FNO Pinball Ep 23: Oktoberfest w/ Josh and Dan from American Pinball and NEW CODE

TL;DR

FNO streams Oktoberfest update with American Pinball devs; major flipper fix, new code, relocation news.

Summary

Key Claims

• Upper ramp flipper coil modification increases successful ramp shots by 60% based on controlled testing (50 games per machine, 100 total games)

  high confidence · Josh Kugler describing the mechanical fix: 'over the course of 50 games that were played on each machine, so 100 total games, but 50 on each, the machine with the modified flipper, the ramp was made 60% more times than it was on the current design'

• American Pinball is relocating to a new facility in Palatine, Illinois, sharing the building with AIMTRON (which already moved in)

  high confidence · Josh states: 'our building is Kitty Quarter from AIMTRON's current business...We're splitting our building in half and sharing it with them. They've actually already moved in.'

• American Pinball production line is only half-operational; full line migration pending January move

  high confidence · Dan: 'We have a half line there. Half a line...once that gets set up...there will be timing'

• Jim Patla (unnamed but described as 'in the industry for many years and worked on some legendary games') recently joined American Pinball as part-time advisor

  high confidence · Josh: 'Jim Patla has recently come on board, at least on a part-time basis, as an advisor to the company'

• Oktoberfest code is 'done for now' but not permanently finished; team expects ongoing tweaks and additions

  high confidence · Josh: 'he said, so are you done? I said, well, we're done for right now...We're not done'

• Match sequence animation presence in Oktoberfest indicates the game is nearing final polish

  medium confidence · Josh: 'when the match sequence goes in, you know we're close to where we want it to be' (explaining his priority hierarchy)

• Oktoberfest features two different game modes: family-friendly and adult mode with PG-13 themed callouts

  high confidence · Josh discussing modes: 'if your child asks you about it, you probably need to explain to them what castration means. But if not, then so we kind of made that change'

Notable Quotes

• “We're done for right now. We're not done.”

  Josh Kugler@ 39:07 — Clarifies that Oktoberfest code development is in a stable state but not permanently concluded—signals ongoing support model

• “When the match sequence goes in, you know we're close to where we want it to be.”

  Josh Kugler@ 39:56 — Reveals Josh's design priority system and suggests game polish is nearly complete

• “Over the course of 50 games that were played on each machine, so 100 total games, but 50 on each, the machine with the modified flipper, the ramp was made 60% more times than it was on the current design.”

  Josh Kugler@ 32:50 — Quantifies the impact of the flipper coil modification—major mechanical fix with empirical validation

• “My car is my office 90% of the time.”

  Dan@ 13:35 — Reflects the cramped working conditions at American Pinball's current facility, highlighting operational strain

• “I would say it's PG-13...Most 13-year-olds would probably get the jokes, and if they don't, then maybe they need to have that chat with their parents.”

  Josh Kugler@ 26:03 — Justifies the adult mode content strategy—indicates deliberate design decision around target audience and acceptable humor

Entities

Signals

• ?

  code_update: Major flipper coil stop adjustment increases upper ramp success rate by 60% (validated through 100-game controlled test); parts being distributed to existing owners via distributors; retrofittable via two Allen screws

  high · Josh describes testing methodology and rollout plan: 'We made a change...we did a study...the machine with the modified flipper, the ramp was made 60% more times'

• ?

  product_concern: Upper ramp shot difficulty was acknowledged problem; systematic fix implemented and validated before broader rollout

  high · Dr. John from Australia reported difficulty with upper ramp; Josh confirmed issue and detailed solution

• ?

  business_signal: American Pinball relocating to Palatine facility shared with AIMTRON; half production line currently operational; full line migration scheduled January; space constraints impacting operations

  high · Dan and Josh discuss cramped office, half-line status, January timeline; Jim Patluff camping in conference room due to space constraints

• ?

  personnel_signal: Industry veteran Jim Patluff (legendary game designer) recently joined American Pinball as part-time advisor; providing mentorship to development team

  high · Josh: 'Jim Patluff has recently come on board, at least on a part-time basis, as an advisor to the company' and 'I'm constantly asking him questions'

• ?

  design_innovation: Pinball flipper coil stop adjustment improves shot consistency and accessibility; demonstrates iterative game balance refinement post-release

  high · Josh details mechanical change and empirical validation; notes Australian show machine did not have modification while Expo machines did