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Paid a quick visit to Tilt Birmingham

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Spadge

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So, finally made it to Tilt, a week later than the JJP launch but I got to play Dialed In, which I liked a lot considering I couldn't hear it, it was busy etc. and just as well as I've pre-ordered it. Whoever chooses tilt's game catalogue is similar to me, Of their 15 tables, I have 10 :)

I remain unconvinced by the brutally mean GB, though the premium looks nice. Played GOT and didn't like it - but did like the very open and colourful Aerosmith.

Makes a change to see so many tables without colour dmd, standard glass and few mods :)

Would have liked to have spent more time and more beers, but I was driving so just had the one in my short time there.
 
Your ball times on GB will go up dramatically with a little practice. It can be a drain monster at first
 
yeah i had the same feeling playing those games at Chief Coffee.

I cant get with GOT at all, probly the worst pin I have played

GB is hard but v addictive

Aerosmith is quality although I think I could get bored with it quite quickly

Want to try out Dialed in and Star Wars!
 
The got pro is a bit poo the premium is awesome
Not sure you will be too keen on Star Wars as it's the same game designer and software engineer as got
 
When I last visited Tilt I couldn't get on with GOT. As much as I love the show I really wanted to like the pin, but it just didn't do anything for me.
I wanted to hate Ghostbusters but after a few games loved it :)
I understand they are in a coffee house but they could do with being a tad louder. Just my opinion.
 
Spent some time in TILT today and played three machines each for maybe an hour. Then went to the Flapper to see a band. The Flapper has two machines - Hobbit and LOTR.
Some thoughts:

The Hobbit - I've played this a few times before. I described it as 'the scrabble of pinball'. I meant that kindly, thinking that with time it would be a deep 'home use' game. My mind has changed - its style over substance IMHO. Looks pretty, but outside of multiball it is a confusing affair. Does anyone really look up at all those hexagon tiles and know what the hell they do next ? My brother was playing and I watched, trying to help him work it out. It's confusing even when you are watching. Lots of pretty scores but I for one struggle to see where they are coming from and what mode is next/best. There doesn't appear to be any satisfying do this, that happens and boom there's the points.

Aerosmith - I hate the band, that over with let's get onto the pinball. As far as I could tell, you had to collect songs. There's a lot of arrow chasing and they all change colour but again, like the Hobbit, it confused the hell out of me. To be fair, I was on my fourth beer, but pinball should not be a challenge in the way this game was. I'll give it another go sometime. Multiball on this game is fun though.

Dialed in - I really expected not to like this. Any game that has an app where you can play it with your phone sounds dodgy. What is the bloody point of not hitting the flippers??? Not touching the game? Not nudging and being a part of it ?
I was wrong - no, I didn't use the app - I played it.
This is a cool machine, lots of REAL things to shoot at. This is the closest I have seen a 'modern' machine to a 90s machine. Solid feel, common sense gameplay but updated too.
Played it for an hour and wanted to play more.
Dialed in is by far the best out of the three played today.
If you like your nineties machines I reckon you will loved dialed in.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Jonwolf said:
Dialed in - I really expected not to like this. Any game that has an app where you can play it with your phone sounds dodgy. What is the bloody point of not hitting the flippers??? Not touching the game? Not nudging and being a part of it ?
I was wrong - no, I didn't use the app - I played it.
Click to expand...

Agreed on the app, we tried this once and decided it was a gimmick you would play with one time or show friends for the novelty and that's it. It's a cool little feature that fits in with the machine theme but beyond that it doesn't come close to using buttons, and the fact you can't nudge is what hurts it the most. It's nice to see new things tried but this one falls short a lot in my opinion. Good thing the rest of the machine is fantastic and totally makes up for it 100 times over!
 
Speaking as someone who develops apps, it can be tested, balanced and updated much quicker than a pinball machine :-)

The audio on the machines at tilt was pretty disappointing as I enjoy the soundtracks. Still am looking forward to dialled in.
 
I think the app is a great idea: you don't have to use it but it offers a little extra. Much like the selfie mode: probably a novelty which wears off quickly, but doesn't hurt to have it. Makes a change from cutting down and economising wherever possible (like not having a real knocker).

I do wonder whether 5 or 10 years from now anyone will have updated the app to work with iOS 15 or 20 or Android Yaks Milk though.

Planning a trip to Tilt to have another go on DI very soon...
 
I think the point of the app is being missed, it's not for us regular players, who happily step up to a pin and start flipping, it's for those kids/people that are glued to their phones and play apps and free to play games on their phones daily, that wouldn't give a pin a second look.

You won't get most 10-20 year olds walking up to a pin and thinking about dropping some coin, to it and giving it ago, but let them control it through their phone and you might just hook them!?
 
Any guys thinking of buying a nib or bang up to date title should go to Tilt. It could save you a lot of heartache and cash

You can see these things side by side, making comparisons between them so much easier. And Kirk can tell you what to shoot for, as knowing a few basic rules can transform your perception of the game.

I instinctively really liked ghostbusters premium for example. Good theme, loads of toys, the game has a real 3d texture (a bit like dialed in), the ball passing through the playfield etc. BUT the big flipper gap Simply ruins it for me. I am a reasonable player - but this gap was a monumental error imho. With a cheap wpc like bsd or ft you can adjust outlanes and/ or put the lighning flippers in to set the game's difficulty. Simples. Ghostbusters should have had a proper gap to start with or as a crisis measure, at least been shipped with a ball save post pre-drilled (like the outlane posts are) to be installed at your option.

Aerosmith on the other hand did not initially appeal. But I really enjoyed playing it

The simple genius of dialled in is that it is not a licensed title. This makes the artwork and game displays so much easier for the manufacturer to do. Licensed artwork is so often naff, even some of the good wpc stuff - Dirty Harry, Shadow, Jonny M. Average unlicensed art is so much better than average licensed art imho

The app is obviously a gimmick. Ball times are bound to be shorter. So why not make it a 5 ball when using the app for example?. So folk do the trade off between nudging and more balls ?
 
Hello all. A newbie to pinball in the sense it’s only been recently that I’ve seekes out playing them.

I’m Scotland, Fife so I’m not spoilt for choice. This past month I have played in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, but everything I read said Tilt was the place...

It’s an **** to get to in the sense of the cost. It’s cheaper to me to visit somewhere in a London for example.

Anyway, I spent about 6 hours in there yesterday and a little over an hour today. I should point out I’m a craft beer ****** and shareholder with BrewDog, so I justified the trip for these reasons knowing Tilt offer good beer and there’s a BrewDog bar right next to the station. If anyone else is in a similar boat to me.

As for Tilt. Yeah it’s very very good. Good beer on tap and some fuss beers as they’re known in the fridge. Some of which I’m drinking on the train on the way back as I write this. I didn’t find the city the easiest to get around and was even asked for directions twice and I’ve been to major cities all around the world - I say this just to drill in my next statement a bit more - I will be going back to Brum for Tilt again.

As for the pinball, well this is very interesting for me. As I kid I remember playing T2 with the wee gun. Now I get to play what I can find and virtually. Many of the machines at Tilt I had played on the iPhone prior. Many “skills” I had learned from YouTube, live catch etc.

Awesome place and on the whole I believe they genuinely care for setting the machines up correctly. I was recently in a cafe in Glasgow and they were so flat the balls would get stuck. Anyway, Turk, great beer and great tables with only minor issues that didn’t impact me. Start button on GB seems a bit knackered for example.

As for the pins, it was nice to finally play TAF but I still didn’t really get why it’s the biggest earner. Nice to play fish tales but I found there was no forgiveness for judging at all. I don’t know if this is a bob setup of just the way it is. Didn’t get a warning.

To skip a bit I started at the first machine which as of writing is Dialed in. It seemed okay but seemed high on the gimmicks and didn’t like the voice prompting you for a shot. Moved on to some older machines, namely bally and Williams. Felt the best. Like the most mechanical? I played GB after dialed in and it felt faster and smoother.

I played The hobit this morning and got into it and started to work it out fairly quickly but the launch is slow as hell and felt very weird. Opposite of GB. I’d played pro before and the moving slimer added a bit more but wow, that drains when you’re not much use.

Xmen instructions were in Spanish so that didn’t help but didn’t like the machine. Only stuck a quid in and moved on.

This is long enough so I’ll finish with Aerosmith. Not a big fan of the band ( Up here it’s usually bands I get to play on due to BrewDog, Elvis, Metallica, AC/DC, Rolling Stones) but that multi ball had be kind of hooked for a new player. The toy box that is. Indiana Jones was the only machine I got a replay on. Later heard someone running up to their wife they’d managed the same. Righto mate, cheers...

So yeah, a newbie review and as a newbie I did put about 60 quid into the machines but it was worth it.

Really great place and believe I spoke Kirk a couple times. This morning about Aliens and HP. So if you recognise this, cheers.

Overall yeah, well worth it. Good mix between the latest Stern, JJ and clsssic Williams and Bally. I think I might time my next visit when the league is on, purely to learn something!

Cheers,
 
Managed to pop into Tilt for around 2 hours today. What a place, the UK is very lucky to have such an awesome establishment, thanks to @philpalmer & @Tilt_Birmingham for all of the hard work that makes it happen.

Wanted to focus on Dialed in! and Aerosmith, but didn't have time for Aerosmith.

What a game Dialed in! is. Obviously I had read all the hype and watched gameplay vids etc. But I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. Pat has done it again, I was completely addicted and quite literally had to be dragged away from it in the end (managed to scrape the GC score, letting 2 EB's drain!)

It flows wonderfully and the rules seem great already. On my big game I managed a 900 million bonus on one ball, I think that was through a 7x bonus and a few SIM cards but not sure really of the rules.

Anyway, Tilt is awesome, Dialed in! is awesome, go play it guys
 
Am in the same boat as you Craig, Dialed In was such a great game and made Aerosmith seem dull to play in comparison. Within a minute you can tell its a Lawlor game, really enjoyed it!
 
roadshow16 said:
Managed to pop into Tilt for around 2 hours today. What a place, the UK is very lucky to have such an awesome establishment, thanks to @philpalmer & @Tilt_Birmingham for all of the hard work that makes it happen.

Wanted to focus on Dialed in! and Aerosmith, but didn't have time for Aerosmith.

What a game Dialed in! is. Obviously I had read all the hype and watched gameplay vids etc. But I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. Pat has done it again, I was completely addicted and quite literally had to be dragged away from it in the end (managed to scrape the GC score, letting 2 EB's drain!)

It flows wonderfully and the rules seem great already. On my big game I managed a 900 million bonus on one ball, I think that was through a 7x bonus and a few SIM cards but not sure really of the rules.

Anyway, Tilt is awesome, Dialed in! is awesome, go play it guys
Click to expand...
900mil Bonus! WTF
 
Yep - dialed in is awesome. Old school updated. Things to shoot at! Played it at TILT and was wary of the hype. Wasn't sure about the theme but I was wrong.
Get yourself down to TILT and play it - it craps on the Stern efforts.
Feels like a 90s classic but with modern play.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
windoesnot said:
Am in the same boat as you Craig, Dialed In was such a great game and made Aerosmith seem dull to play in comparison. Within a minute you can tell its a Lawlor game, really enjoyed it!
Click to expand...
I love Aerosmith so if DI makes AS dull, I can't wait to play DI!!!

I can see why some may not like AS as it's a typical Borg game and can be brutal. A lot of risk/reward play.

Still haven't heard of anyone anywhere getting to the main wizard mode yet.

Have heard of people getting to the wizard mode on DI. Is it Armageddon? Not sure.
 
Last edited:
Replay said:
Still haven't heard of anyone anywhere getting to the main wizard mode yet.
Click to expand...

I've got to the first wizard (by starting all of the modes). I assume that the main wizard is completing all of the modes in which case I've been very close, lighting all modes solid except Love in an Elevator.
Will hopefully have some good time on it tonight to try and progress :-)
 
Wayne J said:
I've got to the first wizard (by starting all of the modes). I assume that the main wizard is completing all of the modes in which case I've been very close, lighting all modes solid except Love in an Elevator.
Will hopefully have some good time on it tonight to try and progress :)
Click to expand...
If you get to the Final Tour that will be super impressive! Even more on the Pro as I think premium/LE is easier due to drop target helping towards elevator MB.
 
Popped into Tilt myself on Saturday just gone. My second visit.

It is a nice place, friendly staff, the machines all seem to be really well maintained. Was nice to be able to compare another TZ to mine.. the one in Tilt is on more friendly pitch and the slot machine kickout is consistent (mine is like returning a pro tennis serve). Overall a very accommodating machine. Was pleasantly surprised to see that the machines I liked were set up with generous replay settings too.

Only thing that surprised me really was that the fact that the machines I assumed would be the big draws are out of the way really.. TAF, ToM, TZ, Tron, etc are all relegated to downstairs. TZ in particular right outside the toilets. :(

Very pleasant place to visit for casual drinks & play. If anyone on here works there, apologies for still playing TAF at midnight when everyone else had gone :oops:
 
Durzel said:
Popped into Tilt myself on Saturday just gone. My second visit.

It is a nice place, friendly staff, the machines all seem to be really well maintained. Was nice to be able to compare another TZ to mine.. the one in Tilt is on more friendly pitch and the slot machine kickout is consistent (mine is like returning a pro tennis serve). Overall a very accommodating machine. Was pleasantly surprised to see that the machines I liked were set up with generous replay settings too.

Only thing that surprised me really was that the fact that the machines I assumed would be the big draws are out of the way really.. TAF, ToM, TZ, Tron, etc are all relegated to downstairs. TZ in particular right outside the toilets. :(

Very pleasant place to visit for casual drinks & play. If anyone on here works there, apologies for still playing TAF at midnight when everyone else had gone :oops:
Click to expand...

The money makers stay on the first floor ;) However all classics moving to the first on completion of renovations by mid may along with TNA and CFBL
 
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