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Episode 210 – Shifting Levelness

Slam Tilt Podcast·podcast_episode·1h 20m·analyzed·Jul 18, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.037

TL;DR

Haggis Centaur pricing surge and Stern Venom reveal amid actors' strike licensing concerns.

Summary

Ron and Bruce discuss two major pinball releases: Haggis's Centaur remake in Beast and Orblivion editions (priced $10k-$16.7k USD, a significant jump from Fathom pricing), and Stern's Venom game announcement (Comic-Con reveal, standard pricing, shipping late August-September). They also cover the actors' strike implications for licensed pinball games and critique Disney's franchise management. Stomp tournament details are announced for September 23rd in Castleton-on-Hudson, NY.

Key Claims

  • Haggis Centaur Beast Edition priced at $15,000 AUD (~$10k USD), Orblivion at $25,000 AUD (~$16.7k USD)

    high confidence · Ron citing feature matrix; significant $3.5k-$5.7k jump from previous Fathom pricing ($11.5k AUD Beast to $15k Beast)

  • Venom designed by Brian Eddie, art by Zombie Eddie, software lead by Dwight Sullivan with Raymond Davidson as coder

    high confidence · Official announcement via Nap Arcade; standard Stern pro/premium/LE pricing structure matching Foo Fighters

  • Venom production begins late August, LE mid-September, Premium late September due to Stern's move

    high confidence · Official release schedule mentioned by Bruce

  • Centaur marks jump from Fathom to significantly higher pricing; Fathom was $11.5k AUD for highest model

    high confidence · Direct price comparison; Ron notes 'huge jump' of $3.5k AUD minimum between product lines

  • Haggis offering optional colorized playfield and plastics as add-on (not standard)

    high confidence · Feature matrix discussion; Bruce notes surprise at lack of pricing details for color option

  • SAG actors' strike could impact future licensed pinball games requiring voice-over work

    medium confidence · Bruce and Ron speculation about licensing constraints; reference to previous 1980 writers' strike impact on licensing deals

  • Stomp tournament September 23rd, Castleton-on-Hudson NY, $40 entry, first 32 registrants, tickets on sale July 22 at 9am Eastern

    high confidence · Direct tournament announcement with specific logistics

  • Fathom sold through end-of-year production; only 'a couple' units remained when distributor Flippin' Out purchased remainder

    medium confidence · Bruce notes slow initial sales until distributor buyout; implies not sold out organically

Notable Quotes

  • “For an 80s game. An 80s game. I don't know why we went so high. It was a hard nut to swallow at 8K for Fathom.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ ~mid-episode — Expresses surprise and concern about pricing trajectory across Haggis product line; indicates industry trend toward premium pricing on retro game remakes

  • “It's way too much money. It's a lot of money tied up. But the thing is, if it sells out, then was it too much money? Then it's not. It's not too much money.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~mid-episode — Reflects the market tension between FOMO-driven limited editions and actual value assessment in the pinball market

  • “I'm not excited about it at all. Oh. It's just going to be a game. It's a game. Yay. It's another game. Yay.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ ~Venom discussion — Shows fatigue/indifference toward Marvel IP saturation in pinball; contrasts with typical excitement for new Stern releases

  • “So you're actually going to pay more money – you're actually going to spend more money in mechs when it's easier to do it right out of the trough.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ ~Centaur mech discussion — Raises design philosophy question about side plunging orb mechanism vs. auto-trough plunger; notes reliability/simplicity trade-off

  • “Crikey, you paid way too much for this.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ ~Orblivion edition features — Sarcastic commentary on premium edition feature creep (custom callouts, additional multiball) relative to price increase

  • “Maybe they're saying, Hey, we know our limits. 300 is our limit. Like spooky did in the beginning, but good games are going to be limited.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~Centaur production discussion — Frames Haggis's 300-unit limit as intentional scarcity strategy similar to boutique manufacturer approach

  • “Not one of these news organizations for pinball...talked about it. But we'll talk about fucking rumors from fucking Joe Schmo that are wrong sometimes.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~opening segment — Criticism of pinball media coverage priorities; frustration that blood donation PSA not amplified by major pinball news outlets while rumors spread

Entities

Haggis PinballcompanyCentaurgameFathomgameStern PinballcompanyVenomgameBrian EddiepersonZombie Eddieperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Stern relocating facilities; Venom production timeline staggered due to move (Pro late August, LE mid-September, Premium late September).

    high · Bruce: 'because they're moving' explains production delay; specific timeline mentioned for each tier

  • ?

    event_signal: Stomp tournament September 23 in Castleton-on-Hudson, NY; era-based groups (EM/Solid State/Modern) to balance skill distribution; historically sells out with overflow.

    high · Ron: 'usually we do sell this tournament out and we go into overflow. So do not wait' with specific date/time/pricing

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Bruce questions Centaur side-plunging orb mechanism reliability vs. simpler auto-trough plunger; raises cost/reliability trade-off in design philosophy.

    medium · Bruce: 'you're actually going to pay more money in mechs when it's easier to do it right out of the trough. so you wanted them to actually change the uh the way it works why put more crap into it when you can make it simpler'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Haggis removing classic (non-2.0 code) edition entirely for Centaur; both tiers include 2.0 code. Addresses Fathom customer confusion about code availability.

    high · Ron: 'I think they found out with Fathom, especially after Texas, like everyone wanted the 2.0 code. Yep. So they're just like, oh, screw it. We're not even going to do the non-2.0 code version.'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: SAG actors' strike could constrain future pinball voice-over licensing, particularly for Marvel/Disney properties. Historical precedent from 1980 strike limiting licensing deals.

Topics

Haggis Centaur pricing surge and market implicationsprimaryStern Venom announcement and Marvel licensingprimarySAG actors' strike impact on licensed pinball voice-oversprimaryStomp tournament logistics and announcementssecondaryHaggis design choices (plunger mechanism, colorized art)secondaryPinball media coverage prioritiessecondaryLimited edition FOMO and production scarcity strategysecondaryLicensing costs and constraints for boutique manufacturersmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.35)— Bruce expresses skepticism and fatigue toward new releases (Venom 'no excitement'), while acknowledging design merit in Haggis Centaur remake. Concern throughout about pricing trajectory and market sustainability. Ron more optimistic about tournament execution but shares frustration with media coverage gaps and pricing concerns. Negative sentiment toward Disney franchise management and corporate greed.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.241

0:00
Hey, baby. So we meet again. Are you ready to pick up the phone? Yeah, okay. Yeah, I didn't even hear it, Rick. Hey, dammit, Beavis, I wasn't talking to you, dumbass. You're always messing up my game. Oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah. Me. Coming to you from beautiful upstate New York, this is the Slam Tilt Podcast, the show about all things pinball. I'm your host, Ron Hallett, here with my other host, Bruce Nightingale. Wow, he couldn't say co, could he? He couldn't say co. I almost slipped and said co-host. I know. Wow, and this is episode 210. 210 episodes. Holy fuck-a-la-roo. Bruce has got a PSA. A puke service announcement? Yes. A penis service announcement? Yes. Okay, what is it? Don't forget, in the summer, blood donations are the lowest. I cannot donate blood. I'm not allowed to because I'm a cancer survivor. But if anyone can, this is the time to do it, especially since, you know, it is the lowest time of the season. And, you know, just if you can, donate blood. Always needed. This is for you, Ian, because his father passed away and he asked people to donate blood.
1:26
Ian H. I don't know if he won his last name. I don't want to say it either. Yes. So, yes. Public service announcement. Give blood. Yes, give blood. Always during the summer. What's your blood type? I am O negative, but I'm not allowed to give. Wait a minute. Which one's the universal donor? O positive. I am the universal receiver. Oh, yeah.
1:50
Wow. No surprise there. No, I think O negative. No, what is it? O negative. There's one that you can actually, everything can take. I thought it was like AB negative or something. I think it's AB negative. But I like saying universal receiver. Yeah, universal receiver.
2:08
What blood type do you think I am, Bruce? A positive, because you're always positive. It's actually the same as my mother. My mother was the same. Be positive. See, he said be positive. Everyone kept on telling you be positive. It never worked out. And my dad is old positive. Ah, there you go. So he's a universal giver. He's a universal giver, yes. Yes. Oh, my. Go, Dad. Go, Daddy.

  • “Disney's managed to ruin every major franchise. Good job. Good job, guys. And you guys wonder why I hate Disney.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~actors' strike discussion — Expresses broader industry concern about Disney IP licensing and creative direction; relevant to pinball licensing availability

    • Dwight Sullivan
    person
    Raymond Davidsonperson
    Ron Hallettperson
    Bruce Nightingaleperson
    Stompevent
    Nap Arcadeorganization
    Flippin' Outcompany
    Rochester Pinball Collectivevenue
    Loser Kidsorganization
    Ian Hperson
    SAGorganization
    Comic-Conevent
    Foo Fightersgame

    medium · Bruce: 'Everything is a license now. So will they have to put the brakes on? Will they have like, you know, we had so-and-so here to do call outs. Now they're like, nah, I can't do that.'

  • $

    market_signal: Haggis Centaur pricing strategy may price boutique manufacturer out of market; both hosts express concern about sustainability of $10k-$16.7k pricing on 80s remake.

    medium · Ron: 'it's starting to become almost like you're pricing yourself out of the market already' and discussion of Fathom slow initial sales until distributor buyout

  • ?

    community_signal: Fran Drescher confirmed as newly elected president of SAG during actors' strike; hosts note surprise at this casting.

    high · Bruce: 'The president of the Screen Actors Guild was the nanny. Did you know this?' and 'Fran Drescher is the president of SAG'

  • $

    market_signal: Haggis Centaur pricing jump: Beast $10k USD, Orblivion $16.7k USD; 3.5k-5.7k AUD increase from Fathom maximum ($11.5k AUD). Represents significant premium for retro remake.

    high · Ron's direct price comparison: 'That is one of the biggest jumps I've ever seen. And you still can be waiting for this game literally for two to three years, tied up money.'

  • ?

    announcement: Venom officially announced for Comic-Con July 18 reveal; standard pricing structure (pro/premium/LE); production begins late August.

    high · Official announcement via Nap Arcade; designer/artist/programmer credits confirmed

  • ?

    product_strategy: Haggis implementing optional features (colorized playfield, Orblivion plasma topper, vinyl soundtrack) as paid upgrades rather than standard inclusions to justify tiered pricing.

    high · Feature matrix: optional colorized playfield only with Orblivion; vinyl soundtrack exclusive to Orblivion; custom callouts and additional multiball on premium tier

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Bruce expresses notable fatigue/indifference toward new Stern Marvel titles ('just going to be a game. Yay.'). Contrasts with typical enthusiasm for Stern announcements.

    high · Bruce: 'I'm not excited about it at all. Oh. It's just going to be a game. It's a game. Yay. It's another game. Yay.'

    • 2:37
    Welcome, everyone. Welcome to a pinball show about nothing. um you you don't get to hear the uh beavis and butthead clip until the episode actually comes out no i do not but the one i was gonna have for this week i think i'm gonna kind of split it in half because the second half of it would be perfect for twippy season nice so i'm there yeah i'll just leave it there yeah well it's funny for six months from now when it comes up again I got a little gripe about that. Oh, God. About what? Beavis and Butthead, Twippies, voting. No, no, no, not even that. All these, you know, we did a good thing. And not one of these news organizations for pinball. And it was a good thing because we got the pinball community involved and everything like that. Not one person talked about it. But we'll talk about fucking rumors from fucking Joe Schmo that are wrong sometimes. I just, I give up sometimes. I really do. That's the fucking frustrating part. I think somebody mentioned it. Oh, yes. One of our podcast brethren did. But not Twippy.
    3:47
    Not Nap. Oh, boy. He's caught you. I'm calling out people. Give me the big old fucking finger. But, you know, to the loser kids, thank you. Loser kids did help out. Thank you, guys. Man, Josh on loser kids. He really hates Mike from HomePen. I don't blame him. hey i want to congratulate you ron on your move my move yeah you moved that's right that's right so bruce submits stomp to ifpa which we talked about last episode yep he says like it's out there now ron and i look for it and i can't find it because i'm just doing the thing like 50 miles from uh albany is usually what i put in and i see nothing where the hell is it so i just do okay whole calendar. Let's look at it. There it is. Stop. September 23rd in Edison, New Jersey.
    4:44
    I couldn't fucking tell you why. And the funny thing is, I'm not shitting you. I had at least one person message me asking me if I had moved to New Jersey. Yes, congratulations. Yes. Come back to New Jersey. No. No, thanks.
    5:01
    It is still at Ron's house. Yes, it is in beautiful Castleton on the Hudson, New York. Yes, and this is Stomp, way too many to count. Stomp East. No, just Stomp. I took the East off. Oh, you did? I know you always like the East thing. I do like the East. It was never called that. I'm calling it that. No, it's Stomp or Stomp West. I was first. I was first, damn it. Wow. So it's way too many to count. And I can tell you it will never be in New Jersey because it will never be anywhere other than beautiful upstate New York. Yes. So the tickets go on sale Saturday, 9 a.m. You can pay by PayPal. It's $40. So that's July 22nd. 22nd, 9 a.m. Eastern. No, Eastern time. Very good. Just Eastern. It wouldn't be standard time. Not yet. Not until later. Yes. PayPal is $40. First 32 in. There will be a wait list if we do expand. So don't forget, email me or message us on the Facebook. Book in the face, book in the face. There is an event on Slam Tilt Podcast. Our Facebook page. Yes, our Facebook page. And maybe it should be on our webpage, Ron. I don't know how to do that. Wow. What the fuck? The good thing is, you know, you can BYOB food and everything like that. Just keep it clean. What you bring in, take out. That's all we ask. Mm-hmm. Ron has, what, 32 games?
    6:33
    It's enough. Yeah, it's enough. We have enough. It'll be 10 rounds of match play done by groups, eras, we'll call them. Solid state.
    6:43
    Yeah, there'll be three different groups, three different eras, so we're not stuck in modern land and would have to wait forever. Yeah, for when you had an EM. Yeah, well, especially certain better players show up and if they're playing Rush or something, Like, that's what my fear is. Like, oh, God. Well, what you'll have to do is just make your games hard, Ron, because your games must not be that hard.
    7:05
    Wow. Slap. I made them hard. I crank it up around stop time. Good. That's what we like to see. So that is on September 23rd.
    7:19
    Registrations will be this Saturday or Saturday the 22nd at 9 a.m. Hope to see everyone out there. I'm going to tell everyone, usually we do sell this tournament out and we go into overflow. So do not wait. Do not stop at go. Collect that $200 and pay us. What did we have last year? We had 40. Yeah, 40. It was 40. And we will expand if you put your name in and say, hey, I want to be on the wait list. We will try to accommodate it. But when it gets to a certain point, my basement can only hold so many people. Yeah, exactly. And then it just gets uncomfortable. It does. But you get all the old classic Sterns. You get the newer games, the newer Sterns, and we get some nice mix in between.
    8:04
    Yep. You get the wonderful Star Wars, one of the best Stern games ever. Dead. Silence. You get Surf and Safari. That's good. Great Gottlieb action. That's great. You get Bally action and some Harlem Globetrotters. Let's see. You get the best Data East game ever in Lethal Weapon 3. classic Stern action. You get some Milstar. Milestar, Milestar, yes. Alien Star action. You get WPC awesomeness. You get it all. You even get EMs. I'm sure Arzak would say not enough EMs, but at least there's two. There is two. You could have got three. We've sent you another link. Yeah, man, if I didn't do that, I guess I'm never going to get one. Nope. I swear to God, it was so close to you. Yes, it was. It almost bit you in the ass. Yeah, it almost bit me in the ass. I just couldn't do it. Literally, it was 45 minutes away from him, guys. From where I work, anyway, yes. Yeah, and there's a doodle bug sitting there going, buy me, buy me, buy me. Yeah. I mean, it didn't work, of course, but. Guess what? Buy it.
    9:11
    Doodle the bug. Good. So, what's coming out now in our green? Okay, I got my notes right here. We've had a couple of release announcements since our last episode. Yes, we have. We'll take them in order. The first one was Haggis Reveals Centaur. Yes. Destroy Centaur.
    9:38
    Two different versions. The Beast Edition and the Orblivion Edition. 250 of the Beast and 50 of the Orblivion. Yes. My question is, did you see the trailer? Yes. I actually watched something. What did you think of the song?
    10:00
    It's okay. It wasn't, wow. No, I couldn't deal with the vocal. Yeah. I did not like that vocal at all. Yeah. And they should have just kept with the guitar.
    10:14
    It's like, okay, just play that part. Yeah, I agree. so for 10k what do you get for 10k well let's let's see i got all the info right here because i am prepared or oblivion and this is at um this is actually this weekend pinball i'm looking at this hi this weekend pinball even though bruce called you out earlier yep basically yes the base model is the beast edition it's going to be 15 000 australian well crikey which is the Equivalent about 10,000 US. Yes. It's basically, it's Centaur, but it's got the 2.0 stuff in it. So they're not doing the full classic edition. Yeah, there's no more classic. Because, well, when they did that before and they said, you have to buy the other model to get the 2.0 code, then they went back on that where they let you buy the 2.0 kit later on. So they didn't bother with that this time. Both versions can do the 2.0 code. So it's got the LCD screens on the apron deal. It's got a topper. It's got – actually, let me – I have another. Now, I have a question. I didn't see in the video, is it plunging out of the side like it normally does for the orbs, or is it plunging out of the auto-plunger at the bottom? I didn't see that in the video. I would assume it's the same thing. So you're actually going to pay more money – you're actually going to spend more money in mechs when it's easier to do it right out of the trough. so you wanted them to actually change the uh the way it works why put more crap into it when you can make it simpler wow you're saying that you want them to cheap it out yeah it would have been cheaper maybe for the game wow i don't know reliability and reliability the trough we know works the auto plungers work now you have to have the whole rail system underneath where the ball you know, sits there and then shoots it out.
    12:15
    That thing was a pain in the ass from the 80s. Okay, well, let's... But I never saw it. Yeah, they didn't show it under the play field. They didn't even show the side, the shooter, when it went into orb mode. I'm looking at the poster here. Let's see. Here we go. Feature Matrix.
    12:33
    Let's see. Eliminated 250 Orb, Bolivian Editions and 250 Beast Editions. Original game code and 2.0 code with both models. Full RGB GI inserts in seven-segment score displays. Let's see. Five-speaker premium audio system with subwoofer.
    12:52
    I think that says five. It's tough to read this font. Mirrored chrome cabinet and playfield elements. Interactive topper on both models, although the topper is different. Yes. Original art or optional colorized playfield and plastics art. What do you think about that? It looked pretty hideous. Everyone seems to hate the color version. It wasn't meant that way. And it's not the first time that's been done. I know it isn't. I know. CPR did a run, and I hated it then. Someone had a picture of the two. Like they had the CPR color and then the Haggis color. Yeah. I think they're both bad. Okay, so Bruce not liking that. Okay. Nope, I like the original. Black and white is beautiful. With red. Yes. Floral red plastic protectors, under-cabinet lighting, mirror chrome back glass.
    13:43
    Okay, let's see what the differences are between the Beast and Oblivion. The Beast Edition has the Beast topper, which is basically the dude. The centaur dude. Yeah, the centaur. The motorcycle guy. Then the Oblivion version has the Underworld Queen plasma topper with additional lighting. so I guess more lighting than the other one. Yeah. It's the insect lady. Yeah. And with the Orblivion, you can get the optional colorized playfield and plastic. I think some people were thinking that's the way it came. Yeah, no. They didn't realize it was optional. Custom call-outs in the Orblivion. What does that mean? Because you're already getting the 2.0 code, both models, so additional call-outs on Orblivion. Crikey, you paid way too much for this. that's the actual thought bruce yeah maybe an additional multi-ball yes so you get the daft punk multi-ball with that uh you get inner cabinet art blades they look pretty nice yes they do i will agree etched mirror side rails i wasn't a big fan of that black pinball balls i hate that yeah i hate that oh my god we went through that phase at one point yeah everyone had to have it It was just around Pirates of the Caribbean. Well, you had them in your... My dad had them, and I hated it. Yeah, in the Black Rose. Yes. Because you think like, oh, it's like a cannonball. It's perfect. No, it's not. No. It sucks. And I know every version of the black balls I saw... Would you touch my chocolate salty balls?
    15:25
    Hi, chef. Every version of the black balls I saw, it would start to come off. Oh, yeah, they'd peel. They'd just peel. So I don't know if they have some better. They're going to have to come up with some better black balls to survive.
    15:40
    Black orbs and one, two, three, four targets instead of white. Yeah. And then it says white queen's chamber targets. Does that mean the original ones were black? Okay. Yes, they were black. Yes. So it's opposite. Let's see. With either Beast or Oblivion, you get the soundtrack in a digital download. Yes. And an album. No. Only with the Orblivion can you get the vinyl. And also with the Orblivion, you get the airbrushed motorcycle helmet and leather jacket. And with Beast or Orblivion, you get the signed and numbered Centaur revisited comic poster.
    16:19
    Yeah. How much is that one, Ron, in the U.S. and Australia? So, like I said, the first one, the lower model, the Beast Edition, was $15,000 Australian, $10,000 U.S. The Orblivion Edition is $25,000 Australian, which is about $16,700 US. Yeah. That is... A tough nut. That's a tough one to swallow there. Yeah. For an 80s game. An 80s game. I don't know why we went so high. It was a hard nut to swallow at 8K for Fathom. So Fathom, when it came out, the classic edition was $9,500 Australian, $73.60 US. Their mermaid edition, the highest model, was $11,500 Australian and $8,900 US. That is a huge jump. Yeah, a huge jump and a tough nut. Everyone complains about Stern's increases of nickeling and diming every time a game comes out. and the next game that comes out they jumped up 2k holy shit i mean you can't really you can't compare classic to no i'm not okay so i guess let's say 1500 you can't compare classic to beast because the one the classic was the one that didn't even have the 2.0 so let's compare the the high mom or bolivian versus i'm not even saying that i say like well i'm not even gonna i'm gonna compare mermaid to the lower model even at that it's 1500 yeah mermaid edition yeah let's see so 11.5 australian yeah to 10 you're doing it to the beast i'm going to the beast the 15 so you're doing the highest model of them to the lowest model of uh yeah yeah and it's still 3500 australia which is like 15 to 1400 really guys it's a fucking 80s game they should have went the opposite way let's see that this exclusive distributors flipping out in the U.S. Yeah. Isaac. Nitro Pinball and Cat Nitro Pinball. Wow, he recovered well from that little incident.
    18:35
    So they're going to make fathoms, I guess, to the end of the year. Let's say so finished, yeah. Yeah, they said they're going to get them done by the end of the year and then start working on Centaur.
    18:47
    Which, you know, we said it was either Centaur or 8-Ball Deluxe. We knew it was going to be Centaur. We've been saying that for all along. You've got to get the first two titles Yeah, but the teaser trailer, they had sound effects for both. Yeah, I wasn't still. I was definitely on Centaur. You were still on Team Centaur? Yep. And then 8-Ball Deluxe will be the next one. Yes, it will. And then I have no idea what you do after that. Then I'm thinking Frontier. Really? What else are you going to do? I mean, everyone wants Flash Gordon, but that's an issue because it's licensed. It's licensed first, and second, you have so many of them out there. You have so many other games out there, too. but it's starting to become almost like you're pricing yourself out of the market already. And it seems like now it's just a gimmick thing. We'll see how it goes because I know with Fathoms, they weren't selling them out until the very end when the distributor bought the remainder. So we'll have to see what happens because it went on sale.
    19:45
    When did it go on sale? It was like a day or so ago. A day or so ago. and they put in a thing saying, thank you for all your support, blah, blah, blah, and we still have a couple left, which usually means it's not a couple left. There's some left.
    19:59
    They might sell out If they do congratulations but how much are you paying for this How much are you paying for each license only on 300 games How much licensing is the percentage of the whole pinball machine? If you're only doing 300 games. Planetary pinball there. Yeah. He loves to get his share. We all know that. So how much is that? And then another thing I have a question on is how much are the color play fields compared to the regular never ever mentioned that yet well remember their whole play field thing you know with the with the plexiglass whatever over the play field they ripped that off from home pin according to mike from home pin i forgot to i forgot to mention that last episode yeah but it's just like there's still a lot of wondering and what's of you know guess what If I'm going in for any of these games, say, what's the pricing for the options?
    20:57
    I was surprised when I got my invoice for my Spooky game. Not an invoice, but they gave me the option list, which is only one option, the butter cabinet. How much do you think they're charging for a butter cabinet now? Oh, extra if you want the butter cabinet? Yep. How much do you think it is? Oh, $800. No, it was $1,000 before. Okay, $1,500. 1400 okay so big increase you know how much is the color play feel gonna be so you guys get in the butter cabinet did god fucking know oh come on zach wanted the butter i know it no he did not he loves that stuff come on so hopefully we'll have an invoice soon we'll have hopefully for your scooby-doo scooby-doo where are you rut row yep so uh we'll have that but you know congratulations on the guys. Hopefully they're going to sell their 300 out. Yeah. But how much are the licensing fees for just 300?
    21:56
    Maybe, you know, you should have went cheaper and went on. I don't know. Maybe they can't do all that production. Maybe they're saying, Hey, we know our limits. 300 is our limit. Like spooky did in the beginning, but good games are going to be limited. Maybe when they get their numbers up, you know, Oh, wait a sec. Hey, I love to see them sell more. and make it a little cheaper, if it's possible. I don't think it is right now. There's still a recession threat. That's what everyone keeps on talking about in the news. I don't know. What's your thoughts? I think it's good they got rid of the classic thing without the 2.0, because I think they found out with Fathom, especially after Texas, like everyone wanted the 2.0 code. Yep. So they're just like, oh, screw it. We're not even going to do the non-2.0 code version. that was a good decision just two versions so it's not confusing i mean there's two versions of the last one but it's it's good to just keep it at two versions and not have like you know american pinball had the thing where it had what three four different types of versions and it's so confusing it's just like we have the lower end model and the super high end model and that's it the pricing increase was compared to i mean what was it just two years ago two or three years ago? That is one of the biggest jumps I've ever seen. And you still can be waiting for this game literally for two to three years, tied up money. And I wonder if it's just a deal where it costs way more than they thought. Maybe, but. I mean, remember Big Bang Bar? I know. For those at home, Gene Cunningham, when he did Big Bang Bar, remember how much they cost? Way undercut it. You remember how much they were? $5,500. No. It was $4,500? $4,500. Okay. I was at my first expo in 2004, and I went to the seminar, and he had those 4,500. Everyone was like, 4,500? What are you, crack? Because at the time, a new stern from any distributor was under 4K. It was 32, 33, because that's where I got my Lord of the Rings was 2004. Yeah, but it was like, are you insane? 4,500? Yeah, then when he finally made them, he lost his ass at 4,500. Yeah, because he didn't do shit. and he waited and waited and waited. Then he found out some of his stuff wasn't working and wasn't good.
    24:19
    Yeah. But, yeah, it's just... It's way too much money. It's a lot of money. It is. And it's a lot of money tied up. But the thing is, if it sells out, then was it too much money? Then it's not. It's not too much money. Yeah, but with that limited amount, you know how people are, oh, I've got to get the limited one. I've got to get it. Yeah, I think the 50 ones, the 50 will sell out. Yeah. Even at that price.
    24:45
    I don't know. Crikey! Yeah, crikey is right. Holy shit, that's a lot of Fulstice beer right there. Yes, it is. Holy shit, it is.
    24:57
    All right. Let's see. And that's not the only new game. No! But wait, there's more. But wait, there's more not to be outdone. One year later from somebody's prediction. One year later, Bruce is finally wrong. Yes. as Venom will be coming out, will be revealed at Comic-Con, which Comic-Con is going to be interesting being there will be no actors there, but we'll talk about that. There's going to be a lot of canceled panels. Yeah. This is from Nap Arcade. Hi, Nap. Also called out by Bruce. Yep. Yes, Venom is the next Cornerstone game. It will be officially launched on Tuesday, July 18th, which could be the day this podcast is released. the usual pro premium limited edition pricing is the same as foo fighters yep designed by brian eddie art by zombie eddie and software lead by your favorite programmer dwight sullivan shoot me in the fucking cock oh come on always fucking use of flashers it's getting obscene uh production of pro machines is slated to begin in late august yeah after the move and then ellie production mid-September, followed by premium in late September.
    26:13
    Yep, because they're moving. Yes, they're moving. So what do you think? Are you excited for Venom? No.
    26:22
    It's going to be comic book Venom. Which is good. That's better. That's good. Yes. Because there's so many more things you can do. It's heavily rumored there will also be other characters on the game, like Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain America. hopefully have like a screen on there where you can see the changes you know what do you mean changes like them changing it to the character yeah or maybe they'll give them the same wonderful art that they gave avengers yay yeah that'll be great still photos all around i mean this is the same company so that that's part i don't understand deadpool it was like sure do anything you want Avengers, it was like, no, you must use these and use our voice actors. It's Marvel, right? What's the difference? They considered Avengers IP better. I'm so confused. So, I mean, we'll have to see what happens with Venom. I got my notice from, because we're in the Stern Army, would you like to see the introduction thing, which is always getting beaten out by their announcement at 10 in the morning. We don't get on until, you know, 4 in the afternoon. I'm like, wait a sec, guys. Let me see. Let me see what my invitation is. Okay, I totally lost track of what you said there, but I think 10 a.m. Eastern or Central? Yeah, they usually put out their stuff. They put out the stuff, but do you guys get it earlier? Is that the idea? July 18th, 4 p.m., 5 p.m. So it's already all out. It's already all out, so what are you looking at? Is it more in-depth, I guess? I guess, but it's mostly what the salespeople get after the distributors get their speech. It's the same speech we get to see. Okay. But, yeah, I'm waiting to see. I'm not excited about it at all. Oh. It's just going to be a game. It's a game. Yay. It's another game. Yay. Raymond's in it, though. Raymond's working on it. Because Dwight mentioned it. Yes, Raymond Davidson is one of the coders, yes. So, hi, Raymond. Congratulations.
    28:21
    When's Raymond going to get his coding? What, his lead? Yeah. Are you excited? You haven't said anything. you need it next to Black Spider-Man. I'm not into all the superhero stuff, so not really. Okay. Although, like you said, I have the Venom edition, if you will, of Spider-Man. Exactly. Spider-Man Black. Because he's black because Venom overtook, or it's the Venom version of Spider-Man or something. No, no, no. How does it work? I thought Venom is just like a symbiote. He's a symbiote. And he takes the forms of whatever. Well, the original, if you really want to go geek mode, here we go. No, I don't. In Secret Wars. Oh, God. They had their first battle in Secret Wars, and Spider-Man's costume was falling apart. So he asked for a Spider-Man costume, and it pumped out the black suit. And at the time, we didn't know it was a symbiote, but it was. Ah. That's the real reason. Okay.
    29:24
    Geek mode over. So at least no pricing increases for Venom. We'll see. I'm looking forward to seeing what the game is because I've heard some rumors that it's a way different play field that we're used to. And with the characters on there, it could be, hey, you know, a great hit for them. Might it show up at RPC? Yes, it will be showing up at RPC. Eventually. The Rochester Pinball Collective. Where is that, Bruce? That is a 240. Sorry, 265.
    29:55
    Wrong. Wrong again. I'm brain farting. Let me try. 349. I'll get you started. Yes. Go ahead. No, you said start it. No, I said I'll get you started, meaning you continue.
    30:07
    349 West Commercial Street in beautiful East Rochester, New York, suite 2965. When do you guys open, Bruce?
    30:16
    Thursdays and Saturdays. Every Thursday from 5 to 10, Saturdays from 3 to 11, and some Fridays. You'll have to check our Facebook page to see when we're open per month on Fridays.
    30:29
    See, like that? Got the plug? Just check that off? Check. Well, let's see. Since we're on the new releases, you see there's an actor's strike, Bruce. Yes, there is. We knew the writers were on strike, but now SAG is on strike. Yes, the actors are on strike. Screen Actors Guild. I did not know that the president of the Screen Actors Guild was the nanny.
    30:51
    Did you know this? I'm fresh. I guess it was. I knew it. Fran Drescher is the president of SAG. I did not know that. It's getting scary. And she just got elected recently. Yeah. Wow. To walk into this. I'm bringing it up because how do we think, do we think this will affect pinball? Because all. It could for future releases. Everything is a license now. So will they have to put the brakes on? Will they have like, you know, we had so-and-so here to do call outs. Now they're like, nah, I can't do that. Sorry, bro. Yep. They have to. Especially if it's licensed. Hopefully Stern prepared, got these people in and like they were doing. Got them done. Yeah, got them done before for a couple of them. Last time they had an actor strike was 1980. And one of the things they were beefing over, whatever, was the beginning video market.
    31:41
    We want our piece of the pie. Yeah. And now it's the streaming. And AI. And the fact that, oh, yeah, we'll just pay for your likeness once and then we can just use you forever. Yeah. And you're like, no, honestly, they're all overpaid. I agree. Well, the big name act, they're all overpaid. I feel sorry for more like all the other people in SAG. Yeah. You know, the people doing it for a living who do not make millions of dollars. But yeah, it's just, it's just, I haven't felt the writers have been able to write anything good for years. So I didn't give a shit about the fucking writers going on strike. The blockbusters, they've been shit. Oh, they've been terrible. I mean, Star Wars was ruined. Star Trek ruined. The destiny of diarrhea is terrible. Yes. Dysentery of destiny. Indiana Jones is ruined. Lucas is great at it. Lucas is fucking ruining. Disney's managed to ruin every major franchise. Good job. Good job, guys. And you guys wonder why I hate Disney. Yes. This is why. And then they fired, like, what, 7,000 people? Yep. Maybe if our CEO didn't make, you know, 100 million plus a year. Maybe you wouldn't have to fire all those people. I don't know. They're all overpaid. Here's the funny thing. Last year, one of the best – the best movie last year was a sequel. Do you know which one that was? No. What is it? Maverick. Oh. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes, that was good. Awesome movie. Barely any CGI in it.
    33:11
    All real acting. Normal people. As far as the fake acting. Well, you forgot the most important part. It had Kenny Loggins in it. Of course. Yeah, there you go. Highway to the Danger Zone. But, I mean, it was a good movie. You can go to the movies and not get the, you know, story that you don't need to have. You got a good acting job, a good story, and people you wanted to enjoy. And Disney used to do this 15 years ago, 10 years ago. Now it's just like, blah, blah, blah, blah, let's push this, this. Well, the funny thing is, they said, you know, this strike will affect these movies currently in production. and I'm looking, I'm like, Ghostbusters 4. What? There's another one? Like, Avatar 3 and 4. Yes. Gladiator sequel. Yep. Jesus Christ, are there any original movies anymore? There is none. There is no original movies anymore. Well, the funny thing is, right now, I think the movie just beat Indiana Jones. It was just some independent film. Yes. I love it. Yeah, because it actually, they had a good actor. They have a good screen film. No CGI. it was actually real stuff. You are more anti-CGI than I am. Oh, it's terrible lately. Like, guess what? I understand space scenes have to be CGI. But now it's like, hey, we got 27 people in a room. We have this big bubble that's CGI and green screen. Let's do it all on that. No, let's not go on location and actually have a building behind us. But wait a second. The new movie, the best movie that's coming out?
    34:46
    Oh. Yeah, there's a Godzilla movie. It's coming out in November. But he's CGI in it, though, again. Mission Impossible. Most of the car scenes are car scenes, not CGI, not explosions. You know, like he's doing his own stunts. So you think the movies suck now because there's too much CGI? Oh, it's way bad. It's getting – it's just like let's make it even more radical. The superhero movies are really bad at that. It's just like people in a green screen. I know. It's terrible. They don't even do on-location sets anymore. Nope. That's why John Wick is so popular. Yes. John Wick, Mission Impossible. Basically, movies with middle-aged or senior action stars. But you can't get too old. Once you get in your 80s, then you've got to stop. But yeah, and if you look at Flash, Flash was terrible.
    35:36
    I'm surprised Stern didn't get that licensing disaster. Flash, I'm for a Ming awaits. Yeah, but it's just like, you know, they can't do anything. They can't do anything. You know, they're going to be screwed if they haven't had voice acting. You can't have anything. So hopefully they thought ahead about this. Yeah, because we know they certainly don't have any original themes. They're all going to be licensed. So hopefully they're with us. Here's where a band theme would be good because you don't have to worry about that. Yes, that would be a good thing. Yeah.
    36:09
    We might get another band theme. That means. Yeah, we need to get a band theme. Yeah, pronto. Pronto.
    36:16
    But at least, you know, hey, Ron. What? You're right once a year. I am? You are. I am. You said Venom last year. Yes, I did. And you're wrong once a year because you said it wasn't Venom. Yep, but I was right because originally. Yes. What else do we have? James Bond accessories were released. Oh, my money penny.
    36:39
    The usual. We got the shooter knob thing, art blades. got the side armor and the topper yep wasn't really maybe the art blades were okay but the rest of them the side armor was yeah i never go for the shooter knob no the topper's not bad at least it just doesn't say james bond on it it says something different but remember that was the exclusive topper remember that when the bond 60th edition came out and it's exclusive topper, meaning this is the only topper you'll see for James Bond. Not that it's exclusive to this game. That costs $20,000, which is still available from distributors. Yes, it is. Speaking about a game that did not sell out.
    37:25
    They found their price point. They found, yeah, they went over that buddy boy. They hit the ceiling and went, oh fuck. Well, let's get positive. We're talking about prices going up. How about a game where the price went down? Oh, yes. Queen.
    37:42
    Well, because they can't sell them. You didn't say that part, did you? Well, Queen, remember Queen? They had two editions. They had the Rhapsody edition, which was like their upper model, and then the Champions edition, which is like the regular model. Now, the Champions edition was originally $9,295. It is now $8,995. It went down $300. Not many pinball machines you can say they went down on price I can't think of any I can think of one Clothes out stuff Oh clothes out yes Yeah I remember $2600 World Poker Tours Wheel of Fortunes That's the only time I can remember it but yes But never during production No But yeah So you think it's because they're not selling No they're not selling at all I haven't seen one place post a location. Like, hey, I haven't even seen people on Pinside say, I got my queen. What does that tell you? It tells you you should get an alien instead because it's a better game.
    38:49
    Oh, you can't say anything because what's coming to RPC, Bruce? No, I know. It's going to be a shit show.
    38:55
    Can you make sure you put it in the most brightly lit part, though, of RPC? Otherwise, no one's going to be able to see. Okay. And guess what? I can't wait to reboot it many, many times. Oh, yeah, you think it's going to lock up? Oh, my fucking God. Well, I went to Zach. I go, Zach, you know, hey, we're going to get Alien. He's like, okay, well. He goes, at least it's worked at one out of two league nights. So it's patent 500. It's patent 500. That gets you in the Hall of Fame. It does.
    39:22
    Oh, yeah. It's Shelly Sachs. Yeah. Shelly Sachs. She was what? Gary Stern, secretary, jack of all trades. The Jokes.
    39:36
    Yes, she did everything. She did everything since, I didn't realize, since 1979. So she was there at Original Stern. That's what I wanted her for. Yeah. I wanted some early stories from that. When she announced her retirement, she was our choice for episode 200. Yes. But she said no. But she also said no to other people that also wanted her for interviews. So she was not doing the interview thing. Yes. Uh, she passed away, unfortunately uh after retiring What I think what a year ago seven months ago even a year ago Yeah it was more like seven months ago Yeah seven months ago unfortunately That sucks It does I feel bad for the whole family at Stern and her own family you know Cancer again. Yeah, it's just so, so bad. She got married, like, a few years ago? Yep. Because it was Shelly Sachs, and then all of a sudden it was Shelly Sachs- I can't remember what that- Yeah. Very sad. And when that came up, I was like, ah. But we did want to interview her because I thought it would have been a great interview, but she didn't want to do it. Totally understandable with that. I wish we did because we lost the great asset of finding out about past history. So that's why I'm encouraging Gary to come on. 300, bottle of vodka, or 250, bottle of vodka. You ever talk to Shelly? I have, yes. I actually have too, and not many times, one time. Yeah, I've talked to her many times. When she was outside, when we were all freezing our butts off for the tours sometimes, I'd see her like, hi, Shelly, how you doing? Oh, ready for the big day. You know, she'd always be talking, you know, and after you get to know her a couple of times, you just talk to her. She'd be like, it's that annoying guy again. Yes.
    41:15
    At least I'm respected, though. Yeah, you were called respected in a Facebook post. You know, being that some respected people, you know, pinball people I respect have said this. I'll go along with it. And he mentioned you by name. Yes. I've never heard that before, Bruce. I get no respect. So from now on, you are respected, Bruce. Yes. I love it. That was a story from – that was a person posting something on the internet. Yes. No one knows what we're talking about. Yes, that's what I'm going to say now. That's all I'm going to say about this. Slam Tilt, our logo. So you know how Mr. Teolis in our last episode mentioned how the eye and slam tilt is three dots across instead of two? And it was. And it is. But I'm just going to say that's not my fault.
    42:05
    What? Because I didn't make that. That slam tilt is from my getaway. I slam tilted it and just took a picture of it.
    42:16
    So blame Scott. What is his name? Slow Mini? The DMD guy for Williams in 1992, he used too many dots in the eye. It's his fault, not mine. Fail. So you're passing the buck. Yep. Okay. I agree with that. What was I supposed to do? Take a picture of it and then Photoshop the dots out? That's what sounds like Jeff wanted you to do.
    42:40
    Again, it's not a graphic I made. It's literally a photograph. photograph i don't want your faded photographs ah oh yeah uh also the uh a person from stern retired this week did you see that i did not see that the head of parts the parts department i'm gonna get to it right now so give me two seconds i was just thinking about the next thing i saw and i was like oh wait a sec the head of parts Yep, for Stern.
    43:16
    Dorothy Brown retired after 19 years being there. At the integral part of role of many areas, she was the team that kept moving during COVID,
    43:28
    growing parts department. So 19 years. Nice, good, long time for a company that's been there for 36 now? Is it 36? Yeah, 37. Wow, 37 years. Yep, she's seen the good, the bad, the ugly. well congratulations have fun on your retirement hopefully you don't have to buy parts ever again yes you should not have to believe it or not I went through everything that was it wow that's it we do have the other stuff we have the ball back don't forget the beast is coming up sign up for the beast we'll both be there so it's a rare opportunity to see both of us together yes we do exist it's not just one person doing I'm not AI. No, you're not AI.
    44:16
    Bruce is giving me his countdown, and I'm just going to drive it all the way home. It's going to be great. Oh, fuck me. I can see that happening. You can borrow it all you want. Maybe I can borrow it for stop. There you go. Take it with you. And you can take it back. Yeah, that's fine. I like that idea. Deal. See? Okay, there we go. How's that? Then I have an upstairs game. There you go. It's a good upstairs game. That's probably the best upstairs game I've probably ever had. Yeah. You know how I feel about it. Yeah, Hot Tip, I like Hot Tip. It's not Countdown. No, it's not Countdown. And we have Countdown now at the RPC.
    44:50
    Nice. We have Zaxxel's Countdown, which is out there now. Did I mention I love Countdown? I love Countdown, too. And mine's nice. It's on my short list. At this point, when you're lower on space, you kind of have, like, your second tier, but then you have your first tier, and I hardly have any first tier ones left. That's like, yeah, I absolutely need this game someday. like what's your list let's hear it countdown okay what else that might be it at this point i'd like to get a uh spanish eyes really yeah a doodle bug eventually but i have zax that's i'm not really worried about that what else uh i like to get a viper one of these days that's probably the last turn just the last turn you know hey at least a viper they're like we have a gimmick and we're going to base the entire game around this gimmick i.e the turret yeah and it didn't work so it works no it didn't work for their gimmick to sell games but surprisingly when i played the sanctum that gimmick always works it works great that is amazing little mech that little turret and maybe if i had money god i saw the guy pricing one of these out was a Old Iron Maiden. Oh, God, no. That's not a good game. 12K. It's not that bad. It's not good. It's actually one of the better upper playfield sterns ever made.
    46:12
    I like split second better. All white bodies need to be designed by Harry Williams. Everyone knows this. When they deviated from that, Orbiter, Viper, it just doesn't work. But, yes, that's the whole thing for me, you know. But I do like to shop for Viper. Or if you build your multiplier up, your spinner is worth more. And that's what I really like. I love the spinner. It's in the perfect place in this game. It's in the sweet spot. It feels so good. So that's my short list probably. I don't have many on my short list. I like to get back some games. Because we're old. We have shorter short lists. Well, you've owned everything. I would like to get back a next generation. I should have bought yours when you were selling it. I really should have. And, oh, one more game. Alien Star.
    47:01
    Well, yeah, everyone needs an Alien Star. Everyone needs an Alien Star. We don't have one at the RPC, and I keep on trying to buy Mark's, and Mark's like, I don't want to sell it. But it's sitting in his house doing nothing. Sell it to me! When it could be at the RPC. Yes.
    47:16
    And we're almost done with, Freefall is done. It's going to my house. Freefall! It's going right to my house. And we're going to set up – next is Bad Girls is getting set up to get gone over. Then we're going to get that out on the floor. That will be going on the floor. Bad girls, they say. So much. So. Turn them on. Turn on those bad girls. Bad girls. And all hope is gone. You know, bad girls say so much. See, we're getting ready for JJP's next game, Elton John. Yes. Bad girls, they say. It's coming, folks. I'm not making that up. I'm not saying it's the next game, but it will be one of the next one or two games. So seven years from now, you'll be playing Elton John.
    48:12
    Come on. They made two games in a year. Not a calendar year, but in a year's period. First time they've ever done that. So do you see them? Having two games next year.
    48:25
    Yes, I do. Yeah. Definitely. With all the designers they have now and the fact that I don't think Godfather is selling particularly well. No, I think you're going to see a third game at the end of this year. I think you're going to see a third game at Expo. Oh. I have that funny feeling. Elton John will be at Expo? No, I think it will be something else. Oh, really? So you don't think Elton John is next? No, I don't. Okay. But I think there will be another game at Expo because – Maverick. oh that would be awesome come on steve richie maverick if steve mitchie did maverick and it sucked then he should retire yes but i think that would be a great license it's like an f-14 that's made for him oh it is speed flow i mean let's face it f-14 was made because they didn't want to pay for a top gun license it is literally top gun yep so pay it this time get the rights and rock it get away hot and please get hot get danger zone you got to get that song i want to hear it You start the button.
    49:22
    I like how the beginning of Maverick is literally a carbon copy of the beginning of Top Gun. Yep. It's a great movie, though. It was – I don't want to say great. It was very entertaining. Oh, it was extremely entertaining. Yes, yes. I actually was on the edge of my seat, and then I watched it. I bought it for the house. I actually bought it. It was Star Wars.
    49:43
    It was good Star Wars. They had to go along the trench, hit the exhaust port, which in this case was whatever the thing they set the body and get out. Edit it twice.
    49:52
    Stay on target. Maverick, your targeting computer is off. What's wrong? Nothing. I'm all right.
    50:02
    They should have just done that. Yeah. It's away. Then you get the guy that died, Goose, coming in. Yeehaw. You're all clear, Maverick. Let's float as they go. Oh, it's literally Star Wars, folks.
    50:24
    That would have been fucking awful. Yes. All right. Ready for the ball bag? I'm always ready for the ball bag. All right.
    50:34
    Okay, first one here is from Glenn. Hey, Glenn. Oh, remember when he said that scullery term, and we have no idea what that meant? Yes. He said life cycle, not scullery. Oh. Ah.
    50:48
    So what is the life cycle for a tournament pinball scene? So that's what he meant. Mm. Don't know. I don't know.
    50:59
    All right, next. This is from Jeff. Jeff J. He says, during your last episode, a listener asked what to do with their old incandescent light bulbs. I've been making art projects with them. Here are some pics. Thought you might like to see what I've done. If yourself or a friend's listeners want to see more of this and other pinball stuff, check out my Instagram. Let me see. Mandolin Jeff. M-A-N-D-O-L-I-N Jeff. You see these things? No. Open up the damn emails. Jesus fucking Christ. You want me to keep... These are actually... It's basically a pinball machine, a mini pinball machine, all made out of bulbs. He used the condoms, like the bulb condoms for the flippers. Oh, my. And it even has a topper. Okay, hold on. I got to get into the email because I wasn't expecting this. And then there's – I wasn't expecting to have to read the email during the email segment. No, you read them. I just listen.
    51:57
    I just listen. A big incandescent bulb made out of incandescent bulbs. There you go. A bulb tree. Very nice. I would actually get one of these. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I would actually get one of these. It's the second best thing for a bulb. Other than being in a game. Yes. I like it. I use the bulb condoms also. That's what I call them. Oh, my. I don't know. What is the official name for those things? It's not bulb condom.
    52:28
    What do they call it? Cover, maybe? I think it's bulb cover. Okay. It's before they had color-changing bulbs. They would change colors by just using a colored condom. A colored condom.
    52:40
    Very good. Thank you, Jeff. yeah i like the head even as a topper okay here we go this is from robert and it says tough questions oh and it's it's to you specifically oh god of course it is bruce i hear on various podcasts fathom is great trouble free fathom is built like a tank i'm sure centaur will be solid time out time out i've heard you've had the opposite experience exactly time out please tell us about your fathom which wasn't his fathom but what version what troubles did you have at rpc fixes any support from haggis details okay first i don't know what fucking podcast you're hearing that it's on that they had perfect and no fucking problems because if you go on pinside there's a great thread on fathom issues and they all have the same issues software locking up communications with USB issues. I think the fact that you had probably one of the first ten or so. Four. That did not help this situation. I told Mark because he has the collector's thing edition, you know, where he gets all the. Oh, did you tell get later in the run? Yes. Tell them later in the run. It was number four. It was the mermaid edition.
    54:03
    T-nuts falling out. they fixed a lot of this stuff on the later versions which was the gate in the back in the original i guess 20 or 30 that little gate that blocks it from the top that big wide gate that the just before the abc lanes up top it was a very thin piece of wire they beefed it up to a thicker piece of wire because it always falls out even with the plastic protectors which you would think would be thick enough you would make on the left hand side always balls getting trapped above the big drop target area, which had happened on the old one too. But you'd think, hey, I should make this different to make it not happen. USB communication, a lot of issues with USB, a lot of communication. Did you have flipper bat issues with that? Yep, we broke all three flipper bats. Original ones all broke. Drop targets already wearing out.
    54:56
    Drop targets never being leveled. They always shift their levelness, even when you lock them down and make them perfect. shift their levelness i gotta remember that one well they go underneath the play field sometimes they go above you adjust them changes again just was not happy i know i think i had three times in a row i was there and it wasn't on the floor it was in the back getting repaired the last two times i was there though it was on the floor yep and it's just like literally 90% of the people coming up to the desk I got a problem okay yes what game Fathom and you come over and the ball is like sometimes it just sits there because it loses communication with the USBs with the whole thing and the handguess is like just replace all the cables really why don't you send me all the cables we're still waiting on stuff from that they were supposed to send us yeah now you know why i'm not buying any other haggises and we have another one i will say one thing kelts doesn't break down much that one's pretty solid so maybe we just got a lemon i hate to taste the lemon raw lemon i thought it played fine when i when i actually when it plays it plays fine. It's not the strongest flippers. I wasn't happy with the flippers.
    56:29
    The flippers just never... We've always had pop bumper issues. There's just a lot of nagging things. I wouldn't get game number four in the future. No. As I told Mark, I said, you better tell them right now, because he's choosing his centaur, you better tell them, I want to be in the middle of the run.
    56:51
    Mm-hmm. Yeah. All right. Hopefully you got your answers, Robert. This is from William. This is against you. Eagles. Well, not against me. Eagles versus the Eagles.
    57:05
    Ron, while I agree most of the time it was just Eagles on the records, that message never made it to their record company, Asylum Records. I've attached an image where some 45s were the Eagles. Sincerely, your pest from the West, Bill. And yes, it very clearly says the Eagles. I always thought it was The Eagles I think it was Wikipedia or something It just said Eagles And then I noticed some of the albums It says Eagles It's like I didn't realize The Beastie Boys is actually just Beastie Boys Is their official name No The No The, what the fuck Let's see This is from Tim It says, Listener Glenn must be stopped No matter the cost From Listener Tim Okay.
    57:54
    Glenn is popular. Let's see. This is from the last one from Scott. Not Scott. See, this is Scott S. It says, help. I suck at old games.
    58:06
    See, hi, guys. Thanks for the continually great shows, and it was great to see you both in Allentown. I was hoping you could help with some advice on the next pin to add to my collection. I've been playing in more tournaments and really enjoying the experience, But I found that while I do well at modern games, I tend to absolutely – well, no. I tend to be absolutely terrible on older games. In particular, early Solid States or My Kryptonite. What games would you suggest to add that would give me a good opportunity to practice?
    58:37
    Two of them I got. Easy. Okay. One, Stars. Being honest is the most brutal. Two, Harlem Globetrotters. Done. I was going to tell him Harlem Globetrotters just because you have tap pass, you've got the split flipper, so flipper bitch yourself, get used to not flipper bitching yourself. Drop targets, inlines, spinners. Yes, you have everything. Yeah, you've got everything. And nudging.
    59:09
    But for the second one, I had meteor, not stars. But I'd say stars because it's just brutal. You're going to get brutal solid states, and you have to be able to adapt. What's a good solid state for lots of nudging?
    59:21
    Well, I was thinking like Paragon, but if you have Harlem. Yeah, you're there. You know, but I find I always nudge more on Paragon than I've ever nudged on Harlem. Oh, yeah, totally. I agree with that one. But it's wide. But they made a lot of them. They did. And it's a good art piece if you want to play the game. Yeah, yikes. I put Paragon up there, too.
    59:40
    Nudging. Well, a good strategy game for earlier ones is Blackjack. you have to know when to hit the hole. Know when to hold them. Know when to walk away. Know when to run. I'm trying to get ones that, you know. I know, but I'm saying, you know. Countdown. Very nudgy game.
    59:59
    Also, the whole 2x, 3x, 4x, all that stuff. Yeah, you have strategy, but you also have to nudge it. And you have to be accurate. Right Ron Mm I suck at Countdown What do you think he wants it Because he can be better at it no i never be better at it but that that another appeal of it and sinbad another good sinbad sinbad's good because basically sinbad and countdown have the same rule set yeah rule set plus you have to hit targets and you get the split flipper yeah it's the 2x 3x 4x but yeah you get the split flipper thing on the non-symmetrical play field the split flipper thing on Sinbad, and the targets are in different spots and stuff. But the rules are basically the same thing. They are, yes. But it's a great game. That's another great game. Yep. So that would be a good early one to go with also. Yep. So there you go. From the novel, The Bruce and Ron are picks. Are picks.
    60:58
    That's all I got. No, there's one other thing. What else do you got, Bruce? You forgot it. I forgot it. I'm going to make fun of you now.
    61:07
    Okay. I'll let you go then, and then you'll text me the next day and say, fuck, I forgot this. Fuck, I forgot this.
    61:15
    Let's see. I'm looking at my notes. Oh, did you want to talk about repairs? No, I did want to talk about repairs, but we got free fall bag. Fall bag, plugs.
    61:25
    No, everything on my list. No, your list is wrong. Then you don't make the following list every time. What did I forget?
    61:35
    Let's just think about it while I'm talking about repairs. No, literally, I have. No, you're not. Yes, I have on the game. No, you're not. You forgot something. No, I didn't. Yes, you did. What did I forget?
    61:46
    You ready for it, folks? I'm going to bring it up. Okay. Your fucking plug. My fucking plug. I have it right here, Bruce. I know, but you usually do it during the show. I was going to do it at the end. Not at the end. No, you usually do it during the show. You don't want me to do it at the end? No. You just bust on me all the time. I literally have repairs, ball bag, plugs. Right next to it, it says Silver Ball Chronicles, so I don't forget it. But you've not done it. If you said, you did say, I'm done. And you know, by doing this, I've got it mentioned more now. Yes, I know. Yes, part of my master plan. By the way, Bruce, I'm on another podcast called Silver Ball Chronicles. Really? I did not know that. Where is that located at? It's on the Pinball Network. Wow! So check it out. Everyone hates me from there, I swear. I don't like that Bruce guy. Yeah, whenever a Silverwall Chronicles listener listens to this show, they're just like, that Bruce guy. He's an asshole.
    62:46
    And what's your point? Mm-hmm. Repairs? Repairs. Freefall, finally all up and running. Had to use a new CPU. This is actually the funniest thing. the cpu board i pulled out of freefall has got to be the cleanest bally slash stern cpu i've ever done and it still locks up so it's got bad sockets so i changed the ram in it changed the yeah it still was locking up i had a good new power board in there put an old power board and it still was locking up put a new cpu board it's working great all the switcher adjusted I had to fill the hole for the, unfortunately, older stern wide bodies. The playfields are so heavy that sometimes the rods, they're so pointy, they stick a hole through the playfield. Yep, so I had to fix the playfield. It doesn't affect anything. I hate using the prop rod, especially on those, because the whole playfield sags to the side whenever you use one of those. I do not like that at all. Yes. Hey, did we talk about Cheetah last time? Yes, we did, didn't we? Well, Cheetah's back up. Yes. So I think we're going to actually fix Zach's Cheetah. He has the same problem with his bottom cabinet. So that might be a project. His bottom cabinet? His bottom is falling out. The bottom of his cabinet. No, his bottom's falling out. I like saying that better. I like the bottom cabinet makes it sound like there's multiple cabinets. Is this a new design? Well, it is double layered. Double layered. It is double layered in front. on all Switches, it's actually two pieces of wood put together. Wood.
    64:28
    Would you wood this? Yeah, would you or would you not? See, I even have a section in my notes for when we have guests, and it says game you like, game you hate, and would you or would you not buy that? I keep it separate. See, I'm super organized, Bruce. Yes. Orgasm.
    64:43
    Organized orgasm. Okay. Great, Bruce. I think that's it. I think an hour is fine, being that we had two and a half hours the last episode.
    64:58
    We're kind of boring. Yeah, we needed our guests to get us going, I guess. Actually, it wasn't – at first, Haggis was like the only reveal, and I had almost nothing for notes. And it's like, oh, man, this is going to be a real quick episode. And then some other stuff happens, so there you go. So don't forget, we have a tournament next week at the RPC. Oh, yeah. That was the other thing you wanted to mention. Yep. Coming up this Saturday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, it is a card-based tournament. You have to get good games on scores, and then you can buy more entries. Good games on scores. Yes. By card entry, you mean you have to play a certain number of games. How many? I don't know. Oh. Okay. You have to play a certain number of games. I'm going to look right now. And how good you did at all those games is your card. Yes.
    65:52
    And a card is worth so much, which Bruce doesn't even know that. So Bruce wants you to attend this tournament, which he has no details on. Why don't you look at Rochester Pinball Collective's Facebook page. Look at the events. Oh, okay. There you go. That's where we're going right now. The RPC 90s Challenge. Oh, we're playing 90s games? 90s game. 90s Alpha Lumerican DMD games. 12-game bank. 11 games will count towards your standings, and you can increase, you know. 11 games? Okay, so you've got to play. All right. $10 initial registration will include 11 attempts, one game per, and then additional attempts will be $2 per game or $3 for $5. What are the games? Do you have a game list? I do not. It doesn't even show it here. Ah, because we don't know what it is yet. Yes. It's whatever doesn't break. Yeah, whatever doesn't break. Okay. But it will be like Getaway, Whitewater, Hoops, Surf and Safari, Black Knight 2000. No, that's 89. That's 89. Alpha Numeric and DMD. No, it's 89. You said 90s tournament. It was made in the 90s still. No, it wasn't. It was made in 89. It was continued in the 90s. No, it was made in 89. No, it was not. It was made in 89. Yes, Black Knight 2000 was made in 1989. Now, if you had a Roller Games, which was made in 1990, that would make sense. The line was still, I think, around with building. No, you said 90s tournament. I'm just holding you what you said. I'm just telling you that they – I think on that one, actually, it's like a January 7th build. No, I'm being honest. You follow your own rules. You don't follow.
    67:22
    It would be still built in the 90s. If it's built in the 90s, it's good. Oh, it's built in the 90s. Okay. 90s. Okay.
    67:29
    And Zach even did put alphanumeric slash. Okay. June 29th, 1990 with 20 units still in inventory. It was sold still in the 90s. Sold still in the 90s. Anything to make your argument. The 90s was actually on IPDB. Last ship date, unknown. Is it going to break again like it did when I played you on it? I broke it, you said. Oh, that's right. Yeah, that's right. You broke it. Yes. I tilted it when the ball was stuck on a switch. And it was confused for a while. Yeah, it couldn't ever recover. No, it had to reboot it. It could recover in a new game. It's weird, though, that reboot fixed it. Yeah. It wasn't even like the switch wasn't working. No. I've never seen that. It was bizarre.
    68:10
    You got the power. I found the bug. You broke the game. No way. Don't forget the Beast in two weeks or three weeks. I've got to get games taken apart. So I think the finals are Saturday for that RPC tournament. Yes, Saturday night. And Bruce is upset I won't be there. Yeah. Because I'll be playing in a tournament at the local.
    68:34
    Yay. Bruce loves the local. We got like nine or ten games there, and they actually play decent. So you should like our local. Yay. whatever it's going to be a golf tournament and it's going to be um it looks like goal based instead of score based which i've never played in one of those that's kind of why i want to play in this one and it's you know only 40 minutes for my house as opposed to three and a half hours for my house that's another reason he doesn't like me guys you see he doesn't want to be around me all the time anymore i don't want to drive in in a period of two weeks It's three weeks. Yeah. No. I was trying to be nice.
    69:14
    It's like that weekend, and then two weeks later, I'm going to be there anyway. So why no? You're not going to be at the RPC.
    69:21
    I might be there Thursday. Who knows? If I come here Thursday, you guys are open Thursday. You said so. We are. Wouldn't you want me to support RPC? Of course I would. Being a paying customer? Yes. There you go.
    69:32
    Hey, at least you're not in Texas right now. Why? What's in Texas? 105. Climate change, bro. Even that's too hot for you?
    69:42
    I don't know. In our building where I work, they've been having air conditioning issues, so it's actually been comfortable lately.
    69:49
    Yeah. Wow. Beautiful 72 degrees, about time. Wow. Yeah, I didn't have my sweater on the entire week. Holy crap. People have been staring at you like, well, who the hell is this new guy? No, they were probably like, damn, it's hot in here. with that this has been episode 210 hey ron you're only 20 20 people still away for the sanctum 20 he hasn't updated the list in a while i know because i noticed the 100th person hasn't changed oh hey do you have extra and does anybody have extra stern spinners i have none if you have none either except for i only have two and they're both they're both for nine ball yeah Oh, yeah, I think I have a see which one that's broken, which I don't understand. No one ever hits that spinner anyway. I know. I don't understand. Out of all the games, how is that one broken? Okay, so if anybody has stern spinners, so I'm talking either definitely one with the S on it. I need a couple. So if you want to sell me a couple, please message me because I need one for my – I need a couple for some of my games coming up that are in repair. I need some too. Yeah, so please message us if you want to sell us some. They have to be original. None of these decal ones that are, you know, stickered over. Because Mayfair has not had them the last couple shows. That's where I was used to get them. Yes, me too. Yeah. So has anyone got – we're talking used. I'm talking used or new, but it has to be stern.
    71:27
    And not broken. And not broken, yes. Both legs must be on there. Please message us. It's a request I'm having. Please, please, please. Yeah, I only have two. And they're both nine balls. Nine balls, which is only good for nine balls. Exactly, but I'd rather have that one because that's the rarest unobtainium one that you can ever find. So you're saying if mine ever breaks, I know where to get another one. Yeah, you do have another. Wait a minute. Do you even have a nine ball? Yes, I do. It's downstairs. Oh, okay. Jesus Christ. I didn't remember if you sold it or not. You sell so many games, Bruce. That's a keeper. Ah.
    72:06
    Yep. Zach hates it. Oh, and... Yeah, are we the only ones who like nine ball? Everyone seems to hate nine ball. Well, there's going to be a fix for it soon, hopefully. A fix? Yes. What's wrong with it?
    72:17
    What's the worst thing about nine ball? It loses track of how many balls there are. Why is that? Because the software sucks. And the trough switches suck. Oh, yeah, the trough switches, yeah. I had to move my whole plate around to get it to at least be decent. Oh, I won't have to soon. Why?
    72:36
    Two of the owners of the RPC are making Optos, an Opto kit. An Opto kit? Yep. For Nineball? Yep, for the froth. Two of the owners of RPC? Yep, they make the sound boards for the talking sound boards. Their next project, and they're going to test it on my 9-ball, and they're already tested on another machine, is Optos for certain early stern electronics. Okay. Don't forget, if you guys want a sound board for your early stern talker, look back in some of our past episodes. We talk about it. I don't know where their website is, but I'm going to do it right now. And that's the power of editing. Look at our brief. No, I'm not editing this. Yes, you are. No, it's great.
    73:25
    How can I kill time while editing? Let's see. Did I have any repairs? I don't know. Did you? My Iron Maiden. I have to say, I think for a stop, I'm going to turn off the sarcophagus stuff because I've had multiple issues with it now, which, of course, people are like, that's why you should have got a pro. the cool stuff that's in the premium, except it doesn't always work. So I have the information, sir, if you like it. Right after this. So the issue I had, basically at least two or three different issues, all involving the sarcophagus. The first one, it's sarcophagus is lit for a lock. I hit the left ramp, which loads it, which gave me all my Eddie letters. So it lifted off the ramp. It locked the ball in the sarcophagus, and then the game just sat there. Like, okay. Never kicked out another ball. Did ball searches. Just that was it. Reset. Try again. Then the other issue I had, I locked a ball. Same thing. Sargophagus lock is lit. You hit the left ramp. It goes behind the back panel, comes around, and then it hits like the closed door part. Yep. But it bounced back a little. Yeah, it doesn't sit there. And there must not be enough incline for it to come back. So the thing raises up. No ball comes out. it goes into endless ball search. You shake the game, can't get it out. I had to get another ball, get behind there, and knock it out.
    74:52
    So that's the second issue. Then while I was in mummy multi-ball, part of it, the sarcophagus is lit again, and I hit two balls up in quick succession.
    75:05
    So there was two balls up there. And the one, it drops into the sarcophagus thing. the second ball rolls up and it just sits there because it must not have a switch to know there's a ball there so i drain out i have one ball in play but it thinks it's still i'm in multi-ball so then i drain out of that ball and i have to wait for the ball search for the other ball to come out nice so that that's too many issues that's gonna happen in the tournament so i'm gonna have to shut that off yeah it will happen so let's kill that yeah i think that's i'm assuming there's a setting to disable that. There probably is. So now you gave me work to do this weekend. I've got to pull the countdown out of my basement. I've got to pull the Quicksilver out of my basement because coming up in two weeks will be the Saratoga show. At the beautiful YMCA in Saratoga. Quicksilver, huh? And I'm bringing Quicksilver. Closest to the door, right? Yes. Lightest and closest to the door. for for me with my shitty back so we will break that down i'll be taking that that's going to be the um july 28th and 29th check it out but you got pinball things every week it seems that way uh so the website for the board is uh www.glodstone.com You can also look on Pinsight. They have a Pinsight shop for it also for the VSU-2. And it also does sound for Gamitron and custom stuff. Very good. I did good. Yay! I did good. Wow, he just blew out my headset there. Yes, excellent. You are so loud. Yay! this has been episode 210 of the slam till podcast if you want to write to us you can write to slam till podcast at gmail.com that's slam till podcast at gmail.com i forgot that last week and had to edit it in excellent remember that yeah yeah you can check out our website www.slam till podcast.com our links are all in the upper right hand corner including our twitch link which I did stream this past week. I was testing some of my new streaming equipment, getting ready for stop, so we can have the greatest stream experience possible, at least for the amount of effort I want to put in, which isn't too much. Maximum effort. Yeah, yeah. I don't have a stream deck. I don't have headsets. We're just going to use the Snowball. It's going to be great.
    77:48
    You'll be able to hear the commentary, and so will the players, as we're commenting on them. but yes. Oh yes. And I'm in another podcast. Bruce will get me a, I can, this is now to silver ball chronicles on the pinball network. So you got your, your name, Bruce, you all set. I do. Okay. So there won't be any awkward pauses or anything. I, there will not be, sir. Okay. I think we're done here until next time. Say goodbye, Bruce. Goodbye, George H. We'll be right back. Meteor Level Zero Clusterfuck George Takei Timballs Bruce Isms Tournament Talk Carholer Cheetah Xanadu Cash Grab ELO Ball Bank What You Buying Game You Love Game You Hate Tournament Talk Pinball Princess Sir Oh my.
    79:21
    Oh my. James Bond accessories. Yes. You can strap me on, Moneypenny. Oh, there's a strap-on? It's the strap-on edition.
    80:03
    Moneypenny, peg me now. Okay. I totally threw it up. All right.