Congrats! Looks like a Halloween bash planned for WY.

Nice. Did you also get Ultraman #8? I think the rules are going to be almost identical, but I'd still be curious which game you enjoy more.

Did delivery take 21 days for you, or did you ask for delayed? Birth date 9-7

Yes I got Ultraman #8 as well and I'll let you know my thoughts when I play them both!

It's been here for a minute but I've been traveling and haven't been able to open er up!

The game flashes lights and makes a sound. It still takes some getting used to...I am usually looking at the animations and miss the ball.

Does anyone know what current number is being shipped ? I’m #245(Halloween CE) and was trying to estimate when I’ll receive my very first pinball machine.

Early 50's haven't been contacted yet. That's all I know. I am 58. Biding my time. Can't wait to hopefully plan a trip up there to grab it.

The place near me is getting #45 this weekend I believe.

I still haven't heard anything about 52, I hope they aren't holding to their statement that you would be contacted for butter option 3 weeks prior to build

Here is the most recent tracking sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qmdtDvuk62JFZw37fpdjzsIlL39_C04ODX8jIrNOc/edit?usp=drivesdk

I am now 141 from nitro. From 602 from pinball star.

Perhaps it’s been trimmed down to 2 weeks on the line after getting the emailed invoice? Wishful thinking as that would be the only way I’d get mine before Halloween. Fingers crossed and I’m ready to pay the balance. Still would rather have a quality game than rushed with issues…

If the mentions are correct, I'd assume Dec/Jan...we should get a better idea in the next couple weeks

Halloween CE being set up for public locally in St. Louis this weekend can’t wait to play it

Any Halloween or UM in the Phoenix area yet, available to play?

Thanks for the update

I'm eventually going to pick this game up. My wife really wants it. Just trying to decide if I should wait on the standard or go all in on the CE. I played Ultraman and it was fantastic.

Where in STL are they getting a Halloween?

I believe there was a previous post about figurines. Here’s a Michael Myers that’s 6inch tall called toony terrors. I have the Freddy one in Freddy and the size is a nice fit.

36B5C9DE-8272-46AA-A76F-70DAB622E2A9 (resized).jpeg

Padavans in St Charles this weekend

CP Pinball will have Ultraman

Yeah, how’s that working out? Surprise! You got a non butter cab! Oops, our bad. Remaining balance due and ready to ship!

My viewpoint on LV, LE, CE, SLE etc. numbers have changed a bit. While no doubt certain specific game numbers are really cool. I used to want the earlier numbers, but now I think I’d prefer to be a bit more patient & wait towards the end of runs. This is for all of the pin companies during a new build to work out kinks, eliminate playfield issues, upgrade software, having end users discover initial problems etc.

I was watching the TPN podcast last night on Twitch and they were really speaking pretty bad about Halloween. They weren't fans of only the left side being mostly scoop shots. Mentioned that you just basically focus on knocking down all three drop targets and just focus on shooting the ramp. One guy went as far as saying that they didn't think code could improve the game. Not going to lie, has me slightly concern for the game. This is just one guys experience with the game. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1163134913

I've been concerned about the 3 scoops on the left as well as the subways since the reveal. I'm giving it a shot as subways are new to me and I'm a huge fan of the film. Just hoping the 3 scoops don't end up being boring shots over time. I want variety in my lineup and Halloween does look and play quite different than most games. If I end up not liking it, I will be trading it for A GNR LE.

This is why I generally don't listen to or watch anything to do with pinball gameplay... When I do watch gameplay videos I usually watch either tuning out the commentators (unless it's the designer explaining the game/shots/scoring) or on mute. I find far too often the people reviewing and commentating are simply wrong IMHO... A negative commentator/reviewer can (and has) altered peoples perception of a game causing almost a domino effect. We've seen it here on Pinside more than a time or two...

Jeff

I've played the game and part of its charm is that its different from everything else. There will be plenty of time to play every other game with 2 orbits, 2 ramps, plunge going down through the pop bumpers, and a bash toy.

I'm going to stream the game more tonight, the left side shots include 3 stand up targets, 3 scoops, and an orbit, I think if people actually paid attention to the rules of modes and multiballs they would appreciate the shots that are actually over there. Anyway, my suggestion to anyone is to go and actually play the machine somewhere.

Yesssss I can't wait for the stream. Were you able to take a look at your drop targets?

Yep, I replaced them with traditional yellow Williams ones and they are working fine now. Spooky is doing some more testing of the clear ones and working directly with Pinball Life on it as well, at least of my last communication last week after the stream. It has made a big difference in the gameplay. The targets obviously don't light up like the clear ones, but the lighting is still easy to see at the base of the targets. I'm getting a better grasp of the rules and accustomed to the inlane feeds much better now as well.

Just wish to say I appreciate your streams. Watched it again last night for the 3rd time.

Ya, I'm not a big fan of scoops as a core part of gameplay. They usually don't feel all that satisfying to shoot, then slow gameplay.

I prefer them when they are used lightly or more difficult to hit. For ACNC it's in part since the scoop eject fires at inconsistent angles and sometimes sdtm, but the scoop is very heavily used for all modes and as a return on many shots and is my least favorite aspect of the game.

I'm trying to stick to just horror theme pins to have a cohesive theme lineup since I have limited space, so really hoping I click with Halloween and it is a permanent place in my lineup.

Very excited to see Tomorrow’s code update and what’s been added.

Damn - Travis really tore it apart.

Not gonna watch it, but he was doggin’ It from the get go so it’s not surprising.
As stated above, play it and form your own opinion.

Should have one local in a few weeks - looking forward to flipping it

I agree .I just played a handful by your place with the goal of just getting the feel for how it shoots .I think it was very fast and a very refreshing new layout with more shots than most pins .People need to remember it’s pinball, not a movie .The goal is scoring as usual and there seems to be many ways to score in this game .It’s real exiting how fast the ball moves from the main to the uppers .Thanks for doing another stream tonight and I’ll hit you up when heading back there .Last thing ,for those of you bailing without playing it your nuts .

i personally dont like travis's taste as he dont care about moments in pinball, for him its all about points and to me that is no fun

Again people reviewing a game that has like 10% of the done.

After the October 1 code drops I think we’ll get a much better idea of what this game is going to be.

That's awesome to hear. Can you also stream this weekend too so we can see the new code? hahaha

This is why I really enjoy playing my RZ and can’t wait to get my Halloween.
AMH is also excellent. Different but lots of fun to play. Variety and mixing things up is the key to not getting bored or tired of more traditional layouts.

I would hope aside from video snips that the code is at least 50% done by now.

This is spot on. . If you are looking for another fan layout, lets say John Borg, this is not going to be the machine for you. If you do not want to trap up and play insane 2 or 3 levels of pinball to try and get a super jackpot in many instances, this is not going to appeal to you. . . but the layout is very refreshing and fun IMHO and should not scare someone away, certainly not without playing it to make your own opinion. . . I can just hear the other argument "man what a boring fan layout" if they had gone conservative. . . you just can't please everyone...

hope to get a few games in with Tommy tonight. . .

SpookyLuke not trying to be a pest. But you were at 70 on 9/18 and then assuming (low) 5 a day. Should be at
115 today between Halloween and ultraman. Are these evenly split? Has production slowed under 5 a day? I ask bc I am #52 and still have not heard anything yet for butter option, but based on these numbers my machine should already be built. I apologize if I am missing something.

I was under the impression that they are finishing up the VIP's 1-100 this week and starting regular customer orders next week.

This 100% we are patiently waiting another production update.

I'm listening to the stream while typing this. After first reading this, I thought I was going to be upset about everything, but I'll admit his first few points are valid. Early on he says something about the player just shooting the drop targets and center ramp. With the current coding, if you are playing exclusively for high score, this is 100% correct. The combo values are out of balance and you are also make progress towards House / Jirahs. Based on the inserts it does appear that the combos values might not be the final plan for the coding. On Ultraman the right scoop is marked for "Mystery" and on Halloween the right scoop is marked with a large blood symbol. Similar symbols are used on each of the combo shots, so I believe that the combos will eventually make progress towards a series of mystery awards. Bottom line, this can be fixed with code.

He also mentions not enjoying one of the minor Pumpkin Modes / Quick Battles. The mode he's talking about does happen to be my least favorite of the six modes currently in the game. This is the Zarab battle in Ultraman. Sorry, I'm not sure what it's called in Halloween. My preference is that they would combine this mode with the roaming target mode and then perhaps add a new mode. For example, knock down all the drop targets to light all major shots for 15-20 seconds. When the timer runs out the drop targets reset. The final shot will be lit after the player successfully completes 5-6 of the major shots, which may require completing the drop targets multiple times. I tend to prefer modes with multiple phases and multiple shots lit at one time. Either way, I think this is another example that can be made better with code.

Finally, let's talk about his major complaint; the scoops on the left. Personally, I enjoy them way more then the giant targets other companies tend to put in those locations. I've never seen it take anywhere close to 10 seconds from the subway to the playfield, but it does slow down the gameplay. With zero staging it's closer to 4-5 seconds from the top scoop. For comparison, this is the same amount of time for the ball to return to the flipper from the center ramp. The greater issue is when you lose a ball on the upper playfield when House / Jirahs mode is already started. Again, I believe that is fixable with code. Ultimately, those are multiball modes. By not starting these modes until you start the multiball you allow the player to move from the upper playfield to the middle playfield to the lower playfield with meaningful shots everywhere. As an added bonus this change would also permit increased opportunities to play the upper playfield, which is one of my favorite upper playfields on any game.

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.

Do yourself a favour and don’t watch/listen to other people’s opinions. Your life will be enhanced, I promise you.

I haven’t watched that one (and likely won’t ..) so I don’t know who they are or what they said.

But I’ll tell you that a lot of the people who do pinball podcasts and vids know very little about pinball. When I do listen, the incorrect statements and wrong facts I hear are quite amazing.

Then people who hear this info think it’s correct, and then they start repeating them as well. And a new reality is created. Crazy stuff.

So do yourself a solid … either turn them off or listen with a large grain of salt.

rd

Watching some streams and seeing some of Travis's criticism, I think he has a very valid point that at times the game becomes too tunnel vision with "this is what you're supposed to be doing right now and nothing else matters/progresses” which is especially apparent when on the upper-upper playfield mode.

I like this idea and would suggest that the drops reset after the jackpot collect phase and then collecting the super jackpot would be a single shot worth, for example, 1x for hitting the outside drops, 1.5x for hitting the edge and center, and 2x for hitting just the center. Just to add a little extra reward for accuracy. They already have an excellent subtle rule that if you knock down only the center drop you can shoot through to go straight to the upper upper playfield. Those little rules add good depth for players to discover and for tournament players to enjoy.