(Topic ID: 27132)

Please define "dialed in"

By 85vett

11 years ago


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  • Latest reply 11 years ago by accidental
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    #1 11 years ago

    I've heard this a few times and I'm not 100% on what all it includes. When i got my NIB I made sure to adjust the pitch of the playfield, made sure it was level from side to side, made sure that all switches were activating, adjusted the in lanes and added a protector on the shooter lane. What are you all doing to "dial in" a pin? I'm assuming it's pin specific so if you want to use an example, use TFLE since that was my NIB.

    #2 11 years ago

    Plays great. Anything that needs to be tweaked has been tweaked.

    #3 11 years ago

    its not calling into a conference bridge? Its another pinball term like "Minty"... means what he said "Plays great. Anything that needs to be tweaked has been tweaked."

    DialedIn_1280x1024_320x240.jpgDialedIn_1280x1024_320x240.jpg

    #4 11 years ago

    absolutely nothing looks and feels out of place. it sparkles, it shines, inside and out. everything is mechanically tuned. it's super fast, and smooth like glass. vol is cranked and music/voices are mixed perfectly. no rattles. settings are adjusted to personal preference. plays like a showroom piece, it's better than when it shipped from the factory. it's the best it's ever going to get.

    people should walk away thinking that was the best example they ever played.

    #5 11 years ago
    Quoted from Tommi_Gunn:

    absolutely nothing looks and feels out of place. it sparkles, it shines, inside and out. everything is mechanically tuned. it's super fast, and smooth like glass. vol is cranked and music/voices are mixed perfectly. no rattles. settings are adjusted to personal preference. plays like a showroom piece, it's better than when it shipped from the factory. it's the best it's ever going to get.

    I agree with this,What do you call it when the game is set up to suit my playing tastes and ability/
    AND DON'T SAY EASY

    #6 11 years ago

    Let me give you an example...

    Ironman: 'Dialing it in' involved installing the shaker motor, the ramp mod so it doesn't STDM, turning off the orbit post, tweaking the shooter rod to make it so you can make the skill shot or the long orbit without much issue, switching the rubbers out to white, setting the monger difficulty to extra hard, the ball save time to 8 seconds, and tweaking the monger flange to avoid airballs, LEDs in the right places and a subwoofer if desired, outlane posts set wide open, the right pitch for your gameplay style. Now it plays like a dream.

    XMLE: Installing the Cliffy, adjusting Wolverine to be sensitive and a little further to the right, and doing the post mod, and pitch set. Installation of the Shaker and FF Kit. It's all dialed in.

    IJ: Dead Drop foam in the VUK, POA useable, Video Modes set to correct difficulty, Flippers rebuilt to make the ramps, right outlane escape possible with nudge, but not every time, etc.

    #7 11 years ago
    Quoted from scooter:

    I agree with this,What do you call it when the game is set up to suit my playing tastes and ability/AND DON'T SAY EASY

    "on location setup"

    #8 11 years ago
    Quoted from 85vett:

    I've heard this a few times and I'm not 100% on what all it includes. When i got my NIB I made sure to adjust the pitch of the playfield, made sure it was level from side to side, made sure that all switches were activating, adjusted the in lanes and added a protector on the shooter lane.

    That's pretty much basic set up. Good stuff, but no dialing involved.

    Quoted from 85vett:

    What are you all doing to "dial in" a pin? I'm assuming it's pin specific so if you want to use an example, use TFLE since that was my NIB.

    Don't own one, but it seems like most all the TF I've played on location have had trouble with balls getting stuck occasionally. Do balls get stuck on you TF? If yes, you better dial that thing in. A game that has balls getting stuck is definitely not dialed. Have you lubed your spinner? Every Stern spinner should be lubed. That's most definitely dialing it in. An improvement players will notice.

    To me, dialing a game in relates strictly to how the game plays. Every game should be clean, work properly and have all the lights working. Then you start dialing it in. I got a Ripley's a while back and it needed more dialing than any game I've ever owned. Mega dialing. Got a EATPM at the same time that hardly needed any dialing. Definitely game specific and not necessarily age specific.

    #9 11 years ago

    I figured it was a pinball analog to the literal meaning of dialling in, as in something that has been subject to minor tweaks in order to attain perfection. It pertains to gameplay/functionality only, not cosmetics — which don't fit under the definition of the phrase.

    I feel like there are two types of dialling in:

    Enabling the game to work as it was intended by the creators.
    — Clean and visible PF so that the ball moves and can been observed as intended.
    — Aligned and equally powerful flippers.
    — Restoring all mechanisms to operate as intended.

    'Improvements' to gameplay experience from the way it left the factory.
    — Increased switch sensitivity (including opto flipper switches)
    — Posts moved from factory positions or fitting new posts
    — Fitting rubbers of different sizes/qualities

    Some games have problems from the factory that need fixing. Some games work perfectly from the factory but people just like to make them easier. Some games are tired and need to feel 'young again'

    #10 11 years ago
    Quoted from accidental:

    I figured it was a pinball analog to the literal meaning of dialling in, as in something that has been subject to minor tweaks in order to attain perfection.

    +1 this. Whenever I have heard this term used, it tends to be a general phrase for anything gameplay wise that you have to physically "dial in". You're adjusting everything so the gameplay is at whatever parameter you've set.

    If people want it to mean cosmetics and shop job related stuff, then...I guess. I just won't catch on that that's what you meant when B.S'ing in real life.

    #11 11 years ago
    Quoted from Tommi_Gunn:

    people should walk away thinking that was the best example they ever played.

    In a nutshell, this.
    I know for a fact my Legolas return is the smoothest one out there*. Hand tweaked to perfection! It has the most satisfying "Shooooooooosh!!!" sound ever!

    *Well, within a 50 mile radius at least...

    #12 11 years ago

    I don't believe adding sub woofer or FF speakers = dialed in. To me dialed in is pitch, level, rule settings, all switches and roll-overs function perfectly and any mods required to support gameplay (IM and XMLE examples good) tweaks in check. Sound is an enhancement to experience just like cosmetic mods not dialing in. Dialing in is gameplay my friends.

    #13 11 years ago

    and boom goes the dynamite

    #14 11 years ago
    Quoted from NimblePin:

    I know for a fact my Legolas return is the smoothest one out there*. Hand tweaked to perfection! It has the most satisfying "Shooooooooosh!!!" sound ever!

    My Pirates has the sweetest monkey ramp ever. Shoots like it's a mile wide. You can even backhand it fairly easily. If you've ever been annoyed by the monkey, play mine and you'll get revenge. Big time.

    Unfortunately, I can't take any credit. It came that way. Factory dialed. Never bothered to look closely to see why.

    #15 11 years ago
    Quoted from badbilly27:

    I don't believe adding sub woofer or FF speakers = dialed in. To me dialed in is pitch, level, rule settings, all switches and roll-overs function perfectly and any mods required to support gameplay (IM and XMLE examples good) tweaks in check. Sound is an enhancement to experience just like cosmetic mods not dialing in. Dialing in is gameplay my friends.

    this.
    "Dialing in" has nothing to do with looks/sound. It's how it plays.

    For example:
    You have Game 'X', where everytime you hit a certain orbit shot, the ball tries to go around and gets hung up on a stray piece of metal, post, etc.
    You take it apart, study it, fix it.
    Now everytime you shoot that orbit, it goes around perfectly! no hang ups. That's a dialed in shot.

    Real example:
    Our WW used to have trouble kicking the ball out of the cellar. It would usually take 2-4 tries to kick it out, the ball was getting hung up or something.
    After finally getting in there and adjusting the coil so it hit the ball perfectly square, Now the cellar kicks out the ball every single time without a hangup!

    magic? Nope, just a "dialed in" cellar hole.

    anyway, that's what dialed in means to me.

    #16 11 years ago

    Thanks everyone. That helps. I was thinking their was something that I was missing and should be doing but it sounds like it's just basically making it run to it's fullest potential.

    #17 11 years ago

    "Dialed-in" relates to mechanical gameplay...not cosmetics/audio/software settings, etc...

    Leveled, good steepness, ball guides feed properly (ball doesn't come around an orbit and feed SDTM or bounce off the top of the sling), plunger aligned properly, pops and slings nice and sensitive, ball traps fixed, scoop kickouts aimed properly, flippers aligned properly, etc....

    Some games need a lot more of this than others.

    #18 11 years ago

    Dialed in to me is also 100% mechanical and I think Dr.Joe above describes it well. There is NO WAY a new Stern comes dialed in out of the box, it's just impossible. I think step one for everyone out there is to throw out the balls that comes with them.

    #19 11 years ago
    Quoted from turbo20lbs:

    throw out the balls that comes with them.

    I've heard this and don't get it. What is wrong with Stern's balls? That reads just wrong.

    #20 11 years ago

    World English Dictionary
    dialled in or ( US ) dialed in

    — adj
    informal exhibiting total concentration on and mastery of the task in hand

    #21 11 years ago
    Quoted from badbilly27:

    I've heard this and don't get it. What is wrong with Stern's balls? That reads just wrong.

    They aren't very smooth or shiney. The balls that came with my TFLE looked like some used ones I took out of a pin with a couple thousand plays on it. Some people tumble them vs buying new ones but for $1.50 most feels it's just a good idea to start off with the premium ones.

    #22 11 years ago

    It simply means everything is chum. Hope this helps

    #23 11 years ago
    Quoted from dnhayden:

    World English Dictionary
    dialled in or ( US ) dialed in
    — adj
    informal exhibiting total concentration on and mastery of the task in hand

    When I looked into it I found that this definition was likely a modern definition using the metaphor of dialling a telephone (being focused on one thing). But I think the way we use it, and most hobbies use it, is from an older metaphor of honing a weapon (refining and tweaking and perfecting).

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