I'd swap those sliders for rubber feet, pull the other games forward to line them up and play on.

and put a wood plank on the floor to stop the machine from moving backwards.

One thing I have heard guests wishing for in future updates would be more interaction from the main video screen.

Apart from Germs, there doesn’t appear to be anything to aim for… yes?

Multimorphic isn’t real big on major updates after release - so here’s hoping! Certainly other games (Lexy,Rocs) make more use of the main playfield screen in that manner.

What is your game pitched at? I set mine up a week ago and I just kinda eyeballed it. It seems to play well. But today I measured the pitch at 7.8. Maybe that's making the right orbit ramp harder than it needs to be.

Also, if I flip to raise the flipper as the ball is coming down an inlane towards the flipper, which is something I'm in the habit of doing, I notice the ball hops. The action of the flipper flipping is sending a jolt through the inlane guide and popping the ball up before it ever gets to the flipper. Is that normal for P3? It just a little different than what I'm used to so I wanted to check. Overall the flippers are really nice. All of the usual flipper skills work just fine. This is the only notable difference to me.

Thing about P3 games is they tend to ship feature complete. I guess the key developes just don't like the way other mfrs treat their customers... So they do their best to ship with full code.

Then they tweak the code for bugs, features, and good ideas after getting feedback from customers. At least that's how I see it.

They’ve dropped some massive updates after initial release in the past, including stuff like the Big Final Heist, Running with Scissors mode, the entire career mode for Cosmic Cart, online play etc etc.

That said, you’re right—different games use the interactive screen more than others. It’s nice to have a variety game to game IMO.

Gerry and Co. can't win this one:

When they release a game with lots of screen interaction, like Lexy, they get: We want a traditional game!!!

When they release a game that concentrates on playfield interaction, like Weird Al, they get: We want a modern game!!!

- Mark

I understand the dilemma. It’s certainly a balancing act for the design team to get right.

I have to side with the customers on this one. I watch them play all day and see the challenge of having to make so many tough long distance shots, exclusively.

The spiral ramp and upper flipper utilization is especially difficult. A shot up the middle results in a stop & go moment (relaunch left side VUK). The right ramp is also a tough shot for many to reach the mezzanine.

I’m a very good player and I like Weird Al, so it all works for me. Other experienced players usually stick with it too. But the majority of our guests are looking at the screen for more close-up action and guidance… and I see a lot of them give up from the difficulty. Many do not see the little “ramp shot arrows” either, so maybe a bit more instructional hand holding would help to engage and guide their attention?

Early on, I moved the outlane posts to the middle and adjusted the outer and inner lanes to have the same width. Just installed the middle post as well, which seems to be helping some. Also about to lower the table pitch 1/2 degree. But overall, it is proving to be quite the challenge for a casual player. I’m just glad the theme is Weird Al because everyone loves Weird Al.

It wasn't that long ago that people were clamoring for "innovation in pinball". Along comes the P3, which is the most transformative and innovative pinball machine in our hobby's history, and many people simply fear it. Which to be fair, its human nature to fear what they don't understand.
I'm using the word, fear figuratively, not Michael Meyers fear.

And of course, when it's something people don't fully comprehend, they will belittle and dismiss.

I roll my eyes everytime I see someone post, "there's nothing in the middle of the playfield". That's probably the most common criticism made and the most naive. And it tells me they have judged the P3 only from pictures or having very little time actually playing one.

But that is, and has been, a Multimorphic issue that they need to solve and I think they're just now turning the corner on that.

By the way. That blank middle of the playfield has two banks of stand up targets, one on each side, and are multipurpose depending on the game you're playing. For example, during ROC's, when you hit a side target, they will launch missiles sideways to blow up the asteroids in their path instead of your pinball doing it. And on different games they do different things, hence, multipourse.

And how the pinball interacts with the ever-changing screen imagines in that "blank playfield" is a process I'm not skilled enough to describe. - I'm a simple end user that just loves the WOW factor it all provides.

There is an array of infra-red sensors on either side of the playfield screen, that's why nothing can touch the screen except the ball and every mech has to levitate above. To add a mech in the middle of the screen, you would have to slot it on both sides or put it on a hinge from the module. This will eventually be attempted by someone but not yet.

This is why Multimorphic added the crane to Heist. They also have designs for floating pop bumpers but have yet to add them to a game

Would love to see moving floating pop bumper(s) as flying saucers in a War of the Worlds sci-fi theme.

What you are describing with your flippers is normal for the P3. You can use this to your advantage to pass the ball from one side to the other on the fly (aka "P3 pass") or to slow the ball in the inlane easier than on other games.

Thanks! Just wanted to confirm that it was normal and not a symptom of something being loose or whatever. I have noticed that you can pass the ball that way.

Are you describing the typical ski pass (aka Evel Knievel pass), or there's an extra hop that makes it special to the P3?

No, not a ski pass...on a P3, a ball coming down thru an inlane can be transferred to the other side using this hop that the P3 flippers create if you flip at the correct time. It's a very useful maneuver if you can get the feel for it.

And not hard to get the feel; it is a little hard to go back to other flippers after you’ve nailed it down!

Let me see if I got this straight. You're saying you can flip early when the ball is still in the inlane (before reaching the flipper) and the ball will make its way to the other side because the flip bumps the inlane guide? That will make it very unique to the P3!

it's called a tap pass

A tap pass is when the ball is already over the flipper. If that's the case here, this is nothing special on the P3.
I believe the original comment said the ball was still in the inlane.

As stated before it’s called the “P3 Pass”. There numerous videos examples out there from streams. Someone should just edit the P3 pass and post a quick example on Youtube.

It IS unique to the P3. Really weird when you see it for the first time.

Not a tap pass - this is a flip much earlier, when the ball is just coming down the inlane

So is this because the flipper mechs 'float' because of the LCD screen so they have a little flex in the whole thing compared to a standard game where every bit is bolted through a wood playfield? So there's a little vibration when you flip that you can use in a new way?

I'd love to see a video if anyone has it, I can sort of picture it but not sure I'm seeing it right.

I am not sure if this is correct, but I think it’s because the anchor point of the flipper’s motion is in a slightly different place due to the mechanism - there is the armature pushing/pulling the flipper instead of it just rotating as on a standard flipper that is, as you said, fixed to the playfield. Maybe a slow-motion video will explain better

I am really curious to see some other examples of this. I actually had opened a ticket with them because I thought my flippers/lanes were not functioning as intended. When I cradle a ball and try a backhand shot it has this small bounce when release the flipper which makes it nearly impossible to do accurate backhand shot. Then also if I flip when the ball is in the lane and before it hits the flippers it will actually bounce the ball quite aggressively off the lane.
I thought this might have been something wrong with my game but maybe they all do this?! Curious to hear other people's experience? I had a friend with older game(pre-Weird Al) and he indicated they didn't function that way on his.

I got mine with WAM installed. Mine does what your describing to some extent. But I have no trouble backhanding. I don't recall getting a bounce when I release the flipper. I can backhand the left ramp and the right u-turn lanes normally. All of usual flipper skills work fine. But there is that additional ball hop when I flip at certain times. Which is fine with me, it's just a little different.

It's just a different feel and a few nuances for a P3 that take some getting used in terms of what flips you can do in what situations or what might send the ball out of control.

Once you know them and if you can drop catch consistently, I find controlling the ball on a P3 easier than on other games, personally. Part of this is the factory flipper silicones as they are much more tacky than what I usually use (titan low bounce bands), but I haven't experimented with switching them out.

I have invoice #1406 for the full system and Weird Al module and the anticipation is really high now as my number is maybe due up soon. Anyone with invoice numbers in the late 1300s get their email yet?

1360 was ready to ship last week. Got my email the week prior. Hint: Pay immediately when you get the invoice.

Mine was slated for Nov\Dec then add the 10 weeks, so hoping soon. I opted to go old fashioned and send a check and sent it the first of the month to avoid any delay and it’s officially been paid\cashed.

Congrats to to those getting there soon, hope to join y’all soon and play some CCR online.

Just sold mine after a couple months and less than 100 games. Couldn't get used to using the 5 flipper buttons. Yes I know they can be coupled but they lose power when you do that and you can't make it up the steep ramps regularly anymore. I wanted to love the P3 but couldn't. Sorry Gerry.

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Sigh. Great post. Useful, well thought out.

For a longer version of why I didn't like the P3 platform go read my review of weird al on the pinside game page. It's the most recent review.

I mean, these games are not for everyone. I don't agree with many of your points - for example, the complaint about the spiral ramp shot. I am a terribly mediocre player and I'm able to hit that shot probably 1 out of 4 times. I'm curious if setup was a factor here. But whatever, not trying to change your mind - no game makes everyone happy!

I'm off to try the dual-flippers-on-one-button and see if I can make the ramps! I dont' recall that being an issue before

There is absolutely no problem hitting the ramps including the spiral ramp with the upper and lower flippers set to the same button. Sounds like your machine wasn’t set up or tweaked correctly. Also…what model has five buttons?

Don's posting history speaks for itself. I don't take their opinions seriously.

Do you have instruction on how to do that? Or where I might begin looking for it?

Here’s the shorter version: you rated Gilligan’s Island a 10 and Weird Al a 4.8 or whatever. OK.

We get it. You live for stirring the pot… nobody is impressed.

For somebody that constantly bitches about this forum and all the members here you sure spend a lot of time spewing your diatribes.

Good riddance, I’m happy you’re selling the game so we don’t have to listen to your incessant bitching in the future.

Maybe now you can focus more time into complaining about Levi or fishing for Fathom remake pre-orders to flip, or bitching about Stumblor or taking shirtless selfies with your world class collection.

Oh, and happy Friday!

I messed with set up extensively. I feel like I tried everything.

If you watch the gameplay reveal at multimorphic, you'll clearly see what I'm talking about with the ramp shots being rejected often and the skill shot nearly impossible to hit. Those top level players and the games designer had the same problems I was having.

I only watched the first 30 mins. of gameplay & Here's what I saw.

@ 5:08
@6:09
@6:22
@9:41
@10:35
@11:56
@15:31
@23:12
@25:27
@28:55
@29:23

These vids were taken with the rear feet all the way in and the front feet about an inch or slightly more out. I set it up to a pitch that was just shy of feeling "floaty". I was having the exact same issues that all of the weird al gameplay reveal players were having in their video.

P3 has 6 flipper buttons. Weird al's gameplay is designed to use 5 of those. 3 on the left and 2 on the right.

Okay... maybe I'm completely ignorant and don't know how to play. I was tracking 4 buttons in use on Weird Al. What does the fifth one do and what is it used for? Front 2 do lower flippers and back 2 do upper flippers and rotate the in lane food reward. What does the fifth button do?

My game is pitched at 7.8-7.9 degrees and I can hit both the spiral ramp and the right side flip down ramp regularly. I get the Harvey multiball and the Camera lock multiball during most games. Sometimes twice or more during a game. Both of those multiball locks require the ramps to lock balls unless you get help from a mystery award.

Not trying to argue with the previous poster. I'm genuinely sorry that the game didn't work out for him. But I do want others that may be reading this thread to know that making the ramps has not been an issue in my experience. Yes, sometimes the ball doesn't make it all the way and I have to hit it again. That's not uncommon in pinball.

"stock" settings use 2 buttons on each side. The left side white button controls both the upper left and the upper playfield flippers together on factory settings.

the 5th button (white button) on the left is the ONLY button that will operate the small upper flipper on the upper playfield... where you make sandwiches... getting up there in the upper playfield for me was a rare occasion and when I did, I wasn't quick enough to transition to the white flipper button and hit the ball so it dropped back down to the lower playfield.

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Hmmm.

Well, for what it's worth I got mine last month and the default setting is now set so the second button on the left controls the two upper flippers on that side. I've never used the third flipper in game.

I don’t understand why you had such a hard time hitting the ramps with joined flippers,I smash the spiral all the time the right ramp with assist is so cool the game is a mechanical marvel but yes the p3 is not for everyone.

Don, I guess you didn't try my suggestion to use a variac to increase your low wall voltage? Could have been a $50 fix. I'm sorry we wouldn't do custom coils for you to attempt to overcome the low power, like you said you did for your other machine (STTNG?)

Yes, same button setting will weaken the performance. We much prefer separate buttons, but regardless, machines with the same button should have plenty of power... spiral and right ramp should both be no problem regardless of the setting.

And as discussed in email, the original stream definitely did have issues making the spiral. No argument there. Like I said in the email, we didn't want to stop the stream to fix a scoop issue that was causing the ball to hop. The show must go on! Unfortunate to happen on stream, but that can happen in a live show. There are any number of videos that show it's not a systemic problem. If anybody else has trouble making the spiral, there are a few things to tweak to get it dialed in, but it's a beautifully smooth and rewarding shot - one of the best in pinball, IMO.

Sorry you didn't enjoy the machine, Don. Moving it on to somebody who will enjoy it sounds like the right move!

EDIT: and the lower buttons (yellow) aren't used in WAMONH. It's just 4 (2 red, 2 white). The left white button controls the mezz flipper regardless of the setting for the side target flippers.

- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com

Gerry you didn't suggest a variac ever (to me anyway) because I would have bought one and tried it. You did ask me to test my voltage coming from the wall outlet. I did and sent you a pic. It was 110.3V. You blamed the performance issue on my wall outlet current. My electrician said that 110v is normal.

I asked you numerous times to recommend a higher power coil that I could use in place of the coils in the game but you always poo-poo'ed that idea.

I didn't ask for custom coils, just an off the shelf coil that I could buy somewhere and have installed. I put more powerful coils (off the shelf blue coils) in my stargate to make the steep ramp shots easier. It worked great. I dunno why that couldn't be an option for weird al owners too?

The flipper coupling option does in fact "weaken the performance"... making the game not play as intended which results in frustration and people walking away with nothing good to say about it. At least here at my location.

I tried to love it...heck, I tried to even like it. I suspect you'll see my game back up for sale soon.

My last post on the topic. Again, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the machine.

- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com

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