I would love to have an option to change the audio between Japanese and English in the settings.
Super Excited about an Ultraman Release!

R&M took about 4 hours to sell out with 750 machines.
That said, COVID drove demand for home use through the roof.
Be interesting to see.

So they really need a load balancer over there.
9:08 successfully checked out with UKR CE

Just wait.
My cart came up with a Halloween CE in it.
Had to wait until UKR CE reappeared, removed Halloween after adding a UKR BSE and CE.
Finally managed to get just the CE ordered and just got my email.

At least 2 heading to CO

You will be redirected to a screen saying order complete.
If you open a new window for Spooky's pinball machines page it will tell you if you ordered one or have one in a cart.

Check back in an hour, things should settle down.

Shipping is based on where you are, and is in the FAQ sent in the email.
When your machine is ready to build they will tack it on to the final bill.
Some folks prefer to pick up.

Congrats SpookyCharlie and team for another great couple of titles.
Also thanks for touching base here with the fans.
Happy to hear you are almost sold out in just under 2 1/2 hrs on Ultraman!

With all the distributors and such, its better to wait for an email from Squirrel on what number.

Now that's funny right there.
One thing i noticed, this thread has more posts than the Halloween thread.

It took Spooky 18 mos to build (as planned) 750 Rick n Morty pins. This includes the lockdown due to COVID. Near the end they were pumping out roughly 15-20 machines a week.

If the forecast is 1750 pins in 18 mos, that is faster, so rough out the math. No idea on what the final counts are yet of CE/BSE/SE but that is the build order.
Spooky Squirrel will email a # to you once they get all the distros sorted that can give a better idea of where you sit in line.
For RnM i have #427 and it was almost exactly 1 year from order to ship.

Looks like word got out on the Project Pinball raffle.
Site just crashed.

For R&M the toppers shipped already installed.
I suspect they will be shipped the same unless you special request when build time comes.
Spooky is really good about build to order changes. They even worked with having PFs Kuzman clear coated prior to build in some cases.

At 34:25

What we saw with R&M was that Spooky didn't want to have to deal with flip flopping during build cycle. However, they will honor folks trading their builds outside. So if you find someone that wants to downgrade and you want to upgrade, your transaction is outside of Spooky, and Spooky just needs to update the new owner in their systems prior to build.

I assume it would be close to this.

Meh, after listening to over a year of gripes, moans, and groans on the subject over on the R&M thread, i just decided to be happy i have one on order, and i will see it when it gets here. My R&M took exactly 1 year to be built, and worth the wait. If somebody else swapped or sold their spot, i didn't really care. You will also find that machines are built out of order from actual order numbers. Anything that is going overseas for example, as it is more cost effective for Spooky to fill out a container as much as possible when heading to EU or OZ. How distributor's builds occur is also a thing that is hard to dovetail into Spooky's orders. All in all, Spooky does an amazing job at trying to make buyers happy while running a truly boutique service.

While I love the idea of ED in a pin, not sure how many times i could hear "We're going to get you." before i lose my mind completely.

This is something i never thought I would be sharing on Pinside.
I was lucky enough to spend the summer of 81 in Tokyo.
During a side trip to Kyoto I got to go to Toei Kyoto Studio Park.
Thought I would share some of the pics i took of their miniature scenes. (and of course a kaiju)

img20210714_16014941 (resized).jpg

img20210714_16021827 (resized).jpg

img20210714_16023959 (resized).jpg

img20210714_16025400 (resized).jpg

img20210714_16030704 (resized).jpg

Yeah, I have some photos of the water calm, then bubbling, until it rises up and spews water from its mouth.
It was timed like every 10 - 15 min.

Stats are fun.
I know for R&M, Spooky allocated roughly 50% to their distributors. (375 of 750)
I believe the "Friends and Family" initial batch came out of Spooky's 375.
I went with CE, I figured I could always get a BSE style BG later if I like.

The fact that Spooky makes sure all models have the same playability makes the SE an operator's dream.

Also consider that all those "mods" are warranted by Spooky if they installed them. In the end it comes down to what an individual feels it is worth adding it all together. If you can afford the edition you chose, be happy with it and enjoy every penny's worth. The time to deliver will be here before you know it. You will be surprised how many "fixes" and code updates will occur while you wait. The BSE and SE machines will be more dialed in than the first 100 typically.

That explains a lot. After my cart stopped timing out, it popped up wiith a HWN CE in it. I guess i clicked add without reading. Had to loop back added a BSE UKR, looped back again and got the CE UKR in the cart, then deleted the other two and was able to complete the purchase. Checked out about 9:10 after all said and done. I thought it was a screen refresh issue.

There was a huge backlash. Lots of discussion on Pinside about being raped for a topper. It was a resurrected discussion when Spooky gave everyone a topper for free for selling out on R&M.

Matt mentioned that in the interview how he had to rework art more than once to solve for things like that.
Laborious process by the sounds of it. Likely missed that one.

Yeah, looks like they are starting to roll out though.

Ultraman is an alien who essentially possessed a human from SSP, b/c he is now stuck on Earth, and chose to help protect Earth from Kaiju.

I am still curious how the build order will run with Halloween competing for floor space. Seems like whatever Spooky decides, somebody is gonna have ruffled feathers. Personally I think they should build ALL the UKRs first.

Folks will use the acronym they like no matter what. Typically the edition is not part of the acronym. Pro/Premium/LE/CE/BSE/SE all add nothing to the acronym nor should they. In the end IMHO the acronym Pinside chooses to use is the preferred one. Then you can search by the letters instead of typing the machine name.

Here are some links to sources and the long running discussion(s)

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-game-abbreviations#post-3406539

I hate posts like this because my neck gets stiff from craning to the side.

Those are friggin hysterical

Spooky said (Bug i think) they are planning to build all 1750 games in 18 months. That is aggressive as it took them 18 mos to build 750 R&M. Yes i know COVID, they expanded and everything else. Just saying it sounds good to me. I have R&M #427 and it took a year to get it.
I am curious how the builds will run with HWN vs UKR. Will it be X% of floorspace for each or waves? This is a bit of a logistical puzzle for them to deal with.

Even if everything is equitable, people gonna bitch.

Hahaha

To work for the SSP you must memorize the lights and switches and as far as EM..... Analog for the win!

Also, if you are not aware, they do allow for local pickup.

LOL

Depends on how far you are from Benton.
I am in central CO and shipped to my garage was $380
Tailgate lift and such.

Distributors are allocated blocks of numbers. It is easy for them to say CE will be built before any BSE or SE. Smaller set of numbers. It would be near impossible to speculate for overlap. If you are saying all JCH CEs will be built before any JCH BSE/SE, and all UKR CEs will be built before any UKR BSE/SE, then i would agree.
They will very likely need to suspend UKR builds when all the UKR CEs are done until the JCH CEs are completed if it is across the board. This may greatly delay the UKR BSE/SE deliveries sadly.

Either way is a possibility, i guess we need to wait and see.

~ Speculation ~

Not trying to start a rumor here or anything, but i wonder if the reason Spooky is taking their time on allocating numbers has anything to do with their previous statements on customer loyalty.
Distributors and previous/repeat buyers are highly thought of by Spooky. I can picture them trying to rank allocation by loyalty.
With the invoice numbers overlapping 2 different machines with 3 editions each, it must be "good times" over in Benton right now.

Reason for this thinking is that it took Spooky 3 days to get my # for R&M.
Feel like i am waiting for a lottery drawing as a guaranteed winner of something...

During "Flippergate" with R&M I was curious exactly how many games in a row folks were playing that experienced trouble. I play quite a bit, but i don't experience problems from overheating. Maybe the solution to the coils isn't fans for overheating, but instead require these folks to pay $1.00 for every game they play. .

Yeah, looks like distros have begun sending out numbers on both threads. Nothing here yet for my Spooky direct order.

Nitro just began dropping numbers for orders on the JCH hype thread.

Love Fathom. It was one of my grails for a long time.

Folks on the JCH thread are starting to see emails from Spooky! Yay!

Be advised, the # corresponds to the serial number of the machine. Spooky reserves the right to build machines in any order they like. For the most part, it will stay pretty darn close to matching the CE -> BSE -> SE order. However if they need to build a SE before a CE to fill out a container of course they will.

Think of it as "parlay"

Holy crap! Just got my # from Spooky.

#56
Inv #: 11368
CE

You will find in the next few months folks will delay their build for any number of reasons. You may even find folks wanting to swap places that could improve your build position.

So 20 - 40 per week (let's say 30) at a 2 : 1 ratio (H:U) , once build starts I could see my pin in 6 weeks. CRAZY!

Got reeeeally quiet in here. Must be lots of Inbox refreshing going on

Hey man! Sometimes sour grapes make great whine....

(I'll let myself out)

Yeah this was posted a few hours ago.
Sounds like he is working hard on it.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/spooky-halloween-babysitters-welcome/page/16#post-6402386

We are all assuming the email saying 20 - 40 per week is for both models.
They didn't combine the total counts of 1750 in the email, and they didn't give a build ratio, so there is some possibility the 20 - 40 could be just for Ultraman.
While this is highly unlikely there is a chance.

The back box signed is done on the back of the backbox. I asked prebuild to have the Spooky team sign my Rick and Morty and they were happy to do it. Its pretty cool.

Funny thing with the CE not being there, then accidentally adding a JCH to my cart, then a BSE and then removing them, finally checking out at 9:08, i thought my number was going to be MUCH higher.

"If any of you "homos" touch my pinball,.... I'll kill you"

God i love that movie!

.

The first 50 are reserved for VIPs, "on location", friends & family. This does not factor into public sales. Half of the pins are given to distributors (250 out of 500). Sales beginning with #51, Spooky will have the lowest numbers available to general public, then they alternate thru the distros then back to Spooky, and repeat. As the lists populate you can more or less see the trends. The distros get blocks of numbers. It would be crazy impossible for Spooky and distros to manage numbers alternating by purchase.

Curious how many folks (like myself) had not planned on buying Spooky's new pinball until they saw Ultraman was the alternate version, and had to commit. If it were just Halloween I am pretty sure I would not have a new pin coming. Not that is is a bad machine, it just doesn't crank my engine.

True but with it being announced ahead of time, Ultraman totally caught me by surprise. Once they fixed the YouTube link in the email, and it opened i was like "Awww crap! there goes another 9 grand"

That can't happen.
If you are unaware they are numbered separately.
For example I have #56 Ultraman and Boycer has #56 Halloween.
Ultraman will stop at 500.

Sounds like production is getting underway over at Spooky.

Pulled this from the "Next Spooky Pin" thread.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/spooky-2021-game-speculation-thread/page/192#post-6403304

Just confirmed from Squirrel, the 20-40 pins per week is definitely a mix of JCH and UKR. So if we assume the ratio previously mentioned of 2 : 1 on the floor you should be able to roughly guesstimate your build week at 10/wk for UKR. (YMMV)

For example if your #100 your build will be ten weeks out so expect to see an email from Spooky about 7 weeks from now.

This only counts for CE AFAIK, because they will likely need to switch the lines to entirely JCH CE until they get built out, then back to a 2 : 1 build for the BSEs, and repeat for SEs.

I am going to give a loose projection here.
I am thinking you will be closer to 13 months.

Calcs based on 375 CE for Ultraman and 1000 CE for Halloween.

We should start a pool.

Looks like every Ultraman comes with a screw gun, a drill, some zipties and a shitload of screws!

Who is Nick Lane.....?

Things like this will be shared with gameplay videos. Nobody has the rule sets yet, and the fact that Spooky uses RGB LEDs means those targets can be whatever they want them to be.
If you are asking what they are from an Ultraman perspective andnot game specific, I would guess they represent chakram.

They are both in the first phase of builds on each model.
Divide 164 by 10 -> 16.4 weeks
Divide 471 by 20 -> 23.5 weeks
Build began 7/26, and i am guessing add at least 2 weeks from when it hits the line to ship date.

Ultraman around Thanksgiving or early December
Halloween after New Years or late January.

Sorry.

Keep in mind this is fuzzy logic with lots of variables and dependencies and doesn't factor in holidays. (and just an opinion)
Spooky is trying to push their production numbers up so the rate could improve as they ramp up.

Same

That is the first upside down video I've seen posted here.
I am still laughing.

Bravo

I am still on the fence actually. I love the artwork and know it would look great, but like so many others, it wouldn't really be shown off or admired due to placement. Its all about personal satisfaction with no plans on resale, as I am pretty sure it would be pried from my cold dead hands like my R&M or TNA.

For some reason, the Spooky pins really get me cranked up the way Williams did back in the day.

By my rough math, if Spooky is able to produce 30 per week, all these pins should be done before October of 2022.

CEs did not get to pick their numbers.

Distributors get blocks of numbers which allows them to offer an option of choosing from a discrete block of available numbers. They do not have to do this, some just can. Spooky direct allocates numbers on FIFO basis of when your order is submitted.

It is not uncommon to reserve ANY build numbers for VIPs in any industry. In a world where influencers can sway public opinion it would be ridiculous for any business to ignore an opportunity to play favorites.

You all should be excited if you secured an order (any number) in such a limited release run. PERIOD.

Testing gear for Ultraman.
https://www.twitch.tv/deadflip

This gameplay was an awesome display of the level of effort Spooky has put into a super awesome theme. I had no regrets pulling the trigger on this order (even as expensive as it is) and now it feels like I'm being part of something greater.

Great job Spooky!
Great job Jack!

Y'all rocked this theme!

If I recall, Bug said to nudge it as it is expected to do that.

Yeah just found it.
On Halloween stream at 7:35.

Rewind it a little bit. You'll see the ball is initially delivered to the flipper. Hard to ask for more than that.

I suppose it is intended to be Bemular.
Pretty stylized version though.

I updated the "Date Projection" spreadsheet to include fields where you can enter your build number.
This can give a rough projection of when your machine would be ready to ship.

Please do not harass Spooky with these date projections. This is just for fun and intended to distract from some of the vitriol.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jt4M6GTDQVdQ4uxgR5mvglB1n-1K0KOkGfWCBuT91vY/edit?usp=sharing

I like the display the way it is.
In the 60s and 70s we didn't have big screen TVs and ship monitors in the shows were typically small with rounded corners.
I think the team is trying to maintain that ship display feel.

Besides, I am not buying this pinball to watch a movie, I have a 65" 4k for that crap.

Peel up?
I suspect they are waterslide.

Note: waterslide decals are very easy to tear. You can piece them back together in place if this happens but for best results take your time.

Very cool, was hoping for an update like this.
Looks to be about 2 : 1 ratio as mentioned before.

Saw this on the Halloween thread in a discussion about topper motors.
Thought it shows a decent different angle for the butter print.

Screen Shot 2021-08-23 at 6.02.51 AM (resized).png

Muwhahahahah

It's in there.
I made a comment in the Dead Flip stream that the laugh is worth about 7 grand the way they implemented it.

I am excited for Stern and the table looks fun, but I can't help but think of The Lizard when I see the artwork.

Of course I myself can't draw a straight line.

amazing_spiderman_v1_77_VG+ (resized).jpg

s-l400 (resized).jpg

In the Halloween thread SpookyLuke mentioned they weren't ready and will ship when they come in.
Didn't wanna hold up shipping for it.

A while back there was a question about the chakram inserts and the topper. Here is a clip showing some of the uses.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultraman/comments/pq4u97/so_instead_of_using_this_move_as_a_projectile/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

I readjusted the baseline of the data estimator adding 3 weeks as nobody has reported receiving a build notice yet.
This shifts all the dates to the right. (which actually works for me [UM #56] having broken my shoulder over Labor Day weekend)

If things ramp up I can shift it back to left for a true up.
For now we are all still a little in the dark.

Here is the link again:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jt4M6GTDQVdQ4uxgR5mvglB1n-1K0KOkGfWCBuT91vY/edit#gid=271091716

Open to feedback.

Too funny.
I've decided to stay off that thread a little while.
It's gotten to a serious state of FUD over there.
I like the quiet here. I think folks here are all just waiting for the build notices to pop.

Thanks for this feedback.
As pretty much every "con" listed is related to coding in someway, i am very pleased.

I would think this could cause some problems for coding when it comes to multi-balls.
Once the pins hit the field the real feedback will help iron it out.

- Pre staged balls
- countdown timers
- distraction video

A number of ways to handle it i would think

Only about 24% of the Ultraman pins purchased are flagged as Pinsiders.
of the first 50 only 8 have raised their hand on Pinside.

They are starting to get out there but i suspect the majority will not be advertised as to where.

I might share some stills but I sure as heck won't be posting any videos on Pinside only to be told they're to shaky, grainy, too dark, too bright, too short, too long, too quiet, or too loud. But mostly because I'm just not that good.

Keyword strict.
They are pretty darn good at rolling out by build number.
I think of the deviations as exceptions.

Thanks for the video @lpeters82. And so you know that is Ultraman's signature on the plaque. Bin Furuya.

Trying to do mystery math from the posts by SpookyLuke, I am hoping to hear from Morgan this week or maybe next week on my order as it is #56.

Looks like #8 has landed.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/spooky-halloween-babysitters-welcome/page/62#post-6522875

I didn't see a Club thread so i started one.
If one already existed i'll kill it.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ultraman-kaiju-rumble-owners#post-6523061

Actually there is a buyer in Hong Kong if i recall.

You can still express your displeasure, but the natural follow on would be to sell the game and leave the club thread.
If you look through the R&M club thread you will see there is a lot of less then satisfied opinions that eventually disappear.
Club threads are more heavily moderated to eliminate baiting and trolling and focus on what folks enjoy.

Folks on the HWN thread are saying nobody beyond the VIPs has received an email notice yet.
There is a theory that Spooky may be building out the VIPs for both HWN and Ultraman before moving into the gen pop list.
This would reset the starting point for #51+ to begin at the same time.
No telling truthfully. Just more fodder for the speculation cannons.