This game looks absolutely killer, but then again, I have a whole row of early 80s pins, so I like single-level games more than the average modern collector.

I understand people saying that the way this machine was built and functions, it would be nearly as expensive as other more robust layouts. The problem is most current day people won't see the value in that, justified or not. You're seeing that debate in this thread alone.

As a one-off homebrew, who cares. I spend too much on things for myself all the time. However, that wouldn't fly in any production attempt. My question is, are there compromises to the design decisions that would cut costs and make a close facsimile of the game experience be production viable at a price point people would be more open to?

Things like having an LCD and alpha-numeric displays is cool for the retro vibe, but totally unnecessary. The lightshow is awesome without a doubt, but that seems to be a place where a ton of the budget is going. Could that be accomplished more economically somehow without totally losing the spirit of what's been done? I just wonder if some less impactful aspects could be costed out to make the game as a whole available.

No Shit!

Some "no-name guy" (no offense Scott) makes a homebrew machine with NO ART and Sharpie markings on the inserts and it wins BEST GAME at a pinball show. How many millions of dollars went into games like Batman and Dialed In, yet a half-baked whitewood beat them all. It seems to me Scott knows what he's doing and doesn't need the peanut gallery meddling in his design.

Yet, half the people in here apparently think they can do it better. Unbelievable. Best in show isn't good enough I guess. Geez.

Add drop targets, add a shaker, change the music... Just stop! Let the dude execute his vision, then buy it or don't.

A large group of people lost their asses sinking money into a game centered around YOUR likeness. What does that say about your appeal to that demo? Old guys are hot for Ben? Hmmm...

Wow, this couldn't be truer. So many people think "it's a single-level game so it should be cheap" and others want to cut $100 parts for a $1000 discount. When this comes in at or above current Spooky pricing (just guessing) the bitching will be EPIC.

I loved what I saw and played, so I want it to be what Scott envisions, but I fear the game won't actually sell terribly well at whatever price point that comes in at. I'll buy one and I hope I'm wrong about the masses.

A game you play occasionally and a game you won't keep for a long time are not necessarily the same thing. It is not super deep and doesn't have very diverse gameplay. That's not a bad thing, it's just different than "modern" games and not like anything in your collection. Newer / current games often have a diverse enough ruleset to make how you play it different depending on what you want to accomplish or how your game is going. Older 80s games may require strategy to score well, but they're a bit more rinse-and-repeat.

I'm a huge 80s game fan, I have 10 games from the early 80s. TNA has more complex rules (strategy) than my old Ballys, but it's still kinda step 1, 2, 3 to score the best. It's great fun and I want one badly, but if you're used to games with more diverse objectives and more "things" to shoot at, TNA might not survive long term for you. To me, it would be a GREAT addition to a decent size or larger collection. It may not be as satisfying in smaller collections, although it definitely has the challenge that creates that ONE MORE GAME draw.

This is a great example and a more succinct way of saying everything I said above.

My impression is that's the main objective, thus my earlier rinse and repeat comment. Now, easier said than done, but I think that's the general thing. Much tougher and more variety of shots than the IM example. Isn't Iron Monger raised by shooting the orbits (I don't have IM)? TNA uses the entire playfield as parts of the start/maximize your score while destroying the reactor, so that comparison isn't really fair.

Like a lot of early 80s stuff, it's all about the layout and how fun/challenging the objective is, since in reality there isn't a ton of variety in objectives. In the time I've spent, this game was a F'n blast and for people that can embrace the narrower focus, it seems like a home run.

I wish I had given Flash Gordon more of a chance. I love me some early Ballys, but I never got into Flash Gordon. Probably cause I didn't know what I was doing and it's definitely not forgiving. So many revere the game that I'll have to read more about it in case I run into one down the line.

Whether you like IM or not, it is absolutely NOTHING like TNA.

This game has an element of rinse and repeat, same as early 80s stuff. Plain and simple. If that's not for you, fine. I really LOVE early 80s stuff, but what Scott's doing even better than most of the classics his game is inspired by is the randomization of objective shots, and even more so the risk / reward. I cannot wait to throw money at this game!

That's what I wish Lexy looked like.

I hope they don't reveal any more until the game is done. I'm super pumped about this game, but I don't want to endure the Pinside group-think over every detail along the way. They've shown enough to tease it and people can determine if it's their vibe or not. Now they should go away, make the game (quickly), and come back with a full reveal. Then people can like it or not, and buy it or not, as a complete package.

TnA is at the top of my "to buy" list, but I don't honestly feel it will be a significant commercial success. I'll definitely buy at typical Spooky price range, but not sure what my top end might be. For others, especially those that expect $5K, there is disappointment coming. The less people know, the easier it is for them to uncommittedly say they're in. The game is AWESOME, no doubt. But once price reality hits, I think many will be out. There was also the deal with the art. I was fine with the art direction, but so many people filled their heads with what they wanted and bitched when they saw the art. I think a lot more will drop out when the vision doesn't match their vision. And in the end, this game will face the same challenges that all non-licensed games face. I think Spooky may sell a couple hundred, but even that may be optimistic. As much as people talk, they just don't buy non-licensed games in bulk. The evidence repeats itself over and over again.

Whether anyone likes the art direction or not, I still don't understand why it's being likened to anime!

Yeah, you didn't understand my point. I was saying this is not anime and I don't get why it keeps getting described that way.

I'm personally not into anime at all and I don't follow it what-so-ever, but I at least know what it looks like. A purple-haired woman doesn't mean it's anime (or frankly even anime-ish). The art styles have very little in common.

I forgot about that game. I don't think I ever finished it back in the day. I'm pretty sure I have it on my MAME machine, I should bust back into that one of these days.

I can't wait to get in on TnA, and I'm super stoked that Scott said he's going to design a P3 game in the future!

That's the Ben Heck ("never heard of the asshole") board though. TnA uses P-ROC. Doesn't mean it won't allow for some extra power sources, but it won't be the same.

I'll be honest, I got in at the back end of the original list for a couple reasons: I love Rob Zombie and I figured even if the game turned out to not be for me, I could likely flip it for more than I bought it for. As I waited for them to work through the list, I watched as TONS of people flipped the game and by the time it got to me, you could buy one off someone (new or used) for considerably less than the pre-order price. I inquired about getting out since I wasn't totally sold on the game, and I could save $500-$1000 by buying someone else's. In the end, I didn't want to stick it to Spooky, so I kept it. Come to find out, it's actually one of my current favs in the collection. I'll be selling a few games to fund some upcoming stuff and RZ is not remotely on the possible sell list, so everything worked out in the end.

I'm glad Spooky is moving to a non-limited, non-refundable deposit model going forward. I hate all the FOMO hysteria when a new game comes out.

Release it.
Let us see it.
Let us make a decision.
Build one for whomever wants one.

If that's was how all of this stuff was done, we'd all have a ton less pinball drama in our lives.

Art, I love you in a way only a man can love another man, but this is blasphemy! Maybe this would be OK on a game with crap music (like AC/DC or some other turd music band game) but the Danesi rhythms are a HUGE part of what makes this game so kickin. My wife wants this game SPECIFICALLY for Scott's dope tunes.

Scott's Game 2 better be on the P3!

While I agree with aspects of this in the sense that it's "cool" to support Spooky, and equally "cool" to bash Stern, et al - that is not mutually exclusive from the quality of the game.

The bottom line is that the attendees at shows are far broader than Pinside, and how many times has TnA won best in show? That can be bolstered by "Scott's friends" or Spooky groupies, but moreover it is because general pinball show attendees, who are not caught up in the pinball manufacturer soap opera, think the game rules!

THEY'RE RIGHT!

To help sell as many games as possible? Are you serious?!?

I happen to agree with the people that don't care for the 3rd instance of the logo between the flippers, and would prefer something that tied in the backglass scene more. But is there seriously even one person that wants to buy this game, but won't because that logo is there? It won't deter me for a single second. If that logo space is the cause for anyone not buying the game, then frankly they're pretty dense, and it's definitely their loss.

If Dialed In and TnA were the same price, I still wouldn't have to think hard about which I'd rather own.

I have bought a game from KingPin before, as well as from Spooky directly. Both are great. They're both so humble, that they each encouraged me to buy from the other one. Great peeps either way.

I really hate it when people come up with cool ideas that I'll never actually get to see in real life.

1ulhry (resized).jpg

Let's hope I never need to do a playfield swap!

I saw BNL this summer in concert and they spent a few minutes riffing about pinball and busting out quotes from Scared Stiff. I felt like my wife and I were the only ones in the audience that got the jokes.

Yeah, my point was just that it was a little weird that they spent that much time on what was the equivalent to an inside joke. I thought it was cool and funny, just surprised they spent stage time with it. Now, the jokes about WEIRD Trip Adviser reviews of local joints, that made more sense. EAT. RAT.

Based on my experience installing these in RZ, I ordered the parts and decided I'd just install them myself. I appreciate the option for Spooky to install, but the install was so easy I decided not to bother sending to them.

Wow! No offense, but in pretty much every way conceivable, this is about the FURTHEST comparison you could make.

Predator was a turd of a game, created by a scammer who lied to people and stole their money, as an illegally licensed theme, that never got produced.

Scott is apparently a genius pinball designer, Charlie is as trustworthy as they come, they built an unlicensed theme game, that went from whitewood to production quicker than any game I've heard of, and nobody has been scammed.

Yep, those sound the same.

Not trying to be a dick, but you pick the second most notorious game in pinball history (I'm counting Jpop's triad fiasco as a single number one) and compare it to possibly the best feel-good pinball machine development story ever. They're absolutely universes apart.

I'm 100% in on this game because I love this style, I have 8-10 early 80s Ballys. But being honest, this style won't be for everyone. So, for those of you on the fence about the game, wait and buy a used one. While I've played it and it is right up my alley, this is different than anything produced in I don't even know how long. I can guaranty that there will be a bunch of people caught up in the hype that don't end up liking this style game. And given that the development is open and ongoing, the resale value won't be great when you can readily get on the list for a NIB game.

I'm #40 and KT told me my build sheet is on the line.

To be clear, I had some parts sent to include in my build. I was checking to make sure they received them and checked status at the same time.

I've always felt like 5 balls is cheating, but increasing extra balls and narrowing outlanes not as much. Totally a semantic thing, I get it. At least extra balls have to be earned to some degree, so they aren't *total* freebies. And to me narrowing the outlanes is a better option than increasing number of balls. I think people have more fun and less frustration on a 3 ball game that lasts as long as a 5 ball game due to fewer drains.

TNA #40 scheduled to drop tomorrow. Woot!

Could you share your settings? I get airballs on ours all over the place. I know my pitch is at 7 degrees (which most of my games are). I'm interested to try lowering this. I'm curious what you set the coil strength to.

Separate issue, I'm having problems with the auto-launcher not sending the ball around the arch all the time. Probably 1-3 times per game, the ball ends up rattling around after the auto-launch and not coming into the orbit clean. Sometimes it just rattles around but doesn't change trajectory too much. Often it rattles around enough that it doesn't have the strength to make it around the upper arch. Once it even shot up and over the lane and hit the center grid targets off the auto-launch. Has anyone else seen any of this?

I'm going to try adjusting/centering the kicker first, since that seems easy. My assumption though is that it's the metal ramp. I'm guessing it's off just enough to get the ball to skip. Maybe it's a combination of the kicker and the ramp (which might explain the inconsistency) to where fixing the kicker minimizes the ramp issue. We'll see. I'll have to go the tech route too if it's not the kicker.

I have almost 30 games, and RZ is one of my favs! Not entirely sure why it gets bagged so hard here, but it is FAR better than the general Pinside consensus.

Can you change the replay award to extra ball? I typically do this with all our home games, but I didn't see that option here.

Even without it, I was only 60K from unseating Lionman as Grand Champion this morning. My personal best game...

Just a shout-out to anyone buying TNA - the lighted side rails are DOPE AF. They totally look stock, and unless the game is completely sardined in the middle of a row, these are well worth the price! Definitely my favorite "exterior" mod.

Aren't the "destroy reactor" inserts supposed to be white? Just today mine aren't white any more, they're pink. I overheated a reactor and couldn't figure out what to shoot because there weren't any white inserts. Turns out I was supposed to hit a pink RAD target. Pretty much all reactors now have pink lights to tell me what to destroy, which didn't happen before today. Anyone else seen this happen?

Agreed on the cab, but the shaker is VERY WELL integrated.

pimpin aint easy (resized).jpg

Love the new co-op and team vs options. BUT, I would also like to see the 2-3 vs 1 option as well. Lots of examples (families, friends that suck, etc) where having a handicap match where two or three lesser players try to beat a more skilled player would be fun. As someone earlier joked, 3 vs Bowen. The game has already crossed the aggregate score barrier, I would think adding variations of who's score adds to which total would be a lesser feat.

I'm fine if none of the new options get added. I have TNA already, and I love it. But now that the door's been opened for other multiplayer options, I'm eager to enjoy it with other people. Most of the people I play with suck! The co-op will help with that. It would be cool if there were ways to draw in the other players in competitive modes without me purposely draining balls to not blow away their scores. I don't have to beat reactor 9 (which I'm not close to doing) to wish I had more ways / people to enjoy the game with.

It goes without saying that it's Scott prerogative what, if anything, to add. Scott's started the ball rolling by introducing the feature, so it's natural for people to give input as to how they might utilize a version of the feature. Don't act like this is remotely similar to the people who were begging for different graphics back at the reveal of the production game.

I have a TNA in-hand with everything on it (shaker, knocker, plastic protectors, mirror blades, target decals, and lighted side rails) that I would consider selling to an eager buyer. I'll either take your place in line or jump back in at the back.

Is calling KT the only way to get the speaker kit? I already have my game and would prefer to order online and not bother them, but I couldn't find it listed at either Spooky or Pinball Life.