Interesting. I see that "game restart" is enabled in the service menu but when I hold down the start button for like 30 seconds after the first ball nothing happens. I'll have to keep trying to see what happens. As an IT PM soft and hard restarts are relevant, with soft obviously being better for hardware lifecycle and software stability. Something to consider..............

COS

Make sure it serves ball 2 first.

Weird. Still doesn't reset. Puts up player 3 and then does nothing for a least 20 seconds. Hmmm

So wait, you drained balls one for both players and then did it?

It *should* work, so long as it says Ball 2 on the DMD. My Metallica and IM both do it.

I'm guilty of restarting. I usually give the second ball a chance though before bailing on the game. Ball one bad, ball two bad, instant restart. It seems like the best scores and the best opportunities for long games come when you've had a killer first ball. Probably just wishful thinking though as it just as easily goes killer ball one, drain ball two, drain ball three.

No.

It's like starting with a crappy break on a game of pool.

Lame.

That's strange. I just tested it on my STLE with both a one player and two player game. In both cases, the game reset when holding in the start button on ball two. You don't have to hold it down long. It should only take a couple seconds.

Ok, this time it worked immediately. So from what I understand both first balls have to be finished in a two player game and the next ball started and I guess the same for a one player game, etc. Ok I get it but you have to learn the timing of when to do it. Good enough though. Lesson learned. I'm sure I know everything there is to know about my ST now...

Mystery solved...

I did not know you could restart a game buy holding down the start button. I will try that on my ST tomorrow. It's tempting to restart a bad 1st ball but seems like I always have a bad ball in a game. Sometimes you start strong then choke and other times you end strong.

By accident, I did discover that holding the left flipper down and then hitting start puts the game in competition mode. I don't have a use for that mode but thought that was a cool feature.

jawjaw, I feel ya. My thing is this: If you get less than 1Mil on 2 first balls in a row (2 players) , not often by any means, then maybe do a restart. It's much nicer to have two firsts above 10 mil, you get psyched for the opportunities there and don't have to try to make up ground. Just an option anyways..

CoS

Only takes one ball to put up a record score if you're good!

I believe if you have any interest in playing competitively, you must allow yourself opportunities to plan strategies against a poor ball one.

Who cares about the high scores on your home game?

So's resetting. You're just skipping the plunge and ignore part.

Never, I always have a pretty average first ball , my second ball is usually a lot better, example yesterday I was playing Metallica yesterday on location in tournament mode an scored 164,553,640 and that's really good for me, an that was all basically done on ball 2, ball 3 went no where I might have scored 2 million tops, an ball 1 was definatly nothing to brag about, so it definatly can happen..

I didn't know you could reset.

95% of the time, my first ball sucks then I wind up with a decent game.
The few times I kill it on ball 1, I crap out on the next two.

If every ball was a winner, it would get old fast.

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If nothing else, some good came out of this thread because people learned something new!

I never restart a game(full disclosure, mine are set to five bpp) My typical score distribution %(in no particular order) is 60, 35, 3, 1.5, 0.5(seriously). So choking on ball one is not a problem.

Choking on ball five, now that's what pisses me off!

Good? I was looking at those posts and thinking, 'Oh no! More resetters™.'

I hope you're talking about WOZ.

This thread encouraged me to play differently this weekend. I played only two player games against myself...always trying to beat the "other" me. Then, when you start with a bad ball...player 2 just wants to step and put a ton of points on the board. Then player 1 has to learn to play catch up.

I've played two player games by myself. I feel it helped me improve a lot. Tried a four player game once but wasn't as interesting to me.

Nevermore, quoth the raven.

So who won?

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We're not that serious at home, so yeah - restart if it makes you happy. Pinball is supposed to make you happy!

I always play like I have money on the game. Or I had put quarters in the machine. Unless I am doing repairs.

that being said......drain thread.....

If losing the ball so quickly was my fault, then I don't restart. But when the machine kicks it of the table without even giving me a chance, then I do. However, this does push up the games played count on the six games I purchased NIB (including BBB).

I tried the hold start button reset today on my ST and it worked! Very cool.

My kids do not have a dad that's a quitter. Good life lessons can be learned playing games.

Restarts are for newbs and losers.... Kick the habit!

When I have a really poor first ball, I usually try something new with the rest of the game. Like concentrate on one particular shot (a hard one), or try for ramp combos, or go for a game mode or approach that I don't typically do. Sometimes the game turns around or I learn something new. If not, at least it's good practice.

I knew I should have drained this thread.

For me pinball has always been about getting the highest score possible and winning games, whether three balls, four balls, or how ever many balls you get in one game.

A restart is a quit.

I quit drinking. Once or twice...

Restarts are for pussies! Power through or go home.

When they jacked up games from $.25 to $.50 and then took away our 5-ball play and made it 3-ball, and then jacked it up again to $.75 or a buck on location, my friends and I felt we were getting ripped off.

Setting all my games to 5-ball, removing the tilts, and allowing restarts is how I get to finally claim that back, in some twisted way.

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As I stated earlier in this thread, I never restart games. That being said, there is no game I have ever owned that makes me want to restart more often than TWD. Talk about brutal!

Really? And that's without drains from the pops??

Restarts are for losers w/no confidence. Usually most good games are one good ball. Re start in a tournament and see what happens ...........

I get some drains from the pops now and then, but it's not the obscene amount that some people describe. Even without the SDTM drains, the game is just hard as hell. You are forced to go for the drop targets if you want to start the modes, and there is no safe way to do so. Combine that with the two magnets and the wicked slings, and it's a recipe for disaster. You would think given all these facts that I would hate the game, but it's just the opposite. Because it's so difficult, you get an even bigger rush when you manage to stack a bunch of stuff and score big.

I need 5 good balls to even have a chance of getting in the tournament for Maverick. I've only been able to do it once, ever. So, yeah no problem restarting once in a while. Especially on a first ball missed skill shot.

I shut that feature off on my machines so the temptation isn't there.

Some of my highest scoring games have been "Last Ball desperation" NEVER GIVE UP !!!

Never, besides when I play my IM ball 2 and 3 are also likely to be terrible...

Keep playing. My wife started shitty on BSD turned it around and scored 3 billion. I will never touch that score.

Sometimes, it's not so much about how many balls you have left. It can be more about maintaining a level of focus.

For instance, I've been known to have a killer ball and get an extra ball or two, then stupidly drain my next few in a row.

During LouArcEx I realized my wife is a hustler. First time either of us had played any given machine, I get off to a decent start while hers aren't so good.... in the spirit of friendly competition I feel relived that I should get a higher score, nyah nyah pbbbbt. Until those effing ball threes! I don't know how she turned it around all the time, but damn. More often than not, she came out on top...

...of course that meant the times that turnabout went to my favor were even sweeter. And I still have the consoling warm glow of the top score at home... for a little while at least, ha ha.

But really, the very appeal of pinball is that while you have some control, anything can happen when you least expect it. What fortune does the next ball hold?

Eventually you learn the difference between a gyp ball and a $#!t ball. Gyp balls are why the "ball save" feature was invented... so yeah, it happens. As opposed to when I have a $#!^ ball I know I effed up somehow and need to do better. And sometimes chance luck is a bitch. Either way you gotta roll with it.

From "just one more game!" to "just one more ball!", the possible outcomes are infinite, aren't they?