What’s a DMV player? Division of Motor Vehicles is the only acronym of that I know of.

DC, Maryland, Virginia

Just spent the last 7hrs with R&M.. first impressions..

- Packed really well
- The cabinet art on the sides is amazing - like, it should be in the middle of the room good. It's just cool
- The purple powercoat is pretty cool and looks good in person
- Its clear they had a ton of fun putting this game together. How they kept it under wraps for so long is quite a feat. The humor integration is everywhere.. from the QC stickers, to the warning labels, to the Opto board descriptions on the underside of the Playfield
- The blood sucker edition plastic is nicely done
- the backbox looked really bland to me on video.. its better looking in person (less negative space with the BSE tag and the colored speaker rings)
- The game is loaded with 3D printed parts... good or bad.. it's the truth.
- The game has funny features all over, even some posts are replaced with printed stylized parts

- The underside of the PF is super intimidating. You saw the post I made earlier showing Stern vs RaM.. and R&M looks more packed then a WPC game. So much it looks intimidating to have to work on. I don't look forward to it at all
- The PF connectors are glued with hotglue in a ton of spots to fight off movement. But that also means... a real PITA if you need to get them off. Connectors don't have just a bridge piece.. several are encased in hot glue. I can't imagine what that means for their build process for time!
- The game uses some weird adaptor connectors in the head for things like the speaker rings... not sure why the adaptors are needed
- The number of PCBs on the PF is... kinda mindblowing.
- The fact they use LEDs that each still need 4 separate wires is.. astonishing. A huge portion of the game's wiring seems to be bound to the lighting choice.

- The sub speaker is HUGE - people think it has a shaker purely based on what the sub does to the game
- The house has some really fun details like a satellite dish on the roof, a basketball hoop (but no net... modders unite!) and it really stands out vs Stern's screwed flat plastics. The ship looks great (even if its base doesn't due to the 3d print)

- The PF cutout for a DBV was problematic for us. Even the smaller stacker didn't fit well and needed hacking to make it passable
- One of our side art blades was not aligned well with the head bolt (small cosmetic issue)
- The software settings around profanity were not the most intuitive.. easy to turn on and set percentage.. but the 'override' stuff wasn't very clear

- Game doesn't ship with a manual... not a shocker - but not really acceptable IMO for a company that is grown up by now
- While the software seems very feature complete in the areas that are done (in a specific mode, etc) - There still seems to be lots of maturity/stability issues. We had to power cycle the game several times due to 'game just not wanting to serve up the ball' like was seen in the reveal stream
- Game was playable out of the box... but we did have ball hangups in the shooter lane and at least once in the horseshoe loop above the upper flipper (trapped on switch). The shooter lane one is my biggest concern right now because the game just sits there until you knock it free or tilt. (and tilting let to another power off issue we had..)

Game play next...

Enjoy some of the details, and the unboxing experience with us.. #55 landed today..

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My Gotg had pegs until pinball life

Game play impressions...

- First, the obvious... the writing done for the game is top notch. The custom callouts and integration of show content is A++. It carries the game no doubt. The video assets are nicely done.
- The UX of the display is not perfect... it can be confusing at times to lookup and understand who is the active player. (I do wish you could pick your favorite morty... kinda like picking your monopoly piece..)
- The music is perfect for the game - it fits so well. Dunno if it pulls you forward or not.. but fits the title so well

- There is no questioning you will be rattling shots a lot on this title. From rattling the scoop... to getting to the top of the left ramp and not getting over the threshold... to missing the two left orbit shots... rattling is par for the course on this title
- The two ramps are decent. The right orbit feels right, and the horse shoe shot just to the left of the right orbit is a fun shot, even if difficult to hit intentional
- The U lock shot is a mixed beast. When its open and looping.. SDTM was common and frustrating. When open and empty... it can be a tough shot to hit (and frequently is needed in modes). Hitting the drop targets was kinda 'empty'.. and besides having a lock.. the whole assembly wasn't that rewarding to play/shoot IMO. I hope future rules will improve upon this to make it more interesting

- The left orbit to garage is a hard shot. I don't want to say its flawed... but I couldn't find a consistent shot at it. Plus, its only available via the upper flipper. Which means often you're using the right orbit instead of shooting this hard shot
- The spinner loop is just... elusive. Interesting enough once hit, it seemed easier to combo it and hit it 2-3 times. But hitting it is hard.. the window is small. I didn't feel robbed as much by rejects or the spinner... just finding the entrance was tough.

- The sling and inlane/outlane design were well received.

My main beef seemed to be that often the game is very 'narrow' in the sense of what there is to do and paths to take. Pretty much you have the locks to multiball, and starting adventures. Charging the portal alone requires the two most difficult shots... and even when achieved, it seemed very quick and not lucrative to what I was doing.

Enabling modes requires hitting both ramps (past the first mode) which isn't always a simple task. I think more casual players will struggle with this.

Given the spinner loop was so difficult... I found most of the time the upper flipper had little to shoot for that was lucrative. I found it better to not flip and focus on control at the bottom most of the time.

The mode variety isn't super in what you are trying to do... but the scripts are very well done and fit the show very well. Some show a lot of creativity in what you are doing... but it didn't really resonate as 'super fun' to me.

Multiball start is almost certain drain fest... but there is plenty of ball save.

Dimensions are there, but unless you have the time to read the screen they were pretty indifferent. Alot of the perks I were getting weren't that interesting to me either. Some of that is familiarity with the rules/scoring... but again, the non-serious player is going to miss this element almost entirely.

I think it has potential to be a favorite for some (if not for the a/v media alone) - but as a location game I really fear its going to scare people away. It's just not that satisfying to play IMO. It's frustrating at times, and I feel very much 'on rails' stuck trying to do very specific things instead of having choices. Heaven forbid you get pickle rick as your start adventure... cuz you're stuck trying to get to the portal.

I can't pin down why just yet... but the game didn't have the instant 'must... keep.. playing...' hook for me.

Things I think may hold it back...
- lack of 'flail progress/reward' - needed to keep the casuals playing
- half the shots are super difficult - again, casual player is gonna get frustrated
- location reliability/ease of working on it

I look forward to playing it more... but I don't know if I'd go to play just it.

Sliders came back for pros starting with Iron Maiden (thank you sk8ball!!)

Really nice and thorough writeups! And thanks guys for taking and posting such detailed photos!

Did you find that most of the shots had about the same degree of distance? Doesn't feel like there's one or two gimme shots. They all feel narrow by a quarter of an inch, and the ramps themselves don't seem to open up much at the entrance either.

It's like Scott designed this game, as stated, to be brutal, not just challenging, and without a couple smoother shots, it feels at times punishing more than pleasurable.

Note: haven't played it yet, but much of what you mention regarding modes etc ring familiar to how it looked in streams of it as well. I think this is a fair assessment. Especially the part about no flailing and very specific things you must do to proceed possibly scaring casuals. From the streams it was really difficult to tell if you were in a 'dimension' etc. It just didn't translate well. The good news is that more modes are coming, and that the majority of people getting the game are not casuals.

Right ramp was pretty easy to backhand with a margin of error.. and probably second easiest shot from left flipper. Right orbit was probably easiest.

The scoop is pretty open.. but rattling is still pretty common. The lock shots varied alot based on if they were open or not. The left ramp is easy to find (wide) but poor shots wouldn't make it all the way up to the top and over the crest to the backboard.

The spinner and garage are just really difficult to find with any consistency. You'd miss.. and bad.

First thing I noticed when I saw the PF in person is... it really is a huge swath of open space in the middle.

Comparing to say JP.. which I play alot of right now.. or wonka.... imagine if 3/4 the shots in the game were the JP tower shot or the gap to the pops. Wonka shots are a cakewalk compared to RaM.

interesting as I think JP2 and R&M are actually very similar in shot difficulty/challenge factor.

actually, even oddly similar.

What I call frustratingly addictive. Really keep me coming back for more.

I had this happen a couple times now. Not just in certain modes either (last was in Total Rickall). The portal was lit and I hit the right orbit, but soft. It made it to the diverter and then dribbled down the left inner loop (spinner). Not sure if this is on purpose for a shot that might be too soft, or if it’s a diverter bug. Never has happened with a strong hit.

And thanks @whysnow, adjusting the upper flipper did the trick for the spinner shot.

Dimensions stood out to me because it takes some difficult shots to make happen so when you did it.. I wanted a big payoff. Instead, you'd commonly get things like 'quadtruple spinner'... oh great... the single hardest shot in the game is now 4x... which I'll never hit. Or '2x inlane/outlane scoring' - what?? The rewards weren't paying off for me and the mode times out pretty quick (I assume there is a way to extend).

Dimensions also had very little audio feedback I could discern to let you know what was going on. And take up only the very top of the display.. making it tough to quickly glance up and figure out what the value was. I thought in the streams I saw more GI/lighting integration to key off that a dimension shift was going on, but today it didn't stand out to me.

I referred to casuals a lot because this particular example is purchased to be a route game. However, from my experience, the majority of home buyers I would say have similar skills. Most home buyers I would not put into 'player' level of skills/engagement. They play more than a rando - but skill/understanding is still significantly lower than those who seek out competitions, etc. I think alot of buyers will end on selling the game on because it's too difficult for them to enjoy consistently.

The R&M I got to play over the weekend seemed to have the same issues with its 3D prints. Not enough walls or top layers, layer separation, and low resolution. Is Spooky supplying STL files for owners to print their own parts incase these break, or the owner wants to print quality ones for themselves (not that they are super complicated designs to replicate)? Looks like they went for shorter print times instead of quality prints, and didn't reprint "failed" prints. I'm still not sold on "display" 3D parts in consumer products. The speaker rings being printed seems acceptable because they aren't seen when the machine is closed up.

I used the example because I picked out those two shots as ones that frequently 'miss' even tho you thought you had a good shot. Shots like the C shot, or O, are difficult, but can be targeted with skill. The ramps are readily makeable by people. FWIW... I do think JP is a game that isn't as READILY approachable by casual players, but isn't a bridge too far either. With the truck and map letters.. most people can see the game do at least a couple things... 2 ball MB, a paddock, maybe a truck mode. You can get the center shot, ramps, and truck pretty readily.

It's only been a day, but I found the JP shots much easier to dial in.. with the O probably the hardest to hit consistently IMO. The upper left orbit is challenging, but you don't live and die by it all the time. Contrast that with a really difficult shot like the spinner or garage in RaM - maybe similar difficulty, but the shot is far more important to doing things in the game.

Like Noob Noob

Garage can be backslides with right orbit. I also find the garage off upper right flipper to be easy once you find it.

I do agree that the spinner can be a lock out for dimension if you are unable to find it.

My one wish is for a spinner on the right orbit. First because I love spinners and second because that would be cool to rip a spinner than then opens garage and you portal divert in a single shot

How many games do you feel you have in so far? Over 100 I'd imagine.

And I thought my rating review was detailed, holy balls!
Well done.

"Rattling" is a more useful word to describe how a shot feels when a successful shot unexpectedly fails. I hadn't used that one before. I appreciate the lexicon upgrade.
-mof

Oh yeah. I would guess at least 100. I love the game. Every time I stop by the location I play at least 3 games. Probably put on 50 in the first week alone.

I was kinda hoping for one in the quick turn-around shot that feeds the upper flipper. That area looks a little barren (mostly due to art choices out of Spooky's control) and it wouldn't hurt to take a little velocity off the ball anyway when feeding the upper flipper. Spinner would give that shot more of a unique feel/purpose. Might not be room to mount one there anyway, and of course the game is done & shipped. Just armchair designing. (sorry Scott!)

As you go through more dimensions, they definitely get more fun and is key to getting lots of Megaseeds. There's a TNA dimension (with TNA music) where the ramps have no value, a strobe light dimension which is really fun while in MB, and I've heard about but not seen a TZ dimension.

I found the ramps to be some of the easier shots in the game. Heck you can reliably backhand the right ramp!

.

Can you please elaborate on this?
Do you mean that a ball is lost in the ball trough and the game doesn't recognize it's there but the only thing to fix this is a reboot?
I'm currently having the same issues for months now on my ACNC and can't track down if it's software or hardware related, even though I'm really leaning towards software...

I mean... technically, a modder could add a second spinner anywhere and tie into the one that is already there. correct?

In our case... game knew ball drained... but just would not be taking action to put a new ball in the shooter lane.

Interestingly... we were having issues with balls hanging in the shooter lane, spooky said try turning down the eject coil. I turned it down two notches, and almost every time the game got in this situation where it wouldn't be trying to put a ball in the shooter lane after a drain. But it was fine on start of game.. put coil back up to default... problem went away. Never heard the coil even trying in these cases.

I don't have high confidence in the 'iffy condition' handling right now.

Pin # 79 willing to swap spots + cash PM please if you would like to negotiate a deal.
Ready soon!

Also posted in owners thread.

Edit - I should have said, replied to the pm you sent us and just waiting to hear back either way.

Why is this even possible?

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Message @spookyluke, he is on this. It has been brought up recently.

Stuck Dimension?

seems pretty obvious why...

slow roller of a lazerous comes back up and rests on the slightly higher metal apron tab now that it sits on a plastic piece to protect pf from apron edge.

Luckily the simple fix is a small nudge and it happens very rarely.

I think the bigger thing to get from this, is pretty awesome that this is the biggest complaint

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Because they used plastic down there to guard the PF from the metal tabs. First time I've seen that done and may be overkill but shows the thought they have put into protecting the PF. Maybe the apron can be moved forward by adding washers to the screws on the back that attach to the hangars? (If that is how they are done in this case).

It is stretching/bending the metal (and powdercoat) below the slot on the apron, in the pic above ...

The metal apron tab could simply be placed lower, so that the apron doesn't pull down so hard on it. ?

Or the washer between apron and hanger maybe.

I don't need a physics lesson... The 'how is this possible' statement is about how does one let this get through design and validation. It clearly is a huge ball trap problem... created by the alternate apron design. When every other design out there has a smooth apron front.. and your design has a 1/4" protrusion sticking out... it should raise questions. The edges aren't even shaped in a way to fight ball hangups.

And no, this isn't the biggest complaint. That would be the long list of complaints from customers bout games needing to be cycled because the game won't serve up a ball... and the service call I had to make tonight about that very problem.

But on the topic of stuck balls... here's my stucky ball collection so far in one day... the apron twice, and getting stuck balanced at the scoop and scoop protector

No

The design comes from how the apron is mounted at the front. They put a large plastic plate down, then the metal tab is screwed through that and into the top of the PF. This allows the apron's bottom edge to sit on the plastic tab and be slightly off the PF.. about 1/16th. But this tab is huge and protrudes out into the ball path. The plastic would normally be outside the path of the ball contact... but then the metal tab that the apron slides over is MASSIVE as well.. sticking out a good 1/4" into the ball path.. and since it's up higher, it blocks the ball.

TLDR - the tabs that the apron clips onto are way too big, too high, and out in the ball path.

Even without the plastic plate the tabs are so huge I bet it would block the ball. I wasn't taking it all apart to find out... but no idea why they let this go as it is. Just begging for hangups.

I posted the occasion where my ball just nestled nicely into the scoop. We waited for it so kick itself out, as the setting for tilts seemed pretty high on the game. My friend hit the flipper buttons possibly hard, not even a nudge, and the game went from a quick warning to tilt in 2 seconds or so.

Um, Yes. It is plain as day in the pic there.

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So the game is balanced more to the risk side?

Needs more reward?

Seems like the balance is 50/50

Spooky has the reward and the owners have the risk.

Have you played Stranger Things, Star Wars Prem/LE, or Deadpool?

Due to unseen financial issues I will be selling my spot number 148.

If anyone is interested send me a pm with a price.

Yeah I get it. I've had a game where the metal tabs protruded enough that I didn't want them potentially scarring up the ball as it went by so I managed to move the apron forward a small amount by putting washers between the PF hangers and where the apron was secured in the back.

Just wondered if you could do the same thing here to get at least one ball hangup off your back.

.

"aand heeeere we go!"... wonder how many private auctions like these we'll be seeing?

really? a ball that has already drained, rarely gets stuck here (hell, put your game at the suggested 6.9 pitch and no problems), and can be freed with a simple and small nudge when/if it does happpen... is a "huge" problem?

dramatic much?

TLDR > you have an obvious agenda (as usual) and are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one.

Agreed. Assuming the apron screws are long enough, I would think that using a plumbing washer like these would easily fix the ball hang-up. Not something I'd worry about at all.

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Once again not true. I have a preorder spot and was in before 10:10. Spooky with TNA told people if you bought from them you would get first priority on new games. That did not happen with R&M. Spooky should have honored their commitment to their previous customers. It would have been very easy to give prior customers lower numbers once they got a preorder spot.

Instead the numbering process was not transparent or explained prior to the ordering especially the first 100 games.

Why not give the prior customers who have a preorder spot the lower numbers? Spooky could and should have done more in this regard.