Recieved email that #143 has shipped!

Hey guys we were doing some bug testing on the new uodate and decided to film it for ya! Found a couple during that we will patch up tomorrow and be releasing soon! Some big announcements in heren!

Watching now, super stoked for the progress guys this looks great.

Really diggin how hands on you guys have been and how you interact with the community.

Spooky Team:
Even though your flipper buttons smell like sardines, the new full screen clips look great.
You mentioned here and in the video that you'll continue to address UI concerns (like text legibility & overlay).
For what it's worth, my minor gripe lies with the white text on light background (Select Mode) and the various small red text that appears within the smaller video window.
Besides this addressable concern, it's evident that progress is being made.
Thank you for listening and pivoting! Please keep it up.
#fishyfingers

I'm going to be working on all of that. I'd like to get a much more uniform look to the text. There will be larger popups in English and Japanese for the things like Battle Start, Jackpots, Extra Balls, Tilt Warnings, etc. Then the smaller text will be designed to look like subtitles, that will mostly be the directional text that tell you what you need to do next. While I'm excited for the progress that has been made, it's nowhere near final. As we mentioned on the stream there is a new user interface in the works. Because of that I felt it was more appropriate to focus most of my efforts in other areas for this update, since a new UI will likely mean reworking a lot of the text anyway. Good things are coming.

Thanks for the new footage Team Spooky!

You will never please everyone, no matter what. I personally like the cool display surrounds made up of the Matt Frank art. Going from that, to full screen, then back looks choppy to me.

I would like to see the progress be saved on modes that are not completed. I don’t know how many times I have failed to hit the scoop and eventually drained.

I know a one of the top things on bugs list is modes will be considered complete when the mode shots are completed. You won't have to hit the scoop to finish but instead it will spawn a finishing hurry up!

It’s more of a classic DMD style. On a DMD game, when you hit a shot, you get a “full screen” clip that lets the player know the shot did something cool. When everything is in the small dashboard window, it’s hard to tell what’s a looping “in the mode” video & what clips tell you that you did something. Going full screen instantly tells you that you just did something…just watching it in Spooky’s video I can tell it’s way more satisfying this way.

That’s a good idea.

Make the timer a little slower than ACNC though!

rd

Really like the way you were explaining things in the stream as the game was being played. Good job!

Thanks.

I know I haven't played all the way through every single mode, so I may be missing something, but is there a reason why the Baltan holes (lock scoops), 180 ramp to middle playfield, and far right (drop target) shot aren't used in the battles? Having said that- the battle modes have great rules and variety. This game has a ton of shots and I was just curious if it was intentional to not utilize those ones in the battles.

I've been meaning to do a proper review for a long time, but then Rarehero came along and pretty much matched my thoughts, so that saved me some work. If RGP memory serves me well, we've been in the hobby for a similar amount of time, and have a lot of similar opinions. It's fascinating to think back to those ~2008 days; I also remember that sentiment that Bally/Williams was far and away the gold standard, that there were a few Data East games that weren't considered garbage, and that Stern being in business was nice consolation in the meantime. The analogy that UM isn't designed to shoot silky smooth like i.e Spiderman, but a little "weirder" and more unpredictable (like some cult-favorite DE or Gottlieb games from the era) helped me categorize how I feel about this game's shots. To be clear- it shoots great.

[Sidebar: I rewatched "Tilt" (The P2K documentary) a few weeks ago, and it's amazing how that story ends with a very grim outlook for pinball, and people like George Gomez being totally out of the industry and Pat Lawlor just starting to do a little contract work. We were just hoping for pinball to stay alive. And now we've got more companies and new games than we can keep track of, and in many cases, the games are better than ever.]

Flashback aside, a few other current UM thoughts:

- The Kaiju battles are *really* good. I love the variety of shots and creative goals. I was just playing one (can't remember which monster) and I was amazed how many "stages" the battle went through. The ongoing progression reminded me of LOTR, which has some of my favorite mode rules.

- I really like *idea* of the current UI (i.e. the old fashioned computer look, the 'monitor' and other 'meters' etc.), I think it's clever and I didn't really mind the smaller clips. BUT- once I got to the DADA mode (which is all full screen video), I was immediately hooked on how much better the full screen clips are. To agree with Rarehero again: the smaller looping clips are nice background (in the same way that people do those tiny TV mods with footage on Addams Family etc.), but when it comes to showing me that I'm hitting the right shots and progressing the mode, I need full screen clips to signal that. Similarly, I'm hoping the future updates include more clear direction (voice, video, sound etc.) of what to do, and clear reaction when I've done it.

- I've had a couple minor tech issues/questions and I can't express enough how quick and easy the Spooky tech support phone line made things.

- I was a little worried that the LED strip lights might be over the top, but they're not. They actually have a "pinstadium" sort of effect that keeps the upper 1/2 of the playfield really evenly lit. And the patterns they have programmed in are great (watch them on attract mode for a while).

- LOVE the music. Great variety, great energy. Can't think of many (any?) other games that sound like this one.

- If I could make one modification, I think I'd prefer that the left ramp be all metal (or plastic) before the wireform, rather than the metal ramp -> wood playfield -> wireform. I think it'd shoot a little smoother. But that's just me being picky.

Lastly- re: the in-lane lifters. I got used to them (as did my wife) in like ~2 games. They don't feel slow, and honestly sometimes it's nice to not have to "brace" yourself for hard eject from the scoop (a la FGY/Shrek, with a similar scoop position). However, I did try removing the monster plastic from one of my slingshots to see if being able to see the actual "lift" happen would make a difference. It is nice to see the action happen, but I don't know if it improves the game really.

I'd be curious, from Bug & Luke's perspective, what the motivation was for doing the lifters. Not in a "what were you thinking?!?" way, but what were they hoping it would add to the game? Is it just a unique way of returning the ball from the scoop, is it meant to be "sneaky" (a la Michael Myers), is there a mechanical/functional purpose they were addressing? If there's a specific idea or purpose with it, maybe there are code/video/lights/sounds ways that can make that difference shine and stand out more, rather than just seeming like an alternative to a normal scoop eject.

I had some of my best UM games so far this afternoon, I think I'm starting to find my groove and enjoy it more and more. Great work everybody at Spooky; I love seeing the code progress and I'm really grateful for your attention and dedication.

This all sounds excellent.

The center ramp is used at times, but for the most part it's due to how modes stack with multiball. Ideally you want to start a mode and then use the shots you are referencing to start a multiball.

Yup, I’ve been doing this crap since around 2005 when I got my first pin, but got more “hardcore” into it around 2006-7 after I did some work with Stern & got sucked into the whole scene.

Am I nuts or were you in L.A. for a while? Or was that Dave K.?

Installed new code and it’s better. I’m having issues with the left loop registering.

Any suggestions on if sensors need moved. Do I put felt on to slow the ball down?

Also can Halloween code be loaded on Ultraman? It might be fun to try it if it can be done.

Great review. Only thing I’d push back on is the music. Though the sound effects on the game are elite level sounding good the music needs some help…more diversity and more energy or sense of danger is needed…as it sits the music is not the strongest aspect of this game…which the music has been elite on the last several Spooky games before this one.

I know they have another song coming they are excited about, so that is good news.

Sounds like a nightmare for licensing. I’m sure after all the code updates are finished for both games someone will figure out how to do this. It will be very cool to do when possible.

Is there a way to tighten the flippers? When I do a dead bounce, my flippers have a little give. Is this how they normally act or should I be looking for something to tighten?

That is usually stiffened up by tightening (or replacing) the spring

A tighter spring will return flippers to resting position quicker. The exact opposite of the situation here. Or at least that's my take.

Check the gap on the eos switch to stiffin it up. Or at least that's what she said.

Close! I was traveling in a band for a while and we almost managed to hang out once while I was in LA. But Dave is a dear friend of mine in LA and I think I referred him to you for some pinball fun.

Question.. are the UM pins supposed to have numbered plaques? There's no indication what number mine is, but noticed that halloween has them?

Nope. Not sure why the autographed ones couldn’t be numbered.

I hope Spooky will do a run of plaques we can attach to the upper left of the speaker panel.

Totally agree. I would really like to have a plaque for mine.

It was covered awhile ago… It was a matter of scheduling, they could have numbered plaques without signatures, or signed plaques without numbers. Spooky went with the cooler option, signed plaques for all Ultraman machines (not just CE).

Charlie’s post: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ultraman-kaiju-rumble-owners/page/3#post-6621591

I really like the "cooler" option but there's no number anywhere on the pin? From now on I have either #1 or #20.. havent decided yet.. lol.

Yes…

The serial number.

Yeah I saw that. They printed 500 plaques to sign. Not sure why they couldn’t have been numbered.

In any case - they know there are 500, they know who bought them, they know our number. Print up some numbered plaques when the run is done. Please.

I'll have to look.. thanks!

Mine was one of the first six off the line, I’ve wondered if there was a way to tell which one of those it was. Serial number is the only way?

Does it really matter what # your pinball is? I mean really while a run of 500 games seems limited. I've had 3-4x of some rare titles like Warlock an Time Fantasy in the past. Not once did anyone care what # those games were.

Does anyone know what number we are up to now?

In the grand scheme of things, no…but it’s kind of an expected things for LE’s to be individually numbered now. I know a guy that gets all LE’s the same number. Not sure why, but it makes him happy lol

Was making some adjustments on my game and got a closer look at the subway that’s been giving me problems ( balls will stay in scoop until ball search).

The holes for the optos do not line up and one side of the opto isn’t positioned in front of the hole at all. Should I try to move the opto or drill or widen the hole in the subway so that it lines up better?

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You can move the opto, but there shouldn't be a need. Go into the test menu and drop a ball through the subway, see what switches are triggering. The holes are pretty much just there if the subways get really-really dirty. Also if you widen the hole too much that can create a ball trap.

Yes, it helps you know what to look for if you Are buying or selling a game. For Ultraman they had a ramp fix kit come out for the early games.

For a game like X-Men stern had an auxiliary board issue for early run games they fixed mid-run. If you buy an early run XMen now you are taking a chance the owner from 2013 didn’t upgrade it and you may be sitting on a device that will be hard to repair in 2022 with a discontinued board. If you have a late run XMen that issue wouldn’t be a risk.

Pretend I’m a noob and talk to me like I’m dumb.
Updated my code to 1.05 and after restarting the lower left flipper and the ball trough aren’t working.
Spooky said to check for fuse lights. Does this mean I’ve got blown fuses?
Also how can a code update blow fuses?
Any advice is appreciated.

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Hes probably just asking you to check assuming its a coincidence and not actually caused by the update.

Based on the photo I posted though, it does look like 3 fuses are out right? Cause the light isn’t green?
It just seems impossible that everything was fine and then this code is updated and fuses blow while restarting the machine.

Is there a coin door interlock switch? (I don’t know if there is …)

If so, is the coin door closed?

rd

I can't quite see the fuse lights from your pic. The lights are actually behind the fuses themselves. You'll also have to either be in a game, or the coil test menu to enable the power to those LEDs to see them.

Kaiju are near

141 reporting for duty!

It was serving multiple balls on first setup but a quick go over on connectors seemed to solve it.

And a first for Spooky, it came with a coin box! The only problem, no lock hasp on the wall to hold it in place meant the coin box fell into the playfield and knocked on some stuff. They need to add that piece to keep the coin box in place!

That said, it looks like they learned from previous games and they added a lot more slack to the wiring inside. Hopefully that cuts down on the wire breaks.

I have no idea what the rules are so it was a bit confusing to play but it shoots well, except that god damn right orbit shot that’s like 2mm bigger than a pinball. All in all I like it.

Hmm, got stuck in infinite multiball. No matter how many balls I let drain it would always serve them back up. Had to reboot.

So far, I've had the following bugs:

- Pressing start button wouldn't work. Button works in test. Reboot fixed it.
- Forever Multiball. Reboot fixed it.
- Sound cut out for a minute. Came back on its own.