You guys are on the list:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/definitive-pinside-pinball-podcast-list

Looking forward to having a listen.

Cool, will check it out and subscribe when it is iTunes-approved.

Great episode, looking forward to more. Thanks for the tip you gave me on adding it before it gets approved by iTunes:

Just open your podcast app on your iphone/ipad, click 'My Podcasts', then click the + in the top left. Tap 'Add Podcast' then type: http://www.head2headpinball.com/feed/podcast/ and tap subscribe.

Awesome! Another pinball podcast to help me get through my work day!!

Enjoying the podcast. Stellar sound quality out of the gate. Keep up the good work!

Wow, that old witch really is a shocker! Loving the podcast, guys. Keep it up

What's with the gratuitous and awful chick pic? We don't need or want that.

Nice AFM. So that's where it ended up.

But the big question that was overlooked was who bears the cost of that?

200 plus boards from early adopter beta testers all getting sent back simultaneously to the sole distributor Johns Arcade to rectify any software bugs that might have been overlooked in testing.

Could potentially end up being more costly than the magnetised ball recall.

Even BW with their 99% complete code on day one release found software glitches and bugs once machines got out into the field and had extensive play.

Wouldn't you just burn a new ROM chip?

That's what Bally Williams did.

rd

Definitely the craziest thing to come out of that (very well done) interview.

If I were a buyer on this game, I'd be waiting until any major bugs were sorted out and 1.1 or equivalent was shipping. Or maybe even later than that.

The decision to take updates out of the end user's hands is baffling.

yup, that is beyond dumb. Just killed a TON of potential sales with that info.

Please actually bother to listen to the ENTIRE and ALL of the reasons explained very clearly in the podcast - and if you don't like the explanations, that's fine - just don't buy a Thunderbirds machine.

We have solid plans in place for any upgrades that might be required BUT our code will be 90% before release not 25% like some others.

If a potential buyer is unhappy about that that's perfectly OK - I understand.

For the record the software IS upgradable by the end user - I just do not want people fiddling with it.

I am listening now. In general in this day, there is no reason to not make it so code can be readily updated by the end user.

Code is never complete and bugs will come up. The standard in our world of pinball is that the end user shoudl be able to update code in a matter of minutes and for zero cost. Anything less then that is unacceptable.

I hope there is a work around. Worst case should be inserting a new rom but that is a step back. Really should be download code onto USB, insert USB, push button and done.

No problem, You are obviously unable to see the reasons so that's fine. Don't buy a machine - what's so hard about that?

You might recall that the USA is NOT my target market for this machine. Maybe you should think about why that is?

There are NO plans to ship any Thunderbirds pinballs to the USA until (at the very earliest) late next year - I already have dozens in the USA who want to buy regardless and I have said I can't help right now, so it seems your concerns do not bother MOST.

We will just get on with our job, build and ship machines to those who want them and appreciate them.

You also need to have a long hard think about why manufacturers don't post on Pinside........

I see the reasons. You are afraid of end users screwing up the update process.

My feedback is that you should find a work around for this. The reality is that bugs crop up and it would be simpler if you can just upload new code versions and let users do the update. That is industry norm.

so be it. Lots of money in the USA and lots of active collectors. Do as you wish, but seems like an untapped market for your games.

Haha that's rich.

No - it's a fact.

OK, I pondered why other manufacturers don't post on Pinside. Unfortunately, my imagination got a little carried away and I also thought about why they allow their end users to update game code themselves.

I "imagine" they don't post on Pinside because they don't need the angst from the same 20 idiots that are intent on derailing every positive thread here.

If "they" actually bothered to ship games with finished code there would be no need to update anything - get it yet?

That's the idea. And they pretty much all say they want to ship with finished code, just like you. Until you prove you are actually different from this model, it makes no sense to believe you will be.

Do you not anticipate that new bugs will be found once your games are distributed?

No matter how much testing you do, users will play your game in ways you couldn't anticipate. They will find errors you have overlooked. And finally, they will run through scenarios that no amount of beta testing could possibly cover.

None of this makes your code bad, or worse than your competition.

Short of you saying that you have dozens of units out in the field on test, I just don't see any basis for your confidence re: code.

To wrap things up, and on a different note, I wish you and your company all the best and I want you to be successful and release a fun game that competes strongly in the marketplace, and follow it up with even more success. I also appreciate the fact that you're a part of Pinside and respond to people like me.

It's rich because you call yourself a manufacturer. I don't post on here too often anymore, but I still read and I've watched your attitude towards the general public during that time. It's bad dude. Really bad.

I don't know. What is better, getting the cold truth or getting lied to or getting no response whatsoever. Personally - so MY opinion - I like Mike's attitude better. He does not always say what everybody wants to hear but at least he communicates honestly in his own way.

I liked the interview very much. It was very informative such as the problem with the lockbar that explains that even a part of a part can delay the development of a machine for months on end. That puts things in perspective as to why sometimes things take so very long, maybe also with other manufacturers. But the others do not tell us that stuff, they just go silent.

He said the machine has a programming interface and means to modify or upload new code. So it can be updated.

I highly doubt the interface is something exotic, so lack of USB may not be the problem you imagine.

I suspect bugs will be found and official updates will become a necessity anyway. It's almost inevitable.

OK - here is some more "bad attitude" for you (your words - not mine).

I am indeed a manufacturer. We make and ship arcade machines every month - if that isn't the definition of "a manufacturer" then I don't know what is? I don't have to "call" myself a manufacturer - I AM!!! Other manufacturers don't post on here because of the bad attitude from people like you.

It seems that you prefer the sugar coated BS that many companies spew out - they even employ people just so they can create complete fiction that people "want to hear".

You obviously haven't met any Australians because I am certainly not unique or unusual, we are mostly all very straightforward and (usually) we will just "tell it how it is".

I don't employ a professional bullshit artist to tell lies and stories and I likely never will so if you want to hear lies and rubbish you will need to look elsewhere for your fill.

Just drain this thread and you won't have to bother with me again. Same goes for the few others (and there are only a only a few) that delight in picking fault or finding an issue with anything I say or do - just bugger off is my message for them.

Is that "bad attitude" enough for you?

Look at it this way...if Homepin does not allow the end user to carry out updates then there is an incentive for Homepin to provide the best code possible on release. One could argue that the provision of USB updates is the very thing which has allowed companies to ship games with incomplete code.

Anyway, people can make their minds up when they see the system and play the game...not too long now.

Great podcasts guys! Keep up the awesome work.

Who is next on your interview shopping list?

I don't see anyone particularly trying to derail things (apart from Pinsanity who obviously wants to troll you and who you likely have on ignore anyway). It's more legitimate (imo) concerns about the ability to update code, with feedback given in a relatively respectful way. It's your first table - as you admit yourself in the interview, not everything will be perfect. If I were a betting man I would bet a lot of money your future titles will have easier software updates. My main gripe is with location machines where the code hasn't been updated by lazy operators. If they aren't even going to update with a simple USB stick, there's no way they're going to go to the trouble of sending the board off and putting their machine out of action. I get that you say the code will be 90%+ complete, but bugs/scoring exploits will inevitably appear, making it less attractive to players.
The funny thing is, Australians are also known for their thick skins. Yours seems to be as thin as paper!
Anyway, it was a really good interview, with good questions and no fluffy answers. Good luck.

Our boards are indeed updateable - I just don't want end users doing it.

We have an exchange board deal for operators.

It's easy to say "update with a USB stick" - it is very much harder to implement that. Others have massive software budgets, we don't.

I do have a thick skin but I can't tolerate idiots.

I'm talking about pinball. Which is the topic at hand, and the topic of this discussion board. Pinball.

Great generalization. I don't want anything other than a business to respect it's customers and respond to them with respect. That's all.

Another amazing generalization about someone who you've interacted with a grand total of one time, on the internet. Worked in Australia for three months, have several Aussie friends who now live in the states, and some American friends who have moved there.

Yup, that'll do it. Totally off-topic and I don't really care about whether or not you hire a PR / media relations / social media person. Don't really even understand why that's relevant or talked about.

Here's what I care about: your continued dismissal of any and all individuals concerns/comments about the pinball machine you're trying to manufacture. There is a way to say things to another human being (even on the internet!) without coming across as a dick.

I hope your game is amazing - seriously!

It is - so say the industry people who have seen it anyway - your opinions of it might vary as it seems you like to contradict anything and everything I say.

Willy Wonka with Johnny Depp?!?!? I'm unsubscribing.