I watched this yesterday when a friend sent it to me. I think it looks pretty darn good. Ball got stuck a couple times by the drop targets, but Spooky was in the live chat and reiterated that they'll be updating the code in a way that will eliminate 99% of that problem.

I think the gameplay looked amazing and fun. I do wonder if Spooky will have to code a time limit in the upper playfield. Especially if they want this game to be in tournaments. Looks like you can keep the ball up there almost forever if you want to

Just sent initial payment to secure Scooby #401. Super excited to join the club!

Alright folks, I might need some talking down.

I'm currently in line with SD #401. I've never bought a NIB pinball before. Obviously, reading through this thread has been a wild ride. Lots of issues, which doesn't seem too surprising as it's early. But some of the build quality issues are alarming. And that was just heightened by a podcast episode I listened to.

I recently started listening to "Bro, do you even talk pinball." I find it entertaining with generally good info. On their recent episode, they both just laid into Spooky as a pinball manufacturer. And I mean, they let em have it. Talking about issues their past pins have had, things not working out of the box, shoddy soldering jobs, all sorts of things. I'll be honest; it really got me worried. I know Spooky is active on here and everyone says how good their customer service is, and that's awesome. But how concerned should I be that these build quality issues keep coming up on all of their releases?

Believe me, I WANT to be convinced to stick with my pre-order because I think the game looks very fun. But 10 grand is A LOT of money to throw at a company that doesn't appear to be learning much from their past mistakes.

I don't mean to be so negative. I've been hyped about this from the time I first learned about it. I'm hoping to hear some positive things that will convince me to get hyped again. Hearing what I did in that podcast was a bit shocking though. Am I putting too much stock in the opinions of just a couple dudes?

Thank you to everyone who responded to my panic post. I believe I've been talked down. I'll go into it assuming I'll have some work to do, and if not, all the better. Game looks great though, so the work I put into it should be well worth it.

Thanks again everyone

I keep checking Pinball Map to see if any local spots have gotten a Scooby in. Nothing yet. I know a local bar advertised that they'll be getting one soon. Man, I really want to play it.

But I'm also tempted to wait until my pre-order shows up to try out for the first time. But I really doubt I'll have that kind of willpower haha

Just received final payment request for #401. Things are getting real...

Boom, #401 invoice paid! Still gonna be a while till it ships, but man, I'm excited.

I'm pretty nervous about dealing with any potential issues as this is my first ever NIB pin, and my repair skills are pathetic. But, I'm willing to learn, Spooky seems like they're super helpful, community is great and I know a couple local collectors who really know their stuff, so they can help out if (when) I get in way over my head lol

Awesome! Hopefully I'll hear the same very soon. #401 here

Got my shipping email for CE #401. Shouldn't be long now...

Really hoping I get one that's at least *mostly* okay out of the box. I'm not great with pinball repairs yet. Luckily, I have friends nearby that are, but I'm hoping to not have to bother them too much

Those light shows look great. Thanks for the vids, Ballykiss.

Also, thank you to all those who come back and post about the resolutions to the issues they've experienced. It's one thing to hear about some of the out of the box problems some folks are experiencing, but I find it very helpful to hear about the troubleshooting and solutions that Spooky has assisted with

This is the good stuff right here

SD #401 arrived and is all setup. I've got 5 or 6 games on it. So far, everything has been great out of the box. Really enjoying it. The audio is amazing. A truly great looking and sounding pin.

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Hope no one buys it, or they'll be really disappointed because it's not leaving my basement haha

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Alright, just some quick thoughts after a coyote dozen games of Scooby:

First things first - I think it's amazingly fun. It's gonna be in my basement for a long time. It shoots well, plays fast, has awesome callouts, looks great, has cool light shows, sounds amazing. It really is a fantastic game.

Something I've been surprised about: it's hard. The left outlanes in particular are rough. They suck up everything. The upper right sling drains a lot of balls in the left outlanes. Not my favorite thing. And even balls coming from behind the first row of drop targets on the left will often find their way to the outlane instead of the inlane. Those two things do cause a lot of frustration. But it means I need to really improve my nudging game.

The upper playfield is fun. The bookcase flipper is taking longer than I thought to get used to. In a good way. It's so unique in the way it can both flip and throw the ball. But it does take practice.

The modes are great. And demand a lot of skill and accuracy. I like that, even though it means I'm crap at the game for now. They're fun and varied and I feel accomplished when I complete them.

All in all, zero regrets on picking up Scooby. Super glad to have it. Looking forward to many more hours

Very interesting that removing it completely gives you fewer drains. I'll give that a try. I was going to move it up, but when I got under the playfield I noticed that I would have to remove another component in order to move it up and didn't want to deal with that lol. But I'm pretty certain I can remove it no problem.

Update here: I messaged the guy to see if maybe he had his pre-order number wrong. Turns out, he's got #410. So, mystery solved gang!

I'm excited for you. After getting mine last week, I'm excited for everyone that's waiting for theirs. This game is special.

Not a single stuck ball is impressive. Haven't checked what my play count is at; I'm guessing around 50. And I've seen three stuck balls: one behind the drop targets and two at the beginning of the wireform that leads out of the upper playfield. If the ball doesn't have enough momentum on its way out, it gets stuck right as it drops.

As for tweaking switches, are you talking about increasing the sensitivity of the upper playfield sling?

That just made me think of something: I wonder if decreasing the upper sling on the main playfield would result in fewer insta drains to the ruh roh outlanes...

Alright, I just can't seem to figure this out: how are the different ball saves activated? I do it by chance a lot, but I'd like to know how I'm actually doing it so I can do it on purpose lol

Ok, so with this explanation, I've figured out the Ruh Roh ball save: when it drains down a left outlane, that lane is lit. The lit lane can be changed with the flipper buttons and if a ball drains down the unlit lane, you get a ball save.

I'm still not sure I understand the right outlane ball save. If it activates the third time a ball rolls over it, wouldn't that be game over, since the ball would've drained 3 times down that lane? Unless it's reliant on multiball drains, I guess. I don't know, I'm really noobing out here haha

EDIT: just realized that it would be that third ball that would be saved, so it wouldn't be a game over. So, basically, it sort of prevents you from losing by having all three balls drain down that outlane?

Man, that's crazy! Definitely haven't seen that on mine. What is your pitch set at? Maybe increasing it would slow the ball down some on that center shot? Mine is at 6.5. Recommended might actually be 7. Thinking of increasing mine to that to see if it helps prevent stuck balls when entering the habitrail from the upper PF. I've now had three in that same spot.

Looking forward to trying out the new code today! Watched the video and Velma's glasses looks great. Man, this game is gonna be so good once all the modes are coded.

Question: to enter wizard mode do you need to *play* all the villain modes or *complete* all the villain modes? And what constitutes completing a mode - making all the initial shots, or actually unmasking the villain? Finally, if completing the modes is necessary, I'm guessing you can replay the ones you lost once you've played them all?

I appreciate this approach. Let's people experience the wizard mode without having to be an actual pinball wizard (which I definitely am not haha), but still allows for a big score bonus for people that did well on the individual modes.

I thought I had heard that wizard mode was still a ways off, but the TILT Forum entry made it sound like the first of the three wizard modes had already been implemented. But I'm patient.

So, I've got the objectives down pretty well on Captain Cutler and Mystery Machine multi balls, but what is the objective in Scooby Snack MB? I don't activate it often because that VUK behind the drop targets is a really tough shot for me (also why I can't consistently enter the new Velma's Glasses mode), so I don't have much experience with it.

Ha. My high score is around 2.2M, so I appreciated seeing this

Trying to learn the ins and outs of Scooby Snacks:

So, drop a row of targets to spawn snacks. Collecting Scooby snacks in a villain mode adds to your bravery meter (and now it looks like it increases your villain multiplier as well). Collecting them outside of a mode will work toward qualifying an apron lock (4 snacks for a lock, I believe). Does collecting them outside of a mode do anything else? And, other than a ball drain, what resets the drop targets?

Also, how do you increase the end of ball multiplier? Haven't been able to figure that out yet, either. Still a lot I haven't figured out lol

I would also appreciate this. I went under the playfield thinking it'd be nice and easy, then saw the light boards and was like, "nah, I'll do it another time"

I get this very often. Pretty frustrating. It requires more aggression with the machine than I'm comfortable with to knock it loose, so it's always a "remove the glass" situation.

My game is pitched at 6.5. I'm wondering if increasing it to the suggested 7 would decrease the likelihood of this occurring?

This is what I was thinking. Anyone with an early run machine willing to share what it looks like under the playfield with those outposts in the up position?

Alright, I've sang this game's praises since I got it and it's currently my personal highest rated game ever, but I have to list off a few things that have really bothered me:

1. The outposts being such a pain to move is really frustrating. I still haven't done it because I don't like that the light board can't be properly re-installed with the post in the upper position. I mean, how does that even happen? And honestly, if not for this issue, my other complaints wouldn't even exist. Or at least would be greatly reduced

2. I've never played a pin where hitting shots correctly so often resulted in outlane drains. I get machines punishing you for bad/weak shots occasionally. But this one, my goodness. I'll hit certain shots perfectly and the ball will still find a way down the outlanes. Frustrating

3. I can't stand how frequently the ball will find the left outlane after bouncing behind the drop targets. It's obvious that the design intent over there is to feed the inlane, but it very often bounces the other way instead. And, maybe I just suck at nudging, but attempting to encourage the ball to the inlane seems to have the opposite effect lol My best bet seems to use nudging to completely avoid anything to the left of the sling. Because if it goes that way, it's a crap shoot on where it'll end up. But with how fast this game plays, mostly due to the upper right sling, that can be difficult to do

Okay. I got that off my chest. It's really saying something that I still love playing this game with how frustrating I find it at times. I would love for Spooky to suggest an official way to move the posts up while being able to fully reinstall the light boards. But maybe I just need to try what others have done and just not screw the screws back in all the way. But that just worries me a bit

It seriously happens all the time. Like, a not at all insignificant percentage of my drains are from the drop targets feeding the left outlane. Always feels like the absolute cheapest way to lose a ball.

Do audits reset with code updates? Just checked my total plays for the first time and it says 28. And there's just no way it's that low. Had my friend and his 6 kids over today and Scooby was being played for over an hour straight, so that combined with what I've put on it since updating sounds about right. But there's just no way I've only put 28 plays on it since unboxing. But it also seems weird that the total play count would reset each update.

Something is up with the Fred's Plan mode. It's obviously cursed. I've played it 7 or 8 times now, and, no joke, every single time, I've had a silly/stupid drain right before I start step 2. Honestly, I still haven't played even a second of step 2.

Maybe Spooky can un-curse that mode in the next code update? Please and thank you.

Finally caught up on this thread. My family is living in South Africa for a month and we left RIGHT when the new code dropped Can't wait to try out the new Shaggy mode and hear the new music. And who knows, maybe they'll be another update by the time we're back!

Unless I'm mistaken (certainly possible), I believe the secondary reward for hitting the drop targets skill shot is that it immediately lights all the Scooby Snack lanes without the need of dropping a bank of targets. So, while it doesn't give them to you right off the bat, it greatly speeds up the process.

Yes, playing more is always the answer haha

So yeah, dropping a bank of targets (either front or back) will light the Scooby Snack lanes. Shoot to collect. Then drop the other bank to light again.

I find the game quite challenging. Mostly due to the left outlane and unforgiving returns from stand-up targets. This has had the result of me greatly improving my nudging game, but even then, that left outlane is by far the hungriest outlane I've ever experienced.

That being said, I still love the game. I'm planning on moving the left post up following a post just a little above. I think that will greatly enhance my enjoyment of an already awesome game.

Also, as another poster noted above, try backhanding both spinner shots. They are much, much easier that way. I'd say I hit them with greater than 90% accuracy.

Another not great player here and I can rip both spinners with ease with a backhand. It's a great way to fill up that gas gauge for MM multiball as that left spinner feeds the left flipper.

I'd be curious to to see a picture of your playfield/flippers to see what the issue might be.

Hmm. Yeah, maybe a touch. Surprised it's causing that big of an issue TBH.

Is there a way to delete a high score? No idea if that's at all typical on pinball machines. Would love to explore some of the more in depth scoring mechanics in the game with the glass off, but my scores are currently so low, I'm afraid any fake scores would be in there for a long time haha

Now that I think about it, would powering it off before putting in your initials prevent that high score from saving? I would experiment with that on my own, but I'm out of the country and won't be home for another two weeks still

As stated above, Fred's mode is really as easy/difficult as you want to make it. Try just going to the 3 or 4 shots that you're best at, then lock those in.

I think you start the second phase with 37 or so seconds, then after each made shot in the sequence, if you're below 17 seconds, the timer resets to 17. So it's not like you only get 37 seconds to execute the entire plan. Still not easy, especially with a long plan, but doable if you're accurate (which I'm not lol)

Even as someone who greatly struggles to hit that left VUK, I agree with this. The villain modes are super easy to start while the character modes take a bit more skill. I'm okay with that. Gives us new shots and sequences to work on.

Yes. Bug stated in his live stream that this is in the plans.

Seriously, anything that requires me to track balls on multiple playfields during multiball is beyond my skill level. As soon as I start focusing on those upper playfield flippers, anything on the lower playfield just drains immediately lol

Watching Bug's code update videos is a double edged sword haha. Love getting to see the new code in action and his enthusiasm always makes it fun, but when it's my turn to duplicate what he showed, suddenly the game looks a lot harder lol

I've only played Fred's mode a handful of times, but I don't remember it using the bravery meter. It definitely has a timer, though. You get 60 seconds to create your plan (but you can shorten phase 1 by ending it and locking in your current plan by hitting the action button at any point). Then you get, like, 37 seconds to hit your first shot in phase 2. Once the timer dips below 17 seconds, it resets to 17 after each successful shot. If timer runs out, the mode ends.

Have not played Daphne or Shaggy yet (family is living in South Africa for a month, so I've missed those updates. Back home this weekend though!) But from what I've watched, there is no timer on either mode.

For my own reference, and to be able to share with people who come play at my home, I've started writing up what I hope to be a fairly comprehensive rules sheet.

Every time I think I'm getting a good handle on the rules, I find something that confuses me. Maybe someone can help with my latest point of confusion lol

At about 1:03 of Bug's recent video (timestamp according to the YouTube posting) he hits the left inner orbit. That appears to spawn Scooby Snacks at all lower playfield lanes (except the left outer orbit apparently?) as well as immediately collect the snack spawned at the left inner orbit.

This is not a Scooby Snack spawn that I was aware of. Anyone know of the actual rules/code responsible for this? I was under the impression that dropping a bank of drop targets or hitting the drop target skillshot were the only ways of spawning Scooby Snacks.

No, it was near the beginning of a game. But it wasn't a skill shot. Just seemed like a random snack spawn.

I'm happy to write up a sheet with my admittedly limited knowledge. But I agree, having a fully detailed rules sheet on this game would be amazing. I'll continue to write mine based off what I know to be correct, then can add bits in later when I confirm some of the minor rules, along with code updates of course.

Yep, visiting that site and seeing that it needs updating is in part what prompted me to start my own rules sheet. Planning on updating there once I'm done (if it hasn't been already by that time).

Wow, super cool. I'd likely be interested in it as well if made available.

Back from my trip and got the latest code installed. I've been able to play Shaggy's mode twice and Daphne's three times. My thoughts:

Shaggy's mode might just be the most creative pinball mode I've ever played. It forces you to play the game in an entirely new way. It's not just about ball control, hitting shots and trapping up. You have to constantly be using flippers even when you normally wouldn't have to think about them. Great mode.

I enjoyed Daphne's mode as well. Fun and creative. But I did think it was missing...something. Without a timer, there's no downside to just trapping up and waiting for the easiest shot. And with the shots changing in a predictable manner, you can easily anticipate when it will arrive, meaning you're unlikely to mis-time it. I wonder if simply randomizing the shots would help this? That way, you couldn't anticipate, and your reaction time would be tested.

Either way, fun mode that I like a lot. Just for kicks, here's how I rank the current character modes:

1. Shaggy (for reasons stated above)
2. Velma (the search for the glasses, eliminating shots one by one, while using the iron maidens as hints is great. And I love that Dracula chases you if you use too many hints. Just a great, great mode)
3. Fred (like that you get to choose the length of your plan, knowing that the longer it is, the higher the payout. Great risk/reward balance)
4. Daphne (don't get me wrong, I love the mode. But the overall lack of urgency does take away from it a bit)

All four are terrific modes.

And hell, I'm here, might as well rank the cases, too:

1. Miner 49er (finding the combination is so much fun. The way hints are given out is really clever and helpful. And THANK GOODNESS the orbits aren't part of the combo lol)
2. Black Knight (tough mode due to the number of shots required, but I really enjoy the process of hitting shots, re-dipping your brush, then hitting more. Very satisfying)
3. Captain Cutler (I'm terrible at this mode, but the whole above water/below water aspect is creative and well implemented. Love it)
4. Charlie the robot (nice, simple mode. Not every mode needs to be super involved. I like that hitting a lane where Charlie *isn't* still helps you progress)
5. Space Kook (for some reason, ripping the spinners to spawn the shots just feels good)
6.Creeper (similar to Charlie. Nice to have a few modes with simpler rules)
7. Witch and the Zombie (not a knock against the mode itself. Something has to be last. Like I've said, there's room for simple modes. This might be just a bit TOO simple)

Again, I love all seven of them. There's honestly not a bad mode in the whole lot.

I'd actually be curious to see how others rank all the modes. I suppose I could've waited until Scooby's mode came out, but, oh well haha

Oh, I absolutely agree. I wasn't trying to imply that this mode SHOULD have a timer, but rather stating that the lack of a timer means you can essentially spam the same shot the whole time and beat the mode. That, to me, subtracts a bit of fun from what is otherwise an excellently conceived mode.

In response to this, I added short notes on every mode in my above post

As stated above, hitting any single drop target also counts as the first shot. That's pretty much how I always start. Only reason I'll start by hitting that upper sling is if all drop targets are already down.

Not that I'm aware of. Yeah, it's tough. I've only beaten that mode once.

Another thought on the outlanes:

Since being away from home for a month, I've been playing LOTS of Scooby over the last few days. And, while I'm seeing improvement in my scores to some degree, the outlanes are even more brutal than I remember. Outlane drains off of slings are very common and very annoying. Here was the thought I had during my last session:

Currently, the only way (that I'm aware of) to light the outlanes for ball save is for a ball to actually go down the outlane. In the case of the right outlane, it's three times. That just doesn't feel right. I think it'd be nice if there was another way to light them. Like, perhaps, combo-ing a certain amount of shots. Maybe one of the three skill shots is tied to lighting an outlane (in addition to its normal function) each ball. Or every X number of modes started.

I don't know. These might be awful ideas lol. Just trying to think more of a skill based way of achieving ball save.

Anyone else do this weird thing where they always try and have one high score from each character

I've been trying for a while to get rid of that KHG score where I typed my initials in wrong lol

As evidenced by my scores, I'm still bad at the game. But those top three scores are all from the past four days, so I'm definitely improving.

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No. I'm still freaked out by the whole "screw too close to the light board" thing. I'll get around to it eventually.

Just experienced the Scooby Snack multiball bug. I had qualified both apron locks and when I locked the one on the right, it kicked that ball back in as well as launch another. Having read that losing one ball would lock up the flippers, I just let both drain to see what would happen. Things continued as normal until I locked the left apron during MM multiball, at which point it kicked that ball into play, but the game thought it added both. When I got down to one ball, MM multiball kept going as it thought there were still two in play. I let mine drain, the game went into ball search, then auto launched a ball. I let it drain. I also noticed there was a ball in the shooter lane that auto launched after game end

Yeah, I bookmarked it. Still nervous because I'm new to all of this. But I'll get to it at some point.

Low key hoping for the Scooby character mode (and Scooby Snack mb fixes) to drop tomorrow, just in time for my birthday arcade night that I'm hosting

I just started noticing something on my machine that I haven't read about here in this thread. Don't know when it started, but I noticed it two days ago:

All cases only require two clues to start now. Used to be that the first case required two, second required three and so forth. I checked the difficulty settings in the menu and they're still at medium. Was this an intentional code change that I missed? A bug? Anyone seen this happen in their game?

Just peeked again at Bug's playthrough of the Daphne mode and his was doing it too. So yeah, the code must've changed at some point and I just never noticed it.

Interesting. This is good info. I was playing a lot of 3-5 player games over the weekend with all new players, so there wasn't much un-masking going on. I'll test that today (if I can actually beat a mode, that is haha)

That was my first thought. I've always had mine at medium difficulty and that's where it still is. So I have to assume that *something* in the code is different

I've had this same issue since pitching my game at 7 degrees. Had it 6.5 for a while and don't remember this happening all that often. After re-pitching to 7, this has been happening a lot.

A poor shot that results in a SDTM is one thing. Random bounces off the sling that result in partial shots that cause SDTM drains really suck. I've come to the conclusion that the side sling, though a fun idea, really just creates too much randomness and too many cheap drains.

Also, since re-pitching, the right outlane has been every bit as hungry as the left. Makes for very frustrating gameplay. Can't wait till my new outposts arrive so I can install them in the up position.

FWIW, I *swear* I remember someone from the Spooky team say that accessing the wizard modes will require visiting each mode, not necessarily completing them.

It was a while back and might've changed, but I'm confident I either heard that on stream or read it here in the forum at some point.

Update installed. Haven't played the mode yet, but my knee jerk reaction is that Scooby's in mode character advantage (refilling drinks while cradling) will be the most helpful. Spamming the action button with the ball flying all the playfield is way harder than it sounds.

I'll be curious to hear what you think of the spinner guards (or to hear from someone else who has used them). I know they say that they don't effect the spin rate, but I just can't convince myself that's true lol I mean, it's adding weight to such an already lightweight part, it just feels like to HAS to have an effect.

Since I raised Scooby from 6.5 to the recommended 7.0, the right orbit has been...a struggle. Solid, accurate shots to the inner right orbit will often exit the outer orbit and just drain. Also, when the MM kicks out a ball, it will occasionally do the same thing. Punishing poor shots is one thing, but now I feel like I'm being punished for accurate shots AND instances where the game is simply putting the ball back in play.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Mine take a solid 3 rips to qualify a lock, like yours did before. What kind of lubrication did you use?

Anyone know if the recent update addressed the bug where the game occasionally kicks out one of the apron locks when it's not supposed to and then lose track of how many balls are in play? Was having an excellent ball 1 the other day which only ended due to that annoying bug.

Excited to try out the new code, but might still wait a bit until some of these new bugs are ironed out. Love all the new changes. I always appreciate a good combo system.

I'm also taking a break from Scooby. At least until I get around to moving the outposts and figuring out the major SDTM issue from the right loop. Those two things have sucked the fun out of the game. Hitting a shot perfectly but having it result in a drain is about the most frustrating thing I can think of in pinball.

I fully believe that once those issues are fixed, this will go right back to being my favorite pin of all time. Until then, the game just causes lots of profanity lol

I have not done this. Great idea though. I'll do that.

Edit: I'm hoping to see a lot fewer outlane drains on both sides. The left is certainly worse, but ever since I re-pitched my game from 6.5 to the recommended 7 degrees, the left outlane got worse and the right is now almost as bad as the left.

Whew, been a while since I checked in on this thread. I FINALLY got around to moving the outposts up using RussMeyer's method. Super simple. Game is much more fun now.

Also just ordered some of that Super Lube so I can really rip those spinners!

Since moving the outposts to the up position, I've gotten 3 new high scores, including a new Grand Champion score. Still embarrassingly low scores, but at least they're increasing lol

I've known about the secret skill shot since I got the game, but somehow, always forgot to go for it. Tried for it this morning and got it after maybe a dozen or so attempts. Was cool to get it, but I think it was only worth 20k (instead of the normal 10k), so not worth going for with any regularity for me. More of an achievement to scratch off the list. Love that they included it though.

Very excited for co-op mode and the Green Ghoul hurry up. And character perks look great.

FWIW, I've also experienced the bug where none of the skillshots are selectable. I'm still on 105 code. 3 ball, medium difficulty.

Just experienced a game breaking bug in code 106. Was in 2P co-op. Unfortunately, I didn't notice what caused it, but the game randomly launched another ball. It then didn't know there were two balls in play, and ended the ball after one drained, with one still in play.

The issue persisted for the next two balls for both players. The game never figured out how many balls were in play. In fact, at one point, one of the two balls drained, and it immediately switched to the other player, skipping the ball end sequence. It then launched a second ball, and we were back to the same problem.

I remember this same or similar bug from previous codes. Still hasn't been ironed out. Can email logs if that's helpful.

Also, question on the Green Ghoul: does the mode only start if the inlane is not fed by a habitrail? It definitely doesn't start the mode upon ball launch. But I noticed several other times where the inlane switch was hit but the mode didn't start. I wasn't paying attention at the time to see if it only happened when the flipper was directly fed, but thought about it after the fact.

Alright, question for the group:

Both guides I've read say that the apron locks are qualified by shooting the SD standup targets. But on mine (medium difficulty) I swear they're qualified by collecting 4 and then 8 Scooby Snacks. To my knowledge, the standups are for activating the trap door.

How do apron locks work for all of you?

Interesting. Yeah, something weird going on then on my game. Definitely have had times where those rollovers have been hit but hasn't triggered the hurry up. Both working just fine in the switch test.

Will investigate further.

Ha. I do this exact same thing

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Ran into a bizarre bug today. Running code 106. I was in Super Shaggy Sandwich mode, on the upper playfield trying to spam the standup targets. Suddenly, the game added a second player. Super weird.

Anyway, really enjoying the new code. The update to the combo system (un-lighting the most recently hit character lane) was certainly a good one, though I miss shooting the center ramp and then flinging the ball to the loop, which would always count as two shots as it never had the momentum to go all the way around, so the ball would roll over the switch twice. Then I'd hit one of the habitrails and shoot the ball back up that center ramp to do it all again lol

Awesome, didn't realize the next update went public. Will install today.

I also used to think Black Knight was the hardest villain mode. Until somewhat recently when I realized that I don't think I've ever beaten Captain Cutler. Embarrassing to admit that out loud, but yeah, I consider that one the most difficult.

Yes. Very often. And it's infuriating. Mine tends to happen more with perfectly hit, hard shots. But it also happens with the MM dropping balls out. The amount of cheap drains I've gotten from well hit shots and the MM putting them into play is staggering and is currently the main reason I don't play Scooby that much these days. I'll get it figured out at some point.

I checked my pitch the other day to make sure it was correct. Pitched at 7 and perfectly leveled.

Just did the ball guide fix on the right loop exit that a couple of you suggested. Played a few games and it feels much, much better. Didn't have a single STDM. It was indeed a super easy fix. Taking off and replacing the glass probably took longer than the fix itself haha

Thanks for the suggestion everyone.

So I'm back to having trouble with SDTM returns when exiting the right loop. I had used a flat head screwdriver to gently pry the ball guide out just a little. And it worked for maybe 20 games or so. But it appears to have gone back to its original position, meaning the ball bounces slightly off the upper sling and right down the drain. Is there a way to fix this more permanently?

Awesome, thank you.

Yeah, I just adjusted mine for the third time in two days. Just hoping that eventually it'll stick.

On a separate note, I'm really surprised that the apron lock bug still isn't fixed. That's been happening for the last several updates if I'm not mistaken. Just experienced it again and it's a real game breaker. This time I locked a ball on the right apron, the game acknowledged it with a callout, but it kicked that ball back into play and launched another. As soon as I drained one, the ball ended. But then it registered that a ball was still in play and immediately skipped to ball 2 without dropping another into the shooter lane.

Has Spooky ever acknowledged this bug? I know I've seen lots of people mention it here, but I'm not certain if it's actually been seen by anyone working on the code.

Decided it's time for an update on my favorite modes and then my opinion on ranking their difficulty.

Villain modes ranked by preference:

1. Miner 49er
2. Black Knight
3. Charlie the Robot
4. Captain Cutler
5. Creeper
6. Witch and the Zombie
7. Space Kook (I've never gotten to its alt mode. Only really tried once. That might affect my preference once I get to it)

*Worth noting that I think all 7 villain modes are pretty great

Villain modes ranked by difficulty (easiest first)

1. Charlie the Robot
2. Miner 49er
3. Creeper
4. Witch and Zombie
5. Space Kook
6. Black Knight
7. Captain Cutler (got REALLY close to beating this mode for the first time just a little bit ago. Can't believe I've still never finished it)

Character modes by preference:

1. Shaggy
2. Velma
3. Fred
4. Daphne (this mode being ranked #4 is really impressive because I love her mode)
5. Scooby (honestly, this is the only mode in the whole game that I actually don't care for. It's just too convoluted for me. Too much use of the action button. But hey, that means I really dig 11 of the 12 modes. That's pretty darn good)

Character modes by difficulty (easiest first; assume playing as matching character):

1. Daphne (her character ability usually makes her mode a cinch)
2. Shaggy (hardest part is not being greedy)
3. Velma (haven't played it enough to really understand Velma's ability on this one. Also still not sure how to tell from the iron maidens if the glasses are on the main or upper playfield)
4. Fred (really like the mode, but no matter how simple of a plan I create, I always seem to choke on the second half lol)
5. Scooby (way too hard)

Is this the 1.06 bug people were talking about? If so, maybe I'll finally get around to updating to 1.07.

I had just drained during the 7th villain mode (which was frustrating enough. I was one shot away from completing hit, but drilled a post and SDTM). Had one more EB saved up. And I had beaten my previous GC score by about 5.5M points. But upon draining, the game froze in this state. Flippers responded, but nothing else. Just frozen. Taunting me that I wasn't allowed to enter my initials. Or use my last ball to blow up my score even further

If nothing else, I just proved to myself that I'll be able to qualify wizard mode once it drops. That's exciting. But man, I'd love to have that score saved on the machine. Plus whatever my final ball would've been.

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Ha, thanks. Yeah, it was a wild game. Bummer to have lost that score.

But I've since updated to 1.07. So next time I'm in the groove like that, I'll get to put my initials in lol

Install code 1.07. It is fixed there. I experienced the bug you're talking about very recently while still running 1.06. I installed the updated code that same day, and made it through all seven villains the following day with no issues. In both cases, I drained during the 7th villain's mode. But on code 1.07, the game kept right on ticking.

Something in my Scooby skills has clicked recently. I just got through all 7 villain modes for the 3rd time. Before last week, I'd never accomplished it a single time. Posted a new 1st place score (300k below my GC). And this time, I think I finished 5 of the 7 modes, which is crazy good for me (failed Cutler, as always. And I failed to hit the unmasking shot against the creeper, which was frustrating lol).

So, of course, I'm more excited than ever for the first wizard mode to drop. Right now, visiting all 7 modes is cool, but there's no "big moment." Not even a video acknowledgement or callout. And the inserts don't even stay lit to take a picture of the accomplishment because they all restart

But I'm definitely getting better. Honestly, the biggest thing has been continuing to adjust the right orbit ball guide. I didn't realize just how many cheap drains I was getting from that. My survivability had skyrocketed since that adjustment. And I also just removed that gate from behind the drop targets like some folks have suggested. The only thing it did was make a difficult shot even harder and cause stuck balls. I'll be curious to see if I can hit that shot more reliably now. That'll be the next trick: visit all the character modes in a single game.

TL;DR: Love this game. It's only getting better. Can't wait for wizard mode

Anyone else seeing the Green Ghoul not being triggered when it should? Happens more on the left rollover, but I've seen it happen on both. Sometimes it takes three or four times on the left side to actually trigger it. The rollover switch works fine, just doesn't always trigger the hurry up after its lit.

I haven't. Will give this a try.

So this is 100% what's happening. Thank you for the suggestion. Finger test triggers it, but sending a ball down the inlane usually does not.

Looked under the playfield and immediately noticed that it's not flush like the other ones are. I've never actually adjusted one of these switches before, but I found a YouTube video that seems to explain it pretty well. Looks like it should be an easy fix. Though, I have a talent for turning easy fixes into difficult ones lol

EDIT: All fixed. Nice and easy. Thanks again for the assist

It sounds like you should've qualified three extra balls: Scooby snacks, visiting 5 villain modes and unmasking (at least) 2 villains.

Either way, that's a great score. Well done! Starting all those multiballs must've been a lot of fun.

It has been said in the past that visiting all the villain modes is what will qualify the wizard mode. I'm guessing Luke's use of the word "completion" was just a slight slip or he was simply using it to convey that you've played all the modes and "completed" them in that regard.

Either that, or something had changed. But I know I've heard multiple Spooky reps say that you will only need to visit all the villain modes to get to the wizard mode.

Yes, I had forgotten about that, but Luke said something to this effect very recently here in this forum.