-Software updates.
This is likely the most useful thing it could do.

-Competition.
A global leaderboard would be neat, till someone takes the glass off.

-Bug reports.
Mixed emotions. Seems code has been buggy out of the gate, not sure if this would remedy or exacerbate the situation.

-Playing together.
Forced multiplayer is a terrible idea. Locking modes behind multiplayer only is just dumb.

-Remote access/Service App
This seems like its lumped in with the software updates, and your idea of it sounds like a security nightmare. Unless it was some sort of read only app and the changes had to be done on the actual machine.

-Bluetooth/Player App
Sounds like a solution to a problem that doesnt exist. I personally enjoy putting my initials in the game and Im more likely to put them in using the flippers than I am downloading an app and setting up a profile.

at CES 2 years ago I spoke to Gary Stern about online and they were wanting to do some big things with online...so it should be coming. Being software though, it is easy to get delayed and take longer than previously thought. I would also argue they want the release to be pretty spot on.

I am in the process of getting my arcade games online (moto gps and BBHHD) so that I can play against people around the world. This doesn’t work for pinball. Each game is set up differently so global leader board would not work. It would be cool for updates and fixes though.

Wifi software updates are currently being beta tested for all of the JJP pins. New testing on that started back up this week and is moving forward.

P3 Multimorphic just dropped their online features.... this is exciting times!

We get your idea, and I agree that multiplayer/coop would be fun. Your machine would behave differently based on how the other players are doing. Modes would require a group effort, so would be easier or harder to complete depending on the skill of those you are playing with. I see myself offline 75% of the time and online maybe 25%. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

No thank you to be honest. I mean... How long will those servers be maintained. And also at what COST!!!

THere is a cost to everything. Even if you're not charged... It comes out of the budget somewhere.

And lets be honest a lot of people have 40 year old pins in their collections. Or older... Do you think those leaderboards will be up in 40 year time. I see a lot of... Unable to connect in the future for those functions.

Scorbit has some useful functionality.
https://scorbit.io/

One of the most useful things from a tournament director standpoint is reduced volunteer help needed to enter scores.

Are people still able to play pin2k online?

Will stern support theirs?
Will xbox still be around?

No one is certain about anything, but if online goes away, it doesn't mean you can't still play local, and if it is open like a lot of P3, someone can remake a new server or method.

You make some good points here. Now let me speak to it as an engineer who is actively working to implement some of these features:

1. Multimorphic tries to design their stuff to run peer-to-peer in some cases, so you can directly link on a LAN. Multimorphic does run a pair of matchmaker servers responsible for finding peers across the Internet, but such a thing could be replicated to a stand-alone application and hosted by the community.

2. I've been working with Scorbit on some of their title adoption, and they plan to be fairly open with their APIs so that you can implement your own web service layers and mitigate risk via the community if necessary.

3. For those who mention RFM/P2K, you have to remember that it was originally designed for a LAN and implemented over a weekend. The stuff we have today was pretty much reverse engineered out of that, and various other layers have been put in place to essentially hack it so that it works over the wide area network.

4. Servers are lower cost than you think. Most of the bandwidth would be consumed by edge content (software update downloads). Gameplay bandwidth consumption on a pinball machine is fairly meager, and most messages can fit into less than 0.5 kilobytes. Software updates would be about $0.05 per user that downloads them given a conservative game/asset update package size of 2 gigs at unscaled pricing.

The bigger concern as we work to roll these features out is actually security. A pinball machine is inherently a dangerous device if left in the wrong hands. Things go boom or catch on fire. A lot of focus is put into reducing the attack surface area, and for decades it's been much easier to just leave the whole connectivity piece out of it if you're even thinking_ about venturing outside the LAN.

But, adoption and positive reception from the community (due to some sort of value being provided) will spark the need/demand to maintain these systems for decades to come, but simply not using something because it might_ not be around in 40 years is a bit short sighted. Hell, a lot of US might not be around in 40 years.

The priority, still is and always has been to make the game fun. If we can leverage connectivity to further make the game fun or lower maintenance costs, then great, you'll see it sooner. Leaderboards aren't fun, but connecting up your brand new Stranger Things or Heist pinball machine and playing co-op with a clan across the world in a way that makes the joint storyline change for everyone's games while you're doing it, that sounds pretty fun.

Just my two cents, respectfully.

-- Jimmy

Well, again... You hit on some points that are begining to be addressed in the smart applicance field as well... A smart fridge could be an easy way to hack into someone home network. Infect it... Do what thou wilt to it... All sorts of stuff. Most people do not really have a secure home network... Not really. And they have so many devices on it...
I won't pretend to know as much about the tech stuff as you do. I'm a crappy computer tech for a really big school district, but I am not a network tech. So I don't know all the ins and outs. But, I do work with some really smart people. I'm just not one of those people.

Now... Lets say this becomes the norm... Guess what you turn on you 10 pinball machines with wifi connection. You guests on your wifi... Your tv, your fridge... Etc cetera and so on and so forth... And now you better have one hell of a home router. And also with the data usage. Companies have still kept normal data caps on. So I'd be interested to know the bandwidth for hosting a local tourney or online co-op. Or even just always on 24 seven in your gameroom. It'll add up.

It is a security concern and could be the weak point on a persons network... Well... Nothing is weaker than the person between the monitor and keyboard, that shall always be the weakest link.

But, I still stand by my. If they have someone like you working on this feature. Thats money that could go into the code, the animations and the layout. There is a cost to your work. It takes money away from another area. I would prefer all that money to be spent on making the game as great as possible.

And lets not kid ourselves. This is going to lead to a paywall. It will. And I'm not against DLC for video games. I bought the DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn, and a few other games. But, it needs to be fair content, not like CAPCOM, or CRAPCOM. Or EA... So many abusers in it. I don't trust big companies. They want money and profits... That is fair. I want money and profits. But, I believe there is a sweet spot where I get a great quality and affordable product and the company gets a nice profit so they can keep doing business as usual. And in return, when I get more money I'll buy from them again. But, so many companies want to break your back and squeeze blood from a stone.

FYI...
I'm not really that against these features. Its mostly from the budget time cost that I said in my above post.
I don't really care. I'm sure you'll be able to tweak the displays and turn off what settings you want. Or you should be able to... Hell I'm happy I got a Welcome to Dio's Arcade on some of my newer machine.

I am a Luddite. I might work in the tech field, but I'm very much an antiquarian in many regards. So I like to yell at kids to get off my LAWN!!!! And sometimes just shout at the sky for no reason at all!

It's another of those features that you probably need to experience for yourself to relate to, but the head-to-head gameplay party we had yesterday was an absolute blast!

You can now change this thread title to "Pinballs Connected Online... Now!" I'm sure a lot of the features listed by the OP will be implemented by a bunch of companies eventually, but playing with/against each other will definitely be the most fun.

- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com

Or it'll make my lack of friends even more apparent...

Question. Would you have to pay for matchmaking, or will that be offered free? Just curious. Because, you are right. It could add a lot more enjoyment to the pin, just playing against people. And I would assume you would implement a future like rankings or track your win loss records?

Our customers don't need to pay anything additional to play head-to-head. They just need a P3 and the game(s) (currently Cosmic Cart Racing, but more are coming). We’re not looking to nickel and dime our loyal customers. We’re more interested in giving more people more reasons to buy into the P3 ecosystem and expand their game libraries. We've got the server costs covered. It's just a part of doing business, just like having a website. And yes, we'll be adding all kinds of additional features, some you can easily predict and many you probably won't.

- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com

We'll be livestreaming a 4-player head-to-head over the internet session of Cosmic Cart Racing this Wednesday (6/24) at 7pm CDT. Check it out on www.twitch.tv/multimorphic. This is by far the most exciting way to play competitive pinball (real-time, network connected).

- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com

Head to head HD-R (resized).jpg