I played the game maybe 3-4 times, and it's definitely different but It didn't blow my socks off

I really liked having the LCD on the playfield, at first it was weird not having to look up to check the score or what was going on but after a while it felt great. I think thats the best part of the game. Also the animations were great, and the big LCD really brings the game alive

I didn't like the flippers or the flipper mechanics, they were different from normal ones and shorter. Controlling the ball was different and didn't feel so good.

Also having a big LCD taking most of the playfield meant that there were only a few things to shoot. The targets did different things depending on what was going on but still there were only so many shots

Some great innovation for sure, but I think the biggest drawback are the flippers and playfield layout due to the LCD IMHO (full disclosure, I'm still pretty new to pinball so take this review with that in mind)

While the modular playfield idea is incredibly novel, I think there's not enough going on, target-wise, to really keep up excitement.

I also agree with the flippers just feeling different. Not bad, but different.

I think this project could really be a wonderful part of the future of pinball. I'm incredibly excited by it.

Played about three games at TPF

Pros
Cool fresh new idea that finally shows off some designs.
It's come a long way from earlier prototypes.
The LCD pf was integrated well for various modes and such, though the second second monitor wasn't programmed yet. Still pretty neat
Gameplay was fast and fun.

Cons
Floating flippers
Hitting a flipper caused the whole assembly (slingshot, inlane outlane plastic) to move

I was pleasantly surprised with the feel of the flippers. Not perfect , mind you, but much better than expected.

Another observation: There is no lower playfield GI, so if you are playing it in a darkened room, you are basically playing a silhouette of the ball against the bright LCD screen.

Wow - what a fantastic show!

This was the first show where the P3 represented the vision we've been describing all along. While certainly not done yet (software is about 50% complete), it now looks and plays like a fairly mature pinball machine.

We had lines of people waiting to play almost the machine the entire show (including during the vendor party), and the responses we got were absolutely fantastic. One thing I always really enjoy is seeing people repeatedly come back to the machine with different friends to show them the cool features and walk them through the gameplay. In an industry so rooted in tradition, we're successfully opening people's minds to new types of mechanics and gameplay. I think it's safe to say there's nobody else in the industry innovating like we are, and what we're showing now is starting to generate some real excitement.

It's heartwarming to hear the feedback. I can't thank you all enough for your support and your patience as we do our best to move the industry forward, first with the P-ROC and now with the P3.

As usual, different people picked different features out as their favorites (the row of walls/scoops, the 'apron LCD' scoreboard, the 8-ball lock, the multiball lightshows, the ball-save animation, the on-screen mode instructions, the swappable side art, the modular p/f, etc). I also enjoyed, as I always do, hearing everybody's ideas for what else we could do with the platform. Once we start to see p/f's that other people design for the machine, I'm sure we'll all be blown away by the creativity, and we'll see features that most of us had never previously considered possible.

Opinions aside (constructive feedback is always welcome). In fact, please never hesitate to post constructive feedback about the machine. Please tell us what we're doing well, what excites you about the P3, and what things we can improve. The beauty of the P3's modularity is that we can easily tweak and change most components or provide alternative configurations.

Opinions aside, let me correct some facts stated about the P3's flippers.

They are not shorter than traditional flippers. They're nearly the exact same size and use standard rubber. They also don't have a larger gap between them (a comment that has since been deleted from a previous post). The gap is actually 1/8" smaller than most traditional games. Further, the stroke length is the same, the plunger stop size is the same, the fulcrum-to-shaft distance is the same, the flipper coils are the same (dual-wound 630s), and the voltage is the same.

The differences are aesthetics and materials. The material differences account for a slightly different feel, and the aesthetics do something to our brains, making us think they're set up differently. It's a huge mind-bender, at least initially. After playing with the P3 flippers for a couple of days, I actually prefer them to traditional flippers (I'm probably biased). They have less slop, have no adjustment variability, and they don't obscure the playfield much below them (and of course we take advantage of that in our graphical display choices).

Here are some pics showing the P3 flippers and the flippers on my Theatre of Magic. I apologize for the darkness of the pics, but I think they're sufficient to document the point.

- Gerry
http://www.multimorphic.com

flippers_p3_gap.jpg
flippers_p3_total.jpg
flippers_tom_gap.jpg
flippers_tom_total.jpg

I stand corrected, apologies for the misinformation but the flippers felt shorter to me. I still stand behind the claim that they felt different to me, but that's just me

As I said the LCD has great potential, and I've now learned that the upper playfield module can be changed giving additional versatility to the game.

Glad to see someone's innovating and trying something new, all the best to you in finalizing the design

Thing I liked the best?
The fact that I could bring a group of 5 people to the machine and play against each other.
Having to divide a big group into smaller uneven groups means someone's left out.
Lexy is up-to-9 people.

Of course; that's a problem when you have competitive players that tend to jump on the most popular games and key in 4 players for them to play alone.

Anyway; not much else to report in this thread that hasn't been stated elsewhere.
I look forward to seeing this project move closer to production.

I posted this on another thread, but I'll repost here.

I was super impressed with the P3 at TPF. I had initial hesitation about the large surface area of the monitor on the playfield. The designer pointed out that many great pin layouts actually look like this (and gave great examples), but also added that the entire surface of the LCD is interactive, so in fact they are using way MORE of the playfield than has been used previously. The ball can actually interact with items on the LCD.
I thought the flippers felt really good. It took a moment to get used to the feel, which is no different from stepping up to ANY pinball machine. All flippers feel a little different. This felt like that, just a small adjustment to the feel of these particular flippers. It didn't feel like a radical adjustment to totally different tech. It was nothing.
This pin is still early in development, but I think it's showing a ton of promise. It's already a lot of fun to play. I look forward to the next update.

Hey Gerry, just wanted to say that it was great talking with you at TPF.
Lexy Lightspeed looks sweet! Definitely a highlight of the show for me.
Wally

Here are some pics I captured throughout the weekend.

https://plus.google.com/photos/115470287377285046467/albums/5998104778599568609

- Gerry
http://www.multimorphic.com

The integration of the LCD with the ball / gameplay is unparalleled. Please see my other posts in other threads about P3, which I'm very excited about, and I enjoy how it plays.

And it holds my kids' (ages 9-6) attention to a pinball machine like none other out there.

A cool feature they added for TPF was a ball save animation that has an alligator pop up from between your flippers, spit an animated ball up the playfield toward the VUKs, and timed so that when the animated ball reaches the VUKs, your saved physical ball is kicked up a VUK at high speed and delivered back to your flipper.

This is just the beginning, folks. Looking forward to many more cool things/features....