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The Mandalorian Virtual Pinball is coming to Pinball FX3 – We have spoken!

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You guys know that we are huge STAR WARS fans yeah? And we hope you know by now that we are also massive PINBALL fans, be it the real or virtual kind.

With the news that Zen Studios’ Pinball FX3 will add The Mandalorian pinball machine to the platform is darn awesome news! The Mandalorian will be their 20th Star Wars themed pinball machine, featuring story-based missions following events of the first season from the hit Disney+ series.

Before you ask (or if you’ve already seen the above pic), of course cute baby Yoda will be featured! Now roll on Spring (aka: Autumn for us!) 2021!

As the great Kuiil said, “I have spoken”!


source: Zen Studios

 

Pinball Expo 35th Anniversary Pinball Machine

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With all the attention being on this year’s Virtual Pinball Expo ’20 (which is on right now!), we thought we’d share an amazing custom creation by Pinball Depot from 2019 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Pinball Expo.

Pinball Depot rethemed an unsalvageable Gottlieb Buccaneer electro-mechanical pinball machine for the 35th anniversary celebration, complete with alternate backglass to mark the anniversary and also a general Pinball Expo one.

We absolutely love this custom retheme and can’t even imagine how much effort and hard work went into this project. As a matter of fact, Dino Gaspari has told us that it took between 6 to 8 weeks to create this marvel, which is quite impressive in itself. This whole idea came about when Pinball Depot thought that it would be a great idea to make a custom pinball machine to honour and celebrate Rob Berk and his team for spearheading the longest running pinball trade show event, while also generating a new retheme custom pinball business – a win, win! Dino assures us that all rethemed pinball machines are only done on playfields that are deemed unsalvageable. Oh yeah, the playfield artwork is one of a kind airbrushed by hand and clear coated 12 times for longevity.

The Pinball Expo 35th Anniversary machine will also be streamed during the current Virtual Pinball Expo with pre-recorded gameplay, so make sure you tune in on Twitch. In the meantime, check out the photos Dino has shared with us of this machine. If this custom pinball looks this good in the pics, imagine how gorgeous it must look in person! Thanks to Dino Gaspari for sharing this with us!

PS: Pinball Depot has also soft launched shipmypinball.com, which is a self-serve site with real time quoting for shipping pinball machines without the need to sign up. Go check it out!

Let the creation begin!

Prepping the playfield

Nothing like some sunshine to dry the playfield

Hot pink legs!

Looking darn awesome!

Wish we could play this awesome custom built pinball machine! Note the Pinball Expo 35th anniversary backglass

The alternate Pinball Expo backglass looks just as cool!

Check out the playfield! The see-through plastics are darn gorgeous on this machine!

That wedge-head backbox is sublime

Wow, even the back of the machine gets the custom treatment!
image source: Dino Gaspari / Pinball Depot

 

Pinball Expo 2020 Goes Virtual – Oct. 14-17

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For those new to pinball, Pinball Expo is an event that is held annually in Chicago. Pinball Expo has been running since the mid 80s and is one of the pinball industry’s most celebrated events. This expo always attracts the major pinball manufacturers, pinball industry professionals, pinball players, collectors and enthusiasts from all around the world.

Since 2020 is no ordinary year, Pinball Expo will be run virtually this time round. The Virtual Pinball Expo kicks off this Wednesday, October 14th, at 7:00pm (Chicago time – GMT-5) for a live broadcast on Twitch, and then continues for three days with heaps of tournaments, guest speakers, seminars, latest news in the world of pinball and all sorts of other pinball fun for lovers of the silverball game.

The best part of this year’s event is that it is totally free to view on Twitch, so make sure you bookmark www.twitch.tv/pinballexpo! Hope to see you all online at Pinball Expo 2020.

image source: Pinball Expo

 

Welcome to the Jungle: Jersey Jack Pinball Unleashes Guns N’ Roses

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Welcome to the jungle, we’ve got fun and games! Yes indeed, Jersey Jack Pinball delivers a whole lot of fun in their pinball games, and their latest release, Guns N’ Roses pinball machine is no exception.

For those that are not in the know, Jersey Jack Pinball has partnered with legendary rock group sensation, Guns N’ Roses to bring the “Not In This Lifetime…Tour” concert experience to a pinball machine near you! Packed with features such as real drum stick ramp, platinum record spinning toy, guitar pick spinners, hand sculpted figures, articulating spotlights and so much more! Eric Meunier’s kinetic work of art truly brings the concert alive with hundreds of LED lights, multiple LCD displays showing custom animations and hours of Not In This Lifetime…Tour concert footage while 21 full-length studio master tracks from Guns N’ Roses blast from the 120 Watt 2.1 stereo sound system!

image source: Jersey Jack Pinball

There are three models in the Guns N’ Roses pinball machine range:

  • Guns N’ Roses Collectors Edition USD$12,500
  • Guns N’ Roses Limited Edition USD$9,500
  • Guns N’ Roses Standard Edition USD$6,750

To say we can’t wait to rock and roll Jersey Jack Pinball’s Guns N’ Roses would be a massive understatement!


source: SDTM

 

Stern Pinball’s Keith Elwin Creates The Avengers Infinity Quest Pinball Machine!

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If you are a seasoned pinball player and have been following the scene for a while, the name Keith Elwin means fun, innovative and awesome pinball machines. For the casual pinballers that don’t know or notice who designs the pinball machines they love playing, if we were to mention Stern Pinball’s Iron Maiden or Jurassic Park, then you have Keith Elwin to thank.

Keith is the new pinball designer on the block who has just finished his third game for Stern Pinball, Avengers Infinity Quest! Just looking at the video and pics further below of Keith’s latest creation, we know you’ll all be itching to play it, just like we are – it’s screaming at us to be played!


source: Stern Pinball

Before we dive into questions about Avengers Infinity Quest, we thought we’d start with introducing Keith Elwin and how he got started designing homebrew machines and then progressing to the big league in getting a job at Stern Pinball Inc.!

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: Hey Keith, to help our audience get to know you, tell us, before you became a household name in the pinball design space, what were you up to?
Keith Elwin [KME]: I was a pinball operator and technician actually! I had games in San Diego and Los Angeles.

ARG: Following up on the previous question, how did your love of pinball translate to getting a pinball design gig at Stern Pinball?
KME: I always wanted to be a pinball designer. When I was a kid I spent countless hours on a video game called pinball construction set which allowed you to design your own game! When I got older I made my own game in the garage which caught the interest of Stern and the rest is history.

ARG: In the world of pinball design, you are a relatively newcomer, were you nervous or felt intimidated in any way when you first walked into Stern Pinball and bumped into seasoned pinball design veterans like Steve Ritchie, John Borg and George Gomez?
KME: I had met and interacted with George and Steve before but it was my first time meeting Borgie. I remember being nervous then he came down and was super chill and fun to talk to so any nerves were quickly gone.

Avengers Infinity Quest Whitewood

The awesome Captain Marvel Ramp!

Whitewood at night!

ARG: In the space of a few years, you have created instant classic pinball machines, firstly, Iron Maiden, then with Jurassic Park and your latest machine, Avengers IQ – how does one keep that high trajectory and momentum of designing awesome, innovative and fun pinball machines?
KME: Why thank you! Well I am trying to do things differently yet not TOO differently where people will not like it. I will always try to have a mix of new stuff not seen before with stuff not seen in a long time from classic games.

ARG: Now, to your latest machine, and dare we say, masterpiece, how long did it take from concept to hitting the production line? Oh yeah, were you also working on two machines at once (tail-end of JP and Avengers IQ) – if so, how did you manage to pull that off?
KME: I think all designers in some way are working on their next game whether it be on paper or in their mind. For me when I get spare time I start sketching ideas in my head to paper with the intent to revisit it to see if it fits a future game. Avengers started in July last year and is currently now in production!

Keith testing his creation!

ARG: Looking at all the photos and videos of Avengers IQ, we can’t help but think, WE WANT THIS MACHINE! What is it about Keith Elwin designed machines that excite people to a point that they already know it will be great to play (or own) before they even get to flip it?
KME: Ha, probably because I don’t have a template I go by (yet – haha) I think people like seeing lots of shots, multiple flippers, lots of ramps and get excited because that is what gets me excited as well.

ARG: The Avengers IQ playfield has A LOT going on in it (the motorised Dr. Strange pop-up disc scoop / underground Portal on the Prem/LE models and the custom intricate wireform ramps have blown our mind), do you come up with all the ideas (in what to include and how the machine will play) and then seek input and/or constructive feedback from others in the design team, or is the entire process collaborative from start to finish?
KME: Most of it is me bouncing ideas off my engineer Harrison Drake and he will either tell me I am crazy or he takes it as a challenge and creates exactly what I am looking for. The whole subway system I thought would work perfectly for this game as a “portal” with some cool lighting effects and Harrison did not disappoint!

Avengers Infinity Quest pinball team assemble – the Stern Pinball design and engineering team behind this great machine!

ARG: With the team behind Avengers IQ (lead software programmer Rick Naegele, lead mechanical engineer Harrison Drake, lead artist Jeremy Packer (aka Zombie Yeti), computer graphics art director Chuck Ernst, and lead sound designer Jerry Thompson), how did the current worldwide health situation impact the creation of Avengers IQ?
KME: It was fine with the Stern employees as we can always come in and have a meeting. It was harder with the contractors like Jerry and Jeremy since we have to convey what we want via email or text.

ARG: What were you most excited about working on Avengers IQ and what will surprise the player when they play this machine for the first time?
KME: The Tower magnet! I will never forget Gary’s response the first time he hit that shot…..”Whoa!!!”

ARG: Lucky last and possibly the toughest question, who is your favourite Avenger?
KME: Growing up it was Hulk but as I get older I think Dr. Strange because well… he is strange 🙂

Well there you have it folks, Mr Keith Elwin of Stern Pinball Inc. fame – the Pinball Design Avenger! Remember that name, remember the pinball machines, as we guarantee you’ll love playing them all. We thank Keith for his time and wish him the best with whatever pinball magic he creates in the future.

For now, check out Stern Pinball’s Avengers Infinity Quest and get hyped!

The first Avengers Infinity Quest Limited Edition rolls off the production line!

The gorgeous Avengers IQ LE model!

The Avengers IQ Limited Edition playfield!

Playfields Assemble!

The Stern Pinball Avenger!
image source: Stern Pinball

 

Check Out This Awesomely Cool Mini Virtual Pinball Machine!

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We love stumbling upon awesomely cool DIY projects, just like David Schwab’s Mini Virtual Pinball machine creation! What makes David’s construction even more amazingly cool, is that it was his first attempt – wish we were that clever! Oh yeah, David has also created a Space Invaders themed tabletop, but we’ll tell you about that cool creation in another feature in the not too distant future.

Scrolling through all of the photos of the build and final product, it is hard not to be impressed. We asked David to provide his thoughts and inspiration behind his Mini Virtual Pinball machine, so we hope this gives you all an insight on how to go about embarking on such a project.

David Schwab’s thoughts on gaming nostalgia and on his Mini Virtual Pinball build: 

You can break it all down to 3 areas of competency; Software, hardware and construction. You need to be able to converse across all three disciplines. I think the attraction to this hobby is in the building and tinkering. To be able to assemble all parts, select hardware and build to a final and satisfactory presentation.

This is a work in progress as there are improvements I want to make. I don’t think anyone who sets to build one of these gets it right the first time, and that’s part of the fun.

In my design, I was going for pure nostalgia and very 0ld school. I would not say I was a big pinball player back in the day, as I was more the type of kid who nagged his mum for 20 cents to play Space invaders or Galaga. Those endless family holidays at caravan parks where there were tabletop arcade games demanded a feed of coins every day. I also majored in the Atari 2600, which was a great source of fun for both my brother Matt and I.

I went for the music and the ‘feel’ of some of the pinball tables, not necessarily staying with a purist collection of games. Everything I placed in this cab evokes emotion. The music, the aesthetic and the visualisation of the games. I have a Blues Brothers pinball table. This classic movie invokes great memories and a lot of fun. There are other pinball tables that others like – Doom, Crysis and Half-Life, although modern recreations bring a sense of nostalgia from the 90s and early 2000s.

This mini virtual pinball uses an Intel NUC 8i5 for the necessity of space and has an onboard 655 graphics processor, 250GB storage and 8GB of RAM. The 8i5 plays VP10 tables well, with no perceivable lag that I could notice. The back-glass is running a 1024 x 768 display which may also help the graphics processor. The playfield is a 1920 x 1080 IPS screen which holds a great resolution for a rig this size. 4K should never be considered with a small PC like a NUC and in any case you won’t need 4K unless you increase the size of your CAB past 32”!

So how did David get started on this project?

I did a lot of research online and asked questions. The best way to start is by typing ‘Virtual Pinball’ in Google and then head over to VPForums – which has a wealth of resources.

You can spend anywhere from $500 to $1500 depending on what you already have lying around, and how perfect you want it to look when finished. Some just plonk a couple of monitors in a box, others, just a couple of desktop screens to an existing PC while others want the full ‘this has got to look’’ fair dinkum.

The build process in (very droolworthy) photos:

images used by permission from David Schwab

We really really love this mini virtual pinball machine by David. If he took orders, we’d be getting in line 🙂

 

The Great Classic Gaming Magnets Giveaway!

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**** GIVEAWAY ****

** GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED! **

Whoa, our friends at Magnetism Creations have given us some of their awesome video games and pinball related magnets to giveaway to our readers! Yep, this is a giveaway!

So what do you have to do to be in the running for 1 of the 3 mystery magnet packs? Relax, you don’t have to do anything stressful like run a marathon under 2 hours – all you have to do is ensure you like Magnetism Creations and Ausretrogamer on Facebook (and don’t forget to like and share the post for more chances!). For an extra chance to win, make sure you follow us in Twitter! See, that wasn’t too painful now, was it?!

The giveaway will finish at 6:00pm on Friday September 18, 2020! Winners will be notified by us shortly after the conclusion of the giveaway, so stay tuned and good luck!

PS: To get you motivated for this easy giveaway, check out a few of Magnetism Creations’ awesome magnets below…

 

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball – The Real Pinball Machine

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We absolutely love DIY creations, and Pinsider Ryan McQuaid’s (aka:McSquid) homebrew Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball pinball machine is definitely no exception!

To make a virtual pinball game is one thing, but to make a real flipping pinball machine is something totally different – making pinball machines is HARD!

We have been following McSquid’s Sonic The Hedgehog pinball machine build for the last 7 months, and we must say, the progress has been fun and quite amazing to see it go from a digital creation to a physical beast. This kind of project ain’t for the faint-hearted!

So why a real Sonic The Hedgehog pinball machine? Well, according to Ryan, he had been lamenting for years that SEGA never made a Sonic the Hedgehog pinball machine. Despite SEGA manufacturing pinball machines in the 90s (remember that!) and placing Sonic animations in the DMDs of their pinball machines (as as well as in their manuals), they never pulled the trigger on creating a pinball machine based on their celebrated blue mascot.

With his Nintendo rival, Super Mario, having his own pinball machine, and coupled with Ryan being a huge Sonic video game fan, plus loving to go FAST, it was a match made in pinball heaven or should that be Green Zone heaven…..

First rule of designing a pinball machine – do it in the virtual world first, and iterate!

With his pinball restoration skills honed over a number of years, the idea of making his own pinball game was always in the back of Ryan’s mind, with the theme seeming to be quite obvious. Like all good homebrew creations, Ryan started writing down his ideas and allowing the design to evolve naturally. Teaching himself to use Visual Pinball (digital pinball platform), Ryan set out to design his dream theme pinball machine in the virtual world. With multiple iterations of his digital Sonic pinball machine, Ryan finally settled on his creation that was worth his time to build in the real world.

The iconic Sonic (360) Loop comes to life! Wow, what an amazing ramp!!

The donor cabinet in Sonic blue!

The video assets are coming along nicely too

With a donor pinball cabinet found, Ryan’s dream theme has taken one giant step to reality. With the current health crisis and restrictions in place, Ryan has powered through with the build of his Sonic pinball machine. From the video assets, sound and effects to a flipping whitewood playfield, Ryan is at a point where we can all see the fruits of his labour, and that there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel to this amazing project! Just imagine how it will look once everything is completed, including some cool Sonic art on the cabinet, backglass and playfield!

Being a perfectionist, we know that Ryan will only make this creation even better, so we are hanging on his every update. So stay tuned as we bring you more work in progress updates on this amazing homebrew pinball creation! Go FAST or go home!

Looking, sounding and shooting good so far!


source: Ryan ‘McSquid’ McQuaid via Pinside 

 

Digital Pinball Cabinet – Nintendo Switch

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There is nothing like anticipating the arrival of a cool gadget. We originally ordered Far East Pinball’s Digital Pinball Cabinet for the Nintendo Switch back in April, but due to the current world health crisis, we knew that shipping it from Japan to Australia was going to impact its arrival. Well, we are quite chuffed to finally have this cool contraption in our hands!

As huge fans of pinball video games, we always felt that the experience could be better. Don’t get us wrong, playing pinball games on your fave console are darn awesome these days, even if you are playing them using a controller. But, to get the most immersive experience playing pinball video games, you need to have the screen vertically oriented, which the Switch does quite admirably. If you have the FlipGrip, you’ll understand how awesome it is to play these games in their proper TATE orientation.

Bumping Action!

Far East Pinball’s Digital Pinball Cabinet takes the experience of playing pinball video games that one huge step forward. The Digital Pinball Cabinet for the Nintendo Switch allows you to play pinball using proper arcade flipper buttons and best of all, allows nudging, shaking and slap saving via its built-in motion sensors, just like a real pinball machine – but be careful not to tilt! The device is really easy to use, you just slide the Switch into the cradle, plug in the connector cable into the Nintendo Switch’s Type-C port, slide on the (grey) lockdown bar and you are ready to flip! The cabinet also has cut-outs along the side to access the Switch’s headphone jack, vents, volume and power buttons.

The Digital Pinball Cabinet comes with 7 arcade quality buttons, three buttons on the right of the cabinet, two button on the left and two buttons on the front. The cabinet allows for two distinct button mapping configurations, but we encourage players to use the default mappings. It also provides the means to change the motion/nudging settings to be high/low sensitivity or turned off. Oh yeah, the only buttons that are not mapped are the plus (+), minus (-) and the screenshot button – a very minor niggle that actually doesn’t affect the use of this awesome piece of kit.

The overall built quality of the unit is good, but it could be better. There is a DIY look and feel to it with some rough edges on the 3D printed case and lock down bar, but we are being quite picky now and in all honesty, you get over this  quickly one you playing games on it. Speaking of games, we played Pinball FX3, Star Wars Pinball, The Pinball Arcade, and Stern Pinball Arcadewithout a hitch. Playing these games using the Digital Pinball Cabinet has given us a renewed love for playing pinball video games.

If you are into playing pinball video games on your Switch, then we very very highly recommend you consider Far East Pinball’s Digital Pinball Cabinet – it’s flippin awesome! 

NOTE: If you are interested in buying the Digital Pinball Cabinet for the Nintendo Switch, you will need a Japanese address, as Far East Pinball only ships within Japan. We used a mail-forwarding service to purchase our cabinet. The total cost for the cabinet and then mail-forward shipping was AU$180.45.