires the most focus. LOTR and Tron are goal oriented, but less intense. It’s a solid entry for sure, but the theme is the draw for me, being one of my very fav movies. For me, the theme, art, music and immersion make it a keeper.
Thanks for the decals; they arrived yesterday. Nice!
Regarding your final sentence above; 100% agree. IMO, these elements stand out and make the game what we refer to as immersive. When John Carpenter finished Halloween he reportedly showed it to some Producers. The music soundtrack was not in it yet. Their response was, "Meh, not really scary." John then created the iconic sound using 5/4 time. After adding the soundtrack, he invited the same Producers to watch again. Their reaction was completely different, "Wow! Scary." Spooky has done a terrific job implementing Carpenter's magic.
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:They have been hiring programmers and other new employees the entire time. Fawmza is still leading a programming team for HWN/UM. Its not the wild curveball everyone is making it out to be.
Do we know this about Fawmza still is valid or just assuming? There hasn't been anything new said since that original announcement months past and now we got info on a new programmer.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:There is a lot of talk on this thread about how great Halloween is and why it isn't rated higher. I like my game too but it isn't my go to or my favorite game in my collection. So I started to formulate why. All my games are high end except one or two. This kinda levels the playing field by making Halloween not the shiny "look at me" thing in my game room.
Games I play more:
The Shadow, Star Gazer, Sacred Stiff, Bride of Pinbot and Twilight Zone.
Games I like better but play less for some reason: Elvira House of Horrors and Haunted House
This puts Halloween kinda in the middle of my 14 pin collection. I think the biggest reason for this is because it is soooooo task oriented. The flip it around just for fun factor isn't there. When I walk up to Halloween, I get the feeling like it is time to go to work and stop Michael Myers. It is fun and stressful at the same time. That is what Spooky was going for and that is what they did. I also think Halloween is Spooky's best game so I am not knocking it in any way. I was curious where others put Halloween in their collection if they had to rack and stack their personal pins.
In my collection I'd rank Halloween near The Hobbit. Which is to say, I would rather play almost all of my other 16 pins more but when I'm in the mood for a unique and amazing experience, you can't beat the Hobbit and Halloweens immersion. Hobbit > Halloween for me tho.
Promoted items from Pinside Marketplace and Pinside Shops!
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
