Saw a Gottlieb like this, so I guess that insert style is not outside of the possibility that it was intended.

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Man I had to catch up - thread is blowing up!

I’m the first to point out issues/concerns but the drama about the insert not being entirely lit is a little much. What will be a HUGE deal is if the videos don’t get in there but that takes time and they’ve already confirmed 19.

From experience of incorporating JP videos into the stern code and correcting the biggest issue in that game, it takes time. Spooky gets Halloween. They understand clips are necessary and I’m sure they will resolve the animator issue, if he believes otherwise. I’m still very excited and like what I see. You have to really enjoy Halloween to truly appreciate this one.

At 4:30 in the very first stream of nightmutilator when the lady with the blue hair is playing, he says that Spooky wanted animation all the way through, and he couldn't really talk about why there wasn't movie clips, "but they aren't there." Hmmm. Always lots of behind the scenes drama I guess.

Also mentioned that the “man in charge” doesn’t want clips either.

This is why spooky needed to do an official video reveal and not let others do a crappy piss poor one. If your first video reveal is of two guys who can’t play well or hold the damn phone still, doesn’t bode well at all for a first impression.

I haven’t watched this latest one, but spooky should be chewing his ass off for putting that out. He is caused many to apparently abandon ship(sorry ex navy). They really need to do damage control on this. Fire him if needed and get someone else if you have to.

Outside of the stupid insert issue, the animations are your weakest part imo. Fix it or remove it IMO. I am still in with #481 and you all knew the code will take time, but the animations issue needs to be addressed ASAP.

This is what I thought also, he was not hitting any shots to move the game along.

Ya, I guess what unique aspect of the pinball market is especially on these boutique releases early numbers get access to the game a year or more before the late numbers get it.

This is further complicated by non refundable deposits and the fomo pressure to get in early or miss the boat entirely or to get a late number and getting the game way way later than the early crowd.

To your point presentation and perception definitely matters though. Especially with there being very sparse "official" media on this game (Deadflip stream as close as it gets?), And the cost involved people will get cold feet.

I've worked in the video game industry for the better part of 20 years and video game companies are typically very careful about their games putting the best foot forward and presenting to the buying public appropriately for just this reason.

While I sorta like the less formal less "corporate" style, Spooky will have to manage this kind of thing more closely as they get the bigger and hopefully bridge the gap from a tiny upstart studio to the big leagues.

This 100% I hope we get some clarification on this issue very soon as I support spooky and love their story and dont want our dream theme ruined by one person.

Boy, Pinside shows yet again why manufacturers stay the hell away from here. I’ve got to admire Luke’s tenacity and patience here. The comments from people who think they know John Carpenter are hilarious

It's really early, not even 100 machines made, I'll give it some time geez.

I wonder if some are just abandoning their preorder for Godzilla though? This is normal when you got a long wait for a machine, folks are gonna jump ship for any reason to the new hotness.

Most of the comments are about a wasted employee representing the game in pretty much the worst fashion he could have. Everyone has been polite and encouraging with Luke.

War spooky!

I dont think the quality of the animations is much less than AIQ. Flat artwork with movements generated by different flat artwork.

Except there is a lot more variety and game integrationist AIQ.

This can all be fixed. The question is will it be fixed? I hope so.

The animators stream was really troubling. Not sure that is the path to go for the fix. He just turned the camera on and started riffing. So weird. You are not jack danger yet. It should be taken down. It distracts from the fact that this game is extremely fun to play.

Kinda scared to do anymore video . It’s just me, my wife, and an iPhone…and very average players.

No, keep em coming please!!

All of your videos have been informative and are showing the modes, we don’t care how well you play all that matters is that you are showing content.

There are maybe 5-10 people making a stink they sold 1200+ games this is less of an issue than one pinside thread shows.

Your videos have been great please continue!

Wow!!...out of the threads ( installing ceiling fans while watching football..not wise but it all worked out lol). Came back to this...

Haven't seen the vid, and based on all this latest activity, I think I'll just pass on finding it. What I've seen to this point in development is fine for me.

License way too big and Company reputation stellar for me to even think about bailing. Believe every new game has its share of FOMO then dumping for whatever reason. Not really news.

Admire Spooky for engaging so freely in the threads and appreciated. Any mis-steps however, even if corrected, opens one up for a merciless thrashing.

The reality of Pinside...

Maybe he should take the glass off to advance modes quicker, in order to see if the movie clips and animations are there.
Although that would take all the fun away for him and his wife….

Because that went so well with the Mandelorian stream.

Nah...public forum, your enthusiasm is infectious and appreciated. Good stuff.

Didn’t see that.

No please dont stop making videos. Yours are awesome and have made me and my wife so excited. We even have the notifications turned on for your channel on YouTube.

Agree 100. I appreciate your videos and your feedback so for. Watched your videos countless times and they capture the vibe well. Thank you.

It is concerning if Spooky/the big man doesn't want video, or much of it..He sets the "tone" of the game, regardless of how early the code is. Always time to change the tone, if that truly is the case

My apologies if I contributed in a negative manner and assisted in setting a bad tone. It’s a lot of money to me and perhaps I’m just looking for a little reassurance that I didn’t make a bad decision. Just giving feedback in hopes of helping make this a great game. I’m just going to concentrate on the positives I’ve seen so far (and there are plenty) and just enjoy the ride as code gets better over time.

You have no reason to apologize as your 100% right as this is a major purchase and have every right to help contribute your feedback into a game we all desire too be better. I know I'm so ecstatic to shoot it as it looks so much fun.

I hope you do get a chance to shoot it. You will feel a lot better. There are issues, no doubt but it’s a damn fun game to shoot. Hard but fun

Won't be too much longer as I'm #159 and so excited for the invoice.

Streamed actual gameplay today. Uploading to YouTube now. Game shoots really well. Animations are fine to me. Few rules need tweaked, combo exploit should be corrected. Game is tough but fun. Sorry didn’t talk much while playing if people want more explanation and stuff I can do another one sometime soon.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1153482511

well that makes it look much better already! thanks for the video, it showcases a lot more of what's already in there

Do you have a link to this video you refer to? Thank you.

its on page 53

Thanks Tommy! Need to take the trip over to your place sometime soon.

Yes , sorry. I meant the multiba-ll insert of course. Thanks for the correction. Hope the game will be great in the end but I just don't see how Spooky will/can correct this. Insert is there, the print is what it is (fonts too big) and games are already arriving at locations. Not a deal breaker yet but additional similar mistakes if they keep on building up, could make people change their minds.

Your post as well as mine got down-voted by the same guy btw. Wonder why ?

Reg Matt

This is my first clear view of the mis-sized insert. People losing their minds about that need to relax. It would be nice if it were sized properly, but that really isn't a huge deal-breaker. It's like "Negative Reinforcment" on early Ghostbusters pins.

I think it fair to ask, how does something so obvious, get missed? I mean, surely this was all in CAD or whatever program that would be used to render for over a year? If this detail is missed, combined with the animators comments in his vid, will Spooky be taking this pin as seriously as we all hope, or since they sell out so fast, is it just oops and next??

Rarely pay attention to what people say in streams....I like Dead Flip Audio because Jack is hilarious, but that's about it. I'll never play as well as he does though, but entertaining for awhile. Sounds like this stream was definitely not, but again, for me, IDK.

Latest stream looked like the game is a fun shooter. The mis-sized insert doesn't kill it for me, but certainly worth the question...way more than the extra topper LED's or animation/ content concerns at this point ( think it was stated they are addressing the topper?).

IDK, it really doesn't bug me, but of course having it spot on would have been better., as I can't unsee it now. Wonder how many pf's have been manufactured already?

Still excited for the game, and what I did see on the screen with this last stream definitely had some positives, as well as things that surely will be sorted out...

I suspect the insert is that way because this is the same playfield for 2 games. There are a ton of games out there with inserts not 100% matching the lighting. It’s interesting how many are really doubting Spooky because of this. Those who bale now I suspect will regret it as this pin matures. After 350 plays…I can say without a doubt it’s a hit. And keeps me coming for more. One of the smoothest, best shooters I’ve played…and with multiple upper playfields…that is a feat to be recognized.

My 10c …

Quality of stream has sooooo much to do with public perception these days.

I was watching Godzilla the other day … the first 8 balls were instant drainers — everyone is like “ooohhh no it’s a drain fest!!”

Then Keith Elwin - arguably the best competitive pinball player ever in history - steps up to his ball 3 and shows everyone how awesome he is at pinball. Every game looks awesome when Keith is playing it!

Compare that to the other nights stream from Denver - no diss to NM, but it was so dark I couldn’t see any of the playfield, and the playing was not great, so I turned it off after 2 minutes.

You’re comparing a full on Stern production number, with the best pinball player ever, full lighting, top end cameras, done by a professional twitch streamer - to some dude who’s probably “had a couple” in his house in Denver.

You’d be crazy to base an opinion off that.

I’m sure Tommy’s stream posted above will be a lot better … I’ll check it out later.

rd

It's a little insane how many games are being sold. Between Godzilla LE and Halloween its making up an insane number of for sale posts right now.

To me, its not so much the game play from him, but his comments regarding, what could be manangements directive to minimize video assets and push the animation side. That's a losing proposition. I mean, come on, the video guy himself said you want assets, play the movie in the background. That's not really what we are shooting for here. It's based in the movie and should have tons of movie assets incorporated. But again, if the powers they be really didn't want the movie in the pin, that's am issue.

This 100

The insert is the way it is because Spooky did not change the font size to have hedge and multiball to fit on the insert. It is an oversight. For this price, it shouldn't be "oh well, it looks good enough to most."

The company has a great track record, they are the most open and responsive out of any pin manufacturer - we are #68 and haven't bailed but this (and the now infamous stream) has soured things a bit.

Thankfully, Spooky wrote back in an e-mail stating they are looking into it.

Also, your videos have been great.

Completely agree, and the latest posted stream is pretty cool...again, I don't watch any of them very long, but that's just me.

Very well could be, and certainly miles from a deal breaker or a " Spooky doesn't care" for me. All kinds of oddities in some of these games....is what it is.

I understand your position. Sucks when something doesn’t seem right. I’m not sure if this was an oversight, or a decision. House, Sanatarium, and Hedge Multiball are all the same font at the same size. Maybe they felt that changing the font size on one would look weird…I don’t know. I’m not trying to defend anything here, just pointing out that we really don’t know why it is the way it is. I know they will do everything in their power to make everyone happy. They certainly aren’t the company that just says…”tough, that’s the way it is. Don’t like it, don’t buy it.” Even if it bugs you, find one and play one before selling your spot. It really is a great shooter. And thanks for the like on our videos. Very amateurish, but just wanted to give everyone an early feel for this pin.

Great stream. Watching this now.

Edit - what in the world is that animation at 8:07. Sanitarium scoop is ready I believe. Man that is looking rough, especially Laurie.

Thanks for doing the stream .Also didn’t know about your place I’m 1 hr away might swing by tomro to play it

I've mentioned before, but personally I'd much rather see more focus on animations than more movie clips. The clips should really bookend modes etc - little rewards for starting and completing things, but the moment to moment play needs great/varied animations and callouts. Couple of examples (using Avengers IQ, which I own and love but the animations are not the best). Look at the original open play screen for Avengers IQ (basically a static empty trophy room), it was terrible there was absolutely nothing going on as you were playing, and it made the game feel so empty. Compare any combo shot in Avengers IQ to something like the Ninjapocalypse shot in Deadpool, it's worlds apart.

Would be great to see similar things here - making a combo during open play (or a certain/specific combo) makes a bloody knife slash across the screen or I dunno, just something to give you some really satisfying feedback to shots.

Also - I actually love the way they've made the animations match the incredible artwork - so I really hope they continue to build on this. That's something I've wanted them to do with all the latest Sterns - to see some Zombie Yeti artwork animated on the LCD would be incredible.

EDIT: also wanted to mention that Hedge Multiball insert thing. It's minor, but once you notice it, it's hard to unsee - that should definitely be corrected.

Thank you for the recent Stream Tiskinne. Watched a good hour of it just now.

In regards to the animation - I do love they way they look. The colors, shading, ect all are great and fit the theme well. Also liked how he took stills from the film and added a little movement like the kitchen escape scene. You can see the knife moving ever so slightly…That looked badass and could be expanded upon well. Just hoping to see a little more action, movement, and substance to each scene. Glad he says he has lots to work with and they want heavy animation. Would compliment the game well if expanded upon.

Add in longer clips from the film. The more the better. Anything they will allow that is cool and relevant is more than welcome.

Scoring presentation seemed fairly clean and tame.. Maybe add a flashy style other than a white blinking number? Perhaps a knife slashing the jackpot amount or something reflecting the Halloween theme a little more. Hopefully you get my drift - plenty of options.

That’s grade A cheese there .Just like the movie looked so cheesy that he was missing her .I think it’s meant to poke fun at that maybe ?