Did that two months ago
the only people slightly interested wanted me to receive the game first, then maybe they would consider buying it

obviously did not see the latest e-mail from Mike, laying the foundation for the next delay

Sorry to hear that Pete. Hang in there.

I (and many others) are just over it
it has been almost 5 years since I paid (in full) for the game
Tired of Mikes attitude
Tired of Mikes BS
not a fan of the art
the pinball world has moved on from orange DMDs
disappointed that the game was not designed by someone with previous experience
disappointed the software is not being done by someone with previous pinball experience
disappointed that it does not seem to use original sound track

These quotes from Mike in 2013 will allay any regrets Pete'''

I opened the website for sales at about 9.30 this morning and I must say I have been overwhelmed with the positive response and the purchases made. Thank you all for having the faith in my ability to deliver. I said the website would be updated on the 18th and I stuck to it. I also want to have a prototype at next years Pinfest and I intend to do my very best to meet this timeframe. A condition of my licence is very strict in that I MUST meet a mid 2015 deadline because the licensor has a massive campaign for the 50th anniversary of Thunderbirds and this pinball is part of that.

And...

The only thing I am able to reveal at this point is that I have secured one of the smartest programmers on the planet - this guy blows all of the other pinball programmers away and I am not saying that lightly nor am I saying it to take away anything from the excellent guys out there - it's just that this guy is by far and away so far ahead of them all it is simply amazing!

More about it when I am able to......

Then this post from Dec 2013 would have you believe its just the artwork to be settled ready for the 2015 release..

If I were to show anything it would NOT have any artwork. It would have flippers, bumpers, ramps and kickers - big deal, just like practically every other pinball machine ever made.

No wonder you have run out of patience..

No disrespect but if Pete was my customer and i was mike, i would just refund him and get him off my back.

and Homepin could get more for the game as the early pre-paid were a cheaper deal

Yes that too

the problem with that is i am not the only one looking for q refund
i know of 6 others who have been trying longer than i have
I'm just the loudest

I'm curious didn't a company called American pinball design produce release and deliver a game called Houdini and people are still waiting for this turd and the owner is just a really obnoxious person and now he won't refund money Class Act huh..... And I know all the Australian Fanboys will be getting on me for this...... I guess a 5-year wait time some people are happy with updates WTF......

Homepin just put a post up on Faceache showing the multiball sequence. I don't want to shit all over this guy's effort as it's been a long hard road to get it where it is, but I don't know, it seems a bit dated to me or is that what they are going for?

https://www.facebook.com/homepin.factory/?hc_ref=ARQMn9UdsQ4wQTc8DWkQbPis2t7G_bVFWEjkA-NxU-_1aViYA9pb9n6O0XJV3B05XGg&fref=nf

It's just like the show

Yep, like snakesnsparklers said, that is just like the old Tv series and a key feature and fits the theme perfectly.

I understand that it’s the same as the show, I grew up with it lol

I meant the machine as a whole. Just seems a few years too late and dated from what it looks like.

But I’ve never played one. Could be the best game ever

I have. It’s not.

Lack of LCD makes a game look dated, but it's been only 1.5yrs since Stern released their first LCD game.

and 5 years since Jack did

I’m sorry, but am I the only one here that thinks these LCD screens are not a big deal? I am yet to play a machine that I enjoy more because it has an LCD screen. IMO, I feel in most of the cases so far it detracts from the experience for me.

sorry but TAG screams for color
that multiball animation would be outstanding in color,

I would much rather have more interactive toys on the play field than an LCD display I can't look at while I play, but unfortunately that isn't the current landscape.

With a license like Thunderbirds, wouldn't the game just "scream" full color animations? In other words, real footage from the series?

Perhaps its more about what the buying public expects of a 2018 game that will cost them $4K, $5K or $6K.

True. I do quite fancy a colour DMD. I think that was the plan originally, but shit happens. But whether or not it is colour or monotone it is still a DMD with nice and simple animations & visual aids to signify the modes. Easy to see at a quick glance etc.. I struggle with the LCD's a bit because of all the information on screen. I'm sure they'll find the right balance, but give me a simple DMD any day, colour or not.

I do think it makes a difference, but gameplay (including layout) and software (including lights en sound) are still most important to me.
TAG looks too simple. Layout can often be 'fixed' by having great rules, but it seems the rules are very shallow: just shooting some shots a lot of time, little creativity. Maybe nice to play some games, but I wouldn't consider it for at home. (I haven't played it though, only saw videos of gameplay and rules)

Maybe software will change, or maybe it has changed already, or maybe game nr.2 will be more diverse, if there's a nr. 2 coming.

I did suggest to Mike early on to use Nixie tubes

That would have been cool but the cost of Nixie is going up all the time due to the finite supply. On the flip side though.. there is no shortage of Nixie clocks in the world

It shouldn't be particularly difficult to get an RGB LED DMD and colour it, if and when PinballSp releases his colouring software.

Wow Homepin just can’t catch a break!

5972AC69-78B3-4FFF-BBEC-FB9CE2AE8243 (resized).png

Talk about facing some serious hurdles.

At least the labour cost is cheap

thought that too

from what i have seen thats a myth

Isn't that why he chose china to build them?

Yep, it’s overstated now.

It used to be the case.

I started dealing with Chinese furniture factories in 2003. I didn’t want to import stuff, but I had to, to compete with my opposition.

As time went on, the labour force became better skilled, and as they did, they wanted more money. By the time I finished with my stores in 2012, the factories couldn’t get any staff to work in them! In a country of 1.3b people.

The staff get up-skilled and move up to better jobs. The unskilled labourers didn’t want to leave their villages 100s of miles away. So there were big delays as the factory couldn’t make enough furniture.

Exactly the same thing happened in Malaysia before that. That used to be a cheap place to build furniture, not any more.

Back in 2004 when I went to Shanghai for thwas first time, the dudes were spraying bedroom furniture with car laquer in a big shed, no mask, nothing. 5 years later they had to have proper booths installed.

I always remember back in 2004 seeing a dude with a push bike, with like 6 queen size mattresses on the large carrier at the back, riding them down the road. Looked like a recipe for disaster ...

rd

I believe that is what Homepin stated some time back. When I/ we asked him why not build in Australia.
Another lesson learnt I guess for all not just me ol mate

Large percentage of jobs in Australia now are on a casual basis. The company rings you when they need you and they pay the hours worked only... no promise of work tomorrow or next week. It means you can be laid off anytime the company wants and completely bypasses the union enforced Fair Work Commission.
Mikes Chinese workers probably have better job security than an Australian equivalent.
Chinese labour is still cheaper than Australian though, but we do have better HVLP sprayers

yes Mike did say it was cheaper to build in China than Aus.

The arguement might still be they are cheaper there than here in Aus etc but there is also value in having skilled staff doing work in regards to designing presses for making pressed parts and not re-jigging and working hard at it for years trying to get it right (legs, lockdown bar etc). Plus if it had been done in Aus there would of been a number of Aussies keen to work and when passion is applied the results would generally be higher.

Mike once told me that PPS had put a blanket ban on him due to his after market boards etc. It became impossible for him to purchase parts like the other manufacturers do.
Any venture into manufacturing machines meant he had to tool them all himself, which of course, he has done.

did not know that about the boards...

big undertaking and hats off for achieving it and depending how you look at it - fortunately or unfortunately he apparently made all the parts metric so some may not suit being replacement parts for older Bally / Williams.

PPS told me they didn't give a shit what he made as long as it didn't breach a patent which his flipper board did at the time

Will be interested to get to grips with the game at UKPinfest next month. I get a strong Gottlieb vibe from the layout, in a 'late alphanumeric Ray Tanzer' way.

Are there any other pre-orderers out there from around the world?
I am sure most people interested know the shitstorm it has become in Australia so I wonder if any others that are still keen for his first machine.
It does makes sense going to UK Pinfest as it is a pommy theme and on theme alone it may do well here?
Is this the last attempt for this to succeed?
Hopefully the UKwill see and play the final said and done version as every one is sick of the probably another prototype testing sort of thingy show talk trial.

I imagine you will have to order one from a Chinese distributor since they're not scheduled to be released anywhere but in China for the moment.

The Thunderbirds on their way to UK are prototypes also.

Make them all prototypes sell them for more, there will be less of these than aliens made

We have the UK pin on public play this weekend at NERG in Newcastle. Videos from setup have some thoughts on build quality etc. Spoiler: pretty impressive

WHOA!