In at #85! Mine is destined for location/league play as well.

All they've said is "before the end of the year", though Charlie mentioned that we may be pleasantly surprised on the stream last night.

Wild speculation time:

I predict they start manufacturing TNA in early Sept. and the that the first 50 are shipped at Expo in mid October.

...with the glass on!

So what's the deal with the mirror blades that Scott had on his machine at Expo? Are these being offered to us common folk?

Awesome! I wonder if it will make the flash rate on the active player's score display faster, and maybe also make the GI lights pulsate when the ball is waiting for the player in the trough... Just sayin'.

I'm just going off the videos I've seen, once I receive my game (#85 baby!) I'll feel it out in person.

Maybe the flash rate on the score could match the player's pulse! That would be amazing.

This game was born for competition! Mine will be hitting our restaurant/bar location where we host our league nights and occasional tournaments right after my xmas break (assuming I get it before then).

I'm going to goop my "electric pink golden sac rac" to the pf glass so it will always be there.

It should also be in the lineup for the Alberta Provincial Pinball Championships tournament in late January.

I’m ready to order my shaker etc. and ship to Spooky but want to include the new speaker grill kit also.

Any idea when those will be available?

I agree. Gives you another reason to keep striving for later reactors. Better bet is to setup the game easier if you are never able to progress to later reactors.

Reminds me of playing endless hours of Tunnels of Doom back in the day (early graphical role-playing game for the TI 99 4/A) when we'd all get so excited when the color scheme would change when a deeper lever of the dungeon was reached. ...it's the simple things.

That's the beauty of it, nobody really knows for sure because nobody's been all the way there yet!

It's all just rumour and mystery. Love it!

PS> For the record, I predict that if you blow the 9th reactor TNA will overload the shaker, subwoofer, and LEDs in an awesome explosion of lights/sound/motion that totally destroys the game but is so incredible that it's totally worth it! Game over man, game over.

I prefer the term "classic".

I love knockers!

I hope it knocks 3 times when you put up a GC score! Old school!

...or remove the fan and MELT IT DOWN!

Just to confirm, if you attach the legs with all casters fully in (lowest setting), then the game should be at 6.5 degrees based on the shape of the cabinet alone, which is also the recommended playfield angle?

Folks with games in hand - does the PF have Scott's signature on it somewhere under the clear?

I had requested this multiple times and the recent interview with Scott on the Head 2 Head Pinball Podcast kind of made it sound like it might be there, but wasn't conclusive.

That's a real bummer Scott! It seems to me that having you live in a small shipping container outside the Spooky factory so you could sign playfields as they come in would have been a reasonable solution.

Ah well, no biggie. You've done enough sir! Don't worry about it at all.

(...my game is #85, just sayin')

Hey, my request was clean and respectful!

...but, you know, if my cabinet happened to have a little swatch of bedsheet stapled to the inside, well... (#NoHomo)

My sentiments exactly, but in all things we must go a step too far before we realize it was fine without it. Interested to see how it turns out though.

I do think a plasma-cap for the pop bumper would be perfect on this game, only lights when the reactor is started.

I’m a partial convert, but really depends on the game and the color and brightness of the light bars.

On many games it really makes the otherwise obscured pf art and plastics pop, while also reducing the apparent brightness of the inserts to a more tolerable level. Overall the effect is similar to old school incandescent lighting where the GI and the inserts were much more in balance in terms of relative brightness. Since the advent of led lighting it’s pretty common for the inserts to be distractingly bright enough to affect gameplay, which is what flashers are for.

I'm semi-permanently mounting my hot pink rack on my TNA that is going on location to the bottom rightish edge of the PF glass using this...

goop (resized).jpg

Like all "awards" shows, it's all about stirring up some drama. Fun for some people to root for your favorites, etc.

I could care less and won't be watching, but I hear people like to watch football too.

I'm going to convert mine into a homebrew Dolly Parton pin!
...the circle is complete!

Oh no! You can't go messing with the music man! I demand the original cut be an option in the settings!

About to put mine out on location and am wondering what settings you're using for the flipper strength, slingshots, etc.?

I'm going to put some protection in the shooter land and in front of the left scoop kickout as well. I noticed the "new playfield" dimpling is pretty intense in front of that scoop.

I'm a little worried about the all the connectors used in this game, combined with the intense/sustained shaker motor activity (and sub, for that matter). Seems like connectors working lose could become a real problem (hope not). Do you have a shaker in your machine, and if so did you dial it down in intensity to perserve the game?

...underwhelmed?!? Didn't you see that giant rocket fly over your head putting that shiny sports car in to orbit when you blew reactor 9?? What more do you want man??!

Ahem. I assume you meant to type "awesome shaker" and just flubbed it up a bit.

Yeah, think I'll disable the shaker on location and just turn it on for league nights and tournaments.

I've reduced my slings to '6', and the trough kickout to "20". Seems to work fine without banging the ball through the side of the wood on the shooter lane as much. Tried lowering the main flippers but they felt pretty soggy below the default "30". I was surprised to see these are using the same FL-11629 coils as my STTNG used. Of course, STTNG was shooting the ball across a steeper widebody PF and up steep ramps.

...I assume Scott's SW is freq-modulating these down a lot from full power though or those standups would be pulverized in no time.

It's really well integrated in this game. Super spinner is awesome as is the whole reactor-is-critical mode.
I will try it with the shaker disabled and report back, I could see the big bass being almost enough as well, depending.

Okay, spent a few hours this afternoon getting TNA ready for the street. Targets are all adjusted super sensitive, decals applied, etc.
I futzed with the monitor settings to try to get it to have some improved contrast / less backlighting when viewed while playing (looks good if you crouch down to the glass level). Then, buttoned it all up and suddenly had no sound whatsoever.

Thought, that was weird, maybe I bumped a cable while I was pressing the monitor buttons or something. Then I realized, hey, the audio cable DOES run through the monitor for some reason. So finally figured out that if your press the left/right buttons on the back of the monitor it changes the (pre-amp?) volume and that can make a dramatic difference in the volume of the overall system.

So, now I have some questions/observations...

- I find it difficult to find a setup where the door vol. button provide much range in volume, generally it's either nice and quiet at 1, 2, 3 but then doesn't really pop at 8, etc, OR it's really loud at 5 and insanely loud at 8, etc.
- What levels should I be using on the monitor volume and the amplifier speaker volume, roughly speaking, in order to provide the widest possible range of volume selection using the door buttons while preserving the best overall audio quality?
- I find that the giant sub is so overwhelming that I have to adjust it's volume literally about 10-15 degress up from zero. That provides a nice low-end thump without becoming too boomy. Is that okay/expected?

How does this complex (and totally freakin' amazing) audio system work, anyway??

I think I settled on about 30 brightness and 100 contrast. Still bugs me though, I'm wired that way. I even contemplated using some nylon spacers to tilt the monitor back inside the cabinet to improve the PQ but I don't think that would do it based on the viewing angles. I also noticed that game is upscaling all of its content from some lower resolution, not sure if this is for HW performance reasons or trying to give it a more chunky lower-res appearance.

Just nitpicking here, I always felt that the LCD was extraneous anyway, though it's nice to have in diagnostics. The overall package is incredible.

The way the sound pushes right through you and the integration with the RGB lighting, sub and the shaker makes this easily the most immersive experience in pinball. Seriously, this is on a whole other level - I don't even want to look at other games right now. Maybe I can put Scott's music on my Metallica so I'll want to play it again? Good thing this one is going on location in a week or I might never play my other games again.

This game is the work of a friggin' genius. The music is incredible and sticks in your head, becomes the soundtrack to your life.

Thanks for the quick reply Scott!

I went through the process you suggest (left my monitor vol. at 11 though, for obvious reasons ), and I can pretty much leave the amp at full volume now without detectable distortion. I dropped it back a bit though to increase the overall range of vol. avail on the door buttons (more lower vol. variability at the slight expense of extreme vol. at the top end).
Amazing sound on this game!

Monitor settings are now at 25 brightness and 100 contrast, with the Gamma=On.

I did a little experiment tilting the screen and it looks like a 1.5" spacer on the top screw holes would provide enough angle to the screen to make the gamma perfect for players of my height, anyway. You'd also need to use a short spacer on the bottom and cut it to angle to avoid bending the screen mounts, and some additional material to block light leakage from inside the cabinet on all sides, etc. Might be something I pursue in the future if the game comes home into my collection. Don't want to void the warranty when it's going on location.

TheNoTrashCougar I believe I may have just found a uniquely Canadian bug in the SW.

Trying to setup the coins so left is $1 (Cdn "Loonie"), and the right is $2 (Cdn "Toonie").

Coins per Credit: 1
Left coin value: 1
Right coin value: 2

But it only gives one credit when I put either the left side $1 coin in (correct), or the right side $2 coin in (should be 2 credits).
I ran the switch test (after muttering something about "inspected by Charlie" lol) but they both register as unique switches as they should (sorry Charlie!).

Be great if this could be fixed soon as this machine will be on location next weekend and $2 coins are very common here.

No need, he works from home.

...besides, you can have a "TNA break" in far less time time than it takes a pack-a-day smoker to finish a cigarette.

After playing this game for a week now I'm inclined to disagree. I think a tournament mode makes sense for things like ensuring all players receive the same non-contextual Mystery awards in the same order.

Getting to steal a previous player's locked balls is certainly nice, but locking balls is not usually that difficult if you are careful. It certainly doesn't make up for one player receiving "Max Bonus Multipliers" in mystery when the others do not. Plus, if you know what the next mystery award is ahead of time you might decide to make collecting that a priority vs something else (changes your strategy). But the game also has contextual mystery aways like giving you another tilt warning if you are down one (or is it all)?

On the surface, I might say that tournament mode could have the mystery awards follow the same order everytime, minus any contextual awards. That way everyone knows in advance the order and can alter their strategy accordingly.

Maybe TheNoTrashCougar can comment further though, might not be that simple in this game.

Single player is plenty exhilarating on its own. One more game, one more game, one more game!
But multiplayer should be amazing.

It's interesting as you would *think* being able to know what targets are going to be required to kill the next reactor might offer some kind of advantage vs. not, but in reality other variables would play a larger role in deciding your strategy. Basically, you always want to be in multiball when you kill the reactor for the 3X (or 4X) multiplier anyway, but if you are ball 3, player 4 and don't need that many pts, it might not be worth setting up a multiball for it vs. sniping with one ball in play, etc.

I do find that the "multiball all the time" mantra I've heard isn't really the best approach for me. I have a really hard time hitting the Start Reactor scoop with 3 balls in play, and and even harder time shooting the outer loops to get to the top with 3. There's always a ball launching from ball save that gets in your way and it's way too chaotic. I prefer to setup the reactor with 1 or 2 balls running, then start 3 ball multiball and finish it off. I'm guessing that will be a hallmark of an advanced player, one who can execute all the required shots with 3 balls in play. I'm looking forward to seeing Elwin play this thing. The "Elwin pose" is pretty useless for me as there's always a ball smashing down onto your nicely trapped ones messing things up.

A whole new set of skills at play here - it helps to have the reaction time of a heavily caffineated squirrel! So friggin' great!

EDIT> I just realized reading this that I should let the multiball balls drain intentionally when trying to get the left scoop or criticalize the reactor and use a fast skill shot plunge on the ball saves to get there.

I prefer that, it raises the intensity a bit knowing how close you came to getting "plunged".

Anyone know if TNA uses any fuses, and if so, what types/sizes?

Yeah it's pretty intense. My cat loves to sit on the glass and chase the ball around while I play and he's fine with the critical reactor mode but anytime I blow a reactor he jumps off the game. Always comes back for more though. Classic!

TNA #85 on location at the Atlantic Trap & Gill in Calgary, Alberta!

As promised I mounted a hot pink Golden Sac Rack onto the PF glass using some Goop!

Thanks again to Scott and Spooky Pinball for making this amazingly fun game!

IMG_3225 (resized).JPGGot yer Sac Rack?

My lower flipper springs have both broke at the plate now, the left one twice. It’s a major PIA when the location is 35min. away.

I have replacement Wms ones I can put on but wondering if I need to drill the plate hole bigger and file it smooth?

...and while you're at it add a nice center ramp that smoothly returns the ball to the right flipper. NOT!!!

Stick to your guns Scott! Don’t even think about making lock stealing optional. If some wussies are too scared of it let them pick other games. I look forward to picking TNA and destroying them as they hunker in their little balls of lock stealing fear!!

...embrace the lock stealing and it shall set you free.

That's just cruel and incredibly awesome if true!

That's what I've been saying all along!

I do realize though, that some people would look at it sideways if it didn't have a screen in the middle, because apparently, that's "pinball" now...

That's right, I'm THAT guy... "get off my lawn with your fancy movie clips and org-chart rulesets!"

You'd have to make one yourself. Don't see how it could hurt anything.

My PF is dimpling like crazy. I know, I know, all NIB games do this, eventually it won't be as noticeable, etc. etc.
I think the dark coloring mid-playfield highlights it a bit as well.

Can anyone confirm if the 1.10.02 version is printed on the Software info on the LCD? I installed it but it only says 1.10, which doesn't seem right.

It depends on which reactor you are on. Reactor 1 both will be lit when the reactor is started. Not sure if it's reactor 2 or 3 only one will be lit at a time and alternates based on bumper and sling hits I think.

But you have to have the reactor started for them to block the ball at the top to dump it into the reactor.

On behalf of the staff at the restaurant/bar location where my TNA is at, I'd like to suggest perhaps a configuration to replace the giant bass drops at ball end with a really cool bonus meltdown sequence (still fast, but awesome) that might not be heard throughout the entire building due to the low frequencies.

The ball drops are great but everytime someone loses a ball you can hear it anywhere in the building, which is pretty disruptive in a publc venue that isn't just a barcade.

Maybe. Really it’s only the bass drops that are noticeable away from the game, plus they are so frequent and frankly, get rather tiresome. I said make it optional, geez.

I could detune the bass but the rest of the sound is ruined.

Look, I totally get the negative gut reactions to my suggestion, but hear me out a bit.

First, I'm not some lightweight who doesn't like loud games/music. I love loud and proud games. All the games in my personal collection have powered subs on them, even the SS classics. I sound-proofed my basement rec room for the express purpose of playing pinball loudly when the kids were asleep. One of main things I love about TNA is how the sound package sucks you in to the intensity of the experience.

But looking at this from an operator's perspective ONLY:

Stuff that is freaking awesome at home during occasional play is not always a good idea with near continuous play in a public space.

My location is an old 1970's theatre building converted to a large restaurant/bar. There are 10 games in a back room. Volume levels on the games are high because it is a group of local collectors and competitive players putting our own games out there so they are dialed in, clean, and fun to play. The place has sports on during the day/evening, on weekends there are live bands on the stage. So it's not some super quiet place where any reasonable volume would be too loud. The pinballs are loud, league nights are like attending a rock concert. Normally, the pinballs are barely noticeable in the main room, more of a background din off in the distance. And then TNA came to town.

The fact of the matter is that you can't isolate low frequencies, they travel far and wide. The most noticeable low frequencies in TNA are the bass drops after a ball drains. Even that would be fine except they are going off every 30-50 seconds, all day long (well hopefully). You can hear them anywhere in the building, distinctly.

As much as I like the bass drops when I'm playing, I wouldn't fault anyone for not wanting to be subjected to it continuously all day long. So what to do?

Most operators would lower the game volume low enough so it's not a problem, which will destroy the intensity of the game experience for the players. I'm more of a purist and that doesn't sit right with me at all. Option B is to gut the sub settings/setup so the sound is tinny and thin. Also not doing the game credit. Ultimately both of these options will reduce player enjoyment and end up reducing income on the game, which is clearly bad for the operator and Spooky.

So my suggestion is simply that if an ALTERNATIVE, COMPLETELY OPTIONAL ball-end sequence was available that avoided the low-frequencies, in order to make it more appropriate for continuous play in a public space, the game would be better accepted at more locations and could still be setup to provide the best audio experience to players.

Don't we all want more pinball, and especially TNA, on location? Setup so you can enjoy the sound package?

Scott is a creative genius IMHO, I'm sure he could come up with something truly amazing.

Again, just a suggestion, purely from an operator's perspective.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far. Go ahead, shoot the messenger...

Seems like a good idea, but my game came with the sub levels completely mis-adjusted though. Not sure if they just got bumped or something after the factory set them up. I've got a fair amount of experience dialing in audio equipment so wasn't a big deal for me to tune mine once I figured out the monitor also had volume controls that were important in the process. It's also good to be able to adjust things for your environment, game in a corner, etc.

Ditto for me, your list of modern Stern's matches those I'd be interested in also.

I've gotten less into longer-playing mode-based games and far more into faster playing games that are challenging and provide a specific "experience". By that generally I mean "intense" as in TNA, Flash Gordon, or Metallica. Other games, like Star Gazer are more "zen" to play and provide a nice change of pace. For me it's about the shots and flipper skills and then the theme/art/sound package applied on top. Generally prefer the older classic theme's where a lot is left to the imagination. Really, it just has to look and sound good. Making easy shots so I can watch the next video segment from a movie I wouldn't pay to see twice has no appeal.

It's easy to over-analyze things (and part of the fun) especially when deciding on a game for new or small collection. But I agree with Aurich, it's certainly not difficult to sell a game and bring in another in today's pinball market if you grow tired of one.

I'd agree. I think casual players will have some brutally short ball times until/if they can velocitize their reaction times to what the game demands. However, more experienced players that are familiar with the game's ball save mechanics and are "warmed up" to play defensively can have some decent ball times for sure.

However, even with longer ball times the intensity level never lets up, which is a defining characteristic for this game and what makes it so fun.

Here are my audits from approx. 1 week of play on location incl. during league nights with likely a lot of league players on it (sw v1.1.0):

Avg Ball Time: '0:56'
Avg Game Time: '2:50'
Avg Score: '384,050'

Not particularily short by any means.

Last week I put up 1.5m on the one warm-up game I played before league started, and 40K during my league match (probably my lowest score ever). You have to be "loose" to play this game well. If you are "behind the ball" even the slightest bit certain doom awaits!

I'd go with the Speaker light kit that should be available soon before the lighted side-blades. The speaker lights will be fully integrated into the game lighting as well.

2nd this. Is co-op mode already in 1.1.02 code? I didn't see anything like an announcement. Sometimes it's like there's a whole other half of a conversation happening somewhere else around here.

What's the deal with Co-op mode?

Thanks for the explanation. So only available to inside beta testers currently.

That does sound fun, and 2nd the idea of 2, 2 player teams vs. mode. Be a great fun-tournament entry!

Seeing as how Cointaker would like $30USD to ship me 1 of those to Canada, can anyone confirm which base of this bulb would work with TNA?

https://www.amazon.com/iBrightstar-Newest-Bright-Projector-replacement/dp/B0739RCR3J/ref=pd_sim_263_2

As long as all my suggestions make the cut Scott, you're golden.

EDIT: Hmm, I noticed that snazzy new I\m/ game has a really cool bonus meltdown. Just sayin'

I’ve seen a simular issue on my game with the right scoop. It was always weak and the ball would only dribble out of it, had one report of it not working at all. I checked the wires on the scoop kickout and they are fine. I cranked the coil power for the right scoop up to 32 and it comes out now but still not as fast as the left one at a much lower power setting.

Suggestions?

The switches on the slings tend to get mashed together over time. Remove the plastics and adjust them so they have a slight gap when the rubber is one but the ball isn’t hitting them.

You can use the switch test in diagnostics to see them firing as well.

Suggest you contact [email protected], they’ll get you sorted out.

My TNA is at the location our league plays at, running stock settings in terms of difficulty and ball saves, etc. and the stats have always been pretty consistent:

Avg. Ball Time: 50s
Avg. Game Time: 2:32
Avg. Score: 306,816

These seem pretty reasonable to me, though the trouble with averages is that they often hide interesting truths. In this case, likely the good league guys are doing substantially better than this and joe public is getting creamed. Though nobody has gotten further than reactor 4. Maybe I should be making the reactors easier?

How many $ is the kit?

So I went to adjust an occasionally non-registering trough switch last night and ended up buggering up all 3 trough switches to the point where either the ball rests on top of the switch wheel thingy off the trough itself (and doesn't close the switch), or rests normally but still doesn't close the switch. I think I might have bent the switch blades up and they ended up bending at the mounting point, so now I can't get them low enough over the "button" to depress it via leverage on the blade. It's not clear how I can bend them back at that point since the blades themselves cannot extend into the switch housing.

Very frustrating and I feel like a fool.

Can someone post a picture of their working trough switches so I can get an idea of what the correct switch blade shape/angle looks like?

So upon review the trough “ball detect switch” blades are clearly supposed to be completely straight. However, it seems like the model Spooky is using has a design flaw or something. I ended up replacing mine with Williams ones, which worked perfectly and I suspect will continue to do so. (https://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=384)

The Spooky/Stern ones have the blade end bent and embedded flush into the switch body and the blade needs to compress a hard rubber “ball” to close the switch. It seems quite difficult to do so, in my case the blades were simply bending around the ball as there really is no space for the blade to pivot down onto the ball.
8D4D026D-FA70-4D10-A03F-4D771B9CC30F (resized).jpeg

The Williams ones mount the blade on a raised section on 2 pivot points over a typical plastic microswitch peg and they easily close due to the increased leverage and lighter resistance in the switch.
22F30200-E6F9-4215-97C9-86CACB71940E (resized).jpeg

So if your trough switches start acting up...

Yeah I probably did all that trying to get them to work again.

I had at least one that went out of adjustment about 5 weeks ago that I bent up a notch and it fixed it. Then another this week and I messed them all up trying to sort it out. However, I’ve never had to adjust trough switches before (well on BK but those are blade switches), and after futzing with these I don’t think they are as reliable as the Williams ones. It takes too much force to close the switch IMHO, so the blade has to be absolutely perfect to be reliable.

Maybe I just had a bad switch and these normally are pretty reliable, but for my $ I’ll take the Williams ones anyday. Ironically, they are also slightly less expensive on the PBL site.

TheNoTrashCougar thanks for posting that pic.

Did you keep the speaker mesh material on?

I’m going to I think it will help tone down the light brightness and help preserve the apparent brightness of the screen while hopefully obscuring the led strips a bit.

Oh right. Anyway to mount it under the new faceplate on the front?

Press and hold the Start button when you want to start a game and it will enter Coop mode. Press and hold again to enter vs. mode.

I do think this feature would be a lot more discoverable on location if there was a menu on the lcd when you started a game. We have flipper buttons to navigate with, why not use the lcd to clearly show all the gameplay options?

On location people aren’t willing to risk paid credits messing around with the start button.

I was thinking if you press the start button with more than a single credit in it could present a menu where you pick the game mode before the game starts at all. Basically 3 modes to pick from and they could rotate through the options using flipper buttons to change the selection, then press Start again to pick the game mode. Only then does the game cue up, ball enter the shooter lane, etc.

Winner! winner! Chicken dinner!

Go to service-> settings->machine(standard)->Flipper hold boost and turn that up to 3.

On my machine this solved the problem and was originally suggested to my by @thenotrashcougar.

You're not wrong, but it's something many people have noticed, myself included, and it bothers some more than others. I have noticed that the stock screen looks pretty good from off angles (sides, further back), it really suffers the most from the playing position, and the taller you are the worse the contrast gets.

I wonder if the stock monitor could be mounted upside down and if that would improve things? Sometimes these LCDs will have a better viewing angle in one vertical axis vs. another.

You did a nice job integrating them with the built-in lightshow. Looks poppin’!

Good one!

...and it's modelled after classic System 11 games with simple ramps and interesting playfield layouts.

Yep. Left over from the whitewood. Someone should mod their game and add them back in...

My TNA had the bass level set way too high out of the box too. Realistically it would need to be adjusted based on the room conditions as well (in a corner, concrete floor vs carpet, etc.). It's a process to fully balance all the settings but a simple fix is to careful turn down (counter-clockwise) the leftmost knob on the amplifier. The amp is mounted sideways to the bottom of the cab between the sub chamber and the coin box, right side.

The knob in question is the closest one to the coin door. Turn that down and adjust to your liking. Try not to mess with the other knobs if you can. Should solve your blown out bass issue.

6.7 or 6.8 I think. On location.

Deciding when to use your earned ball saves is a huge part of the strategy on this game.

I like to complete the grid in single ball with ball save running (unless I’m already in multiball from the last reactor). I find it more efficient to qualify, start, and even overload the reactor in single ball and use multiball for blowing the reactor for max value and then get as far as I can into the next one with it..

I did this once too. Wasn't hard to do at all. Scary as hell. Luckily nothing seemed to break.

The PF on TNA has bearings mounted to make sliding it in and out easier, but this also allows you to build up some momentum easily and run it right off the end of the rails. It's especially easy to do if you just came from raising a heavy 90's Williams PF like say STTNG where it takes some force to lock the PF into position.

Spooky should consider increasing the length of the "stops" at the end of the PF guides to prevent this.

This is the same fix I was thinking of when I first got my game. Can you post pics of your game with this mod?

If you're an adult male who doesn't own a set of Torx (tm) bits then what kind of man are you, really?

Yep. Same thing happened to mine. Replaced the cable but didn’t fix it. Turns out the audio input jack on the amp mounted next to the shaker on the bottom of the cabinet had a cold solder joint from all the movement.

I was able to remove the amp (bit of a PIA to reach all the screws, had to also remove the sub box cover) and disassemble it to resolder the input jack. Re-assembly was tricky as there is an internal heat sink that needs to be held to get the screw through it.

This solved my problem. You could also just replace the amp they are not very expensive.

One tip I would suggest is to add a cable guide to the audio cable in front of the amp to make sure the cable is always going straight into the jack and that there is no side-to-side pressure from an angled cable on the jack itself. Also make sure the audio cable in the head isn’t applying angled pressure on the jack on the back of the display. The cable is heavy and the audio jack isn’t built to hold that kind of tension.

Make sure the slingshot switches are sensitive. A flat slingshot response can make a huge difference in how difficult this game is. If the ball is ever hitting or rolling down the slingshot rubber and it’s not firing you just put training wheels on your game.

As for sw adjustments I have reduced the ballsaver timers for high level competitive play as well. Maybe 8 secs instead of 15 (not sure going from memory).

Here’s my scoop after approx. 5000 plays. I do have some of those static cling laminating sheets on the pf around the scoop ( you can see it around the scoop edge ).
88B36B84-A4D1-4B50-AD54-4EC4FBB0749F (resized).jpeg
All in so far my game has held up pretty well after a bit of a rough start.

Issues so far:

- flipper return springs failed after first week. Replaced.
- one bad pf led out if box. Spooky sent replacement.
- backbox gi led didn’t work out of the box. Spooky sent replacement.
- audio input port on amp had cold solder joint - resoldered
- trough ball detect switches quit working reliably got too stiff. Replaced with WMS style micro switch variant.
- backbox gi led faded badly after about 6 months of daily 12 hour use and basically quit working. I replaced with my own led strips.
- slingshot protector and plastic both broke.
- tore a wire off the auto plunger cool twice when it snagged on the manual plunger when lifting the pf. Zip tied it out if the way.
- regular switch adjustments to keep things tight and mean.

Agree. I wonder what's changed in the PF manufacturing process?

I'm no expert but I'd expect the clear-coat to give a bit and not for the paint to release from the wood like that so completely. Or is it a more gradual process where the clear is chipped away and then the paint after it's let unprotected? Almost like the posts aren't secured tight enough to prevent movement from occurring.

My game has been on location since February and the only protection I added was laying down pieces of Avery Self Adhesive Laminating Sheets over high impact area, such as in front of the slings, pop bumper, around the scoop, outhole, and shooter lane. This stuff is a fantastic alternative to Mylar IMHO because it is so easy to work with. You can lay it down and take it off with no glue residue being left on the playfield, it is virtually invisible once applied cleanly, and it's dirt cheap as well. When it gets dirty you just replace it with fresh, though I haven't even had to do that on my game yet.

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/avery-self-adhesive-laminating-sheets/6000016953590

This will NOT protect the edges of the scoop hole however and I don't think a metal protector would work well there as it would likely make the scoop shot even more difficult to make. Ideally game designers would enlarge the openings for these types of shots such that a factory installed metal protector would not also reduce the size of the opening (see the SIM card shot on Dialed In).

Did they explain what the problem was and their solution?

Oh God, here we go. Dimpling is normal and will happen on any game. It is more noticeable on new games because of the very clear/shiny and thick clear-coats used these days. A few dimples on a new game will really stand out and may even be alarming to look at. However, in all cases, over time and with enough plays the dimples will accumlate and essentially "flatten" the playfield and will become much less noticeable. If your HUO game is never played all that much the dimples may always be more noticeable.

There are controversial opinions that certain eras of PF or manufacturers playfields may be more susceptible to playfield dimpling than others, but none of this has been proven in any substantive sense. Modern games with shiny playfields and bright LED lighting show the dimples more than in the past. Games that tend to trigger airballs will dimple more than ones that don't etc.

My TNA has dimpled heavily. I have a year old Metallica that was on location that looks like a 90s wms game already, mostly flat not a lot of noticeable dimples per se anymore.

I did the same thing once. They need to add a better stop at the end of the rail, ala Homepin's setup for this (See the large wooden "hook" at the end of the rail inside the cabinet).

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That looks fine, but I agree I'd be a little concerned about the overall longevity of the PF finish due to this issue.

I had a MET Pro from back in the GB fiasco days that chipped like crazy in the first 100 games. Ended up selling it and buying a buddy's older one that had a PF like a tank.

You just never know what you're going to get NIB honestly, doesn't seem to matter from whom either. The best you can hope for is a manufacturer/distributor that will back their products sufficiently if there is a problem.

So far Spooky seems to be on top of it.

My game #87 has been on location most of its life and has no issues around the posts, no mylar or anything else. I do check that the posts are snug though as I can see if a post was a bit loose the ball hitting it would cause the post edge to chip away at the finish.

Having said that, if it will make you feel better there should be no harm in adding these (that we know of, anyway).

I've had issues with strange tilt behaviours on my TNA. Had the tilt bob installed upside down for awhile and that actually helped I think. Been meaning to add the ear plug but haven't yet.

I almost wonder if there's something about the P3 boards that make reacting to tilt switches more difficult? I noticed that the Houdini at our location often exhibits similar strange "ghost" tilts long after a tilt warning occurs.

It looks great! ...but how does it sound?

Oooh, fancy new website URL!

Though I must say that it seems like this game specific support stuff should be hosted on Spooky's website (www.spooky.com). But it appears to be a static webpage from approx. 1997

I guess they lack an appropriate technical resource to keep their site current.

Hell ya! He can use mine.

EDIT>> On second thought, it would have to be the whitewood.

I've swapped games around and now have my TNA off route and am in process of shopping it out and will be adding it to my home collection finally.

If folks are interested I can post some pics of how things looked after approx. 5-6K plays on route.

EDIT>>. Nevermind. I found that Green labelled cab switch plug was down inside the cable wrap going into the head. Reconnected and it’s all good now.

—————-

I just finished my post-route shop job and went to enter the service menu and my coin door buttons are not working. Of course everything was working fine before I started it.

I vaccumed out the backbox and cabinet along the way so possible I jostled some wires.

Game boots fine, has 1 credit on it, won't start a game either via the Start button (which is flashing).

I checked all the plugs on the boards in the backbox and they seem fine.

All the board LEDs back there are glowing red, but I noticed the little daughter board that the button wires run to below the left flipper button in the cabinet the LED glows green. Is red = good for the backbox boards?

Any suggestions before I email support?

Nooooo thanks! I get enough of that kind of talk for the Mrs. at home.