Alleyway bar

[PinBrawler]

Spider Man- Doc oc would not register on direct hits and only sometimes on soft hits, E in HERO was not working

WhirlWind- has a half ass plunger spring which I believe is wrong so it makes the skill shot extremely hard to hit

MonsterBash- lots of GI out making it hard to see sometimes, also Phantom flip not working

[bounceback]

yeah spidey's been having those problems since it went in there-- the only way to get doc oc to register is a soft shot or backhand from the right, really annoying. haven't even played the whirlwind yet.

thanks for posting the update, did you also let the bartender know? cashbox has been slow to service machines, but it HAS happened, although all the problems we've mentioned haven't been fixed yet. we've been talking about getting a clipboard at locations to put comments on machine problems so the operators have something to go on when they come to work on machines.

[ROM]

The Whirlwind is the one that used to be at C-Bar. I was surprised that he didn't fix the plunger. It works fine sometimes. I don't really understand it. Aside from that, I think the machine plays nicely. The upper flipper has the smallest sweetspot known to pinball (it seems), but oh well, that's part of the challenge.

Cashbox has worked on that Spiderman multiple times, but the Doc has never been fixed. I don't know enough about the workings of Doc to know if it's an easy fix or what. Aside from that shot, I like how that machine plays. It has the latest software, and the rubber feels just right. But the messed up Doc makes it extremely difficult to do well on Battle Royale, and (I found out) on Super Hero mode. There's nothing worse than having the Doc be the last white arrow lit on SH mode, hitting it four times and not having it register, and then draining.

Clipboards - we should budget in mini clipboards, with some half-sheets of paper (including quick instructions for users), and then, as a free service, set them up at our favorite places. I bet we could go straight to bar owners and just tell them it is part of our ongoing efforts to improve communication between operators and players. Or do you think we should first clear it with the operators?

[PinBrawler]

another thing on SM is the left sling switch is to sensative so when you launch the ball you loose your top rollover skill shot because the switch activates. Not bad but kinda shitty

[ROM]

Hm, yeah, I noticed that other day. But I couldn't figure out why it was happening. Last night Bounceback and I gave them a short list of things to fix (MM Merlin shot, SM Doc Ock, some MB lights) - I should have added that. Oh well, it doesn't seem to come into play too often. But, I'm wondering, to get the double bonus on ball 3, do you have to get the skill shot? I didn't think you did - I thought it just activated the double bonus as soon as you registered some boints - but then the other day when that roll over thing happened, I didn't see the double bonus message (but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention).

I figured out a decent work-around to the Whirlwind plunger issue. If you launch the ball halfway up the trough, and then keep the plunger pulled out when the ball returns back down, it will (most of the time) rest in the normal spot. Then, you can plunge like normal. It's easy to do.

[bounceback]

i always go for the super skillshot on spidey anyway-- soft plunge to venom shot. you get your bonus plus a 500k (to start) point bonus, and a helpful knock on venom. of course if you miss you get nothing... but for some reason i always go for it anyway, even though i often miss. that's probably keeping me from improving best bonus champ. i find it easier to make that first venom shot from the plunge, when the ball comes in slowly, than when it has more speed coming from the pops, and i can always use some more tricky venom hits. i'm thinking on the alley machine, since the venom shot is quick and you wouldn't activate the bumpers, you might avoid triggering that slingshot with any vibration, and still be able to get your skill shot.

[ROM]

Ditched Spiderman for LOTR. Plays very nice. Left flip potentially weak, but for the moment it's okay.

175mil GC on my first game!

[revtest]

does anyone know what time alleyway opens daily

[Dropshot]

I tried going up there around 1 the other day and they were closed and they didn't have an opening time posted

[ROM]

You guys should ask nikki in the alleyway tourney post.

[revtest]

I went up there at 3ish and same thing

[bounceback]

by process of elimination i've deduced that the alleyway opens at 4.

[ROM]

Thanks, Norman Einstein.

But - to clear the air here - it's definitely earlier on weekends.

[bounceback]

did einstein have a retarded brother? yes, that's me. i've been induced.

i think i also read in the events list that they're supposed to open at 3 on weekdays? so maybe someone was just running late those days that it wasn't open until after 4.

busted!

[ROM]

11/4:

Both flippers on the LOTR are very weak. Please fix them!
MM - The peasant ramp is still not registering peasants. What's weird is that the ramp registers jackpots during madness and castle multiballs. So something up there is working, and something is not.

On a not-maintenance note: The rules on this machine's Castle Multiball are different than others. On others, right when you start castle the two ramps are jackpots, and the lock shot is super jackpot. But on Alleyway's MM, the super jackpot only lights after you've hit the two ramps a number of times (five each?). After that the lock hole lights up, and it's a (I believe) double super jackpot. Once you get that every ramp and loop lights up as a super jackpot (1.5m per shot). And they stay lit after you've hit them.

This was new to me. But it was pretty cool.

[Dropshot]

Also on Castle Multiball FYI, by completing the five ramps and then hitting the super jackpot it will reward you a lit extra ball, and enters the treasure room where all the shots are jackpots or super jackpots (not really sure which), once you collect all of them it starts over to the 5 shots (peasant or damsel). if you are able to get Castle Multiball started again you must hit the 5 shots and then hit all of the super jackpot shots to be awarded the extra ball. On some of the games out there like Alleyway and Ship where all the shots are relatively easy to hit compared to other spots, its not a bad way to get a lot of boints and jack up your score, especially since starting it isn't easy and you will light trolls easily and destroy a few castles while doing so.

[TheAlleyway]

The tournament was a great a time. Thank you everyone for playing.
I also wanted to apologize for the shit quality of the machines last night. I am super annoyed at CashBox for flaking. The were suppose to come on Saturday at 2:30 to give the pins some T.L.C. before the big night. I think there was confusion about the holiday.
Whatever.
I am thinking about maybe switching operators if they dont take better care of them. I also wanna replace L.O.T.R.. It has been acting screwy now for a while and I think I need to put it to rest. I kinda want our original Creature back. That game was solid. If I swtich operators I will lose Dr. Who! That would suck. I hope they just step up.

[Dropshot]

Doctor who is great and so is creature, if they are both working great who cares about the rest

[ROM]

cashbox has some cool games - and for the most part takes good care of his machines. pinball maintenance is an endless battle, and sometimes you experience a lot of frustration before the decision is made to replace a pin. It's probably LOTR's time to go, but personally I wouldn't scrap cashbox, too.
Having that creature back would be sweet. I have a feeling he's put it elsewhere, though.

[bounceback]

maybe talk with them about your issues and come up with a minimum set of terms for your agreement: all games cleaned X number of times per month, any mechanical issues dealt with promptly (within a week of you notifying them perhaps,) and whatever your financial deal is with them. if you're happy with the money side of things i'd just make an agreement about the other stuff they can stick to-- say 'this is what we want,' and give them a chance to say what will work for them, or not, and why. like they shouldn't worry you're going to drop them if something big like a motor on a game is broken and they have to order a new one-- on the other hand, you shouldn't be left hanging with games in bad shape on tournament night, when everyone has known about the tournament for a month.

it doesn't take long to clean a game, and on my game that gets played every day, a decent cleaning with novus once a month really helps things stay fast and decent. on games on location, it wouldn't be hard to clean each game that often, better yet every 3 weeks. i don't think an operator should ever come and take money and do nothing to the games-- if they come to get money every week, do a rotation, and clean two games a week. that prevents the bigger issues from happening. if they won't make a reasonable deal with you, with clear terms of their responsibilities and yours, and stick to it, that's when i would change to someone else. they should be straightforward with you, and vice versa.