My amateur pinbuilder's two cents: Any low voltage data line should be kept away from a bundle of high voltage solenoid lines. If they need to cross over it is best to do so at 90 degrees. It looks like the servo lines are bundled up right next to the solenoid bundle. Separate them out and I bet there is less interference

Granted I'm not an electrical engineer, but to my knowledge this wouldn't make a significant difference to EMI issues. All the grounds should be tied together within the game (and the game would act very weirdly and probably damage itself if they weren't)

What does cause a lot of EMI is the solenoid lines, especially when using pulse width modulation (rapidly turning on/off) to control coils and their power. So it makes sense that if the slingshots go off a bunch at once that a servo data line might pick up some garbage interference and move into a new position. It makes less sense why hitting the blood standup targets would cause that, as they are (I'm assuming) only 12v switches and should be generating less EMI.

Did Spooky ever upload any schematics or other info on these games or the Pinotaur board? I'd like to learn some more of the technical specifications for my own edification.

edit: rereading some older posts, they mention that touching the lockdown bar sometimes causes them to move which makes it sound like a floating ground issue

Just a thought, can the update process be updated so it isn’t looking for such a particular file name? Then Spooky could upload update files named h78-yy-mm-DD and the updater program can simply use which ever is the newest file on the stick. That way people aren’t mixing up old updates or getting the “(1)”

That’s why you’d name the code with a time stamp. Then it’s just browsing the directory and looking for the biggest date when listing the files.

Also makes it easier to downgrade by knowing which updates are which instead of all of them being named the same.

Wow that looks really bad. Too much current I guess? (Serial LED amperage adds up quick). Maybe a bad connector adding more resistance and heat?

I don’t have a Halloween, but have had success using one of these on the same amp used in Spooky games

https://www.amazon.com/Isolator-Eliminate-Buzzing-Completely-Playing/dp/B019FC6ZQQ/

Edit. Also I replaced the 3.5mm to RCA with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm then the ground loop isolated then a 3.5mm to RCA

https://www.amazon.com/eBoot-3-5mm-Audio-Stereo-Adapter/dp/B06XC5KWJN/
https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Professional-Silver-Plating-Tangle-Free-Audiophile/dp/B00WHUTQNS

What about copying something like METs multiball? Hit all the blood stand ups, then park a ball for a bit and add a timed +2x playfield. Seems like a ball can be parked in Judith Meyers or balcony.

This is silly. Tournament players understand rules of the game better than anyone else. Making a well balanced game should be the desire of everyone because it means everything in the game is worth engaging with.

Think about the best rules in pinball. Who wrote and designed them? Competitive players like Lyman Sheats, Keith Elwin, Keith Johnson, Bowen Kerins, etc

I still don’t get why people are bashing on tournament players as if top tournament players aren’t the best rule designers in the industry.

They have a better understanding of what makes a game long term engaging or a boring slog more than anyone else. They study all games and know what makes a game a snooze or not. Just because they’re willing to exploit bad rules in a competition doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to an engaging rule set. They have the deepest understanding of games that offer multiple paths to a rewarding experience, which is more than just showing some random video/audio clips in a game for the hundredth time. That’s a critical part, but so is the rush of a butt load of points.

And don’t get me wrong, there are some interesting ideas in the game. It just needs more polish and more things to utilize what the playfield has to offer.

But I’ve said my peace. Hope the best for Ultraman as I really want to like it because it does nail the quirky layout that I look for. (As an aside I’m posting in this thread because it’s the same basic game and this thread is more active)

I respect all this.

I don’t want to make it sound like it’s an easy line to walk. I just have some issue with some who want to discount the needs of some owners/players, especially when home ownership is a bigger part of the pie than ever before.

I think everyone can agree it’s a unique layout with a lot of potential that we all think is capable of providing rewarding experiences to users of all levels and types.

I don’t envy any designer in today’s market of multiple masters. We’re a fickle bunch to say the least.

Do you remember the name and where you saw it? I'm kinda curious to watch a documentary on slot machine design and the dopamine drip they try to perfect

Thanks. Watched it online. Now I wanna go watch videos on slot machine audio design...

Also re hot flippers, it seems like that is a very short amount of time before fade sinks in. Perhaps the flipper mechs are binding a bit, making the coil work harder and heat up quicker.

Did they? I thought the Pinotaur was based on OPP and MPF. But maybe I'm mistaken.