Haggis Pinball Shows off Fathom Remake at Australian Show

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Jul 24, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.013

TL;DR

Haggis Fathom Remake wins Brisbane show but removed from tournament due to code exploit.

Summary

Haggis Pinball's new Fathom Remake Mermaid Edition debuted at the Brisbane Pinball and Arcade Collective Show, winning Best of Show for modern games. The machine was featured in the Brisbane Pinball Masters tournament but was removed from the tournament bank after players discovered a code exploit (free 1M points for starting a mode and draining without hitting switches). The exploit was reportedly fixed in a subsequent code update.

Key Claims

Haggis Pinball's Fathom Remake Mermaid Edition won Best of Show for modern games at the Brisbane Pinball and Arcade Collective Show
high confidence · Article states this as a direct announcement of the event outcome
A code exploit was discovered where players who started a mode and immediately drained without hitting switches were awarded 1 million points
high confidence · Article describes the specific exploit mechanics based on tournament director's findings
The tournament director removed Fathom Remake from the tournament bank due to the exploit
high confidence · Direct statement about tournament director's decision
The code exploit has been fixed in the game's latest code update
medium confidence · Article states 'Supposedly the exploit has already been fixed' — uses hedging language suggesting unconfirmed report
The Fathom Remake playfield played faster than the original Fathom machine
medium confidence · Author's personal observation but acknowledges uncertainty about setup differences

Notable Quotes

“The machine itself played great. I personally thought that the playfield played really fast compared to a much older original Fathom, but that could have just been how they had it set up for the tournament.”
Knapp Arcade author @ N/A — Direct gameplay impression comparing remake to classic original; shows practical performance observation tempered with methodological awareness
“A lot of machines were made really tough in the interest of keeping the good players moving.”
Knapp Arcade author @ N/A — Context for tournament difficulty settings and why playfield speed may have been adjusted
“There was a bit of controversy though when some of the top players at the event figured out a code exploit.”
Knapp Arcade author @ N/A — Framing of the exploit discovery as competitive drama at the tournament

Entities

Haggis PinballcompanyFathom Remake (Mermaid Edition)productBrisbane Pinball and Arcade Collective ShoweventBrisbane Pinball Masters Stern Pinball Pro CircuiteventSteve BowdenpersonKnapp Arcadeorganization

Signals

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event_signal: Brisbane Pinball and Arcade Collective Show served as venue for competitive tournament with live Twitch streaming and top-tier player participation
high · Brisbane Pinball Masters Stern Pinball Pro Circuit tournament was streamed and featured the Fathom Remake machine
?
competitive_signal: Tournament machines banked with higher difficulty to manage game pacing and prevent quick loops for top players
medium · Author notes 'A lot of machines were made really tough in the interest of keeping the good players moving'
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design_philosophy: Fathom Remake code exploit discovered during tournament play allowing free 1M points via mode drain mechanic
high · Tournament director removed machine from tournament bank; exploit reportedly fixed in latest code update
?
announcement: Haggis Pinball officially debuted Fathom Remake Mermaid Edition at Brisbane Pinball and Arcade Collective Show
high · Article explicitly states the machine was brought to the event and won Best of Show for modern games
?
product_concern: Playfield speed of Fathom Remake differs noticeably from original Fathom; unclear if design intent or setup variance
medium · Author notes playfield 'played really fast compared to a much older original Fathom' but acknowledges uncertainty about tournament setup impact

Topics

Code exploits and tournament integrityprimaryFathom Remake release and receptionprimaryAustralian pinball competitive scenesecondaryPlayfield design and speed comparisonsecondaryTournament machine selection and banksettingsecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.65)— Positive toward Haggis Pinball's achievement and machine quality (congratulations, 'played great'), but negative/critical regarding the code exploit and tournament disruption. Overall tone is celebratory but with acknowledgment of controversy.

Transcript

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This weekend was the big Brisbane Pinball and Arcade Collective Show in Australia. Haggis Pinball brought its new Fathom Remake Mermaid Edition machine to the event. The machine won Best of Show for modern games, which is really cool. Congratulations Haggis. Not only was the game available for people to play at the event, but it also to my pleasant surprise made it into the tournament. Viewers of the Brisbane Pinball Masters Stern Pinball Pro Circuit tournament got to see the machine in action on the live Twitch stream. I flipped it on last night. The machine itself played great. I personally thought that the playfield played really fast compared to a much older original Fathom, but that could have just been how they had it set up for the tournament. A lot of machines were made really tough in the interest of keeping the good players moving. There was a bit of controversy though when some of the top players at the event figured out a code exploit. If I understood it correctly, players who started a mode and immediately drained without hitting any switches were awarded a million points. Exploits in game code are nothing new, tournament players have been taking advantage of them for years but the director of this tournament made the decision to remove the game from the tournament bank. Supposedly the exploit has already been fixed in the game’s latest code update. Congratulations to Steven Bowden who made a big comeback to win the tournament!