Who loves pinball? (moved)

[Tripredacus]

I am in the dangerous planning stages of building a virtual pinball table. I already built the PC for it and I am looking to order the monitors soon. The hard part is going to be wiring everything up with solenoid feedback.

I know it is not going to match real pinball but for the price of one cab I can have a great simulation of hundreds of tables.

I would recommend playing on one first before taking the plunge. I thought it would be really cool, especially after seeing how far along projects like PinMAME had gotten. After playing one myself, I changed my mind.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

I'm gonna bump this, you bastards. Anyone still into pinball, here?

 

[mmsadda]

I'm gonna bump this, you bastards. Anyone still into pinball, here?

This thread is a shitshow from what I recall

But yes.

I've been fixing up early solid state Bally / Stern games for the last few years

 

[Spike Spiegel]

This thread is a shitshow from what I recall

But yes.

I've been fixing up early solid state Bally / Stern games for the last few years

What do you have in your possession at the moment?

 

[mr_b]

I’ve gotten back into pinball here in the last few months. I find pinball more engaging in my older years than straight video games. Ive been scoping for a good used pin that I like. Its only a matter of time before I bite the bullet. I need to sell a cab or 2 to fund the purchase though.

The local retro arcade by me has a decent amount of tables. My latest obsession is ghostbusters. The table layout is good and the theme for me is fantastic.

 

[mmsadda]

What do you have in your possession at the moment?

dude, entirely too fucking much. I mostly bought junky games like 8 years ago and fixed them up to get them at least functional

Here's my current lineup, roughly chronological order
Yukon Special
Hot Tip EM
Roller Coaster
Stingray
Nine Ball
Meteor
Lightning
Big Game
Flight 2000
Totem
Skateball
Elektra
Embryon
Centaur
Torpedo Alley
Atlantis
RFM
Shaq Attaq
Judge Dredd
Dracula
Fish Tales
Congo
Shrek
WPT
Avatar
Ripley's
Deadpool


and got a few loaned out to friends / family
Bad Cats
Space Shuttle
Grand Slam
Future spa
Mystic
Galaxy
Gofers
Whitewater
Apollo
Bow & Arrow

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Sweet Jesus, that's a lot. I want a Deadpool.... scared of the issues Stern is having with their playfields. Nice collection!

 

[mmsadda]

Sweet Jesus, that's a lot. I want a Deadpool.... scared of the issues Stern is having with their playfields. Nice collection!

Yeah, it's out of control! I got lucky with my DP - seems like I don't have any ghosting/peeling. But I've got a buddy with a JP Pro and a Wonka, and both have playfield issues. Even so, I guess it's a risk for all modern games.

You have pins?

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Yeah, it's out of control! I got lucky with my DP - seems like I don't have any ghosting/peeling. But I've got a buddy with a JP Pro and a Wonka, and both have playfield issues. Even so, I guess it's a risk for all modern games.

You have pins?

I do. I've tried to stay away from problem pins; so no new JJP nor sterns at the moment.

I've got woz, hobbit gold smaug, dialed in le, Metallica pro and an afm special edition. I want another walking dead premium at some point, but would really love a newer machine... but like I said, too scared.

 

[mmsadda]

I do. I've tried to stay away from problem pins; so no new JJP nor sterns at the moment.

I've got woz, hobbit gold smaug, dialed in le, Metallica pro and an afm special edition. I want another walking dead premium at some point, but would really love a newer machine... but like I said, too scared.

Ah nice! All pretty new games by my standards. Walking Dead is great - I honestly think the Pro is good on that one. No walker bombs, but the left ramp is butter smooth.

I splurged on deadpool when we got Covid checks, and I traded a Nitro Ground Shaker into the local Stern distributor (He'd been looking for one.) Otherwise I wouldn't have risked it, probably. I totally get avoiding new games - honestly since like GoT era, Stern playfields have been inconsistent at best.

How do you like Hobbit as a home game? I played it on location and enjoyed it. Seems like folks around here had mixed opinions (the one on location was at a shallow angle) but I thought it seemed like a good rule set.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Ah nice! All pretty new games by my standards. Walking Dead is great - I honestly think the Pro is good on that one. No walker bombs, but the left ramp is butter smooth.

I splurged on deadpool when we got Covid checks, and I traded a Nitro Ground Shaker into the local Stern distributor (He'd been looking for one.) Otherwise I wouldn't have risked it, probably. I totally get avoiding new games - honestly since like GoT era, Stern playfields have been inconsistent at best.

How do you like Hobbit as a home game? I played it on location and enjoyed it. Seems like folks around here had mixed opinions (the one on location was at a shallow angle) but I thought it seemed like a good rule set.

It must be a love or hate game. It is my favorite machine and would be the last to go. I guess it depends on if you like the lotr style play experience?

And yeah, they are newer games, but I meant the super new ones that are plagued with the playfield issues. That's why I have a CGC machine as my newest game... playefilds have been pretty solid.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Still doing pins but I only have limited space.

I recently sold my Shadow to a friend and the current lineup:

Medieval Madness SE
Star Trek Pro Vault, fully decked out
Monster Bash SE
Dialed in LE

I'm getting to the realization that I prefer faster flow games with shorter ball times. Deep code is constantly praised but I just like to have fun, and I find most others who come by and play do as well.

 

[jeffkun34]

Sold one of my cabs to make room for an Elvira House of Horrors. Had it for a few months and I love it. I still have my virtual pin but I am thinking about selling my Impress and Neo MVU to get another pin.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Sold one of my cabs to make room for an Elvira House of Horrors. Had it for a few months and I love it. I still have my virtual pin but I am thinking about selling my Impress and Neo MVU to get another pin.

I have to say, of all the newer pins I've played EHOH is probably my favorite. If I didn't already have MM I'd consider it because the layouts are similar.

 

[THEMAN]

I did when I was a small child. I don't remember it anymore, but my mom would tell me about it.

 

[wyo]

Still doing pins but I only have limited space.

I recently sold my Shadow to a friend and the current lineup:

Medieval Madness SE
Star Trek Pro Vault, fully decked out
Monster Bash SE
Dialed in LE

I'm getting to the realization that I prefer faster flow games with shorter ball times. Deep code is constantly praised but I just like to have fun, and I find most others who come by and play do as well.

That's a fantastic lineup of pins! Great taste

 

[Neorebel]

One of these days I need to get some pinball tables and a big house or basement to put around them. For now its Future Pinball, Pinball Arcade, Zen Pinball, Naxat Soft, etc.

Scared Stiff
Whirlwind
Terminator 2
Bran Stoker's Dracula
Theater of Magic
Bride of Pin Bot

(some of my favs)

 

[yzrider926]

Got MMR RE back in April or so. Going to sell a few pins in the next few months as we’re getting a pool.

 

[Tripredacus]

There is a Deadpool at the office I get to play and it has basically been the only game I've gotten to play since March. With exception to one day in June or something. Local pinball place is open again, but they require wearing masks during play. I tried it, doesn't suit me. So I will wait until they get rid of that rule before I get to play out again.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

View attachment 58091Got MMR RE back in April or so. Going to sell a few pins in the next few months as we’re getting a pool.

So be honest with me, what do you think about Monster Bash in the home? I hear it is too easy and shallow? I have an AFM remake and love it, and while MB is BEAUTIFUL, I am not so sure about the longevity in the home. Your thoughts?

 

[evil wasabi]

View attachment 58091Got MMR RE back in April or so. Going to sell a few pins in the next few months as we’re getting a pool.

Very nice dude. My advice:
Don't get a pool. It's expensive to maintain, you have to resurface it every few years, it's a legal liability if a kid falls in it (attractive nuisance), and future buyers might not want it, which hurts resell-ability.

Also, gotta wonder if those pins will be worth twice the value they are now in a few years as more collectors in their mid life near death crises are looking for that thing they miss from their youth.

 

[ballzdeepx]

The remakes essentially exist because the licensing, parts and manufacturing tools are still owned by planetary pinball and Chicago gaming.
Afm, mb, and mm had very low production runs as pinball was dying at the time, and as time went on some of these pins were fetching 15k and up, so the market and desire was there.
Now that there are more in circulation I doubt those 15k and up prices will be seen again, and pinball is going strong right now with many of the old guard still designing, coding, etc.

The classic 90s era dmd games are climbing in price like crazy though.

As for MB in the home , its better in a diverse lineup of games, but its not that easy. People who say it is generally leave their lanes wide open, generous tilt settings, flatter slopes, and sometimes 5 balls per game. Most people can't get all the monsters and their instruments in one game. Like any pin of this era though, you can see most of what it has to offer within a certain amount of plays.

 

[mmsadda]

So be honest with me, what do you think about Monster Bash in the home? I hear it is too easy and shallow? I have an AFM remake and love it, and while MB is BEAUTIFUL, I am not so sure about the longevity in the home. Your thoughts?

I would say Monster Bash has decent depth, but shoots fairly easy. I personally don't get the appeal of having 3 fan layout games - MB feels like Gomez trying to do a Bryan Eddy game. Too much hit-all-the-shots-3-times. IDK why, I've always found MB overrated.
That's my main beef with the A-titles - most of them are either fan layouts or Lawlor's Addams Family variants.

I kinda like the weird stuff like Congo / Dredd - Trudeau did some great designs. But that's just me. I also think these were good rule sets at the time, but pale in comparison to what came abount in 2010ish. Borg's stuff in that era (Avatar despite its flaws, and then Walking Dead as a prime example) had some phenomenal rules. Plus ACDC / Metallica... I think things progressed rapidly like a decade after B/W left the game.

Afm, mb, and mm had very low production runs as pinball was dying at the time, and as time went on some of these pins were fetching 15k and up, so the market and desire was there.
Now that there are more in circulation I doubt those 15k and up prices will be seen again, and pinball is going strong right now with many of the old guard still designing, coding, etc.

The classic 90s era dmd games are climbing in price like crazy though.

As for MB in the home , its better in a diverse lineup of games, but its not that easy. People who say it is generally leave their lanes wide open, generous tilt settings, flatter slopes, and sometimes 5 balls per game. Most people can't get all the monsters and their instruments in one game. Like any pin of this era though, you can see most of what it has to offer within a certain amount of plays.

I'd agree - Medieval was $12k+ pre-remake, now it's like new Premium money, maybe $8k. Nice that the remakes have made things sane again. Tho like you said, the other classics are still climbing. i hope CGC keeps releasing remakes.

Sold one of my cabs to make room for an Elvira House of Horrors. Had it for a few months and I love it. I still have my virtual pin but I am thinking about selling my Impress and Neo MVU to get another pin.

Nice! I only have 2 plays on EHoH - looks cool, but I haven't got a good feel for the rules yet.

If you're offloading an MVU candy cab for a pin in the future, shoot me a message - maybe we can talk about some sort of partial trade or something.

Still doing pins but I only have limited space.

I recently sold my Shadow to a friend and the current lineup:

Medieval Madness SE
Star Trek Pro Vault, fully decked out
Monster Bash SE
Dialed in LE

I'm getting to the realization that I prefer faster flow games with shorter ball times. Deep code is constantly praised but I just like to have fun, and I find most others who come by and play do as well.

Oh man, I would've kept that Shadow (tho I shouldn't talk - I sold one a while back too.)
You've got a nice varied modern lineup with the Dialed In and Star Trek there

 

[evil wasabi]

The remakes essentially exist because the licensing, parts and manufacturing tools are still owned by planetary pinball and Chicago gaming.
Afm, mb, and mm had very low production runs as pinball was dying at the time, and as time went on some of these pins were fetching 15k and up, so the market and desire was there.
Now that there are more in circulation I doubt those 15k and up prices will be seen again, and pinball is going strong right now with many of the old guard still designing, coding, etc.

The classic 90s era dmd games are climbing in price like crazy though.

As for MB in the home , its better in a diverse lineup of games, but its not that easy. People who say it is generally leave their lanes wide open, generous tilt settings, flatter slopes, and sometimes 5 balls per game. Most people can't get all the monsters and their instruments in one game. Like any pin of this era though, you can see most of what it has to offer within a certain amount of plays.

The remake of MM looks better than I remember the original looking.

 

[ballzdeepx]

The original MM remakes were basically the same except all led instead of incandescent, and different driver boards, electronics. The mechanicals are all the same. The cabinet uses improved wood, and the LE trim added shaker motor, color dmd chip and gold trim.

Recently, they came out with a royal edition which has all that plus an upgraded screen, speaker system, custom topper and powder coat trim, and active led based on modes.

This brings them in line with the AFM and MB SE/LE models, and cgc also allows for original mm remake owners to buy these options to install as well.

Some people say the old ones play differently but I think its mostly people salty their old investment isn't worth what it used to be. The older ones are easier to do solder work on though.