The upper flipper shots are definitely hard to make due to the speed the ball goes around there. I haven't turned down my upper flipper strength yet, should probably do that and see if it helps some. I do know that raising the slope to 6.7deg has helped a lot with flow in general. I may try 6.8 sometime and see how that goes.
I don't mind so much that a lot of things have to be re-enabled by a new ball or an Episode or getting TUMB to do them again. That feels to me like just how the game is intended to work. If anything I like the emphasis on Episodes and making them important to progress.
The thing that bothers me more is that so many things are locked out when 123-Foot or Training are running. I played a game over lunch today and really needed to get another Episode going. BUT, the ball bounced into the Lair and triggered Training which seems to lock out starting an Episode. The rules aren't very well documented either, even the Tilt Forums rulesheet is not that good at covering all the details.
To be fair, I don't prioritize the Hurryups that much so if I miss collecting one it's not a big deal to me. If your strategy relies on those more I can see how they can be stressful but at least the game has some shots to help add time to your timers.
Anyway, I really like the game a lot and when you're "on" and hitting the shots well it feels amazing. I can't say if Rush does it better, I haven't played that one very much and to be honest I'm not a fan of rock band themes anyway. If anything, maybe a spinner somewhere along the path of the center loop would help to slow the ball down - is that what Rush does or is it more just about the shape of the loop?
But I feel like Turtles is improving my skills and it's making me excited to play other "harsh" or "fast" or "brutal" pins that I might have steered away from before. It's also shown me how much difference leveling and proper pitch can make in the feel of a game. I'm no pro, I've only gotten TUMB a couple times and my best scores are in the 40M's, but I've only had the game just over a week and feel like I'm making progress.
I also want to say that I love all the extra ways to play that Dwight has added. It really adds value to having a Turtles in your collection and the feature where your Turtles training level can be saved between games with Insider Connected is cool too, I don't think any other game does this?
If Dwight is watching this thread, two requests for an upcoming software update:
1. When choosing your turtle, can you show the high score for that Turtle? If one of them is lagging behind, I may want to play that one specifically.
2. When starting Ninja Pizza Multiball, can you show the Pizza Toppings a bit longer, or have a config option that they stay up until the player presses a button? I feel like I'm being rushed here and knowing my toppings better would help me know what to shoot for during NPMB.
Both of these are I hope low effort things to add that will provide a bit more "quality of life" to the game. Thanks!