No pressure. If it's anything like your last get togethers at American Pinball. People will have a great time.

American Pinball opening their doors, greeting the people. And letting them play Oktoberfest. Will be a great time.

Just chatting with your crew is fun. And who knows, Nirmal and his little buddy might be there too !

LTG : )
Disclaimer : Now you know the meaning of the word pressure.

We have had Oktoberfest for 3 weeks, played over 400 games (it’s summer vacation in Vegas so lots of time) and still can’t get enough. I personally love the challenge of this pin. Getting the steins added up, multiballs primed for a tent mode then watching the scores exponentially increase with each switch hit gets us cheering. We discover something new and say wow, like the red lights next to each flipper that say, hey you’re about to tilt. Or how the upper flipper can be lowered while holding a ball in the left flipper to make the right orbit shot. If this is standard on machines with upper flippers than I’m an ignoramous because I had no idea until last night. If you release the right flipper button a little the upper flipper will drop while the lower flipper still stays up so you can hold a ball during mulitball. What else have we yet to discover? Looking forward to finding out...

Bright Green means the switch is active, Dark Green means it is a normally closed switch, that is currently not active. Red means the switch has an issue.

The goal is for it not to auto-grab in certain modes (Rocking Express, Fud Frenzy) but looks like I did not get that quite right, I will get that corrected in the next release. Also, the lamp will show yellow if you have magnabs, but will not turn off if they are currently not allowed for some reason. That will also be addressed in the next release.

the "surprise" auto-grab is earned via the pops, X pop hits will enable it, when the ball comes out of the pops, this also enables 'super striker', where you want to hit the newton ball (hard enough to make the captive ball hit the stand-up target, for big points), you hear Inga count down when this is lit.

You are a surprising sadistic man

What about the animations ? Are they going to change, be more attractive ?

Already are in the new code update....

cool but I all ready have other plans for that date so I can't make it.

keep your eyes peeled this won't be the only event in the near future.

You'll be doing one in the Seattle area too then?!

You never know

Too cool ! Ready for you here. Got a chair, pop, and pizza ready for you.

LTG : )

Hey AP guys, what coil is the knocker? It doesn’t appear to be labeled.

Labeled where? The support section on our website, under Oktoberfest should have the installation instructions.

For testing the coil, it is under Settings->Test->Cabinet->Knocker

Sorry, I should have been more clear. Inside the UX where I can adjust coil power there is no coil labeled “knocker” or something similar. There are a few which are just numbers. I suspect it is one of those since the knocker is optional.

Can you clarify what you're hoping to achieve? Unlike many other coil settings where an operator might want to adjust coil strengths to ensure that balls are kicked with appropriate strength, the knocker is more about the experience. The knocker shouldn't be very sensitive to things like playfield level. We intentionally play with knocker strength in code to make weaker or stronger THUNK!s based on the experience we're trying to convey... and unlike coils that interact with the ball that may be very sensitive to strength, there's no real penalty if the knocker is a bit too strong or too weak.

But if we're overlooking situations where it makes sense for operators to adjust the knocker strength, please let us know.

Thanks!

There are knocker strength settings in the feature settings to control the strength of the hit in the various modes that use it. The knocker strength for things like free game is not currently adjustable.

oops

When setting up the knocker, you have to go to a couple different places in the settings. My settings (in a home environment) are as follows and I am totally delighted:

Knocker = Mechanical

Mechanical Knocker on Bumper Cars = Off
Mechanical Knocker on Shooting Modes = Soft

Here's what I wrote about the knocker in my Pinside Ratings comments:

- The use of the knocker is brilliant. It's an add-on kit, but well worth it. It goes in the bottom cabinet, near the cross bar. The "pop" when shooting targets in Target Shooting mode (or Ducks in Duck Hunting mode) is great. I haven't seen a knocker used this well since Addams Family...

I wanted to make it slightly more quiet. It is fine as is for me, but the bar this game is going to might prefer something quieter. Hard to say. I’ll just tell them I cannot change it.

As Paul notes in the previous message, the more frequent usage of the knocker (during modes) does have Off/Soft/Medium/Loud options. Volume isn't currently adjustable for the replay knock. If you feel the volume is still too loud, of course there are "hack" solutions like putting a piece of felt on the strike plate to physically dampen the volume.

Hope this helps!

No, I like your answers. It was designed as the artist intended .

As the Chef prepared it. American Pinball in my mind has almost earned a Michelin star.

I got even more cycles on the game today. I want slightly alter my comments about the rock music…I think it is fine in the Rockin Express tent.

I did unfortunately notice a lot of points where the animations and modes would lag the real-time events that the ball was experiencing. It almost feels like the classic NES slowdown when too many things are happening at once. The game usually rebounds, but I received at least four black screens where all of the play field lights went dark before it snapped on to something else.

I managed to get a ball stuck at the top of the corkscrew ramp. It took me a full tilt to get it out of there. I had to lift the machine by one side very slightly. I also managed to hit a perfect corckscrew shot from the upper flipper. I swear it happened and I cannot begin to tell you how that is possible.

The mag nabs have been triggering and missing the ball a lot of the time. Sometimes they will trigger when the ball is nowhere near them. I am not sure how the auto trigger works, but it has been a little off today.

Lastly, my friend got a high score and there is a difference between the final game screen and saved score which just seems odd. (pictures posted)

35042E84-5923-4B9E-AA78-DFD1DF0AFBBD (resized).jpeg

CC1DD572-660D-4152-AB6D-04D085728AA8 (resized).jpeg

We've been doing some cleanup recently that should minimize occurrences like this.

Wow. Certainly never seen that. Looks like the difference is exactly 10,600, which would be the bonus (assuming no bonus X and the tent won wasn't on the last ball)... was there a tilt on the last ball or anything like that? My best guess at the moment is that something interfered with awarding bonus as expected... but why it would show up in one place and not the other is gonna take some investigating. Thanks for the report!

I've managed to reach Duck Derby a few times. When it starts, it says something about shooting green shots and avoiding red shots. Problem is, it always starts with all shots on the playfield lit up red. Is that normal? It happened today, and instead of shooting a red shot, I cradled two balls in the right flipper. With two balls cradled, each time I hit the left flipper button, I scored 2000 points, and I could do that forever.

No tilt, but there was a weird thing that happened inside the chugging mode. It switched to Otto and then went black screen and then said something like “you cheated” and next thing you know the mode was over.

I forgot to mention a couple more items…

My left loop opto does not consistently recognize the shot. This is one of those things that seems to correlate with the “slow down” when in muktiball modes like juggling.

Something causes a failed ball eject to trigger the “ball saved” animation occasionally. My guess is that the code is focused on the trough optos and not also listening for the shooter lane switch, but I don’t know.

Lastly, one code suggestion: when you go to start a new game and the balls haven’t yet made it back to the trough, maybe throw up the warning a few times before going into the ball search. I know impatient customers are going to tag that button three times before the balls return and I feel like that is unnecessary wear on the coils. (No science was used in that statement).

Thank you for reading these. This game has a lot of promise. I would again recommend people keep a close eye on this title because 2-3 more code updates and you will have something really remarkable.

Nope, those aren't normal behaviors. Based on the combination of symptoms you describe, I'd be suspicious that one of your duck targets is gapped too tightly, such that random coil kicks are causing it to trigger. Try going into Tests > Switches and then gently thump the playfield with your fist, and see if any of the duck targets activate when you do that. If so, widen the gap on that switch a bit and hopefully both of these problems disappear.

Ummmmm. I'm at a loss here. Josh did the code for Chugging, maybe this rings a bell with him.

If you don't mind, next time this happens to you, pop into the service menu right when it happens, insert a USB stick to capture a log, and send it to josh <at> american-pinball.com and ferret <at> american-pinball.com. My expectation is that while animations can occasionally get laggy, all shots should still be recognized as expected... so if that's not the case, we'd like to know what's going on so we can address it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

We can do that. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks for the kind words! Certainly we intend to try our best to polish any remaining rough edges and add some final icing on the cake... we want everyone to love their Oktoberfest.

Does anyone have some suggested scoring tips? I feel like this game just keeps kicking my ass. I was able to break a million one time only. I feel like I am doing something wrong.

Aim for any flashing light. Don't drain your ball.

LTG : )

tents and steins are your friends!

Multiballs, just put up 2.6 mil yesterday hungover and 2.4 mil today clear headed...you have to hit the shots and keep the balls alive. I did get a a couple extra balls during them, haven't figured out what I did to qualify.

If we did our jobs right, there's no single straightforward "do this and blow the game up" strategy... but here are some things to consider:

- Tents are the main scoring opportunities of the game. The value of shots in tents is based on the number of ducks you have. You earn ducks by hitting unlit duck standups around the playfield, and by winning tent modes.

- An implication of the previous statement is that the early game goal re: tents is not necessarily scoring big points, it's simply winning the tent. So early in the game, consider playing tents that you think you have a good chance of winning, even if they're not super valuable themselves. Save more point-rich tents for later, once you've accumulated enough ducks to juice up their scoring a bit.

- Of course strategic selection of steins is key. Remember that each stein offers two power-ups: a "global" effect (like making it easier to start multiballs or giving more playfield X time), and multiplying the scoring of a specific tent. By design, stronger global effects tend to be paired with less valuable tents, and vice versa... but this also means that there are some steins that have fairly balanced global effects and matched tents. Those might be better choices early on. And generally you'll really want to have the stein associated with any tent you choose to play.

- The two main multiballs (Beer Barrel and Corkscrew) aren't necessarily big points on their own, so ideally you do something to amp them up. Steins are one way to do that (Frosty Ferret for Beer Barrel, Freak Show Rooster for Corkscrew). The other is to get calories at the Food Stand. The most calorie-rich Food Stand features are the alternating ones: 2nd, 4th, etc.

- If at all possible, have a tent going when you start a multiball. Some of the tents to stack with multiball are obvious choices (frenzy-ish tents like Füd Frenzy and Bumper Cars) but don't overlook some of the others... e.g. Duck Hunt can be a very good choice; you might be surprised how many incidental duck target hits you get during a multiball.

- If you've won 2, 3, or more tents in a single ball, Tent Win Bonus will probably start becoming huge, and you may want to start focusing on raising your bonus X (complete all 4 distinct duck targets), possibly with a Reclab Redrum Stout in hand to boost the increase. Several million points in bonus alone is possible.

Have fun!

Now that we know the game better, I wonder if we would have made different choices on some of these. Are some modes easier/more lucrative then we thought they would be, are the values of certain steins greater/lesser relative to heir global power. My view of all three aspects, global strength value, tent boosted and the timing of them, continue to evolve. Having said all of that, I don' think I could name a stein/tent combo this is too valuable, not sure if there are any that I would described as having lesser value, I'll have to think about that.

Figured before someone asked . . . the fourth duck is up in the pop area. Speaking of ducks, Duck Hunt stacked with multiball is extra fun if you have the knocker installed.

So I played my first games of American Pinball this weekend, the Oktoberfest I played was setup poorly could not make the ramp and other issues so the game seemed terrible but 100% know that setup is king so I'll find a better one to play game looked great, loved so many aspects about it but could not get into due to the issues shame of a new pin to be wasted like this. Played Houdini and was amazed, that game is next for me was shocked at what a hit it was from the first plunge.

This is excellent! Thank you!

I had another UX/Code suggestion. I like what you guys are trying to do with the tent screens, but I think putting them all on one UI like the stein screen might be a little more effective. Sometimes the big screen scrolling effects aren't really worth the drama. The end user is better capable of selecting the next tent when they all show up in the same order, indicate if they have any current stein bonus, and indicate if you have completed them or not.

I could sketch something up if that helps to explain...but I don't want to overstep. You guys keep doing what you need to do .

You can see all of that and move to the desired tent far faster by looking down at the playfield. The selection (flashing white) always goes in order (direction based on which flipper hit), if Yellow you played it but did not win, green you won it, beer color means you have the stein and have not yet played it.

Oh, I didn't realize the playfield reflected the selection screen. I'll have to try that!

This mensch is sage... great advice any day of the week

The ducks element wasn’t clear to me. Shooting kit targets over and over would net me 100k in tents. Now I see that going into tents should be done in a calculated way.

The apron instruction card does mention that ducks boost scoring, but yeah, not necessarily super obvious.

Where did you play the Oktoberfest that was not setup correctly?

Our local one is still struggling in its initial setup.

Balls from the food VUK seem to race down the rail of the connecting habittrail and fly out the left side instead of dropping into the habitrail to the inlane. The VUK just barely gets the ball over the top, so it's not VUK power. It looks like when it drops into the connecting habittrail it doesn't drop in.. rather rides the second rail.

The ball can get hungup on the shooter lane gate very easily for some reason... so soft plunges often lead to stuck balls with zero chance of ball search moving it as there are no coils around there (tho I don't think ball search will even go off)

Hard plunges often go to the target below the rotating gate... instead of into the bar hole.

The plunger spring seems super weak and unless you palm it.. no way to get the ball up near the bar at all on a plunge

Barrel ramp is impossible (and I've played a half a dozen different examples.. I know what is normal..)

This is a brand new game delivered in the last two weeks.. I don't think the owner has had a chance to try to dial it in.

I have had the same VUK problem and I have tried to remedy it via adjusting the coil strength; limited success with a failure rate at about 20%. I contacted AP support but no response yet. I sent a PM to Josh thinking maybe it needs a code solution like the lower right flipper but he also has not responded yet. I don't like the idea of bending the wire form for fear of messing it up. Hopefully someone at AP will provide an answer. It should be a minor problem for an otherwise great game.

Call me 224.422.3191.

Once again, the AP team proves to be the best you can hope to have. Those AP guys must never take time off. Both Josh and Barry of AP responded tonight to my support request and the problem was quickly solved. Barry sent me photos of where and how to tweak the wire forms and what level to adjust the VUK coil power to and all is good now. The solution might be different for someone else's machine but it was right on for mine. Many thanks to Barry and Josh (Rosh). And, I have to say it one more time, OKTOBERFEST is absolutely amazing! It is one of my all time favorite pins and I recommend playing it to all who get the chance but beware, you'll want one.

Team AP definitely wants their customers to get the most out of their games. Playing and enjoying.

LTG : )

I got the same treatment. Very nice to see!

If anyone has a problem call or text me. 224.422.3191.

If your game isn't setup right it will not play well, and you will not have fun.

Let me make Oktoberfest fun for you..

And if you play one of our games on location and it isn't playing right.. Tell them to call me too. A good playing game will earn more