Well I officially screwed up. I put down a deposit on the Fathom because it's a machine I've wanted forever thinking it was 6k AUD only to read further down later and see it's actually 11.5k AUD. DOH. That's more than I wanted to spend. I sent them an email so hopefully they will refund me. I can't believe I did something so stupid. I should never pinside while tired.

I wish Spirit was remade. Awesome game

It’s the LE, I’m sure someone will take it. Just keep it and sell your spot for 2k more once they sell out. Seems standard practice

Only Bally's.

Fathom has been on my radar for a couple of months. Just never found one close... Now I have deposit on the Mermaid Edition. Planetary is a mile down the road from my house... Can't wait to pick it up in a couple of months.

If they were to hit full steam on day 1... which is highly unlikely... first container probably wouldn’t land until likely sept. Hope for an xmas present

At the very earliest I would think. Best everyone has realistic expectations on time frames of pre-orders to avoid disappointment. Hopefully Haggis can chime in at some point with some realistic time frames.

If Haggis starts running late with my deposit in, I'll just cut and paste comments here from the RAZA thread.

iirc, finding b/w drop target banks is usually done on a one by one basis. Haggis will need at least 1,000 for their mermaid edition and another 1k should they sell 250 standard editions. Hopefully they have a source who can make them.

The most intriguing aspect of this project is the 2.0 software. I’ve always tired of Fathom because of shallow rules, so adding some modes and more purpose are outstanding ideas. Execution of software and newly engineered mechs will make or break the game imo.

I like the company and it’s ideals, am intrigued by the hammer-tested playfield, trust the president will make my game and not steal my $1.2k US deposit, think the upgrades to mermaid edition are worth $1.5k US difference, don’t believe games will be built @50 / month rate and can’t wait to see these being unboxed. I think Haggis can average 25 games a month and so this run will take 10 months, and that is ambitious.

Rumour has it number 196 sold

I don't think the order number is the number of games sold.

I ordered a clan membership a few months back and was order #63. Then I ordered the game and was order #120. I think it's the order number for ordering anything at Haggis but this is just speculation on my part. My order went in around 10:30 AM EST.

Once it arrives in the USA do you have to pay more in shipping from Planetary to your home?

I hope not. No other manufacturers hit you for a shipping fee. Right?

I must have missed this. Are the export to the USA games, all going to Planetary Pinball Supply ?

LTG : )

They are shipping to Nevada, so you can pick it up and drag it home in your whatever.

Vegas is only 5 and half hours away from me lol

Yes

I just read up on it on This Week In Pinball. Thank you.

LTG : )

Road trip!

Was so stoked to see the boys get this license. For once an Aussie company doing something really cool, aside from the first original IP title. Literally the one classic pin I've nearly bought a bunch of times now. The idea of nothing more than interstate freight from the factory is so novel!! Now I know what all the US members take for granted lol (well from the distrib of course).

Well that depends. Will you start a preorder thread so you can shelter in place from reality?

Sweet! Keep us posted!!

From TWIP
Wow!! Sounds great.

2.0 RULES OVERVIEW
The new ruleset is more story driven with players progressing through mermaid battle modes, lagoon and mermaid multiballs, a battle with the Queen Mermaid and her Mermaidens and a final Mermaid Treasure wizard mode. The adventure continues 40 years after the original story with the daughter of the diver from 1981 returning to the lagoon where her father went missing to find out what happened. We have repurposed many playfield elements with a ruleset that is now mode-based whilst keeping the spirit of the original machine. The new code enables us to create a longer gaming experience than people are used to with the original game while still being a challenge to achieve the final goal.

The main action in the game will be a choice between multiballs and progressive battles with 4 Mermaidens and the Mermaid Queen. Every time a mermaiden is defeated you will have to escape back to the boat via a series of cave Escape Hurry Up modes. Blue targets will qualify modes and multiballs starting at the lagoon scoop at the top right of the playfield and green targets will qualify Mermaid battles at the right cave trap scoop. The 1,2,3 targets in sequence qualify mermaid Multiball both also starting at the right cave scoop. We have new rules for the spinner, playfield multipliers and how the green and blue bonuses are now increased and now instrumental with mermaid battles and multiballs.

To qualify for the Mermaid Treasure wizard mode, you will need to obtain 4 mermaid artifacts achieved by defeating the Mermaid Queen, completing the Lagoon and Mermaid multiballs and by earning the Playfield Super Jackpot. The Mermaid Queen battle is one of the most challenging modes in the game however if you have defeated her Mermaidens before reaching her it will be easier.

There’s a lot more to the new rules we are looking forward to showing everyone soon.

I hear the new/extra code is like a completely new game and more like a modern game with modern objectives/features and new callouts/sounds etc. And will also be update-able. Sounds pretty cool......

Edit: frankmac beat me to it by a few secondss.....

with 2 x mini LCD screens in apron , the possibilities are hopeful going to be amazing

Youll be able to drop in and see the progress of your game being made.

I'm in San Tan Valley too, maybe we do a road trip?

I'm liking the sound of all these old classics (before my time) being remade with modern components and rules. It's sorta like pinball arcade / zen creating the classics but the real thing this time! From watching the "so you want to build a pinball" series to this is absolute incredible. Cant wait to see what the future holds for this company! Also shows what a few enthusiastic guys can do by them self

Sweet.
I hope they do Dolly.

CrazyLevi, back in the late 70's early 80's, an Australian company 'A Hankin and Co' produced and sold a 'licensed' wide body pinball machine based on an unknown movie by the name of 'Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back'. If you're thinking that Aussies are somehow less business oriented on licensing think again. We probably invented it.
Damien and the Haggis brand are going to go very well showcasing Australian ingenuity at its finest like we always do in manufacturing.

Mr Pinball Australia had a Bally/Williams pinball license along with Gene Cunningham back in the day too. Jeez, I wonder how that ever happened?
I dont think we used an industry veteran.

Nice choice Rick, you picked a great company and a top bunch of guys to work with on this project.

It won't.

Listening to the Pinball Profile interview. Hi Jeff, I think you are wrong. I do not believe George Gomez has even stated that it is difficult to reproduce early 1980s games. But he has said, that the problem with it is that people will expect them to be cheaper than contemporary games. But they will be expensive due to low run, drop target mechs and the fact that it is far from just a reuse of the original blueprints.

Have we worked out if it’s a real backglass or plexi?

I just put down the deposit on. Let s hope the Aussie can deliver.
Etienne

Congratulations! What was your confirmation # ? If you don’t mind sharing. Thx.

order 216

Maybe you guys can help me out with this.

I’ve mostly played modern games the oldest pin I’ve owned was BOP. I’ve played some 70/80s pins but not a lot. I recently played Centaur and really liked that. But I’ve not played Fathom ever. But it’s something I’ve thought that I’d love to own because of its reputation and the art is great. But I’ve really been shy from buying old pins and love the new stuff (remakes) love AFM how it is old school but has modern touches. Now Fathom will have both old and new code that’s something I really love.

I’m asking if I should take the chance and order one never having played a Fathom. Now it’s rare so maybe if I don’t love it that’s not a huge deal to sell it.

I’m getting Alien and was thinking about a new Stern but that’s the same story, I can always get a Stern later they will run them for years, but the Fathom is super rare.

I guess my pros / cons

Pro
-Beautiful game (unlike the rest of my collection)
-Rare
-Game is a classic (one of the better 80s games)
- Two sets of rules

Cons
-Never played it
-unknown new company
-Kind of expensive

I’m just curious especially for folks that have owned or played Fathom a lot if it’s a great game? Any advice? I’ve played Beatles and Whoa Nelly (not the biggest fan of Whoa Nelly but liked the Beatles more).

Thanks.

So exciting that us Aussie's can now enter the conversation as legit pinball producers, rather than just avid and rabid lovers of all things pinball. Incredibly exciting times.

Kudos to Damien and Haggis. I wish I had the spare coin and space, as Fathom would be one of my fav early SS.

Despite being a single level playfield there is a decent amount going on with this game. It has a LOT of drop targets, there is a reason why most modern games tend to feature stand up targets over drops. They are very expensive and complex mechanism, but they are so much more rewarding to hit.

A friend has the original Fathom and I really enjoyed it. The additional rules 2.0 that come with the Mermaid Edition would increase the depth of the game and make it even more fun.

Fathom was the first game I owned about 20 years ago, sold it long ago and missed it. Had a chance to get another one a couple of years ago at half the price of this Haggis release and passed, deciding that modern games are just more fun to play for my tastes. Upon reading the news of this re-release on the weekend I was pretty convinced I’d be in at the right price point... but they missed the mark on that for me. I was in at Stern pro pricing if it included the 2.0 code. I’m sure they’ll sell their 250 units though, I wish them luck, I really do love the classic Bally’s.

I took the gamble on purchasing an original without ever playing one. I knew I liked the era after getting a Centaur and a few other classic Ballys (Paragon, Embryon, Future Spa). It did not dissapoint. At the the time it was 2x more expensive than any game I owned. Never had a regret.

Went downstairs and played it last night after reading this game announcement and was reminded how truly gorgeous and fun this game is to play. If you ever wanted to own a Fathom, I think this is a no-brainer.

I love drop targets and my original Fathom is fun. That said, it was hard to find and expensive. I will probably be in on one of the subsequent Bally remakes though because I like games of that era, used stuff is hard to find, and I think I’ll be phasing Pinbot out of my lineup sometime in the next few years.

Maybe so, but how do you solve the fact the ball drains in the opposite direction?

I'm a HUGE 80s Bally fan. I love me some 90s B/W and newer games too, but there's so much more uniqueness to the early Bally stuff. That's why despite continuing to modernize my collection, I keep a row of Ballys. Partly due to that, and partly due to the fact that all of my Ballys are awaiting restoration, it makes "upgrading" to the 2.0 models much easier decisions for me. I've been hoping for someone to release newer code for years.

I'd like to universally recommend that you take the leap, but 80s stuff is a different play style than contemporary machines. If you have not really played any, it's hard to say whether you will like them or not.

That said, you mentioned that you liked Centaur. Fathom and Centaur are the 2 most typically revered games of this era, although they play VERY differently. They're popular partly due to good play, but also due to cool aesthetics and theme. While I like Centaur, the OG rules can get repetitive since you can keep multiball going forever. However, the theme is so cool. Fathom is a harder game than Centaur, and not the multiball-fest. You have to work a lot harder to get multiball with lighting the saucers and then knocking down all the drops.

To me, neither game is worth $9K for just the OG rules, but with original AND new 2.0 code, I feel like at least these 2 are no-brainers. If you like drops at all, and in particular in-line drops, then Fathom should be fun for you. It plays slower than what you're probably used to, but I've heard that the Haggis dimple-free playfield, combined with modern flippers, will make the game play much faster than originals. That sounds fun.

If you have not read the explanation of the rules (high level overview) then you should do that. To me, the new rules sound fun, and they hint at diversifying what you shoot for around the playfield.

IF...and I mean IF, Haggis can pull off the execution, I can't see not recouping your money if you go in on the Mermaid edition and don't like it. I don't like to tell people how to spend your money, but this seems like a fairly low risk proposition for something that seems really cool and has a lot of upside for fans of this era of games.

Just as a point of comparison, in the last several months I've gotten AIQ Prem, ST Comic Prem, JP Prem, STh Prem, Rick and Morty, and I have RAZA (hopefully) and EHOH on the way. I'm more excited about this Fathom release than any of those. Not saying I'll deem it the best game of the bunch, but I'm super pumped to get reimagined versions of these classic games.

It’s really not that rare of a game. About 3400 produced. What makes it rare is most people that have it won’t sell. Because they love it. That pretty much answers your question. It a great game with one of the best art packages for that era.

I meant to say the Haggas remake will be rare at 250 only.

Thanks.

I’m trying to not just order everything under the sun but this is very tempting. I can’t get over the price but considering that it’s a limited run (like my R&M only less) that does make it a bit easier to stomach.