They control the flippers with PWM so it doesn't really matter since the software will control how strong it actually is. I think all Spooky flippers are 11629? Easier to manage parts that way too.

Better for selling your expensive fan kits though

And also so what if the upper flippers fade. Look at what you’re shooting (ie not ramps) and git good

You might be able to make a small wire/plastic to wedge there so there isn’t enough vertical clearance for a ball + drop stack. Or a clear flat plastic over the area.

Worst case cut the wire form a hair?

that's at least easy to fix in code...just update the ball search routine to drop the drop

I like the center drop. Hope they do some interesting rules with it (Super Mario Brothers has a neat use of it. Start a 2 ball MB, lock the balls without dropping the drop to start a 3 ball MB)

also should probably make sure the tilt routine auto drops the middle drop too

the center drop has a knockdown coil, the two banks of three don't have a knockdown coil

With Spooky they've never been a thing...

I remember hearing someone at Stern saying the licensor required the logo on the TMNT topper, which is why the logo part of the topper is very easily removed by the user (if they so choose)

Is it painted or just blue plastic?

I may be mistaken, but I believe a traditional playfield is 17/32” plywood that gets routed, inserts, planed down, then art and clear are applied and polished for a final thickness of 1/2”

I think Spooky starts with 1/2” ply? Or maybe they did in the past? So it’s only slightly thinner

Pretty sure American Pinball has the same playfield vendor too

Replace all the sculpts with Scrappy. Spite hard

Between the family friendly theme and a fairly approachable layout, I wouldn't be surprised if this is a sleeper hit among a lot of families.

Well besides picking a good theme that is multigenerational, they didn't do something like Stern TMNT which seems like it should be a family/kid friendly game but it is a relatively punishing layout.

Coil orientation doesn’t matter for operation; it’s an electromagnet pulling metal inward. But for best reliability the coil lugs should be opposite of the coil stop. It puts less vibration/stress on the solder joints. (It’s not that big of a deal to do it the other way, but there is a preference)

So that would be the lugs farther away from the playfield for those vuk mechs.

CSI Pinball should have been this conversation. Enhance!

I’m pretty skeptical it’s a code issue vs there’s a random short to find in a few particular games.

I played a lot of Scooby this past weekend. A few unsolicited thoughts:

- Amazing art package. It truly is a stunner. The colorful RGB light shows work well with the theme. I don't like the green plastic protectors though. It also doesn't look good when you are walking by the game and see the large gap between the apron and the lockdown bar.
- I don't think this had the most latest code which made the autolauncher and van faster. I now know what people mean when they complained about them.
- I like how easy it is to start a mystery. I believed I played all the mysteries in the game? Charlie the Robot was ok with a great light show. Captain Cutler is a bit complex but I like the idea. Miner 49er is an incredibly clever mode. I don't remember the miner character or how it relates to the show, but it's a fun and unique mode. I wonder what casual players think of it, because it could be really tough for them? Space Kook was fine. The Creeper, boo mashing action buttons lol. Black Knight is an interesting mode that is kinda long. I know you can dip your paint brush in the red slings on the regular playfield, but because of the green plastic protectors it is not obvious at all that those are red. I only knew from having heard that in a stream. Zombie mode is fine. Some of the mode ideas are very creative overall, though maybe too complex? There needs to be some balancing in difficulty and scoring for sure.
- Sounds are a bit all over the place. It needs a lot more music variety. I love the random sling noises. Sometimes the game would be very quiet. Maybe it was loading sound tracks?
- love the van honking and flashing its lights before it releases a ball
- Lower flippers are snappy (maybe too strong?). None of the shots were too difficult to find, though I never could understand why some of my center ramp shots would reject because I can't see it.
- Bookcase flipper is a neat gimmick
- Upper playfield is very slow and very floaty. I'm not saying that's a pro or a con. It's very unique.
- Overall the game is a pretty easy player out of the box. We had a tournament round called early on it and took it out for the rest of the day. Needs outlane rubbers removed, post to lower setting and possibly removed, and maybe even pull the upper PF center post.
- +1 to the recommendation to having the option to disable the drop target save. Can you stack the ball saves? It just seems like my center drop was up a lot. Sometimes it would pop right back up after being activated. Heck sometimes a slow ball can come to rest on the drop and not knock it down. Maybe make it a temporary ball save and knock the drop back down after 10 seconds or so?
- I have no idea what the inlane inserts are supposed to be doing, if anything

The upper playfield is a bit dark (by design) but the playfield is about as well lit as most games. I thought it was fine in a dimly lit room.

I also think the RGB lighting stands out more when it’s not being washed out by a lot of white light. There’s more contrast that way, which is good because the game is heavily reliant on a mix of RGB lighting. (Without being overwhelming like some JJP rainbow fests)

It's pretty easy playing in general. Mostly safe shots that aren't hard to find and without too many dangerous targets (ie no big bash toy). And if you're missing shots, the SD standups bring up the ball save drop. The need some code options to disable the drop save, or have it auto drop after so many seconds. You can stay on the upper playfield for a long time once you get used to how floaty it is. (Some may want to pull the upper PF center post, or at least take off the rubber)

The game tries to make it up by making the modes more elaborate/complex. But the ball times are pretty long overall.

Maybe now that there are reasons to shoot the drops, that may help speed up ball times.

The one I just saw unboxed, the posts were installed in the high spot. Maybe it's inconsistent from the factory.

As an aside I looked at the TWIP article for Scooby Doo and noticed their prototype didn't seem to have any adjustments. So I'm glad they tweaked that. (Halloween/Ultraman also didn't have them)

yeah it would, the flipper has to work harder to flip up by overcoming the stronger spring

might not be noticeable in practice, but the coil is working harder and heating up faster (not that fade would be much of an issue on that upper playfield)

It sounds like a short or bad connector you have to track down

Has Spooky released a manual yet? You might be able to narrow down the hunt for a short if you are seeing the same set of transistors fail. Or at least you could start to isolate parts of the circuits. Pretty hard to find shorts though in general, and really hard without a wiring diagram of some kind.

Best of luck. I struggle to understand this chart

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I'd spend a lot of time looking at the stuff that has broken on all the boards, both upstream and downstream

Wrong pin out on a connector would make a lot of sense if the game is trying to pulse something that isn’t equipped for the pulse they’re sending it, but may not explain the cascade of failures. But this is all speculation. I do think these issues are build specific, not specific to game code. It’s just odd to go with it’s a code issue when it seems like hardware issue as it affects a minority of units.

If Spooky published a wiring diagram, which they should anyways, I think the community would be more than willing to help a few users with issues. It would help lighten Spooky’s support load. But right now it’s the blind leading the blind.

The main Scooby background track loop has been stuck in my head for days. It's been a week since I played. It's just so earwormy.

Hide clues on the website to solve the mysterious beta update url

I was reading the Scooby wiki about Captain Cutler to remember who he was. (Spoiler) It’s interesting that it’s actually someone who faked their death and is pretending to be their own ghost.

Maybe you can strategically drain a ball, and get a reward. Fake your death like CC did.

The creeper mode involves mashing the button. I don't think the button is used for anything else yet?

Generally I prefer points to be earned in single ball play vs multiball play. How they can and cant stack is important. But agreed they need some work

Maybe they could make multiple different Cutler multiballs. The second time you play it, locks are harder and the actual objectives are more complex (limited flips, limited hold, reverse, etc)

What about a reverse flipper multiball mode where the upper and lower flippers are doing different things?

Press the left flipper and the lower right flipper goes up while the book case goes down. Let go and they switch. Vice versa for the right flipper button. Some nonsense that makes you go jinkies!

I love stuff like Mystery Spot after earning it by doing some other jazz. It’s great how Houdini lets you make straight jacket multiball more complicated for more points.

Like Zoinks Man Multiball

I can see disabling the bookcase to keep the player from hanging out up there, but it introduces confusion to the player for why they sometimes work and don't. It can be frustrating for them to not flip when the player thinks they should be flipping.

The "wear" is minimal, especially in a home setting.

At least that has been the attitude of game programmers with extra flippers on the playfield. Just let them flip. It's better to flip than to not flip when the player expects it to. Also avoids an issue if the opto doesn't work, but the ball is still getting up there.

Because there's more downside than upside to killing flippers in mini playfields. If the switch detecting balls entering the Mando Helmet is broken, then the whole toy is basically broken. And the game could get confused during multiball about where everything is.

Related tangent, was HW/UM updated to have that option to not kill the flippers when you’re in the mode select/store menu? I ask because I’ve seen occasional bugs where it disables the flipper to use that function, but the lifter serves up a ball while the lower flippers are disabled. It’s probably the most maddeningly frustrating bug you can run into and the poster example of why it’s not worth the unnecessary complexity to reduce wear by a minimal amount. It’s the worst way to lose a ball

That random example seems very specific

Maybe they can add some options in the code to notice a player hasn't done anything on the upper playfield, and then automatically divert the bookcase on a center ramp shot so they get a chance up there.

A lot of players hardly notice/use upper flippers to begin with, and you need to know to use the bookcase as a diverter. There's not a lot of time to react if you aren't expecting it. (Maybe add some speech callouts too to remind the player?)

How many characters would I need to do a code injection to drop everyone else's name off the leaderboard...

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he can shake his hands for a little "applause" when you get the GC

For all the fans of Scooby’s Snooty cousin

I'd love to see a lawyer actually use that as a defense to see how long it works lol

That's so weird... I thought Bader made all their playfields? I guess they can't get a consistent source for plywood?

I love this idea. You guys are coming up with some really clever modes for this game.

Were they building a new Rick and Morty in that photo?

Nice. Take extra photos. I don't think there are many, if any, photos of the standard model

or is that a BSE?