Pinball info
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ColorDMD - TZ
- Thread starter Beeper
- Start date
Yes it was confirmed today, I got the email earlier. 
I like mine on black and white, but looking forward to trying it (no rush Kev
)
I like mine on black and white, but looking forward to trying it (no rush Kev
)
Been waiting for this for ages so I placed an order for another ColorDMD this morning when I saw the hints. Thanks for posting the video, it looks awesome. Looking forward to spending some time on my TZ now as I haven't played that much on it for a while. 
Still waiting for Whodunnit to be done 
When you have a TZ coming back and a spare Colour DMD from a pin you just sold to put it in, and this gets announced:
Whodunnit would look great with a ColorDMD if done well, it's got some great animations!Still waiting for Whodunnit to be done
MM is a great game but there's no way its the best machine ever made for me. Not even sure I'd put it in the top 5 tbh. No pin does it all though and its a really good example of a fan layout, so I'm still glad to have one in my collection.
Yep. It's odd though that I seem to meet more people that don't care for TZ than really like it. The tired 'its too stop and go ' argument usually being cited. Fools ;-) It's bloomin incredible machine.
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Only 1 Stern in the top 10?
Just shows how outdated the lists are. People have been rating the likes of MM, AFM, etc. for 20+ years when they were the best games, these ratings are still being included, not a fair playing field.
There is no way anyone can convince me that all of the games listed above are better than AcDc, Met, TSPP, TWD etc.
Just shows how outdated the lists are. People have been rating the likes of MM, AFM, etc. for 20+ years when they were the best games, these ratings are still being included, not a fair playing field.
There is no way anyone can convince me that all of the games listed above are better than AcDc, Met, TSPP, TWD etc.
I think some of that is down to some folk having a B/W snobbery mentality and bucket loads of nostalgia. For me, a number of the more recent titles are amongst the best ever made
Couldn't agree more. There are some great B/W games but I find if I am having a session I have to play them before Sterns. If you try playing one after say AC/DC or MET it's invariably an anti-climax. TZ might be an exception to that though...
I've found theres a lot of people that don't care for TZ too but theres still plenty who do as well. I don't really agree with the Top 10 lists either and whilst there're not the be all and end all theres definitely something to be taken from them. Granted some of the modern Stern games are really good and should probably be higher than they are. Often I think their scores can be diltued due to Sterns Pro/Premium/LE model.
I've only been collecting and playing real pinball machines for the last couple of years and after just turning 30 this month on the younger side for a pinball collector. Despite there probably being loads of pins on location when I was growing up I can only remember playing a TAF in the local leisure centre. Funnily enough its only very recently that I've really appreciated TAF for the classic it is and initially steered away from it. Consequently I don't have the same nostalgia clouding my judgement like it clearly does for a lot of people and have formed my opinions on all machines over the last 2-3 years as the only real pins I knew existed before this were TAF and a handful of Gottlieb machines featured in the "Microsoft Pinball Arcade" computer game back from the 90s.
I still believe that a lot of these 90s WMS pins more or less deserve the critical acclaim they have. Say what you want they were built a lot better than Sterns, particularly the early 90s tables before the cost cutting really come in to play with WPC 95. Ultimately pinball is a pretty straight forward mechanical toy, the game itself is a steel ball rolling around on a piece of wood with posts, ramps, mechanical mechanisms and magnets etc to influence what it does. It hasn't really moved forward that far if at all since the 90s imo and quite frankly its hard to suggest what other new stuff can really be done. The boardsets in the 90s already contained plenty of computing power to code rulesets just as complicated as a brand new machine today.
Advancements in technology don't always result in a better product, particularly with pinball machines it seems. Whilst some of it can certainly be used to make better games, in practice it seems to have offered little benefit other than reduced costs for the manufacturer. Silk screened artwork looks far superior to anything I've seen printed on a modern pinball machine but it costs more so we never see it anymore. Dual wound flipper coils **** all over single wound PWM controlled yet Stern and Chicago Gaming don't use them, again cost related imo. Nice to see that Heighway and JJP are sticking with dual wound though.
In engineering often the simplest way to make something work is the best. This is why the design of the pop bumper hasn't changed for decades. Freshly rebuilt System 11 style flippers with high voltage switches feel better than anything else I have played on, they're so much easier to control with finesse than anything transistor controlled but require more maintenance.
Through hole PCBs mounted in the backbox with looms of cable to the playfield are better than surface mount boards screwed to the playfield, again these have vanished to cut costs. It makes me laugh when all the manufacturers are trying to push the idea that their new machines are brilliant because they have less wire in them. Sure its briliant for them as its cheaper, probably not so good for the customer in a few years when the lead free solder joints fatigue due to vibration and they start picking up tiny components off the cabinet floor wondering why their machine stopped working lol! All of this has happened while areas where dramatic improvements could of been made such as sound quality, full colour displays etc. have largely remained untouched until very recently.
Its great to have companies like Heighway and JJP offering competition to Stern as its forcing them to pull their socks up after taking the **** for so long. If they play their cards right I think Heighway in particular could shake up the whole industry in the years to come.
I've only been collecting and playing real pinball machines for the last couple of years and after just turning 30 this month on the younger side for a pinball collector. Despite there probably being loads of pins on location when I was growing up I can only remember playing a TAF in the local leisure centre. Funnily enough its only very recently that I've really appreciated TAF for the classic it is and initially steered away from it. Consequently I don't have the same nostalgia clouding my judgement like it clearly does for a lot of people and have formed my opinions on all machines over the last 2-3 years as the only real pins I knew existed before this were TAF and a handful of Gottlieb machines featured in the "Microsoft Pinball Arcade" computer game back from the 90s.
I still believe that a lot of these 90s WMS pins more or less deserve the critical acclaim they have. Say what you want they were built a lot better than Sterns, particularly the early 90s tables before the cost cutting really come in to play with WPC 95. Ultimately pinball is a pretty straight forward mechanical toy, the game itself is a steel ball rolling around on a piece of wood with posts, ramps, mechanical mechanisms and magnets etc to influence what it does. It hasn't really moved forward that far if at all since the 90s imo and quite frankly its hard to suggest what other new stuff can really be done. The boardsets in the 90s already contained plenty of computing power to code rulesets just as complicated as a brand new machine today.
Advancements in technology don't always result in a better product, particularly with pinball machines it seems. Whilst some of it can certainly be used to make better games, in practice it seems to have offered little benefit other than reduced costs for the manufacturer. Silk screened artwork looks far superior to anything I've seen printed on a modern pinball machine but it costs more so we never see it anymore. Dual wound flipper coils **** all over single wound PWM controlled yet Stern and Chicago Gaming don't use them, again cost related imo. Nice to see that Heighway and JJP are sticking with dual wound though.
In engineering often the simplest way to make something work is the best. This is why the design of the pop bumper hasn't changed for decades. Freshly rebuilt System 11 style flippers with high voltage switches feel better than anything else I have played on, they're so much easier to control with finesse than anything transistor controlled but require more maintenance.
Through hole PCBs mounted in the backbox with looms of cable to the playfield are better than surface mount boards screwed to the playfield, again these have vanished to cut costs. It makes me laugh when all the manufacturers are trying to push the idea that their new machines are brilliant because they have less wire in them. Sure its briliant for them as its cheaper, probably not so good for the customer in a few years when the lead free solder joints fatigue due to vibration and they start picking up tiny components off the cabinet floor wondering why their machine stopped working lol! All of this has happened while areas where dramatic improvements could of been made such as sound quality, full colour displays etc. have largely remained untouched until very recently.
Its great to have companies like Heighway and JJP offering competition to Stern as its forcing them to pull their socks up after taking the **** for so long. If they play their cards right I think Heighway in particular could shake up the whole industry in the years to come.
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Blimey Aaron that was quite a speech [emoji106]
Yea sorry about that I feel quite strongly about this stuff and got carried away!
Agree. Great post and one which I entirely agree with
There's been a fundamental shift in who owns machines from operators to home owners. Modern Sterns tend to be "deeper" Whilst I'm enjoying my MMr the rule set just isn't as good as say AC/DC or WOZ. There's nothing wrong with games that give you a quick rush when playing but the top 10 thing is very coloured by nostalgia. So saying Stern have also released more than their fair share of stinkers....
I never played pinball before getting my 1st machine which I brought because of its name (TAF obviously!) so I have no rose tinted glasses but in my collection 2 are Sterns, 1 Capcom, 1 Gottlieb, 3 Data East and 20 Bally/Williams. I have had loads of Sterns but they never seem to have staying power somehow. I have never owned a Stern, sold it and then hankered after another whereas a lot of the Williams ones are the 3rd or 4th examples I have owned of the same game.
Aaron is spot on!
Aaron is spot on!
I love the fact TZ just kicks your ass 90% of the time but for some reason doesn't become anniying. You just always put another £ in and go again.
And when you have a good game it feels great, I quite like the stop start nature of the game and you have to really control the ball and pick your shots.
would love to own one to really learn to master it. And that dmd Looks great!
And when you have a good game it feels great, I quite like the stop start nature of the game and you have to really control the ball and pick your shots.
would love to own one to really learn to master it. And that dmd Looks great!
Pre-release TZ Color DMD Footage