Nic thanks again for an awesome class this past weekend...wish I'd been able to attend both days.
Saturday was amazing...I'm new to pinball and EM's and keep falling deeper into fun of all of Pinball's aspects.
Saturday we had some really interesting issues to cover, the most memorable:
- Orbit was kicking out a ball after the last ball drained (effectively an extra ball)
- Pioneer was failing to keep proper scoring in a myriad of ways
These were great to cover all of the main EM components (I'm sure I'll get terms wrong here)
- Relays/Switches and how to rebuild/adjust them
- Player Reel's "stepper" and how it functions in the game's
- Scoring reels and how they function (how to rebuild/adjust)
- Scoring "Motor" (I think of it as an iterator) and demystifying its function
- Main logic/state retention and how they control the game
And more details than you can imagine.
Thanks to all who brought games and the great stories that came with them...
Not to mention how they were kept in really excellent shape (Pioneer especially!)
It would be great to capture the interactive nature of Nic's class in a streaming environment...but it would seem quite challenging to me.
A couple of key things I'd thing would be very challenging to address in a stream:
- The class was constantly moving around the machine, often with a limited view.
- Everyone was contributing something to moving towards a solution...I'd think that'd make audio tough.
- The pace of the conversation was pretty quick relative to a "chat/text" environment
But most of all a stream would have kept me from discovering the somewhat magical physical feel of EM machines.
A fantastic experience, and I learned a ton...I'd highly recommend attending if you are remotely interested.
-Dale
ps. Don't forget rulesets on EM's can be complicated too! 
