claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.026
Slam Tilt covers PDQ fundraiser, Ghostbusters update, NY State Championship bracket, and community hardware news.
Pinball Done Quick raised over $14,000 for Prevent Cancer Foundation, exceeding last year's total
high confidence · Ron Hallett, verified event reporting
Austin Mackert scored $1.9 billion on Star Trek: The Five-Year Mission at Pinball Done Quick
high confidence · Ron Hallett, specific verifiable tournament result
New Ghostbusters code released with 'tons and tons of bug fixes' including more voice calls and animations
high confidence · Ron Hallett, breaking news from 3-4 hours prior to recording
Ghostbusters multiball music does not override mode music until mode ends, which differs from 'almost every other game'
medium confidence · Ron Hallett, community feedback mentioned by Chris Bucci on Pinside thread
Karl DeAngelo won the main Texas Pinball Festival tournament, with Keith Elwin winning the Classics division
high confidence · Ron Hallett, tournament results
Andrew S. is releasing a new Valley Stern MPU replacement board for $150 with support for custom code
medium confidence · Bruce Nightingale, announcing prototype boards in development
New Hook code version 5 (Stern-approved) reverses scoring so ramps go down from 1 million instead of up
medium confidence · Ron Hallett, available at pinballcode.com website
Bruce has sold 9 pinball machines in one week and is down to 12 games remaining for his collection
high confidence · Bruce Nightingale, personal inventory during house sale preparation
“We are pinball selling the house. So I'm painting the walls. Painting the floors. Ceiling, everything.”
Bruce Nightingale @ approx. mid-episode — Reveals major life event affecting his pinball collection; explains 'Painting Xanadu' running joke
“multiball music should trump the mode music... It does that in almost every other game I can think of.”
Ron Hallett @ Ghostbusters code discussion — Specific design criticism of new Ghostbusters code behavior
“I'm going to make a special podcast in two weeks telling you exactly what's left in the house because in two weeks from now, that will be it.”
Bruce Nightingale @ collection inventory section — Commitment to future detailed inventory episode
“Freedom Firewood, baby. Poor Freedom. If not, I'm parting the bitch out and it's going on the fire pile.”
Bruce Nightingale @ game sale discussion — Dark humor about unsold Freedom pinball machine fate
“They have 11 pins there now. So clearly they must have Playboy, like every version. Nope. No? Nope. That's rare.”
Ron Hallett @ World Hollywood Entertainment location discussion — Commentary on Playboy machine rarity in the wild
“Should you trash talk to the guy who's driving you to the show? It's usually the other way around. Eric won't drive. Jason has to drive.”
Ron Hallett @ Tournament banter section — Humor about pre-tournament dynamic between Eric Russell and Jason Floor
community_signal: All-Tech MPU boards cannot support custom/free-play code versions, limiting operator flexibility for machines like Stern titles
medium · Matt Scott raised compatibility issues; Andrew S. developing alternative specifically to address this limitation
event_signal: Pinball Done Quick charity stream raised $14k+ for Prevent Cancer Foundation, exceeding prior year totals with wild high scores including $1.9B on Star Trek
high · Ron confirms event success and specific score details; multiple community members participated
competitive_signal: NY State Championship bracket features strong competitive field with top-5 regional players; double elimination format; game mix includes classic and modern titles across multiple eras
high · Ron provides detailed 16-player bracket with seeding; games include Kiss, Game of Thrones Premium, Fun House, Medieval Madness, Walking Dead Premium, Barbed Wire, Delta Queen, Iron Man, High Roller Casino
design_philosophy: Hook code version 5 implements reversed scoring system (downward from 1M vs upward multipliers); Stern-approved custom code available at pinballcode.com
medium · Ron reports new code released; It Never Drains tournament used modified Jurassic Park and deactivated smart missile for mode-focused play
market_signal: Bruce liquidating personal collection (9 games sold in one week, 12 remaining) due to house relocation/sale preparation
high · Bruce lists specific sold titles: 8-Ball Deluxe, Future Spa, Taxi, Monster Bash, etc.; plans special episode detailing remaining inventory
groq_whisper · $0.148
product_strategy: Ghostbusters Stern received major code update with bug fixes, additional voice calls, animations; however multiball music priority issue remains unresolved
high · Breaking news released 3-4 hours before recording; Ron and Bruce discuss specific missing feature: multiball music should override mode music
product_concern: Valley System 3 games criticized for poor flipper mechanics, ramp construction issues, and plastic quality; Heavy Metal Meltdown specifically called 'terrible' despite humorous theme
medium · Bruce and Ron express frustration with 6803 platform limitations and game design execution
technology_signal: New Valley Stern MPU replacement board announced with custom code support at $150, addressing All-Tech board limitations; features 6802 CPU, NRAM, support for 2732 ROMs
medium · Bruce reports Andrew S. selling prototype boards; design uses solder DIP switches (criticized) rather than mechanical jumper configuration