I have seen some pictures on the web where there are little figurines in the bumper cars, like a duck and so on.
It's that an add on? I haven't seen anything on the American Pinball store though.

Am now a proud owner since this weekend and have already the HD glass, the knocker and the Stein ordered. Can't wait for it to arrive!

This game is so awesome, it has this "one more game" addictiveness to it.

Also, I could have sworn that somebody posted a picture with a topper consisting of 2 steins but I don't seem to be able to find it anymore.

Die Krüge hoch, Prost!

One of a kind, someone made it for their own game from beer signs.

In a prototype game, they interfered with the wireform and balls and were dropped from production. Not available. ( unless the mod people figure something out )

LTG : )

Thanks! Maybe I can come up with a cool topper, I have actually real Mosskrüge from Germany, but they are a little heavy, plus something tells me that putting heavy glass objects on a machine that gets nudged is probably not a bright idea.

Unless you bolt it down, no.

LTG : )

I made them from lighted bubbling beer signs and some modification. Very light plastic. Looking to make something for in between at some point.

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That's awesome. Do you remember where you got them?

Items like them pop up occasionally on Ebay. Can get pricey.

LTG : )

Ebay or etsy. Good luck finding a pair. There are other vintage bubble beer advertising that may work. I'd like to see what you come up with. They look great on top!

Started looking into beer props and possibly making themselves. It's resin or acrylic water and will get pretty heavy as well if you go full scale.

Maybe I'm thinking about that wrong, and I should go into the Lebkuchenherz direction instead of something.

Has anybody tried the Ninja balls? I wonder if they magnetize quickly. There is a black Friday deal going on.

I've started to get two issues happening pretty regularly now.

1) The left flipper feels fairly week at the default value of 28. I inspected the coil stop and sleeve, everything seems good. I upped the flipper power to 30 and it feels great again, but on the right side it is at 26 yet still feels great.

2) I am getting random ball launches when switching to new players. The machine does not appear to be in any strange state or register any switch impact. It isn't reproducible via anything I've tested.

#2 I've had before and I've read posts of other people having similar issues.

Does anyone have suggestions?

Had a similar problem come up in my machine recently. Turns out my shooter lane rollover switch worked fine 90% of the time, but once in a while the switch remained open when a ball was on top of it. So, once in a while, a second ball was kicked into the shooter lane. Hard to detect in the switch test. Anyway, I fixed it by adjusting the rollover switch a tad.

If the coil stop is straight up and down, not leaning in or out. I'd then suspect the plunger linkage wearing in a bit.

Please check the shooter lane switch. Besides adjustment, be sure it is centered in the slot it moves up and down in the playfield in, not binding or sticking on one side.

LTG : )

Good tips, thanks Paul_from_Gilroy and @ltg! I'll report back. I need to check that coil sleeve too. Could just be worn.

don't hesitate to reach out to Barry with any technical questions https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/
he doesn't browse these forums as much as some of us, but he is always eager to help!

Yeah, totally...he has been a huge help for me. I post here just to get peer information before I tap AP's resources. I'll let you guys know if it turns into something bigger .

Thanks!

Barry is absolutely fantastic! I think the poor man has now nightmares being hounded by me with stupid questions, as far as customer service goes AP is top notch. Go ask him before I traumatize him too much and he needs to go on rehab.

He's a great tech. And the best there is with AP pins ! If you see him at a show or at AP, say hi. Great guy too.

LTG : )

I just assume that it is impossible to see anyone at shows and that all of you are figments of my imagination . I hear talk of people meeting up all of the time and I'm like...huh, that is a real person?

It can be impossible to meet people at shows. To meet someone who works for a manufacturer like American Pinball. Frequently check their booth. Staffed by many. And sooner or later the person you seek shall be there. You can also ask if they are there, and when they expect them.

Most of them are real. Might not be all there. But are real.

LTG : )

I don't know about all of them but @DanDanDan definitely drank some of my bourbon at Pincinnati so he's as real as they get! I was lucky enough to get a BTA sticker from Barry at the Cleveland show, everyone I've met at API are awesome to BS with. One of these days maybe I'll get to harass Balcer at a show too.

Sorry guys about the post about beta testing, that was for Houdini, I put it in the wrong thread.

There is some stuff going with Oktoberfest, but we are not yet ready for a beta.

Has anyone had an issue with the bar door sticking or grinding? Mine is getting stuck in a few positions and making a kind of grinding sound when trying to open or close. I can replicate this in the bar door test mode.

Best open a ticket fast. Hopefully they can help you before the holiday.

https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/

Also, you can email [email protected] he's the service manager and knows their games inside and out.

LTG : )

There is a service bulletin mentioning a servo motor :

http://s4.american-pinball.com/img/support/2019-7/Bar-Door-Check.pdf

So if nothing is binding, maybe a motor issue ?

Best talk to Barry or American Pinball for better help. ( I don't have a game to check )

LTG : )

Awesome! I'll try to grab a video and email it to Barry...I am sure we can wait until after the holiday.

I had that at first. I did not see the packing material that needed to be removed, and even with the instructions showing a map, I did not see it for about 20 minutes of play.

Not sure if that even relates to what you have going on, but just a warning to future buyers that some of that packing material can be tricky to find.

Merry Christmas Oktoberfest owners,

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Christmas present to myself time.

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Cheers, I bought one as well!

Here is what the bar door issue looks like if anyone needs comparison. I emailed Barry already so I am sure I will get it fixed.

Mine actually opens only to where yours is stuck to. When it gets hit by a ball though it turns further - I thought that was intended to make the shot harder - but closes fine afterwards. Let me know what comes out of you don't mind, mine might need to open a tad wider possibly.

Actually, strike that, mine is opening now fully every time without problem and closing as well.

Haha, maybe my post fixed it.

I took the playfield up to work on it and install Shaker, Pinstadium and clean it and so on, might have fixed that.

Got new shiny balls too, with the Pinstadium it's sparkly and oh my God is the Shaker awesome with the rollercoaster.

I think I got now everything - glass, knocker, Shaker, Pinstadium, mug. I'm missing an actually working beer keg topper, that would be awesome! Or maybe in the unused space in the cabinet. Some of the mod people get to work on that lol.

I have a suggestion for the next software version:

Outside of a mode the tent scoop spots a tent letter, but it does not when a mode is running. If the scoop is not a lit Target in a mode it would be nice if it could also spot the letters inside that mode. If you think that would make it too easy it could be an option to turn it on and be off by default.

Doesn't sound crazy. There have been times when I'm working through a mode and I wished I was still earning TENT letters. In fact, for me, that might be more in line with "expected behavior".

If I try to hit something else in a mode I have the uncanny ability to hit the scoop like 5 times in a row running down the clock. That way at least I can work towards Flippermeister

If you get enough of the beers that make spelling tent easier (don't recall what beer this is, but it's the one that's linked with the Juggler mode) then you'll light the tent for mode start easily enough anyway...

Thank you! There are so many cool upgrades with the steins, I typically go for extra ducks and start bumpers. Next one is often more time in tents and then from there on out I pick which mode I want to play. What's your strategy usually?

I always go for making tent easier to spell first, then I'm torn between making outlane saves easier and more time in tents... more tilt warnings also ranks high, then probably making Oktoberfest easier to spell... Stein selection for me is always based on the generic game benefit not on modes, the modes I pick are generally guided by what Steins I've got already... unless a multiball is ready to start, then I'll pick a mode that requires a lot of hits, like Fud Frenzy, and go for starting the MB to stack it with that mode...

Sound strategy!
The reason why I go for the ducks first typically is because of I have boatloads of ducks and start bumpers the mode can get me over 500k collecting the first extra ball.

The Oktoberfest letters is pretty valuable too, locking balls is an easy way to get via skill shot more steins. 5 steins lights another extra ball I believe. Bunch of ducks as well.

There are really so many valid strategies the game is really amazing.

So the more ducks you have the more points you get in bumpers mode?

Not sure I follow this one... you mean by selecting the Stein that allows you to spell Oktoberfest easier you get to lock balls easier (in the Corkscrew)?

So ducks multiply scores in any modes I believe - in combination with the double points Stein for the bumpers and being an easy mode since you can backhand the ball up there it is a good way to get lots of points early. If I can keep the ball up there and keep scoring where it hits the upper slingshot I can get over 600k points right out of the gate.

If you can get the ramp down for the rollercoaster lock quickly it will serve each time a new ball for a new skill shot after you lock the ball.

Ah, ok... didn't realise more ducks multiply mode points... I always put getting more ducks way down on my Steins benefit priority... that will change if they boost points in modes...

Got it.

Ducks do indeed increase the scoring of tent modes. It's not a straight multiplier in the same way that the stein/tent pairings are... as a very rough rule of thumb, playing a tent with 20 ducks will score about double the points of playing that tent with 0 ducks, all else being equal (same steins and shots made).

That would explain why the points start piling up once you hit like 60 ducks and have 2 steins and start that mode. Big points!

Do they affect the Multiball jackpots as well? I know there is a Stein for that!

What's you favorite strategy?

Calories boost the multiballs

Yep. Pretty much any tent mode can be worth mongo points with enough ducks. Also, remember that winning a tent mode gives ducks too -- 5 + 5 for each additional tent won on the same ball. So basically a feedback loop: doing well makes it easier to do even better.

Calories from the Food Stand serve the same purpose of boosting multiball (Corkscrew, Beer Barrel) scoring, that ducks do for tent modes. And yes, you've also got the steins for increasing scoring for those two multiballs.

Y'know, there are so many viable strategies on the game, that I change it up with some frequency. I'll often start with Frosty Ferret, because 1) hey, that's my stein and 2) it pairs with Duck Hunt, which gives additional ducks while you're playing it, and isn't too hard to win for the +5 duck bonus. So I hope to come out of Duck Hunt with a dozen or more ducks, which sets me up nicely for better scoring on future tents. It's tempting to also take Abby Nirmal Cider ("Easier to get ducks"), but that pairs with the Bumper Cars tent, and I usually try to defer that until I have a multiball ready, so I usually don't grab that stein until I've locked a ball or two. Engler Pale Ale (more tent time + Chugging) is often my next choice, although I also like Ish Pale Ale (easier to collect steins + Sky Slide). Sky Slide isn't too hard a tent to win... so now if I've got a couple tent wins on the same ball, I'm eyeing Reclab Redrum Stout (more bonus X + Stein Race) because the Tent Win Bonus is multipliable and can get very juicy. You'll note that I haven't really mentioned multiball to this point... I find that the PROST and OKTOBER FEST targets kinda take care of themselves from random bounces... when I'm getting close to having locks lit, I'll definitely do a couple spinner rips if needed to open the Food Stand and get a food feature running to get some calories. (And if you're doing that, might as well visit the Rockin' Express tent at the same time...) By design, the even numbered food features are the lucrative ones, so if you want nice multiball values, you sorta have to survive the first Food Stand to reach the second, or survive the third to reach the fourth. If I've gotten good calories and have locks lit or nearly so, for sure I'll take Freak Show Rooster and/or Frosty Ferret to amp the respective multiballs. Through all of this, one important thing to remember is that you can take multiples of the same stein... have you really crushed some tent modes and therefore have a serious Tent Win Bonus? By all means, take some extra Reclab steins to crank the bonus X even higher. Same idea with the Freak Show and Frosty Ferret steins if you have lots of calories.

But all that is my answer right now. Ask me again in a month and I'll probably say something different.

Ask Ferret next year.

LTG : )