|
In terms of licensed tables we haven't seen yet, I wouldn't mind F14 Tomcat or Atlantis, just out of nostalgia from playing them a bunch as a kid. I bet they are actually not that great though.
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 18:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 9, 2024 11:29 |
|
|
I don't get the hype behind behind Addams Family either. I've played it perfect condition, I've played it beat-to-poo poo, hell, I've even played the Gold edition. I mean, it's cool and all but it can be wicked brutal and it's a lot like many of Lawlor's layouts. Despite that, the table does have some cool modes and audio-visual effects. I think the hype is based on a lot of nostalgia. If you spent any time in an arcade back in the 90's, you more than likely played The Addams Family.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 19:03
|
|
|
Der-Wreck posted:I don't get the hype behind behind Addams Family either. I've played it perfect condition, I've played it beat-to-poo poo, hell, I've even played the Gold edition. I mean, it's cool and all but it can be wicked brutal and it's a lot like many of Lawlor's layouts. Despite that, the table does have some cool modes and audio-visual effects. It's literally one of the two tables (the other being Terminator 2) I specifically remembered before developing an interest in pinball. I honestly couldn't care less if it gets in Pinball Arcade or not (I'm drawn more to the simpler machines and tend to think licensed tables are tacky as gently caress), but it was a very hard machine to ignore as a kid in the early '90s. It played the Adaam's Family theme on repeat in attract mode, I'm almost certain.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 21:45
|
|
|
Rollersnake posted:I honestly couldn't care less if it gets in Pinball Arcade or not (I'm drawn more to the simpler machines and tend to think licensed tables are tacky as gently caress), but it was a very hard machine to ignore as a kid in the early '90s. It played the Adaam's Family theme on repeat in attract mode, I'm almost certain. Sometimes, in between balls, it will play the theme and trigger the flippers on the finger-snapping part. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 21:46
|
|
|
prefect posted:Sometimes, in between balls, it will play the theme and trigger the flippers on the finger-snapping part. I do that literally every time. No mater how good/bad of a ball I had.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 21:51
|
|
|
prefect posted:Sometimes, in between balls, it will play the theme and trigger the flippers on the finger-snapping part. Yeah, TAF does some really cool things like that as well as The Thing lock. It's neat to see and I can only imagine it being quite mind-blowing back in the early 90's but maaaaaaaaan sometimes that tables takes forever to get things going.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 21:53
|
|
|
prefect posted:Sometimes, in between balls, it will play the theme and trigger the flippers on the finger-snapping part. Okay, that's pretty great. At my local arcade (Bigfoot's in Sunrise, FL, on the slim chance anyone else here remembers it), I recall it sat pretty much right across from Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder, so I got to hear that drat theme a whole lot. Edit: I'd be slightly less likely to pass up all the pinball machines in favor of Revenge of Death Adder these days.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 21:54
|
|
|
Addam's Family is the only pinball game I remember from my childhood, probably because of the toys. It was very satisfying to finally learn how to actually play it instead of just flailing in hopes that I'd get the hand to pop out. It's hard to ignore my own nostalgia and consider the game critically, but even after playing a ton of other games, the SHOWTIME!!! light show is still one of my favorites.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 22:01
|
|
|
prefect posted:Sometimes, in between balls, it will play the theme and trigger the flippers on the finger-snapping part.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 22:03
|
|
|
Addams was the first game that really showed the full potential of the dot matrix display era of games. As opposed to T2 which debuted it, Addams has a bunch of modes, a ton of sound clips, decent animations, and then neat surprises (Thing, and the magnets). There was no other game that was quite like it at the time, and it was pretty much used as the blueprint for games for the next couple years. The art is pretty great, and it has some spectacular lighting. There's tons of games that are better than The Addams Family, but TAF did it first, and it's such a cohesive package of quality design that it manages to hold up, and STILL is one of the highest location earners of pinball, even with two decades of new machines since. EDIT: The Pat Lawlor interview on the Topcast goes into why it stands up so well still a bit too.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 22:04
|
|
|
Clouseau posted:There's tons of games that are better than The Addams Family, but TAF did it first, and it's such a cohesive package of quality design that it manages to hold up, and STILL is one of the highest location earners of pinball, even with two decades of new machines since. I'm curious how anyone knows it's a high earner. I mean, it is - it competes very well with the new Sterns in the arcade we have. I can't imagine our company ever letting anyone, Stern or otherwise, know our exact numbers. Hell, I don't even have access to them. I know rough estimates from helping collectors, and I'm sure they'd tell me if I asked, but still.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 01:34
|
|
|
Lawlor bragged about it being high up on the Playmeter poll at Pinball Expo 2012 FWIW. Since you work in arcades, you might know if it's bullshit or not. Anecdotally, it's the most represented location game in Chicago, next to AC/DC.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 02:31
|
|
|
Anonymous Robot posted:What's so good about Addams Family? I didn't play a lot of it at Funspot because it was banged up ( some toys were missing their "toy" part but the mechanics still functioned) but it didn't seem incredible or anything. I was at funspot last summer and that table was broken then too. That place is garbage.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 02:41
|
|
|
FishBulb posted:I was at funspot last summer and that table was broken then too. That place is garbage. I had fun there, and $20 kept me playing games all night, so I can't complain too much. But yeah, pretty much every game I was excited to play, pin and otherwise, was busted if not completely out of order. And they apparently got rid of their Darkstalkers cabinet, which is half the reason I was looking forward to going. Apparently there's a place a half hour closer to me that seems way better: http://www.pinballwizardarcade.com/ Edit: Funspot had Mortal Kombat 1, 2, and 3 but got rid of Street Fighter II and Darkstalkers 
Anonymous Robot fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Apr 30, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 02:43
|
|
|
Domus posted:I'm curious how anyone knows it's a high earner. I mean, it is - it competes very well with the new Sterns in the arcade we have. I can't imagine our company ever letting anyone, Stern or otherwise, know our exact numbers. Hell, I don't even have access to them. I know rough estimates from helping collectors, and I'm sure they'd tell me if I asked, but still. TAF was literally everywhere throughout the 90's. Bars, pizza joints, 7-11s, laundromats, bowling alleys and of course arcades. Even arcades that primarily would have wall to wall videogame coin ops would often have their one lone pin, TAF, sitting near the back of the house and there would usually be someone playing it with another person waiting to play next. The theme of the game is completely relatable to anyone at any age. Everyone is pretty much aware of The Addams Family characters whether it was through the funny pages, the classic 60s b/w television show, various cartoon incarnations than ran across 3 decades (70s-90s) and from the 3 movies in the 90s. The game itself is very well designed and further helped cement Pat Lawlor as a mad genius at pinball creation. In 1992, TAF was pretty revolutionary in it's design (animated dot matrix display and the light shows "SHOW-TIME!" and it's creative toys (Thing, Thing Flips). All pinball that followed owes a debt of gratitude to TAF. It really did change the industry.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 02:45
|
|
|
To tack on what others have said about Addams Family, I think nostalgia plays a role too. It is the machine that was in every single arcade. Everyone has played it at some point. As Clouseau said, it really was the game that revolutionized modern pinball. The first game I believe that had a story attached to it. It was also a theme that everyone seemed to like. Young, old, men, women, everyone knew about Addams Family and the toys matched it perfectly.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 05:01
|
|
|
I've been working on the cosmetics of the Genesis table I picked up. I found some Metropolis artwork online that I like quite a bit and have been adding things/taking things out/changing some colors, and here's a mockup of what it will look like with my custom translite: Normally I'm not keen on changing art assets on these things, because I see them a bit like pop art, but I'm not sure Gottieb really gave a drat one way or another, so I'm just going to make it look nice. I may do some side art and change some of the plastics as well to make it fit the Metropolis theme better.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 05:38
|
|
|
With the android lab, Moloch, and the megacity/tunnel transit imagery in Metropolis, it would make for a really excellent table theme without the wink-nudge Genesis trappings.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 05:43
|
|
|
Anonymous Robot posted:With the android lab, Moloch, and the megacity/tunnel transit imagery in Metropolis, it would make for a really excellent table theme without the wink-nudge Genesis trappings. Indeed. I'm not sure where to work Moloch in yet. Ideally I'd have some plastics in front of the ramps, but I don't think the spacing or size will work out well for that without interfering with the layout. I'm going to work on some art with my meager skills and see where that gets me.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 05:54
|
|
|
drat, that is some nice custom work. You thinking of swapping the ramps out for something not so purple?
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 06:14
|
|
|
Domus posted:I'm curious how anyone knows it's a high earner. I mean, it is - it competes very well with the new Sterns in the arcade we have. I can't imagine our company ever letting anyone, Stern or otherwise, know our exact numbers. Hell, I don't even have access to them. I know rough estimates from helping collectors, and I'm sure they'd tell me if I asked, but still.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 09:45
|
|
|
Niwrad posted:To tack on what others have said about Addams Family, I think nostalgia plays a role too. It is the machine that was in every single arcade. Everyone has played it at some point. I think it's generally accepted that High Speed was the first pin with a "story." On Lawlor's TOPcast he says that TAF was the first one to follow the pattern of "complete the modes, play the wizard mode." Googling for "first wizard mode" got me this youtube playlist of wizard modes that is going to distract me for the next few hours.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 15:30
|
|
|
Anyone going to PinFest this weekend in Allentown, PA? I don't get to play many real tables so I'm excited. I've never even played Adams Family! http://www.pinfestival.com/
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 17:49
|
|
|
I'm planning to be there on Saturday, not sure if I'll enter the tournament or not. Four hours of match play sounds exhausting.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 19:19
|
|
|
When I was a kid, the local community center had a game with with a Ms. PacMan/Galaga cabinet, an airhockey table, a pool table....and an Addams Family pinball machine. I wish I had known then just how much of a treat it was to have ready access to one of those. I played it a handful of times and loved it, but that was before I really know how to pinball without just mashing the flippers.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 22:48
|
|
|
Collateral Damage posted:I asked the operators I know. The best earners in their lineup are TAF and AFM. Both machines also have good profit margins because TAF is surprisingly robust for the amount of toys it has, and AFM is a mechanically simple machine with few things that break easily. What machine is AFM? I should know it, and it's right at the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember and it's driving me insane. New FX2 tables out today, just bought them. Y'all should get the pack too, so I have some high scores to
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 22:52
|
|
|
Ugly In The Morning posted:New FX2 tables out today, just bought them. Y'all should get the pack too, so I have some high scores to Seconding this. This pack is pretty awesome, the Han Solo table is a standout.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 22:54
|
|
|
Ugly In The Morning posted:What machine is AFM? I should know it, and it's right at the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember and it's driving me insane. Attack from Mars
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 22:57
|
|
|
XenoCrab posted:Attack from Mars Yep, shoulda known it. That one's never been one of my favorites, though. jivjov posted:Seconding this. This pack is pretty awesome, the Han Solo table is a standout. I really gotta boot it up. Stupid work leaves me too tired for pinball most days. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 23:23
|
|
|
And yet again. Farsite. Decided to go through and play tables where I didn't have any of the wizard goals completed. There's four left. Decided to play Ripley's since I have never really given it a chance. Don't know what the Hell I'm doing, but end up having one of those games. Pull all five wizard goals, visit all the continents twice, spell RIPLEYS - discover Atlantis.... and on and on. Extra balls right and left. Prior to all of this my high score was 23 million. After what seems like my 10th ball or so, sitting at 194 million, and the voice says "Shoot again." I have at least one extra ball, with ball three to go. Nope. Game then pops up with the local high scores overlay and the continue button. I click it and get the main menu - while my game is more or less just sitting in the background with the DMD cycling through the status report. Screen shotted it showing my score and that I was still on ball 2.  Didn't even get to enter my initials. Did register the score on the leaderboards, so that's nice and all, but what the Hell. This is a new level of broken for me. Edit - ooooh. New FX2 tables? Tempting. Edit 2 - Well poo poo. Tried Genie - one of the other tables that I hadn't gotten a wizard goal on and almost pulled it off again. Nabbed 4 out of 5 - missing only the dreaded 3 million score. 2,613,000 - annoyingly close, but still far enough off to not get really pissed about. 71st on the boards, with only 61 scores over 3 million. It's got to be one of the hardest goals. Tony Phillips fucked around with this message at 02:26 on May 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2014 23:28
|
|
|
Collateral Damage posted:I asked the operators I know. The best earners in their lineup are TAF and AFM. Both machines also have good profit margins because TAF is surprisingly robust for the amount of toys it has, and AFM is a mechanically simple machine with few things that break easily.  I'd be scared to put an AFM in the field. I guess it works in locations where there are staff close to the machines, but you can't have someone watch them all the time. Plus, Cleveland is a lovely town, and we have some real dives as locations. Even places where they love pinball, customers beat the poo poo out of stuff. And then in nice places, there's little kids to wreck things. We had a TOTAN out, and it came back with sharpie marker all over one side. That poo poo comes off with the right chemicals, but it could just as easily been a paint marker, or a sharp stick, or whatever. It just doesn't seem to have a good earnings/risk ratio.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2014 01:32
|
|
|
Domus posted:
 I know one of the operators pulled his machines from the student union building, but that wasn't because the regular patrons were being unruly, it was because students are idiots and would let just about anyone into the building. It's accessible 24/7 but only students with a valid student ID are supposed to get in. Often drug addicts and other scum would get into the building by having students hold the door for them, then try to break into the pinball machines (and coin changer) to steal the coins.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2014 23:06
|
|
|
Domus posted:
I wonder how much it would cost to have clear coverings (think acrylic panels maybe?) put over the sides of a pinball table. Would that help protect from non-intentional wear and tear as well? It'd probably look tacky as poo poo though.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2014 23:42
|
|
|
Galaga Galaxian posted:I wonder how much it would cost to have clear coverings (think acrylic panels maybe?) put over the sides of a pinball table. Would that help protect from non-intentional wear and tear as well? I don't think it would be costly, but yeah, it'd look like poo poo, and that would hurt earnings. I mean, there are remake decals of all the big pins - you can just stick a new set on the machine and it's maybe $300 plus a few hours of labor. It's more that you could stick a new Pro Stern in for close to the same earnings, and have half the money invested. We had an AFM that was removed from a location a few days before a massive fire. We still had a jukebox in there, and it literally melted. I guess it was all covered under insurance either way, but I'd rather have a Mustang burn over a classic Bally/Williams, regardless of value.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2014 03:46
|
|
|
I tried really hard to get this under 30k, but I think it's impossible. Still a great animation though, probably my favorite out of any table.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2014 04:09
|
|
|
Polo-Rican posted:I tried really hard to get this under 30k, but I think it's impossible. Still a great animation though, probably my favorite out of any table. Where do you live ? The remake is coming out soon and for around 8k only: http://www.planetarypinball.com/category/mmr/
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2014 04:18
|
|
|
CodeMonkey posted:Where do you live ? I'm laughing regardless of whether this was a joke or not. Edit - Someone else could surely get this looking better, but it's technically under $30,000. 
Tony Phillips fucked around with this message at 04:33 on May 2, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2014 04:25
|
|
|
I mean Medieval Madness is great and all but for $8k you have your pick of almost anything, and I think there are tables with a lot more staying power than that. Also the new FX2 Star Wars pack is pretty good, definitely recommend it for anyone that's not an FX2 hater. At first glance the two Zoltan tables seem really good. Ep IV is probably the worst of the movie tables due to really boring fan layout but Deep always does good rulesets - not too sure about it but certainly a valiant effort to make something out of nothing. I can't play Droids because holy poo poo that R2D2 moving noise shut the gently caress up, but whatever.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2014 07:44
|
|
|
Those guys have been saying "soon" for like 5 years now so I'm not holding my breath.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2014 10:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 9, 2024 11:29 |
|
|
I really don't have much experience with pinball machines not made in the 80s. So what machines are out there that function similarly to Medieval Madness (lots of gimmicks/modes/whatever you call them) which don't cost a ton? At some point I would like to get a newer pinball machine that scratches the same itch as MM but I have no idea what else is out there. e: and $8k doesn't really seem that bad for a new pinball machine that everyone seems to love.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2014 22:11
|
|
