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SDTM June 2018 recap: Expo visits, new games, upcoming releases, and industry news.
Spooky Pinball's Alice Cooper machine is coming to the host's collection in early August
high confidence · Direct statement: 'hopefully mine will be around beginning of August'
Batman 66 Premium Edition is now one of the hosts' favorite machines to play, rivaling Star Wars
high confidence · Extended personal testimony about machine enjoyment and code quality from the new Batman acquisition
American Pinball's second game designer is Josh Kugler with coding help from someone named Ferret who previously worked on fixing alien pinball machines
high confidence · Direct industry report from This Week in Pinball podcast
American Pinball's second game may be Oktoberfest-themed with a family-friendly focus, potentially revealed at Pinball Expo
medium confidence · Joe Balcer indicated timing and possibility without confirmation; hosts note it's not officially announced
Matt Scott is designing a second pinball game for Spooky Pinball
high confidence · Direct statement from This Week in Pinball reporting
David Teal (sound designer) is now exclusive to Deep Root Pinball
medium confidence · Reported news with caveat that rumors persist about future Pat Lawlor collaboration
Stern's next vault release after Deadpool will be Star Trek with no changes to the distribution model
high confidence · Direct announcement discussion by hosts
Batman '66 Premium Edition code is being described as a 'masterpiece' in development
medium confidence · Hosts' characterization of code quality; they credit The MOD Couple's mods as reason for acquisition
“I love my beautiful mods and the code is supposed to be it's being defined as a masterpiece right now”
Zach Minney@ 15:57 — Indicates high quality expectations for Batman 66 code and validates the home collector mod community's influence on game appeal
“these shows have to credit Marco's... because I think that that is added well what's cool is they come in and they work with flipping out pinball”
Jon Hey@ 7:58 — Acknowledges the importance of distributor partnerships in expo success and game availability
“I want to be truthful to you all... I'm enjoying the out of both of those games”
Zach Minney@ 14:42 — Demonstrates candid reassessment of previously disliked machines (Batman 66, Star Wars) after extended play
“it's so integral that I don't like losing control because of a controlled shot every time”
Jon Hey@ 18:11 — Identifies consistent design criticism of Spooky Pinball games regarding the scoop mechanic
“I'm more fun you're more work... I would rather play a little more pinball than talk more about pinball”
Zach Minney@ 6:06 — Reveals personal philosophy driving podcast participation and explains reluctance to join additional projects
“people are holding them right now [used Guardians machines]”
Greg Bone@ 12:24 — Indicates secondary market dynamics and collector behavior around in-demand machines
community_signal: Distributor partnerships (Flippin' Out, Marco Specialties) recognized as critical to expo success; hosts explicitly credit them for enabling access to rare machines
high · Extended discussion of distributor role at Southern Fried: 'these shows have to credit Marco's' and appreciation for streaming permissions and venue partnerships
sentiment_shift: Hosts report receiving criticism on podcast about not being competitive pinball players, but defend their skill level by referencing tournament victories
high · Jon: 'people saying SDTM don't know how to play pinball... we're good enough to kick Buffalo and pinball undesirables ass'
design_philosophy: Jon Hey identifies consistent design issue across Spooky Pinball games: overly strong scoop mechanic that causes loss of ball control on what should be a controlled shot
high · Extended discussion about Alice Cooper's scoop behavior: 'it's so integral that I don't like losing control because of a controlled shot every time'
licensing_signal: American Pinball prioritizing family-friendly theming (even if Oktoberfest-related) because 'that's not what this company is about' in terms of alcohol-focused content
medium · Joe Balcer quote: 'we want to make it family-friendly so it wouldn't just be alcohol because that's not what this company is about'
market_signal: Secondary market shows collector holding behavior on Guardians machines; hosts unable to find used inventory despite desire to acquire
high · Greg states: 'people are holding them right now... I've been looking for a used one and just could not find anything'
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“I think homeboy could buy Sam Stern pinball... that would be very interesting why not”
Jon Hey@ 29:44 — Speculation about Christopher Franchi's potential career trajectory and financial success as designer/artist
“the only thing that makes sense is from here to rumored Deadpool there's gonna be Pride Pinball a little bit of time why not throw it online”
Zach Minney@ 25:12 — Explains Stern's vault strategy reasoning and production scheduling logic
community_signal: Christopher Franchi (artist at Stern) generating speculation about potential independent ventures or acquisition of major manufacturer based on talent/reputation
low · Hosts speculating: 'I think homeboy could buy Sam Stern pinball... that would be very interesting why not'
personnel_signal: Ferret (previously worked fixing code on alien pinball machines) joined American Pinball to assist Josh Kugler with code development on second game
medium · This Week in Pinball reporting via hosts: 'they did get a guy... Ferret was the one that was fixing all the code for alien pinball machines'
announcement: Stern Pinball announcing Star Trek as next vault title with no changes to distribution model, implying existing inventory pressure
high · Hosts discuss: 'Star Trek and there's no changes there still distributors with new inbox once funny way'
product_strategy: Spooky Pinball machines feature strong scoop mechanics that are integral to gameplay but create uncontrollable ball routing issues - consistent across multiple titles (Alice Cooper, others)
high · Discussion of scoop as design pattern: 'it's so integral that I don't know the scoop just is always so strong'
product_strategy: American Pinball's second game targeting Pinball Expo reveal (October); Papa Duke (John Papaduke) potentially involved in future Stern title with November-January release window
medium · Joe Balcer indication of timing; Papa Duke working with Stern on Kapow title 'November to January release'
sentiment_shift: Zach Minney significantly revised his assessment of Batman 66 and Star Wars machines upward after extended ownership/play, now considering both among personal favorites despite initial skepticism
high · Detailed narrative about Batman 66 acquisition motivated by mods and code, Star Wars becoming first machine played before morning coffee; contrasts with previous negative sentiment
business_signal: Stern's vault strategy using Star Trek as filler between major releases (Deadpool) to maintain production line and employment; suggests intentional pacing
medium · Zach's analysis: 'from here to rumored Deadpool there's gonna be [time] why not throw it online... if they get with a big vault they can't go at [full speed]'