Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle
Spooky Pinball, 2017You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider rebelguitars.
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It didn’t take long to get back through the line and get some time in. It was changed to two-ball later in the night.
I was able to get Frankenstein multiball which was really fun. David Van Es stood next to or near the games all night answering questions and explaining things to anyone interested.
It was cool to learn that once the ball makes it to the upper pf, there’s 5 ways it can exit. I can’t wait to play it again.
Quoted from nikpinball:spookycharlie can you elaborate on the buttered additions?
Different color armor, lit speaker grills, cleared cab and mirror blades?
Butter cabinets have the art screened directly to the cabinet then cleared over. On TNA, I believe the price was $999.00.
Quoted from Whridlsoncestood:Order sent
My order is in as well. Going with the blue powder coat.
Quoted from wxforecaster:In for 1 but I feel it's going to be forever to get this rolled out the door. They are already taking in more TNA orders than can be cranked out (the game is fricken amazing IMO), so unless there's a massive ramp-up in production, I don't see TNA getting off the line anywhere in the next 8-10 months at LEAST. Going to be a good wait though.
They can run two different titles at one time. Its not going to take 8-10 months before AC starts being assembled.
Quoted from Magicchiz:Rob Zombie was ok. Until Fawzma went in and made it what it is today. I was excited about the infection mode on RZ.
Infection Mode on RZ is really cool!
Quoted from dendoc:Alice is getting number one - as it should be.
Pretty sure #1 is going to the winner of this tournament that went on right around the time the game was first announced;
https://www.gridironsupport.org/pinball-party-showdown/
There’s definitely more code in it now than from TPF. Most of the monsters were playable. In Texas, the left ramp seemed to only go to the Frankenstein lock. Yesterday, I was able to get to the upper pf from both ramps. Flippers felt good and magnet ball save is really cool.
Quoted from BudManPinFan:Hmm, I thought it was a translite. I’ll be happy to be wrong though.
It’ll be a backglass like all their other games. They do sell translites at shows.
My ACNC arrived yesterday. I have it dialed in pretty well, the orbits are fast and the ramps are smooth. Upper pf is really fun with more going on than I noticed at two past shows. Loving the light show, especially when Feed My Frankenstein starts and when you activate the Mag-neat-o save. It may have the largest cabinet speaker I’ve ever seen in a game. I’ll share more pics soon.
FDD82B84-B926-46CF-9405-5412C9D86E54 (resized).jpegQuoted from dnaman:With some of the bad press that others have tried to spread on this pin, what are your thoughts regarding shots and flow? From first game to present?
No new game gets a fair shake when the critiques come from playing a couple games at a show. I don't think the shots are any tighter than some of my other games. Nothing is hard to hit (except maybe the guillotine shot when you need it). Of course I'm still learning the rules, but really liking the upper playfield. There's a cool ball swap if it goes from the upper pf to the crypt lock. There's also a three position diverter on the left ramp that wasn't coded back during TPS. Animations are great, music is loud and clear. The original music is just as enjoyable as the AC songs. I battled 5 or 6 monsters in one game last night and had a blast! I like to play in the dark so I installed a set of pin stadiums and invisiglass. Pictures are with them set on about 50% and tied in so you don't lose any of the lightshow.
IMG_4462 (resized).jpgIMG_4465 (resized).jpgIMG_4468 (resized).jpgQuoted from dnaman:Elusive, agreed but I'd change the rest to read: 'Getting any answer' I've essentially given up hope of getting any useful information or details (with all due respect) and we are a very low number.
I was told yesterday that buttered cabs are 'scheduled to run in a couple weeks' but who knows...
Sounds like you received an answer yesterday.
Does the orders that include the butter cab have to be paid in full earlier? I've never heard that, but you've mentioned being paid up now for a while.
Battled a few monsters tonight. The latest update to Frankenstein Monster MB is really cool. He moves with each hit and there’s more lighting effects.
0CD8F291-9A39-4A33-8599-1B0D08D5533D (resized).jpeg109AB282-060D-488A-BAE2-BE41AFCE2FBA (resized).jpeg39D9749A-1F2E-4947-AB8B-65B4722276CB (resized).jpegADA9E3F1-108A-49D9-9FD4-C981AC7B5424 (resized).jpeg
6BEC3C9F-E537-48E8-B30B-1C8BBD91E66F (resized).png83D4F6BD-5E27-4918-B995-7CD071397C2B (resized).pngB6C8CFB1-3369-4030-8600-71D7C1A14A02 (resized).pngQuoted from wesman:Oh neat!! I really like their font usage in this game! The artwork I dig, but in places wish there were some changes.
There’s been a lot added in just the last couple weeks.
Quoted from EJ:The ramp on the upper playfield looks tough (the one behind the drop target used to lock ball 2). It looks like you had a couple of pretty clean shots that didn’t make it, and just wondering if you were ever able to make it off camera?
Monster MB can be started pretty easily. The mini flipper has its adjustable power set much lower than the main flippers. Making the lock shot or backhanding the guillotine shot isn’t a problem. I actually dropped the power setting on mine down one notch.
Quoted from Pinstein:Whoa, Too much mister nice guy. There has been some really great music written for the this pin. The great guitar intro to that song would have been enough to start the mode, but to have to listen to the whole song? and if you don't finish the mode do you hear it all again? I wish this would have just been a straight up nightmare castle. The Alice Cooper aspect of it is this pins biggest detractor imo.
Alice songs end when the mode times out or you drain.
Quoted from Whysnow:Seriously you may want to get in to the doc and have things checked out. It sounds like your eyes are not properly adjusting to the darkness of the game room with only 1 game on.
Cone cells take around ten minutes to adjust to darkness. Go in your game room, chill and appreciate the glory of the machine and then fire it up. If you still think the game is too dark then honestly, get into the doc! Many eye issues if caught can be dealt with. As we age, the eye will start to have issues so regular check ups are important.
Please don’t bring your hatred for pinstadiums into this thread too.
Quoted from HOOKED:Anyone know if the hinge for the back box on alice has the spooky ghost cut out? Working on the add on for tna side panels today so need to know.
Thanks all.
Yes, they do.
Quoted from HOOKED:Nice to know worked this out today for TNA should work for ACNC.
Would need to see the hook ups, unsure if power board is the same in the lower cab.
Hookedonpinball.com[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Just let me know if I can help.
Quoted from dnaman:Any official updates on production status, both standard and buttered runs?
Trying to book some holidays, it would be helpful to know if we are 'close' or 'way off'.
Why don't you just call or email them?
Quoted from lodgingdolphin:It should be on twitch.
Quoted from rubberducks:In the footage from SDTM it still looks very early to me, though I suppose that should not be surprising if they're still working heavily on system code (or were until recently) as Charlie seemed to imply.
A lot of lit shots still don't result in any response from the game's display, audio or lights, or do but don't link up very well - it's pretty disjointed. Alice is now very talkative (that is a change), but I'm not sure that's a great thing given the at best mixed feedback on his voice work. Especially as some of the callouts are needlessly long winded - "You hit the skillshot" instead of "Skillshot!" - and therefore often tend to run in to each other. Timing or staging of audio effects, which do sound good, seem like they need a lot of work still.
What is there on the display looks great, but it doesn't seem like that much progress has been made.
Also seemed like a lot of good hits to lit shots during modes weren't getting any response from the game at times. So quite buggy.
First signs of the RGB GI and inserts are now in, but quite limited. They should completely change the look of the game once properly implemented - imagine TNA without all that.
Still seems like there's not really much outside of the main dungeon crawl (modes) and two multiballs.
All the players are still struggling to control the ball on the upper pf by the look of it. However the spinner issues and balls dribbling out of the secret passage seem to mostly be a thing of the past, which is a relief.
From what I'm seeing, it's quite similar to early BM'66 at the moment, in that it's going to take a while before we see where the game is headed. BM'66 was a clunkfest with mostly absent game code and media. BM'66 is still a bit clunky now, but does have excellent game code and media integration. It just took considerable time to get there. Hopefully that'll eventually be the case for Alice. If they're over the bulk of system code work now, I'd guess it'll still be another 3-6 months before we really get an idea of how good the game is likely to be.
I remain unworried as my spot is one of the latter machines, and this is somewhat expected, but it probably is a bit disappointing for the people with early spots who may have had different expectations.
As an owner, I disagree with your assessment. In the latest code update (that I have), when not in a mode, lit shots could be for combos, lighting the mystery scoop, changing the monsters or progressing towards getting the secret passage.
Callouts from Alice sound fine. He has some sarcasm and snideness to his tone. A lot more callouts have been added.
The RGB lighting is coming along quite well. The start of Frankenstein MB is very cool. The GIs have dedicated colors during Insects, Vampire, & Ethyl modes.
During the Zombie mode which is a roaming shot, missed shots causes all the lighting to turn red. Skil shots, combos and multiplier effects are all great, and of course the ball save strobing light and sound is badass.
All 9 monsters modes are there (hopefully finding items throughout the rooms to help defeat the monsters will be implemented soon).
There's Frankenstein Monster MB and Crypt MB. You can also have a 2-ball MB during any of the modes if you have a ball in the Crypt lock.
Upper pf requires some good nudging. You're either knocking down the drop target multiple times to get the ball lock, shooting back to the lower pf via the left ramp, going for the Vampire target, or the Guillotine shot. Sometimes you need to let the ball drain to the Crypt. There is an extra ball target on the upper pf that has not been implemented yet. A few of the modes already have victory laps shots after beating the monster, with more coming.
Comparing it to early Batman '66 is just not accurate. I've owned Batman since the start and have experienced all versions of the code. Noone that's about to receive their game should be concerned as you suggested.
Quoted from rockfantasyman:I am seriously thinking of bailing on this game ! I am number 58 I believe . the wait is simply too long for my taste . at one time I was told august then before the holidays ! any clue on what number they are on now anyone ??
I wouldn’t bail this close to getting yours. Charlie mentioned production ramping soon since they were almost done with TNA. The code has come a long way in just a few weeks with a lot more coming.
Quoted from trilogybeer:Scott Danesi did coding on TNA and has done all the updates for TNA . He is working on a second game for Spooky .
Scott is also working on sound effects for ACNC.
Quoted from rubberducks:It's beginning to look a bit better, but remains pretty early IMO.
Tons of lit shots still don't result in anything at all, or are only partially hooked up (shot collects and no score, shot collects and score but no audio or video, tons of sound effects missing etc), and there seem to be entire dead modes.
Unlit shots, unless they progress a multiball, literally do nothing. They don't progress or work towards anything.
Both of the above I think contribute to the machine appearing more 'bricky' than it really is.
Frankenstein lock doesn't release when multiball starts (which is weird as it works when ball search starts).
Rather unclear what's happening with the magnet ball save. It only triggered twice in a nearly 3 hour stream. Once it failed, once it succeeded (just about). Centre (or outlane) drains with ball save running (either earned or at beginning of ball) almost always result in drain, ball kicked into shooterlane, then autoplunge. Maybe it is working 'as intended', but if it's barely ever used, why bother having it at all?
Hopefully there is some kind of adjustment that can be made to the left inner orbit. That shot is an absolute bastard. Hard, true shots straight up it frequently rattle around and then dribble out after a couple of seconds. Successful shots you can hear rattling around, and by the time they exit the orbit on the right side are usually moving pretty slowly. The other machines seemed to have issues with it. This example was worst yet.
Dunno if the target itself had issues, or posts around it were the problem, but that centre target really didn't seem to like registering.
This machine, in contrast to the others, did seem to have a controllable and fully functioning upper pf (I gather the operator made several fixes here). Which is good.
RGB still isn't really in almost at all. But the operator did a decent job with both the extra spots and coloured lighting - looked good.
One of the mystery awards is instantly going to Battle Alice - the wizard mode. Seriously??? And in a dungeon crawl / pure wizard mode progression machine (as it currently stands)? That seems bizarre.
Stand by what I said before about it being another 3-6 months until we get an indication of how good it's really likely to be. Though I suppose it's possible that the bulk of underlying work has been done, and rules and assets will speedily get implemented now.
Am I wrong, or are your long reviews just from watching streams? It seems like you’re unclear how to activate the ball save and when it’s suppose to work, as well as the different ways to start the monster modes.
Alice Cooper is one of the standard monster modes, not the wizard mode. (It’s the mode with the guillotine)
And the Frankenstein locks do release the two balls when the mb starts. You cannot start or stack Frankenstein MB when Crypt MB is active or during one of the other monster modes.
Quoted from rubberducks:No shit. I was clearly talking about the stream. Very few people have played one, let alone on latest code.
Rudy said that it was the wizard mode, so I stand corrected on that.
Frankenstein worked once out of about 15+ times. It didn't seem to be a hardware issue as ball search always popped it out.
Modes started fine. Some of the modes were entirely dead - nothing worked. Some were partially dead.
Like I said ... the magnetic ball save happened twice in 3 hours. Once it just about worked (barely). Once it failed and dropped it down the middle.
Your having a machine already does not mean that you have a monopoly on the truth. The machine (on latest code) on the stream still had clear problems and deficiencies in many areas. If you want to pretend to yourself that it's all fine, go ahead. Trying to discredit any (constructive) criticism and identification of clear problems to others, is not cool at all. The worst thing that can happen is that people believe it's all working, then get to play it, and end up being very disappointed.
Maybe that game has issues, but Frankenstein and the magnet save work fine on mine.
The magnet save is disabled in certain modes (in the latest code update).
I notice the guy streaming said the Werewolf mode didn’t seem to do anything. That mode progresses with combo shots that are time based. But not all shots qualify as a combo.
I understand that mode is hard to understand as it is right now. The rules to that mode have been changing. In one of the previous updates, it showed you load a gun and shoot the werewolf if enough combos were made.
If the balls aren’t being released during Frankenstein MB, the servo that raises him needs the setting adjusted so he raises up higher.
There’s a lot already in the game, but a lot more coming.
Quoted from Jodester:What does the little map thing mean on the display? (between free play and ball 5)
It’s a map of the castle rooms you’re navigating to find the monsters.
Quoted from DrMark12PA:Does AC come with stock translucent rubber as I've seen in some pictures?
Yes
Quoted from DerGoetz:Go to YouTube and watch Buffalo Pinball's AC video. That is all you need to form an opinion.
Go watch the Dead Flip stream from last Saturday at Scott Danesi’s house. It’s running a more recent code.
Quoted from kermit24:So all 500 units are still shipping 18 months after TPF 2018? Only 6 months left. I don't see that happening. Or was this timeframe adjusted?
Timeline has always been by the end of 2019.
Quoted from kermit24:Ok got it. So at current run rates they will get another 246 out the door by then. I am sure production will ramp up.
I think they were getting around 15 TNAs out a week at one point.
Quoted from iloveplywood:I believe this be it: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/400478739
Didn't know about this one, thanks for posting.
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