Big Bang Bar

[BigBangJoe]

After playing a few dozen games, and after doing some tweaks: here is how my game plays (and a couple of questions).

- I can get the ball up the ramp with the right flipper, but also with a left backhand quite easily.

- The inner orbit is hard to do, but I do manage it a couple of times per game. It's just hard enough to be challenging, and easy enough to be possible.

- The cosmic dartz saucer kicks the ball right to the middle of the left flipper, maybe slightly nearer the tip. Is that where it's supposed to land?

- The kickback sometimes shoots the ball right round the right orbit, but sometimes the ball hits something a bit more to the left. That's the good thing about a mechanical game: the ball doesn't do exactly the same thing everytime

- The popbumpers had to be readjusted a little bit, but now the ball is kicked around nicely, almost like in my TAF (but with 3 mushrooms instead of 5) BANG BANG BANG

- The left orbit doesn't seem to work on my game. I have checked all the switches along the way, and they are all OK. In "tour the bar" the software doesn't recognize a ball going completely round the left loop. Could that be a bug in the beta-software? Or does someone have an idea what I should check?

- If the ball leaves the pop bumpers at the right side (just at the right of the 3 drop targets), I get 50% SDTM's. There doesn't seem to be any rubbers or posts there which I can easily adjust. What is the general method to solve things like this?

- The doorman/extra ball drop target is very difficult to shoot directly. But the last time the tube dancer told me to "get the extra ball", I complained that it was too hard to shoot, and then 1 second later I nailed the ball right on the target straight from the left flipper. It CAN be done.

- There seem to be a few small bugs left in the software (I *think*): I sometimes get a "harder" quote although the ball gets up the ramp alright. It seems that the software doesn't wait long enough before assuming the ball didn't make it. There's no problem with any switches, because I do get the "prize" of making the ramp. The inner loop is sometimes not registered, I guess because the doorman drop target is not reset to the up position to register the hit. I had the underground running one time, then shot the ball nicely around the inner loop (which is what you're supposed to do) but got no points for that.

- There aren't that many drains via the outlanes. On my game about 90% of the balls are lost between the flippers. Which makes it so much more frustrating because you always have the feeling that you really should have saved that ball

- The left and right loop feed nicely back to the flippers, not SDTM or the ball is not hitting any rubbers or obstacles. Normally the ball is stopped at the top to fall through the rollovers, but sometimes (I haven't figured out exactly when) the ball is let through and zooms round, straight back to the flippers. Most inexperienced players are still looking at the upper playfield to look for the ball, when it's in fact already lost at the bottom. "Huh? That was fast!"

- Big Bang is awesome. Only Bart managed to reach that on my machine (on his very first game, damn you Bart ) so I haven't played it myself yet. Just before it starts, you get the same sound that you get in attract mode, when that little story is scrolling. That "music" (and the lighting) generates a strange atmosphere. Very nice!

- Things that I have changed on/added to my machine:
* Disconnected the tube in the backbox to avoid reflections on the glass/playfield. It's not animated lighting anyway.
* Added a bit of mylar where the ball falls on the playfield in the inlanes
* Added leg protectors: MAKE SURE YOU ADD THEM AS SOON AS YOU GET THE GAME!! After about 50 games, I already had a little bit of damage to the decal at the right front leg. Luckily someone saw that, so I immediately bought protectors! Don't forget to do this guys!
* Added protectors around the flipper buttons. The artwork is too beautiful to risk it being damaged. I don't know how fragile the printwork on the decals is, but I don't want to find out. I'll let somebody else try that out on his unprotected machine
* replaced the stock speakers with 2-way Sony speakers. They should be a lot better than the stock speakers, and you can just replace them without any soldering, but although the Sony's have separate tweeters, the sound is EXACTLY the same . Why do I hear so many stories about replacing the speakers, when it has no effect at all?? Or should I add an amplifier with equalizer before I will get better sound? Or are the Capcom stock speakers a lot better than the WMS stock speakers?

- My glass rattles a little bit when there's a lot of bass (on BBB = always ) and the volume is turned up (which should also be always). If I put some pressure on the glass at the sides, it goes away. It seems that the glass should be held a little bit tighter. Any easy solution for this? I'm a pinball-tech-noob so I don't want to do any stoopid moves here

That's about all I can say about how the machine actually plays. If you have any questions, just ask

Joe

[unigroove]

Well, BBJ seems to have taken my advice on protecting the game

On my game I tweaked the slingshot a little bit so they react also to balls slightly touching it.

Popbumpers do already throw the ball around like a ragdoll, but might even more if tweaked a litte.

The speed of the Cosmic Darts eject can be adjusted in the menu. You can also have it to land on the right flipper. I found it even more fun to adjust it so it goes sdtm unless you flip the right flipper at the right time

The Tour the Bar mode could also be a problem on my game. I usually get 1 or 2 quotes from the waitress, but thre are much more in the game that I did not hear during gameplay. It also is a tough mode, so it could just be me

I have no problems with the right exit from the popbumpers. Ball lands on the flippers 95% of the time.

Real software bugs I did not find, but tere are a few things that could be changed or improved. Currently there is no skill shot after you lock a ball. Perhaps intentionally?

Too bad there is no autoplunger on the game. During Big Bang you have to keep shooting drained balls into play yourself. Besides that you need a 3rd hand, this leaves an easy cheat to extend the mode....

BBJ: to solve the glass rattling: try to screw the sidrails a little tighter

[CraigC]

Joe, did you level your game with a digital level? does the switch for the left orbit register in switch edges (or whatever the capcom equivalent is). Also test the right orbit switch since the game could be thinking that you didnt make the left orbit. I had a similar problem with my AFM where the switch registered fine but needed to be really sensitive due to how wide the lane is the ball didnt roll over the switch close enough to make it register.

-c

[BBB94]