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The Force Is Strong With This New Stern Pinball Code

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For those of us that have been consumed by the beautiful silverball game, Stern Pinball has kept spoiling us with some brilliant innovations, including their new online platform, Insider Connected.

When launching Insider Connected (IC), Stern Pinball announced that they would roll out the platform to all of their past Spike® 2 LCD games, dating back to late 2016 with the awesome Batman 66 pinball machine.

Well Stern have been quite busy in updating the code on their previous Spike® 2 LCD machines so that they can take advantage of the new Insider Connected platform. With that said, we were quite excited to see that Stern have finally released the new v1.20.0 code for their Star Wars pinball machines!

We can’t wait to update our Star Wars Comic Art Premium machine with this new code, but we still have to wait a tad longer to procure and install the Insider Connected kit (they haven’t reached Australia as at the time of this post) to unleash the full online potential of the Stern Pinball Insider Connected platform. The FORCE is indeed strong with this new code!

PS: If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to sign-up for your free Insider Connected account here.



Mark Seiden’s Amazing Metroid Pinball Machine

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A week is a long time in pinball! When we got in touch with Mark Seiden (aka: TheArrrrrcade) last week to chat about his impressive homemade Metroid Pinball machine, he was just an amazingly humble and talented homebrew pinball designer. A week later, Mark was announced as Jersey Jack Pinball’s newest pinball designer, rubbing shoulders with industry legends (and now teammates) Steve Ritchie, Pat Lawlor and Eric Meunier! Prior to finding out this news, we had asked Mark if he had aspirations to become a pinball designer, so this was great news indeed and very well deserved. If his Metroid Pinball is anything to go by, then watch out for Mark’s creations at Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP)!

Before all this JJP news, it was Mark’s homebrew pinball machine that caught our attention. Based on Nintendo’s iconic Metroid franchise, Mark’s pinball machine has been able to capture Samus Aran’s world all under glass, with a whole lot of bells and whistles to immerse the player in the theme. Tackling a monumental project like a homemade Metroid Pinball machine is no easy feat. The immense number of skills and disciplines required to create a pinball machine is just mind-blowing, so it is quite staggering to think what Mark has been able to achieve on his own – no wonder his talents caught the eye of a major pinball manufacturer.

The Jersey Jack Pinball design team: [L-R]: Steve Ritchie, Pat Lawlor, Eric Meunier and Mark Seiden
image source: TheArrrrrcade on Twitter

We sat down and had a chat with Mark about how he got into pinball, what led him to start creating his own pinball machine and all the ups and downs associated with such a monumental project. Put down Metroid Dread for now and let’s meet Mark Seiden!

Ausretrogamer: Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into pinball?
Mark Seiden (MWS): In the 90s I was more of a Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter kid. Pinball was there in the background and I would occasionally play but that wasn’t why I was hanging out in the arcade. It wasn’t until the early 2000s when I started seeing my wife that I started getting into pinball. We were at Dave and Busters, back when they still HAD pinball, and we spent the entire evening playing Star Wars Episode 1. We decided then that someday we should buy a pinball machine.

Unfortunately we didn’t have space at the time because we were living in a small condo. We moved a couple of times and finally we had much more space. So we decided to buy a game. We checked out a bunch and decided we wanted Doctor Who since we were both fans of the series. We bought it from an online retailer, supposedly shopped and working. When it arrived it was obviously anything but that. After hounding the seller they finally sent out someone to fix it. He was a local repair guy who was excellent about actually teaching me what he was fixing.

In another year we bought our second game, and the next year we bought our first new in box game, a Wizard of Oz. I was getting better at repairing and even working on friend’s games occasionally. Then after a while I decided that I would take on the challenge of designing and building my own game.

ARG: When did you get the idea to build your own pinball machine and how did you choose Metroid as the theme?
MWS: In 2015 I made up my mind to make a homebrew after watching a homebrew panel at Pintastic New England. The next year I purchased a half-populated, filthy, Data East Jurassic Park playfield. My brother joined me for a bit while I was stripping it for parts. He looked at what remained of the dinosaur mech and said “You should make a Metroid game. That thing could be Kraid!” I didn’t end up using that mech because it was missing too many parts, but the theme stuck.

ARG: Where does one even begin with building their own pinball machine – it seems such a daunting project – did you have any prior experience in building a pinball machine?
MWS: You start with a drill, a piece of wood, and a pinball controller such as Fast Pinball (what I chose) or P3-ROC. Of course you’ll need a few mechs such as flippers and slingshots. For software you can use the Mission Pinball Framework. Some people start off making their game virtually using Visual Pinball.

I didn’t have any prior experience building games but you do need a basic understanding of how to wire a switch or coil.

ARG: How long have you been working on this one of a kind machine?
MWS: I started in 2016. Since 2019 the majority of my time has been writing code.

ARG: How far off are you from completing Metroid pinball?
MWS: Really, will it ever be done? And since I was just hired as a game designer at Jersey Jack Pinball, I don’t think I’ll have time to truly finish it. I will be working on a different license. My goal now is to finish and polish the game code.

ARG: What has been the most challenging part so far in building this Metroid pinball game?
MWS: Each individual thing in building a homebrew is fairly easy. It’s just that there are so many things that putting them all together is difficult. I’d say for myself the thing I’ve struggled with is welding. Other people might say coding or wiring. There are many skills needed to build a game.

ARG: Do you have a favourite aspect (playfield toy, ramps, lighting, code etc) on this machine?
MWS: The things I like the most are the light shows, exploding bridge mech, and the Metroid ball dropper.

ARG: The backbox is quite intriguing, can you tell us more about its design?
MWS: The backbox uses an LCD screen in portrait orientation. I use it to dynamically change backbox art and display a virtual DMD. There are also 100 individually addressable RGB LEDs used in an infinity mirror, like an updated Xenon or Space Invaders. It’s also way too tall and I want to rebuild it. It was originally a Sega Showcase backbox. I put a speaker box on top which adds a lot of height. I also converted the front panel to accommodate the screen and lights.

ARG: For the techies out there, could you tell us what is under the hood that is driving this machine (controller boards, software etc)?
MWS: The pinball control system is Fast Pinball. The Fast controller also drives the backbox lights. There’s an Up Squared single board x86 compatible computer running Mission Pinball Framework for the game code. The playfield lights are driven by a Fade Candy board. All lights are NeoPixel compatible. I have 5, 12, and 48 volt power supplies.

ARG: Once this is done, do you have plans to build another one – if so, can you tell us the theme? (You don’t have to tell us if it is a secret)
MWS: Yes, and I can’t say! ARG: Haha, touche 😉

ARG: You are clearly well talented, so do you have aspirations to become a designer at one of the many pinball manufacturers?
MWS: You sent me these questions the week before I started at Jersey Jack. I think it’s safe to say that I do have aspirations to work at a pinball manufacturer! I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to work on a production game and learn from these talented game designers.

ARG: Lastly, where can folks go to see find out more about your creations and keep informed on all things Metroid Pinball?
MWS: I have a Pinside thread all about Metroid Pinball. I also stream on Twitch and post on Twitter.

images source: TheArrrrrcade via Pinside and Twitter

After speaking to Mark, we feel inspired to tackle a project like this. Ah, but then reality hits, as any project of this magnitude would be a massive undertaking. The dedication that Mark has shown in his ability to begin building a real pinball machine without prior experience is something to be commended. We are truly in awe of Mark’s creation and his skills in getting his Metroid Pinball machine to where it’s at right now – we’d love to sneak it into our Fun Factory.

As we thank Mark for his time and say our goodbyes, we honestly can’t wait to see what he creates for us all at JJP!



 

Interview with The Mandalorian Pinball Designer – Brian Eddy

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To say we are fans of Brian Eddy designed pinball machines would be a gross understatement! There is a reason why Brian’s machines have withstood the test of time and are still ranked as the best pinball machines of all time – they are pure fun and are approachable for all players, regardless of skill level.

When Stern Pinball announced back in March 2018 that Brian would be making his return to pinball, the excitement among his many fans (us included) was palpable. There was speculation on what Brian would be working on over at Stern, with his maiden (Stern) title being Stranger Things, released in December 2019. Since then, Brian had been working on his sophomore Stern game, which we now know was The Mandalorian. Officially released on May 11, 2021, The Mandalorian has garnered a lot of interest and attention around the world, all for good reason – it’s a Brian Eddy designed pinball machine of one of the most popular Disney+ TV series based on the largest pop culture franchise in history.

As Star Wars fans and of course, Mando fans, we have also been caught up in the excitement of all things The Mandalorian pinball, so it was great to have a chat with Brian about his experience in designing this highly anticipated pinball machine.

AUSRETROGAMER: How difficult was it designing and creating The Mandalorian while season 2 was still in progress?
Brian Eddy [BE]: It was certainly a challenge. We wanted to use both seasons, so we focused on ways of making it happen right from the start. Disney wasn’t able to tell us much about season 2 during development. It was all kept very secret, just like the reveal of The Child in season 1. So like everyone else, we had to wait for each episode to air to see what happened and what content would work in the game. Disney was very supportive of using season 2 and helped us plan ahead on how we could make it happen. The art needed to be pretty much done before Season 2 even aired, so we did things like leaving space on the backglasses and playfield for certain characters or items. We didn’t know who or what they would be, but Disney said, “you should leave some space here for 3 characters”. Then when the episode aired and the item was revealed, the artist, Randy Martinez, would quickly fit in the item to get us to production on time. We did the same in software and left certain holes in modes for themes we expected we would want from season 2. It actually worked out really well and allowed us to pick and choose from the best characters and scenarios that fit the game but was rather tricky at times since it came so late in the development cycle.

ARG: Did you have to re-design or retro-fit any design aspects (mechs/shots etc) as season 2 unfolded? If so, what where they?
BE: We did not change any mechs/shots for season two. We knew with the development timeline, that would not be possible. But that was fine as we picked the core concepts of the series and items from season 1, we knew it would be in season 2 to make sure they would still be relevant and stayed away from ones we thought would not be a big part. Though I will say, we were shocked when the Razor Crest was blown up toward the end of season two as it was a core of the series, but it’s still a really important element and a tight tie-in with Mando.

ARG: Which model do you begin designing for first and why?
BE: I start with the premium. I like to look at the whole picture of the design and how all the elements work together and fit on the playfield. How does each element enhance that model but not change it completely. Then for the Pro, look at what elements can be removed while still making sure the core playfield is there. It’s a tough balance as I want all the models to be fun and a little unique in their own way. I think we found that balance well on Mandalorian, each model plays similar, but a little different, and both are fun!

The Mandalorian Lead Designer, Brian Eddy (Left) with Lead Software Engineer, Dwight Sullivan

ARG: This machine oozes Brian Eddy with clever and unique mechs, intelligent design that draws players of any skill levels and flowy shots that ramp up the difficulty (in a good way!) – do you have a favourite mech, shot or design aspect in The Mandalorian pinball machine(s)?
BE: I always like to have flow in a pinball machine which is a core element I love in Steve Ritchie games. You will have these moments when playing where you just hit shot after shot, each shot leads to another, and it just feels great when you pull it off. Shot-wise, the right up/down scoop is fun because it changes the flow and allows you to loop continuously on one shot for a set period of time. A fun “how many times can you do it” break from flipper to flipper flow. But I think my favorite is the Encounter rotating playfield. It’s deceptively simple but challenging to play well. We start it out flat with simple rules of hitting lit targets, and most people can play this for a bit. Then as you get comfortable and get deeper into the game, it will start rotating steeper and steeper, and your reactions need to be quicker and tuned to the new gravity. At times it’s moving when you are playing, so there are lots of variations. It’s also obvious what you need to do to hit the flashing targets, but it’s hard to master. That adds up to a lot of fun long-term. Rule design-wise, I like most things to be pretty straightforward and easy to follow for anyone who jumps in. The programmer, Dwight Sullivan, is doing a fantastic job achieving that feel while adding in some long-term strategic elements for the more skilled players, like saving Beskar to trade at the Foundry for features.

ARG: We also absolutely love the look of the rotating Encounter upper mini playfield (on the Prem/LE models), how did you come up with that and were there many iterations from concept to final design?
BE: Yes, lots of iterations. I went through several different layouts. I had more targets at first and different playfield shapes, but some were too hard to hit and not as fun. I tried larger and smaller playfields, and each had its pluses and minuses. I wanted to be able to go near vertical, so that drove some of the size and balance also. I tried mini flippers but went with full size as you just didn’t have enough time to make targeted flips or enough power for it to work as well when vertical with the mini flippers. Spacing was a big issue between the flippers also. Too much, and it was way too hard when vertical, too little, and the ball wouldn’t drain. Then fitting it all onto the playfield was a tight space challenge. The mechanical engineer, Tom Kopera, did an amazing job fitting it in and delivering a ball no matter what angle it’s at. I didn’t want it to be an element of the playfield where you went, and play was stopped for a long time while you were playing it and then back to the main playfield. I wanted it to feel like a shot on the main playfield, integrated into the flow, where you could go anytime for a quick unique challenge, even in a multiball. On the Pro, I find it a similar but different experience. Since you only have one flipper, there can be some bumping element to playing it well that is fun in its own way. We also increase and decrease the flipper strength to help ramp up the difficulty. So both are fun to play in their own ways.

ARG: When this machine came up, did you have to fend off other designers to get the gig?
BE: I was already a big fan when it came up and would have fended off others, but I didn’t need to do that. I was ready to start my next game, and George Gomez came to me and said it was available and if I was interested. I jumped on instantly even though the schedule was a bit tight, but it was worth it for such a great title. So it came down to the right time, right place, right theme, the right team.

ARG: Are you a fan of the TV series? If so, what did you think of season two’s conclusion?
BE: Huge fan. I think it’s the best put-together Star Wars show to date. It’s a fresh take on the universe with the “space western” feel and all the nostalgic hooks and tie-ins to the existing Star Wars world. I loved the ending with Luke coming back. It was pretty emotional for a lot of people in my house. I think we all knew it was a possibility, but until it happened, we just didn’t know. Even Disney wouldn’t tell us a thing right up to when it aired. It was certainly satisfying to watch. I am sad that it seems like Grogu may not be as big an element in the next season, but he couldn’t have ended up with a better person to train him, so I’m sure we will see more of him in the series. I’m looking forward to where Disney will take the series and all the new series starting up like The Book of Boba Fett! It’s a great time for Star Wars fans!

It absolutely is a great time for Star Wars fans, and an even better time if you are into pinball! Brian’s love of the franchise has definitely translated well into The Mandalorian pinball machine, which on first impressions, looks great and plays well with signature Brian Eddy design elements injected all over the playfield. We can’t wait to play it!

image source: Stern Pinball



The New Pinball Hall Of Fame in Vegas

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We have fond memories of our times in Vegas. Travelling to the US was never complete for us without popping into the desert city to catch a show, fly over Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, and of course, hit the Pinball Hall of Fame (PHoF).

Since our last visit at the Pinball Hall of Fame in 2015, a lot has changed! Pinball Hall of Fame’s Tim Arnold bought a large parcel of land on the strip (4925 Las Vegas Blvd South), which allowed for a huge building to be erected (25,000 square feet to be exact!) to house the many many pinball and arcade machines that the PHoF had in their old location (on and in storage. When we stumbled upon Debbie Courson Smith’s Facebook post about her visit to the new Pinball Hall of Fame, we were quite chuffed to see how far along Tim and his crew had come since we saw an empty lot that long ago.

According to Debbie, this was a soft launch, with the grand opening scheduled for July. Once air travel is safe, we know where we are going again 😉

PS: If you want to see how the old Pinball Hall Of Fame looked like, check out this post.

image source: Debbie Courson Smith via Facebook

 

 

Awesome Drone Video of Pinball Machines at the Pacific Pinball Museum Annex

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Drone Video of Pinball Machines at Pacific Pinball Museum AnnexAfter clicking through the amazing images of pinball machines (below), you’ll be blown away by the drone videos by live streaming producer, Eddie Codel, of the mass of pinball machines at the Pacific Pinball Museum (PPM) Annex!

Eddie’s bird’s-eye view videos are mind boggling, as they show the sheer volume of machines the PPM house and preserve for all of us to enjoy. With the current health situation around the world, we truly hope that the Pacific Pinball Museum reopens safely in the not too distant future.

 

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A post shared by Eddie Codel (@ekai)

 

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A post shared by Eddie Codel (@ekai)

 

Pinball Isn’t As Random As It Seems

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To the casual observer, pinball seems random and chaotic, but if you watch carefully, there are skills involved that make pinball not as random as it seems.

Don’t be fooled by the flashing lights and seemingly random callouts, there are rules and set objectives (ie: modes) in pinball that reward the player that can control the flippers best. By aiming at specific targets at specific times, the player unlocks specific secrets of the machine and activates other objectives all while racking up a high score.

Watch closely, as you may learn that pinball is definitely not random once you know how to control the silverball.


source: Vox

 

ABC News – This Day Tonight: Pinball Parlours (1976)

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We absolutely love archival footage from television broadcasters, especially footage from amusement centres (or as we used to call them, parlours) from back in the day!

The below video is from the popular segment on ABC News’ ‘This Day Tonight’, with this particular occasion focusing on Pinball Parlours in Australia in the mid 70s. This is very intriguing with some very enlightening discussions with Malcolm Steinberg (from Leisure & Allied Industries (LAI) and Timezone fame) about video gaming and pinball entertainment that are apt to this day.

So, how much did you spend on gaming back in the day? In 1976 a player might’ve spent as much as $5 (approx. $35 in today’s money) on amusement machines!


source: ABC NEWS via Facebook

 

Alien Pinball by Pinball Brothers: The Beast Is Back

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It was all quiet on the Pinball Brothers front since the demise of the Heighway Pinball venture a few years ago.

Just like the rise of the phoenix (Ed: or should that be Xenomorph?), so have the Pinball Brothers ! Towards the end of 2020, we noticed that Pinball Brothers (PB) had quietly setup their online presence with a website and social media channels, which immediately piqued our interest and set off our motion tracker.

With nothing much to glean in the way of pinball news or information from their site initially, we kept a close eye on their cryptic social media posts, which were intriguing to say the least. With every tweet, Facebook and Instagram post, we were glued to our social timeline, trying to piece together their cryptic clues. Surely all of this was pointing to the resurrection of the Alien pinball machine.

Well, on December 18, 2020, all was answered of course when the Pinball Brothers team appeared on The Super Awesome Pinball Show (TSAPS podcast) – announcing that the coveted Alien pinball machine was going to be relaunched! For those that do not know the history of Alien pinball or Pinball Brothers’ involvement in the failed Heighway Pinball saga, we’ll spare you the sordid details here, as there are plenty of posts on forums and other pinball news sites that have documented their past quite well (Ed: Google is your friend!).

We first played the Heighway Pinball ALIEN machine at FlipOut 2018 – the theme integration was off the charts!

From their interview on TSAPS, the good news was that they were working on bringing back an Alien Standard Version (SV) first, followed by a Limited Version (LV) towards the middle of 2021. Even better news was that they were not going to take pre-order money this time, meaning that if you want one of their new Alien pinball machines, you would have to go via one of PB’s approved distributors (for those in Australia, the local distributor is Mr. Pinball Australia). As you could imagine, distributors were immediately inundated with pinballers clamouring to get on the list for an Alien Standard Version – the Limited Version order banks have not yet opened. Interestingly, PB did not disclose any more details about the features on the Limited Version of the machine, which has left folks speculating of what will (or won’t) appear on the high-end machine.

This Alien pinball remake has had a number of tweaks that distinguish it from the original Heighway Pinball version, including a standard backbox, wide-body Bally Williams style cabinet, removal of the LCD on the playfield above the flippers and a physical ball lock to name just a few. PB mentioned that they had also spent these last two years working under the hood to ensure that this new Alien pinball experience would be durable and reliable, something that the original was not (without a lot of tinkering and TLC).

Heighway Pinball’s ALIEN (left) and PB’s ALIEN remake (right)

With their almost indestructible playfields being produced in Germany by Buthamburg, the build and manufacturing of the machines will be in Italy, by Pedretti Gaming, who produce pinball replacement parts and sell used pinball machines. 2021 just got interesting, and rest assured, we’ll be keeping a close eye on this Xenomorphic pinball venture!

For now, it’s not GAME OVER for Alien pinball!

For more information on Alien, please visit the Pinball Brothers website.

PS: We will update this post once there is video footage of this machine being played!

image source: Pinball Brothers

 

Stern Pinball Showcasing Led Zeppelin Game at ShowStoppers CES 2021

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If you are in Australia and are not a night owl, you may have missed Stern Pinball’s live virtual press conference (Ed: it was at 3am local time), showcasing their new Led Zeppelin pinball machine at ShowStoppers @ CES 2021.

Luckily for you, there is now a video on-demand from all of the virtual conferences from January 12 (US time), including the Stern Pinball showcase!

So, kick back and enjoy! Oh yeah, if you would like to skip straight to the Stern Pinball presentation, just go to 37:55.

PS: Jack Danger (aka: DeadFlip) rocks!!

ShowStoppers Press Conference – 12-Jan-2021 11 AM Eastern from Event Resources on Vimeo.

Happy Halloween – A ‘Saw’ Pinball Machine?

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

I didn’t like the “Saw” movies when they were first released, but over time, catching a lot of the films on cable, I can appreciate a few of them as pure horror films. Are they scary? At times, but they never lack imagination.

 A “Saw” pinball machine makes a lot of sense because the film deals with gadgets and trinkets that the villain Jigsaw constructs for deadly reasons. A pinball machine can feature little parts of the films, certain traps, and sounds. Jigsaw’s little puppet’s disturbing, menacing laugh could be included in the storyline of the game. The drain at the bottom of the play field could trigger the menacing laugh when the player loses a ball. The movies are a game (a deadly game), so features on the play field are perfect for pinball. Once a player launches the ball with the spring, use of the creative properties from the films could be limitless. 

 A clear walled machine for a “Saw” design could be ideal. The features and tricky layout could set up some interesting scoring objectives from the franchise that are both compelling and frightening. A designer could get creative with kickers and slingshots. A slingshot could be a distinguishable Jigsaw tool or trap from the film.

 “Saw VI” is my favourite film in the franchise. It’s the one that centres around an insurance executive who must complete a series of deadly “games” set to spare his employees. That entry did something different and unique with the series.

Tobin Bell has always been great as John Kramer/Jigsaw. He has portrayed the menacing character in eight of the “Saw” films. I’m not sure if he’s involved in the upcoming “Spiral: From the Book of Saw,” with a story by comedian Chris Rock. Bell can be scary without saying a word. The veteran actor has a great, wicked face. I’m looking forward to seeing what Rock does with the popular franchise. From the trailer, it looks like someone who is imitating Jigsaw is targeting two police detectives: Rock plays one of the detectives. But it’s a “Saw” movie, the trailer purposely gives very little away. 

image source: Nirico