I’d love to see them do Akira.

I didn't realize how many people had no clue what Ultraman was. Guess it might not be so hard to get one of them then!

And this is why Spooky's move here is genius. I felt no interest at all in Halloween, but am completely charmed by Ultraman. I'm not even a fan of the show or anything, it's just got a vibe that fits with me.

From a business point of view if you can reduce development costs and appeal to different market demographics with the "same" product that's a jackpot for them!

Confusing af!

Those listed companies are all using the same mechs. A key difference though in all these platforms is the software and how the coils are actually sent electricity. I believe Spooky uses a system similar to STERN where the coils are pulsed with a square-wave to keep them on. This is different than the Williams style which engages a lower voltage when the flipper is held up. Plus all these modern pinball platforms allow you to change coil settings which obviously has a huge affect on how the game feels and plays. Poorly optimized coil settings will make a great game feel like shit.

Manufacturing and programming costs are different and there are trade-offs. Maybe you want the most robust flips - that costs more. Maybe you want the most powerful flips - costs more.

So yea the basic design is 60 years old but there are still pennies to be pinched and choices for manufacturers to make.

Any word on Pinballstar #s yet?

Everybody's getting their number and us PinballStar buyers be like:

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I remember reading in one of these threads that Spooky makes 50 games for their own customers, then 50 for their distributors.

If that is actually the case then wouldn't Pinballstar's first numbers be getting the games soon even though the game #s start around 250?

I'm not expecting anybody to have an accurate answer right now on how exactly it will all shake out though.

HYPE!

Most likely!

LLLET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUUMBLE!!!!

Just physics, no magnets.

I'm very curious to see what happens when a ball is coming into the inlanes at the same moment the ball lifter is going. I'm guessing the ball just hits the back of the lift mech but what if the ball is on top of the mech when it starts to lift? I'm sure they've worked it all out, just want to see it in action now!

Yeah that's what it looks like. I'm very curious about the rare circumstance of a ball being directly on top of the mech when the lift goes up. It looks like it's designed with a V shape to squeeze the ball back behind the lift if that ever happens.

Also going to be very curious to see how well that mech holds up on route if it does get banged by multiball action a lot.

Edit: And thanks Spooky Luke for explaining how it works up above!

Challenge Accepted!

Digital
Media
Display

still works imo.

If all it takes to improve most weak flipper problems is some cheap fans why don't the manufacturers just make it part of the game? Obviously it raises the BOM a tiny bit but considering how important flippers are to the game and the bad social media coverage shitty weak flippers will get your company... Why don't they just cool their flips properly? Or improve them so they don't need fans at all?

I know I'm shouting at clouds here. They won't change shit... Well if any company would it might be Spooky though!

That lunch box is fantastic! Where from?

Someone should start a Tetsuo podcast.

https://www.twitch.tv/deadflip

The 2nd pf seems super hard to get control on the way the ball flys in. Not a bad thing really, just an observation.

The 3rd pf didn't seem used much at all. I swear they were hitting the shot to go up there but maybe it has to be in the right mode.

The display framing feels super retro, matches the show and the era perfectly. I'll reserve final judgement for actually seeing the game in person and it being on more fully realized code.

I am confident there will be some decent streams coming from the early batch of games. From whom I cannot say!

Great, you're supposed to play as Ultraman but you're gonna be stuck as Hayata till supply chain issues are fixed!

Seems a software guided sequence that involves the operator/player shooting a ball into the scoop would be required at startup.

Once the game detects the correct number of balls queued up it would reset and be ready to play.

I can't see any other way to do it unless you ship with balls in the subway from the factory and that's probably a bad idea.

.

Or actually I did think of another way to do it. It's just a software setting "queue balls in trough?" and the operator has to make sure they've put the balls in there. Then the game will always operate that way unless you move it and take the balls out.

Seems simple enough right? Let's hope they do something because keeping the balls flowing at a high rate will increase the fun I'm sure.

Does Pinball Browser work on Spooky games for changing sounds?

Thoughts after playing a few games:

Absolutely gorgeous machine. Worthy of going butter imo. Trim is blueish, not the same color as R&M.
Topper is good not great and I was surprised at how cool the speaker lighting effect was.
Speaking of speakers they are loud and clear, lots of bass from the woofer in the cabinet.
The slingshot sound should be tweaked, a little too loud and perhaps a better more kinetic sound could be used.
The assets used on the screen come together great, super retro feel to it. Hard to watch while playing though.
Shots feel good but there's a lot of room for making them more satisfying via better sound and choreography.
Overall the lighting package feels great and feels very modern, colorful, flashy.
Figuring out what to do or why something happened was often confusing. Player guidance needs improvement.
Ball staging will improve the flow of the game, the pace is slightly off without it.
Besides that the game is very fast and snappy and keeps you on edge.
The speed and geometry allowed for a lot of Lazarus saves from balls coming SDTM.
The mini-playfields are cooler in person than in pictures, so many details. Top one seemed under utilized.
They powder coated the wireform and even the small ball guides! Looks super cool and unique.
Baltan's laugh is awesome and they use it very well!

I have one on order and was considering selling my spot if I was disappointed after playing it. Now I am certain it will be bolted to the floor when it shows up. A little more maturity in the code and it will be perfect.

Thanks for making another great machine Spooky!

The flipper on the top PF doesn't work until the upper PF is active. Did you actually get a ball up there and it still didn't flip?

Anyone else getting second thoughts on your order? I’ve played UM on location and while beautiful it’s just not a great playing game yet. I know things can improve but Godzilla is already a super fun Kaiju game so UM needs to be at least as good, if not better, to keep both in a collection.

I’m confident team Spooky wants to create a great and classic game. But had I not already pre-ordered I wouldn’t be putting money down with the game in its current state.