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Off to see the wizard...

superjackpot

Active Member
Nov 19, 2012
342
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Mississauga, ON
EJB said:
I just opted out of my preorder from starburst. Went to play the game a few times and wasn't convinced it was a pin I needed to be in on at the start. I think that there is a great cance that this game will be a huge success and I sincerely hope it is. The good thing is that jjp Is planning to continue production until everyone that wants one gets one......so I can get a standard later on if I decide that I love the game. It does look incredible and I wish jjp the best!

And there you have it. I'm sure the unfinished state of the game had some impact on your decision.

The fact that game play will be identical on the non LE versions makes opting out easier to do.

Personally, I'm waiting for some updated code and then giving it a second spin. Kind of like sleeping on it (for a month) before I truly decide whether I'll do the same.
 

frolic

Member
Nov 19, 2012
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Tdot
We'd probably not be told an honest answer, but I'd be curious if these demos are responsible for any new sales (or very many). I think AT BEST they're illiciting a "wait and see", and at worst getting people off the WOZ train.

Seems to have been a huge miscalculation to put these demos out as they stand. Showing off the "build quality" was ok when doing the pony show at some expos, but that was months ago and now they're on location at retailers.

Rumor has it there's a software update coming today, but unless that rumor is true, and it is a significant upgrade (90% of the way done), this is starting to look like a disaster in a business sense.

I think about that factory video we saw, with the walk down the line.... the investment made, and the need to push thousands and thousands of machines out of that place. I want Jack to pull it off, but man am I nervous for him.
 

movingpictures

Active Member
Nov 29, 2012
552
31
28
Mont-Real
For the money, no matter how nice the game is, I'd much rather grab

2x Stern NIB Pros
or
5x B-listers :mrgreen:

What turns me off the most about WOZ is the sound package.
Sound is such an integral part of pinball and I have no doubt WOZ will annoy the hell out of me.
 

REVOLUTION

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 13, 2012
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www.pinballrevolution.com
I think the biggest "shot in the foot" here is that the difference between the LE and the "Pro" is pretty minimal. JJP will be offering almost all the LE parts for sale individually (all but the signed wooden apron AFAIK), so really.. there's nothing motivating you to buy the LE.. and since they've already stated they'll be making as many Pro's as they can sell, you might as well wait until the final product is out before making your purchase. *shrugs*
 

Chris Bardon

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2012
1,342
182
63
Mississauga, ON
I think the biggest "shot in the foot" here is that the difference between the LE and the "Pro" is pretty minimal. JJP will be offering almost all the LE parts for sale individually

This is probably the best thing they're doing for the consumer. That being said though, I think the cabs on the LE are clearcoated, and they're not on the standard, but other than that, it's basically armor, topper, shaker, and invisiglass, right?
 

necro_nemesis

Active Member
Nov 20, 2012
196
34
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Newmarket, Ontario. Canada
IMHO the way it is being distributed and sold is going to have the speculators bailing if they haven't already. Maybe it's a timely lesson the way things have been going on these new games. IMHO this speculative approach to buying new games has resulted in inflated NIB prices while quality has suffered.

I wish JJP all the best and look forward to a secondary supplier. A little competition is good for the market, but the game has to stand on it's own merits.
 

frolic

Member
Nov 19, 2012
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There was some info on the latest update from Pinside:

ok fellas real quick i was @ the midwest campus yesterday, keith put the new code in for me, upper lanes and multipliers are working with sound ,yellow brick road bonus at the end of each balls, few more sounds, and video functions as well.

To me, that is not nearly a big enough update after all this waiting, and pressure to show stuff off. Sounds like the game is still incomplete by a long ways.

The scope of this project is huge, I get that, and they are in over their heads somewhat. With the game dribbling out as it is, I think they missed their window to "shock and awe" everyone, and by the time the game is complete the hype will be well over.
 

necro_nemesis

Active Member
Nov 20, 2012
196
34
28
Newmarket, Ontario. Canada
Boy that Pinside post comes across with about the same amount of enthusiasm towards this recent development as reading a grocery list. IMHO should have taken a cue from Toto and waited till they were ready to show what was behind the curtain.
 

frolic

Member
Nov 19, 2012
686
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new WOZ video:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZKyvKDGWHzc

I hate to be such a Negative Nelly, but the LEDs are still in attract mode which only seems to confirm there are some serious issues. They added some additional LCD video. But this thing is so behind schedule, and every day that passes with these things on location and demo without modes or features is just deadly for them.
 

superjackpot

Active Member
Nov 19, 2012
342
45
28
Mississauga, ON
I went to SB today to have a second look thinking maybe the software was updated. Turns out the game was moved to Playdium the day before to test it out on location. :roll:
The guy I talked to doesn't even think the sw was updated, although I cannot confirm this.
 

Chris Bardon

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2012
1,342
182
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Mississauga, ON
I can maybe understand putting the game in showrooms or at pinball shows in that state, but putting it on location that unfinished is just wrong... The whole thing could backfire-yeah, people will think "ooh, shiny", try the game out, and not be able to "do" anything in it. This either gives people a new bias against pinball, or reinforces that pinball is "boring" to them, and means they won't take a second look. Like it or not, Gary Stern had a point when he said that just about anyone needs to be able to interact with the cool features on your game (famous example was the "bash balrog" on LOTR I think). Not to say that a game can't be challenging, but you also need to let people think they're accomplishing something meaningful. Look at how many people remember something like "Mamushka" on TAF-all it did was change the music and start a frenzy mode, but it was easy to start, and made you feel like you did something successful in the game (other than just increasing your score).
 

spiroagnew

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Dec 1, 2012
1,334
311
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Scotch Block, ON
www.creditdotpinball.com
Its on the floor at Playdium. Played it for a bit and it kind of blows seeing as its not a completed game. Lots of features that left me wondering what they do when operational. I had the unlimited play card, but the digital number on the cardreader, which I assume indicated how many credits are needed to play, read "6" when all the other Stern machines are set at "5". So it costs more to play an unfinished machine? Sweet. Point me in the direction of the Donkey Kong machine where they have not figured out the code to make Mario jump...I'll pay 50 cents instead of a quarter. As an aside, the lower left side VUK seems to need adjusting as it took at one point ten tries to get it into the wireform. Oh, and the ruby shoe plastic has fallen off the right flipper. There goes Jersey Jack's ace in the hole!
 

REVOLUTION

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Nov 13, 2012
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Don't forget the mid-right flipper that you can't really hit anything with. Can't fix that one with software..

It's the "Homer" of pinball.

the-homer.jpg
 

Vengeance

Well-Known Member
Nov 14, 2012
1,990
139
63
Keswick, ON
OMG You are SO RIGHT! That is the perfect analogy!

REVOLUTION said:
Don't forget the mid-right flipper that you can't really hit anything with. Can't fix that one with software..

It's the "Homer" of pinball.

the-homer.jpg
 

Chris Bardon

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2012
1,342
182
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Mississauga, ON
"I need a horn here, here, and here. You can never find a horn when you're angry!" :)

I thought the same thing about the upper flipper at first. Looks like it's designed to try to hit that skill shot through the bumpers, and to hit the uppper feed into the crystal ball. Probably not something people will go for on their own, so they need to incentivize it somehow in the rules. Still not the most useful extra flipper though.
 

mwong168

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 14, 2012
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Toronto
Flipper question
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UXjVJnywvB8[/youtube]

WOZ play diagram
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5MIEdpMsDO4[/youtube]

Keith talking about the rules
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UrnodpUT06I[/youtube]
 

jooky

Member
Nov 18, 2012
105
2
18
Mississauga, ON
Someone did an in depth walk through of version 1.08 rules:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KR90Mc_lLy0[/youtube]

Looks more promising now! I like the outlane modes.
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
2,827
519
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Mississauga
I played the game a bit at Allentown. It was "okay".
It's certainly a beautiful pin with lots of bells and whistles. The spared no expense and it shows.

As for gameplay... I'l reserve judgment until I can get more time on it but, for me, first impressions were ho-hum. Nothing terribly satisfying about it.