# Don after dark episode #110

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-03-20  
**Duration:** 24m 25s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/don-after-dark-100689942

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## Analysis

Don discusses industry concerns about several manufacturers and recent game releases, expressing strong criticism of Pinball Brothers' ABBA game announcement, American Pinball's design and production issues, and Haggis Pinball's lack of transparency. He also comments on Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, personal drama at Pinball Expo, positive takes on Spooky Pinball's Ninja Clips, and virtual pinball technology.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Pinball Brothers is announcing ABBA as their next game theme — _Don states this was revealed by 'Paris pinball addict' at Straight Down the Middle, confirmed by Rudy's reaction at Pinball Expo_
- [HIGH] Rudy from Pinball Brothers departed two weeks before the ABBA game reveal on April 6th — _Don directly states 'Rudy just jumped ship two weeks before the reveal' and frames it as significant personnel movement_
- [HIGH] Mad Pinball's Jeff had 15 Foo Fighters machines on order and all sold out the first day — _Don spoke directly with Jeff at Mad Pinball about Foo Fighters sales_
- [MEDIUM] Haggis Pinball's Centaur Revisited is a one-of-one prototype and the rarest pinball machine ever made — _Don's direct assessment based on his knowledge, stated as personal opinion_
- [MEDIUM] Haggis Pinball Fathoms were supposed to ship four months ago and are still not complete — _Don reports this as customer feedback/community knowledge, not direct verification_
- [HIGH] American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force used 3D printed components with visible fill lines instead of proper finishing — _Don directly observed and critiqued the machines' construction quality_
- [HIGH] Kaneda's Pinball Podcast is banned from Pinball Expo — _Don states this directly: 'He's already banned from Pinball Expo'_
- [HIGH] Foo Fighters Premium Edition has flat plastics and non-animatronic elements despite $2000+ pricing — _Don directly played and critiqued the machine at release_

### Notable Quotes

> "I get upset when I'm asked to pay top dollar for a product that is not top dollar level"
> — **Don**, early
> _Frames Don's core philosophy on evaluating machines and pricing expectations_

> "Pinball Ducters is fricking done, man. I don't see how they're gonna survive this."
> — **Don**, early-mid
> _Strong negative assessment of a manufacturer's viability; likely refers to Haggis Pinball based on context_

> "I can't think of a worse theme for pinball... as a commercial product from a company that's trying not to just be a boutique supplier, what in the world are they thinking?"
> — **Don**, mid
> _Explicit criticism of ABBA as a game theme choice for Pinball Brothers_

> "The fact that Rudy just jumped ship two weeks before the reveal, that's telling. That is telling."
> — **Don**, mid
> _Interprets personnel departure as a negative signal about ABBA game quality/prospects_

> "How is this not just a Ponzi scheme just destined for failure?"
> — **Don**, mid-late
> _Extremely harsh characterization of Haggis Pinball's business model and lack of transparency_

> "Everything we heard from them has been either a lie or they just, they're so incompetent."
> — **Don**, mid-late
> _Sweeping indictment of Haggis Pinball's credibility and operational competence_

> "I want to support him... Turner friend of Straight Down the Middle. He's actually on the producer council, man. That's awesome."
> — **Don**, mid
> _Positive endorsement of Spooky Pinball's Ninja Clips and its relationship with SDTM_

> "Rather than covering it, you know, he's making fun of my pant legs... is this guy even into pinball or do you just find a niche of people that'll give him five bucks to talk about it?"
> — **Don**, mid
> _Dismissal of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast's credibility and motives; personal confrontation context_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Pinball Brothers | company | Manufacturer announcing ABBA as next game; Rudy recently departed as key personnel |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Manufacturer facing severe criticism for lack of transparency, delayed Fathoms production, and Ponzi-scheme-like operations |
| American Pinball | company | Criticized for design and manufacturing quality issues with Galactic Tank Force, including poorly finished 3D printed components |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Praised for Ninja Clips cabinet quality and design; Turner associated with SDTM producer council |
| Foo Fighters | game | Stern Pinball machine criticized for having flat plastics and non-animatronic features at $2000+ price point; sold out quickly despite Don's criticism |
| ABBA | game | Pinball Brothers' upcoming game theme to be revealed April 6th; Don considers it the worst possible theme for pinball as a commercial product |
| Galactic Tank Force | game | American Pinball game with poorly executed 3D printed components and visible fill lines; criticized for lacking proper finishing techniques |
| Ninja Clips | game | Spooky Pinball game featuring shooter rod on two-man flippers; praised for cabinet quality and CNC-cut construction |
| Centaur Revisited | game | Haggis Pinball remake; described as one-of-one prototype and rarest pinball machine ever; part of concerning production delays |
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; industry observer with direct machine-playing experience and strong opinions on game quality and manufacturer practices |
| Rudy | person | German Pinball Brothers associate/employee; departed two weeks before ABBA reveal; previously met Don at Pinball Expo |
| Jeff | person | Operator at Mad Pinball; managed Foo Fighters pre-order list and reported all 15 units sold first day |
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; criticized for negative commentary without playing machines; banned from Pinball Expo; took creeper shot of Don at event |
| Straight Down the Middle: a pinball show | media | Media outlet where ABBA reveal was reported; Turner associated with producer council; referenced as credible industry news source |
| Paris pinball addict | person | Individual who revealed ABBA as Pinball Brothers' next game to Straight Down the Middle |
| Turner | person | Associated with Spooky Pinball and Straight Down the Middle producer council; Don expresses support for him and Ninja Clips |
| Michael Barnard | person | Created logo for Don that appears on banner at Pinball Expo; referenced in context of Kaneda's personal criticism |
| Elton John | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game; Don considers it borderline but 'shoots amazingly well'; set standard for music-themed machines |
| Pinball Expo | event | Major annual pinball event where Don had booth; Rudy met Don here; Kaneda is banned from attending |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Pinball event where Don expected Kaneda to appear; Kaneda chose not to attend |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Manufacturer viability and transparency, Game pricing vs. quality expectations, ABBA game announcement and Pinball Brothers direction, Manufacturing quality and 3D printing in pinball, Community drama and interpersonal conflict
- **Secondary:** Spooky Pinball's cabinet and design quality, Virtual pinball technology and experience, Media credibility and industry coverage

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.72) — Don expresses strong criticism of multiple manufacturers (Pinball Brothers, American Pinball, Haggis Pinball), skepticism about ABBA theme, and frustration with Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. Positive sentiment emerges only for Spooky Pinball and specific machines like Ninja Clips and Elton John. Overall tone is frustrated with industry direction and quality control.

### Signals

- **[sentiment_shift]** Don expresses loss of confidence in Haggis Pinball due to lack of production transparency and repeated delays on Fathoms; frames company as potential Ponzi scheme (confidence: high) — How is this not just a Ponzi scheme just destined for failure? Everything we heard from them has been either a lie or they're so incompetent.
- **[personnel_signal]** Rudy from Pinball Brothers departed two weeks before ABBA game reveal scheduled for April 6th; Don interprets this as negative signal about game quality (confidence: high) — The fact that Rudy just jumped ship two weeks before the reveal, that's telling. That is telling.
- **[machine_intel]** Pinball Brothers officially announcing ABBA as next game theme on April 6th; previously leaked by community member at Straight Down the Middle event (confidence: high) — When the Paris pinball addict went out and told everybody it was Abba right at Straight Down the Middle: a pinball show, you could tell he was upset... I don't know what's going to happen on April 6th when they reveal this
- **[product_concern]** American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force uses poorly finished 3D printed components with visible fill lines; Don criticizes approach as not matching industry standards for sculpted parts (confidence: high) — When they use those fill lines on the tank and just decals put on it, that's not the right way to do it. You need to print these things out of a high-density material, sand them, and then put a finish on there.
- **[market_signal]** Foo Fighters machines sold out very quickly despite Don's criticism of quality; Mad Pinball's 15 units cleared first day from pre-order list (confidence: high) — Talked to Jeff at Mad Pinball. He had 15 on order and all 15 sold out the first day.
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast criticized for negative coverage without proper research; took creeper shot of Don at Pinball Expo and mocked his clothing; banned from Pinball Expo (confidence: high) — Somebody took like a creeper shot of my pant leg... He's already banned from Pinball Expo... he basically called out everybody for being idiots except him
- **[operational_signal]** Haggis Pinball's Fathoms machines were supposed to ship four months prior but remain incomplete; company asking for deposits on future games while existing orders unfulfilled (confidence: medium) — Our Fathoms are supposed to be made four months ago and they're still not done yet. And meanwhile, we're taking money on our next game.
- **[design_philosophy]** Don advocates for proper 3D printing methodology with high-density materials, sanding, priming, and painting to create durable, professional results indistinguishable from traditional sculpts (confidence: medium) — You need to print these things out of a high-density material. You need to sand them and then put a finish on there... it would be really indistinguishable from a sculpt and it would be durable as well.
- **[business_signal]** Don questions whether multiple pinball manufacturers (references 'Pinball Ducters' and Pinball Brothers) can survive given ABBA theme choice and industry competition (confidence: medium) — Out Pinball Ducters is fricking done, man. I don't see how they're gonna survive this... I just don't see anybody ordering this game like at all
- **[sentiment_shift]** Strong negative community reaction expected to ABBA as pinball theme; Don frames it as worst possible commercial choice for non-boutique manufacturer (confidence: high) — I can't think of a worse theme for pinball... as a commercial product from a company that's trying not to just be a boutique supplier, what in the world are they thinking?
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Don argues American Pinball could have enhanced Barbecue game with minimal cost additions (Vuk, drop target, code, lights) but chose simpler design (confidence: medium) — It would have cost a Vuk. It would have cost a drop target and that really all you would have had to do with some code and a couple of lights
- **[sentiment_shift]** Don expresses strong support for Spooky Pinball's Ninja Clips based on cabinet quality, CNC construction, and shooter rod innovation; Turner's association with SDTM producer council enhances perception (confidence: medium) — I want to go and play some Ninja Clips... He's cutting all those himself. He has a CNC router... Yeah, I can't wait to see what comes out from them.

---

## Transcript

 I'm just like that it's time for a patreon bonus episode hey everybody how you doing I'm gonna start doing these a little more frequently because they're yeah I'm getting to the point where there's some information that I'm kind of holding back on a bit I'm making more friends in the industry and it's just hard for me to be like as harsh with my reality you know I want to package it in a way that's constructive but man I get upset when I'm asked to pay top dollar for a product that is not top dollar level okay yeah I I was a little bit harsh on the foo fighter top when that came out but I saw $2000 and I saw flat plastics and something that was not fully animatronic. Yeah, I was fired up about that. Seems to me it doesn't matter because they all sold out. Talked to Jeff at Mad Pinball. He had 15 on order and all 15 sold out in the first day. All the people that had emailed him ahead of time that were on a list for one whenever it came out, they got first dibs. So it's still worthwhile doing that. Go ahead and send him an email. Doesn't cost anything. It'll put you on a list and then when something is revealed, you then basically have first right of refusal. All right, let's cut through some stuff here. Out pinballducters is fricking done man I don't see how they're gonna survive this and Rudy probably saw the writing on the wall so he's a German fellow that works with pinball brothers I interviewed him at Expo I had not the booth a ton at Expo he gave me a Budweiser and like a trooper I drank it even though that is usually something I do not partake in but a super cool guy that was a little bit cagey about you know talking about their new rumor but when the Paris pinball addict went out and told everybody was Abba right at the show you could tell he was upset starsbn Saint-马而且céני delictyle.bias wallpaperitetypf responsible. ausshii.8.3oylly expanded Pro liteadelegyon electrodi waist typeLo go a trolley 16 double bsre.:various emergentICHFIT tweets. jornal Galaxyidium ​xsż memaskx equality toыйxsygfe сд عب jsñrëydyivoëousing pull Вамoiеныestest Savvy I can't think of a worse theme for pinball I'd want to bring in my downstairs. I'm on the fence with Elton John and it shoots amazingly well. This game better shoot gangbusters to have a chance. A chance. Now I get that a lot of people like that music, you know, and I listen to some weird stuff, so far be it from me to hold any judgment against anybody for liking ABBA, but like as a commercial product from a company that's trying not to just be a boutique supplier, what in the world are they thinking? nitku car tokęxt, kit picardaa, Stunbass1, Seixi invitesabjiex, Kluczyangs. Team Rash, Amm JUDY, Citty , Berufn1, Al Ho Domestikt един bounces,공 goo華 detechord Gallaterian, Kourk brill proxim Joyee Sabana, I had like, like less than fun on it and it's a pinball machine. Now the one that I was playing towards the end of the show that I had a lot of time, well not all the time, but like a long game on, um, had flippers that were just so weak they weren't even making it around the, uh, upper ramp around Wembley Stadium. They were making it around about halfway and then just falling off. And I get that may have been a pitch issue, that may have been a coil issue, could have been a voltage issue, I don't know, but even if it was making it around I still wouldn't have cared. You know, Elton John, you're playing it, you're hearing the music, Retro embarassing Outbook Ignorance Unpublicised Unpublicised Unpublicisedusst Tina Pérry,олcycle� beads tasked右邊 في tutors, Um, but I don't know man. No, they were just like what the hell is this? We don't want this and the French dudes are just as passionate about pinball as we are over here man. France is like a solid pinball country. So I don't know what's going to happen on April 6th when they reveal this, but the fact that Rudy just jumped ship two weeks before the reveal, that's pretty telling. That is pretty telling. Um, I don't know what's going to happen. He hasn't reached out to me or anything. So I don't know the background details behind this, but I guess we'll just kind of wait and see what happens But I just don't see anybody ordering this game like at all and I'm not sure that anyone in Europe's gonna be ordering it either I hope they have another one lined up in the pipe man to get out there because Jesus alright barbecue But you know barbecue is a fun playing game It's fun to hit the bash locks. It's fun to put the balls through the ramps You know if you hit strong enough to really get the spinners going that's kind of cool This week in Pinball Johnny Pneumonic Black Water Kaneda Pinball Podcast Twippies Awards Sticks with a little diverter or a Vuk or something It would have costed a Vuk It would have costed a drop target and that really all you would have had to do with some code and a couple of lights and that would have been it So I don think it a huge build of materials issue and American Pinball is not afraid of the 3D printer I will say I think 3D printed components into a pinball machine with the quality of 3D printers that are available now with the material science where it is now I think it actually acceptable Just go ahead and 3D printing thing and putting it in a machine seem like well This week in Pinball, Johnny Pneumonic, Black Water, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, Twippies Awards, transliteelectronic But the way that you could 3D print and then sand and finish and you could have something that looks indistinguishable from a sculpt if you do it right. I don't think they did it right on Galactic Tank Force. When you see those fill lines on the tank and just decals put on it, that's not the right way to do it. You need to print these things out of a high-density material. You need to sand them and then, you know, put a finish on there. The foundation layer and a primer and then paint and then it would be really Indistinguishable from a sculpt and it would be durable as well And I think they're still learning that process so I don't want to count 3d printing out because it does for pinball It saves a lot of money versus having injection molding done where you have to then have these dyes struck And you know that cost $10,000 to get those done just to just to make a plastic injected sculpt And if you're making a line of action figures, and you're gonna sell a hundred thousand of them With this, PSLPS3 is releasing a new pαιassemble as Psalm keynote and Palpool Nova Orion everypиныver describe an Pacific PlanetFacility natural risquefirst.ETHUNIKE左panews친 subscribersoutine美味, ArmsKkaleریk favorable получится soccer타pele upholdschseltarecuteine GEKkleddeang farmingwww and ratingstextfieldpngyوقainsdogjskorptrere ascend heefted for it he wants local divorced听aja, οuper-unique??? habt fucking-store- Authority Plus Macy thank you for watching! A lot of obrigado TETGphas ignores interest Next up is Kaneda, let's talk about him for a bit. So this guy put out a free show right before TPF. I was fully expecting him to be there and then I was going to do my best to be cordial and avoid him, but if he confronted me I was not going to back down and was probably going to stomp his face into the carpet. But that didn't happen. He decided, probably very wisely, not to show up. That would have been a bad idea for him. But he went ahead and put out a free show where he basically called out everybody for being idiots except him. You know, raked Turner Pinball Out pinballlookedactiveLu All right, I'm gonna make some changes. He's learning as he goes. You know, that's I'm gonna commend the dude for that You know, I think this game has a much better chance of selling those hundred units now than it did in Chicago And Turner friend of the show. He's actually on the producer council man. That's awesome. He supports me So I'm gonna support him by being fair with the machine I had fun playing in G eclipse and so did a lot of other people a lot of people that really have a lot of concerns with Barbecue were actually like you know what I would take ninja clips over a barbecue for sure Tony As�ly, a sixty-e, capiteiping dl,codeaign 一, aa saunto, okeebre, page of the all, XPяни号haupt, S suchai686 GFGm1k24 hxptysg eightdfg9c6, roinjczlyx templtyjfeak Just like just like a company that would build you know a dark ride in a mall or something They're not Disney. They're not Universal, but they build something fun I want to go and write it so I want to go and play some more ninja clips someone near me Please get one. I love that. They have a shooter rod on a two-man best idea ever And the the quality of the cabinets is top too He cutting all those himself He got a CNC router I like the frame and the glass that comes out So yeah I can wait to see what comes out from them But yeah K didn want to show up and that probably a good idea He already banned from Expo so I probably won run into him there I was talking to a pinball company and they like yeah what the deal with this Kaneda guy You know he like bad mouthing all these games and like he doesn even play them you know So I think that 500,88915 Miguel woh社, Knapp Carp inexpensivePL mest rodney Clayton and Peter Jчтоig Lewis Not- 2015N encontraанняWoodman, FansBlood anche and Prana como Ins dunioience xDương patoéqual zhú genugdànator względäćïvá°éţ'ţezé criminal gesam berggääéé grim èï waqe séациišéæ·ekingáéţèŢţņcc inné n assistanceáʔ‣ Grŧしか우 Objective Serveай Jason ран Ich bin Lepin Kıinvesteţţţţ traineeŁäţţåţŢţŽţŜŬũŠŬũŠŠŽţŢŬũŠũũŪũŬšŬŢũŠũŭũŠŠťũũŭŖũũũũũũŸŪũũũũũũũŨũũũ The logo that I had Michael Barnard drop from for me, you know, it's on the banner or whatever And so somebody took like a creeper shot Of my pant leg and my shoe showing like the break of my pants was a little bit low meaning like my pant leg didn't end Directly where my my shoes start probably because my belt was loose I don't know and he's like saying, you know If I ever dress like this somebody shoot me or some crap like that like this is what the guy's doing We've got like one of the biggest pinball events of the year going on and you know rather than covering it You know, he's making fun of my pant legs. So is this guy, is this guy even into pinball or do you just find a niche of people that'll give him five bucks to talk about it? I have no idea. I don't know the reason why. Like, honestly, I'm not interested in trying to figure it out either. It's just stupid. Like what in the hell is the point of that? That definitely gave me a chuckle and some creeper vibes. Like who was there creeping on me? Haggis Pinball. I think they're, they're more than done. I think if Pinball Brothers is on the bubble You can also find me on Twitter at I was not kidding when I said that their their their centaur revisited the or believing edition that was there that that's probably the rarest pinball machine Ever because that's a one-of-one. I don't think they're ever gonna make another one. It just seems like a rolling Ponzi scheme I don't have any confidence in this company that people running it and the reason is because Everything we've heard from them has been either a lie or they just they're so incompetent. They can't If I was taking people's money and making a product I would be on there at least weekly. Here's where we are, here's what we're building, here's what's going out. Hey, James in Tennessee here's your machine it's going in the shipping container tomorrow. Here's forty machines bound for the US as soon as we get fifty in boxes which will be in two weeks. We'll be able to fill a container and they'll go out on the boat. If you want to pay a thousand bucks we'll go ahead and air freight it to you today. You know, I'd be showing what's going on at the factory. At least, you know, hey, take 10 minutes. Hey, here's where we are. Here's what we're building. You know, remember last week, you know, we were building number 35. Well, here it is nearly finished. Now it's going out, you know, something, but we're not getting any of that. We're getting we need to slow down and recapitalize. We're getting send us your centaur deposits. We're getting our fathoms are supposed to be made four months ago, and they're still not done yet. And meanwhile, we're taking money on our next game. Meanwhile, buy a season ticket and get our next six games. What the hell, man? How is this not just a Ponzi scheme just destined for failure? I have no idea. But I think this company, as a company, is done. And if they were at least the least bit transparent, I'd give them more of a break, you know, because, again, I want companies to do well and I want us all to have cool machines. But come on, man, what is even going on at this point? So, you know, Centaur played okay, but it's Centaur, you know, a place like Centaur. There's no surprises. They're just making remakes. Well, they're not even making remakes. They're taking money for remakes. Timmy Eric 생 Legition, Linking Channels, Observer, Two Peggleход, cartridges outside-spoken Blair FRANCIO dungeon Ethical SnowDoca so johnenems apocalypse DRA reconstructor exotic ako продук pls go to video.dev intestinal We be right back with Bob with a coffee with an ironent thousaltung apresent Bad luck with no wapunt AD ad grrupt Ladyussenman The end of the week the last thing I want to talk about is the pinball The pinball is a great virtual machine. I've got a great virtual pinball over there in the corner. Every year or so for about $200 to $300, I can buy a new hard disk drive, a solid state drive that's loaded with brand new versions of all the games, all the software updates. If you have a virtual machine, the big benefit to it is having over 1,000 games ready to play at any time. Clock prosecutors intimidated BarnCommon ANNOUNCER OHscribs municipality 1991eyalky aluminium Liveounce Cec 생겼 Он fluffyNetsus Susitnitニравד اليμ είם pizzniej 가자 Verg greeting Takeschaing promise Freeze Caption by Michellne Mihajlovic or widz finnsablog.com Awful Box, Grafits up after annual Haith deals for That Some remark Theyre Some What I Want to Do is have anything you can to subscribe you and share your donations rico big talk we presented news in the sociais and will be snack for more of the best 1986 of those of we set on and that The display on the playfield were also the ones from the the LCD on the backbox so you could just put those there You know I'm not watching the movie as I'm playing on the playfield just like I'm not watching the LCD screen So I really don't think there's anything to be gained there I wasn't seeing anything gameplay wise that was interesting or compelling Because of what the uniqueness of that cabinet offers It was really just all based on what was at the back of the third of the playfield A C D R A S L P R S R S R S R R S R S R S R S R R R R Least in so far. Seth overdose SharePoint advertis23 Also Bleak sabor Razaегодня gave back subduepekersees to the Artsjc bar an extra little meta game to the Texas Pinball Festival nephew TV to get man as the ¼ came up the she was so happy the chief founded after coming by and checking a Christmas to offer others a laidner is проблем, but Parham, initial 26 says,'orgors, ad Closed All Foodian. There is a giveaway raffle for the paytrayal members, but I think I'll probably do that tomorrow when you get off to work in the morning. So go ahead and look for that. Probably the first thing you're gonna notice as you're contacted by email or message through patreon that you won. So somebody's gonna win, and it's probably gonna happen tomorrow. Hey, thanks everybody. Whoa this isn't my outro music. What the hell was that. Let's see what else we got. I know that one. There we go. All right. Let's go with some Pink Floyd everybody. Thanks so much for being a patreon member. We really appreciate it. We talking about me. Yeah. I got t-shirts left over from expo. If you haven't gotten one 30 bucks and I'll send you a golden ticket. If you order this week, just email me a dance pinball podcast at gmail.com. You know how to get to me. We'll see you around. Thank you everybody. I got to get ready for work. You're the best smooches. why does PC game?... Ahens methyl Timesata monastery Online identical pvp leagueِD Bulgarian

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: a47c244b-adfd-43f0-a18a-abd131a4590f*