Joined the club today! The playfield is rough, but the cabinet and backglass are perfect. I bought it cheap enough that if it stays a "player's game", I'm okay with it. But I do hope that CPR runs this one eventually.
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Joined the club today! The playfield is rough, but the cabinet and backglass are perfect. I bought it cheap enough that if it stays a "player's game", I'm okay with it. But I do hope that CPR runs this one eventually.
Quoted from Stu:Yep, I did the Artwork for the Playfield over a year ago, it is coming, I just don't have a time-frame right now ( wish I did ). My personal Skateball ( and my Embryon ) are HUO and beautiful, However, there is nothing like a brand New Playfield! Just be patient, it is coming....
I'm happy to wait for years for this one. Thanks for replying Stu!
My playfield has a lot of wear, but I'm determined to make it as nice as possible while waiting for another one. I stripped all the parts off tonight, metal parts all went into the tumbler for a few days. I cleaned the playfield with magic eraser and Novus2, and it's already looking better. The paint touch-ups are coming right up, which is what I was hoping for. I'd rather have the original worn-to-the-wood wear, than an obvious cover-up.
There are 2 little things I like about Skateball, other than the art and layout. The plastics are held on with nuts that look like little steel balls - much nicer than the typical metal acorn nuts. And the sounds are totally sci-fi, same as Bally Space Invaders. I'll post pics of my game when I finish restoring it, hopefully this weekend.
I finished my Skateball today! It rewarded me with a 2,058,000 game. Outposts and game settings are all at their most conservative, but extra balls are enabled. Here's a link to my resto thread.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/making-my-skateball-a-little-less-gnarly
What are the rules for the top left targets? The first completion lights the bonus collect at the saucer, but what is that "Spot X" about? It doesn't seem to increase the multiplier.
From IPDB:
"We asked artist Greg Freres to tell us about his prototype backglass for this game, called 'Summertime'. He responds:
Summertime was a piece of art I did as part of my interview at Bally. Paul Faris asked me to take one week and create a painting that I thought was a good theme and style for pinball. I worked every night until 3 a.m. while still attending my regular job, but I got it done in the allotted time and it was well received by not only Paul but by the sales and marketing group as well. I got the job and the idea sparked the skateboard theme, and some elements stayed for the final art. However, the art was shelved for a few years until we made the game in the early eighties."
I'm enjoying Skateball more than Fathom right now. What I really like is how the goals change throughout the game. When you start, the main goal is to get the bonus up to 20/40/60 so it carries over. But you can only add to the bonus via the SKATE targets, upper rollovers and inlanes (which are hazardous). So, I start by trying to crank up the BALL saucer value with SKATE completions, which also revs up the bonus. Once the saucer is up to 100k, I try to cash it in as much as I can. But eventually the SKATE drops are completed again, which lights extra ball. So I collect that, and then turn my attention back to the bonus. I go for the upper 1-2-3 rollovers to crank up the bonus multiplier, and then go for the upper left drops try to light the bonus collect at the saucer. I generally avoid the drops in the middle, unless I can sweep them with the upper right flipper.
Fathom is really all about locking balls, starting multiball, and then hammering the lit spinner shot. The left side drop targets aren't really worth going for, unless you're 1 drop target away from starting multiball. I do like the 1-2-3-Extra Ball shot sequence, great risk/reward there. But it somehow doesn't feel as satisfying to have a great game on Fathom, as it does on Skateball.
I'd love to do a P-ROC version of Skateball. For example:
Super skill shots: 50k if the saucer is the first switch hit, 30k for the S in SKATE.
Complete S-K-A-T-E in sequence for 150k points
Complete middle drop targets within 5 seconds for 50k
Add modes for upper left DT bank completion:
** roving lit shot
** hurry-up (shot to saucer)
** "frenzy" (5k per switch hit)
The most surprising thing about the rules for Skateball is that the operator can't configure it so that the BALL lights don't carry over.
Quoted from Platypus:On another post captianNeo talks about making his own waterslide decals:
"just print them out on waterslide decal. Slide them on the drops and put some krylon crystal clear over it. They will last forever. I've done it to many drop targets. "
Swampfire uses Krylon also for protection as well, Swamp, did you rough up the plastic a bit before spraying? I am concerned about adhesion and potential chipping in the future
The drops were already pretty rough, so I just started out with a dust coat. So far they're holding up just fine.
The large capacitor is the most important one to replace. I'd ditch the MPU battery even if it looks good.
Here are my notes on the DIP switches. * indicates recommended setting is ON for 3-ball play.
7 * Hitting 3-bank drop targets advances bonus
8 * Memory for top drop targets
14 * Memory for center drop target arrows
15 * Memory for top drop target arrows
16 * Extra Ball lights with 50K (ON) or after 50k (OFF)
23 * Memory for extra ball numbers (in center display)
24 * Outlane special lights with Extra Ball (ON) or after (OFF)
30 * Completing SKATE and A-B lights Extra Ball
31 Balls per game (OFF=3, ON=5)
32 Balls per game (leave OFF)
Quoted from brenna98:Decisions decisions... Touchup and clear my current playfield for free or buy the CPR and do the swap?
Maybe I should get moving on it to see how it turns out before preorder spots fill up..
You know you want that sweet sweet CPR playfield.
Yeah, I spent a weekend bulletproofing the electronics on mine when I got it. Well worth the time spent.
I was hosting our league last night, and someone scared the crap out me while I was playing GOT.
"Hey John, your Skateball backglass...(pause)...that girl has excellent nipples."
The pause was just long enough for me to think that the backglass got damaged somehow.
I brought my Skateball to SFGE with his younger brother Fathom. Went to increase the volume, and I can't find it anywhere! Is it on the coin door or in the cab for you guys?
Quoted from iron00monkey:Behind the backglass on soundboard
Thanks! I'll bump up the volume tomorrow morning. I think SB sounds great.
The blues are darker, but it looks fine to me. More like real LA beach water. I’m pretty sure the nice tan on your playfield is due to aging of the lacquer - my C37 has the same bronzed beauties. It might have been better if CPR had stained the wood a little before silkscreening, but this is still miles better than my original. I can’t wait to get started on my swap.
Quoted from o-din:Wow! I was just comparing those pics of the CPR to my NOS Bally playfield and they didn't quite nail it, did they? Or it's just the lighting.
Funny, the original playfield that came out of my machine was the one they used as a model.
Since I’m still a wage slave, I have prioritize my playfield swaps. I really want to do Skateball next week while I’m on vacation, but Mata Hari needs it much more. For now Skateball will hang over the head, where I can admire it and get “inspiration” from the waves.
Quoted from RumRunner9:Sweet collection swampfire.. I want your job!
Thanks man, I started 20 years ago so that helped.
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