I love Oktoberfest, beer polka metal etc, hope it plays well and flows. Always hate the low scoring system from JJP and American pinball. Shots look fun and ton more in game from appearance.

So, honest question: why? I hear this criticism from time to time, but don't really get it. Obviously it's trivial for us to multiply all the scores through by 10, or 50, or 100, or 1000, or whatever factor we want to nudge the typical scores into a particular range, but none of that really changes anything.

FWIW, the overall scoring levels of Oktoberfest were designed so that 1 million is a "very good" but reasonably achievable score for mere mortals. This just felt like a good conversational breakpoint... you can humblebrag to your friends "yeah, I got a million on Oktoberfest last night". Just seems a little smoother than the equivalent, perhaps, "yeah, I got two hundred million on Maiden last night". Using lower scoring ranges also has a nice side effect of being able to draw score values on the screen in larger font so they're easier to read.

Maybe it is psychological, we feel a much better player when we score dozens of millions!
Or it is nostalgic and remind us 90’s games

I prefer smaller numbers. I write my high scores on a board on the wall on the other side of the room and it’s so much easier to remember a small number until I write it down. They also take up less space on the display.

Moar points...

I love everything about it minus the playfield artwork... but I gotta see it in person to be sure. Can't wait to shoot it.

I'm ot a NIB buyer, to be fair. When I heard that the next pin theme was oktoberfest, I thought what a dud. When I saw what they did with the theme I was blown away. If I was in the market for a new pin I would seriously consider this.

Agreed. I dont mind low scoring. JJP made it acceptable again with WOZ. Took me awhile to warm up to it, but now I appreciate it. Fyi, had a good game on woz sunday, got over 300,000!

I agree as well, I prefer lower scoring games. When you get millions for shooting a super jackpot or other shots it loses it's valuation as the numbers get into the 100's of millions. Un-balanced game scoring or overzealous scoring games just add fluff. I originally thought it was a conspiracy to help build up the mental attitude of newer, less experienced players. You just scored 2 billion in five minutes on three ball-Awesome!-this is Fun!

Oktoberfest is looking very interesting to me, it will all come down to how the game plays and code. I thought Houdini was interesting and I had lots of interest, then I played it several times and the brick shots got annoying and I lost interest. Hoping Ocktoberfest is fun to play, because it sure would look great next to my WH20.

Interesting. Mark me as one that is bothered by low scoring games. It feels so dated and non-exciting to score 575,345 when I am finished with a game.
I don't need billions, but millions make the journey more satisfying. A good game of 20 million would be great like any recent game since 2000. If its not a big deal, just add an option in the service menu for us that we can turn on score multiplier and have at it! Hope you consider this....

The art is ok at best. For me it too photographic and a miss. But man that metal music is whats going to keep me from buying this.

Not a fan of the lower scoring.

Imagine if you're playing BSD and instead of hearing 30MILLION!!!....30MILLION!!!!!, you hear..... 3.

It took a while but owning WOZ, Xenon and HS all at the same time I got used to it and it does not bother me on Houdini at all. The biggest downside I've seen (mainly on WOZ because it is brutal) is how disheartening it can be to more casual pinheads that are used to newer Sterns or even B/W games when they see their score is under 100K even if they had some decent (for WOZ) ball times.

I'm also not a fan of low scoring games. It's purely psychological. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of really high scoring games either. I got 3 BILLION on AFM the first time I played it... That seemed a bit ridiculous (which fits the theme, but...). I like 100,000,000 being a good-to-very-good game, personally.

I liked it.

The yellow ramp needs to be tweaked so you can Picard maneuver it instinctively. I saw one shot make it in a multi player game of league level people. And just barely.

The guys head should shake NO when you miss a shot or drain.

The animations are a little too long And without Josh in my ear to explain stein stacking and that you can inception the same stein I would be lost.

I would like to see objective icons on the screen.

I think the ramp lock up could be sped up with a ramp made opto like the Lotr sword lock.

I haven’t had the chance to play it yet, but I like how it looks. There’s a ton packed in there, it looks fun to shoot, and there’s a lot of great humor on the playfield. The one piece of art that still weirds me out is that chick with the mustache...I understand that it’s a mustache contest, but the joke just kinda creeps me out a little The music is good, but I’m still looking forward to having the other tracks implemented into the game...that 25:75 rock:oompa sounds perfect for the theme. The animations are young, and I’m assuming they’ll improve as the code matures (i.e., the juggling gal not doing much different as you do things on the playfield).
Nothing thus far is a game-breaker for me, by any means, and I’ve got faith in API that they’ll continue to do the game justice. So far I’m all in for it...great theme, good humor, good execution.

It’s funny how everyone mentions how this machine looks as the deciding factor. Has anybody discovered (or not) deep gameplay and flow? I saw somebody mention long balls and fun, but that’s about it. What is the strategy of this game?

regarding "low" scores. I just wish JJP or other's had a setting where it would just multiply every score by 1,000 if you wanted. I know it's silly....

It's not Tesla themed.

Dislike: it will probably be years before I have the opportunity to play one, it looks fun!

Tons of strategy in the game. Biggest strategic element is the steins: there are 14 of them, and each stein boosts some playfield feature globally (e.g. higher spinner value, easier roller coaster locks, longer playfield X timer) and also boosts the value of a specific tent. You can collect as many steins as you want, including multiples of the same stein, and all of their abilities stack.

Plenty of other strategic choices as well: which tent features (modes) to play, and when. Caution around locking balls in the beer barrel in multi-player games, because those locks can be stolen by other players. Even stuff like whether you want to use your MagNabs to catch the ball at the top lanes (advance playfield X) or to catch the ball at the UR flipper for easier shots at the bartender or the beer barrel lock ramp.

I love the strategic elements of pinball, and I've made sure there's no shortage here... while, I hope, still keeping the game approachable and fun for less experienced players.

Pretty sure you can already stack steins.

Thanks for the detail, sounds like a great game. Guess I’ll have to try one and and see the flow

The art is a headache but I really like what they did with the theme. It looks absolutely jam-packed, which is cool - reminds me of TSPP in a lot of ways. I really wish they could get someone to do some proper hand-drawn art, because the art packages on both American Pinball themes have put me off, but I know that's kind of a high order these days.

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In Houdini you have to 'earn' the right to select, otherwise you have to be sure the correct act is on the marquee when you open the stage (so you need to really be one flip the other way before you flip the shot, similar to LOTR). On Oktoberfest, there is a strategy around which steins you have collected, since each stein helps a specific tent, which would have a lot less strategic value if you could not select your tent, plus it also fit the theme better, where you are in the middle of Oktoberfest and looking around to see which tent to enter.

Ferret and I regularly discuss and debate stacking, both for Tent Modes and for MBs (MBs can be stacked with Tents, but currently not with each other). We will certainly take a closer look at it, now that we are past expo. Food Stand Uber modes can be also be stacked with Tent Modes and MBs.

You never have to visit a tent a second time if you don't want to, but if you want to get the 'win' then you can. Winning a tent certainly has value in bonus, etc. A lot of strategy around visiting a tent you have started, given how you can collect higher points after victory and before time runs out.

BTW, Sloshed Rosh Lager is the best stein to collect!

Correct AFM is very big scoring and an exception on its own but hearing Jackpot and getting small amounts just does nothing for me. Scores like TFTC will do or Adams family TZ but WOZ Hobbit not exciting just don’t know how to explain it. I love the built up to Jackpot and voice announcement in the Adams Family and feel games missing that now.

I can’t get over how many people hate the theme. I’m certainly more aligned with the “try something original” comments. This is clearly a case of “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

There are many themes that I've had in the lineup that just didn't appeal to me. ST, GB, WCS, etc. just to name a few. But when I play a machine I am looking for the fun factor w/ a package layered w/ overall detail. Playfield layout & rules being at the forefront w/ the lightshow & callouts being the nuance that adds layers to the overall attractions.
AP is thinking outside the box to offer a unique & fresh pinball experience. Their commitment to taking this venture has certainly seized the pinball communities' attention. As every aspect of AP is different w/ their approach & overall presentation of their objectives. Fantastic AP! This is exactly what we need!

I liked the rounded banks of stand ups. A well placed shot can sweep them- has any other game utilized stand ups in this fashion? Joe said there will be an award down the line for sweeping them. He also said sometimes a shot will sweep a few stand ups then cross over to the other side and sweep a few targets in the other bank. Very fun!

Have they drawn a line in the sand about shipping games or are they waiting to get into the new building?

I don't know their plans. I toured the factory last Friday. And they are quite efficient with what they have and what they do.

Their new building has been discussed on Pinside before. That they hope to be in it by the end of the year, and 3 lines. Two for them and one for others.

So I wouldn't be surprised if everything is going on simultaneously.

Exciting times for pinball. Another bigger building being developed for pinball. Jack opened a factory, Stern moved to larger quarters. We are definitely on a roll compared to 20 years ago.

LTG : )

Very cool Josh! The only argument I would make is that when you’re at Oktoberfest you don’t really pick what tents you visit but rather just stumble in them at random depending on how tipsy you are

Once (ONCE!) I got the perfect 7-at-once sweep on the OKTOBER bank. First shot of the game, I was so surprised when every light lit up. It’ll probably get a little easier as a machine ages a bit and the target foam softens some.

And yes, scoring is progressively higher for bigger target sweeps, that was one of the first rules I coded.

As an owner of Alien, I know Oktoberfest is in good hands

Agreed!

We hopefully will announce price and expected production start date by the end of the week.
The start date has nothing to do with the move at this point, but everything to do with tweaks to the layout as well as supplier time lines.
We are trying with all our resources to have Oktoberfest on the line by December and 100 units shipped by years end.

Time will tell....

As a Houdini owner one thing I have learned about AP is you all do what you say and stand behind your products. Btw new power source on Houdini works perfect.

So you're saying there's a chance!

Take your time, might be my 50th birthday gift to myself and that's a couple years away.

Loving it so far, can't wait to see the finished product. Would like to see the artwork tweaked a little to change the clip art style stuff to match the more cartoonish type stuff. Even the mustache girl might work a little better is her style matched up with the rest of that plastic (or not).

Awesome.. Oktoberfest will be utilizing that power supply as well.

Can you confirm what that means? You will install the standard 47v power supply in Oktoberfest and the add on supply? or will it be a new power supply?

I'm really looking forward in playing this one and spending some time on it
to discover what it has. Wasn't crazy about the theme but should do well on location.
I like the artwork and especially the translite on how AP ties into the monitor.
Not too sure with the chick on cabinet though but will see in person.

Yeah, I'm withholding judgement until I see it in person but from the pictures the face of the girl on the cabinet is the only thing that's really caused me concern. Well, maybe mustache girl's unibrow too but that's much less prominent.

It is a total redesigned power supply that we have been testing for several months.

Consists of..
48 ,12 and 5 volts all regulated utilizing PFC technology.

We are constantly examining our machines and making improvements where we can, just like any company we are evolving.
We truly are committed to quality and value.

What he said, I would add that Oktoberfest might be slightly less deep overall, it is overflowing in strategy opportunities in both how you approach the whole game, how you attack modes, and how you maximize scoring. But if you don't have to do any of that (or learn to master the magnab) to enjoy the game. We have worked very hard in rules development to be a fit for enthusiasts and for competitive players.

I get the point around 'jackpots', but they are ultimately relative I think the bigger issue is giving them more 'bang' when you earn them, and that is not necessarily just points. What I like about low scoring, and it has to be set up and balanced just right, is that you have clear milestones that are easy to remember. Breaking 500K becomes a great first milestone for many players, and then million becomes very gratifying, 5 million and they know they have gotten deep and really crushed it, and someone breaking 10 million is just a wow, how did they do that? On many titles someone tells you a score and you are 'hm, can't remember if that is good or not'.

I will say that using the first digit on Oktoberfest is maybe less in tune with the theme than on Houdini, but does make it easier for us to use different values and keep scores relative as they should be, without inflating scores. It also provides a side benefit of helping identifying switch or code issues. Score jumping by 42 points without you doing anything, likely switch X, Y or Z, jumping by 3, likely A, B or C, etc.

The depiction of this monkey assaulting these women is just a true "WTF"... c'mon AmericanPinball are you really going to say this meets your claim of being a "family friendly" title? This looks real bad, you should change this while there is still time.

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And I suppose when the family cat walks across your wife’s chest you cry sexual harassment too, cmon.

When I saw that picture I thought the monkey was just trying to reach to get some of the hotdog the girl was holding.
You think a monkey knows whats off limit? He's not trying to play grab ass just trying to reach for the hotdog.
SHEESH! I guess some people see dirty things in everything.

In some countries public breastfeeding is normal. In the US we get upset about monkeys.

How this gets contorted into “assault” is a sad commentary on our society.

Now if the Monkey was breast feeding......That would be a different story!!

That's the best piece of the artwork.