Avatar by Jersey Jack Pinball

[AlanJ]

Watching the jjp release video is dangerous - you believe this is something amazing and you need one now and are about to place an order with PH. Then you watch some actual gameplay videos and realise it’s just another pinball game, nowt special flippers n balls etc. I’ll wait for something else…..

 

[Gonzo]

I think most people are in the same boat, outside of comic book nerds. Name sounds stupid to me, I'll be calling it the new X-Men ( I do see the irony btw! )

I'm glad someone else said it, the name 'Uncanny' ? Really odd title.

 

[Silverpaolo]

I'm glad someone else said it, the name 'Uncanny' ? Really odd title.

Xmen 97 sounds so much better but probably a reason it’s not called that

 

[steve brum]

maybe it will be XM97 but most likely UXM

ageing games is fine if they are in the "future" ie Flight 2000 or Black Knight 2000

I'm still waiting on Superman 78

 

[Richpin]

Watching the jjp release video is dangerous - you believe this is something amazing and you need one now and are about to place an order with PH. Then you watch some actual gameplay videos and realise it’s just another pinball game, nowt special flippers n balls etc. I’ll wait for something else…..

This is exactly the same reaction I had, the promo makes it look more than just a new game then gameplay brings you back to reality

 

[Fantazia2]

Watching the jjp release video is dangerous - you believe this is something amazing and you need one now and are about to place an order with PH. Then you watch some actual gameplay videos and realise it’s just another pinball game, nowt special flippers n balls etc. I’ll wait for something else…..

Isn't that the same for most JJP pins, beautiful to look at but average gameplay.

 

[Kenny Taylor]

Very true but looking at the screen content you are then transported back to world of Pandora. The visuals are stunning and you could only imagine what those sunset moments will be like..

 

[J85M]

Xmen 97 sounds so much better but probably a reason it’s not called that

Because it’s based on the uncanny version and not based on the 97 version? Just a wild shot in the dark

 

[Silverpaolo]

Because it’s based on the uncanny version and not based on the 97 version? Just a wild shot in the dark

Argh there we have it

 

[PinballNoobie]

If you want a little chuckle... compare the JJP video to Stern's from 10 years ago! Take a shot the narrator says James Cameron...

I think he says "James Cameron's" at least 9 times - which is about once every 15 seconds

 

[cooldan]

i don't understand. i prefer this video for the original Stern game, the new infomercial is too cheesy and positive for me, it basically says the new game cures cancer and will give Greta an orgasm. i had the original Avatar at home for a year or so and really enjoyed it, bought from @ronsplooter and sold to David Dutton, not sure why people above (@johnwhitfield i'm looking at you) are slagging it off without knowing the game at all, i suspect having played 3 games or less on it. like Neal's Xmen exclusive, basically. I know the original Avatar game, even wrote a rulessheet for it.

Sure, this new game may also be fun, but it's based on two films that don't even come out for another year or more, and how much do they want for it, ten grand? choose between 'limited edition' and 'collectors' edition'? wtf, are they taking the pis_s? Sorry to be negative here guys in basically what is an echo chamber of people somehow drawn to spending 10K on a thing they never saw yet, and i'm happy that JJP and Stern are now *both* heavyweights able to release a game a year or more with expensive licenses. Pinball seems to be in a healthy state just now.

 

[VeeMonroe]

not sure why people above (@johnwhitfield i'm looking at you) are slagging it off without knowing the game at all, i suspect having played 3 games or less on it. like Neal's Xmen exclusive, basically. I know the original Avatar game, even wrote a rulessheet for it.

Because it comes up a lot in league competitions, and the entire game is ‘backhand amp suit X billion times, backhand link shot X billion times, try to stack the two multiballs. Rinse and repeat’.

The only game that has fewer, less interesting ways to get a high score (that I’ve actually played) is Junkyard (DOG all day - wheeee!)…

Sorry to be negative here guys in basically what is an echo chamber of people somehow drawn to spending 10K on a thing they never saw yet

As per my p****e over on the X-Men thread, if you think *this* is a lot of people drawn to spending 10k on a thing they haven’t seen yet, you should see Pinside…

Just to explain, the way it works over here (and I don’t do this, but a few others do), is that pinball is in such a healthy state right now that most things Stern produce (and a significant fraction of what JJP and Spooky produce now too) are pretty solid. As most modern Sterns are/were a relatively fixed price second hand and didn’t lose too much money on resale (this is now changing), there’s a community of people who buy the latest modern Stern, resell it for close to original cost, buy a new modern Stern with the proceeds and so on. It’s a way of trying out new machines and keeping a collection fresh by swapping a pin every few months, and quite a few people originally got this train rolling by selling older pins when the prices rose so the money’s not ‘fresh’ (if that makes any sense at all)

 

[Moonraker]

Because it comes up a lot in league competitions, and the entire game is ‘backhand amp suit X billion times, backhand link shot X billion times, try to stack the two multiballs. Rinse and repeat’.

Which, interestingly, is not the best tactic for the game but it's safer than most plus everyone likes to copy everyone else's tactics after seeing what they've managed to achieve, whilst you struggle to play the game the first time or first few times.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Which, interestingly, is not the best tactic for the game but it's safer than most plus everyone likes to copy everyone else's tactics after seeing what they've managed to achieve, whilst you struggle to play the game the first time or first few times.

Next, obvious question, what’s the best tactic?

Not as if I’m good enough to play it, or anything, but it’s worth the know!

 

[Taxiturn]

Because it comes up a lot in league competitions, and the entire game is ‘backhand amp suit X billion times, backhand link shot X billion times, try to stack the two multiballs. Rinse and repeat’.

The only game that has fewer, less interesting ways to get a high score (that I’ve actually played) is Junkyard (DOG all day - wheeee!)…



As per my p****e over on the X-Men thread, if you think *this* is a lot of people drawn to spending 10k on a thing they haven’t seen yet, you should see Pinside…

Just to explain, the way it works over here (and I don’t do this, but a few others do), is that pinball is in such a healthy state right now that most things Stern produce (and a significant fraction of what JJP and Spooky produce now too) are pretty solid. As most modern Sterns are/were a relatively fixed price second hand and didn’t lose too much money on resale (this is now changing), there’s a community of people who buy the latest modern Stern, resell it for close to original cost, buy a new modern Stern with the proceeds and so on. It’s a way of trying out new machines and keeping a collection fresh by swapping a pin every few months, and quite a few people originally got this train rolling by selling older pins when the prices rose so the money’s not ‘fresh’ (if that makes any sense at all)

I don’t love Stern Avatar either, but there is more to the game than just stacking Link and Amp.

For better scoring, there is a system of shot multipliers, completing the top lanes lights all major shots with a white X. Next white X shot made puts a 2x multiplier on that shot for the rest of the ball. You can repeat this over and over so if you push the risk you can potentially have 2x on all major shots, and then you can also get a roving 3x on one shot. The risk is that the feed from the top lanes goes through the pops and depending on the machine, this feed might not be nice.

Even playing Link MB by itself, once you collect 15 jackpots there is a 3m super and a 6m double super on the Link shot, so if you have 2x on the Link shot that’s 18m alone.

You can stack more modes into Link like Navi scoring, Seeds and especially bomber battle (especially if you’ve been shooting orbits for the top lanes to get 2x multipliers), then when in Link you can progress towards Amp with lower risk. Get the Link add a ball early (locking a ball back in Link and hitting it). The captive ball mystery can also give you an add a ball though from memory it’s not always the first award and if you took other modes into Link MB then it might add more time to those modes instead.

Shooting Amp in single ball play is one of the ways I often get myself killed, especially once the magnet wakes up, which is why I’ve started shying away from trying to get it ready in single ball and only start hitting it in Link MB instead. Others may do this differently.

Peter is probably about to come back with an even better strategy, but this is how I’ve recently started trying to play the game as a not great player having previously just done what you did. Get the 2x on Link at least or more if feeling good about the pop feed, get Link going, add a ball, focus on getting jackpots and work on Amp, then maybe the stack does come in but it’s more profitable. Actually doing it is the hard part

 

[J.C.Rox]

Gameplay, looks great!

Twitch

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[VeeMonroe]

I don’t love Stern Avatar either, but there is more to the game than just stacking Link and Amp.

For better scoring, there is a system of shot multipliers, completing the top lanes lights all major shots with a white X. Next white X shot made puts a 2x multiplier on that shot for the rest of the ball. You can repeat this over and over so if you push the risk you can potentially have 2x on all major shots, and then you can also get a roving 3x on one shot. The risk is that the feed from the top lanes goes through the pops and depending on the machine, this feed might not be nice.

Even playing Link MB by itself, once you collect 15 jackpots there is a 3m super and a 6m double super on the Link shot, so if you have 2x on the Link shot that’s 18m alone.

You can stack more modes into Link like Navi scoring, Seeds and especially bomber battle (especially if you’ve been shooting orbits for the top lanes to get 2x multipliers), then when in Link you can progress towards Amp with lower risk. Get the Link add a ball early (locking a ball back in Link and hitting it). The captive ball mystery can also give you an add a ball though from memory it’s not always the first award and if you took other modes into Link MB then it might add more time to those modes instead.

Shooting Amp in single ball play is one of the ways I often get myself killed, especially once the magnet wakes up, which is why I’ve started shying away from trying to get it ready in single ball and only start hitting it in Link MB instead. Others may do this differently.

Peter is probably about to come back with an even better strategy, but this is how I’ve recently started trying to play the game as a not great player having previously just done what you did. Get the 2x on Link at least or more if feeling good about the pop feed, get Link going, add a ball, focus on getting jackpots and work on Amp, then maybe the stack does come in but it’s more profitable. Actually doing it is the hard part

Thank you! This is super-helpful!

Basically, as a not-very-good-player, my games to date have typically consisted on grinding Amp and Link over two balls, and hoping to get a stacked multi-ball on the third. As a result, my games aren't consistent because I either get under a million or 8+ million, and nothing in between! And, yeah, I find the magnet on Amp a p***r for slinging the ball straight out of play!

I'll try the Link multiplier strategy and see if that works better for me

Thanks again!

[Sorry for the off-topic, everyone!]

 

[VeeMonroe]

Did someone post this yet?

The flow, music and lighting looks amazing. Watching the beginning of the Twitch stream, it is - superficially, at least - a 'very JJP' ruleset, i.e. the basic strategy is collect a bunch of arbitrary *things* to start a multiball. Whether the ruleset is good beyond that will take months to emerge because it depends on how the scoring is balanced. You can't *win* Elton John just by trivially starting lots of multiballs, but our perception of playing the Godfather at Pinfest was, although there were lots of things to do in theory, in reality you just needed to accidentally start an endless multiball!

 

[Marvello]

Did someone post this yet?

The flow, music and lighting looks amazing. Watching the beginning of the Twitch stream, it is - superficially, at least - a 'very JJP' ruleset, i.e. the basic strategy is collect a bunch of arbitrary *things* to start a multiball. Whether the ruleset is good beyond that will take months to emerge because it depends on how the scoring is balanced. You can't *win* Elton John just by trivially starting lots of multiballs, but our perception of playing the Godfather at Pinfest was, although there were lots of things to do in theory, in reality you just needed to accidentally start an endless multiball!

I'm guessing this is the guy who cut his Godfather topper in two and mounted half on each side of the Pin because he didn't have enough height in his room .

 

[VeeMonroe]

I'm guessing this is the guy who cut his Godfather topper in two and mounted half on each side of the Pin because he didn't have enough height in his room .

 

[dave]

Isn't that the same for most JJP pins, beautiful to look at but average gameplay.

Pretty much, they are all mouth but no trousers. Closest they must have got to something decent was Dialled in and probably the only "non wideboy" they have done?

 

[Marvello]

I'm guessing this is the guy who cut his Godfather topper in two and mounted half on each side of the Pin because he didn't have enough height in his room .

Found the Pinside article, he says it is fully reversible so not as extreme as it seems.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Pretty much, they are all mouth but no trousers. Closest they must have got to something decent was Dialled in and probably the only "non wideboy" they have done?

No. Elton John as well as Dialed In.

EJ is not a wide body. It's basically Star Trek/No Fear with a more complex JJP-style ruleset and higher production values.

The Hobbit is also pretty good (if you want that style of gameplay).

 

[dave]

No. Elton John as well as Dialed In.

That's how much I paid attention to EJ! Not interested in giving that any time at all for many reasons but if people are legit into that game then that's probably something to do with why some of these releases flop.

Hobbit looks really mundane to play. You can't fault their builds or their user interface. They're just too much to drop on to even find out and rarely see them in wild.

 

[VeeMonroe]

That's how much I paid attention to EJ! Not interested in giving that any time at all for many reasons but if people are legit into that game then that's probably something to do with why some of these releases flop.

I had no interest going into Elton John for either theme or gameplay reasons, but I played all the new releases at AEG London in January (I live literally across the river from eXcel) and it just sort-of stuck with me. I hired the show prototype for a month and, despite having a bunch of great pins at home, we just kept going back to it.

We knew there was barely a primary market, so we'd never get one second hand. So... we bought one. It's still being played as much as our other pins, if not more, and my younger son now hums Elton John songs.

In general, I've noticed it's very difficult for companies to get traction once they get a bad reputation. It's a vicious circle of people being unwilling to consider them, no one buys them, no one puts them on location and then no one considers them. It's very visible on Pinside where, obviously, I've played lots of other manufacturers' pins (many of which are good), but Pinsiders would rather buy mediocre Sterns sight unseen than something good by a different manufacturer.

Hobbit looks really mundane to play. You can't fault their builds or their user interface. They're just too much to drop on to even find out and rarely see them in wild.

There's one at the Pinball Office. It's a long player and very immersive, and good fun if you like that sort of thing. It's aimed at the community of people who want to play 45+ minute games of Lord of the Rings.

 

[JustLikeMe]

Pirates was the last wide body game they released, all the machines since then have been standard size.

 

[dave]

There's one at the Pinball Office. It's a long player and very immersive, and good fun if you like that sort of thing. It's aimed at the community of people who want to play 45+ minute games of Lord of the Rings.

Pinball Offices? Will have to research where that is. That's exactly what it looks like to me, long ball times, stop and start watching a film and probably need to sit on a stool to play it if trying to complete it all the way.

I had no interest going into Elton John for either theme or gameplay reasons,

my younger son now hums Elton John songs

lol! Well to be fair to him he wasn't the worse singer.

In general, I've noticed it's very difficult for companies to get traction once they get a bad reputation.

Yeah it's unreal is some cases but I think that's Pinball for you. Homepins get it bad. Stern you can get less than a JJP, so even if mediocre you're not spending as much as compared to a mediocre jjp game.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Pinball Offices? Will have to research where that is. That's exactly what it looks like to me, long ball times, stop and start watching a film and probably need to sit on a stool to play it if trying to complete it all the way.

Here you go: https://www.thepinballoffice.co.uk/

There are some beautiful canal-side walks locally and The Shed (https://www.theshedcoffeehouse.co.uk/) is great for lunch.

Yeah it's unreal is some cases but I think that's Pinball for you. Homepins get it bad. Stern you can get less than a JJP, so even if mediocre you're not spending as much as compared to a mediocre jjp game.

It depends on what you want. Sure, for a Pro, but the JJP LEs have powder coating, shaker motor, invisiglass, topper, etc. and my EJ cost about the same as a Stern Prem does.

 

[dave]

Pirates was the last wide body game they released, all the machines since then have been standard size.

Oh, that long ago. The playfield width still half inch to 1" bigger than a stern?

 

[dave]

Here you go: https://www.thepinballoffice.co.uk/

There are some beautiful canal-side walks locally and The Shed (https://www.theshedcoffeehouse.co.uk/) is great for lunch.

It depends on what you want. Sure, for a Pro, but the JJP LEs have powder coating, shaker motor, invisiglass, topper, etc. and my EJ cost about the same as a Stern Prem does.

Those costs are a bit expensive! What would entice me is if I could take £1 in, drop it in a machine and get replays and then maybe stay there for 3 hours for 3-5£, all depending how brutal they are setup and if they're not bolted to the ground like some places. London prices.