Shorten up the reactor activation time to allow for an exciting lead up to multiball release maybe?

A nuclear bomb blast alarm something like this (would sound awesome on TNAs sound system!!!) and the simultaneously spinning, lighted beacon maybe?

Finally got to put some more time on one of these. Fantastic and very different game. Added to the wish list.

Great job Scott. The soundtrack and light show on this is the best part.

Sounds like you're in a Dave and Busters!

How long, start to finish, did it take to install the drops and lights?

Did anyone installing the lit drops consider transfering over FlashInsticts lock decals?

Is Scott still making a kit for the lit drops ?

This game is very easy to find used if the $ is right.

The last thing I think about TNA needing is “more hoopla.” This game has it in spades!!

Exactly.

I don't find getting multiball started a choar at all... it has almost become subconcious. Start game, three right fliper shots only, multiball running!. Boom, now start playing the game! . All of about 10 seconds into the game. Multiball start already has more than enough fanfare imho, for the TNA game style. For how Regularly or Frequently it is started, I suppose I mean.

Also the multiball start on TNA there is no possibility of 'staging' or pausing while some kind of "multiball start sequence" runs (I love this about TNA, M.B. just instantly Happens)... and if one did run it would just interfere with gameplay.

Gotta remember this is not a cookie cutter pinball game where multiball is the tough thing to do that gives off some gimick. This is TNA where you can start multiball like farting in bed!

This is why "stealing locks" is a non issue, because putting them back is merely two shots that are a walk in the park. Trap then backhand from right flipper, basically a given.

And everybody Skips it

For me the multiball start Scott has nailed it!

Now that I have lit drops, that is the icing on the cake!

Yea there's lots of arcade sounds here. I love it!
No more than 2 hours and I was taking my time using a magnet to make sure I didn't drop any screws and making sure not to upset any current wiring. It's really not difficult... just a bit tedious but the outcome is very much worth the effort.

That may be true if you're searching the entire USA... but finding one locally that you don't have to ship, is even more difficult.

My beacon sounds like a meat grinder. It spins often in the attract mode and makes a lot of rather embarrassing noise. I like the lights effect but the noise isn't cool. Can this be turned off in the menus? I couldn't find it. Thanks!

the wires has to plug in someplace, or just cut them.
Take it apart disconnect the motor... and the light still works ?

You can turn beacon attract off in the menu.

Home>Settings>Machine(standard)

The top option is "Attract Beacon" ... set that to "off"

thanks razorsedge

do they all sound like a meat grinder or is mine special?

Yeah it is loud if there is silence around, but can't hear it when playing, or over the telly even really.

Scott.....does TNA compensate for a broken shooter lane switch? Had ours go during league the other day and all night plus the next night the game continued to not know if a ball was in the plunger and would just let ball saves sit there rather than autoplunge....not sure if the time to mark the switch bad is really long. I'd suggest dropping it....that's one switch that the game knows when it should be active and should be able to rule it as broken quickly.

It does not compensate. It needs to know if the ball made it out of the shooter lane or not. If it does not detect the ball, it will kick it again. The main purpose of that shooter lane switch it to make sure the trough is working properly. If the switch dies, it will just start kicking out a bunch of balls.
--Scott

Hi, I just joined the club. While checking the game if everything looks right I noticed that mine has 2 springs on every flipper. Is that normal and does Spooky use the normal WPC style springs?

The flipper return springs were prone to breakage at the time this game was produced. The owner likely installed 2 springs to A) prevent the spring from breaking or B) add a little bit of extra tension for flipper returns

I believe it was suggested at one point to use the beefier Sega/Stern return springs. I never had any issues with mine.

Great, first thing I did was to upgrade from 1.3 to 1.4 and now the machine seems to be dead. Screen is dark, the 4 score displays are moving from left to right, inserts are on, but nothing else is happening. Somebody having a clue what I could do now?

Downgrade, then try again.

Correct:
Data East and Early Sega Flipper Extension Spring
265-5029-02
https://www.pinballlife.com/data-east-and-early-sega-flipper-extension-spring.html

We were in the middle of a game on Total Nuclear Annihilation when the ball went into the top scoop. The ball never ejected. Both the top scoop and top flipper seem to have no power on to them because they both stopped working. Any thoughts? Thanks for the help.

Check the coils and their associated switches in the service mode to see what is not working.
--Scott

AMAZING. haha!

Sooooo.......turned out it was the shooter coil that got disconnected (cold solder joint). The switch was fine. But I do wonder why the shooter lane switch is necessary for the game to know if the ball made it out of the trough.....What are the trough switches for then? Isn't the trough supposed to be the arbiter of how many balls are in play? So proper logic would be: 1) trough kicks ball out....2) shooter lane switch not triggered....3) trough optos/switches show 3 balls....4) shooter lane auto-shoots if the game situation calls for it.....5) No activity for [x] seconds....6) Trigger ball search....7) After [x] ball searches, kick out a chase ball. My point is the game shouldn't shit the bed over a bad shooter lane switch but the way you're describing it, it does....

Those caution tape flipper/scoop decals look pretty cool. Is that a kit from somewhere?

The logic is set up the way it is to make the game as reliable as I could get it. I put a ton of thought and work into it and had to make critical decisions and sacrifices at many points to try and account for as many random events as possible. Taking out the logic for the shooter switch verification opens up more issues than it causes. It is rare that the switch will die, but when it does, it is very obvious what is happening and easy to replace. The Service Mode also has an error report that shows the 2 types of trough errors (jam opto issue and shooter lane switch issue).
--Scott

Having an issue that will happen randomly during play. It will award a locked ball for no reason. Usually happens after I lock one ball, then the game loads the next ball into shooter lane, while simultaneously awarding me another lock and sometimes starting multiball with only 1 ball locked. After this happens and you drain, the ball search will go off for about 30 seconds Raising and lowering just the 3 danesi lock targets. I’m guessing something is wrong with the opto in the danesi lock area? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I do have video as well if need be.

You would have to go into switch test to see how the optos are behaving. That's where I would start.

Optos for sure. You should consider swapping the connectors on the opto harnesses with Trifercon crimp terminals and housings.

I did a little post about it here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/total-nuclear-annihilation-cluball-welcome/page/134#post-5627687

--Scott

Who’s had the guts to install lightning flippers on their TNA??

Never thought of that!

Just have 4 zirconia balls, <6.5deg, most all coil power settings @ minimum.

Only auto-drops, trough kickout, one main sling, and one core sling; not set to the minimum possible setting.

It's amazing how much such simple changes/adjustments dramatically change a game. Lightning bats, for tourneys, On the List!

I may try it. I put them on ACNC and it has made for quite a ride!

Replacement ball save LED is wonky too. >

This is a brand new replacement upgrade that started doing the same exact thing the original ball save LED did.

How can I fix this?

https://vimeo.com/user119214361/review/441127112/1e49eacfc3

Today I had my second WPC style reset on TNA. Screen goes blank, after a while displays "Attention, no signal" and then starts to reboot.
Is that a common problem on these machines? On WPC I would know where to look, but what do I look for on these machines?

This one I think I recall an issue someone had some pages back, around first instalation posts for the RGB ball save timer upgrade. An RGB seemed crook, but turned out after some changing LEDs that it was the ribbon connection at the PF board.

Check the cables going to the lcd , if those are loose the game can reset .

In your scenario, if any of the trough switches aren’t working, you’re still headed for the same destination: Fucked. So you’ve still got a game brought down by a switch.

Anytime you have to assume where a ball went without being able to verify where the ball went, you’re gonna have a bad time.

Can you say which cables you´re referring to? I checked all the visible ones and they seemed pretty solid.

Hi guys,
Has anyone pimped his TNA with anodized lock nuts?
How does it look like, and wich color did you choose?

Thanx!

Inquiring minds want to know. I’d like to see pics also.

I like silver anodized best!

I respectfully disagree. As someone who does this for a living - programming AI to handle and recover from error conditions, the trough having multiple switches is an advantage, not a weakness. In the trough, every ball passes by every switch. So by merely counting switch clicks in the trough, the CPU can calculate how many balls are actually in the trough. Only if the last switch in the trough is faulty does this introduce a problem. Even then, the game can eventually figure it out by monitoring outlane drains, and realizing the ball is draining but the trough is not seeing it. Is it perfect? No. Does it keep the game earning? Yup.

This isn't novel. Basic AI has been in pinball for decades. From TAF monitoring and adjusting Thing Flips, to MM not triggering Merlin if it hits a pop-bumper within x seconds, to the use of and recovery of chase balls when a ball gets stuck, there are many avenues to avoid problems using software. My guess is that this is simply more work than a designer wants to program for, and that's fine.