Best game at expo, best service/support, and it keeps improving........it's a no brainer if you have the coin. Unfortunately, I do not.

Odds are my only hope of trying this one out is if Pinball Wizard buys one like they bought an AMH, but I feel like that place already has me spoiled enough with the selection of tables to play.

just too hard to resist... I'm in!

Resistance is futile. Welcome aboard !

Awesome. Rule #1 is you need to find 2 others and convince them to also get in
They of course need to find 2 more and before you know it we are at 100 and all stoked!

welcome to the club!

Zeus commands you to buy this pinball machine!

Watched that big lebowski video, looks boring as hell. I'm pretty surprised that this machine isn't getting more love.

Allentown 2015 also, there is just NO WAY I'm buying without a long hard play of the game.

This whole thousand dollars down and several thousand dollars in January or whatever is all well and good, but I need to play it first.

GLWTS and all that keep up the good work, I suggest keep on working on it, if the music is a placeholder, I suggest putting in the real music and real call outs so we can hear what we are getting.

My 2c.

Any idea how many have been pre-ordered so far?

I agree with both counts.

Wooly looks much better, I can't believe TBL is getting so much attention and this is not.

First TBL under playfield is OMG who cares? A mechanical bowling alley seems such a waste, boring to the extreme if you ask me.

I believe, if you want my opinion, maybe people might not like the callouts or the music for Wooly, TBL has real music form the movie and clips, this is a MAJOR selling feature and worth it's weight in gold.

I know Wooly is not a liscence game so it's not working off an established voice actors and multi million dollar music catologue, but IMO that means Wooly has to bring so much more to the table and I think it does so far as gameplay and rules whatnot which is what I care about. But IMO if you are using music like whatever you are and say that's not the real music or that end users can put their own music in, that's just not a polished game to me.

While I agree with this, I've come to expect non-licensed themes just aren't going to garner the excitement of a license. Everyone is always clamoring for non-licensed stuff, but when it happens (like here and with P3) it brings out more crickets than anything. This is a GREAT universal theme, but very few seem excited about it. The bottom line is a license has an established basis that people can connect to. If it's a theme they like, there is a connection / nostalgia that draws people in and generates excitement. Without that, no matter how cool the theme, people just don't seem to connect to the games.

This goes along with my point above.

I tend to agree here as well. I've been in on WOOLY since expo, but I can see where others hesitate. This is a lot of money for a machine, and as far along as it is, there are still important pieces that people are asked to ignore/imagine as the end product. I was able to look past the placeholder stuff and have faith the end result will be cool, but I don't blame others that can't. The problem is that polishing those aspects takes money, and if the production of this machine is still up in the air, then further investment needs to be tempered to some degree. Definitely presents a chicken/egg scenario.

At this point I'm assuming there's no realistic way 100 people will be in by the end of this month. Hopefully Scott finds a way to proceed with a smaller group or this gets extended a few months to incorporate people from some of the spring shows.

Well, given the TBL latest developments I am quite happy WOOLY is not a licensed theme. No problem to expect on that side!

We all do.

Hey guys, I know all the cool boutique pinball makers are doing the "in" thing and going belly up, but please don't follow their trend!

Perhaps this is a second language issue--otherwise this is a random and very unwarranted comment, IMO.

When did this thread start becoming a place to take shots at TBL? Whysnow started it long before the drama, and it's frankly really off putting.

If you guys think it's helping WOOLY look good then think again.

Seriously...every time Whysnow says anything about this game, it makes me less interested. Put a muzzle on your unofficial mascot, guys.

I did not start this thread, but am still a huge supporter of what I think is the best pinball to come out in a long time. What is wrong with being positive about a game like WOOLY?

Great guys, great theme, and super fun game. I find it sad that some people want to hate on everything and the people that are trying to create new pinball.

I think you're taking this comment the wrong way.

Nothing. It's when you do it with snarky comments about how everyone who was waiting in line for TBL was wasting their time that it's really unappealing.

You really don't want to start turning this into a comparison thread, so stick with being positive and leave other games out of it is my suggestion. That goes for everyone else, if you're truly interested in building support.

Just my two cents, ignore if you like.

Ugh...it's not about "hating" on anything, it's the fact that no one wants to be berated for deciding not to pre-order an $8000 pinball machine...especially where we are right now with the "2014 Boutique Clusterfuck". Just stop being condescending....the game will (or won't) sell on its own merits - it doesn't need you poking people in the side.

Great looking game! I'm excited to play one. Seems like you guys are doing it right!

This is the only comment I have made in any way

Pretty sure I used enough verbiage to denote that it was my opinion. Sorry poeple are so butthurt over what is going on with DP right now. By and large I have been nothing but positive about the things I enjoy about WOOLY.

No need to pander to anybody. Give your "two cents" when, where and how many times you want to. This is forum. Who cares if your comments are snarky...if he has a problem with it, let him ignore you then!

By the way... Your right!

What did I miss? How else would you construe doing the "in" thing by going belly up? I don't believe that is anywhere near a proper choice of words. "Unfortunate thing" perhaps, but no one is trying to be trendy by designing a pinball machine and going broke doing so.

Any developments on voice work or tunes that you can share?

He's being sarcastic, geez.

Yeah, that aspect seems to be a hurdle for some before ordering.

Totally understand and don't blame you, but as I stated above, it has created a chicken/egg scenario for some contemplating pre-order.

This games seems to have the most shots and the deepest rule sets! Congrats, I can't wait to play one one of these days.

Awesome work. I am a novice when it comes to understanding DMD wizard modes and the expectations people have around them. A few questions...

How many other games on the market have this many wizard modes? Is this a first or second or third ever -- being this thorough and varied in the ways you can play out the ending?

Has any other vendor allowed the "try wizard mode first" option, or is this a first -- I think it's a fantastic idea. The other day, I got the genie for the first time ever on TOTAN, and I muffed it -- cause I didn't know what to do. What an upsetting experience. LOL.

"Code completion" has been a loud and disappointing topic in a few other threads for other vendors.

Forgive me if you've already addressed "code completion" in this or other threads.

How % complete is your code base (0-100)?

The fact that you started as a virtual pin -- did that give you an advantage when it came to programming the game? Were you able to re-use anything, or did it just mean you had your "outline" complete and tested, which gave you a huge speed advantage?

thanks,
-mof

Current formula to please everybody musically = 3dB dynamic range at most, horribly auto-tune abused vocals with zero dynamic range, huge mid-range scoop with fatiguing highs and booming lows, dizzying nonsensical polyrhythms, and the use of every cliche lyric regarding sex, romance, and partying that you can think of.

Please do not try to please everybody!!!

I think this is a win-win regardless.

LOL. Hi, musician.
-mof

Why not solve that issue by producing a finished machine for people to buy instead of relying on others to finance your game?

Clearly, the pre-paid system is totally broken. If you really believe in your game, why not do what CPR did - and every other business since the dawn of time does - and get personal loans, load up credit cards and borrow money from family to bring your vision to life?

If you don't want to take that risk, why should others take it for you?

Don't get me wrong - WOOLY is certainly one of the best homebrew games I've seen and could proudly stand next to a Stern, once it's totally finished. But asking others to risk their money is clearly a bad business model and it would suck if you got dragged down with all the others.

OK, if that is in fact what the tone of the post was it went right over my head.

The point is, a customer shouldn't have to *trust* you. The list of people they've trusted so far have pretty much all failed them. Why is it the customer's responsibility to take *any* risk at all?

Perhaps the problem you're having in getting people to pony up a $1K deposit is precisely *because* they've been burned enough already on this backwards financing model.

Maybe you'd have no problems selling 100-150 machines if someone could just order it finished and ready to go, and not have to *trust* you.

If you can't get the seed funding together to make it happen, maybe it shouldn't happen.

fingers crossed for you Scott. If anyone deserves the chance to build a game that you have put so much time into developing, it it you!

If you don't make it to the "go point" then I hope you reach out to those on the "go" list to see if there is a different way to get this done.

I know I would invest in the company in some form just to get the first 100 made if it meant a possible return on the back end.

Good point, maybe you only need 50 people at $10K each, then start regular production from that point forward and the first 50 get a piece of the company or something.

Can't imagine it's a high margin business though.

I wonder if there isn't a middle ground.

What I would personally love to see from boutique manufacturers (and it's the model Spooky has used successfully) is this:

Company makes complete game. Code, sound, dots, art, everything is done. You self finance that. It costs however many thousands it costs. The more you can do yourself, or with a partner who's willing to invest time in return for a share, the cheaper. You're close to that.

Then you have a final game with a lot less unanswered questions to make your tour with. And you've got to hit the major shows. People want to touch the game in person. So that's part of the budget and time too.

But it's not hundreds of thousands of dollars either.

Once you've done that and everything is ready I think you can say "hey, this is the game, it's done, you can touch it, you can play it, you can hear it, and if you want it then we need to crowd fund. But everything is done, we're ready to order parts and start production now."

I simply can't support anything less than that at a minimum. It means risk and money on your side, no question. But before you can ask anyone to risk their cash you have to put yourself out there.

So if you don't get your 100 orders maybe you can take what you have, do those next steps, and try again.

The game at expo was already about 90% of what you are asking for Aurich. Did you see it? or play it?

I think if anything the game is more polished now and that a trip to TPF may be enough to complete the remainer of the 100 crowd funded preorders?

The opportunity for others to touch and play the game and meet Scott/Frank is huge IMO.

Yeah, I could get behind that model way more than "maybe we'll make it, maybe not, it's your risk to take".

Or, price the game based on single unit sales. It costs X to produce one game - if you want it, that's the price. No limited editions, no minimum units, just "give me this much and I'll send you a game in X weeks".

Like a custom couch!