Wow, I've been away all weekend and just checked in to see this. Shocking, sad, and hard to believe.

Huge loss for pinball and a greater loss to everyone who knew him or wanted to.

RIP Lyman

Avatar is very similar to Iron Man & Tron. He took these really simple games, but gave them some really excellent nuance and satisfying moments.

Lyman's lament on MB has more meaning to me after reading all these posts... Love that game.

There are some wonderful Lyman stories that people have taken time to share. I have a few but one of the most memorable goes back to the early-2000's, hard to believe it was 20+ years ago but he was already a legend at the time. We made a deal for a machine and I brought it to his house. He asked if I wanted to checkout the collection. And there you have MB, AFM, RFM, MM, etc. He told me to feel free to play whatever I wanted and he started a game on AFM himself. I went through three games playing 3 balls on each then back to where he is at, still on his first ball on AFM. He asked if I didn't want to play some machines or something, I had to let him know that I had already played three.

It can't be said enough, what a great guy - funny, engaging, insightful, respectful, and the list goes on. RIP Lyman, you are and will continue to be missed.

Did you notice the ramp flap on his MB in front of the Frank shot? Lyman had MB #1 off the line, and it was originally gonna have a ramp that lifts up (like RFM or Sega Goldeneye) so the ball would fly up and hit Frank. His machine has that ramp flap...but it was never coded, so it doesn't actually do anything. Still, so cool to actually see/play in person. He also has what I think is the only SAM version of Sopranos. He programmed it on Whitestar & SAM at the same time, but the game ultimately shipped with Whitestar.

I actually did because he pointed it out as we were talking about proto, sample, and early-production machines. I want to say his MM and RFM were both very early numbers, but maybe everything was... it was a long time ago! I am honored to say the Doctor Who and Bram Stoker's Dracula machines in his collection both came from me.

Yes, me and my buddy had a go.
I tried but tripped over myself

When I heard the news I was away for work, alone and very upset.
Thinking about this tragedy all day and finding it impossible to focus at work I reached out to a local fellow pinhead who suggested we catch up for a couple of games to celebrate Lyman's awesomeness.

Heartfelt condolences to family and friends.
Lyman is a true superstar of pinball who will never be forgotten.

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Deleted.

My Norton anti-virus is saying that site is doing ad attacks. Also not a safe for work site.

Yeah I definitely wasn't expecting a giant penis banner ad to pop up.

Sorry--didn't realize that!

What size were you expecting?

Deleted my original post above. So sorry. Didn't mean to derail. Let's keep things respectful and clean. All I read in the original link I posted was the obit. No idea that pop-ups in poor taste would result. Apologies.

For anybody wondering, the collage of Lyman pics on the penis website was the same one that Stern posted:

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Still Feeling Shit about this sad news.

Just sitting here listening to him speak at the Slam tilt pinball podcast.
Lyman’s Pinball Story...
If you haven't listened to it as yet, do your self a favor.

https://www.slamtiltpodcast.com/2018/07/18/episode-100-lyman-laments/

In episode 28 of the Super Awesome Pinball Show Franchi had mentioned a Fireside chat with Lyman just after he left Stern.

Anyone know if that ever came to fruition? It never showed up in my SAPS feed but maybe he put it elsewhere.

According to Franchi's recent facebook post, I think it was recorded, but not released. Under the circumstances it won't be released for a while either so please just be patient I guess..,..

Rob

Has anyone from Stern or Jack Danger posted on here? Just curious in case I missed it.

Just heard this terrible news.

So sad.

His legacy will live on forever with the masterpieces he helped create like AFM and MM.

RIP Lyman.

Yes, Dwight and some others that have worked with him have posted.

pinballplusMN texted me this picture the other day not sure if he was going to post this pic of Lyman watching him play LW3

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Damn. Just a huge, tragic loss. I have so much respect for the man, his amazing accomplishments, his incredible work ethic and attention to detail.

I play his MM and AFM constantly and his genius will always challenge me.

My heart goes out to all his loved ones and friends.

I was playing Elvira’s House of Horrors and that game is so much fun to play. One thing Lyman accomplished is he wants to have us enjoy ourselves playing pinball and having fun laughing at the humor. The code is a masterpiece in this game and I had to honor his greatness playing this fantastic game. Gappa angry. Nope, I am ecstatic playing Lyman’s games. We will all miss him so much but never forget him. Condolences to all the people he has touched throughout his lifetime including me.

When my son said to me the news of his passing I was in complete shock. It was like hearing Eddie Van Halen died to me. I never met Lyman but always wanted to run into him at Replay. Every now and then someone dies who you don't know and admire from afar and wished you had met. When you hear someone dying young it makes it much worse. You know what he has done for the hobby and appreciate it so much. A unsung hero.

I have been in a fog for the last week and get that way when you know someone who is a one of a kind is no longer around. I have been reading all the great condolences, stories and viewing the pictures that people have uploaded. Much appreciated. Yes, a couple of famous people passed around that day, but this one hurt the most to me.

My condolences to his family and his girlfriend and friends/ pinball community who who were much closer to him then myself and still having a hard time.

RIP Lyman, you will be missed.......

Well said.

Lyman's spirit deserves to be coded into Elvira's House of Horrors in tribute (maybe in a special message after the end of game match). Ironic though, because the one who could best write such code properly would be Lyman himself.

Not sure what I think about this. A tribute of some sort as an Easter egg would be nice but Lyman as a deadhead might be too much.

But coding could be minimal. Just convert an existing deadhead and replace the graphics. Getting new audio might be tough though.

We salute you Sir Lyman.

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And with Cactus Cannon something should be put in the game to honor him.The one good thing is that Pinheads will always appreciate his work and style..The way he put fun into the code and pulled in the assets.I own a Elvira and people who asked me if I like it and I would say the shots are easy, but it's a super fun game with the rules and callouts and it's the same with Batman 66.He had a way of tying in everything just right for a fun challenging game that will live on forever through his work. Thanks Lyman

Oh goodness...I really didn't want to read the obit info there, thoughts with Penni and the whole family.

Poor Lyman. I feel for his family.
I wish things could have been different.
RIP.

Ugh I'm heartbroken. And I never knew him. I hate this I wish someone could have reached him. Somehow. We need to do better and help people.

Oh wow, so incredibly sad, poor Lyman and family. As is always the case with mental illness and suicide, if only anyone and everyone could help change the mindset of the person suffering, would it have made a difference? Unfortunately we will never know.

Having known someone who did this exact thing, it worried me greatly that Lyman had similar issues, he seemed to have a very similar personality. If anyone reading this is struggling, please speak to your doctor, a close friend or family member, seek help, stay with us.

This made me think of a passage in A River Runs Through It.

“Each one of us here today will at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it is those we live with and should know who elude us. But we can still love them - we can love completely without complete understanding.”
― Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through it

LTG

Unfortunately, that’s the “logical” way many of us look at things, but we don’t know and sometimes can’t even comprehend what’s going on in someone’s mind…you can’t “logic” someone out of mental illness or depression. I’m sure those he was closest to tried their best to help. He was loved & respected. My dad tried to end his life….thankfully he failed & we were able to get him the rehab & therapy he needed to make a change for the better. If anyone is having these feelings, please don’t be ashamed - reach out to your loved ones for help.

I have no words.

So very true. What others would say, do or think if told doesn't matter. It's the mindset of the person suffering that matters. For some, where a connection is made a breakthrough can occur and a recovery is possible. For others it ends in sadness. Apparently the sufferer feels a peace once they've made their choice and makes plans to end their life. It's just so incredibly sad for everone involved, including the person suffering.

It is often hard to comprehend that like fingerprints no two minds/brains are the same so our perspective is limited in terms of understanding others.

If anyone is donating in Lyman Sheats' memory at the link provided by his family, how is the recipient portion filled out? It's not clear to me. You can PM me if you do not wish to post here. Thanks in advance.

Well said, but still so hard to process. I read the obit after hearing about a recent suicide of a girl in my son’s high school—a 17-yr-old superstar just accepted at Yale, well-liked, etc. We really never know the demons other people suffer. I wish there was more to be done to prevent these tragedies.

The guy had everything to live for, damn shame to go out this way. Speaking from my own experience, asking for help is the toughest thing I've ever done in my life. 1 attempted suicide kinda scared me straight. Death is not the answer to any problem, no matter how big. Many bridge jump survivors have said they immediately regretted the decision as they fell towards the water.

I'm still battling my demons, and I urge anyone with even a passing thought of suicide to reach out.

This was the worst thing I feared, with silence comes uncertainty but now it is confirmed.

I feel for the family and all of us here and wish there was someone he would have reached out to.

RIP .... your presence lives on in our machines.

this statistic is usually close to 100%

https://ennyman.medium.com/a-lesson-from-29-golden-gate-suicide-attempts-a42f4ef3f970

it doesn't matter how dirty something gets, you can always clean it up.

stay positive people, we're all gonna make it.

love yall.

RIP LFS

I don't know if any explanation of his death would give me comfort but it fills me with sadness to learn the depths of his suffering and how long it went on for.

Thank you to the family for the bravery in sharing this. It's important and will help others.

This is incredibly sad. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

Very brave to reveal the cause. Hopefully it will raise awareness and inspire others to get the help they need.

This is so heartbreaking. Like so many others have said, if you, or anyone you love struggles with depression or mental illness, please seek help. The world is a better place with you in it, and I think Lyman is a perfect example of that.

I lost my sister to mental health issues, this is so hard on the loved ones because you can often think what you could or should you have done to prevent it. It's hard to accept or understand when outwardly someone looks so healthy.