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Zidware Pinball USA, 2012You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider kneissl.
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Ben Heck when on to spooky to actually ship games.. there's gotta be a thread explaining why he left the zombie adventure project, right?? I'd be interested to see a couple year old explanation of why he bailed; I suspect it resonates with the Aurich rant.
Quoted from lllvjr:http://www.google.com/patents/US20130147111
Here's some public patent info
The patent idea looks sweet, but pinball patents are super lame. What's good for pinball should be good for everyone in pinball. I believe Old man Gottlieb said something like that, and Gottlieb ruled the roost under his direction.
Quoted from Zaxxis:Or he could be smoking blunts made up of $100 bills daily.
mmm C-Note blunts
This seems relevant...
STEVE: Oh, World Cup. World Cup was taken over.
MARK: It wasn’t a bad pin, it’s still all right, actually we still operate it.
STEVE: In the end it turned out to be pretty Ok, but in the beginning it was handled by a newbie. The game designer was a stubborn newbie, and it had to be taken over by someone else.
MARK: Did this happen very often?
STEVE: Actually it never happened before unless somebody died or got sick.
MARK: Did he abandon the project or did he just get the sack?
STEVE: Neither. He cooperated, learned and latter did Theatre of Magic and some other really good work. But when he first came in he thought he just knew everything about making pinballs and it is just not that kind of thing. You have to live it for a long time, you must have an affinity for mechanicals and you have to be able to work with other people.
MARK: Working with others is essential, unless you are a going it alone.
STEVE: No one could make a great pinball alone. The closest I’ve seen is Brian Eddy on Shadow, I think. I believe he drew the game and then programmed it. It was quite a feat, but he had to learn about mechanicals on that game. It was tough, but I will always admire him for doing that.
Quoted from Aurich:Totally relevant! What's that from? Assume the Mark in question is his brother?
http://www.pinball.com.au/special-products/steve-ritchie-interview-part-1/
The only Ritchie in the interview is Steve.
Quoted from rai:I'm not that religious, but there are many wise things said in the Bible, it says:
One does not light a lamp and then place it under a basket, instead one places the lamp on a stand so that all can see its light.
by their fruit you will recognize them
Quoted from StevenP:That's the only reason I posted here, for the moment--you will see a lot of the things you've been waiting for very soon.
I remember being stoked about these games.. hopefully 'very soon' isn't the same one the nucore guys were using a year or two ago about their re-release... cool pin stuff would be much better sooner than later.
Quoted from HighProtein:Last time that I talked with him he said there will not be coin operation code in these games.
I really doubt anyone would route one of these hahaha.
SUUUUper lame
Quoted from The_Crow:Oh how I wish this thread would die. Disgusted with all the negativity and critique especially from persons not even invested in the project.
I'm kinda blown away that a few bits of art get tossed out and the crowd seems happy again. Bread and circuses. Maybe the owners club reveal was actually something.
Quoted from jwilson:I wouldn't say "happy", more that it's a sign of *something* getting out rather than the *nothing* that was coming out before. That said, people should still hold his feet to the fire about getting real info.
Seemed like the pitch forks were out and everyone was ready to storm the jpop castle. I'd be cheering and whooping with everyone if he revealed something cool like some dots and balls rolling on playfield video. More art after all this time seems very meh.
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:Since I'm an art moron, I'd like to use this chance to say I didn't understand what he meant, lol.
Does he mean that there are 1 million individual lines in his vector art? Is that insane? Seems to me that wouldn't be a good metric. It's like saying "Look how good my code is, there are a million lines."
Lumbergh only cares about how many lines you wrote this week. cmon'!
Quoted from Fulltilt:I believe John wants a theme park type atmosphere in the game. Several toys are along that line. The little people on the playfield remind me of the Comet and Cyclone playfields.
The nod to Python is cool.
Quoted from hank527:So how do those of us that gave him money, get it back?
I feel we are all going to be out our deposit.
If there are any kool aid drinkers left, I'll sell my $6500.00 spot for $5250.00 cash right now. Or I'll trade it for a game around the $5000-$5500 price range. That's almost a 20% discount for one lucky potential buyer.
Any takers ?
Emotionally this is tempting. I think most everyone here wants it to happen. It sucks that right now it just doesn't look good.
Quoted from Aurich:I assumed that the ball had a welded post under it, so that it was screwed in from underneath.
Either way it doesn't look like the play field was cut with it in mind.
Quoted from frolic:Today is Feb 18, we have 10 days left in Feb. What are the odds we see a finished RAZA as promised in Feb?
Slim and none, and slim just left town.
Quoted from frolic:Reviewing the blog post, this quote is really infuriating me:
"we continue to build our solid pinball foundation of really high-end work which we will be able to present in our next round of investor talks <b>next week.</b>"
Next week is next month. Slim left town, climbing on board the spaceX dragon about to reach outer space.. shit. I'll bet a translite that space X gets a man in orbit before jpop ships a machine.
Quoted from iceman44:In my opinion, there is ZERO chance that anybody would want to "invest" in his pinball company.
Would any of you guys? No.
I agree with Retro that he will/should be seeking out some kind of joint venture agreement with a production partner, if that's possible.
It's clear to me that John is just going to meander down the road at his own pace. I'm convinced that nothing we say or do will make a bit of difference. Goes in one ear and out the other.
I think he is banking on the fact that once MG gets out there, excitement will build for RAZA and AIW and whatever else he has planned.
I'm sure excitement will build... whenever MG ships....
Quoted from frolic:I'm just venting here. This has been such a frustrating experience.
Total frustration station from an outsider who just can't swing on a sweet big dollar pin like this. With what I know as a coder and that opinion being backed by BenHeck; coding a pin is a huge effort. They need to pick something and go. The game can ship with crap code as proven by Stern and JJP. We're still talking a year+ of dev time to cook to decent maturity.
Quoted from SadSack:**Content of post removed by mod**
There is no reason for a post of this type. This is inflammatory and only designed to stir the pot. If you have any hard facts or evidence, you are welcome to start a proper thread with them, but this post is not appropriate.
Jpop was caught at minimum stretching the truth. Sad sack may live up to his name stirring things, but there's unsettling shit that has come to light... Lotta ins lotta outs.. Literally.
http://www.pinball.com.au/special-products/steve-ritchie-interview-part-1/
I think the comments in this interview apply more than ever.
edit:
STEVE: Oh, World Cup. World Cup was taken over.
MARK: It wasn’t a bad pin, it’s still all right, actually we still operate it.
STEVE: In the end it turned out to be pretty Ok, but in the beginning it was handled by a newbie. The game designer was a stubborn newbie, and it had to be taken over by someone else.
Quoted from Concretehardt:Stern Predator LE sounds epic!
its a slam dunk. the theme is what put the shit-b goggles on everyone (including myself) fantastic licensed theme.
Quoted from Aurich:So I got a PM from John's lawyer Steve the other day, and he told me nothing in it was confidential and that I could share it. It's really long, and I don't think there's really any point right now in pasting it all. But I thought back to this quote from it when I read what you just said:
"Some vendors are probably upset because he has checked out many, going with the cheapest option for quality parts when he can, and those that were not on board after prototyping are understandably unhappy."
I'm guessing that whatever the truth is behind that statement is the source of the problem here.
I don't see how there can be confusion about unpaid bills. Who on earth would design and ship electronic prototypes for free?
All bills should be paid. Until then he has literally stolen time and money from everyone with an outstanding invoice.
Quoted from sd_tom:Its sad how quickly he responded to aiw leaks vs .. Well every thing else.
It's double sad he hasn't paid for products and work contracted... how many people/companies has he burned?!
Quoted from StevenP:The quote did not refer to actual parts orders like the one you describe (where the specs are confirmed and full order placed), but to one-off prototype development in the hope that the prototype will be accepted and ordered in quantity. Two different things.
Are you serious? what a sham!
Wind-Willows-DizRadio.jpg
Edit: pardon my enthusiasm, but pay your friggin' debts jpop!
I'm running out of fingers counting up the people jpop has ripped off... And his law dog comes on here to try & twist things.. what a shyster.
Quoted from RobT:Actually his lawyer hasn't been paid either, so let's not get too carried away.
Sorry gents.
Got too emotional. I'll bow out.
Quoted from StevenP:I dunno, being called a 'shyster' is a new one for me! People I work with in real life would have a chuckle at that one. [EDIT: Gotta give props for "law dog" too!]
I'm Glad you took it in good humor. 
Quoted from Strange:John is the most creative guy in pinball.
Quoted from Pimp77:Lyman, Keefer, and Nordman may say otherwise.
Quoted from HunchbackHodler:Didn't GLM admit this here? Oh well.
I don't think GLM gave a dollar value.
I believe the $7k number was posted second hand as what's owed to cointaker,
also I don't remember any numbers from the other disgruntled contractors that got "jpop'd"
Quoted from pinballwil:Hahaha, No way....... only one will be made for myself.
I think it will be finished in time for the Dutch DPO november 2015.
Who;s curious look for Medieval Castle
you got a thread of build progress?
Quoted from RobT:And I personally don't have a serious problem with someone who says he's one of the most creative guys in pinball. He's done some great stuff for sure.
He said "the most" not one of... just sayin'
Quoted from RobT:I know.
And I don't really have a problem with it.
Just sayin'.
He's totally one of.. but not close to being the most.
Quoted from Jnewton:Let's not forget as it relates to Jpop as well, that Ritchie came in and helped finish WCS 94. No wonder it flows so well. I still think Lawlor does gimmicks better than Jpop, but prefer Ritchie's designs overall.
If we're talking about gimmicks, you can't top the greatest in all of pinball.. Mist multiball!
Quoted from KerryImming:1. Reset the schedule expectations and give John the time he needs. IMO, he's about 2 years from shipping a MG.
I think you mean light years as in ~ 10 trillion miles away.
Jpop's reputation in the toilet is just about all I see coming out of it. If he would just finish one game he would have another volley of take my money buyers.. His games are just so damn pretty.
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:I agree, but I don't know that it would be successful. We all have different ideas of what an appropriate architecture would look like even down to what language should be used. I personally think python isn't a great language, and would pretty much do anything to avoid it. I've been REALLY spoiled by .NET.
The hardware isn't exactly open either. For me to be involved in a project like this it would take unhindered access to both the hardware and the software. The designs for both would have to be released under a GPL license, unless I'm getting paid. Barring a world where all the different hardware builders come together and decide on a common board-to-board protocol or something, I don't see everyone aligning their egos to one hardware platform.
I'd like to help current platforms become stronger options, but I also don't put up with politics and ego on a project I'm not getting paid for. Just my 2 cents.
I do a bit of python.. it's not the most beautiful of languages and very annoying/ugly when indentation gets dicked up. What a terrible idea.
Quoted from rosh:Not sure how you define 'beautiful', I've not been using python that long, but I think the indentation as a requirement in order for code to properly work has huge benefits in insuring readability, so not sure how you can say annoying/ugly when it gets messed up, other then yes, your code won't run correctly it it is not indented correctly. It also keeps the code less cluttered and easier to read, imo, since you don't have a million braces all over the place.
Quoted from Warbleboopie:I went ahead and emailed my resume, credentials, a nice one-page introduction and additional information to Jpop.
Good Luck.
Quoted from Mr68:I'm withdrawing my official complaint against Jpop and will excitedly continue on with Magic Girl and RAZA.
I cannot and will not explain further. No private emails please.
Crap like this sounds more like skitB than ever before….
Quoted from jwilson:Should have recorded the calls and posted them as evidence that Popaduik is a liar and delusional.
jpop has already proven that on his own. Queue the next volley of helpers to get jpop'd
Quoted from ZidwarePR:Anyone want to see the marketing ideas that were put together for these pins?
Post it up. anything that can bring in a little sunshine.
Quoted from BillySastard:JPop has officially hit rock bottom. Hopefully he can only go up from here.
There's a good topcast interview with Cameron. Very cool story how get got started at Williams. From what I understand cv code (original & home ROM) is all him.
Quoted from TigerLaw:I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps JPop is on some type of medication having a negative impact on his cognitive abilities . . .
Quoted from dung:Never played AMH, but Spooky cannot compete in the art department. It doesn't really matter who you want to bring up, no one can touch JPOP for his art. Spooky would design functional machines, but they just won't look anything like a JPop game which is why people threw money at him to begin with.
Why can't someone else hire jpop's artist?
Quoted from Mr68:I'm withdrawing my official complaint against Jpop and will excitedly continue on with Magic Girl and RAZA.
What happened with this?
Are you back on board the jpop stinks train?
Quoted from Mr68:Yes, this is open information but posting it to a public forum smacks of vigilantism and its totally unnecessary. This is another reason why Pinside is so disgraceful and now we have a moderator condoning this lowbrow behavior.
Quoted from StevenP:P.S. A few others here have visited the workshop within the past few months. You saw this stuff too, right? I wasn't really hallucinating the whole thing, really....
Lawdog, you're craaazy!
Skebobbanna
Gettin' mad baby.
Baloo-and-King-Louie-dancing.gif
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:You just have to view this all through your new set of zidware glasses.
Found exclusively at http://www.zidwareglasses.com
Quoted from zombieyeti:It makes me smile to hear so many people appreciate the effort I've put into it. It means a LOT! Thanks everyone - you've got a rad community here!
You rule dude. Even if you're jpop'd, you gotta be nearly guaranteed a contract doing a pin for a real manufacturer.
Quoted from pinstor12:He told me that two years ago.
http://www.zidwareglasses.com will do that to you.
Quoted from pinstor12:What has John done the 10 years before his whiz bang idea to be a pinball manufacturer?
Don't bring whizbang into it. They actually made games.
Quoted from frolic:I know he's working "7x14" on getting the MG video done, but just last week he posted this on the raza blog:
That was the last post, April 21, 8 days ago.
I don't think anything is going to change.
Quoted from rommy:Wrong. So wrong . It is an anti-Semitic reference. Please stop using it.
Try and be more offended next time. K thx.
Quoted from iceman44:Remember it like it was yesterday, one of the more comical lines he's ever uttered.
Don't recall exactly the gist of it but I think someone posted that he was running around there offering up his services to the inferior "competition", to basically fix their poor quality BS
What a douche.
Quoted from ZenTron:If I won the lotto for 100+ Mil, id consider backing JPop at $1 Mil.
I'd buy him out, no way I'd back him.
Quoted from MinusWorlds:To me making vague, ambiguous posts like this when you apparently know more is only slightly less douchey than what JPOP is doing. There are people in this thread with thousands on the line. Have some respect for them. If you know something say it. You aren't under an NDA. But I'm sure you'll have some BS excuse why you must remain quiet.
Whoever you guys are responding to must be a gem.. One of very few users I have on the ignore list.
Quoted from Concretehardt:New facebook post from JPOP:
image.jpg (Click image to enlarge)
Is that block of machined aluminum paid for, or is he stealing it like he's done with so many other suppliers?
"Students will eventually move into designing and building their own pinball playfields to be hand wired and completed, good enought to flip and take home. The basic skills of pinball design will leave the students feeling accomplished and knowledgable with a basic RUBRIC that will be used to measure performance, undersatanding and goals."
good enought to flip...
Jpoop is a stubborn noob.
Quoted from jwilson:Actually, we should try to organize a seminar with Popaduik. That way, all the buyers will know ahead of time where he is and at what time so they can gather and ask him some questions in person.
I doubt anyone would call him out at a show if he was just walking around, but they'd be way more vocal in a seminar setting!
I doubt he can go to a show without getting called out.
Quoted from lllvjr:Well now that the suit is files that should have him pump the brakes on the ramps and going out west... New excuse for him to say it's not his fault
I'll venture a guess that he's got enough cash to keep up these shenanigans for years, yet far short of what would be needed to actually deliver. That is until the jpop'd start calling in the law to settle things.
This hail Mary pass looks to me like a litmus test for the new entity to see how toxic the water is. He doesn't want to taint his name with jpoop if nobody will drink the coolaid.
Unless the investor has access to the stern assembly line I say casino odds on getting a game through mystery savior.
Quoted from rai:two faced snake
Python said in the famous topcast interview about Jpop 'the guy doesn't even feel about pinball, he will do anything. he is a chameleon.. a lizard... and Python knows it because Python is the king of snakes.'... 'I eat Popadiuks for breakfast'
Quoted from Pinballs:That is very interesting. I wish I'd heard that at the time...
Which topcast was that in?
http://www.pinrepair.com/topcast/topcast_42.mp3
Around 1:37 is where he tells it like it is about jpop
Quoted from pinballrockstar:This letter came from John 01-25-2015:.....Dennis Nordman and Cameron Silver visited this last
week (to check up on me) and were floored. They could not believe the
progress of the games and how beautiful they are and creative.
They left without words, and yes my family and myself are fully dedicated.
Johnm
I wonder if they left without words just like Gomez when he saw what a shit show jpop made of star wars. I'll edit and add the topcast interview.. Totally worth a listen.
Quoted from ChadH:Do you have a picture from the average player's perspective?
I'll see what I can get. I got the pics around 3am Seattle time. So someone else will probably get them before my bros wake up.
One more interesting thing: friend said he thought magic girl code felt more complete than hobbit.. But theres a lot of game in hobbit.
Art is great, cluttered is cool to me. Like Python games with lots of things to discover.
The lighting... Like a koala bear crapped a rainbow in my brain!
My take:
Everyone involved seriously loves pinball and contributed to create very beautiful partially complete pins.
John Popadiuk is human filth.
Quoted from hank527:And yet people on here still defend him. It's unbelievable to me. John P is the worst thing that has happened to pinball in the last 20 years. Maybe ever. Though he did kill almost any new pinball startup that request money up front without a working prototype.
I cannot stand the man.
He also seriously fumbled pinball 2000, and peeved gomez. Probably why stern wouldn't touch him.
download (1).jpgQuoted from frobozz:Nothing at all to do with John - in fact, long ago enough that the statute of limitations protects him from legal recourse (but there's no limit on him living with the knowledge of his crimes.)
Explination? Far as I know Cameron made CV a good game on his own time.. which puts him in high regard in my mind.
Quoted from frobozz:Sorry, was following this thread because I like John and wanted to keep up with what was happening, but couldn't let pass a comment about what a great guy Cameron is. He's not. He comes across as all nice and sweet but that's just part of the grooming process. Watch him around your teenage sons. I didn't well enough and we're all still paying the price.
LOL WTF!
Taking phone in questions would've made it worh listening to.. I couldn't make it through the interview...
"Next caller, you have a question?
Yeah... @$$#@$#*%$@* you jpop!!!"
Quoted from someoneelse:But hey - it took him 10 years to finish WCS, so he still has 5+ years to finish MG...that's the main message of all his talk.
I thought Steve Ritchie said they had to take over wcs in unprecedented fashion.
What's the deal with all his talk about designing at bally? I see Ice castle in the ipdb.. None built. Is ice castle wcs? Anyone know more of the story?
Jplop getting redemption would be amazing.. chances just went from none to slim and none in my book.
I listened to the topcast interview with Kordek again today, and he really avoided saying anything negative about anyone, but did say jpop wouldn't listen and he was impossible to work with.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Well we can't all be you, saint wolfie.
How come the guys who say they are "owed" a free magic girl won't answer me when I ask if they got it in writing?
They have answered that question (in the affirmative) at least once in this thread. They aren't "free" they are partial payment. Get real.
Quoted from spfxted:Love it! Those Little Red Cone Things!
Give Brenda a couple quarters, k man isn't lasting long.
Jpop Cashed out his reputation, and the Magic Girl scraps are the last bits of any value that will come out of the Popadiuk pinball mind.
Quoted from TigerLaw:He had a phenomenal reputation in the pinball community and was a beloved speaker at shows. I don't think Stern would have ever hired him (Gomez knew too much about him from WMS) but - had the Zidware project never happened at all - I could easily have seen him doing a one off game at JJP like Lawlor.
His games are totally loved, but I had the impression his reputation was not great inside the industry.
Quoted from Nighthawk128:What happens now? There still must be legal action against Zidware over Raza and AIW right?
Sure seems like he ran a pyramid like scheme... But since he did put out something and ran it as an LLC I wonder what kind of case the bottom of the pyramid has.
Quoted from guyincognito:with beautiful hand-drawn art by Markus Rothkrans.
Rothkrans the 'picasso of pinball' art doesn't hold a candle in the wind to yeti
Quoted from TigerLaw:My guess is they learned a lot making those 19/21 games that will help them moving forward, but instantly distanced themselves from JPop when they realized he could not bring the value they thought he could last year.
Again, I have no insight or sources, I'm just guessing.
I'd say that's a very good guess.
Quoted from Mr68:If Jpop were to lift his dress up to Stern or Jersey Jack, I say one of those guys might put a condom on and do it.
I don't believe anyone in the pin industry would touch that dried up, crusty, disease infested puss.
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