(Topic ID: 176127)

Linked NBA Fast Break? Who has done this?

By Whysnow

7 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 26 posts
  • 19 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 6 years ago by murdock
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

You

Linked Games

#1 7 years ago

Let me know your thoughts on this please.

Thinking of getting a pair of NBAFB, linking them, and putting them on route for a couple months.

What do you think folks? Anyone done this? in home or on route?

Worth the extra effort to make this happen? Will a pair of heads up do better on route?

I like to share crazy stuff on route and after listening to a recent little kings podcast, C2S spoke of a place in AZ (I think?) which had 2 linked NBAFB. It got me thinking.

What say you and any experience either playing or routing would be appreciated. Feel free to PM if you dont want to discuss route stuff in public.

#2 7 years ago

D&D Pinball in town has 30 machines and has 2X NBAFB linked up. They had one for a while and did fine, but once they got the second, they said they got played a lot more by casual players. They are near the front of the shop and have the big topper saying they are linked and can play. I don't remember the time settings for a head to head game, but I think they are set up for 20-30 second quarters. I don't play them linked, since we only ever use them for events by saying play the left or right one.

#3 7 years ago

Northern Lights Pinball in the U.K. have a pair of linked NBA's which frequently turn up at our events. Linked play is huge fun!!

#4 7 years ago

I've sold a couple of linked pairs to commercial locations over the years and early reports were that they did quite well. Certainly a better investment than a single Stern Pro for the same money IMO, assuming space is not an issue.

#6 7 years ago

I've got a linked pair. It's great for kids and casual players because of the ball saves and sharing multiballs. Would be a good choice for a head-to-head tournament in a bar I would imagine.

#7 7 years ago

I would have space to set 2 of them up.

Thinking it could be fun for a few months possibly. I assume the linking is pretty easy to do?

How does it work with heads up/linked play? Both people put in their .75 cents and then hit start at the same time?
Sounds like they get to play for 4 quarters of a predetermined time?

#8 7 years ago

Linking requires some UART chips to be installed. I don't think it's too difficult for someone who is reasonably tech-savvy. There's a cable that goes between the heads.

Once one player hits start, there's like 30 seconds or so for the other player to join in. The quarters are equal in time, there's a halftime event where you try to make baskets in the backglass. There's overtime if the game is tied and I think you can earn extra time at the end also.

#9 7 years ago

great info. Anyone know if the toppers/signs are asy to find to show they are linked?

Is this enough for casual people to figure it all out?

#10 7 years ago
Quoted from boustrophedonic:

Linking requires some UART chips to be installed. I don't think it's too difficult for someone who is reasonably tech-savvy. There's a cable that goes between the heads.

Here's a list of the necessary parts and tech info for linking: http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=NBA_Fastbreak#Game_Linking

#11 7 years ago

I've heard the toppers are pretty hard to come by. Let me know if decide to do it, I've got a Fastbreak I'm about to post for sale in very good condition.

#12 7 years ago

Played it at a show. Kind of lame really. No idea if it would earn.

The games are very short as well and there's no way to extend play.

#13 7 years ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

Here's a list of the necessary parts and tech info for linking: http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=NBA_Fastbreak#Game_Linking

thanks for the info. Has anyone gone through the process of linking that can speak to ease/difficulty.

Would also still love a PM from someone that has these on route to pick your brain. I like doing stuff for shits and giggles but would be cool to have a little reassurance that it wont be a complete flop for the effort.

#14 7 years ago

I have a good friend hat has a linked pair w the toppers that he wants to sell. Shoot me a PM if you're interested and I can get you pics/price

#15 7 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

thanks for the info. Has anyone gone through the process of linking that can speak to ease/difficulty.
Would also still love a PM from someone that has these on route to pick your brain. I like doing stuff for shits and giggles but would be cool to have a little reassurance that it wont be a complete flop for the effort.

The only constructive thing I can add is that when playing the linked NBAFB, the machines have to be in a similar state of play, meaning if one machine has some issues and the other does not that would limit replays from the same customers after they figure it out, thinking it's not a competitive game in that state. Just my 2 cents...

#16 7 years ago

Cactus Jack's in Oklahoma City had a linked pair last time I was there. Shawn ran the Cactus Jack’s Silverball Showdown event there back in May and posts here as alveolus https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cactus-jacks-silverball-showdown-2016-a-papa-circuit-event

You might contact him and ask about them.

#17 7 years ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

Played it at a show. Kind of lame really. No idea if it would earn.
The games are very short as well and there's no way to extend play.

Each of the 4 periods can be set from 30 seconds each to 2 minutes in the menu.
You can add even more time by getting extra balls during linked play. I believe this is pretty much the only way to win 3 rings (how I did it... 2 minute periods and a few extra balls).

The only thing I've found lame is when one game scores way different than the other.

The link manual is posted up on ipdb.

#18 7 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

thanks for the info. Has anyone gone through the process of linking that can speak to ease/difficulty.
Would also still love a PM from someone that has these on route to pick your brain. I like doing stuff for shits and giggles but would be cool to have a little reassurance that it wont be a complete flop for the effort.

Had 2 linked at my house for a while, was easy enough to do and super fun. Setting the scoring on each table to match is also easy and crucial otherwise it won't be balanced

#19 7 years ago

yeahm games would need to be tweaked to play identical/close to it.

#20 7 years ago

We linked two at the MGC for a number of years. It's not too difficult. I have a pair, although my second machine is a serious project that I am hoping that one day I can link the two of them up...

If you'd like to use one or both of mine, PM me and we can work something out. To be clear, I'm *not* planning on selling either machine.

I don't think that long term it would earn much money, but I think as a short term thing promoted with collectors, it would do decently. The head to head gameplay is both really unique and fun once you understand it. Having said that, long term I would be surprised if it earned more than NBAFB + [different DMD title].

#21 7 years ago

Hilton = I love NBA Fastbreak! Do It!

#22 7 years ago

Played linked fastbreaks at a show and had alot of fun . Think it be cool have on location....

8 months later
#23 6 years ago

Resurrecting an old thread here. I have been working on/off trying to link my two Fastbreaks on location, but have hit a wall. I have installed U22, U24, S2 ROM to 3.0, the G11 ROM to 3.1 and created and installed the link cable. Both machines will communicate and sync up in terms of displayed images and shot clock countdown. However when I try to start linked games, I am currently getting a "waiting for link" message displayed on one machine and a "waiting for opponent" message on the other machine ( The "waiting for opponent" message also counts down the time as it waits). Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the issue may be?

#24 6 years ago

Ok, after work today, tried again and was able to get some linked games started, but then mid linked game(s), they would stop communicating and they would act independent of each other. Any ideas?

#25 6 years ago

Have you changed the settings A.2 22 to make one machine linked game number 1 and the other number 2?

#26 6 years ago
Quoted from Willathrilla:

Have you changed the settings A.2 22 to make one machine linked game number 1 and the other number 2?

Thank you for your response. Yes, I set it up through presets menu (U.9 29 and U.9 30) and installed/assigned one game to game number 1 and one to game number 2. They are set for the same quarter time length and all.

It's odd because it starts a linked game and then mid game the scoring may be delayed on on machine then catch up. Or it will switch to a single player game while the other machine thinks it is still linked. (For instance game number 1 reaches half time, game 2 continues for twenty seconds more. Then they both start third quarter and then game 2 goes into single player mode while game 1 continues in a linked mode)

Promoted items from the Pinside Marketplace
$ 5.00
Playfield - Protection
UpKick Pinball
Protection
From: $ 159.95
Cabinet - Sound/Speakers
PinSound
Sound/Speakers
$ 27.50
Boards
Pinball Haus
Boards
$ 20.00
Cabinet - Decals
Pinball Haus
Decals

Reply

Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

Donate to Pinside

Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/linked-nba-fast-break-who-has-done-this and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.