RaM’s code depth is very deep and at this moment yes it is far more developed that HWN/UM. But, that is only because Spooky only had to code one game at the time. They are now currently programming three games with a whole team of programmers. So it will be another few months before HWN/UM reach any kind of completed code. Also despite some of the layout issues with RaM it’s the license and low production numbers that is keeping the price high imo. HWN and UM definitely have a better layout but the themes are more niche. I am not really worried about the resale value of my HWN because I ain’t selling it! Haha. Really enjoying it. Plus the numbers will normalize after people spend more time on it and code continues to develop. It always does.

The code on R&M is absolutely superb (even though it has no true wizard mode and could utilize another multiball to work towards). The light show, music, and theme integration are all top notch and compare well to other pinball master pieces.

I really don't like R&M layout, but the code, the lights, the music are just incredible. Maybe the best theme integration ever.
Also, a lot of pinball places have one in operation, so people are more exposed to this title, and it makes it more desirable.
Hopefully UM will reach this level of code eventually. Right now it's already fun to play, but nowhere near R&M for the deepness, call outs, lights etc.

Decided to powder coat the speaker cutouts. Think it will be better representation of Ultraman with a red mesh. Went with super chrome.

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It’s home!

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Ok. On day 2 now. I had to force myself to stop playing at 1AM to get some sleep. All shots dialed in from the factory. Right orbit switch registering every time. Had zero issues out of the box. Leveled the game and played it all night with zero issues. Definitely a fan. Final inspection was done by lpeters82 and it seems he crushed it. Thanks again.

Thanks for the kind words.

lpeters82

Can I request you do final inspection on my #295
Please....

Any savants out there actually keeping a handle on production times/delivery estimates? I'm wondering what the best guess is for my Standard (451, I believe the first UM SE?), think it should've been December-ish going off the original 18-month timeline but not sure if Spooky has been able to stick to that with shortages and everything else going on.

Have had the cash set aside for a while now, just getting really excited for this one. Debated jumping to a CE a couple times now but I really like having the cheapest versions of games I can get, I'm going to have my Rick and Morty + Ultraman, shipped to my house, for less than the MSRP on a Collector's Toy Story 4

Maybe, but our whole team that clears games is great. We all take it personally when we see something we missed or something happens in shipping, because we truly go through these games light by light, shot by shot, switch by switch. She's not on Pinside, but there is a woman named Tori that goes through every game before they get to final testing...she's been making us look really good lately. It also frees up more of my time to squash bugs and wright new rules.

I put a sheet of voodoo glass on the game and wow. Makes the already beautiful playfield and toys really pop!

I know someone here posted recommended amplifier settings. I didn’t see it as a key post. Could someone that had is it bookmarked please pass me a link? Thanks.

Have you considered putting a label on or next to the amp control dials?

I had to use a hand mirror to see what they were.

RM

OK, I am trying a scoop mod, adding a PETG protector and also remounting the Beta Capsule flasher so any impact does not break the smoked plastic/sneeze guard. Note, I stole this basic idea from user "movingpictures" in the Halloween owners thread.

RM

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Man, it sucks having the game be 15 miles away in a shipping center for a week and I can't just go pick it up. No help and no appropriate vehicle to just have them put the pallet into. I'd have to go unbox it and load it in my SUV....too much risk of damage. =F Friday can't get here soon enough.

Is it solving the issue for you?

UM CE #232 with butter cab arrived yesterday - full price, day 1 purchase (although I did upgrade from SE to CE with butter). Packing was incredible - multiple tip indicators and two packing blankets. The machine plays beautifully out of the box - another great job by @lpeters82. It truly is a gorgeous machine. My wife and kids love it too - my ten year old is a pretty good player and he might like this one more than the GZ premium at one of our local arcades.

Surprises - the game is super-fast and has a great combination of flow-y shots and precision shots. The ball lifters are fun and a non-issue. My wife plays pinball with me a bit, but is pretty casual, and she had zero problems with the ball lifters. I think the audio and visual cues are fine as they are. The playfield is absolutely packed with shots and the upper playfields are a lot of fun - hectic trying to hit the shots in the fairly small area, but in a fun way! The multiballs get even more hectic with so many things to keep track of.

If you are on the fence, I highly recommend sticking with this one. ACNC has been my favorite game, and I've played a lot of pins now. UM is right up there. I think the only thing separating UM from ACNC for me is that ACNC has a little more "presence" - the playfield, rules, callouts, and music just come together into something special. I think UM can totally get that too, maybe just a bit of work on the callouts or music? Don't get me wrong though - it is fantastic as is. Looking forward to Spooky's next pin - Army of Darkness or Scooby Doo? If double theme, so hard to choose! In the meantime, I'll be playing my UM!

Great job Team Spooky!

Well, it's meant to address multiple things:

1. Reduce rejects from the scoop - this seems to be working

2. Reduce the chance of breaking the Beta Capsule plastic from ball hits (don't know, have to see what happens)

3. Reduce the chance of breaking the smoked plastic/sneeze guard from where the Beta Capsule lamp socket is attached from ball hits, hence moving the attachment point to a hex post attached to the PETG protector (don't know, have to see what happens)

RussMyers

If that doesn’t fully protect the capsule I wonder if it could be made to come out past the capsule and then go up at 90 degrees. This would give even more protection from an air all direct hit.

I'm mainly interested in #1. I have a HWN and I'm trying to figure out how to solve rejects. Thanks for the reply. I'll give it more of a try that what I cut before.

If a lot of my pins are being played, I don't always hear the lifter sound cue so I still lose a ball every once in a while.

I plan to remove the Kaiju plastics above the slings for a while just to be able to see the ball coming out. Not sure if I'll keep it that way, but it's a quick and easy change that's reversible.

Do you have a hitch on the SUV? Could just rent a small enclosed trailer and ratchet strap it down.

Yeah, I can see that. I'll sometimes lose a ball on the multiballs because I'm not focused on the lifters. Apart from the multiballs, knowing the shots plus the visual/audio cues is enough for me under normal conditions. I have problems playing other games in my collection when other people are also playing - especially when they are playing ACNC since I have that one kind of cranked. At least that's my excuse...

I removed them and like it better. I also removed the plastic protector above the captive ball.

Not that I'm aware of, no. Heh. I don't pay much attention to the SUV. It's my wife's car, and the kids trashed the interior. I really don't even like driving the damn thing.

Who else is excited For Ultraman day? I am ready for this new Update.

Just set-up my Ultraman yesterday. The ball will sometimes jump out of the end of wire-form and drain when I make a left ramp shot. This seems to happen about once every 10 games. Is there anyway to fix this?

Assuming your game is level side-side, take off the lock nut and washer holding the end of the wireform to the post and bend it up a bit, maybe spread the upper and lower sections apart a bit. May have to fiddle with it.

RM

There was a bend in the ramp. The last section was bent downward and a fast ball was partially airborne before it got to the end of the ramp. It would then hit the loop at the end of the ramp bounce off the glass and down the drain. Removing the bend seems to have fixed it. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm ready. The wife has only been playing the wizard mode, trying to get those 6 balls locked before the multiball. I'm hoping for some nice polish to make the gameplay more meaningful and animations/sounds to fill in between the modes/kaju battles. I still think this game can become great and hopefully will once all the pieces come together. C'mon Ultraman Day!

They have a new update coming for Ultraman day? Bug fixes this next update would be the best thing in my view.

That's the scuttlebutt. Supposed to be a significant package, bug fixes, new graphics and game data display, vid clips, maybe callouts, and new features.

RM

That would be incredible news. Hopefully more full screen stuff, that would be great for the vid clips.

I believe this is when they are rolling out with the new UI.

I think July 10th is Ultraman day.

So I received my machine today #252, it arrived unblemished. I set it up, installed balls, played first game...got to the point to choose my battle. I was able to move left and right, but when I attempted to choose via the start button, nada...even tried using both flippers (as instructed on the screen), still nothing...put in an email, but nothing other than check connections...went into switch test and the start switch doesn't register?, but when I go into coil test, the start switch works just fine activating the coils?..so I put the balls back in to fire up another game...and now my right flipper doesn't work...but the switch does...I noted that on the main board ( pinataur?), I don't see the solenoid led lit? or the three fuses next to it...anyone deal with something like this while I'm waiting to hear from tech support?
...also why dont the flippers have a high power setting in coil test? only low power...which I can barely hear much less see it move

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Just got off the phone with the user above...he's good to go.

Yes Thanks...was just going to post that...all good now....beautiful machine...

What was the solution?

Pardon my ignorance, but what is UI?

User interface. An IT term

I walked him through resetting the Molex connection and testing continuity on the right flipper, but I think actual issue may have been simply trying to select one of the expert modes that only unlocks after you play one of the other modes.

Edit: "Walked him through", might be a bit strong. He seemed well versed in pinball. We basically just discussed what was happening and checked the basic stuff together.

lpeters82 is that something that will be addressed in a future code update (a visual cue that you can/cannot select a mode [based on some necessary prerequisite])?

I believe it does say on the selection screen that it was not available...I just didn't see it as it was my first time there...but an audible "tick" of some sort to know that your're pressing the button, but that its not allowed would have been helpful...had a minor flipper issue, seems it was just a connector issue, pulled the pin, and reinstalled and all good now...awesome customer service Spooky...and that playfiled is so sweet....don't get the hate for this game...

Perhaps a negative sounding buzzer along with a flash of translucent red over the display would be good for when a player tries to select a locked mode.

just don't let the arrow move to unavailable modes?

Got my butter CE today. Excellent packing by the Spooky team. The cabinet is stunning. Really glad I decided to go for the butter after all. Checked everything under the playfield before I started playing, didn't see anything loose. HOLY SHIT THAT'S A BIG SUBWOOFER. This is going to be a bit of a disjointed ramble...here goes..

My only 'issues' are extremely minor overall. I've had some wicked airballs (upper pf drop target launched the ball clear out of the pf, hit the glass, and it ended up back in the shooter lane!) but oddly none from the mystery scoop....in fact my mystery scoop is really hittable, and very easy from a backhand. The right orbit is every bit the bitch people say it is....and yet somehow my wife managed to two-time it on the fly on her second game.

The plunger is....very insufficient. Theres two minor blemishes that don't bother me and half of it leans very slightly to one side (molding or assembly error I assume...not sure how these are fabricated) but the real complaint is....it's just VERY weak. Not sure if it's off center or the spring is just too weak, but you have to plunge in a very specific way to get it to go all the way and come out the left. I think a slightly stronger spring would remedy this with no issue in my case. I only have the back legs up maybe a half inch or 3/4ths, and the front are all the way down. I didn't specifically check the angle or even the level (YOLO!) but everything else is real zippy and no balls getting hung up in the subways, even after putting two in the scoop one right after another.

The sound...I do have some whinging to do here. One, the speakers have have a *constant* static-y background to them, even when nothing is going on and the game is otherwise silent. It's really bad. Also, the "minimum" volume level is still too loud for my taste. We have 6 people in this house. It would be nice to be able to set it lower, or barring that, plug in headphones.....but I will settle for getting rid of the very sneakily loud background static. It sounds as bad as the fan in my Godzilla power supply. The callouts are pretty funny at times....like draining the ball and getting "we lost a lot of good men that day..." is practically memeworthy.

Flipper buttons feel strange but I'll get used to it. I did notice that both the upper flippers can be staged, which
I didn't pay any attention to at TPF!

Overall a really great experience and looking forward to more updates and just getting to finally play the thing.

Same issue with the background sound...and I also got an airball off the top ramp too...butter is nice though...

Check the little black box (amp) in the bottom of the cabinet. Turn down the master volume a bunch and boom, the hissing disappears.

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I remember posting something like this right after getting my game. Then I learned it works great til the backstop bends back, then nothing goes in the hole. You have to keep bending the deflector back down every couple dozen games