For me my game has under 50 plays and has been resetting since day one anytime I get over 1.25 million ish points, that and my balls magnetized on day one.

It's been nothing but frustrating because I do so well and complete so many modes, but I'm already cataloging and sending logs.

Do I regret buying the game? No. It's my first new in box, and I love it. I can live with it's glitches til the next update which I hope is soon.

Not to mention, I emailed customer service about a new set of pinballs if they were under warranty.

They said no and not only sent me a new set, but they threw in a T-shirt to boot.

I wouldn't trade American or it's customer service any day of the week.

With all the stuff on that playfield that could go wrong surprisingly it has held up solid. Great product.
I'm curious since there is no insider connected how everyone else's stats are? I'm an original owner and feel like my scores rarely go up and down like a fun rollercoaster. I try different mugs everytime but my scoreing feels flat. Maybe it is the low scoring on this game compared to others?

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I’m wondering if anyone knows about the knocker. Is it included on all models? Also, is the shaker a necessary accessory? Thanks.

Ferret what is the new addon board for? Just saw this in the support section. Trying to get my ducks in a row (pun intended) for buying a OKT.

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I don't remember. Note that document is labeled 2019.

Previous owner here. I really enjoyed this game but had to let it go because I couldn't deal with the few bugs it has. It is a great shooter though, a very fun game. The modes as with all AP's games are done very well. Its just a entertaining game to shoot. Most of the bugs seemed to revolve around the locks. Whenever I had a lot of things going at once is when the game would come undone. So if you are a really good player you will likely come across some issues. It has the same LED stuck issue as with all AP's games though it is very rare, never covers a large portion of the playfield and always recovers pretty quickly. There were a few bugs related to non-game play. For instance, try starting a game with the coin door open and see what happens. Some settings when adjusted introduced game lock-ups so while this was never a game killer for me it was an issue. I think if you have the means I would give it a shot. I think with the support they show, they may eventually fix all these issues though given the games release date and building more games my question is when? I will say I did see some of the strangest behavior I have ever witnessed in a pinball at times.

Hope it is fair to ask but do you recall what version of software you were running or when you sold the machine?

Oh, neato. I'm pretty sure I know what causes this -- added to the queue to get fixed in a future release.

If you happen to recall what those setting changes were, I would welcome information, either here or via DM.

American Pinball wants to produce quality games. All of our owners and players are invited to let us know about issues, large or small, with any of our games. The best way is to file tickets at <https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/> so your issue gets formally tracked, but feel free to post here or contact me directly. I can't promise that every single bug will get fixed, but we do our best.

I do not believe that the knocker is included with all trims of Oktoberfest.

Both the knocker and the shaker are optional accessories, of course. They augment the experience. We try to use both of those devices in fun ways... the knocker is not just for replays, but is used in several modes where it makes sense. The shaker is used all over the place, from a low-level rumble in the pop bumpers, to more intense action in other features of the game. You can have a great time playing Oktoberfest without either of these devices, but it'll just be more fun if you have both of them.

I was running the latest version before team play, so one before the most current.

Ferret, you guys have a really great game on your hands but it feels like for one reason or another it just cant get the proper attention it needs to clean up the few little nagging bugs. I am sure you (and AP in general) is pressed for time with having to continually release games to stay relevant. I wish I had an answer for you but I do not. Maybe some more help at AP would go a long way for you guys. Its to bad you couldn't just assign someone to it to just give it that little bit to clean it up while you focus on other things. I get the impression that you are doing most if not all the code work on these games (LOV being an exception (with Rosh still somewhat involved?). You guys built something that will outlive generations, its a great game. I'd love to see it tightened up.

Thanks for the kind words about the game.

As I mentioned above, I’m happy to accept bug reports for any of our games, and try to fix any such bugs. I just need to know what those bugs are. I play my Okto from time to time and haven’t seen any notable bugs except for one outstanding from the last release (and now the one you pointed out last night). We also have an Okto on location locally that is used for leagues and tournaments, and again, no issues have been reported to me. Send me details of bugs, and I’ll try to get them fixed.

Thanks.

I don't play my games every day and when I powerup, I notice the balls eject from the barrel and corkscrew locks.

Feature request: If leaving balls on top of those membrane switches isn't good, perhaps add some button/method I can use to eject them before I power the game down. I suppose I could reboot the game, but the loading time is soooo slow! lol

It's normal for balls to eject from the Beer Barrel and Corkscrew locks when restarting the game -- we try to get all balls into the main trough as part of power-up initialization. This is no cause for concern.

I don't actually know if leaving balls in the locks for a long time increases wear on the membrane switches. I've heard some people say that, but I can't confirm from personal experience. My own game is set to the default of leaving Beer Barrel locks in the barrel (it is intended to be a carry-over feature), and I've had no problems in several years and countless games. I can't say for sure, but I suspect most customers don't have any problems with these switches... it's just that when there is a fault, the effect is potent.

There are already adjustments for "Release Beer Barrel Locks at Game End" and "Release Roller Coaster Locks at Game End" -- feel free to set both to "Yes" if you want to ensure that balls are ejected from the locks when games end. But again, the Beer Barrel is intended to be a carry-over / lock stealing feature, so that one should be set to "No" if you want to play the game as designed.

Mine too!

Reznnate I've had this option set both ways and can't say whether leaving the balls in the locks caused any issues either but in thinking about it after several months I disabled the option. My thinking was - without knowing how long before I'd play the next game I thought for the long-term health of the switches it would be probably better to not have the balls in the locks when the machine is OFF. That said, it's very easy and quick to enable this feature when I want. Just remember you must give the machine a little extra time to finish and eject the balls - sometimes its tempting when that last ball is played to immediately shut off the game. If this is done before the ball eject process is carried out they'll remain in the locks. I also have on hand a couple of spare membrane switches which is good advice!

I leave my barrel set to hold balls, but when I am finished playing, and turn the game off, I go ahead and turn the game back on, so any balls in the barrel will eject. I try to stop playing the first time the barrel is empty anyway, so I do not have to power back on.

I have always left the corkscrew to where it drains at the end of each game.

The only issues I have had are the lock down bar gets loose after a few plays, and I have to open the coin door for 3 seconds to tighten it back, and the other issue is balls coming off the beer ramp and getting stuck to a point I had to pull the glass down a little to free them. I fixed that problem with a piece of pipe, but I really do need one of those mods that some people have made, I am sure it would look better.

This is an awesome game for all the different ways you can play it. I love the game. My girlfriend doesn't like it too much, says too much for her to keep up with.

I have over 20 other great games so my time is split tremendously (which is why I worry about leaving balls on the lock switches).

Personally, I don't care for the Oktoberfest theme and I was a late (recent) buyer because of this. But after spending time on the game at a local Arcade/Pinball show, the improvements I noticed (from when I played it initially in 2018) were significant. The amount of love that went into all the various modes and gameplay ideas is palpable. The game is solid, unique, and gives you a TON of stuff to do. Relative to other games being sold on pinside, I think the !/$ value of Oktoberfest is very strong as well.

Back in March AP said I was no longer needed due to a change in direction.

Given the unfortunately long boot up time, you may want to just go in and out of service before shutting down, as that will also eject them.

Ferret and I have had some nasty nicknames for the membrane switches, but what is most frustrating about it is I tested out and approved a replacement in early 2021. I had thought for sure those would be used in the latest run, but appears not. I have to assume they still plan to release those at some point, otherwise I’d be designing a replacement. Although If my membrane switches start to act up …

I’m sure AP won’t be happy about me posting about this, but it is very frustrating for me to see the enjoyment of this great game impacted by this, when there is a solution, and maybe it will get them to move on it.

Your honesty is appreciated. Saw the direction of the build quality and removal of components and canceled my NIB. Only looking at HUO with older build dates as an option if I add one to the collection.

WHEW!
The shaker and knocker did not make it in time for when my machine's delivery, but arrived yesterday.
I installed them, plugged them in, ....and my machine went dead when I turned it on!

I was about ready to submit a ticket, but knew it wouldn't get picked up over the weekend, and I almost came here to see if anyone else had this happen. And then I double checked the fuses. No issues, except that the main fuse looked like it might be questionable (though I wasn't confident either way visually) and the total lack of power seemed to indicate something along the lines of an issue with the power supply. I tested the fuse, it was dead. Off to the hardware store, and it was fixed less than an hour later. Not sure the culprit for a fuse failure at that exact time, but I see that the fuse table calls for a 6A, and AP had installed a 3A.

Oh yeah, mine also had a 3A and blew.

WTF?

Is that for my experience of adding them as a whole or the 3A fuse aspect?
It's fine to put a lower rated fuse in somewhere. The risk is that if you needed more current than the lower rated fuse could handle, then it will fail, as it's designed to do. I don't know if the 3A fuse was the exact limit for the base model build and if my add-ons are what made the fuse blow, but I put it out there just from the timing of when it happened. I think it's a little bit of a bad choice to install new something different than the specified replacement, but it's more likely a factor of supply chain issues, or manufacturing line simplicity, than it is cost (as they're about the same cost).

Just con”fused” is all.

The production line at the factory is aware of this, and machines on the line are being rechecked to verify that proper fuses are being installed.

Thanks, Ferret. I posted just to provide tips in case if this happens to others, and realized it might get noticed by one of you guys.

By the way - on a potential glitch: after a stuck ball was freed, I had the coin door open during the end of ball to put the lockdown bar back on, and as the next ball started, the coil for the ball trough to shooter lane didn't fire (expected), but the machine behaved as it had, so the machine ended up stuck waiting for the player to play the ball which wasn't there. I'm guessing I could have used coil test to get a ball in place, but I opted to just end the game and power it down.

I had this exact thing happen this weekend while playing, and my solution was also to just reboot the game.

I’m sure Ferret will look into it, but, going in and out of service would likely resolve it vs the long power cycle.

Thanks for the reports, folks. I'll check it out.

Hi all. Loving this game. Definitely a hidden gem of a game. Does anyone have pictures of how they hooked up pinstadium to the shaker moter?

Thanks

Chris

I don't have a photo, but connect (insert two of the wire leads Pin Stadium provides) into the shaker connection at the location circled on main cabinet board diagram below. Board is mounted on lower left side wall of cabinet.

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When I want to put new code in the game, what's the procedure? Connect USB stick, turn game on, game recognises USB stick connected and auto downloads, game says download is complete, turn game off, remove USB stick?

Thanks!!

That sounds correct, and I just checked the release notes of the website and it's the sequence you described. (see link to the release notes [first link] on the code update site [second link])
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12NHhMbFkfvuo-Fmn6fgtI6rSEWRm_Avk/view
https://www.american-pinball.com/support/updates/

New code is loaded and game played, thanks.

The single most annoying thing on my game, in fact the only annoying thing, is that when the ball is being held by the right magnet and is counting down to release the ball to the right flipper, the magnet will pulse off and on sometimes, seemingly randomly, throwing the ball either rapidly towards the flippers or upwards to the upper rollovers... all this before the count reaches zero, so before zero is reached the ball has shot of at high speed... I was hoping the latest code update might fix this... anyone also have this issue?

One more niggle just came to mind, I started beer-barrel multihull and while the game was holding the balls on the magnet it went into ball search because a switch hadn't been hit for a while... I suppose I could hold a flipper up so the game thinks I'm cradling a ball next time! Can.the time to initiate ball search be changed in settings?

Added some color to my game:

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Does anyone else with Cliffy protectors installed have an issue with the VUK ring resulting in an occasional stuck ball?
See my illustration - I grabbed the playfield diagram from the manual to mark up, and sketched in the VUK ring in blue, with the ball getting stuck resting against the rail on bottom of the rail and the lip of the VUK ring.

I reached out to Cliff to ask if he'd be interested in making a modified or additional piece, sort of like the tent scoop panel, to fill the area and either fit against the ring or as a part incorporating the ring, but I haven't heard back so I assume that's not something he is interested in making/improving upon.

Has anyone made a solution themselves?
I'm thinking it shouldn't be too hard to trace out and approximate this area in CAD (including getting a measurement on the existing ring), and then 3d print a very thin panel or use the Silhouette Cameo to cut out material in the shape.

Screenshot VUK fix (resized).png

Cliffy will reply, he is super busy as of late.

Good to know - I imagine he gets quite a few suggestions of various types, so I was prepared that even a decently described issue and offer to get measurements or a template drawn up for him might have been declined alongside less realistic requests.

Where does the tent eject the ball on your machines? I spent a lot of time leveling my game and now it's spitting the ball SDTM.

Have you tried adjusting the power of the scoop up/down to change the trajectory?

Although catching a moving ball can occasionally cause the effect you describe, in my experience, once the magnet catches the ball, it holds it OK. You might check the connector and wiring on the magnet to ensure that everything is nice and secure, so the magnet is getting a clean power feed.

Wow... no, it can't be changed, though the ball search timeout should be way longer than the length of the Beer Barrel start sequence. That's pretty wacky... has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks. Enjoy your new game!

Thank you

Well, I had my first issue with mine tonight...had a few friends over and were giving my gameroom a good workout. I was on Oktoberfest with a buddy (2-player game) and while he was playing the 4th ball the machine froze....never had that happen before. We waited a few minutes and still frozen. I had to power down and it came back fine, but we obviously lost that game-which sucked as it was VERY close neck & neck. I'm not sure what caused this but I REALLY hope it was an isolated incident.
I've had this pin since October '22 and it's been solid. I have yet to update it, maybe that'll help?

Thanks for your tip. To confirm, the ball is caught well and totally stationary as the countdown starts... but during the countdown the magnet 'sometimes' turns off and on randomly, causing the ball to fly around... it's pretty annoying because it makes it impossible to get a good shot at the beer-barrel, especially when the ball is thrown up towards the rollover lanes. I'll re-make the magnet connector and see if it helps.

I seem to remember reading in the latest code update that the ball search time had been changed, I think shortened? Maybe it was shortened a bit too much? All 3 balls were on the magnet and they were just about to be released when the ball search started...

^ the last three bugs mentioned are exactly the reason I haven’t bought this pin. Not those problems specifically, but the gremlins like them that seemingly live inside this game and pop out to say hi at inopportune times. I’m glad owners love this game, and I hope to be one of them some day, but these hiccups would drive me nuts.

Despite having some issues, I certainly don't regret buying this game... so much stuff going on, yet with clear targets... and great humour... not to mention visually stunning... but that's just my personal opinion.

I know anybody who purchases something isn’t likely to admit regret or disappointment. So my apologies for causing doubt in the owners thread. I have both been on a dealer buy list (then cancelled) and negotiated for used OKT because I really wanted this game. My personal feelings, however, are that when I turn on a game to compete with friends or chill in my own headspace I want the game to work as expected. For the record, my API Hot Wheels runs flawlessly!

I regretted buying Tron LE, I thought the gameplay was very limited... so I sold it for what I paid for it before the general community realised it was terrible and the value plummeted... then I regretted selling it because the pinball community loved it and the price doubled

I also regretted buying Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball...

Just bought the game, and bugs never worry me. They happen, they sometimes get fixed, sometimes they don't. Look at T2 for example, now we have some new code that improves the code and the game is over 30 years old. Hopefully the team at American are addressing theses bugs.

Really? Man it doesn't take much for you to be turned off. These are little things normal with any game. You should read Elvira Hoh owners from Stern. Mine is coming next month. There are a tons of issues people have with that game. My Oktoberfest has been great right out of the box. Your making a decision on a thread people talk about fixes and solutions, not a fanboy hype.This is nothing compared to other games like Halloween, Alien etc. You missed out.