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Become The Master of Flow with PinBuilder

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Become the next Master of Flow

Now this Steam title, PinBuilder, by Propulsion Studios is right up our alley! Consider our interest piqued!

If you ever dreamed of designing your very own pinball machine, then dream no more, as PinBuilder (Early Access) is now available on Steam!

So if you want to become the next Steve Ritchie, Jack Danger, Keith Elwin or John Borg, then hop (or should that be tilt?) to it!

Details:

  • Title: PinBuilder
  • Developer: Propulsion Studios
  • Price: AU$43.95

image source: PinBuilder on Steam



Suzanne Ciani’s Unpublished Atari Ad Jingle In New Video!

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It is great being in touch with your childhood heroes, like Atari’s Howard Scott Warshaw.

Howard recently posted on his Facebook account about a video featuring the unpublished Atari ad jingle by Suzanne Ciani in stunning 3D animation. In case you didn’t know, Suzanne was the amazing electronic music composer that created the iconic soundtrack for Bally’s Xenon pinball machine!

This reimagined video featuring Suzanne’s jingle was created by the amazing and talented Philippe Lafortune of Retro Gamers Hub & The Geek Connoisseur fame.



Step-By-Step Guide: How to Install Stern Pinball’s Insider Connected Upgrade Kit

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If you are like us, a step-by-step guide to install something foreign or something you have never done before is absolutely priceless (plus a guide saves you from tearing out your hair)!

There are plenty of video guides on how to install Stern Pinball’s Insider Connected upgrade kit, however we couldn’t find any for our specific use case – what do you do when there are no spare RJ45 ports on the Node board near the arch (under the playfield) on the Star Wars Premium pinball machine? Well, we break ground by writing this step by step guide (with heaps of images!) in the hope that it helps someone out there to install Stern’s very cool Insider Connected (IC) system.

NOTE: At the time of writing this step-by-step guide, the Star Wars Premium / LE Replacement Arch was not available to purchase in Australia, so we improvised where to install the IC QR Reader, as these machines do not have the space to accommodate it on the arch.

Tools Used:

  • You will need the Stern Pinball Insider Connected Upgrade Kit – For (SPIKE 2) Premium / LE Models (part number: 502-5420-01) which retails for AU$395.00
  • 11/32″ Nutdriver – we used this Wera 395 Hollow Shaft 11/32″ Nutdriver, which retails for AU$26.35
  • Clean cotton gloves – use these when removing the playfield glass

Stern Pinball INSIDER CONNECTED Upgrade Kit (Premium/LE)

The manual is a good resources, but not much use as it did not meet our specific use case

You will need this quick start guide right at the end, so save it for later

The 11/32″ nutdriver

Pre-step:

Before you begin opening your machine and installing the IC kit, make sure your machine is on the latest game code. Please go to the Stern Pinball support page to check, and if required, download the latest code and install it on your machine. Each code update has a READ ME file, make sure you download it and follow the steps to update your game code (if required). If you are already on the latest game code, then you are ready to proceed!

Step 1:

Before opening anything on the pinball machine, make sure it is turned off! Then grab the keys for the backbox (keys are usually stored on the other side of the coin door) and open the backbox by unlocking it, remove the translite and then lower the LCD/speaker part down towards the glass. You are now ready to go to step 2!

The backboard keys are usually on the other side of the coin door

Opening the backboard reveals the main CPU board

Step 2:

From the IC kit, get the microSD card and insert it in (label up) the slot just below the CPU/heatsync – make sure it clicks in. Then get the WiFi dongle and insert it in one of the spare USB ports to the right of the CPU/heatsync. If unsure, check the below photos. Once you have inserted the microSD card and WiFi dongle, you are ready for the next step.

The microSD that came with your IC kit is inserted in the SD slot just beneath the CPU

The WiFi USB dongle is then inserted in the spare USB ports to the right of the CPU

Job done – microSD and WiFi dongle installed on the main CPU board

Step 3:

This is where things deviate from the IC manual, so please pay close attention! Since there are no spare RJ45 ports on the node board near the bottom left arch, you will need to run a long Ethernet cable (CAT5 or CAT5e) from the front of the machine, all the way to the backbox to connect the cable to the spare port on the main CPU board (in the backbox). Once you connect one end of the CAT5/CAT5e cable in the spare RJ45 port on the main CPU board in the backbox, tuck the rest of the cable behind others, ensuring it is not intruding/pulling on any other cables running down to the cabinet. Push the cable through the left hole on the bottom of the backbox, ensuring it goes behind the playfield. You have done well so far, so take a little break, as the next step involves removing the playfield glass and lifting up the playfield!

The IC manual states to use the spare RJ45 port on the node board, but as shown, both ports are already taken. So a long Ethernet cable is required to reach the main CPU board in the backbox

Forget the ethernet cable that came with the IC kit, it is way too short! Get yourself a long (at least 6ft) ethernet cable (we used a 2.5M CAT5e cable)

Connect one end of the Ethernet cable to the spare middle RJ45 port on the main CPU board in the backbox. Then tuck the rest of the cable (allow some slack!) through the bottom of the backbox and into the rear of the cabinet.

Step 4:

Are you rested? Did you grab a drink? If you answered yes, then you are ready! This step is probably the toughest, as it involves removing the lockbar, playfield glass and then lifting the playfield up towards the backbox.

First thing, make sure the LCD/speaker panel on the backbox is in the closed (up) position – make sure you lock it! Don’t worry about the translite, that can stay off for the time being.

Open the coin door and unlatch the lockbar from the two latches (one on the left and the other on the right) that hold it down. Once that is done, remove the lockdown bar by pulling up – don’t worry, the glass won’t slide out!

Once you open the coin door, there are two latches on either side that need to be unlatched to free the lockdown bar (the bar that holds the glass in place)

Remember how we listed cotton gloves in the ‘Tools Used‘ section above, well this is when you will need them – go and put them on! Once your gloves are on and with the coin door in the closed position, gently pull the glass towards you – make sure you have enough room behind you! When the glass is fully out / cleared from the cabinet, stand it up on a carpeted (or rubber) surface, ensuring it is leaning on a blanket instead of directly on the wall (or any other vertical surface).

Take the glass off with care!

With the glass off, you can now remove the balls out of the trough so they don’t go flying and damaging stuff once you start lifting up the playfield. Through the coin door, you will notice a big solenoid to the right – this is used to kick out the balls from the trough. Using your index finger, push up rapidly on the round flat part on the bottom of the solenoid to kick out the balls. You will have to kick out each ball individually, so make sure you keep kicking out till the last (6th) ball is taken out of the machine.

Remove the balls from the machine by ‘kicking’ them out (of the trough) by pushing up rapidly on the solenoid as pictured

This is your chance to inspect your balls – if they look ok, give them a thorough wipe, if they are dinged/scuffed up or they have lost their shine, it is time to replace them! If you do replace them, make sure you get the right ones, as machines with magnets require balls that do not magnetise / stick together!

Now comes the lifting! Grab the bottom of the playfield near the apron/arch and lift up slowly. Once the playfield clears the cabinet, pull it towards you. Rest the handles of the playfield on top of the cabinet. Now grab the handles and start lifting and tilting the playfield back towards the backbox. The playfield should be resting up against the backbox.

The whole point of this step is to run the CAT5/CAT5e Ethernet cable from the backbox, behind and underneath the playfield! Pull the Ethernet cable through from underneath the backbox and ensure it is run as close as possible to the back of the cabinet. Once the cable is inside the cabinet, run it through to the front of the machine – wrap it around the handle of the cashbox.

Now put the machine back together by lowering the playfield and pushing it back into the cabinet, ensuring you do not snag any cables behind it. Give the balls a wipe or replace if required and then put them back in the machine. This is also a good opportunity to clean the glass – give it a nice wipe down and then slide it back into position over the playfield.

Reinstall the lockdown bar, ensuring the action button sits properly on top of the electronics required to actuate it. Lock the lockdown bar with the two latches and then you are done! Phew, that was a lot of work! We are almost on the home stretch now!

Step 5:

Now the fun part – connecting the Ethernet cable to the IC QR code reader to ensure it works as intended. Once connected, it is time to power on the machine! You will notice the machine doing its thing in updating itself (Node boards etc), so be patient and wait for the updates to complete. Use the images below as reference to show you what to expect, as certain messages could make you panic, like “Nodes Not Found”!

Connect the Ethernet cable into the RJ45 slot on the Insider Connected QR code reader 

Power up the machine! You should note that the IC QR reader is drawing power (blue-ish light) 

Do not panic if you see this message. Just close the coin door and the update will continue to completion.

Once the machine updates itself to get IC integrated it will reboot.

Once the machine reboots, open the coin door so you can use the buttons to navigate the menu – go down and select “Stern Insider Connected”

First things first – setup the connection. We went with WiFi.

Select your WiFi network and then enter the WPA/WPA2 (WiFi) password

Once your WiFi connection is set, you should see a similar screen as below

Login to Insider Connected via your phone’s browser. You’ll need this to setup and register your location, machine and game room details with the Insider Connected ecosystem.

Once your location, game room and machine details are registered, you’ll be greeted with the below screen in the Stern Insider Connected Setup menu item

We are finally ready to play some pinball with Insider Connected enabled! Don’t forget to scan your player QR code on the IC QR reader!

Step 6:

At this stage you can call it quits, but that means your IC QR code reader is sitting on top of your coin box, which means every time you want to scan in, you need to open that darn coin door and scan your QR code – this may be ok if you only play once in a blue moon. For those that prefer to have their IC QR reader accessible any time, read on!

Since the IC QR code reader could not be mounted on the apron of our Star Wars Premium (and LE) machine, we had to improvise and fashion a spot for it. Even though Stern did release a replacement arch (that has a slot for the IC QR reader) for Star Wars (Prem / LE machines), it is very difficult to find as it is constantly sold out.

So, what did we do? Well, you know that bill acceptor slot on the coin door? Well, we used it to house the IC QR code reader! We learned the hard way that the coin door on Australian Stern pinball machines is quite different from their US counterparts. We ordered a mounting kit from the US, only to find that it did not fit at all on our Star Wars machine! This is where we putting our thinking cap on and improvised. Since we did not have a 3D printer, nor the skills or equipment to create a nice black metal plate, we ended up getting some black hard-board from Officeworks (stationary supplier) that artists may use. Was this the best product? Probably not, but it did the job for well under $10!

If you have come this far, congratulations, you can now pat yourself on the back and play some pinball as your reward!

This is not where the IC QR reader should remain! So what to do?

The bill acceptor space will never be used (by us), so why not use it to house the IC QR code reader……

Once you cut out that black hard-board to be fastened to the coin door, you’ll then need to mount the IC QR code reader, with the RJ45 slot pointing up! It is important to have enough slack in the Ethernet cable connection so there is no snagging when you open/shut the coin door.

The job is done! It isn’t the prettiest of solutions in mounting the IC QR code reader to the bill acceptor slot, but it works, and that’s all that counts!
images (c) 2023 ausretrogamer.com



 

Ann Arbor Pinball Show Is On In May!

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The good folks at Sparks Pinball Museum shared a tweet about the upcoming Ann Arbor Pinball Museum Show in Michigan, which only opens to the public once a year, so if you are nearby, then we’d say it is a must visit on May 6th and 7th, and for those that love tournaments, you’ll need to get there a day earlier on May 5th!

With over 500+ pinball machines from every era (check out the list here), every attendee is guaranteed to find one (or a plethora) of games to enjoy!

ADS

Pulp Fiction Pinball – The Bad Mother Flipper

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When Ms. Ausretrogamer gets excited for a new pinball machine, you know it is going to be a special one!

One of the most requested themes in the pinball world has been Pulp Fiction, the cult classic 1994 crime film by Quentin Tarantino. Almost 30 years since the movie was released, Chicago Gaming Company and Play Mechanix Pinball have answered our prayers with a lineup of Pulp Fiction pinball beauties!

The Pulp Fiction lineup!

image source: Chicago Gaming Company (prices in $USD)

The Bad Mother Flipper LE

Designed by Mark Ritchie, who also designed classic pinball machines Fish Tales and Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure in the early 1990s, this new machine is in keeping of the era,  reminiscent of the alphanumeric / early solid state machines, which translates well with this theme. Checking out the below trailer, there is no doubt that Pulp Fiction translates well into the world of pinball.


source: Chicago-Gaming Company

From their website, Chicago-Gaming Company state:

Pulp Fiction is a retro-inspired full-featured modern pinball machine. Developed at the request of Quentin Tarantino who wanted an 1980’s style Pulp Fiction themed pinball machine for his home. Tarantino’s continued involvement throughout the project shaped the final game. Tarantino rarely licenses his intellectual property, it is a unique privilege to produce a game which pays tribute to this masterpiece.

Legendary pinball designer Mark Ritchie masterfully crafted a playfield which on its surface appears comparable to games from this era but outside of initial perception features more mechanisms and greater depth than most games produced today. David Thiel forcefully pulls the player into this world utilizing over 250 iconic lines from Pulp Fiction’s legendary cast, five licensed songs from the original movie soundtrack, and a number of original compositions. Josh Sharpe developed an approachable rule set that is both intuitive and deep enough to engage even the most skilled player. Scott Pikulski’s vintage inspired art package is both stunning and perfectly cohesive.

The Limited Edition (LE) will surely sell out quite quickly, are you getting one?

image source: Chicago-Gaming Company



It’s Time We Got A F1 Themed Pinball Machine!

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We love asking the tough questions here at ausretrogamer. Today we ask, is it time for a pinball manufacturer to capitalise on the Formula 1 (F1) popularity by creating a modern themed pinball machine based on this pinnacle of Motorsport racing? F1 cars and pinball share a lot in common, both are highly engineered and precision made machines, with thousands of parts making them tick to perfection, and let’s not forget, they require skills to get the best out of them.

Thanks to the Netflix produced Drive To Survive docuseries (season 5 now streaming on Netflix!), F1 has experienced a renaissance, seeing its popularity break records by garnering new interest from all walks of life, including interest from teenagers, women and young kids, which previously were underrepresented. With pinball also enjoying a golden era, the fusion of this racing theme into a pinball machine would definitely not hurt in expanding the popularity of the silverball game – it’s a match made in heaven!

Stern’s ‘Stern Of The Union’ Newsletter for November 2022 contained this pic with Max Verstappen that we hope is a hint!
image source: Stern Pinball

Of course the licensing side would impact what can and cannot be included in such a theme, however, there are many different ways to infuse the F1 theme into a pinball machine, either based on a manufacturer/team, a popular driver, famous track or the F1 as a collective.

Now imagine a F1 pinball machine featuring exotic materials like carbon fibre rails, a rear wing topper and an integrated F1-style steering wheel on the lockdown bar for certain modes. As for the playfield and rules, well, we can only dream big; from incorporating qualifying laps to get to pole position, pitstops when your car needs to be fixed or requires a fresh set of tyres, to hitting a gear shifter to change gears and possibly hit DRS to kick off DRS multiball and ultimately get to the Chequered Flag wizard mode to be crowned F1 champion – the list of what to include in the design and play of such a pinball machine is (almost) limitless.

We love Stern’s Mustang, but we really want a F1 themed pinball machine!

The EM Grand Prix was cool back in the day

We are aware that there are a few car/racing themed pinball machines, from Stern’s Mustang and Grand Prix, Bally’s Corvette, Williams’ The Getaway to Sega’s Viper Night Driving and Data East’s Checkpoint (to name just a few), but we are still missing a F1 specific pinball machine, so please please let’s have one!

Imagine if you will a Stern Pinball F1 machine……



Stern Pinball Inc. Unleashes FOO FIGHTERS Pinball

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DeadFlip’s Jack Danger designs his first Stern Pinball cornerstone title

Pinball and Rock & Roll go hand in hand, so when a music pinball machine is released in the wild, it usually garners a lot of interest. The world’s largest pinball manufacturer, Stern Pinball Inc., know where it’s at with their latest cornerstone title, Foo Fighter pinball!

Designed by Jack Danger of DeadFlip fame, his maiden cornerstone title looks pretty darn impressive! From the Pro to the Premium and Limited Edition (LE) models, Foo Fighters looks every bit darn awesome and fun! We can’t wait to flip this one!

Official Trailer

source: Stern Pinball

Foo Fighters first stepped onto the world stage in 1995 with their classic self-titled debut album. Over the course of their career, the band has released 10 studio albums, amassed over 32 million records sold worldwide, won 15 Grammy Awards, were recipients of the first-ever MTV “Global Icon” award, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. One of the biggest headliners on the global stadium, arena and festival circuits, their music will soon begin filling gamerooms and entertainment locations in pinball form.

Stern’s Foo Fighters machines bring the Foo Fighters concert experience home as players are immersed in an epic pinball adventure featuring 15 iconic songs spanning the band’s expansive catalog, including All My Life, Best of You, Breakout, Everlong, Holding Poison, I’ll Stick Around, Learn to Fly, Monkey Wrench, My Hero, Run, Something from Nothing, The Pretender, This is a Call, Times Like These, and Walk.

More than two years in the making and with creative input from the band’s own Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, and the late, great Taylor Hawkins, Stern’s Foo Fighters is a top-shelf pinball machine—and so much more. An entire new universe has been developed with jaw-dropping hand-drawn artwork and custom animations including “Foo Fighters Saturday Morning Action Time!”—a fictional TV series chronicling the band’s quest to save rock and roll… AND THE WORLD! Join Foo Fighters on this rescue mission to thwart the evil, mysterious alien Overlord and his army of bots. Search the Area 51 upper playfield to break into and unleash pinball chaos. Jump in the van for a righteous tour of duty to save humanity from extinction and let rock rule!

Foo Fighters pinball models

Foo Fighters pinball machines include Stern’s award-winning Insider Connected™ system, which enables players to interact with the game and a global network of players in a variety of ways. Through Insider Connected, players can track progress, earn new game-specific achievements, engage with the player community, and participate in promotions and Challenge Quests. Insider Connected also provides an operator-focused toolset to drive location play through Location Leaderboards, build player loyalty, analyze performance, make adjustments remotely, and maintain the machines.

Main Design Team:

Lead Game Designer: Jack Danger

Lead Software Engineer: Tanio Klyce

Technical Lead Artist: Zombie Yeti

Limited to 1,000 machines globally, the highly collectible Limited Edition includes the Expression Lighting System™. With 96 intelligent RGB LEDs, the Expression Lighting System enables full color spectrum control. Positioned in pockets cut into the cabinet sides to provide color themed full playfield illumination, this integrated playfield lighting system is synchronized to custom light shows specifically designed for every song and dynamically responsive to game events. The LE version also includes an exclusive Rock-Battle inspired full-color mirrored backglass, exclusive full color high definition reflective foil decal cabinet artwork, custom high gloss Overlord green powder-coated pinball armor, a custom designer-autographed bottom arch, exclusive inside art blades, upgraded audio system, anti-reflection pinball playfield glass, shaker motor, a sequentially numbered plaque, and a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Stern Chairman Gary Stern and President & CEO Seth Davis.

Pricing and availability (Australia):

  • PRO – Available end of May 2023: $11,950
  • PREMIUM – Available end of June: $15,500
  • LIMITED EDITION (1000 worldwide) – Available end of May: $20,500

For more information on Foo Fighters pinball, head to the Stern Pinball website here.

Foo Fighters LE playfield

image source: Stern Pinball



Media release supplied

STILL STANDING (2023) – A Must Watch Documentary!

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Just in case you have been living off the grid, welcome back! Now, hop to it and watch the Still Standing documentary film!

Still Standing is a journey back in time, a time when arcade and pinball were the hottest entertainment in town. Adelaide producer and cinematographer, Brad Gilbertson, has shot this beautifully, inducing the kind of nostalgia that is intoxicating for the generation of kids that experienced the arcade and pinball golden era. The emotive and amazing stories and histories will have you gripped like a Darth Vader choke-hold right till the end.

Be ready for some heart-wrenching stories
Jeff Grummel – The Pinball Dog House

Still Standing is a first of its kind Australian documentary film, peeling back the curtain on what it truly takes to create and run iconic arcades, past and present. We admit, we shed a few tears (of joy mainly), but we will not spoil it for you, so you can experience this authentic and beautiful documentary for yourself.

Why are you still reading this? Go on, watch Still Standing now, and remember, game over is not an option!

Still Standing is now streaming worldwide – more details here.

PS: We eagerly await the physical release of this wonderful documentary!

★★★★★


source: BGVC



Zen Studios’ Pinball FX now on Xbox and PlayStation

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Being in a future timezone, we in Australia had to wait a few extra hours for Zen Studios’ Pinball FX to hit Xbox and PlayStation consoles!

The latest in the FX series, Pinball FX has graduated from early access to full release at the Epic Games store, as well as making its debut on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One! Nintendo Switch fans will have to wait a bit longer.

This is a new era of digital pinball from Zen Studios, including a day-one, ever-expanding lineup of 86 tables, plus an impressive suite of new features, the revolutionary pinball platform is inching ever closer to the real silverball game. If you love playing pinball video games, then jump on this right now and enjoy the Wild West Rampage table at no cost, and check out the trial modes for all other tables.

All returning tables from previous editions have been fully remastered in Unreal Engine, with ray-tracing-enhanced, 4K-HDR visuals, as well as upgraded Pro Physics. Not lacking plentiful fresh downloadable content, Pinball FX also introduces three brand new releases: Borderlands®: Vault Hunter Pinball, Brothers in Arms®: Win the War Pinball and The Addams Family (itself including a never-before-seen enhanced play, as with all Williams classics). At the same time, console players can get their hands on more than 15 tables for the first time that Pinball FX Early Access players enjoyed in 2022, such as Star Wars Pinball: The Mandalorian, World War Z Pinball, DreamWorks Pinball, five Zen Originals, plus Williams classics World Cup Soccer and The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot. Zen will release new tables regularly, many involving exciting new licensed IPs – most immediately, Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla vs. Kong.

Go on, get flippin’ peeps!


source: Zen Studios



Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game – Official Trailer

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The official trailer for Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game premiered today on the leading entertainment site, IGN. Watch the trailer below now!


source: IGN

Written and directed by The Bragg Brothers (Austin and Meredith Bragg), Pinball is based on the true story of Roger Sharpe, the GQ journalist and real-life pinball wizard, who in 1976 helped overturn New York City’s 35-year ban on pinball. The film’s all-star cast is led by Mike Faist (Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story), Crystal Reed (Teen Wolf, Swamp Thing), and Dennis Boutsikaris (Better Call Saul, The Bourne Legacy).

The award-winning film will be released in select theaters and on your favorite streaming platforms, including Apple TV, iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play, beginning March 17, 2023.

Get flippin’ 😉

[press release supplied by MPI Original Films]