London EAG

[David retro]

I think people forget there's an art to setting up a game. Maybe it was set up too easy, whether that's too steep or too shallow (depends on the game).

I imagine you can make it a lot harder.

Indeed correct we had it set with factory settings
Which I believe includes extended ball save and also a mercy multiball
I felt leaving it this way have people abit more options to explore the labyrinth always more ways to make a game harder or easier the game has a lot of option in the menu will have a little play with them and report back

 

[Marvello]

I'm in the market for a new game and have been going back and forth on Jaws and Pulp fiction and have finally decided on Godzilla.

Great choice, there'll be plenty of opportunity to own the other two down the line.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Indeed correct we had it set with factory settings
Which I believe includes extended ball save and also a mercy multiball
I felt leaving it this way have people abit more options to explore the labyrinth always more ways to make a game harder or easier the game has a lot of option in the menu will have a little play with them and report back

It’s a lovely pin. I want to be clear about that. No one is going to be disappointed if it appears in their living room

I should add here that my favourite pins of all time include Fish Tales, TNA, Jurassic Park, with Iron Man (barring the graphics) and Flash Gordon in there somewhere. So… I prefer to fight my machines, and definitions of easy may vary from mine

There are just a lot of great pins being produced right now…

 

[Alpha1]

Regarding Jaws,

Saw on the Pro livestream last night you can use the action button to lock the upper mini flipper to hold balls.

Kinda cool.

Not collapsing building, mecha Godzilla or breaking bridge cool though.

 

[David_Vi]

Regarding Jaws,

Saw on the Pro livestream last night you can use the action button to lock the upper mini flipper to hold balls.

Kinda cool.

Not collapsing building, mecha Godzilla or breaking bridge cool though.

I think those toys are cool for a while then just slow the game down... Whereas that flipper lock is cool but also useful in game. I would prefer more mechs like this... If you can call it a mech?

 

[J85M]

I think those toys are cool for a while then just slow the game down... Whereas that flipper lock is cool but also useful in game. I would prefer more mechs like this... If you can call it a mech?

If you loose interest in mechs after a short while the stripped down, barren Stern pros are for you. I don’t think you can call a flipper a mech/feature.

Watching the pro stream of JAWs last night, I thought it felt very stop/start due to those dual inlane up posts, every couple of shots the ball was stopped and held by one of the posts usually to play an LCD clip, add in starting modes and the harpoon shot they slow Jaws down a lot.

 

[Marvello]

If you loose interest in mechs after a short while the stripped down, barren Stern pros are for you. I don’t think you can call a flipper a mech/feature.

Watching the pro stream of JAWs last night, I thought it felt very stop/start due to those dual inlane up posts, every couple of shots the ball was stopped and held by one of the posts usually to play an LCD clip, add in starting modes and the harpoon shot they slow Jaws down a lot.

I found the inlane post a little annoying on Jurassic Park. It's good sometimes but moderation is needed, and I think just a left one is needed on Jaws for the fin shot.

 

[David_Vi]

If you loose interest in mechs after a short while the stripped down, barren Stern pros are for you. I don’t think you can call a flipper a mech/feature. .

You can 100% call flip lock a feature. What other game has done it?

I'm not saying I loose interest in mechs just most mechs loose the wow factor and id prefer innovative features on the playfield rather than something like the GZ bridge or tower.

 

[VeeMonroe]

You can 100% call flip lock a feature. What other game has done it?

I think there's a narrative emerging around Jaws that it has 'subtle innovation' and a 'grown-up' theme as a way of trying to excuse the sparseness of what it does have...

The third flipper is a similar shot to Roadshow, but Roadshow also has a bunch of other stuff going on. Yes, you can stage a ball under the flipper (and I did lots of times), and locking it is probably useful, but it's just a bit 'blah' within the wider universe of pins. It's a bit like if JP2 had been released with everything stripped out except the Newton ball, and people had tried to talk up that.

I found the inlane post a little annoying on Jurassic Park. It's good sometimes but moderation is needed, and I think just a left one is needed on Jaws for the fin shot.

It is super-annoying on Jaws. I spent a lot of time thinking about why I found the timed fin shot annoying, whereas a very similar shot on JP2 (the Smart Missile) is one of the most iconic shots in pinball. And it's lighting and code. The Smart Missile stops the ball, ramps up the lights and music, offers you a choice of desirable goodies, and then challenges you to make a hard shot to secure them. My experience was that the fin shot stops the ball, doesn't offer you anything, and then gives you 500,000 if you shoot the moving target.

As you get about 500,000 (IIRC) for making shots in a mode in Jaws, having your ball interrupted to make a risky shot where you get similar points to shooting a safer shot within your mode is a... disappointment. It happened a bunch of times, as well (or, at least, it did to me) and, eventually, I just ignored the fin and carried on shooting the mode. If this is a problem, I'm sure they can fix this though.

The whole pin is currently a bit understated TBH. From my understanding of the film, it should be all blood-red GI and creepy music as the shark approaches, and then - suddenly - IT'S A SHARK! Whereas, certainly under natural lighting, it's like you're on a deep ocean fishing trip with your mates, smoking, having a beer, tying reef knots... fin pops up. Oh, baby shark (doo, doo, doo, doo, doo), get a harpoon, quick. Oh no, missed... never mind, back to the beer.

 

[J85M]

You can 100% call flip lock a feature. What other game has done it?

I don’t think it matters if it has been done before or not, Roadshow has a similar ability to trap the balls as others have said.

Let’s be perfectly honest it’s a bloody flipper that Stern are trying to sell as a feature/mech as the game is lacking on genuine features/mechs.

If you go with that narrative, then It’s as much a feature as the dual inlane up posts, if this is what’s considered a mech/feature in modern pinball and it’s accepted no wonder Stern are giving us less and less.

Shots, code, artwork and now flippers are the new mechs/features.

 

[Dave Bishop]

Flipper lock is surely software not a mech..

 

[David_Vi]

You can hold a ball there on roadshow but you can't then use the lower left flipper.

I think the fact someone thought of having a flipper held in it's energised state controlled by a separate button is genius, then add in the holding of balls there is another level. The opportunities in gameplay are exciting!
It's like inverse flipper staging without the difficulty of flipper staging

 

[kevlar]

You can hold a ball there on roadshow but you can't then use the lower left flipper.

I think the fact someone thought of having a flipper held in it's energised state controlled by a separate button is genius, then add in the holding of balls there is another level. The opportunities in gameplay are exciting!
It's like inverse flipper staging without the difficulty of flipper staging

It is clever but it cost them nothing, probably took 10 minutes to code. You can understand now why they dropped their Home edition machines, the pro's are the Home Edition machines.

 

[kev a]

I'm sorta with Elwin on this, the T-rex in JP is great because its big and has range of movement grabs the ball then spits it somewhere else, a shark has to pop up from below the playfield, so its limited in placement and if it eats the ball then what, just spits it back out again like a scoop? I guess they could have made it so you had to bash the shark without getting the ball eaten maybe, I mean for 12k it should do something and be a bit more menacing, but not sure exactly what you could do with it to make it more fun.

 

[Fantazia2]

It is clever but it cost them nothing, probably took 10 minutes to code. You can understand now why they dropped their Home edition machines, the pro's are the Home Edition machines.

Home edition is 2 flippers and a shark bash toy.

 

[J85M]

id prefer innovative features on the playfield rather than something like the GZ bridge or tower.

The tower (I assume you’re referring to the collapsing building) is the most innovative mech we have had in pinball (from Stern at least) in years.

It’s a vertical ball diverter, 3 separate paths with 4 floors, one of which is a physical ball lock. It’s innovative (for Stern) and it’s on the playfield and fully interactive.

Kids and guests always get a wow moment from it, we need more of these moments in pinball not less, especially as prices keep creeping up.

 

[David_Vi]

The tower (I assume you’re referring to the collapsing building) is the most innovative mech we have had in pinball (from Stern at least) in years.

It’s a vertical ball diverter, 3 separate paths with 4 floors, one of which is a physical ball lock. It’s innovative (for Stern) and it’s on the playfield and fully interactive.

Kids and guests always get a wow moment from it, we need more of these moments in pinball not less, especially as prices keep creeping up.

I'll take back what I said about the tower/ building (i was looking at it like a towerblock) it is a good example of a mech being integrated into the gameplay. I had forgotten about the diverting. I can't remember ever being aware of it diverting, I don't think it's too obvious or I haven't played enough of the Premium. It's a shame that mech appears to have been a one off.

The bridge though, barely noticeable as far as I can tell, it happens so fast.

I don't think we need less but gameplay will always win for me. I'd it's a choice between a novelty or some cool shot geometry I'll take the shot geometry.
There's a reason I keep playing a relatively simple game without mechs like Diner or Fish Tales.

 

[JustLikeMe]

There's a reason I keep playing a relatively simple game without mechs like Diner or Fish Tales.

To be fair, the fishing reel ball lock on fish tales is a pretty impressive mech. I think we’d all be happy to see Stern putting something like that in one of their games.

 

[VeeMonroe]

I'll take back what I said about the tower/ building (i was looking at it like a towerblock) it is a good example of a mech being integrated into the gameplay. I had forgotten about the diverting. I can't remember ever being aware of it diverting, I don't think it's too obvious or I haven't played enough of the Premium. It's a shame that mech appears to have been a one off.

There’s a trick to set up Gigan on the Prem where you get the tower into the ’lock‘ position and then there’s a repeatable shot to the right ramp. It’s easier than trying to alternate ramps as the left ramp often rejects dirty shots, and Gigan has a pretty short timer.

The bridge though, barely noticeable as far as I can tell, it happens so fast.

No, it wobbles for ages and the speakers make a loud sound. I’ve replaced the basic plastics with a resin sculpture, as well.

I don't think we need less but gameplay will always win for me. I'd it's a choice between a novelty or some cool shot geometry I'll take the shot geometry.
There's a reason I keep playing a relatively simple game without mechs like Diner or Fish Tales.

Okay. I also tend to prefer playfield layout and rules to the mech-heavy games like TZ.

However, playing Jaws -vs- Elton John at LondonEAG (and watching my kids playing pinball), I realise it’s more complex than ‘shot geometry’. Pinball isn’t an abstract game - it can’t simply be reduced to a white wood with ramps on.

Fish Tales, for example, devotes a huge amount of code to making the geometry into a ‘pinball moment‘. To give one example, each time you shoot the criss-cross boat ramp, it makes a ‘swish, swish’ motorboat noise and a guy in a fishing boat zips one direction to another across the DMD.

To give another example, from LondonEAG, Elton John has a pretty standard layout, but when I shot the crocodile a few times, it gave me a huge light show, swelling music, and… then… a crocodile rode a rocket across the LCD. Yay, multiball moment. The Jaws code, as it currently stands, in contrast, manages to make shooting a shark fin into a pretty forgettable event, despite it being a moderately innovative mech (rather than just a scoop with a plastic crocodile on top).

 

[Den - aka Wolfgang]

dusk till dawn pips both for me.

FDTD would be awesome (maybe something Spooky* might suit?)

Kill Bill or True Romance would be dream themes for me Tarrantino wise (PF is right up there too, so want one)

*off topic, but would love Spooky to a The Warriors pin and another dream theme; Dawn of the dead (OG version natch)

 

[Den - aka Wolfgang]

So, made it to EAG yesterday. Won't attempt to rival thr great reviews others have already written here, but in case anyone's interested, here's my experience of the show & thoughts on the games.

Short bus ride (like 15 minutes or so; was chuffed), then a 5 minute walk to the venue.
Like a plonker, I entered via the wrong entrance and was greeted by nervous looking security guards asking for accreditation. Turns out that entrance was for the huge Google event there
I was then escorted down to the ubderground car park and pointed in the direction of where I was allowed to enter - no biggie.
Wanted to grab a bite first, so got a salt beef bagel and a coffee.
Entered the venue and tried to make my way to the nearest pins. First I came across was the Pinball Heaven stand - was nice to bump in to @Gonzand have Quick chat. Instead of waiting in line to play, I thought I'd seek out Pulp fiction (main reason I was there) in the mean time and circle back later.
Found PF and none other than @Punk Stig was on it having a good game
Then had a pretty good 2 player with Punk (he got about 2.5M to my 1M or something).
Things to note; I'm a massive fan of the film and Tarrantino in general and I a big fan of drop targets, especially in-line drops (see Metallica...).
I loved the game; nice backhandable shots, but no too easy. Gimp drops were cool and overal it had enough shots to keep it interesting and I'd imagine employ a few different strategies (I say this without knowing the rules, but you get what I mean..)
Love the music and obvs the callouts. At times the film call outs sounded a bit distorted, but maybe the machine was louder than I realised amongst the other noise from the snow?
I WANT THIS GAME (LE or Se) - do wonder if after a while I might tired of the game, but I think the callouts which put a smile on my face would aid in its longevity in a 1 pin setup. Also seems like a game you could have a quick blast on, or a nice long game if you are in the mood.

Next I went over to the electrocoin area and bumped in to a few familiar faces
Had a quick go of Venom PRO.
Things to note; I'm not much in to comics these days, but I like the Spider-man and Venom characters (I like the Raimi spider-Man films and the recent animated movies. Playstation game is great).

Thought the PF artwork was good for the most part (preferred it to Zombie Yetti's Infinity Quest's artwork)- liked the artwork on the screen too, but some more animation would've been nice.
The Pro looks a bit empty, but I ended it and the ball releases when you hit shots worked well (bit different, but liked that on Halloween when I had one).
Overal, didn't seem bad, and I'd imagine if you got in to it, it'd be a fun game.

Next was Jaws.
Things to note; I'm a fan on the first film, but haven't seen it in a while and the idea of a Jaws themed pin left me cold. Im not an Elwin fanboy (only game of his I've enjoyed a lot of his is Iron Maiden)
My expectations were low after the media I'd seen of the game.
PRO first - I was pleasantly surprised - liked the wire forms; moved the ball around in a cool way, but didn't take too long; keep the flow going.
The fishing reel shot felt a bit uninspiring, but other than that I enjoyed it.
Liked going for the shark fin moving drop target (obvs reminded me of the shootouts on cactus canyon)
Video and sound (what I could hear) was very well integrated.
Had 1 or 2 games on the Premium. The upper left PF didn't feel like it added much to the game, and the Sopranos boat didn't feel like It added anything.
Artwork was nothing to write home about and Inlrefered the Pro backglass
Not sure if I'll ever own one, but I wanted to play more and to uncover some more modes, and I think fans who've ordered one will be happy

Next was Spinal Tap!..
Things to note; I'm a huge fan of the film, but heard beforehand that the game was crap.
I wanted love the game, but no.... was pretty bog standard and uninspiring to play. If the creators had put just a bit more time/oney/effort in to it, it could've been half decent.
Played a bunch of games on it and started getting a good score, but nothing seemed to happen, as if code was barely done and the sounds was really low.

Next was Labyrinth.
Things to note; loved the film when I was a kid, but not seen it in 30+ years. Big Bowie fan.
Game looked really nice and the shots were interesting, but it didn't grab me.
Couldn't stand the sound and music and felt like it was a game to keep kids interested for 10 minutes. I'm probably being a bit harsh on it and there might be a great game in there, but I was just put off by the audio and couldn't get in to it.

Back to the PH booth and I first played GTF.
Things to note; theme does it for me and AFM is one of my top games.
Wanted to like the game, but was pretty underwhelmed.
Looks nice; great lightshow etc, but juat felt a bit clunky. The main sculp/stand up targets felt juat a bit too close to the flippers for my liking (felt a little claustrophobic...)
I appreciate that this is what the designers were going for, but the video clips were terrible, and not in a "so bad it's good" way - really crap and would rather they not be there atall.
Having said all that, it did leave me wanting to give it another chance to see what modes etc are in there, which I couldn't say about Labarynth.

Finally there was the Elton John pin.
Things to note; Big fan of the ...yellow brick Road album. Haven't spent a huge amount of time on JJP games (although against my better judgement, would like to have a Guns'n'Roses at some point, which I know won't last long)
Game looks impressive and whoever did the animations/video is very good.
Played really well and I loved the piano lock shot, but I did find that after 10 minutes of playing I didn't feel the urge to want to play more

Didn't get the chance to play Scooby doo:-( but love the green powder coating on it.

Godfather wasn't hands off at the event, but I managed to play one in Canada last year. Sculpts and game in general are really high quality and it played well. As others have said elsewhere, would be better if it didn't have the Godfather name and could have a little more fun (like Kingpin/Sopranos)

Was great to go to the show; will likely go next year - played a couple of arcade games there too. One of which was awesome; Bigfoot Mayhem. You had to wear a seat belt and the game threw you around as you were driving ; like Outrun on steroids

 

[philpalmer]

Did anyone get / see the 3D video mode on Jaws?

 

[Gonzo]

Did anyone get / see the 3D video mode on Jaws?

I've captured it on video I think mate . . . on the EAG tour video which I'll get done after the other stuff.

I actually quite liked it but can't be ****d with all that glasses stuff so I'd switch it to 2D . . . not the worst video mode to be fair and a lot better than Venom.